Looking back on it, September seemed to go really quickly, even though the last couple of weeks have dragged for me. After a *minor* surgery, there was nothing I could really do but read, and so I got through an unusual amount of books this month. Last month, I read just two books, so it shows that I had a lot more time on my hands, because I managed to read double that.
Since there are so many, I’ll keep my thoughts short.
The Wrath and The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
Synopsis: Every sunrise, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorsan, Khalid, executes a girl taken as his bride the night before. Until sixteen-year-old Shahrzad, who volunteers to marry Khalid, and survives past the dawn after her wedding night, unlike her best friend and so many other girls. Harbouring grief and a plan for revenge, Shahrzad realises that there is more to the young king than his murderous habit, and while uncovering his secrets that may save her life, she finds herself falling for him…
Rating: 4/5 stars
Recommended for: YA fantasy, enemies to lovers, retelling.
Can you tell I’m trying to limit my book buying and get through my old ones instead? This book came out in 2015. It has been sitting in my Kindle Library ever since I bought it a few years ago and the only reason I even remembered I had it was my TBR jar because it was the book I randomly picked out at the beginning of the month.
I try to judge books for what they are and not put too many of my expectations onto it, and as an adult reading a YA fantasy retelling of One Thousand and One Nights published in 2015, I thought this book was decent. It was a little rushed, the characters were definitely stereotypes, and occasionally it felt like nothing was happening, but overall I had a good time reading it and will (eventually) read the sequel.
The Goddess Effect by Sheila Yasmin Marikar
Synopsis: Journalist Anita is sick of her life in New York, and after being phased out of her dead-end job, she takes a decisive leap, moving to Los Angeles to sky rocket her career, find enlightenment, and get in touch with wellness culture. After joining a fitness self-improvement movement called The Goddess Effect, spearheaded by feminist lifestyle guru Venus, Anita submerges herself in the world of workouts. Though her life may be falling apart, Anita finds purpose in committing to sweating it out in a room full of determined women, only to find out during a group retreat that Venus and The Goddess Effect aren’t as concerned with the “wellness” of their clients as she thinks.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Recommended for: contemporary fiction, mystery.
Since I wrote a full-length spoiler-free review for this one, I’ll not say much. This was the second book I read in September, and I got through it quite quickly. It was a nice change from what I usually read, and I’d definitely recommend it for it’s wild subject matter.
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Synopsis: When Libby Day was just seven years old, she hid while her older brother Ben massacred the rest of her family. 20 years later, she is desperate for money as the ‘Libby Day Fund’ runs dry and finds herself accepting $500 to appear at a gathering of The Kill Club, a true-crime fan club who believe her brother to be innocent.
All those years ago, Ben was on the fringes of society, with a girlfriend called Diondra who introduced him to the world of drugs and satanic rituals, and begun to believe himself capable of dark things. When his guilt comes into question, Libby must delve into her dark past to discover the truth.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Recommended for: thriller, murder, satanic panic.
I don’t know how much I’ve talked about liking thrillers on my blog. Usually, I watch thrillers, though I have a lot of topics for both horrors and thrillers that I can’t go anywhere near because I value my sleep. While this seemed like it would veer into my personal banned territory of what I like to call ‘Scary People Doing Bad Things’, it was ultimately a really gripping, well-paced read that did not push too far past my boundaries.
I loved the characters in this novel so much for their awkward, honest behaviour. Libby, as a survivor of something as traumatic as she went through, is understandably different but her differences made scenes from her point of view more interesting, as she thinks in a way that may not be conventional. The novel flips between past and present and refuses to give too much away.
The only thing I will say that is kind of spoiler-ish is that the book does deal with some dark themes and can be a bit gruesome depending on your tastes, so be mindful of that if you do pick it up.
If On A Winter’s Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino
Synopsis: “You go into a bookshop and buy If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino. You like it. But alas there is a printer’s error in your copy. You take it back to the shop and get a replacement. But the replacement seems to be a totally different story. You try to track down the original book you were reading but end up with a different narrative again. This remarkable novel leads you through many different books including a detective adventure, a romance, a satire, an erotic story, a diary and a quest. But the real hero is you, the reader.”
Rating: 5/5 stars
Recommended for: fiction, novel in translation, postmodernism.
This book is incredibly hard to describe, which is why I pulled directly from the blurb on the back of my copy for the synopsis, which does an exceptional job of fully explaining the plot without giving too much away, which I feel I would if I tried to.
I read almost all of this novel in one day, partly because I had nothing else to do, but mostly because I was desperate to know reach the resolution of the “reader’s” increasingly wild journey to find the book they were looking for, and find it they did, with a lot of interesting insights and various genres of story on the way.
It was quite a deep, thoughtful book while being fun at the same time. It is partially written in second person, which is part of its postmodern charm, I suppose. It also contemplates what it means to enjoy books, to be a reader, and has some extremely quotable moments, if you’re into that.
Read Between The Lines by Rachel Lacey
Synopsis: Manhattan Bookstore owner Rosie Taft wants her own book-worthy romance and after an online friendship develops with her favourite lesbian romance author Brie, she thinks she could have found the one.
Jane Breslin is a property developer by day and an author by night, writing under the pen name Brie. When Jane’s family business terminates the lease on Rosie’s bookstore, Rosie loses a little of her spark for romance and thoughts of love fall by the wayside. When their online identities are revealed, can they overcome Jane’s involvement in the closing of Rosie’s store and reignite their spark, or will their developing feelings fizzle out?
Rating: 4/5 stars
Recommended for: lesbian romance, romance, hate-to-love.
This was another pick from my TBR Jar, and a welcome shift from my previous reads, which were filled with death and politics. Read Between the Lines was the wonderful, pretty steamy rollercoaster romance story I needed to recover.
I loved the push and pull between Jane and Rosie, the wonderful female friendships in this book, and Lacey’s writing generally. What made it a four but not five star read were the aspects that I thought had to be pushed a little bit too far to sustain the tension and drama to keep the protagonists apart, otherwise, I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for a mostly light-hearted romance.
No Rings Attached by Rachel Lacey
Synopsis: Lia Harris is the odd one out. She does not quite fit with her family and she is the third wheel around her friends, who are all in happy relationships. Determined to fit somewhere, she tells her mother about a non-existent girlfriend, but when her brother’s London wedding approaches, she realises she needs a real woman by her side as her date. In her moment of need, Lia’s best friend Rosie offers up her friend, Grace Poston, hoping she will help.
Grace, who has recently moved to London, isn’t looking for love, has sworn off relationships, despises weddings, and barely wants to help Rosie’s friend by being her fake date. But her loyalty to Rosie makes her reluctantly agree to attend the wedding and pose as Lia’s girlfriend.
With low expectations, Lia and Grace are surprised when their weekend posing as two people deeply in love goes well, and they find themselves getting closer. Will their performance bring them closer, or will their act, covering both of their true desires and insecurities, prove too much too fast?
Rating: 4/5 stars
Recommended for: lesbian romance, romance, fake dating.
Once I was done with the first of Lacey’s book series, I decided I wanted to go right into the second, relying (for once) on my ability to choose a book rather than leave it to chance.
Despite going with four stars, I wanted to give this book three out of five stars, but only because I didn’t like it as much as the first which makes it hard to give them the same rating. Even though I love to read about a somewhat tumultuous relationship, this book had so many twists that it was paced like it’s own little mini series as opposed to one novel.
It was nice to get to know Lia (who is a prominent character in the previous Ms. Right novel) and Grace (who is mentioned in passing) a little more, and watching their story unfold was wonderful, but it was less my cup of tea than Lacey’s first book of the duo. I still, however, recommend reading them both, though this one does have a character dealing with some trauma, which makes it slightly heavier.
So, that concludes my September Wrap-Up. I know that compared to people who read about twenty books, six is not that many, but I really don’t think I’ll ever have a wrap-up this long again. Who knows if I’ll even make it to two books in October?
Now to you. Have you read any of these books? I’d love to know if my mini reviews got you interested in any of the books. Leave a comment here or find me on my Instagram if you’d like to chat!
Read 'N Riot 