It’s October…. or as we say in the south “its fall y’all.” And what says fall more than spending $200 on bath and body works candles, experiencing severe buyers remorse until they are delivered to your door and you can finally burn “fall farmhouse.”
With a new season I crave change (especially with my fall stock of candles” so its time to clean the house and jam to some tunes so that I can put up all my fall decor. So I thought I would share my Fall-oween Spotify Playlist.
Has anyone else noticed that fall release tend to be about the summer romance that didn’t last? All the HEARTBREAK. (Que violin) So some are spooky, some are sad, but all are songs you’ll have on repeat.
Witches, Vampires, and More
Now that your house is clean, your candle is burning and you’ve had your first PSL, now its time to break out the real goodies…. My must reads for fall and most anticipated on my TBR.
Now I am not much of a thriller girl.. I tend to get disinterested and read the last year but this year is the year I am reading one for spooky season. after reading reviews and chatting with my friend https://www.instagram.com/thebookend.diner Chase talked me into read The Sun Down Motel.
Synopsis:
The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.
Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…
My other genre I dipped into and loved was Mystery/ Historical Fiction. The Stalking Jack the Ripper Series was one of my all time faves this year and is perfect for spooky season with the crime, blood, and bodies you will discover. Thomas Creswell and Audrey Rose are the perfect duo that almost put Sherlock to shame. Warning: You will also fall in love.
Sistaaaas!!!!- Witches
I am a sucker for a good book with witches! When the month of October hit I was supposed to be starting “Majesty” which is the second book to American Royals and I couldn’t even open the first page because Hocus Pocus had me inspired me to read all the witch books. This week I will be starting ” A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers” and will let you know what I think in the end but until then if you are like me and craving some to bubble and trouble here are my top picks:
Serpent & Dove Series
Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.
Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.
The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.
A snippet of my review:
“Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from you.’” He trailed his fingers down my arm in slow, torturous strokes. My head fell back on his shoulder, my eyes fluttering closed, as his lips continued to move against my neck. “‘Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay.’”
Serpent and Dove follow the narratives of Lou and Reid.
Lou- a beautiful, loud mouth, (a bit vulgar at times) witch running away from her fate and hiding from the truth… she’s a witch.
Reid- A chausser (witch hunter)… bu not just any, but the Archbishop’s favorite, and the most notoriously known in the church. Reid believes witches are demons and against God himself, and must be eradicated.
One chance encounter leads these two to be forced into marriage by the archbishop to save Reid’s reputation, while giving Lou a chance to hide from the one who is trying to take her life.
This book is not only magical with a different way to tell a story of witches, but also beautiful in its French setting. I probably said 70% of the words wrong, but none the less I felt a bit posh reading it 😂.
What I loved the most:
The descriptive writing of the world Shelby built
The angst and overall strange marriage between Lou and Reid
Big Titty Liddy and whatever beat you choose to sing it to
https://www.amazon.com/shop/reading.inwatercolor BuyNow
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2957420871?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1 My Full Review
The Wicked Deep
Synopsis:
Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…
Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.
Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.
Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.
Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.
But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.
My snippet of my review:
The Wicked Deep came with a fun and magical beginning made of young kids unafraid to go out to challenge the Swan sisters and crescendoing into fear of who will be taken by their vengeful hands, and stopping the sisters once and for all.
For two centuries now, the witches are known to come like thieves each summer, borrowing the bodies of young women to steal the lives of boys by drowning them and seeking revenge on their own death.
Sometimes the three sisters take one life each, and some summers they are greedy and take more…
Were they witches or merely beautiful women with a gift for luring men in to love them? that’s for you to decide.
Penny does everything she can to avoid the nature of the Swan sisters reunion, which seems to come easy hiding on Lumiere Island, the place she calls home.
But this year is different, the night of the “singing of the sister” a mysterious boy appears looking for work. At first Penny, is reluctant but soon is afraid for the boys life.
Bo stays in the cabin on the island, working the tree groves for Penny and hiding his reasons for coming to Sparrow… because who really comes to Sparrow, WA other than to see the Swan sisters..?
But Bo isn’t the only one with secrets, and as their secrets unravel it just may be their undoing…
The beginning of The Wicked Deep feels so simple and beautiful, almost starting off as a fun YA Novel but is so much more. With the lyrical writing, I found myself drawn to the story and its evolution.
But what really got me was the end. I sobbed for almost an hour!!!!! But honestly, it couldn’t have ended better. It was raw, believable, and a perfect reflection of sacrifice for love.
“When he feels the wind flutter against his neck, the scent of rose water and myth in the air, a hush sailing over him like a memory he can’t shake… he knows… and he smiles.”
http://www.amazon.com/shop/reading.inwatercolor Buy Now
Vampires that take more than just Blood
All aboard the Vampire Train (choooo choooooooooooo) Thats right the are back, no they don’t sparkle and I’m okay with it. Now I was a huge Twilight fan but Im a 29 year old woman who needs a little bit more from her stories so here are my Top Vampire reads so far this year. This Vampires will make you SWOOOOOOOOOON.
The Beautiful & The Damned
Synopsis:
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
Snippet of my Review
The beautiful takes place in 1872 in the haunted streets of New Orleans.
Celine takes a trip to the new world to hide from the shadows of her secrets and the murder she committed, and a New Orlean’s convent can offer her safe refuge and the possiblity of a noble marriage.
Sebastien Saint Germain, or ” The Ghost” roams the streets of New Orleans with his family doing the dirty work of his uncle Nico and taking part in sin at Jaque’s with wine, gaming, and women. Until he meets a beautiful green eyed, raven haired woman and he can’t help but wonder what the draw to her is.
What I Liked:
This book had everything I like in YA fantasy. It was lyrically written, strong developed characters, and although the romance was almost “instant love” it felt somewhat believable.
I enjoyed every moment with Odette, Pippa, and Celine and their friendship.
The nod towards fashion and dressmaking was also fun to read. I lived to see what Celine would create for dresses and the descriptiveness made me feel like I could see her waltzing into a party in THAT dress.
From Blood & Ash Series
I voted From Blood and Ash and A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire as my favorite books so far in 2020. Thats how good these are.
Read if you love:
❤️Vampires
❤️Strong Female Protagonist
❤️ Time Frame set similar Game of Thrones
❤️Slow Burn Romance
❤️ World Building
Synopsis of From blood and Ash
A Maiden…
Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.
A Duty…
The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.
A Kingdom…
Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3256793122 Read My Review on Goodreads
Well…. that covers all my favorites for music and books…. so I’ll leave you with my fall watch list. I hope your weekend is fall-tastic!
xo,
Aundreya
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