August Reviews

Listen, if I'm only going to read two physical books this month, they're both gonna be incredible. Happy end of summer, I traveled a bunch and had no time to read, but I can't even be mad because the books I did read were absolutely amazing, 10/10, cried and laughed a lot during both.

Let's get right to it!

(Surprise, I actually read four books this month, but two of them were digital so no pics!)

Bound To The Wild Fae by Tavia Lark

It took me a very long time to finish this book (not pictured because surprise ebook) but only because I started it in the first few days of August and then left the country for two weeks where I did absolutely no reading until I landed state side again. So. Whoops.

Folly is an anxious mess, and his fae touched golden eye doesn't make things any better. Yarrow is a wild fae looking for a place in the summer court and given a difficult task. When a run in with the shapestealer he's chasing binds he and Folly together with magic, it's terrible for both us them. Until suddenly it's a lot less terrible, and as they journey to the fae queen to ask for help, they start to fall for one another and wonder if a life bound to one another would really be so bad.

We've established that I like Tavia Lark's writing style, and this one was fun because it's part of a greater project by several authors-- a series connected only by the magical coin found by it's characters, that travels from realm to real. I may or may not check out the other books in the series, depending on what they're about, but this one I had a good time with. I love books set in fae worlds trying to follow rules. 

Folly and Yarrow were fun too, both sort of outcasts in their respective worlds suddenly forced to work together. Flirty Yarrow and anxious Folly, an unexpected by very adorable match, and their journey towards ending their curse and falling in love was a joy to read.

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

This book was maybe the horniest book I've ever read. It was also desperately in love and so full of beautiful architecture and art and good food and I wanted to go back to Europe just to find the places where it happened. I'm delighted that I bought it in London and even more delighted that I went to some of the places this book takes place right before reading it. 10/10 would recommend a romp about Europe before or while reading this book; I think it's pair quite nicely.

Theo and Kit, bisexual exes fours years post breakup, accidentally end up on the same European food and wine tour that meant to take together before they broke up. Stuck together for three weeks, they start a competition to see who can sleep with the most people. But as the stakes ramp up, Theo and Kit have to reckon with how much has changed for them and how much hasn't. 

I love Casey McQuiston. They could write literally anything and I would buy it and read it while twirling my hair and kicking my feet and giggling. I was audibly laughing on my lunch break reading this, then trying desperately to hide that I was reading very horny but beautifully crafted shut at work. 

The descriptions of everything were absolutely gorgeous-- McQuiston is a fucking poet. I'm not a foodie but this book made me hungry, and the places were written so well I felt like I could smell them. 

The characters are incredible, but that's another McQuiston staple. Kit and Theo are desperately in love with one another and trying their hardest to find happiness without. They're complex and pretentious and so, so fucking funny. It was an absolute joy and wonder to follow them around Europe. I learned a lot about wine and art and how to reach foe love with both hands and hold on.

I will wax poetic about this book forever and ever. If you're horny or like food or art or falling in love, or even just one of those things, read this book. 

Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Hoo boy, this book really took me out and shook me up; it's an absolute masterpiece of a character study and a very complicated friendship that spans three decades. And yes, I did cry so much while reading it.

Sam and Sadie are many things to each other; estranged childhood best friends, regular best friends, business partners, game designers. They're raw potential when they accidentally reunite in college, and over the next decade their lives are a push/pull wave, connected by their shared love of games. 

Ignore the summary I just wrote and go read the book. Sam and Sadie are vast and complicated and heartbreaking and forever at odds but love one another deeply. They create beautiful stories together and for one another, hiding pieces of themselves and each other in the work. They are their own heroes and villains and I loved them. My favorite character was probably Sam's other best friend and their gaming producer, Marx, and the parts we get from him are both the best and worst of the book (read it and understand).

The structure of the book is also very cool, jumping around the timeline as needed, not revealing too much too fast and knocking on childhood when their adult selves need us to understand. Zevin's writing is absolutely beautiful. She's clever and witty and well read, and her references were delightful, whether I already knew them or had to look them up later. I'm not much of a gamer, but I appreciate how much game research clearly went into this book and how Zevin has to be at least a little bit passionate about them to create these characters and this world.

These review is probably kind of incoherent, but honestly it's been two days since I finished it and I'm still kind of reeling. I very, very highly recommend this book.

Clean Finish by Lily Mayne

Surprise, one more ebook! This one is the sequel to Impromptu Match, an ebook I read back in February, and was honestly stoked when I saw it had been released.

Seb has been in love with his boss' assistant for a year and a half, quietly pining for the young fae. So when Larkin approaches him with a proposition-- help him get more comfortable with sex so that he'll be confident enough to pursue other people, Seb thinks this may be his only chance to have any of him. But the closer they grow, the harder it is for Seb to imagine letting Larkin go-- and the more Larkin thinks he might want to stay.

Truly just a horny but very sweet story about a not-so unrequited love and finding common ground where you'd least expect it. And also crossword puzzles. It was a pretty quick read, very sweet, and a great follow up to Impromptu Match. I like the world Mayne has built with creatures running around right under humanity's nose, and with all the characters pre-established in the first book, this one could play around a bit more with them. Plus it was fun to see what Taylor and Holt were up to.

I also liked getting to know Seb and Larkin better. They were delightful side characters in the first book, and getting to step more into their shoes was fun. They seem like total opposites, but there's a sweet comfortability in them. And the yearning! They're basically already in a relationship and still yearning for each other! Great. Plus, Mayne is a good smut writer, so I appreciated that as well.

All in all, this was a good month for reading, even if I didn't read very many books.

Until next time!

Literary recommendation: Master of Death by Olivie Blake has yet to leave my brain

Media recommendation: I've been relistening to Hozier's Unreal Unearth album and it's two EP counterparts in preparation for seeing him in concert again, and I cannot stress how fucking GOOD all of that is