September Reading Wrap Up
The month of September, for me, was dominated by my hospital admission. Although I was “only” in hospital for two weeks, I had to make the decision to go in and prepare for the admission beforehand, then go through the admission itself, before coming home to a cold, dusty flat and a bunch of life admin that needed to be done so I could get back to normal. So two weeks in hospital is never just two weeks.
But many days spent living in one room and hooked up to an IV meant I had a lot of time for reading. And wow did I start off September with an incredible read!
The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald is a mythological re-imagining of the trojan war told from the perspectives of Helen and Cassandra, the underrated humans central to the gods meddling.
I was buzzing for the entirety of the 560 pages of this book! I was getting that five-star feeling all the way through and have been recommending this book to everyone who gives me a chance.
I am not knowledgeable of Greek mythology at all, but I read this book for book club, and everyone there who knew more about the trojan war myth than I do also loved this book. So it stood up for the mythology fans, too, making it even better.
Given how much I have been thinking about Helen and Cassandra’s story over the last month, I think I can confidently say The End Crowns All has made it to my favourite books of all time and I will be reading all the other books by this author I can get my hands on!
After that, the other books I had with me in my hospital room didn’t stand much of a chance at diverting my attention their way. But I did read some sweet ones including The Last Library and Felix Ever After. And I’m in an excellent reading habit at the moment, so I’m looking forward to reading during the cosy months to come.
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The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I have been talking about this book so much over the course of reading it; it's brilliant!
This is a 2POV mythological retelling of the fall of Troy with a sapphic romance storyline. We follow the perspectives of both Cassandra and Helen, who genuinely are enemies before becoming lovers.
Cassandra is a princess of Troy. She seeks admiration, but after receiving the "gift" of prophecy by Apollo, her reputation only goes downhill. Helen is Spartan and flees her husband leading to the war fought in her name. Together they help cause the war, and then team up to try to stop it.
The writing style is captivating. I can't quite put my finger on what about it makes it so engaging, but that'll be something to discuss at book club.
I even got that sad feeling when I found myself getting near the end. But equally, at 560 pages, it's tittering on being too long and lacking the same urgency in later chapters.
I liked the ace rep in this book. Fitzgerald uses a paragraph in the Author's Note to explain that the asexuality in this story does not represent the entire ace spectrum. The ace character is a sex-favourable romantic asexual, drawn from the author's experience.
Key to my enjoyment was also how the women of Troy are put front and centre in this story. The descriptions of them all finding safety on the streets again after the men go to war and them gathering together to teach each other self defence against their husbands' wishes, struck a chord with me.
I was saying this book had 5-star potential all the way through!
The Last Library by Freya Sampson ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a cute read. It was perfect entertainment for days spent in hospital.
June has been a library assistant in Chalcot for ten years. Her late mum was the much-loved librarian of the village, and June loves the library for the connection to her past.
When budget cuts mean Chalcot library is under review, several of the library users gang together to campaign against the potential closure. June, as a council employee, is told there will be consequences for getting involved in such a campaign. But with her personal connection to the library, she finds a way to help the cause.
The protagonist's journey reminded me of Laura Jay's books. June goes from isolated and a little stuck, to being open and finding herself again.
It's not an amazing book, but I enjoyed it. I really liked the glimpses into the lives of our main library users - this brought so much colour to the story. And there are moments that got me laughing, too.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book is a YA coming of age story with a mystery and some romance. I'm not the main target audience - it reads a little young for my taste and the characters seemed immature to me - but I can absolutely see how this story is meaningful to many and why it has been recommended to me on multiple occasions.
We follow Felix, a queer, trans, Black teenager, as he attends the summer programme at his art school. Someone outs Felix as trans and shares his deadname in front of the school before continuing to bully him online. Felix wants to take revenge on the person they think did it, but things get even messier from there.
Felix is also questioning his identity and worth, themes I think a lot of us can relate to. We get to read a lot about his trans identity, both his feelings around it and his medical transition, which was interesting.
It reminded me a lot of Love, Simon. It contains the same sort of drama. It also read like a film. The pacing felt very film-like and there was the big Pride-filled cinematic ending.
It took me a little while to get into it, I was struggling for the first 130 pages or so. But then it picked up and I enjoyed it.
Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake ⭐️⭐️
This second-chance romance set at Christmas wasn't for me. I found the characters annoying and wanted the context for their bad actions much earlier than it was given. I also got very confused about who was who. I feel like we were introduced to too many people too quickly.
Brighton and Charlotte are childhood friends-turned-lovers. Make the Season Bright is set five years after Bright left Charlotte at the altar. This Christmas, they find themselves both being invited to the Berry household where they will have to hide their truth or face their past.
I didn't feel our MCs were good together - they had poor communication and shut each other down or disregarded boundaries all the time. I couldn't find the sweetness in their story because of this, even when they both improved as people by the end.
But it wasn't terrible and I did finish it. I enjoyed another book by this author earlier in the year, so I wanted to give this a go. Make the Season Bright just wasn't the story for me. I can see this being a run read, but I couldn't find it romantic.
Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot ⭐️⭐️
This is the third book I've read in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series.
I am still in love with the concept. Each book is four short stories all set in a cafe that let's you travel in time... but only for as long as your coffee stays warm. The series explores the themes of regret and healing from closure. The titles in this book are: The Son, The Nameless Child, The Father, and The Valentine.
As much as I enjoyed the other two books I read from this series, I didn't like this one as much. If I'm remembering correctly, the writing style is different in this one with more internal struggles written out on the page than in the other books, which I found a little repetitive. I also thought, although these are short stories, the last two went on too long.
But they are lovely stories and I like the book series as a whole.