August is a weird month, isn’t it? I felt like it was crawling by at first, then it suddenly flew past and now it’s almost September! Where did the time go? No seriously, where did it go?
On the bright side, I had a great reading month! I stuck to my book buying ban and only bought one book this month (we’re not including pre-orders because those are the rules).
Books I read
After the Fire by Will Hill (review)
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers (review)
City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
All Systems Red by Martha Wells (review)
The Light Between Us by Katie Khan (review)
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (review)
The Blue Salt Road by Joanne M. Harris
Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Gilded Cage by Vic James
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
I read a total of 11 books this month! I’ve slowed down on the reading a little bit, but am still taking advantage of my long commute and lunchtime reading to work through my TBR. There’s a lot going on with this list. Not only did I complete two series with Record of a Spaceborn Few and City of Miracles, I also started to work ahead of schedule and read two proofs long before their release dates in November — reviews for The Blue Salt Road and Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix will be coming up closer to their release dates. I’ve also caught up with my reviews and managed to review a fair few books I read this month already. What a star.
I really loved most of what I read this month. All Systems Red was pretty much the only 3-star read for me. Gilded Cage was a funny book in that I hated the first half, but absolutely loved the last third. It went from generic, not very interesting YA to holy shit what is happening oh my god. Highly recommended if you want to throw your book across the room in the best way possible. My review for Gilded Cage is coming up next week!
Books I bought
The Vagrant by Peter Newman
Check me out, only buying one book this month! I totally bought it by accident too — I was supposed to use my full Waterstones stamp card and everything went wrong. On the bright side, I still have my full card.
Preorders
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
City of Lies by Sam Hawke
Mirage by Somaiya Daud
I’ve started pre-ordering books in order to keep myself out of the bookshop and better support authors, particularly debut authors. I’m currently reading City of Ghosts, which is cute but isn’t blowing me away. I’m so incredibly excited to read City of Lies and Mirage! Both sound great and have had good reviews rolling in from blogging pals.
Book post
Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley
We Sold Our Soul by Grady Hendrix
Wildcard by Marie Lu
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson
One Way by S. J. Morden
I’ve had some great book post this month! All of these books look amazing, but I’m probably most excited to read Tempests and Slaughter and Wildcard. They both release in September, so keep an eye out for reviews coming soon!
NetGalley approvals
A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Mirage by Somaiya Daud
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
Pages and Co. by Anna James
Talk about great books! I am so excited to read every single one of these books. I have been slacking on my NetGalley reads lately and I think now is the time to get cracking. Asha from A Cat, a Book, and a Cup of Tea has been doing #NonStopNetGalley, and I need to actually participate!
New from BookTube
Beginner’s Guide to Science Fiction video
Right, so I’ve decided to actually be proud of my BookTube content and own it here! I’ve started producing reading vlogs again, so if you like my weekly wrap-up posts you can acutally follow along with my reading progress as it happens. Plus, there’s usually at least one cat that guest stars.
I’ve also finally done the first in what I hope will be a series — the Beginner’s Guide to Science Fiction. I took inspiration from this post I wrote last year, which is the most popular post I’ve ever written. Seriously, I still get people looking at it at least once a week if not more. I picked personal favourites for that video and plan to dive into classic sci-fi, YA, children’s books, and more!
I had a pretty bad BookTube slump, but I’m back and feeling really great about it! I’m producing at least two videos a week, so don’t forget to check me out.
August has been crazy in the best way possible! Looking back on my progress, I really feel like I have been stepping up my game. September will be better than ever.
I Should Read That 
Congrats on a great reading month, Justine!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You should absolutely be proud of your booktube; I love your videos so much! And the feline guest stars make your videos even MORE fun. I loved Pages and Co, so I hope you enjoy it too, and I’m looking forward to reading City of Ghosts. My reading month wasn’t great in terms of quantity (which I had sortof expected), but I really liked everything with the exception of the Book of Boy
Amy x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Overall my reading month was good, I have two five star reads and my lowest was three stars. I have to say that the still with your cat is adorable and I love that you add preorders to your monthly recaps.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I should really check out Vagrant as well–I’m super curious about the goat character. 😀 Looks like you had a great month! And Beginner’s Guide to Science Fiction sounds like so much fun!! Love the idea (and your kitty :D)
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL your black kitty has a great photo bomb face. I’m waiting to see your thoughts on Mirage 🙂 it’s a very solid debut novel. I’m also jealous of Curse So Dark and Lonely, hopefully you enjoy it!
LikeLiked by 1 person