What I Read in October 2023

When nothing says cozy like a...romance novel?

I finished 10 books in October and it looks like I’ll be continuing The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton into November. I’m also so close to finishing my most recent Dramione fanfic pick, Remain Nameless by HeyJude19. I didn’t stick to my intentions to read books with spooky/moody/fall vibes completely but picking up a few romances actually fit my need for cozy reads more than I expected. I’m headed to the beach (for a conference) this weekend so I’m hoping to make the most of a child-free weekend and get some uninterrupted reading done! If you’re celebrating, I hope you have a fun and safe Halloween tomorrow.

Some quick stats for you:

6 audiobooks
5 romance novels
2 non-fiction books
4 books from my TBR shelf
6 library books

Psst… if you find your next great read in this newsletter, consider supporting my work and keeping me caffeinated while I write.

October Book Reviews

Secrets Never Die by Vincent Ralph

Synopsis: Every year Sam Hall and his friends hold funerals for their secrets in an abandoned hut in the woods that they call the Dark Place. But this year, their secrets are coming back from the dead...to terrorize them. Sam is a former child star whose career went up in flames – literally. And no one, not even his best friend knows why. His friends each hold a secret pertaining to the night. A secret they would all like buried. Now someone from the past is blackmailing them with their dangerous secrets. Sam isn’t sure who he can trust, who’s watching him – or how far he’s willing to go to bury the past once and for all.

My Thoughts: If you’re looking for a good Halloween book to try out this season, I think this book is best for a young adult or maybe even a teen audience. The main characters’ POVs almost seemed too adult, like the author was trying to teach a lesson. They often came off more as adults in their decision-making than their parents. The writing failed to really deliver on the horror/spookiness level for me. A lot of the horror elements like fake blood and masks seemed stereotypical.

The short chapters should have made this book a quick read but something about the pacing was off for me. At over 350 pages it felt too long and took me forever to get through. I almost didn’t finish it but I’m glad I stuck it out because I didn’t see the twist at the end coming. While the suspect was surprising, I wanted more of a resolution when it came to some of the family conflicts.

This book gave off 90s teen horror movie vibes and I could definitely see the appeal for middle or high school readers. I just don’t think I was the right audience for the book which is a bummer because the premise seemed interesting!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the review copy of this book that I won in a giveaway!

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Wildfire (Maple Hills #2) by Hannah Grace

Synopsis: The latest in the Maple Hills series follows two summer camp counselors who reconnect after a sizzling one-night stand.

Maple Hills students Russ Callaghan and Aurora Roberts cross paths at a party celebrating the end of the academic year, where a drinking game results in them having a passionate one-night stand. Never one to overstay her welcome (or expect much from a man), Aurora slips away before Russ even has the chance to ask for her full name.

Imagine their surprise when they bump into each other on the first day of the summer camp where they are both counselors, hoping to escape their complicated home lives by spending the summer working. Russ hopes if he gets far enough away from Maple Hills, he can avoid dealing with the repercussions of his father’s gambling addiction, while Aurora is tired of craving attention from everyone around her, and wants to go back to the last place she truly felt at home.

Russ knows breaking the camp’s strict “no staff fraternizing” rule will have him heading back to Maple Hills before the summer is over, but unfortunately for him, Aurora has never been very good at caring about the rules. Will the two learn to peacefully coexist? Or did their one night together start a fire they can’t put out?

My Thoughts:

My 1st sports romance turned out to be a…family drama? Russ and Rory have a one-night stand and while Aurora is convinced they’ll never see each other again, they both turn up at the same summer camp as counselors during their college summer break. The majority of the book is filled with daddy problems from both main characters. They’re both broken but together they communicate openly. It was refreshing to see characters with real-life issues deal with them on the page but if you’re looking for smut (or have a praise kink), you’ll have to wait until about the 60% mark. In fact, Russ and Aurora spend the first half of the book trying to avoid being romantically involved so they don’t break the rules at camp. I had a hard time connecting to the younger characters. Long gone are my days of partying and sneaking around. There was also no real plot and the camp setting wasn’t immersive or convincing. There were tons of character names because their friend group was so large but most of their descriptions were pretty shallow. I did enjoy the found family aspect of the story and some of the banter. Three stars, mostly because the dogs and their names were the cutest. Entertaining enough to keep me listening but not enough to recommend it.

Thank you to Libro.fm for the free audiobook for review purposes.

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The Kiss Curse (The Ex Hex #2) by Erin Sterling

Synopsis: Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow.

Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.

When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.

My Thoughts: I'm a big fan of cozy romances and this one checked off a lot of boxes for me. It's got a small-town Georgia setting, witchy rivals, quirky family dynamics, a bit of mystery, a lot of spice, and all the Fall vibes. I didn't read The Ex Hex first and don't think it's necessary to enjoy this second book in the series. The Kiss Curse was genuinely funny and the characters and subplots kept me reading. I really enjoyed the narration by Shannon McManus! Her accents were convincing. If you love a bit of magic and enemies-to-lovers romances, put this one on your rotation for Halloween!

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Practice Makes Perfect (When In Rome #2) by Sarah Adams

Synopsis: Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match-someone who nicely compliments her happy, quiet life running her flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice...and Annie has the perfect person in mind to become her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will--the flirtatious, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard--is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement grows for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker. He has one personal objective during his time in town: stay away from Annie Walker. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will soon finds himself not only breaking his rule, but tasked with far more than simply providing security.

Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie, but he can't bring himself to say no to her request, so he officially agrees to teach her how to be the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky, and find the love of her life-even if he doesn't believe in love himself. Between faking a relationship so the meddling town doesn't catch on to what's really happening on their practice dates, and tutoring lessons that convince Annie to add passion to her list of must-haves in a mate, it doesn't take long for the lines of their friendship to blur...

My Thoughts: Who's got you smiling like that? THIS BOOK! Sarah Adams knocks it out of the park again. I might have enjoyed this book even more than When in Rome. I'm obsessed with Will and Annie's love story. The pining, the bad boy/good girl vibes, the fake dating trope, the voiced consent, the great communication, the small-town setting, the tattoos...all perfection. Their flirty relationship and banter were so playful and fun to read.

”It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”

This one's for the introverts out there waiting to be noticed and wanted.

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The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

Synopsis: In every person's story, there is something to hide...

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

My Thoughts: I loved the idea of this. A murder mystery set in a library. A story within a story. The email correspondence was fun, quirky, and engaging, especially on audio. The Woman in the Library had a lot of great elements but something about the transition between the real life story and the novel being written was distracting. The pacing of this novel was very similar to a cozy mystery, making it a great Fall reading selection. I enjoyed the darker thriller elements and was surprised by the plot twists and eventual reveal of the killer. The Woman in the Library is smart and complex. Worth a read.

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The Lazy Genius Kitchen by Kendra Adachi

Synopsis: You want your kitchen to be the heartbeat of the home, but you're overwhelmed and out of breath trying to make it happen. Meals are on a never-ending loop, and you don't have time to prepare dinner, much less enjoy it. Popular Lazy Genius expert and bestselling author Kendra Adachi is here to help!

Packed with proven Lazy Genius principles, the book will teach you to:
- name what matters to you in the kitchen
- feed your people with efficiency and ease
- apply a simple, actionable five-step process to multiple areas of your kitchen:
1. prioritize
2. essentialize
3. organize
4. personalize
5. systemize

My Thoughts: This is one of those books I think should be gifted to every young adult. No one prepares you for how exhausting it is to cook 3 meals a day (and maybe some snacks) every day for the rest of your adult life. Kendra Adachi breaks things down and makes it a little easier in The Lazy Genius Kitchen. One of the first things she notes in this book is that this is NOT a cookbook. Adachi breaks down her lazy genius method into categories that help you create systems in the kitchen. I personally picked up this book because I need help knowing what types of meals fit into this season of my life. Spoiler alert: nothing that requires a true recipe. The text helped me clarify what I value-- simple, brainless, fast, seasonal, and tasty meals that my kids will actually eat. This book is also for the meat and 3 people... giving us permission to let go of the expectation that EVERY meal must have multiple components. Tacos can be a meal. Just skip the rice and beans. It's gonna be OKAY.

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Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt

Synopsis: Farley Jones is a loud, chaotic, and hilariously clever standup comedian on the way to stardom. The only thing she loves more than the rush of telling jokes in front of a revved-up audience is her hot older manager Meyer, though he doesn’t have a clue. Keeping her feelings hidden from him is agony (a tragedy, even―in lieu of flowers, please send cash...) but Meyer has been Farley’s closest and most treasured friend, not to mention vital to the trajectory of her career. She can’t risk ruining their relationship by telling him how she truly feels. After all, who else would have the patience to put up with a hot mess like her?

A former standup star himself, single father Meyer Harrigan left the stage years ago in order to focus on raising his deaf daughter Hazel. Farley has been everything to them since she came into their lives three years ago, and despite his grumpiness, his protectiveness over Hazel, and his disdain for public attention, Meyer will do anything to make her standup dreams come true.

When the biggest opportunity of Farley’s career comes along and forces the pair to fake-date in order to stir up publicity, it doesn't take long for their act to bring all those other funny feelings out into the open. Like most matters of the heart, it quickly begins to feel like anything but a joke.

My Thoughts: Read this on a whim and I’m glad I did! The joke in the first chapter almost put me off from reading more so let’s just say I had big expectations for a novel about a comedienne. Farley and Meyer have such a fun and caring yet sexy dynamic. I adored their honesty and the fact that they encouraged each other to pursue their dreams without any regard for outside criticism.

“I don’t know what I believe in as far as a higher power, Fee, but I know that I now believe that rainstorms always precede something amazing because you came into our lives on the tail end of one.”

What to expect:

-friends to lovers
-workplace romance
-fake dating
-single dad
-age gap
-deaf representation
-mental health rep
-dual POVs

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Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

Synopsis: Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with her twin sister, Aggie, to lead a team of biologists tasked with reintroducing fourteen gray wolves into the remote Highlands. She hopes to heal not only the dying landscape, but Aggie, too, unmade by the terrible secrets that drove the sisters out of Alaska.

Inti is not the woman she once was, either, changed by the harm she’s witnessed—inflicted by humans on both the wild and each other. Yet as the wolves surprise everyone by thriving, Inti begins to let her guard down, even opening herself up to the possibility of love. But when a farmer is found dead, Inti knows where the town will lay blame. Unable to accept her wolves could be responsible, Inti makes a reckless decision to protect them. But if the wolves didn’t make the kill, then who did? And what will Inti do when the man she is falling for seems to be the prime suspect?

My Thoughts: “My father used to say the world turned wrong when we started separating ourselves from the wild, when we stopped being one with the rest of nature, and sat apart.”

Once There Were Wolves is dark and atmospheric, making it the perfect book to read for Fall. McConaghy’s writing bridges genres. It’s part literary fiction and part psychological thriller that explores the contrast between human and animal instinct. I really enjoyed the Scottish Highlands setting and timeline flashbacks to Canada and Australia. This book is particularly hard to read at times if you’re sensitive about the well-being of animals. I found myself feeling a bit unsettled, especially listening to the haunting descriptions on audio. There are several scenes of graphic violence against both humans and animals. McConaghy carefully explores complex themes like climate change, r&pe, misogyny, and sisterhood. I was surprised at how effortlessly a fiction story teaches about apex predators and the intricacies of our ecosystem. I had really high expectations for this book but something about it fell short for me. I wasn’t as invested in the story as I thought I would be based on the description and glowing reviews. I think I may have gotten more out of the story if I read my physical copy of the book. It’s still one I think my husband would enjoy reading and I’m already encouraging him to pick it up.

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Slow Seasons: A Creative Guide to Reconnecting with Nature the Celtic Way by Rosie Steer of

Everything Looks Rosie

Synopsis: In her late twenties, feeling utterly overwhelmed by the pace of modern city life, Rosie Steer found solace in the traditions she had been brought up with, influenced by her Scottish roots, that celebrated nature and observed the small steady shifts in the seasons. The Celtic Wheel of the Year is an ancient seasonal cycle that aligns with solar events – the solstices, equinoxes, and their midpoints. For each mini-season, Rosie shares nature notes for what we can look out for as the days get warmer or cooler, the nights longer or shorter, alongside activities, things to make, flowers or fruit to forage, seasonal recipes to enjoy, and a modern take on the traditional celebrations. As the Wheel turns towards Samhain on 31st October, we can look forward to foraging apples and berries to make Hedgerow jelly, watching the leaves turn golden, collecting pine cones for a Pine cone garland and celebrating pumpkin season with Pumpkin and root veg chili and Chocolate cake with pumpkin curd. By slowing down and paying attention to the ebbs and flows of nature, we can find moments of calm whenever we need them.

My Thoughts: After following Rosie’s substack newsletter,

Sow, Grow, Harvest, Rest

, I decided to pre-order her book Slow Seasons. There’s such a gentleness to Rosie’s writing tone and the way she describes nature will leave you awe-filled. Broken into Celtic seasons, the book focuses on developing an appreciation for nature by paying close attention to small details and changes in the environment around us. Each chapter is dedicated to a different season: Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lunastal, Mabon, Samhain, and Yule. From there, the author describes the history of the season and gives examples of how to celebrate it inside the home and out in nature. Part memoir, part cookbook, and part DIY craft guide, Slow Seasons was just the book I needed to feel refreshed by the changing leaves instead of filled with dread for the coming darkness. I’m so glad I picked up this cozy book. I’ll be flipping back to it each season as I search for a bit of inspiration on traditions to build with my own family.

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Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding

Synopsis: Beautiful, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse has lived twenty-three years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress or vex her…that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage—and subsequent move downtown. Now, with her sister gone and all her friends traveling abroad, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion: boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant with a heart of gold and drugstore blonde highlights to match, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor George Knightley would get out of her way.

Handsome, smart, and successful, the only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. Whether it’s her shopping sprees between classes or her revolving door of ill-conceived hobbies, he is only too happy to lecture her on all the finer points of adulthood she’s so hell-bent on ignoring. But despite his gripes—and much to his own chagrin—Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now…one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.

As Emma’s best-laid plans collide with everyone from hipster baristas to meddling family members to flaky playboy millionaires, these two friends slowly realize their need to always be right has been usurped by a new need entirely, and it’s not long before they discover that even the most familiar stories still have some surprises.

My Thoughts: I adored this retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. If you’re looking for a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance, this is a great pick. Set in modern-day NYC, Emma is navigating grad school at NYU with hopes of landing her dream job at The Met without using her family connections. Lines get blurred with her neighbor George Knightley as they continue to cross each other’s paths at Sunday family dinners and social outings. Emma of 83rd Street follows the same character and plot structure as the OG Emma so there’s lots of family and friendship drama created from Emma (and her sister Margo) being a meddling matchmaker. She’s sweet, has good intentions, and remains honest to herself even when she makes life mistakes. By the end of the story, you can really appreciate her growth as a young adult. There’s a lot of miscommunication between Emma and George but their mutual longing is unreal. The book is written in a dual POV so you get to see inside both George and Emma’s thoughts and that helped intensify their spark for me. I just wish the steam came a little earlier in the book! The NYC setting was a great backdrop for the story. It’s not always front and center but I could still picture myself being at a lush party in some grand townhouse on the Upper East Side and walking through halls filled with famous paintings. I’m not always a huge fan of retellings but this one really worked for me. It’s fun and bubbly and definitely worth a read.

You can keep up with my reading journey in real time on Goodreads or Instagram.

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