On the Shelf: August 2024

Did I really think ending my Kindle Unlimited subscription would somehow curtail my reading habits? Oh, Suleikha, you sweet summer child. As we can see, I'm still going strong. This month's haul puts me at 181 books total for 2024. Two hundred is right around the corner.  Earlier this year, I was worrying about my excessive consumption, but I'm at peace with it now. I mean, it could be worse. I could be out carousing at all hours and drinking demon rum and blue ruin. 😂

August had a good mix of genres. I love gothics and horror, and my need for a good creepy yarn only intensifies as we head into fall and toward Halloween. Thrillers and romantic suspense are much-needed palate cleansers when I've been spending too much time hobnobbing with the ton. And a Cathy Yardley contemporary is never a bad decision! Do Me a Favor was as delightful as last year's Role Playing. The female lead is a widow still recovering from her years as her husband's support in both their business and personal lives, and I know that might be triggering for some. As for me, I enjoyed watching Willa and Hudson learn to live for themselves as they fell in love. 

The Reading Rundown
Gothictown by Emily Carpenter (out 3/25/25, suspense, gothic)
The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton (historical suspense, gothic)
What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell (young adult horror)
No Ordinary Duchess by Elizabeth Hoyt (out 12/10, historical romance)
The Big Fix by Holly James (out 3/25/25, romantic suspense)
Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa (horror)
The Mistress Experience by Scarlett Peckham (historical romance)
The Spy Who Loved Her by Aydra Richards (historical romance)
Tall & Dark by Suzannah Rowntree (historical mystery, steampunk)
You Shouldn't Be Here by Lauren Thoman (suspense, thriller)
Do Me a Favor by Cathy Yardley (contemporary romance)

Backlist titles & rereads: My first read of the month was actually a classic by Judith McNaught—Someone to Watch Over Me. After which was In Total Surrender by Anne Mallory. In an attempt to stop one-clicking (ahahaha), I dug into my Kindle library for rereads of Alisha Rai's Night Whispers, Amber Bardan's King's Captive, and Zoe Archer's Skies of Gold. I reread When A Rogue Meets His Match by Elizabeth Hoyt to prepare for her new release and then took a return trip to The Proposition by Judith Ivory—even though I read it in February. (Mick Tremore, the power that you have!) I'm seriously going to start advocating for it to be the go-to "best historical romance" rec instead of Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels. (Sorry not sorry, Dain and Jessica.)  

Currently reading: Something Like Love by Beverly Jenkins.

On the TBR/wish list
One Kiss to Desire by Grace Callaway
The Finest Print by Erin Langston
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Jewel Me Twice by Charish Reid
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley