FRIENDS, HALLOWEEN SEASON IS OFFICIALLY HERE TOMORROW! 🎃👻🧛
Yes, I have been celebrating for over a month but now people won’t look at me funny for doing so! October is the best month because all the spooky movies and the weather is finally not boiling! Although the latter is yet to be seen as I am typing this from 97 degree heat, which is just rude, but according to weather forecasts I will be enjoying rainy weather in Vancouver when this post goes live!
But I digress. September was a great month for me both professionally and on the blog! I’m currently on vacation in Vancouver, Canada for a long weekend trip with my best friend to adventure and see Journey/Def Leppard. Definitely the highlight of my month. Since I am on vacation, I won’t be blog hopping or replying to comments/tweets until Wednesday!
You’ve probably noticed that the blog’s color scheme has been updated for autumn and I have redesigned the post images! I’m really pleased with the updates and I hope you like them, too! Many thanks to my friend and artist, Eva, for always being up for a commission.
Reading
I’ve decided to change my wrap-up format this month! Instead of just listing each book that I read in order I’m now listing them by rating and including some brief thoughts on the book! I decided to do this because I read more books that I review on the blog each month but wanted to give you all a bit more context. What do you think?!
So in September I managed to read nine books, which is a slow month for me but I’m okay with it! I read a lot of ARCs and it slumped my mood reading, boo. But October is going to be ALL MOOD READING YAY! As always, you can click on the title links to be taken to the Goodreads page, and if my review has been published here on the blog I will also provide a link to it. ARCs/copies from author or publisher are noted above by an asterisk *
Five Stars
- Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (re-read): first published in 1963 during the Cold War and six years before the Moon Landing, Cat’s Cradle takes a look at the destructive creations made by science, the ownership of these products of destruction, and the power relationship in government. This story is timeless and relevant today with an unconventional narrative style that readers will either love or hate. [Full Review]
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab: I just finished reading this book like ten minutes ago and all I can say is holy shit. This book is incredible and I am so glad I impulse bought the second book before even reading this. [Full Review]
Four Stars
- Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz: I picked this up after falling in love with The Siren and the Specter, and boy was I not disappointed! This is a creepy monster book full of local legend and a serial killer on the loose that I absolutely devoured in one sitting. With all the lights on. [Full Review]
- * Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton: this is such a weird and beautiful book. While the premise of hundreds-year-old pacts that provide prosperity to a town in return for sacrifice isn’t new, I found Strange Grace to be refreshing and captivatingly written and is one of the best witch stories I’ve ever read. [Full ARC Review]
- * Priest of Bones by Peter McLean: if you are like me and love morally grey characters and anti-heroes, then you will love Priest of Bones! This is an action-packed, plot-driven grimdark story. [Full ARC Review]
Three Stars
- * The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox: is more of a historical romance than a spooky/supernatural read; it felt like reading Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights with supernatural/witchy elements. This is a successful historical fiction book and one people will enjoy provided they don’t go in expecting a spooky October read. [Full ARC Review]
- * Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria: is such a unique fantasy standalone which at its heart challenges the notion of destiny and predetermination. While I enjoyed the overall plot and found it to be unique, the writing style didn’t really work for me and I personally found the execution to be lacking. [Full ARC Review]
Two Stars
- * The Night Crossing by Robert Masello: just wasn’t the book for me. I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, my expectations were not met: I found the writing a to be a bit lackluster and I struggled to connect with the characters. While I found the overall plot to be interesting, I struggled to find the desire to read [Full ARC Review]
- * The Toy Thief by D.W. Gillespie: as far as horror goes, the central story and backstory of the Toy Thief was creepy and interesting. If the book had been told in the present tense and skipped the weird time jumps and fat shaming of a blind date, I would have thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was another case of right book, wrong reader. [Full ARC Review]
One Star
None!
Total Books Read in September: 9
Total Books Read in 2018: 106
Goodreads Reading Goal: 50 100 125
Awesome Community Posts
- The Cozied Reader has a hilarious guide on how to be a killer YA villain.
- Justine @ Bookish Wisps wrote a great post about Signs You’re Not Over a Book & Possible Remedies.
- Abigail @ Abigail’s Tales wrote a great discussion post about overcoming the book slump and what to do when you don’t feel like reading.
- Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books wrote an amazing post about her experience with ARCs as an international blogger, and you should read it.
- Shruti @ This is Lit has started a fantastic new series called Wednesday Wisdom, and this week she talks about the content marketing strategies that every blogger needs to know!
- And in a bit of self-promo, have you seen the Flapping Pages International ARC Program? We are looking to help get ARCs into the hands of international and own-voices reviewers!
Halloween is Coming
- I am so excited to be a host for the upcoming book blogger Blogoween! If you are a lover of Halloween, you should check out what is in store starting tomorrow!
- Mark your calendars because I have also been working on a project for Halloween, SCARETober. It will launch on October 19th!
Thank you
In terms of views and engagement, September 2018 has been my biggest month so far & I’ve really enjoyed watching my corner of the internet grow.
Thank you, everyone, so much for visiting, liking, commenting, and sharing your bookish thoughts with me!
I hope you all have a WONDERFUL October and Happy Reading! How was your September?!
Let’s go on another adventure together!
Hurray for vacation and September turning out to be both great professionally and blog… Thank you for the mention too. 9 indeed isn’t bad. Glad you didn’t stumbled on a 1 star read too.
Have fun in your vacay! And it does, your blog looks stunning!
Thank you so much, Justine! I had a WONDERFUL TIME and am now trying to get caught up on the blog + blog hopping! I am glad you like the new blog look, that makes me feel awesome. I hope you have a great reading month!
I love your diagram!
Thank you so much! The charts are actually part of my free Book Blogger Template if you want to use them for yourself! Here’s my post: https://readervoracious.com/2018/07/11/free-bookish-blogger-templates/
Yay to Halloween month!! And nine books in a month is amazing, keep it up 🙂
Also, congrats on so many views, that is always a comforting sight and makes us feel like we’re actually reaching out to people 🙂
Thank you and 9 books definitely is still pretty good, even if it is a little less than my usual! Thanks so much for stopping by, Sophie!
Thank you so, so much for sharing my post, I’m so happy you enjoyed it <3
Yay for having such a great month personally and professionally, that's great 🙂 I hope you will have fun on your vacation, it's always good to take a little break 🙂
Have a wonderful October! <3
Your post definitely hit me in the feels. While I have been too chicken to request ARCs from pubs yet (beyond NG and Edelweiss), I know that because I live in the US I have a lot of privilege because I live here, and I could totally empathize with your post.
My vacation was absolutely wonderful, thank you! We wandered around Vancouver bookstores, ate lots of food and drank lots of booze
Oh thank you, well that really means so, so much to me, thank you <3 <3
I'm so happy you had such a great time, yay!!
Holy cow!!! Congrats on all of your accomplishments this month!! Proud book bestie here!!!
AWWWW Thank you so much, book bestie! September was honestly a really amazing month for me!
You had such a good reading month Kaleena! I wish you happy reading for October!
Thank you so much Kayla, and same to you!
Enjoy your vacation 😊 I so want to go to a vacation too but gahh… life! I am glad that your month was good both personally and blog and reading wise. I won’t say that reading 9 books a month is less though 😜 I can hardly reach that count ever.
I do understand how arcs can slow your reading mood. That happened to me last month so this month I read more backlist books 😊
Have a happy October and good luck with Blogoween 😊
You are so right, 9 books in a month is definitely a lot and more than I used to read before becoming a book blogger! I am very excited for my mood reading month, I hope it works out for you in October too!
A vacation in Vancouver sounds amazing, I hope you and your friend have a lot of fun!! It finally got chilly today and I’m happily curled up and so pleased. I’m so thrilled for October to be here (I can hardly wait one more day) and for Blogoween!!! 9 books is great! I really like that you included a pie chart. Have a great vacation Kaleena!
PIE CHARTS ARE LIFE! Vancouver was an amazing time and we had such a bookish blast going to bookshops and buying books and talking about books. hahaha. BLOGOWEEN IS HERE YAY!
I am glad you’re blog is flourishing <3
Have a great October Kaleena!
Awww thank you, Hamad. I wish you happy reading in October, friend!
you’re welcome!
Looks like you’ve had a fantastic month! Congrats on smashing those GR goals, and have fun on your vacation!!
Thank you so much, Meaghan! Vacation was wonderful and I wish I didn’t have to return to the Real World!
Looks like a wonderful quality reading month ☺️ I hope you’re enjoying vacation in Vancouver & congrats on hosting Blogoween. Wishing you a FAB October! 🍂🍁☺️ 🍂🍁
Thank you very much, and I am wishing you happy reading in October!
Vancouver was wonderful!
9 books for a slow month is awesome! And omg you’re vacationing in Vancouver!! Welcome! ❤🍁 I swear it’s not rainy ALL the time here. You just missed the Smoke And Hazy Skies season. 😛 Have a wonderful time!
Everyone in Vancouver kept apologizing for the rain, which is the most stereotypical Canadian thing I can think of! We kept saying that we were from California and our state is on fire and we haven’t seen rain in months, LOL! It was actually lovely weather and I loved that the trees were already starting to change colors! I had a great time!!!
Ahahaha that’s amazing. I guess you had the full Canadian experience? 😂 And great to hear!
I’m so glad you loved Vicious! One of my favorite books of all time. I’m excited to start Vengeful!
Vicious was so freaking good like oh my goodness! Starting Vengeful tomorrow and I am so excited!
Lovely wrap up, Kaleena! And I’m so happy to see that your wonderful blog is growing! And you’ve made me want to read Vicious even more. I truly need to read it asap! Have a wonderful October, doll! <3
Thank you so much Kelly! Vicious is stunning and better than ADSoM in my opinion… you should honestly drop everything and read it immediately.
Ahh I just love October too! Halloween is such a fun time for me, especially since my birthday is then. xD
Thanks so much for featuring my post! 🙂
October and Halloween are the BEST, and you have even more of a reason to love! You are so welcome, I am glad you started this series.
looks like an awesome month to me 🙂
Thank you so much, Umut!