September Reads and Reviews

I am so late with my book reviews this month, but I had a lot of really good reads and didn't want to skip sharing them! I'll get right to it- but be sure to let me know what you read this month and loved.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

This was my book club pick for the month and I'm so glad I got to read it! I know this series (Crescent City) is full of really long books, so I didn't really want to get started with them. This started a bit slow but I loved the world building and quickly was not able to put it down. I like how this was more of a modern world with fantasy elements. The characters were all great and I loved the relationships that got built! I do think it was way longer than it needed to be, but I'm excited to read book 2.

My Rating - 4/5

The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

Spooky season meets romance! These books were so quick to read and were the perfect cozy little read for the month. I read them out of order but it doesn't really matter if you read one or both- they're amazing! I loved the dynamic of the cousins and their witchiness. The town was adorable and was like a haunted Stars Hollow! I think that The Ex Hex is slightly better, but I loved them both.

My Rating - 4.5/5

Heartstopper Volume 3 and 4 by Alice Oseman

I finished this series and loved all of them! The relationship dynamics, the school drama, the travel- it was all so realistic and amazing. I just found out there's an actual series for this book on Netflix, so I'll be checking that out next!

My Rating - 5/5

The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner

I feel really conflicted about this book, because on one hand I loved the premise- a woman gets asked at the last minute to fill in as a bike tour guide on a trip through New York state. What a dream! I loved following the different groups and all of their drama and reasons for the trip (especially the twist with the old folks at the end). But- the relationship between the main characters made me feel so uncomfortable! It just felt gross to me and unfair to everyone involved and kind of ruined the book for me. 

My Rating - 2.5/5

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

I've had this on my TBR list for a while now and finally got to reading it because of the show on Hulu that just came out! I went in not knowing what to expect and this was a crazy ride. I don't know if I necessarily loved the twist, but I did enjoy following the journey and having the dynamic of being the only minority in an office be discussed and kind of parodied. It was entertaining but also heart wrenching at times, and by the end you weren't sure who to root for or what was right and wrong! If you read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ending.

My Rating - 3.5/5

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

This was the winner for best Horror in the GoodReads awards last year, and is one I would normally never pick up. It was definitely creepy and spooky- just seeing "my special imaginary friend" being drawn by a kid is so disturbing, but it also seemed kind of over the top and not believable, which made it less scary to me. This was another case of the ending kind of ruining it for me- I read a lot of other reviews and learned about how harmful what happened at the end can be for perpetuating stereotypes (not going to give it away but if you've read it you'll know what I mean). I feel really unsure about this book but in general wouldn't recommend it because of the controversial ending.

My Rating - 2/5

Audiobooks

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand - I love listening to Elin Hilderbrand's books in the summer and this was probably my favorite. I enjoyed the female friendship dynamic and there was a perfect mix of action and secrets going on. Loved!

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware - This was another book club pick and was really great and atmospheric. The ending was unexpected, but the whole idea of being that obsessed over a high school love and never getting over it was a little strange to me.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan - I thought this was awful and can't understand why people are so obsessed with it! I could barely finish it and really did not enjoy any of it.

What have you read recently?