My September 2024 Round Up
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September was a bit of a mixed reading bag for me. I didn't really set out with a particular number of books goal I wanted to read and finish, but I read three books throughout the month - technically two finished and one dnf. This is the first month I paid attention to the number of books I have finished, so looking forward to keeping track of this in the coming months. There may be some spoilers in my reviews, so read further at your own risk.
My September books are:-
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas - FINISHED 05/09/2024
💜 💜 💜 💜
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is the third book series I have started from Sarah (I have previously read all the Court of Thorns and Roses series to date and am about to finish the first book in the Crescent City series - House of Blood and Earth.)
I decided not to read the Assassins Blade first, which is a series of short stories set prior to Throne of Glass. The general consensus seems to be that you don't need to read Assassins Blade first, but rather after the second book, Crown of Midnight, which is the order Sarah J Maas herself prefers. You don't really need to read it first I have discovered. There are some reference to Celaena and Sam, but it's not vital to the story.
In Throne of Glass we are introduced to our main female character. Celaena Sardothien. Celaena is an assassin living in a kingdom run by the King of Adarlan. She is living in a slave camp named Endovier when she accepts an invitation from his son, Prince Dorian to compete under his name in a contest with other gifted thieves, murderers and assassins. They will fight one another in a series of challenges, and the winner will be granted their freedom after a period of being the King's personal assassin.
Desperate to escape the slave camp and with nothing to lose she agrees. On route to Adarlan she rides with Chaol Westfall, who is the Captain of the Royal Guard best friend of Prince Dorian.
After arriving in Adarlan it is clear that Celaena is still a prisoner as she is not allowed to go anywhere around the palace without an escort. She is however given a grand bedroom to reside in. She spends a lot of her time with Chaol and Dorian, who seems to have developed a little crush on her.
Soon after starting the contest some of her fellow competitors are found brutally murdered. The hunt is on to find the culprit, but things don't stop at the palace and the contest continues. Celaena decides to find out who is killing these people, and has the help of some very interesting characters.
This is a well written book and Sarah always has a fantastic way to taking you into the action and showing the reader around the world she is building. There are many emotions for the reader to experience when reading this book - shock, fright, anxiety and happiness. It can be a little bit slow at times, but stick with it. The ride this book takes you on is worth it.
How To Slay At Work by Sarah Bonner - FINISHED 08/09/2024
💜 💜 💜 💜 💜
This was my favourite book for September. I was lucky enough to get an ARC for this book, and I'm so glad I was able to enjoy this book before it was published.
In this book we are introduced to our main character, Millie. She works for Freya, who is a very powerful woman in their industry, even though she has a reputation for being difficult and abrupt to everyone around her. However, Millie knows that working with Freya will get her the exposure she needs to move to the job she really wants, so she's prepared to put up with the incorrigible Freya for a little while longer.
Soon, Millie starts to become suspicious of Freya. While the two are away for work she catches Freya acting strangely around the time of a murder in the same hotel they are staying in. She puts it down initially as a coincidence but then strange things keep popping up, and the murders continue. Soon Millie has to face the fact that her boss might well be a serial killer.
The story is told from two points of view - Millie and Freya. It's fascinating to see the thought processes of two very different and yet connected women. The book is full of mystery, heart stopping drama and is totally un-put-downable.
Is Freya a serial killer? Is Millie in danger of becoming the next victim? Read this fantastic book to find out.
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St Clair - DNF'D 12/09/2024
💜 💜
I had to dnf this book unfortunately. I went into this book with so much hope. A modern retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Hades and Persephone. It just screams epic adventure!
The whole storyline idea was so interesting to me - Persephone and Hades live in modern day Athens, or New Athens as it is known. It's two ancient Greeks living in a modern society. Hades is a very successful businessman and Persephone is working as a journalist. When they meet she manages to make a contract with Hades:- either she is able to create life in the Underworld, or she will lose her freedom forever.
All sounds good, but I found it very slow and uninteresting. I don't mind a slow burn book if my attention has been grabbed, either by the main storyline or the characters. In this book this contract was the main storyline and I didn't find the characters very interesting. I made it through the first third of the book before I decided to dnf it.
I have heard that the book does improve by the end, but I didn't want to hold out. Scarlett St Clair has a lot of awesome sounding books available, and this seems to be one of her earlier books. I'm going to pick a later one and try it in the hope that this book was just a one off. She has a Fairy Tale Retelling series and the first book, published in 2023, is called Mountains Made of Glass. Just added it to my ever growing tbr list, so hopefully this will be better.
Did you read any of these books on my list for September? Do you agree or disagree with my rating? Has anyone read Mountains Made of Glass? What are your thoughts on it? Let me know in the comments.
October Reading Plans:
I will start strong in October as I am about to finish two books - The Story Collector by Evie Gaughan and House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas. I am also continuing to read the ARC for The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Keer, and so far I am loving it. It's a good spooky book and perfect for October/Halloween. It's out now if you want to check it out.
Stay tuned for my October blogs - going to have two October reading blogs. One will be a mid month report and then the final round up at the end of October/start of November.