October Reading Recap

Scottish islands, highwaymen, and Dracula in 1960's San Francisco

October is one of those times of year when I’m drawn towards specific genres and seasonal reading featured heavily in this month. I wanted eerie, haunting, and Gothic, if not necessarily scary. Most of all, what I found myself responding to in October was novels that have real stakes. Those stakes didn’t have to be world-ending but I wanted the emotions the characters experienced to feel big and authentic. I suspect that may be why I didn’t love any of the three witchy romances I read this month: Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson, Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin, and Playing the Witch Card by K.J. Dell’Antonia. I won’t go into a lot of detail here, because I want to mostly focus on the books I liked and would recommend, but all of these felt thin on character development and like they were skipping over important emotional and character beats.

Rereads

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I’ve read Rebecca three times now and it gets better on every reread. It’s the perfect combination of wildly readable and fascinatingly layered, with something new to notice every time I return to it. This time around, I was struck by the class commentary and how du Maurier depicts all the subtle ways our unnamed narrator finds herself feeling out of place in the upper class atmosphere of Manderley. This is a book that swallows the reader up and demands their complete attention. One of my all time favorites and a classic well worth revisiting.

Favorites of the month

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

This modern day When Harry Met Sally reimagining is messy people romance at its best: real and complicated and hard-won. I loved Ari and Josh's banter, undeniably electric chemistry, moments of vulnerability, and even their fights. And their happy ending was one of the best rom-com style confessions of love I've read in ages. The character growth is so, so good and has a richness and thoughtfulness that not all contemporary romances possess. I loved how very New York this is, both in its loving depiction of the city and in its tone, and that it flips traditional gender dynamics, with Ari being the commitment-phobe and Josh the diehard romantic. I devoured this and if I'd had the time to read it in a day, I would have. (Open door, moderate steam.)

Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews (Somerset Stories #2)

This blend of romance and revenge reads like a modern version of a classic 19th century novel. The suspense, the drama, the heart-stopping love story...it's all absolutely thrilling. As I’ve dived into Matthews’ catalog this year, I’ve loved seeing all the different modes she writes in and she leans all the way into fast-paced adventure here. As always, her writing is elegant and feels period-appropriate without ever being overly fussy, and she has a wonderful eye for historical detail, especially for fashion.  Note that while this is technically the second in the Somerset Stories series, you don’t need to read the first in the series, The Work of Art, beforehand. (Closed door.)

Really liked

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern #2)

I turned to Bardugo’s dark academic fantasy series centered around secret societies at Yale when I wanted something that would totally hook me and this delivered. There's something addictive about Bardugo's writing style and she excels at plot twists and building tension. Perhaps my favorite thing about this series, and particularly this installment, is how it examines both the myths and yearning we build up around magic in childhood and the brutal realities that come along with any system of power. Note that I would definitely recommend checking the content warnings for this series before picking it up.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (Monk & Robot #2)

What a gentle, warm, thoughtful book. We return to the traveling tea monk Sibling Dex, the fascinating, vividly imagined world of Panga, and Mosscap, the robot who’s emerged from the wilderness to ask humans what they need. Chambers has a knack for picking the exact right details and builds a world that feels deeply real in a short span of pages. I particularly enjoyed seeing more of the communities within Panga and this portrayal of a world that’s dragged itself back from the brink. There's something quietly, radically hopeful about this series that I really respond to and that I think we could all use right now. 

The End of Days by Jenny Erpenback

A fascinating look at the history of 20th-century Europe through the life of one woman who dies and lives again, the interplay between fate and free will, the power of chance, the rituals of grieving, and the impact of generational trauma. This is beautifully written, using repetition very effectively, and layered with meaning. I feel like there's still so much more to uncover about it. I would describe this more as a book I admired than one I unabashedly loved but oh, I admired it a lot. I found this very interesting and very original and am hoping to read more of Erpenback's work in the future.

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

This story of a servant girl struggling to survive in the wilderness after fleeing a colonial fort is a brutal but brilliant read. The writing is just astonishing, from the imagery to sentence after sentence that I wanted to underline, and the power she imbues her prose with is incredible. There were some elements that I could have lived without, like the detailed descriptions of bodily functions, but there’s so clearly a purpose to every stylistic choice she makes that I can’t really criticize it. Groff seems to be pushing against the conventions of historical fiction and of the way history's traditionally taught at every turn and it’s fascinating.

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

An atmospheric, expertly crafted fantastical noir about a detective in 1940's Chicago hunting down a killer for the chance to win her soul back and have a future with the woman she lives. I felt like I could picture this magical version of Chicago perfectly and was so impressed with the amount of world building Polk packs into a short span of pages. The noir vibes are flawless, the love story is just the right amount of bittersweet, and the writing is just wonderful. Highly recommend if you're looking for a short but captivating magical read. 

The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel

I need more historical fiction like this! Set on a remote Scottish island still recovering from the losses of World War II, The Wild Hunt follows two islanders searching for a missing boy in an October where the bird-like creatures that haunt the island are growing ever more aggressive. This features a wonderfully rendered setting, intriguing speculative elements, a low-key but moving love story, and the exact right amount of spooky for me. I also was glad to see the post-war setting, which we don’t get as often in historical fiction. There's a sense of real loss and tragedy but also a sense of hope and the writing was lovely and subtle. 

Quite liked, with minor quibbles

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (Letters of Enchantment #1)

What really worked for me in this YA fantasy romance about two rival journalists on the front lines of a war between the gods were the epistolary elements, including some downright swoony letters, and the depiction of love in the face of war. Ross nails both the wild hope of Iris and Roman's love story and the devastating tragedy of the war. (The World War I vibes are strong.) What didn't work quite as well for me was the world building, as I was left with more than a few questions about this world’s magical system and the gods themselves. But I also finished it and immediately started Googling to see when the sequel comes out, so...I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next for Iris and Roman and luckily I won’t have to wait long. 

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe (The Fifth Avenue Rebels #4)

This romance between scandalous Nellie Young and the buttoned-up Duke of Lockwood wasn't my favorite in Shupe's Fifth Avenue Rebels series, but still a lot of fun. What I like so much about Shupe's writing is her ability to craft chemistry between her main characters and evoke Gilded Age society, and both of those are on full display here. I loved spiky, secretly soft Nellie as our heroine and getting to see a side of Lockwood that wasn't on display in the other books. Their chemistry also sizzles. However, I did want this to delve more into the topic of reproductive rights during the Gilded Age and on how and why Nellie changes her mind about marriage and children--I'm willing to buy that transformation if we get enough insight into how it happens. (Open door, high steam.)

Liked, with some quibbles

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevado

A beautifully written depiction of a complicated but loving family of women that takes a while to come together but has a very satisfying ending. There's some gorgeous passages of writing and a strong sense of place, as I’ve come to expect from Acevado’s YA, as well as a nuanced exploration of mother-daughter relationships. However, there were quite a few plot threads and characters that I wanted to know more about and I felt like there was so much going on that some of the characters got shortchanged, especially youngest sister Camila. I also struggled to keep everything straight for longer than I wanted, as the book constantly flipped back and forth in time and between perspectives.

Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste

This feminist take on Lucy Westenra and Bertha Mason finds them as undead immortals living in 1960's California. I really enjoyed the visceral descriptions, skillfully built sense of dread, 1960's atmosphere, and, of course, the acknowledgement that Mr. Rochester is, in fact, the worst. There’s scenes and images still lingering in my head weeks later. Although I wanted more from Bee, aka Bertha, and her love story! The focus is very much on Lucy and I was a little less interested in her, perhaps because I've never read Dracula. This is also a book that gets a bit repetitive when it comes to making its central points but I’d recommend giving it a try if you’re interested in creative horror retellings.

I would like to have a conversation with the marketing department

Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey

In Cologne, Thora and Santi meet over and over again, in life after life, and struggle with how to break free of whatever they’re caught in. I think part of my struggle with this book was the way it was marketed. I was expecting more of a love story and more of a mind-bending time travel/parallel universe concept and while I won't reveal the twist, I found it deeply frustrating and not as clever as I was hoping it would be. I did like the city setting and the way Silvey captures so many different permutations of Thora and Santi's relationship. I'm not sure if it's fair to critique a book for mismatched expectations but I do think it could have sold me more effectively on what it did do.

A disappointment and I’m sad about it

Better Hate Than Never by Chloe Liese (Wilmot Sisters #2)

I really like Liese's thoughtful mental health representation and think her writing is lovely but the relationship dynamic and hero in this enemies to lovers romance were just not my cup of tea. Christopher's excuse for being incredibly hostile to Kate for years is that he liked her too much?! I thought we left that trope behind in the 2010’s. Although I liked Kate, I spent large swathes of the book being annoyed with him and didn’t feel like his character arc delivered enough of a transformation for me to wholeheartedly root for them as a couple. I do want to read more of Liese’s work, after loving the first in the Wilmot Sisters series, and I’m hoping this one was just a blip.(Open door, high steam.)

---

Currently reading: During the day, Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas, which is delivering the perfect mix of spooky and romantic. At night, I’m reading the very fun A Scot to the Heart by Caroline Linden.

What’s making me happy lately:

• The foliage at the New York Botanical Garden, which was at a splendid peak when I went last weekend.

• Being all in on berry lipsticks for fall. My current favorite is this one from Merit in the Fashion shade but I’m eying a few more while the Sephora sale is still going.

• The Golden Bachelor on ABC. I get teary-eyed at least once an episode but in a good way.