October Reading Wrap-Up

My October was mostly balanced between reading horror for spooky season, books set in Italy for an upcoming trip, and indie Kindle Unlimited reads because I got a deal and resubscribed. Aaaaand then some random ones just because I wanted to, and of course those are the ones that had the best 5-star hit rate.

This book delighted me in the best ways. A terminally ill young woman gets the chance to enter her favourite book series to try to win a chance at life, but when she ends up in the body of a villain, she decides to embrace it! This book was so clever and subverted expectations and fantasy tropes in so many ways. The premise is silly, and allows for so many meta jokes, since we have an irreverent modern 20-year-old becoming the villain in a Very Serious fantasy novel. AND YET it also explores so many themes in such clever ways that as often as I was laughing out loud, I was also saying "Oh damn!" Sarah Rees Brennan is becoming an all-time favourite author.

A YA book about three siblings who are complete messes in different ways, and how meeting one girl changes them. I love Jandy Nelson's writing (although understand why it doesn't work for everyone) - it's so visceral and descriptive, and captures complicated sibling relationships perfectly. Despite its length, I finished this in a weekend.

Historical fiction isn't usually my thing, but I tried out this book set in Ancient Rome, and let me tell you I was ENTRANCED the entire time. Told through the pov of a slave cook for a rich man over the span of decades, it's so immersive and makes Ancient Rome come to life. I can't imagine the research that must've gone into it, giving me a much better understanding of that period of history, including the food and culture. It has complex characters, but it was so nice to have a MC who was just fundamentally good and loved his family. I could listen to the audiobook for hours, always eager to see how the story would develop.

My favourite horror of the month! This book about a woman living in a haunted house that bleeds but trying to hide it from her daughter is horrifying and gory and FASCINATING. It is obvious that the author is a psychologist, because she made the way the MC's mind works so interesting that I felt like I wanted to analyze her myself. The best kind of horror - a page-turner that also gives you as much to think about and analyze as lit fic.