And so spooky season came and went and now we head downhill toward the holidays and a New Year!
Last month saw me as a stressed-out ball of anxiety for most of the month because I attended the Jonathan Ball Publishers #BookTok event and I needed a costume and I didn’t know what to expect and I was doing research that wasn’t going anywhere and time was running out and I needed to up my Tiktok game and …
But I just tried to take each day as it came and I managed, lol.
This month’s prompt for #MagicalReadathon was to read a book with chapter titles; I ended up having read three books that fit the criteria but I think I will choose Born A Crime as my official choice.
And, because I couldn’t find anything I wanted to read nor the next two books in the Discworld series, I unfortunately don’t have any audiobooks to add to my list this month. #Sadness
Bridge by Lauren Beukes
This was my first Lauren Beukes novel and I didn’t know what to expect, but this was great!
Bridge is a Contemporary, Science Fiction, Thriller with a little bit of Horror vibes thrown in that will take you to different realities…
I love the writing style and the characters are great. I highly recommend this if you love SciFi, Thrillers or Mystery.
I have a video up on my channel – part 1: the first 5 days – of my readalong experience and I would absolutely love it if you’d check it out.
Rating: 4 stars
Dirty Shorts Vol 1 by Kyle Adams
I got this for free on Stuff Your Kindle Day 2023.
There is this thing I do, while trying to maintain my Kindle reading streak, where I read random books before I need to read something I was sent for review; this was one of them.
What surprised me the most about this book was how well-written it is; this excludes the sex scenes because I mostly skip through them. Every story is well-paced and some of the characters are relatable.
Even though I didn’t read every story (specifically the part twos and threes) I enjoyed reading this.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
I honestly didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did The Sunbearer Trials and this made me sad. The first half of the book was a little hard to get into, for me, but the second half was much more entertaining and action-packed.
Aiden Thomas really knows how to write, though; it is mesmerising in its fluidity and undeniable charisma.
I still need to read Lost In The Never Woods but I am looking forward to more of this author’s writing style.
Rating: 3.5 stars
The Society For Soulless Girls by Laura Steven
If you know one thing about me it’s that I avoid Horror like the plague – this is because I get nightmares – so anything labelled as such is put far away from me, lol.
But I want to try new things, yikes, so I thought I would give some Horror another go for the spooky season; I mean, Young Adult can’t be that bad, can it?
Anyway, I really enjoyed this book; so much so that I really wanted to continue reading … like, what’s happening?
Following two college students who are enrolled at a newly reopened college with a dark history, this story is told via dual POV; Lottie has a special connection to a girl who went here ten years ago and is hoping to find out what happened while Alice (they’re roommates) is investigating the school’s history on a more esoteric level.
Then things start happening to them, each girl experiencing different things…
Not going to lie, I was a little scared at times but this was great! Perfect for horror fans and non-horror fans alike.
Rating: 3.75
The Chalice Of The Gods by Rick Riordan
What can I say? We wanted more Percy Jackson and the lovely Mr Riordan has blessed us with some!
So Percy wants to go to college but he first needs to acquire three reference letters, from the gods. What does he need to do to get them? Complete quests, of course.
With the help of Annabeth and Grover, the original trio take centre stage once more and they set off on their first mission since Camp Half-Blood; to find Ganymede’s cup, the golden chalice.
I mean, it doesn’t seem fair that they have to risk and limb to fight monsters and such when the fate of the world isn’t hanging in the balance, but I suppose you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do…
Did I mention that I read this in eight hours?
Rating: 4 stars
If you want to know more about my thoughts on the last three books, then please check out this video which is up on my channel.
A Kiss Of Light And Flame by Mr Brogath
I got this for free on Stuff Your Kindle Day 2023.
While searching for manga/graphic novels on Amazon, this cute cover came up and I downloaded it.
What is it? This is an adorable sapphic story of forbidden love between the Holy Maiden and an undercover witch. It is nicely written and the characters are great.
What it isn’t? A manga/graphic novel! Granted, there are a few beautiful illustrations inside, but it is nowhere near being a manga… It is even labelled as “manga” on GoodReads!
I still enjoyed this lovely little story, all the same.
Rating: 3 stars
Pick Of The Month
Mistletoe And Mishigas by M A Wardell
Sheldon, our OTT femme boy, has to transfer to a new school unexpectedly during Thanksgiving and must convert an old physiotherapy room into a new classroom for first-grade pupils. He enlists the help of the school’s custodian, a gentle giant called Theo, a man of few words and, unexpectedly, starts getting attracted to him.
To make matters worse, Sheldon received an invitation to his ex-boyfriend’s wedding – on Christmas Eve, a year after the break-up – and he doesn’t want to appear weak in front of them when he attends; Theo’s parents always come for Hanukkah and, somehow, he told them that he met someone and now they want to meet him.
So Sheldon asks Theo for a favour, then Theo asks Sheldon for a favour; what could go wrong?
Find my full review here.
Born A Crime & Other Stories by Trevor Noah
You will rarely see me with a non-fiction book in my hands, let alone gush about how much I enjoyed it; look, if it’s not about cooking, baking or crafting then forget about it.
There are several reasons why I wanted to read this particular book but I really wanted to learn more about apartheid/segregation in my country and our local boytjie tells it really well.
Trevor tells us stories of his childhood in apartheid, how he found himself and the man he wanted to be all with his signature humour. But the most important aspect of these essays is how he explains every little detail about its construction and eventual failure.
Not only did I enjoy Trevor’s stories but I learned so very, very much. I highly recommend this.
Rating; 4 stars
Do let me know what you’ve been reading, what you thought of any of the above, or if you have a suggestion/recommendation for me, in the comments below or on any of my other socials. Until next time…
Happy reading!
Mr Pink Ink 
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