Recent Reads | The Thoroughbreds and Something About September

Posted October 9, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I really ate up THE ACADEMY last year. Dishy (perfect word coined for this series by my friend Cristina) boarding school and rich people drama = very much my thing. Move over, dark academia, hello gossipy academia. The first book in this series was really just a fun romp but it didn’t necessarily knock my socks off from a quality perspective. There was something about this follow-up novel that had me completely enthralled and impressed. This book is definitely all about the drama, but there were so many sweet moments between students, faculty, and family. There was even one particular passage with Olivia H-T and her parents during the family weekend that actually had me laughing out loud. Because there were some deeper moments, I just felt like this book hit me a little harder than the first, like the nostalgia of senior year and the final milestones. I don’t want to spoil anything but this was certainly more of a “slice of life” novel following the entire school year, without a singular major climax or issue. Book one had a combination of that setup along with a big dramatic ending. I do think this book could have had a bit more oomph and drama toward the end to kick it up a notch. Overall, these books are fun rides with interesting characters and plot points. I would absolutely continue to read them if they publish them. There are still some younger students like Grady or Cassie Lee that they […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #505: Happy Memories

Posted October 6, 2026 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 3 Comments

Books that Conjure Up Happy Memories Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I’ve read a lot of books in really special places and whenever I think of them, I remember exactly where I was so vividly. This is a really fun prompt to share some of those! I started the Black Dog Bay series on a whim with CURE FOR THE COMMON BREAKUP as I was heading to meet my husband at the ski mountain. I vividly remember being enthralled by the small town setting and enjoyed starting this quaint series while night skiing. We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon and – again on a total whim – I started THE QUARRY GIRLS while staring at the ocean. It’s definitely a very depressing book and not at all right for that location, but I smile every time I think of this book and can remember it so perfectly. Great to not read this one at night in the dark at home, and instead overlooking the ocean. I was determined to finish WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA? and listened to the audiobook traveling back and forth to my friend’s bachelorette this summer. I think about this all the time because it […]

2027 Preorders, Review Copies, and New Releases I Can’t Wait For

Posted October 5, 2026 / Book Lists, Features / 0 Comments

I love a fresh year for bookish goal-setting, and taking a peek at the new year of book releases is the BEST. There are some great books by favorite and new-to-me authors I’m so excited for in 2027, and lord knows I already have too many review copies and preorders out there. I thought I’d share some of the upcoming books I can’t wait for so hopefully you can add them to your TBR as well. Review Copies on my Kindle Already Preordered Highly Anticipated (Must Read or Buy)

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | September 2026

Posted October 2, 2026 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 0 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. September is always my busiest month in my personal life between birthday stuff and a ton of plans, so I had pretty high expectations compared to reality because I want to get back on track. I aimed to read 9 books but ended up with 8, which is honestly not bad! I was really gunning for that 9th book and I really think I could’ve pulled it off if if September had 31 days lol. Either way, it makes it really clean to read 10 books per month to finish off the year, since I’m at an even 70 books now. 8 books in September 8 read • 0 reread • 0 DNF/Hold Formats: 3 physical/audio, 2 hardcover, 1 paperback, 1 egalley, 1 egalley/audio Status/source: 4 purchased, 2 preordered, 2 review Age Target: 7 adult, 1 young adult Here are all the books I read this month with ratings! Shelf Reflection Challenge: 82% Read with Allison Challenge: 77% Buzzword Reading Challenge: 75% Buzzword Cover Challenge: 67% Breakdown: 3 hardcovers | 3 paperbacks | 0 ARC | 1 egalley […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #504: Fall Freebie

Posted September 29, 2026 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 2 Comments

Fall Freebie: Cozy Fall Books & Genres Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about all of the autumn-themed books and how this is becoming a more popular genre. It looks like I should’ve saved that post for today because I struggled to think of a fall freebie! I wrote another post in 2025 about some of the cozy fall-time books I’d read if I weren’t in a little slump, along with some of my favorite genres to read in the fall. I thought that would be a fun spin, focusing on the types of books I like to read and how they feel autumnal to me! Mystery/Thrillers and Spookiness There’s something seasonal about a mystery/thriller, though I definitely read them all year! These ones are on my TBR and either have a horror/paranormal spin (perfect for autumn) or just FEEL like fall to me. Witchy or Magical Fall Romance No-brainer to have a witchy/paranormal romances on here too. I had A WITCH’S GUIDE on my post from last year and still haven’t gotten to it but I think Mandanna’s books are great for the fall. I preordered GRIM TIDINGS, which came out mid-September, […]

October TBR

Posted September 28, 2026 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments

My monthly TBR feature here shows my progress based on last month’s TBR, my plans for this month, and anything else I might be thinking about from a reading perspective. Sometimes I feature a little poll at the bottom so you guys can help me figure out a certain title I should read from a group of books. October TBR We’re getting into crunch time for the end of the year and I am absolutely determined to hit my reading goal. I know there will be some solid seasonal reading in November and December, and I have some novellas or shorter books I definitely want to read before the year is over. I hope to get myself really going here for Q4! Review Copies I did a pretty good job with review copies in September so now we have just a few backlist ones to prioritize along with the October release of ENTITIES TO LOVERS. I also swapped in LOVE FELT LIKE THIS because I know it’s now seasonally appropriate – less fall than the previous book and more heading into winter. We’ll see if I get to it in November instead, honestly… Recent Releases & General TBR October is a big month for holiday releases but I don’t plan on reading them this month, most likely. I’ll do my holiday TBR post later this year. I put my October review copies up top so the biggest one I plan to read, of course, is the new ACOTAR […]

Predicting the Books I Read to Finish My Reading Challenge (100)

Posted September 25, 2026 / Book Lists, Features / 0 Comments

It gets to a certain time of year where I’m looking at how many books I have left to read in order to meet my goal and sweat a little bit about how to fit in all the things. I make a lot of TBR posts that you’ve already seen and will continue to see, but this is more of a prediction post – which books do I think will make up the final 32 books I will be reading in order to finish my challenge. I’m going by category – the books I want to read to finish up series, the review copies I have, new and upcoming books, etc. etc. Finishing or Progressing in Series (6) I made a post the other day about some books I hope to read by the end of the year and I put quite a few books within series or entire series I want to finish. If I’m being realistic, I’m committed to finishing the EMMA M. LION books for sure, but only will probably get to one Seaside Cafe Mystery and Inheritance Games book. I also am desperately needing to finally read THE PRISONER’S THRONE this winter! Review Copies (6) I actually did a pretty good job, compared to other years, of (a) staying on top of review copies and (b) not requesting them willy-nilly. There are six books that I definitely want to and need to read before the end of the year, including some seasonal […]

Recent Reads | The Velvet Knife and Dark Matter

Posted September 24, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I’ve been a huge fan of the TRULY DEVIOUS series since the very beginning, reading every single one the minute they release. The ultimate auto-buy series for me. THE VELVET KNIFE is the sixth (and final???) book in this series and follows Stevie has she heads to NYC during the holiday break from school, along with Nate as he tries to hole up and finish his book. Naturally, a mysterious death occurs and Stevie works to find out what happened to one of their temporary neighbors. I absolutely hate that this book felt like a finale! I wanted to read these books for the next 20 years. I don’t want to spoil what made it feel like the end but it honestly feels kind of clear that it is. David has been on thin ice through most of the series and as usual, I don’t love what transpired between them in this book (and how everything ended). Luckily it wasn’t the MAIN focus but still took up too much page space. It was very frustrating to read. The mystery itself was pretty good and involved a cult, which I tend to enjoy. I enjoyed that, like the other books, there’s a historical mystery to solve along with something happening in present day. I think the mystery in the past was pretty easy to solve, which was fine, because the one in current times was a bit more complex. I’m always down for the “NYC during the holiday season” setting but […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #503: Fall TBR

Posted September 22, 2026 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 3 Comments

Fall Release TBR Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I always focus these TBRs on the upcoming releases for the season, rather than all of the books I plan to read through the season. Here we go! Non-Holiday Review Copies Late September Releases October Releases November Releases

Finishing Up Challenges (2026)

Posted September 17, 2026 / Book Challenges, Features / 0 Comments

I always try to lock in around the start of autumn to see where I stand with the reading challenges I signed myself up for. I never really expect to finish them 100%, but I still like to make attempts to get them done. This is a good place for me to see what I have left and how I may get as close as possible to finishing. This is as of September 11th and includes the two books I’m currently reading. Shelf Reflection Challenge 33 out of 45 prompts completed || 73% complete Estimated to complete 10 more, finishing at 96% Two books by the same author (2) | I knew early this year that I would use Abby Jimenez for this prompt. She has a holiday romance (A MARRIED LITTLE CHRISTMAS) coming out soon so I figured I’d read this, months after reading her normal release in Q1. With a title you’d want on your gravestone | This is one where I may just come across it while I’m reading, but LOVE YOU TO DEATH is a great one that I do have on my upcoming TBR. About a historical event not WWII | It occurred to me that these books take place in the 1800s and reference war quite a bit, so I think I may end up putting the next EMMA M. LION book here. Maybe it’s cheating, who cares. Memoir by a person you’ve seen as a villain | I don’t read a lot of memoirs so I’m going […]