#bookswithsirens

the diviners by libba bray + salted caramel mocha

Hi bookworms! My second favorite month of the year is now over :( What did you guys dress up as this year? I finally fulfilled my dream of going as my Hogwarts house (hufflepuff). Now for the month of October I only read three books. Uni has really kicked my ass this month but I’m hanging in there. The three books I read this month are:

The Diviners by Libba Bray 4.5/5 stars

As some of you may know this was @bibliosiren and I’s bookclub pick of the month for the month of October. When I first heard about this book people would say how creepy, dark and haunting it was. THEY WERENT WRONG. It was that and so much more. This book had me feeling jumpy every time I put it down. It also had the perfect combination of murder mystery and paranormal elements. The beginning took a bit getting used to but once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. Another thing, when Memphis mentioned his Taino cheekbones I SCREAMED. I have Taino blood in me too so the representation made me cry a bit. I was sooo so happy. Definitely would recommend.

Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst 4 stars

This was a good book, but considering how I’m feeling right now towards it, I’d say I have mixed feelings. It’s a very incredible book, don’t get me wrong. The world was amazing, loved the bi representation, and the characters were amazing... but I feel okay towards it. I haven’t figured it out yet but you should give it a try nonetheless.

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft by Tess Sharpe 4.5/5 stars

I had been looking forward to reading this book since they announced it! I was so happy to finally get my hands on it. Out of the 15 takes 6 were my absolute favorite. The others were good but okay. Another thing I loved about some of the tales is there were multiple times were the main characters had Spanish backgrounds. I’m not sure if I mentioned this before but I’m Puerto Rican and I’ve lived there for almost my entire life. I moved last year after the hurricane to New York to live with my moms sister and have been here since. Even if the characters didn’t have my background, the fact that they spoke Spanish words and used the language was enough to make me tear up sometimes. Moreover, I’m not part of the LGBTQ+ community but I am an ally. I can’t speak much for how they portrayed the representation in the book but I thought it was so lovely that they had represented them multiple times. Very awesome book.

The tales I loved:

The Heart in Her Hands by Tess Sharpe

Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith

The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley

Daughters of Baba Yaga by Brenna Yovanoff

The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord

OCTOBER TBR

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

You by Caroline Kepnes (currently reading)

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappira

not pictured: The Diviners by Libba Bray for mine and @bookswithalex’s Books with Sirens book club (read along with us!!) and i’ll also be continuing the Throne of Glass series, currently finishing Heir of Fire (book 3).

i tried to go for creepy/fantastical books for the month of halloween! also, i like to plan less than i think i can read in the month so that i’m not disappointed, and hopefully i’ll read much more than this handfull! wish me luck. 💓

BOOKS WITH SIRENS BOOK CLUB

i’m so so excited to announce that @bookswithalex and i are starting a book club!

we’re going to be picking a book each month and will be posting our reviews of the pick of the month. hopefully, some of you will read along with us!

keep reading to find out what the book of the month is...

happy halloween guys! it’s finally the end of the month and spoopyween. that means it’s time to review the book of the month for mine and @bookswithalex ‘s book club: Books with Sirens. I hope a few of you joined our buddy read of this excellent novel because we had a lot of fun reading it together. if you missed this month, make sure you check our pages tomorrow when we’ll be announcing the next read for our club. alright, time to review!!

TITLE: The Diviners

AUTHOR: Libba Bray

GENRE: ya fantasy + historical fiction

The Diviners was a thrilling read for the month of Halloween, filled with lovable characters and a strong plot. Personally, I didn’t feel that there were any plot twists or moments when I was on the edge of my seat. However, I enjoyed every moment of this novel and found myself struggling to put it down once I’d gotten into it. The characters really drove this story for me because I found myself very attached to them. For such a spooky book, I found myself laughing a lot because of their unique characteristics and lighthearted joking. I was attached to their rich backgrounds and fell in love with their varying personalities. I will definitely be reading the sequel sometime in the near future, if not to find out what happens but to be back with these characters that I adore so much.

I recommend The Diviners if you are looking for a character-driven thriller to spook you this fall. 

rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰

BOOKS WITH SIRENS BOOK CLUB

I’m so so excited to announce that @bibliosiren and I are starting a book club! We’re going to be picking a book each month and will be posting our reviews of the pick of the month. hopefully, some of you will read along with us! keep reading to find out what the book of the month is... the much-anticipated book of October is: THE DIVINERS BY LIBBA BRAY. 

Synopsis: 

It's 1920s New York City. It's flappers and Follies, jazz and gin. It's after the war but before the depression. And for a certain group of bright young things, it's the opportunity to party like never before. For Evie O'Neill, it's escape. She's never fit in in small-town Ohio and when she causes yet another scandal, she's shipped off to stay with an uncle in the big city. But far from being exile, this is exactly what she's always wanted: the chance to show how thoroughly modern and incredibly daring she can be. But New York City isn't about just jazz babies and follies girls. It has a darker side. Young women are being murdered across the city. And these aren't crimes of passion. They're gruesome. They're planned. They bear a strange resemblance to an obscure group of tarot cards. And the New York City police can't solve them alone. Evie wasn't just escaping the stifling life of Ohio, she was running from the knowledge of what she could do. She has a secret. A mysterious power that could help catch the killer - if he doesn't catch her first.