Here is my booklist for everything I read in October! My favorites by far were The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, and The Idea of You by Robinne Lee.
The Secrets We Kept by Laura Prescott
This was a Reese’s Book Club pick set during the Russian revolution and it fell flat for me. I think my main issue here was my own lack of knowledge about this period of Russian history. It felt like the book assumed I knew some things I didn’t, and didn’t want to give me the background I needed. The writing was good, and the author went to my alma mater (Hook ’em!) so it was probably 3 stars for me.
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
With this book I wanted to start a new YA-fantasy series and it delivered. Three triplets, who have to kill each other to become queen, with super-natural powers, and all the angst. Their powers were original and the narrator on the audiobook did a great job differentiating between the sisters. Honestly, no idea if I’ll get around to picking up the next book though. I tried reading the physical copy of the next one but got confused because the pronunciation of the names did not match up with the spelling of them and my brain got stuck. 4 stars.
Fleishman Is In Trouble by Tammy Brodesser-Akner
We read this in my IRL book club. Hi, I’m a newlywed and this book was terrifying. I think maybe because I’ve only been married a year and also do not have children that the concepts discussed here were strange to me. There was definitely multiple levels of this book and it was snarky in the right way. 3 stars.
The Dutch House Ann Patchett
This audiobook was narrated by Tom Hanks. TOM. HANKS. It was amazing. Ann knows how to write a family saga. I was definitely a member of their family while I read this. The relationships were so real and the characters so detailed and human. I cannot sing this book’s praises enough. 5 stars!!!!!!!!
An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard
I read this one for ‘spooky season’ and also because I think I heard it recommended somewhere as a read-alike to the Discovery of Witches series (which I loved). It was a different take on the ‘where magic came from’ trope and I liked it. The first in a series, but only the first book is out. 4 stars.
The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book. For some reason, I had the idea that this was a story where someone charmed books into dancing around the air (picture the cake scene in the animated Cinderella movie). Not exactly what happens… This is a fun, cute story about how a librarian is able to talk to books and she puts books in peoples hands to change their lives. I would put this along the lines of Jenny Colgan’s books. 3 stars.
The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next #3) by Jasper Fforde
Thursday Next continues her strange book-ish journey while trying to keep her life together. Honestly, I felt like this one wasn’t as exciting as the other books, but there was a good amount of conceptualizing how books actually get written. I’ll keep reading to find out what happens to Thursday. What’s funny is that my library has this book shelved under ‘mystery’ while I think it is firmly science-fiction. 3.5 stars.
From Scratch by Tembi Locke
Another Reese’s pick. I find I have better luck with her non-fiction. I was hoping this would be more of a foodie memoir, a la Ruth Reichl. Instead, it was a very close look at human grief and how important your relationships can be in times of need. 3 stars.
Goodbye, Paris by Antsey Harris
I ordered this from Book of the Month a while ago and hadn’t bothered to pick it up until I saw the U.K. version (called ‘The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton’) on the Waterstones bestseller list. I like to peruse Waterstones’ lists because I have an obsession with the U.K.. Anyway, this character was likeable while a little naive. There was a lot of music talk which you would probably very much enjoy if you played any orchestra instrument. 3 stars.
The Mime Order (Bone Season #2) by Samantha Shannon
Samantha Shannon delivered again with an intricate, plot driven, drama filled science fiction story. I’m very invested in these characters and need to know what happens next. 5 stars.
Turn Of The Key by Ruth Ware
Your typical thriller novel where a young girl seemingly steps into disaster through no fault of her own and has to fight her way out of a bad situation. However, the writing was good and I did not see the twist coming. 3 stars.
Miss You by Kate Eberlen
I recently became a libro.fm member (cancelled audio from you-know-who) and spent some time trying to find good narrators from bookseller recs. This was how I found The Dutch House, and Miss You. This has the BEST English / Irish accent narrators. One for Tess and one for Gus and they complement each other so well. Theirs is a story of missed connections and journeys to find love. 5 stars.
The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
I read this one at the suggestion of the Currently Reading Podcast. With a similar time-travel premise to The Time Traveler’s Wife, I felt this book had much deeper characters. It had enough science for me that kept me interested without being too much and showcased a mother’s deep love for her children. 5 stars.
The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
I avoided this book pretty heavily when it first came about because it was blurbed too much as ‘If you love Grey’s Anatomy, you’ll love this’. Well, I do love Grey’s. And, thankfully, this book delivered. Medical drama, personal drama, and good writing. 4.5 stars.
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
My IRL book club friend was raving about this the other day so I finally picked it up. WOW, steamy! But such an intriguing story and a relatable main character. What would you do if you had a teenage daughter and fell in love (and had hot sex) with her boy crush? 5 stars.
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
I LOVE epistolary and experimental format novels. And science fiction. And YA. So this book hit all the nails on the head. The space opera has heart warming elements and made me laugh out loud at times. I immediately picked up the next book in the trilogy and am loving it. 5 stars!
SJP Books 