Weekly Reading Roundup: October 8th to October 14th, 2023

Happy Sunday, and welcome back to my weekly reading roundup!

Here are all the books I have read in the past week, with some thoughts and a NEW format!

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Bridge by Lauren Beukes

Genre(s): Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Thriller

My rating: 3.5 stars

Description via The Storygraph: “In infinite parallel universes, there's a version of you who already has everything you've ever wanted. But 24 year old drop-out Bridge is paralysed, by all the other lives she could have lived, the choices she could have made, and now, whoever she's supposed to be in the wake of her mother's premature death.

They've always had a complicated relationship. Jo was the teenage runaway turned maverick neuroscientist who threw everything away chasing after an impossibility - a mysterious artefact - the dreamworm - that allows you to switch between realities. And now she's dead and any chance of reconciliation with her.

But is Jo really gone... or only in this universe? When Bridge and her best friend Dom stumble on the dreamworm, that does indeed open the doors to other worlds, otherselves, she becomes convinced her mom is lost out there. But the dreamworm is more dangerous than she can imagine, and she's not the only one hunting across time and space.

Page-turning and ambitious, BRIDGE is a dazzlingly inventive speculative thriller with an unforgettable cast of characters, and the work of a novelist at the height of her powers.”

My thoughts: While this book wasn’t bad per se, it was incredibly disappointing.

The description really got me interested in reading, and then I actually started the book and was bored almost immediately. I didn’t realize how science fiction-y Bridge was going to be, and that is not my genre. I can think of multiple people I know who would thoroughly enjoy this, so I will be gifting it, this just was not for me.

The Locked Door by Freida McFadden

Genre(s): Thriller

My rating: 5 stars

Description via The Storygraph: “Some doors are locked for a reason…

While eleven-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement.

Until the day the police arrived at their front door.

Decades later, Nora’s father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet, solitary existence. Nobody knows her father was a notorious serial killer. And she intends to keep it that way.

Then Nora discovers one of her young female patients has been murdered. In the same unique and horrific manner that her father used to kill his victims.

Somebody knows who Nora is. Somebody wants her to take the fall for this unthinkable crime. But she’s not a killer like her father. The police can’t pin anything on her.

As long as they don’t look in her basement.”

My thoughts: This is one of my favorites of McFadden's work!

From page one, I was sucked into this story, and the plot twist was just WOW. It is hard to shock me now, but again and again, McFadden delivers. Other than One by One by her, each book has had a plot twist I did not see coming.

I am excited to continue my way through her bibliography.

Squeak by Vera Valentine

Genre(s): Fantasy, Erotica

My rating: 4 stars

Description via The Storygraph: "A dedicated art student at her local community college, Poppy practically lives inside her sketchbook. Drawn to the distracted crowds of the local zoo, her planned day of anonymous figure-sketching is interrupted by the charming Sebastian - and his brooding, borderline-rude friend Keane. Little does she know the two have a twisted secret that defies imagination - and the pressure on both of them is increasing by the day. As an intricate plan takes shape to secure their freedom, the twists and turns they face - and a pair of very intriguing knots - might just unwittingly tie Poppy to both of them, forever.

Squeak is an menage (m+m+f) balloon animal shifter omegaverse novella with (artistic takes on) OV designations and omegaverse-specific concepts like knotting, heats, ruts, nests, mate bites, bondings, and more. There is a brief (non-main-character) death at the very end. There is discussion of past violence and sexual compulsion/slavery, but it’s all occurred by the time the story starts. MM relationships do not need a warning, but consider this your heads up that the MCs are together, as they often are in my books - this story is polyamorous / polyam. If I’ve missed mentioning any content considerations you feel should be in this list, please let me know! The safety and comfort of my readers always takes precedence."

My thoughts: This book, like all of Valentine's works, is BIZARRE. None of the books she writes are meant to be taken very seriously. I mean this is literally balloon animal omegaverse fiction. That is not a sentence I thought I would ever say.

Despite it being patently absurd, this was so entertaining. I had previously read Unhinged, the viral door romance by the same author, so I already knew I got a kick out of her writing. While I did enjoy Unhinged more, this book was still a fun time to read.

Heartstopper Volume 1 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. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork.

Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn't think he has a chance.

But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works."

My thoughts: This was SO FREAKING CUTE.

As someone who has already watched the show (or, the two season already released) I did know the entire plot, and I do think this is better suited as a tv show.

That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I look forward to reading all the other volumes as well while I wait (impatiently) for season three.

Squeal by Vera Valentine

Genre(s): Fantasy, Erotica

My rating: 3.75 stars

Description via The Storygraph: "When last we left our intrepid semi-inflatable heroes, they were safely ensconced in the nest of their omega tulpamancer mate. Poppy had just defended her claim by flexing her newfound powers against an old, abusive rival, and won much-deserved freedom for her deliciously elastic alphas.

What goes up, however, must go down.

One of the first rules of carnival magic is that things are never really as they seem, and our amorous trio is about to get the wind taken out of their sails. As Keane grows uneasy at just how easily he'd won his freedom, Seb and Poppy encourage him to relax and embrace their new life together. What they don't know is that Keane isn't the only one listening, and their happily ever after might take a few more chapters to find.

Is there room in the nest for someone else? They'd certainly have big shoes to fill.

....or maybe it's the other way around?

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Squeal is a polyamorous (m+m+m+f) balloon animal shifter omegaverse novella with (artistic takes on) OV designations and omegaverse-specific concepts like knotting, heats, ruts, nests, mate bites, bondings, and more. There is discussion of past violence and sexual compulsion/slavery, beatings, clowns, and other potentially sensitive topics. A full list will be provided in the beginning of the completed book, if any additional concerns are added in before publication. Finally, while MM relationships do not need a warning, consider this your heads up that the male characters are together, as they often are in my books - this story is polyamorous / polyam and acknowledges full, nuanced romantic relationships between all parties. If I’ve missed mentioning any content considerations you feel should be in this list, please let me know! The safety and comfort of my readers always takes precedence."

My thoughts: While this was still very entertaining, I think it lost steam after the first book. I am interested to see if this series will continue, and if it does I will definitely read the third one!

There isn't much else to say that I did not say about the first one. Pick this up if you want to read something weird, I promise I won't judge you.

Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman

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

My rating: 4,75

Description via The Storygraph: "Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. An LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between: this is the second volume of Heartstopper, for fans of The Art of Being Normal, Holly Bourne and Love, Simon. *Includes exclusive Tara/Darcy story!*

Nick and Charlie are best friends. Nick knows Charlie's gay, and Charlie is sure that Nick isn't.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is discovering all kinds of things about his friends, his family ... and himself.

Heartstopper is about friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie's lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

This is the second volume of Heartstopper, which has now been optioned for television by See-Saw Films."

My thoughts: Similar to the first volume, I really enjoyed this. Also similar to volume one, I did like the show better. Overall, though, I really love this series and it makes me giggle and smile and that is great! I love seeing queer joy represented, and this really delivers.

Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman

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

My rating: 4,75

Description via The Storygraph: "In this volume we’ll see the Heartstopper gang go on a school trip to Paris! Not only are Nick and Charlie navigating a new city, but also telling more people about their relationship AND learning more about the challenges each other are facing in private…Meanwhile Tao and Elle will face their feelings for each other, Tara and Darcy share more about their relationship origin story, and the teachers supervising the trip seem… rather close…?

My thoughts: There is not much to add here that I haven't said for the last two volumes. I will say this is where the show and the graphic novels differ in timelines, which was definitely interesting. I wish that Imogen was in the novels, because I thought she was vital to the storytelling on the show!

Overall, just like the others in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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