🎃 October Reviews 👻
October 1st-31st
Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you have a great and spooky day.
October has been one of the best months for books yet. I found so many new favorites in the 18 books I read throughout the month. Cannot wait to see what I find during November and December.
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Book 147: The Salt Grows Heavy
By Cassandra Khaw
Read October 2nd
Pages: 106
Release Year: 2023
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An eerie and beautifully written story that shows a very dark version of mermaids. Oh my goodness this was so good.
Book 148: Lifetime Passes
By Terry Blas
Read October 2nd
Pages: 160
Release Year: 2021
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Book 149: The Sword in the Stone: Arthur's Magical Kingdom
By Gabriel Valentin
Read October 6th
Pages: 80
Release Year: 2026
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One of my favorite movies growing up was always Disney's The Sword in the Stone. It is what originally got me into King Arthur tales and is still a favorite of mine. This is a continuation of Arthur's story, as he learns what it takes to be a king and how magic cannot solve all of life's problems.
I enjoyed the introduction of Madam Mim's niece and seeing the lessons that Merlin taught Arthur throughout the story. This was a stunning graphic novel that is perfect for fans of the original movie. I hope we get more graphic novels from this world.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
I enjoyed the introduction of Madam Mim's niece and seeing the lessons that Merlin taught Arthur throughout the story. This was a stunning graphic novel that is perfect for fans of the original movie. I hope we get more graphic novels from this world.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 150: You Are Odysseus
By Laura Jenkinson-Brown
Read October 3rd-7th
Pages: 726
Release Year: 2025
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I grew up loving choose-your-own-adventure stories, so anytime I find adult versions of them I have to pick them up. You Are Odysseus gives the reader the opportunity to choose what Odysseus's voyage home will be like after the Trojan War. There are so many twists you can take on your pathway home that makes this a book such an enjoyable experience. I obviously did not get through every single choice but I enjoyed each one I took.
This will be a book I know I will pick up many times to have new adventures throughout Ancient Greece. A perfect book for fans of Greek Mythology who would like to help choose the story elements from their favorite tales. I would love to get more books like this based on mythology.
This will be a book I know I will pick up many times to have new adventures throughout Ancient Greece. A perfect book for fans of Greek Mythology who would like to help choose the story elements from their favorite tales. I would love to get more books like this based on mythology.
Book 151: Johnny and the Bomb
(Johnny Maxwell # 3)
By Terry Pratchett
Read October 8th-9th
Pages: 256
Release Year: 1996
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Another great book in the Johnny Maxwell series. I loved the time travel aspects in this story and how Terry played with them throughout. His writing is always so clever. He had me snickering to myself many times during this entire book.
Book 152: The Phantom of the Opera
By Gaston Leroux
Read October 11th-13th
Pages: 360
Release Year: 1910
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An absolutely brilliant novel. It was quite different than I expected but so much better also. I loved listening to this book the last three days, especially the ending. The Phantom is such a famous character who I have seen in various adaptations over the years. I'm glad I finally read the book. 
David Mitchell's eerie writing kept me intrigued to see what would happen next and I loved the interlocking narrative. He is a writer I have been wanting to read for years. I'm glad I chose to read this book. It is an interesting take on a ghost/haunted house story and I enjoyed the elements of that throughout. As the book continues on though, it becomes so much more. I look forward to checking out his other books especially The Bone Clocks, which I heard this is connected to. 
A wonderful collection of short stories that all focus on various holidays. I like how they went in order by how they fall during the year. You could either read them all together or read them when their holidays are.
My favorite stories were the ones that went into detail about the holidays. Many of the stories focus on difficult topics such as homophobia, coming out, racism, Covid, mental health, and death of family members. Even with these heavy topics there is still a cozy feel to many of the stories in this book. If you like reading about holidays and want to learn a bit about many different ones this might be a collection for you.
Below, I will give my star ratings for each story and a little information about what I thought of them.
*Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.* 
Dorothe Bartleby is a grad student in her university's Magical department, who failed her first attempt at her program's qualifying exam. She has intense anxiety which is one of the reasons she failed the exam. During the story, she is trying to prove how magic in classic literature changed the world. She is meant to use Digimancy, which is using computers and magic to prove her point but it backfires on her. She creates a talking skull named Anne, who narrates Bartleby's inner thoughts as if she were a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. The humor that came from Anne's commentary was comedic gold. Also, I loved the magic system in this book and how it dealt with ghosts. So clever!
Along with worrying about her upcoming exam, Bartleby is dealing with various Magical students who are disappearing from campus after they ask for accommodations for their disabilities. She works with her friends to fix the problems with Anne and figure out what is happening with the students.
I found that the novel balances the mystery of what is happening with the students well with the other aspects of Bartleby's life. As someone with anxiety problems, I related a lot with Bartleby's struggles. Her journey was one I enjoyed following. She's bright and deeply passionate about becoming a mage, even if she sometimes believes that she will never be as good as her peers. I also loved following Bartleby's friends and love interest, James. Their friend group was strong and I really enjoyed their dynamic throughout the book.
This is a slower-paced novel, which was perfect for me. I love getting to know a world and characters deeply. Higher Magic was such a wonderful debut and I will definitely check out Courtney Floyd's future novels.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.* 
It is a great book for any reader. I love that it has many ways that it can also be read shown in the How to Use this Book Guide at the beginning of the book. 
I have known the story of Interview with the Vampire for a very long time from the movie and am happy to have finally read the book. This was so thought provoking and I loved the way Anne Rice chose to write it. I wasn't planning on picking up the other books in this series but after finishing it, I know I have to at least read the sequel. 
Book 153: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
(The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse #1)
By Charlie Mackesy
Read October 14th
Pages: 128
Release Year: 2019
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October 14, 2025 reread:
I adored rereading this beautiful book.
January 8th, 2020 review:
One of the most poignant and beautiful books I have ever read. This reminded me of Winnie the Pooh with its insightfulness. I really needed this book right now. I recommend it to everyone.
I adored rereading this beautiful book.
January 8th, 2020 review:
One of the most poignant and beautiful books I have ever read. This reminded me of Winnie the Pooh with its insightfulness. I really needed this book right now. I recommend it to everyone.
Book 154: Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse, and the Storm
(The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse #2)
By Charlie Mackesy
Read October 14th
Pages: 128
Release Year: 2025
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A wonderful continuation to the boy, mole, fox, and horse's story. They go through many hard and vulnerable patches throughout the book, but stick together. It has so many beautiful and insightful messages just like the first. The illustrations are absolutely stunning. I adored reading this book with all my heart and cannot wait to get it for my own collection.
Book 155: Slade House
By David Mitchell
Read October 15th
Pages:
Release Year: 2015
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A strange and creepy book that is a collection of short stories that are all connected by the Slade House and the Grayer twins. Each section of this book is narrated by a different character and the stories build off of each other in clever ways. Every nine years, people are led into the Slade House by various means and never come out again.
David Mitchell's eerie writing kept me intrigued to see what would happen next and I loved the interlocking narrative. He is a writer I have been wanting to read for years. I'm glad I chose to read this book. It is an interesting take on a ghost/haunted house story and I enjoyed the elements of that throughout. As the book continues on though, it becomes so much more. I look forward to checking out his other books especially The Bone Clocks, which I heard this is connected to.
Book 156: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
(The Chronicles of Narnia #2)
By C. S. Lewis
Read October 16th
Pages: 189
Release Year: 1950
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October 16th, 2025 reread:
Today is the 75th anniversary of the release of this wonderful book. I highly enjoyed revisiting it again. The Narnia books will always feel like home to me and make me think of childhood joy, which I think we could all use in our lives. Such a beautiful story.
April 2020 reread:
It's like going back down memory lane. I don't remember precisely when I first read this book. I'd say in fourth or fifth grade in our library class. All I know is that I remember falling in love with this book and begging my grandmother to get the full collection for me for Easter when I saw it at Walmart. I really don't remember how many times I have read this over the years, but it still is a favorite of mine after all this time.
This time around was just as magical. Aslan was always a favorite character of mine and he still is. The scene with him, Lucy, and Susan is just as heartbreaking as it was when I was a kid. Still can't stand Edmond after all these years. I really love the professor a lot especially his conversations with the kids. This reread of the series has been great so far.
Today is the 75th anniversary of the release of this wonderful book. I highly enjoyed revisiting it again. The Narnia books will always feel like home to me and make me think of childhood joy, which I think we could all use in our lives. Such a beautiful story.
April 2020 reread:
It's like going back down memory lane. I don't remember precisely when I first read this book. I'd say in fourth or fifth grade in our library class. All I know is that I remember falling in love with this book and begging my grandmother to get the full collection for me for Easter when I saw it at Walmart. I really don't remember how many times I have read this over the years, but it still is a favorite of mine after all this time.
This time around was just as magical. Aslan was always a favorite character of mine and he still is. The scene with him, Lucy, and Susan is just as heartbreaking as it was when I was a kid. Still can't stand Edmond after all these years. I really love the professor a lot especially his conversations with the kids. This reread of the series has been great so far.
Book 157: For the Rest of Us: 13 Festive Holiday Stories to Celebrate All Seasons
Edited by Dahlia Adler
Read October 15th-17th
Pages: 304
Release Year: 2025
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My favorite stories were the ones that went into detail about the holidays. Many of the stories focus on difficult topics such as homophobia, coming out, racism, Covid, mental health, and death of family members. Even with these heavy topics there is still a cozy feel to many of the stories in this book. If you like reading about holidays and want to learn a bit about many different ones this might be a collection for you.
Below, I will give my star ratings for each story and a little information about what I thought of them.
~ Lunar New Year: "This is how it's always been" by Kelly Loy Gilbert- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- This story hit hard for me.
~ Valentine's Day: "P.S. I (Don't) Love You" by Laura Pohl- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Such a cute story. I love the friendship in this one.
~ Holi: "Holi Hai!" by Preeti Chhibber- ⭐⭐
- I wasn't a big fan of this story.
~ Nowruz: "A New Day" by Abdi Nazemian- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I loved how we get a bit of information about Nowruz in the beginning and then we see the family celebrating.
~ Eid: "Without a Plan" by Karuna Riazi- ⭐⭐⭐
- I enjoyed the aspect of the main character in this story trying to find her purpose.
~ Passover: "Elijah's Coming to Dinner" by Natasha Díaz- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- This had a interesting premise.
~ Juneteenth: "Hill Country Heartbeat" by Candace Buford- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I love how we really got to know the main character and her family in this one.
~ Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah: "Making Up is Hard to Do" by Dahlia Adler- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I love how this focused on so many different events that Jewish people celebrate between September and October.
~ Diwali: "The Return" by Aditi Khorana- ⭐⭐⭐
- I didn't love this story.
~ Dia de los Muertos: "Honor the Dead to Honor the Living" by Sonora Reyes- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I highly enjoy stories focused on the Day of the Dead and I love how this story handled this topic. So sad and beautiful.
~ Winter Solstice: "'Tis the Damn Season" by A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
-This story was absolutely beautiful.
~ Christmas/Hanukkah: "Merry Christmukkah, Loser" by Katherine Locke- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I highly enjoyed this story, especially the dynamic between the two main characters. The idea of judging the holidays was clever.
~Kwanzaa: "Habari Gani" by Kosoko Jackson- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Definitely my favorite from the entire collection. This was a hard story for me to read because of the subject, but it was stunning.
- This story hit hard for me.
~ Valentine's Day: "P.S. I (Don't) Love You" by Laura Pohl- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Such a cute story. I love the friendship in this one.
~ Holi: "Holi Hai!" by Preeti Chhibber- ⭐⭐
- I wasn't a big fan of this story.
~ Nowruz: "A New Day" by Abdi Nazemian- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I loved how we get a bit of information about Nowruz in the beginning and then we see the family celebrating.
~ Eid: "Without a Plan" by Karuna Riazi- ⭐⭐⭐
- I enjoyed the aspect of the main character in this story trying to find her purpose.
~ Passover: "Elijah's Coming to Dinner" by Natasha Díaz- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- This had a interesting premise.
~ Juneteenth: "Hill Country Heartbeat" by Candace Buford- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I love how we really got to know the main character and her family in this one.
~ Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah: "Making Up is Hard to Do" by Dahlia Adler- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I love how this focused on so many different events that Jewish people celebrate between September and October.
~ Diwali: "The Return" by Aditi Khorana- ⭐⭐⭐
- I didn't love this story.
~ Dia de los Muertos: "Honor the Dead to Honor the Living" by Sonora Reyes- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I highly enjoy stories focused on the Day of the Dead and I love how this story handled this topic. So sad and beautiful.
~ Winter Solstice: "'Tis the Damn Season" by A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
-This story was absolutely beautiful.
~ Christmas/Hanukkah: "Merry Christmukkah, Loser" by Katherine Locke- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- I highly enjoyed this story, especially the dynamic between the two main characters. The idea of judging the holidays was clever.
~Kwanzaa: "Habari Gani" by Kosoko Jackson- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Definitely my favorite from the entire collection. This was a hard story for me to read because of the subject, but it was stunning.
I definitely want to check out some of these writers' other works, especially Kosoko Jackson.
*Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*
Book 158: Higher Magic
By Courtney Floyd
Read October 18th-19th
Pages: 432
Release Year: 2025
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Higher Magic is a fantasy story that feels very much rooted in a world similar to our own if we had magic. It shines a light on a very prevalent mindset in academia, that people who need accommodations are often considered lesser. I love how this novel not only shows how ridiculous this way of thinking is but also the characters fighting against it.
Dorothe Bartleby is a grad student in her university's Magical department, who failed her first attempt at her program's qualifying exam. She has intense anxiety which is one of the reasons she failed the exam. During the story, she is trying to prove how magic in classic literature changed the world. She is meant to use Digimancy, which is using computers and magic to prove her point but it backfires on her. She creates a talking skull named Anne, who narrates Bartleby's inner thoughts as if she were a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. The humor that came from Anne's commentary was comedic gold. Also, I loved the magic system in this book and how it dealt with ghosts. So clever!
Along with worrying about her upcoming exam, Bartleby is dealing with various Magical students who are disappearing from campus after they ask for accommodations for their disabilities. She works with her friends to fix the problems with Anne and figure out what is happening with the students.
I found that the novel balances the mystery of what is happening with the students well with the other aspects of Bartleby's life. As someone with anxiety problems, I related a lot with Bartleby's struggles. Her journey was one I enjoyed following. She's bright and deeply passionate about becoming a mage, even if she sometimes believes that she will never be as good as her peers. I also loved following Bartleby's friends and love interest, James. Their friend group was strong and I really enjoyed their dynamic throughout the book.
This is a slower-paced novel, which was perfect for me. I love getting to know a world and characters deeply. Higher Magic was such a wonderful debut and I will definitely check out Courtney Floyd's future novels.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.*
Book 159: Northanger Abbey
By Jane Austen
Read October 20th-22nd
Pages: 320
Release Year: 1817
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I had such a great time reading this book, especially Catherine's self-delusion and assumptions. Jane Austen's satirical novel was such an enjoyable time.
Book 160: The Cinnamon Bun Book Store
(Dream Harbor #2)
By Laurie Gilmore
Read October 24th-25th
Pages: 348
Release Year: 2024
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This book was mixed-bag for me. I love the idea of the bookish scavenger hunt quite a lot, but these characters drove me crazy. So many of their problems could have been fixed if they just talked. The ending was very cute with what Noah does. I am still loving the small town vibes and definitely will be continuing with the series. Just wish I enjoyed this as much as the first.
Book 161: A Witch's Guide to Burning
By Aminder Dhaliwal
Read October 22nd-25th
Pages: 400
Release Year: 2024
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I love the style of this graphic novel so much. It uses a mixture of prose, comics, and illustrations to create Singe, Yew-Veda and Bufo's story. A Witch's Guide to Burning is an allegory for recovering from burnout and the self-care needed to do so. Aminder Dhaliwal did a brilliant job showing Singe's journey and I highly loved this story.
Book 162: The Way to a Beautiful World
By James Norbury
Read October 29th
Pages: 176
Release Year: 2025
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Another beautiful book from James Norbury. His illustrations are stunning and go along perfectly with the message he is trying to convey throughout the book. There are many lessons that Tiny Dragon and Big Panda learn throughout their adventure including: dealing with loss, fear, loneliness, depression, and being content.
It is a great book for any reader. I love that it has many ways that it can also be read shown in the How to Use this Book Guide at the beginning of the book.
Book 163: Interview with the Vampire
(The Vampire Chronicles #1)
By Anne Rice
Read October 28th-30th
Pages: 346
Release Year: 1976
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Book 164: Hooky Volume 3
By Míriam Bonastre Tur
Read October 20th-30th
Pages: 400
Release Year: 2023
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It has been three years since I read the second volume and three years have past in the story. Hooky Volume 3 was a great ending to a series I have highly enjoyed over the years. Beautiful conclusion to Dani, Dorian, Princess Monica, Nico, Damien, and Prince William's story.
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