Everything I Read in August 2024

I read a bunch of good books in August and a few great ones. Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation was a true treat, and I found both Lady MacBeth and The Children of Jocasta to be fascinating retellings of classic stories. After delving into a few Scottish historical fiction prequels from a series I read last month, I think I’m in a bit of a reading slump and need to branch out a bit. Plus I need to tackle my ever-growing TBR, so I’m hoping to get through some of those for next month!

Of the 11 books I read this month, here are my top 5 favorites:

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

August 2024 In Books
Shop the Books Featured In This Post

August 2024 In Books

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

5/5 Stars

As with any Emily Henry novel, I was sucked in right from the start. With a dynamic intro scene that introduces the reader to Poppy and Alex in an unusual way, I knew I would be a fan of this book.

Poppy is quirky, but not too far into the manic pixie dream girl archetype to feel cliche. Alex feels like a real person, he is written so lifelike and consistent. The layout of the book, with a series of alternating time jumps to previous vacations, could get complicated at times, but it all comes together beautifully by the end. Plus, it kept me reading because I wanted to know what happened next in the contemporary storyline!

Of all the Emily Henry books I have read so far (all except Beach Read, as of writing this), I have to say that People We Meet on Vacation is probably my least favorite. But bear with me, because that sounds harsh. Friends to lovers isn’t always a trope I enjoy in romance novels. However, I do love anything Emily Henry writes, so even my “least favorite” of hers is still a top 10 read in my book. I would recommend this to pretty much anyone, and I am excited for the movie!

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry is available from Amazon here.

Read my full review of People We Meet on Vacation, complete with favorite quotes, here!

The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes

5/5 Stars

I love Natalie Haynes’ writing style, and The Children of Jocasta did not disappoint in that regard. Bouncing between two parallel stories, separated by some years, the novel is rather confusing at first — though this seems to be purposeful. As more of the plots within the stories unfold, the reader begins to see the bigger picture. Telling the story of Jocasta and Oedipus, and then that of their children, including the well-remembered Antigone, this novel gives life to a number of female mythological characters that are often silenced.

The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes is available from Amazon here.

The Hunted Heir by Holly Renee (The Veiled Kingdom Series Book #2)

4.5/5 Stars

Picking up where The Veiled Kingdom left off, The Hunted Heir is a quick read that I could not put down. Featuring many of the hallmarks of the romantasy genre, this book has danger, romance, magic, and evil rulers aplenty. The two protagonist love interests, set at odds by their birth and circumstance, are thrown together in a most dramatic manner, with family ties being tested to the utmost. I need to know what happens next!

The Hunted Heir by Holly Renee is available from Amazon here.

Click here to read my review of the first book in this series, The Veiled Kingdom!

The Whore’s Tale: Sarah by Julia Brannan (A Jacobite Chronicles Story)

5/5 Stars

Telling the backstory of one of the relatively smaller characters from The Jacobite Chronicles, this book tells Sarah Browne’s story as she grows up in an authoritarian household with a religious father who thinks all women are condemned to hell. It’s an uphill battle for Sarah and, like The Highlander’s Tale below, this book could have used some heavy editing. Regardless, the details of life in the small Cheshire village and then the bigger cities where Sarah later finds herself are interesting and well researched.

The Whore’s Tale: Sarah by Julia Brannan is available from Amazon here.

The Highlander’s Tale: Alex by Julia Brannan (A Jacobite Chronicles Story)

4/5 Stars

This was the first of the Julia Brannan’s companion novels to The Jacobite Chronicles that I read. For the first third, it is quite slow going. Very pastoral in a lot of ways, describing the protagonist’s childhood in a highland clan community in — at times — excruciating detail. (And that’s coming from me! I love this stuff.) Once the story picks up at that roughly one-third mark, I really enjoyed it. It was interesting to get more insight into the characters of the overarching book series. Really, it just could have done with some editing (which is the same for both The Whore’s Tale above and The Baronet’s Tale below).

The Highlander’s Tale: Alex by Julia Brannan is available from Amazon here.

The Baronet’s Tale: Anthony Part 1 by Julia Brannan (A Jacobite Chronicles Story)

4/5 Stars

Of the three companion novels I read from The Jacobite Chronicles series, this was my favorite. This novel covers the protagonist, Alex’s, introduction into society and illustrates how he developed his alter ego of Sir Anthony that is so important in the main series. Again….editing. This is part one of what will ostensibly be a two-part mini-series about the character. While this book ends at a natural stopping point, it really could be pared down a bit to fit the overall story of Sir Anthony’s birth into one volume.

The Baronet’s Tale by Julia Brannan is available from Amazon here.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

5/5 Stars

When I started this audiobook, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. It seemed to jump around time periods a lot and I wasn’t sure how it would come together. However, I am glad I stuck with it because it quickly developed into a fascinating tale of different stories woven together. Described as the story of “one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives — all connected by a single drop of water,” this book really just needs to be read to be believed.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak is available from Amazon here.

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

5/5 Stars

I listened to the audiobook of this and it was so good! It is a totally unique origin story for Lady MacBeth, known most famously from Shakespeare’s play. Ava Reid does a great job with world building for his era, delving into Scottish history to orient the reader with the protagonist and her new husband. This Lady MacBeth has a special twist, though; her eyes induce madness in men. So, she becomes a pawn in her husband’s court, and she is feared because she is magical and dangerous.

Lady Macbeth by Av a Reid is available from Amazon here.

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin

4/5 Stars

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I think I was primed to like it since I went to a local book event with the author. The book deals with some dark topics (definitely check the trigger warning at the front of the book), and it kind of bounces between light and heavy topics. Some of the situations in the book seem a bit outlandish, even for fiction, but that didn’t stop me from reading it in a day. So, while it wasn’t my favorite book I’ve ever read, I clearly found it engrossing enough to hold my attention for a whole day.

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin is available from Amazon here.

Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari

5/5 Stars

This is a dense book, but well worth a read. Analyzing how humans have created information networks throughout history, Nexus discusses the implications of the fast-approaching age of AI. This topic can be rather terrifying, and there are certainly instances in the book that call on humanity to reign technology in, but the book, as a whole, is pretty optimistic. I really liked the historical aspects of the book, where the Yuval Noah Harari discussed the development of bureaucracy and mythology and the ways in which humanity learned to communicate, which roots we can still see in the world today.

Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari is available from Amazon here.

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

3.5/5 Stars

Marketed as a steampunk fantasy novel, Of Jade and Dragons was enjoyable, overall, but had a lot of slow build up and surprisingly few dragons (IE: no real dragons). It felt like the book was trying to do too much in too short a time, which resulted in me being confused about what was going on for the first half of the book and then surprised by an abrupt ending.

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen is available from Amazon here.

Shop the Books Featured In This Post

What have you been reading lately?
Share your favorites in the comments so I can add them to my TBR pile!

Everything I read in August, including Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation, Lady MacBeth by Ava Reid, and The Hunted Heir by Holly Renee.

Still searching for your next favorite read?
Check out my July reading journal for more great titles for your TBR!

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

*Some of the novels featured here were gifted to me as part of various book review programs that Cats & Coffee is a part of. I was not required to post about the novel in exchange for getting a copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Everything I Read This Month: August 2024