October 2026 Wrap-Up

Happy November!

I barely got any reading done in October because I was hella busy with editing work, but I did finish something, so I’m proud of myself 😅 I also managed to still enjoy my Halloween regardless of my workload. I handed out candy and watched the newest Insidious movie. I thought it was pretty funny, and I couldn’t take the main creepy man seriously because his voice was just so deep and attractive. I think all those dark romance MCs are getting to me 🤣 If you’ve seen the movie, let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Editing Update: I survived my hectic October! I worked on 6 different projects on top of being a judge for another round of Writing Battle. My November isn’t as busy, so I’m looking forward to catching up on reading, seeing friends, and updating my invoices so I’m not slammed come tax season 😅 I’m currently booking into February, so if you have a manuscript you’ve been working on and you’re getting to the stage where you need an editor, send me your synopsis here and we’ll see if I’d be a good fit for your book 😄

My Library

I didn’t read any books from my personal TBR or my local library this month, but I may read some in November if my hold comes in.

Netgalley+Edelweiss e-ARCs

I got approved for an eARC of a Junji Ito manga and I’m over the moon with excitement to read it! I love his work so much.

Other (e)ARCs

From Brynne Weaver

Love Antidote by Brynne Weaver

Review:

Thank you Brynne for the eARC! I’m happy I got this when I did because I actually had the capacity to read a novella during October. I highly enjoyed this book. I love when books have food in them, and this was great because it was set in a Michelin star restaurant for a time. I loved the main characters’ relationship and thought they had great chemistry throughout the story. Brynne did a great job of building the emotions for their relationship within the low page count. I loved the ending, and I also loved how creative the murder plot was! It was so perfect how the story came full circle. On a side note, I smiled at seeing Sto Lat written on the dessert because I’m half Polish and knew what it meant. It’s probably one of the few phrases I actually know 😅 If you’re looking for a romantic, murderous romp, I’d definitely recommend checking out this story!

4.5/5⭐

Audiobooks

Playground by Aron Beauregard

Review:

First of all, just all the trigger warnings. Everything. Be warned, this book is graphic and dark and horrible and will probably traumatize you if you’re not used to reading this stuff. This book was my first foray into splatterpunk and boy am I traumatized 🤣 I kept hearing this book was super graphic, so I was curious if I’d be able to handle it. It takes a lot to make me feel sick to my stomach when reading a book, but this book delivered and exceeded my expectations. I was blown away by the word choices in this book because the gore was so descriptive that it gave me all the nasty feels. The parts discussing Geraldine’s lady bits made me want to throw up. I didn’t realize how sexually graphic this book would be because I was just expecting, like, murder gory graphics. This book is every single adjective for disgusting. I enjoyed how disgusted I was by this book because I feel like that’s the point of the genre? I’d recommend it, but definitely don’t pick it up lightly. You’ve been warned 🤣

4/5⭐

What was your fav part of October? Did you read or watch anything spooky? Did you do anything fun for Halloween? Did you dress up? Let me know in the comments 🎃

Happy reading!