Hello Readers! I had a great reading month in August (My Wrap-Up), but I also had a nice little haul, adding a few eARCs, physical books, and free ebooks. And while I love a good haul, my brain is focused on unhauling books at the moment. I’m hoping to spend some time this month clearing off a few books from my physical and digital shelves. I think it’s time again to take a look at those books that have been lingering unread for years, and see if I still want to read them.

I also realized my blogiversary is coming up soon. Be on the lookout for that post, which will include a giveaway or two. 🥰

Let’s see what I added to my shelves!

(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

My eARCs

I finally read my first Emma Lord book last year, and I was a fan, so I’m happy to have been approved for The Getaway List coming in 2024!

Synopsis:

The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: One, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer, where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List ― a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away ― will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self, and pave the road to a new future.

Riley isn’t sure what to expect from Tom, who has been distant since his famous mom’s scriptwriting career pulled him away. But when Riley arrives in the city, their reconnection is as effortless as it was when they were young―except with one, unexpected complication that will pull Riley’s feelings in a direction she didn’t know they could take. As she, Tom, and their newfound friends work their way through the delightfully chaotic items on The Getaway List, Riley learns that sometimes the biggest adventure is not one you take, but one you feel in your heart.

Inescapably romantic and brimming with Emma Lord’s signature cheer, The Getaway List is an uplifting and romantic read that will settle into your heart and never leave.

Expected January 23, 2024

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I’ve read every book Rebecca Serle has published since The Dinner List back in 2018, so I’m happy to have been approved for her next one, Expiration Dates. She always has just the right amount of magical realism for me.

Synopsis:

Being single is like playing the lottery. There’s always the chance that with one piece of paper you could win it all.

From the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years and One Italian Summer comes the romance that will define a generation.

Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man , she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. The papers told her she’d spend three days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a Jake.

But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful. Because Daphne knows things Jake doesn’t, information that—if he found out—would break his heart.

Told with her signature warmth and insight into matters of the heart, Rebecca Serle has finally set her sights on romantic love. The result is a gripping, emotional, passionate, and (yes) heartbreaking novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of them for ourselves. Expiration Dates is the one fans have been waiting for.

Expected March 5, 2024

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I just read my first Mazey Eddings book last month (my review of Tilly in Technicolor) and enjoyed it so much! When I saw she already had another book available to request, I jumped on it. Late Bloomer sounds like such a comfort read. And just look at that cover!! 🌸🌸

Synopsis:

A sapphic opposites-attract romance with Mazey Edding’s signature sparkling voice!

Winning the lottery has ruined Opal Devlin’s’s life. After quitting her dead-end job where she’d earned minimum wage and even less respect, she’s bombarded by people knocking at her door for a handout the second they found out her bank account was overflowing with cash. And Opal can’t seem to stop saying yes.

With her tender heart thoroughly abused, Opal decides to protect herself by any means necessary, which to her translates to putting almost all her new money to buying a failing flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina to let the flowers live out their plant destiny while she uses the cabin on the property to start her painting business.

But her plans for isolation and self-preservation go hopelessly awry when an angry (albeit gorgeous) Pepper Smith is waiting for her at her new farm. Pepper states she’s the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom Farms, and isn’t moving out. The unlikely pair strike up an agreement of co-habitation, and butt-heads at every turn. Can these opposites both live out their dreams and plant roots? Or will their combustible arguing (and growing attraction) burn the whole place down?

Expected April 16, 2024

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National Book Lover’s Day Purchase

I finally picked up a copy of Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison at my local Half Price Books on National Book Lover’s Day. Now the question is do I wait to read it over the holidays or go ahead and pick it up asap?? 🤔

Pangobooks Purchase

I so enjoy purchasing gently used to new books via Pangobooks. It’s nice to know my books are coming from fellow book lovers. I jumped on and found Heartstopper Vol. 4 as soon as I finished Vol. 3 last month. It arrived quickly in like new condition.

eBooks

◀ When I noticed Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese was on sale AND I had a credit, I snatched it up. This one will be moving up the TBR. ► I’m slowly picking up all the books in the True North Series by Sarina Bowen for free. I have the first, third, and now the fourth, Bountiful.

Paperbackswap Books

• The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary – I already own the ebook of this one, but I enjoyed it so much, I wanted a physical copy for my shelf.
• Straight Man by Richard Russo – I’ve yet to read a book by Russo, but I do own a physical copy of Empire Falls I’ve been meaning to read for years. When I heard this novel had been adapted (and newly named Hank) starring Bob Odenkirk from Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, I decided to read it before I watch.
• The Country Life by Rachel Cusk – This is an author my daughter recommended to me. I was happy to find a copy available to request right away. Now I just need to read it!
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – And just in time for spooky season, I’ve had this book on my wishlist for years and years. I finally made it to the top of the waitlist.

Amazon First Reads Selection

My Amazon First Reads pick was easy in August. Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino is a historical fiction book set in 1960 that sounds amusing, AND the early reviews are glowing!

Published on September 1, 2023

Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!