September/October #ReadingBracket2025 Nonfiction
Kelly Bishop just stole my heart and the quarter final spot. George Takei's graphic memoir was a close second. October's winner was the soothing nature memoir, Something in the Woods Loves You
I always say that historical romance isn't my favorite subgenre but apparently I love them as long as there is some madcap adventure plot because Earl Crush stole the show last quarter and joined A Shore Thing in the next round. Absolutely adored it. Rules for Ghosting is my pick for October, it was the perfect mix of introspection, romance, and paranormal.
#ReadingBracket2025 Romance
I realized I never posted my reading bracket from October OR September! So here we are. Some tough choices as I've read some great books. The World We Make is my latest quarter finalist, honestly the audio production pushed that one to the top. And for October I chose the Bewitching, great atmospheric story perfect for spooky season.
#ReadingBracket2025 Fiction
I still have a few reviews to post but here's my final point tally for #HauntedShelf 👻🎃
Thanks for leading the #GrimReaders @CSeydel I had fun this month!
pickThis was a fun mystery. I liked going along for the ride with Oliver and Ricky as they veer from their travel writing to solve an unexpected murder. Oliver is autistic and uncomfortable with changing plans, but he builds confidence in himself with Ricky's help. The two try to get to the bottom of the disturbances of a self-driving car company without getting into trouble themselves.
Great start of a new cozy mystery series #SeriesLove2025
October #MonthlyNonfiction2025 reads @julieclair
Reviews to come, but I wanted to get my wrap-up posted before I forgot!
so-soI'm really glad to have finally read this classic. It wasn't as spooky as I expected. I thought the creation scene would be more dramatic at least but a lot of the story is anticlimactic and Frankenstein doing nothing productive, only complaining how hard his life has become
#HashtagBrigade @BarkingMadRead #HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel #AfterDarkBingo #BodyCountBingo @PuddleJumper
pickThis was a fun little romp. The instant trust Dana has for the 'monster' was a little far fetched, but so are space vampires 🙃
#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel #SeriesLove2025 #AfterDarkBingo @PuddleJumper
Starting my Persuasion reread with this painted beauty
#JaneAustenThenAndNow @Crinoline_Laphroaig
pickI absolutely adored this book! Such a tender story about grief and family expectations, finding your place in life and love. I enjoyed learning more about Jewish customs surrounding death & funerals. As much as I was rooting for the romance between Ezra and Jonathan, I was also totally invested in the Friedman family's journey with forgiveness. While Ezra can see ghosts, this is less of a ghost story and more a contemplation of healing after death
pickI think this is my favorite installment of this series so far! Mansfield Park isn't my favorite Austen so I was hesitant to spend more time with these characters but I thought their growth was well portrayed. And I was so happy to have Jonathan and Juliet back together! Their reunion was so sweet. The mystery was fun to follow but I'm here for the slow burn romance lol. By the end the stakes were high and I'm so ready for the next book!
pickI don't normally read dark romance but I love this author's other works and I ended up really enjoying this! This was a stalker romance between two men who had previously hooked up. Reed is house-sitting at a fancy rich person home and Dax arrives to rob it. When he realizes who the sitter is, Dax decides to call him to scare him off. But things turn a bit kinky... In the end there was even more intrigue and an 'eat the rich' mentality I liked
#HauntedShelf #WordFinder #GrimReaders
I found them all except two! Brackish just never came up and fearfully was a tough version - plenty of fear or even fearful, but no fearfully
November #Roll100 picks @PuddleJumper
36 and 9 are past picks I never got to so I'm gonna try to make an effort to read them this month. 19 is the second in a series and I really need to reread book one first so I don't think I'll have time for that right now
Happy November! #Bookspin list is ready to go! @TheAromaofBooks
I was hoping to have more space for unfinished books but a few of my bookclubs decided to do books in a series that I have to catch up on first lol. I'm not mad about it, just why all at the same time?? 😅
Instead of a last minute push to finish some books for #HauntedShelf today, I've been resting and recouping from wisdom teeth surgery this morning 😩
My recovery is going well so far, just haven't had the brain space to read all day until about now. I got this new release from the library the other day so I'm looking forward to reading a few pages before bed.
pickThis was my favorite of the Scared Sexy collection. I really enjoyed the plot with his cursed tattoos and the voodoo magic. Plus I'm a sucker for grumpy/sunshine enemies to lovers
#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel
#SeriesLove2025 #AfterDarkBingo @PuddleJumper
pickInteresting short story set in a dystopian future. People sometimes randomly transform into demons, but when Shrike's wife is changed she is determined to stop the knight sent to kill her. Very twisted fairy tale vibes
#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel
#AfterDarkBingo @PuddleJumper #LGBTQIA2025 @Kenyazero
pickThis is a fun modern reimagining of Sleepy Hollow. It was a bit silly, in a good way, with curses and evil magic to defeat. And a talking pumpkin head of course. I loved the main trio of friends, they each brought something to the group.
#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel
#AfterDarkBingo @PuddleJumper #ErasGhostBingo Speak Now @Charityann #LGBTQIA2025 @Kenyazero
so-soI liked the concept of this small town full of magical creatures, where a witch conjures the spirit of her ex-girlfriend and needs to move on romantically in order for the ghost to move on. The love interest is new in town and adapts to the knowledge of the paranormal rather quickly. My main issue was that the characterization of the two women was too similar. Even switching POVs it was hard to remember whose head you were in
pickI really enjoyed this paranormal mystery. It was spookier than I expected but I liked the magical aspects. The relationship between Whyborne and Griffin was well developed and I look forward to continuing the series.
This was my #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks
#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel #SeriesLove2025
#QueerBC #AfterDarkBingo #BodyCountBingo @PuddleJumper #Witchathon @TEArificbooks #ErasGhostBingo TTPD @Charityann #LGBTQIA2025 @Kenyazero
pickI liked the mystery of the MC's background in this one. The shifting POVs helped build their chemistry and the ending was sweet.
#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel
#SeriesLove2025 #AfterDarkBingo @PuddleJumper
pickA super cute, colorful, dynamic graphic novel! Sébastien just moved to magical Paris to pursue his magical training. He meets the vampire Elia, an overworked model, and after a charged first interaction they hit it off as friends. Séb is demisexual & hilariously oblivious to all flirting attempts. They both are anxious beans who worry about whether the other actually wants to be friends. It's super relatable. I loved all the side characters too
Halloween bookclub included a ghostie photoshoot
👻🤭
Not book related but I had to share - we spent our first wedding anniversary in the same spot as our very first vacation together. I'm lucky to have this one at my side!
Just getting settled back into real life but I got a bunch of reading done and I plan to catch up on #HauntedShelf reviews this week!
This Gatlinburg Gal gets me! 📖😂
We're on a weekend getaway to the mountains for our anniversary. Hoping to get in some good reading time and soak up some nature 🍂
#HSCluedo
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Happy Sunday! I've abandoned all my other reads for the moment because this story has sucked me in
#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders #BirthdayBashReadathon @TheAromaofBooks
Starting the weekend and the #BirthdayBashReadathon off right with a book and some cuddle support from all three kitties 😻
@TheAromaofBooks #catsoflitsy
#HSCluedo
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pickI loved this even more than the first. Now that we know the characters and world, we get to see them suffer through adventures and learn more about their magic. Agott is growing on me, despite her moodiness. She's got a backstory I'm interested in learning. Loving all the action in each installment, and the cliffhanger endings!
#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel #Witchathon @TEArificbooks #AfterDarkBingo @PuddleJumper
pickThis was such a delightful cozy mystery & really just matched my mood perfectly! (It's set in summer near Vancouver but the warm sunny weather with cool breezes are what we've got going on here currently & really set the tone)
Intriguing murder to solve, fun well-written characters to meet, & a lovely new small town to fall for! I appreciated that the MC & police chief are queer so I'm looking forward to a slow burn romance in the series to follow
#HSCluedo
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pickI was so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book! I read it for a book club but I might explore more of this author's work now. It follows the stories of three women from different time periods (1908, 1934, & 1998) who have encounters with evil witches. The world building was great, I loved the interconnection and overarching themes of the three stories. The audiobook was very well done, the narrator made each time period feel distinct.
#HSCluedo
10pts per question/answer
10pts per guess
25pts for correct guess
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