It was another semi-slow reading month, but with cooler weather comes some bookish snuggles by the fireplace. I hope. Also, CAN THE WORLD CHILL OUT SO THAT I DON’T FEEL THE NEED TO CONSTANTLY ESCAPE INTO FICTION. Goodness.

Total Books: 7
Audio: 4
Physical: 2
Mix: 1
DNF: 3

Genre: Contemporary Romance (A comfort reread!)
Format: Audio
Rating: 4/5

Summary: A fan of romance novels gets lost and winds up in her favorite fictional city.

I was in need of a guaranteed comfort read, so I picked up this Ashley Poston gem. It didn’t translate as well in audio-only (if I had to hear about his “minty eyes” one more time….), but it’s still a solid dose of magical realism and a tale of yummy escape.

Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: Audio/Physical Mix
Rating: 3/5

Summary: The most fierce assassin of all the land has period cramps for multiple paragraphs.

After being the near-only person in my demographic that did not fall in love with A Court of Thorns and Roses, I decided to give the Maas universe another chance with her YA series. While it was FAR better, it still left me with zero desire to pick up the next book. The pacing was all over the place. They yada-yada-ed multiple murders in the castle, but then wallowed in a (boring) love triangle? They introduced a ghost queen (A GHOST QUEEN) but then the main character just hung out in the library? She’s described as the fiercest assassin in the land, but she didn’t notice when things were left on her pillow and was kind of bad at the champions’ “tests”? Pass on this one, go reread Hunger Games.

Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Format: Audio
Rating: 4/5

Summary: A rich lady is murdered and everyone has a motive.

A book cover like this always makes me intrigued but wary. Too many thrillers turn into a “gotcha” game with choppy writing. However, this one kept me interested and the audio book was engaging. I figured out half of the twist, which gave me the satisfaction of playing along while still getting the entertainment of the other half. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but I will return to this author if I get the itch for another thriller/mystery. So that’s high praise! This is another copy-the-true-crime-podcast-vibe kind of book if you’re into that kind of thing.

Genre: Old-Timey Horror *I was too distracted by the language to be scared while reading, but I admit it was creepy looking back on it.*
Format: Audio
Rating: 4/5

Summary: An eccentric scientist makes a creature that’s wicked ugly.

Speaking of large men with minty eyes……
After a significant learning curve to keep up with 1800s English, I honestly had a good time with this one. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was fascinated by this psychological thriller full of weirdo characters. Frankenstein is pretty messed up, dude, and I was intrigued by the creature – who is hilariously wordy. The language alone was an adventure, and I had fun translating it into a modern version in my head. (This was part of my quest to keep up with my niece’s AP Lit reading list. I’m not sure if I will finish this task, but I checked off this beast!)

Genre: Fiction
Format: Physical
Rating: 3/5

Summary: A series of life events through the eyes of a neurodivergent young girl.

I appreciated this unique novel, but it wasn’t fun. It’s very hard to understand the story through a character who has difficulty processing her own world. I have so many unanswered questions. However, the feelings and confusion were honest. You will realize as you flip through the pages that it’s all told in second person, and you kind of hate that as your brain rebels against the POV.

Genre: YA Romantasy
Format: Audio (Reread)
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary: A magical typewriter connects coworkers in the middle of a war between gods.

I mean, isn’t the summary enough!? I wanted to revisit this story before diving into the newest release in this universe, and it was interesting to see what scenes I vividly remembered and what memories were lost. This book reads like a movie (which I love), but oof, I forgot how much it punched you right in the heart. It’s WWI meets The Daily Planet meets magical gods. If you read it, plan on picking up the sequel immediately.

Genre: Memoir
Format: Physical
Rating: 3/5

Summary: Jen Hatmaker talks about recovery after divorce and general trauma.

This was my first Jen Hatmaker book, but I’ve followed her on social media for years. I knew this would be a tough read (Covid, infidelity, religious trauma), and it was – for many reasons. The writing was crisp and funny in spite of the topics, but it jumped all over the place. The storytelling was great, but it was a bit tone-deaf when discussing healing. I am not minimizing her trauma at all, but the vast amount of resources she had to cope with (community, huge supportive family, money, therapy, vacations, advisors, etc.) would make it a challenge to relate to the average person going through something similar.

The Quit List

I listened to 26% of the audio book, and it was a chore to press play. There was a lot of potential, but I felt nothing toward the characters. It was not fun.

I wanted a quick read and fun rom-com, but 4% was enough to let me know that it was going to be way too sweet and cheesy for me. And that’s saying something.

What started as a seasonal and charming rom-com gave me the ick quickly. I held on for 28%, but the whiplash between rated-g Hallmark movie and explicit raunchy phrases gave this book an identity crisis.

Happy Halloween! I have some interesting and fun books queued up for November. Stay tuned!!