October has been both incredibly long and short at the same time. It was my birthday on the 16th and that seemed to take forever to come around, but the rest of the month slipped through my fingers. Saying that though I did have a very good reading month, I’m very surprised.
Alongside the seven books I’ve talked about in this post I have also finished five festive ARCs. Which brings my October total up to 12 books read, literally insane. A few are audiobooks/graphic novels so not that impressive, but still a lot. I’m taking the win.
Dark Room Etiquette by Robin Roe
Read: 02/10/22 – 06/10/22
It feels like forever ago I read this. Honestly what a way to kick off the month. I haven’t had many five star reads this year and Dark Room Etiquette really was something else. I’ve banged on about this book too much so if you want to read my full review you can do so here.
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Sayers Wayte has everything—until he’s kidnapped by a man who tells him the privileged life he’s been living is based on a lie.
Trapped in a windowless room, without knowing why he’s been taken or how long the man plans to keep him shut away, Sayers faces a terrifying new reality. To survive, he must forget the world he once knew, and play the part his abductor has created for him.
But as time passes, the line between fact and fiction starts to blur, and Sayers begins to wonder if he can escape . . . before he loses himself.
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker
Read: 08/10/22
I wanted some witchy vibes for October and I got exactly that with Mooncakes. This graphic novel has been on my to be read for so long and I’m really glad I got around to reading it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be, but still a very solid read.
Check out my full review of Mooncakes here.
Synopsis: Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods.
As a genderqueer werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.
Nightmare in Savannah by Lela Gwenn
Read: 15/10/22
Again this wasn’t at all like I expected. Nightmare in Savannah has been sitting on my kindle app for months and I finally decided to read it last month because it seemed like it would have spooky vibes. Sadly this wasn’t really the case and it was quite the letdown.
I went into slightly more detail in my review if you want to read what I really thought about it.
Synopsis: Alexa moves to Savannah to get away from her past. Too bad her past is a Google search away and her parent’s criminal acts quickly make her an outcast. Good thing Fae, Chloe, & Skye aren’t high on the social ladder and give Alexa a group to feel comfortable in. But after a long night of debauchery they transform into the town’s worst nightmare; Fairies.
A Walk in the Park by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Read: 18/10/22
Another average read from Audible Originals and honestly, it doesn’t even surprise me anymore. This one was a little better but the standard is pretty low.
It was really nice to read a story about plus-sized characters though as you really don’t come across any very often.
Read my review of A Walk in the Park here.
Synopsis: Andre Monroe is ready to move on from heartbreak, and the first step is bringing home his rescue pup. He’d bonded instantly with the playful Zeus and was already planning their first adventures. But one thing he definitely hadn’t daydreamed about was Zeus accidentally being promised to someone else – or that he might go home empty-handed and brokenhearted all over again.
Janelle Johnson is not giving up her claim to Zeus. He already has a hold on her heart (and his own Instagram handle). After the year she’d had, she needed this dog. But when she sees the disappointment of the big, burly handsome man who’s clearly just as in love with the dog as she is, she proposes a deal to Andre – for one month they’ll co-parent the dog. How hard could it be?
Both of them agree to the unusual arrangement. Sharing a dog with a complete stranger isn’t quite the walk in the (dog) park they imagined, but as they work together to give Zeus a loving future, their four-legged friend might not be the only one who’s found a happily ever after.
Daisy Chains by Lynn Vande Stouwe
Read: 26/10/22
I don’t have the energy to talk about this again. Painfully average, with not enough depth.
Read my review of Daisy Chains here.
Synopsis: There’s a dress in Daisy’s closet. Silver. Low-backed. Tiny spaghetti straps. She’ll wear it to prom on the arm of Harris Zandari, the most gorgeous senior at her school.
How did quiet, barely-there Daisy, land Harris Zandari? She watched him. She watched him so closely, and for so long, that she saw things no one else did. She saw through his charm, his bright, smiling face, to the sad, broken person underneath just waiting for the perfect sad, broken girl to complete him.
Daisy was that girl. Not only because her mother died and everyone still felt sorry for her. But because she made herself perfect for him. She fashioned herself into his broken dream girl, and now, they were going to prom. And Daisy was going to make it a night she would never forget.
No one but Daisy knows this, but there’s another dress in her closet, buried in the back. Tea-length. Little cap sleeves.
Funeral black.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Read: 13/10/22 – 29/10/22
Now here is a read I really enjoyed. I know this book is pretty marmite for most people, but I genuinely loved it. The witchy vibes were immaculate and the plot was interesting. A little too fast-paced, but I liked it.
The writing style is one I can easily get on board with. Great flow and super easy to read. Love it.
Read my review of The Ex Hex here.
Synopsis: Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.
That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.
Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.
Tricked in October by Starla DeKruyf
Read: 29/10/22 – 31/10/22
I received a very late review copy of this so I don’t actually have a picture for it yet (sorry I’m super busy). I will be posting a review of it tomorrow though so keep come back at 6:30pm UK time if you want to read it.
Synopsis: After losing her husband last winter, the thought of hosting a Halloween couples costume party is the furthest thing from Kelsey O’Henry’s mind. Besides raising three young children, managing O’Henry’s Bar and Grill, and caring for her alcoholic mother, she has more important things to worry about. Like the stack of unpaid business loans that threaten the bar’s existence. As well as her newfound feelings she’s developed for her best guy friend.
Davis Vance is tired of being followed around by cameras. He misses the days before he and his twin brother became “Renovation Dudes”—hosts of an HGTV show. When Davis learns Kelsey could lose the bar at the end of the fall season, he sees it as an opportunity to not only help his friend, but as a way out of renewing his HGTV contract.
There’s just one problem—lately Davis’s feelings for Kelsey have been less friendly and more romantic. And on the night of the bar’s Halloween party, both Kelsey and Davis can no longer ignore their desires. Will their passionate evening be a one-night stand—only a flicker of heat during the crisp autumn, or will she risk her pride and accept his help?
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Book Review: The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
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