Y’all, I think Red remains my favorite Taylor Swift album and so, I feel incredibly betrayed I can’t share with you the actual music because I refuse to allow those people to make a cent because of me on the work Taylor created. I’m very petty, I’m afraid. Anyway, we are finally at the album Aarya requested I do that set me down the path of doing this for every album. So, let’s jump in.
Time to check in on my goals since we’re getting down to the wire!
It’s interesting to go from such a themed ARC post (Christmas ARCs) to this eclectic mix of a holiday romance, Miracles and Menorahs by Stacey Agdern, a high fantasy, Black Sun, and a contemporary romance, If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon. The good news is that if these books sound appealing to you, Miracles and Menorahs and Black Sun are already out and If the Boot Fits will be out very soon on October 27th. I won an ARC of Miracles and Menorahs in a Romance Sparks Joy giveaway on Twitter, which was super exciting! Black Sun and If the Boot Fits both came from the publisher via Netgalley. I mostly listened to Black Sun on the audio I purchased for myself though, tbh. Anyway, let’s talk about these books!
As someone who doesn’t totally understand Astrology, I am very here for how well many of my personality traits line up with being a Libra sun sign. From the being interested in fairness and justice elements to the imbalanced expressions of indecisiveness and people-pleasing, there are a lot of elements of my sun sign that ring true. So today, I’m not focused exclusively on romance novels and this is going to be a little more quick and dirty focused more on books that might appeal to you based on different elements of Libra traits. So, let’s dive in!
Last month I did Venus in Virgo + Romance Recs and I was like, “Wow, this is so fun!” Plus, Amber was like, “So… Libra next??” and, I mean, of course, especially today in honor of her birthday! But for some reason, this list was hard to compile! So it’s on time, but later than I intended, tbh. So, first of all, to recap: the Venus sign impacts how you experience, express, and want love. For an actual explanation, Café Astrology is my favorite.
Now, as for Venus in Libra’s and what that means for them, essentially, per Café Astrology, people with Venus in Libra will be more likely to choose the middle road, they want to impress their partner with kindness, evenhandedness, and a willingness to make their relationship work, and they are “gentle lovers who hate to be offended.” Another site declares that they like the lead up to a serious relationship, which is a dead giveaway my Sun sign and my Venus sign do not match at all because *cackles in person who despises dating*. So, let’s jump into the six books I have for you this month.
I read sixty six books in the third quarter of the year, which somehow was one more book than I read last quarter, but still well below what I read from January to March. To be fair to myself, March was very much an outlier. It’s when isolating first started and I was so overwhelmed and confused, all I did was read. Anyway, I have a list of ten favorites to share with you today so we’ll start at my least favorite favorite and work our way up!
Christmas is my favorite holiday, which I feel like despite not really talking about too often (I don’t think), you probably could have guessed somehow. I’m writing this while I should be getting ready for bed so it’s possible I’m delirious. But I have been so excited about getting into the Christmas spirit early this year thanks to these advanced copies so I really want to tell you about them! Especially since now that they’re all out or coming soon, you can pick them up when you’re ready for them and not, you know, prior to playing “All I Want for Christmas is You” even once yet.
Thanks to Netgalley and the various publishers, I was lucky enough to receive and read four Christmas ARCs this year. From Gallery, I read In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren, which you can officially find in stores today! From Sourcebooks Casablanca and also in stores today, I read Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler. From Avon, I read A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday, out on October 13th. And finally, from Carina, I read Sweet on You by Carla de Guzman. Now, let’s talk about them!
I’m truly so grateful this year brought Harlequin Desires into my life the way that it has. I’d read a couple prior to this year, but now I’m like all in. And this month I got to try a Harlequin Intrigue too! After Hours Redemption is by Kianna Alexander and has an absolutely fantastic cover. Untamed Passion is by Cat Shield and is the sixth book in the Seven Sins series, which I’ve been really enjoying! And finally, High Priority Asset is by Juno Rushdan and was my first Harlequin Intrigue. Unfortunately none of these books worked perfectly for me, but I’m optimistic they might for you! I think all three of these are already available so you could pick up any of them. As usual, thanks so much to Harlequin and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review these books.
In the month of September, I read eighteen books, which is a bit lower than normal. It’s also a pretty good indicator of where I’m at right now in terms of dealing with the pandemic. AKA, I can’t do anything, including focus on reading. That said, I’ve read some really incredible books, so I’m looking forward to talking about my five favorites of the month. But let’s jump into this new format again!
Aging is a weird thing, you know? I mean, maybe not if you weren’t raised in the United States where Hollywood makes women over 30 seem like unicorns and certainly not like women who have lives outside of like… motherhood. But I’m determined to age gracefully and so I want to celebrate the fact that I’m turning 29 with all of you, the only way I know how… Talking about books I love! I’m very predictable that way. These are going to be books I’ve loved from the time I was very small and throughout my life until the present, but I’ll try not to drone on and on too much. But for now, let’s celebrate!
