What I Read ♥ August 2026

It’s been a minute since I shared a monthly ’what I read’ post. In July, I participated in the mermaid reading challenge, and all but one of the books were related to it, so I decided to skip my reading post for July because I didn’t want to discuss just one book. With that said, I read a lot in August! Not only did I finish a trilogy, but I also finally completed a book that I had to wait months to borrow from Libby. I read six books in August, plus that one from July. So, I’ll be recounting seven books in this post! Snuggle up and let’s talk books!

Make sure to follow me on Goodreads to be updated on what I’m reading and on StoryGraph if you’re curious about my book statistics.

My Star Rating Scale
★★★★★/5 – Loved it! I would reread and recommend this book to others.
★★★★/5 – Kept me entertained. There were a few things that bothered me. I would reread.
★★★/5 – Didn’t love or hate and would recommend to others.
★★/5 – Did not enjoy it and probably skimmed through most of it to get to the end.
★/5 – I hated it and regret wasting my time!
DNF – Did not finish.
N/A – Not Available. Meant for memoirs or books I prefer not to rate.

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery ★★★★/5
Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely—until her beloved father died. Now Emily’s an orphan, and her mother’s snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. She’s sure she won’t be happy. Emily deals with stiff, stern Aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by holding her head high and using her quick wit. Things begin to change when she makes friends: with Teddy, who does marvelous drawings; with Perry, who’s sailed all over the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, with Ilse, a tomboy with a blazing temper. Amazingly, Emily finds New Moon beautiful and fascinating. With new friends and adventures, Emily might someday think of herself as Emily of New Moon.

The only other book I read in July was Emily of New Moon, which was techinally a reread! I thought I had DNF’d this book a few years ago, however upon reading this novel everything felt familar as I read it. Whilst I didn’t remember every detail I retained enough infomation and must have completed Emily of New Moon the first time I read it. I really love how L.M. Montgomery desibes the landscapes in her novels. Even her charaters have this dreamy charm to them. This is only my second L.M. Montgomery book (I have yet to read her Anne series!) and though some part seem dated I would still love to read more by her in the future.

You can purchase Emily of New Moon here

The Lamb by Lucy Rose ★★★/5
Margot and Mama have lived by the forest since Margot can remember. When Margot isn’t at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.

I started The Lamb in March but lost access to it via Libby, so I had to wait to get my copy renewed. It’s about a mother and daughter who live in the middle of the woods, when one day a new women falls in love with the mother. I didn’t know cannibalism was a sub-genre in horror literature, but apparently it is! I debated whether or not I wanted to continue reading this novel because there was a lot of gore and I can get a bit squeamish with too many gory details. But, I wanted to find out what would happen so I skimmed over the gnarly parts. It was sad but beautifully tragic.

You can purchase The Lamb here

When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone ★★★★/5
Here, archaeologically documented, is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Under her, women’s roles were far more prominent than in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures. Stone describes this ancient system and, with its disintegration, the decline in women’s status. Index; maps and illustrations.

I’m not a religious person. In fact, organized religion rubs me the wrong way (I grew up catholic). However, I was very curious about this book. I feel like since the dawn of time women were made to be seen as wicked or evil if we didn’t conform or follow the rules, rules made by men. After reading When God Was a Woman, it just proves it! Women are incredibly powerful magical beings that should be worshipped! Screw the patriarchy!

You can purchase When God Was a Woman here

Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery ★★★★/5
Emily Starr was born with the desire to write. As an orphan living on New Moon Farm, writing helped her face the difficult, lonely times. But now all her friends are going away to high school in nearby Shrewsbury, and her old-fashioned, tyrannical aunt Elizabeth will only let her go if she promises to stop writing! All the same, this is the first step in Emily’s climb to success. Once in town, Emily’s activities set the Shrewsbury gossips buzzing. But Emily and her friends are confident—Ilse’s a born actress, Teddy’s set to be a great artist, and roguish Perry has the makings of a brilliant lawyer. When Emily has her poems published and writes for the town newspaper, success seems to be on its way—and with it the first whispers of romance. Then Emily is offered a fabulous opportunity, and she must decide if she wants to change her life forever.

Emily Climbs was my favorite book in the Emily trilogy. I felt it really explored her ambitious side and captured her love for writing. Like in the first book, the adults around Emily rubbed me the wrong way. They kept holding Emily back from truly living her best life!

You can purchase Emily Climbs here

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung ★★★★/5
A wildly original novel from a rising star of Korean literature—surreal, chilling fables that take on the patriarchy, capitalism, and the reign of big tech with absurdist humor and a (sometimes literal) bite.

Cursed Bunny is a collection of 10 short stories with themes such as womanhood, capitalism, greed, patriarchy, etc. I really enjoyed this short story collection. Like every short story collection, some were hits and some were misses. As I was sitting down to write this review, I could only remember three of the stories. So, it wasn’t as memorable as other collections but nonetheless I remember having a fun time reading these short tales.

You can purchase Cursed Bunny here

Aphrodite: Encountering the Goddess of Lve & Beauty & Initiation by Irisanya Moon ★★★★/5
Aphrodite is an often misunderstood goddess, one who is easy to relegate to the love goddess role, but she is a goddess who also shows up as an initiator and, some might say, troublemaker. In this book, we seek to explore the complexity of a goddess who was born on sea foam and who inspires beauty and love, all the while offering a hand toward each one of us to celebrate our full hearts.

I picked up this book about Aphrodite to learn more about how I can improve my connection with her. I already have an altar for Venus/Aphrodite but I’m always working on improving my relationship with her. The author did an incredible job explaining her experience and how to incorporate new concepts into your practice with Aphrodite. My only complaint was that it was too short! Fun fact: I bought this book secondhand and the seller included a shell from Puerto Rico! I felt like it was a gift from Aphrodite!

You can purchase Pagan Portals – Aphrodite here

Emily’s Quest by L.M. Montgomery ★★★/5
Emily knows she’s going to be a great writer. She also knows that she and her childhood sweetheart, Teddy Kent, will conquer the world together. But when Teddy leaves home to pursue his goal to become an artist at the School of Design in Montreal, Emily’s world collapses. With Teddy gone, Emily agrees to marry a man she doesn’t love … as she tries to banish all thoughts of Teddy. In her heart, Emily must search for what being a writer really means….

I ended August by finishing the Emily triligoy by L.M. Montgomery. I’ll be honest, I didn’t enjoy the end of L.M. Montgomery’s Emily series. The spunky Emily that we grew to love in the first two books went away and there were notes of depression in her character in Emily’s Quest. It was shameful but predictable given the circumstances from the last book. I mean, what do you expect when all your friends go on and move out of their hometown and you’re the only one left? I felt sorry for Emily. I felt like I was reading the story of a completely different character from the first book. I know she’s an adult but I didn’t think she was happy and that made me sad. The ending, even though it’s supposed to be a “happy ending” felt rushed and very dramatic. It felt like Emily had settled for less because she didn’t have much going on in her life. If you’ve read the Emily trilogy, I’m very curious what you think!

You can purchase Emily’s Quest here

Have you read any of these books? What did you read in August?