Monthly Wrap Up: October 2019

This past month has been a quiet one for me blog wise because I’ve had so much going on. I had a wonderful holiday in Tunisia and attended several events like Destination Star Trek and Eddie Izzard’s Wunderbar. I also managed to not only get strep throat but came down with another virus two weeks later that I’m still currently battling. However, I’ve finally made it out of bed today (hooray!) so I thought I’d update my poor neglected blog.

Because of everything that happened in October, I didn’t get as much reading done either. Luckily, though, I liked nearly everything I read!

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The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

I had planned to read more spooky books this month but getting a nasty cold toward the end of October put the brakes on that. I did manage to read this fantastical YA tale by one of the greats of science-fiction, Ray Bradbury, though! It was quite cute and I’m glad I finally got around to reading it. Definitely recommend it for younger and older readers alike.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Adrian Tchaikovsky has been on my radar for awhile but until I was given a chance to read and review one of his standalone novellas, I hadn’t read anything by him. I adored the novella so put his Children of Time series toward the top of my TBR.

This book was a serious chunkster and at times I found myself losing interest or not really caring about several of the characters, but I think some of that was due to me not liking the audiobook narrator.

Overall, though, it was a kick ass bit of sci-fi with a killer ending. Disclaimer: if you’re scared of spiders- especially giant ones in space- you might want to give this a miss.

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

Penguin sent me this as a thank you earlier in the year after completing a few surveys and taking part in discussion rooms. I was immediately intrigued because I love everything mermaid related, but also because that cover is stunning. The book has received mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed this bit of believable historical fiction.

It also shed light on a side of 18th century London I didn’t know a lot about, and was full of characters I began to really like. Some plot lines were oddly placed and went nowhere, but it was a very satisfying book. And it’s so pretty!

Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness

Jonathan Van Ness gives me life. Honestly, JVN is a national treasure and this brutally honest and powerful memoir only solidifies that. I purchased the audiobook narrated by the man herself because I figured it would be one of the most delightful experiences of my life and I wasn’t wrong.

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

I spent a lot of the past week in the tub trying to ease my aching muscles, clear my sinuses, and keep my body one temperature because of the bouts of feverish chills I was having. Since I was so under the weather I decided to pick up one of my comfort books, the Bones series by Kathy Reichs. They’re familiar and usually a decent ride.

This wasn’t one of my favourites of the series, but it was a solid Temperance Brennan adventure. I had a fun time reading it through my cold-induced haze. It was a heavily archaeologically based book of a time period I’ve spent a lot of time studying so that was a bonus, too. Although I guess my moral compass isn’t as straight as Tempe’s because she made some decisions regarding the artifacts that had me screaming (internally because I still don’t have my voice back).

The Weaver by Heather Kindt

The Weaver was my first time reading a book classed as Adult NA or Paranormal Romance. Maybe because I’m not familiar with the genres this book didn’t work for me, but I just didn’t enjoy it. It did have some good elements going, though, and a beautiful cover to boot. Read my review here.

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Have you read any of these? How did you reading go during the month of October? Let me know in the comments!