Well, it had to have been the hottest September on record in Nashville. It was like a long (frankly, unwelcome) extension of summer weather in September. I'd really have preferred a nice entree into fall weather, but you get what you get. My month's reads seemed to be like an extension of summer as well. These all felt somehow like beach reads in the best way. So here are my September book reviews.
I'm not including them in the list below, but I did also read books 3-6 in the Dungeon Crawler Carl books. They were a delight! I plowed through them. Also, if you are reading any of this series in public, you're going to get strangers who are Carl stans come talk to you. I love it! It's so fun to talk books with strangers who love the same one you do. I was reading book 3 on a flight and a guy in my row was reading book 7. We fan-girled, we laughed, we likely drove everyone around us a little nuts, but it was such a great conversation about a great book!
Ungodly Rich by Katherine McGee
I read her American Royals series, and enjoyed the high drama. When I saw this at my local library, I figured it was worth a shot. I'm always a sucker for a Greek Gods in the contemporary world.
This feels like a perfect marriage between contemporary, dramatic romance and the Greek pantheon sub-genres. You get all the scheming and machinations of the gods and a very believable romance.
While this book is a very satisfying read and stands on it's own, you can also tell she's building up to a longer series which is exciting!
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The Immortals (trilogy) by Jordanna Max Brodsky is one of my favorite series about Greek gods in contemporary times. It's a lot darker and includes serial killers and mythic quests, and I highly recommend it if you love reading about the pantheon up to their old ways in new times.
The Incendiary by LJ Claren
I literally read this book in a day. The pacing is fast and keeps moving, so I really felt like I couldn't put it down.
The first book hooked me even though it had some tropes that I am just not crazy about. Claren writes the romantic yearning so well, that I am completely willing to look past some romantasy red flags. Slow burn doesn't even begin to describe it.
This book picks up right after the second, and Aryella is learning to fight, move on after Gavin's death, and try to love her betrothed.
And, then she leaves us on a killer of a cliffhanger. I genuinely need book 3 now.
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This is such quintessential romantasy that if you like this series, you'll love Maas, Yarros, Hart, and all the other heroines of booktok.
Light Wielder by Rachel Schneider
Man, I'm bummed about this book. Maybe she had a rough deadline or life was lifeing during her drafing time, but this book just didn't live up to the great cliffhanger of book 1.
First, we jump ahead to the middle of a war that was only guessed at in book 1. There's new characters, alliances are being thrown around left and right, and it's a lot of confusion.
Plus, Jovie betrayed her plans and her mate in one book, so it's hard to figure out what her agenda is anymore. And Acker seems to have betrayed himself in choosing his father. That set up could have lead to some of the good kind of messiness, but it just doesn't. Instead, it's hard to figure out what anyone wants and why they want it.
Read Instead
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher. It doesn't really have any overlap with this story, but it was a great read.
The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
This was recommended to me at a work retreat. It's a professional help book about creating powerful moments within larger processes or interactions in your business.
Some of these moments are to help you succeed in something by creating levels. I really liked that concept because I do think I have a tendency to be all or nothing about goals. Creating a stairstep to that final big goal with moments to celebrate on the way is a great idea.
One other idea I liked was about creating small peaks, or positively heightened, moments within a large process. Like, in a client onboarding plan a moment to celebrate like when they send over their first request or information to you. The idea is that these "highs" stay with people.
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Professional development books are not my usual go-to. But I definitely found this one helpful. If you've got any recs for this kind of book that's helpful to a small business owner, let me know!
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Artist. Designer. Creative Adventurer.
We are called to a life of creativity, and I’m trying to show up for that every day. When I’m not designing website templates or illustrations, I’m getting my glitter shoes metaphorically muddy with my own artistic pursuits. I’m a maker, a quilter, a Christmas enthusiast, a baker, and a truly abysmal (but passionate) gardener.
Hi, I'm Emily.
