The younger Christmas Prince is forced to make nice with obnoxious prince of St. Patrick's Day when some of Christmas's joy is stolen. If only Loch didn't barrel right through all of Kris's carefully built defenses of diplomacy and politeness. It's enemies to lovers yall, what can I say? Then drama felt a little more contrived at the end than in the first book, but I'm still thoroughly enjoying these royal holiday rom-coms!

I've been jumping between a lot of books recently (this isn't even all of them) but I'm primarily focusing on The Lost Journals of Sacajewea and The Fox Maidens today #WeekendReads

A new #WeekendReads background for November. Whatcha reading?

Coffee shop reading

Went to pick up a bunch of holds from the library (research for some BR end of the year lists) and couldn't help snagging one bonus book and checking out the gorgeous new art they've added in a recent (and on-going) remodel

When Coal, heir to the Christmas throne, is forced into an engagement with his best friend, the Easter Princess, he doesn't see any option other than to go along with it. Then he meets the Halloween Prince. What an adorable fantasy holiday romance. I love an ovwrdramatic king, and Coal is that on steroids. Obsessed with this book and the whole premise of holiday royals so much that I'm already reading the sequel.

The story of Lucy Westenra didn't end when she was turned into a vampire-- it was only beginning. This sapphic retelling alternates between diary entries from Lucy's time as a human, interviews about her past as a vampire, and the modern day perspective of Iris Godalming. Having just read Dracula for the first time, I loved how White re-intrepreted things and explained certain plot holes. An outstanding retelling.

I devoured this book. Quite literally couldn't stop reading it. A trans boy living in a dystopian society terrorize by an evangelical eco-fascist cult called The Angels is being turned into an instrument of destruction-- but when he runs away he realizes he gets to choose whose destruction be becomes. The body horror in this book fits so horrifyingly perfectly. I feel like I could gush about Hell Followed With Us for ages.

Rainy day reading withmy girl 📚

Thought I'd do better but at least I got one #OctoberBookBingo !

A Dowry of Blood was my favorite October read, but I'll be surprised if it doesn't come down to The Stars Too Fondly and Sorcery and Small Magics for my top read of the year. Considering I've already picked one for Book Riot's Best Books of 2024 (you'll just have to wait and see which), that's probably pretty telling 😅 But you never know, there are 2 months and many good books left that could surprise me.

#BookBracket2024 @CSeydel

I finished 7 books, 4 comics / graphic novels, DNF'd one book, and am currently reading three other books. I had hoped to get through several more Halloween appropriate reads this month but there's no good reason I can't read them in September except my brain being weirdly rigid about these things sometimes.

Two almost-bingos this month! I didn't finish my bookspin, Immortal Dark or Dracula but I'll add them to my list for November. It's probably going to be an even mix of spooky books I didn't get to in October and Christmas-y books as I start to get into the winter holiday spirit. #bookspinbingo

@TheAromaofBooks

I'm obsessed with this book and you should be too:

https://bookriot.com/sorcery-and-small-magics-by-maiga-doocy/

I have too many books I'm trying to finish before the end of the month but at least I get to read this one with a snuggly baby today

Lots of seasonally appropriate books going this weekend for #WeekendReads

A haunted house story unlike any other. Ezri moved to England to escape the house they grew up in. But now all 3 Maxwell siblings have to return to the house that still haunts them in order to move on. But is the house really haunted--or is something else going on? Every trigger warning imaginable on this one. The exploration of trauma and sibling relationships was expertly done, and the twist at the end took me truly and horrifyingly by surprise.

My #WeekendReads

My sister's cat looks so grumpy here but she was actually living her best life and also helping with my cramps while I got in a bit of reading before my nephews woke up

A health resort horror story? Sounds like exactly my cup of tea. Yet at 40% in, I think I finally need to admit defeat and DNF this book from a Nobel Prize winning author. I'm bored to tears. The premise reimagines The Magic Mountian by Thomas Mann, and men at a sanatorium for tuberculosis spend their time discussing their bad philosophies about women. I get that it's parody, but I'm just so bored. And where's the horror? This one wasn't for me.

Any other Spooky Lake Month fans here on litsy? This was a great way to take the tiktok series to book form. Geo's illustrations are so good, the stories are fascinating, and I loved searching for the little hidden ghosts on every page. 10/10 spookies!

This Carmilla retelling didn't really follow the original past having characters named Laura and Carmilla and featuring vampires. It's more of an illicit-relationship-with-a-professor story. I didnt enjoy it nearly as much as A Dowry of Blood, Gibson's Dracula retelling.

Zeitan is back with a vengeance in the sequel to Iron Widow! She awakened an ancient emperor and now she'll have to face the consequences. Things really picked up at the end when they confront the gods. The first 2/3 of the book did feel like a lot of set up, but it was also necessary set up. Overall, I'm still all-in on this fascinating sci-fi series.

When a vampire shows up at lawyer Radhika Dingra's door wanting to write up his will, she's suspicious, even more so when he claims he will soon be executed for a murder he didn't commit. What follows is a supernatural mystery full of twists and turns. The story was short and enjoyable, though not a standout.

In this retelling, a medieval bride of Dracula recounts her version of events leading up to her decision to kill the man she loved. It's a dark and twisted polyamorous love story, a story of abuse and survival, and a story of vampires watching the turn of centuries around them. An excellent gothic romance that has me wanting to start Gibson's Carmilla retelling ASAP.

Heavenly Tryant took the lead in September, narrowly edging out I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com

@CSeydel #2024bookbracket

I just finished A Dowry of Blood this morning but these are my #WeekendReads

My festive October #BookSpinBingo board with two books already completed! My #bookspin and #doublespin books are Immortal Dark and The Little Coffee Shop of Terrors. So excited for some spooky and atmospheric reads this month! @TheAromaofBooks

I think I've got an appropriately spooky tbr picked out for October #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

Sharing in case anyone wants a fun October themed bingo game! #OctoberBookBingo

A new fall themed #WeekendReads template for anyone who wants to join in. Just repost with your current reads and tag me!

Kimberly Lemming can write a ridiculous, spicy SFF rom-com like nobody's business. A wildlife biologist is abducted by aliens and dropped on a world full of anachronistic dinosaurs and ice age mammals, not to mention two horned aliens who say she's their mate. But despite having a lion friend, Dorothy's not about to let a bunch of ridiculous creatures dictate her fate.

I think I have a new favorite Kimberly Lemming book.

I'll never tire of Emily Wilde and her Faerie adventures. But this time, Emily isn't just researching faeries-- she's becoming their queen. Alongside Wendell, Emily is ready to retake his Irish realm. Unfortunately, their story is following a dangerous precedent that is sure to get someone killed. Not if Emily has anything to say--or research-- about it though. Another wonderfully fun historical fantasy romp from Heather Fawcett.

This was a cute Ali Hazelwood romance, meaning I knew what I was going to get and I enjoyed it. It has the classic Ali Hazelwood oblivious heroine and stoic, lovesick love interest who also just happens to be ridiculously tall. The video game developer / designer backdrop was a fun addition to the other STEM fields portrayed in her books. Short, sweet, and steamy.

(Tagging another Ali Hazelwood because this one isn't in the system yet.)

My #WeekendReads

Library haul

I hate when a hyped book I thought sounded really good turns out to be a bust. (Hate it even more when I was one of the ones hyping it-- oops.) I mean adults reteurning to Narnia? Come on! But juvenile writing elements and what could've been an incredible story not living up to its potential really knocked this one down for me. I was interested to see where it went, but it just wasn't written as well as it could've been.

In this dreamy cozy fantasy slightly reminiscent of Before the Coffee Gets Cold in its wide array of characters, a new employee is hired at a department store selling all manner of dreams. It's a truly lovely read, full of fun introspection about the world of dreams and dreamers in an imaginative new way. I'd love to visit the Dallergut Dream Department Store myself!

This is a tough little novella to get through because it follows the dire reality of content moderators who sort through the worst of the worst of online content for work. Kayleigh's devolving relationship with her girlfriend and coworker, Sigrid, paints a picture of how the employees mental health is upended by their job. Lots of TWs but the topics are rarely explored in more than passing detail.

A "cuddle bunny" sentient sex robot named Annie struggles to reconcile her growing desire to be a "real girl" with her programmed attachment to her emotionally abusive owner. I'm not sure there was anything groundbreaking here, but it was an enjoyable read.

5am flight essentials

Made these adorable, personalized picture books for my nephews! They're going to be Christmas gifts but I was so excited with how they turned out I just had to share. Made with Wonderbly and I See Me!

I already finished a couple of audiobooks this weekend so I need to figure out what audiobook to start next, but here are the ebook and physical book I've got going on at the moment #WeekendReads

Sorcery and Small Magics takes the top spot for July! #BookBracket2024 @CSeydel

My #bookspinbingo list for August @TheAromaofBooks

I got my #bookspin #doublespin and a bingo this month! I was *this close* to getting a second bingo but c'est la vie. Still pretty dang happy with this! Now I've gotta get my board set up for this month. @TheAromaofBooks

A cozy fantasy enemies to lovers story set in a magical zoo. Head phoenix keeper Aila understands animals. People, not so much. But when she is granted the chance to start a breeding program for a highly endangered species of phoenix, she realizes she can't do it all on her own.

I've loved so many of Jesse Q. Sutanto's mysteries-- Dial A For Aunties and Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, anyone?--so I was dissapointed when this one didn't live up to my expectations. Perfectly find YA thriller; it just didn't have the same fun writing and incredible, lovable characters I've come to enjoy in many of her books.

My YA thriller reads continue with this story about a sapphic teen detective agency and the girl determined to find out what happened to her ex-girlfriend after the police wrote off her older sister's disappearance last year. The resolution of the mysteries felt a bit convoluted if I'm being honest but I still enjoyed the story overall. Probably could've been more tightly plotted.

So many pretty covers #WeekendReads