Brittni 📚 BookSky

🤔 𝑴𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒚 "𝑯𝒎𝒎..."
- Despite the short length, the pacing felt slow at the midpoint.
- While we loved meeting the townsfolk, we could have used more character details to help keep them straight.
- Some of us wished for even MORE magic. Maybe in book 2!

🎉 𝑴𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒚 "𝒀𝒂𝒚!"
- The small-town vibes were perfection! So many scenes reminded us of Gilmore Girls.
- The plot goes deeper than your typical cozy mystery, tackling bigger topics like grief.
- The magic system was fun, with each witch having their own specialty.

⏩ 𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔
A small-town B&B run by the witchy Warren family becomes the scene of a mysterious crime after one of the guests is found dead. Now, it’s up to Brynne Weaver to do some sleuthing and prove her aunt’s innocence.

I’ve been eyeing the Evenfall Witches B&B series for awhile and was SO excited when my local book club chose it as our October pick ✨ Keep scrolling for some of our thoughts!

Just a little something frightfully fun to start the week! I saw some friends do the #ghostfacetrend and HAD to get in on it…especially since I recently welcomed a spooky little someone into my reading room 👀 Swipe through for a ghostly good time! 🖤

Happy Life of a Showgirl Day! 🧡 I absolutely adore the Swiftie community, and while I'm more of an honorary member, I’m 100% invested in this sparkly, sequin-covered journey 🫶 If you’re celebrating the new album, I hope your day is full of glitter, glitz, and brand new friendship bracelets!

✨ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan
Was anyone else devastated by Gladys Russel’s arranged marriage to the Duke of Buckingham? And did you know the character is based on a REAL woman? This is her tell-all memoir!

✨ 𝑮𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒛, 𝑮𝒍𝒂𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆: 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝑴𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒔𝒉, 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝑨𝒈𝒆, 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑾𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 by Jennifer Wright
Thanks @grandcentralpub.bsky.social for the #gifted copy! And how about that title? Mamie Fish was an icon of the era! I’m so excited to party with her on the pages of this book.

It’s been just over a week since season 3 of “The Gilded Age” wrapped, and I officially have a big, glittery hole in my life! I’m desperate for more late 19th-century intrigue. Naturally, I’m turning to books to fill the void. Here are 2 that I’m excited to read while I begin my season 4 countdown.

Finn just wanted to stop in and say that he hopes you’re busy doing nothing on this fine day! Or if you’re doing something, that it’s bringing you the same amount of joy he gets from chasing two balls at the same time…or eating cheese.

📋 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒔
Genre: Fantasy, 2nd in a series
Length: 375 pages / 13.5 hours
Vibes: Cozy, Magical & Hopeful
Rating: I LOVED it!

❤️ 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆
🌿 Cozy nature vibes
🪴 Talking to plants
🧑🌾 Grumpy gardeners
🪽 Cats that can fly

After spending years as a statue for creating a sentient plant, lonely librarian Terlu awakens on a faraway island. There, she finds hundreds of wondrous greenhouses, a surly gardener with a fondness for honey cakes, and a failing enchantment that needs fixing if the island’s magic is to survive.

📚 The books featured in the game are actual titles, so you get to put your book knowledge to the test when the townspeople ask for recommendations.

📚 Overall, the game is easy to navigate, low stakes, and so cozy!

📚 The town is darling and you can choose a new spot every day to sell your books, like the beach, university, or cafe.

📚 You can customize your bookmobile with paint (of course, mine is pink), plants, furniture, and more.

𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆...

📚 You play a book lover who leaves the big city behind to pursue a calm life in a small, seaside town called Bookstonbury (cute right??), where you decide to open a mobile bookshop.

How's your weekend going, friends? Doing anything fun? Also, happy National Book Lovers Day + Romance Bookstore Day!! After a busy work week, I'm leaning into all things calm and cozy, like my new obsession, @tinybookshopgame.com. I'm 1,000% obsessed! Starting a couple of new books, too! 💕

📋 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒔
Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Dark Academia
Length: 288 pages / 8+ hours
Vibes: DARK, mysterious, gory & intense
Rating: I loved it!

❤️ 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆
🧌 Monstrous carnage
👻 Spooky libraries
🔪 Horror movies
💪 Survival stories

Hellebore is the premiere academy for rehabilitating magically evil individuals…if they can survive graduation. Join 8 deadly students in the library for 3 days of murderous mayhem while they fend off the faculty! Here’s hoping they don’t look too delicious 😋

📋 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒔
Genre: Romantasy, 1st in a planned trilogy
Length: 480 pages/16+ hours
Vibes: Magical, adventurous, emotional & tense
Rating: Practically perfect!

❤️ 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆
✨ Elemental magic systems
🤫 Scandals and secrets
✊ Fighting for equality
🔥 Slow-burn romance

In a world where you’re either a magical Artisan or a laboring Craftsman, two children uncover a life-changing secret. Reunited as adults, they’re undeniable love is challenged by class differences and betrayals, all while revolution strikes.

Thanks for the ARC @sagapressbooks.bsky.social!

⭐⭐⭐💫 = 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥 by Freida McFadden
𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 by Ali Hazelwood

⭐⭐⭐ = 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 by Ellen Won Steil

𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 5-𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆:

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 = 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕
𝘈 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘺 by Stacey McEwan

⭐⭐⭐⭐ = 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘦 by Cassandra Khaw
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 by Sarah Beth Durst
𝘖𝘯 𝘛𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 by Timothy Snyder

July was a MONTH…but I still tackled 7 books, including 4 that ended up on the “Loved it” and “Practically perfect” end of the rating spectrum. Monsters, talking plants, and housemaids all made an appearance! Overall, it was a pretty great reading month 🎉

🙌 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
🎬 1960s Hollywood
⏳ Coming-of-age stories
♀️ Female friendships
🐴 Wildlife conservation

Big thanks to @grandcentralpub.bsky.social‬ for the #gifted book as part of their GCP ambassador program 🫶

⏩ 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀:
When Pauline, a maid at the Mapes Hotel, is asked to clean Suite 614, she’s stunned to learn that the guest inside is none other than Marilyn Monroe. Over the next few weeks, they strike up a friendship that influences both of their lives and changes Pauline’s forever.

✍️ 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: Spanning the 1940s-60s (with a touch of the year 2000), this poignant book blends a fictitious friendship between Marilyn Monroe and a young hotel maid with actual events, including the production of Monroe’s final completed film, “The Misfits.”

Important question…have you ever seen a more perfect strawberry in all your life?? Seriously! My plant is really starting to show off 😍 Once this wee berry started to ripen, I knew I had to participate in the strawberry stack challenge I've been seeing on Booksta. Happy strawberry season!

🙌 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
🔥 Dystopian fiction
🤔 Contemplating the future
💻 Tech & social media
✉️ Epistolary format

⏩ 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀:
While traveling home, Sara Hussein is shocked to discover she’s under suspicion of harming her husband…in the future. The evidence? Her dreams. Up against a strict algorithm, she’s forced into a retention center with other women accused of crimes that haven't occurred.

✍️ 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: Friends, this may be one of the scariest books I’ve read in a long time! The focus on data and surveillance really got me thinking about how much I’m willing to sacrifice for the sake of convenience…and whether the trade-offs are worth it, even in the name of “safety.”