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November 29, 2021

Six Favorites from November | Reviews

This post may include Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Can youย  believe this long year is almost over? It’s been a tough one for my family, so I’m looking forward to a fresh start with 2022. Enough of that, let’s talk books. Today I’m sharing November books, but as December begins, I’m going to have all the fun end-of-year posts, starting this Thursday with 2021 Underrated Gems.

So, stay tuned or follow me on Instagram @novelvisits to see all my thoughts on 2021 books!

Six Favorites from November

In November I picked up a couple books I’d missed earlier in the year and read some excellent November releases. I hope you can find a couple to enjoy among my six favorites from November.

Fault Lines by Emily ItamiFault Lines by Emily Itami (debut)
Publisher: Custom House
Release Date: September 7, 2021
Length: 224 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts:ย Let me start by saying that Emily Itami is definitely a writer to watch. I loved both the writing and storytelling in her debut, ๐…๐€๐”๐‹๐“ ๐‹๐ˆ๐๐„๐’. Hers is a wonderfully layered story about a bored Tokyo housewife with two children, a crumbling marriage, and a lover on the side. Mizuki is a woman with much to be confused about, and even more that she sees clearly. โฃ
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โ€œ…๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜โ€™๐˜ฎ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜โ€™๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ป๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ. ๐˜—๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ฆ—๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ.โ€โฃ
โฃ
Unconditionally, Mizuki loves her children, yet has no illusions about the doldrums of motherhood, especially with a spouse who provides well, but is rarely fully present. She expected more of her life, and sheโ€™s disappointed. She knows she wants more. She knows she deserves more. So, when the opportunity presents itself, she can’t resist the temptation of a relationship that makes her feel valued, free, and re-energized for the first time in nearly a decade. Before long, Mizuki is torn, leading a sort of double-life. And really, how long can a person go on like that? Always engaging, ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ต ๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด was also suspenseful, funny, wise and heart-warming, and at a tight 213 pages it was a very fast read! Grade: B

Ghosts by Dolly AldertonGhosts by Dolly Aldertonย 
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: August 3, 2021
Length: 320 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts:ย Somehow I missed ๐†๐‡๐Ž๐’๐“๐’ by Dolly Alderton when it was released in August. I first really noticed it a couple weeks ago when several people mentioned how much they liked it in theย Sarah’s Bookshelvesย Live Patrons-Only Facebook group. These are serious readers with trustworthy recommendations, so I immediately put in a library request and quickly had the book in my hands!โฃ
โฃ
If you read the synopsis of ๐˜Ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ด, you might feel like itโ€™s a romance about a girl who is ghosted by a guy she meets on a dating app, but itโ€™s so much more. Nina is 32 and living a great life. She has close friends, just bought her own flat, has built a career she loves, and even has a great relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Joe. Despite all the good, life is also changing for Nina. Her dad has Alzheimerโ€™s and her mother is struggling, her friendโ€™s are marrying and having babies, and Nina is trying to figure out where she fits in all of that, and yes, sheโ€™d like a relationship.โฃ

“๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ญ๐˜บ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฏ’๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ.”

Essentially, ๐˜Ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ด is a very well-told story of growing up and truly becoming an adult. Itโ€™s not all sunshine and roses, as we all know. In the year we spend with Nina, she works at figuring that out. The first half of the book was just a little slow for me, but the second half flew by. It was a perfect, refreshing change of pace, with some real depth to it. Grade: B

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham GrantThese Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: November 16, 2021
Length: 288 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts:ย Sometimes a book just comes out of nowhere and takes you completely by surprise. Thatโ€™s exactly what happened to me with ๐“๐‡๐„๐’๐„ ๐’๐ˆ๐‹๐„๐๐“ ๐—ช๐Ž๐Ž๐ƒ๐’ by Kimi Cunningham Grant. Youโ€™re not going to get much from me about this book, because I think the story is better without knowing too much. (๐˜‹๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต read the publisherโ€™s synopsis.) I will tell you itโ€™s about a father and his young daughter, Cooper and Finch, living off the grid in a cabin deep in the Appalachian mountains. Thereโ€™s a reason why and a couple people who know, but their world is limited, which is not the same as small. Something happens to threaten the life Cooper so carefully built for them.โฃโฃ
โฃโฃ
Thatโ€™s all Iโ€™m willing to share, but trust me, youโ€™ll want to read ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด. In some ways it reminded me of ๐˜–๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜Œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜•๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด by Claire Fuller, but rest assured the two books did NOT go to the same place. From start to finish, I was all in as Grant drew me deeper and deeper into the world of Cooper and Finch. Her characters were so well-developed and full of heart, I found myself enamored with them. The setting felt vivid and real. On top of all that, her story had a big dose of mystery to it, which compelled me to read โ€œone more chapterโ€ over and over again. The ending was a little neat and tidy, but still I consider this book a huge November win!ย  Grade: A

Note:ย My thanks toย Minotaur Booksย (via NetGalley) for an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Femlandia by Christina DalcherFemlandia by Christina Dalcher
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: October 19, 2021
Length: 336 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts:ย I like just a touch of dystopia every now and then and thatโ€™s exactly what Christina Dalcher delivered with her new book, ๐…๐„๐Œ๐‹๐€๐๐ƒ๐ˆ๐€. Taking place in the very near future after the U.S. economy has completely collapsed, stores have closed, people are fighting for supplies, and sometimes much worse. The story centers on Miranda and her 16-year old daughter, Emma, who have lost everything. With nowhere else to turn, Miranda does something she swore she never would: sets out for one of the Femlandia compounds, originally started by her own mother. โฃ
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By itโ€™s title, you might think this book is some sort of feminist manifesto, but it definitely is not. It is a book focused on women, many of whom see men as the enemy, thus the creation of Femlandia, but it’s much bigger than that. Miranda doesnโ€™t share her motherโ€™s views on men, and most of the book is the struggle between their two belief systems. I listened to this one and it was excellent on audio. Brittany Pressley did a fantastic job bringing Miranda to life. Having read all of Christina Dalcherโ€™s books, I think ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ข is my favorite. Miranda is a badass heroine, with lots of soft edges.โฃ Grade: B

The Family by Naomi KrupitskyThe Family by Naomi Krupitsky (debut)
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: November 2, 2021
Length: 368 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts: ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐…๐€๐Œ๐ˆ๐‹๐˜ by Naomi Krupitsky honestly wasnโ€™t really a book Iโ€™d planned on reading. Historical fiction has been tricky for me since the start of the pandemic and the premise itself didnโ€™t feel quite right for me. When the book came in the mail, I was immediately drawn to that cover, and sat down to read just a chapter or two. You probably know how it goes from there. I couldn’t put the book down and ended up loving it.โฃ
โฃ
๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜บ is surrounded by life in a WWII era Italian โ€œFamily,โ€ but at its core itโ€™s a story of the lifelong friendship between Sofia and Antonia, daughters of mobsters. They love their fathers and their families, but want different paths for their own lives. โฃ
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โ€œ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜บ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜บ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ….๐˜š๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ข ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ.โ€โฃ
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Debut author Krupitsky was masterful in developing these two characters and their complex, ever-changing, yet always enduring friendship. This was not an action packed story, to some it might even seem a little slow, but a deep, often dark, character-driven novel is exactly my kind of book! Grade: A-

Note:ย My thanks toย Putnam Booksย for a finished copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Imposter Syndrome by Kathy WangImposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang
Publisher: Custom House
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Length: 368 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts:ย Donโ€™t you just love it when you pick up a book that you havenโ€™t really heard much about and end up loving it? ๐ˆ๐Œ๐๐Ž๐’๐“๐„๐‘ ๐’๐˜๐๐ƒ๐‘๐Ž๐Œ๐„ by Kathy Wang was one of those books for me. I knew nothing about it untilย @sarahsbookshelvesย put it on my radar. Thank you, Sarah!โฃ
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This is the story of a Russian operative, Julia, who was plucked from obscurity in Moscow and 12 years later is the COO of a large Facebook-like company in the Silicon Valley. For years sheโ€™s been a good agent, passing on all kinds of useful information gathered through her company, but there are problems. Julia has come to really love her life in California and her wealthy, powerful persona. Sheโ€™s not so sure she wants to do whatโ€™s asked of her any longer. Big problem! Then thereโ€™s Alice, a fairly low level employee who has spotted some irregularities in the company that might point back to Julia and she just canโ€™t let it go. Big problem!โฃ
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๐˜๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜š๐˜บ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ is a fun and very different page-turning romp that I really couldnโ€™t put down. Wang has written a book many people will enjoy and itโ€™s just light enough to be perfect for this crazy, busy season when head space can be limited. If you were a fan of ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ด (originally on FX, and now on Prime) youโ€™ll definitely be all in for ๐˜๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜š๐˜บ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ. Grade: B

What books have been your favorites from November?

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Six Favorites from November

Filed Under: By Title, Coming-of-Age, Contemporary Fiction, Debuts, Literary Fiction, Multi-Book Posts, Mystery-Suspense Tagged With: 2021, 2021 Books, Book Recommendations, Book Review, Grade A, Grade B




Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie says

    November 29, 2021 at 9:59 am

    Hi Susie! Our reading lists are matching up a lot this month. I just finished Fault Lines and would definitely read more by this author. I’m about to start the Silent Woods book and I’m waiting for my library hold for The Family. I saw a couple more on your recap that sound good. :). Loved hearing you chat books on Sarah’s podcast.

    Reply
  2. susan says

    December 5, 2021 at 3:13 am

    Thx for posting here again. Silent Woods looks spooky good … and The Family’s synopsis grabs me a bit. I will look for both. You had a good November of books!

    Reply

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susie-about
Welcome to Novel Visits! Iโ€™m Susie and reading is my passion. Join me for new novel reviews, musing on all things books, and much more.

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