🍃 🍁 Second Sundays - September 2023 🍁🍃

Happy Second Sunday!

So... August kicked my TBR to the curb in a serious way. 😶 My hours at the day job basically doubled, which is great for the pocketbook (and book hauls!) but not so much for reading time. I'm still trying to settle into the new work-life balance, and consequently, the first book on my August tbr took me all month long to finish 😬 (more on that in a minute), so I didn't get around to reading any other books.

This means I've only got one review for you this month, but I am already deep into my first September read, so next month should be a much denser list (see further down below).

Without further ado, let's see if what I read in August is for you!

🍃 AUGUST READ AND REVIEW 🍃

The only book I read last month was Brandon Sanderson's second Secret Project - The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. I have mixed feelings about this one...

The premise of the story is a man wakes up in an alternate reality of medieval England with no memory and only the singed pages of a handbook to help him unravel the mystery of who he is and why he's there. We're introduced to several fun characters, and the main character himself has an open sense of humor. It was fun to be in his head while he made guesses about who he could be and to see his interactions with the locals whom he's trying to convince he's a wizard in order to survive. Physical pages of the handbook are also inserted which was an extra fun piece of world-building and made me even more invested.

I enjoyed this book all the way up until the moment it was revealed who the main character is. The reveal itself was well written, but without getting into spoilers, I was disappointed by Sanderson's choice for the main character's occupation and the reason why he was in this alternate dimension. I just felt there were so many other, better ideas that Sanderson himself presented while the main character was guessing at his identity.

Despite this, I did enjoy the climax and the conclusion of the book, and I definitely appreciate the theme Sanderson was communicating, I just wish the main character had been revealed to be someone else. This is really a subjective gripe that other people may not have a problem with, so I still recommend this book if you enjoy a main character who is able to laugh at himself and makes commentary that almost breaks the fourth wall, while playing on a classic fantasy trope and setting with a "what if" approach.

🍁 SEPTEMBER TBR 🍁

I'm currently reading this one and so far it has me intrigued and invested. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer is a low-stakes fantasy (and probably will turn out to be a romantasy) about a clumsy woman from a small village who literally stumbles into a position as the assistant to the local evil lord. So far there's been just enough humor and unexpected moments to keep me hooked, and thematically it's reminding me a bit of the film Renfield. (Which, by the way, is about Dracula's assistant and you should absolutely watch it if you haven't!) It's a good book to start my slow entry into spooky season.

After some more research, I learned I don't need to read The Trials of Apollo before Chalice of the Gods (thank the gods for that!), so I'll be playing a bit of backwards catch-up with The Heroes of Olympus.

To be followed of course by said The Chalice of the Gods, which comes out on September 26.

If you're curious, the reading order that I've been able to put together is:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians

• The Heroes of Olympus

• The Chalice of the Gods

• The Trials of Apollo

• The Sun and the Star

Regardless of where I'm at in the tbr, I will be stopping everything on September 22 for my annual reread of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien to celebrate the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins! This year I may read The History of the Hobbit, which has all the drafts of The Hobbit that Tolkien wrote. I've always been curious how the original story read before he made edits to bring it in tandem with The Lord of the Rings.

🍃 🍁 SEPTEMBER NEW RELEASES I'M EXCITED FOR 🍃 🍁

'Tis the season for Tolkien! There are two books coming out this month that I can't wait to add to my collection:

A new edition of The Hobbit with illustrations by Tolkien himself! A beautiful addition to the collection that already includes illustrated editions of The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.

Why We Love Middle-Earth is written by the hosts of The Prancing Pony Podcast and explores the wide world of the Tolkien fandom and answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Tolkien and his works.

🍃 Happy Reading! 🍁