What I Read: August (2023)

As an avid mood reader, I base almost all of my reading choices on vibes alone, and my august choices were no different, and during a stressful month I found myself reaching for fun, cozy and escapism.

I started with a book that I have wanted to get to for a long time, but had been waiting my turn for at my local library. When Mortal Follies, by Alexis Hall, was finally placed on hold for me, I picked it up almost immediately.

Set in England in 1814, Mortal Follies follows the story of two women, both members of high society, yet both outcasts in their own way. Told through the eyes of a mischievous fae narrator, we follow Miss Maelys Mitchelmore and Lady Georgianna Landrake (better known by the ton as the Duke of Annadale) as they battle curses, angry gods, unbearable garden parties, and most of all, their growing attraction to each other.

Mortal Follies is so atmospheric, so beautifully written, that I felt transported to the same realm of the fae that the narrator watched from. This sapphic tale discovers what it means to fight for the one you love, no matter the sacrifice, no matter the outcome. This was my first foray into the historical fiction realm as written by Alexis Hall, and I am looking forward to picking up more written by this author.

After a little bit of post reading mourning from Mortal Follies, I picked up the delightful romantic comedy, Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks.

I stumbled across a video recommending the romance novel Morbidly Yours last week on booktok, and I have to be honest, I didn’t even finish playing the video before I was already *adding to cart.* As a lover of all things macabre, I was delighted to find another romance novel that may be able to combine the sweetness of a romance novel with some more macabre themes. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed.

After a devastating tragedy in bubbly Lark Thompson’s life, she really, really needs to get away from all the reminders of her past at home in Austin, Texas. She finds an opportunity to work on a new creative animation project in Galway, Ireland, and jumps at the chance. She winds up renting a new place, directly next to introverted Callum Flannelly’s funeral home. They form an unlikely friendship, and when Callum confides his troubles, she finds she’ll do just about anything to help him.

While Lark and Callum’s relationship is truly the crux of the story, we delve so much deeper into both characters and the struggles they face in their personal and professional lives.

I was also really pleased to see demisexual representation in the story, and in a way that enhanced that character’s relationship, instead of being talked about as an obstacle to overcome. Both characters are really open, supportive and warm towards one another throughout the corse of the story, and I think that’s one of the elements that makes their romance so sweet.

That sweetness, however, is not without a little spice. After what can definitely be called a slow burn, the spice is *chef’s kiss* and feels totally indicative of the characters I’d grown to love by then.

Morbidly Yours is absolutely going to be a comfort re-read for me, and I am excited to see what Ivy Fairbanks publishes next.

I picked up a few other books here and there this month, but being the mood reader that I am, I often put books down if I can’t seem to get into them in the first hundred pages or so. This really doesn’t even mean that I won’t try them again, but if they aren’t the vibe for how I’m feeling that day, I’ll move on for the time being. More than anything, reading is a thing of the purest enjoyment for me, and I do my best to stay out of the world of reading pressures, critics and judgement, which is why you will only find me talking about books here that spoke to my soul, or were at least a joyful, wild ride. Books that made me feel something, learn something, or that gave me back a piece of my soul that society tries to very hard to remove.

If I read a book I dislike, I simply won’t talk about it here. That’s a space for someone else.

Here, I’ll share the books on my heart, and I hope you will too.