Happy November! For those in the US, we aren’t far from Thanksgiving and soon it will be holiday season. And then a new year. Which is a very crazy thought to think about. Which I won’t for a while haha.
With the start of November, it also means that the official spooky season is over. I think I had a pretty good October/ spooky reading season, though I didn’t get to read all the books I wanted to.
Books Read
Overall, I read mostly mystery, thriller, and horror books in October with just a couple exceptions.
- Killer Content (A Brooklyn Murder Mystery #1) by Olivia Blacke
- Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams
- Too Hot to Handle by Tessa Bailey
- Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
- Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods by Lyndsie Bourgon
- Blackmail and Bibingka (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #3) by Mia P. Manansala
- A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
- The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
- The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry
- These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
Out of all my October reads, A Dreadful Splendor, Just Like Home, and These Fleeting Shadows stand out. What’s interesting is that all three of these have some kind of haunted house element or spin to the stories. Which I found to really enjoy but if done really well (and isn’t too terrifying haha). A Dreadful Splendor was the gothic mystery romance read I didn’t know I wanted. It had a great mystery at the core of the story that was well balanced with thriller and romance aspects. Just Like Home was straight up creepy and had tension filled pages. I also enjoyed getting to know what happened when Vera was young and her father was arrested as a serial killer; those memories paired with her as an adult and dealing with seems like hauntings is really interesting. Definitely leans towards horror. I really liked the unique twist that Gailey put on the haunted house story. These Fleeting Shadows was not what I was expecting. I definitely went thinking that it was going to be a haunted house story with a ‘all the family vying for the inheritance’ feel. There’s horror, there’s mystery, there’s tension, and just a little bit of romance. Kate Alice Marshall is a superb writer and I thought she did a great job blending all those elements together.
Out of all of these reads, The Death of Jane Lawrence and Killer Content were the biggest meh/ disappointing reads.
Reading Challenges
- Beat the Backlist: 4
- Mount TBR: 1
- Goodreads Random Number: 0
- ARCs Challenge: 1
Another okay month for my reading challenges haha. I will say that I’m glad that I did read one of my ARCs!
Reading List
I want to continued my spooky reading into November and then after I’m done with that mood, who knows!
- These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
- Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
- The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
- The Cloisters by Katy Hays
Sorry, I'm Booked 