September Reading Roundup

After a slow summer, I came back to reading with a bang in September, plowing through 9 books.

The Roundup

Star rating on a scale of 0 - 5. Titles in BOLD link to full review in a new page. ✨ indicates a 5 star read. Note: I didn’t get around to rating a lot of the books from this month. I enjoyed them ALL, nonetheless.

• ✨ Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell | Not rated

• The Rule Book by Sarah Adams | Not rated

• The Stage Kiss by Amelia Jones | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

• Nightwing: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition, Book 1 | Not rated

• ✨ The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

• Nightwing: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition, Book 2 | Not rated

• Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Reviews

The Stage Kiss by Amelia Jones | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

This is a delightful romance set in the world of professional touring theatre where the leads of a musical version of Pride and Prejudice find themselves in the same enemies to lovers dynamic as their characters. I found author Amelia Jones when I was reviewing KISSPitch mentors and the description of this book had it being added to my TBR immediately.

The banter is witty, the emotional relationships are thoughtfully written, and the miscommunications are realistic and feel earned.

✨ The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

UGH, Jessica Joyce, you are KILLING ME with your emotionally mature, therapy informed leading men. I already fell in love with Theo from YOU WITH A VIEW and now she gives us Eli Mora.

THE EX VOWS is a second chance romance where two exes have to come together and get through being co-best people at their mutual best friend’s wedding. Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong with the wedding is going wrong. Georgia and Eli are sent up to the site of the wedding early to help things run smoothly and the venue brings back memories of their youth and their heartbreak.

Jessica Joyce is so skilled at writing characters working through late-20s existential crises with heart, empathy, and humor. Her characters are flawed, yet immensely likable and the beats she puts them through never fail to bring me to weeping (even if I’m driving or walking my dog while listening to the audiobook).

And that’s it for September! As always, if you want to follow allow with my reads in real time, you can add me on The Storygraph (a Goodreads alternative) or on Instagram: @crystal.writes.