August Reading Recap

Featuring a few buzzy books of summer

I read nineteen books in August, including a few books that have been everywhere, a few romances that I really liked, and some titles perfect for the end of summer. This was a quality reading month and I’m looking forward to fall reading, especially after pulling a bevy of potential September and October reads after my shelves. After a mixed reading month in July, I wanted to prioritize picking up books that excited me, from cozy romance to a haunting World War I-set fantasy to a spectacularly over-the-top beach read, and I’m pleased to report that I mostly succeeded.

I did read five books that I got from Book of the Month or Aardvark: Margo’s Got Money Troubles, The God of the Woods, The Ministry of Time, Lies and Weddings, and How to Solve Your Own Murder. In September, my autumnal reading categories are:

• A book set at a school or university

• Two paranormal romances

• Something with a touch of the Gothic

• A book published at least twenty years ago

• And, per usual, a book by Louise Erdrich or Maggie O’Farrell

Favorites of the month

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

A sad, hopeful, and beautifully written blend of World War I-set historical fiction and fantasy, set on the battlefields of Belgium in 1918 as a nurse searches for her vanished brother. There's a surreal, haunted quality to Arden's depiction of WWI and I was totally captivated by the world she builds here. The whole book feels tragic in a way that's both epic and intimate and while it never flinches away from the horrors of the trenches, it never feels gratuitous either. (Which I appreciated as a soft-hearted reader!) There's some very understated romance as well, which I think really works with the tone of this book. Very different from Arden's Winternight trilogy, but equally wonderful. 

The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce

This second chance romance about estranged exes drawn back together as they attempt to save their mutual best friend’s wedding is one of my favorites of the year. I was absolutely spellbound by this book and didn't want to start anything else when it was over. The chemistry between Georgia and Eli is insane. There's such a sense of their history and their connection whenever they're together, even in the tiniest moments between them. This book hits every single emotional beat perfectly and the process of these two people getting back together is downright beautiful. I loved the mental health representation and the role that friendship plays in this book too. Like Georgia, I've been that person feeling like everyone else was leapfrogging ahead of me to a new state of life and I felt for her so deeply. There's so much love and feeling and yearning in this book and it's gorgeous. (Open door, medium steam.)

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell

A heart-rending, impossibly life-affirming memoir, told through O'Farrell's seventeen encounters with death, from her childhood illness to the ravages of childbirth to her fight against her daughter’s life-threatning allergies. Every page shimmers with the intensity of her writing. Her prose just glows and glides, delivering indelible image after indelible image, and after making my way through more of her backlist this year, I loved seeing all the connections between her life experiences and her fiction. This was a wonderfully unique take on a memoir and I found it mesmerizing. 

Really liked

Pointe of Pride by Chloe Angyal

After a first meeting that’s nothing short of disastrous, Carly Montgomery and Nick Jacobs discover that they’re the maid of honor and best man at the same wedding and end up teaming up not just for wedding tasks, but for a photography project meant to boost Carly’s flagging ballet career. I loved how flawed and real these characters felt. Carly and Nick were both such rich, dynamic protagonists and I delighted in their fiery chemistry. As in Angyal's debut romance, the descriptions of Australia were top-notch and had me wanting to book a flight there immediately. I also really loved the depiction of a heroine who can't have penetrative sex and a hero who respects her boundaries and supports her needs completely. If you’re even the tiniest bit intrigued by a ballet romance, pick this one and Angyal’s debut romance Pas de Don’t up immediately. (Open door, high steam.)

One Star Romance by Laura Hankin

Natalie and Rob meet when their best friends get engaged. Then again at their friends’ wedding, where they have to walk down the aisle together after Natalie learns he gave her book one star on Goodreads. Part slow-burn romance, part friendship story, and part coming-of-age, I relished this in all its messy glory. Natalie and Rob both feel so prickly and specific and real and I savored getting to see them both grow and change over the years. As much as I enjoyed Natalie and Rob's banter and spiky chemistry, my favorite part of this might have been the friendship between Natalie and Gabby. Hankin captures both the enduring bond of that kind of soul-deep friendship and the complications that come when one of you moves into another stage of life so well. Perhaps not an everyone book, since both main characters are jerks at various points, but very much a me book. (Open door, just barely.)

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins (Old West #1)

Rhine Fontaine has built a successful life in a Nevada mining town while passing as white but after he rescues cook Eddy Carmichael in the desert, he finds himself increasingly drawn towards her and towards reclaiming his true identity. I feel like I'm in good hands every time I pick up a Beverly Jenkins book. I loved Eddy's determination and grit, Rhine's charm and heroics, and the deep feelings that build between them. Jenkins weaves in pieces of lesser-known history with a deft hand and vividly renders the community of Virginia City in rich detail, from Rhine's saloon to the sights and sounds of everyday life to the ways the city's small Black community comes together to support one another. (Open door, medium steam.)

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

At a summer camp in the Adirondacks, the daughter of the wealthy family that owns the camp goes missing, fourteen years after her older brother disappeared too. This mystery has been everywhere this summer and deservedly so. It’s gripping, layered, and incredibly well written. I think this is on par with Tana French at her best, both at a sentence level and at a plotting level, and that's not a compliment I give lightly. Moore switches between timelines and perspectives with dazzling ease. The Adirondack setting is vividly drawn and I was fascinated by how sharply she depicts the class dynamics between the wealthy Van Laars and the people of the town they draw on for their labor. This was a rich and rewarding read and, despite its length, totally absorbing. 

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

After an affair with her professor results in a pregnancy, 20-year-old Margo winds up turning to OnlyFans to make money and navigating her complex relationship with her father after he moves in to provide childcare. A funny, insightful, and surprisingly heartwarming look at parents and children, storytelling and perspective, and the wild world of the Internet. I really enjoyed the obvious affection this book had for its characters and the thoughtful, heartbreaking yet hopeful way it explores Margo's relationships with her mother and father. It's also a fascinating take on the nature of performance and the characters we play both on and offline. A zippy, read-in-a-day novel that still has plenty of substance.

Brooklyn and Long Island by Colm Toibin

These two works of historical fiction follow Eilis Lacey as she emigrates from her small Irish town to Brooklyn and then twenty years later, when the life she’s carefully built there is suddenly called into question. Toibin’s prose is deceptively simple but conjures great depths of emotion and I was particularly impressed by his ability to write from the female perspective. Both excel at portraying family dynamics, close-knit communities, loneliness, and the power of yearning and I’m so curious if there’s going to be a third installment.

Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse by Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries #6 and #7)

I finally finished this funny, thought-provoking, gripping sci-fi series and now I’m left frantically Googling to see when book eight is due to come out. I’m a huge fan of this series’ snarky narrative voice, thoughtful version of the future, spot-on pacing, well-written action setpieces, and moving take on found family, friendship, and community. I’ve talked about this series a lot in my reading recaps this year but reading it has been so much fun and I’d highly recommend giving these a try, even if action-heavy sci-fi isn’t your usual genre.

I have minor quibbles but I also loved the way these made me feel

Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday

A warm-hearted, slow-burn friends-to-lovers Regency romance with a slightly modern twist that really shines when it comes to its depiction of found family, male friendship, and sisterly relationships. Archie and Clementine are seriously cute together, from their nighttime conversations on the roof to their final declaration of love, and I especially appreciated how thoughtful and emotionally aware Archie was. I did want a tiny bit more on-page sizzle between them, especially since it’s a very slow burn for a relatively short book and with the intimacy lessons premise, but mostly quite enjoyed this and plan on continuing with the series. (Open door, medium steam.)

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

There’s only one solution for the aristocratic Greshams’ money troubles, at least according to their formidable matriarch, a former Hong Kong supermodel: marry her son Rufus off to a suitable heiress, whatever his feelings for humble girl next door Eden Tong. A soapy, glitzy, dishy, wonderfully over-the-top whirlwind of high society drama that would make for the perfect vacation read. Are these characters particularly nuanced or complex? No, but I think Kwan's found the right satirical, fun register to write in. I cackled out loud multiple times, was hooked for all 400-plus pages, and enjoyed every last bit of name-dropping and globe-hopping. I read this on an early morning cross-country flight and it was the perfect read for the occasion.

Only When It’s Us and Always Only You by Chloe Liese (Bergman Brothers #1 and #2)

The first two in Liese’s Bergman Brothers series about a sprawling Swedish American family include a college-set enemies-to-lovers romance and a grumpy-sunshine workplace romance that takes place at the hockey rink. I want to soak up the warm, cozy atmosphere Liese creates in each of these books, as well as the obvious compassion with which she writes about her characters. I also deeply appreciate how she writes athlete heroes who don’t succumb to toxic masculinity, although I do find Ren in Always Only You too perfect? He’s human sunshine, endlessly kind and understanding, a hot hockey player who’s also a Shakespeare nerd…the book is very low-angst, mostly thanks to his perfection, and I just wanted things to get a tad more complicated. Of the two, I preferred Only When It’s Us and how it gives its characters space to be messy as they clash, connect, and finally come back together and deeply roots every bit of conflict between them in their personalities. I’m planning on continuing with the series and would especially recommend it to anyone looking for well-written mental health and neurodivergent representation. (Open door, high steam.)

A solid read, with minor storytelling quibbles

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

A well-researched, engagingly plotted historical fiction novel set during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that follows a Chinese seamstress trying to escape an arranged marriage and an opera singer trying to turn her luck around, both caught up in the orbit of a railroad magnate whose patronage comes with a cost. This had lots of intriguing historical tidbits, a great sense of setting, and two compelling protagonists. Quinn and Chang's styles blend together well, while Gemma and Suling's perspectives still feel distinctive. Where I struggled a little was with the fact that the two high-drama moments of the book are driven by the actions of a character whose perspective we don't get and whose motivation I sometimes couldn't understand. 

I am all over the place (and so is the book)

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

In the near future, a civil servant falls in love with Commander Graham Gore, an Arctic explorer plucked out of the past and brought into the present-day by a mysterious government agency, after being assigned to help assimilate him to the modern world. I absolutely loved parts of this but think it also went a little off the rails in the end? The strength of this novel lies in its characters, particularly Gore and Margaret and the expats' efforts to adjust to the 21st century and craft their own family, and not in its time travel mechanics. I'm still a little confused by the ending and not in a fun way. It paints a really intriguing and plausible vision of the near future, especially when it comes to imagining the effects of climate change. There's some great pieces of writing...and also some incredibly strange similes. I also struggled a bit with our unnamed narrator, perhaps as a result of genre expectations. She's a sad lit fic girl in a genre fiction novel and I found myself agitating for her to display just a tiny bit more initiative or determination. I don't always need a full-on sci-fi badass heroine but I do like my speculative fiction heroines to have a bit more spunk. 

Great premise, mixed execution

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

The idea of this book is fabulous: a village full of secrets, a woman who spent her life trying to solve her own murder and the competition she devises for her heirs, and a decades-old mystery deeply intertwined with both of our main characters. I was intrigued by so many elements here but don't think the character development quite paid off. I never really got sucked into Annie's POV and had some trouble understanding the connection she feels to Frances, despite never having met her, that drives her to solve this mystery. 

Let me know your favorite read of August in the comments!

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Currently reading: In the Weeds by B.K. Borison, because I was craving a cozy romance as we slip into fall.

Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:

• The barest scent of fall on the air! Getting to wear a jacket outside! The promise of bringing out my sweaters! Fall in New York is gorgeous and I’m very ready for it.

• I finally got a pair of Bluetooth wireless headphones—the credit here really goes to my boyfriend, who rescued me from a loop of endlessly dithering about whether or not to get them—and am relistening to all my favorite albums of the year on them with much delight.

• Burrata with end-of-summer tomatoes at Rosemary’s in the West Village, one of the highlights of a catch-up dinner with friends.