Welcome again to another splendiferous edition of My Favourite Reads!

September proved to be a much slower reading month. I only managed six books. To be fair, I had a lot of reading time sucked up by Stephen King’s latest paperback Fairy Tale, which is such a doorstopper I still haven’t finished it.

I’m not going to choose a standout this month. The four books I’m about to mention were excellent reads and highly recommended, and I think any comparison is unfair. So in no special order, here are my favourite reads of September.

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One Woman’s War by Christine Wells

I’m a big fan of Christine’s work and One Woman’s War has only cemented that. It’s a terrific read, well written and loaded with intrigue and the tensions of war, and stars two fabulous heroines who are both clever and strong.

Paddy was a blast. Practical and smart, she was hugely likeable from the get-go and only became more so when she’s recruited to work in Room 39 under Ian Fleming (which is how she reportedly became the inspiration for Fleming’s Miss Moneypenny in the Bond books).

Friedl was wonderful too. An Austrian singer who fled her homeland after marrying (and later divorcing) a Jewish man, Friedl is compelled into the precarious life of a double agent. I found her chapters the most anxiety inducing and fascinating. Her life was glamorous, exciting and terrifying all at the same time, especially toward the end. That poor woman.

A gripping, educational and entertaining read. And the end notes are brilliant! Go grab it.

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The Glass House by Eve Chase

I really enjoyed my first Eve Chase, Black Rabbit Hall (I talk about that here), but The Glass House was at a whole other level. So much juicy goodness!

The Glass House reminded me of Kate Morton, whose books I adore. The story was told across two timelines and loaded with family secrets and mystery. There were tragic heroines, dastardly villains, damaged children, and lovely people to barrack for. Fabulous writing too.

Highly recommended.

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The Unknown Beloved by Amy Harmon

Gawd, I adore Harmon’s books. Whether it’s fantasy, contemporary or an historical like The Unknown Beloved, they’re ridiculously romantic and satisfying.

Set mostly in the 1930’s, The Unknown Beloved is a mystery-romance featuring hero Michael Malone, a former member of The Untouchables who’s been summoned to Cleveland to help with a serial killer case. There he encounters Dani Flanagan, the little girl he once helped after the murder of her parents in Chicago, except she’s no longer little.

It’s hard to say what I enjoyed the most – the gorgeous relationship between Dani and Michael or the mystery. Both were excellent and compelling.

I was fascinated to read in the afterword that Michael Malone was a real person. I’d assumed he was fictional but he was real, although little is known about him. The murders – The Cleveland Torso Murders – were real too, and remain unsolved to this day. It was also fascinating to read about other historical figures like Eliot Ness, who was Cleveland’s Director of Safety at the time.

Harmon remains an auto-buy author.

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A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

I really enjoyed this adult fantasy based on Celtic themes.

Bard Jack Tamerlaine has been summoned home to the island of Cadence by its Laird. Little girls have been going missing and naturally the Braccans – the Tamerlaine’s arch enemy – are blamed. Except there is a lot more to the island than just an ancient feud between clans. It’s full of magic. Magic that for some comes at a very high price. And it wasn’t the Laird who summoned Jack home, it was his daughter Adaira, Jack’s childhood frenemy.

A River Enchanted was a lovely read, filled with magic and mystery. I very much enjoyed the setting and the puzzle of the missing girls, and some of the relationships – Sidra and Torin especially. I would have liked a stronger romance between our main hero and heroine Adaira and Jack though, but that’s me.

A small warning: A River Enchanted ends with only a partial resolution because there’s a second book, which I’m pretty sure wasn’t mentioned when I bought it. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to put book two on my wishlist.

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What reads have tickled your fancy recently?

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