Audio: 4
Physical: 3
Mix: 1
DNF: 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-14.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nGenre: Contemporary Romance (of the raunchy variety) Genre: Children’s Fiction Genre: YA Romantasy (more graphic than I remember but still YA) Genre: Thriller\/Fantasy Full disclosure: The author is my cousin! I was honored to get a sneak peek copy and push myself into a genre I rarely enter: descriptive time travel! The dialogue and vivid characters are the strength here, as the banter was very funny and the friendship was easy to picture. This ambitious story is the start of a nine-book series<\/a>, so be prepared to just enjoy the ride and have a lot of questions along the way. Then become super jealous that I got to have those questions answered in a phone call after I finished the book. Ha! His passion about this story is infectious, and he obviously pulls from years of songwriting to create this descriptive book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Genre: Fiction Genre: Romance (of the briefly explicit variety) Genre: Thriller Genre: Non-Fiction The Ode to Quitting<\/strong> There is a very popular male narrator and I absolutely can’t stand his voice. I forgot to check if it was him, and I had to turn it off immediately when he started speaking. D’oh! Next!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It seemed to be going in the name-dropping direction of the Stamos book. Next!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Started out with a cat sensing death. It seemed like this was going to be a long road trip, and I was not in the mood. Next!<\/p>\n\n\n\n This author was recommended to me. It’s a not-for-now, as I was not in the mood to read the script from a fake fantasy TV show mixed into the plot. Next!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was so excited for this one, but it quickly morphed into a chore. It felt like I should have been almost done, but I was on page 43. OOPS. Next!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first snow dropped this weekend, so I’m ready to curl up by the fireplace and get cozy with some great books to wrap up the year. Happy Reading to All!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s baffling that we only have one more month to sneak in 2025 reading. Go team!Here’s the November round up! Total Books: 8Audio: 4Physical: 3Mix: 1DNF: 5 Genre: Contemporary Romance (of the raunchy variety)Format: AudioRating: 4.5\/5 (on the audio book … Continue reading
Format: Audio
Rating: 4.5\/5 (on the audio book reread)
Summary: When their exes run off to marry each other, a bartender and librarian share an apartment AND EVENTUALLY THEIR HEARTS.
When this book first came out, I devoured the physical copy in two days. Revisiting it on audio book reminded me how much emotional baggage these characters had, but it was still a lovely romcom. Emily Henry’s characters and banter are hard to beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Format: Physical (read out loud to boys)
Rating: 5\/5
Summary: The neighborhood rascals crash the annual Christmas show, and we all learn lessons on judgement and kindness.
Look, some of this writing is going to feel 1972 dated (fat-shaming, Dad can’t eat because Mom didn’t make dinner), but this classic is a gem. BOTH of my boys laughed out loud, which is an event I will cherish (our read aloud times are shrinking). After reading it, we got to see the Des Moines Playhouse production, and it was just as sweet and lovely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Format: Audio *Reread
Rating: 4.75\/5
Summary: Picking up shortly after Divine Rivals, Roman and Iris must overcome allllll the things.
It was lovely to revisit this duology, a lyrical escape into a fantasy world. It ties up the loose ends from the first book and leaves just enough questions to wonder about the characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Format: Physical
Summary: Four friends grieve the loss of another, and their quest for closure leads them on a time-bending adventure to a spooky house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Format: Audio
Rating: 2.75\/5
Summary: A woman is arrested for murder and only her childhood pony can fix the problem.
I adored the first half of this book, and it had some serious Remarkably Bright Creatures vibes. However, the second half got dark and preachy and weird and choppy. The storytelling was clever (for fans of Homeward Bound), but it really jumped the shark a few times. We needed Tim Gunn to yell, “Edit, Designers!!!” A good read for animal rights and horse lovers – as long as they can handle merging timelines and random adventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Format: Physical
Rating: 4.75\/5
Summary: A husband aims to repair marriage with the assist of a bunch of dudes reading romance novels.
I must offer a quick shout out to the romance bookstore in Des Moines: Shelf Love<\/a>. After it appeared in my social media algorithm, I gave it a chance. It was adorable. As the only shopper, I decided to walk right up to the staff and have the following conversation:
“I DON’T WANT CANCER OR DEMENTIA SUBPLOTS. GIVE ME A NICE LOVE STORY WHERE I ROOT FOR PEOPLE AND THEY ONLY NEED A LITTLE THERAPY.”
“Got it.”
“AND FUNNY.”
“Okay.”
(points out the different genres and narrows down authors I like\/dislike)
“And how do you feel about basic criticism of patriarchy?”
“ACCEPTABLE.”
“Great. Okay, here we go!”
And – while this book still covered parental abandonment issues and slipped in a speech impediment subplot – this story fit the requirements. Nice job, local book store!
If you have ever read regency romances, this is a sweet book combining romance genres. The sidekick friends are funny, the conflict feels real but not depressing, the loose ends are tied up. I took off some points for a few cringe words\/phrases, but I’m being picky. I enjoyed it and will check out others in the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Format: Audio
Rating: 4.25\/5
Summary: A wife in the woods must escape and YIKES.
This book should have had a million trigger warnings for assault\/domestic violence (the summary did not do it justice). Throw in a pregnancy story line and that should have called it for me. However, the audio book was so captivating that I HAD to finish it – and quickly. This author remains my “a better Frieda McFadden book for people that don’t like Frieda McFadden books”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Format: Audio\/Physical Mix
Rating: 3.75\/5
Summary: A rapid-fire whirlwind of fast facts and anecdotes about science and the human body.
What just happened. Wowsers. This was a fascinating read about what we know (AND DON’T KNOW) about the human body and what science has discovered (AND THE GROSS\/DISTURBING WAYS THEY DISCOVERED STUFF). My husband recommended Bill Bryson as an author, and now I get to recommend this book back to him. I didn’t rank it higher, as it was seemingly random on what was discussed and the pacing was all over the place. However, it was a great non-fiction read and it peaked curiosity about many topics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Honestly, I barely gave these a chance…so don’t be mad at me.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n