Monthly Wrap-Up – October 2023
Good evening readers and welcome to this monthly wrap-up post for October! I had a pretty good month with reading progress, and I have plenty to share with you in today’s post.
In October, I had a few reading commitments towards the end of the month. That gave me plenty of time to read those books first and then make it to my chosen mood reads later on.
Shall we dive into my recap for October in earnest?
Books Read
Priest of Bones
My first read I feature in today’s monthly wrap-up post is actually a carryover from September. I started Priest of Bones at the very end of September, and ended up reading all but the first three chapters in October!
I had high hopes for Priest of Bones. I feel like it is one of those books that got a lot of hype. Do I feel it lived up to expectation though? Not particularly. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book. It was a decent read and I ultimately rated it three stars. I may continue on with the series, but I’m undecided as of right now.
The Puppet Maker
After reading Priest of Bones, I started making headway into my ‘fixed reads’ on October’s TBR. The Puppet Maker is the first of the blog tours I was taking part in during October, with my review due on the 20th.
The Puppet Maker was an opportunity to read a genre I haven’t picked up in a while. I have read mysteries, but not so much with a police procedural element. I enjoyed this change of scenery, so to speak. The book is also uniquely enjoyable for its representation of life as a new wheelchair user. Alana is the protagonist to this story, and she has to navigate multiple complex cases whilst personally coming to terms with her own personal tragedies.
If you want to check out my full review of the book you can find that here.
Warrior Prince
My next read, also for a blog tour, had me reading something new again. I’ve enjoyed multiple historical fiction novels featuring Vikings, but not outside modern-day England.
In Warrior Prince, we adventure along with exiled Harald Sigurdsson and his men throughout modern Eastern Europe. This new setting and political landscape made for a complete change to what I’m used to, and I loved that. There is a lot of conflict (not to be unexpected really) and complex character arcs/relations that drive the plot well.
Again, if you like the sound of this book and want to read my full thoughts, I’ll pop a link to my review here.
Cinderella’s Crimes
The last of my obligations for the month was to provide a review for Cinderella’s Crimes by the 31st October. Cinderella’s Crimes is a fairytale retelling with a lot darker nature than the traditional and well known version of the story.
Instead of sitting at home and hoping to attend the ball, Cinna takes matters into her own hands. In competition with her best friend Johann, she conducts a heist and aims to come out the better off of the two. She’s ruthless and cunning in pursuit of her revenge.
Cinderella’s Crimes is a fast paced tale and I liked how the events unfolded. As I’ve reviewed the book, you can check out my thoughts using this link.
TBR Jar – The Flood
My final ‘fixed read’ of October was my TBR Jar pick for the month. I have picked up The Flood by listening to the audiobook version. The narrator’s style is really lending itself to the book and genre. The story is compelling and the characters are clearly hiding things from us at the moment. I’m enjoying the dual timeline and I’m curious to see how this will come together at the end.
I’m carrying The Flood over into November to complete it. As of this monthly wrap-up post, I am coming up halfway through the book.
Surrounded by Idiots
Whilst reading the physical/ebook fixed reading list above, I also listened to Surrounded by Idiots.
I wanted to pick up the book as the content closely correlated to a work course I took recently. The two ended up complementing each other well, and now I feel I have some practical tips to take away. Taking the time to progress with the audiobook has also meant that it’s a subject I’ve gotten used to paying attention to and actively thinking about… which you have to if you want to make the most of the content!
Surrounded by Idiots was really informative and I’m glad I took the initiative to follow up on the content of the course through that audiobook when I did.
September’s Instagram poll runner up – Killing for Company
The last book I completed pretty much in full in October is Killing for Company: The Case of Dennis Nilsen by Brian Masters.
I added the book to my reading list three years ago, and it came up as the contender against Priest of Bones in my Instagram poll pick in September. It was always my plan to read the winner in September and the runner up in October; it’s ironic that I ended up reading both in October, but there we go!
Killing for Company is a grisly non-fiction about the life of Dennis Nilsen, who in adult life went on to murder 15 men and attempt taking the lives of several others. It’s not a book for those sensitive to grisly detail. It’s an intimate account of what happened for each of the men, as well as exploring the life and psychology of the man who fully admitted to and provided full accounts to the police about perpetrating the crimes upon capture.
The Shining
It was my intention to pick up and read The Shining late on in the month for Halloween (or Hop Tu Naa here). As it happens, I picked up the book to read the first 30 pages or so after visiting family that night.
Naturally, I’m currently continuing with my read of the book and I’ll be in a position to tell you more in my next monthly wrap-up!
Summary
Whilst I have carried a couple of reads over to November, I have managed to pick up everything on my October TBR, and a little more besides. I haven’t included that in this post, but you’ll see the fruit of that labour on my blog soon!
I’m looking forward to an equally productive November! Stay tuned for November’s Monthly TBR going live on Saturday.
Thanks for checking out today’s monthly wrap-up and until then, happy reading!
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