Monthly Wrap-Up: August 2023

August was a really nice month. The weather got a little weird at the end, with it feeling more like fall than summer, but we got some much needed rain, so that was ok. I had an excellent reading month as well. I managed to finish 18 books and enjoyed most of them. I also completed all of the books on my August TBR which was good. As usual I have placed these in the order that I have read them. The books with asterisks have links to my reviews, otherwise the titles are linked to their Goodread pages.

Coffin Road was an excellent mystery thriller by one of my new favorite authors. I loved the setting and the mystery was quite well done, leaving me guessing until the end as to what was really going on.

*A Conjuring of Light was just as good as the first time around. I really enjoyed this series and highly recommend the audiobooks as well.

*The Secret Hours was a standalone spy mystery thriller that is set in the Slow House world. It has some of the same characters as the series, but you will only recognize some of them if you are a fan.

Dial A for Aunties was fun, but I did have some issues with it. There were just a bit too many unbelievable situations that everyone found themselves in. However, I did like the characters and the romance was sweet.

The Lewis Man was an excellent second book in this series. I really enjoyed it and it was another one that had me guessing almost till the end.

*The Fragile Threads of Power was by far my favorite book this month. I loved catching up with all of my favorite characters and meeting all of the new ones.

The Chessmen is the third book in the Lewis trilogy and one I really enjoyed. I would have maybe liked a bit more resolution for the main character and his life, but the mystery was solid.

Hazards of Time Travel was a little bit of a disappointment. It was just not quite what I was expecting, but it was still interesting.

*Starter Villain was also an excellent book that had me laughing out loud a couple of times. How could I not with a book that included cats as middle management and dolphins that want to form a union.

I’ll be Gone in the Dark was a fascinating look at a serial killer and rapist case that was only recently solved. This took place in the 70’s and 80’s but it wasn’t until DNA was recently used to track down the killer that they were finally able to catch the guy.

*The Last Devil to Die was really good, although a bit sad. Elizabeth faced her biggest challenge yet and Joyce ups her game as a leader.

*The Aeronaut’s Windlass was such a lot of fun to listen to. I loved the world building and the characters. The cats were the best. I am looking forward to reading the next book soon.

Dead Things was good, but seemed to be lacking a little something. I am going to try the second book though, see if the series grows on me at all.

*Fearless was an intense read with a very interesting main character. I had an issue with all of the graphic violence but otherwise I liked it. I will try one of the author’s other series which I understand are a lot less violent.

Starling House was an audiobook ARC that I recently picked up. It was excellent and very atmospheric. I would recommend you pick it up for a creepy fall read. This is another author whose other books I now want to read.

*The Art of Destiny was long, but good. A lot of character development, but not much action and not a lot of movement on the main plot of the series.

What Moves the Dead was really creepy and a bit strange. It is a retelling of Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

RedShirts was the perfect book to end the month on. It was pretty funny especially as the characters start to figure out what is going on with all of the deaths on this ship. It gets a little meta at the end, but it was still a fun read.

September is going to be a very busy month with a trip to the Oregon coast and family coming for a visit. I also have some other events happening that might impact my reading time but it is all good. I am way ahead on my reading goal so I am not too worried if I fall a bit behind. I hope you all had a fabulous reading month as well.

Until next time…

Happy Reading!