Books I Read in October

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris - 4 stars (finished 10/2)
BOOK 11 IN SOUTHERN VAMPIRE MYSTERY SERIES
I had originally rated this at 3 stars, but after this reread, I bumped it up to 4 stars. I'm not even sure what I was talking about because this book definitely had substance. There was plenty of moving parts to different pieces of the story and I am ready to finally get to book 12 and 13, to finish out the series. I realized that I had flipped through the novella-type book that comes after book 13 and I know who Sookie ends up with, unfortunately.



I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - 5 stars (finished 10/11)
I wanted to rate this a 4.5 stars, but the more I thought on how much I enjoyed the book, I knew it couldn't get anything less than 5. I love how everything in this story tied together and I loved reading from both the younger perspective of Noah and older perspective of Jude. I enjoyed their relationship as twins and watching it change as the story unfolded from both the past and the present. It was such a unique story. Not sure what else to say here without giving away pieces of the story, but it was a wonderful contemporary and I definitely can see how it has so much hype. It was well written, well thought out, and left me a happy reader.

Sleepy Hollow and other short stories by Washington Irving - 1 stars (finished 10/16)
I can't do this 19th century literature. There are only a handful of novels from that era that I love (i.e. Great Expectations and The Scarlet Letter), but a majority are the absolutely worst. Does there really need to be an entire page devoted to telling me that the curtains were blue?! I mean, c'mon!?!

The story of Sleepy Hollow was only 28 and it felt like 400. When you take away the excessive descriptions, there really wasn't much to the story and that was really disappointing because the adaptations of stories and film over the years of Sleepy Hollow are fantastic.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - 3.5 stars (finished 10/16)
BOOK 1 IN THE TIME QUINTET
I found this book to be adorable. I really liked the family dynamic between Meg, Charles Wallace, and their mother. Calvin, Mrs. Whatits, and Aunt Beast were all great characters too. I have to admit, I'm not too fond of Mrs. Who or Mrs. Which. I'm glad that I got around to reading this. I think it has held up well throughout the years and didn't read like it was from the 60s as much as I had expected. I'm really looking forward to the movie :) And reading the rest of the series, of course!
 
Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris - 4 stars (finished 10/17)
BOOK 12 IN SOUTHERN VAMPIRE MYSTERY SERIES
I know I didn't have a rating saved for this installment of the Southern Vampire Mystery series, but a lot of it felt really familiar. I don't know if I read it in its entirety when it came out or what, but I joined Goodreads before it was released, so I assume I have read part of it before. I enjoyed a lot of this book and felt that the plot was very entertaining. There were a few moments of me rolling my eyes at Sookie being Sookie, but overall it was a good read.

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris - 4 stars (finished 10/25)
BOOK 13 IN SOUTHERN VAMPIRE MYSTERY SERIES
I appreciated a great deal of this finale because it reminded me a lot of the earlier books. I do think the ending was a little rushed and some of the closure was very choppy and didn't really make sense. Overall, it was a good end to the series. I'm glad Sookie ended up with who she ended up with.

After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris - 1 star (finished 10/25)
BOOK 13.5 IN SOUTHERN VAMPIRE MYSTERY SERIES
I honestly wish I hadn't read this because a majority of the endings were depressing as all get out. Barely any of them were satisfying in the least and I could have gone without knowing what happened to the main characters and had my own made up endings. There were also a ton of characters that I don't remotely remember or care about. 

The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson - 3.5 stars (finished 10/30)
This story is set in a dystopian 2049 where climate change has put humanity in danger. A vicious faction called the Wolfpack has taken over and enslaved people. Eden is one of those people. She has lost everyone close to her - family and friends - since Zero Day, the day the Wolfpack took over. Until one day, she and three other girls escapes their island in order to find a sanctuary island that they have heard about.

I never say this...ever. This book should have been a series. 455 pages long and the ending was like 3 pages. It was so detailed for the other 452 pages. I checked the Goodreads page multiple times while reading and did again when I was 20 pages from the end and the resolution hadn't really started. I was like uh oh, maybe it is a series. Honestly up to the ending, this book was a 4 star read for me. I really was enjoying it. There were some nuances that I didn't care for and at times the plot moved like molasses, but it was still a pretty enjoyable read. I kept wanting to pick the book up. But I want more. I want better closure. There could have been a whole book on what happened to get to the results of the ending. It felt strange having so much detail and then the ending was a vague happily ever after.