September 2023 Reads

Hello!

I appreciate good book recommendations, so I want to share some of my own recommendations with you, too. Here are books I read in September:

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling: This was a re-read, as I first read the book last year. It's the second book in a series, which starts with The Ex Hex. In "The Kiss Curse", Gwyn is enjoying her life in Graves Glen when her nemesis (and cousin's husband's brother) Wells comes to town and starts his own magic shop across the street from hers. Gwyn is determined to beat him, or at the very least ignore him and try to forget he's even there. But when Gwyn's cousin and mother are out of town, and a mysterious group of witches arrive and Gwyn's powers are impacted, Wells may be her best ally.

The witchy, fall vibes from the book are just a great way to embrace September and all things fall. Gwyn is fiery and hilarious, the plot is interesting, and Sir Purrcivial is my favorite.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry: Literary agent Nora is surrounded by books, and somtimes she feels like she is the trope of a book - just not the heroine. She's the "uptight city girl" that her boyfriends leave to be with someone else. And she's fine with it, mostly. When her younger sister and BFF Libby asks her to go on a trip to a small town for a month, Nora reluctantly agrees. While there, she runs into book editor Charlie, someone she had a brief but not great work meeting with years ago in NYC. But her time in Sunshine Falls with Charlie and Libby might help Libby realize that her story might be different than she thinks it is.

Nora and Charlie had great chemistry, and it was interesting to see how Nora and Libby's relationship also unfolded throughout the story. Emily Henry does a really good job of weaving other plots and relationships into the story without detracting from the main romantic relationship.

The Long Game by Elena Armas: After an incident at the pro soccer club she works for in Miami, Adalyn is sent to a small, rural town to turn-around a local soccer team. But when she arrives, she realizes how rural and small the town is, and that the team is a group of nine-year-old girls. To add to her challenges, Cameron - a former professional soccer player that no one in town seems to recognize and who was roped into coaching - seems determined to get to Adalyn to abandon the project. But with neither backing down, working together might be their best option.

This book was a good slow-burn romance. I do think that both Adalyn and Cameron could be a little annoying somtimes (Adalyn is very strong-willed to the point of being unnecessarily stubborn, while Cameron seems to abruptly shift at times from moody and broody to sweet), but they are a good match with good chemistry.

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas: Lina is heading back to Spain soon for her sister's wedding. The only problem is, she told her family (and ex-fiancee) that she would be bringing her boyfriend - but she doesn't have one. When her work-nemesis Aaron offers to be her date to the wedding, she laughs it off. But when she realizes she doesn't have other offers, she begrudgingly accepts Aaron's offer. It turns out, Aaron might not be so bad after all.

This is a re-read, but after reading The Long Game, I wanted to read The Spanish Love Deception again. This book is just so good - enemies-to-lovers and fake-dating all rolled into one. And the book is long, but it doesn't feel like the story drags on. It just gets more interesting. And Aaron and Lina just fit.

Maybe you will find a new book to read from here! What books have you been reading recently?