What I Read in October!

I have no idea how it is the end of October already. I’m baffled by how it is near to the end of the year. I am back with another what I read this month posts! Throughout October I somehow managed to read a grand total of 15 books, so it has been an absolutely excellent reading month for me! I have a lot of thoughts I want to share on the books that I read in October, so I’m going to do mini reviews for a couple, mention others and declare my love for a few! Here is what I read in October!

The Bi-Ble by Various Authors

“In today’s social climate, bisexuals inhabit a liminal space between cultures, often misunderstood and criticised by both the straight community and the LGBTQ+ – despite the fact we represent the capital B in that very mix. We’re called fence-sitters, greedy, promiscuous, incapable of decisions or monogamy, or simply dismissed as non-existent like a stubborn urban legend. Bisexuals suffer both the abuse incurred for existence and the erasure that claims nonexistence: a half-life, a state of being and not being, simultaneously too gay and not gay enough.

Because of this and many other factors, the statistics for bisexual wellbeing are bleak – we are more likely to suffer from mental health issues, more likely to be closeted, at higher risk of domestic abuse and assault from partners, and even at higher risk of conditions like heart disease and addiction. It is time to dig into these issues and step out of the liminal space – into a full life where our voices and stories can be heard, and our identities declared valid.

So was born The Bi-ble, a collection of original essays and personal narratives giving platform to the thoughts and experiences relevant to bisexuals today.”

I read this as a buddy read with the wonderful Lochanreads (the lovely Lois!) after we both watched a livestream hosted by Sophie from The Little Contemporary Corner and Jaz from Travels in Fiction. I adored this book, I learnt so much and the essays throughout it are incredible well written and informative! I cannot recommend this one enough and I’d really like to read volume 2 soon!

★★★★

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Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

“Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items?

• Enjoy a drunken night out.
• Ride a motorbike.
• Go camping.
• Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
• Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
• And… do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written out step-by-step guidelines. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job: Redford ‘Red’ Morgan.”

I adore Talia Hibbert books and I need more of them in my life. They are so much fun and the romance is incredible. I flew right the way through this and immediately wanted to read more books about the Brown sisters. I cannot wait for Act Your Age, Eve Brown. But for now I will be recommending this one a lot!

★★★★

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Snapshot Books!

Here is a quick snapshot of 10 of the books that I read this month and the ratings I gave them! I enjoyed them all, some more than others and they are certainly books that I’ll be recommending a lot in the future!

• Giant Days Volume 2 by Various Authors – ★★★
• The Fire Never Goes Out by Noelle Stevenson – ★★★★
• Lumberjanes Volume 2 by Various Authors – ★★
• The Danger Gang by Tom Fletcher – ★★★★★
• Olive by Emma Gannon – ★★★
• The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes – ★★★★
• Eight Pieces of Silva by Patrice Lawrence – ★★★★
• Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett – ★★★★
• My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf – ★★★
• Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow – ★★★★

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Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo

“10 00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.

11 00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious.

12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.”

Maurene Goo has done it one again and is quickly making her way to being one of my favourite authors. I sped through this book and couldn’t put it down. It is such a fun read that takes place over the course of a few days. I highly recommend this one and I’ll be buying any other Maurene Goo books I don’t have sooner rather than later!

★★★★

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The Switch by Beth O’Leary

“When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She’d like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen.

Once Leena learns of Eileen’s romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.”

I absolutely adored The Flatshare by the same author so I immediately had to give it a read when I heard about it. I actually listened to the audiobook of this one which has amazing narrators. It is such a fun and easy read and shows how excellent of an author Beth O’Leary is! I highly recommend this one.

★★★★

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40-Love by Olivia Dade

“When a rogue wave strips Tess Dunn of her bikini top, desperate, half-naked times call for desperate, please-cover-me-kids-are-coming-closer measures. Enter Lucas Karlsson, AKA that flirty Swede in the water nearby. When he prevents her bare buoys from being exposed to fellow vacationers, even an ocean can’t drown the sparks that fly.

Lucas, a former top-level tennis pro now giving lessons at the resort, fled there after the abrupt, painful end to his injury-plagued career. But he’s finally ready to move on with his life—and after a few late-night, hands-on sessions with Tess, he’s eager to prove he’s the ace she wants.

But this match comes with challenges: She’s forty, and at twenty-six, he’s barely old enough to rent a car. Worse, they only have two weeks together before Tess returns to her assistant-principal life in Virginia. During that brief time, they’ll have to play hard, take a few risks, and find out whether their chemistry is a one-shot wonder…or whether they’re meant to be doubles partners for life.”

This is one I bought on my kindle on a whim after seeing quite a few amazing reviews of it. I throughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who is fan of Talia Hibbert’s books. I am hopefully going to read the others in this series soon but for now I really recommend this one!

★★★★

There you have it, everything I read in October! What have you read in October and what are you looking forward to reading in November? Let me know in the comments!