August 2023 Book Recommendations
Hello, hello everyone!
It is a new month, so of course, we have a new list of amazing books coming out!
Putting the list together this month made me laugh a bit because I feel like this month’s list really shows the eclectic taste I have in books.
Let me know in the comments what was the last book you read that was out of your norm or usual genre?
But now on to this month’s fabulous book recs to add to your TBR!
First is Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney.
This debut is a mix of horror, coming of age, and family drama all steming from such a simple change of life – a grandfather coming to stay.
An eleven-year-old boy lives an idyllic childhood exploring the remote coastal plains and wetlands of South Carolina, but when the boy’s eerie and estranged grandfather shows up, hidden secrets resurface that his parents refuse to explain.
The longer his grandfather outstays his welcome, the more the boy feels something within him changing —physically—into something his grandfather welcomes and his mother fears. Something abyssal. Something monstrous.
I’m so intrigued to see how this author balances the norm and idyllic with the drama and horror of something terribly awry.
I can already tell this is one I won’t be reading before bed!
This came out on the first, so if you are just as intrigued as I am, you can already check it out now!
Next is Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun.
As you all know, I’m a huge fan of epic fantasy and so I’m always on the lookout for someone who can bring a new angle to the genre. Forged by Blood is just what the doctor ordered! This debut epic fantasy is the first book in a duology inspired by Nigerian mythology, where a young woman fights to survive a tyrannical society and seeks vengeance for her mother’s murder and the murder of her people.
“In the midst of a tyrannical regime and political invasion, Dèmi just wants to survive: to avoid the suspicion of the nonmagical Ajes who occupy her ancestral homeland, to escape the King’s brutal genocide of her people, and to live peacefully with her mother, while learning to control the terrifying blood magic that is her birthright.
But when Dèmi’s misplaced trust costs her mother’s life, survival gives way to vengeance. Kidnap the Aje prince, Jonas, and bargain with his life to save the remaining Oluso. But the way is dangerous, Dèmi’s magic is growing yet uncertain, and it’s not clear if she can trust those at her side.”
A mix of magic, politics, revenge and romance, this book sounds amazing and I’m excited for it to come out on the 8th!
Next is a cozy mystery called Board to Death.
Back in his hometown of Sugar House running his family’s board game shop and café, Ben Rosencrantz just can’t seem to get his life to pass go, much less collect $200. Once he was a happily married English professor in Seattle. Now he’s a divorced caregiver, looking after his ill father and a Chihuahua named Beans while still figuring out the rules of retail management and flirting with the flower shop owner, Ezra McCaslin.
When a local game collector named Clive offers Ben a too-good-to-be-true deal, Ben is hesitant and turns him down. Only to have Clive turn up dead at Ben’s front door, with a backpack full of $100 bills appearing on his doorstep. Now Ben is the number one suspect in Clive’s death, and unless he and Ezra can prove his innocence and find the real killer, he’ll go to jail for murder—and no amount of double dice rolls will set him free...
How cute and intriguing does that sound? This adorable cozy mystery romance will release on August 22nd.
Finally is Free Me – the last book in Ashley Rostek’s thriller romance series.
On the cusp of the height of the “why choose” genre popularity, Ashley Rostek came out with her book “Find Me.” This boomed, seemingly overnight because it combined so many of the sub-genres that readers—including me!—love. It has a strong romance, it is “why choose” which means the main character will end up with multiple love interests, and it is contemporary romantic suspense.
But what makes this different? It isn’t your typical romantic suspense. It is more like your quintessential teen horror movie like Prom Night or Scream. The main character is on the run from an obsessed serial killer, one that murdered her family.
And as the only survivor, she’s his final hunt. But now she has a new family to protect. And she’ll do anything to make sure they don’t end up like the last.
I’m SO excited to see how this series ends. This book comes out on August 31st!
And those are my top picks for August! What are you reading? Anything else I should add to my list?
Let me know in the comments below.
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Until next week, keep reading!