On the Shelf: September 2022

I feel like I am being so well-fed reading-wise. So many amazing books everywhere I turn! Sonali Dev's The Vibrant Years, which launches Mindy Kaling's new imprint in December, is the gorgeous story of three generations of South Asian women navigating their relationships with men, with each other, and with the past. Akwaeke Ezemi's You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty kept me captivated as a grieving protagonist trying to embrace life finds a kindred spirit in the most unlikely but beautifully right place. And Tasha Suri's The Oleander Sword still has me flailing three days later because I need the sequel ASAP. I’m in awe of her plotting and the epic feel of it all. The machinations, the betrayal, the capriciousness of gods, and how characters like Priya, Malini, Rao, and Bhumika try to love and live amidst constant conflict.

EE Ottoman's The Companion is a perfect story for cozy fall vibes and sharing tea and a toke with the ones you love. And T. Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead is on the other end of the seasonal spectrum, offering up a truly creepy retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher that joins Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic as validation for why I hate mushrooms. 

The Reading Rundown
The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev (out 12/1, women's fiction, mainstream fiction)
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Ezemi (contemporary romance)
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (horror, gothic, Edgar Allan Poe retelling)
The Companion by EE Ottoman (trans romance, polyam FFM romance)
Dance With the Devil by Kit Rocha (post-apocalyptic romance, sci-fi romance)
The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe (historical romance)
The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri (fantasy, f/f romance)
How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder (contemporary romance)

Backlists and rereads: After reading one of her newer releases, I had to go back to The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe. The same thing happened when I finally read Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas—I flowed right into a reread of Married By Morning. (Yes, I know. It somehow took me years to get to Poppy's book.) Earlier in the month, I inhaled Passion by Lisa Valdez, a rather infamous book in some romance circles. I was very entertained. No complaints! LOL. To balance out all the historicals, I reread The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz, which is pretty much a contemporary gothic and hits that VC Andrews sweet spot (with far better writing).

On the wishlist/TBR
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (out 3/7/23)
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias
A Rogue's Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh (out 4/25/23)
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn