October 2022 Wrap Up

Normally, I would keep track and write down what I liked about my book when I finish it, but I forgot last month so we're going to start again in October. Here goes~

I read 4 books in October: 

1. Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson - I am giving this one a 4.5/5 stars. It was definitely an interesting read and I enjoyed it. Even though Oliver literally only made it maybe a quarter of the way through one of the mentioned books within the novel itself, I don't think this detracted from the overall reaction. You definitely don't see the end coming. I thought I'd had it figured out a few times. Rather glad I was wrong! We follow Malcolm Kershaw as he thinks he is being accused of a string of murders based on a blog post he had written a long time ago. He works with police to learn who is behind it and why. I am going to look more into Peter Swanson's other books. This was worth the read and I'm curious about the rest of his work.

2. Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao - This one was not quite as good as the first one of hers that I read, but definitely still better than I had initially thought it was going to be. We follow a young man who is disconnected from his family's heritage having to go on a grand adventure to save a country he has no actual memory of. I liked the way it was told and how we learn a lot about Chinese history and culture sort of through the people who lived it. This one is getting a 4/5 stars. I'm curious if there is another in the works to continue the storyline and find out what will happen next. 

3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - I think we read this back in high school, but I do not remember much about it. I do know that in this reading, I was disappointed. There were several times where I nearly just DNF'd it because I didn't much care for the story. I had no idea who exactly it was I was supposed to feel the most empathy for, Viktor or the monster. It felt like Viktor was trying to get us to be on his side, even though he was the one who created the creature in the first place. I am giving this one a 4 out 5, as it is an okay story for the season, but really I was just bored through most of it. 

4. The Bookseller by Cynthia Swan - I liked it. It was an interesting take. We follow this person through two different realities. One of which is real, and the other which is entirely a fantasy. I will not divulge which is which, but you do learn about halfway through the book. I loved how things changed and when you learn various points of Katherine/Kitty's life. Worth the read. I'm glad I picked this one up. 4/5.