August 2026 Reading Round Up – Book Reviews & Goals

Under Story by Chloe Benjamin

I am truly obsessed with this book – an instant 6 star read, possibly my favourite of the entire year so far.

Read my full review of Under Story by Chloe Benjamin on the blog here.

Once He Sees by Molly Black

I’ve said it recently about other police procedurals, but this is not my time of life for them. I’m working through a list of books I own but haven’t read yet

The book felt quite formulaic in terms of how the process of reviewing a suspect then discounting them worked. It felt like it simplified the process more than I’d imagine it actually goes in real life. This could go two ways in terms of reading it: the entire process is probably not as interesting as you think to read about so it’s better being skipped, or if it’s not written about, it feels a little rushed. This sat somewhere in between those two where it didn’t feel 100% realistic to me. Perhaps because it’s such a short book (under 200 pages), but it felt like it was a very simple version of real detective work.

While it wasn’t the style of book I enjoy right now, the storyline was gripping and I was able to read it in a single sitting without feeling fatigued. The pacing of scenes was good, even if the overall storyline felt unrealistically quick. I enjoyed being thrown straight into a high intensity action scene which still managed to give us enough about the main character, Claire, to start to get to know her. The developing relationship with her new partner was a big part of the book, and it was well done.

There’s also the other side of the story which took it beyond a standard crime thriller, where Claire has “died” in that high intensity scene I mentioned earlier and came back with a newfound “power” to help solve cases. That’s more my type of story right now! To some, that may feel out of place in a crime book, but it added a layer of interest to this one.

Though it’s not my cup of tea right now, if you’re looking for a quick crime procedural thriller, this would fit the bill really well. The author has published a whole series for this character, so if I was going to come back to this type of story, this is probably where I’d start thanks to the slightly supernatural storyline that hooked my interest a little more.

The Finish Line by Kate Stewart

This was a bit of an odd series for me, and I have to confess that I just didn’t get the hype.

While I somewhat enjoyed the first book, with a love triangle and a small town feel with a wider world secret, the second book wasn’t as engaging and felt like it had already finished off the story for me, so this one was kind of just surplus to requirement. Nevertheless, I’m not one to abandon a series, and I thought maybe it had some big surprise in it.

Sadly not! There were parts that I enjoyed, but it felt kind of like an extended epilogue interspersed with novellas (you know, the kind of books in a series that are marked as #0.5 etc.). The context into characters’ worlds before the main story did add depth, but I found the timeline of it strange and detached.

I know a lot of people love this series, but this book especially just wasn’t one for me.

Shadows So Cruel by Liv Zander

This wasn’t a bad read by any means, but in terms of dark romantasy, it didn’t blow me away.

The storyline was a lot heavier on the dark romance than the romantasy side – the plot there didn’t pull a huge amount of weight. I was looking for more of a storyline to develop in this book, but it seemed more of a backburner kind of thing where there was no real goal for the characters for a long time, then it all came at once. As the second book in the Court of Ravens duo, I would have loved to see more of this, even if it meant building it out into more books – I think there was a lot more potential here.

I enjoyed the writing and the chemistry between the three characters, however dark and twisted they were. There were also some nicely done relationships between side characters, such as parents. I think I would read other books by the author as I enjoyed the style and as I said, I can see a lot of potential for great stories here.

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

This book is told from a mixture of perspectives – a doctor who saw patient zero and tried to alert the authorities, women whose entire families were male and they know they will lose them, a man stuck aboard a ship with 300 other passengers completely isolated from the Plague, women working on tests for immunity and vaccines. You’d think it would get confusing, and there were a couple of times that I had to take a moment to remind myself whose point of view I was looking at, but I think the mixture of perspectives added to the feeling of sheer chaos and panic that the characters were feeling around the world. It’s well done as each had their own motives of how to move forward in this new world, and they all felt very real and understandable to identify with.

You can’t talk about this book without highlighting the feminist angle of it. What would the world look like if 90% of the men were gone? Common daily issues that we have (such as seatbelts in cars – the book Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez explains a lot of these in great detail) were finally addressed; men were suddenly fighting for their rights not to be harrassed by women who now outnumbered them. It’s such a big “what if” type of story that it makes it almost fun (in a harrowing way) to delve deep into this new normal.

I really appreciated the depth of the logistics that had clearly gone into the planning of this book, and all that in a world before our own pandemic had occurred (albeit, not quite so devastating as this one). The author’s foreword explains this better, but I agree with her early readers calling her a “Cassandra” as there were so many parallels in the world to come! She detailed social distancing, contact tracing, the hunt for a vaccine, masks, isolation, how long the virus lasted on surfaces and more before the general public even knew this was a thing. Having had that happen in the real world after writing shows just how well written and researched it was! Even the follow up with things like fertility treatment lotteries, rationing and jobs being allocated was so well thought through.

But let’s not forget how truly distressing this story is. As a mum of a boy, there were scenes that were absolutely devastating to me. You need to go into this story carefully as it’s so realistic and seems so possible, that it’s easy to get absorbed and imagining this in real life.

I’m late on this review, but I’m glad I didn’t read it earlier as it would have been too soon after our own real life pandemic, which we now look at through rose-tinted glasses, I think. Or at least, those of us who didn’t work in healthcare do.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

Disenchanted by Lucy Jane Wood

The vibes in this book were my favourite of Lucy Jane Wood’s books so far. The fairy-tale, storybook magic was a gorgeous touch, even if it was sinister in many ways (but aren’t all fairy tales!).

You can read my full review of Disenchanted by Lucy Jane Wood on the blog in around a week!

The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent

This book hit just at the right moment for me – I was wanting a light, funny summer read, and it was perfect for that. A misunderstanding that’s taken to the extreme.

Birdy’s best friend Heather asks her to gently let down a job offer for her so that she can run away with her new man, but in the process of doing so, she accidentally takes up the job, one she is severely underqualified for – a sommelier at a fancy hotel in Scotland. She arrives thinking it will be a breeze at a run down joint in the middle of nowhere, only to find the hotel has been renovated, with a Michelin star chef calling the shots, and everyone relying on the young, new wine expert to pull in a fantastic review.

This was an absolute comedy of errors, where poor Birdy just keeps getting herself entangled deeper and deeper in a situation that she can’t see a way out of without upsetting everyone. It’s a rom-com in an excellent setting, with brilliant chemistry between her and James, but also a fantastic wider cast of characters. I fell in love with sweet Irene and enthusiastic Roxy. Their characters are very well written and feel so realistic.

In fact, the whole book, despite being a very farfetched situation, felt very realistic. I could fully picture the hotel setting and the team dynamic – living in shared cottages, days out foraging and fishing, dedicating their lives to the hotel. It’s very insular so of course causes friction, but also builds those new relationships very quickly.

This isn’t exactly a groundbreaking book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent reading it and struggled to put it down. I’ll definitely read more from the author, I really loved her style.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

Cursed Fates by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

This is my favourite of the main Zodiac Academy series so far – the stakes are getting higher, the relationships are developing, the stars are infuriating. Without going into spoilers, I’ve been really enjoying seeing the bully side of things fall away and some camaderie coming in between the groups. I’m also loving that Ruthless Boys characters are popping in with little cameos and some wider storylines now too. I’m dying to see where some of the stories go, and I’m trying really hard not to look up fan art or theories because I just want to knooooow!

The Big A.S.S Party by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

This was a crazy fun little read to add some light to a really quite heavy part of this series. What an interesting insight into Geraldine’s mind that I didn’t know I needed! Her character is designed to be an odd one, and this was honestly just hilarious. I love seeing her character develop, although I’ve had to adjust what she looked like in my head over the past few books and it still doesn’t pair quite right with her bumbling, chaotic language!

Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert

This was an odd read – it sounded right up my street, but I just didn’t gel with it.

Mina has been sent as a pawn in her father’s game to another vampire. She’s half-vampire (dhampir) and has been sent to feed and breed with Malachi. She quickly realises how pleasurable the whole experience can be, then two of his friends join in, and they realise an opportunity to set themselves and her free from her father.

I didn’t think I’d say I could get bored of spicy scenes in books, but in this one, I did. Where people describe books like ACOTAR as smut, I’d disagree – but this one was like 80% smut. And the problem was that the scenes weren’t different enough to make them exciting or interesting – they were generally pretty samey.

Originally this was written as three novellas, which very much shows. It feels like it started as a short story, which would have worked well, but then was expanded. While there was a plot behind it all, it wasn’t really fleshed out and the world only felt half-built. The main characters had enough personality that I could remember them and tell them apart, but the other characters only seemed to join fleetingly so I didn’t get a chance to feel much for them at all. I think the plot itself on paper sounds like it could have worked really well had it had more time and effort to expand it into a bigger series.

The redeeming factor of this story is the first book. That started off with excellent classic vampire and horror movie vibes. It was very atmospheric, and honestly, I wasn’t against the spice kicking off straight away – at least it’s different to my usual slow burn!

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

This book is certainly one to get people talking, with an unlikeable main character, controversial topics and a fun twist. I think this was a good book, just not worth the crazy hype.

Natalie is an online tradwife, with a huge online following who love seeing her perfect life and family every day – she has high standards to uphold, but also has a small secret team around her helping with that. Everything is perfect, until she wakes up in a whole new reality – the traditional life she strives for is suddenly completely real in her home, but with a family that’s not quite her own. She’s literally been thrown into “yesteryear”, and she needs to find her way back.

This book would make a great book club read, I can imagine all the discussion it would spark around influencers, tradwives and the manosphere as well as the big mystery around the new reality that Natalie found herself in (especially if the book club was in two sittings – coming up with theories about what’s going on would be fun, to see if anyone can guess!). The topics are very timely right now with so many controversies around family influencers, and as it’s a world I’m part of for work and as a hobby (only somewhat nowadays!), it was especially interesting. I recently read another tradwife book with some similarities (The Trad Wife’s Secret by Liane Child), especially with the team around the influencer.

It was a very gripping and compelling read. I sped through it. I think had it not had so much hype, I might have given the book 4 stars rather than 3, but with everyone reading it and raving about it, I thought it might blow me away. The twist was good, if a little farfetched (but isn’t that exactly the point of a thriller like this!), but not blow your mind good.

Natalie’s character is distinctly unlikeable, which is actually quite fun to read. When reading from her perspective, it makes you challenge the way you feel about her. So often we’re given a main character to identify with and to feel sorry for. In this case, it’s hard to find the positives about her, even when we’re shown her past.

I would, and have already, recommended it, but I’m warning those I recommend it to that it may not blow them away as much as the hype suggests.

The Pools by E. Lockhart

I didn’t know what to expect from this book. I’ve read most of E. Lockhart’s other books and always loved them – We Were Liars is one of my all time favourites. Her books always have excellent vibes, and this one was no different.

You can read my full review of The Pools by E. Lockhart on the blog in a few weeks!