Books of August–2025

Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi

Walk with me as this young, redhead convinces five gorgeous men to fight her cousin, who is now the king. I watched this anime in middle school, and I freaking loved it. I wanted to see Yona take down that twisted cousin of hers, but there was only one season of the show. After years of patiently waiting on another season, I finally realized that I could just read the manga. So, that is what I am doing now. I have only read the first three volumes (as of publishing this blog post) because my library only has those available through Libby. I am planning on going through other libraries to get the rest. This story is so fun. It satisfies my itch for adventure, romance, and magic. This is a great read for people who like the idea of a woman and her six boyfriends doing crimes.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

This is an epic tale of revenge. It took me months to finish this book. I listened to the 48-hour-long audiobook, and it was a lot. This is now one of my favorite books. I quite enjoy a vengeful story. I was scared to start this book because it was huge. I am also not a big fan of classical literature because it feels too Eurocentric. This book was special to me. Edmund was a sweet man who was royally screwed over by men who clearly hated him. After over a decade of imprisonment and scheming, he stunned on his haters. He adopts kids. I am still not sure how close in age he was to his adopted children, but that doesn’t matter. He made several people go mad and lose all their money. It was baller.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Rockstar artist Michelle Zauner shares recipes, her relationship with her mom, and meeting her husband. This book wrecked me emotionally. I did not know who Michelle Zauner was before reading this book. I had seen so many people saying that this was an amazing book, so I decided to read it. Importantly, I had finished reading I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy the month before. I was going through it emotionally. This book really put it over the edge. I cried a lot while reading this. This was a beautiful book about love, family, grief, and food. There is no manual to be a good parent or a good child. Most people are just trying their best to do the best that they can with what they know. I appreciated Zauner’s candidness and humor.