Hello everyone. Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. Welcome back to Bibliophilia Book Reviews. In this post, I will be doing a wrap up of all the books I read in September 2021. I confess I have a little catching up to do again, but September was one of my slowest reading months of last year. I think I was in a little bit of a reading slump honestly. Still, I managed to read five books that month, and some of those books are new favorites. In the next few weeks (more than a few, I think), I will try to catch up on my wrap ups and post my end-of-the-year series, which includes my favorite books of 2021, the most surprising, the most disappointing, and the ones I DNF’d throughout the entire year. Like always, these reviews have spoilers.
1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I understand now why it is a classic. Surprisingly this was the first time I ever read Little Women despite having watched several movie adaptations of it (among them the 1994 film with Winona Ryder and the 2019 film with Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, and Timothée Chamelet; I only just recently found out that there is also a 2018 film adaptation starring Lea Thompson) and having had the book on the shelves of the house where I grew up for years. I bought it but never got around to reading it, until now. I gave this book an I Really Liked It rating.
2. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
This book was my book club pick for September, and I really enjoyed it as well. I will admit that this was not the first time I tried reading this book. Back then I was not in the mood to read it, so I stopped. I was also subject to my past experience wherein I had yet to find a book set in the Middle East that hooked me. Thus far, any book I had tried reading set in the desert had turned out to be a disappointment. This time, however, I was able to get passed that and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. There were a few things that bothered me, however, and I will talk about those more in my upcoming review for this book. I gave this book an I Liked It and Will Probably Read It Again rating.
3. Warriors of the Storm by Bernard Cornwell
This is the ninth book in the Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, and this is also a book I enjoyed a lot. In this installment, we finally learn something about Finan and his past in Ireland and why he was a slave when Uhtred met him back in the third book of this series The Lord of the North. This book is also setting the stage for the ending of the series. Uhtred has been Athelflaed’s man for years now, and he has remained in Ceaster for several years now (after the events of the previous book) at her bidding guarding the pass between the rivers and on the lookout for any more ships wanting to sail into Britain through the Mearse. These ships arrive on a night of smoke when the Vikings manage to burn the English ships guarding the pass and sail into Britain under the command of Ragnall Iverson. Uhtred, older now, has a new enemy. This time, however, that enemy is family. I Really Liked this book and look forward to the next installment in the series.
4. The Flame Bearer by Bernard Cornwell
Fighting the Danes has been the story of Uhtred’s life. But there is one battle that Uhtred has to fight for himself; one that he has been putting off for years so he could gain the money and men he needed for it; years in which he fought and bled for others. That battle is capturing Bebbanburg and right the wrong that was done to him when he was just a boy. But after all these years, Uhtred has little money and few men to show for it, none of which are from Mercia or Wessex. In his attempt to capture Bebbanburg, however, Uhtred will have to fight not only his cousin but the Scots, who have claimed the land Bebbanburg is in. I liked this book, even though the events leading up to the final battle are a little slow. But it was nice to finally see Uhtred in his rightful place as the Lord of Bebbanburg. This will also make for a fitting end of the TV series. I gave this book an I Liked It And Will Probably Read It Again rating.
5. The Oyster Thief by Sonia Faruqi
This is the only book I read this month that I did not like. Frankly, it was a big disappointment. I guess that is because I was expecting something else than what I got. I did not like the protagonists for starters, and the author’s writing style was a big deterrent for me. It was very jarring. I know, for example, that ‘commence’ is a word but who says, “I commenced reading a book?” (this is just an example, not a quote from the book). No one that I know (and maybe someone does), but sentences like this made it really hard for me to get into the book. In fact, I struggled with it and had I not been reading this book for a book club I probably would have DNF’d it. Read my full review here. I gave this book an I Did Not Like It rating.
That is everything I read in September. Thank you for reading.
