September 2016 Recommended Reads -- Feel Free to Share Your Own! #paranormal romance #scifi #science #young adult #good books

Hey friends! I did a lot of reading in this past month, and I have great recommendations!

Beware the Wild, Natalie C. Parker

 

I read this for book club the day before book club. I’m not the only one who does this, right? Well, no matter when I started this book, I would’ve read it like I did, in one sitting. Holy smokes.

This Southern gothic young adult novel in a strong first-person voice is beautifully written and fast-paced, with supernatural elements that go from eerie to over-the-top bananas — just the way I like it — and plenty of twists and turns. It’s so good I’m kind of mad at her, except that I think she’s local, so I’m going to try to get her to do an interview for this blog instead.

 

Dawn (Xenogenesis, Book I), Octavia Butler.

 

I had this one on my list of 50 books that might make me smarter because I haven’t read much hard scifi. What I loved about this one was how alien the aliens truly were. Their whole culture was so detailed, and the story really captured my imagination. The humans were mostly awful, in a way that reminded me of the Nobel Prize-winning novel Blindness by José Saramago. Even Lilith, who is mostly admirable, makes one terrible ethical decision. Dawn is truly unsettling, but it stayed with me.

 

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Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World, Mark Miodownik.

 

This was another one from my list of books that might make me smarter. The author discusses eleven different materials, including steel, paper, glass, plastic, and foam. He’s an endearing and frequently poetic writer, if someone obsessive. I hadn’t thought much about how humans created some of these materials, and it’s a history as well as a science book. It’s a quick and mind-expanding read.

 

Ecstasy Untamed, Pamela Palmer.

 

Last month I read book #8 from Palmer’s Feral Warriors paranormal romance series, and this one is book #6. I’m always reading series out of order. The heroine in this one, Faith, is particularly easy to root for, and the bad guy is very, very bad (one scene in particular with him is horrifying.) Hawk is an honorable and sensitive hero. The emotion and passion in Palmer’s series is what hooks me. I’ve ordered books 1 through 3 now.

 

Have you come across any good books lately? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Thanks for reading!

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