I usually read about 100 books a year, but have stalled out as I get Arson ready to be born into the world and also work on the sequel. I haven’t read as much as I usually do, especially for a summer month when I usually sit on the porch and read for hours. Sadly, any reading I do is for about ten minutes at night before passing out. The only exception to that is when I’m sitting in a parking lot waiting for piano lessons or karate to be done. But, here are my August reads. (Not all of them are romance.)
#1- My own book, Arson….425 times
Author: moi
Published: Sept. 28, 2021
I read a meme on Instagram that said, “Write what you want to read because you’re going to have to read it hundreds of times” or something like that. That isn’t a joke. Literally.
I spent most of August reading my own book. Formatting was a bear to the point that my ARC still has some line wrap errors. (Thankfully, the wraps and indents are all great in Kindle and print, so this is just in my ARC.) I finally just said to hell with it after going through my book line by line about 4 times looking at the indention formatting.
Then, I sent ARCs out, and someone found mistakes editing missed. (Thank you, Evie Alexander.) Editing always misses something. In fact, I just found something editing missed in a Jennifer McMahon book, and my book of the month books always have a couple of typos in the book. It happens, but I ended up going through the book again. This time, I used a highlighter on one of my proof copies from Amazon to save my eyes from going through the source file. AGAIN.
I read it in August. A LOT.
I also learned A LOT. For example, if I make enough money on this book, I’ll use a professional formatter next time. I’m a one woman band at this point.
#2- Break Point
Author : Garry Michael
Published: March 21, 2021
MM Romance
I’m so late to the cool kids table on this one. This came out in March, and I haven’t read it until now….something I feel extra shitty about since Garry Michael is notoriously one of the sweetest and most giving indie authors on Instagram. I almost feel like all of the other Instragram Indies are over there…
He’s the Betty White of Instagram, and you’re a shitty person if you don’t like him. So, I’ve been meaning to give his books a chance.
I’m about 6 months too late on this one since he already has a new release out called All the Cuts and Scars We Hide. I plan on picking that one up, too, because I really enjoyed this one. It’s a sweet romance surrounding tennis sensation Travis and his ex-boyfriend, Ash.
I loved the characters so much, and Garry did a wicked great job of making his characters feel and making us fall love in with them.
#3- The Vessel-
Author– Selena Moore
Published – August 26, 2021
Selena Moore’s newest release is a sci-fi/dystopian breeding novella with a few gangbangs and adult lactation scenes thrown in.
When I read Cum Inside, her erotic short, I sent her my review that said to pull more out of those sex scenes. (BTW- check that short for a sweet, sexy romance.)
Well, she pulled more out of the sex scenes.
I like it when authors push the envelope a bit. I get tired of the same old shit/different day. Selena took the envelope, threw it across the room frisbee style and then kicked out the front door.
There were a few scenes that weren’t for me, and this erotica won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Oddly, the scenes not for me were mostly because I don’t understand the science of the year 5000-something. I’m a science nerd, though, and would have loved to hear more about the technology of the time.
For example, when Marcus gives her a pregnancy blood test the night after a gang bang…that’s some hella science, because it usually takes at least 10 days for your body to make enough hormones to show a pregnancy. But, I pushed it aside because they didn’t even have the capability to pee on a stick 100 years ago, so the year 5000 may have the good shit.
If you want to try something new and aren’t a pearl clutcher, check it out!
#4- The Heart Principle
Author: Helen Hoang
Published: August 31, 2021 (I got this at the beginning of the month because it was a BOTM selection.)
If you’ve read The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test, this is book 3 in the series. It follows Quan, whom you should already love if you’ve read the other books.
You do not need to read the others first, but it helps!!!
As a side note, I love her writing, and this book is meta as fuck. The author even admits in bonus info at the end that it’s meta AF. As an author, I can see the violin block issues that our FMC experiences.
#5- Afterparties
Author: Anthony Veasna So
Published: August 3, 2021
I also got this from BOTM as an add on, but this was a slog for me. It’s a book of short stories centering around the people in his family and neighborhood growing up amongst his elders which are mostly refugees from the Kmer Rouge. I enjoyed a few of the stories, but some took awhile to get through.
Sadly, this is published posthumously since the author died in December of 2020.
What did you read this month? Drop a comment! Have you read any of the above? I’d love to hear about it.
Author Tori Ross (The Smutty Book Lady) 