November was definitely a slower month. I didn't read nearly as much as I usually do, but I'm totally okay with that, because almost all of the books I did read were complete banger.

Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright (4/5 stars)

Mistress of Lies is a debut dark fantasy, and let me tell you, this book is one of the best debuts I’ve read in a long time. It's got politics. It's got violence. It's got a cast of diverse (multiracial, queer, and trans) morally grey characters. Oh, and it has the beginnings of a why choose romance. Literally what else could you want?

I cannot wait for this next book and, even more so, I cannot wait to see what this author writes next!

The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk (3/5 stars)

Oof, this was definitely my biggest disappointment of the month. I love Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, so the blurb on this one had me really hyped. I mean it's a supernatural horror story set in the Edwardian era.... But the execution of this one made it feel like she was just constantly trying to hit me over the head with the point. Honestly, I just kinda got bored and wanted it be over. It did make for a fantastic book club discussion, and Tokarczuk is still an immensly talented author, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations.

Private Rites by Julia Armfield (5/5 stars)

Okay, okay, okay, I get it now. I see why you all have been telling me for years that I HAVE to read Our Wives Under the Sea.

This was my first Julie Armfield book and holy shit. Private Rites is a retailing of King Lear set in a future version of the UK that on the brink of a complete climate disaster. The writing in this one was unlike anything I have read this year. It was lyrical. It was scathing. Armfield is absolutely merciless towards her characters and I love that for her. Oh my god, this book was simply amazing.

Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley (5/5 stars)

I was genuinely shocked by how much I enjoyed this one. My husband chose this as our roadtrip book and when it started I was rolling my eyes because I thought that it was going to be exactly like every other fae fantasy I've read over the last 5 years. But... suddenly it wasn't. It ended up being super unique and my husband and I had so much fun trying to guess the plot and trying to figure out how it was going to work out. There were a lot of things we guessed and a lot of things we didn't see coming at all.

Long story short, I really enjoyed every second of this. It's full of female friendships and female rage.

Heir by Sabaa Tahir (5/5 stars)

You all have already heard me talk about this one a ton, because it's truly the my favorite book of the year. This one was everything I’ve been wanting in a fantasy novel. It's genius on every level–plot, world, characters. Simply impeccable. No notes

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett (4/5 stars)

I just have so much love for this series and so much love for these characters. I will say, this is probably my least favorite of the series. I had a harder time getting into it this one than the ones in the past, but I’ve also been so busy, so that could’ve just been my headspace. Overall, I loved getting to fall back into this world for a little bit.

And not going to lie, I will definitely be doing a reread when this gets released on audiobook, because I love the narrators!

Books still in process:

• The Three Lives of Cate Kay (54%)
• Shy Creatures (45%)
• The Whispering Night (79%)
• The Teller of Small Fortunes (20%)