October Photo-a-Day: my month in pictures

I missed August's P-a-D and then was a week and a half late posting September's...I'm posting November's on time. Or it'll drive me bonkers!! I didn't do so swell in October taking a picture each day...I think I'm missing 8 days. But I'll share what I got!

Cupcakes for breast cancer awareness // Cami made a friend at the brew store

Little guy out of the stroller at the allergist's office // Daddy snuggles are the best!

Books I Read in October

Spider's Trap by Jennifer Estep - 4 stars (finished 10/1)
This is the 13th book in the Elemental Assassin series.

Estep is only slotted to write 14 books in the series, but I hope she continues. This series is just as addictive as the Stephanie Plum series. They are my guilty pleasures. Yes, the plot and story arc is a little repetitive, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy me some Gin Blanco. This book, in particular, I really enjoyed because we got to see a little more of Gin's past - and I love flashbacks. I'm dying for the next book already!! 

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - 3.5 stars (finished 10/10)
This is the 2nd book in the Mara Dyer trilogy.

It has been a while since I read book 1 - which I really enjoyed. This book I felt was a little all over the place. I think that may have been the intention, but it was a little hard for me to keep up at times - and falling asleep while trying to read it didn't help. I wasn't really feeling Mara or Noah in this one. Her parents drove me insane. Daniel was soooo gullible. Plus the flashbacks had me like...what? I'm hoping book 3 redeems itself. I typically don't like second books in trilogies. I'm a hater. LOL. I think I just don't like how the stories are bridged.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison - 4 stars (finished 10/14)
I own 5 seasons of GND and watched all of Holly's World when it aired...so when I found out Holly was writing a book, you bet your patootie I was gonna read it. It was everything that I thought it was going to be, plus some. I always wondered what was really going on behind the scenes and Holly put it out there and it makes a ton of sense. And while Bridget was my favorite GND, I really liked Holly too. Her book made me feel much more connected to her and sympathize with all that she had gone through in her years at the mansion.

The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - 2 stars (finished 10/26)
This is the 3rd book in the Mara Dyer trilogy.

I struggled with the first 40% of the book and then it picked up and I was hoping for some resolve. I felt like my questions weren't really answered and the ending was overly cheesy. I sorta rolled my eyes a little. It just wasn't what I had hoped for with the trilogy that had such a strong start. 

My November TBR List + Upcoming Releases

Not surprisingly, I read nothing off my list for last month's TBR. However, I did finish 4 books again, so I'm happy with that. This month, I signed up to do a buddy read with a Goodreads group for The Hobbit. It was on my reading list in September and I never got around to it. This month's list is small. I may get around to reading one of the three. Perhaps :)

Possible November Reads: 

• The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien [reread]
• Real Murders by Charlaine Harris [new series]
• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

What books do you hope to read this month?

What releases are you excited for?

Baby Mason: Eight Months

It seems like the months are just flying by. This little guy is not so little and the milestones have really come in like a hurricane over the last month. He is now standing. Last month he was barely able to crawl.

Sleeping on his big Bubba *AWW* // Cheesing it up while I put Matt's old hat on him.

Books I Read in September

Sugar & Spice by Lauren Conrad - 3.5 stars (finished 9/7)
This is the third book in the L.A. Candy trilogy.

Not that this is like some high class quality reading or anything, but I did expect more from the ending than what was given. It was like all of a sudden, it was done. There wasn't as much closure to the characters as I had expected and that kind of stinks. It wasn't a terrible ending, but definitely bad enough for me to dock a star. I especially WTF'd to Jane and [spoiler: Braden].

Paper Towns by John Green - 3.5 stars (finished 9/14)
I really love John Green's style of writing. It makes it quite easy to read and connect with the story. I really loved Q and the entire journey of finding Margo. Radar and Ben were great supporting characters, although I do lean more towards Radar :) My only "problem" is that I don't quite get the ending. It may be a herpderp moment for me, but it went over my head, nonetheless. Am I supposed to make up my own ending? Is there a metaphor? Is it an implied ending? *shrugs* For that, I knocked off half a star. I still enjoyed the book, but I don't know that I would read it again. Now I just need to see the movie :) I really think Cara was a perfect fit for Margo. She was very easy to imagine as Margo.

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon - 5 stars (finished 9/17)
7/20/15: Read an excerpt from Buzz Books: The main character in this story is literally deathly allergic to everything in the outside world. So that already makes it a very fascinating premise. I really enjoyed Maddy and her perspective in the excerpt and have high hopes for this one. I love the cover too!

Update: 9/16/15
My grandma sent me a Target gift card for my birthday, so I picked this up today and I'm super excited to start it!

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I haven't finished a book this quickly in I-don't-know how long! From pretty early on, I figured two things that would happen, but that didn't spoil the book at all [spoiler: her leaving the house and having an attack - and her mom lying about her having SCID - I figured the attack would be because of her upbringing]. Madeline is one of the most interesting, delightful characters that I've come across in a while. Olly is just as quirky as Madeline and a gentleman. I just can't express enough how much love I have for this book. Throw in Nicola Yoon's husband's illustrations and seriously, the most perfect book ever, guys! You MUST read it!