Book Recap: October 2022

I spent the entire month of October traveling, so naturally, I read more books during my free time [because I’m anti-social]. But for the sake of time and energy, I’ve only included my favorite 5-star reviews from the month with a list of the remaining titles below.

The Broken Kingdoms (Books # 4 + 5) by LJ Andrews

I didn’t think I would like the second half of this series as much because I had gotten to love the characters in the first 3 books so much. But let me tell you, I quickly fell for Kase and Malin just as much. Instead of an enemies to lovers trope, we get a friends to strangers to lovers arc which I loved. The whole “second chance” romance with a MMC who was basically in love with her the whole time is just *chef’s kiss*.

I loved the found family these books create and of course the spice LJ Andrews writes is always great. This was definitely more of a slow burn than the first trilogy but let me tell you: the wait was worth it.

Bittersweet by Morgan Elizabeth

Enemies to Lovers. Grumpy x Sunshine. Put them together in a cute little palette cleanser romance novel and the result is sheer perfection. I saw this in a recommendation video on Tik Tok and however it was described, sold me. It was a quick read, but I enjoyed it from start to end. Honestly, it reminded me of some of the Bellarke fanfiction stories I’ve read about them being neighbors who get off on the wrong foot. I mean this book had me giggling at parts. And we get a “Who did this to you?” moment, which is always a crowd pleaser.

I realized after the fact that this was Book 3 in a series, so I went back and read The Ex Files (Book 1) and Walking Red Flag (Book 2) as well. As much as I loved the storyline and spice in Book 2, I’m not a huge fan of the virginity trope. I just tend to like female characters who are super secure in their sexuality and although we do get some of that confidence from Gabi, sometimes it felt like her “inexperience” came through in a weird power dynamic. And Book 1 fell a little flat for me, personally. Luke Dawson is probably the perfect specimen of a man on paper, but he was just a little too nice for me. [Just writing that out makes me realize why I’ve been single for the past few years lol]. He just came on really strong with his feelings and that just gives me clingy Pisces vibes from my personal experience, so I wasn’t as into him as a love interest as I was with Ben or Vic.

Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey

Miss 👏🏻 Tessa 👏🏻 Bailey 👏🏻 I mean let’s be honest, she disappoints with her small town romance books that have the cutesy cartoon covers, so I finally read some of her earlier work [I read It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line & Sinker earlier this year]. First, I got Fix it Up after waiting months on hold for the library loan, but once I finished, I immediately went to Amazon for Tools of Engagement and ended up buying it for $12.99. Like what?! I never spend more than $4.99 max on Kindle books, but she hooked me with the first few chapters preview at the end of the book! There was something about Bethany and Wes that made me need to know more immediately. Clearly, I’m a huge sucker for enemies to lovers vibes no matter the genre. I just loved this story. As the older sister in my family, I tend to relate to any of the characters I read who have similar oldest sister personality traits. The need to be perfect and present yourself as though you have it all together even if you really don’t completely resonated with me.

Vipers & Virtuosos (Book # 2) by Sav R. Miller

Moments of this book actually reminded me of Haunting Adeline and as much as that could scare some people off, I loved that dark romance so I ate it up. Sometimes it makes me wonder like “do I want a stalker?” I mean, obviously no, but why do these authors make it so appealing?? I really liked the first book which was based on Hades and Persephone (my favorite Greek mythology story and romance), so I had high expectations that the other pairings could live up to the OG. And I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this one which was loosely based on Orpheus and Eurydice. Lots of spice and just a dose of unhinged behavior from the MMC. Gotta love it.

The Bridge Kingdom (Books # 1, 2, 3) by Danielle Jensen

I love this series so far. This book has been on my TBR for a while and I finally got around to reading the first 3 books literally all within 2 days. Enemies to lovers can really never go wrong in my book but the best books with this trope have high stakes. I love Lara's characterization of being a secret assassin sent to take down a rival kingdom. There's something about a FMC who is more deadly than her love interest that hits the spot, especially when women are generally seen as less than or weaker than men in their society (see also Celaena from Throne of Glass, Sera from A Shadow in The Ember).

We get a great slow burn romance arc due to Lara's conflicting emotions towards King Aren, who is supposed to be her enemy but isn't as bad as she was told. I find it interesting to read about the duality of love versus duty and how intricately the two are often at odds in this story. It was a great start to the series!

Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

I had obviously heard all the hype about this book from TikTok, especially after the release of the sequel The Ballad of Never After. And due to my chronic FOMO when it comes to popular books, I decided to finally add it to my TBR. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into the book other than it was YA fantasy. And it was definitely young adult—so a major shift from my NA fantasy romances—but it was still a great book. It has more of a fairytale vibe than other fantasies I’ve read, so in a way it gave me this feeling of childhood nostalgia while reading. I won’t admit, it did take me some time to truly get into this, but that was mostly due to the change of pace from the new adult books I typically read. But I will never hate on YA!! Some of the best books I have read have been YA so don’t write it off as books for “young girls.”

A Forbidden Fate by Kaven Hiring

I love Kaven on Tik Tok and am obsessed with her ACOTAR videos, so I knew when she announced she was releasing a book I had to read it. (Sidenote: though her himbo characterization of Cassian is hilarious, I hate how everyone thinks that’s how he is when it’s proven in canon he’s literally not stupid and in fact an entire war general but I digress...). I really enjoyed reading this book and the world that was created. Also the entire premise being that the two main characters literally cannot touch or the world will like end (due to a curse when they were younger) is chef’s kiss. The tension and mutual pining is incredible. And I’m a sucker for a slow burn so love that this is part of a series that will draw out the moment they can finally get together (I hope) even more.

Ruthless Villains (Book # 1) by Marion Blackwood

Okay, now this is a true enemies to lovers book. The main characters have quite literally been trying to kill each other for years and reluctantly have to start working together to defeat a common enemy. I mean I love a trope where the guy has been secretly in love with her or obsessed but covers it up with by being her rival, but that’s not true enemies to lovers. When I read enemies to lovers I want to feel the utter disdain they have for each other. They need to want to kill each other. And then when they have to work together (yassss forced proximity!), slowly they start to understand each other better and *feelings* develop. There’s literally a part in this series where the MMC sees a past scar on the FMC and goes “Who did this to you?” and she’s like “You did.” LOL. I binged this book so fast and immediately read the next books in the series when they came out. It’s a lighthearted and fun read so don’t go in expecting some serious plot and romance. I still loved it though.