What Deanna Read #120: August 2026

Maybe it's a little cheaty, but I often use our team writing sprints to prep this post. It helps keep me on track though goodness knows the last few months have not been that way. I do try...

Cross your fingers that August will be better for me. Today is the fourth of the month, so we're starting strong.

Here's what I read in the last month.

The Cove

How to Shield an Assassin 🎧Audible audiobook 📚Kindle eBook

When the Farmer Met the City Girl (reread)

Cold Truth 🎧Audible audiobook 📚Kindle eBook

His to Claim

To Love a Wolf

How to Steal a Thief 🎧Audible audiobook 📚Kindle eBook

Never Forsaken Dramatized Adaptation 🎧Graphic Audio Full Cast audiobook 📚Kindle eBook

Under My Heel Dramatized Adaptation 🎧Graphic Audio Full Cast audiobook 📚Kindle eBook

Kneel or Die Dramatized Adaptation 🎧Graphic Audio Full Cast audiobook 📚Kindle eBook

All Bets Are Off

Cold Heat 🎧Audible audiobook 📚Kindle eBook

Dolls & Daggers 🎧Audible audiobook 📚Kindle eBook

As of today, and let's face it, it's very early on in the month, I've only read one book and that's because I've been working on it for weeks since July. I've mentioned it before, but eyeball reading has been slow. But hey, one book done. Yay!

I'm also in the middle of reading another book I've started and partway through an absolutely delightful audiobook. More on that later in the month when I get through it.

In other news, Audible has just started their sitewide up to 80% or more sale on all their audiobooks (it will be finished by the time this goes live tho). This is the time of the year when I stock up on my audiobooks. They used to run this sale once a year towards the end of the year, but it seems to be twice a year, once around mid-year-ish and once around Black Friday or early December. I'm not complaining. I like being able to pick up a bunch of audiobooks for between $1 and $4.50. I mean, there are cheaper audiobooks too, but that's my cut-off. $4.50 before taxes. This keeps me in check. Do not ask how many I picked up this time round, but I did managed to grab some from my exceedingly long wish list.

At the end of one week...

It's very unusual for me to have an "at the end of one week," but here we are... I finished an audiobook, How to Shield an Assassin by AJ Sherwood. That's it. And when I got all excited—actually, I got excited very early on and told two of my best audiobook listening buddies about it it, probably about four or so days ago, one of them went out and got them and she's already finished the first two as of this morning. The other one has put a hold on it at her library and will listen to it once she's finished her current audiobook. I need to check where she's at. So it's safe to say this one was good. Good enough for me to almost immediately rave about it to two close audiobook friends, and they went out and got it based on my rec.

Here's the thing—I've known these two friends of mine for about a decade and a half. We got our first Kindles together and we joined this giant Kindle Facebook group back in the day. Maybe in 2010, I think. And as the group grew and more nonsense happened (one very strange guy decided to ring up the hotel my friend was staying in when she was traveling for work to tell the hotel to be nice to her. That was WEIRD), we splintered off to just a group of 13 and while we stay in touch, I'm probably closest to these two and of course my BFF who lives in Iceland, but he doesn't count cos he's a dude and he listens to and reads more straight up fantasy and sci-fi.

Wow, that was some tangent, where was I???

Oh yeah, my point—it's that we know what we like, or rather, we know what each other likes and enjoys, so it's easy for us to rec books to each other and know we will enjoy it. I did the same with Jeanine Frost's A Curse of Beasts and Magic. And since I don't rave about books often, they do listen when I rec something. They both devoured A Curse of Beasts and Magic. One of them listened to it straight through in audiobook, the other read it in Kindle Unlimited. And now we wait for the next one...

It's wonderful to have reading buddies. We don't always read or listen to the same stuff, and we don't always enjoy the same stuff, but there's enough overlap and we know each other well enough that it's worth sharing what we love with each other.

As an aside, I've also noticed that I'm extra chatty and rambly when I prep these posts early. I hope you don't mind getting a bit more of an insight into my reading life. So you know more about Deanna the Reader, since a lot of my other articles these days revolve around the work I do as Deanna the Publishing Partner, but I never want to forget where I came from and that's the love of reading and books.

At the three week mark...

Today is the 22nd of the month and I'm once again at team writing sprints. It's a Saturday, so it's a longer sprint session, we'll see how far I get with getting this done. —

A lot of audiobooks this month. I mean, a lot, A LOT. The eyeball reading has gone by the wayside though I have started a reread of A Curse of Beasts and Magic by Jeaniene Frost. I might not get it done this month as I plan on slowly savoring the words and the books since I tore through it the first time. I'm pretty sure I missed a few things along the way.

Of special note is I've discovered a new author (mentioned it above, actually) and series which I've enjoyed enough to rec to my close reading buddies. Everyone has listened to or read the books and said it was fun, cute, and a lovely light read. The new author I discovered is AJ Sherwood. She writes MM books under this particular pen name. I listened to the first two books in her Unholy Trifecta series and ADORED it. The little girl in book 1, How to Shield an Assassin stole my heart. She's also the one who kickstarts this series and the book. I totally need a book for the little girl when she grows up. The second book How to Steal a Thief was also adorable. I have one more in the series which I might pick up next since I need a new audiobook to listen to and I've been binge (so rare for me) listening to another series.

Sooooo... the series I've been binge listening to—and let's face it, it's not that much of a binge—is the Kurtherian Gambit series by Michael Anderle. I'm listening to it in Graphic Audio and they are short. Like, only about five hours short. To put it into perspective, an average 300-page book is about ten hours of listening time. The series is complete with 21 books in it. I just finished book 7, Kneel or Die.

The Kurtherian Gambit series is addictive and great corny, male fantasy, mix of paranormal and sci-fi action fiction. It's what Hubby would call popcorn fiction. They are quick reads/listens, a lot of action, a lot of swearing, and the main character and heroine is a transformed human to vampire who is apparently the baddest ass, most beautiful, most lethal, most amazing woman in the whole wide world who is going to wrangle the world into submission, save the Earth, and then take the fight to the stars and save the universe from the bad aliens. It's a wild ride.

I've listened to books 5 to 7 (Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, and Kneel or Die) in a row and my justification is that they are all so short that they, in reality, only equal one and a bit of a full-length audiobook. It's crazy, action-packed, blokey fun, but three in a row is enough. They are not the best writing, but they are addictive. I just need off the roller coaster ride that is Bethany Anne and her dudes for a while.

I finally finished The Cove by Catherine Coulter. This was an eyeball read. I'd been working on it for ages. It was a good story (very twisty), and a good book. That said, the writing style threw me and it took me a long time to wrap my head around the rhythm and cadence of the writing.

I don't know if this happens to many people but I'm very auditory and visual when I read. I actually hear and see the words in sounds and pictures while I read. Both a good thing and a curse at some points. It also means there are just some books that I cannot read no matter what because of this trait.

For those of you who are curious, it's called hyperphantasia. In normal people words, it means having an exceptionally vivid, near-photographic and immersive mind's eye and mind's ear. I won't bore you with why I'm like that. There are reasons. But suffice it to say that until I figured out why I was struggling with the book, it took some effort to really sink into it and enjoy the storytelling and the words. I do plan to read the next book in the series. It's in my TBR.

And finally, before I wrap up this three-week update on my reading, I also finished Cold Truth by Toni Anderson. Of course, it goes without saying y'all know how much I love Toni Anderson's Cold Justice books, and the obsession I have with Eric G Dove's voice. That aside, Kurt Montana of Cold Truth has become my second all-time favorite hero from the entire series after my beloved Alex Parker. I've slowed down the listening because the next book in the series, Cold Heat, will be the last audiobook I have in my TBR from Toni Anderson's backlist (I've finally caught up!), and the next release isn't till later this year. I'm debating between listening to Cold Heat and then starting a re-listen of the series, or saving it and waiting till the new one comes out.

That's it for now until later in the month...

The rest of the month...

Today is the 29th of the month and once again we're at team writing sprints. Do get used to it. It's the best way for me to stay on top of this particular little post.

I think I'm going to call it here because there are only two days left to the month and I'm working my way through two audiobooks, but it's unlikely that I would finish either of them in the time. I'm slow when it comes to audiobooks. True story, I was chatting with a friend of mine and I said something to the effect of being slow listening to audiobooks cos she'd listened to three already and I was about two-thirds of the way through my current audiobook. She came back and told me that in the last three days she had listened to FIVE audiobooks. Dude... I'm such a lightweight.

So to wrap up the month, I'm still listening to Cold Heat by Toni Anderson and I've started Taste by Stanley Tucci. I'm listening to Stanley Tucci tell me about his life and food at night before bed while I'm doing nighttime chores because Toni Anderson is a little bit too exciting and then I don't sleep. I get all hyped up with the suspense and keep wanting to know what's going to happen next—I'll tell you what happens next—it's 5AM and I need to be up in a few hours for the day and work. I blame Toni Anderson and Eric G Dove. Not me who has no self control and am chasing the story. Eric G Dove's voice is delicious but he's not the sort to be putting me to sleep. Hah! That said, I'll likely be done with it by the end of the month.

I hope you have a wonderful September.

xoxo, D.

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