Happy Almost Fall!
Itβs the first of the month, so that means thereβs a fresh list of Amazon First Reads available! Iβve read through all of the book blurbs and picked the 5 Iβd be most interested in reading! If youβre looking for the entire list, you can find that here! Check out my September 2023 Amazon First Reads picks below!
Romantic Themes
Iβm torn between these two books that have romantic elements!
Woke Up Like This β Amy Lea
Coming-of-age too quickly in a literal 17 going on 30 plot!
Official Blurb
For two high school seniors, itβs seventeen going on thirtyβovernightβin a magical romantic comedy about growing up too fast and living in the moment.
Planning the perfect prom is one last βto doβ on ultra-organized Charlotte Wuβs high school bucket list. So far, so good, if not for a decorating accident that sends Charlotte crash-landing off a ladder, face-first into her obnoxiously ripped archnemesis J. T. Renner. Worse? When Charlotte wakes up, she finds herself in an unfamiliar bed at thirty years old, with her bearded fiancΓ©, Renner, by her side.
Penelope in Retrograde β Brooke Abrams
Arenβt we all just struggling in retrograde? Hopefully itβs an HEA for everyone!
Official Blurb
Romance writer Penelope Banks can write the perfect love story, but when it comes to family, all sheβs got is a rough draft. Penny shelved the idea of fitting in with her high-achieving family years ago, but when her new business ventureβa romance bookstoreβis at risk of closing before its doors have opened, sheβs forced to ask for help from the one place she never expected. Home.
Pennyβs prepared for the usual Thanksgiving lineup: her perfect sister, meddling nana, matchmaking mother, and workaholic father. The guest she didnβt anticipate? Her ex-husband, Smithβ¦
Witchy Fantasy
The Witchβs Lens β Luanne G. Smith
Just in time for the Halloween season, this witchy historical fantasy is a great pick!
Official Blurb
With her husband off fighting at World War Iβs eastern front, Petra KurkovΓ‘ embraces her fleeting freedom, roaming the city at night with her camera. A born witch, sheβs discovered that she can capture the souls of the dead on film. Her supernatural skills donβt go unnoticed by the enigmatic Josef Svoboda. Heβs recruiting a team of sorcerers to infiltrate the front lines, where the bloodshed of combat has resurrected foul creatures. Petraβs unique abilities will be needed against the most dangerous enemies of allβthose ever present, undead, and unseen.
Thriller
Just Stay Away β Tony Wirt
This book caught my eye for its spooky thriller vibes right before Halloween! Sounds perfect for fans of Ashley Audrain (The Push).
Official Blurb
When a mysterious neighborhood boy befriends his young daughter, stay-at-home dad Craig considers him a godsendβuntil it becomes clear that thereβs nothing angelic about him at all.
Craig Finnigan is determined to finish his book this summer, but being an aspiring writer while wrangling his seven-year-old daughter is not easy. So when Alice makes fast friends with a neighborhood boy, Levi, Craig is happy she has a distraction from her constant visits to his home office.
But that happiness soon turns to misgivings as Leviβs behavior evolves from that of a shy, odd boy into something far more disturbingβ¦
Memoir
The Heartbreak Years: A Memoir β Minda Honey
If a memoir is more your style, this is written by a Black woman β telling her story of growing up and looking for love in America!
Official Blurb
In the car sheβd had since high schoolβwith the boyfriend sheβd had just as long riding shotgunβMinda Honey made the cross-country drive to sunny Southern California. By the end of 2008, Obama would be president, sheβd be single, and change would be upon us all.
Thousands of miles away from her family and friends in the new era of smartphones and online dating, Minda navigates the treacherous waters of early adulthood and love: confounding relationships, steamy hookups, meet-cutes, chillingly narrow escapes, and the realization that nothing plays out quite like the rom-coms sheβd bet her heart on as a teenager. She was frustrated, heartbroken, resentfulβand free. Kinda.
Farewell Thoughts
Let me know if you grab any of these Amazon First Reads β in the comments or over on Instagram! If you liked my top picks for Amazon First Reads for September 2023, Iβd love for you to share this post!