I hit my reading goal for the year in early November when I finished Little Fires Everywhere and then kept on trucking to finish the month with 8 books read. I am well on my way to reading 115 books this year, but I don’t think I’ll hit 120. Not that I wanted to hit 120; it was just a number I pondered about hitting once I knew I’d blow my 100-book goal out of the water. We’ll see what happens in December, though. I tend to want to finish off the year with romances, which I zip through in a day or two.

But let’s focus on November first. It was an outstanding reading month with two BOTM picks that I handed off immediately to friends once I finished reading them, some terrific romances, and a memoir I’ve had on my Kindle for at least a year.

Top Read of the Month

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (★★★★★) – Celeste Ng’s debut novel Everything I Never Told You was one of my favorite books from 2015, so I was super excited when her next novel was announced and even more excited when it was part of October’s Book of the Month (<– referral link) options. I didn’t even look at the other books on the list – I just selected it right away. Just like in her first novel, Ng begins this novel with the end: we know that a house is burning down and we have a strong suspicion of who set the fire, but we don’t know all of the details. After that initial scene, Ng takes us back to where everything began: when a woman named Mia and her teenage daughter Pearl move to the idyllic neighborhood of Shaker Heights, renting a house from the family that would soon in the future watch their house burn to the ground. Mia and Pearl cause a bit of a ruckus with their arrival, including getting into the middle of a custody battle involving a Chinese-American baby. What I loved most about this novel, other than Ng’s incredible writing style, is the way I was forced to think about certain situations, situations where I thought I fell wholeheartedly on one side of the debate, in an entirely different way. It’s an important book, and it’s a book I finished while sitting in a rocking chair in Asheville with the fall colors on display around me, which only added to my delight with this novel.

Top Romance of the Month

Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆) – Jill Shalvis has never let me down when I need a quick and fun romance to cleanse my mind and make me happy. Second Chance Summer begins a new series by Shalvis where we’re introduced to a cast of new characters that I already love and cannot wait to learn more about. The first book in this new series involves the love story between Lily, who has come back home after ten years away due to being fired from her job at a high-end salon in California. She hasn’t been in town for very long when she runs into her old flame, Aidan, and from there, sparks fly. I loved Lily and the way she stood up to Aidan and everyone else in town. And I loved Aidan and the way he was so strong in his feelings and didn’t back down from them. It was the perfect romance that had everything I need to make me happy. Jill Shalvis is my author crush, for sure.

Other Notable Reads

Artemis by Andy Weir (★★★★☆) – This is another Book of the Month selection, this time for November! And it was another example of loving the author’s first novel and getting super excited to see his second novel available as a BOTM selection. Again, didn’t even look at the other books, I picked this one right away. Of course, I was nervous about Artemis because The Martian is one of my most beloved books of all-time. I still consider Mark Watney to be one of my favorite fictional characters. Can Artemis live up to the pedestal I’ve placed Andy Weir on? Happily, he can! Artemis was excellent and such a fun book to read. This time, the scene is the moon where the one and only city has been formed, called Artemis. Artemis is mostly filled with eccentric billionaires and super-rich tourists (just imagine how expensive it would be to vacation on the moon!), but there are a few misfits and those just barely skating by – people like Jazz Bashara. Jazz makes her money illegally by smuggling contraband onto the moon for people. And then Jazz is given the opportunity of a lifetime – a crime so big and so illegal that the reward is way too lucrative to pass up. And so she doesn’t. And that’s when she’s thrust into a conspiracy plot and on the run for her life and YOU GUYS THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Ughhhh. Andy Weir is such a phenomenal writer and I loved every single character I came across, most especially Jazz. This novel definitely had Weir’s signature wit and hilarious one-liners. Andy Weir is a genius and I will read everything he writes.

Anchored by Kayla Aimee (★★★★★) – I started following Kayla Aimee when her daughter Scarlette was born because I kept seeing tweets from people I followed online about her and the micro-preemie she delivered at just 25 weeks. Scarlette was 1 pound, 8.5 ounces when she was born and from there, Kayla and her husband spent every single day at the hospital, praying for their tiny baby to hold on and keep fighting. After 156 days in the NICU, Scarlette came home and now she’s a healthy (and hilarious!) seven-year-old. In a word, this memoir is beautiful. Kayla’s writing is both gorgeous and witty. She mixes in the funniest anecdotes with vulnerable words filled with pain and suffering. It’s a story of struggle, a story of survival, and ultimately a story of hope. A fair warning that it is heavy on Christian themes, as Kayla is a Christian and relied heavily on her faith in God to see her through this tragic time.

The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon (★★★★☆) – I listened to this novel on audiobook, and I think it enhanced my experience with it in a much more positive way than if I had read it myself. It’s a slowly-paced book, and for me, those are best listened to on audiobook. The novel is about Stella, Maria, and Ritzi, and how all three of them react to the disappearance of Judge Joseph Crater. Stella is Crater’s wife, Maria is his maid, and Ritzi is his mistress. There was a twist near the end of the book that I wasn’t expecting and it only added to my enjoyment of this interesting novel. (And side note, Judge Joseph Crater is a real person who actually disappeared! WHAT.)

Other November reads: Riding Wild by Jaci Burton (★★★☆☆), Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan (★★★★☆), and The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson (★★★☆☆).

What was the best book you read in November?

October was a terrific reading month for me, which is great because September was rather meh. I read nine books and the book I’m currently reading (and will finish this weekend) will mark 100 books read in 2017! So, yeah, I’m going to blow my goal of reading 100 books out of the water. Now the question is, can I make it to 115 or 120 books read? That would be insane. I’m not going to go crazy trying to make that happen, but it’ll be a goal in the back of my mind, for sure.

This month, I finally read The Hate U Give and it’s officially knocked Me Before You out of the top spot as the best book I’ve ever read. It was incredible and I don’t see any other book impacting me as much as that one did. It’ll definitely be my favorite read of 2017, no doubt. Here are my reviews!

Top Read of the Month

Title: The Hate U Give
Author: Angie Thomas
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book, especially since every person whose book recommendations I trust implored me to read it. It’s phenomenal. It is so well-written that I cannot believe this is Angie Thomas’s first novel. The writing is vivid and descriptive and I felt like I was right there in each scene. I was with Starr and Khalil and Maverick and Chris and Seven and Kenya. I was there with them. In this novel, Starr, a sixteen-year-old, is the only witness to her friend Khalil being shot by a police officer. And yes, Khalil is black and the police officer is white. (Ripped from the headlines, you might say?) The novel follows Starr as she tries to come to terms with not only her friend dying, but also the news and what people are saying both about Khalil and the police officer. This book made me so angry at times because it was so true to life. And it’s a book I want every person who shouts “All lives matter!” or “Blue lives matter!” every time someone says “Black lives matter!” to read. Because those people? They don’t get it. They don’t understand the systematic racism that people of color deal with on a daily basis. The Hate U Give is the best book I’ve ever read, hands down. (Add to Goodreads.)

Top Romance of the Month

Title: Last Man Standing
Author: Cindy Gerard
Published: 2012
Rating: ★★★★★

This is the final book in Gerard’s Black Ops, Inc. series, and it’s such a good one. Earlier in the series, quiet and unassuming Joe and Stephanie, whose brother died a few years ago on an op that Joe and the rest of the Black Ops team were on, started dating. It was a secondary plot in another book, and so I thought their love story was complete. Apparently not, because Joe is back with his very own book where he tries to avenge Stephanie’s brother’s death. He winds up in a prison in Sierra Leone, and when Stephanie stumbles across a photo of him in a newspaper, she knows she has to go there to rescue him. What I loved about this novel so much is that Stephanie got to be the badass rescuer, not Joe. Of course, she was terrified, but what was more terrifying was living without Joe. And so she dug deep and found her inner badass. It’s a terrific novel, so damn well written, and a perfect ending to this incredible series. I will be re-reading this series in the future, that’s for sure. (Add to Goodreads.)

Other Notable Reads

Title: Escape
Author: Carolyn Jessop
Published: 2007
Rating: ★★★★★

This is the second memoir I’ve read this year about a woman escaping from a cult and it blew me away just as much as the first one. This book follows Carolyn Jessop’s story, a woman who escaped from the FLDS with all of her eight children. The book starts with Carolyn’s early life in the FLDS and we learn about how she came to marry Merril Jessop who was many decades older than her, when she was just 18. Carolyn doesn’t hold back when she talks about her life as one of Merril’s many wives, the way she was treated by the other sister-wives (spoiler: it was not a pleasant situation), and all the ways in which the FLDS failed her. It’s a harrowing book that gets to the brutally honest truth about what the FLDS is actually about and how poorly it treats its women. But damn, Carolyn is a badass and there are not ifs, ands, or buts about that. She is an amazing, resilient woman and I felt honored to read her words. (Add to Goodreads.)

Title: Forbidden Promises
Author: Katee Robert
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★★☆

I loved this contemporary romance from Katee Robert and read it in a day and a half. This is the fourth book in her The O’Malley’s series and follows another sibling in the family: Sloan, who actually ran away from the family in the previous book. She’s living next door to a man named Jude who seems dangerous, but Sloan can’t take her eyes off him nonetheless. She’s grown up sheltered, but something about Jude makes her think he could give her everything she’s been looking for. I really, really enjoyed both Sloan and Jude’s perspectives in this novel and loved seeing Sloan grow a backbone and start standing up for herself as the novel progressed. It was a fun reading experience, and I want to read everything Robert writes. (Add to Goodreads.)

Title: Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?
Author: Alyssa Mastromonaco
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★☆☆

I went into this book with high expectations, and the writing didn’t meet them. I read so many rave reviews of this book, but it just didn’t do “it” for me. I found the book to be disjointed at times, a slog at others. Mostly, I think what I wanted was a portrait of what it was like to work with Obama, but it was more of a memoir of Mastromonaco. Which is fine, but not what I wanted. And I thought it would be funnier because… of the title and the cover, maybe? It wasn’t. It was heartfelt, but don’t go into it thinking you’re going to laugh. That’s not what it’s meant to do. But, hey, if I had to read this entire book only to find out that Obama called Mastromonaco from Air Force One to offer his condolences on the loss of her cat? Well, it was worth it because that story straight-up killed me. Tears, man. That Obama dude is one of the greats. (Add to Goodreads.)

Other October reads: The Way to London by Alix Rickloff (★★★★☆), Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid (★★★★☆), Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean (★★★☆☆), and Just One Night by Lauren Layne (★★★★☆).

What was the best book you read in October?

September was a weird reading month for me. I read eight books, so it’s not like I didn’t read, but everything felt like a slog. I don’t know if I read a single book that was an unputdownable, this-is-why-I-love-reading book. I read some good books, but nothing that will make my top ten list at the end of the year.

Maybe I need a break from reading? But I don’t even know what that would look like in my life. Not reading? What am I supposed to do with my free time?!

Or maybe I could just slow down the pace that I read. I tend to read at a breakneck speed, wanting to mark one book off my list, so I can get to the next one. Rush, rush, rush, too many books, so little time. At 90 books read so far this year, I’m easily going to make my goal of reading 100 books, even if I slow down to one book a week.

I don’t know… I’m just thinking here. Life feels a little weird right now, and I’m not really sure what it means. I’ll just keep pushing through and doing the best I can. That’s all anyone can do, right?

In any event, with that depressing introduction, let’s talk about some of the more notable reads from September.

Top Read of the Month

Title: Between the World and Me
Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Published: 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read Between the World and Me, but I’m glad I finally picked this book up. It’s a book that is bound to make you feel uncomfortable if you’re a white person reading it. At least it did for me. It’s a short book (under 200 pages) and Coates writes it as a letter to his son, describing how he grew up, the injustices he faced, and the state of black people today. He talks about the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, and how racial oppression is a systematic problem in our society that seems to be getting worse – not better. Coates’ writing is impactful and blunt and he doesn’t hold back. It’s not a hopeful read, but neither is what we see happening in the news. Unarmed black men are still being killed by police and these police officers are still not being charged for their crimes. This book is a fantastic primer on what the state of the world is like for black people, and I hope to read more books like this to keep opening my eyes to the injustices black people face. (Add to Goodreads.)

Top Romance of the Month

Title: Sunset on Central Avenue
Author: Sarah Morgan
Published: 2016
Rating: ★★★★☆

Sarah Morgan has been such a delightful discovery this year! I read the first novel in this series (Sleepless in Manhattan) last month and liked it well enough to request the second novel through my library. I was pleased with how much more I enjoyed this novel, mostly because I truly have a soft spot for Frankie and understand her so well. She’s introverted, lived through a tough childhood, and has an obsession with plants. She’s also sworn off dating and sex all together after watching her mom go through boyfriends like they were candy. She wants to be nothing like her mom, but then her best friend Paige’s brother Matt decides he’s going to be the one to break her out of her shell and get her to start living life again. It’s a sweet love story that had none of the annoying miscommunication or will-they-won’t-they push/pull that so many romances seem to have. If you love sweet romances, give Sarah Morgan a try! (Add to Goodreads.)

Other Notable Reads

Title: The Red Hunter
Author: Lisa Unger
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★★☆

The Red Hunter begins when Claudia, a single mother who went through a horrific tragedy a decade and a half ago, buys a home that is in desperate need of renovation as part of a project for her blog. What she doesn’t know is that ten years ago, this house was the scene of a brutal murder and the people involved in the crime may not be done with the house just yet. It’s one of those stories that have different plot lines happening simultaneously, each chapter featuring a different character. It usually took me a few paragraphs to figure out who was talking in the chapter, so it wasn’t as seamless as I would have liked. I found the ending to be a bit disappointing, but I still gave this book 4 stars because the writing was so phenomenal and I thought the buildup to the final act to be well-thought-out. (Add to Goodreads.)

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Published: 2013
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Crazy Rich Asians is a light-hearted look at Singaporean culture and what it means to be born into opulent wealth. It’s about Nick and Rachel, who have been dating for two years when Nick invites her to come with him to Singapore for the wedding of his best friend. What Rachel doesn’t know, however, is that Nick’s family is rich. And not just “we-can-afford-to-send-our-child-to-a-private-college” rich, but massively, crazily wealthy. The kind of wealth that people can only dream of. The kind of wealthy that is, frankly, sickening. (I’m talking, “I got a $238,000 bonus check and it wasn’t enough!” type of wealth. The “I bought a $750,000 bracelet because I was sad” type of wealth.) Throughout the novel, we follow Nick and Rachel, as well as all of the crazy family members, like his mom who is not too keen on Rachel and all of his cousins who have their own issues they’re dealing with. I’ll be honest – I didn’t totally enjoy this novel. I thought it was too long, and there were all of these plot lines that didn’t seem to move the story forward and were never resolved. I also never got to a point where I couldn’t put it down; it was super easy to just read a chapter or two and then move on to doing something else. I think I only finished it because I was reading it for book club. So, it’s probably not a book I’d recommend, but I do think it’s a fascinating look into the lives of rich people and Asian culture. Also, it has a pretty great rating on Goodreads (3.7 with 58,000+ reviews), so I think I’m in the minority on this one! (Add to Goodreads.)

Other September reads: Beard in Mind by Penny Reid (★★☆☆☆), Siracusa by Delia Ephron (★★★☆☆), No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean (★★★☆☆), and Sex Object by Jessica Valenti (★★☆☆☆)

What was the best book you read in September?