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I only read 4 books this month. This number feels wrong to me, but I can’t find any other books in my apps or my shelf that were devoured in October. I feel like I blinked and October is gone.
I am reading a series and also read two standalone novels, so let’s talk about them, shall we?
Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Series
The whole series is available on KindleUnlimited Kindle Unlimited Membership Plans
MMMMMMMK, so Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti are literary genius in my very honest opinion. If you read their work, let’s be friends. Are you in their Facebook group? Because you should be. It’s my favorite page on FB
Zodiac Academy is my favorite thing that I can think of that I’ve read to date. Those characters live rent-free in my head 24/7. OBSESSED. But we’re not here to talk about ZA…..
Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac is another series by these brilliant sister authors and the story is set 5 years before the ZA series, which was a motive of my read. It also contains character crossovers which I LIVE FOR and I’m getting to meet characters I’ve heard about in ZA. Love, love, love, LOVE. My heart stops every time my ZA BBF is mentioned in RB hahaha
All that being said, I am enjoying this series, but I am not as hooked as I am with ZA. RB is a reverse harem series, which I’m not a huge fan of. I mean a certain scene in book 3 might have just changed my mind there, but…..still. Also, because I read ZA first, I mildly know some things that will end up happening for some of these characters.
The characters, though, UGH! Swoon. The thing about these authors is they have a way of writing their characters that just makes you want to crawl into the pages and hug them. Or punch them. And the books are also written in multiple point-of-view (POV) and I adore that about these series. It adds a depth of understanding when there is so much going on, with so many characters, and, especially in the fantasy genre, I like all the info I can get.
Overall, I love the characters, love the world they’re in, love the magic, but not really into RH.
I’ve read Dark Fae and Savage Fae so far. Am currently 80% through Vicious Fae. Vicious Fae is my favorite of the series so far.
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
A great, standalone novel with a gaslighting theme. I really enjoyed this book and I love how Colleen Hoover (I’ve noticed fans call her COHO and I love that) writes. I’ve read Verity by her and that is a 10/10 recommended book from me.
This book, while a great read with a great topic, I feel like it might have the ability to offend someone who is a victim of severe gaslighting and/or narcissistic abuse. BUT it does portray a great message and I think it is definitely a must-read book. The characters are loveable and the story itself has a great depth that I loved watching unfold.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Okay, so no one will love every book they read. My taste will never fully match someone else’s. This book is heavily talked about online, so I know there are plenty of people out there who loved it. I was not one of those people.
It was very hard for me to get into, but sometimes I contribute that to third-person writing. Occasionally a book written that way is a struggle for me.
That being said, I think the story is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Very creepy, very dark, and definitely had a plot twist I did not see coming.
The main character is a spunky, fiery debutant, who I feel is definitely an enneagram 7 if you follow that at all, and I enjoyed reading from her POV.
Overall, it was a fine book, just not my preference. It’s like pineapple on pizza, I guess. Not for everyone.
October was a mild reading month for me. Maybe I’m in a slump. Actually, I probably am in a slump. All I want to do is complete my reread of Zodiac Academy, but I stopped at book 5 in order to read the Ruthless Boys, and then I’ll go back to ZA in anticipation of the book 7 release in December. I AM SO EXCITED AND SCARED AND EVERY OTHER POSSIBLE EMOTION IMAGINABLE.
What did you read in October? Let me know in the comments!
Stay tuned for my November TBR list and some Instagram graphics in tomorrow’s blog post! Also, if you’re not already, I’d love to be friends on Instagram! Follow me @stephanieashrom as I morph my page into a bookstagram page.
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