Monday, August 31, 2026

August Reads 2026 🐬

🏖️ August Reviews🐬

August 1st-31st

In August, I read 18 books with 5354 pages. It was a pretty great month of books and I finally read the next book in The Stormlight Archive. I only have one more book left for this arc. My favorite books from the month were: Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4) by Brandon Sanderson, The Witch Queen (The Crimson Crown #2) by Heather Walter, The Tempest by William Shakespeare, and Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 by Kamome Shiraham.

Hope everyone enjoyed what they read this month! Happy Reading.   


Book 113: All Dogs are Good: Deluxe Edition 

By Courtney Peppernell

Read August 1st

Pages: 176

Release Year: 2026

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 I have heard nothing but great things about this poetry collection ever since it originally came out five years ago and figured this would be the perfect time to pick it up.  
 
All Dogs Are Good is a beautiful collection of poetry and prose vignettes that perfectly encapsulates the love so many of us have for dogs and I believe any pets in general. I know I don't have a dog but I completely related with what she was writing here with my cats. Though, I am a dog lover too. My favorites of Courtney's poems were the longer ones and I absolutely loved the prose vignettes throughout. 
 
I like how the poems at the beginning of the book were from the perspectives of dogs. They were some of my favorite ones. Also the illustrations were stunning and went along perfectly with the works. 
 
A delightful collection, I highly enjoyed reading. I don't know what was in the original book and what was added for the deluxe edition. It is said to have some new poems and expanded sections. A great collection for dog lovers. 
 
*Thank you to Central Avenue Poetry, Courtney Peppernell, and NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Book 114: First Among Sequels 

(Thursday Next, #5)

By Jasper Fforde 

Read August 2nd-3rd

Pages: 363

Release Year: 2007

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My least favorite book from the Thursday Next series so far. I did enjoy seeing more of the behind the scenes parts for the book world though. I also will never get enough of the book jumping, so I still did enjoy this book because of how much time Thursday spends in the literature. It just wasn't as great as the others.
 
Book 115: The Library of Memories

By Barbara Perez Marquez and 

illustrated by Lissy Marlin

Read August 1st- 3rd 

Pages: 328

Release Year: 2026

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The Library of Memories is a visually stunning graphic novel that took me a while to get into. It is a story about a girl named Copenhagen who doesn't remember who she is and has hardly any memories of her past. She lives in The Library of Memories and helps the mechanical creatures take care of it. Copenhagen works to be able to find and remember her missing memories.

The story is a mystery where the reader gets just as confused about what is happening as the protagonist. I understood why this was done but it did take me out of the story quite a bit. The second half did pick up once we found out what was going on.

There is a very important message in Copenhagen's tale about grief. My goodness the final about third of this book made me like this so much more. I appreciate how grief was handed, especially dealing with memories. Beautifully done. The illustrations are stunning throughout the entire work and those pages were even more. I believe the message from the end of this book alone made it worth reading, even if I didn't love it as much as I wanted to.

*Thank you to Little Brown Books, Barbara Perez Marquez, and NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.* 
 
Book 116:  Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides

By Euripides and translated by Anne Carson

Read August 3rd- 5th

Pages: 312

Release Year: 416 BC

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 A wonderful selection of plays by Euripides. I need to read the rest because I have highly enjoyed most I have read so far. I knew the stories behind each of these plays but I still enjoyed getting them in this format.

Heracles- ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hecuba- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hippolytus- ⭐⭐⭐

Alcestis- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Book 117:  Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1

By Kamome Shirahama

Read August 6th

Pages: 203

Release Year: 2017

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 I've heard a lot about Witch Hat Atelier over the years and it was just a great as everyone has said. The art style is stunning, along with the interesting story. It had me wanting to learn so much more about the world and magic system. I love the idea of how they are able to cast spells.

Coco is such a sweet character and I love how enthusiastic she is about learning magic. Her resourcefulness shines in this volume. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her growth in future volumes.

This is a whimsical and cozy feeling story I will be continuing with. I want to know what will happen next and see more of the beautiful illustrations. This was an absolutely wonderful read.

*Thank you to Kodansha comics, Kamome Shirahama, and NetGalley for my review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Book 118:  On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga, #1)

By Andrew Peterson

Read August 7th-8th

Pages: 290

Release Year: 2008

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 I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version of this story. Andrew Peterson does a fantastic job narrating his world and characters. I particularly enjoyed the footnotes, which were extra pieces of information about the world.

Peterson's writing somewhat reminded me of Walter Moers' Zamonian series, except for younger readers. The creatures he has created and many of the adventures throughout had me oftentimes thinking about those books. I enjoy the mix of the important messages with the humor that comes from the creatures' names and somewhat zany world.

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is a family story at its heart. We follow the Igiby siblings along with their mother and grandfather who live on a cliff at the edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. It is great to see a story for children where the children characters can rely on their families as much as the Igibys do. There are many important lessons the children learn throughout this first book during their adventure.

I look forward to getting more of this world in the rest of the series.

Book 119: The Tempest 

By William Shakespeare

Read August 8th

Pages: 218

Release Year: 1611

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  One of the best Shakespeare plays I have ever read. Absolutely wonderful! 
 
Book 120: The Witch Queen 
(The Crimson Crown Duology, #2)

By Heather Walter

Read August 9th-11th

Pages: 542

Release Year: 2026

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The Witch Queen was a wonderful continuation of the duology started in The Crimson Crown. I particularly enjoyed how we got perspectives from both Ayleth and Blodwyn throughout the book. This novel mostly takes place three years after the conclusion of The Crimson Crown, with Queen Ayleth taking on all royal responsibilities after trapping the king in her magic mirror. She also sent Blodwyn away to live with her Aunt Margaret, after she comes down sick while dealing with grief after her mother's death.

Blodwyn and Margaret arrive at the court three years later, with Blodwyn announcing she wants to take the throne through a series of trials. The Braxos trials are a contest started centuries before and were the reason the first White got on the throne to begin with. Instead of Blodwyn being the only one to compete, many young men in the kingdom compete along side her in acts of bravery, wisdom, and justice. Ayleth does not only have to worry about losing the crown to whoever wins the trials, she also is dealing with a war with the witches and another kingdom.

Heather Walter has taken such a familiar fairy tale and twisted it in so many interesting directions. We get many recognizable aspects such as the man in the mirror, the huntsman, a queen trying to keep her power, "fairest of them all," etc. but there is so much more to this story than it being a retelling of "Snow White." Many of the characters in this book are morally grey and we get an in-depth look into what makes them who they are.

The dual narration was the perfect way to tell this story, so we were able to get in both Ayleth and Blodwyn's heads. I like how both characters are not what you would expect from a take on this story. They are so much more developed. We get to deeply understand each of them on a complex level because of this.

It was entertaining to get the different competitions for the Braxos trials and seeing what Blodywn and the others had to do for each. Blodywn is not only trying to win the trials, she is also trying to win the hearts of the court. She goes on quite the emotional journey in this book and I really felt for her. I also enjoyed her relationship with her Aunt Margaret who was also a princess sent away. Margaret was one of the most interesting characters in this book.

Many of the twists and turns actually surprised me. I love the world-building in this novel and getting even more about the history of this kingdom. Also, there is a small connection to Heather Walter's Malice duology which I liked seeing. I look forward to reading anything else she will write in the future.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Del Ray Publishing, and Heather Walter for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
 
Book 121:  How to Fly in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons

By Barbara Kingsolver

Read August 15th

Pages: 111

Release Year: 2020

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A beautiful poetry collection that I highly enjoyed.
 
Book 122:  Detective Beans & the Case of the Missing Hat (Detective Beans #1)

By Li Chen

Read August 16th

Pages: 208

Release Year: 2024

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  An adorable story about a little cat who is a detective. It follows him as he tries to figure out where his detective hat went. Beans and the rest of the cats in this town are charming and I enjoyed reading this little story. Definitely a great one for kids and cat lovers. It's just fun.
 
Book 123: Detective Beans: Adventures in Cat Town (Detective Beans #2)

By Li Chen

Read August 16th

Pages: 208

Release Year: 2025

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Another enjoyable book in the Detective Beans series. This one is told in a series of small vignettes following many of the adventures of Beans, his best friend Biscuits, his mom, and other residents of Cat Town. The graphic novel uses the framing device of Beans and Biscuits making a documentary about Beans. It is as adorable as the first book and is funnier. I like how Beans also illustrates comics throughout the book. Perfect book for children and cat lovers. 
 
Book 124: Detective Beans and the Map of Mystery (Detective Beans #3)

By Li Chen

Read August 17th

Pages: 208

Release Year: 2026

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 The best book so far in the Detective Beans series. I enjoyed the adventure Beans goes on in this one to find the treasure from the map Captain Scuttlebeard gave to him. This is just as adorable as the other volumes. I love Li Chen's sense of humor and how there are jokes for children and also the adults. Such a great series!

*Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing, Li Chen, and Edelweiss for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
 
Book 125: Baker 
(Bastian Brothers #1) 

By V.L. Locey

Read August 19th-20th

Pages: 225

Release Year: 2025

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 I absolutely loved this book. It is both funny and also heartwarming. One of my favorite parts was definitely Baker's relationship with his brothers and getting to see it grow throughout the story. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the brothers in the other books of this series. The grandma was great and I loved her scenes so much. There's one later on in the book that had me laughing hard. I adored her.

There was so much to love in this book and I look forward to future books. Tristan James was a great narrator for the audiobook and helped bring more humor to what was going on with the way he read certain parts. My particular favorites were when Baker was being sarcastic with himself. His personality shines through Tristan's narration.

*Thank you to RB Media, Tantor Media, and V. L. Locey for my audiobook copy of this book. All opinions are my own.*
 
 
Book 126: Coat of Many Colors

By Dolly Parton

Read August 25th

Pages: 32

Release Year: 1994

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 I decided to reread this beauty today in honor of Dolly. It's one I enjoyed reading to my preschoolers a few years ago now. The original edition with Judith Sutton's illustrations is beautiful. A great song and a wonderful adaptation of it. 
 
Book 127:  Rhythm of War 
(The Stormlight Archive, #4)

By Brandon Sanderson

Read August 22nd-28th

Pages: 1232

Release Year: 2020

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 At this point I shouldn't even be surprised by how much I adore one of the books in this series. I highly enjoyed learning more about this world and the characters.

The best parts were definitely Kaladin's. His journey was powerful and hit me hard. I'm glad I waited to read this book until now, especially with the mental health parts. Brandon did a wonderful job with those scenes. Kal's relationship with Syl is so endearing and I loved seeing it grow even more in this book as she tried to understand him better. Kal is my favorite character in this series and seeing him fight when he is going through terrible mental anguish was empowering. The depiction of mental health in this book is some of the best I have ever read.

I like how Brandon chooses to do perspectives in these books and getting so many of them. Navani's surprised me because I didn't think I would enjoy them as much as I did. Sure some were a bit bogged down in the science, but I enjoyed seeing her relationship build with Raboniel. Raboniel is one of the most interesting characters in these books. I kept wanting to get more of their sections to see what else Navani was able to figure out.

Shallan and Adolin's part in this book was less than I thought it would be but it made sense with everything else going on. Shallan also has a lot of growth in this. She is dealing with trying to balance her various personalities while helping Adolin on his mission with the honorspren. My goodness I like the relationship between her and Adolin so much. I love how he tries so hard to learn about every part of her and is so understanding. A great part in the book was a scene with them and a walk they go on.

Shallan sketchbook pages are shown quite a bit throughout this book. I liked getting to see the different spren and learn pieces of information about them in these entries.
There are also maps and other drawings throughout the entire book. Some from Wit and others from Navani. These are always a great addition to the story that make the world feel even more real along with the written little sections before each chapter.

As I said in one of my updates, my favorite chapter was 80: The Dog and the Dragon. Wit is such an interesting character that I hope we will eventually learn even more about in the Cosmere books. His part in the book brought some great humorous scenes in a very heavy and emotional story. I'm always happy to get some levity with him. I love a book that can have me both crying and then also laughing out loud.

" 'It will,' Wit said, 'but then it will get better. Then it will get worse again. Then better. This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth. I promise you, Kaladin: You will be warm again.' "- Probably my favorite quote of the year so far. It's definitely up there. I want to write this somewhere and read it on my bad days.

I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book especially after the ending. It went in a direction that shocked me and I need to see where this goes from there. 
 
 
Book 128: The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien  

By John Hendrix

Read August 29th

Pages: 218

Release Year: 2024

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 August 29th, 2026 Reread:
I've been wanting to reread this ever since I first read it through my ARC copy. It was even better reading the physical version. I cannot recommend this wonderful book enough.

May 10th, 2024 Read:
John Hendrix’s The Mythmakers blends prose, images, and narrative comics as it chronicles the lives of two literary greats, C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien. It not only focuses on their Fellowship but also goes into details about their early lives, inspirations, how they were affected by fighting in WWI, their friendship, and many other aspects of their lives. I knew I had to pick up this beauty as soon as I saw it on NetGalley because of my great love for both authors. Hendrix does a wonderful job using this medium to tell his story and I loved the use of Mr. Lion and The Wizard, who are takes on Aslan and Gandalf.

Along with the information on both authors, Hendrix also has what he calls Portals, which discuss other information such as myth and fairy tales. These sections were great extras that added to the overall experience of the book. I did not read them until the end but they can also be read during your reading experience because of the pages numbers telling you where to go (similar to a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story).

I highly recommend this book to fans of both authors. It was an incredible read that was informative, enjoyable, and heartwarming at times. I know I would have loved this book when I was younger and first reading from both of their fantasy worlds. Definitely, would love to see more books like this for other fantasy authors, such as L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, etc. The Mythmakers will be joining my collection along with my Narnia and The Lord of the Rings series. Cannot wait to see the beautiful illustrations in color.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.* 
 
Book 129: The Pumpkin Bride

By Fiona Buttercup

Read August 29th

Pages: 352

Release Year: 2026

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I first decided to pick up this novel because of it being comped as a cross between both Shrek and The Princess Bride, and I'm so happy I did. The Pumpkin Bride is an adult cozy fantasy romance with the vibes of both of those stories.

It follows Sir Bram Duncan who is cursed by an autumn sprite because a prince is jealous that everyone likes him so much. The curse turns Bram into an orc named Jask Bone-Cracker and traps him on Grimroot Farm. He stays trapped there for three years unable to reveal his true identity.

Three years later, his true love Princess Marigold is fleeing from an arranged marriage to the same prince who got Bram cursed. She finds shelter at Bram's farm. Both grow closer during her time there, though she doesn't realize who he actually is. Bram's grumpy exterior makes a lot of sense after what he has gone through. Marigold's cheery disposition played off his personality very well. It was enjoyable to see her bring out his softer side and the happiness they both felt together. I loved reading about them falling in love again, even with Bram as the orc, Jask. This was an incredibly sweet story.

The Pumpkin Bride is a perfect cozy read for the fall. The autumn sprite was one of my favorite secondary characters. His part in the story was great. Also, I love the fairy tale and adventure elements.

I enjoyed following along in the ebook and audiobook copies of this book. Will Watt and Moria Quirk did a great job of narrating the novel and creating voices for both Bram and Marigold. They were perfect picks! I've always enjoyed Moria's narration style and will be looking for more books narrated by Will.

The Pumpkin Bride had everything I could have wanted from a book like this. I look forward to seeing what other books Fiona Buttercup writes in the future.

*Thank you to MIRA publishing, Harelquin Audio, and Fiona Buttercup for my audio and eARCs of this book. All opinions are my own.* 
 
Book 130:  I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 10: 
Monsters Gonna Monster

By Skottie Young

Read August 30th

Pages: 128

Release Year: 2026

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My favorite out of the most recent volumes of I Hate Fairyland. I wasn't sure after Volume 9 if I would continue on much longer with the series and this one definitely made me want to.

Issues 46-48: ⭐⭐⭐⭐- I highly enjoyed this three issue arc of Gert wanting to create life after reading Frankenstein. It went just the way I thought it would.

Issue 49: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Loved this issue! Gert trying to be a fairy godmother is comedic old.

Issue 50: ⭐⭐⭐⭐- The final issue follows Skottie Young as he tries to come up with an idea of where to take the series from here. I enjoyed the meta jokes in this one quite a bit.

It has been an enjoyable ride following along with this comic series for all these years. I look forward to seeing where Skottie will take Gert, Larry, and the rest of the characters from here.

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