Best Books of October
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from October.
A Line To Kill (Anthony Horowitz): Anthony Horowitz’s books are perfection. I save them up because I like to have one ready to go whenever I need it. I saved this one until I got the next book in the series: The Twist of the Knife. It was once again the most pleasurable read of the year. The pacing, the characters, the big reveal. I got the killer early on, but I couldn’t figure out why or how. The reveal was brilliant. Every piece slides into place, and Horowitz leaves us in agony, waiting for the next part of the story.
Upgrade (Blake Crouch): My friend Jodi said it perfectly — you can’t review Crouch’s books without ruining things. So trust me that this book was like the most delicious bag of potato chips. It was such a pleasurable, thought-provoking read. And really, really, really clever.
Daisy Darker (Alice Feeney): I enjoy Alice Feeney books, so I was excited to read this. It wasn’t quite as good as her last few. One of the issues with murder mysteries is whether you believe the murder would occur. Would the character take action? And I didn’t believe it. It felt out of character as she had drawn the character. I look forward to her next one, but I wouldn’t start with this book if it’s your first Feeney.
A Winter’s Promise (Christelle Dabos): This has been my happiest find in a while. I bought the whole series when I finished the first book. It’s billed as the French Harry Potter, but as much as I like Harry Potter, I’m not seeing the comparison beyond the fact that there is magic in both books. I love Ophelia. Love the complexity of every character. I am obsessed with watching her navigate this world. Just an incredible, incredible book and the next one (I’m currently reading book 2) is just as good as the first.
What did you read last month?
3 comments
Yea, you finally reviewed a book I also read! I read Upgrade in October too! My first book by the author, and I will definitely read more.
Three books for me in October, all reviewed on my blog and on Goodreads, and all of them good reads!:
* “BeWILDered” by Laura Waters (the October pick for the Gateway/Lighthouse Women book club. : ) Waters was a (single, childless) Australian woman from Melbourne in her 40s, fresh out of a bad long-term relationship and dealing with crippling anxiety, when decided to take a 6-month leave from her job to hike the newly opened Te Araroa trail from the northern to southern tip of New Zealand — 3,000 kilometres (about 1,800 miles). Her original plan was to do it with a friend, but when the friend is forced to drop out on the very first day of hiking, she resolves to do it solo. Some obvious similarities here to “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed, and it took me a while to get into it, but I wound up enjoying it a lot.
* “Magpie Murders” by Anthony Horowitz. This is essentially two interwoven murder mysteries (in the classic British style) in one, and both very cleverly executed. 🙂 Book editor Susan is reading the latest mystery novel written by her publishing house’s star author, Alan Conroy — and we get to read it along with her. But the final chapter is missing — and then Conroy turns up dead himself. Great writing, and just a whole lot of fun too. 🙂 (Bonus: Susan is in her late 40s, unmarried and childless.)
* “Queen High” by C.J. Carey, the sequel to “Widowland,” which I read (and loved) last year 🙂 (and which I highly recommend you read first). The novels are dystopian/alternate history, sort of a cross between Robert Harris’s “Fatherland” — Britain capitulated to Nazi Germany in WWII — and Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” — women have been classified according to their family backgrounds, beauty and fertility (and — guess what? — older/childless widows are at the bottom of the ladder). It’s now 1955. Classic literature is being rewritten to suit the new regime, and poetry has been completely banned. Our heroine, Rose, who works in the Ministry of Culture, is now a Poet Hunter. Additionally, she’s been tasked with a special assignment: to interview the widowed Queen Wallis and prepare a briefing document for the upcoming visit of U.S. President and Mrs. Eisenhower. Overshadowing the upcoming visit: the recent murder of a high-ranking SS officer. Tension mounts as the visit draws near and the various plot elements converge. The ending had me reaching for kleenex (for more reasons than one!). 🙂
P.S. “Queen High” isn’t out in North America yet — I got my copy from the UK. It will be published here next year, albeit likely under a different title. I’ve already seen two (!) — “The Last Queen” and “Queen Wallis.” I’m not sure why they want to change it, it’s a great title, especially when you learn what it means (and how it fits the plot!).