October was a book buying ban month (for me personally) and not a heavy reading month (hello reading slump) So, there’s a slightly different set up today. Because I only bought two books and read four, I’m combining my Haul and Wrap Up posts.

If you follow me on other social media platforms, or read previous posts, I’ve been in a reading slump for quite a while now. I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t in a slump and forced myself to read, and that kind of made it worse.

This slump is weird though, usually my slumps mean that I legit can’t read a book, there is no drive, no desire. This one is just making me “meh” about everything. I can still read and enjoy but I can’t really tell if the book is overhyped and that’s why I’m “meh” or if it’s the slump. There is still a lack of inspiration to read, but it usually takes me a lot longer to read a book. It’s annoying.

And as for the buying ban. My wallet and bank account needed a desperate break from all these new releases that are constantly coming out. So, I decided to self-imposed a ban. The only two books I got last month were prior pre-orders.

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Anyways, let’s jump into the books I Hauled in October!

The Burning Shadow (Origins #2) – Jennifer L. Armentrout

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 / Review / GR

I’ve already had a chance to read this, and I have a full review posted (link above). It’s always fun being back in the world of the Lux!

When Evelyn Dasher crossed paths with Luc, she was thrown headfirst into the world of the Lux—only to discover that she was already far more involved in their world than she ever suspected.

Because the Luxen aren’t the only ones with a hidden past. There’s a gap in Evie’s memory, lost months of her life and a lingering sense that something happened, something she can’t remember and nobody is willing to tell her. She needs to find out the truth about who she is—and who she was. But every answer she finds only brings up more questions.

Her search for the truth brings her ever closer to Luc, the Origin at the center of it all. He’s powerful, arrogant, inhumanly beautiful, extremely dangerous…and possibly in love with her. But even as Evie falls for him, she can’t help but wonder if his attraction is to her, or to the memory of a girl who no longer exists.

And all the while, a new threat looms: reports of a flu-like, fatal virus that the government insists is being spread by Luxen. A horrifying illness that changes whoever it touches, spreading panic across a country already at its breaking point.

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Gravemaidens (Gravemaidens #1) – Kelly Coon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Review / GR

I’ve also already this and enjoyed it. I’m excited for what’s coming next and as a debut YA fantasy, you shouldn’t miss this one!

In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame.

When Alu’s ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister, Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the afterlife. It’s an honor. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from her.

But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is—a death sentence.

Desperate to save her sister, Kammani schemes her way into the palace to heal the ruler. There she discovers more danger lurking in the sand-stone corridors than she could have ever imagined and that her own life—and heart—are at stake. But Kammani will stop at nothing to dig up the palace’s buried secrets even if it means sacrificing everything…including herself.

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Now, time for the Wrap-Up portion of this post!

Crier’s War (Crier’s War #1) – Nina Varela

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / Review / GR

This was a good book, but the hype surrounding it fell short for me. I’ll probably continue the series, but it’s not a must.

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, usurped their owners’ estates and bent the human race to their will.

Now Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death…by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier.

Crier was Made to be beautiful, flawless, and to carry on her father’s legacy. But that was before her betrothal to the enigmatic Scyre Kinok, before she discovered her father isn’t the benevolent king she once admired, and most importantly, before she met Ayla.

Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war.

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The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1) – Renée Ahdieh 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Review / GR

I enjoyed this even though it wasn’t the vampire novel I thought it was going to be. I definitely want the second book, like now.

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.

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Sovereign Sacrifice (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles #4) – Elise Kova

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / Review / GR

Ugh, so good. Read the books if you haven’t already. Read all of the Air Awakens world. You’re seriously missing out. I cannot stress this enough. Read. Them.

Vi was supposed to be the perfect crown princess. Then, she abandoned her throne.
Vi was supposed to save the world as its Champion. Then, the world she loved vanished.

Now, all she knows is that she has deadly magic and brutal cunning and she’s ready to settle some scores.

Old loves and new allies tell her to play it safe. But Vi is done with caution. She has a chance to right ancient wrongs and this princess-turned-warrior isn’t turning back.

She’s ready to bring an end to the vortex of death the world is trapped in.

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Gravemaidens (Gravemaidens #1) – Kelly Coon

(see above for synopsis)

 

 

 

 

 

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What was your favorite book you read and/or hauled in October?