It was actually, surprisingly, a stellar reading month! I think I was surprised because looking back, I enjoyed everything I read, I didn’t feel like I was reading as much as I normally do in a month. This makes sense as we traveled, then had family visiting, had PTO kick off, and then needed to decompress from everything. Somehow, I managed to read 6 books and give an average rating of 4 Stars. So, maybe not by best of the year, but certainly a high rating month.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones 4 Stars I found this to be suitably, atmospherically spooky. The book has a haunting nature to it, far surpassing the haunting that is happening in the book itself. I really enjoyed it.
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson 4 Stars This is the second book in the Good Girls Guide to Murder trilogy and I did enjoy this new case. I don’t know if I enjoyed it as much as the first book, but I did enjoy seeing some character development and I feel like the underlying tone of the book got suitably darker.
The Tree by John Fowles NR I don’t really have too much to say about this book as I wasn’t really…feeling it? I don’t know, it might have just been a miss for me, but while I understand and believe what he was saying in his long essay, I didn’t connect with it.
The Passengers by John Marrs 5 Stars Easily one of my favorite reads of the month, maybe even of the year (who knows- I haven’t even started to look at end of the year lists). John Marrs is just quickly becoming one of my go to authors for quick paced, unputdownable thrillers. This is my second one and I loved it just as much as The One. I would recommend reading The One first, as this is set in the same “universe” (read: the same modern-day era) and does have a couple of near spoilers for that book.
Rebel Rose by Emma Theriault 3 Stars Ah, this book fell a bit flat for me. I know I’m not necessarily the intended audience (this is a lower end of the young adult spectrum book) and I think that was the major reason for the average rating from me. I think this book would be excellent for a 12/13-year-old (depending on maturity level- there isn’t anything graphic or super inappropriate, but parent discretion on it), who loves Belle and Beauty and the Beast and wants more post Disney story. I did appreciate the historical references that took place.
Not All Diamonds & Rose by Dave Quinn NR Ah, THE housewives book. I’m going to be doing an entire podcast on this book, but I’ll just say that I actually really enjoyed it. This is a Bravo/Andy approved book, so you’re not going to get ALL the tea, but you get a good amount of “tea”, but also behind the scenes producer content.
So, that’s it! Not too much to say on the books, but I’m hoping to end the month strong with a good November and December (even though spoiler alert- I’m not loving my current read…).
A Cuppa Cosy 