My 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge: September - October

Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soulmate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: they'll date each other and break up. It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected - including catching real feelings for each other.

This is easily one of my favourite Abby Jimenez books. Even though you don't need to have read the first two books in this series to enjoy this, I was shocked by the DNA reveal at the end and how that related to previous characters. I also liked the immediate chemistry between Emma and Justin and was rooting for them to make it, despite all the obstacles. I normally despise third act breakups but this one felt so realistic and made a lot of sense. I loved watching Emma grow towards the very end and seeing Justin's life with the kids work out. I also loved Maddy.

Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver

As a chart-topping country singer with a recent streak of bad press, it's hard for Skylar to find any peace. But she finds it in Rose Hill. With a little boy and a little girl who steal her heart just as thoroughly as their dad, Weston. So, while Skylar's brain says settling down with a small-town horse trainer is impossible, her heart says she's right where she belongs. Still, her life as a celebrity haunts her. It has the power to pull she and West apart.

This was a really nice small town romance with a good amount of spice/steam and I definitely fell for West. I mean, the way he looked after her, the night checks, their banter back and forth was all great. I also liked the single dad x celebrity style of this and Emmy and Oliver were such a highlight. Did I know something bad was going to happen when she sent him those photos? Yes. But I liked the way everything ended up and seeing Skylar put herself and her happiness first. I will definitely be going back and reading Wild Love and will be seated for Rhys and Tabby's book too.

Daydream by Hannah Grace

As a chronic procrastinator, Henry always knew his junior year in college wasn’t going to be easy. That was before he made ice hockey captain as well as landing himself in a difficult class with his least favourite professor. Thankfully, it’s then that Henry meets Halle. Academic pressure has never been a struggle for Halle, but as an introverted people pleaser with a tendency to overcommit herself, she can’t help but offer to help Henry pass his class. In turn he offers to help make college life a little more inspiring. Just the thing she needs as an aspiring novelist.

Now, while I enjoyed this, it wasn't quite the romance that I was hoping for. I loved seeing Halle learn to say no and to put herself first and there was some great neurodivergent representation in the form of Henry. I also saw a lot of myself in Halle and Henry was a bonafide book boyfriend. But there was basically no plot and I definitely got more friend vibes from them than this big romance. Apart from the audiobook moment and a few other snippets, it wasn't was I was expecting in terms of steamy scenes. Let's just say, it was nice but it could have been so much more.

Bunny by Mona Awad

Samantha is an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at Warren University. In fact, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort – a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other 'Bunny'. But then the Bunnies issue her with an invitation and Samantha finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door, across the threshold, and down their rabbit hole.

I'm still not entirely sure whether I liked this or not. While I liked the cliquey way the Bunnys are described (it was giving me Scream Queens vibes), the setting and seeing the Bunnys get their comeuppance, I kept wondering whether or not Ava was a real person or possibly Samantha's imaginary friend. And the same can be said for Max. I'm also not sure what to think about the ending. Essentially, this is a book and story that left me asking 'wtf have I just read?' quite a few times.

Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson

Adulthood isn’t quite what Ellie dreamed it would be when she was fourteen years old. Though she’s got her beautiful daughter Lottie, her trusty cat Stella and life-long best friends in Magda and Nadine, her love life is non-existent and she feels like she’s been living on auto-pilot. But this year on her birthday, it seems it’s time for all that to change, whether Ellie wants it to or not. As she navigates new, exciting and often choppy waters, she’s about to discover that life will never stop surprising you, if only you let it.

As a huge fan of Jacqueline Wilson, growing up, it pains me to say that this didn't work for me. At times Ellie sounded like she was 13/14 or 70. She either felt so juvenile or almost like a grandma. There was no in between. And while I was happy to catch up with Ellie, Magda and Nadine are barely in this, which was so disappointing. The plot was basically non-existent, the whole dating her former art teacher just gave me the serious ick, and what was the cousin being her stalker storyline all about? Then the ending felt so rushed too. It does break my heart that I really didn't enjoy this but I was expecting it to dig deeper into life as we grow older, instead of whatever this was.

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore

When a secret message turns up hidden in a book in the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, Hazel can't understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decides to follow the trail of clues. She just needs someone to help her out. Gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, Noah, is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Even better that the cute bookseller he's been crushing on for months is the one who wants his help.

This was the perfect easy read. I liked the whole concept of Hazel feeling like she hadn’t really lived her twenties and actually doing something about it before she turned thirty. As someone who felt the exact same when they were approaching that big birthday, I did feel a kinship with her. Noah was a pretty solid lead too and I did like seeing the growth in both of them. I’m not sure I was fully immersed in the quirky town setting. Maybe I might have enjoyed those interactions more if I’d read the first book. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon/possibly ever.

I Bet You'd Look Better In A Coffin by Katy Brent

My name is Kitty Collins and I’m a serial killer. I don’t want to kill. It’s just so hard to resist. Some men really, really deserve it. Men like Blaze Bundy, an anonymous influencer spreading misogyny online. He’s making it very hard for me to control my murderous urges. Meanwhile I’m in the South of France to watch my mother marry a man I’ve never met. I should be drinking cocktails and focusing on my tan, not plotting a murder. But a woman’s work is never done. Surely one more teensy little kill wouldn’t hurt, would it?

This was just as brilliant as the first book in the series. It's got the same fantastic dark humour and you will be rooting for her the whole way through. It encapsulates feminine rage particularly well and feels especially timely with what is going on in the world right now. I also really liked the escapist South of France setting and seeing Kitty reconnect with her mum. The twist towards the end felt a bit like it came out of nowhere but ultimately, I did like how everything concluded. I can only hope that we will be getting another Kitty Collins book sometime soon.

Publication date: 30th January 2025

Carrie by Stephen King

Carrie White is no ordinary girl. Carrie has the gift of telekinesis. To be invited to Prom Night by Tommy Ross is a dream come true for Carrie, the first step towards social acceptance by her high school colleagues. But events will take a decidedly macabre turn on that horrifying and endless night as she is forced to exercise her terrible gift on the town that mocks and loathes her.

I'm not sure what it says about me that I was rooting for Carrie the whole way through. The only person that I felt sorry for was Tommy. He did not deserve to bow out that way. I also liked the way that it was told through snippets from articles, books, hearings and Carrie's POV. Even though this was my first Stephen King book, it certainly won't be the last.