September 2016 Wrap Up

Happy October guys!

I always find myself enjoying the month of October as I love fall, Thanksgiving, the leaves turning beautiful colors, work starting to slow down a bit, and everything being pumpkin flavored. Even though I'm not a fan of Halloween, October is definitely one of my favorite months of the year, and I'm definitely excited to get started on my October TBR pile.

However, before I do that, I really want to share my September 2016 wrap up with all of you guys!

September was a bit of a bad reading month for me. Don't get me wrong, I definitely loved most of the books I read, but I didn't end up reading too many books this month because of being in Florida for eleven days. 

As such, I don't have too too many books to talk about today, so this wrap up post will definitely be shorter than my usual ones are. 

One Star Books:

Thankfully, in  September I once again had no one star books! I definitely love those months :)


Two Star Books:

Imagines: Celebrity Encounters Starring You by Anna Todd and the Wattpad authors:

If you're not already aware, I am honestly a huge fan of Wattpad. I love that there's an online writing platform where authors are able to share their work, and I've honestly discovered some pretty amazing reads on this website. However, I honestly have to say that I did not enjoy this particular book that much. I know that fan fiction is a super controversial issue for a lot of people, but I've honestly generally enjoyed the few I've read, and I think it's one of the sincerest forms of flattery that an author or celebrity can ever receive (provided that they're portrayed in a positive light), but I do have a problem with it being published with the original names still included.

Usually, if the names are changed and it becomes it's own story, I see no problem with it getting published and recognized. But, if the original names are left the way they are, it kind of becomes muddled ground to me, and I'm really not a fan of this trend. I also really found myself cringing at how juvenile some of these stories were written, and after reading the first one about the Kardashian's being freedom fighters against a government insistent upon taking away selfies, I literally didn't pick this book back up for a couple of months.

Now that's not to say that I disliked them all. I really did enjoy Anna Todd's, Peyton Novak's, and the one about Tom Hiddleston to name a few, but my overall opinion on this anthology was that it was just not for me, and I personally don't recommend it.

However, it definitely won't stop me from picking up Wattpad anthologies in the future, and in fact, the new fairy tale one is one of the top items on my wishlist right now!


Three Star Books:

 The Girl He Never Noticed by Neilani Alejandrino:

I was randomly watching book trailers on Youtube one night this month, and I happened to stumble across a pretty amazing trailer for this Wattpad novel. Of course, the trailer had me so intrigued that I ended up heading over to Wattpad to read it, and I actually finished it in one sitting. I found myself loving this sweet but sassy story about a girl working at a coffee shop who attracts the attention of a corporate mogul, and I was completely blown away when I found out that English is not the author's first language. I don't even want to know how bad I would be at writing in a different language, and although there were definitely a few grammatical errors throughout the story, I was quite impressed with how well written it was overall. The only thing that truly kept it from being a four star rating for me, was I thought the ending of the novel took a turn that I didn't really like it, and kind of wrapped up a lot different than I'd been expecting. However, I know that she's actually written more novels about these characters, and I'm definitely interested in trying them in the future.

Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder:                                                                                                 

Ahh that love hate relationship that exists between me and Maria V Snyder's books definitely continued on with this one. I had heard such great things from this book, and so many reviews said it redeemed these amazing characters in their eyes, after the last book was such a huge disappointment. I, however, did not take this same view. I personally found Yelena's character to be extremely obnoxious throughout most of this novel, and I really got tired of the way she treated everyone around her, including Valek. As well, I really found the story to be lackluster and dragged quite a bit, and I literally feel like I'm just continuing to read these novels out of a sense of obligation, rather than enjoyment.

A Gift To Remember by Melissa Hill:

I was a big fan of the only novel I'd read of Melissa Hill's previously, Something From Tiffany's, and the synopsis of this book definitely gave me high hopes. While this story of a woman helping the man she inadvertently crashed into with her bike, regain his memory, and falling for the person she's created him to be in her mind along the way, was a really sweet story, I just kept feeling like something was missing from it. While it's definitely a sweet, heartwarming read, I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two characters, and it started to have a bit of an insta-love feel to me, which I definitely didn't like. I did enjoy it overall, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be.

If Ever I Would Leave You by Susan May Warren:

I received the first full book in this series from Netgalley, and I started it only to feel completely lost as I didn't realize there was a prequel novella to the first book. After discovering it was free on Ibooks, I definitely went ahead and grabbed it so that I could read it before continuing on with the first book. This was my first experience with a Susan May Warren novel, and I did really find myself enjoying her writing style, and the amazing chemistry that exists between the two main characters. Tragedy has struck when Ian's beloved niece goes missing, and Sierra,his faithful assistant and woman who holds his heart, knows more about the situation than she lets on. I had really high hopes for how this was all going to play out, but I honestly felt we got a little cheated as nothing is really wrapped up by the end of this novella. Hopefully the second book in the series will give us more of Sierra and Ian's story, because there were definitely things even after finishing the first book that really left me feeling unfulfilled, hence the three star rating for this one. 

Four Star Books:

I realized when writing this that I read a lot of four star books this month, and that's awesome, as it shows I really enjoyed the majority of the books I read this month.

Chasing Truth by Julie Cross:

I absolutely love Julie Cross' novels, and that definitely continued on with this brand new work of hers. Part Veronica Mars, part Pretty Little Liars, and all parts sizzling, intriguing, and addicting, this book literally had me glued to the page, and I loved the crisp storytelling, the amazing chemistry between the two main characters, and the fact that it left me anxiously awaiting for the release of the next book in the series. I highly recommend this one. 

A Will, A Way, and A Wedding by Melody Carlson:

I'm not going to say too too much about this one, since I did just post a full review on it a little while ago, but it was definitely one of my favorite books I read in September, and I thought Melody Carlson wrapped up this series beautifully.

My Hope Next Door by Tammy L. Gray:

I did also review this one a couple of weeks ago on my blog, so I will simply say that I loved these realistic inspirational fiction novel, and I look forward to reading more of Tammy L. Gray's books in the future. 

Wild Montana Skies by Susan May Warren:

I'm not actually going to say too too much about this one either, as I will be posting a full review of it later this week. I do think it was an awesome start to the series though, and it definitely has me anxiously awaiting the next book.

The Shop On Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber:

Anyone who knows me knows that I read a lot of books, and thus, I read a lot of authors. And while my list of favorite authors seems to keep growing and growing, without a doubt, Debbie Macomber remains my absolute favorite. I was excited to finally have a chance to sit down with the first novel in her Blossom Street series this month, and  it was just what I'd come to expect from this amazing lady's books. A story of four vastly different women, coming together for a knitting class at a local shop owned by one of the four, and finding themselves changing and growing closer together along the way, this book had me tearing up and honestly devouring each chapter as fast as I could. I honestly didn't like any of the main characters, but Lydia to start off with, but by the end of the book I was completely smitten with each of the amazing women, and their corresponding stories, and I was reminded once again, just why Debbie Macomber is my all time favorite author. I will definitely be picking up the second book ASAP.

Three Little Words by Melissa Tagg:

Melissa Tagg is an inspirational author that I've been meaning to read for quite awhile, and when I saw that this prequel novella to her Walker Family series was free on Ibooks, I grabbed the opportunity to get to read it. I really found myself enjoying this one, as I loved the chemistry between Ava and Seth, and their hilarious banter was definitely the highlight of the book for me. I also found it endearing how two college rivals end up as best friends due to an email relationship, and this book definitely had me longing to pick up more of Melissa's books in the future.

Five Star Books:

Lastly, we come to my only five star book this month, and my top recommended read from my September wrap up, and this is:

P.S. I Like You by Kasie West:

I have honestly come to expect great things from anything Kasie West writes. The Distance Between Us remains one of my all time favorite contemporaries, On The Fence was an adorable, but definitely enjoyable read, and I loved The Fill In Boyfriend. I'm glad to say that this trend definitely continued with P.S. I Like You, as I was completely smitten with both main characters, and the relationship they develop through exchanging anonymous letters. This sweet contemporary really reminded me of Jenny Han's amazing novels, and I can't stress enough how much I recommend picking this book up. If you're looking for a new YA contemporary to immerse yourself in, then definitely pick this one up, or honestly, any of Kasie West's other amazing books! I'm sure you won't be disappointed.



And that is it for my September 2016 wrap up guys! I thank you all for reading, and I can't wait to be back on Wednesday with my first Top 5 Wednesday post in over a month. :)



This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. The photos do not belong to me, and all rights to their respective owners.