Whew! August is always such a whirlwind for me. Summer in Minnesota is always packed with activities. We have to get them in while the weather is nice and the kids are out of school, ya know! So we had quite a few things going on. It was all fun, but I’m glad school has started back up now! We’re on day number 2 of second grade, here.
I managed to finish a good handful of books in August, but mostly because they were started in July.
More importantly this month, we’re welcoming TWO new reviewers here at LQ! Heather and Stephanie will both be sharing a few August reads with you. Welcome to both of them!
Happy back-to-school month to all who celebrate! Let’s get into the list.
Cathy
I read more romance in August than previous months and loved it.
My reading took me to Chesnut Springs as I binged Elsie Silverโs series. I really like Elsie Silverโs romance stories, the characters are cute and the love stories arenโt too angsty. Theyโre fun and this isnโt the first series of hers that Iโve binged.
All of the books have some spicy bits in them but I think these parts are fairly well balanced out by the other parts of the story. So the storylines are more cute than other romance series Iโve read.
I love Elsie Silverโs writing so all three are four stars.
Hopeless by Elsie Silver
This is actually the final book in the series which I read first after I accidentally mistook it for the final book in the Rose Hill series. This book focuses on Beau Eaton and his neighbour Baileyโs love story – a fake fiancรฉ storyline that was actually a cuter story than I expected it to be.
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Flawless by Elsie Silver
This is the official first book in the series and sets up the Eaton family (a family of brothers whose lives are based around a ranch in Chesnut Springs). Flawless follows bull rider Rhett Eaton and his agentโs daughter Summer. This is a โstuck togetherโ not quite enemies-to-lovers storyline but with some of that vibe. I liked the banter between the two main characters and found the bull riding element of the story cool.
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Heartless by Elsie Silver
The second book is about the oldest brother Cade Eaton and Willa, the nanny he hires to look after his son during the summer holidays. Willa is the crossover character from the other Elsie Silver series that I read – her brother is Ford Grant from the Rose Hill series – although I think she only makes a cameo in that series. This book had the grumpy sunshine element in the main characters which was balanced out by the sweet relationship that both of them have with Cadeโs son, Luke.
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Heather
Story of My Life by Lucy Score
Although I have the other popular Lucy Score books, this was the first one of hers I have read. This 500+ page romance book first felt intimidating. What could possibly go on for that long?! I knew what I was in for, and after reading lots of world-building high fantasy books, this book really took the edge off and gave my brain a break. Those pages honestly flew right by.
Story of My Life is that feel-good romance that I needed and haven’t had in a while. Was it cheesy sometimes? Yes. Was it predictable? Yes. But I really did not care. It also made me laugh out loud! I wish this could be real life sometimes. This felt like a more adult version of Gilmore Girls (minus the mother-daughter relationship and way more spice!) with cozy small-town vibes.
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The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
A fellow member of my book club picked this up for us to read this month, and I honestly never would have chosen it on my own. Translated from Japanese, this character-driven novel completely changed my perspective on the genreโand being a huge cat lover made it even better!
In many ways, the book felt like a reverse pet-loss story, told entirely from the catโs point of view. The author masterfully captures the feline perspective, giving the main cat character a witty, lighthearted, and remarkably true-to-life personality. Without giving anything away, the ending will absolutely pull at your heartstrings. Itโs a touching reminder of how fast an unspoken bond can grow between a pet and their human. These characters will live in my heart forever.
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Joli
This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum (Audiobook)
I needed a new audiobook and I just wanted to be…entertained. I’d been seeing This Story Might Save Your Life all over the internet in book lists and newsletters, so when it popped up at the top of my Spotify audiobooks page, I decided to give it a try.
This audiobook is narrated by two different narrators, which I really prefer when there are two main characters that share the spotlight. It’s also got some really cool parts that were produced to sound like a podcast, because the characters in the book are recording a podcast. I loved that! It really helped pull me into the story.
This book has some suspense, a love story, and some mystery. It was a fun listen and it entertained me, which is exactly what I was looking for at the time.
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The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki (Audiobook)
Ruth Ozeki is an author that has been on my list for YEARS, and I finally grabbed an audiobook version of The Book of Form and Emptiness because it was on the list of audiobooks available now at my library.
Guys. I was blown away by this book. I’ve never read (or listened to) anything like this before. It was just…absolutely spectacular.
Much of the story is narrated by a young boy who, as he’s coming of age, develops schizophrenia and hears objects speaking to him. That made this book unique in and of itself, but it gets more unique. The other narrator is the kid’s mom, who develops hoarding tendencies and possibly some other mental health issues.
The most unique part, though, is the book. The boy talks to a book that’s narrating his life, and we hear from the book in the story, too.
This book is long and there’s a lot of heavy stuff going on, but I just couldn’t believe how beautiful and reflective of mental health and the human condition it is. You’ll fall in love with these characters and feel deeply for them. Even the side characters are lovable and flawed in beautiful ways.
Highly recommend The Book of Form and Emptiness and I will absolutely be reading more Ruth Ozeki books.
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The Last Letters of Sally and Walter by Cammie McGovern
This was such a sweet read. It did take me some time to get into the story โ I think it really picks up and pulls you in about 1/3 of the way in. I’m a Scrabble fan, but the details about the words they’re playing did get to be a little bit much.
Sally and Walter, though, are the loveliest characters who are able to bond over the game. Other reviewers have said Walter is “curmudgeonly,” but I didn’t really see that. He’s a bit quiet and unsure and slightly antisocial, but I wouldn’t call him a curmudgeon.
Overall this is a lovely story about aging, parenting, and relationships that I flew through once I got about half-way.
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Making Time by Maria Bowler
I really enjoyed Making Time but I will say it took me a long time to get through it. This isn’t a book that you want to get from the library and have to return within a couple of weeks. You need to read some essays, record your thoughts, put it down for a bit, then pick it back up and read a few more.
If you’re fed up with toxic productivity and having to constantly contribute to late-stage capitalism, you might find a friend in Maria Bowler. Some of her essays really are beautiful and thought-provoking, and I wrote down a lot of quotes. Some landed with me more than others, but that’s to be expected.
Note that these aren’t easy breezy essays that you’ll just truck on through. They’ll make you use your brain…in a good way.
A quote I loved:
“When you leave behind the superficial order of “doing,” you are immediately confronted with the bracing reality of your own freedom to be, to approach the world with all the mysterious and messy truth of your heart.”
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Renee
The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
Theo drops out of law school in Australia and moves in with her lawyer brother, Gus, in the US to focus on becoming a writer. She meets a published author at the local pub where she writes every day, and suddenly finds herself pulled into a very dark literary community where conspiracy theories are real and murder is never off the table. Lots of fun to read.
See my full review on StoryGraph.
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The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
The latest installment in the Thursday Murder Club series sees the gang back together for their first investigation since Elizabethโs husband passed. Joyce is so excited for her daughterโs wedding because now she has a son-in-law. But when the best man goes missing and his business partner ends up dead, the TMC kicks off an investigation involving a cold storage facility and a Bitcoin mystery.
I always love spending time with this cast of characters and all their friends. The atmosphere is cozy and I appreciate the British humor.
See my full review on StoryGraph.
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Stephanie
Iโm so excited to be sharing my first contribution to What We Read in August!
Lovely One by Ketanji Brown Jackson
Iโve been on a Supreme Court kick for quite some time and have read a few books about SCOTUS as a whole. This was my first book written by a justice. In her memoir Lovely One, Jackson walks through her childhood, schooling, and early days as a practicing lawyer and then judge, culminating in her Supreme Court Justice position.
It was a fascinating look at everything that it took to get to that point, including how she and her husband Patrick balanced growing their two very demanding and time-consuming careers with having a family. While I could have done without the multiple chapters detailing her time in the debate club, her dedication to everything from debate to her studies to her friends and to her family was evident throughout, and I really enjoyed seeing her story through her eyes.
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That’s it! That’s what we’ve been reading. What did you read in August?
More About Me
- What We Read in August 2026 - September 9, 2026
- What an 85-Second Ramen Timer Taught Me About Writing Character Through Routine - August 24, 2026
- What We Read in July 2026 - August 13, 2026