12 books. 4320 pages. 9 fiction, 3 non-fiction. 3 fantasy, 3 thriller/mystery, 1 contemporary romance, 1 historical fiction, 1 classic, 2 memoir, 1 essay collection. 8 women. 2 people of colour.
Averaging three books a week, I think I might be getting whiplash from the amount of books I’m speeding through! I’m a slow reader too, so this is really a lot for me. There are just too many books I want to read, buddy reads I’ve committed to, and ARCs to read and review! This coming month I’d love to read less books, at a more comfortable pace, and give each book the presence it deserves, instead of worrying too much about getting on with my next obligated read.
Although Halloween has now passed, I plan on getting more spooky fantasy and thrillers in before Christmas. October wasn’t long enough to squeeze them all in! Autumn really is the best season for reading.
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Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo
She wouldn’t wish love on anyone. It was the guest you welcomed and then couldn’t be rid of.
★★★★★ // Goodreads – 1 2 // Amazon // Reading buddy: Macey
Kaz Brekker’s crew of thugs and thieves are hired for an impossible heist that will determine the future of the Grisha. It’s like the Prison Break of YA fantasy haha.
Making my way through the Grishaverse, slow and steady! This duology consists of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom; they take place a few years after the Shadow and Bone trilogy and feature a new cast of characters. As such, you don’t necessarily need to read the trilogy before the duology, but I’m personally anal about reading things in order. The trilogy provides a lot of the world-building for the Grishaverse, whereas the duology dives right back into the world and provides more complex characters.
I don’t know what to say about Six of Crows that hasn’t already been said. There’s action, romance, humour. The story is told from the perspectives of five of the main cast of six (and Joost’s lol). All the characters were fully fleshed out and all of them stole my heart; Jesper is my guyyy. Ughh this duology got all up in my feels!
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Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited.
★★★★★ // Goodreads // Amazon // Reading buddy: Bomi
Trevor Noah shares about growing up in South Africa during apartheid; the son of a black woman and a white man, he was born a crime. He doesn’t get into his career as a comedian, so don’t expect here! That suited me just fine because I didn’t follow his work previous to reading his memoir, but since finishing it, I will certainly be watching his videos whenever they trend on Youtube! (I can’t keep up with every episode of a talk show haha)
In 300 pages, Trevor Noah packed so much about himself, apartheid, race, mixed identity (and identity in general), religion, poverty, crime, and domestic violence. I’ve never read about apartheid before, so it was especially educational for me, and hearing about how this affected someone personally (Trevor Noah) was even more compelling. The historical facts about apartheid, his personal anecdotes from childhood, and the little life lessons from his superhero of a mom all tied together, making this memoir much more than just an anthology of anecdotes.
For someone to rise from so many challenges (to say the least) and bring such joy to the world as a comedian… man… Respect!! This was such an emotional and educational read, serious and funny in all the right places. If you’re looking for a nonfiction rec, this is a good one!
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
I was learning that in the twenty-first century it would sometimes be impossible to differentiate between the pretext for an experience, the record of that experience, and the experience itself.
★★★★☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // Full review on blog // Reading buddy: Bomi
I don’t read many essay collections, but the ones I’m more interested in are usually memoir-like with commentary on culture to avoid feeling too academic (I’m here to read for fun, not for school! lol). Whilst Trick Mirror does include a few anecdotes, it’s not very memoir-like (except for one essay, “Reality TV Me”), but rather dense in research and includes lots of references. Jia Tolentino is clearly well-read.
Out of the nine essays, three really stood out to me (“The I in Internet,” “Always Be Optimizing,” “The Story of a Generation in Seven Scams”) and three–though interesting–I didn’t really know what to do with (“Pure Heroines,” “Ecstasy,” “I Thee Dread”). I think I’d actually like to write a separate post summarising each of the nine essays–there are lots of interesting notes on culture to get into!–so I’ll leave it at that.
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An Elegant Spirit by Sean Hepburn Ferrer
She has often been referred to as the most elegant, the most stylish, woman in the world. But that elegance had its roots in both their inner values. It came from the right place. It wasn’t a way to be noticed but a way to be humble.
★★★★☆ // Goodreads // Amazon
I was intrigued by this Audrey Hepburn memoir written by her first son, because I was interested to see Audrey Hepburn as a real person rather than as a legend, to see deeper than the beauty of her youth that Hollywood/mainstream media focuses so much on. And this memoir certainly gave that! It was also filled with so many lovely photos from their family collection.
This memoir didn’t impart particularly revelational wisdom, but I did get some insight into how Audrey Hepburn’s professionalism came from a place of insecurity and her humanitarian work with children came from a place of sadness rooted in her experience enduring WWII.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Actually, you can be bad at something, Lily, but if you love doing it, that will be enough.
★★★★☆ // Goodreads // Amazon
Set in the American South, Lily runs away with her black stand-in mother Rosaleen to find out more about her late mother and is taken in by three black beekeeping sisters.
This is not a book I’d typically reach for, but I won a signed copy off an Instagram giveaway so I gave it a shot! It was a bit slow for my taste, but it was well-written. Rounded up my rating for the meaningful content, though perhaps a bit stereotypical. If you’re looking for some southern charm and conversations about race, this is a classic.
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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // Reading buddy: Dani
The only thing I knew about Frankenstein prior to reading the original story was that Frankenstein is the scientist and not the monster. I was surprised to find that Frankenstein’s creature could not only speak, but was actually quite intelligent (spoiler, highlight to reveal: intelligent enough to frame other people for murder!). Hollywood did the creature dirty!
I didn’t find the story very suspenseful. I thought the creation of Frankenstein’s monster would be a whole thing, but it was just: Frankenstein was obsessed with creating life, and two years later, he figured it out, tada! However, what I did appreciate from the story was the creature’s philosophy of happiness by acceptance and companionship.
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House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig
Nights like this were meant to be shared, remembered, and talked about for years. Skies like this were meant to be kissed under.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon
A retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, except in this one, only eight of the sisters are left. Annaleigh is beginning to suspect that her sisters’ deaths were no accidents.
This is a very atmospheric novel, but a bit slow, and there’s no sense of urgency until 3/4 of the way through. There are eight sisters but only three are distinctive. I would characterise Annaleigh as the responsible sister, but otherwise she’s quite bland and is not much more than an observer in the story. In fact, all the sisters are quite bland. It’s not a modern feminist retelling with complex characters; this retelling is better described as a different story rather than a deeper story, which is not quite what I expect out of retellings.
Although there’s not much notable in the characters or plot, this book is a fine choice if you’d simply like to indulge in some spooky fairytale vibes. There’s ghosts and gore!
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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
It’s odd how quickly one adapts… You become increasingly comfortable with madness–and not just the madness of others, but your own. We’re all crazy, I believe, just in different ways.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon
A wife shoots her husband in the face five times and never speaks again. Theo–a criminal psychotherapist–is determined to figure out what happened and get this silent patient to talk.
It took me some time to warm up to the story because I didn’t love Theo (that dude has got a serious saviour complex and boundary issues), but the writing was good, and the chapters were short and fast-paced, which I appreciated.
I had my suspicions, but you never reallyyy know until you get to the end. I wasn’t too surprised by the reveal, but I admit that I was thrown off by red herrings along the way.
Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
I don’t know why people think permanent denial is better than temporary disappointment.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // Full review on blog // (eARC)
Sam and Tate meet and fall in love over the course of a two-week vacation, but they fall out when Sam betrays Tate’s identity as the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars. Fourteen years later, they meet again.
This year Christina Lauren got a lot of love from The Unhoneymooners, including from me, so I was really excited for this new release, but unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It didn’t have the charm/romance/humour that I loved so much in The Unhoneymooners and was hoping for more of.
Sam was bland, Tate was a doormat, and they didn’t have much chemistry, so I had a hard time indulging them pining after each other. The minor characters stole the spotlight for me. Loved Tate’s charismatic costar Nick and her ride-or-die Charlie.
Although I wasn’t particularly charmed by this romance, it was easy to read. If you’re satisfied with a fling with a pretty face, this book will do you just fine. In general, I’d say that you don’t need to make Twice in a Blue Moon a priority to read if you have other books on your TBR. There are lots of other Christina Lauren novels to fall in love with!
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If We Were Villains by ML Rio
But maybe every day we let grief in, we’ll also let a little bit of it out, and eventually we’ll be able to breathe again.
★★☆☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // Reading buddies: Sadia, Tegan
One of seven friends studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college is found dead. Released from prison after serving ten years for a murder he may or may not have committed, Oliver finally tells the retiring detective the truth of what happened.
I didn’t connect with this story at all, particularly the characters. The dynamic between the seven friends was so weird; I don’t know if I should even call them friends. They were very dramatic and took what happened on stage between them very personally, like they didn’t know they were acting and not the actual embodiment of the Shakespearean characters they were playing. Maybe they’re method actors lol. Because I couldn’t get past this aspect, it was difficult for me to get into the plot of the rest of the story, as the plot was driven by these plays.
It all felt very pretentious, and at one point a character is embarrassed that they didn’t have enough books in their room when another friend came to visit. Oliver had a nice guy complex, Richard had anger issues (did not get his deal at all), and I hated how Meredith was objectified all the time, by her “friends” too, or perhaps most of all! The others were forgettable.
However, it must be said that I’ve forgotten a lot of the Shakespeare I learned in high school, and didn’t like Shakespeare much even when I was in the thick of studying it. So perhaps I couldn’t properly appreciate the artistry of this book.
This is not a contemporary fiction read; it’s more literary fiction. The ratings are high and the book has been compared to The Secret History by Donna Tartt; my opinion is in the minority, so if you’re interested in the book, I wouldn’t discourage you from giving it a try, but it wasn’t for me. If you do plan on reading it some time in the future, there was a Halloween play in the story, so October would be a fun month to read it.
Providence by Caroline Kepnes
It’s amazing how much money you save when you don’t have a social life, when you don’t have to go see your friends for the game, when you don’t have friends.
★★☆☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // Reading buddies: Sadia, Tegan
Jon is kidnapped on his way to school and mysteriously returns four years later with a deadly, uncontrollable power that reveals itself whenever he gets too emotional. His power kinda reminded me of Zoe from American Horror Story: Coven, who kills anyone she has sex with, and Rogue from X-Men, who absorbs the life force from anyone she touches.
The mystery isn’t around who kidnapped Jon or how but around how Jon was imbued with this power. Nonetheless, there was very little suspense in the story. The story seemed to focus more on Jon’s obsession with his childhood friend Chloe, which was hopeless because he kept ghosting her. To be honest, I’m over stories about men who feel entitled to women.
The writing style felt a bit experimental; it wasn’t for me. It was written from three perspectives–Jon’s, Chloe’s, and the detective Eggs’–and all of them had the tone of a middle schooler. I was willing to look past this for Jon and Chloe at the beginning of the book when they were young, but they (at the very least, their tone) never matured. All three were very self-important and delusional in their own ways.
Around 2/3 of the way through, Jon’s storyline began to get slightly interesting, so there was potential there. I think this story might have been better told just through Jon’s perspective (or perhaps through Jon’s kidnapper’s perspective in addition to Jon’s). All three were bland, but Jon was slightly more interesting and perhaps could have been developed into a more interesting character given more focus.
I’d recommend reading Frankenstein instead of this.
PS: I share a favourite quote from each read, but if you’d like to see all the notable quotes I highlighted, be sure to follow my Goodreads reviews!
PPS: september reads