Hello Friends! Here are all the books I read in September! I had a really good month, I read 17 books. Two were 2 stars but the rest were between 4-5 stars! I did re-read 4 books this month which helps but I was in a life funk and needed things I knew I was going to love. As for new favorites The Love Hypothesis is definitely one of my favorites for the year! Highly recommend picking that one up!
What was your favorite book this month?
Books I readin September
Physical Books – 13 Books
E-Books – 2 Books
Audio – 2 Books
Library Books – 1 Book
ARC’s – 4 Books
DNF’s – 1 Book
Re-Reads – 4 Books
Pages Read – 6,411
Genres
Contemporary Romance – 5 Books
Thriller/Mystery – 4 Books
Paranormal Romance – 1 Book
Historical Romance – 2 Book
Fantasy – 4 Books
Graphic Novel – 1 Book
( I am only putting each book in what I think is the most prominent category )
Year Book Was Published
1999 – 1 Book
2000 – 2019 – 6 Books
2021 – 10 Books
Star Ratings
2 Stars – 2 Books
4 Stars – 6 Books
4.5 Stars – 2 Books
5 Stars – 7 Books
2 Stars
Chasing Serenity by Kristen Ashley
A Portrait of A Scotsman by Evie Dunmore
4 Stars
A Rogue Of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore
Dark Lover by JR Ward
Daughter Of The Forest by Juliet Marillier
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Heir To Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
The Dating Plan by Sara Desai
4.5 Stars
First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel
A Good Day For Chardonnay by Darynda Jones
5 Stars
Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Osman
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena
Son Of Shadows by Juliet Marillier
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
A Slow Burning FireBy Paula Hawkins
A Song of Flight by Juliet Marillier
ReCap on my May Challenges
For my Backlist book I read –
For Kayla’s Buzzword – This month the buzzword was a
Hi Friends! I have quite a few books for this round up so my reviews might be a little short this time! I read 8 books and 3 were re-reads! I finally got to Heartstopper and I loved it! I have vol 2 already ready to go!
Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Osman – 5 Stars I have been wanting to read this one forever!!! This first volume covers how Charlie and Nick who are vastly different become friends and class partners. Both characters were so cute and I can’t wait to read the next one!
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James – 5 Stars Simone St. Claire is quickly becoming a favorite paranormal thriller author for me. Im not a huge fan of multiple timelines but she does it in such a way that I am hooked immediately. This one is following a group of girls at a boarding school in the 1950’s where one of them disappears and the second timeline is the present and follows a journalist who is still trying to find out how her sister died 20 years earlier on the abandoned boarding school’s property.
A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore – 4 Stars A historical romance about a woman who wants noting to do with marriage and is trying very hard to get the marriage property act changed so that women are not possessions of their husbands. Of course she then falls in love with a man and must figure out to have both things she wants. A very funny and smart romance!
Dark Lover by JR Ward – 4 Stars The Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of my favorite series ever and one of my groups on instagram chose this as a buddy read so I jumped a the chance to re-read it. While I love the series this one is not my favorite, I am not sure if it’s because it’s the first in the series or because of Wrath. I do love that we get to meet all the brother’s who will eventually get their own book. I loved Butch and Z from the moment we meet them and I will probably continue re-reading these books again!
First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel – 4.5 Stars This book was a really cute second chance romance. It follows Preeti who is finishing up her residency and in a state a flux not knowing whats next for her. Enter her meddling friend who lets her stay at her place and forgot to mention that Preeti’s ex will also be staying there as well! If you love an only one bed trope you should check this one out!! Thank you @readforeverpub for my gifted copy!!
Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena – 5 Stars This is my third book by Shari Lapena and I just love her writing so much. This is the story about 3 siblings whose parents are murdered and all 3 are suspects. I will also say that no one in this book is likable but they just made the book so much better for me. Highly recommend if you are looking for a fun dysfunctional family murder mystery.
Daughter Of The Forest by Juliet Marillier – 4 Stars. I talk about this series a lot on here but it is still so good! This is the first book in the series and we are following Sorcha who her and her brothers have been cursed by an old enemy. Her 6 brother’s have been turned to swans and Sorcha must not speak and complete a horrendous task if she wants them to be free. Enter Hugh of Harrowfield who is in her country trying to find his brother, seeing her he whisks her away to his property where he thinks she will be safe. This book weaves great story telling and atmospheric settings. If you are looking for a fantasy set in ancient Ireland I would recommend this one.
Son Of Shadows by Juliet Marillier – 5 Stars This book is the second in the series and follows Liaden who gets kidnapped by a band of mercenaries hoping she can save one of their comrades. Bran is the no nonsense leader who despises Liaden and everything she stands for. I am pretty sure this book started my love of slow burns and grumpy, silent heros! Bran was the first gruff none talking man I can remember reading and he has always held a special place in my book boyfriend loving heart. Out of all of Juliet’s books this one is still my favorite!
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!
The three Ws are: What are currently reading? What have you finished reading? What will you read next?
What are you currently reading?
The Inn on Sweetbriar Lane by Jeannie Chin – 20% into this one
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney – Audio is so good, 20% in
A Good Day For Chardonnay by Darynda Jones – 45% into this one
Hang The Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur – Im 20% in
What did you recently finish reading?
A Song of Flight by Juliet Marillier – 5 Stars
Heir To Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier – 4 Stars
The Dating Plan by Sara Desai – 4 Stars
Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore – 2.5 Stars
What do you think you’ll read next?
Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis – ARC that is out 9/28
No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield out 10/12
Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger out 10/5
What are you currently reading? Let me know in the comments below!
Happy Tuesday! I am late this month with my spelling the month with books and I decided to use all thrillers this month. They are mix of one’s I have read and one’s that are on my TBR.
S – Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James – 5 Stars
E – Emma In The Night by Wendy Walker – on my TBR
P – Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane – 5 Stars
T – Three Single Wives – Gina Lamanna – on my TBR
E – Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson – 4 Stars
M – Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – 5 Stars
B – Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner – 5 Stars
E – The End Of Her by Shari Lapena – on my TBR
R – Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins – can’t wait for this one
Hello Friends! I am here for my tbr for my favorite month of the year! October is my birthday month and I love everything about this month with its fun family activities and cozy fall sweaters and boots!
For my back list books (which is any book I bought prior to January 1st 2021)
Not sure on this one, will have to see where my mood takes me.
Buddy Reads for October
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney
The Family Plot by Megan Collins
My Heart Is A Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzel Hall
ARC’s For October that I need to read.
No One Will Miss Here by out 10/12
Pretty Little Lion by out 10/26
For Kayla’s Buzzword – This month’s buzzword is a word associated with the elements.
The Night We Burned by S.F. Kosa – Burned = Fire
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney – Rock = Earth
Ice and Stone by Marcia Muller – Ice = Water
Other Books I would like to try and get too.
Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A Good Day For Chardonnay by Darynda Jones
The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Goblin by Josh Malerman
There are 3 read-a-thons that I am hoping to participate in as well and those are the #spooktoberchills, The Thrills and Chills Fest and Camp Weekend-Ween. The buddy reads above are for these read-a-thons and I am so excited to participate in them. They will have daily photo challenges and giveaways and I love participating in them!
Again these are all books that I would like to read soon but I know I probably won’t get to most of these. What are you reading this month? Are you participating in any fun reading challenges?
Hello Friends! I am so late with my August book haul! This month really got away from and with being sick for over a week put me behind so you might see multiple posts in a day till the end of the month! August was a big month for me, I brought in 18 new books. I am trying to be better about reading them as they come in but so far Im doing a good job. Did you get any new books that you loved last month? Let me know in the comments below!
Book Boxes
Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena – BOTM – 5 Stars
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz – BOTM
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey – Authentic Book Box – 4 Stars
Gifts From Publishersor Others
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig – From the publisher for attending an event that I paid for.
Ice and Stone by Marcia Muller – Publisher
We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange – Publisher
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare – Publisher – 4 Stars
Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean – Publisher
The House on Sunshine Corner by Phoebe Mills – Publisher – 4 Stars
Isn’t It Bromantic by Lyssa Kay Adams – Gift from IG Friend
Happily Ever After by Julia Quinn – Publisher
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – Publisher – 5 Stars
Bought For Myself
Hairpin Bridge – I already unhauled this one because I didn’t like it so it’s not pictured – 1.5 Stars
Hi Friends! How is everyone’s reading going so far this month? Are you getting in the books you wanted too? Im doing ok but still have a few arc’s that I need to get too that I keep putting off in favor of doing some re-reads which you will see in my next round up. I have to say that so far this month The Love Hypothesis is going to be a contender for one of my favorite books of the year! I highly recommend picking this one up if you haven’t already!
Chasing Serenity by Kristen Ashley – 2 Stars I don’t want to spend too much time on this book but a quick recap is that it follows Chloe is feels like as the oldest she always needs to take care of her family but when she has an unexpected loss she is not sure what to do. She meets Judge who works for a sporting goods company and outreach program for youth. I felt that Chloe was really immature and Judge was way too Alpha for me. The book was also way too long, it could have been two separate books with the amount of stuff she packed in this one. This one just didn’t work for me. There is a second book and I am curious about it because of the two main characters in that one we were introduced to in this book.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling – 4 Stars I was so excited when I saw that Rachel Hawkins who wrote the Wife Upstairs was writing an adult romcom. This book starts out with Vivienne who is heartbroken cursing her ex with her cousin. The two make up silly things to curse him both knowing that it is not real magic. Nine years later her ex Rhys shows up to refuel the ley lines that run through their town. Rhys is an ancestor of the founder and one of them must be there but as soon as he comes into town his magic starts acting up and things go quickly down hill. Vivienne and Rhys must work together to try and fix their town before it is destroyed. I really enjoyed this book, it felt like a speculative romcom versus an urban fantasy series. Even though this book was dealing with dark topics and ghosts it still felt very light. I was invested in Vivienne and Rhys from the beginning and loved their interactions. Highly recommend this one if you are looking for a fun fall themed romance! Thank you Avon and Netgalley for my gifted copy for review.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – 5 Stars This book was such a cute surprise and I am so happy read it as soon as I did. We meet Olive as she is interviewing for a phd program and has a run in with a stranger in a restroom that she can not see because she is wearing expired contacts. Honestly this scene set the tone for the entire book and I loved it. While trying to convince her best friend that she is over her ex, Olive decides to randomly kiss the man standing next to her in the hall who turns out to be the grumpy Professor Adam Carlsen. The two end up concocting a fake dating plan and hilarity ensues. I am always in favor of a hot grump who doesn’t talk a lot and Adam was anther great male lead in this category. I highly recommend checking this one out!!
A Slow Burning FireBy Paula Hawkins – 5 Stars This story starts out with the death of a young man on a boat and we are following 4 different narrators, 3 of which all had reasons for wanting to hurt the man in question. We have Laura who was the last person to be seen with him. His Aunt Carla who is still morning the death of her sister his mother from a month earlier. And Miriam his neighbor who found him. This book took so many turns at times I had to rewind my audio book to listen to things again! This book also deals with an author who may have made a bad decision early in his career. So if you like books about books than I would check this one out. There are also content warnings for this one including rape, torture, death of a child and suicidal thoughts. So be sure to check those out if you need them. Thank you LibroFM and Riverhead books for my gifted copy for review.
Hi Book Friends! I did this tag last year and decided to do it again! I hope everyone is having a good month so far and that you are getting fall weather where ever you are! It is still too hot here in Colorado! I saw Heather from the youtube channel bookables do this tag and I thought it looked like fun!
Questions:
1. In fall, the air is crisp and clear: name a book with a vivid setting! I am going to say the Seven Water series by Juliet Mariilier. Her writing style is so in depth and beautiful and I love going into her worlds!
2. Nature is beautiful… but also dying: name a book that is beautifully written, but also deals with a heavy topic like loss or grief. I have read a few books this year that have dealt with loss and grief and I am not a huge fan of that but one that stuck out to. me was The Float Plan by Trish Doller. It is a romance so it has a HEA but I still cried numerous times in this book.
3. Fall is back to school season: share a non-fiction book that taught you something new. I don’t read a ton of non-fiction, I always want too but end up getting bored very easily. I will say that Education by Tara Westover was a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.
4. In order to keep warm, it’s good to spend some time with the people we love: name a fictional family/household/friend-group that you’d like to be a part of. I know last year I said the Winston’s and honestly that has not changed! I would love to have a family dinner with all of them at the homestead! I have also discovered the Bergman family and would gladly join them for a meal or game night as well.
5. The colourful leaves are piling up on the ground: show us a pile of fall-colored spines!
6. Fall is the perfect time for some storytelling by the fireside: share a book wherein somebody is telling a story. I am going to go with a series for this one. The Warrior Bard series by Juliet Marillier. The third book just came out on Tuesday and I am in the middle of reading it and this series is such a good one to read in the fall. They are so descriptive and atmospheric and just really lend to the fall vibes. Also as two of the main characters are Bards there is always story telling and songs in all three books.
7. The nights are getting darker: share a dark, creepy read. I know I talk about this book a lot but Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia but it is really a great creepy and atmospheric book to read at this time of year. The descriptions of the house are so good!
8. The days are getting colder: name a short, heartwarming read that could warm up somebody’s cold and rainy day. I am going to go with a new book that I just finished reading that I absolutely loved!! It was such a cute and heartwarming romance. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood.
9. Fall (luckily, it’s my favourite season) returns every year: name an old favourite that you’d like to return to soon. Son Of Shadows by Juliet Marillier, this is book two in a fantasy series that takes place in ancient Ireland, this was my answer for last year and I just re-read it last week. SO the third in this series is not a favorite and in fact I rated it 2 stars but since I have never re-read it and I am now older I think I would like to go back and try it again.
10. Fall is the perfect time for cozy reading nights: share your favourite cozy reading “accessories”! I love blankets and pillows and socks! This is my current favorite spot to read besides my bed!
11. Spread the autumn appreciation and tag some people! If you like doing tags are reading this then consider yourself tagged!
When Sparks Fly, an all-new sweet and sexy best friend standalone romance from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting is available now!
Charming, hilarious, and emotional…When Sparks Fly is Helena Hunting at her very best!
Avery Spark is living her best life. Between her friends, her sisters, and Spark House, the event hotel her family owns, she doesn’t have much time for anything else, especially relationships. She’d rather hang out with her best friend and roommate, Declan McCormick, than deal with the dating scene. But everything changes when she is in a car accident and needs someone to care for her as she heals.
Declan avoids relationships, giving him a playboy reputation that he lives up to when he puts a one-night stand ahead of a promise he made to Avery. While he may not have been the one driving the car, he feels responsible for Avery’s injuries and is determined to make it up to her by stepping into the role of caretaker.
Little did they know that the more time they spend in compromising positions, the attraction they’ve been refusing to acknowledge becomes impossible to ignore. When they finally give in to the spark between them, neither is prepared for the consequences. Their love is fragile and all it will take is a blow from the past to shatter it all.
I love Helena Hunting’s books so much!! I will pretty much read anything from her and set a book by her in Colorado and have hobby horse tournaments and you know it’s going to be good! She writes some hilarious scenes that take place at her main character’s event center. In this book we are following Avery who is happy running the event center with her sisters and living with her best friend Declan. When Declan ditches Avery and she is forced to drive in the rain she gets into an accident and is seriously injured. Declan feeling horribly guilty about the situation plus scaring him at the thought of losing her, he decides that he will be the one to take care of her. This was a cute and steamy story about two friends who are both hiding their feelings from one another as they learn that there might be more between them. I really hope we get more stories following her sisters, they were a lot of fun to read about. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my gifted copy for review.
Excerpt
Commotion from across the field catches my eye. Two of the riders seem to be at odds with each other. The hand on hip, head tip, nose-to-nose business gives me reason to believe there’s some kind of disagreement happening.
“That doesn’t look very friendly.” I nod in their direction.
“Maybe the horses need a time-out,” Harley mutters.
I give her the side-eye, and she fights a smirk.
“Uh-oh, we have hand and hobbyhorse flailing,” London says, pulling my attention back to the field. The argument seems to be heating up, not cooling down.
“You need to deal with that.” London gives my shoulder a shove. She’s amazing with finances and she’s great at connecting me with the right vendors, but dealing with conflict is not her strong suit.
“Not in the mood to mediate stuffed horses?” I drop my bag on the ground beside Harley’s feet and briskly cross the field as the argument escalates to yelling. I’m about twenty feet away when one of the men hauls off and whacks the other one with his hobbyhorse.
“Whoa! Whoa! Gentlemen! Time-out. That’s not very sportsmanlike conduct!” I call.
My admonishment goes unheeded, and the two men begin dueling with their hobbyhorses. The bigger of the two jabs the other man in the stomach and snatches his hobbyhorse when he loses his grip on it.
“Gentlemen! Please!” I shout, but it’s hard to be heard over their yelling and the newly formed crowd of hobbyhorse enthusiasts who have gathered and are now heckling the fighters.
Two other men toss their hobbyhorses to the hobbyhorse-less man with shouts of “Kick his ass!”
And here I thought this was a chill sport. Apparently I’m very, very wrong.
The hobbyhorsers face off again, each one holding a broom horse between their legs and another like . . . a sword, maybe? It reminds me of medieval jousting. Especially when they start stomping their feet, pawing at the ground, and prancing in place. I know things are about to escalate when they shake their heads back and forth, braying loudly and breathing out through their noses in a hardy snort.
Then they run toward each other, while yelling. Even if they’re beating on each other with stuffed horse heads, I’m not interested in anyone ending up with a concussion.
I jump in between them before they collide, which I realize a second too late puts me in a very perilous position. However, the man on my right swerves at the last second and ends up crashing into the trough, toppling it and at least half a dozen of the “feeding” hobbyhorses. The other man skids to a stop mere inches from me, loses his balance, and falls backwards onto the ground. It rained yesterday, so while it’s sunny and dry now, the ground is still soft and mucky. And he happens to land in a seriously squishy pile of muddy grass.
He also manages to hit himself in the family jewels with the hobbyhorse. He rolls onto his side, clutching the muddy horsehead and his junk. It’s quite the spectacle. Before it turns into absolute mayhem, I grab the megaphone from the group MC and shout, “Whoa, Nelly!” like an idiot.
However, it does the trick. Every single one of them freezes. “Rider number seventeen and twenty-three, you are disqualified from this round for roughhousing and inappropriate use of your hobbyhorse!” I’m totally making this up on the fly, but someone needs to get these guys under control, and they don’t seem to be able to manage it on their own.
The guy who nut slapped himself—number twenty-three—picks himself up off the ground and hobbles gingerly over to the bench, which is now assigned to disqualified hobbyhorsers. Number seventeen throws himself down on the other end with a huff.
I lower the megaphone and cross my arms. “This is supposed to be about team building and sharing something you’re passionate about. If you want to joust, I suggest you either join a club or interview for a position at Medieval Times.”
About Helena Hunting
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.
BeckyBookstore 