Hello!

Another month and I managed to stave off a reading slump – I got really close, to the point where my husband has to tell me to DNF a book (we’ll get to it), but I managed to finish 5 books which is my monthly goal for the year.

I like setting my annual goal to be a multiple of 12 so I can easily set myself monthly goals that are round numbers and 5 is my number for this year! And according to Storygraph, I’m 9 books ahead so having a below average month hasn’t had too much of an impact!

Let’s jump right in, because we know I love a ramble!

Then Things Went Dark – Bea Fitzgerald (4.5 ⭐️)

Summary:

Six people land on a desert island ready to make their reality show debut. The contestants are hungry to prove themselves. But three weeks and eighteen episodes later, five of the six contestants sit in a Portuguese police station, and none of them are winners.

Because twelve million people were watching when Rhys Sutton died on camera.

And of course, no-one is talking. But how do you keep secrets when the world has been watching? Especially when, just a day before his murder, Rhys was the most hated man on television.

Review:

I really enjoyed this book! The audiobook was fantastic – the narrator did a fantastic job of making each of the six main characters feel really distinct and convincingly doing so many different accents.

I always forget how much I like mystery thrillers and this reminded me of ‘One Of Us Is Lying’ by Karen M McManus in the way that you didn’t quite trust any of the characters. Knowing the ending when going back to the beginning to figure out how we get there felt so juxtaposed with the reality TV side.

The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I found the ending a little bit anticlimactic and I think a couple of things were overlooked, so I was a little disappointed but overall it was fantastic.

The Cornish Village School: Breaking The Rules – Kitty Wilson (3 ⭐️)

Summary:

Following heartbreak, Rosy Winter has rebuilt her life in the beautiful Cornish village of Penmenna. Now, headmistress of the local school, she is living by The Rule: no dating anyone in the village. Easy right? But she has a new neighbour, handsome gardener Matt.

In Penmenna for his new gardening TV show, this guy next door will do everything he can to persuade her to break her rule and win her heart. Meanwhile, Penmenna Village School is threatened with closure and it’s up to Rosy to rally the local community and #SaveOurSchool. Can she bring her worlds together and accept help from the most unlikely of sources? One thing’s for sure… she won’t be giving up without a fight.

Review:

I read this book for a very convoluted reason – I accidentally bought book 2 in the series, which I then picked from my TBR jar for my 25 in 2025 and decided that when I picked it from my mini TBR jar (which is how I pick which of my 25 in 2025 I’m reading each month), is when I would then buy book 1. But I had a look at my various audiobook sources first and it was included in the Audible Plus catalogue! At least until August 19th, so I prioritised this at the beginning of the month.

The book itself was mid – the narrator really over performed everything and it felt like the intonation of a children’s book, but she’d be talking about how horny she was for the gardener as if she was on Blue Peter, it was so awkward.

The romance was fine, the insta love was a bit boring, the ‘deeper topics’ that were intended to make it more than your bog standard romance still felt surface level and arguably trivialised the topics it tried to address.

I’m reading the second book, but only because it’s on my 25 in 2025. I also own book 3 and I’m not sure I’m going to bother.

Human Rites – Juno Dawson (4.5 ⭐️)

Summary of Book 1 – Her Majesty’s Royal Coven:

Hidden among us is a secret coven of witches. They are Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. They protect crown and country from magical forces and otherworldly evil. But their greatest enemy will come from within.

There are whisperings of a prophecy that will bring the coven to its knees, and five best friends are about to be caught at the centre. Life as a modern witch was never simple… but now it’s about to get apocalyptic.

Review:

Despite being a little bit frustrated that the audiobook wasn’t due for release until over a month after the publication date, I did really enjoy this – it was a fantastic conclusion to a gripping trilogy with world building that I adored, characters that felt so viscerally real and a magic system that gave me that little feeling that maybe it’s all real and the book was to put off us mere mortals.

I think the reason I couldn’t give this one 5 stars is just because it was a very stressful read – the tension was palpable and it felt like I was in the third act endgame from about 60% in and my chest hurt with the suspense. It was really good, but it wasn’t enjoyable, if that makes any sense!

Deep Cuts – Holly Brickley (3.5 ⭐️)

Summary:

The first time Joe plays Percy one of his songs in his college room in 2000, she instantly realises three things: One, she is watching a star in the making. Two, she can shape his music into something extraordinary. Three, she will always be on the sidelines. 

She swallows her jealousy and throws herself into collaboration, transforming Joe’s songs into indie hits with her blistering critiques. But there’s an undercurrent to the music they’re making – something undeniably electric. As Joe steps into the spotlight, can Percy bear to watch on in silence? And can he exist there without her? 

Review:

I had really high hopes for this one – I’d seen so many incredible reviews comparing it to Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid and… it just wasn’t. It was trying to have the depth and pretentiousness of literary fiction and it tried to make the mundanity significant but I just didn’t feel it.

It’s one of the first audiobooks where I was actively bored through listening. I was doing a long drive to Wales and on multiple occasions I wanted to swap over to listening to K-Pop Demon Hunters (again) instead of finishing the book.

Let’s just say, I’m glad I got the audiobook from the library and didn’t buy the physical edition like I very nearly did on a random Sainsbury’s trip.

Every Colour of You – Amelia Mandeville (2 ⭐️)

Summary:

Zoe and Tristan couldn’t be more different – which is precisely why, when they meet in a hospital waiting room, Zoe becomes determined to get to know Tristan more. But Tristan is struggling with a sadness no one seems to understand, least of all himself. 

Giving up isn’t in Zoe’s nature, and as the two spend more time together, it seems like Tristan might be coming around to seeing the world the way she does. Until one day when everything changes – and in trying to put Tristan back together, Zoe finds herself falling apart.

Review:

This book was painfully 2010 – the writing style felt like it was trying to hard, the female main character was obviously self insert and not in a good way and I don’t think the mental health aspect was written very well, especially considering it was such a major part of the plot. The ending was so predictable, it felt like a direct copy of ‘All The Bright Places’ by Jennifer Niven and I can’t even say I’m glad it’s off my TBR because I didn’t enjoy reading it at all. Not for me!

DNF: Warlock: Escape Velocity – Christopher Stasheff

I feel so guilty about this because this is the first book from my wedding library that I haven’t finished but I have caveats!

I didn’t realise this book is a bind up of the first two books in the series and a prequel – I wanted to buy the ebooks because holding a 700 page book that is 40+ years old and feels quite delicate whilst I was trying to read in bed wasn’t the vibe. So finding out that the first book I was trying to read was Book 0 was very confusing.

But then I just found I had no idea what was going on – I don’t know if it’s a writing style from the 80s, or if the characters make more sense if you’ve read the later novels, but then what was it put at the beginning of this bind up?

I’m terrible at DNFing and I was going to try and push through – even though it took me nearly two weeks to get to the 25% mark, which was only 50 pages – but my husband actually told me to give up, DNF it and read something I enjoyed more. I’m called it a soft DNF because I don’t want it to be the only book in the wedding library I haven’t read, but I’m definitely not in the right mindset right now.

So those are the books I finished/attempted to read in August!

September has felt like such a reset for me – I’m feeling so good about my September TBR, I’ve been making an effort to read during the day (and even managing to get the rest of my to do list done too!) and I feel like I’m going to make a really good catch up and dispel the overwhelmed feeling I have with my TBR at the moment.

Check back at the end of the month where I feel even more overwhelmed 😂

Thank you so much for reading!

Sophie xx