Happy November Everyone! It seems like this was the month for a lot of books for me. Though I finished my overall Goodreads goal of 80 books for the year, I've made a personal goal of 100 and we are into the 90s now. So hopefully we get there by the end of December. We have a mix of older and newer books in this mix, some romance and fantasy and even sci-fi made it in! Quite the mix and enjoyed them all in different ways.
If you missed it, this month I opened an Etsy shop to sell stickers related to bookish things. Please check it out!
Sweetblood by Pete Hautman
Sweetblood is one of my 'diabetes rep' reads of the month. Lucy Szabo is a Type 1 Diabetic, who is struggling with both the disease and feeling like an outsider because of it.
Lucy goes from being a star student to an outsider, and decides to push the limits in school by writing an essay about how vampires are actually based on diabetics who were sick. She takes comfort in an online forum that talks about vampires, and a user named Draco who seems to understand her.
As she continues talking with Draco, and the new student at school she starts to wonder if they are the same person.
Lucy goes through the dips and triumphs of being a teenager with diabetes, and finds herself in the process.
Forget Me Not by Julie Soto
Ama Torres is a young wedding planner, who has left from under the wing of her boss to start her own business. She is determined to prove herself in the Sacramento wedding scene, armed with her rolodex of vendors.
The problem is that Ama does not believe in marriage and sees weddings as a large party. This mentality comes after seeing her mom get married over 10 times, and hiring her own stepsiblings to help her out.
When a high profile creator asks Ama to help with her wedding, she finds herself having to work with the man she said she would never work with again. Elliot Bloom. Now they have to work together to get their stores on the map, while trying not to act on the feelings they are hiding.
We're Never Getting Home by Tracy Badua
Jana and her best friend Maddy had big plans for their senior year, one that involved seeing their favorite band at a large musical festival.
But after Jana finds herself at odds with Maddy and her new boyfriend, she is desperate to still go to the show. Thinking she found a ride without Maddy, she ends up in a van with Maddy, her boyfriend, their friend Nathan and Nathan's younger brother.
While trying to make it through the show without it being uncomfortable, they end up seeing the band and having a great time. That is until Nathan loses the keys while crowd surfing. Now Jana, who has to be home to pick up her dad, is desperate to make sure she doesn't disappoint her parents.
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
The much anticipated sequel to Fourth Wing, Iron Flame continues pretty much right where the first story left off.
Without too many spoilers, Violet and her wing have made it to their second year at the war school they barely survived. Xaden is given his orders of where to report, further than Violet or their dragons are comfortable with.
Now Violet and Xaden need to work on keeping their secrets, while trying to see each other so their dragons don't go insane, and while Violet tries to learn to trust Xaden again.
I'm still upset at the ending of this book. I will forever be upset at the ending. But I did like it better than the first, there is more of the fantasy I craved in the first story.
The Long Game by Elena Armas
Adalyn Reyes is the daughter of the owner of the Miami Flames, an MLS team she worked for...until her father sent her to North Carolina for becoming a viral sensation for beheading a mascot.
Driven by the wanting to prove her father wrong, Adalyn is ready to turn around the Green Warriors, a youth soccer team that is couch by Cam. Soon she learns that Cam is Cameron Caldani a professional goalkeeper who randomly retired and disappeared, until now.
Though they start out on the wrong foot, Adalyn and Cam find themselves growing closer as their goals start to become the same. Adalyn is still determined to get back to Miami, until she learns her father was keeping more secrets from her than she thought.
A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford
Calla has always lived in the shadow of their twin Briar. Briar has been betrothed since birth to the prince and their friend Grae. The marriage will unite their wolf packs and bring peace that the twins have never known.
After getting to the palace Calla and Briar's worlds are turned upside down when they find out that Briar is mated to the prince, but Calla is. When the wedding is then attacked by the witch that killed their parents, Briar is put under a sleeping spell, and now Calla is the only one that can save her.
Calla ends up on an adventure that brings them through a kingdom they never knew and with a group of musicians who teach them more about themselves then they could have imagined.
Never Whistle At Night Edited by Shane Hawk
Never Whistle at Night is an indigenous dark fiction anthology that has around 20 different stories from different indigenous authors.
With many indigenous people believing that one should never whistle at night, unless they want to summon dark spirits to them. These stories all have an element of horror, whether it is spirits and monsters or just the monsters we experience every day.
The variety of the stories within the book is really well done, with some chilling you to the bone while others make you almost uncomfortable. These stories were really good, with both tales of spirits and revenge and what people are willing to do to save their own skin.
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. The prize of the games is given to the person who is best at the power of switching bodies, and murder.
Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding, with a plan on joining the games to get revenge on the King and finally end his reign. Her cousin, August, is the King's heir, and decides to use Calla to get to the throne.
While fighting in the games, Calla meets Anton, an exiled aristocrat who is one of the best jumpers in the kingdom. If he wins, he can continue to support his friend on life support. When him and Calla decide to team up, the plan involving August seems to change, with their secrets constantly being exposed as the games continue.
Cupid's Revenge by Wilbke Brueggemann
This story follows Tilly Taylor, who feels like an outsider in her musical family and decides to her help best friend Teddy while he auditions for a local play that his crush is in. He enlists Tilly's help at wooing his crush, Katherine, while doing the play and Tilly agrees to keep herself away from the chaos in her home.
After having her Grandad move in with them, Tilly starts to bring him with the rehearsals, where he finds joy in playing the piano for the group and talking with the others.
As Tilly spends more time trying to help Teddy win over Katherine she starts to realize that she is falling in love with Katherine too. Which was not in the plans at all.
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