One five star read. One four star read. And one two star read.
I finished a grand total of three books in November. It might not have been a heavy reading month for me, but that's only because it was a massive celebration month for my family.
My husband's birthday, oldest son's birthday, and my birthday are all in November. Not to mention Thanksgiving. And this year, my family and best friend surprised me with an amazing Harry Potter surprise party for my birthday! We also had family visit for 2 weeks out of the month.
Therefore, it was a low reading month.
Let's begin with the two star read (which should really be a one and a half star...)
1. Court by Tracy Wolff
*There will be spoilers for books 1-4
2 stars
This is the fourth installment of six, I believe.
I listened to all four via Audible and I’m glad I did. I’m not certain I would have been able to focus on reading the physical book.
The potential of this series and story drove me to continue with the series until this book. The premise is so good!
Grace loses her parents and goes to a boarding school in Alaska but SURPRISE! Everyone is a supernatural. It has the traditional vampires, werewolves, and witches. The dragon shifters intrigued me. And when it’s revealed that Grace is a gargoyle at the end of the first book, I was hooked. Each ending drew me in. Tracy Wolff is amazing at the cliffhanger to prompt her readers to grab the next book as soon as they can.
*This is interesting from a writer’s standpoint and something worth considering. Alot of my teachings have led me to believe that cliffhangers aren’t necessarily good. That you want a neat and tidy ending yet leave your readers with questions so they come back. However, I have found that the series I tend to continue with (even if I’m iffy to continue while reading) are the ones with massive plot twist cliffhangers.
After I finished this book, I looked into what the next two installments are about because it felt like a decent wrap up of the main story—though there are still some unfinished plot lines.
Turns out, the next book, Charm, goes back into the past and covers the missing time in Grace’s memory when she was trapped in her head with Hudson.
While there is more yet to be revealed within this world, I’ve chosen not to proceed with this series.
I enjoyed my time with these characters—even if I never fully trusted the dragon shifter whose name I’m completely blanking on—but I think it’s time for me to say goodbye to them.
2. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
*Spoilers for this book ahead
4 stars
I read this book with my book club. We typically pick young adult whodunit novels like Jennifer Lynn Barnes Inheritance series. But we always take a break for the holidays and wanted something easy to read.
And let me tell you, this was a cozy, pleasant, easy read.
Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a prominent romance author. She is under contract for three novels and is writing the last obligated book. The only problem, she no longer believes in love. Not even when she meets her hot new editor and can’t stop thinking about climbing him. On the worst day of her life—after having the worst year of her life—Florence gets a call that her father has passed away.
She goes back home for the first time in years for her father’s funeral. As it turns out, Florence can see ghosts. So, when she sees the ghost of her climbable editor back in her hometown, she starts on a journey to find herself again.
When the editor, Benji, showed up at her family’s funeral home, I immediately knew he wasn’t actually dead.
Has anyone seen Charlie St. Cloud? The movie with Zac Efron? The one about a boy who can see ghosts after an accident that took his little brother. He sees the ghost of a cute girl who doesn’t know she is a ghost, but she isn’t actually a ghost. She’s just severely injured from a sailing accident.
Yeah.
Same, same.
Ben was in a coma, and he visited Florence because he has no other family, and he was just as drawn to her as she was to him. For longer, even.
The best part—and the part that made me tear up—is that he remembered everything!
I enjoyed this book and foresee coming back to it in the future. Probably on a crisp autumn evening as the moon rises in the night and I can imagine I am taking a midnight stroll alongside Florence and Benji.
3. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
*Spoilers for this book and the Caraval Series ahead
5 stars
This is the first book in a trilogy.
I’m going to be honest here. I read Caraval—the series this is a spin-off of—and never finished the series. I got bored halfway through the second book.
But that is unequivocally NOT the case with this series.
I LOVE Jacks and Evangeline.
In the beginning, I wasn’t a fan of Evangeline. She was self-centered and self-serving. She came across as childish to me. But that is part of why this book, and series, is so great. Because of her character growth.
She grows and changes even just within the first novel.
Jacks is entirely untrustworthy, but I think that makes him so fascinating. His backstory about how he became a Fate is slowly revealed throughout this series. Stephanie is brilliant at giving the reader just enough information to keep up hanging on. *Yet another thing worth studying as an author.
The world building feels easy and intricate. It’s a world full of fairytales and curses and the way Stephanie Garber weaves her words makes it all feel so real. I can almost imagine that the Magnificent North is real. A place where the story curse turns history into ever-changing fairytales. One never knows what the truth is.
I suspect that the last kiss Evangeline must give will be to Jacks. She is the Key and Jacks has been drawn to her from the very beginning. He has wanted to help her since the start. His curse is that his kiss kills, but the one girl who won’t die is his true love. He kissed Donatella from the Caraval series, and she didn’t die. Leading the reader, Evangeline, and Jacks to believe Donatella is his one true love.
But I don’t believe it for one second. If Evangeline is not Jacks’s one true love, then I will have to stay in bed heartbroken for at least a day.
She cannot end up with Apollo.
All in all, I had an amazing November when it comes to reading and I am so excited for my December reading journey if only because I can't wait to continue with and finish the Once Upon a Broken Heart series.
I do think Once Upon a Broken Heart is probably at the top of my favorite reads of 2023.
What have you been reading lately?
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