Monthly Roundup & Look Ahead

Monthly Roundup: November

Taking a quick look at the numbers for November . . .

• Books bought – 15
• Books downloaded – 18
• ARCs received for review (physical) – 7
• ARCs received for review (digital) – 11
• Books read – 9
• Average rating: 3.6 with 1 perfect 5-star review

There are still 2 yet to be posted, but last month’s reviews included:

• Not Your Average Love Spell by Barbara Ann Wright
• Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire
• The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons
• The Amulet of Elements by Rose Marie Machario
• Star Trek DS9: The Missing by Una McCormack
• The Kinky Neighborhood (FemDom Wives In Control) by Mistress Benay
• Siege of Stone by Terry Goodkind

I always find what reviews are best received across different mediums to be fascinating, as it points to different audience segments being engaged:

• Most viewed on the blog – Not Your Average Love Spell by Barbara Ann Wright
• Most liked on Goodreads – Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire
• Most reach on Facebook – The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons
• Most liked on Twitter – Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire

Look Ahead: December

While I hesitate to look too far ahead, as my reading is dictated as much by my whims and desires of the moment as by release dates, but reviews I’m confident you can expect to see this month include:

• Transfer by Terry M. West (read, just not yet reviewed)
• Breeding Season by Jason Howl (also read, just not reviewed)
• Empire Ascendant by Kameron Hurley (technically, this is a re-read and re-review, but I’m preparing for The Broken Heavens)
• Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender (this is proving to be a quick and thoroughly enjoyable read)
• I Was a Teenage Weredeer by C. T. Phipps & Michael Suttkus (I’m long overdue for another read by these guys, and this is a fun one)
• Double Six by Brenda Murphy (this came out last month, so I’m tardy on a review)
• Uncharted by Robyn Nyx (this is a December release, so I want to stay on top of it)
• Locked-In Love by Key Barrett (I promised Key one more review celebration before the end of the year, and I think this will be it)
• Force Fields from Beyond by Naomi Semeniuk (I committed to getting this reviewed for December . . . and here we are!)
• Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton (of all my ARCs, this releases first in the new year, and I’ve had the ARC since August, so time to get reading)

Now, having said all that, who knows where the month will lead me, what will arrive on the the doorstop to make me drop everything, or what kind of mood I’ll randomly find myself in.

For instance, we kept seeing Jack Ryan commercials while catching up with NCIS: LA on the DVR last night, and it had me researching similar style techno-thriller, military espionage reads, but with a strong female protagonist. If I find one that catches my eye (suggestions are welcome!) and that I can snatch off a shelf somewhere local, that’ll likely creep into the mix.

Also, I’ve done a WTF Holiday feature the last few years, searching out some truly bizarre holiday-themed parodies and blasphemies, so I suspect those twisted reads will make an appearance as well. They’re usually short reads, which makes them easy to slip into the mix, but I should get searching.

Not tours or interviews scheduled for December (at this point), but I do have my two-part Most Anticipated Reads of 2020 coming up over the next two Tuesdays, as well as my Year in Review post. I’ll try to get that up in time for you to take my recommendations teo heart and finish your Christmas shopping.