What I Read and Loved | October 2025

Five books, two albums, and more

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

October is one of my favorite months. I love the fall weather, the pumpkin treats, the sweaters, and the coziness I create for myself. A cozy life makes for a good reading environment, and that’s why I finished five books last month, all of which I enjoyed. I’m excited to share them with you, so let’s get going!

What I Read

All books are linked to bookshop.org, where your purchases support the indie bookstore of your choice and my work on this newsletter.

Heart the Lover by Lily King: A woman nicknamed Jordan, based on The Great Gatsby character, meets two men during her senior year of college. Sam is the one she falls for and dates, and Yash is his best friend and roommate. The more time Jordan spends with Yash, the more she’s drawn to him. Many years later, Jordan is happily living her adult life when she gets news that brings her back to her college days with the two men she loved.

Heart the Lover is a tender and emotional novel about young people full of passion and how that passion shapes their lives. This book is a love story, but it’s also a friendship story about the people who never really leave us. I hadn’t read Lily King before, but after appreciating her well-crafted characters and prose, I want to read more. I suspect you will, too. (Print, 5/5 stars)

Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler: This middle-grade novel goes back and forth between two timelines: 1942 and the present day. In the present day, readers meet Liv, a 13-year-old girl whose grandmother is struggling with memory loss. Liv is frustrated by all the secrets her grandma keeps, and her frustration grows when she’s assigned a school project tracing her family tree. Liv knows getting information about her family from her grandma is going to be nearly impossible, so she starts digging on her own. What she finds takes readers back to 1942 when World War II was raging.

It’s during that time that a teenager named Eva gets involved in the Dutch Resistance movement. Since Eva and her little sister, Mila, are Jewish, they get sent away to live with a new family with the hope that they’ll survive the war and Hitler’s violence. As Liv learns about Eva and Mila, she starts to understand her grandmother better, and her stories give Liv courage and strength to stand up for herself and make her family proud.

I read this book for a school book club, and I’m so glad I did because I love this story. The characters are vibrant, the history is interesting, and the dual timelines make for a compelling narrative about several brave girls. I’ll be recommending this book to kids and adults alike. (Print, 5/5 stars)

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister: Camilla has a dreamy life. She lives in London, works in publishing, and is just heading back to the office after her maternity leave. After she drops off her daughter at daycare for the first time, the police get in touch with her and tell her shocking news: her husband is currently secluded in a warehouse where he’s holding a gun on three masked hostages. Camilla’s husband is a writer, not a killer, so this news sends her reeling into disbelief and confusion.

This thriller is full of twists and fascinating characters. In addition to Camilla, readers also get inside the head of a hostage negotiator whose best days might be behind him. The lively characters mixed with the high stakes and tension made for a fun reading experience. Some parts of the story’s resolution didn’t make much sense to me, but I was still happy to be along for the ride. (Digital, 4/5 stars)

The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism by R. Derek Black: As a kid, Derek Black was already appearing in the news and on talk shows. Son of a KKK leader and the former wife of David Duke, Black was the proud heir to the white nationalist movement. They found purpose in the movement and used it to make sense of the world.

Those beliefs were challenged when they went off to college, though. Some of their closest friends were Hispanic and Jewish. The more Black thought about their beliefs, the harder it got to reconcile them with the relationships they were forming.

The Klansman’s Son is a captivating memoir about regret, change, and, ultimately, reconciliation. It gave me hope to read a story about someone who changed so dramatically. Black’s story is a powerful reminder that people have the capacity to learn, grow, and seek forgiveness by dedicating themselves to peacemaking and antiracism. Don’t miss this great memoir. (Print, 4/5 stars)

The Break-In by Katherine Faulkner: Alice is living a comfortable life in London when everything changes the night of a break-in. Alice’s friends and their children are over for a playdate when an unhinged man barges into the house. Terrified and desperate to protect her daughter, Alice kills the intruder. It’s ruled as self-defense, and Alice is free to move on with her life alongside her husband and child. But strange comments are appearing online, words that seem threatening. And Alice just can’t keep herself away from the family of the man she killed.

This thriller is perfectly paced the whole way through. Katherine Faulkner excels at giving readers little clues and twists in each chapter, making for an exciting read. If you want an unputdownable page-turner, this would be a great choice. It would make for a nice reading slump cure! (Digital 4/5 stars)

What I Loved

MUSIC: Brandi Carlile, Returning to Myself

I’ve had this album on repeat since its release. It’s rare for me to find an album where I love each song, but I struck gold with this one. Carlile is such a skilled artist.

MUSIC: Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl

There’s been so much discourse about this album, and I’m not that interested in any of it. I’ve really enjoyed the return to a more pop sound from Taylor. I definitely enjoy this album more than her last two.

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: Sweet Tea to High Tea

I love this channel, thanks to all of the cozy content and focus on hobbies. The creator describes the channel as “slow living, cozy hobbies, and seasonal joy from a Southern gal who married a British guy.” Her videos are always calming and delightful.

What I Wrote

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What did you read and love in October? Did any of our books overlap? Let me know in the comments.