August 2025 Wrap Up

 


August was an incredible reading month. I managed to make my way through 36 books! From quick, bingeable reads to sprawling epics that demanded every ounce of my attention, this month had a little bit of everything. Looking back, I’m both amazed and excited to share the highlights, the surprises, and even the stories that didn’t quite hit the mark.














281/100 2025 Reading Challenge


August turned out to be one of my best reading months yet, and I loved the variety that came with tackling 36 books. Some stories swept me away completely, while others pushed me out of my comfort zone in the best ways. Looking back, I’m proud of how much I was able to explore, and I’m already curious to see how September’s stack will measure up. Here’s to another month filled with new adventures, unexpected favorites, and plenty of pages to turn!

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Weekly Menu #623 And The Book Of The Week

 


This week I’m taking my taste buds to Hungary, a cuisine that thrives on rich paprika, warming stews, and hearty comfort foods. From smoky lentil soups to creamy chicken paprikash, I’ve built a high protein menu that leans on chicken, pork, fish, legumes, and plenty of dairy., keeping beef to a minimum while still celebrating the bold, soulful flavors Hungarian cooking is known for. It’s a menu that feels both nourishing and indulgent, perfect for the last stretch of summer.

On the reading front, I’ve picked up Remain by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan, two storytellers I have a definite love-hate relationship with. Sparks has a way of pulling emotions out of me whether I want him to or not, and Shyamalan always leaves me guessing whether I’ll get a brilliant twist or something a little unhinged. Either way, it should be an interesting pairing, and I’m curious to see how this collaboration unfolds.

WEEKLY MENU

Monday

Grilled Trout with lemon + Savanyúság

Kids - Grilled Cheesy Fries

 

Tuesday

Lentil Leves

Kids - Chicken Soup

 

Wednesday

Roast Chicken Legs with braised red cabbage

Kids - Chicken Tenders with Carrots

 

Thursday

Pork Tenderloin Paprikás

Kids - Pork with Butter Noodles

 

Friday

Baked Pike-Perch with dill potatoes

Kids - Fish Sticks and Fries

 

Saturday

Grilled Chicken Skewers with paprika marinade + cucumber salad

Kids - Chicken and cucumbers

 

Sunday

Leftovers Night

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Sunday Confessions #320

 


It’s that time again. Sunday Book Confessions! The weekly moment where I spill the truth about my reading life: the books I loved, the ones I struggled with, and the guilty little habits that crept into my reading week. Think of it as a cozy catch up over coffee, where I admit what actually happened between the covers (of books, of course).


Sunday Confessions #319
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Weekly Menu #622 And The Book Of The Week
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ARC Review: Murder in Retrograde by Greg Hickey
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ARC Review: And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun
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Book Review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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Fantasy Friday: The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence


Weekly Menu #623 And The Book Of The Week
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August 2025 Wrap Up
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Vampire Wednesday: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
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ARC Review: Red City by Marie Lu
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Fiction Friday: The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole
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Sunday Confessions #321




Alphabet Squadron

Alexander Freed

★★★★☆

Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed is a thrilling addition to the Star Wars universe. I loved seeing familiar characters return, woven seamlessly into a new story full of heart, grit, and starfighter action. The balance of nostalgia with fresh perspectives made this a standout read, and while a few pacing lulls kept it from being a perfect five, it’s still an exciting and worthwhile journey for any Star Wars fan.








273/100 2025 Reading Challenge


And that’s the roundup of this week’s bookish truths. Some confessions are easy, some a little harder to admit, but all part of the joy (and chaos) of being a reader. Now it’s your turn. What are your bookish confessions this week?

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Fantasy Friday: The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence

 


Title: The Book That Wouldn't Burn

By: Mark Lawrence

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 551

Release Date: May 1st, 2023

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Summary from Goodreads:

A boy has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, older than empires and larger than cities.

A girl has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.

The world has never even noticed them. That's about to change.

Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty, and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.

 

Add on Goodreads

 

Review:

While the pacing dragged at times, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is a story that sticks with you. The journey these characters take is nothing short of epic. I mean, right from the start, a little girl jumps into a monster’s mouth and kills it from the inside. Full-on Drax mode! The way time is used, especially within the library, is brilliant, and I loved how it helped the main characters uncover shared truths and break down the walls between them. If you can get through the slow bits, the payoff is absolutely worth it.

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Book Review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 


Title: Atmosphere

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 352

Release Date: June 3rd, 2025

Rating: ★★★★★

 

Summary from Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.

 

Add on Goodreads

 

Review:

This is my second Taylor Jenkins Reid book, and I’m still absolutely flabbergasted by her storytelling. Atmosphere was breathtaking from start to finish. I loved every part of it. I listened to the audiobook while grocery shopping (rookie mistake), and let’s just say it’s nearly impossible to hold back tears while picking out avocados. Emotionally rich, beautifully written, and unforgettable. TJR does it again.



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ARC Review: And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun

 


Title: And the Ricer Drags Her Down

By: Jihyun Yun

Genre: Horror/Fantasy

Pages: 400

Release Date: October 2nd, 2025 

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Summary from Goodreads:

She has always known the rules – never resurrect anything larger than the palm of her hand, but that was before her sister died. A chilling, compulsive exploration of sisterhood, loss, and revenge.

"Yun beautifully captures the haunting of family myths in this slow-burn horror. Eerie and poignant, And The River Drags Her Down will sweep readers into its relentless current."
- Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times bestselling author of She Is a Haunting

When her older sister is found mysteriously drowned in the river that cuts through their small coastal town, Soojin Han disregards every rule and uses her ancestral magic to bring Mirae back from the dead. At first, the sisters are overjoyed, reveling in late-night escapades and the miracle of being together again, but Mirae grows tired of hiding from the world. She becomes restless and hungry . . .

Driven by an insatiable desire to finish what she started in life, to unravel the truth that crushed her family so many years ago, Mirae is out for revenge.

When their town is engulfed by increasingly destructive rain and a series of harrowing, unusual deaths, Soojin is forced to reckon with the fact that perhaps the sister she brought back isn’t the one she knew.

 

Add on Goodreads

 

Review:

This book had a haunting, almost Pet Sematary vibe that I was totally falling for. Soojin is a deeply relatable character, navigating intense grief and trauma, and her emotional unraveling is both raw and compelling. The atmosphere is chilling and immersive, pulling you in with its eerie beauty. While the ending didn’t quite land for me emotionally, the journey there was gripping and intense. A thrilling, emotionally charged read that blends horror and sorrow in all the right ways.

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