Hi everybody, happy November! I hope you all had a wonderful October. My October was pretty good in terms of reading as I read a few great books (and a few bummers too but let’s focus on the great ones), watched a ton of amazing TV and had some awesome new music releases to listen to.

I didn’t feel so well near the end of the month and took some time to rot/recuperate on the couch, which has me a bit behind on blogging and commenting though, so please bear with me as I try to catch up in the next few days.

But for now, let’s wrap up October!

Vesselless (The Merciless Realms #1) by Cortney L. Winn

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I had a few issues with it (like the worldbuilding which is confusing at times and the ending which felt a bit rushed) which kept me from giving it a five star rating, but in the end I had a great time reading this one and am already eagerly anticipating the second book. I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a romantasy featuring a half-ghost, a badass yet bookish heiress, a deadly tournament, a doomed romance and a unique magic system featuring spirits!

Rating: 4 stars | Read full review

Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles #2) by TJ Klune

The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my all-time favorites so I’ve been both excited and a little nervous to start this one! But I shouldn’t have been nervous at all. I was so happy to be reunited with these characters. While I must admit this could have done with just a teensy bit less preachy monologuing, it still felt like a warm hug and a dose of serotonin and I hope TJ Klune never ever stops writing about these characters and world.

Rating: 4,5 stars

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

I was drawn in by the hype, the fall vibes and the Gilmore Girls-comparisons. But alas, while this in theory had everything I loved (small town romance, sunshine vs grumpy, found family, fall vibes, quirky townspeople), the execution did not work for me. Everything was just too superficial, like there wasn’t any time for development. There was no chemistry, not in the romance nor in any of the friendships. The story just rushed through it all and lost me along the way.

Rating: 2,5 stars

Wisteria (Belladonna #3) by Adalyn Grace

This was a solid finale. While the first book, Belladonna, will always be my favorite of the trilogy (because I simply adore Signa and Death), I did also really enjoy this final installment that dove deeper into Blythe’s character arc. The ending was satisfying and I may have shed some tears.

Rating: 4 stars

City of Gods and Monsters (House of Devils #1) by Kayla Edwards

I really wanted to love this urban fantasy series. It’s been compared to Crescent City and I was looking for a similar series with a big cast of characters to love. But this was not for me – I just had too many issues with it. While the main male character was interesting and I liked that we had dual POV, the main female character had zero personality. There are too many characters in it, so I got lost among them all pretty quickly, but also none of them even stood out remotely. This had potential for amazing found family vibes and friendship groups but it just did not deliver and even felt childish. I mean, there was a scene where one of the friends was found back alive after being kidnapped and presumed dead, and all the so-called best friends talk about is which boy they think is hot. Where is the depth? Where are the real emotions? Nope, I feel sorry that I read all 700+ pages and did not just DNF this…

Rating: 2,5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday

10 Hyped Books I Read Recently & Whether Or Not I Thought They Were Worth The Hype
10 Bookish (& Bloggish) Confessions
Books Read by Isaac in Heartstopper That I’ve Also Read
How My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Time
Favorite Fictional Creatures of the Night (Part 3)

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesday: 9 October 2024
WWW Wednesday: 23 October 2024

Can’t Wait Wednesday

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune {Can’t Wait Wednesday}
The Floating World by Axie Oh {Can’t Wait Wednesday}
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry {Can’t Wait Wednesday}

It’s been a great month in terms of music:

Chrissy Costanza – But, What If I Fly?

Chrissy Costanza, the singer for one of my fave bands Against the Current, released her solo EP early October and I adore every single song so much. It’s hard to pick just one favorite, but But, What If I Fly stands out because it so inspiring and motivational and just the song I need to hype myself up.

Rosé & Bruno Mars – APT.

WHAT A FUN COLLAB!!!

Linkin Park – Over Each Other

I’m so looking forward to the new album coming soon!

October was filled with amazing TV shows!

Nobody Wants This (Season 1)

ADAM BRODY AND KRISTEN BELL IN A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP IN A ROM-COM? Be still my beating heart. This was everything I could want in a rom-com: it was fun, it was sweet, it was emotional, it was sexy, it was hilarious and it had healthy communication!! So happy there will be a next season.

Agatha All Along (Season 1)

Is there a more perfect show to watch for Halloween season? I love this witchy show, I love our morally grey (black even? I don’t even know) Agatha, I love Joe Locke as teen, I love Aubrey Plaza and I love the rest of the coven of misfits. I’m just sad the episodes, and the show as a whole, were not longer.

The Boys (Season 1 + 2 + 3 + 4)

Umm yeah, so my husband and I may have binged almost four complete seasons of The Boys this month. And I have to be honest, after the first 3 episodes, I wanted to stop. This show is gory and has a twisted sense of humor that I had to get used to a bit at first. But after a while, I was HOOKED. While yes, it’s gory and I have to look away pretty often, this show also had GENIUS storywriting and amazing acting. It may have become one of my favorite shows I watched all year, maybe even ever.

October is one of my favorite months of the year, and this one was pretty good overall even if it ended on quite the bummer (my birthday was on October 31st and I was looking forward to a day off spent enjoying the Halloween vibes but unfortunately I spent 2 days down with a bad case of migraine instead.) But overall, I can’t complain…

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY THIS MONTH:

• Chrissy Costanza’s solo EP releasing.
• A lunch date with friends.
• Halloween vibes!
• So much great TV 🙂

THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

• Linkin Park releasing their new full album!
• The release of The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent.
• A few friend and family dates planned.
• Honestly, I kind of already am in the mood to put up our Christmas tree and decorate the house for Christmas. We don’t usually do this until December, but I’m craving the coziness of the Christmas lights now already. We’ll see how long I can still put it off, but it’ll probably be up by the end of November…

How was your October? What did you read? What did you listen to and what did you watch? What are you looking forward to in November?