I read more than usual this month again, but it was because of our trip to India and the long weekend to London. Sitting in the airport reading, the 10 hour flight to India, and then hanging with family gave me lots of time to immerse myself in my books. I covered the gamut of genres from political thriller to historical fiction, all with intriguing characters and storylines.

What did you read this month? Let me know in the comments. And be sure to check out all my past reads in my new Bookshelf page.

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Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak

I enjoyed reading this and found myself actually wishing this was the story of Melania Trump (one can only wish!!). Sofie Morse is a journalist who is tapped to write the memoir of Lara Caine, wife of the current Trump-like president, Henry Caine. Lara is originally from the Soviet Union, but spent a good part of her youth in Paris. Her father was a high level KGB officer stationed in Paris. Little is known of Lara’s life and this memoir has the ability to really rock the political world. We dive back into the height of the Cold War and relive Lara’s experiences in Paris. Lara’s one great love was Sasha, who she later finds out was sharing Soviet secrets with the US. As she’s revealing her past, Sofie wonders why all this sensitve information is now coming out. Why is Lara so candid and what impact will this have on her husband? It’s a thrilling story that hits a bit close to the current political situation. I couldn’t put it down.

The Third Wife By Lisa Jewell

The book opens with Maya, drunk from a night out, stepping in front of a bus and dying. Was it an accident? Did someone push her? Why was she even drunk and out at that time to begin with? So begins The Third Wife. I enjoyed this thriller. Adrien, Maya’s husband, has two ex wives prior to Maya. In his world, everyone gets along, they are all still friends, take holiday together, and in his mind, he’s created the perfect modern family unit. After Maya’s death, cracks begin to show amongst his family. All that he thought was perfect and happy is a facade. Then he finds disturbing emails that were sent to Maya and begins to question if it really was an accident. I enjoyed this book and the peeling back of layers in the family. The relationships that exist between them, the secrets, and how Adrien was so oblivious to everyone’s feelings.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women: A Novel By Lisa See

I truly loved this book. Set in 15th century China and based on the true story of a woman physician helping other women, this story captivated me from the beginning. When elite born Tan Yunxian’s mother dies when she is young and she is sent to live with her grandparents. They are both physicians, but Tan’s grandmother specializes in women’s health - something that was not believed to be different at the time. She teaches Tan that women’s health is indeed very different from men and is in need of women to help as men are not allowed to see or touch a woman during examination (they ask questions and treat via a woman midwife). Tan spends her days learning from her grandmother and becomes close friends with Meiling, the daughter of a midwife. The two are inseparable and hope to work together in the future. But then Tan is married off and her mother in law forbids her to practice medicine, wanting her to be a good wife and work on embroidery, poetry, and birthing sons for her husband. How will Tan survive this life when she feels it’s her duty to help others with her medical knowledge. I loved this story so much and how not much has changed since the 15th century in regards to how women’s health is treated. I couldn’t put this book down and was sad when it ended.

The Rachel Incident By Caroline O’Donoghue

If you liked Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tommorrow, you will enjoy the Rachel incident. This is the retelling of Rachel’s coming of age story from her point of view. We open in current day and then flash back 10 years to her being in college in Cork, Ireland and working in the local book store. Rachel falls in love with her professor in college, becomes best friends with her closeted co-worker James, and ends up an intern for her professors young wife (who was once his student). It’s messy, scandalous, and hilarious. I don’t want to give too much away with the plot so you’ll just need to read it. It’s a coming of age novel about unrequited love.

Homebodies By Tembe Denton-Hurst

This book is an emotional roller coaster. Mickey is a talented, gay, black journalist at a beauty website who isn’t getting to write the articles she thinks need to be written. Despite working hard and giving it her all, her boss doesn’t see it that way and holds her to a different standard than any of her white peers. One day she’s fired and her world spirals. She begins to question everything in her life, leading to her tweet about the racist experiences she had while working at the company. The letter is met with silence from everyone she knows. So, she runs home to DC to lick her wounds. While home she’s confronted with everything she ran away from after high school and has to learn how to deal with it all. At times I wanted to scream at her for how she was thinking/acting and other times I was right there with her experiences and all the feels. Overall a great read.