I love when the books I read magically seem to "match" the current season... the perfect rom-com on spring break, the ideal coastal story in the summer... and for fall, the perfect atmospheric and moody storyline is what I crave. This month I read quite a few great readsand a few of those were the "perfect" fall read. Here's what I read this month...
The Book of Essie... This is a page turner of a novel about a "reality tv" famous evangelical family that suddenly finds their youngest daughter, Essie, pregnant at only 17 years old. As her mother and a television producer decide her fate - should she leave the country, have an abortion, get married? - Essie hatches a plan of her own of how to deal with the pregnancy. I will say that parts of this book were quite predictable, which is always a little disappointing - but, BUT this book is definitely worth the read. Lovable characters, a very well executed plot and the fierce and strong Essie make this a great read.
Belleweather... This book is a typical Susanna Kearsley book - and I loved it! During the 7 Year War, a French Canadian lieutenant is billeted with a Long Island family. He's an unwelcome and unwanted guest at the time. Fast forward to the present and ghost stories are circulating about the lieutenant and the daughter of the then homeowner. When a museum curator takes over the home to begin to put the pieces together as they prepare to open the home as a museum, the entire past comes to life. In alternating storylines from past and present this book is the PERFECT cozy fall read complete with a friendly ghost. I always love Kearsley's stories for the pairing of a little romance, with a little supernatural and a lot of history without it being cheesy. This a great historical fiction to devour on a cold fall day! If you want more from this author I also loved The Winter Sea and Mariana.
Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I'm Learning to Say... This book is classified as biography but I would call it more 'inspirational memoir.' Think authors like Shauna Niequist or Glennon Doyle and you will find Kelly Corrigan in the same vein. Told with lots of kindness and care to herself , Kelly Corrigan unpacks the twelve hardest things she's learned to say. With chapters titled "Tell Me More," "I Was Wrong," and "Yes" Corrigan honestly looks at being a mother, being your best self and also working to honestly admit your own faults. This is a super quick read to cover in one weekend, or the book to keep by your bedside and read one chapter a week. I really enjoyed it!
The Hazel Wood... I have to say right away here that I have mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to love it SOOO much - the premise of the book and the cover art had me 100% hooked. Unfortunately the storyline didn't totally deliver for me. In reality the story was slow and confusing and swirling. For half of the book I was completely bored and for the other half I was completely confused. I rarely give books bad reviews because I just stop reading them - but I wanted to love this book so much that I read it until the bitter end (or at least until the last 20-30 pages). Other readers that are more into sci-fi may enjoy this more, it's supposed to be a trilogy, so I will be curious to read reviews on the upcoming books in the series. In the end I just HATE to give a book a bad review... if anything, buy it or try it for the amazing cover art. ;)
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So that is what I read for October! I've got a few books I'm hoping to read for November, here they are:
The Bronze Horseman - I just started this and it's SO good so far! It's a trilogy and these books are all SUPER long. There is something comforting about a really long book sometimes, isn't there? This book takes place in Russia which seems to be a common theme for me recently. Recent books I've loved that take place in Russia are: I Was Anastasia and The Romanov Empress and of course, a little further back I read A Gentleman in Moscow. All such great reads!
A friend loaned me A Simple Favor which is now a movie... so you know I have to read the book first! The movie looks great too!
I also FINALLY got off the wait list for The Great Alone from the library and another library hold I just received is The Glass Ocean.
What are you reading lately? Have you read any of these books? I would love to hear your thoughts!
