Happy “salt air and the rust on your door” month to all that celebrate! With August comes the end of the summer camp program that I run — we officially wrap up on the 12th — and I’ll be taking some time off work to rest and recharge before starting our fall programs. I’m planning on getting a lot of reading done in the 2 weeks I’ll be off work and I thought it would be fun to share some of my August TBR with all of you!
The Sleepless by Victor Manibo
Admittedly, I am not a huge sci-fi reader. It’s not that I’m not a fan of the genre, I’ve just found that I like sci-fi television and film more than I do sci-fi literature. That being said, I will read anything that sounds interesting to me, and oh boy does Victor Manibo’s debut novel The Sleepless interest me! I hadn’t heard of this book until YourTitaKate posted her interview with Manibo and now it’s been added to the top of my TBR! The Sleepless came out yesterday (the 2nd), and I’ll be stopping by a bookstore before dinner with a friend tonight, so I’ll for sure be picking up a copy if it’s there!
Journalist Jamie Vega is Sleepless: he can’t sleep, nor does he need to. When his boss dies on the eve of a controversial corporate takeover, Jamie doesn’t buy the too-convenient explanation of suicide, and launches an investigation of his own.
But everything goes awry when Jamie discovers that he was the last person who saw Simon alive. Not only do the police suspect him, Jamie himself has no memory of that night. Alarmingly, his memory loss may have to do with how he became Sleepless: not naturally, like other Sleepless people, but through a risky and illegal biohacking process.
As Jamie delves deeper into Simon’s final days, he tangles with extremist organizations and powerful corporate interests, all while confronting past traumas and unforeseen consequences of his medical experimentation. But Jamie soon faces the most dangerous decision of all as he uncovers a terrifying truth about Sleeplessness that imperils him—and all of humanity.
Links for The Sleepless: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
I was approved for an ARC of Belladonna on NetGalley some time ago, but haven’t had time to read it. I’m super intrigued by the premise of this book — I think that having death as a main character is super interesting — and it’s giving me serious gothic vibes. I think that this book is going to be exactly the kind of book that I’ll love, so I can’t wait to start it.
Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine
Links for Belladonna: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin
I absolutely loved Rachel Griffin’s debut novel, The Nature of Witches, so once Wild is the Witch was announced it jumped to the top of my TBR! I was a big fan of Griffin’s lush and descriptive writing in her debut, and am hoping that continues in her sophomore novel. Plus, I just love books with witches.
Iris Gray knows witches aren’t welcome in most towns. When she was forced to leave her last home, she left behind a father who was no longer willing to start over. And while the Witches’ Council was lenient in their punishment, Iris knows they’re keeping tabs on her. Now settled in Washington, Iris never lets anyone see who she really is; instead, she vents her frustrations by writing curses she never intends to cast. Otherwise, she spends her days at the wildlife refuge which would be the perfect job if not for Pike Alder, the witch-hating aspiring ornithologist who interns with them.
Iris concocts the perfect curse for Pike: one that will turn him into a witch. But just as she’s about to dispel it, a bird swoops down and steals the curse before flying away. If the bird dies, the curse will be unleashed―and the bird is a powerful amplifier, and unleashing the curse would turn not just Pike, but everyone in the region, into a witch.
New witches have no idea how to control their magic and the consequences would be dire. And the Witches’ Council does not look kindly on multiple offenses; if they found out, Iris could be stripped of her magic for good. Iris begs Pike to help her track the bird, and they set out on a trek through the Pacific Northwest looking for a single bird that could destroy everything.
Links for Wild is the Witch: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
The Counselors by Jessica Goodman
I’ve been reading a lot of romance lately, and while I love romance stories, I’m starting to get a bit burnt out and I think that a fast-paced mystery like The Counselors is going to be a perfect read to get me out of my funk! There’s just something about a summer camp mystery that I love, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how this one plays out.
Sisters by choice.
That’s how Goldie and her best friends, Ava and Imogen, define their friendship, which formed years ago at Camp Alpine Lake.
This year, Goldie is back at camp as a counselor, desperate for summer to start and for Ava and Imo to arrive. With the dark secret Goldie’s been keeping, she’s more in need of their comfort than ever. When the boy who broke Goldie’s heart turns up dead in the lake, this last summer before college is completely upended—and Goldie learns that she’s not the only person at camp who has been lying. Asking questions offers Goldie no answers, only danger and betrayals deeper than she ever imagined.
Links for The Counselors: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
I’ve had Alone With You in the Ether on my TBR for so long, and I’m hoping that August is when I’ll finally get to it! I’ve heard nothing but great things about this book, and I really enjoyed Blake’s previous work, so I’m sure I’ll love this one as well!
CHICAGO, SOMETIME—Two people meet in the armory of the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. After their meeting, those things do not change. Everything else, however, is slightly different. Both obsessive, eccentric personalities, Aldo Damiani and Charlotte Regan struggle to be without each other from the moment they meet. The truth—that he is a clinically depressed, anti-social theoretician and she is a manipulative liar with a history of self-sabotage—means the deeper they fall in love, the more troubling their reliance on each other becomes. An intimate study of time and space, ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER is a fantasy writer’s magicless glimpse into the nature of love, what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you’re not broken
Links for Alone With You in the Ether: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
I have a lot of other books on my TBR this month, as well as rereads and annotation projects — including our August TeaTimeReads pick Portrait of a Thief and Ayesha at Last, our diverse Pride and Prejudice retelling for AnnotatedLit — but I will definitely be prioritizing these reads!
Do you have any specific books you want to read this month? Let me know in the comments!
