September Book Review {2022}

My favorite day of the month, BOOK Review Day! I managed to read SIX books this month and I have a looong list of spooky, creepy books that I want to read in October.

This month I’m reviewing one autobiography, two mystery/thrillers, one romance, one contemporary/ historical fiction, and one women’s fiction. So let’s get started!

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

I started this with many reservations; especially after reading the title. Celebrity memoirs are always fascinating to me; this one, however, was hard-hitting and vulnerable at the same time. Jennette grew up as a child star and was exploited many times by her own mother, and talent agent. The hardest part of listening to her story was that she never realized her mother was abusive until her adulthood. Although it was a hard listen, it was also very insightful and well-written. She truly has a talent for writing. I appreciate her honesty, dry humor and even her bitterness. I'll leave you with this poignant quote from JM.

“I take a longer look at the words on her headstone.
Brave, kind, loyal, sweet, loving, graceful, strong, thoughtful, funny, genuine, hopeful, playful, insightful, and on and on…
Was she, though? Was she any of those things? The words make me angry. I can’t look at them any longer.
Why do we romanticize the dead? Why can’t we be honest about them?”

― Jennette McCurdy, I’m Glad My Mom Died

4 STARS

The Darker family came to shore
To live, to die
to settle a score

A family of seven
(and Conor makes eight)
once more ALL at Seaglass?
It had to be fate.

Nana’s 80th birthday,
and her will would be read
who would have known
she’d so soon be dead?

Held captive by high tide
Secrets swirling around
as the hours tick by
more bodies are found

Whose secrets are deadly?
Whose loyalty runs deep?
Or as Daisy Darker warns,
Are some secrets worth killing to keep?

5 STARS

Let me start by saying, I know nothing about tennis and I still LOVED this book.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the master of creating characters that are unforgettable! In this novel, Carrie is a strong, hard-headed, determined main character. TJR sets the stage for watching a girl turn into a star! And that’s not an easy feat.
The grueling training, the ferocious competition, Carrie’s need to be the best, and her fear that she might not be. She doesn’t play to fans, her mouth often runs away from her, and she’s a sore loser. She can’t help it. Don’t you love her already?

The story of a young girl who sees other children building sandcastles and thinks,
I wondered why anyone would want to build anything out of sand when tomorrow it will be gone, and you’d have nothing to show for your day.

Sort of like Daisy Jones, I found myself so lost in the story that I almost forgot that she was a fictional character. Although tennis isn’t a sport I know much about, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. If you have ever trained as an athlete (for any sport) then I highly recommend this book.

5 STARS

After a few heavier books I needed something lighter and this one was perfect!

This one will have you giggling out loud and texting your mom-friends about this book. If you’re not afraid of a little snark and sarcasm then i think you would enjoy this.

Jen is a mom of two college-age daughters and one incoming kindergartner, named Max. She’s done the class mom thing with her other two and has no desire to do it again, until her best friend, who is also PTA President talks her into it. After her first email, parents aren’t sure whether she is serious or disturbed. And that’s only the beginning.

Her banter and quick-wit make this a pretty easy and fast read. However, after the initial hilarity, it started to get repetitive and fell kind of flat. But, for me, perhaps the best thing about this book is the new hashtag it spawned (due to some unfortunate label placement on the spine by the library). I may not be a class mom, but I’m certainly, at times, an #assmom!

3.5 STARS

This newest thriller by Slaughter was decent, but not spectacular.

This novel follows two cases–one is from 1982, a cold case about a pregnant teenager who was murdered. Currently, a federal judge has had threats on her life, and she just happens to be the mother of the murdered teenager. Also…Clayton Morrow/Nicholas Harp (Andrea’s psycho father who is in prison) might be involved with the teen girl’s death, and it would be great to prove that in order to keep him behind bars. Andrea meets up with her new partner, Leonard “Catfish” Bible, and they set out to keep the judge safe, while Andrea investigates the cold case secretly on the side.

I was really into the story from ’80s but with the present-day shenanigans, everything got so convoluted that I sort of checked out. I’m glad I read it, but it wasn’t my favorite.

3 STARS

Zahra and Rowan, Rowan and Zahra… Y’all I loved this book. It was spicy and predictable, but also full of “Dreamland” theme park references.

The difference in this spicy love story is that it revolves around Rowan, the owner of a giant theme park and Zahra, a creator of said theme park. Zahra is the most loveable character, you can’t help but love her. She is a free spirit,

And ROWAN FREAKING KANE; multibillionaire and one of the heirs to Dreamland (which is the equivalent of Disney). Ahh, he is the dreamiest of characters, grumpy and hating everyone but Zahra (and Ani) which made me love him even more!

Although I don’t loooove spicy scenes, this book did it very well. It wasn’t forced or cringy and didn’t feel over the top.

I also absolutely loved the diversity in this book. Bringing in Ani, who is Zahra’s sister with down syndrome. I especially loved how Zahra was consistently working to make Dreamland more diverse for people with special needs.

If you love a good grumpy/sunshine and Disney is your vibe, then I highly recommend this book.

5 STARS