October Reading Wrap Up
October was a month of reading (new) books by authors I know I love – Phoenicia Rogerson, Calum McSwiggan, Ali Hazelwood – and listening to new music by artists I know I love too. Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl has been in my head on repeat since its release!
I feel I did a lot in October too. I had articles published for both Coming Out Day (11th October) and Ace Week (19th-25th October). It’s always interesting writing about asexual perspectives given mine is changing all the time. Recently, for example, I made a new ace friend. It can be terrifying making the leap from acquaintances to friends, but practice really does make better, and it’s that friendship – and our subsequent conversations - that inspired these articles.
If you haven’t seen already, there’s a new bus in London – The Bakerloop! This route, also known as the BL1, started its service in late September. It travels along the proposed Baker Line extension, stopping only at the proposed tube stations. Being an express bus, it joins the Superloop network, sharing a livery design with these buses, except the Bakerloop is Baker Line brown instead of red.
I have the best partner ever because she agreed to join me on a bus adventure to ride the Bakerloop – honestly one of my favourite dates! We got lost around Waterloo Station (oops) before finding the bus stop and catching the new bus. The outside is striking! And the seat maquettes match the ones on the Baker Line which is good fun. We rode the BL1 to Burgess Park so we could stroll around the lake before making our way back into central, having dinner together, and travelling home. It was wonderful!
In fact, this whole month has been pretty wonderful; there is so much more I could talk about, but I’ll save that for other blog posts 😊
Aphrodite by Phoenicia Rogerson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a crazy generational family drama... About the Greek gods.
Rogerson is so wonderfully enthusiastic about Greek mythology and it shows in this, their second novel. This is an impressive pulling together of many myths centring Aphrodite and is told in an accessible way. I personally don't know much about these myths except for the very basics, but this book made it easy to dive in. It's also told from multiple POVs - something I enjoy - with distinct (and highly entertaining) character voices. I highly recommend!
It was very interesting reading this one after The End Crowns All (Bea Fitzgerald) given Aphrodite's critical involvement in the Trojan War, meaning the stories in these books overlap. Even at book club, people were talking about how it would be fun to read the bickering between the gods that was only hinted in TECA, a story that centres the humans. But Aphrodite does just that, so reading them basically back-to-back was excellent fun.
Why not 5 stars? It's hard to put my finger on specifics. I loved TECA, a mythological telling that is just different from this one. It's a personal preference, but reading these two books so close together, I don't feel I can quite give Aphrodite that same top rating. It is a truly fabulous read nonetheless! (And so funny!)
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Did not finish)
I was really into this YA thriller and made it to page 314 before jumping to the epilogue. I think it was well written - it kept me in suspense - but the kids go through some terrifying stuff and it gave me bad dreams. I just needed to know they'd be okay and move on.
Devon and Chiamaka are the only two Black students at Niveus Private Academy. They find themselves the targets of horrendous racist (and homophobic) bullying and cyber attacks, and join forces to find out who this masked figure, Aces, is (because their headteacher too quickly put the blame on them and was no help at all).
I think knowing I was feeling just a fraction of what people experiencing anything like this in real life do made it a particularly hard read. I'm lucky I could walk away, but also, I'm glad I picked this book up.
The Lady of the Lake by Jean Menzies ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It seems I'm still in a mythological retelling mood! This is an enjoyable retelling of the Aurthurian legend from the POV of Viviane - the lady of the lake - with a sapphic romance plot.
The writing style was very to the point without much description or flowery language. I didn't mind that, it kept the story moving.
There was also this one scene when Viviane and Morgan are discussing a man unwantedly coming onto one of them, and the term 'rape' is used. I think the use of a modern term was a little jarring and was unnecessary in an otherwise very well written scene.
I loved how the author's note started with "dear fans of BBC's Merlin"! This book was written for people like me and I fully appreciated that.
Masquerade by Calum McSwiggan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had an absolute blast reading this book! I sped through it and there were moments I was actually laughing out loud.
This book follows Zach as he gets stuck in a time loop and keeps repeating the day of prom. There's romance and friendship and personal development. The story also explores forms of prejudice, including transphobia and classism.
The two romance books I've read by McSwiggan both have a time slip twist, and I think it's done really well in both stories. In Masquerade, every little detail in the first loop becomes significant later on - it felt like a fun memory game on top of the story's mystery to solve.
It's a cheesy, quick read about a chaotic prom night! What's not to love
Wake Up Nat & Darcy by Kate Cochrane ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sporty sapphic 2POV romances are good fun. This one was a little spicy for my taste, so I can't say I enjoyed all of it, but it was entertaining.
Natalie has just been dropped from the women's US hockey team and is looking for a job. She gets the opportunity to do some Olympic coverage with a breakfast show - Wake Up, USA - only to discover that her co-host is former teammate-turned-rival (and ex-girlfriend) Darcy LaCroix. Their appearances on the show together cause Internet rumours about their chemistry, and Nat and Darcy come to realise their audience may be right.
Normally, I find second chance romances irritating and find myself thinking they shouldn't be together. But this one explored their communication errors and how they should have approached things, which made for a more well-rounded read.
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I picked this up from a little library box near me. I don't often walk past that way, but I knew at a glimpse what this book was and so I used the opportunity to swap it with one of my own and get reading.
Ali Hazelwood is known for her romances set in STEM careers. Check & Mate is set in the world of chess, a particular interest of the author's. This is my second Ali Hazelwood book, but the first YA of hers I've read.
Mallory used to play chess, but after the game split apart her family, she swore to give it all up. Ever since her father left, she's had to work to help support her mother and sisters. But after being fired from her job and being offered a high-paying role in professional chess, Mallory steps back into that world for the sake of her family. It's in the world of professional chess where she comes against Nolan, the world's number 1 player, and beats him. In their meetings that follow, the two of them make an impression on each other, and a love of chess (and something else) is rekindled in Mallory.
I really enjoyed the story, although I would have liked the context surrounding why Mallory originally gave up chess earlier on. Without that I couldn't fully get behind her initial hatred towards the sport until it was later explained.
This copy is an ARC and I wonder if the final version is any different. Maybe I'll read a copy of that version one day; I can see myself returning to this book in the future.
Funny Story by Emily Henry (reread)
I was in need of a comfort book and this is the one I reached for.
One of my favourite books of late, Funny Story is a romance that still centres friendship and the importance of having a network rather than a person.
Our MC also works in a library, and I adore the library scenes and Read-a-thon! Essentially, I loved this book just as much on the second read!
"You're probably the only person I've ever met who's genuinely curious about everyone he meets. And makes them feel interesting and welcome and like - like they should be confident in what they do. You make them feel growing corn or making cherry salsa or recommending books is a superpower."