August was a big reading month for me! It’s to hot to go outside and do anything so and I got sick (again) but not really bad like when I had the flu a few months ago. I was able to read a few books while I was sick, but nothing to hard to read because that cold medicine really messed with my head. We also got a dog in August! Her name is Autumn and she’s a seven month old puppy. We love her but my god is she a handful! I haven’t had a dog in about fifteen years so I’m not used to it again (yet). But I have been exercising a lot more because of her, we go on lots and lots of walks.
The first book that I want to talk about is Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker. This book follows a bunch of parents – mostly moms – who’s kids are at a fancy preschool. A wave of biting goes through the children and then they start craving blood. Once their teacher, Ms. Ollie, is found dead, accusations fly and parents scramble to figure out if their child might be the culprit.
This was really fantastic! I loved all of the characters, they were all flawed in some way and those flaws came out when the investigation into Ms. Ollie’s death began. I really loved the pacing of this book too, it just seemed to fly by. And the twist ending was not something that I saw coming! Overall, if you’re looking for a creepy book then definitely check this one out!
Next up we’ve got a graphic novel called Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione. I really like how GR describes this book, “Mix two parts The Great British Bake Off with one-part magical boarding school plus a generous dash of romance and you’ve got Basil and Oregano , a sweetly delicious lower young adult graphic novel.”. That is the perfect description! We follow two main characters, Basil Eyres and Arabella Oregano, as they go through classes and prepare for the end of year culinary festival.
This was so cute! I loved the characters and when they got their familiars I was overwhelmed with cuteness. I really liked the magical food element too. The combination of food and magic is a really fun one and something I think that a lot of people will enjoy. If you are a food/magic fan then check this one out!
Dark Spaces: Wildfire by Scott Snyder follows a group of women who are in prison but work on an inmate firefighting program. They are fighting a wildfire when they realize that they are very close to a house that one of the inmates knows is full of artwork and other riches. Will they risk it all for one final score? You’ll have to read this for yourself and find out!
This was such a great story. I pretty much like anything that Scott Snyder writes so I knew that this was most likely going to be a good book. But I’m always surprised by the twists and turns that he puts into his books. The artwork was amazing as well. All the fire and beautiful backgrounds just made the story even better.
A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll is a spooky ghost story at it’s finest. Emily Carroll has written one of my favorite creepy graphic novels, Through the Woods, and now I have another fantastic creepy book to add to my favorites list!
In this we follow Abby, who has just recently gotten married to the local dentist who has arrived in town with his daughter Crystal. Crystal’s mom has died supposedly of cancer, but Abby finds out that that’s not exactly what happens. She starts to figure that out when she starts to see the ghost of Crystal’s mom, Shelia. Shelia tells her all sorts of things that Abby wasn’t aware of, including how she died and who Abby’s husband really is.
Overall, this was fantastic and I loved every second of it. The storyline was fantastic and the artwork was gorgeous. I really, really enjoyed this and I think that everyone should check this out!
Fit for the Gods edited by Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams is an gender-bent, queered, race-bent retelling of Greek myths. If you are a fan of Greek mythology or retellings then you should definitely check this out! There are 15 authors (Marika Bailey, Alyssa Cole, Zoraida Córdova, Maya Deane, Sarah Gailey, Zeyn Joukhadar, Mia P. Manansala, Juliana Spink Mills, Susan Purr, Taylor Rae, Jude Reali, Suleikha Snyder, Valerie Valdes, S. Zainab Williams, and Wen Wen Yang) all sharing their own short stories and reimaginings of Greek gods and goddesses. The first story in this is my favorite although they were all great.
Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi is a sci-fi graphic novel that is about time travel on the surface but there’s so much more once you start to get into it. I really don’t know how to describe this book so I’m going to let GR do it for me: “Ren Mittal’s last memory in the year 1996 is getting on a bus to visit his mystery pen pal Georgia. When he wakes up in 2122, he thinks he might be hallucinating…he’s not!”
I thought I knew where this was going but boy was I wrong! I really enjoyed this graphic novel and I think that any sci-fi fans would enjoy it too. The story was fantastic and it was a really fun read.
In Loved Circus by Nemui Asada we follow Kei, a regular guy who has lost all of his money trying to help a sex worker named Momo. Distraught after she dumps him he tries to commit suicide. When he wakes up he’s at a place called Circus. They tell him that he can work for them to pay off his debts and he somewhat reluctantly agrees. Turns out that he has agreed to become a sex worker on accident.
This was a really interesting manga. I liked most of the characters but I really don’t like the miscommunication trope and that was a lot of the basis for this manga. So I wasn’t a fan of that but I still think that I liked this enough to recommend it. If you’re looking for a spicy BL then check this one out!
And lastly we have Sunshine by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. This book is a true story about the time when the author was a camp counselor at a camp for seriously ill kids and their families. They did activities with the kids and their families. The camp counselors go through the normal camp things like bonfires, hikes, and making friendship bracelets, but they also get close to the families that have brought them there. And they seen how much these sick kids just want to be kids for a little while. This book was so sad but also not at the same time. If anyone close to you has had some kind of serious illness then you’ll know what I mean. Overall, I think that this is the kind of book that everyone should read at least once in their life.
August was a really fun reading month. I got to read a bunch of really great books and spend a lot of time walking my new dog. I’ve really been enjoying listening to audiobooks while I’m walking her. If you have any suggestions, I’m always looking for good audiobook narrators! See you guys next month!
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