Books I Read in September 2022

Ah, we're into autumn and I've really come to enjoy the intentional slowing down that ends up happening this time of year. The past week, the weather has been cold and overcast, which has made resting so much more inviting. After my last library trip, I felt a mad dash to read all the books, but now that the last of them have been returned, I'm really looking forward to slowing down my reading pace. I read nine books in September, and intentionally did not finish one.

In other news: I finished a book on October 1, Olga Dies Dreaming, that I was able to discuss on a podcast (!!!) by a fellow TikTok/BookTok creator, Kyle Johnson. Kyle hosts the podcast, "What're You Reading?", where he chats with other book lovers about the books they're reading. I had listened to his show before and loved it, so getting an invite to chat with him was really exciting. We talked for about an hour, but his episodes are edited down to an easily-digestible 15ish minutes. The episode I'm in goes live Tuesday, October 4, 2022, so I have the Spotify link to his show here. Please feel free to follow him on TikTok as well and tell him I sent you! His content is fantastic, and I feel so fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to speak with him.

I hope autumn provides you with an opportunity to slow down, rest, and prepare for the holiday season that's quickly approaching.

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Beach Reads, Chick Lit, Favorites

Review: I listened to this on audiobook, and it was a good time! I went in with low expectations, and was happy that this story is more of a tale on friendship than romance. We follow Sophie, who is a professional bridesmaid. She's fantastic at her job until she gets booked with an impossible high-profile client. While there are a lot of predictable aspects to this, and there is an undercurrent of romance, I was happy that this book explored Sophie becoming more confident in herself while also exploring various female relationships and the values of friendship in its complicated facets.

I really liked the audiobook--the narrator was very good--and I didn't hate any of the characters, even the one who was supposed to be highly disagreeable. Even though this cover looks more like a beachy, summer read, most of it takes place in the autumn/winter in England. If you liked 27 Dresses, and other similar rom-coms, I think you'll enjoy this. It made me laugh out loud and left me feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, Modern Lit, Historical Fiction

Review: Sharks in the Time of Saviors is a compelling story that explores identity and masterfully weaves the story of a Hawaiian family into the larger tapestry of Hawaiian folk tales. It asks the question of "what happens to those in a family with a chosen one?" Sharks in the Time of Saviors discusses family in all its complicated facets--sibling rivalry and friendship; marriage; support. It feels realistic even with the elements of magical realism. This is magical realism done really well, with beautiful writing and complex characters. It will definitely be a story that I'll think about often. I listened to the audiobook of this, and the narrators of this story did a fantastic job. I do think I would have equally enjoyed this story if I had physically read it so I could follow it better in parts, but the pronunciations of Hawaiian words and places was worth listening to the audiobook alone.

The reason it wasn't rated higher for me is because of my own preferences. I'm a prude, lol, so I don't like a lot of sexual content or unnecessary sexual information. I don't think it makes a story more artful or impactful. So I felt like the language surrounding women's bodies in this story especially was a little crude.

It was a super interesting concept of a story though, and I thought the author did a great job representing his Hawaiian culture in a beautifully-written tale.

A Magic Steeped in Poison (The Book of Tea #1) by Judy I. Lin

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Fantasy, Favorites, Young Adult

Review: If this series would have come out when I was in high school or even late middle school, I would have made it my whole personality. A beautiful magic system, a whole competition based on tea and the art of brewing it, a hot ex-royal, and loveable sidekicks? Sign me up! Judy Lin did a fantastic job with the worldbuilding and characters. She wrote strong women (which I love to see), an actual swoon-worthy love interest, and there were twists in the story that I absolutely did not anticipate.

The only reasons I docked it a star were: sometimes the action/drama felt a little forced or overdone, and then at times, I felt too old for this book (angsty, all that stuff). This is a YA book, and does read like that! It should! But some YA books I read, and nod to myself like, "Ah yes, remember, this book is ultimately not written for me." Lol.

I so enjoyed this. I don't know that I'll be reading the sequel right away, but I definitely do want to read it at some point in the near future!

Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Fantasy, Mystery

Review: I went into this having read reviews that said this book was pretentious in both characters and general writing style. This was true, and so I felt prepared enough that it didn't really bother me. I liked the overall concept and idea of this story: eight secret magical societies within a prestigious ivy league college and a ninth house meant to watch over their activities? Yes. Here for it.

Unfortunately, the reasons it didn't rate higher for me came down to three things:

1. The first being that the overall writing style felt dense with information. The world-building was HEAVY in this book, which led to me wanting to fall asleep most of the times I sat down with this book. It also detracted from my overall connection with the characters as I was trying really hard to keep all the houses and their abilities straight, along with who was connected to which house, etc.

2. The twists were sort of predictable (even for me), which bummed me out a little bit.

3. Because the characters were a bit pretentious, and the way some of them were thrown into the narrative in a way that didn't seem all that remarkable--on top of the world-building information--I didn't care what happened to most of them. Dawes being the exception.

If you're looking for a book that meets the dark academia aesthetic/vibe, you'll find it here and Leigh Bardugo's writing style is great. But, I'm not sure I personally feel swayed to carry on the series when the second book releases. I wasn't made to care enough about Darlington or Alex to want to read a whole second book about what happens to them.

Mythos (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology #1) by Stephen Fry

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Classic Literature, Comedy, History

Review: Mythos by Stephen Fry is a genius sort-of textbook of Greek myths. Fry makes each story approachable in simple language (although, I took a star away because some of the made-up dialogue got to be too much at times, for me) and sometimes accompanies with beautiful artwork. I purchased the Kindle version, and reading it through the app rather than on the physical Kindle allows you to admire the artwork in color. I'm not sure how diehard mythology fans like (or will like) this, but I found it to be enjoyable and entertaining, and a book I'll keep referring to as I read more Greek myth retellings.

While I mostly purchased this to have as a reference guide, it was easy to just keep reading past the stories I was particularly interested in because of how easy the text is to engage with. I admire an author or historian who can make daunting topics accessible to almost any reader, and I feel that Fry has done that with this collection. I also purchased his Heroes volume, and I look forward to getting into that with the same expectation.

The Frederick Sisters are Living the Dream by Jeannie Zusy

Rating: No Rating

Shelves: ARCs, Beach Reads, Chick Lit

Review: I'm not rating this book because I feel weird doing so. This is a work of fiction but it speaks very candidly about having a disabled family member and what that's like for both the family and the caretaker(s) involved. This book was also dedicated to the author's brother, who was mentally disabled, and it feels a bit too close to home for me personally to dole out a star rating.

While I think the author does a fantastic job bringing in humor where possible, it's still a heavy book that is as frustrating as it is heartwarming and touching. I'm glad I read this, but it was difficult at times. I'm also glad to see disability representation, and it felt very authentic and real for me. If you decide to read this, just make sure that your headspace is good particularly if you have/had family members with disabilities--mental, physical, or otherwise--and have had to be a caretaker for them or work with their caretakers.

This was an advanced reader copy that was provided to me by Simon & Schuster, so thank you to them. The Frederick Sisters are Living the Dream hit shelves September 20, 2022.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Modern Lit, Sci-Fi

Review: I'm conflicted with this one. Did it live up to the hype that people around me gave it? Not particularly, but I think it's a good introduction to feminism, the suppression of rage and "voodoo" topics surrounding women and our bodies. More than likely, if you were drawn to this book because you thought it had a radical message about the feminist movement, you've read something already that is more groundbreaking for you than this (but also, maybe not!). It wasn't what I expected it to be--the message was mottled and somewhat askew--but the way it was written was beautiful and slower in pace. I thought the characters were complex and engaging, and I understood the confusion and anger of our main character, Alex.

I've seen a lot of criticisms about this book being set in the 1950s and 60s, during the time of the Civil Rights Movement, and dealing with the issue of women turning into dragons while not addressing the inequities of sexism *and* racism during this period. While there is some diversity (maybe not spelled out obviously, but with over 600,000 women turning into dragons in this novel, there were some women of color, trans women, LGBTQIA+ members, etc., and that's clearly stated in the book), it felt weird that segregation was used in the form of humans vs. dragons but not addressed in any other real ways. Especially given that this fictional book is written as a scientific autobiography with snippets of "real world" news and research from this alternate universe. That felt like a big missed opportunity overall. And I get that this story is from Alex's perspective, a white girl who lives in a small town/suburb in Wisconsin, but still. When you have scientists in the story who have collected data from all over the world, it would only make sense to address racial issues and the very flawed, hurtful social structures we all know existed during this period (and were implied to be in place in this world).

I did look forward to sitting down with this novel every time I read it. It was easy to understand and read in larger chunks although it was slower and at times repetitive. Some of the metaphors were also *very* on the nose (the whole last chapter, pretty much, felt like the author's way of browbeating: "Look what women could accomplish if we were unleashed as our true selves into society"). Again, I don't think this is groundbreaking in its feminist message. The people who gushed to me in-person about this were younger women/older teens, so that was exciting that this book could be used as an introductory story to feminism for women who are learning about it for the first time, or who have written off discussing it for whatever reason. Outside of that, I don't think many women with similar views and life experiences as me will be blown out of the water with this one. But 10/10 for a gorgeous cover and overall story concept/idea!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: ARCs, Beach Reads, Chick Lit, Mystery

Review: After being pleasantly surprised by Reckless Girls back in May, and seeing another equally gorgeous cover, I was really excited to dive into The Villa. The story synopsis didn't quite hook me, but I don't read a lot of mystery/thriller books and I've learned to embrace a book's journey these days. I appreciated the dual timelines in this book and the ways that Hawkins writes both flawed characters and scenes that leave you feeling just slightly off-kilter and unsettled. Her writing style is simple and I find her stories very easy to read.

However, I think the pacing did me in on this one. I went into this story thinking it was going to be faster-paced, along the lines of a mystery/thriller, and while there was somewhat of a mystery to this story, it really was more about examining relationships. The tensions came through confrontations based on those relationships at the climaxes and not so much what other thrillers that I've read have given me. (I know that's vague, but spoilers otherwise.) I found myself being put to sleep by this story most times I sat down to read it.

The book's cover is gorgeous and the story idea is there, but I just wasn't a fan of the overall pacing. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for approving me for an advanced reader's copy of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins in exchange for an honest review! It publishes January 3, 2023.

Phaedra by Laura Shepperson

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Shelves: ARCs, Historical Fiction, Modern Lit

Review: Phaedra attempts to tell the tale of the sister of Ariadne and wife of Theseus, the killer of the Minotaur, and her terrible fate from her perspective as well as several others who play (or logically would have played) a part in her story. In Shepperson's author's note, she discusses her reasoning for changing some of the core details of the story that initially aggravated me as I read through it. The story of Phaedra and Hippolytus is a tragedy, but Shepperson sought to write it even more tragic, and for me, it just missed the mark.

Phaedra seemed like an attempt to radically feminize a Greek myth that often centralizes around a culture of men and masculine heroes. We have the heroine who takes fate into her own hands, comes out of the gate after a rape feisty and ready to control her own narrative. I do think Phaedra could sort of be looked at as the beginning of the "unhinged woman" narrative. However, the whole delivery of this novel fell really flat for me. Firstly, because all the characters (particularly our main two) felt flat on the page and they all sounded pretty similar. There was no depth or nuance, no complexity. They came across as apathetic, and the text just seemed to lack real passion for most of the story. This led to a general overall feeling of me not really caring about the outcome for any of the characters, and the times they acted awful just made me dislike them instead of seeing potential motivations for the ways they acted.

There is also a whole legal drama aspect to this story in the last half that I was not interested in. It made the story feel like it had been very obviously and purposefully twisted to give this story a "relevant now" agenda, which I didn't like.

Overall, I'm disappointed with this. It had the potential to hang up there with the works of Natalie Haynes, Jennifer Saint, and Madeline Miller, but the writing just didn't deliver on its deeper development of its characters and the overall complexities of the storylines.

DID NOT FINISH

A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) by John Grisham

Shelves: Book Club, Did Not Finish

Review: DNF at 27%.

This was a book club pick that I just wasn't into. Every time I'd sit down to read, the writing style, the way the characters (particularly female) were portrayed, or the dialogue and its constant repetition of characters' names just annoyed me. I found a detailed summary online, and read the last few chapters, and that was good enough.