As of writing this post, I have nine books on my Goodreads TBR (to-be-read) shelf. Since I started using Goodreads in 2014, I have never had this few books. I have shared this before, but my goal is to finish my TBR, and then restructure my reading differently going forward. I don’t want to add hundreds of books and have it take four years to finish them all. In August through October, I had a huge list of books I wanted to read. I’ll share how I did and then share what books I plan on reading this month.

My original list of books that I wanted to read in August through October was:

• Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
• Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
• The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
• The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
• One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
• The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
• The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski

The only book from this list that I read was Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca. Lovecraft Country, The Warm Hands of Ghosts, The Spellshop, and The Crescent Moon Tearoom were all books I DNFed —meaning I started reading but didn’t finish. I don’t have anything negative to say about these books; I simply couldn’t get into them.

Here’s what I ended up reading:

• The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner
• Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
• The World of Critical Role by Liz Marsham
• The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
• Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
• Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
• Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce
• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
• Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
• The Only One Left by Riley Sager

While I completely flip-flopped on the books I’d read, I ended up reading way more than I originally anticipated. Out of this list, I liked The Amalfi Curse, Haunted Ever After, Fourth Wing, and Yours Truly. Those were my standouts from what I read. My favorite audiobook I listened to was The Only One Left. It had been a hot minute since I last read a Riley Sager book. The Only One Left was interesting to listen to as an audiobook. I think I might start listening exclusively to Riley Sager’s books. The book I rated the lowest from this list was The Midnight Feast. It pains me to rate a Lucy Foley book one star, but this book was not it. It felt like I was reading a book that was written by someone else. I’m really hoping that book is a one-off.

With all that said, here are the two books that I’m planning on reading this month.

How To Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin

Annie Adams is getting adjusted to her new life in Castle Knoll. Since she solved her Great Aunt Francis’s murder, everything of hers was left to Annie. Annie meets Peony Lane, the same fortune teller who predicted Francis’s murder several years earlier. After receiving advice from Peony, Annie investigates only to discover that Peony was murdered shortly after meeting with Annie. Annie is thrust into another murder investigation with even more secrets being revealed about the town Annie lives in.

I read the first book in this series and loved it! I compared it to the movie Knives Out. I started it and so far I’m enjoying it.

Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca

Lulu Malone is invited by her cousin, Mitch, to come to the Renaissance Festival that he works at. From there, Lulu meets Dex MacLean, a guitarist for the performing act, The Dueling Kilts. Lulu travels with Dex as they perform at various shows. Dex is a flirt, but Lulu doesn’t seem to entertain him. Lulu is forced to think about what she wants out of life and if she is truly happy.

I had this book on my TBR for a long time. This book, I’m predicting, will be my least favorite of the series because Dex was always described as a flirt, so I’m curious if I will actually buy into this romance or not.

I am excited to get back to TBRs every month.