Thank you for being patient with me as I took a little break. It’s been a bit weird that there have been no notifications but taking a step back helped me appreciate and indulge in the summer. It’s over by the time you’re reading this and I’m over-excited for Autumn! I hope you have a good September.

How was your August?

I’ve seen these wrap-up posts all over booktube and the book blogging community and I felt very inspired to try it out for myself. I have read many books last month which makes me very excited to review them! 

Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell

The first book I read this month was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I have a whole post dedicated to this book and it disappointed me slightly. The book community can influence your expectations and this was a novel that I went into with high expectations. Being let down by a book is a horrible feeling but it’s a learning curve. I will make sure to not look at too many reviews before I read them for myself! I think I will give Rainbow Rowell a second chance though. I hear that Eleanor And Park is a good one but I’ve heard so many bad things about it as well!

The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas 

I picked up this book from The Works for £3 (I know, an absolute bargain). Gracie from A Light In The Darkness recommended me this one and, to be honest, I didn’t know about the hype until I looked at the hashtag on Instagram. I must have been living under a rock to have not heard about THUG before. It was such an amazing novel, focusing on social and racial issues. Books like these are legendary because of how they bring light to old problems that still haven’t been tackled. I’m so glad that I purchased this one (usually I use the library) because I look forward to reading and enjoying it all over again. 

Flawed – Cecilia Ahern

Flawed also has it’s own book review so check that out because I won’t be talking in detail in this post. The synopsis gives away a lot of the plot which is a real shame. There’s not much tension building up to the climatic parts which made me rate it two stars on Goodreads. There’s nothing I completely detest about this book but I don’t love it. I’m sure some younger readers would like it, but it’s a bit boring for me!

1984 – George Orwell

This classic, as you may know, is a perfect example of dystopian fiction. I loved some of the writing but the overall plot was uninteresting. The world is very intriguing but the best part, for me, was the conclusion. Coming to the end of this book was a bit of relief but then I really enjoyed the last few pages! 

The Miller’s Tale 

If you are a bookstagram friend, you will know of my participation in Day Dream’s Readathon. It was my first ever readathon and I really enjoyed the idea of a set TBR for the month. There were only eight prompts so I read a lot of books that weren’t related to the challenge at all. Though, A Miller’s Tale was the book I submitted for the ‘short story’ prompt. It’s written by someone close to home and they are not published on Goodreads or anything like that. I think it was on sale at a church fair and it’s all about the author and her time in a miller’s life. The idea is very poetic and soft. The book also has drawings on the left-hand-side page which reminded me of reading picture books as a young child. 

Rebel Of The Sands – Alwyn Hamilton

I reread this book as part of the Day Dream’s readathon. The prompt was: “a book you’ve owned since forever” and I’ve had my copy of Rebel Of The Sands for almost three years? (or maybe two, it could be younger than I think) Books are so much better the second time around – unless they’re thrillers, of course! I loved revisiting the characters and the very unique fantasy world. When I read this book two years ago, I wasn’t as into reading as I am now. It was a lovely dose of nostalgia and for any young adults, I would definitely recommend it! The main protagonist is a strong female: a crossover of Katniss and Princess Leia who are the characters I always wanted to be like as a child.

A Court Of Thorns And Roses – Sarah J Mass

This is one of my favourite books of the year. I loved it so much and I am really glad I bought this one, instead of library lending. I look forward to reading again (if I have time) and finishing the series! I have one big review for it linked here. I would appreciate if you checked that out.

Shatter Me – Tahereh Mafi

Well, this one was a wild ride. And not in a good way. Though the other books in this series get better as you go along. The last one’s ending made me incredibly frustrated but that’s the magic of books!

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index

I picked this one up after hearing about it somewhere on the book blogging community. I didn’t really know what to expect and wasn’t that excited about it either. I was pleasantly surprised! This one was so, so good and I’m surprised about the lack of hype surrounding it.

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

I spotted this gem in the library but I sadly couldn’t find the rest of the series at that time. I enjoyed this book for the way that it integrated magic in a way that wasn’t totally unbelievable. A family friend recommends I read The Night Circus, because it has the same magical realism that I love ☺️

Unravel Me – Tahereh Mafi

Unravel Me is definitely better than the first one – though my opinions are still incredibly mixed. There’s not much complexity to the characters but the plot is getting more exciting. I’m less than 100 pages in but there’s already been a lot of drama! I want to know where this goes which, in one sense, is a good element. It’s page-turning.

The Lost Hero – Rick Riordan 

The Lost Hero is a solid 5 stars for me. I enjoyed revisiting Percy Jackson’s world – about 4 years after originally reading them. There were no flaws in the plot and the characters had not only good wit, but also complexity. By switching perspectives, the characters were developed and I love them all. As part of #daydreamsreadathon, one of the prompts was to read a book from multiple perspectives. This was my idea and I think I’ll read the whole series sometime. It’s not a priority, but something I would like to get to. With school starting a few weeks, I will have to read more complex books in my free time so these will have to wait until Christmas!

Ignite Me – Tahereh Mafi

The Shatter Me series has a very common theme. The books start off awfully but then conclude in a way that makes you so angry but also satisfied. I don’t know whether to love or hate these books. I think a good book is one than provokes strong emotion and, in this case, it’s anger. I love this book for how much I hate it (if that makes any sense?)

Restore Me – Tahereh Mafi

THE ENDING SKSKSKSKS

Girl Online – Zoe Sugg, Siobhan Curham (Ghostwriter)

I was feeling in a very cosy mood, so I read this in less then two hours straight. It was my childhood dream to be like Penny and my whole world surrounded these books a few years ago. I can now see all the problems with this book though, for an odd reason, I still enjoyed it? I think it’s partly because I do not want to admit that I’ve grown out of my ‘Zoella” phase 😆

It was after I finished this book that I hit a pretty harsh reading slump. I’ve never experienced something like it. I was demotivated to do anything so, for about 5 days, I was baking and drawing (things I don’t do often). Then came my birthday, and I had a few new books and that really helped my reading habits improve. I’m enjoying The Knife Of Never Letting Go and I’m going to read it for as long as I need and certainly not rushing.

The Knife Of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness

I’m very happy to say that I did finish another book by the end of the month!

 

I may have added extra number to the title but not added them in the post. These are books that I finished just before posting and I didn’t have enough time to review 🙂