October wrap-up [2022]

Happy November!

I hope you all had a lovely October. For me, the month felt like it went on forever – but that’s possibly because I had a lot going on. I got to take a break from work and visit one of my best friends, and I also got to read a lot! I read a total of 9 books, and reached my target of 100 books for this year!!

☆ mystery/thriller ☆

Thirteen Storeys by Jonathon Sims
Jonathon Sims was one of the main writers for my favourite podcast, The Magnus Archives, so I was so excited to pick up his debut novel. I thought his podcast writing skills translated really well into novel writing. There were a number of main characters with their own story in this anthology-like novel, and I love how in a short span of time we were able to really understand and know the characters. I thought it was such a cool modern take of the haunted house trope, and despite the somewhat cheesy ending, I really loved it.

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this novel. It was such a great horror novel; I felt uneasy the entire time, and the build up was fantastic. I really liked the mix of third-person POVs, podcast transcripts, and news articles; it really mixed it up and kept the story entertaining. [read my full review here]

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
I still have mixed feeling about this book. I thought that the premise was fun – I love a good haunted house novel – but the middle felt like it dragged on for too long. The last 1/3 was wonderful; it was much more fast-paced and spooky, and overall an enjoyable read.

☆ sci-fi / fantasy ☆

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
Here’s another book I have mixed feelings for. I still don’t know what to make of this book. I enjoyed the different take on vampires – them being a totally different species to humans – and our main character being a rare result of an experiment to combine human and vampire DNA. It explored themes of otherness and family, and the writing was very easy to read, but I struggled to connect with the characters. Plus, the plot veered off course from what I expected, and was not what I anticipated from a vampire novel.

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
I’ll keep this short because I will (hopefully?) write a review for this novel. I really loved this, even more than TA6. I thought it was a fantastic follow up. It was so great revisiting these characters and seeing them both grow and devolve as they continued on – the events from TA6 had really effected them, which really drove the novel forward. The magic system felt more complicated and hard to keep up with, so I’m excited to reread the novel in the future to see what I missed.

The Luminaires by Susan Dennard
I was lucky enough to get the ARC for this book, and I thought this was a fun start to a series! I liked the setting – the woods, the Hunt, the creatures lurking in the shadows. I felt some of the story was a little lacklustre, but it shows great promise and has me intrigued about how the rest of the series will go.

Legendborn by Tracey Deonn
This was a re-read in preparation for the sequel, Bloodmarked, and I’m so glad I reread it because I had forgotten so much of the ending. I really enjoyed the reread, and it’s funny how my opinions on some characters had changed (i.e Nick and Sel). I’m beyond excited to read the sequel when it’s released this month.

☆ mythology ☆

Medusa by Jessie Burton
Let’s talk about how beautiful the artwork in this book is. Isn’t it wonderful?

I thought the artwork really elevated the story. It was nice to get to read a story from Medusa’s POV, because she is clearly a victim from all the things the greek gods have done to her, and the novel really highlights that as well as her strength.

☆ non-fiction ☆

Women & Power by Mary Beard
My friend recommended this to me, and as I’m trying to read more nonfiction novels, I thought it would be great to check out. While quite short, Mary Beard does a great job in consolidating the misogyny that women face everyday, and putting it into words in such a short book.

• my dear friend cossette @ teatimelit recommended books based off the songs from Taylor Swift’s Midnights
  
  
• thea @ thea reads wrote a wonderful review for If You Could See The Sun, which has me so excited to read it soon
  
  
• caro @ bookcheshirecat recommended some cozy books to read this fall, and they look so cute and cozy to curl up with
  
  
• andi @ ohnobooks did the birthday booktag, which looks so fun! (a very belated birthday btw!)
  
  
• naemi @ a book owl’s corner wrote about her favourite tropes and recced books that go with them
  
  
• ri @ colour me read wrote a great review for Babel, and wow do I need to finish reading this book!!
  
  
• sophie @ me&ink posted about a whole list of dark academia books, and I am so excited to pick some of these up!
  

love from mecca to medina review

cozy autumn recs

weight of blood review

So, the month didn’t start off great because I was unwell and wasn’t able to upload a post at the beginning of the month, so it kind of threw my schedule off. However, I’m glad I was still able to put up 3 posts last month.

The rest of the month went well! I got to hang out with my friends, got out of the city for a bit, and read more than I expected. I even reached my goodreads reading goal of 100!

2022 Reading Challenge

Saima has completed their goal of reading 100 books in 2022!

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100 of 100 (100%)

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Other than reading, I spent a lot of time listening to Taylor Swift’s new album, Midnights, and I think it’s amazing. My favourites, at the moment are The Great War, Maroon, You’re On Your Own Kid, and Karma.

Crochet update – I finished my biggest project, a cardigan! This is my 3rd attempt trying to make one, my other attempts turning out too terrible to even finish, and I’m glad I stuck with it because it turned out pretty well! I am without inspiration for my next project, so we’ll see where my mind takes me this month.

For November, I don’t really have many things planned. It’s my birthday month so I like to take things easy during this time. I think I’ll just spend this month relaxing when I can, and maybe spoiling myself with new books because well, you only turn 26 once right?

Thank you for reading!
Let me know what your November plans are!

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