Month in Review: November 2023

 

November was actually a pretty decent month (?) for once. It was surprisingly busy, but it was also the month that I finally feel like I started getting my life back on track. Since about February, my husband and I had been looking to potentially move, and long story short... for various reasons, we ended up not moving and we're both really happy about that decision! It's been a pretty stressful year full of uncertainty and I gotta say, when you're in limbo about where you're living for that long, it really takes its toll. All that being said, I've felt more relieved this past month than I have for a long time, haha. 

November is also Thanksgiving for those of us in the states, and I really hope all of you who celebrate had a wonderful time. My husband and I actually went to Disneyland with my family and it was such a fun time to spend the day with all of them. I also went to a concert last week for the first time in what feels like ages and it felt so good to be back, that will definitely be something I start prioritizing again. 

In reading news, it was also a great month! I read way more books than I expected and had such a great time with so many of them! Highlights include The Square of Sevens, Bunny, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and Nestlings. I also started a new graphic novel series that seems very promising. All in all, I can't complain about my November reading for once–and that feels great, haha. 

So, most importantly: how was your November!?  Let me know how your month was and what you've been reading!

# books read: 16
   

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

Thoughts: I have a review up for this one and I really liked it! It was really a pretty creepy horror story and well worth the read. 

Bunny by Mona Awad
Source: Owned | Format: Paperback

Thoughts: This was every bit as weird and f*cked up as I'd been led to believe, so I was extremely pleased about that. This really was a wild ride and I was definitely here for it. Can't wait to read more from Mona Awad!

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) by Heather Fawcett
Source: NetGalley/Owned | Format: eARC/Hardcover

Thoughts: This is just the best. I actually re-read this in preparation for the sequel and I still absolutely adore it. I cannot wait to get stared on a NetGalley eARC that has been sitting on my ebook shelf for so long.

The Square of Sevens by Laura Robinson-Shepherd
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover

Thoughts: I was absolutely immersed in this historical fiction mystery! I loved the setting, the characters, and Robinson-Shepherd's writing style. I will be checking out more of her books as a result of how much I enjoyed this one. 

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: I am still not sure how I feel about this. I feel like it had everything I'd want it to have, but something about the execution didn't work for me as well as I'd hope it would. I'm still undecided on whether I want to continue the series and read the sequel, but I most likely will at some point. 

Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Barn by Jeff Lemire
Source: Library | Format: Ebook

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this! I've been in the mood for a new graphic novel for a while, so I was looking forward to checking this one out and it did not disappoint (and I ended up reading the next two volumes right after). 

Gideon Falls, Vol. 2: Original Sins by Jeff Lemire
Source: Library | Format: Ebook

Thoughts: This wasn't quite as good as the first book, but I still really liked it and look forward to seeing where this setup is all going. 

Gideon Falls, Vol. 3: Stations of the Cross by Jeff Lemire
Source: Library | Format: Ebook

Thoughts: I felt pretty lost through most of this installment. I'll probably still continue the series, but I have to say that this was a pretty steep drop in enjoyment compared to the previous two, especially the first one.

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: I have a review up for this one as well and I had a good time with the haunted museum setting. Luke Dumas is an author that I'll continue to look out for. 

Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry
Source: NetGalley/Publisher | Format: eARC

Thoughts: This was a fun take on horror tropes and stories while also delivering them in a fun way. It was a bit predictable at times, but overall a good time. 

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqui
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: I liked the language learning aspects of this book a lot, but other parts of it didn't click as well for me. I'll have a review up for this one next week.

Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: I've also just posted a review of this one and I thought it was a really beautifully written story from Mary Shelley's point of view. It's not overly plot heavy and is very much a character-driven story. 

Kagen the Damned (Kagen the Damned #1) by Jonathan Maberry
Source: NetGalley | Format: Ebook

Thoughts: I decided to reread this so I can hopefully get to the sequel finally! This is a pretty solid fantasy that leans on the grimdark side, I've really enjoyed it. 

Green Rider by Kristen Britain
Source: Library | Format: Paperback

Thoughts: This was pretty fun, sort of what I expected from a slightly older fantasy novel. I'll look forward to continuing the series, but I don't really think it'll become a favorite. 

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: This was a fun little thriller that plays with time. I can't say it'll become a favorite, but worth a quick read. 

Riot Rules (Crooked Sinners #2) by Callie Hart
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: I finally got around to reading this sequel (I think it's a standalone, but connected) and thought it was pretty fun as well. These are great for when I just need something to occupy my mind for a while. 

DNF/To-Be-Finished:

The Darkness Before Them by Matthew Ward

Source: Publisher | Format: Paperback

I definitely plan to come back and finish this sometime. It was one of those where I picked it up and started reading it and then realized that it seemed good, but wasn't something I was currently in the mood for. Hopefully I'll get to it soon!

 

Red River Seven by A.J. Ryan
Labyrinth's Heart (Rook & Rose #3) by M.A. Carrick
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

 Posts:

Month in Review: October 2023
Blog Tour: Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry
Anticipated December 2023 Releases

Blog Memes:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:
11/1: All the Hidden Paths (The Tithenai Chronicles #2) by Foz Meadows & The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy
11/8: Into Siberia by Gregory J. Wallance & The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong
11/15: Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn & Grievar's Blood by Alexander Darwin
11/22: The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers & No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
11/29: 

The Friday Face-Off:

Current Read #17
Current Read #18

Double Mini-Reviews: The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas, Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout

I have a little bit of catching up to do on reviews, so today I have two mini reviews to share with you all, and there will probably be more coming in the future. Let me know if you've read any of these books and what your thoughts are!

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas

Atria Books
Publication: October 31st, 2023

Paperback. 356 pages.

About The Paleontologist:

"Curator of paleontology Dr. Simon Nealy never expected to return to his Pennsylvania hometown, let alone the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History. He was just a boy when his six-year-old sister, Morgan, was abducted from the museum under his watch, and the guilt has haunted Simon ever since. After a recent break-up and the death of the aunt who raised him, Simon feels drawn back to the place where Morgan vanished, in search of the bones they never found.

But from the moment he arrives, things aren’t what he expected. The Hawthorne is a crumbling ruin, still closed amid the ongoing pandemic, and plummeting toward financial catastrophe. Worse, Simon begins seeing and hearing things he can’t explain. Strange animal sounds. Bloody footprints that no living creature could have left. A prehistoric killer looming in the shadows of the museum. Terrified he’s losing his grasp on reality, Simon turns to the handwritten research diaries of his predecessor and uncovers a blood-soaked mystery 150 million years in the making that could be the answer to everything.

Are these the ravings of a madman? Or is there something supernatural at play? And what does this have to do with Morgan’s disappearance?"

The Paleontologist centers around a haunted museum and a man on the hunt to find out just why and how his sister disappeared when they were just kids. There are some supernatural and ghostly elements, some mystery, and plenty of unpredictability to keep readers riveted. 

What I liked: I love dinosaurs, ghost stories, and museums, so this was sort of the perfect mix of all of those. Much like in Dumas' A History of Fear, the atmosphere in The Paleontologist was absolutely on target and captured the vibe of a creepy mildly abandoned (currently empty due to COVID) museum full of dinosaur bones and dark basements. I definitely felt this book's setting and was immediately transported to it. I also think Dumas managed to craft a mystery around Simon's sister's disappearance that really quite gripping and complex, and provided a variety of twists that kept me hooked. I also appreciated that the author definitely seemed to do his dinosaur research for this book and I enjoyed all the different times when we got some history lessons about various dinosaur related things.

What I didn't like: The haunting and ghost elements felt a bit underdeveloped and under-executed. I feel like there was a lot of build up about the museum being haunted and we got some pretty intense glimpses into things that happens with some, uh, bones of the dinosaurs... and then it feels like that all just was ignored? There was some mention of it at the end with a general "let's wrap this up" vibe, but it felt very underwhelming in general to me. This book didn't really end up being quite what I expected it to be based on the premise provided and the push towards making this sound like scary haunted museum/dinosaur ghost story, but it was a bit more of a mystery/thriller about a man trying to find out what happened to his sister and all the different emotions and struggles that come from that. This wasn't bad, and Dumas wrote this really well, but it just wasn't quite what I expected. 

Overall, I've given The Paleontologist 3.75 stars.

Amazon | Bookshop.org

Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout
HarperVia
Publication Date: October 3rd, 2023

Hardcover. 320 pages.

About Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein:

"Switzerland, 1816. A volcanic eruption in Indonesia envelopes the whole of Europe in ash and cloud. Amid this “year without a summer,” eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley and her lover Percy Bysshe Shelley arrive at Lake Geneva to visit Lord Byron and his companion John Polidori. Anguished by the recent loss of her child, Mary spends her days in strife. But come nightfall, the friends while away rainy wine-soaked evenings gathered around the fireplace, exchanging stories. One famous evening, Byron issues a challenge to write the best ghost story. Contemplating what to write, Mary recalls another summer, when she was fourteen…

Scotland, 1812. A guest of the Baxter family, Mary arrives in Dundee, befriending young Isabella Baxter. The girls soon spend hours together wandering through fields and forests, concocting tales about mythical Scottish creatures, ghosts and monsters roaming the lowlands. As their bond deepens, Mary and Isabella’s feelings for each other intensify. But someone has been watching them—the charismatic and vaguely sinister Mr. Booth, Isabella's older brother-in-law, who may not be as benevolent as he purports to be…"

Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein reimagines the life of Mary Shelley up until her creation of the well-loved Gothic classic, Frankenstein. This is a character-driven and slower paced story that is full of complex relationships and beautiful writing. 

What I liked: I liked getting to meet this reimagined version of Mary Shelley and experience some of what her life may have been like. I also enjoyed meeting a variety of the different figures (literary and otherwise) in Mary's life and seeing their different interactions, as there was a lot of complexity to many of the relationships in this book and I think the author conveyed that aspect extraordinarily well. Additionally, this is a translated work so I can't speak to the original prose itself, but the translation is really beautiful. It appears to me as though the translator managed to capture the style and mood of the author extremely well, and I thought it was written really beautifully. This was one of those novels that, even if the plot wasn't always really strong, the writing was lovely enough that I found myself captivated anyway. 

What I didn't like: Not all that much really seems to happen in this book, and I did find some of it the slightest bit hard to follow at times. Much of the story does seem to drag on, so I found that you really had to be either invested in the characters or enjoy the prose itself to really feel compelled to keep reading. I also didn't find many of the characters overly engaging, but fortunately their interactions with one another were a bit more compelling than the characters themselves, if that makes sense.

Overall, I've given Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein 3.5 stars. 

Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler & Midnight by Amy McCulloch

 

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
Publication: January 16th, 2024
Tordotcom
Paperback. 192 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"When you bring back a long-extinct species, there’s more to success than the DNA.

Moscow has resurrected the mammoth, but someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out, again.

The late Dr. Damira Khismatullina, the world’s foremost expert in elephant behavior, is called in to help. While she was murdered a year ago, her digitized consciousness is uploaded into the brain of a mammoth.

Can she help the magnificent creatures fend off poachers long enough for their species to take hold?

And will she ever discover the real reason they were brought back?

A tense eco-thriller from a new master of the genre."

I was very intrigued Ray Nayler's The Mountain in the Sea, which explored the idea of sentience and contact with an octopus species, and I'm really curious and excited now to see what he does with this idea of bringing someone back from extinction. 

Midnight by Amy McCulloch
Publication: January 2nd, 2024
Doubleday
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"THE SUN NEVER SETS AND THIS KILLER NEVER SLEEPS

Olivia Campbell has always dreamed of spending a sunlit night on the frigid Antarctic continent. But as an actuary who assesses risk for a living, she never imagined she would have the chance. So when her career takes an unexpected detour, and her boyfriend—a high-powered art dealer with a taste for the finer things in life—decides to stage an ostentatious, career-making auction on a luxury liner to Antarctica, Olivia is thrilled. That is, until things start to feel a bit strange. In addition to the scores of wealthy patrons and potential buyers, they'll also be traveling alongside a small group of beleaguered employees of Pioneer Adventures—the company responsible for managing the ship—and their charismatic, divisive CEO.

When the first bodies are discovered, it's easy enough for Olivia to write it off as a terrible accident. But as the situation heats up and the temperatures continue to plummet, she begins to wonder whether she might have booked a one-way ticket to her own demise."

A locked room mystery and set in the Antarctic? These are both things I love, so I'm excited to check this one out.

Anticipated December 2023 Releases

 

December is always one of the slowest months in publishing with all of the holidays and general winding down of the year, but it's not to be ignored because there are still a number of amazing books coming out. I'm possibly most excited for Foz Meadows' All the Hidden Paths, as it's a sequel that I've been very eagerly anticipating. What December releases have you been looking forward to? Let me know if it's any of these or if I missed any of your most anticipated!

Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of by Gregory J. Wallance || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder by K.J. Parker || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Grievar's Blood (The Combat Codes Saga #2) by Alexander Darwin || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Lost Tomb by Douglas Preston || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong || December 5th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato || December 26th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Her Dark Wings by Melinda Salisbury || December 12th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What are your anticipated December releases?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers & No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall

 

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
Publication: January 30th, 2024
Redhook
Hardcover. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A young woman descends into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge to break her family's curse in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy debut.

For centuries, generations of Everlys have seen their brightest and best disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor, a woman named Penelope, never ages, never grows sick – and never forgives a debt.

Violet Everly was just a child when her mother Marianne vanished on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. And when Penelope cannot find her, she issues an Violet has ten years to find Marianne, or she will take her place. Violet is the last of the Everly line, the last to suffer from the curse. Unless she can break it first.

To do so, she must descend into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. She must also contend with Penelope’s quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted – and yet whose knowledge of a world beyond her own is too valuable to avoid.

Tied to a very literal deadline, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began."

What more needs to be said than "magical underworld," really? I have an ARC of this one that I'm hoping to get started on soon and I can't wait. 

No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
Publication: January 23rd, 2024
Flatiron Books
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"Emma hasn't told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn't spoken to her sisters in years. Then they lose their apartment, her husband gets laid off, and Emma discovers she's pregnant―right as the bank account slips into the red.

That's when Emma confesses that she has one more asset: her parents' house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters. They can't sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means that Emma is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband: that the house is not a run-down farmhouse but a stately mansion, and that her parents died there.

Were murdered.

And that some people say Emma did it.

Emma and her sisters have never spoken about what really happened that night. Now, her return to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don’t want revealed. As Emma struggles to reconnect with her old family and hold together her new one, she begins to realize that the things they have left unspoken all these years have put them in danger again."

I've enjoyed some of Kate Alice Marshall's books and I'm always a fan of this type of presence, so count me in to check it out!

The Friday Face-Off: Current Read #18

           

 Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

Current Read #18

I'm finally reading a book that's been on my TBR pretty much since it came out that I have suspected I'll love (and somehow because of that it's made me procrastinate on actually, you know, reading it) and that book is: Bunny by Mona Awad! So far it is just as weird as I've been told and I'm really enjoying it. It also has a nice array of cover editions to peruse, so let's have a look!

2019 US Hardcover | 2020 UK Paperback | 2019 UK Hardcover

2021 Russian | 2021 French | 2020 US Paperback

My choice(s):

I love rabbits (I actually had quite a few growing up! As an adult, however, I've unfortunately become extremely allergic to them so I'm not sure there will be any bunnies in my future 😔 )so I'm pretty much a fan of all of these. I love how absolutely shocked the 2021 Russian bunny looks (that's probably how we all look reading this book, to be honest), and I also love how the 2019 UK hardcover covers the bunny's tail.  I'm currently reading the US paperback and that bright pink cover is really striking, so I'd expect the UK paperback is equally bright and stands out. I'm not sure I can pick a favorite! Which cover(s) do you like best?