Books I Read • August 2025
Suffered through a beautifully written book that wasn't my thing, then blazed through Nordic fantasy that reminded me why I love reading. Four books ranging from should-have-DNF'd to 3am page-turners.
August started out slow with a book I should have DNF'd. It took me nearly 3 weeks to read 200-some pages. Then I blazed through some much longer, much better books.
“The Moonlight Healers” by Elizabeth Becker ★★
Beautiful opening, poetic prose, but got lost in its own atmosphere. Helene felt trapped moving downstream through WWII timeline, Louise lacked compelling flaws. Stakes never felt real. Took 3 weeks to finish 200 pages - should have DNF'd. Joy-for-effort ratio was off.“The Games Gods Play” by Abigail Owen (The Crucible #1) ★★★★
Zeus-cursed Lyra becomes Hades' champion in cutthroat god competition. YA author writing New Adult - accessible tone without dumbed-down plot. Quick-moving, sarcastic FMC, enough twists to stay interesting. "Please love me" backstory felt like convenient plot device. Finished at 3am chanting "one more chapter."“The Road of Bones” by Demi Winters (The Ashen Series #1) ★★★★★
Started slow with info-dumping but characters became compelling once world was built. Nordic-inspired fantasy with thorny, beautiful world. Stakes felt real, bad things happened to good people. FMC annoying sometimes but story pulled me forward. Didn't just play to tropes.“Kingdom of Claw” by Demi Winters (The Ashen Series #2) ★★★★★
Faster-paced since world already established. Romance feels earned and real, love interests' strengths/weaknesses complement each other. Strong female characters in dangerous world. New POV Saga grew on me until equally compelling. Dense but beautiful.
