Mini Book Reviews: September 2025

Disclaimer: I received copies of Don't Call It a Comeback, The Man in the Stone Cottage, A Killer Wedding, and Heart the Lover from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links. 

The pressure was on this month because not only did I have 5 NetGalley books to read and review, but all 4 of my library holds came in on the same day. Ha! It always seems to happen that way, doesn't it? I'm not complaining--it's a great problem to have. I had to do some mental gymnastics to sort out which ones I should choose to get as many read as possible. I ended up putting one NetGalley book on my TBR until October. One of the library holds will go back because I want to save it for Nonfiction November. Yes, that's coming up too!

Quick Recap: 

Loved: What Kind of Paradise, Heart the Lover, Far Away, The Man in the Stone Cottage, and A Marriage At Sea
Liked: Don't Call it a Comeback, The Bright Years

Meh: A Killer Wedding

Far and Away was an absolute delight! I had no expectations going in and was completely surprised by what a fun book this was! When circumstances call for relocation, two women, complete strangers, one in Dallas and one in Berlin, agree to a house swap. Without any forethought of the outcome, the culture shock is real, and it is entertaining. There are some serious issues to deal with as well, and the author deftly navigates those as well. I couldn't put this one down, and I hated to see it come to an end!

Tell me you've read this one before: a disillusioned man lives with his daughter, Jane, off the grid-they do have a phone-in the 1990s in a forest in Montana. He is 'homeschooling' her and never lets her leave the house without him. He tells her that her mother was killed in a car accident, forcing him to raise her on his own. Once that premise is established, the narrative takes a big right turn. He sometimes takes trips and leaves Jane alone in the cabin for weeks at a time. During one of these trips, Jane discovers a television and spends all her alone time watching it. When Jane turns 17, he comes home with a laptop and instructs Jane to set it up, create a website for him, and enter his manifesto, the contents of which frighten her. When he's away, Jane surfs the WWW to learn more about her father's ambitions. After she convinces her dad to take her on one of his trips, things spin out of control, and Jane finds herself alone in San Francisco. Her survival skills serve her well, but her naivete--not so much. Oh my goodness! What Kind of Paradise was so crazy good I couldn't put it down!!!

Keira D'Amato was a promising young runner who called it quits after an injury in her twenties. She married, started a family, and a career. She started running again to manage the stress of being a mom (who can't relate to that?) and thought she'd be content just being a 'hobby jogger', as she called herself. Except that she rediscovered her talent and then some, breaking the world record in the women's marathon at age 37. She's continued to blaze a trail since then. In this memoir, she shares her story in her high-energy, positive, and irreverent style. When I first started to read this, I was like 'whoa, lady, slow down!', but her zest and can-do attitude is so infectious, that I found myself turning the pages as fast as her 5 minute mile paces. I love that she pushes herself beyond expectations and is breaking age barriers along the way. You don't have to be a runner to love Don't Call  It a Comeback, but I think it does help!

This historical fiction novel imagines the lives of the three Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, who live with their elderly pastor father and their troubled brother. The girls live an isolated life in a small village, where they write poems and novels, hoping to be published someday. Emily is holding a deep secret, having met a man who lives in the abandoned stone cottage not far from their home. His existence was shrouded in mystery, and at times, I wondered if he was actually real. Tragedy strikes the family several times, and the focus of the novel is solely on Charlotte, who struggles with grief and finding direction while trying to sort out her sister Emily's life. I went into the novel blind, and not having read Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, I worried that I wouldn't have the proper context to understand this novel. I didn't need it. The writing is engaging and welcoming. I highly recommend The Man in the Stone Cottage!

So many people have recommended The Bright Years that I finally picked it up. This is a generational family drama that is filled with the hope and sorrow that living with an alcoholic can bring. Lillian and Ryan are in love, and Ryan is so eager to start his new life and distinguish himself from his alcoholic, abusive father. But the lessons he learned growing up are hard to shake, especially after Lillian shares a family secret. Their young daughter Jet is forced to grow up quickly when tragedy strikes the family. This novel is beautifully written, but it's very sad. The author completely captures the impact that a loved one with alcoholism can have on the family. Jet's frustration with her father's unpredictability and his drunkenness will hit home for a lot of people. The author's development of Jet's character was spot on. As she grows up, Jet struggles to let love into her life. I'm glad I read this one, but be warned, this book could be triggering for some people. 

I do love a good thriller, and A Killer Wedding checked all the boxes. Rich people behaving badly? check. A beautiful destination? check. A young protagonist, just happy to be there, who is a witness to all the chaos? check. Unfortunately, this wasn't the thriller I hoped for. The story starts very slowly, and it was a struggle to maintain interest. There are so many important characters that it was challenging to keep them straight--I found myself having to go back and reread passages just to sort it out. The pacing was uneven--at times, the narrative dragged on with superfluous details that just muddied the story. Less would have been more. By the end, I didn't even care about the outcome.

Heart the Lover, an incredible book, starts during the college years when questionable choices are made, and then,  that first, deep love happens. Commitment is hard, and sadly, life goes on. Fast forward to the present, when the choices made in the past return as a reminder. If I'm being excessively vague, it's because I think the reader should go in blind. What I can tell you is that this was an amazing read. Beautiful, moving prose--Lily King is truly a wordsmith--and strong storytelling made this a page-turner for me. The ending was perfect, a sound punch to the gut that made me cry. So so so good. 

In A Marriage At Sea, Maurice and Maralyn set out to sail from their home in England to New Zealand. When their boat is struck by a whale and sinks, they spend their days floating in the ocean on an inflatable raft, pulling their dinghy carrying all the belongings they could rescue. Their story of survival and perseverance is remarkable. But this isn't just a story about a shipwreck--it's a story of a marriage. Determined to survive, the couple worked together to forage for food and water using a lot of ingenuity and teamwork. Maralyn was the true cheerleader on this journey and did a lot to keep Maurice's spirits up. After they were rescued, there was a whole different kind of pressure on the couple, but their marriage endured. As the author states: "For what else is a marriage, really, if not being stuck on a small raft with someone and trying to survive?"

What have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these? 

I'm linking up with Jenn and Jenny for Tuesday Topics!  I'm also excited to join Farrah for My Month is Booked! Check out the newest link-up: Share Your Shelf with Slices of Life, Memphis Bridges, Overflowing with Thankfulness, and The Other Side of the Road.