My two favourite NaNoWriMo books

 Hi there! I hope you are all doing fine. Are you getting ready for Halloween? I am not much of a fan (except for the candy), perhaps because I don't like horror that much or simply, because I am not American and when that trick-or-treat tradition arrived in my country I was too much of a grown-up. In any case, if you are a fan, I hope you'll have a great time.

What I am really, truly excited about is NaNoWriMo. And, as luck would have it, I remembered a few days ago that on my first year winning it (this is, reaching 50,000 words written in a month on your novel), I won a series of novels either written during the month or inspired by the novelty of their new authors. I will only blog this time about the two I remember to have loved the most, one of them being quite appropriate for Halloween, so here we go.

The Gingerbread Man - Maggie Shayne. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The discovery of two dead kids at an abandoned house sets Detective Vincent O'Malley to New York to investigate the case. Once there, he meets Hollie Newman, a woman whose little sister also died in oddly similar circumstances... At least to her. Halloween is quite the element for this case that she is also desperate to resolve to get some closure. The two of them joining together in this dangerous and heavy case could lead to something more than they expected, but the horror of their discoveries could put everything else on hold...

To be honest with you, I loved the book, but I vaguely remember it except for a thing that happened to me while reading a quite crucial moment. I got a scare from my brother in typical Halloween fashion, him wearing a mask and everything just for the laughs, without knowing I was reading this book... I do not recommend jumpscares in general, but even less when one is reading. You don't know the topic, and they can be too into the story... As I was.

I read it years ago, so maybe my perception of the book has changed over time and if you are quite the reader of this kind of novel maybe you will not find it as thrilling, but I do remember that descriptions were too vivid and for me it's a truly Halloween treat.

Finding Lucas - Samantha S.Bailey. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Can you ever really go back to the past? After five long years of living with Derek, her former bad boy turned metrosexual boyfriend, Jamie Ross finally reaches her breaking point. She's had enough of his sneering disdain for her second-hand wardrobe, unusual family and low-paying job as the associate producer of Chicago's sleaziest daytime talk show. When her new boss plans a segment on reuniting lost loves, Jamie remembers Lucas, her first love and the boy she'd lost ten years earlier. Spurred on by her gang of quirky friends, Jamie goes on a hilarious, disastrous and life-changing hunt to track Lucas down. But will finding Lucas give Jamie everything she's looking for? - Amazon

Now: This is a romance, but it's one of my favourites. Besides, thanks to this one I got to connect with the author on social media and now I am super thrilled to see how she has become a thriller author. Still, I will always remember this novel fondly as my discovery of her writing. It's really funny, fresh, and different from what you usually expect in this genre. I absolutely recommend it.

This will be my last entry of the month, but I will try not to abandon this blog during November, because if I find the time and the will, I will do the sweet November initiative from my friend Neus of reading romance novels during the whole month (and watch romantic films as well). If you understand Spanish, go check the video list she has on the topic on her Youtube channel. It's SO worth it).

If I do not find the will, I'll still keep you up-to-date with my NaNo project or recommend new books, we will see. The point is: that I'll still be around.

Take care.