October TBR
Happy Autumn!! I realize my TBR for this month is a little late, but here it is.
I am so excited about this month of reading!! So many new books that I can’t wait to get in the mail or pick up from the bookstore! I realize this list is long and may seem a bit ambitious, but I am way behind my book reading goal for the year, so this is my attempt in trying to catch up. Anything I don’t finish this month, I plan on tackling next month. By the way, all the synopses are from Goodreads
So let’s get started:
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
**Synopsis: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
**Release Date: September 29, 2015
**Why I want to read it: One word. Grisha. Ok. So I guess more than one word. I love Leigh Bardugo, and if you haven’t read the Grisha series yet, do it now! It is so good. I have been excited for this book for so long, and I can’t wait to dive into it.
- Ice Like Fire by Sarah Raasch
**Synopsis: It’s been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell.
Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?
Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?
As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.
**Release Date: October 13, 2015
**Why I want to read it: Sara Raasch write some great characters in this series starting with Snow Like Ashes. I’m curious to see where they go in this book. Meira is a strong female character, and, as many of you know, I love me a good strong female character. Also, I can’t wait to see what happens with the just developing love triangle.
- Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
**Synopsis: Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.
Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.
Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.
**Release Date: October 6, 2015
**Why I want to read it: The reason for this one is simple. I love Rainbow Rowell. I love everything I’ve read that she’s written. I love her as a person. I got to listen to her speak at YALLFest a year ago, and she was great. Lastly, how could I not want to read this book after reading the synopsis???
- Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
**Synopsis: My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.
**Release Date: August 27, 2015
**Why I want to read it: I actually can’t believe that I haven’t picked this up already. It sounds amazing, and I’m always up for a good love story. I’ve also heard so many good things about it since it came out that I decided that I just had to pick it up.
- Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith
**Synopsis: On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they’ll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?
This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.
**Release Date: September 1, 2015
**Why I want to read it: I have heard nothing but good things about The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight as well as this book, but I really liked the sound of the story for Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between.
- Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
**Synopsis: Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.
Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.
With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.
**Release Date: September 15, 2015
**Why I want to read it: A story all about accepting who you are in your own skin, specifically when it comes to having relationships with others, I’m in! I’m all about books that can teach us, no matter what the age, to be accepting of who we are and the way we look.
- Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett
**Synopsis: Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn in this one-of-a-kind romantic horror.
“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”
These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.
Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.
As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.
**Release Date: September 22, 2015
**Why I want to read it: I wanted a spooky read for the month of October, and this one sounded great! I mean, how could it not be when the synopsis tells you it’s a cross between Romeo and Juliet and Children of the Corn?
- The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
**Synopsis: A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.
On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.
Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift.
**Release Date: September 22, 2015
**Why I want to read it: I have so many Neil Gaiman books on my TBR list and I just haven’t gotten around to reading them. So I thought to myself, why not start with one that ties together two of my favorite fairy tales?
I can’t wait to deliver book reviews on all of these to you guys. What are you all reading this month? Do you have any recommendations for me for November?
Happy Reading!!
What did you recently finish reading?
ron – Unfortunately, I can’t say that I never trusted Theron because I really did like him as a character in Snow Like Ashes, but in Ice Like Fire, I didn’t trust him from the very beginning. I don’t know what it was about him. I wanted to trust, but something was always off.
princess of Summer, and I love her. She is strong, she stands up for what she believes in, and defies even the most powerful people when they are doing things that she believes are wrong. I feel a kinship to her, and yet she has qualities that I wish I had myself. Maybe that’s part of the reason I like her so much.
What do you think you’ll read next? 
Blood and Salt
On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan have only one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night leads them to family and friends, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?
Unironically Excited 