Hi friends! I can't believe September (one of my favorite months!) is coming to an end. September always feels like the gateway to the best season - fall with Halloween and Thanksgiving and winter with Christmas. We also have most of our family birthdays in this span of time, so it's extra fun. Anyway, here's a look at my reading month.
In case you missed it on the blog recently, I wrote a GoodReads Update - just some housekeeping I did on my GoodReads account you might be interested in. I also wrote about Books to Screen - it's shocking how many good books are heading to the movie theater or tv screen.
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Julie Whelan, the much-loved, real-life audiobook narrator, is back with her second book, Thank You for Listening. I’m not sure I trust anyone else to tell this funny and heartwarming story centered around Sewanee, an award-winning audiobook narrator who loves her job, as long as it doesn’t include one specific genre, romance. But soon Sewanee receives a request from a popular author in that genre, that she has collaborated with in the past, to do one last project. And the thing is, this was the author’s dying wish and it pays handsomely, making it hard to say no. The project is also a collaboration with audiobook royalty—the sexy, yet mysterious male narrator beloved by romance fans, yet new and unknown to Sewanee. Complex relationships with her beloved grandmother, stubborn dad and wistful best friend, compounded with Sewanee’s unresolved feelings about the accident that took her away from her original career—acting—adds texture to the story.
First of all, Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators. She has narrated many of my favorite books, so I was excited to read her take on her own profession. I liked this but didn't love it. It was entertaining, but it seemed a little drawn out for a romance. And it is extra steamy, which I am not always a fan of. This book was just ok for me.
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Who killed Emily Vaughn?
Prom Night. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn dresses carefully for what's supposed to be the highlight of any high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the night, because of that secret, she will be dead. Nearly forty years later, Andrea Oliver, newly qualified as a US Marshal, receives her first assignment: to go to Longbill Beach to protect a judge receiving death threats. But Andrea's real focus isn't the judge – it's Emily Vaughn. Now Andrea has a chance to find out what really happened.
Prom Night. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn dresses carefully for what's supposed to be the highlight of any high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the night, because of that secret, she will be dead. Nearly forty years later, Andrea Oliver, newly qualified as a US Marshal, receives her first assignment: to go to Longbill Beach to protect a judge receiving death threats. But Andrea's real focus isn't the judge – it's Emily Vaughn. Now Andrea has a chance to find out what really happened.
I loved the dual timeline of this mystery, as well as the characters. As a kid/teen from the 80's, I love to see that era in any book I'm reading. Andrea is a tough new marshall, and I'd love to see a series about her along with her mentor "Catfish" Bible. This is a continuation of the book Pieces of Her, but you don't need to read the first one to catch on to the action in the second one. This was just a little long for me, and that brought it down one star.
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Two identical twin sisters and former child actors have grown apart—until one disappears, and the other is forced to confront the secrets they’ve kept from each other in this twisty suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Things.
Speaking of Julia Whelan, this book was partially narrated by her! I really enjoyed this suspenseful book, and it had many elements that wouldn't let me put it down: sisters, childhood actors, a cult, and family dynamics. It is told from alternating points of view of each sister. There are aspects that felt a little unbelievable, but overall I recommend this one if you enjoy domestic suspense.
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An uplifting novel about a heartbroken young pie maker who is granted a magical second chance to live the life she didn't choose. Lolly Blanchard's life only seems to give her lemons. Ten years ago, after her mother's tragic death, she broke up with her first love and abandoned her dream of opening a restaurant in order to keep her family's struggling Seattle diner afloat and care for her younger sister and grieving father. Now, a decade later, she dutifully whips up the diner's famous lemon meringue pies each morning while still pining for all she's lost. As Lolly's thirty-third birthday approaches, her quirky great-aunt gives her a mysterious gift--three lemon drops, each of which allows her to live a single day in a life that might have been hers.
This book is "magical realism," which most people either love or hate...think time travel, alternate realities, and second chances. I liked this book and I would describe it as uplifting. It is fun if you are looking for something light. Some of the characters were unlikable and there were some plot holes that bugged me, so that's why it has a 3-star rating. If you like magical realism, you will probably really like this one.
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The Pavlin family built an empire on love. As the first jewelers to sell diamond rings exclusively for proposals, they started a tradition that has defined engagements ever since. But when an ill-fated publicity stunt pits the three Pavlin sisters against one another for a famous family jewel, their bond is broken. No ordinary diamond ring, the Electric Rose splinters the sisters, leaving one unlucky in love, one escaping to the shores of Cape Cod, and the other, ultimately, dead. Now, over a decade later, Gemma Maybrook is still reconciling the reality of her mother's death. Left orphaned and cast out by her family after the tragic accident, Gemma is ready to reclaim what should have been hers: the Electric Rose. And, as a budding jewelry designer in her own right, Gemma isn't just planning on recovering her mother's lost memento, she's coming back for everything.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The Manhattan and Cape Cod settings were wonderful, and I could just imagine a Tiffany-style jewelry store family empire in NYC. Secrets, family drama, and corporate dealings wrap together with complex characters to make this a memorable 5-star read!
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Every day Iona, a larger-than-life magazine advice columnist, travels the ten stops from Hampton Court to Waterloo Station by train, accompanied by her dog, Lulu. Every day she sees the same people, whom she knows only by nicknames. Then one morning, a man chokes on a grape right in front of her. He'd have died were it not for the timely intervention of Sanjay, a nurse, who gives him the Heimlich maneuver. This single event starts a chain reaction, and an eclectic group of people with almost nothing in common except their commute discover that a chance encounter can blossom into much more. It turns out that talking to strangers can teach you about the world around you--and even more about yourself.
A London setting with quirky, endearing characters combined to make this a thoroughly entertaining book.
What have you been reading lately?
Come back Tuesday for Prime Purchases!
Two that I loved you only gave 3 stars - I think we have different taste!
ReplyDeleteAdding Gilt to my reading list now! It sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteI will be adding some of these books to my reading list.
ReplyDeleteI read some of the same ones this month (or have on my library hold list). Felt the same way about Thank you for Listening; the steaminess was not needed. Just finished reading The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson and it was a cute book.
ReplyDeleteGreat Reads!
ReplyDeleteI have only read Iona from your list. It was really cute!
ReplyDeleteI've heard good things about Rules for Commuting. I'm currently reading Philly Barker Investigates, Lessons in Chemistry, and Bookish... but I just picked up a good 1/2 dozen books from the library. I really need to get cracking on more fall reading though!
ReplyDeleteGilt sounds like a book I'd enjoy!
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