Hello!

How we’re so close to the end of the year is absolutely baffling – two months left? That’s insane. I swear time just keeps going faster and faster!

October was another pretty good reading month for me – not as good as the 11 books I managed to read in September (though that was probably thanks to the novellas I listened to as audiobooks) but I managed to finish 7 books, which helped me finish my goal of reading 60 books for the year!

And even though there were a couple of 2 stars reads in there, there were also two 5 star books as well! Neither of them were rereads and they were the kind of books that make me feel glowy inside to think about how much I enjoyed reading them!

I also finished all six of the books on my monthly TBR and got to start a couple of books from my Book Queue, though I didn’t finish either of them before the end of the month. I’m feeling really excited going into November – I’ve nearly finished my 25 in 2025 list, I don’t have anymore new releases pre-ordered (other than one special edition of a book I’ve already read) and I’m already looking forward to the festive romances!

But we’re not there yet – here’s a brief summary of the books I read in October then we’ll dive into my TBR for November.

Escape Velocity – Christopher Stasheff (2 ⭐️)

This was my second attempt at this book from the wedding library having previously DNF-ed it in August but I powered through this time! It just wasn’t for me – I think it was attempting to be satyrical but it just didn’t line up with my sense of humour and mostly just seemed a little goofy? But not in a fun way. I’m trying not to slate it too much because I have two other books in the bind up to read, but at least I managed to finish it this time!

The Impossible Fortune – Richard Osman (5 ⭐️)

I’ve enjoyed the Thursday Murder Club series since it came out but something about this book just ticked all the boxes, I was excited to get back to reading it and it was clever whilst being cosy and charming and funny. What can I say – it gave me the 5 star feeling and that feeling is inexplicable! This series is so lovely to keep coming back to and I’m intrigued to see what Mr Osman will be releasing next year.

Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck (4 ⭐️)

This was an interesting reread because this was one of the books I studied for my GCSE English – I didn’t hate it when I was studying it but I think it’s really easy to become fatigued with a book that you’re analysing to within an inch of it’s life. The audiobook was only 3 hours and I listened to it in one drive and it was nice to read it and enjoy it for what it was, rather than thinking about an essay I’d have to write. I might have to reread some of my other school texts!

By The Book – Jasmine Guillory (2 ⭐️)

I didn’t realise this was going to be a (very loose) Beauty and the Beast retelling, but when in the first chapter I find out the publishing company the FMC works for is called ‘Tale As Old As Time’ my eyes practically rolled out of my head. At 50 pages I thought I was going to DNF it because the corny, not subtle Disney references were horrendous, but the MMC saved this – the FMC was so judgey and presumptuous about who he was and he just brought the whole story back down to earth. It would have been a 1 star if it wasn’t for him, because there were too many references to talking to furniture.

Mate – Ali Hazelwood (5 ⭐️)

I really didn’t have any expectations for this sequel because I liked Bride, but I wasn’t obsessed. Mate was wonderful – I loved our two protagonist characters, I don’t know if maybe I’m just not as into vampires as werewolves but I did like that it was more focused on the wolf pack and less of the inter-species politics, the spice was hot, the romance was sweet and there was also a plot which I really enjoyed. I don’t think I’ve had a 5 star Ali book for a while and I’m so glad I enjoyed this as much as I did.

Five Survive – Holly Jackson (3 ⭐️)

This was the last book I needed to read to be up to date on Holly Jackson’s bibliography and unfortunately, the fact I skipped it when it came out makes sense. The concept is good and for her first story properly set in the US it was well written. The entire reason I couldn’t rate this higher than 3 stars was exclusively because of one secondary character who was so irritating, so dumb and so obviously buffering the plot so the book could be long enough to be a full novel. The way Jackson writes suspense and her endings always get me, I love them and it’s why I’ve rated almost all of her other books so highly, but Oliver as a character made me roll my eyes so much I started counting how many times it happened on my 25 minute drive to and from work. A real shame.

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning – James Patterson (4 ⭐️)

But ending the month on a higher note with the last book from my monthly TBR, I read the next instalment in my reread of my favourite series from when I was about 14, Maximum Ride. This one is the first one in my reread that I haven’t rated 5 stars, which was a little disappointing, but it felt a little more like a filler book. The plot felt a little bit like it was floundering and I wasn’t entirely sure what the point was. But I still love the characters, there was an interesting statement about global warming and I’m as excited to continue with the series.

November TBR

Wedding library – Return to the DallerGut Dream Department Store, Miye Lee

Usually I will choose a book from the ones we were gifted at our wedding using a spinner, but this month is our anniversary month and we’ve started a tradition where we buy a new book to buddy read each November. Except last year we bought the first book in this series, simply named The DallerGut Dream Department Store, but we also bought this sequel because it was buy one get one half price. We both thought we’d read them both together, or at least within the year we bought them, but we haven’t so we’re taking the opportunity to read the sequel this year!

25 in 2025 – Jacoby’s Game, Alison Prince

I’m doing my 25 in 2025 a bit differently this month too – usually I only pick two from the list with intent to finish the list by the end of the year, and if I did that I would finish the list… but I only have the four left and if I read them all this month then it’s done and I get to do something more fun with my December TBR so I’m reading them all! Plus I don’t have any new releases pre-ordered so I had space in the six slots I usually fill for my monthly TBR.

I reckon I bought this book when I was a teenager as it’s a middle grade/YA book that was published in 2006, so there’s a real chance this has been waiting to be read for 15 years… so at least I’m fulfilling that this year!

25 in 2025 – Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid

I absolutely bought this when I got into book social media because I saw people talking about it, but now I’m actually going to read it! This is more literary fiction than I would usually read but the concept sounds like the kind of story I would really enjoy.

25 in 2025 – Scattered Showers, Rainbow Rowell

This collection of short stories is written by the author of my favourite book of all time so when I found the gorgeous hardback with rainbow sprayed edges that’s signed by the author and printed in colour with illustrations? How was I ever meant to resist that?

25 in 2025 – The Ex Talk, Rachel Lynn Solomon

This was a charity shop find that I think I may have seen people talking about on TikTok but also piqued my curiosity because it’s based on radio talkshow hosts and as someone with a journalism degree, I find stories set in the world of radio/TV/media/etc really interesting. I’m hoping this is going to be a nice, easy cheesy romance that doesn’t take too much brain power!

Continue a series – Maximum Ride: Max – James Patterson

And continuing with my Maximum Ride reread, book 5 is Max! Which is turns out, I didn’t actually own! I reckon I must have borrowed it from a friend when it came out, but thanks to the wonders of Vinted I now have my own copy which I’m really excited to dive into.

And there it is – the books I finished in October and all the books I will be reading in November.

Being able to finish my 25 in 2025 is something that really excites me, cos I’ve already finished my reading goal of 60 books for the year and having my annual TBR done as well really feels like the rest of my reading for the year is free. When I finish that TBR, I’m going to be using my TBR jar to choose my 26 in 2026 (which I’ve been waiting to do for months) and in December, I’m going to be making my TBR in a way I have never done before which I already can’t wait for!

I hope you’ve had a fantastic reading month and have some exciting books lined up!

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx