October Wrap-Up

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Ah, October. The month where I actually read some books! Who would’ve thought we’d see this day again. My October was super busy, as you might have noticed from the lack of content on the blog. The end of the year always tends to eat up my time and resources like nothing else, so I apologize in advance if I’m not as active on here and socials! Sometimes the boring parts of adult life just have to be the priority, as much as I wish they wouldn’t have to. Either way, let’s get into this October reading Wrap-Up, shall we?

The Books I Read in October

The Inheritance Games – Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This was a much needed reread because I went into the sequel and couldn’t tell anyone apart.

You might remember from my review of The Inheritance Games, that I had trouble telling the two love interests apart. So when I started the sequel and encountered the same issue, I decided to reread the first book and really pay attention to these cardboard cutouts of boys. Sorry to any fans, but I just don’t really get anything from Grayson or Jameson.

Luckily, this reread helped and I can now tell them apart 8ß% of the time, which is good enough for me! I also enjoyed the book more the second time, probably because there were no expectations to disappoint.

The Hawthorne Legacy – Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I promptly continued with The Hawthorne Legacy and oh boy, was this a ride!

As expected, I still give exactly zero fucks about the pretty central romance of this series. That’s a bit of a bummer, but not really a dealbreaker for me. I love Avery as the main character enough to stick with this series despite the Hawthorne boys thoroughly annoying me.

This book also really cranks up the stakes in a way I loved! It’s just a really fun series and I’m looking forward to the final book in the trilogy. I have a feeling there are plenty of mysteries still left for us to discover…

Related: My Review of The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow – Zoe Sugg and Amy McCulloch

I randomly picked this one up at my local bookstore and was intrigued. After all, a murder mystery set at an exclusive British boarding school? Sounds like my kind of book!

Unfortunately, The Magpie Society was fairly disappointing. It’s average across the board and the plot just didn’t do it for me. It’s not for lack of potential, simply boring writing and terrible pacing. The way the authors handled some reveals just killed all sense of suspense.

I did like the two main characters! There’s Ivy, a top student at Illumen hall and Audrey, an American girl with secrets of her own. Their dynamic was fun to read and probably my favourite part of the book apart from the atmospheric setting.

Even though this wasn’t a great book, I’ll probably pick up the sequel. The Magpie Society ended on a pretty clumsy cliffhanger, but evidently, it worked on me because now I want to know what happens next!

The Devil Makes Three – Tori Bovalino

This is definitely one of my favourite 2021 reads.

The Devil Makes Three is just so good! It’s dark and atmospheric in just the way I love. I mean, it’s set at a library, what better place could there be?!

I’m obsessed with Elliot and Tess, the two main characters. Their dynamic is incredible and unexpected in many ways and I was so sad to let them go at the end of the book.

I’m also really happy I read the audiobook version, the two narrators brought out all the emotion and suspense and had me immediately hooked.

Surprisingly, I listened to most of this book on a trip to IKEA which is probably the least scary place to listen to a spooky book. My review for this is almost done so you’ll get that within the next weeks, I promise!

Your Head is a Houseboat – Campbell Walker

Finally, I read Your Head is a Houseboat. Campbell Waker aka Struthless is an artist and Youtuber I’ve been following for a while.

He talks a lot about creativity and mental health in a genuinely funny and helpful way. So naturally, I was curious to read his first book.

I think this is a great book for anyone who is just starting to find ways to understand and take care of their mind. Additionally, it’s so much more fun and colourful than traditional self-help books and I suspect it’s going to speak to an entirely different audience.

Your Head is a Houseboat is whacky and funny with plenty of hilarious illustrations throughout. It is also delightfully down-to-earth. Each chapter covers a different part of the houseboat aka a problem area our minds might have. From our inner critics to our conflicting needs and wants, there’s a lot here! My favourite aspect is that Walker includes a wide range of journaling exercises to explore our metaphorical houseboats. This makes the book easy to follow and finally, a self-help book that’s not just waffle but actionable steps!

Posts I Wrote

Here are the posts I shared in October, in case you missed any of them!

• My September Wrap-Up
• My Review for Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao
• My Review for The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Some Closing Words

October was a super busy month for me and it’s looking like November will be much the same. Between various uni projects, work, a Japanese class I’m taking and NaNoWriMo, I’m definitely fully booked. I’ll do my best to post weekly (and I have a few reviews lined up), but there’s a good chance I’ll be a little quiet on here.

In that case, you can always find me on Instagram and Twitter if you’re wondering what I’m up to, especially with my current NaNoWriMo novel!

How was your October? Did you read any new favourites or anticipated releases this month?

I hope you have a lovely day,

If you like my work and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee!