State of the ARC is a monthly meme temporarily hosted by Sarah at All The Book Blog Names Are Taken meant to motivate you to finish up your long overdue ARCs (Advanced or Early Reader Copies). This is its original intention, while some bloggers have tweaked it a bit for their own purposes, such as just keeping ARCs in order by due dates. Or you can just be a hot mess like me who sometimes misses publishing dates (or ignores them altogether) and needs a way to stay organized on what has been read, reviewed, or is still begging for attention. Thank you to Evelina @ Avalinah’s Books for coming up with this super helpful monthly meme.

I finished July with 18 ARCs left to be read. 

I spent quite a bit of time reading ARCs in August, but I’m feeling a bit dejected. Although I have no one but myself to blame, I broke even on my ratio this month. I read 11 ARCs this month (yay progress!) but I also got approved for 11 new ARCs (damn me and my not-total-request-ban), so it feels like I didn’t really make any actual progress during the month. My ratio stayed at 92%, which is still really good, so I can’t actually complain. I managed to get through all my September ARCs and a few of the ones due later. This month I’m going to focus even more energy on reading more ARCs, requesting less, and increasing my ratio a bit more. I do have some really amazing ARCs that I’m super excited to read!

I got approved for 11 new books in August:

• The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim
• Better the Blood by Michael Bennett
• Nocturne by Alyssa Wees
• Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall
• Tea Magic by Jenay Marontate
• The Path of the Hedge Witch by Joanna van der Hoeven
• Cheddar Late Than Dead by Linda Reilly
• The Witch Hunt by Sasha Peyton Smith
• Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch
• Gleanings by Neal Shusterman
• The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce

These are the ARCs that I read and reviewed, with links to my reviews:

• The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber — see my review here.
• Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott — see my review here.
• Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer — see my review here.
• The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim — see my review here.
• The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman — see my review here.
• Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young — see my review here.
• Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong — see my review here.
• The Path of the Hedge Witch by Joanna van der Hoeven — see my review here.
• Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese — see my review here.
• Live and Let Grind by Tara Lush — see my review here.
• Tea Magic by Jenay Marontate — see my review here.

Here are the ARCs I still have to read:

• Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch
• The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce
• The Witch Hunt by Sasha Peyton Smith
• Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall
• Gleanings by Neal Shusterman
• Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things by Maya Prasad
• Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
• Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
• A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw
• Winterland by Rae Meadows
• Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
• The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
• Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
• Phaedra by Laura Shepperdson
• City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita
• Better the Blood by Michael Bennett
• Cheddar Late Than Dead by Linda Reilly
• Nocturne by Alyssa Wees

Which ARCs are you excited about this month?