The Books I Read in August and September

It’s been a hot minute since my last blog post (August) but I’m back! Since my last blog post I’ve written and submitted my Masters dissertation and got my grade back (which absolutely blew me away!). I haven’t been reading much as I’ve been so busy with uni life, but I did want to share the few books I read over August and September. My October Wrap Up will be up soon too.

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Let me know what you’ve all been reading in the comments – I really want to get back into blogging and engaging with the community. I also want to change up the look of my blog so there may be some new changes soon. Anyway, let’s get into the wrap up:

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August

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

I’ve been staying away from thrillers for a while, but when this one showed up on Net Galley I was intrigued. This is a domestic thriller with a twist. We follow married couple Amelia and Adam who have won a weekend away to Scotland. I enjoyed that Adam was a screenwriter/author as it gives a new play on the typical thrillers that I’ve read. The story is twisty and a little wild like the abandoned Scottish landscape they find themselves within. I thought the representation of face blindness that Adam has is great, I’ve never read that before and I think it was an authentic view of that.

The chapel is eerie, and the tone is often unsettling, which I guess would make this a good spooky read for October! Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating – ★★★★

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September

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

I picked this up as a 99p kindle deal which was recommended to me by a friend on bookstagram. I don’t usually read romance, but this was such a fun, witty, contemporary YA read. I loved the premise of this one – Quinn’s journal goes missing and the perpetrator forces her to complete one of her hardest lists of her worst fears. It was super-fast paced, and I raced through this one. There were some amazing quotes too. These are two of my favourites:

“If you say that you’re not the type of person to feel comfortable in this situation, you’re telling yourself how to feel the next time”

“There are enough closed doors and glass ceilings in the world. My comfort zone shouldn’t be one of them”

I absolutely love the writing style, the characters (Olivia and Hattie both have my heart) and the character growth. I loved the romance and how the author writes about such important themes including: race, cyberbullying and facing fears.

Rating – ★★★★

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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This was my first Matt Haig read and I buddy read it with one of my friends. I can see where all of the hype comes from with this one as I loved Matt Haig’s writing style, it was so meditative and reflective. Between life and death there is a library and within that library the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life that you could have lived.

“Sometimes the only way to learn is to live”

We follow Nora, someone who is ready to give up. I think Nora’s fear of choosing the wrong path is something we can all relate to; we all have those moments of doubt, but it was really fulfilling to see Nora in different lives. From childhood dreams, to teenage dreams, and other peoples dreams, we get a holistic meditation on mental health. This is a really thought-provoking read and I’ve also got to give a little shout out to Mrs Elm who is so sweet.

I would check the trigger warnings for this before reading, but I’d highly recommend this one.

Rating – ★★★★

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Although this was a couple of months of four star reads, I enjoyed them and I’m hoping to get out of this reading slump soon! Let me know what you’re currently reading 😊.