Welcome to my monthly wrap up for August! I read a lot more this month than usual this year which is great. I haven’t worked as much as I wanted to but I’ve had time for reading which I’m happy with. I did have about a month where I didn’t read at all because my boyfriend came to stay at my house but I think that’s justified! Here are my posts in August:
- July Wrap Up
- Drag Race All Stars 7 Review
- Books I Want Adapted to Films
- September Releases
- Becca’s Bookoplathon
- Autumn TBR
Music and Media
Didn’t listen to much new music, but I did watch a few films. I went to go see Nope in the cinema and oh my god it was amazing! I was thinking of writing a review for it but I couldn’t really find the words – I find films a lot harder to review than books and I’m not sure why. But it’s 5 stars for sure: unsettling, creative and fulfilling. I also participated in the Studio Ghibli Readathon as I explained in my TBR, and they streamed some films for us on discord which was fun. I enjoyed Only Yesterday and adored Whisper of the Heart and Princess Mononoke, which has put me in the mood for a Studio Ghibli marathon! I will definitely watch a few more next month.
Reading Stats
I read 5 books and 2269 pages with an average of 73 pages a day!
♡ my average rating was 4.40
♡ 4 digital books, 1 audiobook (3 ARCs)
♡ 1 sci-fi, 2 fantasy, 2 historical/mythological
♡ 5 adult
As you can see, it’s been a really good reading month for me! Second best month in terms of number of books and pages and a really high average rating so it was a success! I haven’t listened to an audiobook for ages so that was nice to experience again too.
The Books
The City of Brass and I’ve been too intimidated to read for a while, thinking it would be a slog to get through, but I was so wrong! It is slow-paced but I loved navigating through court politics, experiencing beautiful descriptions, and anticipating the building tension between characters. I also adored the themes that came up, like narratives of history and what is the ‘correct’ version if there is such thing. Anyway, a new favourite for sure.
So many 4.5 stars!! I think I am a little too harsh on rating 5 stars, but I think most of these make sense because they’re not all-time favourites but were still amazing. Firstly, Elektra was a great Greek myth retelling, and although by this point I felt a little exhausted by another retelling, this felt fresh. The writing style and characterisations were beautifully done and the three POVs felt well balanced for the most part. Next I read The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, which came the closest to 5 stars. I agonised over it for a long time but stayed with 4.5 because I wasn’t a fan of the romance element, although I’m glad in the direction it ended in. Everything else was stunning, especially the setting and history the story is rooted in. A slow but exciting and emotional book for sure. The last 4.5 star book was Conjure Women, which surprised me. Another one that I’m annoyed took so long for me to read, because it’s an impactful and really well researched book. The pacing was a little slow for me at the start and I wish we got a little more of side characters’ backstories, however I liked the switching of timelines and distinct voice of each character. It’s dark and the structure isn’t for everyone, but it worked for me!
Lastly I read this cozy witch read: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. It was light and a bit of a palette cleanser, just slightly forgettable and lacking in depth. I really enjoyed the audiobook for this – it did a great job at making the characters feel distinct. I also liked how the ending connected everything. Overall it was very wholesome with a bit of light fantasy, found family and romance.
Thanks for reading! What was your August like?
—ella♥
♦ goodreads ♦
ella isn’t writing 
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