Hello Readers! I’ve just returned from my first trip to Moab, Utah. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. It’s home to several state and national parks. My husband went to Moab to mountain bike with a group of friends, so we tagged along and turned it into a vacation. However, that didn’t leave a whole lot of extra time to sight-see. We did watch the sunrise at Arches National Park (seen in the first two pictures), and it was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. I also managed to read several books, while enjoying the cooler weather (as opposed to the humid weather here in Texas). I was hoping to visit Canyonlands National Park where Christina Lauren’s latest book Something Wilder is set, but we only had time to take the long drive to the entrance on our last day in Moab, seeing Monitor and Merimac Buttes (seen in the third picture) along the way. Next time!

If you take a look back at My September TBR, you’ll see I managed to read 6 out of the 7 books I had planned, plus one audiobook—which we listened to while road tripping to and from Moab—bringing my total number of pages read to 2, 614. I decided to combine my wrap-up and haul for this month since neither were extravagantly long—and I’m so behind schedule. I added a few ARCs, ebooks, and physical books to my shelves this month, as well.

Be sure to enter my giveaways celebrating my third blogiversary, if you haven’t yet. It ends October 10th!

Let’s see what I read and what I added to my TBR!

Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!

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

September Wrap-Up

I started the month reading Three Women by Lisa Taddeo. I had won a signed copy of this book back in 2019 when it was released, but hadn’t read it yet. Then when my request to read the ARC (from three years ago!) was approved last month, I decided to go ahead and pick it up. This one also has an adaptation coming out soon. This non-fiction book wasn’t what I expected, but I still found it engaging.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was so excited to dive into Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young! I didn’t want to put it down. Atmospheric and perfect for fall reading, it reminded me of The Scorpio Races. Magical, mysterious, and romantic!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on September 27, 2022

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley has appeared on so many of my TBRs, and I finally got to pick it up! I really enjoyed it, but I think my expectations were very high for this one. I wish there’d been less focus on the mystery and more focus on the characters. It became a little unbelievable at times for me, but it’s still one I’ll recommend purely for the exceptional representation.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spells abound this month! I had a feeling I would enjoy Jenna Evans Welch’s latest book Spells for Lost Things, but I enjoyed it even more than I expected. Charming, heartfelt, and romantic, it was just what my weary heart needed. Practical Magic for teens!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
My Review
Published on September 27, 2022

I started reading Bad Girl Reputation, the second installment in the Avalon series by Elle Kennedy, one morning while I was in Moab and I ended up not putting it down, reading it all in one day. I so enjoyed this second chance romance!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
My Review
Publishes on October 4, 2022

Another book that has been languishing on my TBR for too long is The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. I think all my bookish friends have loved this book, so I wasn’t too worried that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. I’m happy to report, it deserves all the praise! Heartwarming goodness for the weary soul.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lastly, since my husband and I are both music lovers, I knew we’d enjoy listening to Dave Grohl’s memoir, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music. We listened to about half of it on the way to Moab and half of it on the way home. It made our road trip much more entertaining! This one is compelling and heartfelt.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

September Book Haul

I mostly added ARCs this month, with three eARCs from Netgalley and one physical ARC included in my September book box from the Strand. The box also included a signed copy of Belladonna, which I’m excited to read. I picked up a couple of free ebooks, as well, one physical book while in Moab, and a used book through PangoBooks.

My eARCs

One of my most anticipated books of the year is Lia Louis’ newest book The Key to My Heart. I’m a big fan of her romances, and this one sounds just as charming as her previous books.

Synopsis:

A heartwarming novel about hope after loss as a young widow receives mysterious messages of love from the “must-buy author” (Jodi Picoult) of Eight Perfect Hours.

Sparkly and charming Natalie Fincher has it all—a handsome new husband, a fixer-upper cottage of her dreams, and the opportunity to tour with the musical she’s spent years writing. But when her husband suddenly dies, all her hopes and dreams instantly disappear.

Two and a half years later, Natalie is still lost. She works, sleeps (well, as much as the sexually frustrated village foxes will allow), and sees friends just often enough to allay their worries, but her life is empty. And she can only bring herself to play music at a London train station’s public piano where she can be anonymous. She’s lost motivation, faith in love, in happiness…in everything.

But when someone begins to mysteriously leave the sheet music for her husband’s favorite songs at the station’s piano, Natalie begins to feel a sense of hope and excitement for the first time. As she investigates just who could be doing this, Natalie finds herself on an unexpected journey toward newfound love for herself, for life, and maybe, for a special someone.

Expected December 6, 2022

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Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame by Meg Long is the follow-up book to Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, which I read in January of this year. I’m excited to revisit this world!

Synopsis:

A girl hellbent on finding the friend she lost. A planet on the brink of total destruction. Only one way to find answers amidst the chaos: team up with a traitor to stage a revolution, in Meg Long’s Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame.

After a mission gone awry two years ago, Remy Castell has been desperately searching across worlds to find the friend she failed to save—the friend who changed her life by helping her overcome the brainwashing she was subjected to as a genetically engineered corporate agent.

Since then, she’s been chasing the only lead she has: fellow genopath Kiran Lore, the same secretive ex-squadmate who left her for dead when she compromised their mission. She nearly caught up to him on Tundar before joining the infamous sled race alongside outcast Sena and her wolf companion Iska. Now, all three of them have tracked Kiran back to Maraas, the jungle planet where Remy lost everything. But nothing on Maraas is how it was two years ago. Syndicates and scavvers alike are trying to overthrow a megalomaniac corpo director. Remy definitely wants nothing to do with that; fighting against corpos is as useless as trying to stay dry in the middle of the giant hellstorm that encircles the planet. But the storm—and the rebellion—are growing stronger by the minute.

When Remy finds Kiran, he doesn’t run like she expects. Instead, he offers her a deal: help with the revolution and he’ll take her to her friend. But can she really trust the boy who betrayed her once before? With the entire planet on the edge of all-out war, Remy will have to decide just how far she’s willing to go to save one girl before the impending storm drowns them all.

Expected January 17, 2023

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This one wasn’t even on my radar yet! Off the Map by Trish Doller is the third installment in the Beck Sisters series, but each one can be read as a standalone. I’m excited to pick this one up! AND it’s a road trip book!

Synopsis:

On the road to love, you don’t need a GPS… 

Carla Black’s life motto is “here for a good time, not for a long time.” She’s been travelling the world on her own in her vintage Jeep Wrangler for nearly a decade, stopping only long enough to replenish her adventure fund. She doesn’t do love and she doesn’t ever go home.

Eamon Sullivan is a modern-day cartographer who creates digital maps. His work helps people find their way, but he’s the one who’s lost his sense of direction. He’s unhappy at work, recently dumped, and his one big dream is stalled out—literally.

Fate throws them together when Carla arrives in Dublin for her best friend’s wedding and Eamon is tasked with picking her up from the airport. But what should be a simple drive across Ireland quickly becomes complicated with chemistry-filled detours, unexpected feelings, and a chance at love – if only they choose it.

Expected March 7, 2023

My Subscription Box Books

My quarterly book subscription box, The Book HookUp from the Strand Bookstore, showed up at the end of September. I still need to do an unboxing post, but it’s coming soon! Here are the two books that were included:

• Belladonna by Adalyn Grace – I was happy to see a signed copy of this Gothic YA romance that’s getting so much buzz in my box. It also has a gorgeous design on the outside of the hardback and on the front and back end papers. I’ll be sharing pics in my unboxing!
• The Oracle of Maracoor (Another Day, #2) by Gregory Maguire – This is a completely new series to me, but it’s set in the world of Wicked. I received an ARC, but it’s the second in a series. I’m not sure I’ll read it, but feel free to convince me if you’ve read and loved this series.

Bookstore Purchase

While in Moab, my daughter and I popped into Back of Beyond Books. They had a nice mix of new and used books, as well as fun bookish items. We settled on a new copy of Babel by R.F. Kuang, which seems to be very popular right now.

PangoBooks Purchase

I’ve joined PangoBooks! “PangoBooks is a social marketplace for readers to buy and sell books and connect with one another.” I first saw this app mentioned by Nicole @ The Write Things. After I joined, I was sent a $5 credit and I used it to purchase a used copy of Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood. I’ve also purchased a new copy of the Owlcrate Reading Planner I use (for about half the price) and an Owlcrate Christmas Ornament, so they don’t only have books but bookish items, too! If you join, be sure to follow me (Dedra @ A Book Wanderer) so I can follow you back. I haven’t listed any books to sell yet, but I’ll give it a try soon.

Free ebook

I have yet to read a book by Kendall Ryan, but I’ve seen many of you mention her romances, so I grabbed Playing For Keeps, the first book in the Hot Jocks series, when I saw it available for free. Let me know if you’ve read it and enjoyed it!

Amazon First Reads

In September I had a hard time choosing my Amazon First Reads book, but I finally settled on Never Meant to Meet You by Alli Frank and Ashi Youmans, a contemporary fiction book described as “a riotously funny, emotionally real look at race and religion, love and heartache, and the realities of parenting through it all.”

Whew, that was longer than I thought it’d be! How was your reading month? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!