September Wrap Up

 

The Book of Lost Friends

I love Lisa Wingate's writing style. It's so flowing and gentle. I put this book off for a while because I was afraid I would enjoy it as much as Before We Were Yours, but I loved it. It has some hard moments, but the payoff is worth it. Highly recommended.

The Last Year of the War

This was a reread for me. This was my favorite book from last year and has become an all time favorite as well. It's a very emotional read for me. This family goes through so much and it's just heart breaking. definitely give it a read, but have some tissues ready. 

The Edge of Belonging

This was a solid debut, and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. I liked the main character and thought she had good chemistry with her love interest. I would have liked to see more drama between her and her ex, and I also would have liked to have learned more about her relationship with her parents. Still, she was someone to root for. The faith elements were strong throughout the story. Themes of redemption and grief were prevalent, but so was faith in God. There are a lot of heavy topics dealt with in this story such as suicide, domestic violence, depression, and homelessness, but they are all handled well. I would recommend this book to readers who like women's fiction and romance.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher for the purpose of review.

The Poet X

I have mixed feelings about this one. Overall I liked it. It's told in verse which makes it very interesting. It's also pretty heavy. It covers all the issues a teenager can face and wraps things up fairly quickly. I did appreciate the sympathetic religious father figure. It was a nice balance to her hyper religious mother. 

Transcendent Kingdom

This was another book that touched on religious themes, and for the most part, it did it well. It also deals with grief, drug addiction, and family relationships. The writing style is more literary and character driven. This one also ended rather abruptly, but the ending was more ambiguous. I wish I could sit down and have coffee with the main character. She is someone that will stick with me for a long time.