This month was a pretty good reading month for me. Most of my books fell in the 4-star range and I didn’t read anything that was less than 3 stars.

I read 21 books and 1 short story. Several were either audio-only or I tandem read, switching between audio and physical.

Here’s how everything stacked up this month:

5 Star:

• The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi
• Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

4 – 4.75 Star:

• Spider to the Fly by J.H. Markert
• Christmas People by Iva-Marie Palmer
• Life and Death and Giants by Ron Rindo
• The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
• A Mannequin for Christmas by Timothy Janovsky
• A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
• Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
• The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Canas
• The October Film Haunt by Michael Wehunt
• Arcana Academy by Elise Kova (no review)
• Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison
• Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley

3 – 3.75 Star:

• The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
• At Last by Marisa Silver
• The Dogs of Venice by Steven Rowley
• There’s Pumpkin About You by Athena Carstairs
• Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O’Clover
• I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

I am almost through all of my ARCs for 2025. I’m so proud of me. This means I get to spend the month of October weeding my way through the pile of horror and thriller books I’ve been hording all year. Here’s a look at some of the books I hope to get to.

In addition to the books pictured above, I also hope to read the following. Most are horror/thriller books because ’tis the season:

• Breathless by Amy McCulloch
• We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough
• The Bewitching by Sylvia Moreno Garcia
• Senseless by Ronald Malfi
• The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
• The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
• And Then There Was You by Sophie Kinsella
• Within Arms Reach by Ann Napolitano