I had a very low reading month in September. Well, low for me. I read just five books, but mainly because I wasted time reading books I eventually abandoned. Oh, well. After the crazy reading spree I have been on for the past few months, I’m still ahead of my goal of reading 100 books this year. But the books I did read were (mostly) great and fantastic and made me supremely happy to be a bookworm.

73. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty (2 stars)

I was really excited to read this book because it’s been recommended to me by a few friends. And I always hate when I don’t love books I’ve been recommended. This one, though, was really just okay. It wasn’t bad, exactly, but it also didn’t engage me. I know Jessica Darling is a beloved literary character but she fell a bit flat for me. All the characters did, really. There didn’t seem to be much movement with the plot and it all seemed a bit contrived. Also, I think there was a distinct lack of continuity in the voice between Jessica’s journaling and her letters to Hope. (And Jessica was so whiny in those letters.) I found myself skimming it toward the end and I really just did not like the ending. At all. It felt very forced.

All in all, not a novel I enjoyed. And I don’t like that I didn’t like it because so many people loved it, but these are my feelings. I might pick up the second novel, but I’m not jumping up and down to read it.

74. Painted Hands by Jennifer Zobair (5 stars)

I just absolutely, positively, 100% loved this book. It captivated me from beginning to end. It was a book that met all my criteria for a perfect novel: great writing, characters to root for, conflict that made me keep turning the page, and an ending that made my heart happy. My full review of this wonderful novel is here. And now just go get this book!

75. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton (4.5 stars)

This was our book club pick for September and I was excited about it! I’ve had this bookmarked as to-read for forever on Goodreads and I’m not sure I would have gotten around to it if not for my book club. I just thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It wasn’t a page-turner, nor a quick read, but there was just something so wonderful about this novel. Maybe it was the time period, maybe it was the characters, maybe it was the writing. Maybe it was all of that. I was just swept into this world and into the lives of these women. It was heart-breaking and heart-warming, sad and cheerful. It was a book that reminded me why I love reading so darn much.

76. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (5 stars)

This is easily my new favorite YA romance novel. I love love stories. I love them. I love the hopeful ones. I love the ones with complex characters who are screwed up but also so lovable. I love the ones with a male character that makes you swoon and a female character that you could see yourself befriending.

This book followed the story of 17-year-olds Jase and Samantha, who have grown up next door to each other but know very little about one another, as they have gone to different schools. Jase’s family is big and loud, while Samantha’s is small and quiet. And almost every day, Samantha climbs up to her rooftop and sits and looks out at this big and loud family. And one day, out of the blue, there is Jase. Climbing up next to her, talking to her as if they’re friends. And so begins their love story. It was beautiful and sweet and so special. This is the kind of love I want.

It’s not a predictable romance story, at least not in my opinion. It’s filled with twists and turns I wasn’t expecting, an ending that is not neatly wrapped up, and some loose ends are left for you to figure out. But I loved that. Because life is just messy and sometimes loose ends get wrapped up and sometimes they don’t and that is okay.

I am so excited about this author. She completely stole my heart.

77. Brava Valentine by Adriana Trigiani (4 stars)

This is the second book in a trilogy by Adriana Trigiani, following the world of Valentine Roncalli as she watches her grandma get married in Italy and then has to go back to New York and learn to manage her family’s shoe business by herself. Throw in some crazy family dramatics and a sexy love interest who writes her love letters and you have all the markings for a fantastic read. I truly enjoyed this novel. I love the way Trigiani writes. It feels as if I am right there in the book. She places me right next to Valentine as this poor girl tries to figure out who she is and what she wants and why she’s so scared of happiness. Valentine is a character that I loved but also wanted to shake at times because she made some really poor decisions. It was definitely a book I had a hard time putting down.

I can’t wait to read the final book in this series – which I’ll actually be reviewing for TLC Book Tours in January. Yay!

Have you ever disliked a book that came highly recommended?

So, between July and August, I read 22 books. That’s really insane. I mean, some people have a goal of reading that many books in a YEAR. There are many factors at play: it’s a free activity (and as I am trying to save money/pay off debts/generally be a better money manager, this is key), it’s my number one hobby and a lifelong passion, and I’m just a really fast reader. Plus, I tend to read very light and easy books that I can finish within a day or two. Let’s dive into these reviews, shall we? I tried to keep them relatively short since there are a bunch.

July Reads: 9

51. Adulting by Kelly Williams Brown (5 stars)

I’ve never read the Adulting blog (though it’s now in my feed!) but I know of its popularity so when I saw the blogger had a book out, I decided to see what it was all about. I devoured this book. It’s nonfiction and I generally never, ever devour nonfiction but I basically spent a Saturday sprawled on the couch reading this book. While there was some advice I skimmed (and some of it got wayyy too involved), the majority of the book is full of so much great information on “how to be an adult.” Highly recommend!

52. Unwrapping Mr. Wright by Michele Dunaway (3.5 stars)

There was something really sweet and innocent about this book. It was well-written and not too cheesy, aside from the end. But I guess the endings of most romance novels are pretty cheesy. There wasn’t much plot, other than the two characters falling in love so it felt a bit mundane at times but was still a very light, very easy read.

53. Paper Towns by John Green (3 stars)

This book was just okay for me. I was really excited to read another John Green book, after reading The Fault In Our Stars and completely falling in love with the characters and the writing. I liked all the characters but Margo in this book and some of the language and things that happened seemed a little too far-fetched for me, especially considering these kids were still in high school. A good read, but I wish there had been more to the story than Q trying to find Margo.

54. Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich (5 stars)

Loved this novel so much. It was one of those books where I finished it and just wanted to immediately reread it to bring the characters back into my life. My full review is here.

55. The Paris Wife by Paula McClain (3 stars)

I listened to this book via audiobook and I think I may have preferred to read it myself because I missed out on the language and writing (plus the reader was distracting). I really did not like either Hadley or Ernest. Hadley was whiny and Ernest was such a jerk. They made the book hard to get through because there really wasn’t anyone to root for! It was a good read, just not my favorite.

56. Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott (4 stars)

I loved this book. I love Anne Lamott. I will admit I am not that familiar with her work, but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It’s all about setting up a writing life, about her writing journey, and just filled to the brim with advice on writing. It’s humorous and you really get a sense of her personality throughout the book. And it really, really made me feel less alone as a writer.

57. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (5 stars)

This was my in-person book club pick for the month of July and I was excited to reread this novel! I read it in 9th grade as required reading and all I really remembered from the book was the trial. I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this novel and rereading it simply as a reader, not academically. It was a fast read and I just fell in love with Atticus, Boo, and Jem all over again. They are such lovable characters.

58. Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani (4.5 stars)

This book was so good. So good. The imagery, the character development, the writing… I felt like I knew this family and I was inside of Valentine Roncalli’s world. It’s one of those books that completely wraps you up into a new world. It made me happy, made me sad, made me angry. It was a book that just made me feel really good when I finished it. Highly recommend!

59. Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery (4 stars)

A really cute contemporary romance novel by one of my favorite authors. The story was predictable, slightly cheesy, but still a really solid story. I enjoyed the two main characters a lot and loved seeing their romance blossom. This is the first story in a many-book series by this author, so I can’t wait to read more!

August Reads: 13
(yep.)

60. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen (4 stars)

This was such a fun summer beach read! I thought Emaline was a really well-written character and she was much more enjoyable to read about than most of Dessen’s characters (less angsty!). It was a quick read and I loved the storyline of her two fathers: her biological father and her adoptive father, as well as her growing relationship with her ten-year-old half-brother. The romance in it fell a little short for me (I really didn’t like Theo!), but I really loved how it all wrapped up.

61. Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (4 stars)

I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so glad I finally read this book. It was such a fun book! So quirky. So lovable. So funny. I actually laughed out loud at some parts, which I rarely do. Using emails and letters and official documents, Bee pieces together what happened in the weeks leading up to her mother’s disappearance. I went back and forth between loving Bernadette and her annoying me, and the same with Bee’s father. Bee, I just loved to bits and pieces. She was an amazing character. I just loved this book.

62. 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker (4 stars)

This book was the first pick for my Virtual Bible Study with a bunch of blog girlfriends. I really, really enjoyed this book. It is convicting, powerful, funny, and poignant. It made me laugh and made me cry. It made me realize there are bigger problems and bigger issues and bigger sadness in the world today, and I want my heart to break for this. I want to feel more for people.

63. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith (5 stars)

I read this book in under a day – a day where I spent 9 hours at work. It was one of those really adorable, fun, quick reads where I sat down to read a chapter or two and wound up still reading an hour later. It’s YA lit and it’s about a girl who is flying to London to be a bridesmaid in her dad’s wedding – to a woman who basically broke up her parents’ marriage. She’s not happy about it, misses her flight by four minutes, and winds up sitting next to Oliver, an impossibly charming and handsome Brit on his way home for a funeral. Their love story is sweet and I couldn’t help rooting for them to make it somehow. It made my insides feel all gooey at the end – a sign of a great love story.

64. Texas Hero by Merline Lovelace (2 stars)

Harlequin romance that was far too heavy on the history than on the romance. I felt like the romance was an afterthought, and with the author focusing more on the historical aspect of the novel, it all felt very confusing to me. I’m not sure I even understood the point of this novel.

65. Moloka’i by Alan Brennart (4 stars)

This was a “settle in” book, if I can steal my new favorite phrase from Jessica. It’s not a quick read. It’s not an easy read. But it’s a book that sucks you in nonetheless. It’s a book you know you’re going to have to settle down into and really feel the characters and what they are going through. It’s historical fiction, taking place in Hawaii from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. It follows the story of Rachel, a girl who was taken from her home at the age of seven because she has leprosy. From there, you are taken through a journey of her life. It’s sad and happy and heartbreaking and uplifting. While it was a hard read at times, I’m so glad I read this book. It’s a must-read, in my opinion.

66. Land of My Heart by Tracie Peterson (2.5 stars)

I really wasn’t a fan of this novel. I bought it months ago because it was free for Kindle and I usually like Tracie Peterson’s fiction, but I felt like this book was lacking a lot. The characters felt underdeveloped, the plot was boring, and it was about 100 pages too long. This is the first in a trilogy, but I can’t see myself picking up any other books.

67. Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts On Life Unarmed by Glennon Melton (4 stars)

I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t life-changing and I didn’t particularly enjoy the format (like multiple exclamation points, bolded and italicized text, etc.) but those are just personal quirks. I think Glennon has such an interesting story and she’s been through so much and she’s really such an inspiration. I’ve never read her blog, so I went into this with very little background on the author. I love the way she wrote, though. I feel like I would like her to give me pep talks from time to time, when I’m feeling low. She just makes you feel good.

My favorite quote from the book, which is an excerpt from a letter she wrote to her oldest child, Chase: “Baby, if you see a child being left out, or hurt, or teased, part of your heart will hurt a little. Your daddy and I want you to trust that heartache. Your whole life, we want you to notice and trust your heartache. The heartache is called compassion, and it is God’s signal to you to do something. It is God saying, “Chase! Wake up! One of my babies is hurting! Do something to help!” Whenever you feel compassion, be thrilled! It means God is speaking to you, and that is magic. It means he trusts you and needs you.” – pg 122

Chills, every time I read this, chills.

68. Crazy For Love by Victoria Dahl (3 stars)

This was an alright novel. There wasn’t anything spectacular about it and I’m not sure I totally believed in the romance. The dialogue felt a bit stilted, and I felt like the ending sort of dragged out. All in all, an okay read but I’ve heard her other novels are much better.

69. Violets of March by Sarah Jio (4 stars)

I read this book in less than 24 hours and it was just a story I totally fell into without any nudging. I can feel a sort of recipe to Sarah Jio’s books, now that I’ve read two of her novels, but I really love the mystery and intrigue and it keeps me turning the pages to find out what happens next. I will say that I totally did not believe the romance and I felt like the story would have been okay without it. I felt that some of the characters were underdeveloped and I wanted more from them. I do love the language Jio writes with. There’s a fluidity to her words and it just makes you feel completely, 100% in the book.

70. Good Girls Do by Victoria Dahl (4 stars)

Happy Friday! It is especially a happy Friday for me since I scheduled today off to give myself a four-day weekend. I plan on sleeping in, relaxing, doing some work around the apartment, and then I’m going to a baseball game tonight. I’m not a huge baseball fan, but who passes up tickets to see a game in a suite? Not me! (Also: free food. And booze, if that’s what you go for.)

June was a solid reading month for me with 9 books read. (It should be noted this includes two Harlequin novels, which I can finish in a matter of hours…) I’m slightly behind my goal to get 100 books read this year, but I’ve been a reading machine lately so I know I can make it to 100!

41. Alias Mommy by Linda O. Johnston (2 stars)

A really cheesy, not very well-written Harlequin romance. These are my favorite books to get lost in on a lazy Saturday, which is exactly what I did. It was a sweet story where you basically knew what was going to happen the entire novel, but there were some twists and turns I wasn’t expecting.

42. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (3.5 stars)

My least favorite book of The Hunger Games series. The beginning was very, very slow and there were a lot of things that happened that I didn’t like. Katniss annoyed me a lot in this book and I didn’t feel as engaged with the story as I have been with the previous two novels. I can understand the slow beginning, though, because Collins had to get us fully in the know about what was happening and how it affects everyone. I thought the ending was okay, although some of the things that wound up happening made me very angry. In the end, a wonderful series and I’m glad I can finally say I’ve read it.

43. Perfect Partners by Carly Phillips (2.5 stars)

Carly Phillips is one of my favorite contemporary romance writers so I was excited when this series was on sale for $.99 on Amazon. This book was okay, but I later learned this series is one of the first she’d written (way back in 1999!) so I can tell how much her writing has improved over the years. There were a lot of inconsistencies I noticed – such as the two-year-old acted more like a one-year-old and I didn’t believe the female lead as being a woman who was domestically abused. It was really cheesy and I’m not even sure if I want to read the next two books in the series.

44. The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner (4 stars)

This was the first audiobook I’ve ever listened to and I must say: I am a fan! First of all, the reader was such a perfect fit. She might have ruined me for all other audiobook readers with how perfect she was. She didn’t make up silly deep voices for the male characters and I started reading my books in her voice, which is odd, but whatever. She read like I would have read it. So, yes, I just want all of my audiobooks to be read by her. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

Onto the book itself! I have a hard time with Jennifer Weiner’s novels because they involve so much back story that my attention span wanes before I can get to the good part. (I abandoned Best Friends Forever for this reason.) I really, really enjoyed this novel and could identify with Ruth, the main character. I loved learning about the inner workings of a TV show, how it gets off the ground, and what putting together a pilot episode entails. It was all very interesting! And the love story was just so sweet that I may have “aww-ed” out loud in the car at some parts. I love love stories that give me warm fuzzies. Great, great novel.

45. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (2 stars)

This was our June pick for #twookclub and I have to be completely honest and say I did not enjoy this novel at all. It was a struggle for me and I have never been more happy to have finished a book! I did enjoy some of the characters, but the writing felt so pretentious and uppity. I really don’t understand why this book is so well-loved. I was bored for the majority of it and the ending just made me very, very angry.

46. Dr. Bodyguard by Jessica Andersen (3 stars)

This was a fairly good read, for a trashy romance novel. The writing was decent and not too cheesy, and I really loved the interplay between the two characters. I really don’t have too much to say about this novel!

47. When Summer Comes by Brenda Novak (3 stars)

I have a slew of books on my Kindle that I bought either for free or for $.99 that I need to read, and this was one of them. I liked the idea behind the story: a twentysomething girl finds out her liver is failing and she probably won’t make it past summer unless she gets a new liver. She’s living alone in her grandparents’ house in the middle of nowhere and a man bangs on her door late one night, needing help. He’s been attacked by a pack of dogs and needs immediate medical attention. This is a love story, so I’m sure you know what happens from there: she takes care of him and they fall in love. I won’t give away too much of the plot, but it was a sweet novel and I ended up really rooting for the two of them to somehow make it.

48. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (5 stars)

One of my favorite novels from this author! I read the second half of this book in one sitting last Friday night because I couldn’t put it down for anything. This book was about Annabel, a girl who just lost her best friend when she was found in a compromising position with her friend’s boyfriend. Her sister is undergoing treatment for an eating disorder and with her parents focused on her sister, she feels a bit alone. Then she meets Owen, a music-obsessed loner who has no issue with telling the truth exactly as it is (something she never learned to do with her family). I loved Annabel and Owen. Annabel wasn’t as angsty as most of the teenage characters Dessen writes and I loved how Owen got her to open up and be honest about how she felt about things. It was just a really, really great novel!

49. I Got You, Babe by Jane Graves (3 stars)

I felt like this book was longer than it needed to be and I simultaneously loved and hated the main character. Renee has been framed for a convenience store robbery and is on the run. After successfully getting away from the bounty hunter determined to bring her in, she rushes into a diner and straight for John DeMarco. At first, all she wants is a ride, and is willing to do anything for that. She propositions him, he accepts, and they leave together. Then Renee finds out John is a cop and he finds out she’s a wanted woman. The next 250 or so pages are filled with the two of them trying to get to the truth and learn to trust one another. The writing was pretty good, though the action scenes were pretty weak and it got pretty cheesy toward the end.

Books read in June: 9
Books read in 2013: 49

Have you ever listened to an audiobook?