September Show us Your Books (short book reviews)

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted in this blog. Great intentions and all that. Today is my older daughter's 6th birthday!! I fed her carrot cake for breakfast and she was all excited going off to school. I can't believe how fast the time flies.

I had a much slower reading month in August because of vacation and being busy. A lot of people might think, hmm, wouldn't you read more on vacation? And I would say, yes, I would read more on vacation if I was alone or with my husband, but not when driving for 20 hours with 2 children :) We also visited a lot of friends and family on vacation so we didn't have much "down time" in the evenings because we wanted to visit with people we don't see often enough!! It was great, and books wait for you, so it's all good. :) On a side bookish note, I got to meet one of my favourite authors (second only to J.K. Rowling, I think!!) in her hometown of Knowlton Quebec. It was an amazing experience that I hope to write about more soon.

Aside from all that, here are a few books I've read in the last month or so and haven't mentioned yet here. Linking up with the lovely Steph and Jana today so that we can all explode our TBRs and cuddle up with some great book recommendations this fall :)

The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was SO much fun to read. It stayed with me too; I've thought about it off and on since I finished it.Travelling back in time with the goal of befriending Jane Austen? How awesome would that be?! It was definitely a super enjoyable read. It didn't read like an Austen novel; it is much more "approachable" in regard to the language, but it was just so fun. I think if you are an Outlander fan, there is a bit of that element to it with the time travel although different subject matter. I can't recomment this enough if you are an Austen fan, a fan of that time period, or even if you aren't but you're looking for a book that follows a slightly unique format.


Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Steph for this recommendation. This book was so good and definitely one of my better YA reads this year. There were so many emotions in this book and I really felt all of them along with the characters. In particular, I loved the extreme bookishness of the plot, I loved all of the bookstore chat, and the characters were just so well done.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listened to this while running, and it paints such a vivid picture of animals in captivity. I know my daughters will absolutely love this in a year or two. Heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. I can't wait to listen to her other books now.

(finished this one for Erin's challenge)

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went back and forth between kindle and audible on this book, and eventually I just lost track of what was going on in the audiobook so I read it all in a day or two. I can't say I love this as much as Jane Austen, but it has a much more serious feel to it than many of her books. It did start me down a wormhole of craving books set in that time period again, so that was nice. :) There were a lot of sad moments in this book, but some hopeful ones too. I can't imagine going through everything that Margaret did in a year, especially back in those days. It took me awhile to get on board with Mr. Thornton, but of course, like Mr. Darcy in some ways, he won me over ;)

If you like these types of books, this is a good one if you've finished all of Jane Austen and want something *somewhat* similar in writing and tone. If you don't enjoy that era, this one probably isn't for you, but I would still highly recommend the mini-series on Netflix if you're curious!!! I really enjoyed that after I read this.

(finished this one for Erin's challenge)

A Fine Gentleman by Sarah M. Eden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't realize this was the fourth in a series, but it was a complete stand-alone book. This book introduced some fun characters and a troubling situation for one of them, but there was a lot of wit, banter, and charm that made it quite fun to read. It was my first book by Sarah M. Eden but I'm certain that it will not be my last. She writes historical romance quite well, and this family is a fun one to follow along with. It was somewhat reminiscent of my beloved Julia Quinn and her Bridgertons series.

I spent a very pleasant few days re-reading Edenbrooke this month and I might pick up Blackmoore shortly after. I also re-read parts of Glass Houses after meeting Louise Penny.

I'm "currently reading" quite a few books, and I don't know why I do this to myself but I think my reading mood is just all over the place right now during this busy season of the year. I started Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine but I had to return it to the library before I finished. Loved what I read though.

I'm over halfway through Emma in the Night (so far, so good, but haven't had time to finish!), Beach Music, Young Jane Young, and listening to Mansfield Park and Flowers for Algernon <---my attention for that last one is truly waning but I selected it for Erin's challenge and I am feeling determined! It's not even that long!!

What have you read lately? What are you reading now? :)