How many books do you guys read at one time? My record is six, although I will admit that was pushing my limits. Three is my sweet spot, the number of different story lines I can keep separate in my head. I've also been known to lose myself in one book, or series, and put all others aside to binge read, then pick the others back up once done. I technically started the month off by re-reading the Checkmate series, which I read back in July before I realized it was part of a set of standalone series. Even re-reading so close together, they were just as good this go 'round. I also sampled a ton of books that keep showing up in my recommendations, but only one of them stuck. Literally every book/series in this month's pickings is a love story. Oops.
Author: Aliza Fogelson
Dodie Fairisle is a middle school art teacher who spends most of her days living in her own little world, so it's no wonder that she finds refuge in books. When her local library is shut down indefinitely, Dodie decides to turn her home's sunroom into a lending library, but this book is about so much more. It's about love and family and the dream of motherhood, and most importantly of Dodie finally growing up and taking responsibility for her life. Honestly, I don't know that I actually recommend this book. Dodie was extremely quirky and quite frustrating as a main character at times. I had a hard time relating to her but kept with it because I wanted to see if she was capable of change.
The Stardust Series
Authors: Autumn Reed & Julia Clarke
This is the one series in my recommendations that I actually finished. The little six-book set was pretty standard for e-books, i.e. it could have been told in three just as easily. I guess that doesn't really matter though since I downloaded the boxset and read them as if I was reading one big book. Anyway, on to the books. Haley has been in hiding her entire life from an enemy she doesn't know. When her home blows up on her 18th birthday, she's rescued by a group of men who work in private security. Those men take her in while she searches for her now missing father as well as answers about his past and the men who are after him.
Authors: Autumn Reed & Julia Clarke
This is the one series in my recommendations that I actually finished. The little six-book set was pretty standard for e-books, i.e. it could have been told in three just as easily. I guess that doesn't really matter though since I downloaded the boxset and read them as if I was reading one big book. Anyway, on to the books. Haley has been in hiding her entire life from an enemy she doesn't know. When her home blows up on her 18th birthday, she's rescued by a group of men who work in private security. Those men take her in while she searches for her now missing father as well as answers about his past and the men who are after him.
Author: Emilia Finn
This series is the continuation of the Rollin On, Survivor, and Checkmate series, focusing on the children who are now all grown up. Wildcard and Reshuffle are the story of Ben Conner and Evie "Smalls" Kincaid, while Game of Hearts focuses on Lucy "Bean" Kincaid and MacAllister "Mac" Blair. If you've been reading the other series, you'll recognize all four of those names as the children of several of the main players throughout. Collectively, this group of friends is known as the Fearsome Foursome. The premise behind this particular series is that Mac has been prohibited from professional fighting due to an incident with his heart at age 14. In the wake of that decision, Evie decides to tear up her contract and start her own fight circuit so that anyone who can pay the entry fee and is deemed medically able has their chance in the ring. Of course, like with their predecessors, each book focuses on a specific couple. So far, book 3 has been my favorite. I have a soft spot for Mac from the Checkmate series, and I found myself relating to Lucy personality-wise a lot. Up next, Full House.
This book was unlike anything I have ever read, in the best way possible. I'm struggling with how to describe it without giving too much away. The simplest explanation is that it is a story inside of a story that meanders in the most whimsical way to tie the different elements together. The son of a fortune-teller, Zachary Ezra Rawlins, discovers a door to an underground library that revolves around the love story of Time and Fate, who have been torn apart repeatedly. Zachary, along with a man known as Dorian and a mysterious woman named Mirabel, is the key to their happy ending.
It took me a month to read this book. I soaked in the words, reveled in the hidden meanings, and fell in love with Zachary. Erin Morgenstern is a gifted wordsmith. This book was beautiful. (Warning: do not read this book if homosexuality offends you.)
What's next?
I've got a few spookier books on my radar for October, including The Haunting of H.G. Wells and Sutton Place, although I can't promise to make it through all of them (horror is my least favorite genre -- too vivid of an imagination, ha). I'll also be finishing up The Romeo Arrangement and the last book in The Conduit trilogy and obviously reading the next book in the Stacked Deck series. Happy reading!
