What are you reading for August?

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso (August 26) is categorized as science fiction/ Romance/Historical Fiction/Magical Realism.

Livaset Levy’s father was trying to protect his 11-year-old daughter from Nazis when he hid the girl in a magical library holding the memories of the deceased. He never came back. Livaset discovered the world by browsing the books and their memories.

She realized later on that government agents were sneaking into the library and changing history by destroying certain books, a revelation that sparked her mission to save the library and its contents.

Early reviews have praised the book for its soft, tactful romance, cinematic plot, and atmospheric setting. The author seemingly fails to explain some of the fantastical elements, particularly the library, in a way that makes sense, but this weakness does not derail the novel.

The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar (August 5) is a cozy fantasy. Princess Tullia knows that her home, the Kingdom of Esquaveta, won’t survive unless she agrees to her father’s demands to marry an odious prince.

But Tullia has fallen for an apprentice scribe. The King wants Anatole, Esquaveta’s Magician, to brew a potion capable of bending Tullia’s heart to his will. A successful wedding would change Anatole’s life.

Once a young prodigy, Anatole has become a disgrace because every project he has undertaken since coming to the castle has failed. He cannot afford to disappoint the King. But making the requested potion would mean betraying the princess, the magician’s close friend. What will he choose?

This book is as short (320 pages) and sweet as they come; an adult fairytale with morally upright characters struggling to do the right thing in the face of overwhelming darkness. The story meanders a bit, but The Magician of Tiger Castle is so engaging that readers will appreciate any excuse it gives them to spend more time with the quirky characters.

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (August 26) is Historical Fiction/Dark Academia/Adult Mythology. Alice Law, the protagonist, wants to study under Jacob Grimes, the world’s greatest Magician.

She has sacrificed her pride, personal life, and health to pursue Magick at Cambridge. Her plans take a drastic turn when a magical accident claims the professor’s life. But death isn’t enough to deter Alice.

Because her future depends heavily on his recommendation, Alice will stop at nothing to retrieve Grimes from hell. Unfortunately for the girl, her rival, Peter Murdoch, has the same idea.

Katabasis is a mixed bag. Because R.F. Kuang spends so much time delving into depictions of Hell from the works of literary giants like T.S. Elliot, Katabasis feels like a textbook or a series of lectures. Your response to that aspect of Kuang’s writing will influence your ability to appreciate this novel.

Some readers called it dry and exhausting. Others could not get enough of the story. We can end on The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford (August 10), the first novel in The Rakada series.

Sayana is a scout for The Rakada, also known as ‘The Bone Raiders’, a fearsome unit of fighters that occupy the grasslands of the Tapestry, best known for wearing the bones of those they kill.

Life in the Tapestry has become difficult, partly because of the new Great Khan, who wants to destroy the raider clans, and partly because of the fire-breathing lizards encroaching upon their home.

Sayana thinks her people will only survive by learning to ride the fire-breathing lizards. But she has yet to identify a method of achieving her objective without getting eaten. The Bone Readers has incredible cover art.

Some reviewers have complained that it does not have nearly as much action or as many scenes with the fire- breathing lizards as they would have liked. And that should do for now. Happy Reading!

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