On the Shelf: October 2024

I finished 29 books in October—which means I averaged almost one book a day. I actually got the 29th done at 11PM CT on 10/31. I'm going to call that unintentional overachieving as opposed to "Suleikha needs to get out more." It brings my total count for the year up to 226. Fortunately, a good chunk of that number is due to the Chicago Public Library system and the glory that is the Libby app. I love being able to check out e-books. Otherwise, my bank account would be in even worse shape than it is now. 

Unsurprisingly, this past month had a lot of suspense and horror—I do like to stay on theme! I'm generally good at predicting where stories from those genres are headed, but that was not the case with Clay McLeod Chapman's What Kind of Mother. I don't want to give anything away, but it took a turn from a normal amount of creepy to absolute Weirdsville. And, as someone allergic to shellfish, I'm now even more wary of crustaceans. I wish I could say that was the end of my animal-related trauma this month, but Kelley Armstrong's I'll Be Waiting really reinforced my aversion to bugs. She's a longtime favorite author of mine and her newest page-turner is about a recent widow living with cystic fibrosis who has really bad luck with seances—and that's putting it mildly! While I guessed the culprit pretty quickly, it's the how and why that kept me invested. (Were the swarms of midges really necessary, though? Ew. I can practically feel them in my mouth!)       

The Reading Rundown
I'll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong (horror, thriller/suspense)
One Kiss to Desire by Grace Callaway (historical romance)
What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman (horror)
A History of Fear by Luke Dumas (horror)
The Unheard by Nicci French (domestic suspense)
The Tiger Came to the Mountains by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (historical fiction, short story)
Goldie & the Bears by Hannah Murray (erotic romance, bisexual romance)
Return to Love by Tara Pammi (contemporary romance, novella)
Defying the Earl by Erica Ridley (historical romance)
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (contemporary fantasy, mainstream fiction)

Backlist titles & rereads: Your Wicked Heart by Meredith Duran was my carry-over from September and I followed it with a revisit of Perfect by Judith McNaught. Then I reread all five Stillhouse Lake books by the late Rachel Caine and the sixth, Trapper Road, by Carrie Ryan. I gave in and bought Angel Betrayed by Cynthia Eden because I liked the previous book. After a twinge of guilt for that impulse purchase, I hit up Libby for House of Correction by Nicci French and dove into a bunch of  Kindle rereads: The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher, The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbary, Hidden Honor by Anne Stuart, Lorraine Heath's Waking Up With the Duke, A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long, Wild Child by Molly O'Keefe and The Secret Heart by Erin Satie. To cap off the month, I bounced back to the public library for more backlist suspense—His & Hers by Alice Feeney and What Remains of Me by Alison Gaylin. I think Gaylin's book made me go WTF just as much as the shellfish horror, although for completely different reasons. 

Currently reading: Speak of the Devil by Charish Reid.

On the TBR/ wish list
It Had to Be You by Eliza Jane Brazier
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti