September Reads

I have been on a great book streak lately and I'm continuing that with 3 books I really enjoyed this month.

First up, a recommendation from a friend:

1. No Exit By Taylor Adams: First off, this book is violent and very scary but I LOVED IT! This one had me on the edge of my seat and I polished it off in a weekend. This is about a college student driving home in a snow storm to visit her sick mom and she encounters an ethical dilemma while trapped at a rest stop and from there it gets crazy. This has lots of twists and turns and will have you rooting for the main character. This would be a perfect Halloween read. In fact, I handed it right over to AJ to read when I finished because I thought he'd like it too.

2. Things Your Save in a Fire by Katherine Center: I first discovered Center's work through her book How to Walk Away that was one of my Book of the Month picks last year. This book has a very similar vibe to that one and it did not disappoint. This one is about a tough firefighter named Cassie who can hold her own at her all-male firehouse. She moves to her small town to help her mom and joins a difficult new crew (unwelcoming) and there's an adorable love story. This one is a total girl power read, a feel good story, and a really eye-opening tale about being a woman in a traditional man's world. I highly recommend this book.

3. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: Ok, let me start by saying I liked this book. I really did. In fact, I brought it with me on an overnight getaway recently, and could not put it down. BUT.....this book has TONS of hype and I think because of that I was expecting something life changing and incredible and it didn't really do that for me. This one is about a wild "Marsh Girl" named Kya who has to make the best of a horrible situation after everyone in her family leaves (for various reasons) and she's left alone at a cabin in the marshes on the North Carolina coast. The descriptions of the setting are beautiful and vivid.  This one is another great "girl power" read and in addition to some survival elements (parts reminded me of The Great Alone), there's also a murder and courtroom drama. This is a great book (evidenced by the fact that there were over 500 people on the wait list for this at the library this summer!) but as far as great books go, I don't think this will make my top 10.

I have some great reads ready for October! What are some of your favorite fall reads? Leave a comment! Happy reading!
Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie

And now here are all the books I've read in 2019....with stars by my faves!
1. An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
2. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
3. The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank
4. *Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
5. Happy Teachers Change The World by Thich Nhat Hanh and Katherine Weare
6. The Day I Went Missing by Jennifer Miller
7. *Glow Kids by Kardaras Nicholas
8. Final Girls by Riley Sager
9. *Becoming by Michelle Obama
10. As Long As We Both Shall Live by Joann Chaney
11. *The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth
12. If You Only Knew by Jamie Ivey
13. *The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman
14. Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanne Elden
15. *Regrets Only by Erin Duffy
16. *Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
17. I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella
18. *The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
19. *Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
20. When Did I Get Like This? by Amy Wilson
21. *Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman
22. Maid by Stephanie Land
23. Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson
24. Sh*tty Mom by Laurie Kilmartin, Karen Moline, Alicia Ybarbo, MaryAnn Zoellner
25. Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson
26. Dietland by Sarai Walker
27. The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth
28. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
29. *Life Will Be the Death of Me by Chelsea Handler
30. *Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand
31. Those Other Women by Nicola Moriarty
32. *The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
33.  Roar by Cecelia Ahern
34. A Love Letter Life by Jeremy and Audrey Roloff
35. The Summer of Good Intentions by Wendy Frances
36. *Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
37. *Can I Get An Amen? by Sarah Healy
38. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
39. *Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
40. How Do You Tuck In a Superhero? by Rachel Balducci
41. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert 
42. *No Exit by Taylor Adams
43. *Things You Save In a Fire by Katherine Center
44. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens