Shomeret's Outsized Number of October Reads 4/4

[Shomeret]

I didn't have time to work on this post yesterday. I got into streaming the news, and then read a large portion of a paranormal pick me up to distract me from the news.

So here's the last few October reads.

13)Freya: an Amish Christmas Short Story by Ashley Emma Source: probably free from author. It's one of the freebies she gives to people who subscribe to her newsletter. Started: 10/24 Finished: 10/24

Why Read: I like Amish fiction. I haven't read anything by this author yet. This will be a first.

Comments: While fleeing from a man who was abusing her, Freya accidentally runs over an Amish man and kills him. This deals with her angst over killing him. I found it moving. I gave it a B+

14)Freya: The Confession: An Amish Short Story of Hope and Forgiveness by Ashley Emma Source: Probably

Why Read: I read Freya and found it moving. I was glad this sequel was also on my Kindle because it's no longer available.

Comments: Freya faces the family of the man she killed. I thought she was courageous.

15) The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar (LGBT historical fiction) Source: Net Galley Started: 9/24 Finished: 10/27

Why Read: I am interested in Syrian Americans, and this deals with their community from the perspective of a trans male protagonist written by a Syrian American trans male author. It sounded unusual. I like unusual.

Comments: I liked the Syrian culture aspect and found the trans protagonist sympathetic. I gave it a B+. See my complete review at https://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/2...

16)Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (LGBT YA fantasy) 344 pages. Source: Library Started: 10/27 Finished: 10/30

Why Read: This is the second book in a row in my reads that contains a trans protagonist. I feel that I need to make up for never having read any books with trans protagonists before this. I'm also interested in cemeteries and ghosts.

Comments: The protagonist is also a Latino. So it's steeped in Latinx culture. Good stuff! This is also the book that is related to end of October themes. Since it's a Latinx book, the characters are celebrating Dia de los Muertos. It was a very emotionally intense resolution. I loved it. I gave it an A.

17) Clever Girl: A Nellie Bly Novella by David Blixt (historical novella) Source: It's been on my Kindle so long that I'm not sure. Started: 10/30 Finished: 10/31

Why Read: I have enough time for a novella at the end of this month, and I love Nellie Bly, the crusading woman journalist of the late 19th century.

Comments: I loved finding out that this story is based on a real investigation that she pursued about corruption in high places. I was also delighted to find out about a Nellie Bly bio that Blixt recommends highly even though you should never drop it on your foot, but you might use it as a doorstop. It's over 600 pages. I'll have to give serious consideration to when I'll have time to read it. Almost half of the content of this e-book is an appendix of actual newspaper articles dealing with the events of this story. So I'm calling it a docu-novella because it's heavily documented. I gave it a B+

This was some month of reading. I can't imagine reading this number of books on a regular basis.