Hello! After finishing summer school in July, I finally had the time to sit down and read a ton of books. This month, I read a total of 17 books! While a portion of them were graphic novels, I read way more than what I usually read. I hope I can keep up this pace in September before school resumes again. This month’s reads consisted of mainly rereads: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and Saga. I reread PJO and HoO for ~nostalgia~ while I reread Saga because, well, I really missed it. I also read three new books this month, two of which I really enjoyed.
Here are the books I read in the month of August!
Books mentioned:
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan (Books 1-5)
The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan (Books 1-5)
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Vol. 1-4)
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El Mohtar and Max Gladstone
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.50 stars
I decided to reread this series this month in honor of the upcoming Disney+ show! I am so excited for it, and knowing that RR is directly involved in the series this time has me anticipating this show even more. PJO has become a sort of comfort series for me, and I’m glad I took the chance to reread it and relive all my favorite scenes. I focused more on the plot and characters than the writing (since it’s a middle grade series). As a middle grade series, PJO does well in creating great characters with good character arcs and development as well as an interesting, yet informative, plot.
The last three books are my most favorite of the series, mainly for the better plot and character development. I adore most of the characters in this series, and I especially love the development that was given to Percy and Annabeth. I also enjoyed how complex Luke was and his backstory; it didn’t frame him as an evil demigod who hated the gods, but as a traumatized teen who has felt betrayal and loss. I also really appreciate the moments where characters delve on identity, friendship, family, love, morals, loyalty, and revenge. I think this series explores these themes pretty well for middle grade audiences.
The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.00 stars
While I do enjoy this series, I didn’t enjoy it as much as PJO. The plot and the overall idea of bringing Greek and Roman demigod camps together is done fairly well, but the characterization of many of the characters created problems for me. I do think the main characters in this series are far more diverse than those in PJO, as the group contains BIPOC and LGBT+ characters. I want to give credit to RR for bringing a lot of diversity in his characters and trying to be inclusive towards many different, yet intersecting, identities. The effort is definitely there, but the execution? It’s not exactly perfect, but it’s decent enough to some degree.
What really fell flat was the characterization of most of the characters. Yes, they did have decent development (with some more than others) but RR tends to characterize all his female characters the same despite making his male characters rather nuanced. I was further disappointed with Reyna’s and Leo’s character, because each had so much potential to be something greater, and RR took the easy (and imo the worst) route for each of these characters. Other aspects of these main characters, such as their backstories and interactions with one another, could have been delved into deeper, yet wasn’t. This series still has a special place in my heart, but I don’t think I could ever read it again without being thoroughly disappointed and frustrated at the ending and character development.
Saga Vol. 1-4 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.25 stars
After binging all nine volumes of Saga in a span of five days last year, I decided it was time to reread this graphic novel at a much slower pace. I did this initially to give time for myself to take more notes and commentary on the characters, but in the end I completely forgot to take notes...(whoops). Saga follows two lovers (and ex-soldiers) whose home planets are at war with one another. Although peace was restored to their home planets, the war continues to be fought in other planets/galaxies. The story begins when Alana gives birth to their daughter Hazel, who is the narrator of this series, and follows them as they flee and fight for their lives.
The first four volumes are a wild ride but the series so far is so fun and interesting! I really love where the story has gone so far and the characters!! are!! amazing!! Saga includes such a diverse cast of characters and dynamics that it is by far my most favorite graphic novel series. I adore Alana, Marko, and Hazel as a family as well as Gwendolyn and Sophie. My favorite dynamic so far is definitely Alana and Marko, but Prince Robot IV and Marko are up there as well (them banding together to find their children was pretty badass ngl).
I also love Saga for the topics it covers, such as family, war, sexuality, race, and discrimination. There are a lot of different messages mixed within each of the events and character interactions that make this graphic novel even more fun to read. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys space opera and fantasy graphic novels (make sure to check the trigger warnings! There are several explicit scenes as well so I don’t recommend this if you’re under 18).
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.00 stars
This book is one of my favorite new reads of this month! This is How You Lose the Time War is a time traveling adventure that features science fiction elements, forbidden love, and sapphics. Red and Blue are spies from two rival factions involved in a time war who eventually make contact, exchange letters, and fall in love. I loved how creative this novel is in incorporating love letters written by the two main protagonists. The lyrical and poetic writing of this novel are a pleasure to read and are full of the two characters’ emotions of longing, survival, desire, freedom, and love. I became immersed in Red and Blue’s letters, along with their growing romantic relationship that is *chef’s kiss*.
While I adored Red and Blue’s letters and love, I found it difficult to get through the novel at some points due to the science fiction elements. The science fiction aspects, which include time traveling and the two opposing factions of the time war, are not developed well. I often found myself confused at some points when I couldn’t understand what was happening with Garden or Commandment, and I had to reread a couple of paragraphs to get a less confused understanding. This didn’t bother me too much since I was really focused on the letters themselves, but this aspect of the novel can potentially prevent readers from fully enjoying it.
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.25 stars
This is another one of my favorite new reads this month. The first book in a trilogy and Stewart’s debut novel, The Bone Shard Daughter is an Asian-inspired story that takes place in an empire of many islands. The emperor uses bone shard magic to fuel monstrous constructs to enforce law and order. But unrest and revolution are brewing among the citizens, and even the secrets the emperor once held are coming to light. The story follows Lin, the emperor’s daughter, and Jovis, a smuggler who is searching for his missing wife, as well as Phalue and Ranami, sapphic lovers who are grappling with their class difference.
The unique storytelling style, immersive story, and interesting worldbuilding and magic system come together to create a solid debut novel. Some characters' perspectives are told in first person, while others are told in third person, which made for an interesting read. The overall story is engaging, with a couple of twists and turns, some of which were predictable, yet nevertheless entertaining. I also enjoyed the character development in this story, as each character was able to grow and develop into a better version of themselves (sans Sand, though). I enjoyed reading it and am excited to see where the second book will go! I recommend this for those who love fantasy, intriguing magic systems, revolution, and sapphics.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars
After hearing many booktubers recommend this book, I decided to give it a read! An Ember in the Ashes takes place in the Martial Empire, where citizens must devote their blood and body or be faced with death. The story follows two characters, Laia and Elias. Laia’s brother gets arrested for treason and in order to save her brother, she teams up with the resistance by risking her life to spy for them at the Empire’s military academy. Elias is the school’s best soldier, but is also the most unwilling, as he plans to defect. Laia and Elias’s destinies are soon intertwined, and their decisions will change the fate of the Empire itself.
The plot, worldbuilding, and pacing in this novel was good. There weren't any filler chapters and there wasn’t a chapter that wasn’t intentional. The end of each chapter left you anticipating what was going to happen next, and I couldn’t put the book down. This novel is action packed, but there are moments where things slow down as well. I enjoyed how the main characters, and even the side characters, are complex and well written.
However, I just couldn’t get attached to either Laia or Elias. Their stories and themselves as characters are interesting, but I didn’t really care for either of them. I enjoy Laia as a character and her development, yet I couldn’t get attached to her. I disliked Elias for a portion of the book because of his actions towards Helene and how insensitive he was sometimes. I was rooting for him at the end of the book, but I don’t necessarily like his character. It also could be due how I wasn’t a fan of how the love triangles were executed.
Overall, this book is well written and has some interesting and complex characters. While I am interested in seeing where the plot goes, I don’t think I’m invested enough in the story and the characters to read the rest of the series.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
This concludes all the books I read in August! This month was filled with nostalgia along with some enjoyable new books. I still can’t believe I got through 17 books this month, and I’m afraid I’ll never be able to read this much in the month again lmao.
For September, I plan to read The Trials of Apollo Series by Rick Riordan, the rest of Saga, and reread The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang! I'm rereading TPW because The Burning God is coming out in November and I want to reread the series before it ends :))
- lian
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