Monthly Rewind: October 2025

L I F E

I attended MCM Comic Con this October, and it was particularly special because it was the first time I cosplayed in an outfit I had made myself! I cosplayed Farya from the video game Date Everything! She is the dateable item that is the personification of a First Aid Kit. When I first played the game, I jokingly said that I should cosplay her, not thinking it was a serious suggestion, until a couple of months ago. I just got this random spark of energy and decided to buy everything I needed to make the outfit. It’s not the best, as it was mainly just me painting everything directly onto the coat. However, in the future, I would like to attempt to recreate the outfit a bit better.

Thank you to the lovely person who cosplayed Skylar and joined me, so I didn’t have to take the picture by myself. (We took group pictures where everyone gathered, depending on where their character was located, and I just happened to be the only person cosplaying someone from the bathroom 😅) I also had a few professional photos taken of me, but I’m waiting to hear back from the photographers!

B O O K S

In October, I read 5 books!

For transparency, every book I read this month I received for free as I currently work at PRH.

This, My Second Life

After a near-death experience, twenty-year-old Jago moves to live with his uncle in Cornwall. His life now different from the hustle and bustle of city life, Jago spends his days recovering and assisting his uncle as much as he can. A peaceful life as one can get until the village villain, Bill Silgo, sets his eyes on his Uncle Jacob’s farm, and Jago is determined to stop him before the damage is done.

This is surprisingly a lot softer than I had expected. The synopsis suggests a more thriller-like tone, but it’s a lot slower than you’d expect. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this! Very intense but also very simple – a great read for the winter season.

She Made Herself a Monster

Yana, a vampire hunter, comes to the cursed village of Koprivci, where the food is tainted and the children barely survive to adulthood. Anka is the village curse, and while she is quick to ignore the village whispers, she can no longer avoid the fate of the sinister marriage that awaits her. The two work together to help Anka escape but the curse of the village might be too much for them to bare.

SO MUCH FUN! I knew I was in for a ride when the first chapter began with a very gruesome start. It’s a shame that the level of gory doesn’t continue through the rest of the story, but the emotional journey is a lot of fun with a great payoff.

Her Many Faces

A young waitress is charged with the murder of four men in London’s most exclusive private club. Her case has gone to trial and she’s adamant she didn’t do it. Now her life is splashed on the front pages and the five different men recall what they know about Killer Katie.

I love how this story was written – mainly through the perspective of five men who knew Katie. Her father, her childhood friend, her ex-lover, her lawyer and a journalist. It was a unique way to present the narrative, and it really heightened the thriller and mystery, prompting even myself to question whether Katie was innocent or not. I’m not a thriller reader at all, but this book made me see the hype the genre gets.

Seascraper

Young Thomas spends his days working his family trade as a shanker. His days consists of waking early, taking his horse and scraping the beach for shrimp and yearning for the music and the itch to sing. Until a strange man who wishes to make a movie on the beaches of his home enters his life and for the first time, Thomas begins to see a different future for himself.

Seascraper, you may not have entered the Booker Prize shortlist, but you are a winner in my heart. A really rich and atmosphere read. October was a month of slow and steady books for me and this one takes the cake.

Sympathy Tower Tokyo

Architect Sara Machina is hired to design Tokyo’s new skyscraper, which will house prisoners in a compassionate home called Sympathy Tower Tokyo. Struggling with the conflicting emotions of designing the building especially as she might disagree with the values of the project, she turns to the words of an AI chatbot.

I believe that this is a case where the translation of the book fails to effectively convey the original story. There is so much emphasis on wordplay that I think being translated into English really ruined the story. I really enjoyed the beginning, where the conversation focused on the Japanese language and its adaptation to the English language, as well as the importance of language; however, it then lost its spark. And when I finished the book, I learnt from googling the author that she actually used ChatGPT to write 5% of the book, which made me lose all respect for this story. Honestly, that information should’ve been noted somewhere in the book and should not require consumers to find out elsewhere. Perhaps I liked the idea of this book, but it’s written in a way that is so incoherent that reading it felt like a chore.

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That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?