Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Books On My Fall 2021 TBR!

Hello Readers! Even though it still feels like summer here in Texas, I’ve already hung the fall wreath, pulled out my favorite fall-themed mug, and I’m thinking about the fall-ish books I’m hoping to read!

Today, I’ll be sharing the books on my fall tbr. When I took a look back at My Summer TBR, I’m a bit disappointed. I only read 6 out of the 13 possibilities I’d included. But overall, I read so many great books this summer, I can’t be too disappointed. 😉 Today’s mix of books vary from books I have left to fulfill my yearly reading challenge prompts, to ARCs, to seasonal reads I’d love to finally pick up. I know I won’t get to all of these, but I’m trying to be optimistic.

If you haven’t already, be sure to enter My Second Blogiversary Giveaway, running through the end of the month.

Let’s see what I have planned to read this fall!

1

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Synopsis:

The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman.

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape.

One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic…

Goodreads

When I was approved for The Book of Magic, the concluding book in the Practical Magic series, I knew it was time to finally read its predecessor, and the original book, Practical Magic. I read The Rules of Magic, a prequel as an ARC a few years ago. There’s even a prequel to the prequel, Magic Lessons, that released last year that I haven’t read either. Thankfully, these are all standalones, so my scattered reading style shouldn’t leave me confused. This one will also fulfill a Popsugar Challenge Prompt: A bestseller from the 1990s.

2

The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Synopsis:

Master storyteller Alice Hoffman brings us the conclusion of the Practical Magic series in a spellbinding and enchanting final Owens novel brimming with lyric beauty and vivid characters. 

The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work.

A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love.

The Book of Magic is a breathtaking conclusion that celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love.

Goodreads

Available 10/5/21

I’m excited to read two books about witches in the fall! This one will fulfill my Popsugar Challenge Prompt: A magical realism book.

3

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

Synopsis:

A fast-moving, eerie tale set on Halloween night…

Eight costumed boys running to meet their friend Pipkin at the haunted house outside town encounter instead the huge and cadaverous Mr. Moundshroud. As Pipkin scrambles to join them, he is swept away by a dark Something, and Moundshroud leads the boys on the tail of a kite through time and space to search the past for their friend and the meaning of Halloween.

Goodreads

This classic middle grade book will fulfill my Popsugar Challenge Advanced Prompt: The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list.

4

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Synopsis:

Taken from the poverty of her parents’ home in Portsmouth, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with her cousin Edmund as her sole ally. During her uncle’s absence in Antigua, the Crawford’s arrive in the neighborhood bringing with them the glamour of London life and a reckless taste for flirtation. Mansfield Park is considered Jane Austen’s first mature work and, with its quiet heroine and subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, one of her most profound.

Goodreads

Mansfield Park is the last of Austen’s novels that I haven’t read. I think I’ve been saving it all these years, sad to be finished. This will fulfill my reading challenge prompt: A book that was published anonymously.

5

An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7) by Diana Gabaldon

Synopsis:

Readers have been waiting with bated breath for the seventh volume in bestselling author Diana Gabaldon’s epic Outlander saga — a masterpiece of historical fiction featuring Jamie and Claire, from one of the genre’s most popular and beloved authors.

Jamie Fraser, erstwhile Jacobite and reluctant rebel, knows three things about the American rebellion: the Americans will win, unlikely as that seems in 1778; being on the winning side is no guarantee of survival; and he’d rather die than face his illegitimate son — a young lieutenant in the British Army — across the barrel of a gun. Fraser’s time-travelling wife, Claire, also knows a couple of things: that the Americans will win, but that the ultimate price of victory is a mystery. What she does believe is that the price won’t include Jamie’s life or happiness — not if she has anything to say.

Claire’s grown daughter Brianna, and her husband, Roger, watch the unfolding of Brianna’s parents’ history — a past that may be sneaking up behind their own family.

Goodreads

The seventh book in the Outlander series is the next one I need to read. Now that the tv adaptation is catching up to what I’ve read to, I need to kick it in gear to stay ahead. 😉

6

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Synopsis:

In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaëtan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France—a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

Goodreads

Yep, this one was on my summer TBR, as well. I’m hoping to finally get to it. It would fulfill my Popsugar Challenge Advanced Prompt: A book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover.

7

Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves

Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of The Girl He Used to Know comes a love song of a story about starting over and second chances.

Love doesn’t always wait until you’re ready.

Layla Hilding is thirty-five and recently divorced. Struggling to break free from the past—her glory days as the lead singer in a band and a ten-year marriage to a man who never put her first—Layla’s newly found independence feels a lot like loneliness.

Then there’s Josh, the single dad whose daughter attends the elementary school where Layla teaches music. Recently separated, he’s still processing the end of his twenty-year marriage to his high school sweetheart. He chats with Layla every morning at school and finds himself thinking about her more and more.

Equally cautious and confused about dating in a world that favors apps over meeting organically, Layla and Josh decide to be friends with the potential for something more. Sounds sensible and way too simple—but when two people are on the rebound, is it heartbreak or happiness that’s a love song away?

Goodreads

Available 11/2/21

I’m ridiculously excited about this one. Romance and music, two of my favorites.

8

Meet Me on Love Lane (Hopeless Romantics, #2) by Nina Bocci

Synopsis:

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of On the Corner of Love and Hate comes a romantic comedy about a woman who grudgingly returns home to small-town Pennsylvania, only to find herself falling in love—not only with the town, but with two of its citizens. 

Charlotte Bishop is out of options in New York City. Fired, broke, and blacklisted by her former boss, she’s forced to return to her hometown of Hope Lake, PA to lick her wounds. Although she’s expecting to find a miserable place with nothing to do, she is pleasantly surprised to discover it is bustling and thriving.

She’s only supposed to be in Hope Lake temporarily until she can earn enough money to move back to New York. She’s not supposed to reconnect with her childhood friends or her beloved grandmother. She’s not supposed to find her dream job running the local florist shop. And she’s definitely not supposed to fall for not one but two of Hope Lake’s golden boys: one the beloved high school English teacher, the other the charming town doctor.

With a heart torn between two men and two cities, what’s a girl to do?

A perfect blend of humor and heart, Meet Me on Love Lane is the second in a new series from USA TODAY bestselling author Nina Bocci that is sure to charm fans of Josie Silver and Sally Thorne.

Goodreads

Another book I’ve wanted to read for years and I’ve finally picked up a copy! I’ve seen this one recommended numerous times. I haven’t read the previous book in the series, but from what I understand, they work as standalones.

9

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

Synopsis:

What the heart desires, the house destroys… 

Andromeda is a debtera—an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her, Andromeda quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if she stays, but leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn’t an option. Evil may roam the castle’s halls, but so does a burning desire.

Kiersten White meets Tomi Adeyemi in this Ethiopian-inspired debut fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre.

Goodreads

Available 10/19/21

I’m also super excited about this one! An Ethiopian retelling of Jane Eyre?! Yes, please! It’s also getting GLOWING early reviews. The publishing date just got bumped up a few weeks, making my October very crowded with ARCs.

10

There There by Tommy Orange

Synopsis:

Tommy Orange’s wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle’s death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American–grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable.

Goodreads

I’ve only heard good things about this novel. It will fill my Popsugar Challenge Prompt: A book by an indigenous author.

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What books would you say are must-reads on my fall TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!