November Wrap-Up.

I'm very fortunate that I managed to finish up one more read before November ended, as it means that it wasn't a total disaster of a month. Honestly, I've really been struggling for reading time as of late, and I managed only four reads.

1. 'A Study In Charlotte' by Brittany Cavallaro. I started this off feeling that some of the aspects were a little bit off. The beginning chapters felt like a mass info-dump and were too rushed, and the concept of each family having all of it's members with the same personality over each generation was a bit peculiar. But I really got into it as the book went on - the mystery was cool, Charlotte especially was a great character, and by the end of it I realised I was hooked. 4/5 Stars.
2. 'The Saga Of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue' by Unknown. This served as more of a lesson on Icelandic history and Viking culture more than anything. I realised after reading that I knew so little on the subject other than big, bloodthirsty battles, Norse gods and funeral practices. But while I liked the educational value, the plot of the story was revealed at the very beginning of the book in a prophecy and I didn't find that aspect of it all that entertaining. 2.5/5 Stars.
3. 'Foxes Unearthed' by Lucy Jones. Anyone who knows me will probably be able to tell you I'm a huge fan of foxes. And I really wanted to learn more about them, so this book really appealed to me! I found that I did indeed learn a lot too: their folklore and stories, natural history and reputation all cropped up in this book. But parts of it were very skippable despite Jones's writing, as there was a fair bit of repetition. 3.5/5 Stars.
4. 'The Corset' by Laura Purcell. This book was so good and it's 100% in the running for my favourite read of the year. I loved it! It had a well-crafted story, felt researched and detailed, contained three-dimensional and well-crafted characters, and had me completely hooked throughout. The ending was a little short after all the build-up but I can forgive that as I still came out of this book blown away. 5/5 Stars.

This month I read three books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total so far thirty five.

- A Study In Charlotte

- The Saga Of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue

- Foxes Unearthed

This month I read zero books for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total so far one.

I read one book for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total so far fifteen.

- The Corset

I read one book for the Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge, making my yearly total so far twenty three.

- The Corset

Here is the result for Pretty Deadly Blog's Bookish Bingo card.

Made Into A Movie: Lolita; Vladimir Nabokov
Middle Grade: The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding; Alexandra Bracken
One Word Title: Folk; Zoe Gilbert
Fire In Title Or Cover: As Kingfishers Catch Fire; Gerard Manley Hopkins
Mystery: A Study In Charlotte; Britanny Cavallaro
Set In A School: Solitaire; Alice Oseman
Black Cover: The Hatch; Joe Fletcher
Space Or Stars: Starfighter [Ch. 1]; Hamlet Machine
Fall Release: A Sudden Light; Garth Stein
Freebie: --
Dual POV: Steve & Mark; Tab Kimpton
Scares You: The Twisted Tree; Rachel Burge
Legend Or Myth: The Saga Of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue; Unknown
Pretty Spine: Foxes Unearthed; Lucy Jones
Killers: The Corset; Laura Purcell
Less Than 300 Pages: Teahouse [Ch.1]; Emirain
Features Animals: Into The Jungle; Katherine Rundell
LGBT+: Heartstopper [Vol. 1]; Alice Oseman