September Wrap Up Pt. 2

I'm a little late getting to this update. It's October 5. I usually try to get these up before now, but it's not too bad. Here are the books I read in September after my last wrap up.

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter - This was the September book club. It's about a woman who give birth to a son just as London is hit by an apocalyptic flood. She and her husband(?) run North to his parents' house. Then on to a refugee camp. He leaves the camp and doesn't come back and she has to move further and further North. It was told in short little parapraphs. No one has a name; they are referred to with letters. The events are frequently only hinted at. It was disjointed and impossible to connect with.

The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos - Meh. It's got so much plot I can't even shave it down, but it's not worth it. I didn't love it. It just seemed pretty unrealistic. Aside from the fact that it is about a family of Russian witches.

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill - This is a middle grade/childrens book about a girl who finds a lost tea dragon and returns it to its owner. She is invited to learn how to care for tea dragons. It's about friendship and carrying on dying traditions. It is a graphic novel and the art is adorable.

The Dry by Jane Harper - This is a mystery set in an Australian rural area that is experiencing a long, destructive drought. A Melbourne federal agent goes to the town where he grew up to attend the funeral of his best childhood friend who apparently killed his wife and son before killing himself. He ends up staying to investigate the event. I really enjoyed it. The setting was really well-drawn and the secondary characters were fully described whole characters.

An Affir of Poison by Addie Thorley - The cover is gorgeous. The summary sounds fascinating. The execution is okay. It is set at the time of Louis XIV death which was unknowingly committed by our main character who thought she was concocting apoison for an abusive Count. The other main character is the bastard son of Louis XIV who is working to save the Dauphin and his half sisters. It was weridly paced and sometimes confusing.

Bloom by Kevin Panetta - This was a cute little graphic novel. A young man is an assistant in his greek father's bakery. He wants to move to the city with his band, but dad says he can't go until he trains his replacement. The replacement is a good looking young man who has moved to town to clear out his grandmother's house. He also happens to be a culinary arts student. They fall for each other. It's not terribly deep, but it's cute.

Spell On Wheels by Kate Leth - This is another graphic novel. It was fun. The 3 main characters are witches with different powers. One of their exes teams up with a superbad witch to try to steal their powers.

Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn - I listened to this on audiobook. It was tons of fun. I'd forgotten how fun it is to listen to Chet go off on a tangent and then get sidetracked. He's so cute! In this one, Bernie takes on a dognapping case. The dog in question is a high-dollar show dog. She is super fun too. The people kind of suck. As expected.

Death at the Chateau Bremont by M. L. Longworth - I really enjoyed this mystery set in rural France. It felt a lot like Louise Penny's mysteries. Etienne Bremont was murdered at his Chateau outside of Aix. The day of his funeral, his brother was also murdered at the chateau. Was it the caretaker? Was it the Russian Mafia?

An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo - Harjo is the new Poet Laureate of the United States. She is also from Oklahoma. I felt it would be expedient to read a book of her poetry. She has opinions about the current President. She also has a lot to say about the Trail of Tears.

Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson - I loved this book. It's set in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1998. These kids had a best friend shot and killed and they are trying to get him a record deal. He was a top-notch rapper. The things they go through are by turns, hilarious and terrifying.

That's the whole list! 11 books on this list. 7 on the first half. That's 18 books. That's huge! I am a machine!!!

What did you read in September?