The end of summer is nigh and that means it’s time to wrap up the 20 Books of Summer challenge. The good news is I read 28 books over three months, so I hit that target, but only 13 were from my list (I DNFed another two) and I only managed to post 8 reviews in total. How past me reviewed everything she read, I don’t know.
On my list and reviewed:
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen ββββ
The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyneΒ βββββ
The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett βββ
Not on my list and reviewed:
The Ends by James Smythe βββββ
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope ββββ
Cackle by Rachel Harrison βββ
Hothouse Earth by Bill McGuire ββββ
Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher ββββ
On my list, read but not reviewed:
Links go to Goodreads.
Ithaca by Claire North ββββ
I will review this one in the next few days. Story of how Penelope and her maids kept the island of Ithaca going during her husband’s absence. Was a great choice to have Hera narrate this, with her disdain for mortal men and the other gods, but a soft spot for the last queens of Greece.
Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman + Jay Kristoff βββ
This trilogy was nowhere near as good as the Illuminae Files, however the time loop in this final instalment was one of the high points.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones ββββ
Outcast, slasher-film obsessed Jade wishes a serial killer to her town and then a Final Girl turns up. Glad I finally read a SGJ book, will consider others.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel βββββ
Just lovely, and I loved how it tied in with The Glass Hotel.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry ββββ
Enjoyable romance, I liked the editor and literary agent characters.
The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong ββββ
These are really getting a bit repetitive but I enjoy them!
The Cat Who Saved Books by SΕsuke Natsukawa βββ
Not my favourite Japanese Cat Book.
Coward by Tim Clare ββββ
Really good exploration into anxiety and one man’s search for a cure.
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers ββββ
Becky’s books are always like a friendly hug.
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson ββββ
An urban fantasy for Brits of my generation!
Not on my list, read but not reviewed:
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin βββββ
Maybe my favourite book of the year? Game dev, friendship, grief and disability with a big helping of nostalgia.
The Trees by Percival Everett βββ
I am not really sure I understood what this was trying to do and I didn’t find it as funny as everyone else. Very odd book.
Together We Burn by Isabel Ibanez βββ
If matadors fought dragons, enjoyable enough but I was on the side of the dragons.
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood ββββ
I fear Ali Hazelwood might be a one trick pony, but this was cute
Stuck With You by Ali Hazelwood βββ
The most disappointing of her STEMinist novellas…
Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood ββββ
…and my favourite STEMist novella. I liked all the space geekery.
Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman ββββ
Read this after binging on the adorableness of Heartstopper.
Eve by Una ββ
A dreary disappointment. But it did fulfil Popsugar’s palindromic title prompt.
The Secret of Life by Howard Markel βββ
Very dry history of Watson, Crick and Franklin. Gave it a bonus star for trying to give Franklin proper credit.
My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey ββ
Not my sort of romance!
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I was similar to you – 25 books read but only 14 from my 20 Books! I call it a win regardless. Thanks so much for taking part.
I ended up reading fewer than five of the books that I set on my possibility pile at the start of the summer. I’m *so* terrible with TBRs it’s ridiculous… It looks like you had a great summer of reading overall though! π I’ve heard so many amazing things about Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, I’m definitely keen to get myself a copy as soon as I can. Great recap!
Congrats on reading 28 books even though not all of them counted toward your challenge. The good things about those books is that it looks like you enjoyed most of them. I’m definitely curious about a lot of them. π
Well you read more than 20 books even if they weren’t the original 20! I surprised myself by reading my original list of 20, that very rarely happens. I know I only finished because I had a sudden cheeky afternoon off, and I’m not quite sure now how I managed to review them all! So well done! Book Lovers is the only one I’ve read from your pile, and I enjoyed it a lot. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is on my and my husband’s list to read together at some point – him on audio and me in book form.
I don’t like to think we “fail” at anything if we’ve read some good books. You read a ton this summer and it looks like you enjoyed most of them. I have the second Ali Hazelwood on my shelf and was wondering how similar it will be to the first.
I think her second novel is a similar plot to one of the novellas, they’re all blurring into one now. But it’s still cute.