September Overview

In September I read 13 books, a bit less than the 15 books in August and July.

Op zee by Toine Heijmans was my favorite book this month. This is a Dutch book and I do hope it gets translated to English. It’s brilliant. As far as English reads are concerned I think When She Woke by Hillary Jordan was my best read.

Books I read

(Hover over the covers to see their titles and authors).

Titles in orange link through to their reviews.

Bonita Avenue by Peter Buwalda. It’s a Dutch book, not translated. It has won some prizes and it was good, but not as good as I’d hoped. 4 stars

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. I’m not sure what the book was all about. The author explains the book in the back which I don’t like. A book should be able to explain itself. 3.5 stars.

Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux. A light reading, sequel to The Summer House, which I enjoyed a lot. Three women that didn’t know each other beforehand, meet up in a house and discuss their lives. 4 stars

Taboo by Casey Hill. An American forensic specialist is newly heading a team in Dublin, Ireland. A serial killer is on the loose leaving clues. Well-paced, good story. 5 stars.

Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll. A young woman is given an antique box by a man. When she opens it, she unleashes some nasty creatures that threaten to take over the world. Garet (the woman) has to stop it all. 3 stars

The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas. A young female university researcher finds a rare book, a book that is cursed. Or so people say. She becomes intrigued by the book and ends up in an alternate world, or is it her fantasy? 4 stars

Lies by Michael Grant. The third in the Gone series. The struggle in the FARZ is continuing with children nearly ready to kill eachother. Some disturbing events make their lives even more uncertain than they already were. 4 stars

Op Zee [At Sea, Dutch] by Toine Heijmans. A father takes his seven-year old daughter on a sailing trip to travel from Northern Denmark to the Netherlands in two days. But then the daughter disappears. Her father can’t find her but he doesn’t want to call in the coastguard because he may be accused of being an irresponsible father. Very good! 5 stars [Do read my review, click on the link in the title, and use google translate to see what I thought]

Dancing in the Shadows of Love by Judy Croome.  ”Three emotionally adrift women fight to heal their fractured worlds. Not everyone can be a hero. Or can they?” I found it a bit disappointing, 2 stars (DNF).

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. Skippy dies in a donut restaurant while eating donuts with his friend Ruprecht. The book is mainly about what happened before and what happens afterwards. 4 stars

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. Hannah Payne is being punished by having had an abortion. Her skin is dyed red so everyone will recognise her as a criminal. Dystopia in the near future. 4 stars

The Cosy Knave by Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen. Rose, an older single woman is murdered while in the company of several other villagers. Nobody saw what happened. Archibald Penrose, the local constable investigates the case. Very English, lots of fun names, lots of tea. 3.5 stars.

Doodskap ["Death Mask"] by Arnaldur Indridason. A woman who is suspected of blackmail is found murdered, while a deranged man is keeping a man prisoner that he knew from when he was young. Detective Sigurdur Óli is on the case.

Other Books Reviewed (click on the title to read the review):

Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson. As a child, Jane Margaux had an imaginary friend who she was supposed to forget about when she grew older. But when as an adult, she meet Michael, she knows it’s him! (3 stars)

One Day by David Nicholls. Over a period of twenty years, the book describes one day in July for every year. The lives of the two main characters Emma and Dexter are thus followed through two decades. 5 stars.

The Surrogates by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele. A graphic book in which people stay at home and use surrogates to live their lives for them. Interesting. 4 stars.

Duma Key by Stephen King. A man who was badly wounded in a car accident moves to Florida to start a new life. It was OK but I wasn’t impressed by the sea ghosts. 3 stars

Other happenings on my blog:

I announced the 3rd Literary Giveaway Blog Hop. Sign ups are now open if you want to participate with your blog and give away a book or book related item.

The Ugly Covers Competition has run for five weeks. You can still vote for week 5.

I did a guest post at The Book Garden. It’s a quiz – What type of reader are you? Click HERE to find out.

I wrote about my 5 Best Books… in a University Setting, … about Hope.

I’m starting a new short challenge to get rid of some TBR books.

What was you favorite book this month?

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