#SBS September & October Wrap-Up
Welcome to our monthly feature where we talk about what we read, adopted into our libraries, and what’s on our minds. After hosting #SignedBookSundays on instagram for 5+ years, we have transitioned to this format as a way to share signed books and talk about bookish (and personal) highlights. Join us the last Sunday or last day of every month (or whatever day today is…)!
In Case You Missed It
Author Interviews are back! We love chatting with authors, is there a pressing question you’ve always wanted to know?
- Author Interview: Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
- Author Interview: Thin Air by Kellie M. Parker
- Author Interview: A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey
- Author Interview: Our Divine Mischief by Hanna C. Howard
- Christy revives #ComicCrushSaturday there are graphic novel reviews in that post!
- Reviewed another graphic novel The Glass Scientists: Vol 1
- Reviewed Hell Bent 9mns after released or just in time for spkyszn!
- Posted a few new #SpookySeason Book Rec posts for every reader!
- Don’t forget to update your bookmarks for the Where to Buy Signed Books page, because the old one is still seeing traffic, but it hasn’t been updated in a long time as WP won’t let me update that page anymore.
- We curate a Bookshop page with most of the current YA New Releases – if you enjoy our content please consider supporting us by buying books through our links, or we have a Ko-Fi!
What We Read
Kelly: Woot, 8 books in September, and maybe I will finish the 9th by the 30th! (I did not in fact finish that 9th book lol). I only read like 5 books in October, and well the world was a mess and I couldn’t find shelter in anything.
Standouts were:
- D’Vaughn & Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins – 5 stars – adult, sapphic romance with BIPOC MCs, finding love on a reality tv show! How is it I’ve read a few reality tv show books and I sure do love them way way more than reality tv!
- Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer – 5 stars – the coziest of fantasy, this one is considered adult, but as of now, not many adult themes, other than serious yearning! Everything about this book was perfect for me, it really started my month with a book hangover! Give me book 2 NOW!
Christy: Nine books for #SapphicSeptember and Spooky Szn!
- Mr. and Mrs. Witch by Gwenda Bond – Gwenda will always be an auto-buy but I really loved this one as a spooky szn read that is not scary! Fans of Practical Magic will love this story.
- You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard – Another auto-buy author! I read two Wendy books recently and loved them both!
What We Hauled
Where we share our gifted and promotional books from authors and publishers, as well as the signed books we purchased (this is #SBS after all)! You can check our Where to Buy Signed Books page for more!
Kelly’s Highlights
- The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland – Releases January 30th 2024 – Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advance copy!
- Wish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige – Releasing November 7th – thank you to Bloomsbury for the finished copy!
- Emmett by Lev AC Rosen – Releasing November 7th – Thank you to Little Brown Books for the finished copy!
- Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake – Released Oct 24th – Thank you to Berkley for the finished copy!
- The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer – Released Oct 24th – Thank you to Wednesday Books for the finished copy!
- Beholder by Ryan La Sala – Released October 3rd – Thank you to Scholastic for the finished copy promo box!
- Our Divine Mischief by Hanna C. Howard – Released October 17th – Thank you Blink for the advance copy!
- Looking Up by Stephan Pastis – Released October 10th – Thank you Aladdin for the finished copy!
- A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes & Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey – Released September 26th – Thank you Book Sparks for the finished copy!
- This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin – Available Now – Thank you to Berkley for the finished copy!
- If You’ll Have Me by Eunnie – Released October 17th – Thank you to Penguin for the finished copy!
- A Christmas to Remember by Beverly Jenkins – Released October 24th – Thank you to Avon books for the finished copy!
- A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone – Released Oct 10th – Thank you to Avon Books for the finished copy!
Christy’s Highlights
- Huda F Cares by Huda Fahmy – This series has interested me for a bit now so I am excited to read the second volume! Thanks to Penguin!
- Hawkeye: King Takes Bishop by Ashley Poston – You may have seen me yelling about all of Ashley’s work, including this one. So happy to have a signed copy!
- A Twisted Tales Anthology edited by Elizabeth Lim – We love the diversity in this anthology!
What We Hope to Read
Kelly: I read both of my hopefuls in September, and I am ready to read some scary stuff! You can follow me on storygraph or goodreads if you want to see what I am reading. This list was clearly for October and I read two of them…maybe November stays scary reads time for me…
- These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
- She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
- Direwood by Catherine Yu
- Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons
- When Ghosts Call Us Home by Katya De Becerra
- Your Lonely Nights Are Over by Adam Sass
Christy: November is that weird time of year when I don’t know WHAT to read. Do I start Christmas stories? Do I finish spooky szn reads? Do I try to panic read books I think will land on my best of list? WHO KNOWS! So I am just going to leave the one book I know I am going to finish!
- Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons
On the Top of Our Minds
Kelly:
September was a really busy month for us both, but we did get some unique content up on the blog which is great. September was also a really emotionally hard month for me, it started out getting ready for my annual beach vacation with family, but quickly turned into a crappy month. So I have been a bit lax on all things in September, including writing this post and other obligations such as reviews and booksta, but ugh. Just ugh. (view spoiler if you want to see my sadness)
I did get to see the sunset on the beach, I got to put my toes in the sand and hear the waves crash…it is always welcomed to feel something as vast and unknown as the ocean and just being attuned to the natural world. I also saw my best friend and we went to a concert together, we saw Death Cab for Cutie/The Postal Service anniversary tour and wow, it was epic. Also got to see my baseball team steamroll through September right into the post season! Go Phillies!
Now October is almost over (and the Phillies lost their postseason bid…so sad) and I am writing to say reading scary books takes me way longer than say a romance. LOL So I have tried to add in a romance between some scary stuff. Also reading in October wasn’t easy as the world around us is an awful mess, escaping into books just wasn’t working out. So here we are, welcome to November, may we all find a cozy read and a comfy couch to relax upon.
Christy:
I feel pretty good about all of the spooky szn stuff I’ve gotten in – two Disney trips, new movies and TV shows, rewatches, fun books! But that also means my month(s) were far too busy and I need a week-long nap.
It’s time for RunDisney race season to start! I am excited for a full season again this year, which includes Disneyland. Work is busy which is both good and challenging with my travel schedule. November will not be different!
