goood morning everyone! i haven’t done a reading wrap up in a very long time but there’s no time like the present to get back in the swing of things! earlier this year, i did 75 booked, where i made a very solid attempt to read for two hours a day any way i could (physical book, kindle, audio), and i succeeded! i have tried to keep up that momentum from late-summer onward, and i am definitely reading more than i have in the past year. additionally, i’ve been reading more frontlist and more from my library, which again is different from other years!! i love that i’ve been prioritizing and gravitating toward new releases, but that also means i’ve got to focus on backlist and what’s on my own shelves too. i think my ‘ten before the end’ will focus on books i already own, especially ones i’ve bought and had on my shelf for a bit!
anyway, below are the books i read in october!
💖 purchased/owned | 🌠 library/borrowed | 🔮 review copy | 💞 reread | 👻 dnf
📖 physical | 📱 ebook | 🎧 audiobook
🌠🎧 in the veins of the drowning, by kalie cassidy (2025)
💖📖 the october country, by ray bradbury (1955)
🌠📖 of monsters and mainframes, by barbara truelove (2025)
🌠📖 death meets cute, by j. penner (2026)
🌠🎧 in the wake of the ruined, by kalie cassidy (2026)
💖🎧 baldur’s gate 3: astarion, by t. kingfisher (2026)
🔮📱 fossil feud, by maggie north (dell, edelweiss, 2026)
🌠📖 the fourth wife, by linda hamilton (2026)
my favorite reads of the month were of monsters and mainframes and astarion! truelove’s sff/horror was a campy callback to classic horror and classic sci-fi while bringing it forward in ways i’d compare to the space optimism of becky chambers’ work. i can’t wait to read truelove’s latest about a haunted doll, especially if it’s similar tonally to of monsters and mainframes.
i listened to astarion and loved that the character’s voice actor did the audiobook. media tie-ins are always a tug and pull among the media, the ip holder, and the audience, but i think kingfisher balanced all of that (in the midst of all of her other projects!!)! her writing has never disappointed me, and astarion was a fun romp back into the bg3 world.
reading the october country in october seemed like the perfect time to read it, and i’m glad i did. bradbury was such a visionary of his time, and it’s wild to sit today in 2026 and contemplate the predicted future of the 1950s with the present 2020s. i also gobbled up kalie cassidy’s duology on audio, and i can’t wait to read more by her! i am a sucker for siren/mermaid fantasy, and this hit the spot in all the ways i needed.
fossil feud is the perfect cute summer romcom if you enjoyed jurassic park! the fourth wife is a solid debut, and if “mormon gothic” as a concept appeals to you, definitely check this one out! death meets cute is a cozy fantasy romance that was cute! i wanted a little more depth from it, but that’s on me rather than on the book itself! low stakes cozy fantasy has a time and place, and it’s not a genre subcategory that i typically reach for.
overall, october was a solid month for me with a lot of 2026 releases read! stay tuned for some book reviews here and on my instagram!