What I Read in September ’21, and October TBR

Hello! I haven’t done a wrap-up and TBR post in a year and a half. Mainly, that’s because I have been in a colossal reading slump, half because the pandemic seeped most of my productivity from me, and half because any productivity I had left went into school. I am so happy to report that I seem to have regained some of my mojo. This September has been one of the best readings months I’ve had in a very long time. I’ve missed reading so much, and I’ve missed finding time for fun things like films and TV shows. Fingers crossed that September was not a fluke.

So, this last month, I managed to read 9 novels and 1 manga for a total of 3,931 pages (which excludes the manga!) I am so thrilled that I got so much reading done, I really can’t put it into words. I think the last time I read this much was in 2019.

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What I Read

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1. The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

The Taking of Jake Livingston is a YA horror-paranormal that follows Jake, a reclusive young boy with some heavy secrets. Jake’s one of the only Black kids at his private school, so he’s always felt like he doesn’t belong. Of course, it doesn’t help that he’s able to see another dimension where ghosts relive their deaths in endless loops. When Jake encounters a particularly malicious entity, he realizes it is the ghost of Sawyer: the boy responsible for a vicious school shooting several months earlier. As Jake finds a way to prevent Sawyer from terrorizing the community further, he has to navigate his complicated relationships with his family, his sexuality, and his school environment.

Jake was a refreshing protagonist; he was soft-spoken and shy, but he also had a lot of pent-up emotion that was begging for release. When that release eventually happens, it felt cathartic. The strongest aspects of the book were his relationship with the new boy at school, as well as his tense relationship with his brother. I almost wished this book was a regular contemporary at times because I was so invested in these relationships that I wanted to spend more time with them. Unfortunately, while the horror itself was atmospheric, I had trouble wrapping my head around it. It may have been the point to make the horror feel ungrounded and surreal, and if you’re the type of reader who enjoys ‘weird’ horror, I think you may really enjoy this. For me, I was more invested in the realistic parts of the book – not so much in the horror-driven plot.

Content warnings: violence, gore, suicide, school shooting, homophobia, racism, body horror, sexual abuse, pedophilia, child abuse.

★ ★ ★

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2. The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino

The Devil Makes Three is another YA horror-paranormal. It is told through dual perspectives. One POV character is Tess, who is a student at a private school. She comes from a very humble background, and she’s working two jobs to get herself and her sibling through school. The second POV character is Eliot Birch, who is the headmaster’s son. After his mother fell sick, he’s become obsessed with the occult in the hopes of finding a cure. These2 characters’ paths collide, and they find a strange book in the secret tunnels under the school library. When they accidentally unleash the Devil, they grapple with what is real and what is not, even as the Devil does everything in his power to get his freedom.

You can find my full review of The Devil Makes Three here. This book did a lot of things right. I liked both main characters, because they felt layered and well-crafted, with real motivations and personalities. I enjoyed the emphasis on family dynamics outside of the main plot of the book. Portions of the story were quite unsettling, and Bovalino manages to maintain the creepy atmosphere throughout. Ultimately, however, I found the romance to be rushed and I went into the book expecting dark academia, which is not what I found (thematically).

Content warnings: Self-harm (not voluntarily inflicted); some graphic depictions of blood and violence; child abuse by a parent; domestic violence; sick parent.

★ ★ ★

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3. Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly deVos

Eat Your Heart Out is a YA satirical horror-comedy set in fat camp that is overrun with zombies. Vivian Ellenshaw is fat, but she knows she’s healthy and she doesn’t want to lose any weight. But she’s forced into a van headed to fat camp anyway, with her ex-best friend, a handsome jock, and the camp owner’s son. When the van arrives at the camp in the midst of a blizzard and Vivian meets the two other people in her ‘pod,’ it becomes obvious that something is very wrong. The group has barely had time to wrap their heads around the situation when the camp is overrun by zombies. What started off as a mission to survive the summer in a place they never wanted to be turns into a mission to make it out before being eaten by monsters.

When I picked up this book, the last thing I expected was to get so attached to all the characters, have so much fun reading it, and to cry in the third act. When I saw that this book had six perspective characters, I was wary because it’s difficult to be invested in so many characters at once. But surprisingly, deVos pulled it off. Embodying the various ‘horror’ movie character archetypes, I grew to love each one of them. I was invested in their stories and was rooting for them to survive this apocalypse. The plot itself was surprisingly high-stakes. It was action-packed with some truly thrilling, suspenseful moments with an intelligently crafted storyline. It had smart, insightful commentary on fatphobia, self-esteem and diet culture. I mean… I just had a blast reading this, and I wish it was more popular! Truly, my only complaint is that the ending wasn’t as impactful as the rest of the book.

Content warnings: body horror, body dysmorphia, fatphobia, violence.

★ ★ ★ ★

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4. Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

Six Crimson Cranes is a YA fantasy following Shiori, a princess of Kiata with a tightly-held secret: she can wield forbidden magic. When her stepmother discovers Shiori’s magic, she banishes the princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori to speak of this to no one. For every word Shiori utters, one of her brothers will die. Without any money, companions or voice, Shiori hunkers down in a small village to get by while she searches for her brothers. Meanwhile, she uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne and must work with the boy she once sought to avoid to save her brothers and find her way home.

Unfortunately, I’m starting to think Elizabeth Lim was a one-hit wonder for me. I adored Spin the Dawn so much but struggled tremendously with its sequel. I had hoped that this new series would be better, but alas. The writing is undoubtedly gorgeous. Lim has a way of crafting her world with richly developed histories, and so often, her stories read like whimsical fairytales. That was true for this book as well, and I enjoyed this atmosphere to it. I also liked Shiori’s relationships with her brothers. However, I found the plot rather juvenile and predictable. I appreciated the effort that had gone into making the main character flawed, but I found her character development to be lacking. I also found the political intrigue shoved into the second half to be out of place, because there had been no foundation laid for it in the initial stages of the book.

★ ★

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5. When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

When No One is Watching is an adult horror-thriller and romance following Sydney, who was born and raised in Brooklyn. Sydney’s neighborhood, and the community within it, is changing with every passing day because of gentrification. As her largely brown and Black community is quickly supplanted by rich, white neighbors, Sydney decides to launch a walking tour, hoping to tell the true history of her neighborhood and the people who have lived there. Here, she finds an unlikely assistant: Theo, who has just moved across the street from Sydney with his girlfriend. Even as Sydney and Theo work with each other, a companionable relationship growing between them, sinister things begin to happen. The more stones Sydney turns, the more secrets and conspiracies she unearths.

You can read my full review here. This book was not what I expected, but in the best way possible. I have not been this enthralled by a thriller in a very long time. Cole weaved scathing social commentary in an otherwise tightly-knit, suspenseful plot. Both main characters were so lovable, and I was invested in them completely. While a lot of regular thriller readers may be turned off by the focus on romance, it was a big plus for me. It provided some lighter moments in an otherwise dark book. I go in a lot more detail in my review, so please check that out. My only real complaint was that the antagonists felt cartoonishly flat, which took me out a little bit. Also, I really want a movie.

Content warnings: Very overt depiction of racism; police brutality; death; violence; emotional domestic abuse.

★ ★ ★ ★ ½

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6. It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi

This is a YA contemporary drama following two characters: Kiran and Deen. The two dated three years before the events of this book, but their relationship didn’t end well. Now, it turns out that Kiran’s older sister is marrying Deen’s older brother. Kiran isn’t too happy about the match, while Deen will do everything in his power to see his brother happy. As Kiran tries to end the wedding at all costs, Deen tries to make it succeed. Cue the family shenanigans, complicated relationships and a mysterious past.

Despite this book being marketed as a desi romcom, that is not what this book was. Even so, I loved it with everything in me. It’s told with such poise and heart, with characters deeply flawed and easy to root for. While this book is squarely about Kiran and Deen’s lives, their dreams, their pasts and their desires for themselves, it imbues its side characters with a lot of personality as well. It has complicated family dynamics: tense relationships with parents, the fierce protectiveness you can feel for your siblings, the unwillingness to let them go for fear of being alone. I also felt so seen on the pages, because it’s an OwnVoices Pakistani book with Pakistani-American characters, and Naz Rishi interweaves the culture throughout the story. You can read my full review here.

Content warnings: Mentions of death of a parent; mentions of substance abuse; mentions of Islamophobic and racial-driven bullying.

★ ★ ★ ★ ½

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7. A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) by George R. R. Martin

No synopsis for this one, half because spoilers and half because – who doesn’t know what this is? I’m re-reading A Song of Ice & Fire with a dear friend, and it’s been so fun not only revisiting my favorite series but also to hear her thoughts while reading it. I think I like this second installment more each time I read it. The first time I read it all the way back in 2014, I remember not liking it much because of its slow pace and emphasis on politics. As I’ve grown older, my tastes have evolved for the better, and I enjoy slow fantasies that let their characters truly simmer in the story before the action ultimately explodes. The intricacies of the politics through Tyrion’s chapter, meshed with the horrors of war that Arya witnesses as she traverses the Riverlands are some of my absolute favorite parts. But Martin does such a fantastic job of introducing new characters, like Davos and Stannis, and settings (such as the snowy terrain beyond the wall and the vibrant cities in Essos), while letting the reader become more familiar with existing characters such as Theon. It’s truly just *chef’s kiss*.

Content warnings: Um, all of them? It’s a harrowing, brutal read, far more violent than the first one.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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8. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

What to say about this book… The Secret History is an adult thriller-drama about six Classics students at a private liberal arts college in the northeast. Richard comes from a humble family in California, and when he arrives at Hampden College and sees the beautiful, alluring students who study Greek under the reclusive Julian Morrow, he’s immediately drawn to them. There’s Henry: large and foreboding, sharply intelligent but always aloof from the real world. There’s Charles and Camilla, the friendly, lively twins who are kind to him. There’s elegant, poised Francis who comes from old money. And finally, there’s Bunny who is loud and boisterous with a big superiority complex. As the students’ obsession with Greek classics spirals out of control, it threatens their bond and their lives.

Might sound odd that a book as dense and dark as this can be my comfort book, but it really is. This was my third or fourth re-read because as soon as the weather started turning, I felt this inescapable pull to read this again. I always tell people that The Secret History is a very simple story: college students go dark because academia and the elitism it breeds has corrupted them. You know the “twist” of the story from the very beginning: five of them kill the sixth. The rest of the novel spends its time unraveling the events that led to this murder, as well as its tense and paranoia-filled aftermath. It’s a whydunit, not a whodunit. Still, I find it incredibly compelling and engaging from the start as you get to know and understand these characters, simultaneously enthralled and repulsed by them. You become invested in these bonds that it affects you when they inevitably start to unravel. And the subtle commentary woven into the story that touches on the elitist structures of academia, how they feed on the good within young people, corrupting them, ruining them.

A lot of people say this book is pretentious. It is. But that’s the point. These are pretentious, horrible characters who position themselves above the rest of the student body because they believe they’re intellectually, morally and aesthetically superior. These characters are not meant to be likable – it’s often unsettling being in Richard’s mind, or listening to their conversations. It is precisely that pretentiousness, that sense of superiority that wrecks them the way it does. Anyway. I could go on and on about this book, but I’ll stop here. Suffice it to say that this is one of my favorite books ever, and I’m glad I return to it often to experience it again.

Content warnings: murder, substance abuse, domestic violence, mention of rape, homophobia, racism, suicide.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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9. Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinsborough

And finally, this is an adult thriller with a supernatural tilt. Told in dual perspective, it follows Louise – a single mother in London who meets David at a bar, the two hit it off only for Louise to discover that not only is David her new boss, but he’s also married. The second perspective character is Adele, who is David’s wife. When Louise bumps into Adele at the market, the two form an unlikely friendship. Louise is adamant not to go any further with David, and she’s oddly drawn to Adele who seems so kind, elegant and fragile. As their relationship progresses and she fails to stomp out her feelings for David, Louise begins to wonder whether he is the man she thought he was.

I went into this expecting a run-of-the-mill thriller, so when I realized it has a supernatural tilt to it, I was caught off-guard. I think it’s important to be transparent so readers know what to expect going into it, otherwise it can take you out of the story. Even so, I thought this was rather compelling! I’m usually able to guess the “twist” or at least the gist of it, if not the specifics, but Pinsborough put a twist to the twist! I could not have seen it coming from a mile away. For many, the ending could ruin the story but I enjoyed how out-there it was and it redeemed the story for me, which was otherwise starting to drag. My main complaint was how much I disliked the protagonist. I understand having flawed, or downright unlikable, main characters and I usually enjoy such stories just fine, but Louise was overwhelmingly stupid. I could not, for the life of me, understand why she was so hellbent on meddling in these people’s lives when everyone around her, including the people themselves, was telling her to mind her own business.

Content warnings: death, implications of domestic violence and emotional abuse, substance use, fat shaming, adultery.

★ ★ ★ ½

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October TBR

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I try not to put a lot of books on my TBR, because I’m largely a mood reader so my plans change a lot. But here are the books I plan on getting to in October:

1. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin: I’m currently buddy reading this with a friend. It’s highly unlikely that I’ll finish this before October ends, but I’m hoping to read a decent chunk.
2. Penance by Kanae Minato: This is a short thriller about four women haunted by a childhood trauma. I don’t know much else about this, but that’s how I like going into thrillers, so I’m excited!
3. Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson: Margaret Rogerson is one of my favorite YA authors, so I’m looking forward to what she does in this book. I’ve heard incredible things.
4. Her Soul for Revenge by Harley LaRoux: This is the second book in the Her Soul to Take series, which is a dark smutty romance trilogy with demon love interests. I loooooooved the first book and had the time of my life reading it, so this will definitely be what I pick up when it’s released right before Halloween!
5. A Nearly Normal Family by M. T. Edvardsson: Again, I like going into thrillers knowing nothing about them. I’ve owned this book for a couple of years now, and it’s the perfect time to read it.

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That’s all for today! Let me know what your favorite book of September was, and also what’s your most anticipated read of October. It could be a new release, or a book you’ve just been meaning to get to for a while. Until next time. 🙂