I’ve always been swept away by the writings of Jane Austen.

I can’t tell you how many hours of my life has been spent pouring over the pages of her novels imagining myself to be one of her characters… She clearly had an influence on the author of my September book club pick as well.

Silk and Sensibility by Mengxi Seely, is a historical romance novel that reimagines Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility in 16th-century, Ming-dynasty China.

Not only does it transport you back in time, you’ll be immersed in Chinese culture and traditions as lived by two sisters you’ll come to know very well. As sisters usually are, you’ll find them to be simultaneously alike in many ways yet strikingly different in others.

Nineteen-year-old Ailin is torn between duty and desire. Following her father’s death, her family must rely on the wealthy Jiang clan for financial survival. Though Ailin knows she must marry strategically to help her family, her heart has already been captured by the poor but gentle scholar Enze. When his family opposes their union, Ailin knows she must hide her feelings from everyone until she can strengthen her dowry and stand on her own terms.

Meilin encourages her older sister to fight for her personal desires, but Meilin’s romantic ideals conflict with Ailin’s devotion to duty. Meilin believes in being honest about one’s feelings regardless of what others may think, and she unabashedly pursues a charming playwright while also clashing with a frustratingly handsome but gruff army captain.

The sisters would do anything to help the other find happiness, but their assumptions about restraint and passion are as different as earth and sky. Ailin feels honor bound to her family yet is unable to deny her love for Enze, even as circumstances push them further apart, while Meilin grapples with unexpected feelings for Captain Bai and societal restrictions that leave little room for her own hopes.

I encourage you to take a cue from summer as it slips away into autumn… Slip away yourself, into a cozy corner, sip some tea, open this beautiful book and let a new world unfold before you.

Who will you most relate to, Ailin or Meilin? What would you do if you found yourself in their situation? What advice would you give them? Such a delicate balance they must strike in order to find their place in society and achieve a personal level of happiness.

Pre-Order: Silk and Sensibility

(available September 15th, 2026)

For much of history we didn’t hear a lot about heroic women. Thankfully that’s changing. Women have always been compelled to take tremendous risks for those they love and causes they are passionate about, and their stories are finally being told.

Like my book club pick for September, “The Opera Sisters” by Marianne Monson. Out September 6th!

It’s about the Cook sisters, British citizens who devote a large portion of their limited resources to the enjoyment of opera, often traveling throughout Europe to take in performances. Not the swashbuckling heroes we’re used to hearing of, but in 1930’s Europe the relationships they’ve built, and their established travel habits put them in a position to be of tremendous service - if they dare.

“Based on the true story of the Cook sisters, who smuggled valuables out of 1930s Nazi Germany to finance a daring, secret operation to help Jews find hope for a new life in England.

British sisters Ida and Louise Cook enjoy their quiet, unassuming lives in south London. Ida writes romance novels, and Louise works as a secretary. In the evenings, the sisters indulge in their shared love for opera, saving their money to buy records and attend performances throughout England and Europe, becoming well-known by both performers and fellow opera lovers.

But when Hitler seizes power in 1933, he begins targeting and persecuting German Jews, passing laws that restrict their rights and their lives. The sisters continue their trips to the German opera houses, but soon, Jewish members of the opera community covertly approach the sisters, worried that they will be stripped of their wealth and forced to leave their homes and the country. Danger looms on the horizon, threatening to spill across all of Europe’s borders.

Ida and Louise vow to help, but how can two ordinary working-class women with limited means make a difference?

Together with their beloved opera community, the sisters devise a plan to personally escort Jewish refugees from Germany to England. The success of the plan hinges on Ida and Louise’s ability to smuggle contraband jewelry and furs beneath the watchful eyes of the SS soldiers guarding various checkpoints. But how many trips can they make before someone blows a whistle? Or before the final curtain falls on Germany’s borders?

The Opera Sisters is a riveting and inspiring novel of two unlikely heroines whose courage and compassion gave hope to many Jews desperate to escape Nazi persecution.”

Yes, this is another historical novel, and by now you know how drawn I am to these stories! Imagine you’re dressed in cocktail gowns, furs, and some sparkly baubles, and immerse yourself in another time and place, where danger lurks behind every chord and the world is one big masquerade!

Silk and Sensibility | September Book Club