September ‘25 Reading Roundup
I had a great month of reading! This month I visited Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina with my sister and we read in the sand all day long every day we were there! A really good mix of fantastic and not as fantastic books this month. Enjoy!
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
I really enjoyed this one of Carley’s! The conflicts never felt unnecessary or put on. I liked the communication and the chemistry and the friendship. Made me feel nice
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
This one was very fun to read on the beach. The way consent and kink culture was portrayed was refreshing as it’s not often discussed (or at least not discussed in the best or healthiest ways) in romance books. I did feel the story sort of plateaued 3/4 of the way in and could have been about 150 pages shorter. The intimate scenes, while handled very well and were entertaining, started to get repetitive and too frequent towards the end. But I liked the characters and the plot beyond the relationship, which is always nice.
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
I was bored by this one and just didn’t feel as connected to the story or the characters. I just didn’t care about the couple. Carley Fortune’s only miss in these four books in my opinion.
Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
This was not the murder mystery I was expecting and hoping for, more of a gossipy drama about rich New Yorkers summering on Fire Island and their ridiculous problems. It was repetitive at times but fun to read. Inconsequential.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, translation by Ros Schwartz **reread and September Book Club
Even more poignant and breathtaking the second time.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
I did not find this book compelling at all. The time period and setting was vague (which you never notice until you do), the characters were unlikeable (but I don’t think on purpose), and the “twist” ending was not a twist at all.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
A fast paced, multi-generational tale full of invisible strings that swings this way and that way, time jumping and perspective switching, leading you close to the answer and then backing away. Explores the complex intricacies of being an immigrant and being the children of immigrants and wondering if we ever truly know our parents.
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid **September Book Club
This book was a marvel. Carrie Soto is such an incredibly compelling character and TJR does a fantastic job of making us start the book thinking “I don’t know if I like this girl very much” only to end it completely in love with the passionate and intense woman we just spent the last 400 pages getting to know.
TJR makes you forget these characters are fictional. I truly found myself wanting to go on YouTube to find clips of the tennis matches she was referencing and pull up the tabloid photos of the battle axe and the jaguar. What an absolute pleasure to read.
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Very cute and fun! The writing was a little lackluster at times but I actually laughed out loud at some of the banter between the characters. A delightful and heartfelt goofball cast of characters and a main character I was absolutely behind the whole time.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
What an absolute whirlwind of a novel. I loved the way they incorporated the documentary into the storytelling while we simultaneously got to read Kat’s version as well. A compelling way to tell a story. There was also a beautiful balance between the dramatic relationships and the dramatic sport and the way they intertwine. I absolutely chewed through this book so fast and this was a great book to read after Carrie Soto is Back.
Feel free to discuss your September reads in the comments, I’d love to hear what people are reading.
