Share Your Shelf # 18 & Books I Read in September

 It's the first Thursday of the month and time for Share Your Shelf with  Marilyn, Jennifer, Tanya, and I. This post and link up are dedicated solely to books and book reviews and it's one I look so forward to each and every month. I am always looking for new and more book ideas.

I thought I was going to have such a long list of books to share with our long plane rides but I hardly read at all on vacation. I did manage to read 10 books this month and quite a variety of them at that. I also finished my 52 Books Challenge completely. 

 

1. My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner-- I feel like I live in a cave sometimes. I had no idea that Jeremy Renner had a near death accident with a snowcat years ago and underwent many surgeries and extensive rehab. The book is his memoir of that event, his recovery, and the lessons he's learned from it all. The auidobok version I listened to has the actual 911 recordings in it too. I can't rate or judge since I feel like that is just not something done for memories. I enjoyed parts and others not so much but it was crazy to read about the accident and know that he both lived and managed to walk again. 

2. Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey-- Such a cute little rom-com story! I had no idea until I went to link it here that this book is part of a 5 book series (it's actually book 3 but reads just fine as a stand alone novel). Chloe and Sig meet by chance one night at her country club and hit it off so well. But they are both stunned when later that very night they discover that their parents are dating and intend to marry-- making them soon to be step-siblings! The two spent the next several months trying to fight their attraction and seeing if their parents are really going to go through with the wedding.  It was a fun story. 

3. The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers-- In this book Nic and Jenna team up to try and solve the mystery surrounding their sisters' disappearances. The two have always known that their sisters' disappearances were related but many years later when it seems like they might never get any answers the two reluctantly team up to investigate. There were some fun quasi- suspenseful parts and a few really great twists I didn't see coming. It was a fun audiobook! 

 4. It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan-- This one was really sweet and fun! Jane Jackson is trying to hard to make it in LA's movie scene. She feels like she has been struggling to leave the roll of her awkward childhood hit series behind her but even as an adult she definitely struggles with self-esteem issues and feelings of inferiority. Desperate to get her latest movie made she blurts out that she can get one of the hottest pop stars, Jack Quinlan, to make a hit song for her movie... only Jane hasn't seen or talked to him since she was fourteen. Sure they recorded a song together and they kissed but then Jane blew it.  Now Jane must rely on Dan, the cinematographer that grates on her nerves, for help. Dan is heading home for a family function and invites Jane along since Jack is performing at a festival in Dan's family's hometown. Only once there Jane finds that Dan's family is endearing and realizes that perhaps Dan isn't nearly as bad as she's made him out to be either. Dan is oddly confident in who he is and unwilling to compromise his beliefs for anything which Jane rather admires and envies. In trying to run into Jack both Dan and Jane spend a week filled with all these adorable meet-cute/movie montage moments. 

5. Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten-- I have been on a wait-list for this audiobook forever but it was finally ready this month. It was a quick little listen. I knew practically nothing about Ina Garten other than having seen her cooking show a time or two and a few photos of her house in the Hamptons (which I honestly thought was on Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard! LOL). But I enjoyed this little memoir anyway and learned about all the ways she helped break down stereotypes and gender rolls like those women before her. I love her fearlessness and attitude so much. She really is quite the go-getter. 

6. Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer by Bellamy Rose-- I was THRILLED to get this ARC (advanced reader copy) since I had just read the first book in the series and loved it. I was a little afraid I might not like this one as much since Pomona grew and changed so much during book 1 but I needn't have worried. In this book Pomona is finally ready to launch her new non-profit organization but during her first ever gala to raise money of one of her biggest donors has been murdered. Turns out lots of people have reason to want the donor dead and once again Pomona takes it upon herself to try and solve the crime. There is some wonderful side tension with her new boyfriend and a bit of the old Pomona sneaks back in now and then with some partying and visiting a private island by private jet. She can still be a bit clueless at times but her heart is in the right place. I enjoyed this second book in the series a lot. 

7. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst-- I saw this book was available to listen to on the Libby app and had heard good things about it so I thought I'd try it. I wasn't sure I'd like it since I don't typically enjoy fantasy but it actually was really cute. Kiela is a librarian fleeing the capital city when unrest and fires break out. She slips into a boat with a stack of spellbooks and her librarian's assistant Caz, a walking/talking spider plant. The two head to the tiny island Kiela grew up on and move into her parent's old home. There they set about making a life for themselves. Using forbidden magic and the spellbooks she's taken with her Kiela sets about helping the island, its people, and hopes that no one will realize she's using magic and not just the "home remedies" she advertises. 

8. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid-- Oh I just loved this one! TJR can be hit or miss for me but I enjoyed this one right from the first chapter. I do have a slight fascination with space and the space program though so that certainly didn't hurt. In this book Joan is selected to be one of the first women allowed into NASA's space program and in it makes lots of new friends in Hank, Lydia, Griff, Vanessa, & Donna. Joan finds passion and love and really starts to come into her own; feeling like she is finally where she is supposed to be. But one fateful day, one mission, everything changes in an instant when all that Joan holds dear might be lost. It was gripping! It did alternate a bit between the two timelines but was so easy to follow and I really wanted to know what was going to happen next.   

 9. The Boy Next Door by Sian O'Gorman-- I had another ARC from Netgalley waiting on my Kindle and dove in eagerly. I just LOVED this book! When Claudia is offered the chance to become editor of a magazine at the publishing house where she works she has all intentions of turning down the job. She runs into an old neighbor of hers from when she was much younger who challenges her to give the new job a try saying "what if you love it?" Those 5 words become a guiding mantra of sorts that Claudia passes on to may of her friends and colleagues. Set in Ireland with a fun cast of characters it made for a great read. There are so many subplots that kept me interested too; the publishing house is in the midst of a hostile takeover, Claudia's sister and best friend are both having relationship problems, her mother is starting a new romance, a man Claudia views at the villain of her childhood keeps turning up and Claudia is trying to work up the courage to face him. It was such a delightful story, I can not wait to seek out other books by this author. On sale now, I suggest you pick it up if you're looking for something light and feel good. 

 10. Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein--  I had heard such mixed reviews about this one that I wasn't sure what to expect but I really enjoyed it. Vivian has spent one month every summer with her dad at a cabin he owns in the Maine woods, escaping the city heat. But when he dies she heads up there planning to sell it and discovers that her dad had another daughter, Lucy. Lucy and Vivian can not seem to get along for more than a few moments a time. Vivian is angry to see her suspicions of her dad were right and Lucy resents all the time, money, and attention Vivian always had that Lucy always wanted. Of course neither really know what the others' lives were like but they struggle to set aside their hurt, anger, and preconceived notions to really find out. 

 

 I completely finished the 52 books challenge for 2025. 

 

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