It's officially Fall, ya'll! I read 28 books and ALMOST made it to number 300! Current count is 293 so we will make it there in October! My record from last year is 304 books so it looks like I am going to blast right on past that this year.
ALSO, I figured out that I can add the number of stars I gave each book on my calendar so you can all see! As a general rule, I won't give a book less than 3 stars. If something really just isn't doing it for me I will DNF it rather than continue to suffer and give a bad review.
I didn't do nearly as many rereads this month but I did do a few. First up, is Vile Boys by Clarissa Wild. Now I love this author and the other books in this series and that is the ONLY reason I gave this book a reread. Verdict is: I still don't like it. The characters barely act like they even like each other, the dialogue is terrible and the entire first half of the book feels like it was written by someone else. People have given it good reviews on Goodreads but I just don't get it. Oh well.
Trials of Dusk and Dreams by Lana Pecherczyk is a release I was really excited about but didn't quite meet expectations. I was highly confused about 80% of the time and that isn't even because I didn't do a reread of the previous book first. I THINK the plot is intentionally confusing since one of the main points is that the sluagh don't have their memories and don't know what is going on. I guess that means we don't either. Still a good book but just didn't quite continue the story on like I hoped.
Smut by Karina Halle came up in all my social media algorithms because some idiot on TikTok decided to start some super bizarre drama about the author. Needless to say, I immediately added it to my TBR. I think the book is cute and can't fathom why people had issues with it but then again, I like to read smut so... Yeah. This book is about two burgeoning authors who decide to work together writing smut to make quick cash and fall in love. It's cute. Give it a read.
I finished the Throne of Glass audiobooks and I am seriously happy that it is over. I love SJM but boy are those books long winded. I was happy to move on with my life.
Where's Molly by HD Carlton is a spin off from Haunting Adeline, which I did not realize until I was about a 4th of the way through, and I loved it. This gives you some additional story that was just barely touched on in Haunting/Hunting Adeline but kind of helped round out the story. I started to read Satan's Affair which tells the story of Sibel, the batshit crazy girl that dresses up like a doll in the haunted house in Haunting Adeline, and I DNF'd it... I just couldn't deal with Sibel's personality.
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith was a fun ride! Ophelia finds herself in a life or death game run by demons where the only rule is to not fall in love. Obviously, that becomes the one thing she does. There is a sequel about her sister called Enchantra but it won't be out until April 2025.
Broken by Daylight by Elizabeth Helen is a continuation of the Beasts of the Briar series which I started earlier this year. It is a loose take on Beauty and the Best. Rosalina finally figures out the last of who her mates are but then it leaves us on a huge cliffhanger, of course. Next book also isn't out until April of next year. Boo.
Fangs For Nothing by Steffanie Holmes is delightful! A professional organizer who has NO CLUE the paranormal world exists, is hired to organize the castle of a super hot vampire. Shenanigans ensue and Winnie finds herself in need of solving some murders. This book introduced me to the concept of a "Priest Hole" (not what you are thinking you dirty birds) and made me laugh every time it was mentioned. Pretty sure I will continue to find "I tossed it in the priest hole" funny until the end of time.
I also read the Grimdale Graveyard series by Steffanie Holmes this month since I have enjoyed the other books of hers I have read. I found it difficult to relate to the FMC but still enjoyed the series. Bree can see ghosts and basically just has to figure out who she wants to be and what she wants out of life while also trying to figure out why she can see dead people. Simple, right?
Torn in Two is book two in the new series by Elle Thorpe. This book immediately addressed the cliff hanger of the previous book, thankfully, but then leaves us on another one... That woman is killing me. Next book is out in October.
I finally got around to buying Apprentice to the Villain and while I enjoyed it, I didn't like it quite as much as Assistant to the Villain. The plot in this book kind of comes out of nowhere and I was confused until the concept was fully explained later on. Still a good book though and quite funny.
My number one read from this month is Lights Out by Navessa Allen. I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend it. The narrators are amazing and I was literally laughing to myself pretty much the entire time and I didn't want to turn it off. This is marketed as a dark romance but I either have seriously desensitized myself or the darkness is really more vaguely grey than black. There is some accidental unaliving and primal play but it is all surrounded by delightful banter and spicy spice so who cares if they accidentally killed a dude? Right?
I purchased The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen because the hardcover is super pretty and I was delighted to find that the book was actually good! The greek gods in this book hold a crucible every hundred years and pick a human to fight on their behalf to see who gets to be king of the gods for the next century. The book keeps you on your toes and leaves you on a cliffhanger. Yay....
Crown of Light and Shadows by GK DeRosa is about a mortal who somehow gets selected to attend an elite fae magic academy. Surprise! She has magic and has found herself in the middle of a fae war she didn't even know was brewing. Book two comes out in November.
Last, but not least, Ruined Wings by Annie Anderson. This is about a young woman who grows up as basically a slave mining magic suppressing ore and has to escape after unintentionally exposing herself as a magic user. She then finds herself in the company of three dragon shifters and as the sole person alive who can end the dragon king's curse and save magic. Book two comes out in November.
September Reads - In Reading Order
Vile Boys by Clarissa Wild
Trials of Dusk and Dreams by Lana Pecherczyk
Smut by Karina Halle
Queen of Shadows by SJM
Borrowing My Bestie's Brothers by Sam Hall
Karma by Lauren Biel
Where's Molly by HD Carlton
The Boyfriend Goal by Lauren Blakely
Kiss of Smoke by Amy Pennza
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
Empire of Storms by SJM
Broken by Daylight by Elizabeth helen
Fangs for Nothing by Steffanie Holmes
Torn in Two by Elle Thorpe
Tower of Dawn by SJM
Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
You're So Dead to Me by Steffanie Holmes
If You've Got it, Haunt It by Steffanie Holmes
Ghoul as a Cucumber by Steffanie Holmes
Not a Mourning Person by Steffanie Holmes
Kingdom of Ash by SJM
If You Dare by Harmony West
Lights Out by Navessa Allen
The Culling Trials by KF Breene
The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen
Betting Blind by Lindsay Reign
Crown of Light and Shadows by GK DeRosa
Ruined Wings by Annie Anderson