Hello Bookworms & Happy November!!! I’m back to being epically late with my wrap-up/haul & I’d like to think it’s because I’ve been so wrapped up in my reading…well at least this is what I’ve convinced myself to be the reason lol. October was a good reading month both in quality & quantity, seems that I’ve managed to break my 5 book per mth cap. Earlier in the month I attended NYC Comic Con & actually enjoyed this event more than I did Bookcon. Much more chill & I got to see many more authors this time around, even got a chance to meet Julie C. Dao author of Forest of a Thousand Laterns. Julie was very sweet & signed a copy for me that I was sending to my giveaway winner Beth over at Reading Every Night as a surprise bonus. Fedex totally lost the package & ruined that but I quickly replaced the copy & sent it on it’s way to Beth sans to signature…who knows Beth, the package may still one day mysteriously show up at your door lol.
October was also slow in flicks I actually wanted to see in the theater & I really thought for a moment there that I wasn’t going to watch anything. Then my co-worker reminded me that Jigsaw was being released Halloween weekend & the stars aligned for me to get my tickets (more on the movie towards end of post). I’ve been thinking of including the arcs/galleys I’ve been approved for in the month in these wrap-ups…yay or nay? or do you prefer a separate post? please let me know in the comments if this is something you’d like to see <3’s!
With the exception of The Dark Intercept (to come this week) I’ve posted reviews for all of my October reads & will link them down below. Both Nyxia & Moxie are my stand-out reads & I have GUSH reviews for these new found favorites, both pulse pounding in their own way. You Bring the Distant Near is also a new found favorite & I encourage anyone in search of #ownvoices reads on the immigrant experience & Indian culture to pick this one up. Invictus was so much fun & appealed to the Historical Fantasy lover in me, the time travel was on point & not confusing like many others who’ve had a go at it. The Glass Spare gave me a King Midas inspired fantasy with a female MC & gahhhh! I LOVED IT! Berserker was bloody & I described it in my review as Norse Mythology meets the American Frontier with hints of the classic novel Of Mice and Men. I’m still working on my thoughts/review for The Dark Intercept which was a cold & frightening dystopian that had me thinking….what if this were to really happen? I mean, is it really so far fetched? lol smh. It was a really good month quality wise with mostly 5 star reads which doesn’t ever happen & so I am a very happy bookworm 🙂
The Dark Intercept by Julia Keller (3.5 stars/review to come)
The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano ★★★★★
Berseker by Emmy Laybourne ★★★.75
Invictus by Ryan Graudin ★★★★★
Moxie by jennifer Mathieu ★★★★★
You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins ★★★★★ (Mitali Perkins read & loved my review, when she re-tweeted it I got all teary eyed smh)
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen ★★★★★ (I also won a signed copy from the author himself which legit made my mth!)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (gift from hubby, he’s turned it into his things where he gets me all HP related items, he knows how to make my heart happy lol)
Monstress Volume 2 by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda (artist)
Ringer by Lauren Oliver (Replica #2)
The Alchemists of Loom (Loom Saga #1) by Elise Kova
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress #1) by Julie C. Dao
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Garcia-Moreno (Won this from a Twitter giveaway)
Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo (gift from my twin Gretchen over at ChicNerdReads, love her sooooo much! but this was a September gift & I mistakenly threw it in this haul so yea we’re rollin’ with it lol)
October Owlcrate
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
October Book of the Month
Beasts Of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang (my pick for the mth, also have the eGalley that I will be reading in November)
Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King
Some of you who have been around the blog for a while now might be raising a brow at both Sleeping Beauties & Jigsaw since I’m a self proclaimed scaredy cat *no shame* baha! Sleeping Beauties I do believe was me getting in the spirit of Halloween however, Jigsaw was not lol. Many years ago my bestie of 18 years wanted me to go with him to watch Saw IV in theaters only I hadn’t watched any of them for the previously mentioned reasons (i’m a wussss lol). He decided to sit me down & have me binge watch the first 3 movies til I walked away numb & ready for IV smh. I honestly think I can tolerate psychological horror but not whatever IT falls into cuz no damnit! I’ve banned all red balloons from my home, sorry tiny humans. Anyways, Jigsaw wasn’t anything new new lol, it followed the same ol’ formula & delivered with the shock factor in regards to the games themselves. However, I saw the ending coming within the first 30 minutes & I’m not THAT person….you know? the one that ALWAYS predicts the ending making you feel clueless? yea, I’m not this person so when I figured it out, the jig was up (jeje see what I did there?) smh. I doubt I’ll continue watching any future movies in this franchise.
Happy reading in November Bookworms!!! Hope you all had a wonderful October & an even better start to this month. What are some books you’re looking forward to reading in November? planning on watching anything innneresting? Sound off in the comments down below 🙂
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Great recap Lilly, and it seems like you had a great October as well! 😀 Ha, I’d definitely laugh if the lost FedEx package arrived, but I have the replacement and that’s definitely enough. Thanks for sending it out again, I can imagine you must have been a little nervous it would have got lost a second time. I always am when I send mail when it hasn’t gotten lost the first time. 🙂
You got through some great books as well. Invictus is an incredible book, and obviously I’ve added You Bring the Distant Near to my to-read list thanks to your review.
I love your book haul, the copy of Wild Beauty you have looks gorgeous, and my copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban arrived today (along with the illustrated Fantastic Beasts) and I was so excited to see it finally on my doorstep. 😀
I hope you have a brilliant November Lilly, happy reading! 😀 ❤
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Thank you Beth! & I’m just glad the replacement arrived, i was very nervous tracking it til the very minute it was delivered lol. I’ve never had this happen to me & for it to be with a personalized book really sucked smh lol. Invictus was so GOOD! I need more from that world. I really hope you enjoy You Bring teh Distant Near, something tells me you will 😉
I didn’t think I was going to love the changes Owlcrate made to the WIld Beauty cover but it turns out that the beige really does accentuate the lavender letters & colorful flowers. I think I rather prefer this one more than the original. I had no clue there was a illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts out tiltoday when I saw it all over Bookstagram *yikes* totally flew undetected by me lol. I have added it to my Christmas wishlist since it’s a MUST! I hope you enjoy these both, they are STUNNING ❤ ❤ ❤
Happy reading in November Beth! ❤ 🙂
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That’s all right, and yep I was tracking it too. I was surprised by how quickly it arrived given it was coming all the way from New York! 🙂
Same here, I’m hoping there’ll be a companion book one day but even if not I thought it was a great ending. 🙂
The picture of it looks gorgeous, I can only imagine it’s even better in person. From what I’ve seen of it, it arrived late yesterday so I haven’t had a chance to look through it too much yet, it’s beyond gorgeous. It would definitely make an amazing Christmas present! 🙂 ❤️
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You had a good October!
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Thank you, no complaints here 😄💕
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Wow what a great month! And that book haul picture is just GORGEOUS!!
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Thank you Shanah! ☺️💕
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You had a great reading month hopefully November is just as good 🙂 you should include the arcs/galleys your approved for, would live to see what upcoming books your interested in. I have yet to get the new illustrated copy of Harry Potter but it looks gorgeous!
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Thanks Stephanie! 😄 I’m leaning towards including them as a way to keep me accountable 😂 the HP book is stunning and now I’m hearing there was a illustrated edition released today for Fantastic Beasts 😍🤗😍
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Every year I consider going to NYCC, since it is always around my birthday, but I have yet to go. Maybe next year. Glad you liked it though. That is so awesome that your review was retweeted.
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I highly recommend NYCC over Bookcon, having attended both I’ve noticed NYCC is way more fun & chill. I hope you can make it next year, it would make for an awesome bday 🙂
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I always go to BookCon, because my co-blogger is home in May, and I don’t like to go to these sorts of things alone. It’s no fun.
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It looks like you had a great month! I have a copy of The Dark Intercept and now I want to read it more than ever😁
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Thanks Tammy! 🙂 The Dark Intercept was a 3.5 star read for me, I’m hoping to have my review up by Friday *fingers crossed* hope you enjoy the read ❤
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I’m so glad to hear you had such a good reading month, Lilly! I really am curious about The Glass Spare and Invictus, I’m so happy you enjoyed these so much. You did such a great haul picture – I’m thrilled to see that you got Ringer! Did you enjoy Replica? I hope you’ll love this sequel 😀
Happy reading and happy November! xx
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Thank you Marie! I have no complaints, it was a stellar month quality wise 🙂 Glass Spare & Invictus were pretty awesome reads, hoping for a sequel to Invictus *fingers crossed* CONFESSION TIME: I am a bookaholic & I have not yet read Replica…I know, I know smh & I was waiting for someone to ask lol. I do have it high on my priority list especially since gretchen over at Chicnerdreads made a comparison to Eleven/Stranger Things & that’s really all I need to know HAHA! Happy reading In November! ❤
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OHHHH NOOOOOOOO WHYYYYYY.
I hope you’ll read Replica SOON and then Ringer right afterwards. I SO want to know if you love it. I really loved it 😀
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Such an awesome reading month, Lilly! And that book haul!! I can’t wait to see what you think of The Alchemists of Loom because I’ve been eyeing that book for a while now. I also hope you enjoy Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance. It was my pick for Book of the Month Club too! 🙂
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Thank you Larkin! ❤ no lie, I had been eyeing The Alchemists of Loom for MONTHS!!! then I got a credit from a Barnes & Noble Settlement & it really was a no brainer on what to buy lol. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance is on my November TBR!!! which I am writing just as soon as I finish catching up with these comments lol.
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Haha that worked out perfectly then! Yayyyy! I can’t wait to see what you think of it! It sounds soooo good!
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Great recap girll!! ❤ and YASS FOR NYXIA GAHAH 😀 Your box of Owlcrate is amsbolutely stunning !!
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Thank you Trang!!! ❤ NYXIA *sobs* NEED MORE! lol & the OC box was very flowery & pretty in October *heart eyes emoji*
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It seems like this con went over much better than the previous 🙂 I do not think I would survive one. I need to start sending you funds so you can pick up the exclusive pops for me!!!! This was a huge month in terms of haul and reading. Seriously when 3.5 star is your worst, no complaints there! It has been so slow for me. I still have this pesky blind spot in my eye.. ugh. I say include your Arcs/Egalleys 🙂 – xx
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It absolutely did! I sooooo wanted to get some exclusive funkos myself however the line is notoriously for taking up a chunk of your time. I met a couple of other bookworms there who teamed up & some spent 2 hrs on line for the funkos while the others got the arcs smh lol. In terms of reading, I truly don’t have any complaints since it was one of the best reading mths I’ve had all year long. Hopefully your vision improves, I can see the appeal in audiobooks for you. I miss listening to adiobooks myself but the massive TBR keeps me from picking 1 out at the moment. I think I will be doing a separate post right before the wrap-up with my approved galleys/arcs since this turned out to be so long 🙂
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Haha I will look forward to that post. I did not realize it would be so long of line for pops too, but that makes sense. I will stick to finding them online bahaha 😉
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LOVE YOU TOO!!!! Whoop Whoop! Amazing recap twin!!! I think you should totally do a separate post for the arcs/galleys you get approved for and maybe you can detail them (blurb wise)..idk just a thought! Loving the crap out of this wrap-up/haul. YOU HAD A GREAT READING MONTH, all those 5 stars (with that one exception lol). I cannot get over how beautiful that exclusive edition of Wild Beauty is. AND CANT WAIT FOR YOU TO READ IT! I hope your November goes just as amazing twin ❤
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Thanks twin! ❤ I am taking you up on your suggestion & doing a separate post a few days prior to posting my wrap-ups. This probably won't start til next year though cuz I've been keeping AWAY from requesting any arcs UNLESS it's a Goodreads giveaway lol. October has to be the BEST reading month I've had in a really long time & I really do think it's because I'm being a bit more selective now with what I read to ward off any slumps. I legit thought I was going to HATE the OC exclusive edition of Wild Beauty since I LOVE the black one so much but I ended up loving the OC's much more. The beige really does make the colors pop & appear more vibrant. It's now on my December TBR since I have no choice but to create TBR's now in order to bring some sanity to this arc madness hole I've dug for myself lmao! Happy reading in November twin, hope it's even more EPIC for you! ❤ ❤ ❤
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being selective is great! we grow and so does our reading. i feel like that is what’s been going on with me lately. we just know which books aren’t going to cause us slumps. can’t wait for this new post! i am so happy you loved the exclusive edition, they did a great job for sure and i also feel like it goes more with the book. you’ll see what i’m talking about (setting wise) when you read it. sounds like a great december read and i hope that you alleviate some of those arcs in november! ❤
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You had a great reading month! You have some amazing books. I’m so looking forward to read forest of the thousand lanterns. I hope your November is even more better. 🙂
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Thank you Raven! no complaints here, it was a stellar month lol. I def would like to get to Forest Of a Thousand Lanterns soon *fingers crossed* it looks like a short read. Hope you have a wonderful November! ❤ ❤ ❤
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I love that you read so much!! I have been admiring Jim Kay’s illustrations in Harry Potter myself. 😀
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Thank you Resh! 💜 the illustrations are truly stunning ☺️
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I love the recap! It’s so fun reading about what happened in the previous month. As far as your ARC haul– I think it would fit in with this post, but perhaps you could have a totally separate post for 100% of your haul? I love the stories about how you acquired your books and what made you decided these were the right ARCs– if there is a separate post I can focus more on those stories!
I’m looking forward to making a dent in my own ARCs this month. I have a collection of essays about Michelle Obama called The Meaning of Michelle I look forward to wrapping up. Plus Rainbow Valley from #AnneReadAlong2017. So many good books, so little time!!
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That’s pretty cool that you went NYCC. I’d love to go next year.
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Thank you, hope you get to come next year 🙂
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