My September 2023 Reads

I covered a lot of genres in September and my favorite books this month were Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear, memoirs by Drew Faust and Mabel Esther Allan, and a contemporary romance with a mature heroine and a theater background called Flirting with Fire by Jane Porter. Have you read any of these? What’s on your October horizon?

Fiction

Remains to be Seen by Elizabeth Cadell (1983). Philippa has been visiting family in Canada for two years, where she also acquired a fiancé. When she returns to England to see her mother, she learns that the ruins of a Roman villa and bath have been discovered and everyone in town is trying to take advantage of the tourism potential, including her childhood friend Ward Rowallen. To her concern, she suddenly sees Ward in a new light, despite the fiancé back in Canada.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (2023). A woman looks back on the romantic summer that changed her life and shares her experience with her three mostly grown-up daughters while they are all living at home during the pandemic. This was probably my favorite book of the month – I could not stop reading – and definitely the Patchett I have liked best. My review.

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright (2022). It turns out I received the YA edition of my book group’s September choice from the library but I got the essence of the story: a poor woman who lives at a dump in Cambodia learns how to read and value books, which changes her life. None of us was overly impressed by this book.

Historical Fiction

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear (2023). Elinor White is leading a quiet life in the country when she realizes some neighbors are in danger. She seeks assistance for them (never for herself!) from people she worked with during WWII, although that brings up bad memories of death and betrayal. In fact, the flashbacks tell the reader that Elinor worked behind the scenes in two World Wars, in her native Belgium and then for her mother’s Britain. This is a rare standalone by the author of the Maisie Dobbs series.

Suspense

The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter (2023). This book was billed as a romantic comedy about a woman with amnesia who discovers she's the identical twin sister of a rogue spy, and technically that was true, but it was absurdly wacky and improbable. I zipped through it in about two hours just so I could return it – there was a waiting list because the author’s YA novels are popular. I liked I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls, #1) but that was long ago.

On Harrow Hill by John Verdon (2020). My sisters and I really like this series about a retired NYC detective who has moved to upstate New York with his long-suffering wife. In this seventh in the series, Dave’s former partner asks him for help solving a mysterious death in which the prime suspect died the day before the murder. These upstate New York towns are depressing and violent! I thought that some would be revitalized by Manhattanites escaping the city.

The Good Ones by Polly Stewart (2023). This was another disappointment. When Nicola’s mother dies, she returns home and tries to find out what happened to a friend who disappeared without a trace nearly 20 years earlier. Last week, I was in an endless meeting and made a list of all the things that annoyed me about this book! My review.

Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena (2023) (audio). Dr. William Wooler is having an affair with a neighbor and when she breaks it off, he is in a foul mood and slaps his always-annoying daughter Avery. When the nine-year-old goes missing, he is the obvious suspect but it turns out his is not the only neighborhood secret. This book was good distraction for my work commute and full of twists but no depth to the characters and most were quite unlikable. I liked the female police detective more than anyone.  I was curious about this Canadian author and found the ending clever but abrupt. I definitely listen to books in the car that I would not spend time on at home.

Nonfiction

To Be an Author by Mabel Esther Allan (1982).  Allan’s autobiography, privately printed in two booklets in 1982 and 1985, written to provide first-hand information on her life and work, was partly inspired by her becoming aware that adult readers were collecting her books. This was a delight and I am so glad that Greyladies reprinted it. I especially appreciated her love of Manhattan.  MAE does refer to herself in the third person but I will forgive her.

Necessary Trouble by Drew Faust (2023). Harvard’s first woman president tells her surprisingly remarkable story about growing up in the South in the 50s and 60s, developing very different values from her affluent family. She stops at her college graduation so I am sure there is at least one more memoir coming! Guest review.

YA & Juvenile

Courses for Horses by Caroline Akrill (2023). Thirty years ago, Akrill wrote a horse series in which teenage Elaine was desperate to make a career as an eventer, taking a job with the Fane sisters who rarely had enough money to pay her. Now, Akrill has returned to these beloved characters in a book that readers will enjoy but may find annoying, as Elaine has given up her evening dream and is now trying to establish a riding and eventing school. Her father has married Lady Jennifer Fane, so she and the Fanes are now stepsisters but still squabble. While I too was disappointed that Elaine had reluctantly given up eventing, I think her decision was mature and realistic, and I enjoyed reading about the planning of the riding school.   Thanks again to Bettina for the recommendation and the first three books!

Nothing Else but Miracles by Kate Albus (2023). I loved the author’s debut novel, an evacuation story called A Place to Hang the Moon. This book is also set during WWII but in New York where twelve-year-old Dory Byrne lives with her brothers on Manhattan's Lower East Side, desperately waiting for her father to return from fighting Hitler. It does seem irresponsible for her widower father to have left Fish, a high school senior, in charge of Dory and her younger brother Pike, but the neighbors also keep an eye on them. All is well until they get a new landlord who wants to evict them, which inspires Dory to find a secret place for them to hide.  This was a perfectly fine second book but to me, it did not have the magic of A Place to Hang the Moon.

A Starlet's Secret to a Sensational Afterlife by Kendall Kulper (2023). A budding starlet and her handsome costar who has his own agenda go from enemies to reluctant partners when they investigate the disappearance of a beautiful young actress in 1930s Hollywood. This YA novel had some supernatural elements that surprised me but the story was entertaining.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1989). It is 1943 in Copenhagen, and Annemarie Johansen, her family, and the Danes have to decide whether they will defy the Nazis and help their Jewish neighbors escape. The history of Denmark during WWII was new to me. A very satisfying story (and Newbery winner) based on the childhood of a friend of Lowry’s. My review.

Romance

Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory (2022). Margot runs a vineyard with her brother and is letting off steam when she meets a younger man at her favorite bar and spends the night with him. Unfortunately, Luke turns out to be a new employee, although that does not prevent either from yearning for a repeat performance. Guillory’s books are really just wish fulfillment with some local color (here, operating a vineyard) but that doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoyable.

Play for Me by Libby Hubscher (2023). I picked this up because I read “Sophie Doyle has her dream job as the head athletic trainer for her favorite baseball team (Go Red Sox)” and did not realize she got fired before the book begins!

The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery (2022) (audio).  The concept appealed to me – three women can’t afford the rent separately on appealing space near the beach in California, so they band together and open a combined bookstore/gift shop/bakery. However, I found the story quite repetitious and surprisingly crude at times. In addition, the narrator reminded me of a kindergarten teacher (and not in a good way).

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan (2023). I enjoyed the author’s A Girl Named Digit several years ago but was disappointed by this extremely predictable romance set in the Hamptons about a NYC human resources professional (engaged to a very regimented doctor) who encounters the man who broke her heart when they were teens.

Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan (2020). When radio producer Everly (why?) Dean accidentally shares the news of her cheating boyfriend on the air, she is mortified but decides she needs a list of rules with which to improve her dating success. This was a sweet romance but too slow-paced and repetitious.

Codename Charming by Lucy Parker (2023). This is the second in Parker’s new Palace Insiders series. Although it was enjoyable, the characters were a little too similar in personality to the protagonists in the first book and it was more slapstick than I like. My review.

Flirting With Fire by Jane Porter (2023). This was an extremely well-done contemporary romance about a middle-aged heroine who regrets the years she spent in NYC supporting an ungrateful boyfriend/writer. She is working in California when her boss is hospitalized and needs Margot to direct and act in a summer theatre production of Barefoot in the Park. A famous actor agrees to co-star and a meaningful relationship develops but Margot is reluctant to give up what she wants from life a second time just for a man.

I don't usually read some many brand-new books or so many romances in a month but they all turned up from the library at the same time!