If you remember, I love anything that's spooky and in the woods. This one seems to fit the bill wonderfully. 

The Devil Crept In is a slow starter but it all moves fast. Part one was my least favorite as it didn't feel like too much was actually going on. After part two I was terrified and that feeling followed me the whole way through. The ending left me feeling sick in the way a good spooky story can, though I also hated the ending because of how bleak it is. Sort of like The Mist movie adaptation. It works and it preys on some of my spookiest fears, but it's so bleak I can't call it satisfying. 

I really liked Stevie. He reminded me of some of the kids I worked with. 

Final rating: 4.5 out of 5. Great horror, definitely spine-tingling. Why did the cats have to get involved? 

Woohooo! Finished!

Overall, I really loved this book. 100% would read it again. The atmosphere was awesome and I really enjoyed the character developments in Gyre and Em, as well as their development in relation to each other. The pacing felt awesome as well. There were enough highs and lows where I didn't feel like the book was rushing along or dragging. It could be slow at times but never in a way that made me reluctant to pick it up again.

As far as things I would have liked, I feel like there were some missed opportunities in regards to the horror element of the book. I really would have enjoyed more in regards to the technical nature of caving. When I pictured it in my head, it felt more like walking through a mine/rock climbing than caving itself, which kind of lessened the effectiveness for me. Having worked with and been friends with cavers, I know about maneuvers and risks that literally happen as part of typical caving that would have amped the horror up in this book to a whole new level. Seriously, look up Jam Crack in the Glenwood Caverns and that alone demonstrates what I mean. 

Final rating 5/5: I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

Final thought: It'd be cool to have this adapted as a video game. That's kind of how it played out in my head and I think it'd be a lot of fun to play a game as Gyre. 

I read 6 books in October and am pleasantly surprised. I thought I'd only read 2 or 3. Has that ever happened to you? My highly anticipated read was The Tragedy of Brady Sims by Earnest J. Gaines. It was also my biggest disappointment. I was not wowed by it and the interest I had for the build up in this short novellla wasn't and was what I thought it would be. The other shocker was Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. I connected with only one of the characters (the son Jojo) and the story was a bit of multiple stories I'd read before. I didn't enjoy Salvage the Bones by her either. I think I stopped 75% through. I don't think her style of writing is for me. However, she is well regarded, loved and accoladed. 

The Nightingale and The Longest Memory were the "show stoppers" this month. These stories gutted me. Oh, the pain I felt. These two books I would highly recommend to anyone. It doesn't matter if you pick them up today, next month or years from now. Put them on your tbr or wishlist and read them! You won't regret it, I promise. I'm clearing out my YA shelves and have donated hundreds to date. This last purge I decided to keep some series that I started and loved, but didn't finish. Brazen (Royal Circle) is one of those I decided to keep. I had already read Guilt and Tarnish and enjoyed them. Brazen didn't disappoint. I do love historical fiction. Longshore wrote these in a style I could enjoy as well as her intended audience. 

So, I have been horribly inactive on here lately because life has just gotten the best of me this month. I'll be posting a personal update later to get into the reasons for that, but long story short - the only reading I've had time for has been for school. And I haven't had time to post reviews for those books (again, because I have NO TIME). So I will be posting reviews later today because, for once, I actually have a bit of free time today to interact with all of you! 

One of the many good sides about going to grad school for a degree in library science is that, even though you have no life and have to read a lot, you have to read a lot of really good books. You also have to read a lot of scholarly articles, but seriously, I read picture books like every day - so fun! So these 10 books aren't even all of the books I've been reading, but they're the main ones that I have been assigned for school, so I chose to highlight them for this month's wrap up. 

Of these books, I think I'd have to say that my favorite was either Olivia or Yankee Doodle. I would consider both to be classic children's books - I actually read Yankee Doodle frequently with my mom when I was a kid, along with many of Steven Kellogg's other works. He's the best! As for Olivia, that book didn't come out until after I'd moved on from picture books to chapter books, but I think Olivia is ADORABLE and she's totally one of my favorite children's book characters now. 

My least favorite book was probably In the Plex. It's about Google and it's actually pretty interesting, especially if you're into techie things, but, well, I'm not, plus I had to write a paper on the book so that kind of turned me off from it a bit. But I've definitely read far worse!

Overall, I had a pretty good selection of books this month! I do wish that I had more time for fun reading - I didn't finish a single book that I selected on my own this month, which is super depressing  - but I have to say that if I have to be reading books that others choose for me, these ones have been pretty darn good. 

What books have you read this month? Have you read any of my selections?