What I Read in November 2023

Slowing down for the year.

While I only finished four books in November, two of them were quite long. A few years ago I wouldn’t have imagined that I’d even be able to finish four books in a single month. I’m choosing to feel proud of that number and pushing forward with some holiday themed books in December. I posted a realistic Holiday TBR List earlier in the month if you need some ideas for cute and cozy romances to kick off the winter season.

I’m trying out a new format in this month’s reading recap so please let me know if you enjoy the changes. I’ve included the genre, page length, and format read for each book along with a shorter synopsis. We are all inundated with emails this time of year and I want to keep my reading recaps concise while still giving recommendations you find beneficial.

Psst… if you find your next great read in this newsletter, consider supporting my work and keeping me caffeinated while I write.

November Book Reviews

Remain Nameless by HeyJude19 on AO3

Genre: Fan Fiction
Pages: 1000+
Format Read: Kindle eBook

Synopsis: Draco and Hermione cross paths at a Muggle coffee shop years after the war. While they are both leading separate lives with fulfilling jobs, they still struggle to pick up the pieces and move on. The duo kindles an unlikely friendship over their morning routine that eventually leads to much more.

My Thoughts: This post-war Dramione FanFic was so sweet and SO SPICY. Consider yourself warned. Draco and Hermione pick things up 9 years after the war at a Muggle café. If you like enemies to friends to LOVERS romances, this is a great choice. I loved the pacing overall but the end felt a little rushed… more like an Epilogue. My favorite part of the plot was Draco's healing journey and how the couple matured over the timeline of their relationship. These two communicate so well. No one ADORES a woman quite like a Malfoy man that's for sure. I gobbled this up.

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The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
Format Read: Audiobook

Synopsis: Molly is now head maid when another mysterious death sullies the hotel she works at. It’s up to Molly to prove that it’s not always the maid’s fault and save the reputation of her job and her friends while piecing together who’s behind a famous author’s untimely death.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this more than The Maid, especially the alternating timelines that filled in some of the details about Molly and her Gran's past. While I liked the murder mystery portion of this novel and found it entertaining, there wasn't enough tension in the writing to propel the story and keep my attention after the grand reveal. I still struggle with how the author approaches Molly's autism and the audiobook narration plays into the infantilism. The Mystery Guest is the definition of a cozy mystery and I'm eager to see if Molly's next case takes her away from her beloved hotel setting. I gifted The Maid to my own Nana last year for Christmas so I’m planning to pick up book two for her this year.

Thank you to Libro.fm for the free audiobook for review purposes.

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Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Genre: Romantasy
Pages: 623
Format Read: Kindle

Synopsis: Violet Sorrengail survives her 1st year at Basgaith War College but her 2nd year as a Rider may break her. Picking up where Fourth Wing left off, the real life training begins. It’s grueling and maliciously brutal and the new vice commandant has made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

My Thoughts: THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING! I’m feeling dizzy between the non-stop action and the questions I need answered in book 3. I don’t see how people read this book in one sitting because I needed to give myself time to breathe after every chapter to recover from my emotions. Miscommunication, jealousy, and insecurities in relationships aren’t usually my favorite romances to read about but the push and pull between Xaden and Violet is toxic and addicting. The smut was A+. I liked the world-building in this story and I thought the characters and action that happened outside the wards of Basgaith added so much to the plot. My only criticism is that there were just so many characters that were introduced but not fleshed out. I’m not sure they’re all necessary or if we will learn why they’re important in time. I have a feeling we’ll be exploring a lot more of the idea of good and evil as the series continues. I’ve read plenty of criticisms of this book that I think are absolutely valid but this series continues to work for me and I can’t wait for more.

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The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton

Genre: Dark Academia
Pages: 320
Format Read: Physical Copy

Synopsis: An impressionable high school student at an elite boarding school falls in with the devoted members of a cultish choir group on campus, impassioned by their hunger for transcendence and, especially, the charismatic girl who rules over them.

My Thoughts: This was a fairly solid dark academia novel but it still felt a little too formulaic for my liking. Laura Stearns is obsessed with a famous author’s work and convinces her parents to let her enroll at a prestigious academy in Coastal Maine. While St. Dunstan’s is the setting for this book, it’s hard to visualize the school environment itself due to the author’s lack of descriptions. In a way, it adds to the darkness and otherworldliness. Almost like a hazy fever dream. In the book, Laura becomes equally obsessed with one of her classmates, Virginia Strauss. Strauss conflates her perceived purity with power and amasses a cult-like following of malleable classmates who worship her every move. Laura is happy at St. Dunstan’s until a new chaplain crumbles Virginia’s fragile ego and friendships begin to unravel quickly on campus. The World Cannot Give is filled with teen angst but its uniqueness and strength comes from the way Burton explores faith and transformation. By the end of the book, what happens at St. Dunstan’s transforms each student’s naivety and innocence. Best read if you go into it looking at it as satire, IMO.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the review copy.

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