October 2025 reading is a wrap! How is your reading year progressing? Did you have a favorite October read?
LIFE UPDATE: I had an atypical month because of my recent blog break. I’m back now after buckets of tears, emotionally draining funeral details, obituary writing, surviving the travel (from California to South Dakota) which included a 7-hour delay in Denver…ugh), all the family time (so comforting), …… It’s a lot. Now on to cleaning out the house, putting it up for sale, and other estate matters. I’m not functioning at 100% but I’m limping back in and will do the best I can. Even though I took a complete break from blogging and social media in October, I did attempt some reading (half-heartedly). It helped that I had started a few of these titles in late September and could quickly finish them up in October.
October 2025 Reading Wrap Up
October Summary: Out of 12 books completed, I had one 5-star reread, five 4-4.5-star reads, five 3-3..5-star reads, and one 2-star read. I had one DNF (1 star).
My most memorable and compelling fiction read in October was White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton. MIyoung/Miyoko was my October Captivating Character of the month. Join the Link Party for #CaptivatingCharacters25 hosted by yours truly (details in the linked post). Check it out and link up (blog post, goodreads reviews, etc.) with me!
***This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
ARC=Advanced Readers Copy (complimentary copy for review before pub date)
Atomic Habits
5 Stars. Nonfiction, Essays (reread) It was fun to revisit Atomic Habits in audio format, and it was easy to pick up and listen to one chapter on flights and in between family events and other reads. It’s TBR worthy. Have you read it? See my original review of Atomic Habits.
White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton
4.5 Stars. Historical Fiction, Diverse Read, Asian Literature, Japan/Korea. Miyoung/Miyoko is my Captivating Character of the Month for October.
Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
4.5 Stars. Historical Fiction. Classic Fiction. I participated in Green Gables October 2025 with Jana @ Reviews From the Stacks. Jana designated Anne of the Island for our buddy read, and I followed it up by reading Anne’s House of Dreams and Anne of Ingleside (I skipped Anne of Windy Poplars). Of the three I read, I enjoyed Anne’s House of Dreams the most. Not reviewed.
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
4 Stars. Historical Fiction. Classic Fiction. Slow-burn romance. One sweet and satisfying ending! Not reviewed.
Calling on the Matchmaker by Jodi Hedlund
4 Stars. Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Historical Romance. I have read Saved by the Matchmaker #2 and A Wager with the Matchmaker #3 in this series and I wanted to go back and read book #1. A good story, but I think I enjoyed 2 and 3 the most. I’m eager for #4. Engaging stories all. Not reviewed.
A Merry Little Lie by Sarah Morgan
4 Stars. Contemporary Fiction. Women’s Fiction. Romance. Christmas. Not reviewed.
Anne of Avenue A by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding (ARC)
3.5 Stars. (ARC) Contemporary Fiction, Retelling, Holidays, Second Chance Romance. Brief Goodreads review here.
At Morning’s Light by Lauraine Snelling (ARC)
3.5 Stars. (ARC) Historical Fiction. Christian Fiction. Immigrant Story. Review on Pub Date: 12/2/2025.
Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie
3 Stars. Contemporary Fiction, Cute premise…annoying main character. Not reviewed.
Wartime Librarian’s Secret by Molly Green
3 Stars. Historical Fiction (WWII Home Front), Romance, Atmospheric. Not Reviewed.
Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
3 Stars. Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction. Not reviewed.
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
2.5 Stars. Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance. Not reviewed.
DNF: 23%
The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand
Even though I was feeling meh, I decided to skim to the 50% mark before DNFing. However, at 23% I encountered a teacher/student romance …..ick…. just no. I’m done. I gave it one star on Goodreads. Are we sure Hilderbrand wrote this, or is she moving on to other subgenres? If you are a fan of Dark Academia and a loyal EH fan, you might love this one.
QOTD:
Did we read any of the same books?
Did you have a favorite October read?
October Blog Posts
Well….my mom died October 2, and I started my blog break October 3. So I have only a handful of posts this month. Thanks for sticking with me and for your lovely words of support and condolence.
Captivating Character of October
Love and Lavender Review
Julia Song is Undatable Review
Reluctant Blog Break
Happy Reading Book Friends!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
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It’s nice to see you dipping your toe back in, Carol. You actually did well with your reading, although nothing too heavy. I have read all of Elin Hilderbrand’s books, but did not add that one to my shelf. I try not to read books that have school settings and I’m glad I passed on this one. She wrote it with her daughter, so maybe that’s why it is so different.
Maybe her daughter wrote it and she lent her name to jump start a career 🤷♀️ I need to AVOID DARK ACADEMIA…lesson learned.
I’m so sorry about your mum. I sent a message via TWR chat but not sure if I commented on your blog at the time. Take it easy and don’t worry about how much blogging you’re doing, just blog and read when you’re ready.❤️ You’ve read an amazing amount despite the circumstances, at least in my eyes, my mum had an accident with complication and was in hospital in September and I barely read a thing.
It seems that reading is my escape from everything! Thanks for your kind words. 💖