Even though it's still in the upper 90s here in Arizona, I'm all about the cozy Fall vibes right now. After a weekend that was rough on members of my Latter-day Saint faith, my heart is longing for all things warm (weather excluded), soft, and comforting. Considering all the divisiveness, intolerance, hate, conflict, and general terribleness that is happening right now in the U.S. and beyond, I doubt I'm the only one who could use some heart warming and soul soothing.  

This week's TTT topic is perfect: Top Ten Book Covers That Give Off Fall Vibes. Since nothing was coming right to mind for this topic and since I'm going to be out of town next week, I'm going to combine this week's prompt with next week's—Top Ten Satisfying Book Series—to create a list of cozy mystery series (that I hope will be satisfying), specifically ones that I want to start sometime soon. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen—Set in 1930s London, this series stars Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, a penniless cousin of King George V. She's trying to survive as an ordinary citizen with little success. Then, she's asked to spy for Her Majesty the Queen. Suddenly, Georgie's life is anything but common. 

2. The Pennsylvania Dutch Murders by Tamar Myers—Magdalena Yoder, owner of the PennDutch Inn is the star of this series. When murders occur at her place of business, she can't help but investigate.

3. Cranberry Cove by Peg Cochran—Monica Albertson returns to her hometown on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to help her brother with his cranberry farm. Murder and mayhem ensue.

4. Hungarian Tea House Mysteries by Julia Buckley—Maggie's Tea House is run by Hana Keller and her family. They're known for serving traditional European-style tea services, enhanced by Hana's grandmother's fortune telling. Hana becomes an amateur sleuth when mysteries continue to plague the tea house.

5. The Country Club Murders by Julie Mulhern—With a 1970s setting, this series offers a nostalgic take on crime among the crème de la crème.

6. Miss Marple by Agatha Christie—I've read a handful of Hercules Poirot mysteries, but I've never read a Miss Marple one. Nosy Jane Marple is an amateur consulting detective in a small English village. 

7. The Relatively Dead series by Sheila Connolly—Having just moved to New England, Abby Kimball is already feeling unsettled. Then, she has a couple encounters which convince her she has the dubious "gift" of being able to see ghosts. Leaning into her ability, she uses her otherworldly knowledge to solve mysteries.

8. Year Round Christmas Mysteries by Vicki Delany—It's Christmas every day in the festive town of Rudolph, New York. Merry Wilkinson is the owner of Mrs. Claus's Treasures and an amateur sleuth whose talents are being called on a little too often in a town that's supposed to be full of 24/7 holiday cheer.

9. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood—When 77-year-old Judith Potts witnesses a murder and unwittingly becomes a suspect, she determines to solve the crime herself. With the aid of two friends, she forms the titular club, which solves crimes in Marlow, England.

10. A Lady & Lady's Maid Mysteries by Alyssa Maxwell—Maxwell's Gilded Newport Mystery series is one of my favorites, so I'm interested to see how this other series compares. Set in post World War I England, it stars Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her maid, who work together to solve mysteries.

There you are, ten cozy mystery series I'm hoping to start soon. Have you read any of them? Which cozy reads are your favorite? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

I love today's prompt—Top Ten Books On My Fall 2025 TBR List—so much that I started it two weeks ago! Scroll down on my blog to see Part One and Part Two of my list of 30 Books I Want to Read Before 2025 Ends. I'm proud to say that I've already read four of the twenty books mentioned in those previous lists. Go, me! With 156 books read so far this year, I'm on track to reach my goal of 200 by December 31, but it's very unlikely that I'll beat last year's record of 230. We'll see how the rest of the year goes.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Books On My Fall 2025 TBR List

or Top 30 Books I Want to Read Before 2025 Ends (Part Three)

1. Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt—The kind folks over at St. Martin's Press have been generously sending me all the books in the Andy Carpenter mystery series for years, and I have yet to even begin reading them. I'm determined to do so this year! Open and Shut, the first installment, introduces our hero, a New Jersey defense attorney who prefers the company of his beloved golden retriever over that of most people. When Andy's father—a well-known ex-D.A.—drops dead at Yankee stadium, Andy finds himself the recipient of a surprise $22 million inheritance as well as a cold case with explosive possibilities to solve. As the shocks keep coming, Andy works to get justice for the wronged party as he figures out what to do next with all the possibilities millions of dollars has just opened up for him.

2. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson—I need to read a "travel" book to cross-off prompts in two different reading challenges, so this seems like a good time to finally give Bryson's books a go. Everyone seems to love this one. It's supposed to be very entertaining.

3. The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand—A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of my favorite books of all time and one I reread every year. This YA novel, a contemporary reimagining of the classic tale, sounds like a fun read for the holidays. Our titular heroine was warned in life to change her selfish ways, but she didn't listen. Now, Holly's dead and experiencing an epically sucky afterlife. Stuck working as Christmas Past for the top-secret Project Scrooge, she doesn't expect her lot will be improving anytime soon. Until she meets the newest Scrooge, a Scrooge who just might change everything...

4. Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen—This middle-grade novel is outside of my usual reading interests, but it works for several reading challenge prompts I need to fulfill. Plus, it sounds like an exciting read. Billed as an Afrofuturist adventure, the novel takes place in Addis Prime, a dingy city with outdated tech, rigid rules, and nothing to do. Thrill-seeker Yared Heywat has become a star in an underground augmented reality game. When his real name is leaked in the game, his game life rockets into his actual life, leading to the disappearance of his uncle. Suddenly, Yared finds himself in the center of shocking events that seem to be coming straight out of his uncle's fantastical stories. It's up to him to find his uncle, beat an army of monsters, and save the world. What could possibly go wrong? 

5. Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar—It's 1979 and Olivia Murray is determined to capture a money shot, the kind that will catapult her from her newspaper secretary's desk to the front lines of photojournalism. When her Kurdish boyfriend invites Olivia to accompany him to his hometown in northern Iraq, she jumps at the chance. Not only will she be able to gain more insight into her enigmatic partner, but the exotic locale should provide the perfect background for dramatic photography. When leaving Iraq proves more difficult than she thought, Olivia gets her money shot, but it's a capture that will upend the lives of her boyfriend's family and her own in ways she never could have imagined.

6. West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge—This historical novel has been a big-time hit with a lot of my IRL friends. It does sound excellent. Based on a true story, the tale is about a pair of giraffes who inspire hope in Depression-era America when they miraculously survive a hurricane at sea. As they travel across the country to their new home at the San Diego Zoo, they touch the lives of everyone they encounter.

7. Sandwich by Catherine Newman—Since I'm in my "sandwich" era like this novel's protagonist, I think I'm going to find this story very relatable! It revolves around Rocky and her family's annual summer trip to Cape Cod. With all the changes she's experiencing in her body (thanks a bunch, menopause!), her family, and life in general, it's inevitable that this year's trip makes her wax nostalgic. It also forces the secrets she's been hiding out into the open...

8. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson—I need to read a book with an angel on the cover for a reading challenge, so I thought it would be fun to reread this hilarious children's classic. This novel, which tells the story of a church's nativity play gone horribly wrong—and right—is funny, tender, and a perfect read for the holiday season.

9. Dead Tired by Kat Ailes—This is the second book in Ailes' comedic The Expectant Detectives mystery series. A year after Alice and her prenatal group accidentally become amateur sleuths and solve a murder, Alice is deep in the sleep-deprived mire that is new motherhood. Desperate for a vacation, she agrees to accompany her friends to an eco-protest. It's all healthy entertainment (for a good cause) until one of their fellow protestors ends up dead. With a new case to solve, Alice and the other moms get right to work.

10. Final Girls by Riley Sager—I love Sager's unsettling books, and this one—his first—is the only one I haven't read. I've been hesitating on it because I've seen such mixed reviews, but it's Sager, so I want to read it. The story revolves around Quincy Carpenter, who becomes a "final girl" when she is the only survivor of a horrific massacre in which five of her friends were killed. After some time, she's finally doing okay. Then, one of Quincy's fellow final girls is found dead, after which another one appears on her doorstep. As Sam pushes Quincy to relive the terrors of her past, she begins to feel exceedingly unnerved. The answers to finding peace in her present seem to be hiding in memories of the worst event in her life, memories she does not want to revisit. Ever. 

There you go, ten more books I want to read before the end of the year. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What titles are on your Fall TBR list? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Today's TTT prompt is a fun one, but also one that requires way more creativity than I possess: Top Ten Literary/Bookish Candles I'd Make (Pick a book and assign it a fragrance or fragrance combo that would make a nice candle.). I love me a scented candle (although I tend to stick to basic scents like vanilla and cinnamon spice), so I'm excited to see what you all come up with. With apologies to Heather over at The Frozen Library, who suggested this week's topic, I'm going to go rogue and continue with my series of the 30 Books I (Most) Want to Read Before 2025 Ends. I posted Part One last week. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower—I enjoy this author's Amish Candy Shop cozy mystery series, so I'm eager to read more books by her. This one is the first installment in a historical mystery series starring Katherine Wright, the younger sister of Orville and Wilbur. When her brothers' plans for a new flying machine are stolen and a murder is subsequently committed, she finds herself playing amateur sleuth to prove her brothers' innocence.

2. Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite—This book, the first in a series that's being billed as a "sci-fi ode to the cozy mystery," takes place on a luxurious passenger spaceship that offers every amenity, including new bodies on demand. Dorothy Gentleman, one of the ship's detectives, awakens in a new body just as a passenger is murdered. When she discovers that someone is deleting minds from the library, she jumps into action, determined to get to the bottom of the crimes before any other bodies—or brains—are destroyed.

3. The Enemy's Daughter by Anne Blankman—This middle-grade historical novel is about a young German girl who survives the sinking of the Lusitania only to find herself alone in enemy territory. Believing her to be a Dutch refugee, a kind Irish family takes her in. She's safe for now, but what will happen if her hosts discover her true identity?

4. The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey—Miv's life is already going off the rails and now her father thinks they should move away from everyone and everything Miv has ever known because of a series of murders that have happened in their town. Not wanting to turn her life even more upside down, Miv enlists the help of her best friend to take note of every odd thing that happens in their neighborhood. Their sleuthing uncovers a whole Pandora's box of secrets, some that hit way too close to home.

5. The Garden Just Beyond by Lindsey Leavitt—This middle-grade novel revolves around the Gartners, a family with the magical ability to harvest crops that can change people's emotions. Meals at their estate are highly sought after. Maggie Gartner feels like an outlier in her talented family, especially when their magic is threatened by an outsider. Can Maggie help save the Gartners and their special business?

6. Murder in Greenwich Village by Liz Freeland—In this first-in-a-series mystery, it's 1913 and 20-year-old Louise Falk has traded her Pennsylvania upbringing for the bright lights of New York City. Solving a murder that happened in her Greenwich Village apartment proves she has an aptitude for investigation. Soon, she's moving all over the city to sniff out criminal activity.

7. The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner by Erin Stewart—A tale about overcoming grief and anxiety, this middle-grade novel is about a girl whose ability to see magic all around her dims when her beloved father dies. When she's given a pencil by a favorite author, the stories she writes come to life before her eyes. Is she fooling herself by believing that she can write her own happy ending?

8. The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights by Kitty Zeldis—In 1924, an ambitious dressmaker named Beatrice moves to New York City with her teenage ward, Alice, to open a dress shop. When Bea befriends Catherine, a woman who lives near the store, Alice feels so abandoned that she runs away. Her departure sets in motion a series of events that forces all of the women to confront the secrets in their pasts.

9. Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher—Set in near-future America, this timely YA novel portrays a United States where every citizen has been implanted with a chip that tracks all of their movements. Undocumented immigrants have almost no chance of survival, but counterfeit trackers have allowed Vali and her family to stay on the down low so far. When her mom's chip malfunctions, attracting the attention of the Deportation Forces, they're forced to make a run for California, a sanctuary state. Can they outrun the police and finally find real freedom?

10. Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate—I love Applegate's tender children's novels. I'm not exactly sure what the plot of her newest is, but it stars a bear who was created to be a symbol of comfort and hope that a World War I soldier could carry in his pocket. One hundred years later, Pocket Bear is the mayor of a home where used toys are refurbished and given another chance to be loved. Sounds like a sweet read.

There you go, ten more books I want to read before the end of the year. Have you read any of them? Which titles would you like to get to before 2025 waves goodbye? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. 

Today's TTT prompt—Top Ten Villains (favorite, best, worst, lovable, creepiest, most evil, etc.)—is a head scratcher for me. I got nothin'. Next week's—Top Ten Bookish Candles I'd Make—is beyond the limits of my creativity, so for the next two weeks, I'm going rogue. In three weeks, we'll all be talking about our Fall TBR lists, but I'm going to get started early. Over the next three weeks, I'll be yapping about the top 30 books I want to read before 2025 ends. I still need to complete 55 books to hit my Goodreads goal of 200 and, although I do have a printed-out list of 90 possibilities, I won't bore you with all that. We'll stick to the 30 I'm most likely to read spaced out over the next three weeks. You're welcome.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn—Although I love historical fiction, I've yet to read a book by this popular author. The Alice Network is my book club's pick for this month, so I'll be starting it soon. It's a dual-timeline novel that focuses on the real-life, all-female spy ring called the Alice Network, which conducted espionage efforts against the Germans in France during World War I. 

2. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins—I've heard nothing but praise for this Hunger Games prequel that focuses on the backstory of Haymitch Abernathy and his experience as a competitor in the 50th annual games.

3. Famous Last Words by Katie Alender—I need to read two books with the same title for a reading challenge and I've already completed Famous Last Words by Gilly Macmillan. Alender's book by the same name has a completely different storyline. Alender's is a YA mystery with a supernatural twist. A teenage girl is experiencing strange, haunting visions that seem to be sending her a message about a series of murders that are currently happening in Los Angeles. In order to regain her sanity, the girl must figure out what the messages mean in order to bring a killer to justice.

4. Clover Blue by Eldonna Edwards—In 1970s California, 12-year-old Clover Blue is growing up on a peaceful commune full of colorful people. He's happy there. Until his best friend urges him to start asking questions of the community's founder and the answers he's given just aren't enough. As Clover searches for answers, he makes some startling discoveries that create disturbing cracks in his sanguine existence.

5. The Five: The Untold Story of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold—For a reading challenge, I need to read a book that debunks a historical myth. Emily at ARRRGH! Schooling suggested this book, which delves into the lives of Jack the Ripper's victims, showing that they weren't just throwaway women, but complex human beings with rich lives that were extinguished far too soon. Sounds fascinating! 

6. Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce—I've been meaning to read this historical novel since it came out. I've heard great things about it and, bonus, I need a book about "creepy crawlies" for a reading challenge. Beetles fit that description for me! The novel is about a spinster schoolteacher living a bleak existence in post-World War II London. Tired of the drudgery, she impulsively decides to take off on an adventure to find a mythical beetle. When she advertises for an assistant, she's surprised by who applies. Together, the two very different women find friendship, excitement, trouble, and maybe, a great discovery. 

7. Shadows in the Mind's Eye by Janyre Tromp—When Anne's husband returns from serving in World War II, he's a changed man. Haunted by the horrors he witnessed, he's become sullen and scary. When he claims to see strange men hiding in the mountains near their home, Anne's not sure whether to believe him or not. If he's telling the truth, then who are the men? And what do they want? If her husband is having paranoid delusions, what does that mean for them and their already struggling marriage?

8. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness—I feel like I've been talking incessantly lately about Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy. It's one of my all-time favorite YA series and 've been rereading it this year in anticipation of a new spin-off trilogy that will be published starting in Spring 2026. Monsters of Men is the third book in the original series, which is about a young man and his girlfriend and their quest to save their world. 

9. Such a Good Mom by Julia Spiro—I'm on a library waiting list for this novel about a woman whose perfect-looking life is slowly falling apart. Her already unraveling marriage becomes even more strained when the body of a family friend washes ashore and her husband is arrested for the murder. In spite of her own struggles, she must find out the truth about her friend's death in order to clear her husband's name.

10. Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto—I enjoyed the first book in this fun series. Even though I've heard this second installment isn't as good, I'm still excited to reconnect with Vera and her friends. This time around, Vera & Co. are searching for a missing man who no one appears to actually know. Who is Xander Lin? What happend to him? Vera is determined to find out.

What are you planning to read before the end of the year? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

I'm late to post again this month. September is already getting away from me and it's barely even started. Yikes! This is going to be a quick post, too, because I only read two bookish books in August. They were:

The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows—This historical novel, which I listened to on audio, takes place in a small West Virigina town in 1938. When a wealthy socialite from Washington, D.C. is cut off by her father, who insists she needs to learn how to live independently, she is forced to take a job with the Federal Writers' Project. She is tasked with writing a town history of a berg in the middle of nowhere, exactly where she does not want to be. As she gets to know the quirky Romeyn family, however, she finds her attitude toward many things changing. 

Writers and Liars by Carol Goodman—Goodman's newest mystery/thriller stars an antiquities museum director who is invited back to the privately-owned Greek island where she once lived for a summer during a writers' retreat. Unable to write after suffering a heartbreaking betrayal, she has done her best to put the whole terrible experience behind her. Now, fifteen years later, she vows to go back and confront those who did her wrong. She counted on drama, but not a dead body...

Those are the only bookish books I read last month. How about you? What bookish reads did you enjoy in August?

I'm not sure yet what exactly I'll be reading this month. Here are three possibilities:

The Lamplighter's Bookshop by Sophie Austin—I like the sound of this historical novel. It's about a woman who is left penniless after her father wracks up enormous debts with his gambling, leaving her and her mother destitute. In order to keep them from the poorhouse, the daughter applies for a position at a bookstore. Much to her chagrin, she's not the only one who wants the job. Can she and her handsome, enigmatic competitor find a way to work together so they both win? 

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (available September 30, 2025)—I was fortunate to receive an e-ARC of this novel from NetGalley. When a murder at their workplace shatters the peace and refuge they've found at the library, a ragtag group of librarians must band together to save the library they love.

The Sisters of Book Row by Shelley Noble (available March 3, 2026)—Okay, so I don't actually have a copy of this book, which doesn't come out until next year, but I'm praying to the gods of NetGalley and Edelweiss that I can snag an e-ARC. It sounds like a great bookish read.

Based on real circumstances, this historical novel is set in 1915 Manhattan where a vicious censor named Anthony Comstock is eagerly outlawing the publication of any works he deems inappropriate or dangerous. The three Applebaum sisters, owners of a Book Row bookstore, are determined to stop him at any cost.