November Wrap-up
It’s that time of the month. Time for me to look back on everything I read and realize that there is not enough time in this life for me to be able to read everything I want to read.
Also, time to recognize I have commitment issues. I commit to reading books, and then I just… Don’t. My November TBR is here, if you’d like to check it out, but I think you’ll find it does not match what I read. At all.
I would also like to recognize that I started November off heartbroken and devastated. A lot of my time this month has been dedicated to healing, growing, and fighting the anxiety that comes with change. It takes a lot of energy. And I deserve that energy. But that also means that I don’t have as much energy left over to force myself to read things I’m not feeling. I read what I wanted, whenever I wanted, and I ended up reading six books this month. I feel accomplished.
The link above the images will be to Goodreads so you can add books to your to-be-read shelf. The links included at the bottom of this page will be to the reviews I’ve written. I haven’t written all the reviews for these books yet, but I will update this post as I write them.
I know I jumped on the Booktok bandwagon with this one. I avoided it for a few weeks because I was terrified it would be overhyped, but it wasn’t.
Violet Sorrengail is supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant and live a quiet life among books. When her mother, the general, forces her to become a Rider, to go to War College and attempt to bond with a dragon, it throws her entire life off course. Violet doesn’t even know if she’ll make it to the next day as people try to kill her. This include Xaden Riorson, a ruthless wingleader with a dark and mysterious past.
To be honest, it was the promise of dragons that made me read this. I adore dragons.
So so good.
4/5.
I feel like this one is a little obvious. I didn’t feel like I had to read the sequel, but the ending of Fourth Wing was enough to make me buy it on my Kindle the day it came out.
Iron Flame takes every concept in Fourth Wing and expands upon it. The worldbuilding grows, the dynamic between characters grows, new characters are introduced, and Violet gets more annoying. I won’t get into too much here, so I don’t spoil Fourth Wing, but I did enjoy it. I’m learning that I really like dragons. Tairn is my absolute favorite character ever.
5/5.
The gods are at war but Iris Winnow is more concerned about her alcoholic mother, her brother who has disappeared on the front lines, and Roman Kitt, the rival journalist she’s competing with for a position as a columnist at the Oath Gazette. She slips the letters she writes to her brother into her wardrobe where they disappear. After months of getting no response, she gets one, only to find out it’s not her brother writing her back.
This book is loved and incredibly popular. After the reading slump that followed Iron Flame, I really needed a fantasy that was cute and romantic. This covered those bases, but it didn’t check the right boxes for me.
While the writing is gorgeous, I found the relationship between Roman and Iris to be too fast-paced. I was promised enemies to lovers and I feel like I was lied to.
The letters are cute though.
3/5.
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
Inez belongs to the high society of Buenos Aires during the nineteenth century. She wants nothing more than to go to Egypt, be with her parents, and learn more about the country they loved so much they chose it over being with her. When she receives a letter telling her that her parents are dead, she packs her things and sails to Cairo with nothing more than her inheritance, a golden ring her father gave her, and her sketchpad. Accompanied by an annoying companion named Whit and trying to pry the truth of it all from her uncle, she finds herself in the middle of something much larger than she thought.
This is a historical fantasy. I almost gave it four stars. It fell short because I found Inez to be frustrating. The plot meandered and it felt disjointed at times. I love the concept. I can tell the author adores Egypt. The setting was vivid and beautiful, but that doesn’t make up for a lackluster plot with very little action. The action that was there felt out of place. The magic system was weak.
I also very strongly dislike Whit. I wanted to like him. But he’s up to something, and I don’t trust him, and I’m terrified.
3/5.
Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Mallory has sworn to never play chess again after it nearly destroys her family. However, years later, her friend convinces her to play a tournament. She ends up playing against Nolan, a top-ranked player known as the “Kingkiller” and wins. This opens the door to money-making opportunities that could help her take care of her mom and two sisters, but taking the chance means facing unresolved family trauma. It also means crossing paths with Nolan again and again and again.
This is a fluffy romance. I don’t read books like this often, but when I do, they make me cover my face and giggle into my pillow. Outside of the precious romance, this book was laugh-out-loud funny. I have lines highlighted that still make me laugh when I go back and read them.
However, Mallory was infuriating. She was stubborn. It kept the plot from moving along. I know that was the point, but I find stories in which the main character is the obstacle keeping them from their goal to be annoying. I dislike them.
But it was a cute story.
3/5
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is about two starkly different individuals coming together to save both of their worlds. They wake up in each other’s bodies and have to navigate foreign cultures. While working through trauma and learning to confront failure, they learn more about each other and their place in the world.
In my November TBR post, I stated that November would be a month of rereads for me. This was my reread. I was staring at my hardcover copy, not the leather-bound copy, and decided I wanted to annotate it.
I cried. This story is a masterpiece. It holds such a special place in my heart. It’s about two artists learning to come together so they can save each other.
It’s beautiful. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it.
5/5.
— — — — —
Out of all of the books on my November TBR, I read one of them.
I’m proud of myself for that.
But I’m more proud of myself for learning to listen to what I want to do, rather than what I feel like I have to do. As a perfectionist who struggles with severe anxiety, this is a big accomplishment.
Here are the links to my reviews:
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez
My December TBR will go up next Tuesday. I’m started a job this week, a big girl job in behavior analysis, and I’m not quitting my job as a barista, so my December TBR will probably be shorter. I’m not rushing to squeeze anything in before the end of the year. I’m satisfied with where I’m at. There’s no need to stress myself out.
Did you have a good reading month in November? Have you read anything off this list? What was your favorite?