I participated in a readathon this month called Pick Pong-A-Thon hosted by Krystal and had a lot of fun trying to fulfill my team’s prompts. I probably could have pushed myself harder, but ultimately my goal was to complete 19 prompts (the ten team prompts and the nine bonus prompts) and by the skin of my teeth I managed. I am also in the middle of two books but I’m just not in the mood to try and finish them today. Oops.

Other than reading, my month was… well. It certainly slipped away like a moment in time. I woke up this morning already so excited for September (my birthday month! I get to see my best friend who had the audacity to move across the country from me! It’s FALL! (sort of)), but also like, wow, I really had so much more I wanted to accomplish in August and also, for some reason, August was a hard month for me mental health wise. I’m stupendously excited though to be entering the Fall months and I already know that’s going to help (and already has) my mental health some. We’ve decorated our office for Fall/Halloween already because we’re just Fall Girls, ya know? (And one guy, but he doesn’t count right now.) But anyway, that’s not what you’re here for, so let’s dive into talking about the books, shall we?

Books Read by Rating

5 Star Reads

Y’all. I normally don’t say anything, but I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know that the Order of Chaos duology is like… the greatest thing I’ve read in a long time. If you’re a Kaz Brekker stan and you enjoy romantasy, please, please, please try this duology out. And also, if you’re a Throne of Glass fan, I would highly, highly recommend the Lady of Darkness series. This is the closest I’ve felt to the FEELINGS (not plot) (sort of) I got reading that series and it’s giving me life. The found family vibes are immaculate and the plot is truly wilding out. I had to call my sister when I finished Lady of Shadows while driving a long distance and have her log on and get the audiobook for Lady of Ashes. Like, could not wait, had to continue immediately. You know that’s such a rare feeling.

My gush for You Should Be So Lucky will be coming to you shortly in an ARC review, but truly, a fantastic book. I want to shout about it from the rooftops.

4.5 Stars

In another month where these books weren’t read at the same time as I read my five stars, these all three likely would have been five star reads as well. Highly recommend. (And These Twisted Bonds is the conclusion of a duology as well, though Lexi Ryan has now sort of extended the series with a new storyline and I’m excited to give that one a shot too.) Also, you can find an ARC Review with more details for A Photo Finish by Elsie Silver here.

4 Stars

I’m pretty sure the four star of Sanctuary is my own fault for reading it when I wasn’t necessarily fully present. But it’s Ilona Andrews, so I’ll likely re-read it eventually. I’m still conflicted on Heavy Hitter, but you can see my full thoughts in my ARC review here. Making Up was also an ARC from 2018, so… Anyways. I finally read it! Review is coming, I promise. The Phoenix Crown was a really interesting historical fiction, but ultimately I didn’t love it the way I would have wanted to. Assistant to the Villain is a great time as long as you’re here for a fun time, not wanting something super serious. Also, the audiobook ramps up the silly to the extreme and I kind of hated it, but I had a good time at the same time?

3.5 Stars

An ARC Review of The Break-Up Pact is already up (click here) and ARC Reviews of At Her Service and Second Night Stand are coming.

Books I Don’t Really Want to Talk About

September TBR

So, first of all, I’m participating in arguably too many readathons this month. First up, we have Orillium, or the Magical Readathon, created by G at Book Roast. I’m studying to be a Thread Mage so I have to read two books each for Alchemy and Spells and Incantations, and one book each for Inscription and Restoration. The prompts I need to fulfill are as follows:

• Alchemy – O – Book that will Make You Emotional
• Alchemy – Q – Book that was Self Published and then Traditionally Pub’d
• Inscription O – Title has all the Letters of Your First Name
• Spells & Incantations – O – 5 Star Prediction
• Spells & Incantations – Q – Book Shown in a Book Roast Video
• Restoration – O – Night Sky on the Cover

And here is my tentative TBR:

I’m also participating in the September Readathon hosted by Bookish Swifties Club and I’m now enrolled in Carnation Rose University located on Maroon Isle studying Women’s Lit and Metaphors. So, basically, I’m obsessed. Thankfully, there are 90 prompts initially and then we’ll unlock more so basically I plan to read the above six books and then several others. But I’m not too stressed about specifically what I’m reading. Here’s the TBR I shared to Instagram though:

And I signed up to participate in the Romance Readathon 2024, which is hosted by Maggie, and is Phantom of the Opera theme. I’m on Team Raul and we get bonus points for reading books with Friends to Lovers or Second Chance tropes, but ultimately, you can read anything, so that’s what I’ll be doing. Just reading the above books and slotting them in for Romance Readathon too. But for the purposes of making my blog post work and cover a lot, I thought I would just make a TBR that has every September ARC/new release I want to read:

So let me walk you through this graphic since I usually do share my ARCs. Hot Hex Boyfriend by Carly Bloom, Love and Sportsball by Meka James, The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter, Played by Naima Simone, Fall for Him by Andie Burke, and The Christmas You Found Me by Sarah Morgenthaler are all of my September ARCs. Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver, Fire Line by Maggie Gates, Only in Your Dreams by Madison Wright, and Forever Starts Tonight by Karla Sorensen are four new releases I’m super excited for and all four are going to be KU titles.

Plus, in case you missed it, #FallInLoveBingo is back! So I have a whole TBR (that we all know I will ignore) to read for that as well starting in September.

Closing Thoughts

I really am so very excited for September and am enjoying the community spirit with these readathons I’m participating in. Do you like readathons? Let me know what you’re reading in September!

xx