What I’ve Been Reading: September 2024

Hello and happy Wednesday!

How is your week going? We are having a great fall break; I will share more about that later in the week.

Since September is over, I’m sharing what I read last month.

Well, unfortunately, just like in August, I only read one book in September.

{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}

The Secret Book of Flora Lea:

Summary:

When a woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed.

In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone—a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own.

But the unthinkable happens when young Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves.

Twenty years later, Hazel is in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby’s. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat, Hazel’s future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars . Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?

As Hazel embarks on a feverish quest, revisiting long-dormant relationships and bravely opening wounds from her past, her career and future hang in the balance. An astonishing twist ultimately reveals the truth in this transporting and refreshingly original novel about the bond between sisters, the complications of conflicted love, and the enduring magic of storytelling.

Quick Thoughts:

My mom suggested this book because she’d read it…I think for a book club…and my grandma had read it as well.

This book was a great read. I loved that it was historical fiction, it was whimsical, but there was also a sense of mystery.

Fave Quote:

“Telling stories is one of the greatest powers we possess. It’s like a dream you can fill with what you want. And the knight doesn’t always have to save the princess; sometimes she saves herself.”

Rating:

I added some reading trackers for October on Instagram. Feel free to use them to share what you are reading…and don’t forget to tag me, so I can share.

Thanks to a lot of reading and audio books in June and July, I’m only one book behind on my Goodreads reading goal for the year. Hopefully, October will be the month that I get at least two, maybe three books read!