It was a slow reading month; I’m not sure what happened. I had all these great plans to read so many great books, and nothing happened. Well, very little happened. I read whopping two books. Yep, only two. It was a slow month. I was supposed to be half way through my Throne of Glass series reread, instead I haven’t even started book two.
Most of September was spent working on giving my room a makeover and now my tiny room consists of nothing but books and my bed…okay that’s not entirely true, but my bed does take up a lot of my room space. Don’t get me wrong – I’m excited and happy that I’ve finally gotten a new bed and new shelves, but there is also something bittersweet about it all. Now that I’m probably about 80% done with my room – all major things checked off, October should be a pretty good reading month. That is why I’m actually including a TBR in this post.
I don’t usually like laying out what I’m going to be reading, because I never stick to it, but there are definitely two books that I WILL be reading this month, and I’ll get to those shortly. Anything else I read in October will be up to my mood, or maybe I’ll only read the two, since I gave myself a deadline to get these revisions for my SF WIP done by the end of the month. I lied. I’ve got to reread the whole TOG series before the release of Kingdom of Ash so I better get started on reading. But for the purposes of this TBR, I am only going to list the two I know for a fact I will be reading, and let’s just assume I’ll get TOG done.
On to the two books I read in the month of September.
Book One:
Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Maas – 4/5
UK Paperback Finished – September 7, 2018
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her … but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead … quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.
It’s been years since I read Throne of Glass, having not read it since it’s release in 2012, and I forgot how much I loved it, and it was nice falling back in love with the story. I also forgot how young the characters felt. It was nice going back to the beginning, and I’m excited and terrified about how Kingdom of Ash is going to wreck me.
Book Two:
Damsel – Elana K. Arnold – 3.5/5
ARC Finished – September 17, 2018
The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: when the prince-who-will-be-king comes of age, he must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.
When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, however, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon, or what horrors she has faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome prince, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny to sit on the throne beside him. Ama comes with Emory back to the kingdom of Harding, hailed as the new princess, welcomed to the court.
However, as soon as her first night falls, she begins to realize that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows–and that the greatest threats to her life may not be behind her, but here, in front of her.
I have a whole spoiler free review of this book – here – so I’m not going to go into a lot of details. I enjoyed the story for the plot, but there were some descriptions that didn’t sit well with me. This is definitely not your average YA Fantasy with a dark twist, and I would look at some reviews for this book if you were questioning whether or not it’s for you.
And that’s it for my wrap up!
Now onto my October TBR – in no particular order.
Book One:
A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer
ARC
Published – January 29, 2019
Fall in love, break the curse.
It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.
Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.
Break the curse, save the kingdom.
A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.
I’m lucky enough to call Brigid a friend, and she was so sweet to give me the chance to read her upcoming Fantasy early. I’m so excited to start this, and it’s been staring at me since Saturday when it came into my possession, but I told myself that I wasn’t allowed to start it until I’d moved all my books back into my room, and built my bed. Both of those tasks are done, so nothing is stopping me now! I also wanted a few hours uninterrupted because I’m pretty sure once I start reading this Beauty and the Beast adaptation, I won’t put it down until I’m finished. I’m super excited for this book!
Book Two:
Escaping From Houdini – Kerri Mansicalco
Hardcover
Published – September 18, 2018
Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.
But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?
I’ve been dying for this book ever since I finished Hunting Prince Dracula last year. I need more Cressworth. I love this series and the characters so much, that the book club I am a part of is reading Stalking Jack the Ripper as this “months” book. I’ve heard from two members so far that they’ve really enjoyed it. The meeting is on October 12, so I will know soon what everyone else thought. I don’t know why I didn’t read this the moment it came out, but I didn’t, and I’m excited to read it now!
And finally, I’m going to call the Throne of Glass Series – Books 2 – 5 (Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn) – though it’s only been a few months since tower of dawn, so I might skip that one since it’s still REALLY fresh in my mind.
That’s my Wrap Up & October TBR!
As an extra little bonus update:
Every year Baltimore hosts the Baltimore Book Festival in the Inner Harbor, and I’ve gone for the last seven years. While I don’t often venture into Baltimore (not a city person at all) I do enjoy going down for the festival. This year I went to support Brigid who was on a panel with Nisha Sharma, author of My So-Called Bollywood Life – which I bought a copy of and got it signed. 
It wasn’t like most of the other panels I’ve ever been two, it was actually more of a conversation with Mathew Winner, who does The Children’s Book Podcast.
I was hoping the Podcast was going to be up on his website, but it doesn’t appear to be up yet, but if you’re interested, you should check out the website – https://lgbpodcast.libsyn.com/
Overall it was a nice afternoon two be there, and it was nice catching up with Brigid who I hadn’t seen in a while.
Is anyone else re-reading TOG in preparation for KOA? Which is your favorite book?
Writing The Universe 