So many atmospheric, fall reads this month. Loving this fall season and really embracing the darker, moody reads. I've been super busy with work lately so audiobooks have really helped keep my reading pace up!
Please read on and enjoy!
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
This audiobook was great and read by that author! Lots of hilarious excerpts but definitely got heavy at other parts.
Comedian and activist Amy Schumer discusses childhood, MS, sexual experiences, gun violence, and much more! She holds nothing back in this book. Schumer's writing is witty, just like her stand-up. However, she has lots of contradictory points she is trying to make which can sometimes make for a confusing narrative, but I suppose that is a lot like life.
I have a hard time reviewing personal, life experiences and perspectives. That said, I found the book empowering and really funny!
This book has been on my TBR forever so I thought October was a perfect time to pick it up!
Languoreth is growing up with her twin brother, commonly known as Merlin, in sixth-century Scotland. This is the untold story of her beginning years and her struggle with survival and love. Pike's first book in a trilogy about Languoreth, and her writing is atmospheric and intelligent without beating you over the head with facts and dates!
The description of "Camelot meets Outlander" is absolutely spot on for this book! This book shattered my heart but did not put it back together again - this book really hit a nerve for me! Seeing the forceful moving away from nature and the destruction of the people who held land sacred by the evil church and Catholic faith was brutal...
4.5 stars out of 5 stars!
It was a good thriller but not a great one, ya know?
Amber Reynolds wakes up in a hospital but she can't remember why she is here and in an induced coma. Her sister and her husband are visiting her in the hospital but she is trapped inside her mind. With flashbacks, we start to discover the real reason why Amber is where she is. Feeney's writing is fast paced with easy diction which allows for a fast moving plot.
Lots of trigger warnings with this but I feel like there always are with thrillers/mysteries. Overall, I saw one of the plot twists coming and there was a bit too explicit assault scenes for my taste.
To the people who told me Louise Penny would fill the Tana French hole in my heart...to these people I say, HOW DARE YOU!!!
Jane dies in the woods. Inspector Gamache comes to investigate. That's it.
Penny's writing is strongly not for me. The pacing was exhaustingly slow, the characters were severely lackluster, the setting had no hold on me...I was bored to tears.
I guessed the murderer within the first 20 pages. Just not like Tana French at all and I was very disappointed.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Thought this 3 hour audiobook would be a good way to check off this classic book - YIKES!!!
George and Lennie are looking for work after an unnamed bad event. They start work on a different farm...and things go badly again. Steinbeck's writing is abrasive and hard to read. His gratuitous and unnecessary use of the N-word is shocking and appalling. I had such a difficult time listening to this book.
I've read many classics but never this one, however I remembered the ending for some reason. I was able to put the pieces together pretty quickly. It was soul crushing to witness the innocence of one man while horrible, evil men surround him.
I've read Riley Sager before, but with this book being absolutely everywhere on bookstagram, I thought I would give it a shot.
Casey is shut up in her lake house after a personal tragedy. She turns to drinking in excess and using binoculars to spy on her wealthy neighbors. One night, she believes she witnesses something sinister and intervenes.
Sager's voice is the same in all his books - clearcut, straight forward, and a hint of mysticism. My problems with this book are not with the author's writing but lie solely with the plot.
The "drunk woman can't be trusted" trope is so tired for me at this point. The plot was nothing new and the plot twist was haphazard at best. Seemed like the easy way out and made me frustrated. 3 out of 5 stars for me.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Finally read this unbelievably well written story and LOVED every second of it! Easy 5 out of 5 stars for me, and highly recommend!
Michelle Obama is an icon and her story is incredible. She doesn't just touch on her life story or important political issues, she presents her opinions and gets into the deep rooted problems! Phenomenal in every single way. Michelle's voice is clear throughout the story. She is concise, eloquent, intelligent and more. Michelle's opinion is not misconstrued as fact, but she did an exceptional job of relaying her message. I loved how she spoke about Trump being a complete menace to society and the political realm without making him a centerpiece of her story.
I've been wanting to dip a toe into the horror genre for awhile now, and this book was the ticket!
I loved not knowing the synopsis of this book because it just added to the thrill of reading so I'll leave this short. The story is told from three POVs: Ted, Olivia, and Dee. A little girl goes missing. And that's where our story begins!
This author writes shocking in such a slow burn way. The chilling, disturbing feel of this book never relents and it is all due to the author's writing. It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but it was worth it! Now be warned, all the trigger warnings for this book. It is extremely dark and horrifying.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
This book is very heavy and extremely dark. If you cannot handle heavy subject matter relating to sexual abuse, grooming, sexual trauma, PTSD, then do not pick this book up.
Vanessa goes to boarding school at 14 years old. When she is 15 years old, she has to deal with a 42 year old male teacher who is beginning to groom her for sexual violence. The physiological and sexual abuse this girl experiences makes for a horrific and eye opening story.
The author clearly does not shy away from any subject matter and graphically lays out the abuse this little girl endures. For this being a debut novel, I am stunned at the punch this story packs! Seeing how a child is forced to carry the responsibility of the adults around her is not a new story, but it is sickening and makes for an enthralling read.
Morgenstern's writing is so poetic and wonderfully beautiful, but I still enjoyed The Night Circus more than this one!
Zachary Ezra Rawlins finds a book that has him as a character within its pages. He doesn't know how but he must find out why. He attends a secretive party in NYC to try to find his answers. As previously stated, Morgenstern's writing is exquisite and you can't help but get swept away in her lyrical prose and ingenious, creative storylines.
The book itself is an ode to storytelling but this book felt too long with a bad ending. Yes, the stories are fascinating but there is essentially no plot or driving force to the entire story.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Wanted to round out this month with a murder mystery, and this one was pretty good!
Hal's mother has passed tragically and she is struggling financially when she receives a mysterious letter inviting her to Mrs. Westaway's funeral and will reading. She knows she is not Mrs. Westaway's relation but she attends anyway. Ware's writing is always great at setting the stage for mystery and drama - very atmospheric and dark! I thought the plot was alright but not great.
Love a good dark family secret in an old fun-down mansion story, however lots of the story felt needlessly messy. Audiobook was good for this to keep the pace/plot moving along!
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
This book was on hold at my library for ages because of the immense popularity, but I finally got my hands on it this month!
Mikki Kendall writes an enthralling book about today's feminist movement and how our privilege and willful blindness is contributing more to the problems than to the solutions. The reality is that most women are oppressing other women, so how can we claim that we are in solidarity with the movement as a whole? Kendall's writing is succinct and has a clear motivational force behind it. Housing, poverty, education, gun violence, lack of access, hunger, and so much more are covered in this book in respect to intersectional feminism. She dives deep into social issues, thus providing us with a solid understanding of the issues, while drawing connections to how women - especially women of color - are almost always disproportionately affected by social inequities and injustices.