Hello, reader!

We’ve entered into a new month (Hello, October!) which means it’s time to say goodbye to the last one. September is my birth month, my favorite month of the year, but uuuuugh did it feel hectic this year! I think part of that is the fact that the kiddos started back at school which caused a major adjustment in all our routines. There was also the fact that I signed up for what seemed like ALL THE BLOG TOURS! I have no sense of balance, y’all…

Either way, I still had a rather good reading month, so let’s talk about it!

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Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page

1. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn::★★★★★::My review
2. Vampires Never Get Old edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker::★★★★::My review
3. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes::★★★★::My review
4. Loretta Little Looks Back by Andrea Davis Pickney and Brian Pickney::★★★★★::My review
5. Frozen Rage by Steve McHugh::★★★★::My review

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Popsugar Challenge prompts completed: 2

• An anthology (Vampires Never Get Old)
• A book set in the 1920s (Loretta Little Looks Back)

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge prompts completed: 2

• Read a historical fiction novel not set in WWII (Loretta Little Looks Back)
• Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman (Legendborn)

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Though I didn’t read nearly as much as I did in August, I ended up really enjoying everything I did pick up! So I’ll say right off the bat that there were no “lows” in September. There were two books that really stood out last month, though, so we’re gonna have two highs! Those books are…

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn was filled with Black Girl Magic and I absolutely adored it! I loved it so much that I just had to buy a physical copy. (The book is beautiful in person, btw) It has just the right mix of action, heart, and intrigue and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

This book took me by surprise! I’m not saying I went into it expecting to not enjoy it. I wasn’t, however, expecting to be completely blown away by this middle grade fictionalized account of the Black experience during sharecropping and the Jim Crow era! This book was lyrical, incredible, and is an absolute must for kids and adults alike!

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I did not realize until I started this post that almost everything I read in September was for a blog tour post! I mean… everything I finished in September was for a blog tour, but there were a couple other books I was reading, as well. I really need to work on balancing that out more. I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy doing blog tours. I absolutely do! They tend to be a lot of fun and I love being able to help promote books and authors in my small way. Also, I read two five star books last month because of blog tours. So it’s not that they aren’t awesome and I’m not gonna do them anymore. It’s just that I own SO MANY BOOKS that I keep ignoring for these new, shiny ones, lol. Not to mention the fact that sometimes it’s nice to read a book with no deadline looming over my head 😅

That being said, I’m thinking these last few months of 2020, I’m going to try and limit the amount of tours I do. I want to focus on reading some books that I want to read just because I want to with no review deadline attached. And I’m planning on participating in NaNoWriMo this year, so November is probably not going to be the best reading month, volume-wise. That doesn’t mean that I won’t be doing any tours, of course! I’m already signed up for the Fires of Vengeance tour hosted by Caffeine Book Tours and I’m sure I’ll sign up for one or two tours hosted by Dave @ TheWriteReads. I just won’t be doing nearly as many as I did last month!

Perhaps, as 2020 winds down, I’ll focus on trying to finish my reading challenges instead! Honestly, I’m not far off with the Popsugar Reading Challenge. I did miss my opportunity to read a banned book during Banned Books Week, but I only have a few other prompts left to check off! The Book Riot Read Harder Challenge is probably a lost cause for this year, lol. Still, I think I can squeeze in a few more before it’s officially 2021! And the #StartOnYourShelfathon… I have been rather neglectful of that one, heh. I keep buying books, putting them on my TBR bookshelf, and then just… not reading them! This is probably gonna be a goal that carries over into 2021. I really need to cut down on the amount of books I own that I haven’t yet read!

Still, this was a lighter but rather enjoyable reading month! There was nothing less than a four star and two out of the five books I read were an easy five star! Quality over quantity, amiright? Let’s hope this good book energy carries over into the spookiest month of the year 👻

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How was your reading in September? Did you find a new favorite? Did you participate in any readathons? Let me know in the comments!

And, as always, happy reading!