August 2013 wrap-up

Since starting this blog, I continually find myself reading a ton of noteworthy books, but completely lack the motivation to review them. So, in an attempt to combine multiple reviews in one convenient post, I have decided to write a monthly update; letting you know what I have been reading as well as a brief summary of my thoughts and whether or not I liked it. If a book has received an actual, separate post, those will, of course, be linked with the overview (in case you happen to be interested in reading more). So, without further ado, my August 2013 reading wrap-up:

                 ☆☆

I began August with this eBook, after completing The Goddess Test at the tail end of July. While the main character, Kate, still managed to get on my nerves with her constant distrust of Henry, I did enjoy the mythology aspect that this series provides. Unfortunately, it is hard to get a feel for a story less than 100 pages, so The Goddess Hunt received 2/5 stars from me. To see my original review (combined with book one), click here.

 ☆☆☆☆

After nearly two weeks, post release date, of waiting, the final installment of The Lying Game finally arrived in the mail. And what an ending! The outcome did not come as a huge surprise, but the rest of the book was extremely suspenseful, and I ended up becoming quite attached to the main characters. To see the full review, click here.

                ☆☆☆☆☆

Ohh, man; the feels... I have been in a serious mourning period following my completion of book one in Alexandra Bracken's The Darkest Minds trilogy (and by serious mourning period, I mean: Serious. Morning. Period.). October is so far away!

This eBook was sweet, chaotic, and suspenseful. And that ending! It was a nice little island in the wait between books one and two, but now I need Never Fade.

☆☆☆☆☆

I began this trilogy in July, with Across the Universe, and fell in love. This series is so action-packed, suspenseful and sweet, and the story so well written; it came as no surprise how quickly I was able to complete all three books. A Million Suns, which is book two, definitely did not suffer from Second Book Syndrome. To see my review (combined with books one and three), click here.

                    ☆☆☆☆

I am sure that, by now, you have heard at least something about Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. It has certainly been the talk of Booktube for quite a while; and for good reason. This book is an extremely real look at high school, first love, and the complexity of family and friendship. I did not love it as much as everyone else on this planet seemed to, but it was still too good to receive anything less than four stars.

☆☆

I honestly do not remember when I began this series. It was so lackluster and bland that I could not make myself pick up book three until this month. And I ended up disliking it just as much as I thought I would. The characters were not very likable or relatable, the plot was boring, and the story, when placed next to other dystopians, does not stand out. At all.

☆☆☆☆☆

As I said, I completely fell in love with the Across the Universe series. I began this book at the start of the Bout of Books read-a-thon, and can describe it in two words: AH-AMAZING. Click here to see the entire series review.

☆☆

This book. Was. Awful. Book two of my Bout of Books reading list was definitely one of my least favorite reads of the month -- maybe even the year. There was no theme, the main character was shallow and whiny, the book should have definitely not been labeled YA, and I just askflabghasfk...

☆☆☆☆

This was the final book in my BoB reading list (despite the fact that I only made it 1/3 of the way through before the read-a-thon ended...) This was a pretty new release, and I was extremely excited to discover it was already out, during one of my many trips to Barnes & Noble earlier this month. And I am happy to say that I really enjoyed it. Paranormal contemporary/romance is a popular genre that can go one of two ways: 1.) It will totally bomb, or 2.) It will exceed expectations. There are very few that fall somewhere between. Thankfully, the main character was just quirky and weird enough to be likable, and the fact that she was so aware of the wrongness surrounding the cute, mysterious male lead was a breath of fresh air (as most YA females just fall hopelessly in love, and ignore the danger). The writing reminded me of Brenna Yovanoff; in that it was extremely Gothic and dark and gritty. I loved it, and cannot wait for book two!

☆☆☆☆

This was my final book of August, and let me just say: wow. I understand why this has received so much hype. The writing and characters were hilarious, and I loved the set-up of the book -- the bullet points and scripts and how everything written was completely prejudice and completely true. It was like a John Green novel, except way more crude.

. . . .

And there you have it! I would say that this month had a nice mixture of both good and bad books; and I definitely enjoyed taking part in my first ever read-a-thon, as well as crossing some things off of my Book Bucket List. Just a note; there will not be a TBR list for the following month on these posts, as I never really plan ahead in regards to what I will be reading. My reading mood is constantly shifting (and I am always purchasing new books), so it is hard to make an agenda of what I will definitely, without-a-doubt be picking up as the month goes on. But I am always open for recommendations!


August Stats:

▫ Read 10 books
▫ Read 3,034 pages

(click images to enlarge)

Upcoming Releases:

▫ Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2) by Gena Showalter -- September 24, 2013



Did you guys read any good books this month?