Ready to fall for a great book haul!

I know that there’s a lot going on right now(plus, it won’t be officially autumn for another week or so) yet since it is September, my best way to greet the fall season is with new books.

With that in mind, my first stop was Book of the Month Club and my main selection was A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang.

Set in historic China, Xishi is known for her incredible beauty so much so that she has taken to wearing a veil in public to deter unwanted attention.

Her famed appearance causes those interested in bringing down the current ruling powers to recruit Xishi as a spy. Before she can be brought to the royal court, Xishi is trained in etiquette by Fanli, who is just as startled by the chemistry between them as she is. Can Xishi follow her duty and her heart or must one pay the ultimate price for the other?

The novel is a blend of historical fiction and fantasy, which sounds great to me and since Liang is making her debut into adult fiction here(most of her work is YA), she’s a new to me writer as well. Add that splash of secret romance and this is a seasonal beverage that I will be happy to slowly sip as chilly weather comes in:

I paired that up with Ellie Palmer’s debut novel, Four Weekends and a Funeral.

When Allison attends the funeral of Sam, the man she broke up with only six weeks ago, she gets way more than she bargained for in terms of bereavement.

It seems that Sam’s family thought they were still a couple and his sister Rachel asks her to not tell them otherwise. Considering the situation, Allison goes along with that and winds up with the task of packing up Sam’s former home with the help of Adam, a friend of Sam’s who she’s never met before.

Despite Adam being less than thrilled to work with her on this, Allison manages to make friends with him and so things go on, perhaps more than just friends. Will the two of them take things to the next level once this sad project is finished or will more than one unspoken truth keep them apart?

Yes, there is a bit of romcom energy to this story as well, giving me some While You Were Sleeping vibes along with a certain movie suggested by the title of this book. I do look forward to the mental movie show that turning to the first page will give me a ticket for:

After that, I headed to my local library and wound up borrowing a couple of spring releases that feel very fall friendly indeed.

The first one to catch my eye was The Passionate Tudor by Alison Weir, the title referring to Mary I, daughter of Henry the Eighth and Catherine of Aragon.

Mary is known as “Bloody Mary “ due to her reign of terror against the Protestants yet this novel shows her humanity, starting with a young girl torn between her parents during an unprecedented divorce, followed by the loss of her beloved mother and her on again, off again status as a royal heir due to Henry’s marriages and even more turmoil after his death.

I’m a good quarter of the way into the book at this point and appreciate Weir’s hearty mix of factual fare with a fictional feast of emotions at play. Mary is not often given a spotlight when it comes to talking about the Tudors but now is certainly the time for a closer look at the impact she made upon the legacy of royal rule that others such as her half sister Elizabeth had to follow:

Then I picked up the latest by Helen Simonson, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club , set in post WWI England.

Constance is spending the summer in the coastal town of Hazelbourne-by-the-sea, not looking forward to the independent lifestyle she was enjoying during the war, which includes the lack of a suitable job beyond being a ladies companion or a governess.

Fortunately, she runs into Poppy, who runs the title group that provides a taxi service with women drivers. Her new friend has quite the lively personality that helps when flouting the social rules of the day and aids greatly when Constance needs the encouragement to truly control of her own future.

I’ve read Simonson before (The Summer Before the War, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand) and her knack for thoughtful character development blended with subtle storytelling touches is a must read for anyone in search of a modern good old fashioned story:

This is going to be a very busy fall indeed and while it’s important to vote for a better world for all of us, including childless cat women like myself (I prefer to be a cat woman as the uniform is just so purr-fect!) yet enjoying a good book or two is vital for your mental health.

Also, reading does help while you want for your favorite TV shows to return, although my absolute favorite won’t be on until January of next year! Then again, All Creatures Great and Small is certainly worth the wait indeed: