**I pull the string taut and admire my work. A collection of beads and shells wrap around a piece of string. I purchased the beads from the local craft store, and I spent hours walking up and down the beach on my last visit filling up a jar of shells. The remainder sit in the jar on my bookshelves, but any with a hole at the top I was able to use for crafting. I pull the necklace over my head and wear it, happy with my creation.**

Now that August has ended, we have officially ended out our summer reading and my book bingo challenge. I read a total of 6 books in August, and I somehow stuck to my TBR. As many of you know, I am notorious for not sticking to the TBR I set in a month. I may read only half the books on it then end up picking something completely different. But I actually read each of the books I listed.

• Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

This is one I have wanted to read for a few years now but never really got around to. It just wasn’t high enough on my priority list so it took me until now to listen to this audiobook. I’m not a huge fan of memoirs, or nonfiction in general, but I actually really enjoyed this one. I think it was interesting to learn about Tom Felton and his experience on different movie sets. I learned a few fun facts too which was cool. Not too much to say on this one, but I thought it was a great read, and I recommend checking out the audiobook. It definitely helped me get through it and it was cool since it was narrator by Tom.

• The Infinity Between Us by N.S. Perkins

This is one I have wanted to read for a few years now after seeing it gain some traction maybe two years ago. The cover grabbed my attention and when I had read the first page or two as a sample I had already been sucked in. This book follows Will and Violet who have been friends since they were kids. Every year, their families would spend the summer at the beach house and Violet would always count down the days until she could see Will again. But something happened that drove them apart five years ago. It’s not until the house is being sold that Violet goes back to clean it out only to find Will there as well. The two of them spend the summer in the house and we watch as the past and present unfold in a dual timeline. I was actually really enjoying this book in the beginning. From what I remember, I actually liked the past timeline better since it had that nostalgic air with the two of the characters still friends and younger. However, I always have a hard time with the trope of this book, which is the one where two characters haven’t spoken and we don’t know why until the end of the book. I have almost never seen this done well and this was not exception. I think with the circumstances it could have been done better. I had figured a few things out pretty early on, but I think the reason that the two of them had stopped talking was not really justified. I just stopped enjoying it as much once I got farther in and quite honestly don’t really see the romance in this book, though I quite rarely actually feel a connection between two characters if we’re being honest. I think this was good for the summer/beach setting, but overall it was just okay.

• Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

This is one I got from the library that I needed for a prompt and I chose it in part because I read another book by this author, Today, Tonight, Tomorrow, a few years ago and enjoyed some aspects of it. This one follows a weather reporter and her plot with the sports reporter to get their bosses back together to create a better work environment, since the two of them have been creating a lot of tension. I was honestly not a huge fan of this. I feel like I don’t remember much and it was kind of forgettable. I just didn’t find myself caring about what would happen and I was just glad to get through it. I think my problem with romance books is that there isn’t enough to them for me. There are a few I like, but I think reading more and more adult romances the past year or two, and especially this year, has really made me feel like they are all the same. This was one I just enjoyed a little less.

• The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

I finally did it! I have finally read the oldest book on my TBR which is from December 2022. I don’t really know why I didn’t get to this sooner. I think it was just daunting since it was almost 500 pages and was historical fiction, which is a genre I don’t normally read. But I have read from Ruta Sepetys before and have enjoyed her books, so I don’t know why I avoided this one so long and thought I’d dislike it. It takes place in Spain in the 1950s during Franco’s reign and follows Daniel, an American teenager who aspires to become a photographer. He takes pictures while there and befriends Anna, a maid at the hotel he and his parents are staying in. Throughout this book, we watch as all the characters like Daniel, Anna, Rafa, and Puri all have their own stories that tie in to the larger issues brought about by the Spanish dictatorship. I was actually surprised with how much I enjoyed this one. I thought the story was very well done and I enjoyed seeing where the author would take it. I also liked seeing how everything tied together. I just wish we had a bit more time at the end to fully explain everything since I think we needed a few more answers.

• Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

This is the second book in the Rome, Kentucky series by Sarah Adams. I read the first one in July then picked this one up in August. It follows the youngest sister Annie, and Will, the bodyguard for Amelia, who is the main character in the first book. After a bad date, Annie enlists Will’s help to learn how to date to get over some of her social anxieties. I’m not going to lie, I was very bored at first. I just did not care and couldn’t get invested, though I will blame it at least a bit on having read so many romance books this year. As the book went on I did find myself enjoying it a bit more. I think Annie can be a very relatable character and it was interesting to see the difference between her when we’re reading in her perspective and the version of her everyone else sees. I think this was actually pretty well done and not something I have seen much. I think Will helping Annie learn who she really was helped the story pick up a bit so by the end I definitely enjoyed it a lot more. It’s not my favorite, but I do plan on finishing out the series.

• Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker; illustrated by Wendy Xu

This was a graphic novel I picked up at the end of the month that follows a witch and a werewolf. I wasn’t a huge fan of this one. It was fine, but nothing that really grabbed my attention. I think I just needed a bit more from the story and didn’t really get anything out of this.

I believe the first four of these were on my August TBR and I mentioned needing to choose some other books as well to fulfill some prompts, but I didn’t list anything specific which is where the last two come in. I also had Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid on my TBR and the reason I say I read my entire August TBR is because I did start this book in August. I just didn’t have much time to read it but I actually just finished it, so I’m counting it since I did start it but it will be in my September wrap-up, so stay tuned for that at the end of the month.

xoxo,

Just another reader