Somehow it’s already September 1st, so that means it’s time for my August 2021 Reading List. I’m reviewing the books I read in August and letting you know what I thought about them. I actually didn’t do a reading list for June or July so I’m going to add those books to this last as well. If you need book recommendations, don’t forget to visit my book page on Simply Stine. I am working on a revamp of the layout, but it has a lot of book suggestions!
Siege and Storm (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2)
I really enjoyed the entire Shadow and Bone Trilogy, but I’ll admit that this book was the hardest for me to read. I was somewhat bored and had to keep pushing myself to finish it. I didn’t hate it. I didn’t love it. I’m very invested in this storyline, so I was going to finish it no matter what. For lovers of fantasy, magic, romance (nothing spicy at all, very PG at most) and believing in yourself. *Obviously you need to read the first book in the series, Shadow and Bone before reading this one!
4/5
Ruin and Rising (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3)
The final book in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and I really enjoyed this one. Am I shocked how it ended? Kinda yes and no?!?! I felt like they wrapped up the storyline pretty neat and tidy and I was happy with how it ended for the most part. Now I can finally watch the show on Netflix!
4.5/5
Malibu Rising
I LOVED Daisy Jones and The Six and went into this one with high expectations based off of how much I loved that book. Malibu Rising is good. I thought the ending was somewhat boring and I feel like the majority of the story led up to something that wasn’t as shocking or climatic as I had thought it would be. The characters will make you feel some things (Don’t get me started on Mick) and I’ve just realized that when I read a Taylor Jenkins Reid Book, there will be a lot of characters to keep track of.
This book had a twist I didn’t see coming (I legist gasped while listening to the audiobook of it) and overall, I liked the storyline and thought it was a good book.
The Song of Achilles
This was a booktok made me do it book pick. This book is one of those that is heavily talked about on booktok and honestly, I get the hype. It’s a beautifully written book that is really gut wrenching to read. This is a retelling of The Iliad, without the poetry. It’s about love, betrayal, family, ancient greece, gods, war, prophecies, and so much more. It’s beautiful and it’s heartbreaking. I was a bit worried I would have a hard time getting into this storyline, but I didn’t at all. I was hooked right away.
4.5/5
Survive The Night
I was so excited when I saw that Riley Sager had another book that was released. I immediately added it to my BOTM box and the moment my box arrive, I started reading this. I was hooked from the first line of the story. I kept reading, and reading, and even stayed up late to finish it. HOWEVER, I hated the ending. I don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t say why. DM me on Instagram if you are curious. This one was so good and then just ehhhh so quickly.
3.5/5
Heard It In A Love Song
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book! I LOVED her previous book so much and when I got an email that I had received an advanced copy of Heard It In A Love Song, I was so excited. I wanted to love this book the way I had when I read The Girl He Used To Know and On The Island, but sadly, it just didn’t give me all the feels. It’s still a good story about divorce and how that changes your life. How you can have two people who are really just broken, find each other, yet things don’t always work out as planned.
3/5
Red Queen (#1)
I’ve had Red Queen sitting on my bookshelf (along with book #2 in the series) for at least two years. Becca and Kasey finally convinced me that I needed to read it. You should totally follow them on IG as they read A LOT of books. Anyways, this gave me major Hunger Games vibes and a lot of people have complained it’s a little too similar to Red Rising as well. Yeah, It was similar to Hunger Games, but I’m not sure about Red Rising as I’ve never read that.
This is a young adult/fantasy novel that features the Reds and the Silvers, both classes are very divided. Mae, who is Red, finds herself in a situation where her life suddenly changes very drastically. She’s now basically in the land of the Silvers, whether she likes it or not. We’ve also got royal Silver characters who kept me interested throughout the storyline. Should I trust them? Are they good? Are they too good to be true?!?
I’m into the book so far and I am excited to start the second one. I read through the reviews of this book and a lot of people gave it like one star, which I don’t agree with at all! I gave it five stars!
5/5
One Last Stop
Thanks to libro.fm for the copy of this audiobook! One Last Stop was a great audiobook. I enjoyed listening to the story so much. This is a story about magic and romance. This also happens to be an LGBTQ story! We meet August (and her extraordinary roomates who I loved!) and Jane. Without giving away too much, these two people have such a magical connection. This book is funny and also will pull at the heart strings at times. The one thing that I loved from this story so much is that this book is about finding your family, believing in connections with others and finding people who truly understand you. A gorgeous story.
4.5/5
It Happened One Summer
Yet another book that is all over BookTok. After reading it, I can see why. HOLY HELL. This has major Schitt’s Creek vibes (that’s on purpose) and I’m all for it. Piper, a Hollywood “it” girl is sent to a very small Pacific Northwest town after she causes a bit too much trouble at home. Her step-dad cut her off and now it’s up to her to figure this situation out. Brendan is a somewhat rough, strict and scheduled captain of a fishing boat. Obviously you know where this is going.
I really enjoyed this story BUT I was over reading the words “baby” after the second time I read them. This book is VERY, VERY steamy. Just an FYI.
4.5/5
What I’m planning on reading next
I’ve already got my Kindle full for September! I had some books become available from the library, so I’m for sure reading these:
Ivy Lin is a thief and a liar—but you’d never know it by looking at her.
Raised outside of Boston, Ivy’s immigrant grandmother relies on Ivy’s mild appearance for cover as she teaches her granddaughter how to pilfer items from yard sales and second-hand shops. Thieving allows Ivy to accumulate the trappings of a suburban teen—and, most importantly, to attract the attention of Gideon Speyer, the golden boy of a wealthy political family. But when Ivy’s mother discovers her trespasses, punishment is swift and Ivy is sent to China, and her dream instantly evaporates.
Years later, Ivy has grown into a poised yet restless young woman, haunted by her conflicting feelings about her upbringing and her family. Back in Boston, when Ivy bumps into Sylvia Speyer, Gideon’s sister, a reconnection with Gideon seems not only inevitable—it feels like fate.
Slowly, Ivy sinks her claws into Gideon and the entire Speyer clan by attending fancy dinners, and weekend getaways to the cape. But just as Ivy is about to have everything she’s ever wanted, a ghost from her past resurfaces, threatening the nearly perfect life she’s worked so hard to build.
Filled with surprising twists and a nuanced exploration of class and race, White Ivy is a “highly entertaining,” (The Washington Post) “propulsive debut” (San Francisco Chronicle) that offers a glimpse into the dark side of a woman who yearns for success at any cost.
The year is 1969, and the Bayleen Island Folk Fest is abuzz with one name: Jesse Reid. Tall and soft-spoken, with eyes blue as stone-washed denim, Jesse Reid’s intricate guitar riffs and supple baritone are poised to tip from fame to legend with this one headlining performance. That is, until his motorcycle crashes on the way to the show.
Jane Quinn is a Bayleen Island local whose music flows as naturally as her long blond hair. When she and her bandmates are asked to play in Jesse Reid’s place at the festival, it almost doesn’t seem real. But Jane plants her bare feet on the Main Stage and delivers the performance of a lifetime, stopping Jesse’s disappointed fans in their tracks: A star is born.
Jesse stays on the island to recover from his near-fatal accident and he strikes up a friendship with Jane, coaching her through the production of her first record. As Jane contends with the music industry’s sexism, Jesse becomes her advocate, and what starts as a shared calling soon becomes a passionate love affair. On tour with Jesse, Jane is so captivated by the giant stadiums, the late nights, the wild parties, and the media attention, that she is blind-sided when she stumbles on the dark secret beneath Jesse’s music. With nowhere to turn, Jane must reckon with the shadows of her own past; what follows is the birth of one of most iconic albums of all time.
Shot through with the lyrics, the icons, the lore, the adrenaline of the early 70s music scene, Songs in Ursa Major pulses with romantic longing and asks the question so many female artists must face: What are we willing to sacrifice for our dreams?
Most people know Andrew McCarthy from his movie roles in Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire, Weekend at Bernie’s, and Less than Zero, and as a charter member of Hollywood’s Brat Pack. That iconic group of ingenues and heartthrobs included Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and Demi Moore, and has come to represent both a genre of film and an era of pop culture.
In his memoir Brat: An ’80s Story, McCarthy focuses his gaze on that singular moment in time. The result is a revealing look at coming of age in a maelstrom, reckoning with conflicted ambition, innocence, addiction, and masculinity. New York City of the 1980s is brought to vivid life in these pages, from scoring loose joints in Washington Square Park to skipping school in favor of the dark revival houses of the Village where he fell in love with the movies that would change his life.
Filled with personal revelations of innocence lost to heady days in Hollywood with John Hughes and an iconic cast of characters, Brat is a surprising and intimate story of an outsider caught up in a most unwitting success.
Did you read anything that you’d like to share? Comment below!
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I felt the same way about Malibu Rising!
It wasn’t bad, wasn’t great?!?!