Book Club: September 2022

Happy Book Club day!  We just love getting to share all of the books we enjoyed over the last month (and the ones we didn't). We also always love when you share your favorites with us so don't ever hesitate to send us an email, comment on a post, or message us on social media to let us know when you have a good book to share.  Some of our favorite books lately have come from y'all! 

WHAT WE READ...

CARRIE BETH

I always love Taylor Jenkins Reid books and couldn't wait for the release of her newest, Carrie Soto Is Back.  I was totally thrown when I started this book because I knew it had a character from her last title, Malibu Rising and I had just assumed it would sort of continue to follow those characters.  This was totally different though and really only touched on one tiny connection to Malibu Rising.  

This story followed Carrie Soto, a professional tennis player, and although I don't know the first thing about tennis, I loved it!  We got to see her childhood training with her father as her coach, her rise to fame and success, and got a glimpse inside the head of a professional athlete who is out to be the very best.  It was fascinating and I was in awe of the dedication athletes like her (even though she is a fictional character) have for their sports. I would definitely recommend this one!  

Next up for me was One Night on the Island by Josie Silver.  A bit of a scheduling mix-up has two strangers from totally different backgrounds finding themselves in the same tiny cottage on a remote island. There is nowhere else for either of them to stay and while they remain closed off and annoyed at the situation at first, they finally decide to let down some walls and the connection they make is a strong one. They are both on a journey of self-exploration and acceptance of their lives so it's not only a love story, but also a story of being happy with the life you have.  It was a heartwarming story! 

My last ready for this month was Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan. I listen to a lot of audio books and Whelan often makes the book for me as a narrator.  She is SO good so hearing a story about the life of an audio book narrator was so interesting. I know the story wasn't real, but it was a fun peek into this industry and how these narrators and authors work together.  I loved her narration, but also love the story she wrote.  There were many times I found myself laughing out loud and there were also some really sad moments.  It was a great book though and I really enjoyed it. 

JEN

Fall Break happened this month, so it was a week full of sunny beachside reading. With Fall on the brain though, I've noticed I've slowly transitioned to darker/heavier books. Even with a beach trip in the mix (where I typically keep my reading lighter). So, buckle up because I have all the suggestions. And maybe one that's kind of meh and you can go ahead and take of your TBR's now. 

Like Carrie Beth, I couldn't wait to read the latest Taylor Jenkins Reid novel, Carrie Soto is Back. While this one covered the topic of tennis it was still a great read for a non-tennis playing reader. I listened to this while the U.S. Open was going on and it made me think of Serena Williams and some of the thoughts she must have been having at the same time.

Carrie Soto’s life is intriguing - both on and off the courts. From start to finish I was sucked into this story, and as all TJR books do, my heart strings were pulled on many different parts. I loved how Carrie character grew and reflected on life across the story. You didn’t want to like her, but you couldn’t help but love her!

My only complaint was I read this one way too fast. I already can’t wait for the next TJR novel!

For my next read, I went to the suggestions we've gotten in the past and chose The Perfect Marriage. This one kept popping up from various book club readers, as well as I'd been seeing it all over #booktok. Well it definitely lived up to the hype.  It's a dark and twisty psychological thriller of the best kind. I couldn’t put this one down, and found myself staying up waaaay too late one night on Fall Break to finish it. The secrets, the drama, the ending that completely flips you around and takes you by surprise - definitely worth snagging this one!

Needing to switch gears from all things murdery I grabbed Happish. This is one we were sent to review by a publisher, but it sounded interesting and I threw it in my travel bag. The story opens with Alex celebrating her one year divorce anniversary. It should be a time for celebrating, but just before going out with her friends, she finds out horrible news. She learns she has a brain tumor. Life seems to implode all at once, and Alex decides avoidance is the best way to handle such situations. She starts on a travel journey that has her wondering if life needs to change in a lot of ways if she's meant to survive it. 

I was nervous starting this one on a sunny beach since it covers deeper topics, but I’m so glad I packed it in my beach bag. Alex is a character you can’t help but fall in love with. Her journey is both gut wrenching and heartwarming, but with her humorous personality, and supportive cast of friends and family, my tears remained at bay. I highly recommend this one. Snag it if you are looking for a great “feel good” read.

Next up was Beach Wedding.  The Hamptons. A steamy vacation. A juicy high profile murder. The synopsis had the makings for a great novel, but I found myself just thinking it was kind of "meh". It had short chapters and was an easy, fast paced read with a great main character. But, I felt like it needed "more".  Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind for this one, especially after coming off two intense books, but overall - pass. 

Fortunately my next read was a good one. I grabbed the latest novel in Reese Witherspoon's Book Club, Wrong Place, Wrong Time. From the very start this one sucked me right in. It's about a mother who sees her son commit a murder in the middle of the night and get arrested. Devastated doesn't even begin to cover how she feels, and she goes to bed feeling distraught. She wakes up the following morning and feels like things are off. Then she realizes it is actually the day before the murder, and she's reliving the events all over again. This happens again and again, and to try to prevent her from reliving her past (and the worst day of her life), she has to figure out where it all went wrong. It's like Groundhog's Day meets a CSI episode and I was totally sucked in. I kept imagining what it would feel like to be a mother in her situation. Trying to figure out how to save her son, how to save her family, how to find clues to change what's happened. It was all so interesting and such a unique twist on a suspense thriller. I couldn't put it down! 

WHAT'S UP NEXT...

CARRIE BETH

Next for me is Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting  by Clare Pooley. My friend recommended this one to me and I can't wait to get started on it! 

JEN

I've already started Things We do In the Dark, and have been finding myself taking the long way home just to listen to it some more! So far so good. Full review coming at you in November! 

WHAT DID YOU READ LAST MONTH? ANYTHING YOU LOVED THAT WE SHOULD PUT ON OUR READING LISTS? SHARE WITH US!

BOOK CLUB 2022

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BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER 2022

BEST BOOKS OF 2021

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