I am so excited to be sharing my October favourite reads with you because they were FABULOUS!

I did have a couple of did-not-finishes but it turned out that didn’t matter a whit because the other books were soooo goooood.

It was really, really hard to choose an overall favourite. Really hard. So I chose two, both of which moved me hugely, except in very different ways.

So my two super favourite reads were…

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Small Favors by Erin A Craig

I adored Craig’s debut House of Salt and Sorrows (I talk about that here) and had high expectations for Small Favors. Not a disappointment in sight. I absolutely loved Small Favors and would class it as one of my favourite reads of the year.

Ellerie lives on a farm near the isolated village of Amity Falls, where she tends bees and keeps house for her family. Then horrible things start to happen. There are sightings of strange creatures, discord in the normally happy community, odd weather patterns, and a group on a vital supply run go missing. Things are strange…

And they get deliciously stranger!

Small Favors was creepy and tense and gorgeously written. It’s categorised as dark fantasy, but I think it bordered on horror and regular readers will know that’s smack in my book lovin’ zone. There was even a touch of romance for extra goodness.

Can’t rave about Small Favors enough. Luuuurved. Whatever Erin A Craig writes next, I’ll be buying.

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And secondly…

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The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Loved, loved, loved this!

The Dead Romantics made me cry, not once but multiple times. It was just beautiful. Beautiful and funny and romantic and quirky and gorgeous.

Florence Day has been a successful ghost writer for a famous romantic novelist until a horrid breakup steals not only her belief in love but her ability to finish her latest book. To make matters worse, her hot new editor refuses to give her another extension – hand in the book tomorrow or the lawyers will be called in.

But when tragedy strikes, Florence rushes to her hometown where not only must she face her grief but also the people who bullied her out and, even more inconveniently, the ghost of her – clearly now dead – hot new editor.

I can’t recommend The Dead Romantics enough. A wonderful romance about love and family with all the feels.

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My other excellent October reads:

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The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

Clearly I had a dark fantasy thing going on in October because The Last Graduate was yet another dark story with plenty of icky elements.

Book two in the Scholomance series (my thoughts on book one here), The Last Graduate had all the goodness of book one, A Deadly Education. In other words, there was lots of savagery and not necessarily from the mals (monsters). Even the school itself appears to be against El this year.

Lots of action, student relationship and exam stresses, and an ending that left me baying for book three.

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Another doorstopper-sized (and darkish fantasy) read from King but, like Billy Summers (I chat about that here), impossible to put down. Fairy Tale was loaded with hooky excellence – a cranky old local recluse who is more than he seems, a lovely, loyal dog, a seventeen-year-old hero who’s big-hearted and good, even though he hasn’t always been, an adventure to another world, and a ‘found family’ trope full of heartwarming goodness.

Wonderful story-telling and fab writing and characterisations as always. Still an auto-buy author for me.

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The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

Sigh. I so adore Mimi Matthews’s historicals. They are beautifully romantic, with adorable characters and brilliantly rendered settings. There’s often a horse too. The Siren of Sussex had all this and more.

Evelyn Maltravers has come to London for the season with the sole aim of finding a husband to care for her and her orphaned siblings. Considered a bluestocking, Evelyn decides to make her mark on society not in the ballroom but by parading along Rotten Row on her magnificent stallion in the perfect riding habit. A riding habit of such style can only be sourced from half-Indian dressmaker Ahmad Malik. Sparks fly from the moment they meet. Yet there is no way they can be together. Or is there?

Wonderful!

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The Desert King Meets His Match by Annie West

Oh, this was fun! Annie writes the most awesome sheiks and Salim, hero of The Desert King Meets His Match, was no different.

Salim needs a wife but the hunt for her must be discreet less every father in the kingdom of Dhalkur start promoting his daughter and driving Salim crazy. Cue the arrival of Rosanna MacIain, a professional matchmaker, also the girl Salim enjoyed a passionate clinch with at a party some months before. Despite their attraction, Roseanna is determined to fulfill her brief. She presents Salim with a parade of beautiful, cultured, clever women only for him to find nitpicky things wrong with each and every one. So frustrating!

There’s more, of course, but I won’t spoil your fun. Just go read and let Salim’s and Rosanna’s steamy romance warm your heart.

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What exciting books have you read lately? Please share. The more book love the better!

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