What I Read in October

October was an excellent reading month. I finished 10 books and gave the majority of them 4 or 5 stars. I even had a hard time choosing my favorite book of the month, as there were multiple contenders. I’m still way behind on my goal to read 150 books this year (looking like it will be around 130), but that’s okay. Now I just giggle whenever I see the number of books I’m behind in the Goodreads goal tracker!

Let’s dive into the reviews of the books I read in October:

My Favorite Book of October

This Is My America by Kim Johnson (★★★★★) – What an incredible debut! When this novel begins, Tracy’s father has just 267 days left until he will be executed. He was sentenced to death row for a crime he didn’t commit seven years ago, and every week since his sentencing, Tracy has written letters to Innocence X to ask them to take his case. And then one of Tracy’s classmates is found murdered and her brother is the main suspect. For Tracy, it feels like history repeating itself. This novel was propulsive and heartbreaking but also hopeful. Tracy was an easy character to root for, and her story feels all too familiar. I listened to this book on audio, and it was my first novel read by Bahni Turpin (a favorite among audiobook lovers!) and I can see why she is so beloved. Her narration was fantastic!

My Favorite Romance of October

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean (★★★★★) – I finished this book on the same day I started it, something I can rarely do these days. I’m just so glad I started it on a day I had no plans and could just sit on the couch and read for hours! When Izumi finds out that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan (making her a princess!), she travels to Japan to meet him and learn all about life as a royal. Of course, she quickly realizes this life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be with scheming cousins, a distant father, and so many rules that make her head spin. But learning more about her culture and her family and getting closer to her dashing imperial guard (swoon) might make things a bit easier. This novel was just plain fun—a bit of The Princess Diaries and a bit of Crazy Rich Asians—and I’d love to see this made into a Netflix miniseries of sorts. I can just imagine the beautiful scenery of Japan and the sweet romance playing out on screen! Please, please, please.

Other Favorites of October

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel (★★★★★)- Laurie Frankel does it again! She delivered another 5-star read for me in this incredible story of three teenage sisters growing up in a town tainted by the water supply. Mab, Monday, and Mirabel are triplets who have grown up in the town of Bourne, a city that made national news headlines when their water supply turned green—most likely due to a chemical plant releasing chemicals into their water. It’s caused untold damage to the town with residents getting cancer, babies being born with disabilities, and loved ones dying. When a new family arrives in town (big news, as the triplets haven’t seen any new residents in their lifetime), it unleashes new secrets and mysteries to uncover. I really loved the way this story was told (each chapter alternating between one of the triplets’ perspectives) and how it all came together in the end. It was a beautiful story about justice and sisterhood and love, and I honestly can’t wait to see what Laurie Frankel does next.

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig (★★★★☆) – I read this book when I was deeply depressed, and I think that was the exact right time to read it. It’s a memoir of Haig’s own experience with depression and how he found his way out of it. I really appreciated it and could empathize with him, and it was the kind of book I needed to read when things felt so incredibly overwhelming. It’s not for everyone, and his advice is not exactly life-changing, but it worked for me at that point in time.

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (★★★★☆) – I love Hoang’s commitment to writing romances with neurodiverse characters, and this one is no different. After Anna’s boyfriend decides he wants to see other people for a while, she joins a dating app to do the same (just to spite him) and meets Quan. Quan, who is dipping his toes back into dating after cancer treatment, and Anna have an immediate connection but things go terribly awry during their first date. But somehow Quan isn’t scared off and instead wants to continue seeing Anna. It’s a really sweet romance and I could relate so much to Anna’s dating struggles. It’s hard out there when your brain works differently than other people’s! While I was hoping for more from Quan’s storyline (he was just a little too perfect at times and a bit one-dimensional) and there were so many times I just wanted to shake Anna and force her to be more of an active participant in her life, this novel was still really touching and poignant. I enjoyed it!

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum (★★★★★) – I read this novel for the October challenge for the Unread Shelf Project, which was to read a book you’re secretly afraid of. I was “secretly afraid” of the emotion in this story and how heavy it would be, considering it’s a WWII novel. And it was definitely a heavy book! But an incredible one as well. This novel follows a young German woman who finds herself pregnant at the height of Nazi occupation and must do whatever she can to survive. It’s not a story for the faint of heart as there is a bevy of trigger warnings, especially graphic depictions of Jewish people being murdered and rape, but it was a really propulsive story that I had a hard time putting down.

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean (★★★★☆) – The newest Regency romance from Sarah MacLean was a hit for me, although I think it could have been 50 pages shorter, easily. This book is the first in a new series about the Hell’s Belles, a group of unmarriageable young women who are taking on London society and making sure scoundrels are put in their place. Sesily and Caleb’s story was such a fun one to read, and I’m anxiously anticipating the other books in the series!

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (★★★★★) – I had a really hard time deciding between This Is My America and this book as my favorite of the month. This book was just so good, so intricately plotted and fun. It’s part-mystery and part-scifi, following a man who has to find out who murdered Evelyn Hardcastle, and to do so, he’s going to inhabit different guests at the party she is at. There are seven guests he must inhabit, each reliving the same day over and over again. He has until midnight of being in the seventh guest’s body to solve the murder. The setting is the early 1900s at a creepy mansion filled with rich people, and it’s so evocative! It felt like being in a real-life Clue game. It was a really fun read and the ending was completely satisfying.

Honorable Mentions

Lost and Found Sisters by Jill Shalvis (★★★☆☆) – I found this book to be a bit cheesy and predictable. It’s marketed as women’s fiction (a departure for Shalvis, who typically writes contemporary romance), but I don’t know if she nailed the genre as much as she’d hoped. It read much more like a romance to me, which is fine, but I was just expecting something different.

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin (★★★☆☆) – Oof, this book. I really wanted to like it more than I did, but it was just really hard for me to get past the asshole-y hero and the naivete of the main character. I did love the Muslim representation, however, and the sweet emphasis on family and community. But it was just one of those novels that I’m not going to remember I read in a few weeks.

October Book Stats

• # of books read: 10
• Fastest read: Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean (a few hours)
• Slowest read: Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum (9 days)
• Star average: 4.3
• % of books by or about BIPOC or the LGBT community: 40%
• Sources: Barnes & Noble (2), Libby (5), Book of the Month (1), Little Free Library (1), library (1)
• Formats: print (5), e-book (3), audiobook (2)
• Abandoned books: 1 (My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrick Backman)
• Goodreads goal check-in: I’m currently 17 books behind schedule to read 150 books this year. For my adjusted goal of reading 125 books, I’m 4 books ahead of schedule.

What was the best book you read in October?