Top Off Your TBR: August 2024

It's August! There are new books!

I'll be honest, everything feels like a lot right now. School is starting, my partner is starting a new job, my workplace is going through some big change, plus I'm still reeling from the latest floods.

There's a lot to be worried and angry and sad about in our personal lives and in our communities (local, national, global). If you're here in the dread and doom pool with me, I urge you to take some action. It's proven to make you feel better, which is pretty cool. I've been reading the book Bowling Alone in prep for a library event I'm running and it's got me motivated to fight this "epidemic of loneliness." The Surgeon General's report linked in that article is worth reading. This fall I'm postcarding for the Environmental Voter Project and continuing to write for Postcards to Voters, volunteering in my city, etc. Little steps.

In other news, yesterday was my wedding anniversary and we went camping with the kids. If this post doesn't make sense, it's because I managed about 3 hours of sleep and I'm in a post-s'mores energy crash. It was quite lovely to hang out with my favorite people in the woods.

Happy end of summer, friends! Enjoy the new books.

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August Releases I've Already Read:

Disclosure: I received copies of these books from the publisher for review.

August 13 - Oath of Fire, K Arsenault Rivera - I truly didn't understand what was going on in this one. It's sort of portal fantasy, with an FMC who heads into a super-exclusive party/orgy one night and meets Eros. The writing isn't great and there's really no reason to have named the MCs Psyche and Eros when the set-up is not similar. I think the author is going for the Katee Robert Dark Olympus vibe, but this misses the mark. Combined with the fact that the Psyche character is a therapist who accidentally outs a patient to their parents and is subsequently fired... Not the book for me. Read in ebook, DNF.

August 20 - Asunder, by Kerstin Hall - A young woman, bonded to a demon, can speak with the dead and accidentally magically bonds with someone in the moments before he dies. Naturally, he's part of an envoy sent from the nation that formerly colonized her people. A really interesting magic system; intricate but approachable world-building; compelling, tortured main character; and a plot that kept me invested. If you couldn't tell, I liked this a lot! Read in ebook.

August 27 - Long Live Evil, by Sarah Rees Brennan - After a long wait, Long Live Evil was everything I hoped it would be! Portal fantasy in which the FMC, on the brink of death from a long battle with cancer, is pulled into the world of her sister's favorite book series. This is multi-POV and can be a little confusing at first, but once you're in the rhythm of the book it's a non-stop ride. Ships sink, ships rise, fun is had by all. The author is in remission from cancer and the novel reflects her own journey. If cancer is a trigger for you, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. The FMC has taken on the role and body of a villainess in the books, so she does not have cancer during the main narrative, but she does reflect on her treatments and illness quite often. Read on audio.

August 6 - Full Speed to a Crash Landing, by Beth Revis - A fun space heist with romantic elements. Not an HEA, but first in a planned trilogy that promises to have one. The snappy banter and con artist FMC gave me Firefly vibes. This is on the shorter side, but longish for a novella, so keep that in mind when looking at prices. Read in print.

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And the Longlist:

All titles in red are links to Amazon.

August 6 - The Seventh Veil of Salome, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

August 6 - This Ravenous Fate, by Hayley Dennings

August 6 - The Pairing, by Casey McQuiston

August 6 - A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher

August 6 - The Friend Zone Experiment, by Zen Cho

August 6 - Hot Earl Summer, by Erica Ridley

August 6 - Queen of Dreams (Bound to Fire and Steel #2), by Kit Rocha

August 6 - The Truth According to Ember, by Danica Nava

August 13 - The Break-Up Pact, by Emma Lord

August 13 - The Phoenix Keeper, by S. A. MacLean

August 13 - A Werewolf's Guide to Seducing a Vampire, by Sarah Hawley

August 13 - Haunted Ever After, by Jen DeLuca

August 13 - Mistress of Lies (The Age of Blood, #1), K.M. Enright

August 20 - Love and Other Conspiracies, by Mallory Marlowe

August 20 - The Third Wife of Faraday House, by B.R. Myers

August 27 - Between Dragons and Their Wrath (Shattered Kingdom #1), by Devin Madson

August 27 - I'll Have What He's Having, by Adib Khorram

August 27 - The Crimson Crown, by Heather Walter

August 27 - Confounding Oaths (Mortal Follies #2), by Alexis Hall

August 27 - The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois, by Ryan Graudin

August 27 - Hers for the Weekend, by Helena Greer

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Happy reading!

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