October Wrap Up

Another month is over so it’s time for another monthly wrap up.

October has been another great month for me. I took part in eight blog tours and attended a book event in Nottingham where Laura Purcell interviewed Jessie Burton and I got to meet two of my favourite authors. On a personal level we celebrated my partner’s 40th birthday, he started a new job that means he’ll be home more and I went to watch The Wizard of Oz ballet with my Mum on a rare girls night out.

In terms of reading,  I’ve read eleven books and one novella. I was hoping to have finished The Photographer of the Lost but that will end up as my first completed book of November instead. I’m finding that I’m reading slower when the book is for a tour as I want to be sure I soak it all in and take as many notes as possible to write the best review I can. But I’m fine with that as I’ve read some incredible books I might not have picked up if it weren’t for being on the blog tour and I wouldn’t trade that for having a few more books on my total at the end of the month.

So, here’s what I read in October:

1. The Family by Louise Jensen ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
2. The Thorn Girl by Laura Elliot (previously titled In My Mother’s Name)  ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. The Birthday House by Jill Treseder ⭐⭐⭐.5
4. The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. The Blossom Twins by Carol Wyer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. The Widow of Pale Harbour by Hester Fox ⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. Her Mother’s Lies by Rona Halsall ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
8. Seven Days by Alex Lake ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
10. Bad Seed by Jessica Eames ⭐⭐⭐⭐
11. The Lost Ones by Anita Frank ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
12. Keeper by Jessica Moor ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As you can see it’s been a great month with some fantastic books – including four 5-star reviews. I’m not choosing a favourite this month as I think all the 5-star reads are deserving of that title, but the most memorable for me was definitely The Blossom Twins as it was nail-biting, shocking and emotional – the best yet in Carol’s Detective Natalie Ward series. I’ve still not recovered from the turmoil of that book! It is released on December 12th and my review will be posted December 14th as part of the blog tour.

What books did you read in October? Were any of these on your list?