October Wrap-Up & November TBR

Well, it's now Christmas time, and it's only now getting to be under 70 degrees. That seems bad. Other than impending weather issues, the month of October was fine. Nothing super crazy happened. It's been more of the usual with a few smaller things thrown in. I'm still behind on all household chores, though, that's a given. I don't know if I'll ever catch up on that stuff. I think I need to just bite the bullet and hire a cleaner every other month or something. It'd be worth it at this point. I hate scrubbing. 

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in October

The Reckoning of Starlight: 4 stars

Roguefinder: 3.5 stars

Daggermouth: 3.5 stars

The Knave and the Moon: 3.5 stars

The Midnight Arrow: 3.25 stars

Kings of Lockdown: 3.75 stars

The Drakon King: 2.5 stars (review to come)

The Witch Queen of Halloween: 3 stars

Bright Dead Things: 3.5 stars

I read nine books in October. Honestly, October has probably been my favorite reading month, mentally. I've wanted to read all of the things these last two weeks. If only I didn't have to work... I could have gotten so much off of my TBR. Of the nine books I read, five were ebooks: The Reckoning of Starlight by Samantha Amstutz, Roguefinder by Amy Pennza, The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker, The Witch Queen of Halloween by Kresley Cole, and Bright Dead Things by Hailey Turner. All were Kindle Unlimited/Plus copies, except for two. The Drakon King was a NetGalley ARC, while The Witch Queen of Halloween was an ebook I purchased back when it first released and just never read. I thought it'd be an appropriate and festive time to read it now. I somehow only read four physical books. I'm in the middle of four other physical books, so I think that's why it felt like way more at the time. I just didn't finish them before the end of the month. The ones I did finish included Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe, The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig, The Midnight Arrow by Zoey Draven, and Kings of Lockdown by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti.

Books Bought/Received in October

October actually wasn't terrible for purchasing books. There were a couple of special edition sets that made things bad and a few single FairyLoot editions that didn't help my wallet, but, honestly, it was the real-life bills that hit hard this month. With the holidays coming up, it's not looking great for my money. Sigh. I ended up purchasing 23 books (maybe 25, but I'll get into that in a bit) and receiving 13 in October.

The 13 books I received mostly consisted of the preordered books that all decided to arrive in October along with a couple of free ebooks. The ebooks included a NetGalley ARC of Ashes of the Fallen by Olivia Rose Darling, a free copy of The Widow and the Orcs by Finley Fenn, and The Heart of Nhaga by Lee Young-Do that I got with my store credit. I also had one book that was free with trade credit from my local used bookstore. That was 1984 by George Orwell. All the rest were preorders. The other orders that arrived included The Shadows that Listen FairyLoot edition, The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy Illumicrate and FairyLoot editions, the Shadows and Starlight and Beyond the Veil luxe editions, The Sweetest Fiend and Prince of Swords FairyLoot editions, The Wretched Divine UK edition, and A Masterpiece in Blood hardcover.

Now, for what I bought in October. Of the 23 books I bought, 12 arrived in October. Those included: the Tempest FairyLoot edition, the Dark Fae paperback, four replacement Blood & Ash books, Mooncursed by Holly Renee, The Book of Azrael UK hardcover, Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer UK edition (accidentally ordered two copies), Bloodbound by J.A. Good, and one other book. Now, I said maybe 25 earlier because I did order some older Gena Showalter books on Mercari. However, I won't be keeping all of them. I just need to decide which to sell.

 As for the remaining 11 books, those were preorders and my FairyLoot Romantasy sub box. The preorders include the For Ever More , The All Souls trilogy, Defy the Dusk, Cursed City, The Ascended, and Souls in Blood FairyLoot editions, along with the J. Bree Broken Ties PR edition and the next two Blood & Ash books from Ink Pages.

Currently Obsessed With

October had a few fun entertainment things throughout the month. As is normal at this point, I'm still watching The Middle TV show. I didn't realize there are nine seasons. I'm only on season five. Yikes. I've got a long way to go if my normal routine is to watch a few episodes a week. I'll be watching it until 2028 at this rate. I also rewatched Casper, Casper Meets Wendy, and The Addams Family to get in the Halloween mood. I saw a local production of Dracula as well. That made me remember the entire book from when I read it in college. I didn't realize I'd forgotten so much, like Lucy and her three suitors. But, the play brought the whole experience back. And the final movie I watched was Knives Out 3 Wake Up Dead Men, which wasn't as good as the first two films. 

November TBR

This month's TBR shouldn't be too stressful. I really just need to read Lightning & Thunder by Sara Raash, as it's a NetGalley book I have to review by the end of December. I also have NetGalley copies of Deathsworn by Meg Smitherman and Ashes of the Fallen by Olivia Rose Darling, but I'm not too worried just yet about getting to those. They're 2027 releases. I am still behind on two other NetGalley ARCs as well: A Viper Among Kings by Sydney Olivia and To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast. I'm not pressuring myself to read those just yet. I might try those again in 2027 when I don't feel like the self-inflicted and imaginary end-of-the-year pressure/deadline is looming over me. Other books I'm in the middle of include Kings of Anarchy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raash, and Twisted Iron Marks by Hailey Turner.

***

Okay, well, that's the month of October, plus some November sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!

Review: Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer

Captive Traitor King

Brigid Kemmerer

(Braided Fates #2)

Publication Date: November 3, 2026

Hardcover, 400 pages, Avon

Genres: Adult, Romantasy, LGBTQ+/Poly

Goodreads

Brigid Kemmerer returns with the sizzling, high-stakes sequel to the No.1 international bestseller Warrior Princess Assassin—where the betrayals are deeper, the magic burns brighter, and love might be the most dangerous weapon of all.

 

CAPTIVE. Asher has always sworn loyalty to Jory, the princess he’s loved from afar—but now the King of Incendar has claimed a place in his heart too. Someone wants them both dead, and only Asher’s blade can keep them safe. Yet his past won’t let him go, and he must decide if he can break free—or remain prisoner to his old scars. 

 

TRAITOR. Princess Jory of Astranza agreed to marry the King of Incendar to secure peace, but betrayal runs closer than she ever imagined. With her own brother unmasked as her enemy, two kingdoms teeter on the edge. To protect her people, she must take the throne. But there are still dark secrets to unravel that will force Jory to confront where her true allegiance lies.

 

KING. Maddox Kyronan has discovered trust—and something more—with his reluctant bride and her deadly protector, but the fragile alliance between their nations still threatens to unravel. His people are starving. His enemies are circling in. Torn between the crown and his heart, Ky risks losing it all.

 

 As buried truths surface and tensions reach a breaking point, Jory, Asher, and Ky must confront the desires that could save their kingdoms—or shatter them forever.

My Review

Brigid Kemmerer has done it again. Over the past year, I've devoured five of her books, and Captive Traitor King wasn't any different. In fact, I read the entire thing in 24 hours. Her books are like magical, glittery candy and once you start eating it, you can't stop until the box is empty.

The three main characters of Warrior Princess Assassin are back for the second book in the Braided Fates series, and I honestly didn't realize how much I missed them until I started reading. All three are messy in different ways. We have Jory, the princess of a kingdom her evil brother rules, and then there's Asher, the assassin who has a terrible and traumatic past, and finally, there's Maddox, the king of a rival land who also happens to have fire powers. All three characters are navigating their growing feelings for each other while also trying to figure out their own powers, duties to their people, and who is behind the recent attacks on both them and Maddox's soldiers. 

I think my favorite part of the story is whenever the three are together in one scene, whether they're arguing, trying to figure things out, or doing other, more explicit things. They're just so cute and sweet together. And sexy too. Despite knowing this was an adult romantasy with spicy times, I was somehow still surprised with Brigid Kemmerer going there. Maybe that's because I read one of her YA books recently and was still in that mindset. Now, I can't say the trio didn't frustrate me. Jory was impulsive, Maddox was too focused on what his soldiers think of him, and Asher... Well, Asher can do no wrong. He's innocent and my favorite. He deserves a comfy blanket, sweet treats, and a pile of kittens to cuddle with. Stat!

As for the plot of the story, I did find this one a bit more relaxed compared to book one. It took place in one city, mostly in just one castle setting, so there wasn't as much to explore compared to Warrior Princess Assassin when the characters traveled between countries. There were only two major action scenes that happened in this installment. The rest of the story mostly focused around the romantic relationship, which I'm totally fine with, and discussions between characters. There also weren't enough answers, in my opinion, but we'll likely get those in the next book, I just have to be patient. Sigh.

All in all, I really loved this book. Brigid Kemmerer's fantasy stories are so easy to read. They're perfect for getting me out of a slump. For anyone who's putting off reading this series, don't! You won't regret picking it up if you love typical romantasy tropes. I also think fans of books like Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash, Danielle L. Jensen's The Bridge Kingdom, or Melissa K. Roehrich's Rain of Shadows and Endings will enjoy the Braided Fates world.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.