Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Satisfying Series

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is Satisfying Series.  I love a good series and here are ten of my favorites.

1.  The Melendy Family by Elizabeth Enright - From spending Saturdays on their own in New York City to moving to the country and having adventures, to moving off to school I adore the Melendys and this is one of my favorite series.

2.  The Meg Langslow Mysteries by Donna Andrews - I don't love the beginning books as much as the most recent but it's so fun to see a character and a family develop the way Meg's has.  I also always love to see what hijinks are afoot in each new book.

3.  Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie R. King - A lot of long running series get a bit tedious or more ridiculous but I have loved how this series has developed and every time I read a more recent book I want to go back and reread the earlier books which is a good sign I think.

4.  The Krewe of Hunter series by Heather Graham - I love a fun romantic suspense and this is a perfect candy bar of a book.  The plots are frequently bonkers, the characters lean towards the too perfect but it is always a fun ride.

5.  Library Lover's Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay - This is a series I have enjoyed more the more I read it.  McKinlay has done a fantastic job with evolving characters without getting too over the top which I love.

6.  Westcott Series by Mary Balogh - I love Balogh's historical romances and this is another one where I really appreciate how the characters evolve as the series goes along.

7.  Second Chance Cat Mysteries by Sofie Ryan - I love this series and it has never failed to provide a fun cozy reading experience.  I know when I pick up a new book in this series that I'm in for a treat.

8.  The Lost Bride Trilogy by Nora Roberts - This is a trilogy so I'm not entirely sure this counts as a series but it is the ultimate just spooky enough cozy read with a fantastic setting and great characters.  This last book comes out next month and I'll be sad to see it end.

9.  The Anne series by L.M. Montgomery - This series takes Anne from the redheaded orphan through school and all the way to being the mother of young men and women going off to World War I.  A couple of the books were written because they were in the contract and they kind of feel like it but it's wonderful to follow Anne through so much of her life.

10.  Murder, She Wrote by Jessica Fletcher and various other authors - As there are multiple different authors there are some quality control issues but overall this series brings Jessica Fletcher, Seth and the rest of the cast of Cabot Cove to life on the page and is always a fun read.

What are some of your favorite series?

9.  

The Cozy Autumn Book Tag

 

I found the Cozy Autumn tag wandering about online.  It looks like it was originally created by The Book Belle who seems to be pretty active in the BookTube space.  It's such a fun tag I couldn't resist joining in.

1.  What book always reminds you of fall/autumn - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  While it takes place over a series of years Anne's quote "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers" always stands out to me.

2.  What is your favorite autumnal book cover - Right now it's A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney.  I'm looking forward to reading it this year.

3.  What is your favorite autumnal drink to read with?  I do love a hot cup of tea and my favorite flavor right now is any blend that is a mix of orange and spices.  I'm not a big nutmeg fan so I tend to avoid Pumpkin spice.  

4.  What is the ultimate comfort read for you?  Anything by Agatha Christie or L.M. Montgomery.  I can reread their books endlessly.  Also, I do love getting all cozy and settling into a nice fast paced mystery.

5.  When you're not reading, what is your favorite autumnal activity?  Where I live fall is more of a mindset than an actuality but usually the humidity does start dropping which makes it more pleasant to be outside even though it is decidedly not sweater weather.  I love the hike or wander about downtown visiting all the local shops so I look forward to both of those things as the temperature starts getting cooler.

6.  What is on your autumn/fall reading list? SOOO many books!  The ones that come to mind that I really want to read this fall are The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick and The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts.  I'd love to get some atmospheric thrillers and maybe a foodie cozy or two in as well.

Monthly Reading Recap - September 2025

Monthly Reading Total: 16 - I really enjoyed pretty much everything I read this month which was a nice feeling.  I had a slow summer but do feel like I'm getting back in a good reading place.

Type:

Print: 6

Ebook:  5

Audio: 5

Genre:

Mystery - 7

Fiction - 4

Romance - 3

Nonfiction: 2

Favorite Books of the Month:

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez - I didn't love all of this book but I loved the characters and the ending made me so happy.  This was a great audio.  Both narrators did a good job and added to the reading experience.

Death in the Countryside by Maria Malone - This was the first in a cozy/police procedural mystery series and I really enjoyed it.

Bookish Armchair Travel for September

Domestic Travel:  The only new state I visited was Hawaii, but I also visited Minnesota, Washington, Massachusetts, Florida, and California.  

International Travel: I had a fairly busy international travel month.  I visited England (4 times), Iceland, Egypt, and Costa Rica

What was your favorite book in September?  Where did your reading take you?

Friday Fives - October TBR

 I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. Since this is the first Friday in October I'm planning my September TBR.

1.  Death at the Door by Olivia Blacke - I really enjoyed the first book in this unique series featuring a ghost and the woman now living in her old apartment.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the series develops.

2.  Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - This is my last read from my priority list and one I'm most anticipating.

3.  The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers - I'm a little behind of my classics list so I need to get reading.  This is the next Lord Peter Wimsey I have to read.  

4.  Lie To Me by J.T. Ellison - This seems like a good thriller month.  I've read and enjoyed a book or two by this author and this one looks really good.

5.  The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick - It's not really a spooky story but it is a ghost story and this seems like the month to read it.

What are you hoping to read in October?

Books from the Backlog - The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Blurb:  We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence.
Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.

Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Renée's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I picked this up several years ago and truly meant to read it then.  I think it sounds perfect for a slow read.

What I'm Reading - October 1

I always have a few books going.  Here is what I'm reading and what I'm thinking about them.

Print Book:

Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen - This is a series where I read the beginning few and I've read the most recent few and am slowly catching up on the books in the middle.  I'm about halfway done with this one and enjoying it though the character of Queenie drives me mad.

Up Next:  I'm not sure - maybe the October Christie read.  I'm in the mood for a classic mystery.

Ebook:

Murder on a Scottish Train by Lucy Connolly - I've really been enjoying this series that is somewhere in between cozy and straightforward mystery.  This one has been especially enjoyable so far.

Up Next: O, Deadly Night by Vicki Delany - It seems a bit early for Christmas cozies but the publishing companies say otherwise!

Audio Book:

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill - So far I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it.  I suspect that it's a book that lives or dies on the ending so I'm not sure what I'll end up rating it but so far so good.

Up Next: I'll listen to the next episodes of the podcasts I've been enjoying: Unicorn Girl and Who Took Misty Copsey? and then I'll pull a title from my Audio TBR Jar.

Slow Read:

The Collector's Apprentice by B.A. Paris - I'm not very far into it but so far I'm enjoying it.  I like the main character and 1920s Paris is hard to beat.  

Up Next:  It'll be awhile and I just started this one so I'm not entirely sure but I'm thinking All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

What are you reading?  Have you read any of these?

Top Ten Tuesday - Book Covers on My TBR That Give Off Fall Vibes

 

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is Book Covers That Give Off Fall Vibes so I'm going through my TBR to find ten that just say fall to me.

1.  The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore

2.  The Night Parade by Kathryn Tanquary

3.  A Distant Grave by Sarah Stewart Taylor

4.  Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams

5.  A Doomful of Sugar by Catherine Bruns

6.  A Dream of Death by Connie Berry

7.  The Ghost of Misty Hollow by Sue Ann Jaffarian

8.  A Killer Maize by Paige Shelton

9.  A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

10. Mussled Out by Barbara Ross