August Reading Recap
August Reading Recap: 5 Books I Read this Month
By: Brittany Shields
This month was a shorter list of books for me and I didn’t get to mark off anything from my Shelf Reflection’s 2025 Reading Challenge.
But I did manage to read one from my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2025.
In August we took a family vacation and had all the back to school things to accomplish so it was a busy month without a lot of time to read.
What was most crazy about this month was that I read five books from five different genres and they were all five star reads! That doesn’t happen very often.
I’m heading off on another trip in September and the kids all started school so I’m hoping to have a good month of reading! Plus we are starting to get the fall weather which calls for a blanket and a candle— my favorite book reading position!
Don’t forget to follow my Facebook page for more reviews, recommendations, and book-lover fun!
1. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
Genre: YA/ Historical Fiction
[Fulfilled ‘Book set in a different culture than your own’ prompt as part of Shelf Reflection’s 2024 Reading Challenge]
“His words still haunt me. ‘You’re Cristian Florescu and I know what you’ve done.’”
This was a good but hard to read book.
‘Good’ meaning: very compelling, fast and easy to read story about a character you instantly love and feel for.
‘Hard to read’ meaning: eye-opening to the way of life and terrible happenings in Romania under the totalitarian government of Nicolae Ceaușescu.
Goodreads describes it correctly like this: “A gut-wrenching, startling window into communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation”
I feel like this is a must-read book. The events of this story happened the year I was born. That’s not that long ago. In America we forget how free we really are and this book reminds us of the importance of critical thinking and having the courage to stand up for truth.
Read my full review to get more plot details, some thoughts on totalitarian governments, and a content advisory.
2. Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds by Jen Wilkin
Genre: Christian Living
“Disciple means ‘learner’ As a disciple of Christ, you and I are called to learn, and learning requires effort.”
“Sound Bible study transforms the heart by training the mind and it places God at the center of the story.”
I felt a little overwhelmed reading this book, but I think in a good way.
I grew up in the church, reading my Bible regularly. As you can see on my website, I’ve read and reviewed tons of devotionals and theology books. The Bible is very familiar to me.
And yet. I’ve always been too intimidated to sit down with a book of the Bible and study it on my own with no commentaries or supplementary books.
I’m entering a season where I now have the time and mental capacity to try to tackle something deeper. This book has inspired me to attempt Jen Wilkin’s method of study. She is not marketing it as the only way or the right way to study Scripture but I’ve done a couple of her studies and I am wanting to give it a shot.
Please read my full review to understand better the heart of this book that no matter what season of life you’re in, you’ll come to desire knowing and understanding God’s Word, whatever that needs to look like for you now. My review also outlines the basics of the book and addresses some of the negative reviews this book has gotten.
3. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Genre: Fantasy
[On my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2025]
“Losing your way is oftentimes the only way to find something you did not know you were looking for.”
“His father had once told him that there was only one measure of how well a person spent his day. It depended on how much of the day you spent pining for the future or regretting your past.”
Somehow this book was both dark and whimsical!
Water Moon is about a magical pawnshop in Tokyo where people find themselves when they are tired of living with a choice they regret. They can pawn their choice off and never have to remember it. The main conflict of this book revolves around the pawn shop owner’s daughter who wakes up one morning to find both her father and one of the pawned choices missing. She will travel to the ends of her world to find her father and set things right before the keepers of the choices punishes her.
I really enjoyed this story. It has deep themes, imaginative world building, suspense, tragedy, and even a glimmer of hope. It’s not a complete happily ever after for everyone; it holds some tension with the idea that our choices have consequences and we can’t just write them all better by the end. Some of the bigger themes the book explores are sacrifice, contentment, freedom, choice, desire, and regret.
I think this book would make a good book club book and I’ve included some of my own book club discussion questions at the end of my review for anyone to make use of.
You will also find more plot and character details in my full review, more reflections on the big themes, thoughts on some of the negative reviews, my own critiques, a content advisory, and a few spoiler comments.
4. Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Keera Duggan #2) by Robert Dugoni
Genre: Legal Thriller
“It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.” — Voltaire
I read Dugoni’s first book about Keera, Her Deadly Game, a couple years ago, not knowing if it was planned to be a series. I’m glad we get more time to get to know Keera and Patsy.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt is definitely a legal thriller. A good chunk of the book involves the courtroom examinations and dialogue as Keera— prosecutor turned defender— tries her case.
It’s a case where Keera must defend a childhood ‘friend’ she suspects is actually a sociopath. This is the second time this friend has been on trial for murder. Patsy, Keera’s dad, was able to create reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury for her to be declared not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt the first time, and now Keera must do likewise.
It’s not a super suspenseful thriller, but it’s been a good series. Keera’s character reminds me of Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite character that I love— but the lawyer version.
Check out my full review for more plot and character details and a few critiques.
5. Holier Than Thou: How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him by Jackie Hill Perry
Genre: Theology
“If there is anything I want this work to do, it’s to show you God. There is no one greater. No one better. No one worthy of our entire selves, and I believe that as you see him as he is, you’ll want to be just like him too. Holy.”
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” —Tozer
Jackie Hill Perry’s book Gay Girl, Good God is excellent, and I enjoyed hearing her teach a chapter in the book When You Pray, as well as hearing her live at a conference. JHP is a great communicator, especially in person.
This book is written in the same way as she would teach to you face-to-face. It has the poetic/spoken word feel that she is so good at. JHP writes with confidence and powerful belief because she is, like her last chapter encourages, beholding our God. Her way of communicating inspires you to want to see the Lord the same way she does.
JHP is compelling as she uses logic and Scripture to walk us through understanding the holiness of God through chapters about moral perfection, transcendence, idolatry, justice, and vision. By understanding God’s holiness, we are led away from a path of rebellion and find the path of obedience and trust.
Lots of good quotes from the book in my full review, as well as more thoughts about what I learned while reading it, and some other relevant book recommendations.
Please browse my site and share any book reviews to your social media that resonate with you! And follow me on Facebook for more updates and book-related posts!
Share this list to your social media!