At the start of the year, I had a plan. It was a great plan. It involved spending my time reading, snuggling with Dexter, reading, working on my fiction, reading, watching some cool shows, reading… The key detail in this plan is the reading. Alas, 2022 hasn’t quite panned out as I expected it to, and I’ve compiled an epic list of books to read this autumn to compensate.

The year began with an unexpected house move – my boyfriend nagged me for five months solid until I eventually relented and moved in with him. His home lacks any space for my books, or indeed any of my stuff beyond clothes and a few toiletries. At precisely the same time, I also decided to quit my full-time job and refocus on my own business, fiction, and the aforementioned reading. Between the house move, the absence of my stuff, the need to devote so much time to get my business up to full speed, and the fact I’m now basically stepmother to two teenagers, the reading never happened. I find myself in September and have – I’m not joking – yet to finish the novel I started in January while I was on holiday in Lanzarote (The Witcher: The Last Wish, if you’re wondering). Sick of this situation, I’ve determined to catch up on my reading before the end of the year, and my list of books to read this autumn is somewhat extreme.

Given that was the case at the start of the year, and I’ve utterly failed to make any progress, I decided a little social accountability was in order. Consequently, I’m sharing my Autumn TBR and the intention to finish it before 2022 ends…

My Books To Read This Autumn

Like I said, I’ve been in a bit of a readings lump this year. It’s very unlike me not to tear through books I love, and I started one in January that captivated me. And yet, still not finished it. So, that’s the obvious place to start…

All The Witcher Books

Like most people to watch Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with it. Yes, that’s partly because Henry Cavil is a god in human form. But it’s also an intriguing world. I came to the series on Netflix before I’d even heard of the books, or the games, which is very remiss of me considering how good (and popular) they are. I’m a huge fan of Sword and Sorcery, and complex, broody main characters. Quite how Geralt of Rivia escaped my notice for so long is beyond me, but once I was aware of him, I was obsessed.

At the end of last year, I bought the complete box set of all the books. I’ve also got one set of Funko Pops! and will doubtless get the others as soon as my bank balance allows.

Alas, these poor books have been carted about all over the show without ever being finished. Lanzarote in January, back and forth to Wales a few times, and even up to Scarborough. Even so, I’m only halfway through The Last Wish so far, which means my first autumn mission is to complete that book and the rest of the series.

Re-Reading Harry Potter With The Beautiful MinaLima Editions

Autumn is actually my favourite season of the whole year. It has everything you want. Not too hot, not too cold. The sun is still around for some of it (though admittedly, it’s dwindling). You have Halloween, Bonfire Night, and the stunning colours of changing leaves. I’m English so I love rain. And right at the end of it, you get Christmas.

What is Christmas?

The day everyone who knows and loves me gives me that which I treasure most in the world: more books.

Before this year’s round of seasonal gift-giving begins, I wanted to get in the mood. Every year at Christmas I binge-watch all the Harry Potter films. And every year, I think, ‘I’m going to re-read the books this year!’

And then I don’t.

So, first up on my Autumn reading list is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, swiftly followed by Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. But of course, on this re-read, I will not be reading the mundane, pedestrian versions. Oh no. I shall be reading the utterly stunning MinaLima editions.

The perfect companions for a magical season, words really can’t do justice to these editions. They are honestly a little bit of magic, all in their own right. Don’t believe me? Check out Chamber of Secrets in all its stunning glory…

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Super Excited To Catch Up On My Ilona Andrews

Those of you who caught my reviews of the original Hidden Legacy trilogy (Burn For Me followed by White Hot and then Wildfire), know full well how much I adore the dynamic duo that is Ilona Andrews. So it may surprise you to learn I’m extremely far behind in my reading on their novels. Consequently, on my Autumn reading list you will find several Ilona Andrews novels I need to devour, starting with getting up-to-date on the Hidden Legacy series.

Since I read the original trilogy, the series has been extended with several more books, starting with Diamond Fire, which came out in 2018. Although this is a novella and not a full novel, it’s the next in the reading order for Hidden Legacy following Wildfire, so I’ll be reading it first.

Following the release of Diamond Fire, the next full novel in the series, Sapphire Flames, was released in 2019. Emerald Blaze came next in 2020, and most recently, Ruby Fever was released last month.

Which gives me plenty of hot stuff to read as the weather cools off.

And if you’re wondering, yes, this series is that hot. I love good smut. Emphasis on good. I’ve zero interest in run-of-the-mill romance novels. Even if I’m looking for something really smutty, I still need a plot. Well-rounded characters. An epic and well-crafted world. Most romance novels completely fail to deliver any of these things. Fortunately, this series ticks every box and then some.

No TBR Is Complete Without A Little (Un)Death

I love zombies. I love books. This is a list of books to read in Autumn; I couldn’t resist adding a zombie series to it. David Moody’s Autumn series has been on my wishlist for an age, but I finally cracked and bought the first one because September had me feeling all autumnal. Book one, also named Autumn, is the perfect read for this time of year.

I’m intrigued by the premise of this book, which as with many post-apocalyptic reads, follows a small band of survivors. The difference is that in this world, 99% of the world’s population is wiped out in a single day by a disease. The dead, naturally, do not stay dead but reanimate and slowly regain their faculties. This means that while the zombies (which I’m led to believe are never actually called zombies) are initially mindless, shambling corpses, they gradually become more formidable.

Christmas Is Coming And I Love The Nutcracker

I actually bought this one last year, but what with the fella mothering me to move in with him and me staying at his house from November to see if that was a good idea, I never got around to it. I love The Nutcracker, and M.A. Kuzinar’s Midnight In Everwood is a retelling of that classic tale. The book itself is beautiful. I’d already decided to buy it for the cover and the title (which has serious magical vibes to it) before I read the blurb and realised what it was based on.

I can’t wait to dig this one out of the boxes and actually read it!

Speaking of digging things out, I’m super excited to be moving into a posh new office at the start of October. I did hire a little office pod when I went back to working for myself, which is basically a storage unit that’s had doors and electricity added to it. It was great during the winter and spring, but as soon as the weather started warming up, it was impossible to actually work in there.

So, I’ve been working on the sofa for months.

1st of October I’ll be moving into a new office with a nice downstairs room I’m using as my writing space, and a huge upstairs room I’m turning into a creative space for all my books and filming. My sofa, bookcases, books, and all that good stuff got packed away when I moved, and it’s all coming out. This means I get to organise all my books in pretty orders and finally have somewhere for my Funko Pops! and Kreeptures!