Spell the Month in Books – September

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on the first Saturday of each month or maybe later! 

Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes (2000). I originally thought of Keyes as a Maeve Binchy wannabe but I have enjoyed her books and this was pleasant chick lit about three women, two of whom work for a fancy magazine in Dublin.

An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton (2004). This is a wonderful historical fantasy in which Jenny, daughter of a Norman nobleman, is chosen as a potential bride for William de Warenne, brother of the king of Scotland, but she is far more interested in the mysterious Tam Lin.

Portraits in an Album by Jenny Glanfield (1997). This is a dual timeline novel about Pippa, whose father lost his family during WWII when he was evacuated. A photograph leads Pippa to her grandmother and a 16th century farmhouse that has meant a lot to her.

Trust by Hernan Diaz (2022). This historical novel describes the early days of New York finance through four related narratives. I liked the depiction of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as the behind-the-scenes influence of the women in the story. My review.

Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray (2003). When Ruth’s husband is laid off from his job, she needs to reinvent herself and she feels her only talent is baking cakes (recipes included). She also has to cope with parents who don’t get along, a difficult teenage daughter. Ray, who is Ann Patchett’s mother, was a nurse for many years before she discovered her talent for warm, humorous fiction. I’ve really liked all her books although they are too short.

Mistaken Identity by Lisa Scottoline (1999). I really enjoyed Scottoline’s series about an all-women law firm in Philadelphia and I should double-check to see if there’s one I haven’t read before I head to Philly for a conference in October. This is the fourth in the series and features defense attorney Bennie Rosato, taking on a client accused of murder, who turns out to be her identical twin.

Blackout by John Nance (2000). I read all of John Nance’s books one fall – most are about aviation disasters. Although FBI agent Kat Bronsky is alerted about a laser weapon that terrorists will use to blind airline pilots, she may not be able to prevent a plane from crashing. I gave one of Nance’s books to a pilot I was dating and it turned out he was NOT a reader, which ended the relationship. But these are scary books - maybe it would have made him too scared to fly!

Exit Strategies by Catherine Todd (2002). After a bad divorce, Becky Weston went to law school at night so she could support her teenage daughter and herself. Now she has to generate business for her law firm and her new client, a fitness guru, turns out to be Becky’s worst enemy from school and – possibly – a fraud.

Return to the Wells by Lorna Hill (1955). It is a pity that my library only had books 1 and 3 in this series and I didn’t know until the arrival of the Internet that there were 14 books! It took quite a while to collect them all. In this book, lowly born Ella is doing well at the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School until a health scare sends her to Switzerland to recover.

Have you read any of these?  You should spell the month in books too!