August Wrap-Up & September TBR

August is over, but it's still 100 degrees out. How rude. I actually did a couple of things last month, which is weird for me. I feel like most of my months have been quiet lately. However, I ended up going to a concert, which I'll talk about in this post. I also bought myself a bookcase, which isn't the most exciting thing ever, but it's fun enough for a boring person like me. Oh, and I got 2027 ApollyCon tickets! Hurrah! 

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in August

Never Ever After: 3 stars

The Chains of Fate: 4 stars

The Shadows of Stars: 4 stars 

The Bargain of Dragons: 4 stars

Swordheart: 4 stars

Daggerbound: 4 stars (my review)

Broken Souls and Bones: 3.5 stars

Kiss of the Black Flame: 4 stars (review to come)

A Bloom in Winter: 3 stars 

The Second Death of Locke: 3.5 stars

Father Material: 4 stars 

I don't know how I managed it, but I read 11 books in August. I think it's because I binge-read three books in a series and had a couple of books that I had to read for review purposes. Six of the books were from my physical TBR: Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan, Broken Souls and Bones by L.J. Andrews, A Bloom in Winter by J.R. Ward, The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino, Swordheart by T. Kingfisher, and Husband Material by Alexis Hall. Only All of these except Swordheart and Husband Material were pre-2026 purchases. Woohoo! As for the ebooks, I actually had to read Swordheart so I could read the companion book, Daggerbound, because I accidentally requested it on NetGalley without realizing it was a sequel. I was approved for it, so I read it after Swordheart. I also read Kiss of the Black Flame by Helen Scheuerer via NetGalley copy as well. Then, another three books were Kindle Unlimited downloads. Those were the three middle books in Samantha Amstutz's Aelfyn Archives series, which I very much enjoyed.

Books Bought/Received in August

August was another insane haul month. I guess I just went crazy since it's my birthday month. Oops again. In total, I purchased 40 books and received 20 free ebooks/preorders that I'd already paid for in previous months. The dollar amount was sickening. That, combined with my ApollyCon tickets, meant for a very, very expensive month. Overall, I added 37 physical books added to my shelves and 26 physical copies I have to add to my ever-growing TBR.

The 20 books I received mostly consisted of the preordered books that all decided to arrive in August along with some downloaded ebooks. The prior months' preorders that showed up included A Hunger Like No Other Bad Women Books Romantasy sub edition, Fated Throne King's Hollow edition, The Temptation of Magic (Books-a-Million), Warbreaker (B&N), The Winged Game FairyLoot Adult book, the Locked Library Nevernight set, The Ballad of Falling Dragons FairyLoot edition, and the Black Jewels trilogy from Moonlight Book Box. I also had a book I got from my local used bookstore with trade credit: Defiant by Brandon Sanderson. And then, for ebooks, I downloaded Steal the Wind, Forsaken Mate, Bound to the Vampires, Drawn by Dragonblood, Grayson's Mate, Fae Bound, and The Thorns We Inherit all for free on either Kindle or Nook.

 

Now, for what I bought in August. Of the 40 books I bought, 24 arrived in August. Those included a bunch of books from Barnes & Noble: Vow of Eternal Night, Splintered Kingdom, The Lion and the Deathless Dark, A Bargain So Bloody, Runebreaker, The Poison Daughter, three replacement Meg Cabot books, and two replacement P.C. and Kristin Cast books. I also had one Pango order, Anathema by Keri Lake, and one Mercari order, Bitten & Bound by Amy Pennza. For FairyLoot books, I received my two monthly sub books, The Witch in the Dead of Night and Steelborn. I also had a Book Outlet order for The Silversmith, Veselless, Immortal Dark, A Cruel Thirst, The High Mountain Court, Hell Bent, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Dire Bound. And I ordered a UK paperback of Warrior Princess Assassin from Blackwells.

 As for the remaining 17 books, they include preorders that won't arrive until later in the year. The FairyLoot preorders were for Earthbound, The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy, and the War of Lost Hearts series. Other orders that are coming eventually include Primal of Blood and Bone and Visions of Flesh and Blood Books for Days Crate editions, three FBAA German editions, the Owlcrate edition of Daggermouth, the PR editions of Bonds that Tie books 4-7, The Knave and the Moon, and Tempest.

Currently Obsessed With

Well, the only show I saw besides the season three finale of House of the Dragon was my continued watch of The Middle on Peacock. I also saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters on the first day of August. It was good. Then, like a week later, I went to a Simple Plan concert. Blink-182 and 3OH!3 were there too. Concerts are not the norm for me. I only go to like one every five years or so, if that. Oh, and when Peacock has been glitching, I've been going back to watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. I stopped for a bit because it was getting to be too much, but I'm doing bits at a time now. 

September TBR

This looks so much more manageable than last month's TBR. I really screwed myself over when I requested so many NetGalley books. Right now, I'm behind on two of them: A Viper Among Kings by Sydney Olivia and To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast. I'm about halfway through The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker and about 20% through Turncloak by L.K. Steven. Turncloak needs read and reviewed before September 15. I have some time for The Drakon King, thankfully. Other than those books, I'd like to read A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena because the sequel is on sale soon. I also need to read Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe for book club.

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Okay, well, that's the month of August, plus some September sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!

July Wrap-Up & August TBR

July was a nice month. I miss it already. I was on vacation, my place was nice and clean, and I could read whenever I wanted. Now, we're back to the same ol' grind. Ugh. Being an adult is the worst. There's not a ton going on in August. I think I might get some furniture, but that's about it for excitement. There are also a few cleaning tasks I haven't completed, so I'll get to those sometime too. Maybe. 

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in July

Tempting Venom: 3 stars

Kill the Beast: 3 stars

Mistress of Lies: 3.5 stars 

Fake Shot: 3 stars

The Shadows that Listen: 4 stars (review to come)

Starside: 4 stars

Unrelenting Winds: 3.5 stars

The Aspect of Essence: 4 stars

Stolen by Shadows: 3 stars 

Like I said, I was on vacation in July, so I was able to read a lot. I read eight books and one novella in July, which was great. I got seven books off my physical TBR. Most of them were added in 2026, but still, they're read! The physical books included Kill the Beast by Serra Swift, Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright, Starside by Alex Aster, Unrelenting Winds (the novella) by Melissa K. Roehrich, and The Aspect of Essence by Samantha Amstutz. However, Tempting Venom by Rina Kent is also a book I own a physical copy of. I just downloaded the Kindle Unlimited version so I could read it on release day instead of waiting for my preorder. I also read The Shadows that Listen by Louisa Carmody, which I received as an ARC from Orbit. My review will be posted on release day, August 18. As for the ebooks, I finished Fake Shot by C.E. Ricci and then later in the month read Stolen by Shadows by Elizabeth Helen, both on KU.

Books Bought/Received in July

July was not a low-quantity book month, unfortunately, I piled books high. I did get rid of some, though, so at least I'm making room. In total, I purchased 22 books and received 12 titles for review or from preorders that I'd already paid for in previous months. The dollar amount wasn't as insane as previous months, but it was a lot of books, with 33 physical books added to my shelves and 22 I have to add to my ever-growing TBR.

The 12 books I received mostly consisted of the preordered books that all decided to arrive in July along with a couple of review copies. The Shadows that Listen was the only physical ARC I received, but I did get a NetGalley ARC in July: Kiss of the Black Flame by Helen Scheurer. Orders from previous months that arrived in July included Tempting Venom, The Proposal by Meg Cabot, books 1-2 of the Blood and Ash series Inked Pages editions, The Mortal Trials by Megan Shunmugan Allurial edition, and the FairyLoot editions of Broken Dove, The Tapestry of Fate, and the first two books in The Shards of Magic series. I also got Furysong by Rosaria Munda from my local used bookstore with trade credit.

Now, for what I bought in July. Of the 22 books I bought, 14 arrived in July. Those included a bunch of books from Barnes & Noble: Ravenous by Kresley Cole, Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe, City of Souls and Sinners by Kayla Edwards, The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigette Knightley, and the Spanish edition of A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire. I also got one book in-store: Hopelessly Necromantic by Shiloh Briar. As for non-B&N orders, I have the Kindle edition of The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan, Swordheart by T. Kingfisher from Books-a-Million, Duskbound Waterstones edition by Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox, What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller UK paperback, and the Silk & Steel books 1-3 from eBay. I also got the FairyLoot Romantasy book, The Lure of Whispers and Wolves.

 As for the remaining eight books, they include preorders that didn't arrive in August or won't arrive until even later in the year. The FairyLoot preorders were for Heir of Twisted Lies, The Sea Spinner, Daggermouth, and the Adult FairyLoot book. Other orders that are coming eventually include Born of Blood and Ash Bookish Box edition, The Temptation of Magic, Warbreaker, and the Lilac Library Brimstone edition.

Currently Obsessed With

It's House of the Dragon season. This is the third season in six years, which is crazy to think about. It feels like the first season happened yesterday. I think there are only two episodes left, which means another two-year wait for the fourth, and possibly last, season. Boo. Other than that, I watched the finale of The Vampire Lestat, the last few episodes of Daredevil: Born Again season two, and I'm continuing to watch The Middle. 

August TBR

My TBR is primarily review copies. I'm so behind right now. I have four review books to read by September 22. Two need read and reviewed by August 25. Yikes. I don't think I'll make it, but I'm going to try to get at least two of the four read and reviewed on time. Three would be great. Those include: A Viper Among Kings by Sydney Olivia, Turncloak by L.K. Steven, Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher, and Kiss of the Black Flame by Helen Scheuerer. I have to read Swordheart before I can read Daggerbound, though, which is my own fault for accidentally requesting a sequel to review when I haven't read book one. I also need to read The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker for review, but it's due in November, and then To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast is one I'm like four months behind on. I'm also trying to start Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager, finish the fourth book in The Aelfyn Archives by Samantha Amstutz, and finish This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara.

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Okay, well, that's the month of July, plus some August sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!

June Wrap-Up & July TBR

June was a decent month. While work was still blugh, it wasn't as bad as May. I also started getting some household things done. I'm still super behind, but it was nice to actually check off some tasks. I also started getting back into working out consistently, but with the heatwave towards the end of the month, that kind of slowed down. It's too hot to run, so I've just been walking, which isn't nearly as productive for my own mental/physical health. Anyway, onto the books! 

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in June

Soul Sworn: 4 stars (review to come)

Captive Traitor King: 4 stars (review to come)

The Entanglement of Rival Wizards: 3.5 stars 

Beg the Night: 3 stars

The Fake Divination Offense: 3 stars

I only read five books in June, which is disappointing considering the month wasn't nearly as stressful as May's events. I'm not sure what happened there. I'm thinking it was just a reading slump. I found it hard to pick up books for a bit. As for what I did read, only two of the books were from my physical TBR and both of those were acquired this year, so that doesn't help a whole lot with getting things off my TBR shelves. Those two books were The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch and Beg the Night by Emily Blackwood. Two of the ebooks were NetGalley ARCs. Those included Soul Sworn by Kate Dylan and Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer. I really enjoyed both of these, and I'll have physical copies eventually, so that'll be nice to haul them without adding them to my TBR. Ha ha. And then the last ebook I read was from Kindle Unlimited. I decided to read The Fake Divination Offense after finishing The Entanglement of Rival Wizards because I liked the first book and wanted to see if I should purchase the second.

Books Bought/Received in June

June was not great. I'm supposed to be on a book-buying ban, but you definitely can't tell from these pics. In total, I purchased 32 books and received 19 titles for review or from preorders that I'd already paid for in previous months. The dollar amount wasn't as insane as previous months, but it was a lot of books, with 30 physical books added to my shelves and 14 I have to add to my ever-growing TBR.

The 16 books I received mostly consisted of the preordered books that all decided to arrive in June. This included four foreign editions of the FBAA series, two ApollyCon FBAA editions, Silver & Smoke and Thorns & Fire by Helen Scheurer FairyLoot editions, The Last Wish of Bristol Keats FairyLoot edition, The Dragon and the Sun Lotus FairyLoot edition, and Cursed Fates and Queens of Quarantine by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti author edition. I also got Dungeon Crawler Carl from my local used bookstore. I didn't pay for it, though. And then, I got three NetGalley ARCs: The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker, Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer, and Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher.
 

Now, for what I bought in June. It was a lot. Mostly preorders, but still, a lot. Of the 29 books I bought, 19 arrived in June. Those included a bunch of books from Barnes & Noble: The Dawn Throne by Tara Sim, Kissed by the Gods by Caty Rogan, Dhampira by Amy Pennza, Torn and FBAA by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Blood & Betrayals by Jeannette Rose and Alexis Rune, The Inadequate Heir by Danielle L. Jensen, The Fall by Ryan Cahill, Father Material by Alexis Hall, Silk & Steel by Ariana Nash, The Proposal by Meg Cabot, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe hardcover edition. As for non-B&N orders, I have the Allurial edition of Dhampira, the FairyLoot Adult book that I'm getting rid of, What Darkness Brings by Jenna Wolfhart ebook via Kindle, Feral Sin and Eternal Sin by Ariana Nash via eBay, Overbite by Meg Cabot via my local library sale, and The Haunting of William Thorn by Ben Alderson via Nook.

 As for the remaining ten books, they include preorders that haven't arrived yet. The FairyLoot preorders were for The Knave and the Moon, The Shadows that Listen, Prince of Swords, and Blood Over Bright Haven. Then, I had one B&N preorder that is still on its way: Tempting Venom by Rina Kent. I also preordered two books from the Ripped Bodice and the War of Lost Hearts trilogy from Moonlight Book Box.

Currently Obsessed With

Two anticipated show seasons premiered in June. The first was AMC's The Vampire Lestat, which is technically season three of Interview with the Vampire, and a couple weeks after its premiere, House of the Dragon season three started. It's been nice to have regularly-scheduled shows to watch again. I probably won't have the opportunity for another year at this point. Lol. I did also watch a couple of movies with my parents, one was The Tomorrow War and the other was Kraven. Both were fine. I'm also still watching The Middle when I eat or need background noise. 

July TBR

My TBR is pretty much the same as last month, but I thought I'd add some things I'm currently reading. I'm about halfway through Fake Shot by C.E. Ricci and around 85% through Tempting Venom by Rina Kent, so those ebooks will be done soon. I'm also about halfway through Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright as well as Kill the Beast by Serra Swift. You can tell I'm in a reading slump when I have more than two books (one ebook, one physical book) in my currently-reading list. Now, I also have a bunch of NetGalley books to read, including To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast, A Viper Among Kings by Sydney Olivia, Turncloak by L.K. Steven, Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher, and The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker. I also need to read Starside by Alex Aster for my book club.

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Okay, well, that's the month of June, plus some July sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!

May Wrap-Up & June TBR

May was not a good month mentally, but I survived. June is a new dawn, a new day, with a new season coming up to boot, so maybe I can cheer up a bit. We shall see.... Honestly, things are already looking up, but I'm trying not to set my hopes too high. I did that last month, thinking that I could take a much-needed vacation in late May/early June and those hopes got crushed. Hard. I'm hesitantly hoping that the end of June will work. I want time off so bad! 

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in May

Frozen by Stardust: 4 stars

Dhampira: 4 stars (review to come)

Hunt the Villain: 3.5 stars 

Blood Bound: 3.5 stars (my review)

Check & Mate: 3 stars

Bonds of Hercules: 4 stars

Nemesis Mine: 4 stars (review to come)

Wolfseeker: 3.5 stars 

Suck: 3 stars 

I read nine books in May, which is crazy considering how bogged down I was with work. All I could do for a couple of weeks was come straight home, curl up in a ball, and scroll on my phone until my brain stopped working. But, I managed to read somehow, someway. Only four of the books were physical copies, though. Those included Hunt the Villain by Rina Kent, Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter, Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood, and Bonds of Hercules by Jasmine Mas. Technically, Blood Bound was also a NetGalley book, as I received an e-ARC for it and got about 10% in when I got a physical copy at ApollyCon that I started reading instead. In addition to Blood Bound, I also read two other NetGalley books. I was on a roll in May. Those were Dhampira by Amy Pennza and Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer. My reviews will be posted in June. I also managed to read three other ebooks, including Frozen by Stardust by Elizabeth Helen, Wolfseeker by Amy Pennza, and Suck by Cora Rose and E.M. Lindsey.

Books Bought/Received in May

May wasn't as bad as last month, since there was no ApollyCon, but it still wasn't great for someone who claims to be on a book-buying ban. Anyway, in total, I purchased 13 books and received 15 titles for review or from preorders that I'd already paid for in previous months. The numbers are slowly going down. The dollar amount isn't as low as it needs to be, but as long as I'm not overwhelming my physical TBR, I can deal for now.

The 15 books I received mostly consisted of the preordered books that all decided to arrive in May. This included the Waterstones edition of Riftborne by Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox, the hardcover author edition of Tortured Souls by Melissa K. Roehrich, the FairyLoot set of books 1-3 in the Lady of Darkness set, the Acrylipics editions of The Crown of Gilded Bones and The War of Two Queens, the author hardcovers of the first two books in Emily Blackwood's Wings So Wicked series, The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks blue author edition, Kings of Anarchy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, and The Night Prince by Lauren Palphreyman FairyLoot edition. I also received two ebooks: Soul Sworn by Kate Dylan via a NetGalley review copy and A Vow in Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez via Nook. Technically, I "purchased" this Nook copy, but I used my credit, so I don't really count that. It was on sale at the time for like $1.99 anyway. The final book I received was Flamefall by Rosaria Munda, which was a book I got via trade credit from my local bookstore.
 

Now, for what I bought in May. It actually wasn't terrible. I'm pretty proud of myself. There was only one real issue, and that was a special edition that I didn't expect to drop. But anyway, the seven books I bought that actually arrived in the month include the Fury Bound Waterstones edition; the US Fury Bound edition, Archangel's Eternity by Nalini Singh, and The Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker (B&N); my May Adult FairyLoot book, Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliaren, and the Romantasy book, Verity Guild by Mai Corland; and The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch (indie bookstore). 

 As for the remaining six books, they include preorders that haven't arrived yet. The FairyLoot preorders were for This Blade of Ours, Broken Dove, and the Sorrowsong University duology. Then, I had one Illumicrate preorder for The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy, and the major culprit for how much money I spent was the Tome Tunnel edition of A Fire in the Flesh by JLA.

Currently Obsessed With

I don't think I watched anything particularly fascinating in May. I'm making my way through The Middle as a meal show. It has some funny moments but it's definitely not a favorite. I also rewatched the first three Hunger Games films and learned that I don't own either Mockingjay Part 1 or 2 on DVD/Blu-ray, so I couldn't watch Part 2 since it wasn't on any of my streaming apps like the other three movies were. Grr... 

June TBR

My TBR is similar to last month, but I have made some progress on my NetGalley reads. Thank goodness. Now, I only have To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast and A Viper Among Kings by Sydney Olivia on my immediate NetGalley TBR with the new additions of Turncloak by L.K. Steven and Soul Sworn. (Note from future me who is editing this paragraph: I've finished Soul Sworn. Yay me!) I'm still reading The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde and Lore by Alexandra Bracken. I'd still like to try to continue my Melissa K. Roehrich read-through and get through the final two Legacy books, and I need to read J.R. Ward's Crown of War and Shadow for book club. Maybe. We might be swapping this one for something else. To add some new things to the mix, I'm thinking I'll be in a vampire mood due to the upcoming season of The Vampire Lestat, so it'd be nice to read the Empire of the Vampire trilogy, Bride of Brutal Hearts by Kate Stevens, or Feathers from the Sky by Jess Wisecup.

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Okay, well, that's the month of May, plus some June sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!