October was a strange month of reading for me. I only got through eight books, and three of them were audio books. I read a couple of five star books, but felt like I really struggled to concentrate while reading. I also really struggled with the motivation to read and felt like I was forcing myself to pick up a book or finish some of the books. 

Maybe that's a sign that I was picking books I wasn't that into, but it also felt a bit like back in the beginning of the pandemic when I just really struggled to read because I was stressed out all the time. 

I highly recommend the two five star books, and honestly the others weren't bad, I just wasn't in the right mind space to read them this month. 

Five Stars

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was such a pleasure to read. I've really become a fan of Elizabeth Acevedo this year. This is the story of two girls, one who lives in the Dominican Republic and one who lives in New York, that are sisters but don't know it. When their father's plane crashes they slowly start to uncover family secrets and learn about each other. This book is written in verse, which makes it a fast, yet deeply impactful read.

The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was un-put-downable. I just wanted to keep reading and find out who the killer was. This book as dark and at times a bit gruesome, but it was such a fast and gripping read. Definitely the best thriller/mystery/suspense I've read in a while.

Four Stars

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish I could give things half stars because this book was a 3.5 for me. I listened to it as an audio book, and I found it a little hard to follow in the beginning and I struggled to keep track of the many characters you're introduced to very early on. Soon enough though, the book honed in on the main characters and the plot became pretty engaging as you follow Claire's story trying to uncover what happened when her sister went missing on the island of Saint X.

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book kept me company on my last long runs of marathon training. It was a twisty thriller that jumped back and forth in time to uncover the killer of a young girl whose death had originally been ruled a suicide.

Fractured by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listened to this book while running my virtual marathon. Usually audiobooks really pull me in my running, but that run was so crappy, I tuned in and out with this book a lot. The story was good, and it was suspenseful, and when I wrapped up the last little bit while not running, I was really curious to see how it wrapped up!

Three Stars

Happy & You Know It by Laura Hankin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was definitely a fun and fast page-turner that explores the lives of one play group in New York. It meets just about every stereotype you can imagine, and the author exploits them to the fullest. While it was a fun read, I found some parts of the book just a bit too much of an exaggeration. Still a fun read -- just be willing to suspend some of your logic!

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was really interested in reading this book after watching the HBO series on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. This book was full of excellent reporting, but at times, I thought it got unnecessarily technical.

Bunny by Mona Awad
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book started weird and just got weirded as it went, but it was also kind of fascinating and I didn’t want to put it down.

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