OM DENNE EPISODE
August did not go according to my TBR plans. 😅 I went into the month with another wildly ambitious reading goal and finished 10 books—but surprisingly, it wasn’t because I was reading bad books. Between reader fatigue, everyday life, and getting completely sucked back into writing my own books, reading time kept turning into writing time.
And despite reading less, August gave me some fantastic books. I had mixed feelings about Umbra, especially its nonlinear storytelling and characterization, while A Theory of Dreaming gave me more of Effie and Preston and an emotional exploration of depression, devotion, and erasure. A Whiff of Murder finally gave me the cozy mystery I’d been craving, while Brigands & Breadknives was enjoyable but much slower for me than the previous books in the series.
Then there were the books I couldn’t put down. A Feather So Black completely swept me away with its gorgeous prose, fae mythology, Swan Princess and Twelve Dancing Princesses vibes, and Thea’s powerful journey toward loving herself. Blood Over Bright Haven was basically perfection—melding science, physics, and magic with thoughtful explorations of colonialism, classism, religion, philosophy, and sexism.
I also had some fun with the KPop Demon Hunters junior novelization, got pulled into the deadly competition and romantic tension of The Lure of Wolves, and ended August completely obsessed with An Education in Malice, a sensual, sapphic vampire story inspired by Carmilla. 🩸🖤
🎧 Tune in for my August Reading Wrap-Up as I talk about all 10 books, the hits and misses, why I’ve been reading more slowly lately, and which books absolutely stole the month.
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