This is an exciting month for me, since I turned 22 on the 8th and there are so many amazing books in my possession at the moment (plus, I may have a pretty big birthday haul coming up… *wink wink*).
I am no longer doing set TBRs, because I feel like I end up stressing myself out when I don’t read all the books I planned to. So, I will now just talk about the books I am currently excited for or recently hauled. I will pick and choose from this list as I feel like it, but I will not be reading all of these or shaming myself.
With that said, in no specific order, here are some of the books that I am excited about and hope to read in August:
[All book covers are from Goodreads.]
Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles
This was the book for the June OwlCrate box. I did my bullet journal theme around this book, so I hope to get to it this month.
This YA beauty is about a dark circus with a dangerous competition at heart. The story has been compared to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and the movie “The Greatest Showman”.
I love dark circus stories, and this is said to have an enemies to lovers situation, so I am super excited.
This book is set to release on August 25th.
Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1) by Zoraida Córdova
I am hoping to buddy read this book with a coworker, since I ended up with two copies, and she is interested.
Inspired by the Spanish Inquisition era, this YA Fantasy wields rebellion spies, romance, dark memories, and a strong lead heroine. I don’t know much else about this book, because I feel it’s best to go in pretty blind.
This book has also been getting some hype on Bookstagram by people who have similar reading tastes to my own, which gives me really high hopes. I love dark fantasy with a rebellion at the center.
PS: Look at how stunning this edition of Incendiary by Fairyloot is! I am shook by this cover.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
This YA Persian retelling is about a princess who is poisonous to the touch. That is all I had to know for this book to grab me. (Also look at that beautiful book snake cover!)
I am reading this book with my TBR Book Club on Instagram, even though I don’t actually own this book. I have checked this book out from the library, because I didn’t get the Fairyloot edition like I had hoped. Although, if I enjoy this book enough, I will go out and buy a copy for myself.
This book has also received some high praise in the Bookstagram community, so I am fairly hyped to get into this one. The club will be reading a few chapters every week throughout the month until we finish it. Let’s hope I have enough restraint to actually follow that schedule…
Upside Down by N. R. Walker
I am actually almost done with this book at the time of writing this. This is a story about a gay man named Jordan. In this story, Jordan discovers and comes to terms with his own asexuality while also navigating a new romantic relationship.
I am reading this book with my booksta bestie, Abbie. We are currently reading books that are meaningful to one another. Abbie is aesexual and finds this book to be highly relatable, which is why we are reading it. I am getting to understand a bit more about her through this book, while enjoying an amazing own voices story with one of my best friends.
This is my first adult contemporary and ace representation story, and I am loving it so far.
The Simple Wild (The Simple Wild #1) by K. A. Tucker
As an Adult Contemporary Romance, you can assume that this is outside of my reading comfort zone. I am trying to give other genres a chance, since I want to appreciate more genres as a well read person.
I am reading this “city girl travels to a small town in Alaska” story with a friend from University. She reads a lot of romance/contemporary, and wanted to buddy read with me, so I took the opportunity to broaden my tastes.
This has been a book that I’ve been mildly interested in for a while, so I am glad to have an excuse to read it with a friend. I love nature, so the setting will be fun, and there’s a sexy pilot love interest… what’s not to love about that?
I first became interested in this book when Chelsea Palmer on Booktube raved about it. I figure there is no better time than now to give it a shot, especially if Chelsea claims it’s one of the best in the genre.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I read this book back in February, and loved it. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars and would even call it my new favorite standalone of all time.
I adore this book, so when it was chosen for my friend group’s book club for August, I almost vomit with joy.
I skimmed and listened to parts of the audiobook for the first half of the book, but plan to actually read the last half. This book is quite complex and layered, and I felt like I needed to reread it back when I had first finished it in February. I am glad to now have some people to talk to about it, since I am the only one I know who’s read it.
I am quite excited as you can tell. cx
Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy #2) by Robin Hobb
I am slowly making progress on this chunk of a book, and I am loving it. I love the world and the characters. My slow reading of this book is not a bad sign. It is actually a good sign, because I enjoy it so much that I am taking my time to really absorb and contemplate every chapter.
I will continue to add this book to my TBR until I finish it. As I said in my April Reading Wrap Up, I am not going to force myself to read this book or rush to get through it, because I am just here to enjoy the ride.
I am hoping to finish off the audiobook in August, but no pressure. Once I finish this book, I will be immediately moving on to the last book in the Farseer trilogy, Assassin’s Quest.
The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay
I got this children’s fantasy in an OwlCrate Jr. box last month. I am beyond excited for this blended family story of magic and adventure.
This book is under 300 pages and has to do with an enchanted house in a green area following a family of step parents and children learning how to be a family together.
This just sounds all around wholesome, and I am here for it. I love children’s/middle grade books so much, but maybe that’s just the children’s librarian in me talking.
The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton
This is a textbook about the history of Paganism in Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. As I’ve mentioned before, I am an Eclectic Pagan. This book is part of my personal spiritual education as part of my practice.
This is a very dense book, because it is literally a text book, so I will definitely not finish it this month. I will make my way through various sections of this book at a leisurely pace. I will probably finish it within the year, but we will just have to see.
I am currently only a chapter in, and wow is this tome dense and thorough… Feels like I am back in university. Wish me luck!
There Will Come a Darkness (The Age of Darkness #1) by Katy Rose Pool
I bought this book for a book club on Instagram. It is quite ironic, because it is a TBR book club, (meant to help us get through the books already on our TBRs) and a book that I am interested in but don’t own was chosen. So I ended up buying a new book instead of making progress on my TBR. I know, ironic.
To make it worse, I didn’t end up having time to actually read it with the book club… so here we are two months later… I know, I’m ashamed of myself.
This book had me at the synopsis, specifically this part:
“A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.”
I am a sucker for groups of strong personalities with that “found family” trope. A lot of reviews say that the characters drive the story, and I personally love character driven stories a lot. I am a bit worried that this book may also fall into the typical YA story, but I will let you know when I actually read it.
I get strong Six of Crows vibes from this book, and that makes me very happy.
In general, I’ve had my eye on this book for a while, so I ironically ordered it for this book club and never read it… Oh well…
These are the books that I want to read this month, but what I really want to know is: what YOU are reading this month.
Please share your TBR and current reads in the comments!
Have a wonderful week and may your next read be everything you needed and more!
-Knight of Cups ❤
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