Happy August, everyone!! I’ve had moments lately when I cannot get ENOUGH of reading and other times when I can’t focus on a book for longer than 3 minutes ever. This almost always happens to me in the summer and this summer is probably just a little bit more like that, but what can ya do?! I’ve still read some great books lately and hoping to finish a few more this week while we are camping!! 🙂

Linking up today (as always) with Steph & Jana for Show us Your books. I won’t get to reading anyone’s posts or replying to comments until at least Thursday when I’m back in the land of the internet but looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been reading lately!

Books I Couldn’t Put Down

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand
When I first found out what this book was mainly about, I wasn’t sure about it…but it was SO easy to read and sink into and really just the perfect kind of slightly scandalous, nostalgic, time-after-time summer read that really hits the spot. The ending hit me hard. The snippets of each of the 28 years were some of my favourite things ever. Thankful to my mom for getting this from the library and polishing it off in 24 hours so I could have it too 😉

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
This book was being touted as a book that Harry Potter lovers would love, so any time I see that I get to that book ASAP. This book was unlike any I’ve read and the closest thing I could think of with it was the Fantastic Beasts movies with the Creedence storyline. This is middle-grade fantasy and I couldn’t get enough of it on audio. The voices were fantastic, the plot and story were great, and it flew by. If that’s a genre you like, I definitely recommend this one. Can’t wait to share it with my kids in a few years because there’s plenty of underlying messages to unpack here.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
WOW!!! After feeling very neutral about A Court of Thorns and Roses and totally blown away by A Court of Mist and Fury, I am happy to report that I REALLY loved this book too. So good. I did this half audio/half reading the e-book and it was very, very hard to put down – especially near the end. I love these characters so much and it has been a long time since I’ve been so invested in characters. I am hard put to decide between this book and its predecessor for my favourite in this series, but there was a lot to love about this one and I felt a bit more emotional at times.

I can’t wait for the next book to come in January and I’ll be reading the novella within the month here too. ALL the love for this series. Also, is it just me or is EVERYONE reading these books right now? So much love for this series but it is well deserved, in my opinion.

Always Only You by Chloe Liese
This lovely, romantic, funny, sweet book hooked me in RIGHT away and was absolutely adorable. I’d forgotten how much I like sports romances when they are done well. It was also impossible not to root for Frankie, who was so determined and independent. It is always beyond refreshing to read about a mature and gentlemanly male lead in a romance novel, especially one who is single but drives a Honda Odyssey in order to be able to drive other people around when need be 😉

This book was an #ownvoices read as the author is on the autism spectrum just like Frankie and the acknowledgments section was fascinating and heartfelt to read. Frankie also has rheumatoid arthritis and the approach taken to that aspect of her character felt very real and well done, in my opinion.

I can’t wait to go back and read the first book in this series (they stand alone no problem but the first couple seems LOVELY too) and the next one next year!!! It’s always a joy to find a new series like this to love.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Few Other Books That I Enjoyed

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
This short book was excellent on audio and I really liked all of the characters. Jacqueline Woodson’s writing is just soooo good. This book is pure YA gold.





City Spies by James Ponti
When my almost 9-year-old raved about this book, I knew I needed to read it too. The audiobook was excellent and this was a fast-paced, interesting story. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series as it comes out.





The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole
This book opened my eyes 100% more than I was expecting. Most of the books about race I’ve been reading in the last few months have centered on events in the States, but this one was almost exclusively about the current prevalence of systemic racism in Canada. I was introduced to a few terms I was unfamiliar with, such as carding. My eyes were opened to a myriad of unbelievably devastating events regarding police and persons of color in Canada, some of which I did hear about at the time, others, not at all. I was particularly humbled to realize that I am absolutely one of the people who has always felt that the police are there to keep us safe and I have now realized that there are plenty of people out there who do NOT feel that way at all.

Books like this challenge the narrow-minded view I’ve always had due to my white privilege and I really want to continue working on broadening my perspective and learning more about how to foster change in my own country.

The Honest Enneagram: Know Your Type, Own Your Challenges, Embrace Your Growth by Sarajane Case
I read half and listened to half of this book and the audiobook was very well narrated. I do think there is some benefit to seeing some of the diagrams in the e-book/printed book but they are still well described in the audiobook.

I found this interesting overall and can “think” of people who might be examples of certain types. I enjoy her H.O.N.E.S.T philosophy and gentleness when talking about the strengths and weaknesses of each type. I think I might have gotten a bit more out of this overall if I was more familiar with my own type and the Enneagram in general because it isn’t a true overview, but that’s my fault and not the book’s fault. It certainly gave me a lot to think about and explore some of the types a bit more as I discover mine. I look forward to following the author on social media and learning more about this interesting personality typing.

Thank you to Andrew McMeels Publishing, Netgalley, and Edelweiss for the e-arc and the ALC! 🙂

I’m currently reading Anxious People, Fredrik Backman’s new book that comes out Sept 8 (it is SO good), and listening to the 5th in Deborah Crombie’s Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James’ series.

What are you reading? What do you hope to read soon? Have a great rest of the summer!!