Books I’ve Read in August 2024

I read 9 books last month. It was an eclectic mix of romcom, popular fiction, bestsellers, dark romance, popular fiction, it books, and speculative fiction. It was a good reading month.

My rating system is at the bottom, keep that in mind as you read my reviews.

This blog post contains affiliate links. Everyday Eyecandy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

God of Rage by Rina Kent

Let me start my review by saying: THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR EVERYONE!! And that’s okay!

I usually hate mafia romances. Too much violence and dark romance are really not my thing.

BUT I do love a morally ambiguous/dark/depraved MMC. Nikko is also a golden retriever. That also comes first. Who is also toxic as hell and basically has stalker traits, is sadistic and is really messed up. and should really always be on his meds. His internal dialogue was chaotic as hell, but it served a point, even if it did confirm that he is basically…crazy as hell.

I loved this book. (what does that say about me??) I stayed up until 2am reading this book. I will recommend this M/M romance to everyone.

Check the trigger warning, because damn it, everyone’s a sociopath? And there are a few
Heavy topics that the other MMC (Bran) has to deal with, that are heartbreaking and make you want to hug and protect him.

Keep in mind this is part of a series so there are multiple stories happening at the same time. But it can also be read as a standalone story. Which was good because I honestly don’t feel like reading the rest of the series ?

Rating: 4/5. Buy on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

I’ve had this book for years but I started reading it because it starts in August 2024. It seemed timely. Just wow. I’ll be honest it’s not my favorite book of hers but it’s just so timely with where the world is right now. I loved the way the story was told, I was invested in the main character, ALL the characters really, because it was one of those books where I felt like it could REALLY happen NOW. I’m almost scared to read the next one but I really want to know what happens next…

Rating 4/5: Buy on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Remember When: Clarissa’s Story by Mary Balogh

I received this arc and was very happy with it. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Clarissa’s story.

I want to say that I’m not completely sure about this decision yet.
On one hand, Mary Balogh did a great job of showing the friendship between our two main characters. But it was long-winded. OMG. And while I appreciated it, it was almost like listening in on someone’s conversation, but I can’t quite decide if that was a good or bad thing.
I loved seeing a love story between two characters closer to my own age. But my goodness, almost 50 year olds and 50 somethings don’t have… sexy moments on the hard ground without some discomfort lol.

All in all, I’m still looking forward to Stephanie’s story (with the twins from another series, if I’m not mistaken), but I’d also like to read the other siblings’ stories.

Rating 3/5. Buy on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Beating Heart by Laura Pavlov

This is the fourth part in a series and while you don’t have to read the other parts, it is still useful.

I have to be completely transparent and say that I soft DNF’d the last two. I mean, I didn’t mean to not finish them, I just… quietly forgot about them

BUT I did finish this one because I love the single dad, small town, he falls first group so much.

It was just okay. I’m basically just biding my time for the last book to come out in October.

Rating 3/5. It is available on Kindle Unlimited on Amazon or for sale on Bookshop.org

(yes, you need a Kindle Unlimited membership. Try it here)

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

It was… cute…
But I didn’t know it was a closed door romance. (closed door romance means you don’t get sex scenes) I’m so used to SOMETHING! At least ONE sexy session that it threw me off.

It was a good story, but I like romance novels with a bit more spice. But if you like a closed story, then this is for you.

If you’re like me, you’re in luck.

Rating 3/5: Buy on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Margos Has Money Problems by Rufi Thorpe

This was my IT book of the summer. I LOVED this book.

August was the first time in a long time that I decided to read something other than romance or fantasy. And my first choice was a hit.

It was so much fun watching Margo deal with new motherhood, with being an adult, with needing her parents’ approval, and with making her own choices in life, all while building her own social media account and her own fan base to support herself.

It was SO GOOD. Highly recommended.

Rating 5/5 Buy on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Fall with me by Becka Mack

This was one of those random books I picked up because it was a recommended book on my Kindle. And I loved it. It was exactly what I needed at that moment: some smut with a plot.

But I really loved the romance behind the filth LOL.

Jaxton was your typical professional athlete/whore who didn’t believe in love, and Lennon, our female lead, was the perfect person to help him turn his life around.

And there was a lot of filth.

Which, to be honest, is sometimes necessary, haha.

This is part of a whole series that I think I tried to read but never got into. But you really don’t have to read the other books to enjoy the…smut…in this one.

Rating 4/5 (It was really good trash with a plot) Buy on Amazon (this was a Kindle Unlimited book)

Dust Storm by Maggie Gates

This was recommended to me by my best friend who loves romance and fantasy.

Again, I love a single dad trope. But this one was just… Okay. I actually had to go back and see what it was about. It was decent. It wasn’t bad. There’s more to the series… but do I want to read it? Probably not…

Rating 3/5 Buy on Amazon.com (kindle unlimited)

The God of the Forest by Liz Moore

I’m not going to waste your time summarizing the summary on the cover of this book.

As I read it, I couldn’t decide if it was brilliant or if it needed a really good editor. While the core of the story and even the ending were excellent, the way we got there was not.

There were too many characters to keep track of.
The timeline kept jumping back and forth at odd times (I get why we had to do that, but still)

Ultimately, each of the characters we were meant to follow had a purpose in the larger story, but you had to read the story to the end to understand that.

It was painful

It was a struggle.
I stopped and said several times that I wouldn’t do it again.

But I’m glad I had a hard time.

Rating: 4/5. Buy on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Okay, that’s it. I think I read it last month… if you don’t count the rereads I didn’t record. LOL.

Have you read anything from this list? What did you read in August?