September Round-Up

The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose. I’d read this one before but didn’t remember it, and since I wanted to read the second book, I figured it would be best to re-read. It was a quick read and the ending didn’t piss me off as much as the first time, but it’s definitely a fluffy “guilty pleasure” type book and didn’t keep my heart pounding like other thrillers.

The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose. I think this was a satisfying sequel to The Perfect Marriage, but it wasn’t as intriguing to me as the first. Things felt a bit stale, especially with the ending working out the way it did. It wasn’t surprising or empowering, it was like an eye roll of “of COURSE she made it out” despite picture proof that was never explained? I feel like this is open for a third but I wouldn’t keep reading the series.

Getting Away with Murder by Shari Lapena. I wasn’t into this book from the opening scene (for me, it was trying so hard to be overly descriptive that I simply couldn’t picture what was going on), but once things got more into the characters and their twisted mess, I was hooked and finished it in an evening.

Drinking with Strangers by Butch Walker. Re-read this as research for an essay I’m writing. I was a bit disappointed at how much sexism jumped out at me (even since I re-read it in 2023) but in the book Butch admits how much he’s changed since he was younger, and since this was published in 2011, I know/I’m sure/I hope he’s changed even more.

Beyond the Watershed by Nadia Alexis. My poetry book this month. This felt like jumping headfirst into someone’s life and family history - so beautiful and immersive and emotional.

Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna. Love how this one opened me up to so many different bands and ideas. I feel like Hanna is really honest about what she’s been through, how flawed she has been, and how she’s overcome so much. I found it really inspirational about just doing what you want to do, creating what you want to create, and putting it out in the world.

The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander. I read this before, but now have the whole series so I wanted a refresher. I really love the cozy community Alexander made here and can’t wait to see how the overarching mystery progresses.

A Murder at the Movies by Ellie Alexander. After the first book in the series being really cozy and interesting to me, this one was so disappointing. It was just WEIRD, honestly. First, Annie seems to have regressed. If you told me she was 23, I wouldn’t be surprised, but she’s early 30s? Most of it is the childish, faux love/hate with Liam - that seems really immature to me. I also find it hard to believe that Dr. Caldwell thinks Annie is some ace investigator, to the extent she coddles her and wants her to work as a detective? I've read books with amateur sleuths that are more tuned in than Annie.

If you’ve read this and want more… check my Goodreads review for spoilers. There’s no good way to hide them here so I won’t post them.

Death at the Dinner Party by Ellie Alexander. This book was much better than the second. I love the idea of muder mystery dinners and of course it’s a perfect idea for a cozy plot. There were still a few instances where it seems like characters said/did things and then in the next scene, it was either forgotten or spun like it had happened the opposite way, which confused me and really made me think the author forgot to cut some scenes from an earlier draft. I also really dislike how juvenile the “romance” with Liam is, but maybe I’m burning out on the series overall. I think maybe it’s a good concept for a series but with very poor writing, ex: “my cheeks ravaged with pockmarks and stinging sores from my unrelenting tears”.

A Holiday Homicide by Ellie Alexander. I’m glad the “what career to choose” storyline is finally moving along after so much waffling. The influencer angle was interesting but with the characters hardly ever online in the first few books, it seemed a bit out of left field. The romance angle is still a bit too sweet for me, and overdone considering how old the main characters are supposed to be, but I’ve made it this far so I’ll finish the series in hopes of the Scarlet storyline being resolved in a satisfactory way.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I got this thanks to Libby’s “Skip the Line” offering - otherwise, it wasn’t on my radar, so I’m glad I didn’t miss it! I’m always a bit hesitant with epistolary books and stories because the writer can too often just infodump everything the reader needs to know, but those writing should already know. This, however, was incredibly well done. I think just enough information was given across the letters to put the story together and give the reader space to have things click into place. I also like how the distance allowed the reader to know so much of a character’s thoughts but not really see them in action at all… As someone who prefers writing to speaking, I could relate to this and found it incredibly engrossing, especially how it allowed the author to handle the ending. Check out my post about readalikes for this book!

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. This one took me a bit to get into with the writing style - a lot of sentence fragments that added rhythm, sure, but made it hard to follow what was going on, especially once all the generations with same names were mentioned. Overall, the payoff was worth the read - really interesting how it all came together.

Self Portraits by P. J. Blumenthal. Read to review for MicroLit Almanac October 2026 - will update review with the link.

A Victim at Valentine's by Ellie Alexander. I think this was one of the more interesting storylines with so many suspects and so much going on with the matchmaking and the side case involving Scarlet. Since it was Valentine’s themed, the lovey dovey stuff between Liam and Annie didn’t stick out as much to me (though I do feel like Liam was in it less, despite being centered around a romantic holiday?).

A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander. I thought the final book in this series would be satisfying, but it felt very rushed to me - especially the ending, which wraps up Scarlet’s case. The book fair murder mystery was interesting, but everything regarding Scarlet felt shoved in and not thought out too well (by the author OR Annie and her friends). However, I feel satisfied that I completed the series. My library has the first book of the spin-off series, so I’ll give that a try, but I don’t think I’ll read them all.

Our Story Begins by Tobias Wolff. I’ve been on a big short story kick and Tobias Wolff hits just right. Some kind of feel like stuff I read in college workshops but when they’re good, they’re SO good.

The Art of Brevity by Grant Faulkner. My writing book for the month. This is one of the best flash fiction books I’ve read, mostly because I really appreciate how it pulls in other creative pursuits as well. I found that, along with some of the prompts, inspired me to think outside the box when it came to my own writing practice. I feel like this is more for writers with some flash background, but beginning flash writers could probably still get a lot out of it. Highly recommended.

It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell. I read this in less than a day - it was definitely compelling and I was trying to piece together all the characters and the timeline. However, the ending was SO lackluster. If it was a novella, I think it would have been stronger. But to read almost 400 pages for THAT ending… nah. Kind of disappointing. That said, it kept me hooked so that says a lot about Jewell’s writing and plot structure.

Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister. This was a great page-turner. It reminded me of Scott Smith’s “A Simple Plan” for how inevitable each choice made, but also how much you cringed for the character, knowing they were getting into more and more trouble. It was hard to root for the characters, though. The mother was pretty insufferable and felt like someone who would be the ONLY mother to love her kid the most, etc, and that got very repetitive and old. But the plot was compelling, and I could see it as a movie, I just wish the mother wasn’t so annoying.

Invasive Species by Ellery Adams. I thought this would be a nice book to read on the cusp of spooky season, and I love the Secret, Book & Scone Society books, but it was lacking overall for me. I think it was trying to do too much at once, with all the women on the street wanting different things and them not feeling completely wrapped up at the end, but more shoved under the rug in some cases. I understand Mrs. Smith met her end but what was the fallout of all the havoc? It felt way too rushed and unresolved, so I came away not feeling like I totally grasped everything, thinking surely I missed something that tied it together…? I think it might have been more interesting as a YA book from Jill’s POV because otherwise it felt pretty immature and stilted. That could also be a bonus so all the sexual content would be cut because I swear I thought a man was writing all these descriptions of women, yuck.

Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead. I was worried this book would be all style and no substance based on the killer title and idea that it centered on Hollywood, celebrities, etc. But it was amazing! I got totally sucked in and wasn’t sure how things would turn out. I loved the little insights from the PhD dissertation (I want to read all of that honestly, and everything Frances studies as a pop culture historian), and appreciated that the author included character titles at each chapter (like Jillian, the Model) because they DID kind of seem pretty similar, and there were a lot of them, so that helped me keep them straight. Definitely reading more from this author.