Happy Halloween everyone! I can't believe October has come and gone already. It's one of my favorite months of the year, and I'm always sad to see it go. This fall seems to be flying by, and I want time to slow down so I can savor my favorite season for a little while longer!
I read some books I really enjoyed this month, and I also read some books that were big fat duds. I'm still continuing my addiction to the ETL Echo Apple Podcast feature with the Dramione fan fiction, and I am 100% addicted to a certain narrator on that app.
First off, let's talk about the winners I read this month. My three favorite books were Stalking Jack the Ripper, Pride and Premeditation, and A Season for Second Chances. These three books were books that kept me flipping the pages from start to finish, and I didn't want to put any of these books down until I was finished. I think I am most surprised by Stalking Jack the Ripper; I wasn't sure if it was a book I would like, but I enjoyed the crap out of that story, Audrey Rose, and Thomas Cresswell. I can't wait to dive into the second book in the series in November, and I'm hoping to finish up the series in January. I thought SJTR was a nice balance between historical fiction, romance, and general fiction because it had elements of each of these genres.
Pride and Premeditation was a Pride and Prejudice retelling I enjoyed a lot this month too; this book would have easily been a five star read if the story had given me a little bit more Darcy and Elizabeth time (or just plain Darcy time, if I'm being honest). All the things I loved from the original were present in this retelling, and I especially enjoyed the banter created between Darcy and Elizabeth. It reflected the original story while also providing a new take specifically on Elizabeth. I thought the slightly updated portrayal was really well done, and I also enjoyed this somewhat softer version of Darcy. Two thumbs way up and I can't wait for the sequel!
A Season for Second Chances was my second book by Jenny Bayliss (her second book ever published, I believed), and I loved it just as much as the first. I love Jenny's ability to create characters who just reach out and grab me by the heart, and both Annie and John did just that. I also completely fell in love with the seaside village Bayliss created, and I want to immediately relocate to the town in the story. The people, the culture, and the story just swept me away in this book, and I am now a super fan of anything Bayliss writes. She has rocketed to the top of my auto-buy author list!
I also continued by obsession with ETL Echo's narration of Dramione fan fiction this month, and I listed to The Politician's Wife, Wait and Hope, Picked and Planted, and Sight and Seeing. All of these were fairly short, easy listens, and they were light interpretations of Dramione. I thought each story was unique and fun! Picked and Planted is set in the Dramione world, but it's actually a story of Theo's budding relationship with Blaze. Sight and Seeing, also set in the Dramione world, is a story of Pansy Parkinson and Neville Longbottom falling in love, which was pretty short but unique. There's still a few Dramione fan fics on ETL Echo I have to listen to, so I'll definitely continue listening in November. I'm obsessed!
Unfortunately, I also read some duds this month in my opinion. The Ex-Hex and All the Feels did not live up to expectations, and I found them both to be utterly forgettable books in the grand scheme of things. I don't understand all the hype that The Ex-Hex is getting on bookstagram or TikTok, but I can tell you with certainty if you like good plots, lots of chemistry, and a bit of steam in your romance novels, The Ex-Hex is not for you. The plot was a jumbled mess, and I don't know what the actual end goal was for the story still because the author kept piling on things that just made the plot even more convoluted. I also didn't enjoy All The Feels, the second book in the Spoiler Alert series. I read an arc of this book, and it was just okay. The book has good representation, but it's not a strong story with memorable characters. Overall, I think both of these books are great if you're just looking for something to read, but I think you can easily find better, more memorable books out there right now.
Overall, October was a pretty good reading month for me, and while I'm sad to see my fall slipping by me, I am looking forward to the holiday season kicking off. I love winter and Christmas as much as I love fall! Was Bear not the cutest Sven ever for Halloween???
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