Monthly Musings – August 2016

This is a where I look back at what I read (or tried to read) during the past month. I also plan on highlighting my experiences in any book club reads I from the month as well. I will always start with any books I would label as a surprise find/under-read books so if anyone missed my reviews for them, and don’t make it to the end of this post, they’ll be easy to find.

So, I’m running a little behind this week 🙂 And have read almost nothing the past week and a half. That always feels longer since blogging than before, but I will get back with it. I have all of my books I received for review for September read (all two of them), so I feel a bit less pressure. But I also have a number of books from June/July that I need to catch up on!

Highlighted Reads 

Review Summary 

• [1 Aug] Dark Matter by Blake Crouch ★★★★½
• [8 Aug] Borderline by Mishell Baker ★★★★
• [16 Aug] Necessity by Jo Walton ★★★½
• [18 Aug] Red Right Hand by Levi Black ★★½
• [22 Aug] Bite by K.S. Merbeth ★★★★½
• [26 Aug] Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu ★★★★½
• [29 Aug] Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter ★★½

 August Backlist Burndown

For August, I chose Twelve Kings of Sharakhai, which came out just last year, but after I saw the great reviews others gave for it, I knew I had to find a way to fit it in. Was not disappointed at all! Unless you consider having to wait for the next one, which should be out early next year (I already read the prequel novella that came out this week, loved that one as well)

Here’s what other people read and burned off their backlist this month! It makes me happy to see other people joining in with this, so thanks to all of you! 🙂 Anyone else that posted a backlist review this month, feel free to link up! Hope to see another great set of books for May.

What I Read in August

Twelve Kings of Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu – Wow! Yeah, I see why everyone loved this one last year. Absolutely loved it. Great start to an epic fantasy series, really interesting world/setting and I loved the main protagonist. Really looking forward to the sequel

Mirror Image by Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose – A creepy book about a mirror that generates quite the body count and tries to gain power. It certainly has some sections that would not be for everyone (anyone sensitive to rape or sexual content/scenes probably would want to skip this one).

Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter – This is my first book by Faith Hunter and I was assured it was a good starting point. I agree, I felt like the story and characters held on their own without relying on the Jane Yellowrock series. However, my reaction to the book itself is rather meh. I didn’t hate it, but didn’t find myself engaging with it either.

Bite by K. S. Merbeth – I loved this one as well. A post-apocalyptic world with roaming raiders, etc. And cannibals. Was interesting and very well paced. Definitely recommend it.

Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal – This one was good. I found the premise of interviewing recently deceased soldiers as part of a war strategy for intelligence gathering rather fascinating.
The Bloodsworn by Erin Lindsey – The final book in the Bloodbound trilogy continues the fun of the first two books and wraps up the series really well.

Of Sand and Malice Made by Bradley P. Beaulieu – A prequel novella coming out in a week or so. I was very excited to jump into another book by Beaulieu and get a chance to experience more with Ceda (the protagonist). This was a good story, and once again, I finished wanting the sequel to Twelve Kings! 

Looking Forward to September 2016

I have a bit of make-up reading to do and I think I currently only have two September books for review, and I have read both of them already. So this month will be a mix of July books I didn’t get to and October/November books, probably as the mood strikes me for each book. Here are some of the ones I think most likely to get read this month.