Today’s post covers the second half of the books I read in November 2025. I shared what I read in the first half of the month here. I shared my five star reads here. I did read one more 5 Star book after I wrote that post, so that book will be included here! The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: Queen Esther
Author: John Irving
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 11/4/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars, rounded up to 4 Stars
Queen Esther by John Irving was said to be a return to the world of The Cider House Rules, and while Dr Larch and the orphanage do have a part in this one, it’s not a sequel or a continuation. This is not even really about Esther, who is adopted early in the story but then is absent for most of the book. Instead, it is about her biological son Jimmy, who studies in Vienna, where the long middle of the book takes place.
“Esther Nacht is born in Vienna in 1905. Her father dies on board the ship to Portland, Maine; her mother is murdered by anti-Semites in Portland. Dr. Larch knows it won’t be easy to find a Jewish family to adopt Esther; in fact, he won’t find any family who’ll adopt her. When Esther is fourteen, soon to be a ward of the state, Dr. Larch meets the Winslows, a philanthropic New England family with a history of providing foster care for unadopted orphans. The Winslows aren’t Jewish, but they despise anti-Semitism. Esther’s gratitude for the Winslows is unending; even as she retraces her roots back to Vienna, she never stops loving and protecting the Winslows. In the final chapter, set in Jerusalem in 1981, Esther Nacht is seventy-six.”
I didn’t like Irving’s previous book much, but I wanted to read this one due to the Jewish content, and I did enjoy that aspect of the story. I didn’t like the long ruminations on Dickens, and other esoteric topics. I don’t think I’ll read more Irving if he does write more, but maybe one day I’ll return to A Widow For One Year and see if I still love it as much as I did in the 90s.
Title: A Queen’s Match
Author: Katharine McGee
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Publisher: Random House Books For Young Readers, 11/4/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
A Queen’s Match is the sequel to A Queen’s Game by Katharine McGee. She writes the best sagas! In this one, we continue the story of the grandchildren of Queen Victoria and her efforts at matching them for marriage.
“Hélène d’Orléans, exiled princess of France, was forced to break off her engagement to Prince Eddy because of a mistake from her past. But she’s determined to win him back, even if it means pretending to court another prince. Alix of Hesse is desperately in love with Prince Nicholas of Russia and promises to wait for him, no matter how long it takes. But what happens when her grandmother Queen Victoria introduces a new suitor . . . one who makes Alix question her heart? May of Teck isn’t even looking for love, just a crown—and now, after all her scheming, she might finally have found a way to marry Prince Eddy. So why can’t she stop thinking about his younger brother, George?”
I think this is a unique historical story and I enjoyed following the princesses May, Helene, and Alix and hoping for their relationship matches to work out for them. This does include a sad section that is true to historical events!
Title: Before I Saw You
Author: Emily Houghton
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 5/4/21
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audi0
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
This month I listened to Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton. I chose it off my shelf and my long list of books received in 2021. This is about Alice and Alfie who are in a hospital ward after being in serious accidents. They begin talking to each other through their adjoining curtain. Without seeing each other face to face, they share their difficult pasts and current realities. A little like Love is Blind maybe?
“
Alice Gunnersley and Alfie Mack sleep just a few feet apart from one another. They talk for hours every day. And they’ve never seen each other face-to-face. After being in devastating accidents, the two now share the same ward as long-term residents of St. Francis’s Hospital. Although they don’t get off to the best start, the close quarters (and Alfie’s persistence to befriend everyone he meets) brings them closer together. Pretty soon no one can make Alice laugh as hard as Alfie does, and Alfie feels like he’s finally found a true confidante in Alice. Between their late night talks and inside jokes, something more than friendship begins to slowly blossom between them. But as their conditions improve and the end of their stay draws closer, Alfie and Alice are forced to decide whether it’s worth continuing a relationship with someone who’s seen all of the worst parts of you, but never seen your actual face.”
While I liked listening to their relationship develop I thought the end came a little abruptly. Also, there were a lot of difficult topics in the story!
Title: Four Hundred Souls
Author: Keisha N. Blain & Ibram X. Kendi (editors)
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: One World, 2/2/21
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
For my 25 in ’25 bonus non fiction pick, I read Four Hundred Souls edited by Keisha N Blain and Ibram X Kendi. I had originally started this book when I received it from from the publisher, but I had tried reading just a bit at a time and I find when I do that, I don’t finish books. So I started over and read this for Non Fiction November.
“The story begins in 1619—a year before the Mayflower—when the White Lion disgorges ‘some 20-and-odd Negroes’ onto the shores of Virginia, inaugurating the African presence in what would become the United States. It takes us to the present, when African Americans, descendants of those on the White Lion and a thousand other routes to this country, continue a journey defined by inhuman oppression, visionary struggles, stunning achievements, and millions of ordinary lives passing through extraordinary history. Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume ‘community’ history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics. They approach history from various perspectives: through the eyes of towering historical icons or the untold stories of ordinary people; through places, laws, and objects. While themes of resistance and struggle, of hope and reinvention, course through the book, this collection of diverse pieces from ninety different minds, reflecting ninety different perspectives, fundamentally deconstructs the idea that Africans in America are a monolith—instead it unlocks the startling range of experiences and ideas that have always existed within the community of Blackness. “
This book is about Black history in the U.S. from 1619-2019. It is written in the form of essays by various writers covering events, people, etc. A lot of these were lesser known. It goes from the arrival of 20 enslaved people through the BLM movement. Some of the essays were more creative or interesting than others. It is a unique way to learn and experience a book.
Title: Haven’t Killed In Years
Author: Amy K. Green
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Berkley, 11/18/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Haven’t Killed In Years by Amy K. Green was the second book I recently read about a relative to a serial killer! This one is about Gwen, whose father was the killer, while her mom was also in prison but has just been released. Now Gwen begins receiving severed arms at her door, telling her that someone knows who she is.
“Marin Haggerty, the daughter of a notorious serial killer, was only a child when they arrested her father. Ripped from her home and given a new identity, Marin disappeared. Twenty years later, Gwen Tanner keeps everyone at a distance, preferring to satirize the world around her than participate in it. It’s for her safety—and theirs. But when someone starts sending body parts to her front door, the message is clear: I Know Who You Are. To preserve her secrets, Gwen must hunt down the killer, a journey which immerses her in the twisted world of true crime fandom and makes her confront her past once and for all. Maybe she is capable of deep, human connections, but she’s not the only one keeping secrets. Will opening herself up to others help her find the killer, or remind her why it was necessary she hide her true self in the first place?”
While I found this slow to get going, it was fun meeting and suspecting all the possible culprits. Gwen begins letting people in to her life for the first time, and it was nice to see her personal growth as well. This was a solid thriller!
Title: Setting The Stage
Author: Lindsay Champion
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Pixel & Ink, 10/21/25
Source: PR for Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Setting The Stage by Lindsay Champion is part 1 in the new middle grade series Cast vs Crew. This book covers the creation of a school musical from casting through tech week and follows members of the stage crew including stage manager Ella, whose parents expect her to manage their house too, Willow, who is on crew because she got in trouble but finds she actually likes being in charge of sound, Levi, who lives with foster parents but whose mom wants to see him, and Sebastian, the brother of the star of the show who has a crush on Levi.
“Eighth grader Ella Amani has been waiting her whole life to be the stage manager of the middle school musical, and this is her year! Somehow she’ll have to find jobs for Willow, who’s doing stage crew instead of detention, and Sebastian, a shy sixth grader whose sister is the star of the show. She’ll have to wrangle Kevin, the clumsy new kid who was homeschooled on a boat, and Levi, her best friend, who used to tell her everything. Still, Ella’s pretty sure she can handle the crew. The cast? That’s a different story. They’re ungrateful, they treat the crew like servants, and when Ella finally pushes back, they start playing pranks!”
I enjoyed each of these characters and following their attempts to help a cast who don’t appreciate them and who starts a prank war with them. I definitely want to continue this series!
Title: The Light of Days
Author: Judy Batalion
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Harper Audio, 4/6/21
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
Another Non Fiction November pick this month was The Light of Days by Judy Batalion. This was another book I started in 2021, set it aside, and neglected to finish until now. I listened to the audio and thought it was pretty interesting.
“Witnesses to the brutal murder of their families and neighbors and the violent destruction of their communities, a cadre of Jewish women in Poland—some still in their teens—helped transform the Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis. With courage, guile, and nerves of steel, these ‘ghetto girls’ paid off Gestapo guards, hid revolvers in loaves of bread and jars of marmalade, and helped build systems of underground bunkers. They flirted with German soldiers, bribed them with wine, whiskey, and home cooking, used their Aryan looks to seduce them, and shot and killed them. They bombed German train lines and blew up a town’s water supply. They also nursed the sick, taught children, and hid families. Yet the exploits of these courageous resistance fighters have remained virtually unknown. As propulsive and thrilling as Hidden Figures, In the Garden of Beasts, and Band of Brothers, The Light of Days at last tells the true story of these incredible women whose courageous yet little-known feats have been eclipsed by time. Judy Batalion—the granddaughter of Polish Holocaust survivors—takes us back to 1939 and introduces us to Renia Kukielka, a weapons smuggler and messenger who risked death traveling across occupied Poland on foot and by train. Joining Renia are other women who served as couriers, armed fighters, intelligence agents, and saboteurs, all who put their lives in mortal danger to carry out their missions. Batalion follows these women through the savage destruction of the ghettos, arrest and internment in Gestapo prisons and concentration camps, and for a lucky few—like Renia, who orchestrated her own audacious escape from a brutal Nazi jail—into the late 20th century and beyond.”
This is about the role women played in resistance organizations in World War Two, specifically in the ghettos. It had some suspenseful parts describing how the group survived, or didn’t. There were some graphic and violent scenes. The book seemed quite well researched!
Title: The Dysfunctional Family’s Guide to Murder
Author: Kate Emery
Genre: YA Mystery
Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers, 10/21/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Ruth and her father, her sort of cousin Dylan and his mom, and their other aunt are visiting their step-grandma when she dies under suspicious circumstances. Ruth is a fan of Agatha Christie and sets out to solve the mystery.
“14-year-old Ruth was expecting a few fights on her family’s vacation at their remote farmhouse. But she wasn’t expecting a murder. And ‘death by typewriter’ wasn’t quite how she thought her step-grandmother, GG, would meet her end. As an avid reader of mystery novels, Ruth is more than a little excited to have a real mystery to solve. (Though she’s sad about GG. Obviously.) And she’s read enough Agatha Christie that catching a killer should be a breeze… right? With her annoyingly hot sort-of-cousin, Dylan, as the Watson to her Holmes, Ruth soon begins to uncover long-buried family secrets, finding that each of her relatives–her dad; her aunts and their partners; even, in the interest of fairness, Dylan and herself–had reasons to want GG gone. But are any of them capable of murder? As tensions rise with everyone stuck in the house together, Ruth will have to dig deep to find out… before the killer strikes again.”
This was a cute read and it was fun to see Ruth uncovering motives and family secrets. I also liked the way she would speak to the reader, as a fun sort of plot device!
Title: I Was Never The First Lady
Author: Wendy Guerra, translated by Achy Obejas
Genre: Literary
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, 9/14/21
Source: BookSparks – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
I recently made a list of my next 10 backlist books to read and I decided to start with this one. I Was Never The First Lady by Wendy Guerra was translated by Achy Obejas. I listened to the relatively short audiobook and thought it was a unique book, a mix of memoir and fiction that included a personal story about family and Cuban history, written with poems, interviews, letters, radio shows, lists, etc.
“Nadia Guerra’s mother, Albis Torres, left when Nadia was just ten years old. Growing up, the proponents of revolution promised a better future. Now that she’s an adult, Nadia finds that life in Havana hasn’t quite matched its promise; instead it has stifled her rebellious and artistic desires. Each night she DJs a radio show government censors block from broadcasting. Frustrated, Nadia finds hope and a way out when she wins a scholarship to study in Russia. Leaving Cuba offers her the chance to find her long lost mother and her real father. But as she embarks on a journey east, Nadia soon begins to question everything she thought she knew and understood about her past. As Nadia discovers more about her family, her fate becomes entwined with that of Celia Sanchez, an icon of the Cuban Revolution—a resistance fighter, ingenious spy, and the rumored lover of Fidel Castro. A tale of revolutionary ideals and promise, Celia’s story interweaves with Nadia’s search for meaning, and eventually reveals secrets Nadia could never have dreamed.”
While I did find this literary work to be confusing in parts, I appreciated the mother daughter story that was included, plus I enjoy learning more about Cuba as well.
Title: The Women of Wild Hill
Author: Kirsten Miller
Genre: Contemporary / Magical Realism
Publisher: William Morrow, 10/7/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I loved Kirsten Miller’s last book (it was my favorite of 2024 actually) and I was so excited to pick up this one. The Women of Wild Hill is about generations of strong women witches, who in the present take on billionaires and politicians who have ruined the earth.
“There are places on earth where nature’s powers gather. Girls raised there are bequeathed strange gifts. A few have powers so dark that they fear to use them. Such a place is Wild Hill, on the tip of Long Island. For centuries, the ghost of a witch murdered by colonists claimed the beautiful and fertile Wild Hill…until a young Scottish woman with strange gifts arrived. Sadie Duncan was allowed to stay. Five generations of Sadie’s descendants called Wild Hill home, each generation more powerful than the last. Then, in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, the last of the Duncans, once prophesized to be the most powerful of their kind, abandoned their ancestral home. One of them, Brigid Laguerre moved to California and turned her dark gift into fame and fortune. Her sister, Phoebe, settled on a ranch in Texas, where women visit in secret for her tonics and cures. Phoebe’s daughter, Sibyl, has become a famous chef. Seemingly powerless, Sibyl has never been told of the Duncan bloodline. Now Brigid, Phoebe, and Sibyl have been brought to Wild Hill to discover their family legacy. The Old One, furious at the path mankind has taken, has chosen three powerful witches to turn the tide. The Duncans will fulfill their destinies—but only if they can set aside their grievances and come together as a family.”
I loved reading about the generations of this family through flashbacks. Even though this book contains magic, it also feels very real and powerful. I loved reading this book.
Title: Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore
Author: Emily Krempholtz
Genre: Rom Com / Fantasy
Publisher: Ace, 11/18/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
While I generally don’t like or read fantasy, it was kind of fun to read a rom com set in a fantasy world. This is about Violet, who was formally the Thorn Witch but is trying to reinvent herself as a florist in a small town. Her grumpy landlord Nathaniel isn’t a fan of her or her magic, but they have to work together to fight a blight endangering the town’s plants.
“Guy Shadowfade is dead, and after a lifetime as the dark sorcerer’s right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over—not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good. The quaint town of Dragon’s Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance—she’ll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life. Violet’s vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. With a struggling business and his own second chance seemingly out of reach, Nathaniel has no time for flowers or frippery—and certainly none for the intriguing witch next door. When a mysterious blight endangers every living plant in Dragon’s Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together, through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings for one another, to save their community. But with a figure from her previous life knocking at her door and her secrets threatening to uproot everything she’s worked so hard to grow, Violet can’t help but wonder…does a former villain truly deserve a happily-ever-after?”
I enjoyed the friendships Violet made and how they worked to fight a common enemy. I enjoyed the florals and plants and especially loved the cover and colorful end pages, as well as the fun shop signs included between chapters. This was a fun one. I have another fantasy rom com type book to read but I’m not sure I’m ready for another so soon!
There you have it, the rest of my November reading! This post included 11 of the books I read in November. Eight of these books were in print and three were audio. Genres included historical fiction, romance, non fiction, contemporary, thriller, literary, and mystery. Eight of them were adult reads, two were YA, and one was Middle Grade.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
