Helloooo everyone and happy Tuesday! It has been a while since I posted on here, but I am super super excited to give you a October and November update/wrap-up. I know it’s not technically the end of month yet, but we’re making an excuse and being one week early.
I have been in the *worst* slump lately, but I’m finally feeling like things have started to get better! I only read two books in October, with one being mandatory for my classes, but I’m already at five as of right now for November. I think that I was really struggling to find momentum in my reading habits, but the arrival of some book-mail somehow cured me? I’ve also been relaxing my posting schedule for my blog (obviously) and Instagram for when I’m not feeling motivated/creative, which I think has been helping me too in terms of stress! I’m just hoping that things will continue going in the right direction because I’m 31/50 on my reading goal this year (thanks Goodreads for constantly mentioning that I’m 13 books behind).
So, let us finally get into some of the books I’ve been reading lately!
Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco | October 8th | 4.25/5 Stars
I loved this book. I thought it was so much better than the first, and AHH Wrath. The hate-to-love knives at each others’ throats sexual tension was everything I could have asked for. It gives me some strong Juliette & Roma vibes from These Violent Delights, which I absolutely loved. I’m going to be quite honest with you in saying that I don’t really remember much of what happened because I didn’t write a review for anything else, but I will tell you that it was incredibly enjoyable. And that the cliffhanger killed me.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood | November 7th | 3/5 Stars
I went into this book not knowing what it was about. I’m going to be real honest in saying that the professor x student age-gap relationship was not for me and that I probably would not have picked it up if I knew about it. I thought that the premise was also really unrealistic and too convenient. The book literally starts of with our lovely PHD student Olive kissing some random dude in the hallway (who just so happens to be Professor Carlsen) to prove to her friend that she’s over someone. And it leads to fake dating. There’s also the hint of asexuality rep, but it just isn’t explored that much, which I was very sad about because there really is not enough of it. Other than that, it was an entertaining read and there were some really cute moments.
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas | November 7th | 3.5/5 Stars
Yes, I somehow managed to read both this book and The Love Hypothesis in the same day! I came into this book wanting a rivals-to-lovers romance, and I just wish that there was more of it! I could really tell that Aaron was in love with Catalina even at the beginning, and Catalina literally shivered every few pages at how hot he was despite pushing him away. I just didn’t get enough of that tension! The book also had pacing issues, and it dragged on for what feels like forever. I will say that it was entertaining at some parts though, so it gets a decent rating from me! I also almost cried at the end when they were with Aaron’s dad, because I’m the most emotional person to ever cross the planet.
Shipped by Angie Hockman | November 17th | 2/5 Stars
This was definitely not a favorite, as you can probably tell from my rating. First of all, our main girl Henley is trying to be a confident #girlboss, but instead she comes across as ungrateful and annoying. There’s this one time where Graeme is genuinely nice to her and tries to help her overcome her fear of being in the water, but she immediately shuts him down and gets mad at him for helping her? She hates Graeme for something that happened a few years ago that she never even thought to bring up with him, which he easily explains after she finally does. Next, we have our main man ~Graeme~, who I didn’t have a problem with, but just thought was a bit bland and cliche. Like The Spanish Love Deception, there just wasn’t enough hate to love tension either.
Also, there’s this old dude called Nikolai that is so creepy to Henley throughout the book. He always tries to ask her out to dinner and thrusts his hips right at her while he’s dancing. When our #girlboss Henley finally lays down her foot to say that it makes her uncomfortable and he can’t do that (YES!!), they make a redemption for him? They try to do a redemption at the end where he’s only unsettling to her because she reminds her of his old girlfriend, but that’s not an excuse? I don’t want to read about people like this! It’s not going to make me suddenly like him.
ANYWAYS, it gets 2 stars because I made it through the book!
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid | November 19th | 3/5 Stars
I was so DESPERATE to love this book because a friend recommended it after giving it a five star and literally everyone has raved about it, but I just didn’t! I thought that the plot got somewhat repetitive after the first few husbands. A lot of the book was Evelyn using different men as a shield for her love for Celia, and it just fed into the constant back and forth with Evelyn and Celia’s (lowkey toxic) relationship. I felt like the same thing was happening over and over again. A lot of the husbands and side characters felt like cliche caricatures and it just wasn’t for me. I will say that the ending was a wild ride though.
So, that concludes everything I’ve read so far while I’ve been gone! My plan for the next few months is actually to read all of the Goodreads Choice Awards romance category. I’m only going to read the finalists so I don’t cry from planning to read 20 books as a raging mood-reader, but it should be a fun time anyways! I will hopefully make a post about it if and when I finish it, maybe by the end of the year if we’re lucky? I’ve always wanted to read all the finalists in a category and I was really scared that I wouldn’t be able to do it this year since the awards were announced later than usual, but we’re all good.
Hope you all have an AMAZING Tuesday and upcoming Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, and I’m super glad to be back on here for a quick update!
Allison
Glad you’re coming out of your reading slump. Funny about not liking The Seven Husbands. It’s usually the opposite with me. I’ll love something that everyone else seems to NOT like.