2026 Reading - September!

1.  The Knight and the Moth, Rachel Gillig (audio) (reread) - I really enjoyed it the first time around, but absolutely loved it the second. In prep for....2.  The Knave and the Moon, Rachel Gillig - Now THIS is how you do a duology!  (PS.  I am a little sad that I had to cancel my ticket to see Gillig in St. Louis on Sept 1....but that's balanced out by the trip I took instead with my oldest to help her pick up her first puppy!)  The writing was lyrical, the characters were well-developed, and the ending was superb.  I've seen complaints that the plot of #2 was too similar to the plot of #1, and that some of the characters are a little too cartoonish...but I get why.  To me, this is a modern fairy tale that follows the appropriate formuas and tropes.  Also, it reminds me a lot of Into the Woods, which is a musical that's been near and dear to my heart.  Finishing this duology was a very deep, contented sigh.  Bartholemew. 

3.  Guard in the Garden, Z.S. Diamanti (audio) - Something light to fill the workday until I can get home to dive into Burn.  A friend recommended this a while back, and the audio showed up on the Libro.fm sale page about a month ago.  It's a delightful cozy fantasy, but more than anything I'm in love with Peter Leppard's narration.  Felt like a childhood bedtime story, and reminded me of the delightful narration done by Jim Dale.  I did laugh a little bit.  The word smirk was way overused.  

4.  Burn of the Everflame, Penn Cole - Wow.  Just wow.  I fell in love with the series two years ago, and honestly this has been my most anticipated book since then.  I'm soooooo glad Cole stuck the landing!  Loved every minute of this journey.  (And bonus, went through that journey with a book friend!)  I stand by my comments last month about Diem - she is one of the most realistic fantasy FMCs in how she behaves, thinks and feels.  I also love her to pieces because she sees both sides and wants the best for everyone.  And because she believes everyone has some good in them.  I can rest well, knowing that she and Luthor got the perfect for them happily ever after.  It was a pleasure adding this to my bookshelf when I was done! 

5.  Six Wild Crowns, Holly Race (audio) - Hmmm....I liked it, but didn't love it enough to want to continue the series.  I was intrigued by the blurb, being a passionate fan of the musical Six, but only bought it because it was on sale.  Then it sat for months and months as I waffled as to whether or not I actually wanted to read it.  Lol, the phrase "perfectly pleasant" comes to mind as I think about it.  End of day, I've been reading a ton of amazing books lately, and for whatever reason this just wasn't enough.  Kudos to the author, though.  I loved the fantasy take on the six wives of Henry VIII, and how she turned history on its head.  

6.  Fishbone Cinderella, Elizabeth Lim - I've adored Lim's writing for a long while, but when I saw her announcement about this book I knew it would be something special.  Why?  Because this is her grandmother's immigration story, shared as a fairy tale.  It's a quiet book to read, full of sorrow and heartbreak.  It helped to have a basic understanding of the history involved, and to have read so very many books by Asian authors, because that knowledge enriched my reading experience.  As someone rapidly approaching my empty nest years, I also appreciated that it was at it's heart a story about mothers and daughters.  

7.  The Twisted Throne and 8.  The Templest Blade, Danielle L. Jensen -  I truly do love a series that's comprised of duologies, and the Bridge Kingdom series has been a delight! I'll admit, though, it took me a while to warm up to Ahnna in this final duology.  She was not a character I gravitated towards or had much sympathy for in the previous four books....which is part of why it took me so long to get to the end of the series.  I shouldn't have doubted Jensen.  I became just as heavily invested in Ahnna and James as I did with the other two couples.  The second book had a lot to do, being the final book in the series.  I did very much enjoy revisiting the rest of the characters, and I enjoyed seeing all of the puzzle pieces finally fit together.  Of all of the worlds that I've visited in books, this is the one I would truly love to visit!  

9.  Vicious, V.E. Schwab (audio) (reread) - Schwab is truly one of my all-time favorite authors, but unlike most of her fans, I'm just not crazy about this series.  I read the first two several years ago, and, while I remember enjoying the quality of the writing, they really weren't my cup of tea.  Nevertheless, when she announced that the third and final book of the trilogy was coming out this fall - almost a decade after the first two - I gamely decided to give the completed trilogy another try because of the general hype.  But, yeah, this just isn't my thing.  It's well written, I totally get why people love it....but I'll pass on the rest!

10.  Grim Tidings, B.K. Borrison - I'm sad to say that this was a disappointment.  Although I really do love the set up for this series, I never really connected to the couple.  Having said that, I did attend Borrison's book tour in KC, and that was super fun! 

11.  Threshing Day, Rebecca Yarros - I'm not normally a fan of short story collections meant to bolster a series...but I was all in for this book.  Yarros intended it to be a treat for fans while they wait for the fourth book, and this was indeed a tasty treat.  Tuesdays are usually super bad for reading, but I wore my fourth wing shirt and made time.  Super fun! I didn't expect the full-color artwork that accompanied each story, so that was a huge thrill to see.  Really enjoyed getting a deeper understanding of each character, and I love the fact that RY has said this is the only book in the series where you can trust the POVs.  So fun!