As I’m sure you can predict, I read a lot of books between the months of August and October. After finishing my project in August, I needed a break, a mental fill-up if you will, and what better way to do that than to read tons and tons of books? The dilemma of knowing what books to pick for the blog was definitely an exasperating one, but there were also too many good books to just keep choosing. So despite the amount of books I read between those few months, I’m only sharing the top three. I know, I know, I’m depriving you all of really great book ideas. I’ll try to make it up to you from here on out. (And trust me, I’m still going over my list wondering if I should include this book or that series.)
The other dilemma I faced was not quite remember which books were read in which month. I have an ongoing list of all the books I read this year, but they’re just listed together instead of broken up by month. Usually I check them off once I’ve done my monthly read post and that’s that. It hasn’t been a problem until now. So that’s my bad. I can guarantee, though, that all books listed were read between the months of August and October.
If you notice, I’m not including the books I read in November in this post. That’s simply because I’m going to do a separate, regular post for last month’s reads. I already have the books I’m going to share in that post picked out and they’re a great ones.
Enough rambling…here are the top books I enjoyed from August to October 2023.
Luv Shuv in New York by N. M. Patel
Akira Mishra
My father had one request––more like condition––to allow me to leave our large, Indian joint family and move to New York to pursue my master’s degree: To not get involved with anyone who wasn’t a Desi boy.
And I did not miss a beat before I agreed. All I wanted was freedom. To live away from my overbearing––but very sweet and supportive––family. To study hard. Find a Job in NYC. And make it on my own, like millions of my fellow Indian immigrants. My plan was all set.
So of course, it’s completely ruined when I sit beside him on the first day of my class. Sam White, my white American classmate. Sam with his total ignorance about my Indian culture but his determination to understand it better.
So what if he makes me feel a little more at home in an unknown country? So what if he looks at me like I’m the only one he sees? I will not fall for him. I cannot fall for him. I absolutely cannot break my promise to my father.
So, of course, I do.
What first drew me to this book was the aspect of different cultures colliding, and I was not disappointed. Not once in the story was Akira’s culture and traditions steamrolled over by the romance plot. The two were integrated so beautifully. Patel even gave us a comparison, if you will, of American culture and how it may look to someone who isn’t familiar with it.
Sam White, whose name cracks me up with how…American it is (Is that how I describe it? Or maybe basic? I’m not sure here…), would probably be initially classified as the grumpy character to Akira’s sunshine. At first he’s very aloof, very serious, and that doesn’t particularly change when it comes to people outside his circle. Like, there’s no real dynamic shift, I think. Yes he’s more open and respectful, but I think that’s the power of story telling. We’re walking through this story with Akira so we see Sam become more rounded as she gets to know him.
While Akira has to learn to follow her heart and balance those longings with her duties to family and self, she never gives up on either. I think that’s an admirable feat. It’s never easy meshing two different points of our lives together no matter how much we want them to. There’s going to be obstacles and misunderstandings and the questioning of which path do we follow. Those questions are not easily answered especially when the longing of self is pulled in two different directions. Akira wants to be a good daughter and give what she can for her family, but she equally wants to be a good partner and follow her heart with Sam.
I did appreciate the support Akira’s family gave her and Sam. It wasn’t all cut and dried. The lines were drawn causing tension and issues within her family, but their love and support for the couple never wavered.
I think Luv Shuv in New York shows the give and take of relationships really well. Not just romantic relationships, but that of family, too, and how they all adapt and shift to make room for the unlikely.
N. M. Patel did an excellent job and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
Chasing Your Ghost by Maggie I. Fields
Riley has always been different. Seeing ghosts has always been a part of her life, but when death strikes closer to home than ever before, Riley’s life changes in ways she isn’t prepared for.
Moving in with her estranged mother and step-family before starting college was never part of her plan, but when Riley meets the ghost of her step-brother’s friend, she knows she needs to stay and help him move on. Only Asher isn’t your typical ghost. Something about him is different, and the two of them will need to work together to find out what sets him apart before he inevitably moves on, as all ghosts must.
But the more time Riley spends with him, the harder it becomes to imagine saying goodbye. She should have followed her dad’s rules and never let her feelings get involved because she can only see it ending one way: with a broken heart.
I will admit, I totally got Meg Cabot Mediator vibes at first. Like that was my go-to thought when I came across Chasing Your Ghost. Can I dispute those vibes now? Eh. Probably not. Did it stop me from enjoying the book? Definitely not.
While the main focus of Chasing Your Ghost is obviously the mystery of Asher, Fields gives us the subplot of past family trauma. Riley’s mom did not react well to Riley’s gift and the lengths she went to created a giant barrier between mother and daughter. While I realize this is fiction, there is still the very real to life theme of people, often family in particular, not accepting, maybe even punishing, the differences they see in other family members. Those kinds of reactions are very hard to navigate through and often cause rifts that can last a lifetime if the parties involved do not work together to come together in their understanding of one another.
So that’s the heavy of this book, I think.
I enjoyed the back and forth of figuring out the mystery surrounding Asher. Truthfully, it wasn’t hard to figure out, but the questions of How? and When would Riley figure it out? kept me on the edge. Did I see the culprit of Asher’s demise coming? Honestly, I don’t think I did. It was actually a surprise to me in certain ways.
I won’t lie, there were some aspects of this book that I wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable with, but in the end they did not really negate the enjoyment I found in the overall story.
While Chasing Your Ghost wasn’t completely lighthearted, it wasn’t a heavy read either. I’d say it’s definitely worth checking out, maybe save it for spooky season for that added umph.
My Happy Marriage by Akumi Agitogi
Considered nigh worthless for having failed to inherit the superhuman powers of the bloodlines into which she was born, Miyo Saimori lives her days unwanted and unloved. She is treated as a servant by her half-sister who, unlike Miyo, is blessed with unusual powers, while her step-mother and very own father have little time or love for their eldest daughter.
Ultimately seen as nothing more than a nuisance and a drain on the family wealth, Miyo is packed off to the Kudo house as a bridal candidate for its heir, Kyoka Kudo. But whispers abound about the Kudo clan, the most powerful in all the lands. Still, will the allegedly cold and cruel house into which Miyo aims to marry prove much warmer than the family she left behind?
Okay, you caught me. My Happy Marriage is a manga series, not an actual novel. It’s still a book, though. If the title sounds familiar then you may have come across the anime on Netflix, which is where I first discovered it. I watched the first two episodes and enjoyed them so much that I decided to buy the manga and read it first.
This is a type of Cinderella retelling, but it’s more like what happens after Cinderella meets the prince. Oh, and they have supernatural powers, too.
Though Miyo doesn’t show signs of having powers, there is a lot of mystery surrounding her ancestry as her mother’s family is known to have a unique and dangerous power. The type that causes people to manipulate and possibly kill for. I haven’t gotten very far in the series, either anime or manga portion, so I’m still wondering how this is all going to play out.
What I can say is that the relationship between Kyoka and Miyo definitely makes my heart melt. After spending a life being beaten down and abused, Miyo needs someone to see her worth and build her back up and Kyoka Kudo is just the man for the job. I love this series and I am so excited for the journey Kyoka and Miyo will go through in the future.
My Happy Marriage is a beautiful story that needs to be shared and enjoyed!
What do you think?
Do any of these books interest you? What have you read recently and really enjoyed? I’d love to know about it!
Also if you have any book recommendations then leave me a comment as well!
Above My Waves 
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