October has been one of my best reading months of the year so far, at least regarding how much I read. If we're going by how much I actually enjoyed the books, it was probably one of the worst. I still managed to fall in love with some amazing stories, but I also read several that were so boring or badly written, I could've used them as a cure for insomnia. But, you win some, you lose some, I guess.
Anyway, let me tell you about some of my favourite and least favourite reads from October...
📖 13 books completed, 1 started.
📖 3 hardbacks.
📖 1 paperback.
📱 3 Kindle books.
🎧 6.5 audiobooks
📖 2239 pages (4654 pages including audiobooks).
🎧 70.80 hours listened at 1.1x or 1.2x speed.
📖 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖 Average rating: 3.56 stars.
📖 Average book length: 353 pages.
📖 Average time to finish: 5 days.
I Read:
📖The Primal of Blood and Bone by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 5⭐
📖Belladonna by Adalyn Grace. 5⭐
📖Foxglove by Adalyn Grace. 5⭐
📖What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. 3⭐
📱I Found Puppets Living in my Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing. 4⭐
📱I Found the Boogeyman Under My Brother's Crib by Ben Farthing. 3⭐
📱I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall by Ben Farthing. 3⭐
🎧The Marriage Act by John Marrs. 4⭐
🎧Incidents Around the House by 2⭐
🎧Drown Me with Dreams by Gabi Burton. 2.75⭐
🎧Lore of the Tides by Analeigh Sbrana. 3⭐
🎧Ghostsmith by Nicki Pau Preto. 2.5⭐
🎧Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. 4⭐ (Reread).
And I Started:
🎧Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout. (Reread).
Favourite Reads: I was so excited to start the sixth installment of the Blood and Ash series, The Primal of Blood and Bone, and while it didn't go in the direction I was expecting it to, it was such a good read. Even if it was an emotional rollercoaster, one of my favourite side characters was killed off, and the last hundred pages of the book completely gutted me. I can't believe I have to wait almost a whole year to see everything made right again in book seven. Because it will be made right again, or the author will be receiving at least one strongly-worded letter from me!
I also finally started the Belladonna series, after having the books for over a year, and want to kick myself for waiting for so long to get to them because they've turned out to be some of my favourite books ever! I devoured the first two titles, Belladonna and Foxglove, and I'm still thinking about them weeks later. I haven't read a lot of gothic fantasy, but they were the perfect mix of eerie, funny, and whimsical, and I couldn't get enough of them. Belladonna is about a young woman who can't die and can talk to the dead, who has to team up with Death to solve a murder, and the mysterious poisonings of her aunt and cousin, in a haunted manor house. All while learning to harness her powers, trying to fit into society, and accept herself for who she is. Also, Death is one of the love interests, and he's hot. I never thought I'd be attracted to death, but you learn something new about yourself every day!
The second book, Foxglove, was a surprisingly strong first sequel, and I enjoyed it almost as much as Belladonna. Almost. It had the same brilliant blend of gothic regency romantasy, with plenty of necromancy, poisonings, humour, whimsy, magic, and chaos, but with the addition of insufferable new characters and dual-POVs from cousins Signa and Blythe. I loved getting Blythe's POV for the first time, and by the end of the book, she was up there with Nesta Archeron as one of my favourite female protagonists. I want to be like her when I grow up! I found the story much more whimsical than the first, especially with the arrival of Fate and his magical showmanship, as well as the introduction to his home, Wisteria Gardens. My only disappointment with the book was that there weren't more scenes with Signa and Death together, because they were sorely underrepresented, and Fate just didn't have the same charisma for me. Other than that, it was another five star read, and if you love romantasy, you need to read this series so we can talk about it!
Favourite Listens: Most of my audio reads were on the mediocre side last month and I was seriously bored by most of them, but thankfully, there were a couple of exceptions. I really enjoyed The Marriage Act, another great John Marrs thriller set in not-too-distant-future Britain where couples' marriages are monitored, and people are punished for every little- or large- hiccup. Of course, being a John Marrs novel, there are sinister characters, obsession, murder, and a good dose of foreshadowing about our evolving technology added in for good measure, plus plenty of twists that keep you guessing until the end. It wasn't quite as good as The One or The Passengers, but it was still an entertaining and very thought-provoking read. It got me thinking about how awful it would be to have Big Brother monitoring every aspect of our lives and relationships, and where we should draw the line between relationship counselling, and working through problems unaided as a couple. This book makes me want to stick to good communication. Haha!
I also loved my reread of T. Kingfisher's creepy fantasy, Nettle and Bone. It was my second time reading, but my first listening to the audiobook, and I really enjoyed hearing it brought to life. It's a weird, slightly morbid, but amusing read about a thirty-something princess who's been raised as a nun, setting out to save her sister from an abusive relationship. Along the way, she's joined by a knight, a grave witch, a godmother, and a demon chicken, and there's plenty of heartwarming found-family and slow burn romance vibes to keep things interesting. Also, there's an adorable skeleton-dog sidekick, and you'll never look at puppets the same way again... If you like awkward but loveable main characters, fantasy, and quirky little reads, give it a try.
Least Favourites: My least favourite was definitely Incidents Around the House. I was expecting a creepy read, and while it seemed to hint that it was leading in that direction, it never quite delivered. It fell flat, and I grew bored. So very bored. I was also irritated by the 'Mommy said, Daddo said' narrative after every bit of dialogue, and the conversations the mother had with the little girl about her marital affairs were just bizarre. What parent would go into detail about why they cheated on the other parent to their young child?? I can't believe this is from the same author who gave us Birdbox! Don't waste your time with it.
I was also bored by Ghostsmith, Drown Me with Dreams, and Lore of the Tides, but as I didn't particularly enjoy the first books, Bonesmith, Sing Me to Sleep, and Lore of the Wildes, I hadn't expected much from any of them in the first place. On the positive side, at least it cleared up some space on my bookshelves, which is why I made a point to quickly read the audiobooks in the first place! (I've listed them on my eBay page, along with a few others, if you're interested...)
So, that's what I read in October. I'll be back with my November round-up really soon!
Have you read anything good lately?
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