 Hey guys, it's Tilly and I feel like a princess right now. I did a mini book photo shoot with this vintage dress that I bought recently. That's a sneak peek of it, but I'm going to be posting all my photos to Instagram shortly if they turned out well, so fingers crossed. But today I'm going to be talking about my August wrap-up. I read and listened to quite a few books in total, there are 10 and it's just been a good reading month. So there's no particular order because I don't really remember when I read them, plus I was listening to audiobooks and also physical books. So I'm going to start off with Vicious by V.E. Schwab. I've had this book on my TBR shelf for quite a long time, quite a few years. Even the pages have started to yellow just sitting on my bookshelves. I finally read it and I absolutely loved it. I gave it five stars and I'm currently reading the second book which is Vengeful and I just was completely amazed by it. I thought that the plot for this book was really unique. It is basically about these people called extra-ordinaries where they have a near-death experience that is quite traumatic and it gives them these superpowers. It follows multiple point of views in time but also of characters as well. You have quite a amazing cast of characters. What I really like about this book is that the main characters are kind of villains, so you're rooting for people that aren't morally great. But the characters are really what drives the story and I really liked the unique plotline as well. I devour this book and I am absolutely planning through the second book at the moment. Unfortunately I did have two do not finishes on my pile. The first one is The Last Bookshop by Emma Young. I'm probably going to try to attempt to read this further down the track but I picked this book up like four times this month and every time I didn't get past a couple of chapters in I just kept falling asleep and it really saddens me because I really wanted to enjoy this one as it's about bookstores and it's based in Perth as well. So it's a DNF for now but hopefully I can come back to it at a time when I feel like reading this book but unfortunately it just didn't make it this time. Then we have A Touch of Darkness. I also read this second book in this one which is A Touch of Ruin. This is a Hades and Persephone retelling. It's a romance book and I've been really into romance at the moment but I am running short on what to read so if that's so any romance Rex leave them down below. I've read quite a lot of Hades and Persephone retellings at this point that I'm going to need to just quickly read the blurb to remember what this one was exactly. So this book follows Persephone who is obviously a goddess but her powers aren't very strong and she goes into a deal with Hades which of course might mean there's some romance between them and Hades gives her the impossible task to get out of their deal by creating life in the underworld. Like I said it's a romance it was pretty good. I've also read the second book which I didn't enjoy as much as the first so I'm not sure if I will continue on with the series but I'm definitely looking for more romance reads. I listened to the audiobooks of Gideon the 9th and Harrow the 9th. Unfortunately Harrow the 9th is the second book that I did not finish in this series. I have gone online and read out about people's reviews and what they thought of this book and I think the general consensus is that you go into this book thinking what the fuck is going on and it gets really confusing. Some people or quite a few people I know have not finished the book and others say it's the best when you plow through it but unfortunately I just didn't have it in me to keep reading the book as I just kept getting distracted instead of actually enjoying it. However I do feel like Gideon the 9th which was the first book and I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I'd probably give it about four stars out of five. I listened to some audiobooks so I don't have the physical books here so I'm sure I'm going to jump on Goodreads and get the rough blurb for you because I don't think I'll do it justice off the top of my head. The Emperor needs a necromancer. The ninth necromancer needs a swordsman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines and no more time for undead bullshit. Brought out by unfriendly ossifying nuns, ancient retainers and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon life of servitude and an afterlife of reanimated corpses. She packs up her sword, her shoes and her dirty magazines and prepares to launch her daring escape but our childhood nemesis won't set her free without service. Harrowhawk, non-agonemesis, reverend daughter of the ninth house and bone witch extraordinaire has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his lower houses on a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhawks see she'll become an immortal, all powerful servant of the resurrection but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalia. Without Gideon's sword Harrow will fail and the ninth house will die. Of course some things are better left dead. I think I absolutely nailed saying her surname. Then I also listened to The Stand In by Lily Chu. This one was really fun to read. It was a contemporary romance. It was a sweet romance. I really liked it and I really like the characters as well. This was an audiobook and I really really enjoyed the story. I didn't think I would enjoy this one as much as I did. I actually got it on audible for free at the moment and it was really really good. So it follows a character called Gracie Reed who is just living a pretty average life. She is trying to fund money to her mum into a good retirement home and she's really struggling and she is fired from her job when she is met from a basically her doppelganger Wayfung Lee and they decide to strike up a deal where she's going to pretend to be this actress to give her a break from this crazy bustling life. However Wayfung Lee's friend Sam, he is also helping out on this deal and he is not a fan which causes some tension between Gracie and Sam who are just trying to help out Wayfung Lee. There's probably a better description of that online but that basically sums it up for anyone who's looking for a really good romance that's really lighthearted and really sweet as well. I also listened to King's Mother Wicked by Carrie Manoscano. I have read her stalking Jack the Ripper books and I really enjoyed them so I thought I'd give this one a shot on audiobook. At first I was on a home shanty short if I would like these books and I'd probably end up giving it a three out of five stars. It did take me a little while to get into it but then I did really enjoy it. So this book for his two sisters, one of them is Bruce Lee murdered and the other one is on a quest for vengeance to find out what happened to her sister. During her quest to find out happened to her sister Amelia ends up using dark magic which also sort of summons these evil kings of hell including Wrath who says he's on her side and they sort of intertwine their path as she tries to figure out what happened to her sister. I am going to read the next book when it comes out. I've actually just pre-ordered it so I'm pretty excited for when that does come out. I think it's still like 30 odd days away. The last audiobook that I have and once again I haven't been to read it for a while and I finally got around to it and then there's The Invisible Life of Adi LaRue. I really like this one. I thought it was really magically written. This one is also by the Schwab I've read a couple of her books this month but this one was fantastic. It's something that was right on my alley. It had that mix of historical fiction, that mix of romance, and really well written characters and a storyline. I won't be able to do this one justice so I'm going to read the blurb of Goodreads. When Adi LaRue makes a pact with the devil she trades her soul for immortality but as always a price. The devil takes away her place in the world cursing her to be forgotten by everyone. Adi flees her tiny home in the 18th century France. Beginning a journey that takes her across the world learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a news Adi LaRue decides to fall in love with every single day and to one day in a secondhand bookshop in Manhattan Adi meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real normal life. Adi realizes she can't escape her fate forever. It was fantastic. I would give it another five stars. It's probably one of my favorite books that I read this month. And the last book that I've got is She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan. Everyone sends me reading this book at the moment and I picked it up after one of my friends gave it a really good review and I really enjoyed it. In a famine-stricken village a seer shows two children their futures. For the boy greatness and for the girl nothingness. But China in 1345 is under harsh Mongol rule and for peasants greatness only appears in stories. The Zhu family is mystified as to how their son Zhu Chongba will achieve such success in contrast and early death for a mere daughter is only to be expected. Yet when a bandit attack orphans the two children it's Zhu Chongba who dies. Desperate to survive his sister steals his identity to enter a monastery. There disguised as a male novice Zhu learns she can be ruthless to avoid her fate. But when her sanctuary is destroyed Zhu is cast back into the war-torn world. To change her ending there's only one thing she can do. Claim her brother's great destiny as her own. Really enjoyed it and the characters as well. I didn't want the book to end and the ending itself just made my heart clench. It's got really good historical fiction and the writing is fantastic. So that is my August wrap up. I'm reading Benchful at the moment by V.E. Schwab and I'm really excited about that. I'm going to be posting a September TBR video, a bookshelf reorganization video and a book haul video this month. So thank you guys for watching and once again if you've got any more romance recommendations leave them down below for me. Bye!