October TBR
October often has some of the most exciting releases so I’ve made myself a pretty ambitious list of books to read this month, it’s a mix of new releases, sequels, and books I’ve been meaning to read for a while that I’m finally planning to sit down and actually get through. Some of the new releases I’ve already mentioned in my post last week so I won’t go too in-depth about those here. I’ll mostly be focusing on the ones I haven’t mentioned.
As it’s already October 6th, I’m partway through 2 of these books already. I’m normally reading two books at a time: one physical book that i read on and off through the day, and then an ebook that I read before bed or while having a relaxing bath (luckily my e-reader is waterproof). The fist book I started this month is:
A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs - This is the 4th book in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Series series following a teen named Jacob Portman. In the first installment Jacob’s grandfather has recently passed away. Jacob and his family go to an island off the coast of Wales, where Grandpa Abe was raised as a boy in the 1940s, in an effort to help Jacob heal and move on. While there Jacob encounters a time loop hiding the orphanage his grandfather lived in preserved exactly as it was when he was there decades before. Miss Peregrine’s home for Peculiar Children is a refuge for those who have abilities and appearances that do not allow them to live the lives of normal people and they are hidden away in their loop for safety. In finding them, Jacob learns that his grandfather is not the person he thought he was and a whole new world of fantastic and dangerous experiences awaits him.
I recently found a discounted copy of Book 5 in this series and thought that if I were going to continue to buy these books as they came out I should also continue to read them. It’s been quite some time since I read the previous book Library of Souls and I honestly do not remember much of what happened so I was worried when I started this one that I’d be completely lost. Luckily, the plot of the first three books mostly wraps up at the end of Library of Souls and the story of this book is focused on the aftermath of what occurred and starts a new adventure on a different continent for Jacob and Miss Peregrine’s wards. It was a bit of a slow start for me as I was getting re-acquainted with the world and the characters but I am enjoying it so far.
The second book I'‘ve already started is Blood and Honey by Shelby Mahurin - This is the sequel Serpent and Dove where we encounter a witch in hiding, Louise LeBLanc, and a witch hunter, Reid Diggory, who through rather ridiculous circumstances are forced into marriage. Lou must hide her true identity from her now husband lest she suffer the fate of the other witches who have crossed his path. I thought Serpent and Dove was fun. It had magic, intrigue, hate-to-love romance and some wild twist and turns. I rated it 3/5 stars and I wasn’t necessarily planning on reading the sequel, but it become available at my library so thought I’d give it a go while i was waiting for the new October books to be released.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - I talked about this book in my fall new releases post here. It’s one of my most anticipated books of the year and one I plan to read starting today. V.E. Schwab is doing a virtual book tour for it’s release and the one I am attending takes place this Friday the 9th of October so I definitely want to have it finished by then. I plan to write an in-depth review of the book and give a rundown of how the book event went next week so watch out for that!
Update: I’ve now read about 45 pages of this and it’s stunning, masterful, and so far has exceeded my very high expectations. I don’t want to move until I finish it and I never want it to end.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik - I also wrote about this one last week, my copy has now arrived and it’s a bit shorter than I expected which will honestly be great with helping me really make my way through all of these books this month. Creepy magical school sounds like the perfect setting for a fall read and I’m excited to start it probably in the next week or two.
The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang - The sequel to The Poppy War (covered in my September wrap-up ) which is about a war orphan from a poor province who studies for years so she can ace an incredibly difficult test in order to train at the empire’s best military academy. What ensues is an intensely dark, military centered, magically fueled tale. This series is not for everyone. It is incredibly grim, but very well written.
I don’t normally marathon series. I like to take some time between books and jump around between different worlds/characters, but the final book in this trilogy comes out next month and I do enjoy reading books I’m interested in soon after they’re released so I plan on reading this book in October so I’m ready for The Burning God when it comes out. If you read this book last year when it was first released and don’t have the time/desire to re-read all 658 pages I’m thinking about writing up a spoiler-filled recap toward the end of the month to catch people up before book 3 comes out.
Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner - Book 6 of the Queen’s Thief series. I discussed this one in my Fall Releases post and there isn’t much more for me to add here. I feel like I’ve been waiting ages for this one and I can’t wait to read it all in the span of a day. The first book in the series is called The Thief and I highly recommend it to anyone that likes adventure stories, court politics, and light fantasy.
Hollowpox by Jessica Townsend - As is the trend with this post, I’ve written about this book recently as well. It’s book 3 to the Morrigan Crow series. I think I’ll probably read this one soon after The Dragon Republic because I will definitely be in the mood for something light, whimsical, and charming. This series has been one of my favorites for years of any books not just middle grade.
Jade City by Fonda Lee - I’ve seen nothing but good things from reviewers I follow about Jade City and there has been renewed interest lately with the announcement that it’s being developed for a t.v. series. Lee describes this book as “The Godfather with magic and kung fu”. It’s the first in an asian-inspired fantasy series set in Janloon (aka Jade City) where jade is mined and traded. The jade is mostly monopolized between two rival clans and there is a lot of magic and political maneuverings involved. It’s a decently sized books at 560 pages so I’m going to try to get to it this month, but it may end up pushed to November. We’ll see.
Let me know in the comments what you’re interested to read this month and I’ll be back soon with some spooky/atmospheric Fall recommendations!
