Hello, everyone! I hope you are all doing well and are excited about the crisp fall air. Fall is my favorite season because I love watching the leaves change colors and everything pumpkin spice.
You can start autumn out right by making something delicious. Check out my yummy pumpkin spice cupcake recipe on my blog, and I just released my caramel apple cupcake recipe on Coffee House Writers.
It’s a new season, which means new books are releasing. Unfortunately, like everything in my life, I am behind due to an overwhelming schedule and unforeseen circumstances with my health. I will be making some changes this month, starting with making a schedule to help me balance work, school, life, and other responsibilities. I’m taking advice from my best friend, Caitlin, creating spreadsheets and making a color-coded schedule each week so I can finally accomplish my goals. I have been trying to read as much as possible because I have a few book review requests, and every time I log on to Goodreads, I see a book I want to add to my TBR list.
I know I might be weird, but reading a book on a tablet is different from reading a physical book. I love holding a book in my hands and turning the pages, but reading on my iPad has been beneficial these past few weeks because I have been reading in bed. I always believe holding a physical book enhances the reading experience. I have an overflowing book cart and bookcase with books I haven’t read yet, and some e-books to finish so that I will mix it up this month.
Here’s are some of the top e-book and physical books I want to read this month:
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. I heard about this book from Caitlin, then I saw the TV show trailer on Netflix and immediately needed to know more about it. I have read three chapters so far, and it’s fascinating. I am trying to figure out the world of Grisha and what type of powers Alina has.
- Making the Play by Cait Marie. Caitlin has released another book. This time she is writing a contemporary romance book series. It’s a sweet college romance story about Kaley falling for her brother’s best friend, Jax, who’s her favorite baseball player. He also plays on the team her dad coaches. They want to stay friends because there are multiple complications, but they can’t fight their chemistry. I love this story and can’t wait to share my thoughts with you when I finish the book. I am currently on the last chapter.
- Twilight’s Curse by K.M. Wray: Twilight’s Curse is an enchanting young adult fantasy book about elves and the realm of elvish magic held by two different families. I am currently reviewing this book for Reedsy Discovery. I love every page of this book. It is so captivating and exciting. Zoe is an elf who possesses the magic of helping living things grow, but her parents abuse her gifts. Her mother has been experimenting with dark magic and inking her body up with tattoos that hold different meanings and powers. The way the author describes Zoe’s tattoos and makes the dragons come alive is incredible. I’ve never read anything like it. She escapes and finds a place to stay with Prince Phoenix’s advisor, Nate, but she and the prince don’t realize they need each other to save the Twilight Realm. I am almost done reading the book and will be writing up my review shortly.
- Tall Willows by PC Feather: I am reviewing this book for Reedsy Discovery, but this book is full of plot twists and has my eyes glued to the page. Tall Willows is a gripping novel filled with suspense and romance. When the Golden Valley School District’s budget coordinator is shot and left to decay in the high school’s abandoned darkroom by an unknown female, the school and community are turned upside down. Unbeknownst to the murderess, the victim had placed a large manila folder full of budget reports on a messy desk in the school’s main office. The budgets show someone has been embezzling money from the school district. Ruth Willows, the student who discovered the dead accountant, finds herself caught in the middle of a murder and a controversial romance. This unforgettable book is filled with twists and turns as Ruth navigates corruption, manages her tumultuous relationship, and confronts the identity of the murderess.
- Hocus Pocus & The All-New Sequel by A.W. Jantha: Hocus Pocus is one of my favorite Disney Halloween movies. With Halloween a few weeks away, I thought I would reread the classic story and dive into the new sequel preparation for the new movie coming out next year. The sequel takes place twenty-five years later; Max and Allison’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Poppy, finds herself face to face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory. When Halloween celebrations don’t quite go as planned, it’s a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches’ latest death-defying scheme.
- The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould: With Halloween around the corner, I enjoy reading a story with a little touch of magic, some mystery, but not a horror book that will creep me out. I saw Courtney Gould’s debut book, The Dead and the Dark, in Goodread’s YA Newsletter. The book title and cover drew my interest. It sounds very interesting. Teens are disappearing, and some are turning up dead. A ghost hunter TV host came into town, and now everything is different, including the weather. Ashley’s boyfriend was one of the first teens to go missing, and now his ghost is following her. I typically don’t read stories with ghosts because anything paranormal gives me goosebumps and creeps me out, but this book sounds good.
Functionally Fictional 
Hope you’ll enjoy Shadow and Bone. The book series is really amazing! If you end up liking it you also should read the Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo. It is even better! Good luck with your TBR 🙂
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