November TBR

It has been an age since I’ve shared my TBR. It’s been so hard getting back into the swing of life that I’ve been doing the bare minimum. But I’m excited to share with you what I plan on reading this month because there are a lot of good books I will be tackling, so let’s get to it!

The Q, Amy Tintera
YA/Dystopian
Releases November 8th
Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop, B&N

I’m on a blog tour for this, and I signed up for it because I love dystopian. I cannot wait to start it.

About the Book
Seventeen-year-old Maisie Rojas has spent her entire life in the Q—a post-pandemic quarantine zone that was once Austin, Texas. Born and raised behind the high security walls that sealed their fate, she’s now a trusted lieutenant for one of the territory’s controlling families.
 
Lennon Pierce, the charismatic son of a US presidential candidate, has just been kidnapped by his father’s enemies and dropped out of a plane into the Q with nothing but a parachute strapped to his back. Lennon is given a temporary antidote to the disease and crucial intel for his father, but Maisie must get him out of the zone within forty-eight hours–or he will be permanently infected and forced to remain.
 
With unrest brewing both inside and outside the Q, reaching the exit is a daunting and dangerous task. But if Maisie and Lennon fail, it could mean disaster for the entire quarantine zone and its inhabitants—and could cost Lennon his life.

Five Survive, Holly Jackson
YA/Mystery
Releases November 29th
Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop, B&N

This is another book that I’m on a blog tour for. I signed up for this because I had an ARC of Holly’s first book and loved it.

About the Book
Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: Her best friend – the older brother – his perfect girlfriend – a secret crush – a classmate – and a killer. 

When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead.

With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target. But is there a liar among them? Buried secrets will be forced to light and tensions inside the RV will reach deadly levels. Not all of them will survive the night. . . . 

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
Historical Fantasy
Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop, B&N

This is a reread that I’ve already started. I recently reread The Starless Sea, so I figured this was due for a reread, as Erin is one of my favorite authors, and this book is incredible.

About the Book
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

Himself, Jess Kidd
Mystery/Magic Realism
Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop, B&N

I had an ARC of The Night Ship, which I adored, so I am working my way through Kidd’s back catalog. (Things in Jars was great, too!).

About the Book
Abandoned on the steps of an orphanage as an infant, Dublin charmer Mahony assumed all his life that his mother had simply given him up. But when he receives a tip one night at the bar suggesting that foul play may have led to the disappearance of his mother, he decides to return to the rural Irish village where he was born to learn what really happened twenty-six years earlier.

From the moment he sets foot in Mulderrig, Mahony’s presence turns the village upside down. His uncannily familiar face and outsider’s ways cause a stir among the locals, who receive him with a mixture of curiosity (the men), excitement (the women), and suspicion (the pious). It seems that his mother, Orla Sweeney, had left quite an impression on this little town—dearly beloved to some, a scourge and a menace to others. But who would have had reason to get rid of her for good?

Determined to find answers, Mahony solicits the help of brash pot-stirrer and retired actress Mrs. Cauley, and the two concoct an ingenious plan to get the town talking, aided and abetted by a cast of eccentric characters, some from beyond the grave. What begins as a personal mission gradually becomes a quiet revolution: a young man and his town uniting against corruption of power, against those who seek to freeze their small worlds in time, to quash the sinister tides of progress and modernity come hell or high water. But what those people seem to forget is that Mahony has the dead on his side….

The Circus Train, Amita Parikh
Historical Fiction
Releases December 6th
Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop, B&N

I love WWII based Historical Fiction, so this sounds perfect.

About the Book
When all is lost, how do you find the courage to keep moving forward?

1938. Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the circus, even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Theo. Brilliant and curious, Lena—who uses a wheelchair after a childhood bout with polio—yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, her mind stronger than the limitations placed on her by society. Then her unconventional life takes an exciting turn when she rescues Alexandre, an orphan with his own secrets and a mysterious past.

As World War II escalates around them, their friendship blossoms into something deeper while Alexandre trains as the illusionist’s apprentice. But when Theo and Alexandre are arrested and made to perform in a town for Jews set up by the Nazis, Lena is separated from everything she knows. Forced to make her own way, Lena must confront her doubts and dare to believe in the impossible—herself.

Never Ever Getting Back Together, Sophie Gonzales
Romance/LGBTQ+
Releases November 29th
Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop, B&N

I loved Perfect on Paper, so I rushed to request this ARC.

About the Book
It’s been two years since Maya’s ex-boyfriend cheated on her, and she still can’t escape him: his sister married the crown prince of a minor European country and he captured hearts as her charming younger brother. If the world only knew the real Jordy, the manipulative liar who broke Maya’s heart.

Skye Kaplan was always cautious with her heart until Jordy said all the right things and earned her trust. Now his face is all over the media and Skye is still wondering why he stopped calling.

When Maya and Skye are invited to star on the reality dating show Second-Chance Romance, they’re whisked away to a beautiful mansion—along with four more of Jordy’s exes—to compete for his affections while the whole world watches. Skye wonders if she and Jordy can recapture the spark she knows they had, but Maya has other plans: exposing Jordy and getting revenge. As they navigate the competition, Skye and Maya discover that their real happily ever after is nothing they could have scripted.

Alice in Borderland Vol 3, Haro Aso
Manga/Horror
Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop, B&N

I had this preordered and started it, but the ink was so fresh it was like reading the Sunday newspaper on my hands. So I set it down, and then my TBR happened. I’m excited to get back to it.

About the Book

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

Aguni now has control of the Beach, and one of his first actions as king is to lock Ryohei in a room on one of the empty floors of the hotel to die of an expired visa. But Ryohei gets an unexpected stay of execution when the Beach becomes the arena for a brutal game of Hearts! Can he survive a witch hunt and get his visa extended, or has he just traded one terrible death for another?

The Passenger, Cormac McCarthy
Historical/Literary
Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop, B&N

I tried for an ARC of this, and while I wasn’t approved, I wasn’t denied either (which is so disappointing!). Of course I preordered it and am excited to start it.

About the Book
1980, PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI: It is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips the jacket of his wet suit and plunges from the Coast Guard tender into darkness. His dive light illuminates the sunken jet, nine bodies still buckled in their seats, hair floating, eyes devoid of speculation. Missing from the crash site are the pilot’s flight bag, the plane’s black box, and the tenth passenger. But how? A collateral witness to machinations that can only bring him harm, Western is shadowed in body and spirit—by men with badges; by the ghost of his father, inventor of the bomb that melted glass and flesh in Hiroshima; and by his sister, the love and ruin of his soul.
 
Traversing the American South, from the garrulous barrooms of New Orleans to an abandoned oil rig off the Florida coast, The Passenger is a breathtaking novel of morality and science, the legacy of sin, and the madness that is human consciousness.

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I think my TBR may be a little ambitious for the month if my reading progress is any indication, but I’m staying hopeful. I definitely have fewer ARCs to read this month which bodes well for books on my shelves.

So what do you plan on reading this month?