September Wrap-Up

🎃 Happy Spooky Season 🎃

Boy oh boy did I have a crappy reading month! I was on vacation for half the month and only finished 1 book, and then I was so busy catching up with everything when I returned that I barely had time to read. Thank goodness for audiobooks though, because I managed to finish the one I was listening to last month and a couple others. In total, I finished 2 books and 3 audiobooks which is way less than my monthly average. I have a huge list of Netgalleys and ARCs to get through in October though, so wish me luck on completing that TBR 😂

My Home Library

I didn’t read anything from my own home library this month, but I can’t wait to get to my spooky reads in October.

Netgalley eARCs

Ancient Dreams by JP Roth

Review:

I read the synopsis and thought it was going to be a great graphic novel but boy was I wrong. First of all, this is a graphic novel but the first few pages are just full text in super tiny, hard to read font. The artwork is pretty intricate and cool, which is probably the only thing I liked about this book, but there’s also a lot of fan service for the female character designs. There’s even a collection of illustrations of the female characters practically naked in suggestive poses I also found it really hard to follow the plot of this story because I was too confused about what was happening. I read this on my Kobo so the art was in black and white, and I had such a difficult time even seeing anything because it was so dark. I had to read this on my computer so I could see the colour. Also the text was really hard to follow because of the font and colour and there was also so much of it. There would be some pages throughout the story that were full text and I just wanted to skim those because I was already going a bit cross-eyed. I feel like this graphic novel had really good potential and the initial synopsis sounded really interesting, but the portrayal of it could have definitely been improved.

2/5⭐

Other eARCs/ARCS

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

Review:

Thank you Harper Collins for the ARC! This book was AMAZING and I highly recommend everybody read this ASAP. You will definitely want to have a box of tissues nearby because this book will take you on an emotional rollercoaster and you will be ugly crying by the end. I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character Quinn at first, but as the story progresses I grew more and more attached and invested in her story. Her relationship with Carter was just so amazing and emotional and her newly formed friendships were literally like friend goals. Carter was so swoonworthy and respectful to Quinn, and even though there is some conflict that happens, how he deals with it is just 😭❤️. There’s a plot twist in the book that I was not expecting at all, like holy moly the absolute betrayal. The character growth that happens is phenomenal and you will be invested in every character you meet. This book is just so heartfelt and emotional and realistic and amazing. This is definitely a book I would reread, and I barely ever reread.

6/5⭐

Audiobooks

Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay

Review:

My friend recommended this, and while I don’t normally read adult fantasy, I decided to give it a shot. I’m really glad I listened to the audiobook because the narrator’s voice kept me invested in the story. I’m a sucker for narrators with a British accent 😂 I was a bit confused in the beginning because the story essentially starts with an event that happens almost at the end of the book and then it switches to the events leading up to the event at the beginning of the book. There were also lots of characters to keep track of, but as the story went on, I began to know who was who by their distinct characteristics and personalities. Also Tiko was so cute and so loyal. This story follows the lives of a few people and you’ll be invested in every person’s story. I also really like how the romances were so subtle but were still so heartfelt and impactful. Kay’s writing style is just so poetic and it’s like nothing I’ve ever read before. It reminded me of a slice-of-life type adventure story. I loved the worldbuilding and didn’t want to let go of this story when it ended. I wanted to stay in that world just a little bit longer. There were some great quotes in here, but since I listened to the audiobook, I didn’t really get a chance to save the quotes. I think I may just have to get the physical copy and reread it 😂

4.5/5⭐

Dark Waters by Katherine Arden

Review:

I have loved every book in this series so far, and this book did not disappoint. This wasn’t my favourite story in the series but I did enjoy it and it still spooked me. I don’t usually read lots of the scary sea monster stories but with the addition of the radio and the Smiling Man, this definitely gave me shivers down my spine. I thought the backstory about the island and its inhabitants was really interesting and creative. I also thought it was neat how Ollie’s dad and Coco’s mom are involved with the kids on this adventure and get a glimpse about what their kids have been going through the past year. If Coco’s mom was in Coco’s position, I don’t think she’d be able to survive because she was pretty useless when it came to handling the situation everybody ended up in. The kids were way better about figuring out what to do and keeping their cool in the stressful situation. The ending with Ollie was a bit predictable but I’m hooked and need to know what happens in the next book. If you’re looking for a good spooky read for the season, you should definitely check this series out!

4/5⭐

True Loaf by Austen Johnson

Review:

Thank you Netgalley for the audiobook. This was super short as it was only 16 minutes long. It’s essentially a folktale based on Balkan folklore. I really enjoyed the story although I had to listen to the last half of it a couple times to fully understand what happened. The story ends very abruptly and it left me wanting to know more. I wish there was a little bit more backstory or explanation as to why some things happened. I get that folktales are usually short though, but I wish there was a bit more to it. I did like how the authour includes a bit at the end explaining some symbolism and folktale elements from the story. Overall, it makes a nice bedtime story and I think kids would enjoy it!

3/5⭐

That’s a wrap on my September reading! I hope you found some new books to add to your TBR. If you have any spooky books to recommend, please let me know in the comments or shoot me an email 😊 Halloween is my favourite month ever (yes you read that right) and I love all ghost stories and anything that will keep me up at night in fear, so give me all your recs!

Happy reading my ghouls 👻