Weekly Reading Roundup: October 15th to October 21st, 2023

I had a fairly good reading week this past week, and I definitely used books for some escapism. I had a super busy work week, and somehow managed to read more than I thought I would, which was a nice surprise.

Here are the four books I read this past week, and what I thought about them!

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Rapture by Lauren Kate

Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

My rating: 4.25 stars

Description via The Storygraph: “When evil triumphs… when the world ends… trust your love.

The sky is dark with wings… . Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies… and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters. In the fight for Luce, who will win? The astonishing conclusion to the Fallen series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.”

My thoughts: Even though the last book was incredibly bad, I did want to finish the series because I had already bought all six books. Luckily, this book was leagues better than the fourth in the series, and I actually had a decent time reading it, so moving on to the final book was a lot easier after this.

Overall I still would not recommend this series, but it has been an easy read.

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

Genre(s): Thriller

My rating: 2.75 stars

Description via The Storygraph: “Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can't be taken back.

At least, everyone thinks so at Vixed, the nutritional supplement company where Dawn works as an accountant. She never says the right thing. She has no friends. And she is always at her desk at precisely 8:45 a.m.

So when Dawn doesn't show up to the office one morning, her coworker Natalie Farrell--beautiful, popular, top sales rep five years running--is surprised. Then she receives an unsettling, anonymous phone call that changes everything...

It turns out Dawn wasn't just an awkward outsider--she was being targeted by someone close. And now Natalie is irrevocably tied to Dawn as she finds herself caught in a twisted game of cat and mouse that leaves her wondering: who's the real victim?

But one thing is incredibly clear: somebody hated Dawn Schiff. Enough to kill.

The Coworker is a tense, unputdownable thriller from New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden that explores the dark ways the past can echo through the present--with deadly consequences.”

My thoughts: One of the main characters, Dawn, is coded as an autistic character in the first half of the book, and I was so miserable reading her get torn apart by the other characters, as an autistic person myself who has had similar interactions. But then the second half of the book, McFadden completely reverses the basis of the character and it was incredibly alarming of a shift in tone.

I was incredibly disappointed in this read, as I have enjoyed all of her other books I have read. This left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth. I don’t think I will completely give up on her books, since I still want to read The Housemaid series, but this did make me much less of a fan. I would recommend skipping this title, and I have heard similar criticism of Ward D, another of her books, so I will be skipping that title as well.

Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman

Genre(s): Graphic Novel, Romance, Young Adult

My rating: 4.75 stars

Description via The Storygraph: “Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between.

Charlie didn't think Nick could ever like him back, but now they're officially boyfriends. Charlie's beginning to feel ready to say those three little words: I love you. Nick's been feeling the same, but he's got a lot on his mind - not least coming out to his dad, and the fact that Charlie might have an eating disorder. As summer turns to autumn and a new school year begins, Charlie and Nick are about to learn a lot about what love means. Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness.”

My thoughts: This was the first volume that has not been reflected in the show yet, so it was a nice read since I did not know the plot.

As with the other books, I was giggling and kicking my little feet, but also crying? Which is new.

Highly recommend this series and I am impatiently waiting for the fifth book to come out in December (I preordered it, personally).

Unforgiven by Lauren Kate

Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

My rating:

Description via The Storygraph: “Every story has a dark side, and this story belongs to Cam, the brooding, bad-boy dark angel FALLEN readers love.

High school can be hell.

Cam knows what it's like to be haunted. He's spent more time in Hell than any angel ever should. And his freshest Hell is high school, where Lilith, the girl he can't stop loving, is serving out a punishment for his crimes.

Cam made a bet with Lucifer: he has fifteen days to convince the only girl who really matters to him to love him again. If he succeeds, Lilith will be allowed back into the world, and they can live their lives together. But if he fails . . . there's a special place in Hell just for him. Tick-tock.

Spread your wings and cry as bad boy dark angel Cam finally reveals his anguished heart in the epic FALLEN novel, UNFORGIVEN.”

My thoughts: While certainly not the best one of the series, it also isn’t the worst so I will take it. It reads like there is supposed to be more books in the series, but this appears to be the last one. Since it was written in 2015 and we haven’t had updates since, I think that is a fair bet.

Definitely still a lot of cultural appropriation, and I am still glad I did not give Kate any of my money by buying these secondhand.

I don’t recommend this series, but it was an easy read.

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What book(s) have you read this week? Let me know in the comments!