Monthly Wrap Ups

October Wrap Up!

Happy Tuesday bookish people! I usually post on Mondays and Fridays but this week I am posting a day late. It is now November and that means it is time to discuss what I read in October. What books did everyone else read last month? I hope you all enjoyed them. As for me, my reading in October was a bit of a whirlwind. Some great books and others that I did not enjoy as much.

From my October TBR:

  • The Mirror of Infinite Endings by Stephanie Garber – I did read this. I gave this book 4 stars. Overall, I enjoyed this as a short, fun read but I also believe that it wasn’t really needed after the ending of the Once Upon A Broken Heart series.
  • Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros – I did read this and I gave it 5 stars. I do not usually enjoy short story collection but being back in this world with the characters and the dragons made this very enjoyable. What I liked most was that even though there were many characters in this collection, each one felt different.
  • All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – I did read this. 4.5 stars. I enjoy this series, it is quick and easy to read. This was my least favourite of the series so far. It was a little slow in places and felt like a set up for the fourth book rather than its own story.
  • Your Turn To Die by Sue Wallman – I DNF’d this. It creeped me out. When it started talking about ghosts of murdered people, I was reading it at night so I couldn’t continue. I usually love the books by this author so I imagine this one would also have been good if I could have continued.
  • People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield – I did read this. I gave it four stars because I liked the different take on the Jack the Ripper story. I found myself needing to know the ending. What I didn’t like about this book was the slow pacing and sometimes the writing was unnecessarily drawn out but I still enjoyed the book.
  • Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards – I did read this. I am not going to give a star rating for it because it was honestly a forgettable book for me, I do not remember much about it.
  • Lockwood and Co The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud – I did not manage to get around to this book.
  • Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano – I did read this. My favourite book in this series was the third book and this one fell flat as a follow up to it. I am starting to get a little bored with this series. I own book five and there is currently one more out and one coming next year in this series. I am not sure I will continue after book five.
  • The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton – I did not get to this book this month.
  • Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver – I did not get to this book either.
  • Starling House by Alix E Harrow – I did not read this.
  • The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst – I did not read this.
  • Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry – I did not read this.
  • One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig – I did not read this.
  • Belladonna by Adalyn Grace – I did not read this.

Outside of my TBR I read: The Queen Who Came In From The Cold by S J Bennett, Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson, The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, and Oxford Blood by Rachel Davis Featherstone.

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

Monthly TBRs

October TBR

Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a lovely day today. What are you all planning to read in October? My books for October are darker than my September reads to match the spooky and cosy atmosphere of Autumn.

Victorious by V E Schwab

The Mirror of Infinite Ending by Stephanie Garber

Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros

The Ornithologists Field Guide to Love by India Holton

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Starling House by Alix E Harrow

The Spellshop by sarah Beth Durst

Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice by Elle Cosimano

Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry

Your Turn To Die by Sue Wallman

People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield

Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Have any of you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Book Tags

Valentine’s Day Book Tag

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well! It is almost Valentine’s Day and I am sure many people will be celebrating. Personally, I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. This year I wouldn’t anyway as the relationship I was in, ended in December but even if we were still together it’s not an event I usually celebrate, I think if you want to show you care for someone you should do it any day of the year not just a socially sanctioned day.

Anyway, today I am answering a Valentine’s Day Book Tag that I found on Booksare42.com, just for a bit of fun. Let me know some of your answers too!

  1. Name a stand alone book that you love

Honestly, I don’t read that many standalone books. Most of what I read are series. As with many of these questions I am going to go with the first book that came to my head and that is Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson, it was one of my favourite books of last year and I still find myself thinking about it at random times throughout the day. It definitely captured a piece of my soul.

  1. Name a dystopian book that you love

For this question, I’m quite predictable. I was there for all the Hunger Games and the Divergent era. I loved both of them. In terms of more recently what I have been reading, I only recently started reading the Shatter Me series by Taherah Mafi which I think counts as dystopian and I am really enjoying that, I am currently reading book four Restore Me.

  1. A book that you love that no one else talks about

Lets see, I really enjoyed The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner and I never see anyone talking about that book. It was short but pulled me in from the very first page.

  1. Your favourite book couple

This is probably the hardest question here. I love a lot of book couples: Feyre and Rhysand, Xaden and Violet, Thomas Cresswell and Audrey-Rose Wadsworth. The list could go on forever. I think my top choice though, has to be Julian and Scarlet from Caraval by Stephanie Garber, I adore this couple. They’re not perfect but I love them to pieces.

  1. Name a book that other love but you haven’t read yet

Ah, there are a lot of these. I’ll go with an obvious one, Alchemised. I own it, thanks to my friend who bought it for me for Christmas. Fun Fact: I only had to pick it up in its wrapping paper and I knew what book it was from the weight of it. I am put off by it being fanfiction originally and being said to be so dark but I do want to give it a fair chance.

  1. A book with red on the cover

It probably came to my mind first because it is on my February TBR but Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo has some red on the cover. I am excited to finally be finishing the series this month, I didn’t love the first book but I did love Six of Crows so I decided to continue with it and I did enjoy the second book, so now I will finish the series.

  1. A book with pink on the cover

Probably not the best choice for a romantic, loving day but I suppose it is technically a romance? But Butcher and Blackbird was the book that came to mind first with pink on the cover. Honestly, I don’t have very any pink books so I’ll have to stick with this one. I haven’t read it yet, I’m a bit scared about the serial killer element but I have heard good things so I will eventually read it.

  1. If you had a box of chocolates which fictional boy/girl would you give them to?

Ooh, tough question. Same as choosing a fictional couple, there are so many choices for me. I think I am always going to have to go with my favourite man though, Thomas Cresswell from the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco. He wouldn’t appreciate the chocolates, he’d probably pull a face and walk away but I’d still try.

  1. If you are single on Valentine’s Day which book will you read and which TV show/Film will you watch?

I will be reading one of my February TBR books, most likely A Death in Diamonds by S J Bennett, the fourth book in her Majesty the Queen investigates series. I am currently rewatching old Merlin episodes so that’s probably what I will be watching that day too.

  1. Finally, if you were in a bookshop and shot by Cupid’s arrow, what new release will you love?

I already know the answer to this one! As I am writing this I am waiting for my pre-order of this book to arrive. I will read absolutely anything this author puts out. It is of course, Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco. This is the third book in the Princes of Sin series, the spin off to the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy. Each book in this series follows a different prince of sin, we have had envy and gluttony so far I think, but this one is Sloth! He has a castle full of libraries and books, I have been waiting not at all patiently for this book. I am literally going into hospital for a big operation two days after it releases so I will be taking that one with me to take my mind off everything.