October & Halloween Readathon Wrap-Up

October came and went so fast! I joined Lauren’s 👻 Halloween Readathon 🎃, so I’ll be including my wrap-up for that in here as well. I was in a bit of a blogging slump because I had so much else to do, so sitting down to write a discussion post became impossible. I couldn’t even think of topics. Hopefully, now that I’m not working full-time, November will go better in that front! Also, I’m hoping to focus on ARCs and requested reviews this month, because I’ve neglected them until now (sorry!). But for the moment, let’s check how October went 😊

BOOKS READ THIS MONTH

  

      

• The Call was a gripping story where an ancient fairy race in Ireland are taking teenagers and hunting them down. Only few escape. It was nerve-wracking and the main character was badass, so an entertaining read.
  🎃 Readathon category: Haunted House – Supernatural/Paranormal read

• Spring Delusions was an eclectic and nice short poetry collection with interesting illustrations done by the author accompanying each poem.

• Marrow was a mess. It tells the story of a girl who takes matters into her own hands when she sees injustice all around her. So much potential wasted. I didn’t like how disability was portrayed or treated within the book and the plot and the pacing were all over the place.
  🎃 Readathon category: Urban legends – Horror/Thriller read

• Anna Dressed in Blood was an entertaining gory read with a Buffy vibe, which I appreciated. Overall, though, the book lacked something for me. It was just meh.
  🎃 Readathon category: Costume Party – Creepy cover

• The Beauty was my favorite read of the month. This novella is beautifully written and captivating. Set in a world where all women have died from a strange disease, it deals with gender roles, power and equality in society.
  🎃 Readathon category: All Hallows Eve – It was just my sixth choice, with no particular category other than horror.

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👻Total books read for the Readathon: 4 out of 6. Not so bad, considering how little time to read I had this month!

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REVIEWS OF THIS MONTH

• Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
• The Key by Sara B. Elfgren & Mats Strandberg
• The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín
• Spring Delusions by Zahra Ammar

WEEKLY MEMES

Top Ten Tuesdays

• Creepy reads
• Characters I’d name a pet after
• Books I read because of recommendations
• Favorite villains

Book Traveling Thursdays

• A book that made me smile
• A book that deals with mental health

Diversity Spotlight Thursdays

• Spotlight #5 | Featuring Malala’s memoir, a retelling of Cinderella, and a character with OCD and Agoraphobia.

 

TAGS

• The Handwriting Tag | As the title says, it’s a tag where you showcase your handwriting by answering in a piece of paper, taking a picture of it, and then posting it. It isn’t book related, but it’s really fun.

OTHERS

• Halloween Readathon TBR | Here you can see my entire list of picks for the Readathon and the ones I couldn’t read.

 

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How was your October? Any favorite creepy reads you’d recommend? Are you participating on NaNoWriMo this month?