I read quite a bit in the month of August. Mostly graphic novels and manga, but I did read a few novels in there as well. This was my last month without any college classes, so I was able to read quite a bit. I’m gonna pick a few and talk to you guys about them. I don’t think I can review all 55 books I read last month. Now onto the books!
The first book that I absolutely loved is called The Haar by David Sodergren. This is a horror novel set on the coast of Scotland in a tiny village called Witchhaven. Our main character, Muriel McAuley, has lived in Witchhaven her whole life and she would like to live out her remaining years there. However, a developer wants to come in and buy out all of the houses and stores in the village to build a new luxury subdivision. Muriel watches as one-by-one, her neighbors sell their properties and soon she’s left alone. But then The Haar rolls in. The thick fog drives some people mad and saves others. Muriel finds a creature in the fog. I’m gonna stop there because I don’t want to spoil anything that happens after that point in the book.
I absolutely loved this book. Even though this is billed as a horror novel, it has so many parts that were incredibly sad. Muriel is old and a lot of her life now has to do with loss. The loss of her friends, family, and now possibly the home she shared with her husband for decades. If you’re looking for an interesting horror book that really hits you in the feels as well, I would highly recommend checking this one out.
Next, we have a graphic novel called Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest by Isabel Greenberg. I’ve written about this graphic novel recently, so I’m not going to go into to go into to much detail again, but I absolutely loved this graphic novel. The artwork was STUNNING. The settings and backgrounds were so well done. They looked like they could come right off the page. The characters were so complex and flawed. This story really takes a hard look at the role that women play in society, as well as what it’s like to be in a relationship where you are not wanted.
If you are a fan of interesting, strong female characters within beautiful settings, then I would give this one a try.
The next book that I absolutely loved is Lights Out by Navessa Allen. This book is about an ER nurse named Allie who, obviously, has a very stressful job. She likes to unwind by watching masked men on her favorite social media app (think TikTok). There’s one man specifically that she really enjoys watching. Little does she know that he’s watching her too.
This book was SO GOOD. I inhaled it. I think I read the whole thing in about two days and loved every second of it. These two characters have such chemistry that they are jumping off the page. They also have some of the best banter I’ve read in a romance novel in a long time. I just love them together. Yes, they get into some complicated stuff throughout the book, but they’re able to work through it together and get a happy ending. If you’re a fan of the Butcher & Blackbird series by Brynne Weaver, you will love this.
And lastly, we have another graphic novel called Checked Out by Katie Fricas. This is about a woman named Louise who works at a show store and makes out with her married coworker. She’s also writing a graphic novel after work about Cher Ami, a homing pigeon from WWII. She doesn’t really like working at the shoe store and ends up applying for a job at a private library on the Upper East Side. She gets the job and the rest of the book is her working there while working on her graphic novel.
As someone that worked at a public library for five years and currently works at an academic library, this was an interesting read. I’ve never been into a private library but I think it would be a very fun place to work. I thought most of the working at a library parts of this book were very realistic. Especially sitting on the floor and reading a random book you found while you were shelving. I also really enjoyed the art style. I’m not sure what it would be called but it was cartoonish and kind of loosey goosey? But in a good way. The buildings in the background were really neat looking. Everything was really colorful and fun and I loved it.
And that’s it for the book reviews from August! I had a really great reading month and I’m hoping to keep that up for September but both of my classes are in full swing so we’ll see how that goes. I hope you guys had a great month! Talk to you again soon!
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