Greetings readers!
And we are closing off another month of 2020. It’s been another month, friends. Wow. Time flies and yet this year has been an entire decade. We’re still fighting though and we will keep fighting. A reminder to keep unlearning and relearning. BLM is a marathon not a moment, as so many have put it. And when you catch yourself slipping, to pick yourself back up again.
My August was pretty chill, but I didn’t get as much reading done as I had hoped. My summer semester came to an end and then I was just burnt out from studying. I found that I felt more crafty than bookish, so I spent some time drawing and painting. But other than that I really did not do much this month and yet I don’t feel rested. Ugh, but I’m just ranting now.
Let’s move on to the stats.
What Rendz Read
Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope e-📘 (4/5) *Reread*
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle e-📘 (5/5) Review
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi 📘(4/5) Review
Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon (5/5) Review
The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso 📘 (5/5) *Reread*
A Touch of Death by Rebecca Crunden e-📘 (4/5) RTC
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles [e-ARC] (3.5/5) Review
The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owen 📘 [ARC] (4.5/5) RTC
Check Please!: Sticks & Scones by Ngozi Ukazu e-📘 (5/5)
Highlight Book(s): You Deserve Each Other lived up to hype I had for it and I really enjoyed it! But #1 from this month is definitely Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From! It was such a powerful and emotional read for me!
Lowliest Book(s): I didn’t have any low read this month. Everything was pretty awesome!
The Haul
I’m telling you all my family is worried for me! XD There was one week where I got book bookmail 4 days consecutively! I was living whereas they were seriously questioning me. I should note that I didn’t buy any of these books and all were gifted XD
Giveaway Wins!
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
The Daughters of Nri by Reni K. Amayo
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez-Gilliland
ARCs
Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez
The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi
Historically Inaccurate by Shay Bravo
Lightbringer by Claire LeGrand
Ciel by Sophie LaBelle
The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen
Finished Copies
The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson
Pine Island Home by Polly Horvath
Yeah…this has been a really good month for bookmail in this household. 🙂
Other Going-Ons
Celebrating 4 Years of Blogging!
On August 31st, WordPress notified me that I have been doing this blogging gig for four years now. WHAT!? I know. It has been quite an adventure and I want to thank you all for sticking around these past years. It has been an up and down slope with this site, but I am so proud for sticking to this. I love books and I love sharing my love for books and this has been one of my best passion projects! Life can get busy, but I love this baby of mine too much to let it go! So thank you for following and reading and just letting me ramble on this corner of the internet!
You Had Met At Hola Challenge
Andrea @ Page Cactus on Instagram created this amazing challenge where you recreate a candid celebrity photo to celebrate the release of Alexis Daria’s You Had Me At Hola! I participated by recreating that viral photo of Chris Pine strutting his stuff with a paper bag full of books! I had so much fun that day and I cannot wait to read the book later this month!
Mexican Gothic is Getting a Limited TV Series
This announcement came as a surprise and you bet that I freaked out!!! Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos came to deliver to the SMG hive and I am living for it! No news on when it’s going to happen, but I would fly to wherever the sit will be to be an extra in this movie!
Bitch Read-a-thon – Rereading The Wolf of Oren-Yaro
I had no plans on reading this again but when two twitter fans decided to collab and host a read-a-long I just had to join!!!!!! And let me tell you it was one of the greatest decisions I made this summer! Being emotionally crushed by this book again and discussing it with other readers was the most wonderful experience. The questions made me think critically and reading through peoples answers made me realize how insightful others are.
New Rena Rossner Book!
EEEEH I found out about this new book by surprise and it made my entire day! Last year, I read The Sisters of the Winter Wood and was totally blown away. This book was everything and now we are getting new material and y’all I am sooooo excited!! If you are missing Jewish Fantasy authors on your shelves, I highly recommend adding Rena Rossner to your lists!
An evocative combination of fantasy, history, and Jewish folklore, The Light of the Midnight Stars is fairytale-inspired novel from the author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood.
Deep in the Hungarian woods, the sacred magic of King Solomon lives on in his descendants. Gathering under the midnight stars, they pray, sing and perform small miracles – and none are more gifted than the great Rabbi Isaac and his three daughters. Each one is blessed with a unique talent – whether it be coaxing plants to grow, or predicting the future by reading the path of the stars.
When a fateful decision to help an outsider ends in an accusation of witchcraft, fire blazes through their village. Rabbi Isaac and his family are forced to flee, to abandon their magic and settle into a new way of life. But a dark fog is making its way across Europe and will, in the end, reach even those who thought they could run from it. Each of the sisters will have to make a choice – and change the future of their family forever.
For more from Rena Rossner, check out The Sisters of the Winter Wood.
Posts Of the Month
Tune & Title Tuesdays | If I may so bold as to call it the quinceañera anthem
Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet | COVER REVEAL // JAWS?? DROPPED.
The Bookish Feels | Books That Give Me Wanderlust // We’re going on a trip…
Would You Rather Book Tag | Answering the hard questions
TBR
Let me tell you: I am being far, far, far too ambitious this September. I’m going to attempt to complete two TBRs this month.
From Sept 1st-14th, I plan on reading:
Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera
Fable by Adrienne Young
Ciel by Sophie Labelle
The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi
Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz
The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson
From Sept 15th-Oct 15th, I have prepared to focus on all books Latinx. You can read more about those plans in this post:
Lord knows I won’t be completing all of this, but I am going to try my absolute best! Please send good vibes!
Let me know what you think! What have you read this month? What books did you get? What books are you looking forward to reading!
*Please Share and/or Donate = Link to a master list of how you can help/educate yourself on Black Lives Matter and other humanitarian movements across the globe*
Reading with Rendz 
congrats on four years of blogging, that’s an AMAZING accomplishment!!! also, the light of the midnight stars has such a gorgeous cover???? i hope you have a lovely september, and I especially can’t wait to see what you think of the silvered serpents!💜
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Thank you!!! ❤ I hope September treats you well too and be prepared for my screaming about TSS!
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