2026 Reading - August!

This month's theme is the Summer of Standalones!  Big focus on working through all of those standalone books I have sitting in my TBR.  Series reading is put on hold - with ONE exception.  (Stay tuned for details.)  (HAHAHAHAHA  This theme lasted for less than a week, being blown out of the water by THE SLUMP.)

1.  The Magic Fish, Trung Le Nguyen - I'm such a lucky reader.  This particular book was placed in my hands by my heart sister's daughter, who is a complete delight.  During a recent visit to Skylark, she asked if I read graphic novels, and when I said yes she ran to the shelves and brought this back to me.  Friends, it's such a lovely book.  I read it in one sitting during my annual farm retreat, and it's been living in my heart since then.  The book is centered on a mother and son who communicate through fairy tales, which touched me deeply because my mother and I have always communicated through fiber arts.  It's also an immigrant story, a coming-out story, and so much more.  Please read it.  

2.  The Winged Game, Sophie Kim - For a long while Skylark had a delightful bookseller whos tastes run very closely with mine.  (Ahem, most of my physical TBR can be "blamed" on her.)  Sadly, she recently moved away.  I went in on her last day for one last recommendation, and this is what she sent me home with.  When I got home and realized who Kim was, I was super excited and moved it to the top of my reading list.  (I absolutely adored The God and the Gumiho.)  This book is sooooo much fun!  It's a fantasy, and a sports romance, and a rivals to lovers, and a mystery, and a justice is served!!!!  So many delicious things all wrapped up in some really good writing and a book that I could not put down.  Kim is now officially a must-buy author for me! Did I mention it was pure fun?  I needed that!

3.  The Lost, Sarah Beth Durst - I have enjoyed Durst's recent cozy fantasy series, but I really didn't have any intention of going back to her back catalog.  However, I was intrigued when this book was rereleased.  The whole concept was brilliant.  I've read a few stories about lost things over the years, but this was by far the best developed.  Also, there was a huge emotional punch that I wasn't at all expecting.  (Her other books are perfectly fun and pleasant, but not super deep.)  Such a pleasant surprise, I'm really glad I gave it a try! 

4.  Our Infinite Fates, Laura Steven (audio) - I don't remember where I got this recommendation, and honestly didn't have high expectations.  Now it's a top 10 book for me - maybe even in the all-time list.  Wow, just wow.  It's gorgeous and perfect.  Our two protagonists are fated to fall in love and have to kill each other before their 18th bithdays over and over and over again.  The structure of the book is fantastic and the writing is delicious.  I love that they weren't tied to specific genders, and that their different lives took place all over the world.  The ending....the ending was everything.  

Then came the slump.  

I was burned out after my crazy 30 book month in June, so I slowed down in July.  It wasn't enough, and I found myself struggling in August.  Over the course of the first week or so, I'd pick up a book, read maybe a chapter, and then discard it, going through about 10 books and not settling into any of them.  When I only read 10 pages over the second weekend of August, I knew it was officially a reading slump.  I've experienced slumps with other hobbies before, so I know the best thing to do is to walk away for a bit.  The more pressure you put on yourself to push through, the worse it becomes. 

I woke up the next day and decided to do a beloved reread - a reading hug.   

5.  Starling House, Alix E. Harrow (audio) (reread) - I love this book oh so much, and this is either the third or fourth time I've read it.  Opal and Arthur, and all of their imperfections, have my heart.  

I then spoke to my heart-sister, who helped me realize that my slump was the result of both my crazy reading pace over the last two years and the very high number of really excellent and intense books I'd read recently. 

So I whined to a few other book friends, threw out all of my reading plans, put away all of the books that I'd started over the last few weeks, and spent some time watching ancient reruns of ER.  

Then, during tv time with my husband, I randomly pulled a book from my TBR that had been nowhere near the top of the list, and with all of the pressure I'd been putting on myself gone, the slump started letting go.  

6.  Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl, Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone - Yep, I picked up a signed copy because it was a special edition and because I really love this pairing of authors.  While I haven't read any of their individual works, together they are a lot of fun, with real heart and fantastic spice!  Lol, it was such a fun read - and fun is what I needed! Side note: one of the things that I love so much about this duo is their focus on side characters and found family.  

Feeling a bit lighter, I then started a planned reread.  The fourth and final Everflame book comes out next month!

7.  Spark of the Everflame, 8.  Glow of the Everflame, and 9.  Heat of the Everflame, Penn Cole (audio) - I loved this series the first time around, and have very clear memories of the plot and characters, so a reread wasn't entirely necessary...but I'm really glad I did it.  (Side-note:  I've decided that my new standard on whether or not to continue with a series is how well I remember it when the next book becomes available.)  My only new comment is that I truly don't understand all of the online hate that Diem gets.  I paid closer attention to her character arc this time around, and I truly do not understand the complaints.  It sounds as if people are just annoyed that she's behaving in a very realistic manner instead of being super human from the start instead of being a paragon of virtue from day one.  Anyway, I love her!  And Luthor!  (I am highly annoyed that the audio for book 4 is only being released on Audible.  Hoping it gets a wider release later, because I refuse to use anything but my beloved Libro.fm - which supports Skylark - and Libby.)

10.  Dreams of Sorow, 11.  Dreams of Fire, and 12.  Dreams of Chaos, Shauna Lawless (audio, novellas) - I alternated these with the Everflame books, just for a bit of fun!  Once again, the quality of the writing and of the narrators was just amazing.  Were they necessary?  Not at all.  They really didn't add anything in terms of plot or characterization.  If I'm perfectly honest, I didn't like Chaos at all because it was only focused on the men.  HOWEVER, I'm still glad I read them all and am looking forward to their print publication next spring.  

At this point, I moved my physical TBR from stacks on my nightstand to the bookshelves that sit next to my husband's side of the bed.  I didn't know I needed to do that until it was done.  I've been pressuring myself to work through my TBR as quickly as possible, and moving the physical part took the last bit of pressure off of my shoulders.  

13.  Sea of Charms, Sarah Beth Durst - This is my least favorite of the series so far, for several reasons  BUT, rather on dwelling that, I want to share this quote from the acknowledgments, which made me feel truly seen and understood as a reader.  

“Lately, it feels as if our world has been worsening every day. So much hate. So much cruelty. So many people who seem utterly unaware or uncaring about the pain they cause. Sometimes it all feels inescapable. And exhausting. That’s why I wrote Sea of Charms.

Sometimes you need to escape the inescapable.

I believe that escape isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. Every so often, it’s necessary to walk through a wardrobe or sail between magical islands, so that you can return strong enough to face whatever needs facing.”

14.  This Book Made Me Think of You, Libby Page - This was a random internet recommendation, and I'm so glad I picked it up.  While I do get very emotional over books, I don't often actually cry....but this one made me cry...multiple times.  There is a part of me that loves stories about grief.  They make me feel less alone, and they connect me to the world outside of my own heart.  This sweet story was such a comforting, hopeful book, and I'm grateful for the gentleness it carries.  

At this point, I picked up Stormborn, my most recent Caffeine and Legends Romantasy box book.  Wow, just wow.  I feel head over heels in love almost immediately.  I read about 1/4 of it, growing more and more excited.  Then I paused for a moment, spent some time reflecting on where I am with the many series I'm in the middle of, and set it aside until the trilogy is complete.  

15 - 22.  The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 1-8, Beth Brower - Back in April I read the first volume via audio, and fell in love.  I was, however, completely overwhelmed when I learned that this was ultimately to be a series of 25 books, so I walked away.  Then the series took over the internet...and I gave in!  Friends, I am completely obsessed.  And charmed.  And engrossed.  I love, love, love epistolary novels - especially when the author gets it right and they read like the real thing.  In this case, journal entries - some days pouring out great detail, some not.  I absolutely adore Emma and all of the quirky characters she's surrounded by in St. Crispin's!  It's going to be a type of agony to wait through the publication of what's planned to be 20-25 books in the series, covering four "seasons."  But I'm here for it all the way.  I love Emma so, so much.  

Interestingly enough, Emma put me in mind not of beloved 19th century novels, but of my 18th Century Lit class in college.  My professor was highly amused by epistolary novels, and spoke often of the fact that due to the writing technology of the time no one would be able to both live a life and detail it as wordily as 18th century books tended to do.  I was one of only two people to get at A in that class, and that particular detail has stuck with me every since.  I'm thinking about sampling some of the books we read that semester!  Maybe with a side trip my 19th century friends...