A Look At My Scary 2021 Autumn TBR Shelf

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I bet you thought I’d bring up the upcoming spooky season somehow in this post. Well, I’m not. My fall TBR shelf (it’s actually a bookcase – yes, you’re reading it right. I have an entire case of books that have not been read yet, and yes, it’s also a bit embarrassing to admit) is scary because:

1) I’m not sure if I will be able to conquer this, and

2) I tend to feel awful if I don’t complete something I said I would.

So, to make things easier, I’ve decided to settle on rather shorter books this season, and most of these are modern reads. The “classics” (which, although I love reading, take me a while to digest due to the concentration required) number a few. The rest of these titles were published certainly within the last two decades, and most within the past two years. To be honest, I’ve never had so many newly released titles on my reading list before in my life.

All of these titles I’ve been really, really wanting to read ever since I bought them. So I may say “impressed” too many times below: note that it’s because I really am in order for the title make it onto here in the first place. My reading time is super limited so I did my best to boil it down to the books I think I shall enjoy. 🙂

This list is also somewhat prioritized.

If I have to pick ONE, it would be Between Family by W. R. Gingell. But I do realize I need to finish reading the books before this No. 9 in the series first. The paperback hasn’t been released yet. (Thus it’s not in my photo.)

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To Read/Finish/New To Me: 12

// Between Family by W. R. Gingell *Just released! KU

// Between Walls by W. R. Gingell * KU

// Between Cases by W. R. Gingell * KU

// Between Decisions by W. R. Gingell * KU

I flew through the first six books in the City Between series (I just finished Between Walls last night), and now I’m changed forever because I cannot see Thor’s umbrella in Thor: Ragnarok and the hallway in The Matrix the same way again. Nor can I pick up a bottle of perfume again without thinking of Pet and JinYeong. Also: the words “Between” and “Behind” are loaded with so much more meaning now.

I’m here for the cheeky Pet (who, by the way, is two-time winner of the Silmaril Awards this year! Yay!), my sneaky mosquito boi JinYeong (see: Korean vampire who basically destroys every vampire notion I’ve had and hated before from all the Twilight hype), ice-man Zero (see: fae lord who is half human), and the smooth but deadly lavender earl grey tea drinker Athelas (see: Zero’s steward, who doesn’t really take care of the house per se), who say things but doesn’t really say ‘em, if that makes sense?

This series is fast-paced, quirky, fun, original, deep, smart, and hits home in a way I’ve never felt before as a reader. I’m in awe of all the layers Gingell builds as each story progresses. She has a way with portraying characters with distinctiveness and personality and all the family dynamic developments are so precious (despite all the dreadful crimes/murders they’re trying to solve/stop). Books 3, Between Floors, and 5, Between Homes, especially took everything up another notch and I LOVE IT. (The found family is so great here!)

I cannot thank Lemon Duck enough for spamming me about this to get me to read Gingell!

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That final image is from HERE and is basically a very good sample of the excellent chem we have among our lovely people here 😉

// Purple Hyacinth, Season 1, Read for free at Webtoons.com, by Ephemerys / Sophism

Victorian-inspired setting.

Impressive webtoon/webcomic (this style is way better than the default manga I was used to seeing, folks) art style and quality.

Again: The drawings and colors and lighting in this are Perfection. I cannot ever watch a movie the same way again.

A detective who can detect lies teams up with a notorious assassin (who wields a sword, by the way) to destroy terrorist group – I’m digging this team-up.

I decided to read this while recovering from Moonscript by H. S. J. Williams, since she told me that PH is Errance’s doppelganger.

It’s also full of nods to my favorite fandoms (Mission Impossible, Zorro, Batman, V for Vendetta, even Westerns).

Overall very smart and fun and I love the banter between Kieran-Lauren, as well as Kym-Will. Or shall I say Lauki and Kywi.

Did I mention there’s a live OST for this webcomic? It literally starts playing when you scroll down to a certain spot on the page… I was surprised and impressed.

So yeah. Go check it out. 😉

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// Frederica by Georgette Heyer {}

Heyer’s wit in this story is Very Impressive. Her characters are solid and I love the boys in this story stealing Marquis Alverstoke’s heart. (Resistance if futile, my dear Marquis.) She’s ranking in my book just below Jane Austen in the same genre. I laughed out loud too many times while reading the first half of this. (Probably laughed more than while reading Austen.)

Many thanks to Mllm. Sarah Seele for reviewing this and made me want to read it! This tomato is now hooked!

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// Lady of Dreams by W. R. Gingell

This involves a girl who is restricted to her couch who finds out that her dreams are actually affecting the Real World. So yeah. Anything with INCEPTION vibes is an autogo.

I’m also here for the Kdrama vibes, folks.

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// The Moonfire Bride by Sylvia Mercedes * KU

The author’s list says it best for me:

• A kind-hearted heroine [who’s a seamstress, by the way, how cool is that?] with unexpected magic
• A doomed fae lord of shadows
• Hades and Persephone (and Eros-Psyche) vibes!!!
• Sister-bond
• Magical allies
• Bloodthirsty villains

I’m currently buddy-reading this with the wonderfully patient Isabelle who reached out to me on GR and it’s been a blast so far! You can check out her beautiful blog at Lemon Crown Books and find her on Goodreads – she has a lot of great reviews there.

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// Fae Hunter by Sarah K. L. Wilson *

This one’s on Kindle/Smashwords for free, folks!

Here for The Cruel Prince vibes (see note below). But there are some great twists/original takes in this series that I expect will make this even better. (Especially as this series progresses.)

Wilson is also great at fae-style riddles/rhymes and I love it.

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// Magic Forged by K. M. Shea * KU

Shea has a signature humor that I can connect to. I skimmed through the sequel series to get a sample and so I have pleasant expectations for this one!

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// The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

I’m afraid I’m one of those readers who require quite a bit of focus and patience to properly read, especially when it comes to Tolkien. But it’s high time that I finish this!

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// Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I was listening to the audiobook read by Elizabeth Klett back in spring but stopped. Should pick it up and finish it. (Klett is a flawless narrator and her voice is very sweet and soothing and I recommend all of her readings of the classics in the public domain/LibriVox. It’s a great way to get through classics if time is an issue.)

Reread: 2

// Fairest Son by H. S. J. Williams

I read this too fast the first time to remember much except how great I thought it was. William writes beautifully and reminds me of Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s style, which I adore. Need to reread to properly give it the review it deserves.

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// The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Full disclosure: Didn’t really read this the first time. I only skimmed through it in the middle of the night. It is a Full Survivor Mode story (do anything to survive kind of deal and I like those stakes) and deliciously dark and fae.

I consider this series the role model story for how to portray characters who are not really likable but yet are diggable for that very fact?

I know it sounds confusing. Hopefully after I read this properly I can come up with something more worthy of this book.

There is an enemies-to-lovers ship in this series. Rather well played out, especially towards the third book. And I really appreciate the loop I went through with regards to the MC/Jude’s 1^st person POV being, well, a bit unreliable when it comes to Cardan. 😉

Also: Holly Black writes beautifully. I was impressed so I want to be impressed again with a proper re-read.

Possible (If I can fit these in): 5

// Ignite by Jenna Terese * KU

Marvel vibes? Check.

Super-abilities viewed as evil? Check.

Also apparently a lot of my fellow readers on GR have read it and liked it.

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// Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim {} *

Recommended by H. S. J. Williams. Hannah, your #WeStanTAKKAN review got to me in a way that I was not expecting. That list is good.

I’m looking forward to eating this dessert soon.

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// William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher

It’s been years, but I think Chalice’s rating caught my eye. This book’s been sitting on my shelf for one to two years, and the idea of A New Hope in Shakespearean play style without being too confusing is not without its charms for me.

What can I say? I like rhymes.

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// Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce KU

Yeah. I realize this cover is not stunning and it took me a while to get used to it. *shrugs off*

I read (edit: listened to) Grayce’s Stolen Midsummer Bride read by Liz Brand earlier this month and was pleasantly surprised by how fantastic her take on the “stolen brides” trope is. I tried reading my paperback copy of her Fierce Heart this past summer but didn’t get too far due to my lack of connection to her writing voice/prose (elves + informal prose = my reader brain turning off). And the fact that, well, I’m not like Essie very much… Farrendel probably is more relatable to my personality. But since I discovered that I like Stolen Midsummer Bride so much, maybe I just need to find an audiobook to listen to in order to get through this one. Liz Brand is extraordinary for all the characters’ voices.

Did I forget to mention all the rave reviews for this one, especially with regards to the appropriate treatment of a married relationship? Honestly, married couples don’t get enough proper treatment (the only other I can think of right now is The Scarlet Pimpernel), so I’m here for it!

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// Levius by Haruhisa Nakata

H. S. J. introduced me to the wonderful world of comics/manga, and her post TOP TEN Heroes (Visual Edition) is a very informative list.

I was fascinated.

Steampunk? Check.

“Cybernetically augmented fighters who turn blood to steam”? Wow it’s a bit disturbingly interesting and check.

Also. This 680-page hardcover manga collection was $16 when I looked for it; I couldn’t pass it up.

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* Published in 2020 or 2021

{} marks a book that I consider to be of longer length and/or expect more time needed to finish. It’s technically hard for me to tell exactly how long due to font size and book formatting variances. 🙂

KU: On Kindle Unlimited for free right now. I tried to mark those for you KU subscriber’s convenience ;).

Have you read any of these books and/or authors? What’s on your TBR shelf this season?

If you’re interested in buddy reading with me, or doing a read-along post together, or just discussing any of these titles, please feel free to comment below, or use the Contact Form, or find me on Goodreads.

Many thanks to the lovely SJ for proofreading my post for typos on a very short notice!