What I've Been Reading: September 2017.

Another month, another lot of books crossed off my to read list. I read a couple of these sunning myself by the pool in Spain and on the plane journey home. Then I was back to my usual setup of wrapped in a duvet! 

It's a fairly varied mix this month in concerns to genre. Chick lit, thriller, horror, supernatural and young adult. It's all here! It's a very british author heavy month though, which wasn't a conscious choice. Maybe I was feeling homesick while on my holiday!

"Roberta 'Bobbie' Rowe is not the kind of person who believes in ghosts. A halloween dare at her ridiculously spooky boarding school is no big deal, especially when her best friend Naya and cute local boy Caine agree to join in too. They are ordered to summon the legendary ghost of 'Bloody Mary': say her name five times in front of a candlelit mirror, and she shall appear... But, surprise, surprise, nothing happens. Or does it? Next morning, Bobbie finds a message on her bathroom mirror... five days... but what does it mean? And who left it there? Things get increasingly weird and more terrifying for Bobbie and Naya, until it becomes clear that Bloody Mary was indeed called from the afterlife that night, and she if definitely not a friendly ghost. Bobbie, Naya and Caine are now in a race against time before their five days are up and Mary comes for them, as she has come for countless others before..."

I'm not much of an avid horror reader but I really enjoyed this. In fact, apart from The Dead List by Jennifer Armentrout, I think the last horror book I read would either be a Goosebumps or Point Horror book back when I was in my early teens! Despite hearing of Bloody Mary before, the book wasn't predictable and left me gripped from the early pages. The ending was perfect and not what I expected at all. Yes, yes ,yes... A definite recommend. 

"What can you do to make the world a better place? Libby helps a stranger, and transforms her life in the process. Libby and her husband Jason have moved back to his hometown to turn the family B&B into a boutique hotel. They have left London behind and all the memories- good and bad- that went with it. The injured woman Libby finds lying in the remote country road has lost her memory. She doesn't know why she came to be there, and no one seems to be looking for her. When Libby offers to take her in, this one small act of kindness sets in motion a chain of events that will change many people's lives..."

This one was my least favourite book of September. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. The story started very slow and it dragged on too long. It usually only takes me a couple of days to finish a book but this took me a week and a half as it couldn't hold my attention for long. Not for me, sorry.

"In the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son's red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragic story of the year- a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned. His body was never recovered. Ten years later, Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life. She's married, pregnant, and in control again... Until Aiden returns. Too traumatized to speak, he raises endless questions and answers none. Only his body tells the story of his decade-long disappearance. The historic broken bones and injuries cast a mere glimpse into the horrors Aiden has experienced. Aiden never drowned. Aiden was taken. As Emma attempts to reconnect with her now teenage son, she must unmask the monster who took him away from her. But who, in their tiny village, could be capable of such a crime? It's Aiden who has the answers, but he cannot tell the unspeakable."

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that this is the third novel by Sarah A. Denzil that I've read. And surprise, it's another good'un! The one is a lot darker in tone than the other two but might be my favourite out of the three. Honestly, Sarah's writing is amazing and she's easily become one of my favourite authors that I've discovered this year.

"Izzy Harris should have it all- but her boyfriend has been ignoring her for months, she's been overlooked for a promotion, and the owner of her local coffee shop pervs on her every time she has a craving for a salted caramel muffin. Then her life is unexpectedly turned upside down. Izzy dumps her oblivious boyfriend, and leaps on the chance to win a big pitch at work. Needing to work closely with gorgeous colleague Alex is an added perk... But then her best friend has her heart broken, the pitch is way more complicated than expected, and Alex is keeping secrets. Does Izzy have what it takes to help her friend, save her career and get the guy?"

Hmmm. This wasn't quite what I was expecting. And yes, there will be spoiler talk here. Izzy wakes up one morning invisible. What? I was expecting a cute little chick lit book and then I was thrown through a loop. If this had been mentioned in the blurb, I probably wouldn't have bought it. It wasn't a bad book, it was just sort of... meh. I really wanted to like it as I loved Counting Stars by the same author but this doesn't pack the same punch as that. It hasn't put me off reading more books by Keris Stainton though.

"Possessing the uncanny ability to fry a television set from twenty paces can really wreck a girl's social life. If you're looking for proof, just ask sixteen-year-old Alexandra Parker. After catching her boyfriend in the arms of the prettiest girl in school, she made the journey from social elite to social pariah in a haze of electricity and exploding electronics. But finding herself at the bottom of Bay View High's social hierarchy was nothing compared to the shock of discovering who- and what- she really is. After being zapped out of a burning bookstore by the mysterious Declan- a hero nearly as handsome as he is infuriating- Alex finds herself under the protection of the powerful Grayson family. It's through them that she learns the truth: that the world she's always known is nothing like it appears to be... and that she has far more in common with them than she might want to believe. Now, on the run from a fire-wielding hit man, and a secretive government organization, Alex must navigate a strange and treacherous new world filled with superhuman mutants known as Variants. As she begins to unravel the many secrets of her family's past, she uncovers the real reason for her parents' death twelve years earlier- and finds out the threat to her family, and to everyone she cares about, is still dangerously real."

I sped through the first three books of the Variant series the last few days of September and greedily started on the fourth at the start of this month. Without a doubt, the reading highlight of my month. Even though Alex is the main character, I love that the books focus on different character's points of view. The books all tie together brilliantly, there are parts in the first book that don't seem that important, but get mentioned later in the series and turn out to be key. It is just so cleverly written. I've since finished the fourth book as well and I eagerly await the rest of the series!

What were you reading in September?
If you want to find out what else I've crossed off my list, don't forget to check out my blog post from previous months and you can also follow me on Bloglovin to stay up to date with any future posts.