What is the one thing all of these novels have in common? Dual timelines! The first book of the month, The Everlasting, is for the lovers of fantasy and female heroes… set in various versions of the main characters’ timelines, this novel, which features a hero that you will root for from the very beginning, is a must-read for those who need to escape the everyday, if only for a little while.
The second book is a Reese’s Book Club pick from a few months ago, Broken Country. No doubt you’ve seen it in the New Releases at your local Barnes and Noble or independent bookstore. This book was a bit of a tough one to read, as (TW) it deals with the death of a child. It’s definitely worth giving a read, though, to see how it turns out for all involved.
Forget Me Not was the first book that I read by author Stacy Willingham, and I can safely say it will not be the last. This book had my attention from the very first page, and I was up into the early hours of the morning just to see what was going to happen next.
Last of all, we have Last Call at the Savoy, written by Brisa Carleton (producer of Hamilton), which goes between the fictional present and the story of real-life character Ada Coleman, the woman who crafted the cocktail recipes The Savoy popularized in its famous handbook. This one was just the book I needed to wrap up my month with.
The Everlasting | Alix E. Harrow
There are hardly words to describe just how much I loved this book. It goes back and forth between time and reality. I could clearly picture the character of Sir Una Everlasting as the actress who played Gwendolyn Christie of Game of Thrones and Wednesday fame. She fits the description in literally every possible way. And being able to picture her really brought her character to life.
The story is set up in a made-up world mostly called Dominion… just like an onion, with every layer that is pulled back, more of the truth behind the fairytales/folktales that have been passed down comes to light. The story really grips the reader, pulling at their emotions with every page.
If you’ve read any of Harrow’s previous work (my first introduction was Starling House), you’ll want to pre-order your copy now!
Rating: A+
From Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, comes a moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part–even if it breaks his heart.
Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters—but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.
Centuries later, Owen Mallory—failed soldier, struggling scholar—falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives—and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.
But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend—if they want to tell a different story–they’ll have to rewrite history itself.
Broken Country | Clare Leslie Hall
Broken Country begins with a bang when a young farmer (who is not named until near the end of the book) is killed. Everyone wants to know who killed him, and those who know the truth have no plans to share who the true culprit is.
The story goes between the characters’ lives before and after the unfortunate death (or is it murder?), where we learn about the whirlwind romance between Beth and Gabriel, and how Beth’s husband, Frank, fits into the mix. The story of the tragic death of Frank and Beth’s only son is hard to read, especially when the details of how he died are revealed.
To help cope with the grief, Beth takes the job of looking after Gabriel’s young son, Leo, when the twosome returns to the family home in the village. While Frank and his younger brother begin to suspect that old feelings might be rekindled, Beth is forced to face the fact that her feelings for Gabriel might not have disappeared when he did.
While it takes a moment to get into this book, and the details of the tragic death of a child are difficult to read, I can see why Broken Country was a Reese’s Book Club pick. Definitely worth a read!
Rating: A
“The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.”
Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.
As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.
A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.
New Release
Dinner at the Night Library | Hika Harada
The Night Library is no ordinary library.
Within it are found the rarest and most unusual collections – the books of deceased famous writers:
the books they wrote;
the books that inspired them;
the books they loved.
All Otaha Higuchi wants to do is work with books. However, the exhausting nature of her work at a chain bookstore, combined with her paltry salary and irritating manager quickly bring reality crashing down around her. She is on the verge of quitting when she receives a message from somebody anonymous, inviting her to apply for a job at ‘”The Night Library.” The hours are from seven o’clock to midnight. The library exclusively stores books by deceased authors, and none of them can be checked out – instead, they’re put on public display to be revered and celebrated by the library’s visitors, making it akin to a book museum.
There, Otoha meets the other staff, a group of likeminded literary misfits, including a legendary chef who prepares incredible meals for the library’s employees at the end of each day. Night after night, she bonds with her colleagues over meals in the café, each of which are inspired by the literature on the shelves.
But as strange occurrences start happening around the library that may bring the threat of its closure, Otaha and her friends fear that the peace they have found there will forever be lost to them. Will their faith in the value of books strong enough to save it? And what will remain if it isn’t?
Forget Me Not | Stacy Willingham
This is my first introduction to author Stacy Willingham’s work, and let me just say, Wow! This book will have you on the edge of your seat, reading into the early hours of the morning (even though you have to get up for work that day) just to see what’s going to happen next. It’s just that good. It’s just that twisted… and just when you think the final twist has been revealed, and that there are no secrets left to spill, you find out you’re dead wrong.
Set mostly in a small town (and island) of the coast of South Carolina, journalist Claire Campbell has never gotten over her older sister’s disappearance. It’s one of the reasons why she became a journalist in the first place: to shed light on the lives that have been snuffed out too soon. After receiving a call from her father that her mom had been in an accident, she decided to go home for a visit to confront her past, never once realizing what secrets she was about to unbury in the process.
Rating: A+
Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist… until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.
With the entire summer now looming ahead―a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother―Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard’s owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary’s contents… as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister’s disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.
Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.
Last Call at the Savoy | Brisa Carlton
After losing her parents six years ago, Cinnamon Scott feels like she’s become stuck. Instead of writing, she copes with her parents’ deaths with an endless string of men and parties she’ll never remember. When her older sister Rosemary calls her to come to London (she’s expecting twins and put on bed rest), Cinnamon rushes to her sister’s side at The Savoy, where she’s staying while her new London home is being renovated.
With little to occupy her evenings, she discovers the famed American Bar, where the late shift bartender tells her the story of Ada Coleman, the true genius behind the cocktail recipes in the well-known handbook released by the hotel a century ago. Wondering why Ada’s name is not listed anywhere in the book, she’s determined to learn the true story of what happened to her and why she seems to have been lost to history.
While the modern-day portions of the book were the parts I enjoyed the most, learning about Ada’s history was also very intriguing. Definitely worth the pre-order (as the book doesn’t release until November!)
Rating: A+
Six years ago, Cinnamon Scott was a young writer on the rise in New York City. But since the sudden loss of her parents, she’s been stuck in place, retreating to a life of endless partying—made possible by the massive fortune she’s inherited. Despite their tragic loss, she and her older sister Rosemary have always had each other to lean on. But now, with Rosie living in London and about to give birth to twins, Cinnamon feels more lost than ever.
When Rosie is put on bedrest, Cinnamon flies to her sister’s side, where she’s temporarily living at The Savoy. Immediately swept away by the beauty and history of the legendary hotel and its famed American Bar, Cinnamon finds ample opportunity to distract herself. When the late shift bartender tells her the story of Ada Coleman, the woman who crafted the cocktail recipes The Savoy popularized in its famous handbook a century ago, Cinnamon is inspired by the bartender’s vivid stories of Ada’s fearlessness and can’t understand why Ada’s name is nowhere to be found.
After meeting a handsome historian researching the hotel and realizing that Ada is likely to be once again overlooked, Cinnamon must decide if she can overcome her demons and stand up for Ada’s story. And, along the way, she might just save her own story too.
Books
September Recommendations
