October Wrap-Up
Happy NaNoWriMo!
October was a blur omg. I was super busy during the first three weeks and then I finally got a chance to catch up on blogging and chores. I only managed to read one book and listen to three audiobooks. I started quite a few books, but didn’t end up finishing them, so they’ll be on my November wrap-up. I also didn’t get to read many of my spooky Halloween books, so I’m declaring November to be Halloween 2.0 and I’ll get through my spooky TBR then.
My puppy on Halloween, dressed as a confused ladybug.
In terms of life updates, I had lots of fun at the Bridal Expo and managed to get more information about finding an alternative-style wedding dress 🖤 My puppy also got giardia, “recovered” from it, and ended up catching it again, so it’s been quite a poopy month 😅 I really hope he recovers 100% this time so he can stop being surprised by the noises coming out of his butt when he goes to the bathroom 😂
In terms of editing, I have a couple spots available for November, so if you’re in need of a copyedit or other type of edit, contact me and let my editing be the cherry on top of your already spectacular manuscript cake 😉 You can also book for December, so when your NaNoWriMo WIPs are completed at the end of the month, you won’t have to worry about finding an editor because you’ll already have one 😁 Also, everyone’s WIP posts on Twitter are looking so great, so I’d love to read through some of those manuscripts when they’re completed. And good luck to everyone participating! You got this 🥳
My Library
I started reading A Queen of Broken Realms by Brynne Weaver (thanks for the eARC 🙌🏻) and I'm absolutely loving it so far. We get more of Ashen and Lu's awesomeness and we get so many creative spicy scenes 😜 I can't wait to see how this ends, but at the same time I don't want this series to end because I want more of all these wonderful characters. But yay for the Ediye side story in the works 😍 Definitely go check out this series. Trust me, you need this in your life.
Netgalley eARCs
The Dog Behavior Answer Book, 2nd Edition by Arden Moore
Review:
I requested this because I recently got a new puppy and needed all the help I could get 😂 I found this book to be a very helpful resource and I love that you don’t necessarily have to read the entire book; you can just read sections relevant to your needs at the time. This book is written in the format of a Q&A, where readers ask questions about their dog’s behavior and the author answers them along with tips of how to solve the issue. I thought that was helpful, but it felt like there was still a lot of reading haha. This book is divided into sections with tips to help you during every stage of your dog’s life.
4/5⭐
Other (e)ARCs
I’m around 80% done The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson (thank you HCC Frenzy for the eARC) and I am LOVING it. It’s like a Carrie retelling but with themes of racial segregation. This book is one dark and heavy read and I can’t wait to see how it ends. I’m not done the book yet, but I’d still highly recommend this.
Audiobooks
These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
Review:
This book was ok. The shadow part was interesting and the backstory was cool. It was pretty gothic. I listened to this audiobook and I was so excited because of the spooky house. However, I felt bored a few times throughout the story and it just reminded me a bit of Mexican Gothic. I thought the concept was pretty interesting and I liked the drama at the ending, but overall I felt a bit “meh” about the whole thing. I would recommend this if you like gothic stories, but I don't think this book was my cup of tea. I gotta say though, the narrator was amazing. I got chills a few times because the voices she did for the shadows were spooky AF 😅
3/5⭐
Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland
Review:
Content Warning: Anxiety, panic attacks, death of a classmate, descriptions of embalming, and grief.
I initially picked this book because I thought it was going to be a horror and a ghost story of a girl helping the dead move on. However, this was wayyyyyy darker than I expected and it had some pretty heavy content. However, the book discusses a lot of great topics like discovering your sexuality and learning healthy communication and what a healthy friendship looks like. There’s asexual and non-binary rep in this book which was great to see because you don’t get much of those reps in stories. I was really happy with how Georgia and Amy’s friendship grew throughout this book and they had some really important conversations about communication and being a good friend. Georgia also goes through a TON of growth in this book and it was nice to see her work through her fears and get the help she needed. Overall, this book was a bit slow-paced and a really heavy read. It wasn’t really my cup of tea since I was looking for something more spooky, but I am glad I read it because it was still a pretty good story that cover important topics.
3.5/5⭐
Mrs. Wickham by Sarah Page
Review:
Content Warning: Suicide
LOVED THIS. This is a story about Lydia's life with Mr. Wickham after they are married. This is basically like "lovers" to enemies to lovers again. Mr. Wickham is quite an a**hole in the beginning, but once he weans off his vices, he's quite a different person entirely. It was so interesting to see their character growth, especially how Lydia manages to step up and get their affairs in order, and basically turn into an independent woman. I also like how she mentions the difference between being shamed as a man versus a woman. This audiobook was just so much fun to listen to, and the narrators were fire. I highly recommend this!
5/5⭐
That’s a wrap of my super short wrap-up lol. If you’ve read any of these books before, I’d love to hear your thoughts, so add a comment below! I hope everyone has a great month, and if you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, good luck again!
Happy reading and writing!
