Would you look at that? My wrap-up post is actually on time for once! I can’t really promise to make this a habit though. What can I say, I like to be fashionably late. *flips hair in sass*
Speaking about fashion, did you know that the bearded vulture purposely dyes its feathers with red soil? Interestingly, it is the only bird that likes to play dress-up in this manner.
Yes, believe it or not, that was the weird bird fact for today.
Since the entire purpose of my monthly bird-fact intros is to spare me from writing long introductions to my wrap-ups, we get started right away!

I didn’t get much time to read this month – most of it was a whirlwind of exams and schoolwork – so I barely read anything for the first half of the month, it was only later that I found some time to read. The books were all 4 star-ish so I guess that’s a good thing?
The highlight of this month, however, is something else. Somehow, ALL my reads this month were written from first person point-of-view! Like, how? An utter coincidence, Nature playing a joke on this poor soul, or the bookish gods trying to convince me that not all first person narratives are boring? Whatever it may be, I am actually glad I gave (5!) books with 1st person POV a chance, because upto this point, I had ended up disliking nearly every book told from 1t person POV. However, I for once enjoyed reading the narratives of most of these 5 books, so happy realization to me!
Onto the books I read!



A Clash Of Steel by C.B. Lee (ARC)
Rating: ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
This was a lovely diverse retelling of the classic favourite Treasure Island – with strong woman characters, pirates and treasure hunting! It was one of my most anticipated releases this year so I’m grateful I got the chance to be a part of the blog tour!
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Rating: ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
A book that has gotten popular recently due to its recently released sequel, I buddy read The Inheritance Games with April for our hype-o-meter series of posts! While lacking in several aspects, I laud the author for creating such an intriguing atmospheric mystery!
The Wolf’s Curse by Jessica Vitalis (ARC)
Rating: ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
A beautiful, lyrical, atmospheric middle grade fantasy centered around death and life, love and loss among lots of other meaningful themes, this book completely stole my heart.


How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao
Rating: ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
This was an intriguing murder mystery set in an elite prep school where secrets don’t stay buried for long. A completely Asian main cast of characters, flashbacks and dark secrets – this book will keep you hooked.
We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5 out of 5 stars)
An impactful story about 14 Japanese teenagers living in war-torn America during WWII, growing up amid discrimination and facing all odds to stay happy together – We Are Not Free was deep. Full review to come!

Most of my posts this month were basically reviews of some sort so yeah, compared to the plethora of creative posts I published last month, this month’s content was pretty stale. Still, some of the reviews are nicely written, with quotes and moodboards and hype-o-meters and what not.
Here are all my posts this month, check them out in case you missed them earlier!
- August Wrap-Up // the month of mostly mediocre reads, creative posts and blog redesign! : The month started with me wrapping up my reads, blogging etc in August. The weird bird fact of the month was something on albatrosses.
2. We Hunt The Flame vs the Hype-o-meter // Review : New favourite book incoming! This post was the second in a collab series with April, in which we determine whether or not a popular book is worth the hype! And my, We Hunt The Flame definitely was!!
3. Blogger Interview with Rachel! : Soo this was not a real post at all, it was a reblog of my interview with Riddhi from Whispering Stories! She asks me a set of questions related to everything from my blog to my future career and lots more!
4. Blog Tour: A Clash Of Steel by C.B. Lee (Review + Moodboard) || A diverse retelling set in imperial china ft. lost treasure and pirates! : I got selected for a blog tour of A Clash Of Steel, and got the chance to review an arc! Plus there’s a moodboard!!
5. We Hunt The Flame Quotes As Real Life Moments! : In my favorite post this month, I compare quotes from the Sands of Arawiya duology to moments in my life! Basically a sarcastic compilation of random real life moments!!
6. Blog Tour: Top 5 Reasons To Read The Wolf’s Curse by Jessica Vitalis || A poignant tale revolving around superstitions and death : As part of the book tour of the recently released The Wolf’s Curse, I list the top 5 resons you should read this lyrical middle grade!
7. The Inheritance Games vs the Hype-o-meter // Review : In the third installment of our hype-o-meter series, me and April review a book everyone seems to be reading lately! Was it worth the hype? Click to find out! (and click here to read April’s post!)

I am not kidding when I say I did a LOT of blog hopping this month and I’m proud of how many great new blogs and posts I discovered! Here’s a list of some posts I enjoyed reading in September!!
Maddie @Inking & Thinking reviews The Bones of Ruin!
Darcey @Read In The Clouds reviews Under The Whispering Door!
Aashi @Words On Fleek writes a hilarious song-review of City Of Bones!
Becky @Becky’s Book Blog reviews Among Thieves!
Sabrina @Wordy & Whimsical lists six ridiculous reading worries!
Laura @The Corner Of Laura lists six bad reasons to dnf a book!
Kaya @A Fictional Bookworm reviews an arc of Beasts Of Prey!
Malka @Paper Procrastinators gives tips for Netgalley newbies!
Anoushka @Dipped In Ink wrote a hilarious post on why bookworms can be dangerous!
J @Midnight Book Blog gives helpful tips for writing reviews!
Maddie @Inking And Thinking writes a discussion on why she follows book blogs!
Saima @Stories With Saima shares 6 things she has learnt after 6 months of blogging!
Bertie @Luminiosity Library reviews an ARC of Under The Whispering Door!
Laura @The Corner Of Laura does the fantasy tropes book tag!
Naemi @A Book Owl’s Corner reacts to five star reviews of books she hated!
Brianne @Peruse With Coffee shares her huge autumn tbr!
Cherry @Letters To The Lost lists the reasons why you should read We Hunt The Flame!
Sabrina @Wordy And Whimsical shares blog post ideas that she discarded!
Laura @The Corner Of Laura lists 6 features of a chill-out read!
Saima @Stories With Saima shares her spooky October tbr!
Siena @Booksophobia discusses unhauling books!
Rebecca @Bex the Bibliophile reviews A Dark And Hollow Star!
Alix @Alix Reads Books writes a discussion on annotating books!
Raji @Worlds Unlike Our Own recommends 7 thrilling reads to read during Halloween!

How was September for you? Which was your favourite read this month? Have you read any of the books I read? Let me know in the comments!!
~ Rachel
Aw you’re so cute, thank you for @-ing (definitely a word) me!! I’ve loved reading your posts as well💜. And hmm I’m not sure about my favourite September read, maybe Under the Whispering Door?
– Darcey
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No problem, I enjoy your reviews! (there are people who think @ing is NOT a word? Shocker.)
Just trying to make me jealous, are you now 😂 Like, I KNOW I’ll LOVE Under The Whispering Door, but I haven’t managed to get my hands on a copy yet (newly released books are outrageously expensive where I live) but hopefully soon.
Thank you, and have an amazing September!
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Hahaha you caught me😉 and that’s such a pity but totally understandable, hopefully you can read it soon!! Thank you and you too :))
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Thank you so much! 💚 My favourite book of the month has to be A Dark and Hollow Star, it may even be a contender for my favourite book of the year!
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Yess I loved your review of A Dark And Hollow Star and I ws glad to see you enjoyed it so much! It’s on my asap tbr, so hopefully I’ll be reading it pretty soon!!
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Lovely wrap up! I’ve read so many good books this month but Omce Upon A Broken Heart may be a contender for favourite!
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Ah yes I have read so many positive reviews of OUABH (including yours!) I’m excited to read it once it comes out!
Thank you Georgia!!
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thank you so much for shouting out two of my posts! 💛
It looks like you had a lovely reading month since you enjoyed your reads. I still have to read Clash of Steel but gosh what a beautiful cover! And ah I’ve seen We Are Not Free pop up on my recommended on scribd, so I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it and I look forward to reading more of your thoughts! 💕
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No problem, I love your content!
I know that cover’s stunning right? And it has pirates so…
YES YES We Are Not Free was amazing and I was surprised by how much I loved it!
Thank you for reading Saima!!
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Thank you so much for including my post! I’m really excited to read A Clash of Steel, so I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it 😊
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You’re welcome!
Ah yes I hope you read it soon!!
Thank you for reading the post Becky!
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Thanks so much for including The Wolf’s Curse in your September reading; I’m thrilled to hear you liked the story!
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No problem, I am delighted I got the chance to read and early copy of such a beautiful book!!
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I approve of this dyeing feathers with red soil thing 🤣 Other birds should feel inspired by bearded vultures!
I’m definitely excited for We Hunt the Flame – I really need to make it a priority once I’ve handed in my thesis! And How We Fall Apart is something I’m greedily eyeing as well 🤗
Also, thanks for sharing my five-star-reviewed-awful-books rant, as well as those other amazing posts! I’ve been horrible with blog hopping this past month (**cough glares at thesis cough**), so it’s nice to see what I should get to once I have a bit more time again! 😊
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Definitely, the bird’s a fashion diva, it deserves to have its own fanclub 😂
All the best for your thesis, I hope you get finished soon so you can read these wonderful books so we can scream about them together haha
Thank you for reading the post Naomi!!
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It’s great you enjoyed all books that you could read in Sep. My favourited this month was Crooked Kingdom and I can’t decide between The Love Hypothesis and Wolf’ Curse. Have amazing October.
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Thank you!
Omg Six of Crows duology is a particular favourite of mine… Did you read Crooked Kingdom for the first time this month or was it a reread?
An amazing October to you too!
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It was first time read and I’m feeling guilty not reading it earlier.
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It seems like you had a great reading month! Thank you for mentioning my post, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
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Thank you Siena!!
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Oh my gosh Rachel, I LOVE YOUR POST INTRO’S SO MUCH!!! That bird fact and the way you started your post for The inheritance games review – I absolutely love it!!
So many 4 star reads, I am JEALOUS!
I need to read how we fall apart! I’ve been so interested in mysteries lately and this one sounds GOOD! Glad you liked it! And we are not free – ahh, I’m adding it to my TBR right now! I love anything regarding the second world war so much! Waiting for your review! And oh my gosh, thank you so much for mentioning my post! It means so much to me! Hope you have an amazing October!
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*ahem* yes so we do have this running trend of weird / nearly non-existent intros on this blog and I am glad to have found an appreciative audience of the same – it naturally would be embarrassing to have my readers go around yelling “Too many birds!!” after reading my wrap ups. So. Thank you.
Aha Inheritance Games got me into mystery mood too, hence the reading of How We Fall Apart, and it was actually pretty decent and you should certainly give it a shot!
YES that makes me so happy – I CANNOT wait for you to read We Are Not Free, you’ll love it (and you’ll hate it for wrecking you) especially if you enjoy stories set during wars!
No problem, I love your content so I’d like other people to read it too!
An exciting October to you too! Thank you for reading the post!!
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Thanks so much for the shoutouts 😊
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You’re welcome ☺️
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Hi Rachel!! Looks like you did have a good September, love the random bird fact as usual haha! The Wolf’s Curse sounds like such a poignant yet heartwarming read and omg We Are Not Free – my tears have been flowing for 4 months straight already, but I’m so glad you loved it too! Love the wrap up as always, happy October!! ❤
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Hello Cherelle, how are you?!
I know, We are not free WRECKED me but I am glad to see I am not suffering alone haha.
Thank you so much, happy October to you too!!
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oh my gosh, almost all of the books you’ve read this month are on my tbr lol! that’s so funny that they’re all first-person POV as well. thank you so so much for the shoutout, I’ve loved getting to read your posts this month💜
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Right? I haven’t read this many first person povs in a year!
Thank you Kaya 💙
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omg Rachel—
I loved reading this wrap idk why😂
Probably my vanity at my name being mentioned🥔✨
Speaking of which…
THANK YOUUU VERYY MCUHHHH😭🥺♥
Exams take up all the time for reading D:
🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪
Honestly, first-person pov’s are pure gold😫✋🏻
You definitely did a lot of blog hopping👀
♥♥
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Haha vanity is a quality all of the human race is endowed with, I get excited too when someone mentions me in their posts! No problem at all, your content is very creative ❤️
Exams. Yes. The worst form of torture there is.
Hmm well I wouldn’t say “pure gold”, (yet) but I definitely appreciate 1st person povs more now.
Thank you so much for reading the post!!
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I just read your thoughts on The Wolf’s Curse, so I’m adding it to my TBR right now, it sounds so full of feelings, I need to read it! 🥺 & it sounds like you have had an overall very good month and I’m so glad, I know October will be even better for you.❤️
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Omg that makes me so happy, that is one of those books that deserves to be read by everyone!
Thank you so much Sofii, and happy October!
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😂 the intro is such a great idea! I kight borrow it 🐙 and looks like you had a great reading month!! We are not free sounds stunning!! Looking forward to ur review. And not to mention, I am glad you enjoyed the inheritance games. 🐝
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Thank you so much for the mention ❤️ Glad you had a great reading month in September – mine was also mostly filled with four and even five-star reads! I also love your newfound appreciation for first-person POV 🙂 Hope you have an even better reading month in October!
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Oh I am glad to hear you found so many amazing reads this month as well, congrats!
Well yes, I realize I should have appreciated 1st person narratives earlier, but better late than never, right?
Thank you so much Alix, best wishes for October to you as well!!
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I’m so happy that you managed to read books you enjoyed despite school getting in the way! I’m only just managing to find a balance again with school, reading, and blogging!
I find it so interesting that you care so much about the POV of a book! Except in very specific cases, or when a book is told in 2nd person, I don’t really pay attention to whether the POV is 1st or 3rd person. It doesn’t impact my enjoyment of the book too much, which is why I find it fascinating that it so greatly impacts yours!
Also, your blog hopping list is so varied and thorough and I love it! I’m just playing catch up and blog hopping for the first time in months again and the posts you mentioned helped me find some new blogs to check out. Plus, I of course appreciate the fact that you mentioned my post in the mix as well!
I hope you’re having a wonderful October!
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