October Reading Wrap-Up | Monthly Wrap-Up

This is a little late, isn’t it.

My only excuse is that university has been taken up most of my time, so blog posts have been taking longer to write, and posting times have been later than usual. That being said, at least this is still going up right? But enough with the excuses, and let’s not delay it any longer.

Let’s talk about October…

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Things that happened in October

I’m back in university.

I am officially a third-year law student. Time flies by so quickly. I still remember how nervous I was during my freshers week in my first year, and now I’m in my third year. One thing that has not changed is the amount of academic reading we are required to do (in fact, it’s like they doubled it!), and the amount of 9 am lectures I have. Those aren’t very fun.

Novelstorian has been growing

This blog, what you’re currently reading on, has been growing quite regularly during the month. Everyday when I check the stats, it seems like more and more people are discovering my blog posts and my blog. This has just made me more inspired and motivated to keep blogging regularly and putting out more content. Through this blog, I have been able to meet so many of my readers (like you!) which is the most rewarding parts of blogging.

Thank you, friend.

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October Reading Stats

Counting both genres and sub-genres:

Fiction: 8

Young Adult: 3

Fantasy: 2

Thriller/ Mystery: 3

Contemporary: 1

Romance: 2

Graphic Novel: 1

Total: 8 books

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Books I read in October

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

by Holly Black

Snippet from review:

The opening chapter sets the scene for us. We are introduced to Tana, our brave and strong-willed protagonist. Her character directly contrasts with Gavriel, who we start to know very little of except for the fact that he is a vampire, and remains a bit of a mystery throughout the book. Like most YA characters, Tana does make some questionable and often quite dangerous decisions that had me internally screaming “NO!”; but she is a teenager, and like any other teen, we make decisions that we look back on years later and regret. The rest of the characters were alright, albeit quite forgettable.

However, I did enjoy the adventure that we went on with the main characters, with a few twists and turns throughout. I would argue that the main point of conflict was happening internally– there wasn’t necessarily a “villain’ (I mean there still was), but we got to see a few moments where Tana was fighting against her own morals and beliefs. The plot was solid and nicely paced from start to finish.

Full review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black | Book Review

Star Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Through the Woods

by Emily Carroll

Goodreads Review:

Really great collection of 5 horror stories that are enhanced with absolutely brilliant illustrations— Everything from the colour palette, the layout, the text font etc just adds to the overall reading experience. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and it is the perfect read to begin the upcoming Halloween season.

Star Rating:

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Gilded

by Marissa Meyer

Snippet from review:

This was such a phenomenal book from start to finish. I genuinely enjoyed this book from the very first page to the last. First, let’s talk about this world that Marissa Meyer has built within these pages. There is something about the way the author describes the setting, along with the sounds and smells that just create such a vivid imagery in my head as I am reading. I just think there’s something so magical about fantasy stories that are set during the winter, and Marissa Meyer’s world building in this book proves my point exactly. One element in most fantasy books that I have quite a hard time keeping up with are the abundance of mythical creatures, so much so that I have trouble remembering what certain creatures look like or what they do. However in this world there are still odd beings– like Phantoms, Moss Maidens and the Dark Ones, that exist but they are memorable.

Full review: Gilded by Marissa Meyer | Book Review

Star Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Luckiest Girl Alive

by Jessica Knoll

Snippet from review:

1.) The writing. The writing in this arguable the only reason why I managed to finish this book. I really enjoyed the way the writing is almost poetic at some point— the perfect mix of descriptive language as well as straight to the point writing.

2.) Probably my favourite parts of this book were the flashback chapters where we see glimpses into Ani’s life in college. They were pretty fun chapters, in my opinion.

Link to review: Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll | Book Review

Star rating:

⭐⭐

Rating: 2 out of 5.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

by Holly Jackson

Snippet from review:

This was is arguable a top-tier Young Adult (YA) mystery novel. It was so well-written from start to finish that I had trouble putting this book down. First, I want to talk about the illustrations and the somewhat unique format that this book incorporates into the writing. I love how there are some pages that look like a transcript, and some pages that look like they were scribbled on and photocopied into the book. It just adds enhances the reading experience, and makes readers feel like they are peeking into our main character’s brain. There were times where Pip was kind of circling back to the same point, and her “conclusions” were kind of questionable, but it works with her character because she’s not a trained detective nor does she have any professional skills– she’s a regular teenager. But unlike most teenagers, I really liked how driven she was to solve this case, despite the numerous set-backs she had to endure.

Link to review: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson | Book Review

Star Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Cannon

by Samantha Whiskey

Goodreads review:

This was a book recommended to me by one of my closest friends. I asked her for a cheesy, low-angst, romance and this book was exactly that (plus the spiiiiiicy scenes and more!)

It’s one of those reads that you just fly through without thinking too much. Admittedly, it is bit cliche at times, but sometimes that’s exactly what I need to get through the weekend.

I know the marriage of convenience/fake dating trope isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, some might find it predictable and overused, but at the moment I don’t mind it (seeing as I’ve read few books with that trope)

Star Rating: (more like a 3.5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Royal Summer

by Teri Wilson

Goodreads Review:

This was such a heartwarming read — the kind that leaves a warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest once you’ve finished reading. I was looking for a lighter, romance read in between my current October tbr and this was exactly what I needed.

This was such a unique take on the royalty-falls-in-love-with-a-commoner trope, and although it could be cliche at times, this book made it work. A lovely portrayal of love, family, and what it means to fall in love unexpectedly with the most unexpected person.

If you are looking for an unexpected romance, with a royal prince and his sweet, sweet daughter than this is the book for you.

Star rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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That’s it for my October Wrap-Up. I’m pretty glad of all the books that I managed to read. Fingers crossed it’s the same for the next month!

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How was your October Reading Month? Let me know in the comments below!

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