So, my laptop is having a huge mental breakdown and hates me (so editing is pretty near impossible atm) so I’m going to post this here! This is a little recap of all the books I read in September ^^

I would just like to preface this with, “I am aware that I am late on the train for most of these!” I mean Wilde is very dead, but that one was out of my hands haha ^^”. I say this as I was laughed at by a friend because I only just started the Bloodlines series…

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

I have had this on my shelf for a long time and I’ve tried to pick this us before, but my brain did not agree. However, that month I did it! And I’m so glad I did. Wilde’s writing styling is wonderful. It is poetic and incredibly thought-provoking (however, I will admit, at times I wasn’t sure what people were saying… haha). The story is one that most people know of, but I had no idea that that’s what the ending is?! I think this book sheds light on the fascination with youth and beauty and the horrors of life that can mar it. But it also shows that clinging onto youth and beauty will only turn what you had into something ghastly and misshapen.

On The Other Side, Carrie Hope Fletcher

I truly wish this was what happened to those who died, it would be heartbreaking but beautiful and comforting to those left behind. I found that Carrie’s writing was easy and comfortable. The characters and the premise of having to reveal our secrets before leaving to go to our personal heaven were lovely and the magical realism lifted the story off the page. I will say, at times the jumps to what was happening in the present and what was happening in the past was a little off. This may be because I listened to it on audiobook (Carrie’s voice is so relaxing to listen to by the way!) Sometimes you just need a cute story, although I’m still not sure how I feel about what could possibly happen to Jim (he was my favourite character) in his afterlife.

Daughter of the Earth and Sky + The Iron Queen (Books 2+3 in the Daughters of Zeus Series), Kaitlin Bevis

I think I preferred book 2 to the first. I feel like Persephone is becoming more of a stronger character and her links to other characters, such as Cassandra, Hades and those around her in the human realm as well are stronger, and I’m enjoying seeing that growth.

One of my big issues though is Aphrodite. I seem to only like her in the Disney channel animated series ‘Hercules’, because all of her other incarnations are just not my cup of tea! (which is why I’m just going to read the Persephone trilogy and not continue). 
I’m looking forward to seeing Persephone and Hades kick more butt in the next book!
(These books aren’t amazing, but they are fast paced and somewhat trashy, and I really enjoy the modern twist).

There were a few things I wasn’t overly happy about with ‘The Iron Queen’, mainly the amount of pov’s. Especially as I’m not really a fan of Aphrodite’s voice (which upsets me because I still have so many questions, but right now I have no intention of continuing…). And this may be an unpopular opinion, but I wasn’t exactly a fan of Hades’ voice. Yes he was snarky/funny and adorable, but I wouldn’t have been upset if he hadn’t gotten his own point of view.

But! I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was a bit off at times, but the payoff was great. The twists and unexpected turns were well executed and one in particular kind of blew my mind. Persephone, as a character, has grown so much throughout these 3 books and this one is particular forced her to step up and also made her realise just how strong she actually is. And Hades stepped up his dramatic-ness haha ^^”

Bloodlines + The Golden Lily (Books 1&2 of the Bloodline Series), Richelle Mead

‘Bloodlines’ started off slow, but the last 30-40% made up for a lot of that! I feel like Sydney is a pretty well-rounded character and we saw some great development in this, and it’s only the first book, so I’m interested to see where Mead takes her. I do feel that we didn’t really get that much depth to Jill, which is disappointing considering we spent a lot of time with her, but hopefully that can change in the following books. Considering what Jill has been through, I can understand her attitudes, but she’s a Moroi princess! A lot of new things were established in this book (and it was nice to fall back into the VA world) which will be fun to explore further. And of course Adrian Ivashkov is wonderful and needs to be loved and treated so much better than he is and I’m still bitter about how he was treated in the last few books of Vampire Academy. All in all, I think this was a good opening to the series, however, I think I would have rated it a 4⭐ if the first half had been stronger, so I think it’s more of a 3.5/3.75⭐ for me.

‘The Golden Lily’ was so much more interesting that the first book! We had a lot more development with Sydney and Adrian, and slightly on some other characters as well. Sadly, Jill is still a bit lacklustre for me… I want to like her, but there just doesn’t seem to be much to her character. Adrian is hilarious and heartfelt and his interactions with others are always so interesting and the events at the end of this book broke my heart, but at the same time I was happy because he has come such a long way. I’m like a proud mother hen haha ^^”  The Alchemists, as an organisation is so interesting and I kind of wish Sydney would be more involved because I want to know everything, but this ‘rebel’ group seems like it will bring out the dirt the Alchemists don’t want us to know. The new groups and cross-group interactions has been super fun and I’m definitely excited to see what happens next!

Going Postal (Discworld #33), Terry Pratchett

Funny, sincere and wacky. Which is generally what you find when delving into a Pratchett novel! Moist Von Lipwig was not your typical hero, but he ended up shining (like his suit… haha I’m so funny) and I was definitely won over. The other characters were all rather interesting, generally funny and quirky (and in some cases very odd). It was great to see characters from other discworld books I’ve read. I’ve only read a couple of Pratchett’s works, but I’m excited to pick more up in the future. I never want to say too much about a Pratchett plot, because I think it’s far more beneficial if you don’t know the twists and madness of the journey he takes you on.

Library of Souls, Ransom Riggs

I won’t say too much on this because it is the last of the ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children’ trilogy. I found that this was a satisfying ending to this trilogy. The writing is great and the characterisation and development of Jacob (especially) in this book was great. I loved that we got to see more of the different elements to Perculiardom. However, I did have some problems with this book. So much of this book was fast paced and great, but at the same time there was so much happening and we met so many new people, that some of them and certain events just didn’t seem necessary. I kind of missed the peculiars I’d connected with so much in the first two books.

This series was very hyped, and I was close to not picking it up, but I would definitely recommend this trilogy.

Those were the books I read in September. I hope you had a good reading month as well! What books did you read? What books did you enjoy the most? I love hearing what people don’t like, but being positive is better, right?

If you’ve read any of the books I did, let me know what you thought, if you agree or disagree (*drama* :p).

I’m thinking of doing more book related posts, I will definitely still be doing Asian Drama posts (which I swear I will get back on track with soon ㅠ.ㅠ) but I feel like branching out here as well.

Thanks for reading! I hope you are having a great day! 🙂