October || November || December
Remember to stay up to date with the world, listen to those facing atrocities and help spread awareness/donate where you’re able to.
It’s the last quarterly wrap up of 2024! 🎉
We’ve come to the end of the year and it went both fast and slow… I’m happy that I completed my reading goal of 75 books (85 books in total) and my yearly average rating was 3.85⭐.
The last quarter saw me reading less than previously, but I feel like I was still reading somewhat consistently and didn’t have a reading slump 💖
OCTOBER
I had a really good reading month in October in that my average rating was 4.0⭐ and I read my favourite book of the year with The Last Tale of the Flower Bride! As I don’t consume ‘scary’ media, I instead went for some ‘mysterious’ and crime related books to sort of join in with the spooky season.
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride; Roshani Chokshi ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I am obsessed with this book! As the reader I felt connected to the Bridegroom, in that I too am nosy, and also to Azure and Indigo’s want of being accepted and otherworldly. The writing is wonderful and draws you into a world that often felt timeless, the words wove the magic of wonder, pain, betrayal, love.
The Last Murder at the the End of the World; Stuart Turton ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – A murder mystery set in a post-apocalyptic setting was certainly new to me! The pacing is a mix of slow and fast, which feels genuine to the characters and the small island routine. I enjoyed the characters and would highly recommend the audiobook. Turton’s narrative style lends itself really well to audio.
The Walnut Tree: Women, Violence and the Law; Kate Morgan ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – It’s truly fascinating learning about the history of marriage in the UK and how such huge changes in the legal sense were so recent. While this isn’t an in depth history, I enjoyed the close look into several women’s lives and how the legal system thwarted or prevailed in it’s justice.
The Naturals; Jennifer Lynn Barnes ⭐⭐⭐.5 – This is a fast paced book about 5 teenagers who have special powers of deduction (due to childhood trauma) who are being used by the FBI to solve cold cases. Obviously, with the introduction of our main character – Cassie – they get involved with an active serial killer case. The characters are more YA stereotypes than actual people in this one, but we do see the foundations being put in place to give them character development and I’m excited to see where they go.
Spy x Family, Vol. 1; Tatsuya Endo ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This is a super popular manga and when I saw that it was available on Libby I gave it a go. This was so fun! There was a great mix between serious and shenanigans. I was definitely on board with Anya when she was fangirling over her new spy dad and assassin mum!
Killer Instinct; Jennifer Lynn Barnes ⭐⭐⭐.5 – The second book in the Natural’s series gives us more insight into Dean’s childhood and seeing more of the ‘gifts’ being used in a real time case. The new characters added more depth, especially in understanding the original dynamic of when Dean was the only one in the ‘programme’. I enjoyed the growth of Cassie and Dean’s relationship and I like that we continue to see friendships growing between the five young naturals.
NOVEMBER
I didn’t have an especially successful November, but I was poorly with Covid for a little while which didn’t help. My average rating was pretty average at 3.0⭐.
Trans Like Me: Conversations for All of Us; C. N. Lester ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – C.N. Lester is a trans academic and activist and this type of work is so important. Trans Like Me is incredibly insightful and it’s vital that we take the time to listen to actual lived experiences.
My Little Monster, Vol. 1; Robico ⭐⭐⭐.5 || My Little Monster, Vol. 2; Robico ⭐⭐⭐ – I went into My Little Monster hoping to find a cute shoujo manga to get into. And, while it was cute, the relationship was too sudden. I enjoyed the budding friendship between our main protagonist Shizuku and Asako but, unfortunately, I didn’t feel compelled to continue.
The Christmas Guest; Peter Swanson ⭐ – Some men should not be allowed to write female characters. This small novella of around 120 pages was a slog. The mystery was boring and anticlimactic, and this man wrote our main character as a sexist caricature of a young woman.
Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma; Claire Dederer ⭐⭐⭐.5 – This was a really interesting look into the dynamic between ‘celebrity’ and ‘fan’. It discusses how we could possibly engage with our feelings surrounding ‘separating the art from the artist’ and if this is ethically right and ways to navigate this topic. During this discussion Dederer explores this concept while going through several well known people and the scandals/crimes they have committed.
DECEMBER
I feel like I read often this month, but was surprised to see that I only read three books, but two were somewhat chunky.
The Reappearance of Rachel Price; Holly Jackson ⭐⭐⭐.5 – I was excited for this one, but it had an issue with pacing. It took a while to get into the mystery and then the last 100 pages were super fast paced. The mystery itself was intriguing, despite our main protagonist Bel being unlikeable.
The Story of Art Without Men; Katy Hessel ⭐⭐⭐.75 – This is a doorstop of a ‘coffee table’ book. The amount of research is evident, as well as Hessel’s deep love and interest in art. I found it interesting and there’s lots of artists that are explored, but some sections felt overwhelming with the amount of artists discussed, some super briefly. There are lots of pictures which I love! I tend to not like a lot of modern/contemporary art and a large chunk of the book is dedicated to this (for obvious reasons) but I found it a little boring.
Mine Till Midnight; Lisa Kleypas ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This is a re-read for me as I want to continue with the Hathaway series. I really enjoy Amelia as a character, and her ragtag chaotic siblings are fun. I loved seeing more development for Cam and how he allowed Amelia to relax and think about herself more. The plot is fun, but not as well balanced as some of the previous Kleypas historical romance books I’ve read. I also don’t like that Cam is described as ‘exotic’ several times – he’s Roma.
Thanks for reading!
I hope you’ve had a wonderful reading year!
I hope you’re having a lovely day and staying safe ♥
DramaRambles 🌸 