Honest Book Reviews for August 2022

It was a great month for reading. Oh, the summer, I miss you already. Being a teacher where I live means two months off in the summer. Of course, it’s two months of no pay and I swear I must work those two months added onto the 8 hours per day spent planning, organizing, thinking about work, being at work, dreaming about work…you get the picture. But, far better that and have the summer off to be with my kids than otherwise! And, of course, much reading was done! Therefore, without further ado, here are my Honest Book Reviews for August, 2022 (with affiliate links).

Artemis by Andy Weir

Humans have built a city on the moon and it’s become the sort of place that tourists love and the wealthy retire to. It’s tough if you’re neither. Jazz is trying to make her way, one way or the other, and the other way is through a tidy, little smuggling racket that she runs with a friend on Earth. Then she has the opportunity to run a job with the perfect reward. And things get very, very complicated.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It was a straightforward action novel but it was perfect as a summer read. So, it was a quick light read, it felt accurate on the science (I’m not a lunar engineer so I can’t know that for sure!), and it was satisfying. I would recommend this.

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Such a surprisingly fun ride! Zombies, romance, teenage angst, more zombies…the monsters are real and there are people out there who fight them. To avenge her family, Alice must fight the undead, and, maybe, find a little love along the way.

I enjoyed this. It was a really fast read, but satisfying in that all the things I hoped for came true (no spoilers because you don’t know what I hoped for!). It’s the start of a series and I think I will continue.

The Clockwork Dynasty by Daniel H. Wilson

Present day: a young anthropologist who specializes in ancient technology uncovers a device and its connection to the past.

Days past: two mechanical beings, brought together to be brother and sister, try to blend into pre-Victorian society and are pulled into a centuries-old war.

The two time periods mix, coming together and pulling apart, as the characters seek answers to the mysteries around them.

This book was a lot of fun. Imagine if you put Terminator together with Highlander, and had it told through the perspective of a young scientist. I don’t know how deep and meaningful it was, but if ever a script was meant to become an action film, this was it. Basically a fun ride with a few interesting turns along the way.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

This is the story of Linus Baker, a solitary man who works as a well-intentioned bureaucrat for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. His work is to oversee the well-being of the magical youth on his caseload, youth living in government-sanctioned orphanages. Linus’s comfortable routine is shaken when he is sent on an important and confidential mission to investigate a particular orphanage, one where special cases have been sent, to determine the suitability of its running and the competence of its caretaker. There he meets Arthur Parnassus. A tale of finding family and love where you least expect it, this story is exceptional.

And I truly have no other way of describing this book other than to say it was exceptional. I could not put it down, and it quite literally filled me with joy. It’s rare for me to give 5 stars to a book but I would have given this one ALL the stars. It’s lessons in kindness surrounded by a great big hug and it is the BEST! Just read it.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

In the summer of 1950, Flavia de Luce, an 11-year old with a passion for chemistry in general, and poison in particular, finds a dead body in the garden of her aging home. This launches her investigation into how this came to pass, full of twists and turns and strange events.

I really enjoyed this and I am delighted to know that it is the beginning of a series, as I found Flavia to be a likeable and quirky character, written with the right blend of childish obliviousness to what the adults are doing, combined with acute awareness to the details around her. I liked it, and I will definitely continue with the series.

Woken Furies: Takeshi Kovacs #3 by Richard K. Morgan

The third book in this series continues with the story of Takeshi Kovacs, an ex-guerilla soldier (among other things) who continues his checkered life seeking some sort of resolution for a love lost decades ago. He returns to his home planet, Harlan’s World, a world where everything is complicated, from the environment to the politics and everything in between. While there, his goals of revenge become mixed with political intrigue, revolution, and a younger self who has just been pulled out of storage.

I have really enjoyed reading this series. Science fiction is one of my greatest literary loves and finding a series where the author has really put the work into world-building is a delight. Kovacs is a grey sort of character, too, and nothing seems to be straightforward with the guy until suddenly it is. While I often find it’s a bit of a slog to begin one of these, if I give it the time, I end up utterly immersed and love the experience. This series is definitely worth the time! But read it before you watch the Netflix show, Altered Carbon, so you can best appreciate that experience.

The Summer Cottage by Viola Shipman

Addie is facing an imminent divorce – her husband has had an affair with a grad student, already an insufferable cliche, and her son has moved to college. When faced with the option of selling her old summer home, a place of wonderful family memories and happiness, she takes on a dream that will change her life, build new connections and make old ones better, and build her own future.

It’s a summer read, but a cozy one. I thought this was a nice book to follow the hard-bitten sci-fi novel that I had just finished and it was a great juxtaposition. This book was light and enjoyable, the perfect thing for a summer day when you don’t need anything too intellectual. It’s a quick read and I will definitely keep Viola Shipman on my list for comfort books.

The Masqueraders #1: The Footman by S.M. LaViolette

Lady Elinor’s arranged marriage is over and she wants nothing to do with love ever again. Now a widow, all she wants to do is rebuild her life on her own terms. Stephen Worth lost everything as a young footman to the impulsive kiss of a girl facing a marriage she dreaded. Now all he wants is revenge against all who have wronged him. Despite these differences, these two find themselves drawn to each other and questioning the paths that once seemed so certain.

This book is exactly as it appears. And it’s great. Sometimes it’s fun to simply read something that is going to do exactly what you hope it does. This book is full on romance and a lot of fun. I have written all the others down to be pulled out during stressful times so that they can be used as cozy blankets. If you get it, you get it.

And there they are, the honest book reviews for August 2022

It was a great month for reading. It helps that I was on summer holidays and had the time! There were some kids’ books in there with my own children, but I haven’t included those. If you would like a series of reviews of books my kids and I have read, let me know in the comments.

For more honest book reviews, check out these posts.

Honest Book Reviews for July, 2022

Honest Book Reviews for June, 2022

And for tips on how to read more, click here.