September Wrap-Up

 Hello Interwebs!

So September went by in a flash and I had a not-so-great reading month this month. I finished four books this month, one being the one I started in late August and I just wasn't feeling anything very well. That being said I did enjoy everything I read pretty well: I had one three star book, one four star book, and two five star books. None of these books have been reviewed yet but hopefully I'll get to that soon. 

• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I read this from August 31 to September 8 and I loved this book. It's easily one of the best books I've read this year if not ever. It's part historical fiction, part coming of age, and part mystery novel about a girl named Kya who is abandoned as a young child in the marshes of North Carolina and it shows her growing up and thriving in the marshes and even becoming a respected naturalist while also accused of a murder that takes place in the marsh she calls home. This book was absolutely fantastic and I actually already bought a copy for my housebound grandmother (due to COVID plus fires in Western Oregon plus COPD). I gave this book a solid 5/5 stars. 
  
  
  
  
• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This is the first book in The Illuminae Files trilogy, a young adult sci-fi trilogy done in the "found footage" medium like The Blair Witch Project. I read this from September 9-11. This book was also great. It tells the story of Kady and Ezra, two teenagers whose home on an illegal mining outpost was attacked and now they're refugees aboard a military ship and a research vessel. Ezra is conscripted into the military to help protect their small fleet while Kady is working on some computer systems and then the military A.I. destroys one of the ships in their fleet and a mysterious illness is overtaking refugees from the mine that was gassed by the enemy. The whole book is told through email and security reports and mission reports instead of a traditional novel format. I enjoyed the whole thing immensely and have already purchased the other two books in the trilogy. 5/5 stars. 
  
  
  
• Here for It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America: Essays by R. Eric Thomas. This book was the second Read With Jenna book club pick for the month of August and it was okay. It's a memoir told via essays of a black religious gay man in middle America. Most of what he wrote about was relatable but all-in-all it just wasn't very engaging. I don't know of memoirs/autobiographies are really my thing, especially ones that come across as trying too hard to be funny. This got a mediocre 3/5 stars. 
  
  
  
  
• Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand. This is the first book in Elin Hilderbrand's Paradise trilogy and I found it highly enjoyable. This follows multiple characters, like all the books I've read and you follow Irene Steele who has just received a phone call that her husband died in a helicopter accident on the island of St. John in the Caribbean. Upon her arrival in the Caribbean with her two sons, she discovers that he owned a villa there and then she discovers he had a second secret family. You follow her, both her sons, as well as her husband's mistress's father, daughter, and best friend. They try to unravel the secret of Russell Steele and it sets up a nice cliffhanger for book number two which I have already gotten from the library. I gave this an enjoyable, fluffy 4/5 stars. 
  
  
  
  

So these are the books I read in the month of September. I read 1678 total pages and gave my reads an average rating of 4.25 stars. It wasn't a bad reading month but it wasn't a great one either. I started Transcendent Kingdom but just couldn't get into it and I wasn't really into it right now. I could see where I will really really like this book but just not right now. 

On to what I bought this past month. As always these books are mostly ones I got on sale from Amazon but as always there were some I got because they were new releases or book club picks. Also a couple books I just wanted and had the disposable income for. 

• Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (2020). Barnes & Noble hardcover: Barnes & Noble book club and Read with Jenna book club pick for September; literary fiction.
  
  
  
  
• The Last Story of Mina Lee Nancy Jooyoun Kim (2020); hardcover from Book of the Month, Reese's Book Club pick for September; literary fiction
  
  
  
  
• The Babysitter by Phoebe Morgan (2020), eBook from Amazon; mystery/thriller
  
  
  
• The Quintland Sisters by Shelley Wood (2019), eBook from Amazon; historical fiction
  
  
  
• Carrie by Stephen King (1974); Amazon eBook; horror
  
  
  
  
• Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch (2016); Amazon eBook; romance
  
  
  
  
• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (2019); Amazon eBook; literary fiction
  
  
  
  
• Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev (2020); Amazon eBook; The Rajes #2; romance
  
  
  
  
• Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton (2018); Amazon eBook; historical fiction
  
  
  
  
• Gemina  by Amie Kaufman; Jay Kristoff (2016); paperback from Amazon; YA Sci-Fi; The Illuminae Files #2
  
  
  
  
• Obsidio by Amie Kaufman; Jay Kristoff (2018); paperback from Amazon; YA Sci-Fi; The Illuminae Files #3
  
  
  
  
• The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell (2016); Amazon eBook; mystery/thriller
  
  
  
  
• Tidelands by Philippa Gregory (2019); Amazon eBook; historical fiction 
  
  
  
  
• A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (2019); Amazon eBook; YA mystery/thriller
  
  
  
  
• My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (2019); Amazon eBook; mystery/thriller
  
  
  
  
• The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager (2018); Amazon eBook; mystery/thriller
  
  
  
  
• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (1995); Amazon eBook; contemporary fantasy; Practical Magic #1
  
  
  
  
• Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory (2019); Amazon eBook; romance; The Wedding Date #4
  
  
  
  
• Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory (2020); Amazon eBook; The Wedding Date #5
  
  
  
  
• This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (2016); paperback from Barnes & Noble; YA fantasy; Monsters of Verity #1
  
  
  
  
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938); paperback from Barnes & Noble; gothic horror/mystery
  
  
  
  
• Horrid by Katrina Leno (2020); hardcover from Barnes & Noble; YA horror
  
  
  
  
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart (2018); Amazon eBook; biography
  
  
  
• My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg (2016); Barnes & Noble paperback; autobiography
  
  
  
  
• Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody (2020); Hardcover from Barnes & Noble; YA fantasy; The Shadow Game #3
  
  
  
  
• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (2020); Barnes & Noble hardcover; YA fantasy/horror
  
  
  
  
• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (2015); Barnes & Noble paperback; YA fantasy
  
  
  
  
• Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles (2020); Barnes & Noble Hardcover; YA historical fantasy
  
  
  So there's all the books I read and bought in the month of September. Coming up soon is my fall TBR which is massive! Also there will be a slightly more reasonable October preview. 

Happy Reading!

Richelle and Emma