Hello!

Another month has passed, Halloween has come and gone and we’re in the last month before full Christmas festivities kick in and I still feel like time has gotten away from me before I can really comprehend that the month has started – I’ve genuinely had to remind myself what month it is several times over the last week or two!

I was so close to actually finishing my monthly TBR this month – I did at least start every book from my list for this month, but I didn’t quite get to finishing it. I did manage to finish 6 books though so here is a little review of each one!

The Pairing – Casey McQuiston ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

The further removed I get from this book the less I have to say about it – the characters were very pretentious and yes they were consciously flawed, but one was making their life so excessively difficult that it crossed the line from being stubborn to feeling like they were desperate for attention. When the narrative flipped to the other character’s perspective I did enjoy it more (hence the 3.5 star rating) – it felt more like a romance book and I do love reading from the perspective of the one who is head over heels for the other.

The contents of the plot made this more erotica than romance I think – I’m not averse to smut, I think when done well it can really add to an adult romance story, but here it felt like a plot device and very little else.

The ending was really obvious, I didn’t actually care if the character’s got together and I rolled my eyes a lot whilst reading, but 3.5 stars because Kit was a Golden Retriever.

0.4 – Mike Lancaster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think this is my only re-read of the year so far, but it has been at least a decade since I first read it. I was pleasantly surprised by what I remembered and what I didn’t, but it made the story even more impactful. This was a really interesting book in that it really made the most of formatting – it used a different font to most books, it has asides that were like footnotes in an academic resource, it’s technically mixed media as the narrative is a transcription of tape recordings and the whole thing is explored and tied together really cleverly.

The whole concept was clever actually – it was thought provoking, it merged sci-fi into contemporary and dystopian fiction and did it all in a way that makes you wonder if maybe it’s all non-fiction anyway and humanity is at the mercy of a higher power.

Considering I’m significantly removed from being a teenager, I thought I might find the first person perspective of a teenage boy a bit irritating to read but I think the fact he was telling his story retrospectively made it really level headed and mature, thus more engaging to read.

(love when I get to say ‘thus’)

Genuinely a really fascinating concept and a book I would thoroughly recommend!

Gleam – Raven Kennedy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I finally understand the hype with the Plated Prisoner series now!

There was finally a plot, the protagonist was less of a wet wipe (direct quote from my book journal), the love interest gave such an interesting development to the magic capabilities and the romance was tense, their chemistry was insane.

I stand by the opinion that books 1 and 2 should have been shorter and combined and arguably this book was also too long for a book that doesn’t even end the series but the pacing was actually really good and I found myself looking for any opportunity to listen to it. Every time I thought I’d figured out what was happening, another twist would happen and the last 10% was absolutely insane.

One of the pet names that the love interest uses gave me the biggest ick, but otherwise I am very excited to dive into book 4.

The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck – Sarah Knight ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I think I’d have enjoyed this more if I’d read it before ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck’ by Mark Manson, but it was still enjoyable – it was a very easy writing style that I was so surprised I could read much quicker than I anticipated. Both books have the same principles but this one feels more interactive and instructional. It felt a bit less put together than the Subtle Art – it was literally less subtle.

There were moments that made me literally laugh out loud, there were moments I thought were a bit cringey but it wasn’t a self help book that over simplifies the challenges of life in the way that ‘Good Vibes, Good Life’ did.

I don’t think I’m going to make a list of all my fucks and make it fit into a fuck budget because my autistic brain would get overwhelmed by it but I absolutely stand by the principle.

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea – Rebecca Thorne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was the epitome of cosy fantasy whilst still having high stakes and making me nervous? A gorgeous lesbian couple who have a very healthy relationship run away from the Queendom to put their dangerous lives behind them and open a bookstore and cafe – it exudes wholesome.

But then there are lives on the line, a hovering threat from the Queen, and potential bandits? The fantasy is cosy but those stakes are not low! It was really fun – a perfect balance of wholesome cosy vibes and enough stakes to still be engaging. A fantastic cast of supporting characters, easily integrated LGBTQ+ rep and an overarching dragon related plot. Such fun!

Five Fall Into Adventure – Enid Blyton ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really think the Famous Five books get better at pacing as the series goes on – the antogonist/supporting characters were introduced relatively early on, the plot actually got started in a reasonable time and the children (maybe teenagers by this point?) were only mildly irritating.

I sat and read the entire thing in one afternoon and it wasn’t as drawn out, which really helped. With the audiobook I managed to listen to it in just over 2 hours and I’m definitely going to do the same thing with the next book. I’m so glad that I’m so close to the end of this box set.

And that was the six I managed to finish! These are the three books that I started but didn’t finish from my monthly tbr:

• Powerless – Lauren Roberts
• A Pirate’s Life For Tea – Rebecca Thorne
• Myths and Legends – Philip Wilkinson

I really tried to binge read Powerless and A Pirate’s Life For Tea, whilst I didn’t get there in time, but I did finish Powerless on November 1st! I was so close! I’m hoping to finish A Pirate’s Life For Tea by the end of the week, but Myths and Legends is a 300 page non-fiction book with tiny font and I think I’ll be dipping in and out of it for the rest of the year.

As usual, I have a completely unfounded optimism that I will be able to finish my November TBR even though I have one of the longest books in my collection on this list and it’s NaNoWriMo month, but let’s not squash the optimism!

Thank you so much for reading,

Sophie xx