I truly cannot believe it’s October. Where is this year going?!
September was a good reading month for me. I got absolutely sucked into a fantasy series and read all four books in a row and then rounded out the month with more Elin Hilderbrand plus my September book club pick.
Let’s get into it!
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
4 stars
If you’ve read Throne of Glass, you know the feeling of the endless quest to find another series that fills the void. This is my latest attempt and it definitely satisfied. Obviously nothing will match TOG, but this series started really strong.
Ember in the Ashes follows Laia, a slave girl who has to go on the run after her family is killed and her brother is kidnapped. She ends up as a spy at a military academy (gotta love a magic school!!!) and meets Elias, one of the most promising students who is struggling with his thoughts about the empire and his role in it.
Elias is chosen to participate in the trials (another trope that gets me everytime!!!!) against his best friend and two rivals to determine who will be the next ruler of the empire.
This book follows a predictable pattern, but I ate it up. Definitely recommend this one.
A Torch Against the Night, A Reaper at the Gates & A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir
4.5 stars, 3 stars, 3 stars
I won’t bore you with long, individual reviews of each book. But, here are my general thoughts:
Book two centers around planning and executing a prison break. This is another trope that realllly works for me. The characters get to know each other better, there’s more development of side characters, and the plot to break into the prison gave me everything I wanted. I think this is my favorite of the series.
Book three is where this series starts to lose me a bit. I loved the format of the first two books with the trials and prison heist, but now we’ve introduced some supernatural beings and a level of complexity that is too much for a YA series, in my opinion.
Book four has the potential to be an epic finale, but it fell short for me. I was invested in the characters, but found the plot a little hard to follow. It really made me appreciate how SJM can write hundreds of pages about a complicated battle and keep me interested, because this attempt didn’t quite work.
On the whole, I still recommend this series for my fantasy-loving girlies!!
Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand
3 stars
This was a perfect palette cleanser. Nantucket Nights follows three women who have been best friends for 20 years. At their annual summer midnight swim, one of them disappears and in the aftermath, many secrets are revealed. Turns out, they may not have been as close as they thought.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to read this one, but since I am apparently going to read all of Elin’s books, this was a solid step along that journey.
The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand
4 stars
This book cover is so bad. I’m honestly angry about it.
I’ve seen people talk about this book and how good it is but every time I saw the cover, I thought - no thanks, I’m good. It’s just another basic book about a couple having a summer fling.
I was absolutely proven wrong and now I understand why this is regarded as one of Elin’s best. Truly, someone needs to do better and re-release this with a cover that does this book justice! [end rant]
The Blue Bistro is Nantucket’s most popular restaurant and Adrienne snags a job as the hostess during the restaurant’s last summer before it closes. The descriptions of food and the guests and the restaurant experience are so vivid. You get to experience the highs and lows of the service industry alongside Adrienne as she learns to navigate life on the island. She starts a fling with the general manager, Thatcher, despite his complicated relationship with the mysterious chef, Fiona.
This is such a fun summer read. Whether you’re an Elin fan or not, I highly recommend this one.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
4 stars
Blue Sisters is the story of four sisters and how they deal with grief, trauma and love after one of them tragically dies. Each sister plays a distinct role in their family — Avery, the responsible oldest sister, is a married lawyer with a seemingly perfect life. Bonnie, the misunderstood middle child, avoids alcoholism and drug use that runs rampant in the family by devoting her life to boxing. And Lucky is the wild, carefree youngest who is constantly running away from her problems. The three living sisters are estranged, but come together a year after Nicky’s death to figure out a new normal in their relationships.
As one of three girls, I love reading about sister relationships — even complicated ones. I think family dynamics are endlessly fascinating and this family is more messed up than most.
It made for a great discussion at book club this month — would definitely recommend it for your next book club pick.