September 01, 2018

August Wrap-Up & September TBR

Guys, I had an AMAZING reading month! I finished 19 books. Yes, you read that right. 19!!! Between Bout of Book (I finished 6 1/2 books) and just a number of incredibly fast reads, I had a record reading month. This is honestly the best reading month I've had of 2018. I'm thrilled! I'll link reviews for the ones that are posted. If there's no review link, that means its scheduled but not live yet.

What I Read In August:

• Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2) by Laini Taylor (3.5/5 Stars)
• Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3) by Laini Taylor (4/5 Stars)
• Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas (5/5 Stars)
• Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas (5/5 Stars)

If I'm honest, I'm kinda disappointed with the 2nd and 3rd DoSaB books. The first one was super strong and the second just felt like filler. And the third a mix of books 1 and 2. I was hoping for a stronger ending. However the ToG series seems to be getting stronger as books go on! 

• To All The Boys I've Loved Before (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han (4/5 Stars)
• P.S. I Still Love You (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han (4.5/5 Stars)
• Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs (4/5 Stars)
• Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo (4/5 Stars)
• A Study In Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1) by Brittany Cavallaro (4.5/5 Stars)

So I listened to the audiobook of TATBILB since the movie came out and I wanted to have an idea of the story going into it. But then I also had to read P.S. like right after cuz I gotta know what's happening. I also got off my lazy butt and read Shadow and Bone after having it literally for ages! 

• Ignite The Stars by Maura Milan (4/5 Stars)
• Shadow of the Fox (Shadow of the Fox #1) by Julie Kagawa (4.5/5 Stars)
• Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (5/5 Stars)
• Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (5/5 Stars)
• Stalking Jack The Ripper (Stalking Jack The Ripper #1) by Kerri Maniscalco (4/5 Stars)

A few of my ARCs in this line. Ignite the Stars was good for a Sci-fi book. Kinda slow with the action/plot in the first half, but overall, not a bad read. Quick too. Shadow of the Fox was pretty good! I absolutely LOVED the Japanese culture, folklore and mythology in this book. It was so rich in it and it had me hooked! Definitely suggest you buy it when it comes out in October.

• Talon (Talon #1) by Julie Kagawa (3.5/5 Stars)
• Rogue (Talon #2) by Julie Kagawa (4/5 Stars)
• Soldier (Talon #3) by Julie Kagawa (4/5 Stars)
• Legion (Talon #4) by Julie Kagawa (4/5 Stars)
• Inferno (Talon #5) by Julie Kagawa (5/5 Stars)

So I read the entire Talon Saga. I have to admit. If I rated this series as a whole. It'd be a 4/5 Star series. Book 1 was a bit slow for my liking. the next 3 were good but not mind blowing. It was only when I got to the last book that I felt like the book blew me away and gave me everything I wanted in a book in this series. 

Discoveries In August:

• I figured out I really LOVE contemporary books on audiobook. I also found out I really like the Miss Peregrine's books on audio too cuz the narrator is really good. 

Happenings On The Blog (and life) in August:

• Bout of Books 23! Here's my TBR & Updates and Here's my Wrap-Up. Got a little over 6 books read! Woot!
• ARC August! Here's my TBR. And Here's my Wrap-Up! I got 5 ARC's read and one more started before the end of the month.
• I featured my favorite Book Blogs & Booktubers!
• I got my first tattoo!!! Here's my StS where I revealed it and talked more about it, but I will put a pic of it below. :)

Posts I Enjoyed Around The Blogosphere:

• Laura @ Boats Against The Current gives you 9 Bookish Things To Do That Aren't Reading!
• Gretl & Rose Red @ Goldilox and the Three Weres talk Things They've Learned While Blogging
• Zeee @ I Heart Romance & YA shares some Bookstagram Props That Don't Break The Bank
• AJ @ Read All The Things! talks Useless Mythical Creatures She'd Love To Read About! Guys, if you don't follow AJ, your missing some quality, funny content. Your definitely missing out. Go follow her! 

• Muse of Nightmares (Strange The Dreamer #2) by Laini Taylor
• A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab
• The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2) by Brittany Cavallaro
• Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #3) by Ransom Riggs

• Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas
• Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas
• Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) by Sarah J. Maas
• Impostors (Uglies #5) by Scott Westerfeld

• Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #3) by Jenny Han
• The Death of Antagonis (Space Marine Battles #12) by David Annandale
• Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) by Kendare Blake
• Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu

Ok, so yeah. The second book in this row is not like the others. LOL. James has been bugging me for months now to try a Warhammer book. So I'm indulging him. I chose that one in particular cuz it sounded interesting, and despite being book 12, I know you can read these out of order. James does. LOL. 

• Before She Ignites (The Fallen Isles Trilogy #1) by Jodi Meadows
• Give The Dark My Love (Give The Dark My Love #1) by Beth Revis
• The Darkest Star (Origin #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody

So I got a fun lineup. Some older books, some new releases, some ARCs. I'm pretty excited for my September TBR to be honest. 

Also, I'm super excited that its September because IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!!! YAY!!!! My birthday is September 8th! I'll be 25 this month. Wow. I've already hit my mid 20's. If you asked me when I first started this blog if it'd still be around when I turned 25 I probably would have laughed. But hey. Here I am and here it is.