August was a relatively relaxed month for me. Although summer turnt into fall for a bit and back to summer again, I didn’t do a lot. I worked untill last week and now I’m in the middle of my summer leave. Unfortunately I had quite a bad reading month. I’ve read a lot of books, but the ratings aren’t that great unfortunately.

The books I’ve read

1. Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover – A reread which didn’t end up so well. ** [review]
2. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden – I was hoping to like this hyped book, but I guess I’m more of a murder mystery/police thriller type. **,5 [review]
3. A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair – Another hyped book I was a little underwhelmed by. This was one of my most anticipated books for this summer and I felt a little let down. *** [review]
4. One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus – A thriller I gave a second chance as I DNF’ed it when I was reading it for the first time six years ago. I strongly recommend this thriller to the younger readers, but I have outgrown this type of YA thrillers. ** [review]
5. De nazaten by Saskia Noort – An expected third and final bookin a Dutch thriller trilogy and I had a nice time reading it. A thriller like I want them to be. Fast-paced, unpredictable and nervewracking. ***,5
6. Pageboy by Elliot Page – DNF @ 40%. This is a case of the writing style not working for me. It’s all over the place and therefore I just couldn’t follow the story at all.
7. Satan’s Affair – H. D. Carlton – A Halloween themed horror themed novella I started when summer was returning. It was okay, but novellas are typically not for me. I find them too short to feel a connection to any of the characters. However, the final twist was an interesting revelation. ***
8. I Fell in Love with Hope by Lancadi – DNF @ 15%. I’m disappointed because the ebook was nearly €15 but the plot was so so bad. Also, I knew what was coming at 10% already and I really didn’t like it. The reviews on Goodreads are either 5 stars or 1 star, there’s no in between. But it stil has an average rating of 4 stars and a bit. Furthermore, the writing style was way too forced regarding the dialogue. They don’t sound like common people conversations, it’s just all so fitting for social media and super quotable.
9. De kleuren van de zee by Miriam Bruijstens – A dutch YA contemporary which is meant to be a queer comfort read. Well, this cissed gender person had a lovely reading time too. ****
10. Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare – A series finale well worth it. **** [review]
11. De kinderkolonie by Manuela Piemonte – A historical fiction about the fascist youth camps in Italy during the second world war. I didn’t know about this part of history so this was an interesting read. It’s not available in English. ***
12. Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor – Well, this book was really disappointing. I was wondering already whether I would like it, but it turnt out I didn’t. Review will be up soon. **

Bookhaul

1. Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
2. De nazaten by Saskia Noort
3. Someone else by Laura Kneidl (Warning! This is an originally German book and not available in English!)
4. Daughter of Sparta by Claire Andrews
5. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
6. I Fell In Love With Hope by Lancadi

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As you can see, I manage to read a lot but unfortunately I had to DNF 2 books this month. How was August for you?