Big Box of Paranormal Romance, Part Three: A Summer Fling with Psychics, Werewolves, and a lot of Uncomfortable Staring

This summer, I did a lot of things. Like going camping for four weekends throughout the season - something you heard a lot about here - and spending a week and a half at the end of August in Central Oregon, in one of my favorite places in the whole world (something you did not hear about even a little bit). My family made a triumphant return visit to Ren Faire after not being able to attend through the pandemic, I said goodbye to my sister and her longtime girlfriend as they moved to California, and I packed my little brother off and away to his sophomore year of college... and that was all just in August, too. 

I orchestrated what ended up being a complete college-style course, full of weekly fifty-plus slide Powerpoint decks, grocery lists, and daily kitchen exercises, across ten full weeks, in order to teach my apartment-headed brother how to cook for the first time on his own. 

I bought, approximately, a hundred books (Really more like twenty-something, but after a certain threshold, it doesn't really matter. Besides, fifteen of those - eleven from thrift stores, four from Barnes and Noble - were bought over the course of one day, for my bloggoversary, so all told, it was a lot). 

I failed miserably at the Seattle Public Library Book Bingo for the second year in a row (Perhaps I should have spent more time reading books, and less time buying more of them?). 

But also importantly, I read - or at least tried to read - five more novels from my Big Box o' Paranormal Romance. And let me tell you, that was no short order either. That's exactly what I want to tell you about today.

PROLOGUE  //  PART ONE  //  PART TWO

Strap in, people. This is going to be a bumpy ride. 

june

#7. Out of Mind (Court of Angels #2), Stella Cameron

Two stars.

Summary: The products of two of the most powerful psychic families in New Orleans, Willow and Benedict broke up years ago, for reasons Ben never quite understood. He dedicated his time to developing his gifts and and the family businesses alongside his siblings, while Willow has spent the last few years pretending he, her powers, and the legacies of their families don't exist at all, instead choosing to start a boutique concierge service that caters to Nola's elite. However, when her wealthy clients make a habit of turning up dead, she is forced to contend with the undercover world she's done her best to remove herself from... and finding a way to stop the evil that's coming to claim her, might just mean seeking haven in Ben. But is it better to hold him at arm's length, and stay safe, or embrace the magic, and risk getting hurt again? 

Quote:

"She was no fool, and she'd spent enough time around families like theirs to know she'd been snaffled, and who she'd been snaffled by." 

All in all, I'll say that it was different. Unique, kooky, surprising. And at no point was anyone ever referred to in a racially / sexist / etc.- charged, derogatory manner (which I cannot say for other Paranormal Romance I've read this year). And while there are some depictions of personal assault (something which served absolutely zero narrative purpose, and was kind of brushed off), it was substantially less than what else I've seen elsewhere, as well. So in comparison to some of the other stuff I've been reading recently, it wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, it also wasn't too good. 

There were some fun things to comment on. There were loads of bizarre character names - like Bucky Fist, Dr. Blades, and Rock U. - and the main baddies can can be best summarized as "Evil Psychic Animorphs," changing into various alien-ified magical beings that look like a bearded vulture, giant lobster, and a bat. 

However, I didn't have that good of a time. The plot was both linear, and bizarrely paced. Only the sheerest scrap of psuedo-plot held the two main characters apart from each other (and was reframed about fifty pages from the end to lend sympathy towards a completely separate character, who would go on to be another protagonist later on in the continued series). As the sequel itself in line in said series, it felt like a constant battle to parse out who characters were, let alone how they could possibly be connected to each other. The resolution felt expected and boring, which is really saying something, because it came at the tail-end of a masquerade-themed wake for a wealthy murder victim, as well as a three-way battle with a bunch of psy-powered shapeshifters.

And let's be real, I didn't like the characters. I didn't like the plot. If anything, one of the only things I liked was the writing style, bizarrely piecemeal and abstract and STRANGE. Lots of choices were made in this book, but at the very least, at least those choices didn't include some of the other severely questionable behavior I've seen in other Paranormal Romance.

july

#8. Dangerous Tides (Drake Sisters #4), Christine Feehan

Four stars.

Summary: Libby Drake is a little different from her sisters: the goody-two-shoes of the family, she opted for a life dedicated to the medical field and helping support others, while they travel the world, work in dangerous fields, and live large. On the other hand, they all share one important trait: they are a coven of seven witch sisters, tasked with protecting each other and their home of Sea Haven. For Libby, stepping out of the careful path she's carved for herself is a lot easier said than done... until an impulsive decision to help revive billionaire Ty Derrick, near death after a search-and-rescue accident, brings her too close for comfort under his careful inspection. For Ty, magic is something best left to fairy tales, and it's much more likely that Libby and her sisters are delusional at best, and charlatans at worst. But if accepting the otherworldly will let him get close enough to Libby to win her heart, a little adventure may be worth the prize... especially with evil stalking them both, and getting closer every day. 

Quote:

"'I know what Harry and Sam said upset you, Ty,' Libby said. 'I have no interest in your money.'"

'That doesn't make me as happy as you think it would. If you were interested in money, I'd have something to offer you.'" 

This book wasn't necessarily top-tier literature, but you know what it was? Fun. Zany. Unique. Compelling. Chock full of characters that made you want to just know what their DEAL was... even though the main characters just kind of made you want to smack them around a little bit. 

What I'm saying is, that this is a romance between a human who is both the personification of The Giving Tree, and one in a line of 7 accomplished, loving witch sisters, as well as a man who can best be described as "Sexy Billionaire Sheldon Cooper," who makes up for his numerous personality defects by being both 1. a rescue helicopter volunteer for the forestry service, and 2. a scientist trying to find a cure for leukemia. That's right, ladies: he's basically a billionaire, firefighter and a doctor, rolled up into one infuriatingly obtuse, know-it-all package. He's also someone who repeatedly told the main character to her face that her family was shady as hell, and that no one would have ever believed them if they weren't beautiful. What a winner! 

But I loved it. And not only is it a 4-star romance, in my eyes, but it's also the second best out of the entire Big Box of 20 Paranormal Romance novels I've been reading through this year. 

The style of writing I found to be really endearing, especially when it came to dialogue, because of how completely open and without pretense all of the main characters were. How refreshing is it to read a Romance where the issue is NOT a lack of communication, but instead, in finding an avenue for two people to effectively communicate without wanting to psychoanalyze each other? Or, as the hero remarks multiple times, they should just hook up all of the witches' brains to EKG machines, and map how their brains function! (Again, a real catch, this one.)

My only qualms have to be about this extended conflict in figuring out who the big "malevolent force" is - as it's obvious from literal, LITERAL jump - and... honestly, that's it. Pacing was solid, tension crackled, stakes were high, and the action was well-plotted. Ooh! I did want to spend more time with the fiancés of the other sisters, which included a former foreign agent, and the sisters themselves, who included the likes of a mystery author and an international pop singer.... then again, maybe that's a good reason to pick up the other books in the series, right? 

(Notable: this is not an idea I've floated for literally any other Romance I've read from the box so far.)

#9. Master of Wolves (Mageverse #3), Angela Knight 

DNF on 128 out of 310.

Summary: Jim London still can't believe his best friend, Tony, is dead. In fact, he's so sure that foul play was what ended the fellow werewolf's life, that he goes undercover in the very police force he believes responsible... but it's not like you can fake cop credentials that easily. Instead, he uses his shifting powers to become the newest recruited member of the K-9 unit, so he can stay out of suspicion, while getting an on-the-ground eye at what, exactly, this suspicious precinct is really up to. What he wasn't accounting for was a distraction in the form of his handler, Faith, a woman hell-bent on proving herself in man's profession after a bad breakup at her former post. And what neither the very human Faith and werewolf Jim were counting on at all, was a secret society of vampire mages, planning on using this small Louisiana town to stage a coup. What will happen when Faith finds herself on the receiving end of a whole lot of magical nonsense? And what does King Arthur and Merlin have to do with any of it? 

Quote:

"For reasons no one clearly understood, when a werewolf shifted form, his clothes shifted, too. Once he resumed being human, the original clothing came back, along with whatever he happened to have in his pockets - car keys, cell phones, even guns. It was one of those direkind mysteries Tony Shay used to call PFM -- Pure Fucking Magic." 

So far, I've been having good luck with romances from this Box that take the opportunity to get a little crazy. After all, both Dream Eyes and Dangerous Tides succeeded, for me, when they swung for the fences, with large casts of characters, big reveals, and secret societies of magic users... all told, it seems like an easy-enough blueprint to follow, if you're willing to get a little wild. 

Unless, unfortunately, you're Master of Wolves, what HAD been one of my most-anticipated reads of this challenge - Number One, actually! - picked out of the box when I first received it. In that case, you get a little too crazy. 

I think the problems I had with the novel can be pretty summed up into two categories. One, I made sure to consider carefully, as it is a product of my current contemporary perspective in 2021, and was weighed on actions and dialogue pulled from only textual evidence. The second one barely required any textual evidence at all, as it simply wasn't there. 

The thing is, the main heroine is a police officer. That carries with it a certain weight in the after-effects of 2020. But the back cover material makes it very clear as to what Faith's profession is, and I still named it my most anticipated title out of the whole reading project! Unfortunately, after reading, it just doesn't make the grade. While you might disagree with my censure, and claim that it's too harsh to judge a book written in 2003 by the social perspectives of over fifteen years later, let me make this perfectly clear: she is a "bad apple" cop. And I would have thought so if I had read it in 2003, too. 

Take this scene: she attempts to coerce a character into committing a traffic violation, so she can pull them over, based purely on the fact that he looks sketchy because he was GOING THE SPEED LIMIT. When that doesn't work, she searches through her database to come up with a compelling reason to do it - as people of the legal profession "aren't creative enough" to simply allow her to arrest him on instinct - and finds that his tabs are a month expired. Bingo! Not only does she pull him over, but she threatens him with committing an unauthorized search of his car - because apparently only people with drugs to hide go the speed limit - and mocks him into giving her probable cause. When he attempts to flee, she sics her German Shepherd on him with little warning; when he tries to wrestle himself away and hits her in the melee, she crows victoriously that he's given her a good reason for her to land a punch herself, as she had been itching for a fight. 

As it turns out, he has good reason to want to get away: he brokenly cries to her, while successfully subdued by dog-Jim's intervention, that the people who get arrested in that jail have a habit of ending up dead less than a day later. She mocks him for it, as she's been working at that jail for months now, and hasn't noticed any such pattern herself... then goes on to say that he's probably been using a lot more drugs than just what she's found to think such things, and she might as well write him up for others, too. 

Needless to say, the following happens pretty damn quickly in the following chapters: his pattern is almost immediately proved true, she realizes other cops in her department are covering up the murders, and she finds the crying guy's corpse - chest cavity completely hollowed out and gaping open on the pavement - the following evening. She has the grace to feel guilty about it for LESS THAN A SCENE, and then is completely distracted by sexist interactions with the other cops. 

And she's supposed to be THE GOOD GUY. 

The second issue I had with it, in the end, was a general lack of coherency. Dream Eyes played fast and loose with its psychic mumbo-jumbo, but they always kept it on-theme, and realistic for the Universe they had created. Same with Dangerous Tides... while a family of witches who also double as / date famous people makes for a lot of plot to juggle, it's alright as long as you keep it inside a certain realm of believability. 

Master of Wolves didn't care about coherency or realism at all, and didn't make much attempt to hide it, either. It chalked up entire segments of werewolf world-building to "PFM" so often, it's like the author put exactly zero thought into developing the character's powers or culture. 

But even beyond that, the greater stakes of the larger narrative are absolutely bonkers:

Merlin - yes, THAT Merlin - is an interdimensional alien who came to earth to bestow King Arthur and Guinevere with magical powers, turning them into a superhuman vampire-mage race to protect humankind, as well as formed a secret society of werewolves, as a sort of "self destruct" button necessary to keep the Knights of the Round Table in check.  Now there's a secondary sect of evil vampires, and the werewolves have to race to stop them, without letting Arthur and the Knights know they exist. 

Also, a small town is Louisiana has a jail that's being controlled by one of said evil vampires, and a terrible cop is trying to battle it out against an entire precinct of other terrible cops to stop her. Also, they're all werewolves, too, only they're bad. 

Almost makes you forget about how terrible Faith is at her job.  

august

#10. Nico (Ruin and Revenge #1), Sarah Castile 

DNF on 38 out of 350.

Summary: Nico Toscani - a mafia boss and bastard son, held out of the line of succession after his domineering uncle inserted himself into the lineage over Nico - has a pretty good life: in charge of not only several lucrative Las Vegas enterprises, but overseer of one of the most successful casinos just off the Strip, he spends his days dedicated to his work, and plotting his return to power in the Toscani family. Mia Cordano, on the other hand, does her best to stay out of the violent entanglements of mafia life, opting instead to pursue a career in cybersecurity, working with the same casinos ran by the Vegas underground. After a workday-gone-wrong for Mia, the two are thrust back into each others' circles, and wouldn't be able to keep their hands off, if it weren't for one pertinent fact: their families hate each other, and hold one another responsible for the feud that killed Nico's father over a decade ago. But with tensions rising within the hierarchy of the Vegas families, and pressure mounting on Nico to prove his name, there's no chance that Mia won't be drawn into the crosshairs... but is Nico willing to give it all up to keep her safe?  

Quote:

"'Cristo santo! I told Vito to hire the best cyber-security firm in the city, and he hired you?'

Mia folded her arms across her chest. 'What do you mean by that?'

Nico made a dismissive gesture with his hand, trying not to focus on any one part of her beautiful body. 'First of all, you're a Cordano. Second, you're a woman.'" 

I feel absolutely zero remorse in DNFing this one so quick out of the gate, based on two significant principles: not only is this book just soooo not my vibe, but it's also technically not even a Paranormal Romance! 

I think the reason for the miss-shelf is pretty forgivable, as I feel like shadowy headless torsos covered in Photoshopped tattoos are pretty standard fare for cover material in the genre. However, there's no mistaking that a problem happened along the line of this one, as there is zero vampire/ ghost/ psychic/ werewolf/ etc content in it at all. It's a Mafia Romance. And to be clear, that's really not the only thing I saw wrong with the content.

Within the first 40 pages alone, there are numerous threats of violence - both regular and sexual - committed against women, gun violence, assault and battery, as well as more of both kinds threatened to be committed against a child. There is drug use, and patriarchal bullshit, and lots of mafioso talk in the most unconvincing of manners. It's dark and iffy in a way that I get is like catnip for Dark Romance readers, but that is just completely not up my alley at all. 

So, it's a no from me! 

#11. The Portal, Sharon Pape

One and a half stars for readable-but-racist. (I read it and finished it. Deeply racially stereotyped, but not deeply outwardly vicious, which is more than I can say for other books in this box.) 

Summary: Published in 1994, this novel follows the adventures of a young researcher while working with an archeologist dig in Four Corners. However, it's not long before the hours in the hot sun start to take their toll, as she finds herself having longer and more complex dreams about a mysterious Native American figure, following her around the dig site. As reality and dreams blend together, she becomes more and more sure that her "shadow man" is real, and following her as she works... but she can't understand how. What does this mysterious Zakoura Kree want with her? Why is she so incapable of resisting his enigmatic pull? And why are the other people on the reservation so unwilling to tell her who he really is? 

Quote:

"The wind that rumbled through the canyon sounded angrier than usual; in the distance a coyote howled in counterpoint. No other noise intruded on the stillness of the cave. Even so, she was certain that the Indian* was back. She felt his presence." 

*Note: this is from the first paragraph of the book. I'm not joking when I say that it hits the ground running with the outdated nomenclature.

Coming hot off the heels of DNFing my previous two Paranormal Romance box picks - disheartened and rapidly losing steam in continuing on in this challenge, honestly - I really wanted to make sure I didn't just skim over my next read. So was it the best idea to pick up one of the examples that, from even the back cover material, I could already tell was going to be a bit of a racist dumpster fire? Well, as it turns out, yes. 

It was a stereotyping, hodge-podge scrapbook attempt at cobbling together a bare minimum of compelling details about archeology, Native American history, and the sheerest veneer of romance. It frequently used language that is now considered offensive terminology within the Native American community, it took no pains to meaningfully develop any of the background characters beyond cardboard cutouts and preserved no sense of humanity beyond rote characteristics, and its plot hinged on a tired destined-soulmate premise that robbed the narrative of any deeper meaning and nuance. 

But like driving past a car accident, I just couldn't look away. Both the questionable Native American shaman hero and fresh-out-of-her-doctorate-program heroine were deeply unlikeable from just a lack-of-personality sense, and routinely made what can only be summarized as a relentless and interminable volley of bad decisions, and yet it somehow found not just enough even ground to pass as what could not only be described as a "romantic story," but also as more compelling than a book about King Arthur the vampire mage and the werewolf race created to stop him. 

The ending/ solution was bizarrely contrived, and never fully explained. Motivations for multiple characters were simply left up to general interpretation, rather than have personal connections noticeably develop at all. Almost all believability the reader had to buy into in order to allow the story to progress, relied on threadbare and severely stereotyped characters and antiquated views of Native American life and culture. Without the "stoic native" trope, this book would not exist, as that made up the personality for not just one, but several of its main characters. 

And here's what also just drove me batty: they ruminated for hundreds of pages - HUNDREDS of pages - about whether it was possible for someone to exist on one plane, and then be transported to another. How can he possibly move so fast, seem as if he exists in multiple places at once, vanish without a trace, and then invade her dreams with images of a place that she's never seen before? 

The title of the book is The Portal. It's a freaking portal. And yet, they do not come to grips with this idea until about 75 to 80% of the way through the novel. 

One of the things I've been learning throughout this project, is how confident I am in my ability to one day sell a Paranormal Romance. And I wouldn't have to rely on stereotyping an entire persecuted community to do it. 

So, that's where I'm at with the Big Box right now! I'm midway through #12 at the moment - Minion (Vampire Huntress Legend #1), by L. A. Banks - but I wasn't lying about what I said earlier: I think I'm starting to lose a little bit of steam. Which is a massive bummer, because I only have to read eight more books after that to have finished the Box! 

If I close out Minion by the end of the month, these are the only books standing between me and the new year / end of the challenge: 

• All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire, Kerrelyn Sparks
• Hostage to Pleasure, Nalini Singh
• Darkest Lie, Gena Showalter
• The Empath, Bonnie Vanak
• The Phantom of the Bathtub, Eugenia Riley
• Servant: the Acceptance, L L Foster
• The Guardian, Sherrilyn Kenyon
• The Summoning, Heather Graham

Here's what I'm hopeful for: that the next few reads I explore will be less problematic and more crazy than what I've been reading so far, that October will make for a month of great Paranormal Romance vibes, and that AIWfCiaV is going to make for great by-the-tree material. I hope that I'll have more above-three-stars, and less DNFs. But more than anything, I hope I actually make the challenge. 

And who knows? With the starting line of NaNoWriMo pretty much a little over a month away, maybe I'll do the damn thing and get started on my own material. Come on... it's Paranormal Romance. 

And according to my TikTok-loving sibling, it's a "Bella Swan and Elena Gilbert sort of Fall" anyways. 

Do you think you'd read any of the books in this summer stack? What are your favorite topics within the Paranormal Romance genre? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Fall 2021 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Boy, this is just the latest-in-the-day "Top Ten Tuesday" ever, huh?

I think it's a pretty good representation of my attitude about the onset of Fall as a whole. While I'm amped for the oncoming cozy season - leaves have already started to turn around here, and so has my wardrobe to chunky sweaters and my pantry to apple cider and pumpkin flavors - I'm stymied by a bit of celebration that has yet to occur: a great friend from college is getting married in Palm Springs in less than two weeks, and I'm making the trip down to Cali to not only ring in the new ring in style, but also check in on my sister and her girlfriend, who both moved down to LA in the middle of August.

So don't get me wrong: Trader Joes Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese is absolutely in my fridge, and one of my younger siblings has already broken out a spiderweb-print tablecloth currently covering our kitchen table. But am I exactly mentally prepared for Autumn, when I'm still responsible for sweating my butt off in the desert of California in a week and a half? 

So, the "Top Ten Tuesday" comes a little later, as my mind tries to grapple between the seasonality outside my window with dreams of California. At least I can try and instate a little structure into the TBR I will inevitably blow off for whatever I feel like reading!

Here's what I'm planning on tackling this Fall: 

end of September: easing back into regular reading

1. Alex Trebek's The Answer Is...

I can't have been the only one who choked up hearing Alex's voice playing during the "In Memorium" segment of last weekend's Emmys. Our family is made up of voracious Jeopardy! players, complete with carefully-adhered-to house rules on how we play, and losing his voice on our television screens every night was a massive blow. It would be nice to revisit his sense of humor and easy presence through his autobiography.

2. Jia Tolentino's Trick Mirror

This was a major player on my stack for the summer, but I never got around to this critically-lauded memoir... maybe because the colors of the cover are just so much more Fall to me? Regardless, I'm looking forward to reading. 

October: spooky time and what pairs well with tea?

3. Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire 

I got halfway through this atmospheric modern gothic last year, before the calendar switched over to November and NaNo started and it no longer felt as seasonal to be spending so much time with angst-ridden vamps. I'm glad I saved the rest for this year so I can enjoy it with an appropriate accompanying environment!

4. Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle

This has turned into somewhat of a repeat read for me. So spooky and off-putting, so wonderfully right for the Halloween season, especially if you're somewhat of a coward like me... not only is this a great read for October, but it's one I frequently recommend. 

5. Libba Bray's Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3)

The only thing scarier than the Halloween season, is having a younger brother who gladly takes your book recommendations, and then quickly outruns you in completing an entire series. As someone who likes taking their time working through a collection - matched with someone who has steam-rolled his way through multiple titles in the Wheel of Time series, one after the other, in a row, without breaks - I've been known to enjoy drawing out a series far after it ends. As The Diviners is one of my favorite YA series, I've never gotten around to the third installment... until now! (Hopefully.)

6. Stuart Turton's The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I know, I know... if I had a dollar for every time I listed this book on one of my TBRs, speed-dating rounds, etc., I would still have less than ten, but more than a comfortable amount of dollars, about it. I'm willing to blame it on the fact that my copy has some of the most aggressive deckled edges I've ever encountered... but maybe if I try it on Kindle, it will go better?

7. Grady Hendrix's The Final Girl Support Group

A recommendation from my younger sister (the one I'm visiting in California), I've been given strict instructions to pass this title along to my other family members once I'm finished. I've been pretty reticent to pick it up, mainly because I read Riley Sager's Final Girls a couple of years ago, and not only completely hated it, but immediately felt pretty damn broadsided by the fact that so many others I knew enjoyed it. It's a book I finished and immediately thought, "I could probably have written that better"... but now there's a relatively similar concept with a (hopefully) better ending, maybe it will be okay?

November: the bridge between holidays, managed by extra-toasty tomes

8. Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy

I've had so many people in my various social feeds losing themselves over Lawson's latest memoir, Broken, that I was fully stoked to find a relatively un-marred hardback copy of this earlier title while perusing a Goodwill this Summer. What I've heard about her is that she's deeply funny while still maintaining a lot of candor, and I can't wait to get around to reading it. 

9. Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart

Purchased from a favorite independent bookstore this past August, technically this copy has already been read: my mom, who didn't come equipped for vacation with an appropriate amount of reading material, was clamoring for something to look at poolside, so I handed her mine. Not only did she love it, but she's been anxiously waiting for me to "catch up" and read it, too. This is exactly why I can't buddy read anything, people! 

10. Christopher Buelman's The Blacktongue Thief

Technically, I bought this, and gave it to my brother as a birthday present this past August. But the little tornado ripped through his stacks of vacation reads faster than you could say "library ebook checkout," and we only made it a few days into vacation before he propped it up on the chair in my room and told me I needed to pick it up, too. 

11. Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal

A favorite of mine, and one that represents a genre I haven't given a lot of thought this year: for some reason, Culinary Memoirs - aka, one of my favorite niche subgenres - haven't been prompting me to pick them up as frequently as I've been doing for the past couple of years. I think it's well due time for a revisit, especially because this book is such a comfort fave for me. Plus, it would give me a great reason to finally get to reading one of her other titles in my collection, too! Nothing's more appropriate for the turkey season, than a book about food. 

and all of the rest

I've got only a couple of months left in the year, and quite a few books still left in my Big Box of Romance Novels that I need to tackle before the year is out. So, I'll be making those a priority in the coming months... and hopefully catching up on all of the blogging that I haven't been doing about it this summer, too! 

Is this all more than 10 reads? Technically yes. Also, technically, this list doesn't even encompass all of the titles I've still got stacked and ready to access on the coffee table next to my bed, which numbers into the twenties. Am I planning on jamming my Fall to the brim with an afternoon pot of tea, a warm blanket by the fireplace, and minimal interruptions from family members? Yes. Am I also currently multiple titles behind my pace to complete my 2021 Goodreads Challenge? Also yes. 

Am I going to actually get around to reading literally any of these titles? Good gracious, I hope so. 

Then again, I am going to California in two weeks. Who knows how I'll feel then? 

What's in your Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!