LIFE'S A PEARL

That’s a wrap on my fall reading!

Of the 35 titles on my fall 2023 TBR, I read 29 of them and DNF’d one.

That’s 85% and honestly more than I expected to complete as fall is my largest seasonal TBR. I often refer to it as overly ambitious. Autumn is the season where I really enjoy creating a large reading list to then mood read from.

Having read so much off this list feels like a testament to being in sync with my reading life. I was successful in making a selection that accounts for my current reading tastes.

I’m continuing my new seasonal TBR wrap up tradition, where I take a moment to tally up my star ratings and consider what selections did or didn’t work for my reading life in fall 2023.

At this point, I’ve officially shared reviews for each of the 29 books I read. Below I have a list of links sharing all my fall book reviews in one place if you’d like to read more on any of them.

I also reflect on how my fall reading went in general, what I’ve learned about my reading life, and include a few shout outs to new favorite authors and series!

Fall 2023 TBR Wrap Up:

My Ratings Tally:

• 5⭐️ – 6
• 4.5⭐️ – 1
• 4⭐️ – 7
• 3.5⭐️ – 8
• 3⭐️- 6
• 2.5⭐️ – 0
• 2⭐️ – 1

These ratings are much better than the tally in my summer TBR wrap up so that feels like a win!

There’s an even split with 14 in the 4-star plus range and 14 in the mid range of 3 and 3.5 stars. I only have one book that fell below 3 stars. Although to be fair, upon further reflection Hopeless by Elsie Silver should sadly have fallen below there too.

Reading Life Question: Do you ever adjust your star ratings after letting a book or reading experience sit with you for awhile?

I would still love for there to be more 4 stars and higher ratings. However when I’m pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and trying new authors – getting 50/50 on the high ratings and the middle ratings seems pretty good!

Where to Find Reviews

If you want to know my specific thoughts on any of these books I have links to the recap or wrap up where their review is posted.

New Releases

• Hopeless by Elsie Silver (3 stars)

Paranormal Romance

• Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross (5 stars)
• That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming (3 stars)
• Feral Sins by Suzanne Wright (3.5 stars)
• Fated Mates by Alicia Montgomery (3.5 stars)
• Dark Lover by J.R. Ward (3.5 stars)

Monster Romance

• Muscles & Monsters by Ashley Bennett (3.5 stars)
• A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon (3.5 stars)
• Watt & Bothered by Fiona Davenport
• Stalked by the Kraken by Lillian Lark

Alien Romance

• Captive of the Horde King by Zoey Draven (5 stars)
• Choosing Theo by Victoria Aveline (4 stars)
• Ensnared by Tiffany Roberts

Serial Killer/Dark Romance

• The Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby (5 stars)
• There Are No Saints by Sophie Lark (4 stars)
• Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann (4.5 stars)

For Halloween

• Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison (5 stars)
• Wicked Wishes by Dee Ellis (DNF’d)
• Trick by Shae Sanders (3 stars)

For Thanksgiving

• Marriage for One by Ella Maise (2 stars)
• His Pumpkin Pie by Alexa Riley (3 stars)

Thriller

• The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware (3 stars)
• The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson (4 stars)
• Home Before Dark by Riley Sager (3.5 stars)

Mystery

• A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (4 stars)
• Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano (3.5 stars)
• Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb (4 stars)
• Threads of Evidence by Lea Wait (4 stars)

Witchy Reads

• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (5 stars)
• Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck (3.5 stars)
• Bewitched by You by Kendra Mase

Magical Realism

• The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova (3 stars)
• Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen (4 stars)

Oddballs

• Flock by Kate Stewart
• Haven by Claire Kent (5 stars)

Reflections

I had a lot of fun reading from this TBR and it definitely put me in the fall mood!

The ratings tally above really put this reading list into perspective because until I saw that, I honestly thought my fall TBR was more of a bust. It’s nice to take this time to reflect on the whole autumn reading experience because many of my 5-star reads came in the first half of the season. As a result they were pushed to the back of my mind by the end.

In my recent recaps and reviews, I shared I didn’t feel like I could deep dive into any of the series I began as much as I wanted to with such a large TBR. On the other hand that variety was kind of necessary to feel like I indulged in all the genres and elements that I enjoy about fall reading.

I fit in cozy, witchy, thriller/mystery, and the atmospheric settings I love into fall 2023. Also I branched out into a few new to me sub genres (like dark romance) and they worked.

Thanksgiving reads is a category I wish more of my trusted recommendation sources would share. I’ll have to do better research into this category if it’s on my TBR next year.

Thoughts on Format or Speed Affecting My Ratings

Of my 5-star reads, 4 were ebooks and 2 were audiobooks.

I’m starting to wonder if I’m more likely to give 5 stars to a book I read with my eyes versus listened to on audio. I’m considering why that may be because research shows that your brain takes the experience in the same way. The reading benefits are the same regardless of format.

It may be the way I consume audiobooks.

My day to day life often allows me to binge listen to an audiobook where reading an ebook or a physical book takes me at least a few days. That forces me to slow down my reading a bit which can add a different value to my reading experience. It encourages me to read deeper. This is something I plan to explore more in 2024.

Shout Outs

I have 5 series I started and want to continue and 4 that I’m on the fence with. That’s always exciting! I’m never in any danger of running out of reading material.

I also tried 16 new to me authors!

Captive of the Horde King by Zoey Draven could actually be a 6-star read!

If there was any hype around these books, the majority of them lived up to it which was really nice.

Shout out to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna which has been on my radar since last fall. I was saving it to read in the autumn season and it delivered!

What I Learned from my Fall 2023 TBR:

Some things I learned about my reading life this fall:

• I wasn’t sure dark romance would be for me, but clearly it can be.
• Romance continues to be my genre of choice and I adjusted my winter TBR  accordingly. I’m happy to lean into it. I’m good at identifying what works for my reading life and I’m very content with that.
• Right now, I’m a series lover!
• I started sharing reading life insights when appropriate in my reviews and questions to explore your own reading life. Some interesting observations have come from those. Such as I prefer full circle endings, endings that leave me feeling hopeful, or ones that subvert my expectations in a positive way.
• Cozy can mean different things to different people. I’ve been considering what I find cozy about various books. Sometimes it’s a setting that is surprisingly quiet and eerie.
• I’m pondering officially adding that 6th star to my rating system and I really want to get that in order for next year.
• If a book is really hyped or I have high expectations because it’s from an author or series I love, that makes it 10x worse when it doesn’t deliver. I’m not sure that’s fair but it’s the truth of my reading experience.
• I’m still loving Kindle Unlimited.
• I could never have gotten as far into this TBR as I did without audiobooks.
• That said, this idea of the value of reading slower and reading deeper will come up again in my 2024 reading goals.

Winter Reading has begun!

My Holiday 2023 and Winter 2024 TBR is out.

I’m reading all the holiday romance this month and looking forward to some cozy reads for the rest of winter – a touch of eerie, a couple cozy fantasies, books about books, and more.

I’m also continuing three of the series above that I fell in love with! Check it out!

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What were some of your favorite reads from fall 2023?