At the beginning of October, I set myself a personal challenge, which was to beat my record of nine books read in August (two of which were comics, so let’s be honest, a bit of an advantage!). It was an ambitious goal, especially since one week of the previous month turned out busier than expected, but I can finally celebrate it as a personal victory I’m really proud of. Reading has become such a rare hobby these days, and I love that I’ve managed to keep it a part of my life.
As no one enjoys long introductions, October turned into a month filled with Freida McFadden thrillers and crime stories, sprinkled with a mix of self-development, comedy, history, and romance. I won’t lie, thriller and crime are the genres that keep me hooked the most but I enjoy adding variety to my shelves.
So, let’s dive in!
1. The Teacher
by Freida McFadden
★★★★★
It's not a surprise anymore that ever since Freida McFadden made her way to Romania and got her books translated in Romanian as well, I fell in love with her writings. So there was no better way to kick off the month without one of her books, which this time was The Teacher or, Profesoara if we translate it in Romanian, which is also the language I've read this into.
This was my 5th read from Freida, and I'm honestly shocked. I am not sure where this woman gets all the ideas for the thriller books she releases, but this one felt like a soft read for most of the part until the last 100 pages that proved wrong. Reading The Teacher takes you on a ride where every second gets you in a whole new mood, and it's in my top 3 favourite reads from her so far.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
2. The Inmate
by Freida McFadden
★★★★★
The next reading started late in the night when I couldn't fall asleep but really wanted to dive into more of Freida's writings, picking The Inmate this time. I only realised she got a special edition of some of her books for Romanian readers, where she writes a personal message on the first page, along with her autograph, when getting to read the book on my ebook. Nevertheless, I really wish I could have her collection of books on one of my shelves, but some of the books are ridiculously expensive in my opinion.
Anyway, The Inmate was another masterpiece from Freida. A whole rollercoaster from start to finish, with a crazy start that makes you think you finally know who's the bad guy, but then you remember you read one of Freida's masterpieces, where no matter how much you try, you'll never guess right. And that it's being proven quite a few times throughout the book. Loved it.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
3. Razi ca prostu'
by Alexandru Banciu, Alexandru Minculescu, Cristi Popesco, Dan Frînculescu, Maria Popovici, Sergiu Floroia, Sorin Pârcălab, Toma Alexandru
★★★☆☆
As I felt like taking a break from all the crimes I discovered through Freida's books, the 3rd read was for Razi ca prostu', which doesn't have an English name because it's a Romanian book written by 8 of the most popular Stand-up Comedians in Romania.
This is not one of the most common books, as it's a collection of over 1000 short jokes. Although I enjoy going to Stand-Up, these jokes were mediocre, with some of them making no sense. While they can become quite fun with the right people around you and maybe after a few glasses of wine, they are quite boring in the rest of the cases. Plus, 95% of them were already shared online on YouTube shows at no cost so there weren't too many I hadn't heard before.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
4. The Coworker
by Freida McFadden
★★★☆☆
Still in the same week, I felt like getting back to one of Freida's writings again, to take my dose of suspense and adrenaline of finishing a book in just one or two days, so I went all in for The Coworker this time.
Sadly, although I am a lot into Freida's writings lately, this one felt like the weakest book from her. There are still unexpected plot twists and an ending that is far from being guessed by anyone reading the book, but there were some parts that didn't fully catch my attention, as well as made me anticipate some of the upcoming situations, which is a thing not so common for Freida's writings. But even so, I think it was worth being read, although it's not one of my favourites.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
5. The Cat Who Saved The Library
by Sosuke Natsukawa
★★★★☆
Again, I thought about taking a break from Freida and dive into some of the physical books ordered recently, so I really wanted to read something very different from what I usually pick and thought The Cat Who Saved Books would be a pretty cozy reading and also what most likely my cats would pick, especially since they love accompanying me.
This was one of the best books a book lover can read, as we get a different perspective on how much reading and literature can influence one's lifestyle. Although I appreciated the fictional way showing how important reading is, I felt from time to time that some details were missing or some stories were taken a bit too far. But I guess, book stories have no limits, and I can't complain about it.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
6. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
by Laurie Gilmore
★★★★★
As the forest is already blooming in colours and the pumpkin spice is already a thing in most of the shops, I got influenced by reading a book that couldn't feel like fitting better than in October, entitled The Pumpkin Spice Cafe.
Happily, I wasn't wrong, as this felt like such a perfect book for the current time of the year. Halloween, pumpkins, latte, rains, autumn, and a lot of coziness. The typical love story that comes with laughter, frustration and a bit of spiciness, but which I can't complain about as I love having a bit of eroticism in my reads lol.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
7. Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
by Ethan Mollick
★★★★☆
While AI is becoming more present in everyone's life, I am happy that I finally took the time to read a book with this purpose, as I've been searching for an AI themed book for a while, and after countless searches, I picked Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI with big hopes.
Happily, my choice turned out to be a good one as there are various approaches in the book starting with the basics of AI, how it's being developed and how much each of us contributes on making it become better from one day to another without even realizing, until explaining how we could use it in some of the most popular jobs, but also showcasing four possible scenarios regarding on how AI could look in the future. Nevertheless it's been a very interesting read that I enjoyed from start to finish, but as a person who's career was heavily affected by AI, I was hoping to get more directions on how to use AI further, especially when it comes to prompts which are always making a difference between two people looking for the same help, but requesting it in different ways.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
8. The Housemaid (#1)
by Freida McFadden
★★★★★
Anyway, as the month began with Freida McFadden, I thought it was fair enough to dedicate the last week of October to finally dive into The Housemaid series of books, which is also the one that made her quickly become a very popular author all over the globe. I kept postponing this moment because I wanted to read some of the lesser-known writings from her first, but as that already happened, I realised it's finally the time to read this series also.
Although I can say that I am already familiar with Freida's writing style, it's still impossible to figure out what's going on before you reach the last hundred pages, when a whole rollercoaster of crazy twists begins. It's true, though, that I had a supposition about what could happen that was pretty close to reality, but then everything went all over the place and proved how powerful a human's brain is when writing a story. Absolutely loved the first book.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
9. The Housemaid's Secret (#2)
by Freida McFadden
★★★★★
At first, I've been a bit hesitant with this 2nd book, thinking that the story could become repetitive and also boring, but it turned out I couldn't be more wrong. The story was a whole twist from start to finish, and I even believe it's a lot better than the first volume which is something I heard from more readers.
It's funny how even if it stays as my favourite book from this trilogy, I find it the most difficult to pick my words when writing the review without revealing any spoilers, but I strongly believe everyone should read this, whether you are into thriller & crime books or not.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
10. The Housemaid Is Watching (#3)
by Freida McFadden
★★★☆☆
Last but not least, the 3rd volume from The Housemaid series found its place in my hands for the last 2 days of October, where I had big expectations from, but which sadly turned out a bit catastrophic.
Despite being a book that somehow stays away from becoming repetitive (which I really appreciate), I felt that the introduction was way too long this time, almost forgetting I'm reading one of Freida's gems, where I even estimated some of the things about to happen. Even if things took some crazy turns as the author got us used to, it felt like the weakest book out of the series, and also out of what I've read from Freida so far.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Check out my previous monthly recaps:
- August Recap: 9 Books That Kept Me Hooked
- September Recap: What I've Read Last Month?
- October Recap: My Best Reading Month Yet
Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences.
At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe.
Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (300+ articles written on this field), but also approaching other topics as well, like game and book reviews, lets plays, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 750+ blog posts.
Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, owning a YouTube channel for each of the two.
~ @GabrielaTravels ~