September was a very mixed bag of reads - let me tell you that! It went from thriller to dark fantasy to Christian leadership to rom com... I managed to get a little bit of a lot of genres into the month! I should also note that I hit my 2024 Reading Goal of forty-five books this month when I finished Phantasma! I guess I underestimated my reading skills for this year, ha-ha!
Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight - When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom's bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened.
But what? The polar opposite of Cleo, whose "out of control" emotions and "unsafe" behavior have created a seemingly unbridgeable rift between mother and daughter, Kat is the essence of Park Slope perfection: a happily married, successful corporate lawyer. Or so Cleo thinks.
Kat has been lying. She's not just a lawyer; she's her firm's fixer. She's damn good at it, too. Growing up in a dangerous group home taught her how to think fast, stay calm under pressure, and recognize a real threat when she sees one. And in the days leading up to her disappearance, Kat has become aware of multiple threats: demands for money from her unfaithful soon-to-be ex-husband; evidence Cleo has slipped back into a relationship that's far riskier than she understand; and menacing anonymous messages from her past - all of which she's kept hidden from Cleo.
Rating: ⭐⭐and a half of five: I will be the first to confess that my reading of this was disjointed. I started it as we headed to Norway and then proceeded to put it down for the entire week before finally finishing it... so maybe that colors my rating? The book was good but not great; nothing about it just jumped out and pulled me in. Probably one of my least favorite books this year. *sigh*
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith - When Ophelia and her sister discover their mother brutally murdered, there is no time to grieve: Ophelia has inherited both her powerful death-driven magic and enormous debt on their home. Circumstances go from dire to deadly, however, when Ophelia's sister decides to enter Phantasma - a competition where most contestants don't make it out alive and the winner is granted a single wish.
The only way to save her sister is to compete. But Phantasma is a cursed manor, with twisting corridors and lavish ballrooms, and filled with enticing demons and fatal temptations. Ophelia will need to face nine floors of challenges to win... if her fears don't overtake her first.
When a charming, arrogant stranger claims he can protect and guide Ophelia, she knows she shouldn't trust him. While Blackwell may not seem dangerous, appearances can be deceptive. But with her sister's life on the line, Ophelia can't afford to turn him away. She just needs to ignore the overwhelming, dark attraction drawing them closer and closet together - because in Phantasma, the only thing deadlier than losing the game is losing your heart.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐and a half of five: This was my Book of the Month pick for September and I wasn't 100% sure about getting it, but wanted something a little spooky! This book had that in spades and even though it was over 400 pages, I ended up reading it all in one weekend! The New Orleans setting was perfect for this tale of magic, mystery and devilish games played in a house that moves from place to place to entice people to enter it's gate to take a chance on winning the ultimate prize.
A Fine Sight to See: Leading Because You Were Made for It by Sophie Hudson - With relatable stories and disarming grace, popular podcaster and author Sophie Hudson cuts through the confusing, difference stances on Christian women in leadership and offers a resource that empowers women to embrace their roles as leaders. Drawing from the book of Exodus, and using her trademark humor, Sophie skillfully helps you identify the leadership traits you already possess.
Serve with boldness inside and outside the church, lead faithfully and consistently. This is your invitation to embrace leadership with confidence and to find joy in the understanding how God sees you. Prepare to be inspired, encouraged, and equipped to embrace the truth that you are uniquely made to lead.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of five: I absolutely love Sophie's writing style; she writes the way she talks and she shares her whole heart with her words! She is able to break down the importance of female leadership in the church with such grace and wisdom; she made points about the story of Moses that I've never seen before! And as her book pointed out - seeing is one of the most important parts of leadership!
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as the average woman. But it's the early 1960's and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one; Calvin Evans, the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with - of all things - her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life in unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking ("combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride") proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐of five: This was definitely my favorite read for the month of September! The characters are unique and the storyline is also different from anything I've read recently! I especially loved the wonderful ending... and I hear that there is a TV series on Apple+, so I'll definitely have to give that a watch! Hopefully it does the book justice, because the book was excellent!
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I hit my 2024 Reading Goal of 45 books when I read Phantasma earlier this month! So that means everything that follows it are just additional books that are above and beyond my goal, ha-ha! Perhaps I underestimated my reading prowess for this year? We shall see! Only three months to go!
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