wanderlust, books, & tea

 

 

It's time for another edition of 'holy crap, another month has gone by!' otherwise known as my August wrap-up. This month I read a total of nine books, which is a little less than I had been reading lately, but I'm okay with that because I took my time with two of the books I read.

 

A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay - This was a 3 star read for me. It wasn't really anything spectacular, but I did enjoy reading it. There were twists and turns, and I always like a good mystery/thriller. Barclay has a way of drawing you completely into the story.

 

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh - Ooh, this book. I was very hesitant about reading this when I first heard about it because it didn't really sound all that appealing to me. Then one day this month I got it into my head that I absolutely HAD to read it, so I picked it up. I should have listened to my gut. It was just okay. I had a few issues with it, mostly with the romance, which made reading it difficult. I just did not like the way the romance played out. Also, I was horrible at pronouncing the names, which was kind of frustrating. I struggled to get through the first half, but it did pick up during the second half. I didn't HATE it, but I really didn't love it. I don't know if I'll continue with this series. Actual rating for this is probably 2.5 stars. A lot of people absolutely love this book, so don't let my thoughts stop you from reading it.

 

A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes - If you've been reading my blog the last month or so, you'll know that I've fallen for the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes. I've devoured the three books in that series so far, and I can't wait for the fourth to come out in December. A Book of Spirits and Thieves is a spin-off series, so I picked it up this month. While I didn't enjoy this as much as the Falling Kingdoms books, it was still interesting and I'll be reading the rest of the series. It takes place in modern day Toronto, as well as the land in Falling Kindoms, Mytica. I love Mytica, which is why I think I didn't like this one as much, because I just wanted more Mytica scenes.

 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling - This was my 4th/5th? time re-reading this, and I just loved it again. I bought the new Bloomsbury paperback edition because I absolutely love the covers. I have all the original first edition hardbacks, but I could not resist this cover. I want to get the rest of them asap. This was one of the books that I took my time reading this month. I just wanted to take it slow and enjoy it.

 

 

 

All The Rage by Courtney Summers - This book was fantastic, but also infuriating and sad. Basically, a girl is raped by a popular, rich boy and no one believes her and makes her life hell. Then, a popular girl goes missing and people start opening their eyes. This book was hard to read at times because of how real it truly was. Countless rapes go unreported every year because the victim thinks that no one will believe her/him. This needs to change. More people need to read this book, and look at the consequences of victims keeping quiet.

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling - My awesome husband came home one day and surprised me with the next book in the lovely new Bloomsbury covers, so of course I had to read it. I've been on a huge Harry Potter kick this month. We re-watched the first movie, I bought a shirt, and I've been playing the Lego Harry Potter game for the Wii. I will never stop loving this world. I also took my time re-reading this book.

 

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center - I loved this book. I have a full review here, so I won't say much, but it was a great read if you're looking to read about self-discovery in an awesome wilderness adventure setting.

Always the Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk - I plan to do a proper review for this book, so I'll just say that I loved it! It was hilarious, and real, and might be my new favourite Lindsey Kelk book.

 

Other things:

This month went by way too quickly! I really didn't do anything, except work and hang out with my husband and our cats. I'm ready for the weather to cool down a bit, but am definitely never ready for snow. Below are a few photos of Ollie because he's cute, and the only one of our three cats that somewhat tolerates photos.



 

I love this face.

All stretched out for a Sunday nap.

 We bought a new bed, and Ollie had to test the mattress to see if it was safe for us.