Everything I Read in September 2025
1. Atmosphere
I love nearly all of Taylor Jenkins Reid’ novels and this one was no exception. She writes emotion and love so well that you can connect so much to the characters’ feelings in a meaningful way. Joan has been obsessed with space since she was a little girl and has devoted her life to her dream of working for NASA. Becoming an astronaut is her ultimate goal but Joan would be happy with any proximity to space that she can get. She finally lands her dream job of being one of the first female scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. The small but tight group of men and women in the program become like a family to each other. And when it’s time to finally launch, those bonds will be tested in the most powerful way.
Get your tissues out because you may shed a few tears as I did but the story is absolutely beautiful. It did take me a bit to get into it so stick with it if you aren’t immediately engrossed in the story. It builds momentum is the best way. Rating: 9
2. The Perfect Divorce
I read The Perfect Marriage and loved it so I knew the sequel would be just as great. Sarah has already endured a betrayal from her first husband. But ultimately his betrayal landed him on death row for murder. But that was more than a decade ago and Sarah has moved on with a new man and created a loving family with him. They have one daughter together and things seem perfect. Until Bob has a one-night stand that threatens to implode their happy life.
Sarah doesn’t believe in second chances. So she is moving forward with divorce proceedings, though Bob is hoping they can reconcile. Right in the middle of this, Sarah finds out that her husband Adam may not have been guilty of murder all those years ago. Of course, Sarah already knows this. But true to her calm and poised demeanor, she must play along to protect herself. There are tons of twists and turns in this book that will keep you guessing all the way until the end. Rating: 8.5
3. One Golden Summer
I usually love a romantic feel-good beach read type of novel but I could NOT get through this one. I had to abandon it at the halfway point because I was not a fan. Alice is spending the summer with her grandmother at a cottage on the lake where she spent one summer as a teen. They are back at this cottage because Nan is recovering from some health issues and Alice wants to help care for her. The cottage belongs to an old friend of Nan’s and his grandson Charlie is the one that Alice must communicate with regarding their stay for the summer. Alice and Charlie feel an instant attraction. But for some reason, Charlie is hesitant to allow the relationship to go anywhere.
It’s a typical storyline that I usually love but for some reason could not get through it. The book has been a huge hit and my review seems to be in the minority. So don’t let it dissuade you from trying it. Rating: DNF
4. Finding Grace
This book is slowwwwww but the story is fascinating so it kept me engaged the entire time. I was so invested to know what happens and how all these different dynamics between the characters will all come together. Honor and Tom have struggled to have children going through years of infertility and loss. They are finally blessed with a little girl but in one devastating moment, Tom loses both Honor and his daughter in a horrific act of terror. To make things even more devastating, they were in the middle of going through surrogacy to get a second child. Tom clings tight to his new son because it is all he has left of his former life.
One evening, while going through Honor’s things and documents, Tom comes across the information about their son’s biological mother, Grace. Called by something he can’t even explain, Tom seeks to find Grace in hopes it will help him heal his emotional wounds. But when he finally does find her, he makes the mistake of befriending her while holding back this secret of her connection to him and his son. Honestly, I couldn’t put the book down because the premise of the connection between Tom and Grace was so WILD that I had to know how it played out. Rating: 8
5. Tell Me What You Did
Meh. This book wasn’t good or bad – it was just mediocre. A good premise and storyline but ultimately it fell a bit flat for me. Poe Webb is the host of a popular podcast show that invites people to anonymously confess their crimes on air with her. She can’t guarantee there won’t be consequences to their admissions, but her show has been top of the charts for years. This all changes when she books a guest who has a personal connection to her. This guest admits to being the man who killed Poe’s mom decades ago. But this doesn’t make any sense to Poe because she is certain she murdered that man years ago unbeknownst to anyone. Yet this caller seems to know so much about her past that no one but the killer could know.
Poe is faced with the decision of allowing this man to share his story and possibly talk with the man who could have murdered her mother or dismiss him as a crazed fan with no merit. Poe makes a decision that will ultimately put her life in danger because she has to know the truth. The storyline was great but the execution was only ok. Rating: 7
6. Razorblade Tears
A bit of violence in this book but the story and plot was an instant hit for me. Ike and Buddy Lee are both ex-cons that find themselves connected because their two sons fell in love and got married. Neither Ike nor Buddy Lee are very accepting of their sons’ union but are faced to deal with it head on when they are both murdered in a suspicious manner. When the police force don’t seem to be making this crime a priority, Ike and Buddy Lee decide to come together and get justice for their boys. It’s a very straightforward plot but there are deeper themes of racism, homophobia, complicated family dynamics which really weave together a beautiful tale. There is some descriptive violence at times but the pace of the book really kept me on the edge of my seat. Rating: 8.5
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