Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’m here with new releases and some historical fantasy books about werewolves. And…look, at this point, I have nothing in my brain but cute stickers because I’m in the home stretch of getting moved into a new house, and all I want to do is lay down on the floor and fall asleep, cat on my face optional. May your chilly autumn nights be filled with hot tea and good books! I’ll see you on Tuesday if I’m not taken out by an avalanche of boxes!
Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, which sends support to those affected by the wildfires on Maui, particularly first responders; and Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.
Bookish Goods
Reading Ghost Stickers by IllieMillieDesigns
Oh, to be a little ghost, sitting on a pumpkin and reading a book…but at least I can have a sticker of one on my laptop! These are just so dang cute. $4
New Releases
A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli
Mingshin is a clever woman who outsmarted three princes to win the crown for the man she loved…but she wasn’t smart enough to see the ultimate betrayal that ends with her own murder. With her dying breath, she begs for a chance to make things right — and the gods answer by returning her to two years earlier, where her new knowledge is not the only thing that has changed.
These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs
Jun Ironway, an occasional and only mildly successful thief, has scored a bigger fish than she knows how to handle: a secret that could destroy the star-spanning empire she’s part of. The two most brutal clerics of the Kingdom, Chono and Esek, are tasked with hunting her down. And hunting all three is an enigma named Six, who shares a past with them in a way no one realizes. The fate of an empire rests on manipulation and betrayal, and in the end, it’ll be sheer luck if any of them survive.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
More werewolves for you in this haunted October! These ones are historical.
Moon Dance by S.P. Somtow
During the European expansion invasion into western North America in the 1800s, a pack of Viennese werewolves emigrates to America in search of happier hunting grounds. Little do they know that supposedly “untouched” Dakota territory is already home to a pack of Lakota werewolves. (There’s also a prequel novella: Madonna of the Wolves.)
The Wolf Hunt by Gillian Bradshaw
Marie Penthièrvre of Chalendrey swore to never marry a Breton after her abduction, and when the one man who might have changed her mind, Tiarnán of Talensac, marries someone else, she vows to become a nun. But Tiarnán has a secret, one that leads the woman he married to betray him and then have him presumed dead so she can marry a rival of his. Marie has a chance to find Tiarnán, rescue him, and restore him to his rightful place…if she’s not too late.
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.