Autumn Reading Tag

I always love a good tag so when I saw this one on Kira Jeanette’s blog I knew I wanted to do it! The original can be found at Zezee With Books.

ARE THERE ANY BOOKS YOU PLAN ON READING OVER THE AUTUMN SEASON? These are four books that I would really like to read in the next few weeks. All give off fall vibes to me!

SEPTEMBER BRINGS BACK TO SCHOOL MEMORIES: WHAT BOOK DID YOU MOST ENJOY STUDYING? AND WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE AND LEAST FAVORITE SCHOOL SUBJECTS? I loved history in school and even got my Bachelors degree in it. I still enjoy reading and learning about our past and love when I find a new topic I can deep dive into. As for my least favorite that was math.

OCTOBER MEANS HALLOWEEN: DO YOU ENJOY SCARY BOOKS AND FILMS? IF SO WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITES? I don’t like scary movies! Ever October my husband tries and I just can’t do it! Im such a chicken. But I do like semi-scary books, I like to be creeped out! I really enjoyed The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, it was so good!

WITH NOVEMBER IT’S TIME FOR BONFIRE NIGHT & FIREWORK DISPLAYS. WHAT’S THE MOST EXCITING BOOK YOU’VE READ THAT REALLY KEPT YOU GRIPPED? I read a lot of books that keep me gripped but the last one was probably The Firebird Chronicles by T.A. White or Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

WHAT BOOK IS YOUR FAVORITE COSY COMFORT READ? Any book by Penny Reid or Mariana Zapata!

CURLED UP WITH A GOOD BOOK, WHAT IS YOUR HOT DRINK OF CHOICE? So this might be a little weird but I don’t actually enjoy hot drinks. My husband makes fun of me for it but I prefer cold drinks even in winter. That said I will sometimes share a mocha with the husband or kids but it’s very rare.

ANY PLANS YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS? Yes! My 40th is next month and we are going on vacation and I am so excited!! We also go to a local cider festival every October which we always look forward too!

WWW Wednesday – 9/21

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived by Sam on Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do is answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

What are you currently reading?

  • Angelika Frankenstien Makes Her Match – Only 5% into this one, I started it a few days ago but got distracted by my kindle! Hopefully I will make progress this week.
  • Book Of Night by Holly Black – Started the audio yesterday and got about 20% into it and I am so confused! I will give it a little more but if things don’t clear up I may not finish it.
  • Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott – I saw Kristin from Kristen Kraves Books put this on one of her TBR’s and I was like yes I need to read this! My library hold came in a lot sooner than I was expecting so I started this one last night! So far it’s good.


What did you recently finish reading?

  • The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews – 4 Stars
  • Some Dukes Have All The Luck by Christina Britton – 3 Stars
  • When Gracie Met The Grump by Mariana Zapata – 3.5 rounded up to 4 Stars

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Killers of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn – Hoping to start this one soon!
  • Dark Things I Adore by Katie Lattari – Need to read for the Buzzword readathon

What are you currently reading? Let me know in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday – September 20th

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This weeks Top Ten is Books On My Fall 2022 To-Read List!

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec – Fantasy

Love In The Time Of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson – Contemporary Romance

Facets of Revolution by T.A. White – Space Opera

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne – Historical Romance/Fantasy

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling – Contemporary Romance/Fantasy

Spells For Forgetting by Adrienne Young – Adult Fantasy

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Coven – Historical Fantasy

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna – Contemporary Romance/Fantasy

Only Bad Options by Jennifer Estep – Space Opera

Killers Of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn – Thriller

Spell The Month In Books – September

Hi Friends! Im here with my spell the month for September and I went with books that could put you in a spooky/fall mood! Have you read any of these?

S – The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix – Horror

E – The Echo Wife by Sarah Gaily – Sci-fi mystery

P – The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay – Horror?

T – The Therapist by B.A. Paris – Thriller

E – Emma In The Night by Wendy Walker – Thriller

M – My Heart Is A Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones – Horror

B – The Broken Girls by Simone St. James – Thriller

E – The Ex Hex by Erin Steerling – Contemporary romance with witches

R – The Retreat by Sarah Pearse – Thriller

Reading Round Up: September Part 1

Hello Friends! I have been a bit slower with my reading this month and having a hard time sticking with books. I keep picking them up and read a chapter or two and then put it down to start something new. Hopefully I get back into a groove soon until then here is my first round up where I finished 4 books and dnf’d 2.

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede – 2 Stars When I saw this cover and heard the synopsis months ago I knew I wanted to try it. Even though it’s considered New Adult it is Young Adult and I really struggle with any book in that genre. I decided to go ahead and try this one anyways and I will say my problems for this one weren’t related to the age of the characters but the pacing of this book. It was so boring and I really had a hard time making myself read it. I don’t have a lot else to say other than this one was not for me and I won’t be continuing with the series.

Marlowe Banks, Redesigned by Jacqueline Firkins – 4 Stars I really enjoyed this one!!! This story follows Marlow who is currently working as an assistant to a costume director for a TV show in LA. We learn that after her designs for a play in New York does not do well with the critics, Marlow escapes to LA to lay low. While working on the show she has a run in with the main actor Angus Gordon that does not go well. Angus turns out to not be quite what she expected and two form an unlikely friendship. As I said earlier I really enjoyed this story and couldn’t put it sown once I started. I loved the slow build relationship between Marlow and Angus, I am sucker for a slow burn and this one delivered. Highly recommend if you are looking for a fun and easy romance to read! Thank you St. Martin’s Press and netgalley for my gifted copy for review, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Publishes October 25, 2022.

A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary – 4 Stars – This book really surprised me as I am not usually a fan of holiday books or books centered on animals but I really enjoyed it. Kara is a veterinarian who opens a cat cafe with her best friend but prefers to stay in the back instead of up front with the customers. One morning wile going into work she sees a huge line to get in and strikes up a conversation with the gentleman beside her named Ben. Turns out he is behind a marketing campaign that is trying to increase business for the area and Kara is not happy about it! Slowly Ben and Kara begin to work together to save the cafe and we also learn about Kara’s hesitance to be in the media. This was such a warm and fuzzy holiday story and if you are a fan of cute cats being featured at the beginning of every chapter then you should check this one out. Thank you Forever Publishing and netgalley for my gifted copy for review, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Publishes October 4, 2022.

Love On The Brain by Ali Hazelwood – 4 Stars – I finally got my pre-order in so I started the book right away and really enjoyed it! Right after reading I rated this 5 stars because I had a really good time reading it but the more I thought about it I had to bump it down a star because the main heroine really annoyed me with her quirks that were probably supposed to endearing but were in reality really annoying! She talked to Marie Curie all the time like she was there with her. She used these phrases that she would have trade marked with the TM in the book. And the most annoying is she cried every time she saw road kill on the side of the road, not like little sniffles but full on sobbing and I found it t be a bit much and would skip paragraphs about it. I still really enjoyed the story overall but found her to be not to my taste. I will also say that in some ways this did remind me quite a bit of The Love Hypothesis but I didn’t mind that as I love a rude hero and an enemies to lovers story.

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair – I was listening to this one on audio but was getting pretty bored with it. I put it down at about 40% and realized I just didn’t care what happened in this story and never wanted to pick it back up so this one is a dnf. This is another book that is said to be an adult fantasy and while the characters are older it still felt very much like a YA story and thats just not for me. Thank you LibroFM for my influencer copy!

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney – I picked this one as a book of the month pick and also got the audio to listen too because I really enjoy the narrator for Alice Feeney’s books but sadly this one is not working for me. I only got about 20% in and I can already see where this is going and what the twist will be and I just didn’t care. I may pick this one up again in the future but Im not sure when that would be.

Update on my 20 Books of Summer 2022 Challenge

Hi friends! I wanted to update you on this challenge that I was participating in that was hosted by Cathy746books and you can read her post announcing it here. The goal was to pick 10, 15 or 20 books to read between June 1st and September 1st. I pretty much failed this challenge. While I read 72 books during this time I only read 10 from the 20 books that I had chosen. I did dnf 4 of the books and 1 has been pushed back till October. Did you participate in this challenge? If so how did you do?

Books I Read

  • The Beach Trap by Ali Brady – 5 Stars Really enjoyed this take on The Parent Trap that is set in Florida and centers around two estranged sisters who renovate a house together. You can see my thoughts here.
  • How To Fake It In Hollywood by Ava Wilder – 5 Stars – I really enjoyed this fake dating trope that takes place between an actress trying to break it big in Hollywood and an actor who is still dealing with grief. You can see my thoughts here.
  • Flying Solo by Linda Holmes – 3 Stars. After loving Evvie Drake Starts Over I had high hopes for this one but it ended up just being ok. You can see my thoughts here.
  • The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager – 4 Stars I really enjoyed this one and loved the direction he too the ending, I know some didn’t care for it but I did! You can see my thoughts here.
  • Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers – 3 Stars This one should not be classified as a romance and because of that I had different expectations going in. I liked the writing just was expecting else from what I got. You can see my thoughts here.
  • Fake It Till You Make It by Jamie Wesley – 4 Stars If you are a fan of sports romances or baking then I would recommend picking this one up! You can see my thoughts here.
  • Happiness For Beginners by Katherine Center – 4 Stars I am slowly making my way through Katherine Center’s backlist and I have had this one for awhile so I was glad to finally get to it! You can see my thoughts here.
  • The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley – 3 Stars A good thriller but left me with unanswered questions which I find really annoying! You can see my thoughts here.
  • Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins – 2 Stars My review on this one is quite long but while I liked parts of it overall it didn’t work for me. I am still a fan of her writing and can’t wait for her next triller The Villa. You can see my thoughts here.
  • The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John – 4 Stars I received this one last year from the publisher when The Siren was released and after enjoying that one I knew I had to get to this one! If you like mysteries and books set around movie productions then you should check this one out! You can see my thoughts here.

Books I Didn’t Get To

  • Ice and Stone by Marcia Muller – Backlist Mystery that I have had for a while on my shelves and wanted to get to, hopefully I can this winter!
  • Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Another backlist I wanted l to read but was just never in the mood to pick it up.
  • Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Another backlist I wanted to read but never in thought about picking it up but it does have fall vibes on the cover so maybe I will still try and get to it soon.
  • West Side Love Story by Priscilla Oliveras – A new release that I wanted to read but it is still sitting on my kindle.
  • The Moment I Met You by Debbie Johnson – Another new release I got but it is a heavier book and I was just never in the head space to read a book like that.

Books I Started But Didn’t Finish

  • The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley – This one was a backlist I wanted to read and I really tried with this one but I just couldn’t get into it so I skimmed the majority of the book to get to the end.
  • The Children On The Hill by Jennifer McMahon – This was a new release horror that I was really looking forward to but the story just didn’t work for me.
  • The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark – A summer release that I had an advanced copy of but Im counting this one as a dnf for now because I started it but never really got invested in it enough to pick it back up. I will try this one at a later date.
  • All The White Spaces by Ally Wilkes – A recently released horror that I tried but didn’t get very far because my library book was returned. I still want to pick this one up again as the premise was intriguing.
  • Folk Around and Find Out by Penny Reid – Upcoming release – This one has been pushed back multiple times and is now hopefully coming out in October! And I will read it as soon as it comes out!

WWW Wednesday – 9/14

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived by Sam on Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do is answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

What are you currently reading?

  • For The Throne by Hannah Whitten – Only about 5% into this one as it is a slower read compared to my others but Im enjoying it. I have made no progress this week but I am hoping to pick this one back up soon!
  • The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews – 47% into this one and am really enjoying it! It’s a fun historical romance.
  • Wild At Heart by K.A. Tucker – 27% into this one, picked it up as a reread after finishing The Simple Wild but it’s on a different app and I never remember to open it! This is also a re-read so Im no rush.


What did you recently finish reading?

  • Where The Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen – 3 Stars
  • The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker – 4 Stars
  • Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams – 2 Stars

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Angelika Frankenstien Makes Her Match – My pre-order came in this weekend and I am ready to start this one!
  • Killers of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn – Got my BOTM box and I am ready to start this one!
  • Dark Things I Adore by Katie Lattari – Need to read for the Buzzword readathon

What are you currently reading? Let me know in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday – September 13th

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This weeks Top Ten is Books with Geographical Terms in the Title (Submitted by Lisa of Hopewell)

  • Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier – Fairytale fantasy – 4 Stars
  • Such A Quite Place by Megan Miranda – Mystery/Thriller – 4 Stars
  • The Beach Trap by Ali Brady – Contemporary Romance – 5 Stars
  • Love on the Lake by Helena Hunting – Contemporary Romance – 4 Stars
  • A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross – Adult Fantasy – 4 Stars
  • Lake Silence by Anne Bishop – Fantasy – 4 Stars
  • The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley – Historical Fiction
  • Love In The City by Jen Morris – Contemporary Romance
  • Island Time by Georgia Clark – Contemporary Fiction/Romance
  • The Tiger Came To The Mountains by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Short Story, Historical Fiction

Spell The Month In Books – August

Hi Friends! I just realized that I never posted my spell the month for August! SO I decided to go ahead and post it anyways! This month I went with books on my TBR! Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these and your thoughts on it!

A – Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne – Historical/Fantasy Romance that is a new take on the Frankenstein story. I am so excited for this one and can’t wait for my pre-order to come in!

U – Under The Whispering Door by TJ Klune – A fantasy with the found family trope which is one of my favorites!

G – The Girl From Widow Hills by Megan Miranda – this is my last adult novel by Megan that I still need to read and it has been on my shelf since it came out. Hopefully I will get to it one of these days!

U – Unseen by Karin Slaughter – This is the 7th book in the Will Trent series. I am currently on book 6.

S – Spells For Forgetting by Adrienne Young – This is a new adult fantasy from Adrienne Young. I have read some of her YA and really enjoyed it so Im excited for her adult novel.

T – Trapper Road by Rachel Caine and Carrie Ryan – This is a mystery/thriller book that I need to read to finish out the series. I loved this one and am so sad that we won’t get any more books from Rachel Caine.

Fantasy Series I would like to re-read or finally finish!

Hello Friends! I have been thinking about this one for awhile as I realized when looking at my shelves that I haven’t finished reading a few fantasy series that I used to really enjoy. I drifted away from reading fantasy many years ago but have kept most of my books and lately I have had the itch to try and finish some of these series. Have you read and finished of these? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below!

The Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill – There are 13 books in this series and I have read 8 of them. This story follows Merit as she is turned into a vampire and becomes Sentinel to one of the Vampire houses in Chicago. The series follows her and her Ethan who is head of her House as they deal with the politics of the vampires. I honestly don’t know why I stopped, it might have been because I was waiting for the next one to come out and then just never picked it up. Or I got bored with it and just didn’t want to continue.

The Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh – There are 15 book in this one and I have only read 4, these are a lot darker than her Psy Changling series which is one of my all time favorites so they take more time for me to read. This is one of the ones I would really like to work on getting caught up on. This follows Elena who is a vampire hunter and her relationship with the guild as well as the Archangel Raphael.

The Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs – This is a spin off of her Mercy Thompson series which I also haven’t finished and am not real sure on if I will try and finish it or not. In the Alpha and Omega series there are 6 books and I have read 3, this one seems like it should be easy to finish up. This follows Charles who is the enforcer for the North American were wolf pack and Anna who is a rare omega.

Katherine “Kitty” Katt series by Gini Koch – This series follows Kitty who stumbles upon the fact that aliens walk among humans and gets pulled into the political shenanigans of the Alpha Centauri. I have read 6 out of 16 that are published and I would love to finish this series. I will state that this is one of pure dispensation of belief because this series is bonkers! That being said I always had a great time reading it!

Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep – I started this series when it first came out many years ago and stopped picking it up because I had started to drift away from my fantasy series. There are 19 books in this series and I made it through 5 before I stopped. This series follows the assassin named Spider as she fights to stay alive after her handler is killed. I have recently picked up Jennifer Estep’s newest series and it made me want to go back and continue with this one.

The Wayfarer Redemption series by Sara Douglas – I read this series many years ago and it has been awhile since I have revisited it and have been feeling like I might want to pick it up again soon. There are 6 books that follow Axis, Faraday and Azhure in this fantasy series that I have no idea how to describe!

Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews – This is another series I would like to revisit as I just finished the most recent in the series, Ruby Fever. The first 3 books follow Nevada and it’s been awhile since I read them and was thinking they would be a quick and easy reread. There are 6 books in this series where the first 3 follow Nevada and the next 3 follow Catalina both members of House Baylor. This is a fun Urban Fantasy series and Ilona Andrews do this genre so well!