This month has been crazy. I didn’t think it would go this way–though parts of it were expected. I set myself a reading goal for the year, thinking that I would attempt to read more than the 67 books I managed last year. On August 23rd I finished my 75th book of 2021 and hit my reading goal. That book was Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, in case anyone was curious. (I’m writing this intro on August 25th and I’ve already read another four and a half books in these last two days. I’m not sure what going on but it’s wild and I love it.) I reached 80/75 by the end of August and I’m so proud of myself. Note: don’t compare yourself to me, or anyone else! We are all capable in different ways. No one is better or worse for having read a certain number of books. All my goals are for me and me alone.
As always, I’ll open with what I read this month in order.
– Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
– Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
– How To Be Owned By a 2nd Cat by Kate C. (ARC)
– Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
– A Romance Novel (ARC)
– Radium Girl by Sofi Papamarko
– The Clockmaker’s Wife by Daisy Wood (ARC)
– Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
– The Betrothed by Kiera Cass
– Oddball by Sarah Anderson (ARC)
– Watering the Soul by Courtney Peppernell (ARC)
– The Betrayed by Kiera Cass
– Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (ARC)
Now that it’s the end of August, I’ll get into choosing my favourites and talk about other books that stood out.
My favourite reads from this month are Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. Sending thanks out to Netgalley for the ARC of the second book so I could read both so close together. The first book was phenomenal. I loved the dialogue between Aristotle and Dante. It was simplistic in its construction while being complex and philosophical in its content. Their love story was one that I found to be unique (as I can only read from my own perspective) and completely lovely in all its complexities. The people who read the first book will fall in love again with the second book. I know a lot of people waited a long time for this sequel, but I promise you that it’s worth it. Both are 5 star reads for me.
My lowest rated book this month is the unnamed romance novel ARC, but I’m going to talk about the next lowest rated, which is The Betrothed. This was a reread that I read for the first-time last year and gave it 4 stars. This time, I paid more attention to the story and didn’t love it as much as last time. I gave it 3 stars. The main character, Hollis, isn’t as fleshed out and didn’t seem to be moving the plot forward. Things happened to her, instead of her making moves to forward herself through the world. The final scene changes this, however, which is why I don’t believe I could review this book completely without the second half of the series directly beside it. The Betrayed was so much better. Watch out for my review in the next month!
I was going to give an update on my writing for the month, but I honestly haven’t done any. I think August is a difficult month for me to be productive because it’s always been the height of summer break for me. However, September changes things. It comes with the mentality of going back to school. This is the first September since before first grade that I’m not going to school, so things are going to change. Productivity is the name of the game, so stay tuned for tomorrow’s post about what I’m doing in September.
Thanks for reading!
Lit&Leta 
Leave a Reply