September Reading Wrap Up

September was a month of Bangers from the Back list and some great new reads that I got as Advanced Copies.  There were also some very mid reads, but - you can't win them all. Some of this is just dissociation from the world, but also... Advanced copies. 

 I finished 23 books in September. Incomprehensible.

Admittedly one was a VERY short read: Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson.

 I saw this as an audio book and thought why not?  I had no idea anyone harbored  such strong feelings about fish as villians.  

This took about 15 minutes to consume, so ... when I say I read 23 books... it might not be very impressive. 

Out of this stack of Books...  let's do some statistics! 

Books in Translation:  2/27   this comes out to 7%.   It seems low, but I still think I'm surpassing last year's totals.    I am keeping on in searching these out. 

Books by Diverse Authors: 7/27  which is about 26%   A lower percentage than last month, but a higher book count. 

Favorite read for the Month: Has to be My Name is Emilia del Valle  by Isabel Allende. 

 I loved this one with my whole heart and soul.  So relatable, and yet so different! 

A close second was Marie Lu's Adult Debut  Red City! 

  I enjoyed this one!  It was a wild ride that did generate some reading anxiety but... I appreciated the not very cliff- hanger-y conclusion. 

Last month I noted I had been requesting less Advanced Reader Copies, but honestly... I apparently have 8, so lots of new book reviews coming your way in October!!! 

Book Review Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

   This book should be at the top of any horror lovers list for "Spooky Season"  It is one book that actually managed to terrify me. 

A lot of the horror I read is sort of creeping, unsettling,  or slasher style horror with lots of gore and body parts.  Generally speaking, most of it seems so unrealistic that it isn't exactly "scary". HEX, on the other hand... very realistic with supernatural mixed in, sheer horror. 

    Our story is one of a HEX officer - Robert Grim who works in a small bucolic town - Black Spring NY  which is oddly haunted by a centuries old witch. There's a lot of lore about the witch- and she shows up all around town all the time. HEX is a project to monitor and control this phenomena- without alarming the general population outside of Black Spring. At some point, some teens start to do things that teens typically do- and the carefully constructed peace between the witch, and the town comes tumbling down. 

  If you are looking for something that is nauseatingly frightening on many different levels, this is going to be the book for you.  If not, I strongly advise avoiding it. 

For me, I loved it.  It was so original, and so well paced, and put together, that I could not put it down.. sort of. I also could not read it anywhere but the gym - surrounded by other people.  Interestingly, HEX is translated from Dutch, and the author heavily changed the story line for  a North American audience- moving the location from the Netherlands to the Hudson Valley and more.  I'm not sure how I feel about a book being essentially re-written for a new audience, but that was a choice that was made. 

This is definitely one with lots of extremely spooky vibes, and one from "the Backlist"  I'm glad I read it and I admit, I have been peeking around corners making sure that I don't bump into Katherine all week!!!! 

First Published : 2013  in Dutch  2016 in English

Pages: 384

Available as an Audio Book :YES

Trigger Warnings: violent events, Child death, Suicide, body horror, illness, murder, animal death. 

Not a full TW list, please read responsibly. 

Book Review The Eight heartbreaks of Hanukkah: A Jewish Holiday Romantic Comedy by Jean Meltzer

 Wow!  This is a holiday Rom-com that packs a punch and addresses many serious topics while still injecting humor. Quite a balancing act, and one that Jean Meltzer does extremely well! 

Many Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin audio for the audiobook, read by Dara Rosenberg.

I listened to the audiobook with a friend as a buddy read and we both LOVED this!  I chose it because I thought it might be a good one to recommend when people are looking for a romance that is from a different culture. Now, this is set in contemporary Manhattan for the most part and the main characters are mainstream modern Jewish people, but many readers aren't very familiar with Jewish culture and Meltzer does a great job introducing some concepts and traditions that are different and somewhat unique while spinning a ridiculously funny and at the same time heartbreaking second chance romance. I definitely learned so many things about Jewish culture and family!

Without spoilers- Evelyn is a dedicated, driven TV executive, while David is a laid back physician. They married, having a passionate love and shared values between them, but after a tragic event, they drift apart with David settling down on a hobby farm in Pennsylvania. Evelyn is producing a massive holiday extravaganza, when she's suddenly confronted by David who is doing a stint as the production studio doctor. Things get awkward! Evelyn is visited by multiple ghosts of Hanukkah as she revisits past moments, she gains perspective on past events, while David is faced with his continued feelings for Evelyn. Can a Hanukkah miracle happen for this unlikely couple? Well, of course you'll want to read to find out. 

I enjoyed the audiobook. Dara Rosenburg did a great job conveying personality through her narration, and I definitely felt Evelyn's tension and David's more mellow demeanor through the narration! 

Please note the trigger warnings prior to embarking on this journey. The cartoon cover makes it seem like a campy rom- com, but within the pages, Meltzer also seamlessly addresses pregnancy loss, grief, loss of parent, divorce, and more. So, it's important to decide if this is a novel for you, or one you'd give as a gift. Both of us buddy readers did ugly cry hard through some parts of the book. That said, we also could not stop laughing at some of the other parts!   

First Published : 10/2025

Pages: 368

Available as an Audio Book :YES

Trigger Warnings: medical situations, chronic illness, pregnancy loss, child loss, parental death, divorce, irrational main star, chickens and Llamas. 

Not a full TW list, please read responsibly.