Reading Update Volume 2024 Episode 11

My Dearest Book Besties,

I've not posted in a while, but my family's gone for 2+ weeks. You're about to be deluged with my latest doodles. I hope you have a good time peering at them. How are you all doing? Did you have a good Spooky Season? I hope you were able to read a lot of good books. I feel I was pretty lucky this year and had a lot of excellent experiences. November's been a bit slower, but perhaps we're really just back to normal. I've read six books so far and I enjoyed every single one of them. Considering that there are only ten days left in the month, I'll probably finish two more books for sure. Here's a little recap of what I've read and some brief thoughts:

The Archive of the Forgotten. There are three books in this series. I loved the first book. I consider it Top Shelf, it's going in my personal library to be tossed into the time capsule upon my death for the edification of future generations. The second book I loved in equal measure, if not a bit more. In the time capsule it goes. What a magnificent literary experience. There are quotable-quotes beyond measure, magic that jumps right off the page, and found family warm fuzzies. Bibliophile aesthetic! Definitely requires focus and concentration to read it though, so probably not for anyone who prefers EASY reading. It's more easy-moderate level.

The Ghost of Marlow House. I read this as an audio book. I enjoyed this format as this is easy-reading. The story engaged and captivated my imagination. I've always loved amateur sleuth and paranormal investigations. This is a story about a young woman who can see ghosts. She inherits a haunted house from her aunt and then has to address the resident ghost issues. Must help the former resident move on. It feels like it belongs in the cozy genre, but without being boring. It's pretty fast paced and entertaining.

Sisters of Sword and Song. I started reading this one without really paying attention to who wrote it. When it felt familiar, I checked and sure enough, it's by Rebecca Ross - the author of the Cadence Duology. I read that series a while ago. She has a distinctive writing style. Very atmospheric - not quite purple prose but definitely leaning that direction. I loved both of those books, and though I didn't find them memorable in a longterm way, I devoured them. Sisters of Sword and Song was no different. If you liked the Cadence Duology, give this story a read. It's not quite as... flowery. Thoroughly captivating. Had me sitting up and engaged the whole way through. The love interest is adorable!

The Ghost Hunter Next Door. I've read several books of Danielle Garett's other series - Nine Lives Magic. I picked this one up because I was dying to know what her other cats would be like. I thoroughly enjoyed this book in audio format. The cat is adorable. In personality, I was disappointed to note he behaves almost exactly like Celine - from the Nine Lives Magic series. I guess it's hard to make a cat act like a cat, without making them all sound the same. There are a couple differences though. Celine (NLM) is a demon familiar, while Flapjack (GHND) is the ghost of an actual cat who develops the ability to talk. Regardless of the similarities between the cats, I loved this book. It's cozy fiction, but also fast paced and entertaining. Top notch amusement.

Curse on the Land. A while ago I read the first book in this series, Blood of the Earth, and RAVED about it. It was AMAZING. I loved it so much. I decided it was time to get into the second book. In this story, Nell, the FMC, is working as a paranormal detective. She's made friends now, who are also blessed with magical powers, and she's starting to figure out who she wants to be as a person (now that she's not stuck in a controlling cult). I loved this book. I gave it almost five stars. The story follows her as she helps solve a string of paranormal crimes involving oddly behaving people, animals and plants. The only reason I didn't love this one as much as the first book, is because this one focuses more on solving a specific case (like CSI), while the first book focused on Nell and her personal life and abilities. It was still a great book, and I'm definitely reading the next one.

The God of Lost Words. Just wrapping up the Hell's Library Trilogy. While I loved the first two books in the series, and thoroughly liked the third, it didn't quite have the POP of an ending I'd hoped for. The author tossed in a last minute romance with little to zero build-up, and I felt it wrapped things up a bit too quickly, with rather thin resolutions. The ending did lip service to satisfaction, so I am trying to not be too hard on it for its shortcomings, since it was attempting to resolve a problem of epic proportions: How do we create a new dimension in the universe from scratch? I think it turned out fairly well, dillemma considered.

Future November Plans. I've started reading my first book by Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere. I'm about 25% in, and I'm loving it so far. It's definitely not a book to read if you don't have the mental powers in place for complete focus. It's a dense read. I've also started reading Goldfich by Donna Tartt. I've barely started that one so I don't have anything to say about it yet. I'll keep you posted. It's not my usual fair, so we will see.

I'm really excited. Since I'm by myself for the next couple weeks, I feel like I'll get a lot of reading done. I'm really hoping to get into some of my planned reads for November. I wanted to read One Dark Window, at the very least. Guess we'll see how it goes.

What about you guys? How goes your November so far?

xx Sam xx