Monthly Round Up/What’s on My Plate: August/September
1 September 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: August/September, Book Reviews, book-blog, Books, Monthly Round Up, Picture Prompt, reading, What's on my Plate
Here’s my round up post for August combined with my ‘what’s on my plate’ books for September. My reading is still a bit slow and if I don’t enjoy a book immediately it really throws me off track so for now, even if it’s a highly anticipated book, if it doesn’t work for me by 30% I’m setting it aside. This month I’ve read six books and I’m about 20% into my current read. Plus I did start to read one of my September books but that is a DNF, I’ve read the first 30% and it really isn’t working for me so it is what it is. Without further ado:
These were the books I read in August:
- The Unknown by Riley Sager
- A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
- The House That Eats the Dead by Max Doty
- They Say A Girl Died Here by Sarah Pinborough
- Aphrodite in Pieces by Lauren JA Bear
- Kiss Slay Reply by Rachel Harrison (review to follow)
I had seven books on my shelf for August (two of the above are from my September book list). Unexpectedly I had to set aside Daggerbound by T Kingfisher as it wasn’t working for me – it could be a mood thing because I usually love her books. I will try to pick it up again in a few weeks and see if I get along better. My other two outstanding books for August were Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst and The Two of Us At the End of the World by CA Fletcher. I’m hoping to still get to these although not this month as I have quite a long list.






What’s On My Plate: September
- An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino – this is a DNF, I read 30% but it wasn’t working for me
- Aphrodite in Pieces by Lauren JA Bear – already read and reviewed (spoiler alert – it was amazing)
- Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley – this is my current read
- Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison – already read (and I loved this) review to follow shortly
- The Island of the Lost by Daisy Stephens
- Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson
- Serenity Falls by C. J. Tudor
- Pictures of You by Josh Malerman
- The Faerie Handmaid by Louisa Morgan
- Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske
- Exit Party by Emily St John Mandel
- Pride, Prejudice and Peril by Jessica Bull
- Worry Box by Chris Panatier
- The Court of Venus by Bel Banta
So, my restraint obviously flew out the window for September – or perhaps I just got trigger happy because there were so many good books. Anyway, I’ve already read two off the list and unfortunately had to set one of the others aside and given I’ve started the Lucy Foley book I think I could probably fit in another six books (wishful thinking maybe but hopefully I’m not as busy this month as last), which does mean I will have to carry some books over (but, October and November are currently light months and so I’m hoping to do some serious catching up). One can but hope. Here are the lovely covers (Pride, Prejudice and Peril cover is not the final cover):














Backlist Book
For the moment I’m not tackling the list I created at the start of the year as I’d like to catch up with my review books from the last few months to get back on track.
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt Book Bingo

And the ‘wordy’ version:
Picture Prompt Book Bingo 2026 (text version)
| 1. | 2. A set of weighing scales | 3. | 4. |
| 5. A hot air balloon | 7. | 8. A cooking pot hanging over a campfire | |
| 9. | 10. | 11. | 12. An octopus |
| 13. | 15. A decorative water fountain | 16. A pinch-clip purse |
This month I\e gone for a rather cheeky fit – A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett for No.14 – A Skull and Crossbones. If you’ve read the book I think you’ll understand why but I don’t want to give away spoilers – definitely poisonous goings on and a particular part of the body involved.
Monthly/Weekly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate August/September
31 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: August/September, Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up, Books, Fantasy, Monthly Wrap Up, reading, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
This month’s wrap up post will be a bit messy again like last month’s because I’m combining it with my weekly wrap up.
Weekly Update
Well, I’ve had my six week check up and my hip is progressing well. I’ve not been using any walking aids for about three weeks and I’ve been keeping up with the exercises and so far so good. In the past week I continued with some of my September reads and completed No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes which started a little slow and then won me over, The Ghosts of Merry Hall by Heather Davey which I did have a few issues with and I also read A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence by Stephanie Burgis – which I really enjoyed and crammed into one delicious sitting.
Next Week’s reads
I shall be continuing with my September review books so will be picking up The Faerie Morgana by Louisa Morgan, No Women Were Harmed by Heather Mottershead and maybe I’ll have time for a third and check out The Naked Light by Bridget Collins.
Reviews Posted:
- Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
- A Tangle of Time (The Hexologists #2) by Josiah Bancroft
Outstanding Reviews
- Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
- The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
- The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw – DNF
- Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
- This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara
- The Ghosts of Merry Hall by Heather Davey
- No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes
- A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence by Stephanie Burgis
My Monthly Wrap Up:
Books read in August:
- The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine
- Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher
- Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
- Damned by Genevieve Cogman
- This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May
- Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
- The Hexologists: A Tangle of Time by Josiah Bancroft
- This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara
- No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes
- The Ghosts of Merry Hall by Heather Davey
- A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence by Stephanie Burgis
I’ve had a very good reading month reading 11 books, I completed all my August review books and even made a dent in some of my September reads. No DNFs this month fortunately.
Here’s what I’m hoping to read in September (and I’ve already read three so should be able to tuck into my October books all going well – good thing too as I have quite a few books that month):
- No Friend to this House by Natalie Haynes – read rtf
- The Ghosts of Merry Hall by Heather Davey – read rtf
- The Faerie Morgana by Louisa Morgan
- No Women Were Harmed by Heather Mottershead
- The Naked Light by Bridget Collins
- A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence by Stephanie Burgis – read rtf

Lets just be honest – I’m not doing well so far – I need to give my head a big 0wobble.
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo.
and the text version:
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2025 (TEXT VERSION)
| 1. A prehistoric flint knapped stone knife | 2. A lighthouse | 4. An archery target with three arrows in it | |
| 5. A very large mechanical telescope | 7. A stag | ||
| 9 |
|||
| 15. A stylized sun with a human face |
Today, I’m ticking off another prompt. No. 16 – A Roman helmet – and I’m using This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara.
The prompts I’ve crossed off so far:
No. 3 – an apple on a leafy branch – Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisther
No.10 – A Sheaf of Wheat – The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst –
No. 11 – An Old Mechanical Typewriter – The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno Garcia
No.8 – The ruins of a temple-like structure – I’m using Daughter of Chaos by A S Webb
No. 12 – A cluster of four mushrooms – I’m using Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
No. 13 – A fringed umbrella/parasol – I’m using A Fortune Most Fatal by Jessica Bull
No.14 – A chemistry set-up of bottles and tubes – I’m using Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis
No.9 – A Crab – I’m using The Devils by Joe Abercrombie – if you’ve read this already you’ll be able to guess why. There are some very unusual creatures in this story.
No.6 – A Human Skull – I’m using The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North – because this is about a serial killer and there are definite human remains included in this one.
Number of books read this year: 63
Sunday Post/Weekly Wrap Up plus Monthly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate August/September
1 September 2024
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: August/September, blogging, Books Bones & Buffy, Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Monthly Wrap Up, Review Books, Sunday Post, Weekly wrap up, What's on my Plate
Today I’m combining my Weekly Wrap Up with my Monthly Wrap Up plus What’s on My Plate for September.

Books read this week:
I didn’t manage to fit in as much reading this week but I’m still getting ahead with reviews and comments/blog hopping so I’m relatively happy. I’ve also posted my second batch of cuts for SPFBO which leaves me with five titles to explore further. I think some of my more recent reads have slowed me down a little. This week completed and reviewed The Mercy of Gods by James SA Corey. I then picked up one of my September books, The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart – this is good, the writing is excellent, but I am finding it a little slow but I think maybe I needed to fit a quick, light read inbetween.
Next Week’s Reads:
I’ll be continuing primarily with my SPFBO books this week and also hoping to pick up So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison which I’m really looking forward to.
Reviews Posted:
- Storm Child by Michael Robotham
- The Voyage Home by Pat Barker
- The Mercy of Gods by James SA Corey
Outstanding Reviews
- The September House by Carissa Orlando
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Monthly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate August/September
So, below are the books I read in August and what’s on my tbr for September – inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
Here’s what I read during August:
- A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher
- Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning
- A Poisoner’s Tale by Cathryn Kemp
- Tales of a Monstrous Heart by Jennifer Delaney
- The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno Garcia
- The Mercy of Gods by James SA Corey
- Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson
- The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow – DNF
- Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
- The Voyage Home by Pat Barker
This month I read and reviewed all my review books, even a late addition with The Voyage Home (although one of those was a DNF). I’ve also nearly completed the Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie (I was hoping for it to be this month’s Backlist book but I couldn’t quite fit it all in – perhaps I’ll have two books next month).
What I’m hoping to read during September (with links to Goodreads).
- The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart
- Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
- This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C Wells
- So Thirsty By Rachel Harrison
- The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier
- The Haunting of Moscow House by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
- Gorse by Sam K. Horton
- The Ravening by Daniel Church
- The Wilding by Ian McDonald
Hopefully I can squeeze in a backlist title during September.

This month I read no Backlist Books -boo (but I have nearly finished The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie).
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo

This month I’m ticking two books off my Picture Prompt bingo card. The picture with the old Roman coin and the picture of a crown
For the Roman coin I’ve chosen The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno Garcia. This is a story of three different women, two from 1950s era Hollywood and the other Princess Salome, a character straight out of the bible who is being used politically and torn between her own desires and those of her mother. This was a time of Roman rule and in fact one of Salome’s suitors is an ambitious Roman.
For the picture of a simple crown I’ve chosen The Voyage Home by Pat Barker. This is a retelling of Cassandra’s tale (herself a princess and daughter of King Priam) and her arrival in Mycenae as King Agamemnon’s trophy bride.
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2024 (TEXT VERSION)
| A microscope | A partially unrolled scroll and a pen | ||
| A beehive (with four bees flying around it) | Fluffy cumulonimbus clouds |
I must say I don’t know how I’m going to cross the next four books off, I have the time but the bees and the microscope I’m hitting a block with.
So far this year I’ve read a total of 83 books so I’m on track to read my 100 books for a year. Also this year I am only behind with two of my review books. Both are books that I didn’t quite get time to, and when I did pick them up they weren’t quite working their magic – but I’m hoping to return to them soon.
How did you get on during August?









































