I read 6 books in September, which is a pretty low month of reading for me. But it was a busy month and reading fell by the wayside for a bit. This month, the best book I read was Accidents of Marriage, and my least favorite read was Brown Girl Dreaming. Here are my thoughts on what I read:
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a collection of poetry): Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (3 stars)
I was meh on this book. I thought the writing was beautiful, but I wasn’t too keen on the poetry style (as in, the way she wrote her poems, not the poetry itself). It took me a while to finish and I was just very glad to move on to other books when I finally finished it. That said, I loved the message behind this book. It follows Woodson’s childhood as an African-American growing up in the sixties and seventies. She talks about some important issues, and it was interesting to hear her perspective.
TLC Book Tours Read: Accidents of Marriage by Randy Susan Meyers (5 stars)
I reviewed this on my blog earlier this month and you can read my review here.
Others (read for fun!)
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (4.5 stars)
The first time I heard of this novel was when Jess Lively interviewed the authors on her podcast a couple of months ago. It sounded like a book that was right up my alley! Essentially, it is fan fiction about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s romance. I wasn’t someone who has followed the Royal Family too closely, but I do have mad love for Kate herself. I thought this book was impossibly cute and incredibly fun to read. I think it was a little long (464 pages!), but I didn’t mind the length too much. Definitely a wonderful book to read if you’re looking for something light and fun (and don’t mind investing some time in the novel!)
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (3.5 stars)
This book has been getting a ton of buzz this year, and I’ve been on the waiting list on Overdrive for months and months and months. And finally! It came available! I was really excited to sink into this novel and read something gripping and engaging. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I read this book in the middle of my move, but I found it not to be as gripping as I would have liked and easy to set down. That said, I thought the writing was beautiful and the novel almost read like poetry in certain instances. I loved the mystery element and it added so much life to the story. All in all, it’s a book I might not have given a fantastic rating to, but I’d still recommend it, especially if you’re looking for a book to break you out of a reading slump or that is completely different than the books out there nowadays.
Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas (4 stars)
I downloaded this book because I needed to read something light, fun, and romantic. And this is exactly what Lisa Kleypas delivers, again and again. I don’t have much to say about this novel, other than it was just what I needed to read and I highly recommend her books to historical romance fans!
Flat-Out Celeste by Jessica Park (4 stars)
After Seduce Me at Sunrise, I wanted another fun and light book to read, so I downloaded this one and I am so happy I did! It is the follow-up story to Flat-Out Love (which I read earlier this year) and takes place a few years later. This time, though, the little sister of the first novel (Celeste) is the protagonist. And goodness, this book made me so happy. I love the way Jessica Park writes, especially the way she writes characters. It’s witty and romantic and heartfelt. I’m such a fan of this author.
BOOK STATS // SEPTEMBER
# of books read: 6
# of pages read: 2,070
quickest read(s): Accidents of Marriage and We Were Liars (4 days)
longest read: The Royal We (9 days)
diverse: 1
formats: ebooks (5), physical books (1)
What was the best book you read in September?
It’s a good thing that Brown Girl Dreaming was fairly short since you didn’t care for it! I liked the book but it was definitely different. The best book I read this month was The House at the end of Hope Street, which is a book that Amber read to me. I read 9 books in September which is sooooo many for me! But I had long days of travel when I visited Amber, plane rides for my work trip to Chicago and I was also up in the middle of the night reading quite a bit thanks to my insomnia. :/
Best book I read this month- probably Circus Mirandus, which is a children’s story! On the books made for people my age, I would have to say Sit! Stay! Speak!
I’m reading the Martian right now and while it started off slow for me, I’m liking it more and more!
I read We Were Liars last year, and for me it was one of those books that gets better the more you think about it! I would love to read it again one day.
I had to go back and see what I read in September because the months all run together lately, but I’ve been listening to Louise Penny’s Armande Gamache mystery series and it is so great. So well written, French Canadian small town detective series. I prefer to listen to it to get all the French names and words right in my head.