Monthly Wrap Up: September 2021

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Hi everyone! I can’t believe that it’s already the end of September – it feels like only yesterday I was writing my August Wrap Up! This month’s been super busy for me, I returned to school and so naturally I’ve had a lot less time to read and work on my blog. Despite that, I still managed to read eleven books this month, which is, ironically, way more than last month and largely due to me having covid! You can find them all below.

The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: If you love art, culture, history and romance then this should be right at the top of your tbr! This was such a beautifully written story… I loved this book so much, and I still haven’t fully recovered. Schwab’s writing style was absolutely flawless and the romance she crafted was timeless. And don’t get me started on Addie and Henry… I loved this book so much and it is, ironically, completely unforgettable! I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a lovely fantasy with one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve read in a while. This book made me fall in love with reading all over again and I’m so grateful for it.

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

Rating: ✯✯✯

Thoughts: I read this just in time for Halloween! I went in wanting to love this book but it just didn’t do anything for me – something just missed the mark. Sure, this was creepy and had a good storyline, but I honestly felt like it was just a little predictable. I also had a few issues with the characters and unanswered questions. Despite that, I would still recommend this for younger fans of horror beginning to explore the genre, especially with Halloween coming up!

Kolkata Noir by Tom Vater

Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: This was a really lovely quick read! It was completely different to my usual reads, so I was incredibly grateful to Vater for sending me a copy of his novella to review. He painted such a vivid picture of Kolkata with some really likeable characters and I was soon wrapped up in the story! Each of the three parts featured a different mystery for the protagonists to solve, too, which certainly kept things interesting. My one complaint was that I wanted to see more development of the characters, but obviously that was difficult due to the length of the book. I would definitely recommend this one to any crime fiction fans looking for something a little different!

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: I finally read We Were Liars – and I really enjoyed it! The bond the cousins shared as well as the featured romance was amazing to read. I also really enjoyed reading Cadence’s search for the truth over what happened. Despite that, I still ended up knocking off a star, which was mainly due to the hype surrounding it – I was expecting to be more affected by the twist but then again maybe that’s just me being cold, haha. I’m not actually going to be reviewing this because I think it’s best to go in with as little prior knowledge as possible but trust me… Read it!

Anywhere Else by Kayla Hicks

Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: I think we all know how much I love a good romance, so when I saw Hicks searching for ARC readers I immediately reached out! I really enjoyed this book, despite being quite an easy read it still dealt with some serious topics (namely, alcoholism and family issues), which was certainly nice to see. I also really enjoyed the friendship and main romance in this – although I do think the love triangle was a tad predictable. I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to any romance fans, particularly those who enjoy love triangles!

Endgame by Malorie Blackman

Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: This was actually one of my most anticipated releases of the month – and I’m so glad to say that it didn’t disappoint! This was the perfect conclusion to the series, although it was quite slow to begin with the rest of the book more than made up for it! The tension, the twists, and the turns all left me reeling. The whole series holds such a special place in my heart after reading the first book years ago and seeing it all wrapped up definitely brought a lot of mixed emotions with it. I would definitely recommend this for any fan of the Noughts And Crosses series – and I would recommend the whole series to everyone, for that matter!

My Gypsy War Diary by Shawn D. Brink

Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: This was so good! When Shawn reached out with this I was immediately intrigued but it was even better than I thought it would be. The action, adventure and tension all hooked me in and I was soon lost in the story. Reading about the main character and his quest was really interesting and all of the characters were great. It was also very entertaining, with some humour dashed in there to lighten the mood! I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who loves a good adventure or mystery story.

The Abandoned House by Karen Louise Hollis

Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: When Karen reached out asking if I would be interested in reviewing this I was immediately hooked in by the creepy synopsis! I really enjoyed the mystery behind the ghost and the protagonist, Rebecca’s, search for what happened to her. However this was a little too relationship focused for me and I would’ve liked to see more of the abandoned house. Still, I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick entertaining mystery or for fans of books surrounding ghosts!

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: I’ve been meaning to read this one for ages, and this month I finally got around to it! Rowan and Neil’s rivalry was amazing and it was such a great enemies to lovers. Their adventure around Seattle, what with Howl and all, was also really adorable! I would definitely recommend this for any fan of contemporaries as this was such a cute read with some brilliant character development too – Rowan really developed despite the book’s short timespan!

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: Little Monsters marked the beginning of my spooky tbr for Halloween! Although this wasn’t as creepy as I was expecting, the last fifty pages or so definitely left me reeling! It was, as I’ve come to expect from Thomas’ books, unbelievably twisty with some really dark characters, and it was a really enjoyable read. Despite that, I still didn’t seem to mesh with it as much as I would’ve liked to – I think, like The Cheerleaders, it was the overall lack of action. I would still definitely recommend this for an intriguing mystery that will keep you guessing, particularly with Halloween coming up!

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Thoughts: This was actually one of my most anticipated reads of the year – I was expecting it to be a solid five star read – but something was just missing for me. The first half of the book was definitely on the slower side, and I actually came close to not finishing – but I pushed through, and I’m so glad I did! The second half of the book was so much better, I loved the action and learning more about the murders with the investigation drawing to a close. Overall I would definitely recommend this for any fan of mysteries as the second half more than made up for the first. This would definitely be a perfect book for Halloween!

Have you read any of these? What books have you read this month? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed reading this wrap up, and it’s inspired you to add a few new books to your tbr!

Ceri

66 thoughts on “Monthly Wrap Up: September 2021”

  4. What a great month you had Ceri! I really want to read Today Tonight Tomorrow as I enjoy this author. Thanks for sharing your September books.

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    1. Yeah, this was actually the best reading month of my year so far! I really hope you enjoy – it was the first book of the author’s I read but now I really want to check out some of her other books. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!

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  5. I really want to read All these Bodies and Endgame. I listen to Addie Larue in the beginning of the year, the book was not really for me….. But I am happy you liked it.

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    1. I really hope you enjoy them when you get the chance! I’m so sorry to hear that – from the reviews I’ve seen it seems like people either really enjoy or don’t at all. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment!

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  8. Time is flying by! It truly does feel like I was just reading your last wrap up!

    It looks like you’ve had some wonderful reads this month! I’d love to check out The Abandoned House! It looks like the perfect read for October. I’m looking forward to reading your reviews this month! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. It definitely is – this year’s going so quickly!

      I really have, this has been the best reading month I’ve had in such a long time now. I really hope you enjoy – it definitely helped with getting me into the spooky season! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment!

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  9. The Abandoned House & The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue sound great. Thanks for the reviews.

    I really must take pictures of my books to read and do posts on the before & after, just to make sure I read them! I want to, it’s just a time issue.

    But I need to think about all the amazing stories I could be missing out on!

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    1. They definitely are, I’d highly recommend both of them!

      I completely get that, it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day! I look forward to seeing any potential bookish content you come out with 🙂

      Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment!

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    1. Thank you so much! They really have been, this month’s been such a great reading month. I really hope you enjoy them – I’m actually planning another post for Halloween reads, so hopefully that will be out soon! Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

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  12. Sounds like a great bunch. I love how diverse your tastes are. So tonight, I’m finally going to start listening to one of your recommendations, A Good Girls Guide To Murder, I can’t wait to listen to something new.

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    1. It definitely is! Thank you, I think I definitely had a real mix last month. Ooh I’m so glad to hear that, I really hope you love it as much as I did! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment.

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  14. You got through so many books in September, that’s really impressive! I must admit, I don’t think I’d be able to convince myself to read The Abandoned House – I’m such a chicken haha. I do want to watch Anywhere Else though. 🙂

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    1. Thank you haha, I really surprised myself! I completely understand that, horror certainly isn’t for everyone – I really hope you enjoy Anywhere Else though! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment 🙂

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  17. The fact that you managed to read 11 books during school is incredible!
    I’ve read the We Were Liars by E. Lockhart a few years ago and I can remember two things: It drove me crazy that the main character was constantly complaining about her headaches 😄 and the twist was a total shock for me. I was staring at the empty wall for minutes after finishing it haha. I’m thinking about re-reading it now.
    Thank you for sharing these amazing suggestions again! I love your Wrap ups.

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    1. Haha thank you, I’m still really surprised with myself! I did have covid for some of it though so I’m thinking that might be it!

      Yes same, the complaining did get on my nerves a bit but overall I still really enjoyed the book, especially the twist! I really hope you enjoy your reread if you end up doing one 🙂

      I’m so glad you’re enjoying them! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and leave such a lovely comment ❤

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  18. I think September was one of your great months when it comes to reading! I noted Today Tonight Tomorrow and my gypsy war diary since I find them perfect for me. Thank you for this post!

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  19. Ahhhh I can’t believe that Endgame is on here! I’ve been a fan of the Noughts and Crosses series since I was a kid. It’s always amazing to find other people that enjoy it too 🙂 I’m yet to start mine but your review is motivating me

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    1. Same, it’s such an amazing series! It’s always nice to find other fans of the series – I don’t see it often on other blogs 🙂 I really hope you enjoy it when you get to it, I really loved it! Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

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  20. Some great suggestions here, particularly End Game. I used to love Malorie Blackman when I was younger but I had forgotten about her work! Will be looking at getting a copy of this so thank you 😊

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  21. Hello! You make me want to up my reading!! Your reading lists are always amazing! Thanks for sharing a great post. Alicia

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  22. Love a good round-up of books, I always find new ones to add to my ever-growing list! I like that you have added your honest opinion, especially of the books that underwhelmed a little.
    Thanks for sharing 🙂
    Aimsy xoxo
    Aimsy’s Antics

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  24. I like the reviews on the Halloween inspired books. I am always looking for a truly scary/horror story that gives me the chills so it’s something that I would like to check on. Great reviews. Very descriptive and honest. Good writing ✍.

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    1. Thank you! I love a good spooky book – I’m currently working on a post for Halloween recommendations so I’ve been reading a few more recently. Thank you so much for your kind words and for reading and commenting.

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  33. It looks like last month was a good month with lots of high ratings! I love the sound of V.E. Schwab’s works, I’ve heard nothing but good things but I haven’t managed to pick any up yet. I need to add this one to my TBR x

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    1. It really was, I was super pleased with it! Her writing is absolutely beautiful, this is the only book of hers I’ve read so far but I fully plan on reading more! I really hope you enjoy, thank you so much for reading and commenting x

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  34. Pingback: Monthly Wrap Up: October 2021 – Read And Review It

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