What I Read in September

After reading 8 books in 8 days in the Bahamas, I took a little break from reading for a bit. I just needed to binge through my podcasts and rest, and so that’s what I did! And then I decided fall = thriller books, and I read 7 thrillers back to back over the span of about a week. And I was back into the reading groove! So without further ado, keep scrolling to see what I read in September!

A GOOD MARRIAGE BY KIMBERLY MCCREIGHT – 4 STARS

Told from multiple perspectives, this law drama has everything from murder to infidelity to backstabbing and hidden secrets from the past. (To be just totally honest, I binged so many thriller books back to back to back that all of the plots are blurring together and I cannot remember this book. But I know that I liked it!)

CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 BY LISA UNGER – 3 STARS

Selena Murphy is a hard-working wife and mother who has every right to be tired and angry with her current situation. One day on the train home from work, she vents about her troubles to a kind stranger that she will presumably never see again, and then goes home to her family. But on Monday morning, her nanny is missing, and Selena begins to wonder exactly who it was that she shared with on the train after all. Told from multiple perspectives, I was honestly a little bit confused about this one throughout, but overall really enjoyed the wrap-up.

THE WRONG FAMILY BY TARRYN FISHER – 2 STARS

To preface, let me tell you that I’ve gotten lots of feedback after sharing my rating for this book in my stories that other people loved this book. So take my review with a grain of salt! But I have grown up watching crime shows and movies and way too much television in my life, so I am constantly finding myself predicting the plot twists to a lot of the media that I consume these days. Most of the time I can’t do this with thriller books, but I accidentally predicted the huge twist of this book in the first chapter, and so I was just bored while waiting for it to happen the entire time. If I hadn’t expected it, I would’ve been way more into this book! 

THE GOOD SISTER BY SALLY HEPWORTH – 4 STARS

Sally Hepworth writes some great books, and The Good Sister is one of them! Fern Castle is a neurodivergent woman with a very comfortable, routine-filled life. She and her sister are very close, and her sister has taken care of her their entire lives. When Fern makes a choice to help take care of her sister for once, things begin to fall apart and secrets are uncovered that will make you question if you can ever truly know a person at all.

TELL ME MY NAME BY ERIN RUDDY – 2 STARS

Last in my mega thriller binge, Tell Me My Name was just not something that I enjoyed. It was thoroughly dark and creepy in a way that just gave me the heebie jeebies. It’s about a family who moves into a new lakehouse and is immediately kidnapped by their next door neighbor. He knows the wife from her past and says that he will let her go if he can just recall his name, but of course, it’s not that easy.

FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK BY ELISSA SUSSMAN – 4 STARS

How delightful and fun! Funny You Should Ask was such a fun read that I couldn’t get enough of! It’s about a reporter who interviews the newest up-and-coming it boy of Hollywood and ends up spending a whirlwind weekend with him in the process. But something happens that causes them to cut ties and they’re only reunited because of another interview scheduled ten years later. You jump between the past and present to get the full story, and I really enjoyed this so much! (Fun fact: After I finished the book I found it was actually based very loosely on true events of a reporter and her whirlwind weekend interview with Chris Evans!)

THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP BY MARIE KONDO – 3 STARS

Either you’ve already read the book, you’ve watched the show, or you really just do not care about this topic, so I don’t have much to say here! This was my second time reading through it, and I thought I might come away with a new epiphany on my relationship with stuff, but I really just felt myself growing annoyed this time around. Not everyone has the time, space, or resources to be as legalistic about belongings as Kondo encourages her clients to be, and I just found myself not interested in her methods at all.

HAPPIER AT HOME BY GRETCHEN RUBIN – 2 STARS

I loved The Happy Project when I read it initially in 2020, so I thought I would really love Happier at Home, as well! Especially since I’ve been in a cleaning/decluttering mood. But I just didn’t get a lot out of Rubin’s challenges for herself and how she would find happiness in her home.

WILDER GIRLS BY RORY POWER – 2 STARS

What did I just read….. The Libby app suggested this as a “Popular on BookTok” read, so I grabbed it on a whim, and I was thoroughly confused the entire time. This book was so bizarre and random? It’s about a private school for girls on an island that is cut off from society after a strange illness breaks out amongst the girls. They’re essentially left to fend for themselves. But I just could not wrap my head around what the heck was going on and it was so bizarre and even graphic at times. Just so weird. (To note: I also have never even seen this book on TikTok so I don’t know why I thought I would enjoy it, but oh well.)

THE HUSBANDS BY CHANDLER BAKER – 4 STARS

Aaaand another psychological thriller because why not? The Husbands sort of gave me Stepford Wives / Don’t Worry Darling vibes in a suburban housewife type of way. It was very interesting and had me guessing until the end! I don’t want to give much away, so you’ll have to read it for yourself!

UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN BY JON KRAKAUER – 5 STARS

My family just traveled to Utah a few weeks ago, so I read this book ahead of our trip. I have seen everyone sharing the show, which I haven’t seen, but I am very interested in the Mormon culture, so I wanted to read this story. It’s ¼ about the murders that the tv show is based off of and ¾ about Mormon culture and history in general. I found it extremely compelling and interesting, I just wanted to keep reading! It is an older book, so some of the history of the FLDS church, particularly in the authority of Warren Jeffs, wasn’t included.

ATOMIC HABITS BY JAMES CLEAR – 5 STARS

This was my second read through of Atomic Habits, and I am still as interested in this book as I was when I first picked it up in 2020. Clear’s practical breakdown of creating and sustaining habits is so encouraging to someone who feels daunted by the thought of breaking old patterns or starting something new.

You can find all of the books I’ve read this year here:
What I Read in January & February
What I Read in March
What I (Didn’t) Read in April
What I Read in May
What I Read in June
What I Read in July
What I Read in August