This month was kind of weird for me, reading-wise. It started off really slow. Several books were just okay, but nothing really grabbed me. Then I picked up Demon Copperhead, and everything shifted. After that, it was like the floodgates opened. I ended up with four five-star reads this month, which hasn’t happened in a long time!

I read a butt-ton of books. A few were under 300 pages, which definitely helped boost my numbers. The biggest surprise? The River is Waiting ended up being my favorite of the month. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting that. I’m pretty sure it’s going to land on my “Best of the Year” list come December. One Yellow Eye also caught me off guard. Another unexpected gem.

Here’s how everything stacked up this month:

5 Star:

• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
• Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
• The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
• One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford

4 – 4.75 Star:

• Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine
• Matchmaking for Psychopaths by Tasha Coryell
• The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery by Clarence A. Haynes
• Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
• Soundtrack by Jason Reynolds
• None of This is True by Lisa Jewel
• Fan Favorite by Adrienne Gunn
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
• 13 Months Haunted by Jimmy Juliano

3 – 3.75 Star:

• Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez
• Fox by Joyce Carol Oates
• Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
• The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen
• Bug Hollow by Michelle Huneven (No review, but I would rate it a 3. It was fine.)
• Maggie, or a Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar by Katie Yee (No review. I would rate it a 3. This was also fine.)
• The Compound by Aisling Rawle

2 – 2.75 Star:

• I Fell in Love with Hope by Lancali

This month I have a TON of ARCs to get through and then I’m going to attempt to continue clearing off the TBR. I swear, I need to train my car to not stop at bookstores while I’m out running errands. I have a serious problem! Here’s what is on my priority list for the month ahead.

In addition to the books pictured above, I also hope to read the following:

• Forget Me Not by Stacey Willingham (ARC)
• At Last by Marisa Silver (ARC)
• What Hunger by Catherine Dang (ARC)
• Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (to satisfy a reading prompt. Yes, I seriously haven’t read this yet.)
• The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Galfuso (ARC)
• Hot Wax by M.L Rio (ARC)
• Ravensong by TJ Klune (Finally continuing this series)