Fall is my favourite season… To read lol. I find that over the summer my reading habits slow down because I am more active and busy with my family and visitors! It’s a time to slow down, pour yourself a big steaming hot beverage, curl up under a blanket, and get immersed in new places, and great adventures. In the summer months I tend to read lighter books, romance and fiction, with the cooler temperatures I prefer more serious books, perhaps a bit more magical and bit more dark. I have some fantastic recommendations for you to read just in time for Truth & Reconciliation Day, the fall equinox, and Halloween! The first 10 books were part of my Library Reading Challenge and the other 6 were books I read were books in series or other books that were perfect fall reads. I have included affiliated links for all the books that I have read in this post.
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
This book took me a while to read. I had to take breaks because it was so raw, so emotional, and so disturbing. My heart broke for these children. Maisie’s story only needed 1 chapter to explain her short and painful life, but that one chapter will stay with me for a very long time. Reading the names of towns in my community reminded me that this stuff happened. This is not just a sad story. This is the horrifying truth of residential schools. I am grateful that Clara and Lucy’s stories ended with a feeling of peace. This is an important book that everyone should read.
What a book! This is the story of 3 women, bound by blood that were hurt and used by the men in their lives. Being a woman in any time period is hard. This was a different take on what we traditionally believe witches to be like. I loved all 3 of these strong and independent women. Their stories left me satisfied and feeling proud and hopeful for the future of women.
What a heartbreaking but much needed book. You never know someone’s story unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Lowra and Dikembe’s stories are stories that are hard to hear, but are needed to be told. I have read about King Leopold in the Congo and this book put it into perspective, even more. I love the ending to this book, the story will stay with me for a long time.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
I love history. I was a history major and the way Caroline describes her love of history is the same way I describe mine. This was a good book, but it could’ve been better. I loved how the present day and 1791 connected. Finding a door to history would be my ultimate dream! Even though there was closure, I felt like there was still more story to be told.
The Wishing Game by Meghan Schaffer
Oh this is a fun book! It is like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but instead of a candy factory it’s a book factory! I love riddles and puzzles and mind games, so this book was perfect! In fact, I figured out the first game in the first page of chapter 14 lol this was a bit predictable, but overall a good book about hope, wishes and facing your fears.
In my reading challenge I needed to find a book about aliens. There wasn’t one that sparked my interest except for this one. This was a take on Cinderella, but make it cyborg! This is definitely a young adult series and it leaves off on a cliffhanger. will the lunar queen take over earth? Will the Emperor get to marry his princess? I guess I’ll keep this series in my back pocket to find out.
A book that starts with a music playlist, is my kind of book! This is a romance novel for a villain. It is a dark love story of revenge, murder and pixie dust. In this twisted take does Hook get the girl? Perhaps Hook and Wendy are actually end game as the story that you know takes a dark turn.
The Giver of the Stars by Jojo Moyes
What a beautiful book. This is a book about women’s resilience, friendships, and their paths to independence. I fell in love with these 5 horseback riding librarians and how they faced their many challenges. I am a fan of happy endings and despite living in a time when women didn’t get many of those, this book delivered.
At first I wasn’t sure about this book because I didn’t like Alex but it kept me interested and I ended up really getting into it. This is a book about dark magic and secret societies at Yale. This book describes rape, murder, drug use and scary ghosts. Alex is a survivor and what she does and the friends by her side left me excited for the second book.
This is another young author series. I like YA books because of the puzzles, and this one didn’t disappoint. Scarlett has always dreamed of seeing the Caraval but she soon realizes, along with her newfound friend, Julian, that things in the magical world of Caraval are not what she expected, and nothing like what they seem. This book reminded me very much of the movie Labyrinth, but within a magical setting instead.
Also read
The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
This was like the TV show Desperate Housewives, but uglier. This was a good book, but it was disturbing. It left me feeling sad and with questions. I felt like there were one too many characters or perhaps storylines, that left me unsatisfied with the conclusion.
I loved this cast of characters right away and I love a book that gives you the recipe of the food they are talking about! Each of the chapters tells delightful backstories about each of the Briar Club Ladies all while progressing the underlying mystery, who murdered 2 people in the Briarwood House on Thanksgiving? I was happy with the conclusion.
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynne Barnes
This was a quick read. I love YA puzzle books! I liked the characters and the set up. I passed this book along to both of my kids and they enjoyed it too! Looking forward to the other books in the series to find out what happens to these talented young adults.
This book was even better than the first! You get action packed adventure as Alex and Leath work to become to first Yale students to successfully steal a soul from Hell. Heads up, this book is graphic and discusses drug use, sexual assault and violence.
This is the conclusion to Divine Rivals. It’s been a few months since I read it, but the author reminded me right away about the previous storyline, the characters, and the backstory, without rehashing the whole book, which was nice. All the elements of the first book are in the second book, but just in a different way, which is also great because the letter writing was some thing I really loved from the first book and was glad it continued throughout the second. It was a satisfying conclusion to the duology.
Times Convert by Deborah Harkness
I really enjoyed this book! This is the fourth book in the Discovery of Witches series, and it focussed on Marcus and Phoebe. All of our favourite characters from the first 3 books, well most of them at least, are in it. What I especially liked was in the telling of Marcus’s origin story, his memory took him back to the American Revolution and then the French Revolution. 2 time periods that I enjoy reading and learning about.
Autumn has so many flavours & smells that inherently take you back to simpler times. Leaves, apples, maple syrup, cinnamon and sage! Fall is also the perfect time to enjoy some seasonal cocktails! Over the past few weeks Ninja and I have been taste testing, cocktails, and these, 6 festive fall drinks will hit all the right autumn notes!
This Amaretto Orange Margarita is a nutty and citrusy thirst quencher that is perfect for a warm fall day or in late autumn, moving closer towards chilly winter nights. Ninja and I prefer non-salted rims, but feel free to rim your glass with your favourite margarita garnish.
An Almond Snickerdoodle screams cosy fall evenings! This easy sipper makes you want to take a walk through the woods in a big cosy sweater and possibly sip this delicious cocktail while listening to a nearby campfire crackle! We topped it with some fresh ground nutmeg and cinnamon, and I was in my cosy glory!
My favourite drink is a Paloma. I love the grapefruit. This drink was my favourite of all the cocktails we tried! I want to swim in the sage honey! Lol This Sage and Ginger Paloma is a fantastic cocktail and just as good as a Mocktail! I have enjoyed it without the alcohol, and it is just perfect to sip on as you curl up with a good book!
Bananas and maple and bourbon? Yes please! This Banana Maple Smash is a delicious autumn nightcap that’ll warm you up inside. This sweet cocktail is the perfect autumn sipper to warm you up and keep you sweet.
It doesn’t matter what season it is an Aperol Spritz is always enjoyable! I loved this Fall Aperol Spritz! It was delicious, sweet, a little spicy because of the ginger, a little tickle from the Prosecco, and the colour is absolutely stunning! We finished this cocktail with a slice of blood orange and it put me full swing into fall vibes!
I love elderflower. I bought Ninja a book about making cocktails using ingredients foraged from our local landscape. Elderflower berries are abundant here in the Okanagan and they go so well with gin AND basil. This Basil Elderberry Martini was a delicious drink that tastes and looks like a fall sunset.
Ingredients
1 orange, freshly squeezed
1 lime, freshly squeezed
1 oz Blanco tequila
1 oz Amaretto
lime wheel & thyme sprigs, garnish
Directions
Add the orange and lime juice, amaretto and tequila to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake vigorously for a minute, until the outside of the shaker feels cold, then strain into the glass over ice.
Garnish with a lime wheel and a sprig of thyme.
Ingredients
1/2 oz lime juice
2-3 tablespoons sage honey
2 oz grapefruit juice
2 oz tequila
- Cinnamon Sage Honey
1/4 cup honey
6-8 fresh sage leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup water
Directions
In a small saucepan, combine the honey and water. Bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until the honey dissolves. Add the sage leaves and cinnamon. Cover and steep for at least 10 minutes. Discard the solids.
In a cocktail shaker, add the lime juice, grapefruit juice, sage honey, and tequila. Add ice and shake or stir until cold. Pour into a cocktail glass and top with a splash of ginger beer. Garnish with fresh sage leaves and a cinnamon stick.
Ingredients
2 oz. bourbon
1 1/2 oz. banana creme liqueur
1/4 oz. maple syrup
Juice of half a lemon
Ice
Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the bourbon, maple syrup, banana creme liqueur, and lemon juice in that order.
Shake the mixture vigorously. Pour or strain the cocktail into a short glass.
Ingredients
2 oz vodka
1 oz elderberry syrup
3-4 basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
- Elderberry Syrup
1/2 pound elderberries, destemmed and rinsed
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
teaspoon back peppercorns
Directions
Place the elderberries in a sauce pan. Muddle to break skins. Add the sugar, water, peppercorns. Simmer over medium heat until the berries have broken down thouroughly making a thick syrup. Strain and store in refrigerator.
Place basil leaves into cocktail shaker, and gently muddle
Fill cocktail shaker hal way with ice. Add vodka, syrup, and lime juice.
Shake and strain into martini glass. Garnish with basil leaf.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #395 Out To Lunch. This week, we get together after successfully completing the first week of school. Topics: Fall, SWAT incident, school routine, 32 Thoughts, Football, car shopping, new band, SOW, dinosaur bands.
This was a short week! Monday was the holiday and then the Kids were back to school! I got some blood work done, I went back to work, Ninja saved me at work LOL and then took SBean out for first week of school dinner while HBear had a pizza/jam session with her band in the garage! SBean had her Gr6Besty sleepover and they went to the mall and Ninja and I did a little bit of shopping too!
