This wasn’t a great month for me in terms of pure numbers, I had two vacations and I was sick in October, so I found it harder to focus this month. I did read some absolute cracking books though. Quality over quantity and all that! 😀

Some updates on my remaining challenges, I’ve read and posted the first three prompts for Amber Heights in the Romanceopoly 2025 Challenge.

The Goodreads Fall Challenge, 2025’s final achievement season, has begun and runs from September 15 – December 31, 2025. This challenge contains twelve prompts in total, the first three being the usual Page Turner (2 books in challenge timeframe), Speed Read (3 books in challenge timeframe), and Book Boss (5 books in challenge timeframe). The remaining prompts are:

• Community Picks: completed by reading The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
• Hispanic Heritage: completed by reading The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
• Spine Tinglers: completed by reading The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
• Heart-Warmers: completed by reading One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston.
• Fiction Faves: I haven’t picked a book for this one yet.
• Memorable Memoirs: I have this prompt narrowed down to three books.
• Native Voices: this will likely be Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley.
• Bite-Size Books: I haven’t picked a book for this one yet.
• Mystery: the books for this prompt will be released on the 11th November.

I finished book ten in my own Non-fiction reading 2025 challenge by the skin of my teeth. Being sick really delayed my finishing In Cold Blood, I just couldn’t face it when I felt so horrible, but it was a great read and I can’t believe I’ve finally read it.

I feel like I’m not utilising Storygraph correctly, the pages read feature in particular, I’m thinking of paying for the subscription in 2026 so I might start looking into using it correctly so that all my monthly wrap-up graphics are more accurate.

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood – 3.75⭐

So I read this after I read Problematic Summer Romance. I was unsure if I was going to enjoy Eli and Rue, they didn’t really grab my attention in Problematic Summer Romance, but I mean it wasn’t their book so I guess they shouldn’t have. The characters in that book did make me curious enough to read this though, and I’m glad I did. I now have a much better understanding of all those involved in Harkness, and obviously a better understanding of Eli and Rue’s love story.

I loved Rue from the start. I like that she is unapologetically herself and I loved that Eli loved that about her.

I got a little bored of the ‘conflict’ between them though. I don’t know if it’s because it went on so long or because I found Florence to be so obviously the villain that I just couldn’t reconcile someone like Rue being friends with her, or not seeing through her bullshit overall.

This was much more spicy than Problematic Summer Romance, and I didn’t hate it. Eli had moves. I’m now very fond of Eli! 😀

All in all it was a fun read though, and I really need to read a few more Ali Hazelwood! 

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas – 3⭐

This was very atmospheric and wonderfully written. The setting, and Néstor carried a lot of the book though.

Unfortunately, I just did not like Nena, I really wanted to, and I kept reminding myself that these were different times and the patriarchy had a boot on her neck, but it took far too long for her to grow a spine. She does redeem herself at the end, and it was worth hanging on to witness that, but mostly she behaved like a spoiled little rich girl. As soon as she discovered why Néstor left she needed to let her grudge go, instead she started to behave even more atrociously toward him. It made me livid!

I would have also loved some further exploration of how the vampires came to be and how the Yanquis came to use them.

An entertaining read overall though, and I want to read The Hacienda soon.

Also, if like me your Spanish is subpar, I recommend reading this on a Kindle (or any e-reader with a dictionary) it made reading and understanding this much more fluid. I also started reading this while in Mallorca and it made me feel a little bit more immersed in the language, even though I know it didn’t improve any of my pronunciation! 😀 

Unnatural (Enlightenment #4) by Joanna Chambers – 4⭐

I could have sworn I read this but it wasn’t tracked here, there is no review, and I’ve no recollection of the story so I obviously did not. I just don’t know how that happened when the first three books in the Enlightenment series are among my favourite books! 

This was cute, lots of yearning which I enjoyed! 

We first meet Iain back in Beguiled when he visits Scotland with the King, he has a very unserious way about him then and you wouldn’t think that his quick wit is covering both grief and a whole lot of yearning for a boyhood friend. 

James is a little naive but he is also so adorably earnest, it’s easy to see why Iain can’t contain his feelings for him, he is just so lovable. He has real Golden Retriever energy, and images of him marching across fields in search of butterflies and bees makes that Golden Retriever energy even more prominent in my head.  

The only real conflict here is Iain’s desire to try and make his father (who is a massive asshole BTW) proud of him. It was very sad to see him sabotage his happiness trying to achieve something that was never going to happen, unfortunately he had to come to that conclusion himself, and by coming to it himself he hurt James in the process. Luckily, as I mentioned, James is a Golden Retriever so it all worked out in the end. I would have enjoyed some more of them both together, it all ended rather abruptly, but maybe we get to see them both in Restored, which I’ve also somehow overlooked

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole – 4.75⭐

This was a wild ride!! 

So, I read a few reviews for this book, on different platforms, and something I saw pop up a few times was people saying they didn’t believe this was a thriller, and well I’m so confused! I know reading is subjective, but did we all read the same book? This was a thriller on a few different fronts, and even touched on horror at the end! 

First of all, gentrification is a real life horror, and how it was portrayed in this was not only terrifying but also incredibly educational. There are lots of parts of Dublin undergoing gentrification over the last decade or so, but it’s very different to the gentrification happening in New York. The gentrification happening in New York, in this case Brooklyn, is 100% motivated by racism. There were a lot of things that happened in this book that were distressing but the scene that took place at the community garden was incredibly upsetting. It conveyed this feeling of helplessness that was visceral. 

Add to that all the other things happening in Sydney’s community, the disappearing residents, the hostile strangers showing up randomly, the businesses changing practically overnight, I’m sorry, how is this not a thriller! 

When things came to a head, they came to a head at lightening speed, and once Sydney and Theo entered that building, things quickly turned into horror. Sydney also turned into an assassin, and sure that was a little weird, but I loved that she got to kick those assholes asses, she deserved it! 

I would have liked a little bit more of the ‘after’ though, I want to know how everyone was getting on, and who lived where! I would have also enjoyed a chapter that was just Sydney giving her tour! 

A great read, I see Alyssa Cole has a few other thrillers and I will absolutely be reading them! 

Belladonna (Belladonna #1) – 4.75⭐ , Foxglove (Belladonna #2) – 4.75⭐, Wisteria (Belladonna #3) – 5⭐by Adalyn Grace

Belladonna (Belladonna #1) by Adalyn Grace was my first prompt for Autumn/Fall (Amber Heights) in the Romanceopoly 2025 reading challenge

Thus began my obsession with this trilogy! I’m saving the new novella for December and I’m using it as another prompt for the Romanceopoly challenge!

Fake (West Hollywood #1) by Kylie Scott – 3.25⭐

Fake (West Hollywood #1) by Kylie Scott was an Amber Heights prompt — Starstruck Sweets – read a book where the main character is a celebrity in the Romanceopoly 2025 reading challenge

Pause (Larsen Bros #2) by Kylie Scott – 3⭐

I went into a whole explanation as to why I needed to read this straight away on my Fake review, basically I enjoy a good coma trope and the free chapter of this was after Fake and I had to finish this book!

Again, this was cute. I don’t think I could read too many Kylie Scott back to back but she is nice for a little palate cleanser.

Anna and Leif were very sweet together, I enjoyed the unusual way they met, made me like Leif A LOT, and I enjoyed them building on their friendship before they became a ‘them’. I found their inability to verbally commit to each other annoying, and it didn’t really fit with how they had previously communicated. I also found the ex-husband and ex-best friend drama really dumb! Oh and the hit and run guy? That felt super lazy!

Still, it was fun overall and I loved the epilogue, I’m also very invested in Ed and Clem’s story so I’ll for sure be picking that up at some stage!

Mate (Bride #2) by Ali Hazelwood – 4.25⭐

I think I liked this a little more than Bride, and I had a lot of fun with Bride! 

I feel like Serena learned very little from all that happened in Bride, and her insistence that she could handle everything on her own was kind of annoying at times, but it also made me want to give her a hug, and tell her everything was going to be okay! 

Koen was an idiot!! 😀 

Imagine finding your mate and then, rather than open up with clear dialogue, you tell them you’re never going to act on the pull you feel, and it’s all okay because he obviously isn’t your mate given you don’t feel the pull at all? Telling all this to a person who has only just found out that they are half Were and have NO IDEA how things work in this world??? This guy is supposed to be a smart leader? I think the fuck not!!

All that said though, I still had a wonderful time and I enjoyed them both being dumb!! 

I particularly enjoyed the members of the Northwest pack that were in Koen’s inner circle, and how they rallied around Serena. 

If memory serves me, Bride was marketed as an omegaverse, and in my opinion it definitely wasn’t, this felt a lot more omegaverse like, and I could get on board with more of this kind of book! 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston – 4.5⭐

This actually shocked the shit out of me! 

One Last Stop started kind of slow for me (I think I was getting sick as I started it though so that could very well be a me issue) but once August and Jane worked out what was going on I really got into it, and enjoyed it immensely!! 

I went into this book blind so I had no idea it was a time travel/time slip situation, and I kind of love this trope so that was a pleasant surprise. I loved all the coincidences that brought August and Jane together, it gave it all a very unique soulmate feeling, a unique soulmate feeling that made me hella emotional at the end. I would have LOVED an  in-depth epilogue but I also totally understand why there wasn’t one. The story actually wrapped up beautifully, I think I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye. 

August and Jane’s relationship was lovely, and at times spicy (that train scene was something) but one of the most beautiful parts of this book was the found family aspect. This is another favourite trope of mine, and all the people involved were lovable, it really was a joy to read.    

I’m so glad I finally picked this up! 

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – 4.75⭐

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was an Amber Heights prompt — Spooky Reads – read a Halloween or horror romance book in the Romanceopoly 2025 reading challenge

Ghosted by Amy Hutton – 2.75⭐

This book just frustrated me, the premise is a good one, and is obviously why I picked it up. I liked the idea of a podcaster and a medium teaming up, add the second chance aspect of it and I was all in. Unfortunately, Holly was a total mé féiner (thinks of nobody but herself), she was so incredibly selfish and inexplicably close minded. Dude, you can see dead people and you scoff at the idea of anything supernatural? That’s just dumb!!

Callum’s constant pandering to Holly made no sense to me, he should have cut and run multiple times, she was just so rude, and when we found out why she ghosted Callum, I just thought that was a great opportunity for him to be free of this really unreasonable individual, alas he tracked her down and we got to witness Holly make everything, even the death of her best friend, all about her. It was eye-rollingly annoying!

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote – 5⭐

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote was number ten in my non-fiction 2025 challenge.