October was an embarrassingly slow month for books. I only read two. But it was a difficult month for me emotionally, so, you know. It was the month I realized the person I trusted, the person who asked me to trust him, who I opened my heart to in a way that was really vulnerable, was ghosting me. I had a hard time doing anything beyond the basics.

1. This was the third and final book in Sierra Simone’s Lyonesse series. Bitter Burn took the story of Tristan and Isolde to its conclusion, and man was it explosive (in some ways, literally). Simone is a remarkable writer. You could reduce this series to the love triangle between a BDSM club owner, his wife, and his body guard, but that wouldn’t even come close to doing the story justice. The deep dive into church illuminati, Tristan’s devotion, the detail with which kink negotiations are done – and the care taken to depict them with respect. The whole series is fantastic and the ending here was reminiscent of the ending of the New Camelot series, American King, and being set in the same world, there is a fair bit of crossover even though they can be read independently of each other. I definitely recommend starting with New Camelot first and then moving to this series.
2. Another standalone novel from KJ Charles, Unfit to Print was actually a bit funny and uplifting and a great story on top of the rekindled boyhood romance between old school friends.

I’m afraid November and December weren’t as super full either, but I did finish the year strong.

-M