My Ambitious TBR pile for September 2022 In Books has been particularly ignored until the last couple of weeks I have to be honest with you. After having a mega book hangover from the last Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, it has been a month of starting books and not getting into them easily.
So we have a huge mix of genres here this month, and hopefully now in the right mindset for all the spooky books I have lined up for October!
I will be sharing my past recs for great books to get you ready for the colder weather and the spooky season. I am always looking for more books in any genre, especially horror and mystery so please drop your recs below!
If you missed last month’s list…click here!
This month I have read: 3 books amounting to 1225 pages. Not a bad contribution to my 2022 reading challenge! If you want to stay updated on my progress, add me on Goodreads!
The Books
The Soulmate Equation
Lauren Christina
Genre: Romance
Length: 416 pages
First Published: 2021
Synopsis:
Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. After all, her father was never around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before her daughter was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely. But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. (Synopsis from Goodreads)
Review:
Cute, adorable romance. It is one of those warm fluffy romance books that make you feel good and is super easy to get into. None of that awkward thinking, will this book speed up please, which is something I am having a lot of trouble with lately. Of course, there are the tropes in romance books you can never avoid, this one pinning down the “tall man whose tallness is a personality trait” archetype to a t. But that is why we read these romance books!
Rating:
As Good As Dead
Holly Jackson
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
Length: 459 pages
First Published: 2021
Synopsis:
The third and final book of this rollercoaster series. Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. She’s used to online death threats in the wake of her viral true-crime podcast, but she can’t help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears? Soon the threats escalate and Pip realizes that someone is following her in real life. When she starts to find connections between her stalker and a local serial killer caught six years ago, she wonders if maybe the wrong man is behind bars. (Synopsis from Goodreads)
Review:
I can see how people can dislike this book but in my opinion, they are wrong. The plot twist in this one is so farfetched and so well done. Obsessed with this book while reading it? Totally. If you want to lose track of time and be completely engrossed in a thriller, or murder mystery then you need to add this three-part series to your TBR list.
I appreciate that this is a trilogy and not trying to be one of those exhaustive murder mystery series that rinse and repeats ideas time and time again as it would lose the whole uniqueness of the characters. Definitely adding Holly Jackson to my instant buy author list!
Rating:
Dead In The Water
Mark Ellis
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Length: 350 pages
First Published: 2022
Synopsis:
Summer, 1942. The Second World War rages on but Britain now faces the Nazi threat with America at its side. In a bombed-out London swarming with gangsters and spies, DCI Frank Merlin continues his battle against rampant wartime crime. A mangled body is found in the Thames just as some items of priceless art go mysteriously missing. What sinister connection links the two? (Synopsis from Goodreads)
Review:
I received a copy of Dead In The Water in exchange for an honest review
Let’s get straight to the point. This is the 5th installment of DCI Frank Merlin, and as a reader who has not read the previous books, I am happy with how everything is (re)introduced and set up. It makes it easy to transition back into the series, or in my case, pick up any of the books and get right to it.
The story is well researched and historically plausible so that gives an instant 5 star in my eyes as I am so tired of reading books that are set in the world wars that have little to no research and romanticize the period. However, as an academic in the history field, I found the writing and the constant explanations and almost mansplaining of certain laws and topics very tiring. Saying this, I can see how someone without in-depth knowledge of the period can appreciate this and learn from it too. (Only problem is that Holland was swept in 1940 not 1941, but can see this is an editorial error).
In terms of structure, the book does jump around a bit too much for me, it was a bit much and took a lot of effort to get into the book and finish it. By the end, it is worth the read due to how everything just links together nicely, but up until that point, there is little reward for the reader.
Good attention to detail in the storytelling of the different events. In particular the criminal activity that was rife during the war. There are many characters introduced that can add to the overwhelmingness of the book.
In terms of thriller/mystery, this book does tick the boxes. I had no idea who was the murderer until the reveal. Normally I have some vague ideas, so thanks for that!
I will be reading the others in the series.
Rating:
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