Can I just say that I am S-T-R-U-G-G-L-I-N-G to finish any books lately?? I’m not even joking when I say that I’m in the middle of at least 5 books at the moment, because none of them are really holding my attention long enough. Add to that the fact that I’ve been wanting to watch more TV shows and play more video games lately than I want to read, and it’s tough to finish anything! I managed to finish 6 books this month which honestly I’m really surprised about. I’m doing this monthly wrap up in a different format because I also wanted to include books I started but still haven’t finished yet since I did put in a lot of effort to read those as well, they deserve some recognition!
Books I Finished
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool – ★★★★☆
The first book I finished in October was There Will Come a Darkness, and even though it took me a while to actually finish it, it was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I loved the setting and the characters were all really great to follow. The magic was interesting and I’m excited to see where this series goes. I actually pulled my life together to write a review for this book, so if you want more of my thoughts go check that out!
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh – ★★★☆☆
I got a copy of The Beautiful in my Book of the Month box and I read it as soon as I got it! I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I was hoping that I would. I wanted so much more explanations and reasonings. I didn’t feel super connected to the characters and it was just…missing something. I do want to see what happens in the second book though, so I liked it enough to continue. I have a full review of this one up if you want more in depth thoughts.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – ★★★★★
I thought that maybe the reason I was struggling to finish any books was because I was trying to read too many fantasy novels at the same time, and sometimes you just need to read something completely different to get your reading mojo back. That’s why I picked up The Hating Game, and let me tell you: I loved this book! I read this in just two or three days which was a big improvement from my previous reads, and I loved the chemistry between the two main characters. I don’t have a review, but if you like any type of romance I highly recommend this one!
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig – ★★★★☆
I got this book in my August OwlCrate box, and while I was already excited to read it before it came in the box, I was even more excited once I found out that it was pretty spooky! I don’t think that it was nearly as spooky as everyone was saying that it was, but I did find the ghosts to be a fun addition to the story. I loved how you could feel the atmosphere of the island, it felt very similar to the feeling I got from both Wilder Girls and The Wicked Deep.
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware – ★★★★☆
I’ve never read any of Ruth Ware’s books before and I’ve seen from many other people that The Turn of the Key is one of her best books. This was a three star read for me, the only reason it got an extra star is for the ending which was both shocking and heartbreaking. I listened to this one on audio which was extremely well done! I absolutely HATED Rowan’s character (and I do realize that she’s supposed to be unlikable) but I just couldn’t connect with her or get on board with her actions. I also found myself wishing that the book would go a little faster because the pacing was a little off, but again, the ending was pretty great so it saved the book for me a bit.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan – ★★★★☆
I thought that I had missed the bandwagon for Percy Jackson as I didn’t grow up with it like a lot of people did, but I still decided that I really wanted to read it. I’ve watched the movie countless times and as someone who had never read the book I loved it! After finishing the book, I can see why so many people were upset about the movie because the book is 100% better. I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to continue the series!
Books I’m Currently Reading
Angel Mage by Garth Nix –
I’m about 3/4ths of the way through this book, and I’m enjoying it so far although I feel like it could definitely be shorter than 560 pages. This is a retelling/reimagining of The Three Musketeers and so far the characters are really interesting, but I’m still waiting to see what their motives are, especially the villain. I also really like the magic system with angels providing their magic to mages that can call them, although the structure is a little confusing even with the chart in the beginning.
Shadow Frost by Coco Ma –
This is the book I’m actively reading right now because it keeps pulling me in and I keep thinking about the characters even when I’m not reading! I love the magic system and the hunt for this demon that is destroying villages, plus the group of friends is just perfect! I’m still in shock that Coco Ma wrote this when she was 15, and had it published at age 19! If I were ever to write a book I think this would be what I would aim for, honestly. **Technically I just finished this, but I’m too lazy to redo the combined photo above so I’m leaving it in. #bloggerproblems
Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade –
I got this one in the same Book of the Month box as The Beautiful, and I’m slowly working my way through this. I’m about halfway through and it’s a lot funnier than I was expecting, and not even 30 pages in something that I was NOT expecting happened which made me even more interested to see where this story goes. For an adult fantasy this is really short at around 400 pages, but honestly it’s really packing a punch. It takes one of my favorite tropes – the Chosen One – and turns it on its head in a way I’ve never seen before!
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo –
I hadn’t convinced myself that I really wanted to read this book until I saw it one day out shopping, and I started reading it when I got home but only got maybe 30 pages in before I was distracted by Shadow Frost. I’m curious to see what I think of this because I’m not really a huge fan of Leigh Bardugo – I DNFed Ruin and Rising and don’t remember anything from Six of Crows (which I do plan to reread eventually).
Melting Pages 