Monthly Wrap Up August 2020

Since it’s the end of August, I’m going to be talking you through all the books I’ve read this month and share some brief thoughts on them along with my ratings!

You can check out last month’s wrap up here.

1. Cherrington Academy by Rebecca J. Caffery ★★★ ½ — This was a rollercoaster of a book, full of drama and tumultuous relationships. I really liked how diverse the cast was and how it wasn’t solely focused on coming out, rather the ordinary dramas of being a teenager.

• Read my full review and an interview with the author here.

2. The Mall by Megan McCafferty ★★★ — This was so fun and a real blast to the past, even if I wasn’t actually born in the 90s! I liked the female friendship in it, but the romance felt forced. As cute as it was, it’s not a memorable book.

3. Love on the Main Stage by S. A. Domingo ★★★ — Another really cute read. It was nice to see a black-British protagonist at the forefront of the book and I loved the focus on family. It’s a good book, but definitely on the younger end of YA.

4. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan ★★★★ — This felt like the dramatic conclusion I needed to the series. It was fast-paced and full of action, even if I wanted Percy and Annabeth’s relationship to be developed a little more. I know there’s enough series, but it almost felt abrupt how they came together.

5. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★ — I can only describe this as ‘painfully 2011.’ The book feels a little dated in ways that are hard to describe, Katy is ‘not-like-other-girls’ and Daemon is the impossibly sexy love interest. I wanted a little more depth to them, I suppose.

6. Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne ★★★ ½ — Whilst I can’t comment on the accuracy of the OCD representation, I feel like I came out of this book knowing a little more than I did before and I was more aware of how extreme it can be. Evie felt like realistic seventeen year old and it was a poignant, moving book.

7. How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne ★★★ — This was Amber’s story and it wasn’t bad, but a little lacklustre in comparison to Evie’s. It didn’t pack the same emotional punch and I doubted how believable it was that a seventeen year old would drive across America (without telling her parents) with a guy she knew for less than a month and everyone would be okay with that.

8. What’s a Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne ★★ ½ — Lottie wasn’t the most likeable protagonist, she was rather obnoxious and close-minded. A lot of the feminism felt like white feminism, her activism was reckless and was more vandalism than raising awareness.

9. Out of My League by Sarah Sutton ★★ — Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes, but there needs to be a twist at this point because it’s been done so many times. There was no twist here. It was predictable and the characters didn’t have any chemistry at all.

10. Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin ★★★★★ — Wow. This is my second five star of the year and I was blown away by this sequel. The stakes are far higher than the first book and the relationship between Lou and Reid is more challenging than ever before.

• Read my full ARC review here.

11. A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★★★ ½ — This was such a strong sequel, Poppy and Cas are now one of my favourite fantasy couples and I can’t wait to go more in depth on what I thought as part of the blog tour.

• My full review will be posted as part of the blog tour on 1st September.

TOP 3 BOOKS OF AUGUST: Blood & Honey, A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire and The Last Olympian.

Let me know what your favourite book was this month in the replies below!

read it and weep,