Fall Wrap-up!!

It's fallllll wrap-up time! School and wedding stuff absolutely killed me these past couple but I am slowly getting back to it! Part of the issue has been a lack of motivation to do literally anything, but we're working on it. 

Not sure why it's killing me to keep up with bookish content, but we win some, and we lose some. For how much school work and travelling I did this fall, I surprisingly read quite a bit! Stats were: 

August: 9 books, 2,865 pages, and 22.55 hours

September: 6 books, 2,003 pages, and 15.45 hours

October: 9 books, 3,016 pages, 0 and hours 

November: 6 books, 2,153 pages, and 0 hours. 

For a total of 30 books, 10,037 pages, and 38 hours read in the past 4 months (geez). I will not be going over every single book I read, but I will be reviewing my favorite books each month! I always save so much to say and unfortunately never enough time or space to go over it all, so you'll just get my word vomit on my favs instead of everything. 

August

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher - 4⭐

- This was super cute, and I loved how we had a well-informed and well-navigated sense of trauma that both impacted the character yet did not define her or provide her with an excuse for her behavior! I find that Kingfisher's characters are always very fleshed out and tend to be on the older side, meaning more mature and nuanced decisions. The opening chapter caught my attention so quickly because how does a God just die?? I will say some of the romance scenes were a bit stretched to make them work, but I don't mind tbh. The murder mystery was cool, love the concept of Grace as a perfumer (how sick), and also Marguerite is so fucking cool, I love her. I did become obsessed with this series (and Kingfisher's works) and am anxiously waiting for the next book to come out. 

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennet - 4.5⭐

- I am so unwell after reading this. I am distraught, in love, obsessed, and slightly scared to keep going. This book was so intriguing and somehow a little scary. I desperately want to know what happens next, but I also like my characters alive and well, and I fear they are not going to continue to be this way if I keep reading. 

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - 5⭐

- Genuinely one of my favorite books now, Chakraborty is such an amazing writer, and she designs some of the most well-thought-out and fleshed-out characters ever, I am obsessed with her worldbuilding. I was hooked from literally the first chapter, and I like the morally grey aspect of each character, as well as the nuance behind each character's actions, the role in society, and how it impacts how they perceive the world around them. This was definitely a series that I will have to take some time away from before continuing, but mark my words, I will read the next book. 

September

Of  Monsters and Mainframes by Barbra Truelove - 4⭐

- Loveeee the found family relationship between the characters and how each individual's desires are impacted by their past, present, and future. I was genuinely scared for the outcome because I did not want to lose these characters, so I stopped listening to the audiobook for like a week before I could continue. It was almost like trauma bonding between each character, lmao, and I dig it, especially as we delved into how these characters also hold each other back due to said trauma bonding, and what it means to have a healthy relationship with other people. 

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang - 4⭐

- Oh, the good ole academic validation to burnout pipeline, I am very familiar with that. There were definitely moments where Alice and Peter got on my last NERVE, but overall, the story and themes were enjoyable and very poignant. I wish there were more moments of character growth for Alice, and I wish we got to see more of Peter! His perspective was refreshing and helpful to see in contrast with Alice, especially to see the reason behind his going down to Hell and his relationship with the Grimes (bitch ass). 

October

Robin: Son of Batman (vol. 1) by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray - 4⭐

- Batman!!! Robin!!! absolutely in love with the art style; it's what drew me to this series in the first place. There was some excellent solo character development, we got to see Daminen resolve some of his trauma and past regrets, and see some badass fight scenes. 

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher - 4⭐

- Snow White re-written as a romantasy, but focusing on the mirror and the apple rather than Snow herself? Genius, love it, spectacular, want to see more. Love Kingfisher's characters and the concepts she designs are so intriguing. This is definitely more spooky ookey rather than romance, but I think it balances itself out well, and we get to see some unique concepts put into play that manage to resolve themselves well, if not how I had initially imagined. 

Behind Five Willows by June Hur - 4.75⭐

- NOW THIS IS A GOOD BOOK! Pride & Prejudice inspired Joseon era Korean romance? How does mrs Hur come up with this stuff! I love the creativity and writing style of June Hur; she blends different concepts and eras beautifully, so that while it is P&P-inspired, it manages to carve its own themes and messages into the plot. Vibes were soft and sweet, and it was so cute to watch the romance blossom between the two MC's as well as see how all of the unique desires of each character often clash yet still blend to make a cohesive set of characters. My only soft complaint was how the end was resolved; it felt very anti-climactic because a huge fear that powers the entire plot comes to life and then kinda falls flat. 

Local Heavens by K. M. Fajardo - 5⭐

- Heartbroken, devastated, crying and sobbing, this book was so good and so tragic, and I don't know why I expected anything less. The blend of futuristic cyberpunk and 1920s flapper-esque nightlife was beautiful and mind-melting in its imagery. The themes it discussed were hard-hitting and applied well to the tragedies occurring (non-stop) in this story. We all knew Nick and Jay were gay, and it was tragically gorgeous to watch it unfold. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion, and I knew what was going to happen, but I wanted to know again, and I couldn't stop. The relationships and emotions between every character were so complex and twisted, and I adored every moment. 

November

I did not have a lot to say this month because I got married!!!!! which means less reading, unfortunately, or at least less fun readings. 

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor - 4⭐

- What a weird concept that somehow makes it work. I love the attitude between each Bob and the casual whateverness of the OG Bob, where he just accepts that it's his life now and is like "eh, we'll deal with the potential mental breakdown later" like dawg?? Maybe let's do it now. It did start to get a little complex towards the end of the book as we get more and more Bobs in the legion, and also, where did that one loner go? Hello?? I am intrigued and a little worried about how this will keep going, but we'll see! 

My to-be-read list is a never-ending pile of 'maybe one day I will get to it', as I completely ignore it and grab something I found literally that day. There is forever so much to read, and I can't wait to see what I will find next :)