Happy Holidays! We have finally reached December and the Christmas holidays! My favourite time of year! October was an amazing reading month for me but sadly I cannot say the same for November. I don’t think I read anything really over 3.5 stars.

• I read 7 books this month.
• I read 2 ARCs this month.
• Genre: 2 fantasy, 2 murder mystery, 1 romance, 1 thriller and 1 non-fiction.
• Gender of authors: 5 men and 2 women.
• Race of authors: 4 white authors, 1 black authors, 1 asian author and 1 pacific islander author
• Age range: 3 YA and 3 adult
• Format: 3 paperback, 3 eBook and 1 hardcover.

Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier (3.5 stars)

This was a solid debut. I really enjoyed the main character, the romance and the exploration of the trauma a pandemic can have on people, from a singular and community wide level. In terms of the plot, certain elements of the mystery could have been explained/set up more and the ending did feel slightly rushed but that did not stop me from getting invested into the story as a whole.

Ghibliotheque by Michael Leader & Jake Cunningham (3 stars)

A look into the production history of the Studio Ghibli films. I loved the artwork and I loved learning about the history of how these films were made. I wish they delved more into the symbolism and the messaging of each film but it was super fun and informative.

Seven Down by David Whitton (2.5 stars)

This book started on the best foot possible. I was hooked instantly. I really enjoyed the interview type structure. It was pretty easy to follow. Sadly, I started losing interest about halfway through. I personally wanted to just focus on the core plot, the failed operation. But some of the interviews diverged a lot from that and went on tangents that personally didn’t care about. Leading me to lose interest in the story as a whole.

Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson (3 stars)

I don’t read much sci-fi and I wanted to get back into the genre and what a great way to do so by reading a book that is a murder mystery set in space. Unfortunately I went into this novel expecting the sole focus to just be on the mystery but instead there were additional elements to the story which ended pushing the mystery (and my interest) to the back burner. I would have preferred for it just to be a mystery and that’s it.

Methods of Dyeing by B. Mure (2.5 stars)

This was a beautiful graphic novel set in a world where animals act like humans. This story was also a murder mystery but I will be honest, the mystery was incredibly underwhelming. There was no real investigation into the mystery and everything was super convenient to the plot. That being said I really enjoyed the art in this graphic novel. The art and the colour palette were by far the stand out part of this book.

The Remarried Empress by Alphatart (4 stars)

This was a web comicthat I had been reading since January of this year. Every week I would tune in and read the next instalment and last month I finally finished Season 1! The art style is beautiful! The designs of the landscapes, the architecture and the outfits were my favourite. I really enjoyed exploring the complicated relationship between Navier and her husband. I also really enjoyed that the beginning of the series the first episode is actually the ending of Season 1 so we know the ending by the first episode and we work our way back to see what led up to that exact moment.

The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld (3.5 stars)

This was a cute little picture book I read at work. I loved the art-style of the book so I had to read the story. This was just a super sweet story about siblings and magic. I loved it.