What I Read in October

October was such a good reading month. Not a single dud book in the lot! I do wish I got more Victorian literature in for Victober but those books take me a bit longer to read.

A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison

The Hollows #4, Urban Fantasy ★★★★★

Considering how much I disliked the first book in this series I’ve sure been handing out a lot of 5 stars to the rest of the books! The series has a different energy to most urban fantasy books. The main characters have genuine flaws that make them interesting instead of the too often “make silly choices to create conflict” flaw characters seem to have.

For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison

The Hollows #5, Urban Fantasy ★★★★★

The tension is high in this one! Some serious consequences from events in previous books.

The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison

The Hollows #6, Urban Fantasy ★★★★★

This is the game-changer book in the series. We discover a good bit about Rachel and her world gets shaken up and I can’t wait to read what will happen next for her.

Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones

Charley Davidson #3, Urban Fantasy ★★★★☆

Charley Davidson is THE Grim Reaper and not even she knows fully what that means but she’s starting to find out. With this being the 3rd book in the series we have a good understanding of how things work for Charley and the world around her starts to expand more now.

It’s so difficult to wrap up a book that’s midway through a series… All I’ll say is that I really enjoyed this. Jones is a very witty writer and gives Charley a lot of oomph in her character.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Stand Alone, Contemporary Romance ★★★★☆

Olive’s sister wins everything including her honeymoon and the seafood buffet at her wedding. Sadly, the seafood buffet doesn’t go down so well leaving only Olive and best-man Ethan not sick. Her sister insists they go on the honeymoon of a lifetime she won (since she’s her twin and can easily pass for her). Only problem is they are mortal enemies…

So, this was a pretty sweet story. Perfect if you’re a fan of romantic comedies and you want an easy going read. Personally I prefer my romances a bit darker but I read this while lounging in the sunshine in the Canaries so it suited perfectly.

Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #3, Urban Fantasy ★★★★★

Oh, *swoon* I loved it! This is the final book in the first trilogy of this series (they seem to be doing three books focusing on each sister). It was so good!! Andrews seem to be writing on the fine line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance and I love it!

Sadly, this series suffers from bad cover syndrome.

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Hidden Legacy #3.5, Urban Fantasy ★★★★★

This novella transitions the focus from Nevada to Catalina. It’s Nevada’s wedding and someone is trying to ruin the day (with poison!) and it’s up to Catalina to find out who’s behind it.

Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde

Classic, Play ★★★★☆

I think maybe 3.5 stars for this one. I enjoyed it but it’s nowhere near as good as his other plays. It was a touch preachy about being trusting.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Victorian, Romance ★★★★★

I simply adore this book! I reread it this year for Victober and once I finished it I wasn’t to start it again. It means so much to me I couldn’t resist adding some pictures to my cheap Wordsworth edition and turning it into a kind of junk journal. I will need to get a good clean copy of the book (maybe one of those penguin cloth-bound ones) to keep nice and pretty on my shelf and really annotate this one how I want to.

Someone on Goodreads described this book as “Pride and Prejudice for socialists” and I think that’s a pretty good condensed description of it. The romance is similar to the hate-to-love one of Pride and Prejudice and there’s a lot of debate on socialist topics among characters.

Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti

Victorian, Narrative Poem ★★★★★

I love this poem though I’m not sure I could accurately describe it to someone. It follows two sisters who are being lured to buy fruit from goblins at a market. It’s about temptation, desire, consequences and love.

It gives an interesting insight into the Victorian mindset I feel.

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Victorian ★★★★★

OK, so this shouldn’t really be in my wrap up cause I’m not actually finished reading it yet BUT it’s a reread and I picked it up for Victober so I just wanted to mention it here. This is another book I feckin ADORE and have started adding clippings to like North and South (definitely getting those fancy hardback editions). This time I’m reading it paying close attention to character development and motivations. I’m really enjoying it but it is a slow way to read a book.