Wow, September just blew by, didn’t it? For me, this felt like my best month yet! I may not have read as many books as I did in August, but I updated my blog several times a week, posted a lot of reviews, was lucky enough to do an author interview (!!), completed two read-a-thons, and caught up on my ever-growing ARC tbr!
Books Read
12 books, 1 novellas, 1 short story, 1 graphic novel
Books Reviewed
I was lucky enough to be part of the blog tour for this amazing novel and had a blast!
Scorpio Hates Virgo is the absolute cutest novel ever, although not as cute as it’s predecessor.
Read my review.
Illegal Contact is one of the best sports romances I have ever read. Santino Hassell is an incredible #OwnVoices writer and Gavin and Noah’s story really touched me. I can’t wait for the sequel which will focus on another beloved character.
Read my review.
The Hate U Give is this year’s most incredible YA and I am still reeling from how incredible the novel was.
This book should be required reading for high school.
Read my review.
Fortitude Smashed had the markings of a great novel, and it was until the 80% mark, and then something happened that ruined the whole book for me. I’m so disappointed.
Read my review.
I was also lucky enough to have been part of the Manic Pixie Dream Boy Review Tour by the lovely K.A. Merikan! MPDB was one of K.A. Merikan’s cutest novels and one I highly recommend if you’re looking for something quick, cute and with a HEA.
Read my review.
K.J. Charles’ final novel in the Sins of the Cities series was one of the best finale’s I have ever read. Plot-wise, everything came together in the most incredible way. Character-wise: I basically haven’t stopped crying over the amazing representation and romance in this novel. A must-read.
Read my review.
Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz is a phenomenal debut about a female bomber regiment in WWII. The book is about overcoming sexism, struggling to persevere in a world at war, and a tale of sacrifice and love. A must read.
Read my review.
A fascinating sci-fi novel with incredible world-building. Outstanding representation in this novel that had me smiling from cover to cover. A few issues with writing, but nothing that really affected my enjoyment of the novel.
Read my review.
Yuletide Truce is a delightfully cute holiday M/M romance about geeky book reviewers set in the Victorian period.
This short story was adorable in every way, from the characters, to the story, to the little dash of enemies-to-lovers trope.
Read my review.
His Convenient Husband was a quick read and different from the trope of marriage-of-convienience. I enjoyed it, but did have a few issues – mainly, one of the love interests. My review is on Goodreads, I won’t be posting it here.
Read my review on Goodreads.
Book of the Month
It’s a tie, yet again! I loved both of these books equally for very different reasons.
Among the Red Stars was an incredible journey of a young woman overcoming sexism and war in 1940s Russia, while simultaneously falling for her best friend, who is at the Front. Such an amazing book, I still have chills from it. Please, do yourselves a favour and read this novel.
The Hate U Give is such a powerful novel that I think should be required school reading. You will cry lots, but you will also learn. Angie Thomas has an amazing career ahead of her, and I can’t wait to see what else she blesses us with.
Monthly Disappointment
There’s nothing worse than hating a book you were so sure you were going to love! What makes Fortitude Smashed so heartbreaking is the fact that everything was perfect until the 80% mark of the book.
I won’t say what the problem was – because it’s a massive spoiler – but read my review if you want to know (it’s the bit that’s been whited out; you need to highlight it to read it).
Tags
This month I participated in:
Disney Princess Sidekicks Book Tag
Unpopular Book Opinions Tag
Check out the tags to see my answers and who I tagged in turn!
Extra Content
Blog Tours:
This month I was lucky enough to have been involved in not one, not two, but THREE blog tours. How did I not succumb to stress? You got me. Anyway, click on the images below to check out the tours, which include my reviews and excerpts!
Author Interview:
I was so incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to interview debut author Gwen C. Katz and chat to her about her new novel, Among the Red Stars. If I haven’t gushed about the book enough yet, let me do so again and tell you to READ THIS BOOK. Seriously, Among the Red Stars was such a beautiful and powerful novel, and I never wanted it to end.
Click on the book cover to the right to check out my author interview and ARC review! –>
Other:
This month I joined the #TackleTBR Read-a-thon, a two-week long read-a-thon with the goal of diminishing our immediate to-read pile. For the read-a-thon, I stuck to reading ARCs because my ARC list was growing out of control!
Here’s my Sign Up post for the #TackleTBR Read-a-thon and Wrap Up!
In August, I signed up for the awesome #TheReadingQuest and, luckily, I managed to complete my Quest and even a few of the Side Quests! Check out my Wrap Up to see which books I read.
I also wrote up a post about all of my most anticipated 2018 releases! Check out the post if you want to hate yourself by adding a million books to your TBR. 😊
Purchased Books
I was bad this month, but to be fair I haven’t purchased a physical copy of a novel in a very long time (I usually buy Kindle versions). I went a little crazy this month, because so many books were being released and I needed to own them! Also, I’m finally get back into YA after binging on adult LGBTQ fiction for the past two months 😂.
I bought:
Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology by various
Queer, There and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Gap Year in Ghost Town by Michael Pryor
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
ARCs
White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig: My first 2018 ARC!! I’m so excited 🎉
The Uncrossing by Melissa Eastlake: Review coming 2/10! I can tell you right now, I freaking adored this book!!
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera: Not an ARC, as the book has been published for a while, but I was approved for it via Netgalley!
Non-Bookish Stuff
Wow, I was pretty boring this month, as in all I did was read my ARCs and do assignments for uni. I usually try to see movies or watch a new show or something like 
that, but this month I only had time to watch two movies. One was the stupid Emoji Movie. My little brother and I were bored one night and had nothing to do so we saw it. Long story short: don’t waste your time. 😁😅🤣😝🙃🤓😏😑
The other was IT. I saw it with my sister and managed not to cry or even scream! This movie was so good you guys, I highly recommend it, unless you’re not a horror fan. The movie actually made me want to read the book, even though that thing is like over 1000 pages long.
Setting a Goal
So I’ve decided to set myself a goal from now until the end of the year! At the moment, I have read – all up, and over many years – 884 books. By the end of the year, I want to reach 900.
That’s 16 books in 3 months, which I think is pretty doable, considering I read 22 books in July and 21 in August 😂. Please cheer me on as I attempt this goal! My 11-year-old brother has put the pressure on me:
Looking Forward: October
I don’t know how active I’m going to be throughout October, just because I’ll be preparing for final assignments for uni, but I’ll try my hardest! I do finish uni early November, so if I’m not around much in October, I definitely will be in November!
Regardless, at the very least, you can expect a few reviews from me, including:
- The Uncrossing by Melissa Eastlake (coming 2/10)
- Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski (coming 5/10)
- The Tiger’s Watch by Julia Ember (coming 8/10)
Blog Tours:
Apparently I’m thirsty for blog tours because even though I know my final assignments are due late October, I still joined two????
Anyway, one is a review tour for a queer halloween anthology entitled All in Fear, featuring a f/f short story from my favourite LGBTQ+ writer, K.J. Charles. And the other is an Instagram tour for Off the Ice by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn, the first book in a m/m hockey series called Hat Trick.
Tentative October TBR:
How was your September? Was it as productive as mine? How many books did you read, and which was your favourite? Let me know!!
❤️ Laura
oooh how was the night circus? I really want to read it–was it good?
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I enjoyed it! It wasn’t what I thought it was about and was a little weird, but I liked that and the writing was incredible. I’ll write up my review sometime in October 😀
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DAMN you read so many amazing books! are you even human? 😀 september is always hectic for me so i only finished one novel this month
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Hahaha thank you !!!! You should have seen me in August – I read like 21 and don’t know how I did that 😂. Ah don’t worry, I think that will be me in October. Life comes first, unfortunately 😀
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September really did blow by in the blink of an eye! I thought August had gone by quickly, but wow! I hope October doesn’t go by too fast. It’s my favorite month and I really want to savor it before the madness of the “holiday season”. 😛
I bought Leigh Bardugo’s WW novel, too! Can’t wait to read it. 🙂 She has another one that just came out that I really want to get my hands on called The Language of Thorns:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34076952-the-language-of-thorns
The new ‘It’ movie was sooo good! I agree, it really makes me want to tackle that beast of a book! lol
Good luck with reaching your 900 book goal! From the sounds of it, I’d say it’s safe to say “you’ve got this!” 😉 Haha and that little note your brother left is adorable.
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I know right!! I hope October doesn’t go by too fast, not because of Halloween, but because I have assignments due at the end of it and I need as much time as possible to finish them!! lol.
Oooh yes, I forgot about Language of Thorns! Need to get my hands on a copy ASAP 😀
Thank you!! I’m sure ill be able to reach my goal. Haha my brother likes to egg me on 🤣
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Wow, you had an absolutely fantastic reading month! I loved The Hate U Give as well, and you’re absolutely right, it should definitely be required reading. Such an important message packed into such an incredible story. I haven’t read any of the other books you read this month or that you’ve put on your October TBR, but I recognize a few! I really need to read Vicious as well; all of my friends have been insisting on it for ages, haha! 😉
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Thank you!! Yes, THUG was so incredible, I can’t wait till the movie is out 😀 Oooh, everyone tells me Vicious is awesome, I can’t wait to read it 😀
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Definitely, me too!!
Same here; I’m just finishing up her ADSOM series and I’m loving it. 🙂
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