This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at IUP chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
I finally dragged myself out of my reading slump, finished my Goodreads yearly goal, and read 11 books in the month of October. Let’s break them down and talk about them, and make a (hopeful) November TBR!
- The Mountain’s Crown (The Fated Paths Duology #1) by Macayla Dawn: Okay, so this book was not my favorite at all. I honestly found it really boring and really cringey. This duology tells the same story, but each gives you the life of the main character if she had made a different decision. Overall, a decent YA Fantasy book, just not for me.
- The Dagger’s Tide (The Fated Paths Duology #2) by Macayla Dawn: Now, I enjoyed this book over the first one, but it still had moments where I found the writing to be really cringey, and I did not like one of the main characters. I found him so annoying. But this is a YA, so the writing isn’t meant to be spectacular, and I still think the author did a great job telling the story.
- Reckless (The Powerless Trilogy #2) by Lauren Roberts: This month, I really struck out. I kept reading books that were so cringey but had a good plot, which is why I kept reading them. This is the second book in the Powerless trilogy, and let me just say the series gets so bad after the first book. Again, I did in fact finish this book in about 2 days, but it was a STRUGGLE. The main character and love interest (who was also her enemy at certain times) was so cringey that I couldn’t stand every time they talked to each other, or the fact that they said and thought the same thing for the last two books. Literally the whole time, the series just kept going in a loop; it was actually foul.
- Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy #3) by Lauren Roberts: This one did make me tear up a bit because someone died, and I am a baby and take everything personally; however, once again, the cringey writing was atrocious. I enjoyed Powerless (book #1), but I will not ever recommend this series to anyone because of how bad and cringey it is.
- Fearful (The Powerless Trilogy #3.5) by Lauren Roberts: Despite the fact that I finished the Powerless trilogy, I did read this novella to see what point of view it was from, and it was okay. It was a really short read, so it wasn’t a complete waste of my time, but also not really needed.
- The Naturals (The Naturals #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: I am so happy that I finally started this series. I have had the first book sitting on my shelf for a few months now. Let me just say, everyone needs to go read this series ASAP. It was seriously SO GOOD! It is all about these teenagers who are extremely smart and have abilities that help them solve murders. The main character is really good at profiling people and understanding the mind behind the killer. You get chapters from her point of view, as well as ‘you’ chapters, which are from the perspective of the killer.
- Killer Instinct (The Naturals #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: Book Two in the series, this book was about just as good as the first one, but not the absolute best book in the series (but not a bad book at all). This one I enjoyed a lot, but I enjoyed the other books more!
- All In (The Naturals #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: Let me just say, this book had me absolutely gagged and speechless. Just when you think you’ve guessed something correctly, you’re blindsided with something completely new that you didn’t see coming. This book kept me engaged the entire time, and might be one of my favorite books I’ve ever read.
- Bad Blood (The Naturals #4) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: The last book in this series wrapped everything up so nicely; this was again another top-tier written story. The character developments throughout the whole series were so fun to read, and I was really captivated by the team trying to solve a different murder in each book, and how each book talked more about the characters’ backstories. I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves a good thriller/murder mystery that isn’t too nasty.
- The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer #1) by Lynette Noni: This book was one that I had wanted to read for a while, and it was also my book club’s book of the month, so I was finally able to read it. If I’m being completely honest, this book did have a slow start, but it had me interested right from the start. You really have to give it some time until things start to truly unfold, and then it is such an amazing story. The ending genuinely had me sitting there in shock for a solid 5 minutes of processing before I could do anything else. I was truly gagged by the ending, and I may read the other two books in the series, but I am not sure yet.
- Taming 7 (Boys Of Tommen #5) by Chloe Walsh: If you know anything about the Boys Of Tommen series, you know just how heartbreaking each book is in its own way. I swear, these characters have the absolute most horrific childhood and trauma. I never know what I’m going to find out as I keep reading. This was a decently quick read for me. It did have me crying a bit, but I am really hopeful that these characters get another book about them soon. I am withholding from reading Releasing 10 (Boys Of Tommen #6) because I know that it is by far the most heartbreaking and extremely sad character backstory. I need some more happy reads before I commit to that.
- A Study In Drowning (A Study In Drowning #1) by Ava Reid: Okay again, this was one that took me the longest to read. It was a really good series and had my attention the entire time, but it had an incredibly slow start for me. It didn’t really start picking up until about halfway, and it was an enjoyable read, but not the best thing ever, if that makes sense. I do plan on reading the other book in the duology at some point, because I am interested in seeing where they take the story and the character development.
As I said, I read 11 books in the month of October, and as a college student who also has a job and is almost always in a reading slump, this was a huge accomplishment for me! I am so excited to keep my streak going in November, but I definitely know it is going to slow down because I will be slammed with school work and studying for finals. With that being said, here is my hopeful November TBR:
- Babel by R.F. Kuang: I have been reading this for the past few weeks, and it is a really good story, but it is taking me absolutely forever to get through it. I am hoping to either finish it this month or definitely by the end of the year.
- Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid: I just started this book, and am only about 25% through, but I am really hopeful I will enjoy it. I haven’t really seen or heard much about this book. I kinda just found it while browsing my Kindle the other day!
- Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli: This is my book club book of the month for November, and I am extremely excited to read it. It’s been sitting on my Kindle shelf for a while now, but I haven’t been in the mood to start it. I’ve heard extremely mixed reviews about this book, so I’m a bit nervous, but I am overall very excited to read this one!