Tag: fiction

The Best Books I Read in October (2025)

In October, I read 14 books, bringing my total for the year to 197 books read. Honestly, I don’t feel like I read very much–and most of what I did read was either meh or okay. But there were three books I read that were really good!

Falling Into a Sea of Stars, by Kristen Britain. I’ve loved this series all along, and I loved this, too. Karigan is such a great character, and I love the tension between her and the king. I binge-read this in a single weekend.

The Memory Gardener, by Meg Donohue. This was so good! The characters were great–vibrant and quirky–and the setting was fantastic. Oceanview Home became such a great setting! And the gardens. I loved the gardens. All of them.

Magic for a Price, by Devon Monk. How did I read this series over a decade ago, when they first came out, and somehow not read the final book in the series? I enjoyed this wrap-up! I listened to it on audio, and truly enjoyed that aspect of it. Shamus is my fave!

What I Read in October (2025)

Books Read in October: 14
Books Read for the Year:  197/225

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Night Window, by Dean Koontz (TBR): This was a good wrap-up to this series.
The Friends We Keep, by Jane Green (audio): I’m sorry, but Evvie was a terrible person.
Magic without Mercy, by Devon Monk (re-read): How did I read this series years ago…and somehow NOT read the last book?
Living as a a Christian, by A.W. Tozier (spiritual): A lot of deep ideas here.
The Last Phone Booth in Manhahttan, by Beth Merlin, Danielle Modafferi (TBR): I enjoyed this read.
The Little Venice Bookshop, by Rebecca Raisin (TBR): This was a little meh for me.
Falling in a Sea of Stars, by Kristen Britain (TBR): Loved this so much!

For Review:

An Academic Affair, by Jodi McAlister. At first, I really enjoyed this. Then it became monotonous.

The Cathedral of Lost Souls, by Paula Brackston. Another solid read by Brackston, although I enjoyed the first book in the series more.

Break Wide the Sea, by Sara Holland. This took me a bit to get into, but I ended up enjoying it a lot.

Evil Bones, by Kathy Reichs. This is usually a solid series, and for the most part, this book was. Temperance did a few things that seemed really stupid, and the ending seemed rushed and was more of a “this is what happened,” without showing the reader/letting them experience it for themselves.

The Memory Gardener, by Meg Donohue. Loved this so much! Loved the gardens, the residents of Oceanview Home, the characters, the dog…All of it.

Where He Left Me, by Nicole Baart. This was a solid thriller read–and ended up being not what I expected at all.

Just Because:

Magic for a Price, by Devon Monk (audio). I don’t know how I missed reading the last book in this series when they first came out, but I really enjoyed finally reading the complete series.

Left Unfinished:

Kingdom of Tomorrow, by Gena Showalter: I’ve always enjoyed Gena Showalter’s books, but this felt like cliched, poorly-written dross.

Family of Spies, by Christine Kuehn. This felt like a very distant POV, more of a tell, not show approach to the action.

The Last Vampire, by Romina Garber. This felt so cliched and predictable. I didn’t get very far, but the way Lorena kept mentioning (mentally) she was on her cycle felt like being bludgeoned with a big stick. Very clunky. Not a smooth narrative at all.

Book Review: The Dagger in Vichy, by Alastair Reynolds

Image belongs to Subterranean Press.

Title: The Dagger in Vichy
Author: Alastair Reynolds             
Genre: Fantasy   
Rating: 3 out of 5 

In a deep medieval future, a band of players travels across France to perform the same old tales in the same old towns. When passing soldiers entrust them with a mysterious box that they say must be delivered to the Imperator, old playwright Master Guillaume and young escaped thief Rufus puzzle at what the box might contain.

When Rufus overhears strange conversations between his Master Guillaume and the thing in the box, he must choose between his loyalty to the man who saved him from the noose and fear of the ancient intelligence working in their midst.

Secrets spill out over the road to Avignon, and none in the troupe are safe. Not Blind Benedict, who once saw the faceless Empty Knight patrolling the deathless Wald that creeps ever closer to the cities, and not Master Bernard whose sensible plans are not equal to the eldritch thing the company now carries with them. All the world’s a stage, and so was every world that came before.

The best thing I can say about this is that it’s short. There were aspects of the world and culture that intrigued me—like the Wald—and it had a bit of a steampunk feel, but I never cared about any of the characters. They all felt quite superficial, and we really didn’t get to know any of them. I never felt any sense of urgency or investment as I was reading, and I wouldn’t have kept reading at all if it weren’t for the brevity of the story.

Alastair Reynolds lives in Wales. His newest novel is The Dagger in Vichy.

(Galley courtesy of Subterranean Press in exchange for an honest review.)

   

Book Review: Final Cut, by Olivia Worley      

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books.

Title: Final Cut 
Author: Olivia Worley         
Genre: YA    
Rating: 3 out of 5

When recent high school graduate Hazel Lejeune gets the lead role in a slasher film, it feels like a dream come true. This is her chance to break into the industry, build her reel, and prove to her mom that this “gap year” can turn into a career. So what if it’s set in the nothing town of Pine Springs, Louisiana–the same place her father, the Pine Springs Slasher, was convicted of a series of murders fifteen years ago?

But when Haze arrives on set, she gets much more than she bargained for. The shoot is plagued with suspicious “accidents.” Mentions of her dad dot the entire script. And then, a gruesome murder shocks everyone to the core. Now, it’s clear there’s a real killer on set—one who’s determined to finish the film at all costs. But is this merely a copycat, or is the wrong Slasher behind bars?

As the body count rises and reality blurs with fiction, Haze must unmask the killer before she becomes a real-life final girl…or before the killer flips the script and makes her the next victim.

I’m not into watching horror or slasher movies. At all. Ever. So, I’m not sure why I decided to read this. The premise was eye-catching enough to get my attention, I guess, and I’d read one of the author’s other books. Solid writing here, and I liked the characters—mostly. Living in a town this small is my own personal idea of terrible, and the author captured it well.

However, the why of everything the MC did completely escaped me. Going off alone after the first murder happened? Spending any time at all with people you barely know after the murders started? Going out into the woods/bayou/wilderness alone at night to the house of a creepy man? Come on. I need believable characters to have at least a little bit of common sense.

Olivia Worley is from New Orleans. Final Cut is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.)

      

Book Review: The White Octopus Hotel, by Alexandra Bell   

Image belongs to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey.

Title: The White Octopus Hotel
Author: Alexandra Bell       
Genre: Fantasy    
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

London, 2015

When reclusive art appraiser Eve Shaw shakes the hand of a silver-haired gentleman in her London office, the warmth of his palm sends a spark through her.

His name is Max Everly – curiously, the same name as Eve’s favourite composer, born one hundred sixteen years prior. And she can’t shake the feeling that she’s held his hand before . . . but where, and when?

The White Octopus Hotel, 1935

Decades earlier, high in the snowy Swiss Alps, Eve and a young Max Everly wander the winding halls of the grand belle epoque White Octopus Hotel, lost in time.

Each of them has been through the trenches – Eve in a family accident and Max on the battlefields of the Great War – but for an impossible moment, love and healing are just a room away . . . if only they have the courage to step through the door.

I really enjoyed this read! I loved the touches of magic and whimsy throughout, like the magical objects from the hotel, Eve’s octopus tattoo, and the glimpses of the past (like the horse in the baths). I was fascinated with the hotel from the beginning. Even a deserted ruin, it was compelling—much less in its heyday. Eve was a complex character, but I liked her, and Max, too. This was truly a compelling, vibrant story.

Alexandra Bell lives in Hampshire. The White Octopus Hotel is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.)

   

Sundays are for Writing #342

This was a busy week. I only got two book reviews written: Break Wide the Sea, by Sara Holland   and Evil Bones, by Kathy Reichs. Hopefully I’ll get more written this week, but I’m getting ready for vacation next week, so who knows?

Happy writing!

Book Review: A Curious Kind of Magic, by Mara Rutherford  

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books.

Title: A Curious Kind of Magic 
Author: Mara Rutherford     
Genre: YA   
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Everyone in Ardmuir knows that Willow Stokes is a charlatan, including Willow herself. Her father’s shoppe hasn’t sold anything magical in decades, and it’s only hanging on by the skin of the fake dragon’s teeth Willow sells as charms, along with “enchanted” ostrich eggs, taxidermied chimeras, and talismans made of fools’ gold.

Until outlander Brianna Hargrave appears and turns Willow’s fakes into exactly what they’re purported to be. But try as Willow might to enlist Bri’s help, she wants nothing to do with Willow and her curiosities.

Because Brianna is harboring a secret of her own: everything she touches turns to magic, and the consequences have chased her all the way to Ardmuir. All she wants to do is find a particular missing grimoire, which contains a spell that can finally put an end to her curse.

Desperate to keep her father’s shoppe, Willow proposes a bargain that could save them both. Together with the frustratingly handsome printer’s assistant, the girls will uncover a plot that goes far deeper than either could have imagined. But when Willow is forced to participate in an ambitious collector’s quest for the rarest magical object in the world-a quest that risks almost-certain death-she learns that not all treasure is for sale, and that true magic is closer than she ever could have imagined.

I thought this was a fun read! Willow’s inability to be open and honest with her friends got on my nerves, but she did at least learn from things. The world was fun, and I liked the culture and the characters, and would happily read more in this world.

Mara Rutherford is from California but has lived all over the world. A Curious Kind of Magic is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.)

   

Book Review and Blog Tour: Higher Magic, by Courtney Floyd    

Image belongs to Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA.

Title: Higher Magic  
Author: Courtney Floyd       
Genre: Romance, fantasy
Rating: DNF

First-generation graduate student Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass the Magic program’s qualifying exam after freezing with anxiety during her first attempt. If she fails to demonstrate that magic in classic literature changed the world, she’ll be kicked out of the university. And now her advisor insists she reframe her entire dissertation using Digimancy. While mages have found a way to combine computers and magic, Bartleby’s fated to never make it work.

This time is no exception. Her revised working goes horribly wrong, creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates Bartleby’s inner thoughts—even the most embarrassing ones—like she’s a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. Out of her depth, she recruits James, an unfairly attractive mage candidate, to help her stop Anne’s glitches in time for her exam.

Instead, Anne leads them to a shocking and dangerous discovery: Magic students who seek disability accommodations are disappearing—quite literally. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust her own knowledge and skills. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a mage, permanently.

I DNFed this pretty early on, as I found the MC very annoying and the opening just felt very slow. I’m also never a fan of books where the author tries to force feed the reader their own personal beliefs, so that didn’t make me want to continue reading either. Beautiful cover, though.

Courtney Floyd is from New Mexico. Higher Magic is her debut fantasy novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Overdue, by Stephanie Perkins

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press | Saturday Books.

Title: Overdue    
Author: Stephanie Perkins          
Genre: Romance    
Rating: 3.0

Is it time to renew love or start a new chapter?

Ingrid Dahl, a cheerful twenty-nine-year-old librarian in the cozy mountain town of Ridgetop, North Carolina, has been happily dating her college boyfriend, Cory, for eleven years without ever discussing marriage. But when Ingrid’s sister announces her engagement to a woman she’s only been dating for two years, Ingrid and Cory feel pressured to consider their future. Neither has ever been with anybody else, so they make an unconventional decision. They’ll take a one-month break to date other people, then they’ll reunite and move toward marriage. Ingrid even has someone in mind: her charmingly grumpy coworker, Macon Nowakowski, on whom she’s secretly crushed for years. But plans go awry, and when the month ends, Ingrid and Cory realize they’re not ready to resume their relationship― and Ingrid’s harmless crush on Macon has turned into something much more complicated.

Hmm. I loved the idea of this, especially being surrounded by books all the time, but this was the slowest, foot-dragging “romance” ever. EVER. The writing was solid and I liked the setting, but the premise of Ingrid and Cory being together for forever and then suddenly deciding they need a one-month break to get it out of their system or whatever was ridiculous. And Ingrid and Macon’s “slow burn” was so slow as to be almost a farce. Despite my love of books about books, this did not work that well for me.

Stephanie Perkins is a bestselling author. Overdue is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | Saturday Books in exchange for an honest review.)

  

The Best Books I Read in September (2025)

In September, I read 17 books, bringing my total for the year to 183 books read. I also DNFed six books. Of the 17 books I finished, most were solid reads, a handful were meh, and three were really excellent.

The White Octopus Hotel, by Alexandra Bell. This was historical fiction mixed with a bit of magic, and it was truly a lovely read. Great characters, an enchanting setting, and enough magic to keep it interesting.

Introducing Mrs. Collins, by Rachel Parris. A Pride and Prejudice spinoff about Charlotte Lucas? I was immediately intrigued. And reading about this character, who I never really gave much thought to before, was just so enjoyable. Yes, we get to see a few P&P scenes from a different set of eyes, which was wonderful, but Charlotte was fascinating in her own right.

The Forget-Me-Not Library, by Heather Webber. Sweet Southern fiction with a touch of magic? Yes, please. Y’all, I don’t even like small towns, and I loved Forget-Me-Not. Every character in this was fantastic and believable, and I loved both Juliet’s and Tallulah’s (How’s that for a Southern name?) journeys.