Let's Discuss What You're Reading (November)

[Summer]

Yay, you've made it to the discussion feed! We can't wait to talk books together with you all so let us know down below all the juicy details!

What are you reading?
What challenge does it complete?
What did you think of the book?
Would you recommend it?
What will you be picking up next?
Any book recommendations for the challenges that you want to share?

[coffee]

I'll be looking through the challenge prompts this weekend so not sure if any of my current reads complete any. I'm reading The Splendid and the Vile by Larson, I'm like on page 180? And A Song of Wraith and Ruin, the audiobook since it's been on my tbr for some time. And today I started Why We Can't Sleep...which isn't what I expected. I was really sleepy and figured I'd read about sleep but it's more about gen X women and the stress that "keeps them from sleeping". All books are decent (sleep) to good (w&r) so far. I'm not done yet so not sure if I'd recommend the nonfiction ones but w&r is a good fantasy read so far

[Alanna]

I just finished Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga for the Kanata prompt in the November Travel-a-Thon. It's a non-fiction book about the suspicious deaths of seven Indigenous students in Thunder Bay, Ontario that sparked an inquest in 2016. It starts with the story of Chanie Wenjack in 1966 and includes a lot about residential schools and the suicide crisis in northern First Nations communities. I knew about Chanie Wenjack but everything else was new to me, even though I was in Thunder Bay around the time the inquest was happening. It was a hard read but I'm glad I did.

[Summer]

Alanna wrote: "I just finished Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga for the Kanata prompt in the November Travel-a-Thon. It's a non-fiction book..."

I'm so glad that one of the prompts led you to picking up such an important book! I have a large update that I'll need some time to type out which won't likely be until Monday ☺️

[Summer]

I haven't read as much as I would have liked this month but I did read so I'll talk about what I've finished!

I started off the month finishing the novella Beautiful Bombshell on audio, which is an installment in the Beautiful Bastard series I've been working my way through. I gave it 3 stars I believe.

Next I finished The Only Good Indians which I had started in October. The writing was pretty good but the story didn't wow me. I also gave 3 stars to this book.

Then I finished The Lady Rogue, which is the book I chose for the Romania prompt. I really liked this! It was fun, fast-paced, and entertaining. I totally recommend this. I gave this one 4 stars.

Next came Tilly and the Bookwanderers, which is an adorable little middle grade book about a little girl who lives with her grandparents in their bookshop. It was set during the fall in England and it was perfectly cozy. I very much enjoyed my time reading this and immediately ordered book 2 which I'm still waiting for. I gave this one 4 stars.

Then I finished The 5th Gender, which is a sci-fi written by one of my favorite authors, Gail Carriger. I read this for the alien prompt and I had a really good time with it. It's unlike anything I have ever read. It's set on a space station where humans and aliens live harmoniously.. and it follows an alien and human romance. I would consider this to be queer but because the genders in this book are so hard to wrap my mind around I fear stating that explicitly and chance hurting someones feelings. So, take that as you will. I gave this one 4 stars as well.

After that I finished an ebook I was reading on Kindle Unlimited called Sin & Chocolate. I did end up liking it in the end but it was a bit too long in my opinion. This book follows Demi-gods and magic users in a world similar to ours. I liked it enough that I will be continuing on to the sequel eventually. I gave this 3 stars.

Then I finished another audiobook, Beautiful Player, which was the next installment in the Beautiful Bastard series. While I really like these books I found the miscommunication trope in this one to grate on my nerves and therefore only gave it 3 stars. I'm definitely continuing with the series though.

Next I finished A Deal with the Elf King, which is anew fantasy published by Elise Kova. I really enjoyed this and cannot wait for the next installment that won't be out until late next year. Luckily these are standalone's set in the same world so I won't bet required to reread the first book in order to enjoy the second one. I gave this 4 stars.

And last (bust also least) I finished Seven Days of Us which I read for the Canadian pride prompt to read a book with red and white on the cover. This was my least favorite book of the month. I still gave it 3 stars because it was well written and, for the most part, entertaining, but it was way too long and the characters were shit.

I'm currently listening to Beautiful Beginning on audio, which I'm enjoying and will finish tomorrow most likely. I'm also reading Elatsoe for the Native American prompt. I have an ARC of Pretending that I need to finish and review by December first for the blog tour. Wish me luck on that one!

I'm still holding out for a 5 star book this month but it's not looking good so far... what have y'all been reading?? anything good?