16 Books For Cozy Fall Reading

Fall is a season of change and reflection, and there’s no better way to embrace it than by diving into a good book. Whether you prefer cozy mysteries, heartwarming family dramas, or spine-tingling thrillers, these fall books offer a range of options to keep you engaged and inspired throughout the autumn months. So, grab a warm blanket, your favorite beverage, and immerse yourself in the world of…

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I haven’t fallen in love with fictional characters and the world that they inhabit the way I have with Victoriocity in YEARS. It genuinely makes me feel like a kid again, the way I got when I was reading Harry Potter for the first time and the universe just was slowly unfolding and I wanted to know everything about it outside of the main storyline. And then you have the pitch perfect humor and characters I AM VERY DEEPLY INVESTED IN that are in the most perfect Victorian slow burn of all time where I KNOW SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN EVENTUALLY BUT ITS GOING TO TAKE YEARS AND ILL BE HANGING ON TO A DARCY HAND FLEX MOMENT FOR DEAR LIFE UNTIL IT DOES, and you got me hook, line and sinker.

But seriously, it’s well written. It engages in some trope but does so in a way that only good writing can where expectation is subverted and then not that that is surprising and delightful, The pacing is excellent. The world they’ve created is completely original but totally familiar which grounds the characters and the plot.

Anyway, I bought three copies of High Vaultage (audio, ebook and special edition hard copy of course), finished it, binged season three and now I need the link to the kickstarter for the next project because I NEED MORE. This is just going to be a fan account until then.

IF I SEE ANOTHER THINK PIECE ABOUT HOW EVERYONE FOCUSES ON THE ROMANCE OF THE HUNGER GAMES WHEN IT'S ABOUT SO MUCH MORE AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE BOOKS ARE ABOUT AND HOW EVERYONE'S MISSING SUZANNE COLLINS' MAIN POINT- IM GOING TO BLOW UP EVERYONE.

Song of Achilles did make me cry and there are some beautiful, extremely quotable turns of prose. But honestly? Even without being a classicist or a Greek mythology enthusiast— it really kind of sucks. There's no substance or complexity to it, the characters are one-dimensional and it's painfully YA. It's written for a Booktok audience who doesn't give a fuck about Homer's poems or Greek myths as a genre. I mean I'm also largely disinterested but I hate books that loses everything that defines a genre in order to appeal to people who don't care for it.

Idk if you want an incredible reimagining of the Trojan war for an audience who doesn't care much about the Illiad, read The Troy Trilogy by David Gemmell. It makes no pretence of being faithful to the Illiad and takes out all mention of gods and magic, and sadly doesn't have a lot of gay in it, despite the protagonist being one of the most badass bisexual women in fantasy fiction (Andromache in the Old Guard can't hold a candle to this Andromache). But for all that, it has very complex and vivid characters, cinematic battle scenes and is an emotional rollercoaster that makes you blow through all three books in one sitting. It's very much about how war and pride and honour can make people you like and believe in do horrific things, how morality is informed by culture and era, how you can feel pity for even the worst characters, and how desolation lives hand in glove with glory. Once you read that you'll realise how hollow Madeline Miller's work is.

99% of Trad Pub: The goal of a good book is to use an easy to relate to character as a lens to explore profound plots and interesting experiences.

Me: The goal of a good book is to use interesting events to fully lay bare the depths of the souls of people who represent the weirdest little fuckers the world has to offer.

Books read in February 2024

THE PRETTIEST STAR by Carter Sickels

POOR DEER by Claire Oshetsky

STAGES OF ROT by Linnea Sterte

SO LONG SAD LOVE by Mirion Malle

I DO EVERYTHING I'M TOLD by Megan Fernandes

THE TAIGA SYNDROME by Cristina Rivera Garza, Translated by Suzanne Jill Levine & Aviva Kana

SUITE FOR BARBARA LODEN by Nathalie Léger, translated by Natasha Lehrer & Cécile Menon

THE SKUNKS by Fiona Warnick

MAGNOLIA WU UNFOLDS IT ALL by Chanel Miller

A FROG IN THE FALL by Linnea Sterte

HOW TO END A LOVE STORY by Yulin Kuang

SLOW DANCE by Rainbow Rowell

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Alrighty. I’ve got a few reviews ready to post but I can’t seem to get over the ‘first post anxiety,’ SOO,

here is what I’m currently reading and my current thoughts and opinions on it thus far. I may get crucified for it but that’s okay. (Red rising fans, y’all are a different breed)

Current Read: Red Rising by Pierce Brown, am about 18% of the way through it, in chapter 10. *slight spoilers in my little ramble here*

So far, I’m really enjoying the story, the world that the characters live in and the political complexities, but it does feel like a few other stories I’ve read (just overall lacking in originality, can’t exactly pinpoint what stories feel so familiar though so maybe I’m just being overly critical here) and oh my GOD is the main character sooo insufferable. The man would benefit greatly from some therapy, but what male lead in a fantastic/science fiction novel written by a man wouldn’t to be fair. The dialogue feels very clunky and weird and unnatural in some parts, especially when the main character talks to his wife (rip, although part of me wonders if she’s gonna pop up again sometime). SPEAKING OF HIS WIFE, not loving how women are portrayed in this book so far, but haven’t seen enough examples to fully form an opinion on that one yet, hoping it gets better, but from what I’ve heard, I’m not expecting greatness.

These are mostly just first impressions though, I feel like I haven’t gotten to the “meat” of the story yet, the main character just found out the difference between the lower reds and the upper reds and is going through a bit of shock because woe is he, his whole life is a lie, which as a reader, no shit buddy.

As a whole, I feel like this book is gonna be a book I finish out of spite or with desperate hopes that it gets better as it goes along (similar to how I felt with fourth wing, which I will be writing a review soon, good lord I don’t understand why so many people love that hot garbage of a book.) BUT sometimes those books are my favorite to read and to review because they’re fun and I usually have a lot to say.

Anyways. back to reading, hoping and praying it gets better as we go along.

☆ cr : how to fall out of love madly

୨୧ if you like just plot no vibes, women struggling in their late 20s/early 30s, imperfect messy women and Sally Rooney, this book is for you ! ✨

Books of 2023: DAEMON VOICES: ON STORIES AND STORYTELLING by Philip Pullman feat. the current knitting project!

Since I have both set aside my current revision project and successfully completed a beta read for a friend, I'm trying to catch up on knitting and reading! Said friend actually got me this book for last Christmas, and I've been waiting until I was between (writing) projects to start it.

Good evening. How is your week going? Have you read anything from Chinua Achebe? I have read the first book in the African Trilogy.

I'm currently on my way to visit a friend who moved here from China. She promised to cook Chinese food for me. 😋

Just finished: A River Enchanted By Rebecca Ross

4.5/5 stars

An interesting Celtic fantasy novel that was the perfect beginning of fall read.

Book Rec: Little Mushroom 🍄

Do you love scifi and especially dystopian or post-apocalyptic settings? Are you a fan of unique worldbuilding or non-human characters? Do you enjoy reading about morally grey characters or LGBT characters? Or maybe you're a fan of star-crossed lovers or even enemies-to-lovers?

Try Little Mushroom! It's an award-winning dystopian scifi novel by the Chinese scifi and fantasy author Shisi. While the author is also known for her other novels, Little Mushroom is currently the only one that has been translated into English.

The official synopsis:

“Until the day humanity falls.”

In the year 2020, Earth’s magnetic poles disappeared and humankind was nearly wiped out by cosmic radiation. Within the span of a hundred years, living creatures began to mutate and devour each other while the remaining humans, numbering in the tens of thousands, struggled bitterly in their man-made bases.

In the Abyss, home to the mutated xenogenics, there lived a sentient little mushroom. Because it had been nourished by the blood and flesh of the deceased human An Ze, not only did it take on a similar-looking human form, but a similar name as well: An Zhe.

An Zhe is determined to go to the human base to search for his spore, which had been harvested by humans. Once there, however, he faces the omnipresent risk of discovery and certain death as he tries to keep his non-human nature hidden from the Judges, whose responsibility is to inspect for and eliminate xenogenics like himself. And of all the Judges, Colonel Lu Feng is the most perceptive and merciless—as soon as he determines that someone is a xenogenic, he will execute that person on the spot.

But An Zhe's mutation goes undetected by Lu Feng's eyes, and so a tale of humans and xenogenics unfolds…

Where to read?

The story is divided into two volumes, available in both ebook and print format. The ebook version is very affordable and you can start reading immediately:

Volume 1: Judgment Day ($7.99)

Volume 2: Revelations ($7.99)

Or if you prefer physical books, you can order those here:

Volume 1: Judgment Day ($19.99)

Volume 2: Revelations ($19.99)

The print edition is also available through several retailers.

If you have any questions about the novel, feel free to message me! It's one of my favorites and I love talking about it!

i literally cannot for the life of me understand people who engage with fiction to insert their own familiarities into it. if I'm reading something that feels the same as what im used to i almost start feeling caged. the only time i really read things related to my experiences is to see someone articulate feelings i have better than i ever could because for the most part reading isnt supposed to be about your experiences its supposed to be about discovering others especially if you're privileged in the global north. i loved reading adiga's the white tiger precisely because i could compare the similarities and differences between the way class works in india and in the uk and possibly examine the way colonialism may have affected that. basically i think for the most part it is better to read in order to learn through fiction than it is to read for fun to be honest like read some fun books i dont care knock yourself out but like there have been bodies of work translated into your language from around the world and you can take advantage of that by broadening your mind with the help of a compelling story and if you turn that down well i think you're making the wrong call but that's just me. this is literally just a string of semi related ideas because its 1am but whatever