September Wrap Up

Hey guys! September was a month full of highs and lows, that is for sure. I want to thank all of you for the comments you left on my post about my cat’s death. I read each one and thank you for sharing your own experiences with your pets ❤ I couldn’t quite bring myself to answer them, but please know they comforted me immensely and I’m very grateful to have such good friends here!

While that was a very tragic start to my month, the end was glorious. I went to the Boston Teen Author Festival and met Leigh Bardugo, Adam Silvera, and a few other authors and had a FANTASTIC time. Also unrelated to books but I saw Harry Styles in concert last night and September truly ended wonderfully.

Anyway, BOOKS. It was a pretty good reading month! One book I read, The Heart’s Invisible Furies, is definitely going on my “best books of 2017” list, though another, Daughter of the Burning City I sadly had to DNF…and I try so hard not to DNF. But I was working on it for nearly the whole month and finally…it had to go. A lot of good books happened in between, though!

What I read

DNF

The Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody
I just….could not connect to this book. I made it about halfway through over the course of about 4 weeks and finally had to throw in the towel. I felt like the author just assumed I cared about all the characters, instead of really making me care about them, so I didn’t really care about the whole murder mystery surrounding them because I didn’t care when they died. There was also a lot of political stuff going on that kept being explained and I just didn’t care to keep it all straight, as it just…wasn’t connecting to the plot for me. It probably does, but I didn’t care to find out. Also, the main character has no eyes, BUT the only effect this has on her is that she gets strange looks sometimes and has to wear masks, but she sees and cries and basically lives as if she does have eyes because magic??? I didn’t see the point of adding that detail if it didn’t really matter to the story or how she interacts with the world.

THE GOOD

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Zenn Diagram by Wendy Brant ★★★ 1/2
This book was cute and sweet, and I very much enjoyed the romance, but I felt that the resolution of this book left something to be desired. The plot was introduced too late and then kind of left me hanging. But overall it’s a cute, light read. Full review.

THE GREAT

You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins ★★★★☆
A lovely multi-generational story about Indian-Americans, this book was pleasant and sweet and it even made me tear up at one point. It’s a quick, wonderful read with a lot of heart. Full review.

A Fugitive in Grass Valley in Grass Valley by I.M. Flippy ★★★★☆
This book was so cute and funny and sweet, and it’s perfect if you’re in the mood for a light, easy romance with lovable characters. I had a genuinely good time reading this book. Full review.

THE REALLY GREAT

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng ★★★★☆
This was such an intricate, fascinating book about motherhood, community, and family, and I very much enjoyed it. I thought that sometimes the narrative was a little controlling in what it was trying to make me believe, but otherwise it was an amazing book. Full review.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne ★★★★★ Fave of the month
THIS BOOK!!! This is undoubtably one of the best books I’ve read this year, I enjoyed every second of it. It was HILARIOUS and incredibly written, and it made me cry so much. I don’t know what else to say other than I LOVE THIS BOOK. Full review.

*I feel the need to say that the “okay” “good” and “great” rankings I put my books into each month are according to no logic but how I feel about them in my gut. I’m basically ranking them from least favorite down to favorite and it just feels satisfying in my heart to do it this way.

October!

I’m going to be buddy reading The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater at some point with Rachel, and may also be doing a buddy read with Birdie of This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab near Halloween. Other than that, I’m very excited for the release of the new Magnus Chase book by Rick Riordan, Ship of the Dead, this Tuesday. I love those books so much lol. And I prefer the Magnus books over Percy….is that legal?

I’m also going to be meeting some of my favorite bloggers and best friends I’ve made here, Rachel and Chelsea (and Rachel’s friend), next weekend when we all go see a performance of Les Mis together! VERY EXCITED.

Also, I joined Twitter! It’s…vaguely bookish so far. If you’re interested in joining me on a Twitter journey, follow me at @cciopurplequill and I’ll follow you back 🙂

I think that’s all I have for this month. What did you read in September?? Any spooky reads lined up for October?