Monthly Wrap-Up: October 2018

Morning, bloggers!

I honestly wish October would last longer than 31 days. It breaks my black little heart it ends so quickly.

Beside December, October is my favourite month. And I absolutely loved all the Bloogoween and Blogtober posts! I participated in Blogoween, even though I didn’t finish it. But let’s get to the rest of the post, yes?

Why must this reading slump still plague me?! I thought I got rid of it in September, but it came back to bite me hard. I tackled only 3 books, and while I was let down by the first 2, I ended this spooktacular month with a bang.

Wildcard by Marie Lu

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I’ve waited months to get my hand on this hotly anticipated sequel. So you know I set my expectations high. Maybe too high. Wildcard starts off from the explosive ending of Warcross. The beginning of this book is the strongest, but at the halfway mark, the storyline turns into a muddied mishmash of storylines. I wanted Emika to grow as a character, but she’s more interested in her feelings for Hideo.

 

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have read 4-star and 5-star reviews from many trusted bloggers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with most of the characters or the story itself. I came for the diversity, which I was wanting so desperately, but I left with disappointment. I never thought the main character could be so naive.

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Victoria is one author who knows how to get me out of a reading slump. Coming into this book, I wasn’t sure if I’d love it. I know some readers aren’t accustomed to middle grade books, so my expectations weren’t set above the norm. But Cassidy, the main character who sees ghosts, is adorable, sweet, and sarcastic. Victoria’s writing is refreshing from all the disappointments I’ve had from the previous books.

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Not many new titles sparked my interest. So last month, I didn’t bring in a big haul. The first book snuck up on me. Just look at the cover. But the last title is bittersweet. Even though I may have two more TOG books to read before I tackle this behemoth, I am not ready for the heartache and torture. But I’m so excited to get this exclusive edition!

• Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
• Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

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So this part may seem a little new to you. For months, I wanted to highlight some posts from my favourite bloggers. So here are my top 3 picks:

💜 My girl Kathy from Books and Munches talks about the peer pressure our book community faces. More importantly, she brings up how we bloggers pressure each other and ourselves. Throughout the post, I nodded my head the entire time. She also announced her baby boy, who I have affectionately named Spaghetti, is safe and healthy, AND I CAN’T WAIT TO MEET HIM. I’m so happy for you!

 

💜 Charleigh from Charleigh Writes lists 10 blogging lessons she’s learned. She addresses many issues I’ve brought up in the past and mentioned new ones. I highly recommend taking a look!

 

💜 My two favourite bloggers Teagan and Jess from Fiction No Chaser created the YA Playlist Tag. And I can’t wait to do it! I love finding new tags. And they made me cackle with their first answer. 😂

 

So how did October turn out for you? Did you find your favourite scary read, did the dreaded reading slump hit like it did me, or did you finally get your hands on your most anticipated read of the month? Let’s chat!