Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  BOOKS ON MY FALL 2026 TO-READ LIST.

Always an easy one. 

Though narrowing down any booklist to just 10 books is always tricky for me. 

But here are 10 books I really want to read this fall.

1. Well Versed by Jen DeLuca

2. Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima

3. The Pumpkin Bride by Fiona Buttercup

4. Some Kind of Haunted by Hazel Beck

5. The House at Devil's Neck by Tom Mead

6. Chasing Creed by Alex Kava

7. Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison

8. A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham

9. The Reimagining of Thornwood House by Jaleigh Johnson

10. The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty

11. The Monk by Tim Sullivan

12. I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie by Jaclyn Smith

See...once again I didn't manage to stick with only 10 books. Oh, well.

What books are you looking forward to reading this fall?

Happy Reading!

Stay For a Spell by Amy Coombe

     An old woman handed me a key, told me she hoped it would unlock my heart's desire, and now I'm trapped inside a bookshop. 

    I think about it for a moment. My head's clearing up and I'm steadier on my feet than I was a moment ago. I'm stuck inside a bookshop. A thousand miles from my parents. Unable to carry on with my royal duties. I'm stuck. Inside. A bookshop.

    For as long as it takes someone to break the curse, or for me to fulfill it and unlock my heart's desire. 

    I lean my head against the door and start to laugh.

What's the one surefire way to break a curse, any curse, according to every story, every legend, every fable recorded? True love's kiss. And what does true love look like, if you're a princess? .... It looks like a prince....my parents? They're going to try to find a prince. 

My thoughts: A princess. A curse. A pirate. Seven princes; seven kisses. And one magical bookshop. What an enchanting novel! I loved Princess Tanadelle (Tandy to her friends), and her funny predicament. All the princes who come to rescue her with their unromantic kisses totally made me laugh. I also really liked Bash, the teasing and sarcastic pirate, who has a curse of his own, and all the magical creatures and characters who help Tandy with the bookshop. This cozy fantasy has humor, heart and a sweet and swoony romance. I read it in a day and loved every page.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Haiku Reviews...

 

The Midwest Lawyer by Peter Kirkland

A former prosecutor,

Maggie defends a childhood

friend charged with murder.

Legal thriller .... 376 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(First book in a new series; I can't wait to read the next one.)

You Had Me at Bigfoot by Nancy Campbell Allen

(Daphne Drew Mystery #1)

Daphne Drew and Clark

investigate a missing maid,

lost treasure and bigfoot.

Cozy mystery .... 264 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(Delightful mystery with Scooby Doo references, humor and two cute dogs.)

Milo's Eyes by Lissa Bachner

Blindness didn't stop

Liss from showjumping with her

amazing horse, Milo.

Biography .... 348 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(Loved the bond between this horse and his rider.)

Happy Reading!

September's bookish art...

Perham Wilhelm Nahl -- Silhouette, 1921

 "The right book in the hands of the right person at exactly the right moment can change their life forever."

--Libby Page, This Book Made Me Think of You

Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood

 

The Plot:  Gertie, a London romance author, is suffering from a broken heart...and writer's block. And her next romance novel is due in just a few weeks. But she can't write a word. Then she wakes one morning to find a rugged cowboy on her couch. And not just any cowboy. This cowboy looks exactly like River Oakley, the villain from her romances. But how can a fictional character from Bedlam Creek, Texas, a town she made up, be real? As for River, he just wants to go back home. So he agrees to help Gertie win back her ex in the hopes it will end her writer's block, enabling her to finally finish her novel and send him back to where he belongs. Neither one is expecting to fall in love. 

My thoughts:  Cute (and unique) plot. Fun characters. And a swoony romance...though I could have done without the spicy scenes and all the f-bombs. River was gruff, sexy and good for Gertie, helping her find her own main character energy. It was nice seeing her go from wanting to be someone's sidekick to being a romantic hero in her own right. And seeing River navigate London, tea, and her neighbor's dog, Squish, was both entertaining and humorous. I enjoyed this one. 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

 

The plot:  Needing a quiet place to recuperate after an airplane crash, Jerry Burton and his sister, Joanna, rent a cottage called Little Furze in Lymstock. They're not expecting to receive an anonymous letter soon after full of hateful, untruthful accusations. While it makes Joanna laugh, Jerry finds it a little unsettling. Especially when he learns several other people in Lymstock have received similar "poison pen" missives. Then one of the recipients dies by suicide. The police are called in to investigate. And Jerry realizes the culprit must be one of his own neighbors. But who? And why? 

My thoughts: This clever and fun mystery is billed as a Miss Marple mystery, but she doesn't even show up until page 167. And she only makes two other appearances after that. It would have been better, in my opinion, if Christie had just had Jerry solve the murder instead of bringing in Miss Marple for so few scenes at the end. Because Jerry is a personable and engaging narrator. I liked both him and his sister. And I enjoyed this mystery overall, too. I had two ideas of who might be behind it all....but I ended up being wrong on both accounts. Once again, Christie's plot twists were too clever for me. It's not a long book, and it reads fast. And while it's not my favorite Agatha Christie novel, I thought it was an entertaining read. And I never once thought about DNFing it.  😉

Happy Reading!

Randomness...

 I'm totally loving Olivia Rodrigo's album "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love". It's awesome!

I also got a fun new game to play. It's called Trailblazer: Hiking the John Muir Trail. It has lots of pieces and parts and takes about 2 hours to play, but I like it. Up to 4 people can play at one time, and there's also a solo version. I'm eager to play it again.

For me, the end of August/beginning of September means canning season, and I've been busy bottling peaches and pears and making zucchini relish and blackberry jam. We had early blossoms followed by hard frosts this past spring here in Utah, so I couldn't get any Gala apples to do applesauce this time around. Hopefully next year. Canning always cuts into my reading time, but nothing beats eating yummy bottled fruit from off your own shelf all winter long. 

And while I read several really good books last month, I also ended up DNFing six. Which is unusual for me. I don't know if I was stressed, running extra tired, or just too impatient to deal with slower plots, aggravating or unlikeable characters, or stories that felt like they were going nowhere like The Correspondent. But I just couldn't make myself finish any of those six books. I'm hoping for better books this month. And more reading patience. 

Happy Reading!