(A very late) August Wrap Up

I read 18 books in August, a total of 6144 pages. Only one of these was 5 stars, 11 were 4 stars and 5 were 3 stars and one 2 star. Overall a good reading month, but I have now learnt my lesson and will be writing my reviews as I go and splitting them up as sitting down to write this was so daunting its taken me 20 days to do it. Sorry.

And Then There Were None ***

Read in a one sitting listening to the audiobook along with reading the physical book. Dan Stevens narration is brilliant but I love Dan Stevens a lot in general so I'm pretty biased there. An really interesting plot, I really love closed circle 'who dunnits' however I much prefer Murder on the Orient Express, this is only my second Agatha Christie but I've heard that this is one of her better loved books. I can not ignore the casual anti-semetic remarks at the beginning of the book, which have thank goodness been edited out of the book although weirdly was still in the audiobook. Also very grateful that the NAME OF THE BOOK has been changed due its racist original name. These points do make me weary of picking up another Agatha Christie book in future So watch this space.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator ***

I am so fed up of the formulaic way these are written and I enjoy the series less and less with every book. I just want to get to the end now. The only fun I'm having is the list of issues I have with the series I am making along the way for a future blog post, mostly consisting of me wondering WHERE ARE THE POLICE?!?! But I digress, the plot of this one was a bit weird for me, only redeeming factor was that I did spend most of the book stressed about who and then where Count Olaf was. I am hoping the formula of the books changes soon, primarily I would like the orphans to stay in the same place for more than a few days before Count Olaf comes along and ruins everything.

The Bookshop in the Shore ****

I want to move to Scotland and sell books out of a van. Jenny Colgan is one of my favourite authors, I love her writing style as its just so easy and cosy to read. The plot is obvious, theres no plot twist but it not what you should be reading this book for. If you want an inoffensive story about a woman who falls on hard times and seems to land on her feet this is the book for you.

Burn ****

I love books about dragons! A great fantasy about a girl and her dragon. Ness worked in a lot of very valid commentary about racism and prejudice and packed in so much in under 400 pages. I loved the dragons in this story, they are wise and talk and made me this of the dragons in my favourite book of all time Priory of the Orange Tree. Again Ness uses a very simple writing style but thats my preference as I read for fun. This is my first book written by Patrick Ness and I would definitely read more from this author.

The Turn of the Key ****

This was great. I listened to the audiobook of this, planning originally to listen on my drives when away camping, 3 hours of driving to Wales later, I could not turn it off and carried on listening to the end that day. It was so creepy, and even thinking back now I get chills. I had worked out fairly early on who the narrator really was but it made no difference to my enjoyment.

Parsnips, Buttered ****

If you like Joe Lycett at all you should read this, I especially recommend listening to the audio version, its essentially a 3 hour stand up. I was genuinely laughing out loud pretty much the whole way through. Well worth the credit.

Lock Every Door ***

This has a massive amount of hype around it, its very highly thought of across the bookternet however I didn't love it. The plot twist at the end was just too far fetched for me and it really effected how i felt about the story overall. I had really enjoyed the story up until the reveal but my suspension of disbelief just does not stretch that for, and I watch WWE. There was also parts that weren't wrapped up that I would have liked, like what happened to her sister? I do really want to read Home Before Dark eventually as Sager's writing style was very easy to read.

Rhapsodic ****

I really like dark fae tales. I love Desmond in the same way that I love Fortuna Sworn and this completely scratched the itch that waiting for the next Fortuna Sworn book has left. I wish I could have continued the series straight away however my enormous TBR and now cancelling my kindle unlimited subscription to concentrate on what I already own means continuing this series is on hold until some time in 2021 now.

With The Fire On High ****

I love Elizabeth Acevedo, I love her writing, I love her voice (she narrates her own audio books, I'm not stalking her). Even her prose is lyrical just like her books written in verse there is a flow and poetic feel to her writing. I'm pretty sure Elizabeth Acevedo is a good cook because her food descriptions and flavour combinations has me hungry and salivating. I really rooted for Emoni throughout this book, she was never whiny or woe is me about her situation, she accepted her lot and worked hard. The was some self-sabotage at times and her pride got hurt but she was such a strong person she impressed me all the time.

Madoka Magica Volume 2

I love the art style in this manga series but the fight scenes are very confusing and I struggle to keep up in them at times. Not my favourite series but I've only got one more volumes to read, but will most likely sell on the series once I've finished it.

Little Women ****

I read this about 10 years ago when I was in my first year of uni and grew up watching the 1994 movie. I love the March sisters, their bond is so special. Beth has always been a favourite (unoriginal but true) but this time reading I had a new love for Mr Brookes, his patience with Meg when she is materialistic shows how much he truely loves his wife. A heartwarming tale that is so deserving of its classic status.

Nick and Charlie*****

My only 5 star read in August and its a novella. I read it in one sitting, its short and sweet. I really enjoyed a bit more of a traditionally written story about Nick and Charlie from my favourite graphic novel series Heartstopper. The illustrations were perfect, and Alice Oseman is an exceptional artist, her ability to draw expressions is second to none in my opinion. I have now bought all of Alice Oseman's published works and plan to make my way through them as I think she is becoming a firm favourite author.

Such a Fun Age ****

More like 4.5 stars, I loved the story. This book was bought to my attention due to some contraversy around The Reading Rush, namely that it was picked as the group book, not promoted and then neither host of the readathon actually wrote. A book about performative activism was picked as a group book then not read by the 2 white hosts. What actually convinced me to read the book was Emma from Drinking by my Shelf's (Youtube) review of it. HSe really gushed about it and I can see why. I really enjoyed that the reader was clued in to Alix and Kelley's history ahead of them meeting again, the suspense around when and how they would find the link was really fun for me. Alix was shown to be a very superficial person and her friends were surprising on board with it. Briar is a delightful child and her relationship with Emira was so touching.

A Little Princess ****

I loved this film when I was growing up and the book did not disappoint. Sara is such a kind child, she should be a spoilt brat but she is caring and warm. I don't really have much to say on this one other than aside from the ending the book and the film were pretty close and a great adaptation.

Caraval ****

I kept forgetting that everything was not as it seems, even though its something we are told upon entering Caraval. I was completely sucked in to the story. The romance is obvious early on but the ending took me by surprise entirely, i had a real 'wait, what' moment. This is another series I want to continue with in 2021, when I'm a bit more on top of my owned TBR.

The Flat Share ****

A really lovely book. I liked the characters, even the side characters were great and I felt i knew everyone in the book by the end. Tiffy has just got out of a relationship that she only realises was awfully toxic once she is further removed from it, which is something I can relate to entirely. The budding romance is cute. I had seen some reviews saying that Leon essentially cheats on his longterm girlfriend however I completely disagree with this as Tiffy and Leon's relationship doesn't cross the friends line until after they have split up and Tiffy was nothing to do with their relationship ending.

Aria's Travelling Bookshop **

I hated this book. After reading Jenny Colgan's books about a girl with a bookshop in a converted van and loving them I thought this would be a no brainer. NOPE. Aria and Jonathan's instalove was completely off screen, they met and spent a day talking and it made him write a book solely for her in a genre he doesn't usually write in just so she will see it, I just don't buy it. Aria is extremely irritating, I had no sympathy for her losing her husband purely because she is so determined to die alone while also blatantly falling in love with another man. Every plot point clearly sign posted ahead of time, her friend with control issues who has planned her life exactly even down to when shes going to have kids suddenly and *unexpectedly* falls pregnant. I accidently skipped 10% of this book on my kindle and only noticed because they had changed locations, I missed nothing of the plot and had no reason to go back and read what I missed.

The Starless Sea ***

The biggest let down of the year so far. The Night Circus, I read early on in the year and loved it, its now one of my all time favourite books. I liked Erin Morgenstern's writing but more than that I really loved the story. In The Starless Sea, I still liked the writing but the plot was not good for me. I didn't feel connected with Zachary Ezra Rawlins, I think because every one of his chapters started with his full name I felt very distant and formal with him. I didn't feel any suspense and had no desire to continue with the book to find out what happened at the end, I only finished the book because I hoped my feelings towards the book would change before the end.