Happy October! Itβs probably my favorite month of the year! And apparently Amazon agrees that itβs the perfect month, because this month theyβre giving us TWO free Amazon First Reads. A lot of books on the list caught my eye, and I easily picked two I had to have. Check out my October 2023 Amazon First Reads recommendations below!
P.S. Itβs in order of my personal interest π
What I Actually Downloaded (Top Picks)
House Moms β Jen Lancaster
October reading seems to be filled with lots of spooky, mystery, and thriller reads, so this fairly light-hearted book piqued my interest!
Official Blurb
How fast can charity fundraiser CeCe Barclayβs unimpeachable society life come tumbling down?
One minute sheβs speaking before Chicagoβs glitterati. The next, her financier husband is wanted for embezzlement. Her assets seized and her fall mortifyingly public, CeCe grasps for refugeβand employmentβas a sorority housemom at Eli Whitney University, her daughter Haydenβs alma mater.
Tasked with preparing a statelyβbut in CeCeβs estimation shabbyβhouse for rush, CeCe isnβt the only one navigating a new life. Janelle Smithβs last experience as a housemother was at a Jersey strip club, where she witnessed a mob hitβ¦
Recipes For Second Chances β Ali Rosen
And you all know I always pick the romance. Iβm loving the puns in the blurb! Second chance romance in Italy β yes!
Official Blurb
Stella Park is elated to celebrate her best friendβs wedding in the Italian countrysideβand maybe she also needs this escape from her personal and her professional life. Writing recipes for a living isnβt all itβs cooked up to be.
But the revelry is short lived when she runs into the ex she hasnβt seen since she broke his heart ten years ago, Samuel Gordon. As her past gets propelled to the forefront, Stella tries not to question the choices she made a decade ago.
Short Story (Romance)
The Lover β Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A short (romance?) story by one of my favorite gothic horror/fable-inspired writers.
Official Blurb
Judith knows her sister, Alice, is the pretty oneβbut that doesnβt stop her from wishing for love. When a handsome and gentlemanly hunter appears in their village, seeking lodging from the cold, she believes her lover has finally arrived. He does, indeed, choose to stayβbut as Aliceβs husband, not her own. When another stranger comes out of the woods, looking every bit a vagrant, he offers Judith something mysterious and enticingly strange. Against reason and decency, she welcomes both men into her life, in different ways. As forbidden longings ensnare each of them, an unrelenting winter storm and an evasive wolf on the prowl have everyone on edgeβ¦and ravenous. By spring thaw, will any of their hungers be satisfied?
Historical Fiction
The Village Healerβs Book of Curses β Jennifer Sherman Roberts
This book sounds perfect for October! Mary sounds badass, Matthew sounds horrible, and I canβt wait to meet the strangerβ¦
Official Blurb
Mary Fawcett refines the healing recipes sheβs inherited from generations of women before herβan uncanny and moral calling to empathize with the sick. When witchfinder Matthew Hopkins arrives in her small village, stoking the fires of hate, he sees not healing but the devil at work. Maryβs benevolent skills have now cast her and her young brother under suspicion of witchery.
Soon, the husband of one of Maryβs patients is found murdered, his body carved with strange symbols. For Hopkins, itβs further evidence of dark artsβ¦
Womenβs Fiction
City People β Elizabeth Topp
If youβre looking for something a little more serious and book club discussion worthy β I think this is a great pick!
Official Blurb
When beautiful and successful Susan Harris jumps from the roof of her apartment building, she sets a tremor through her New York City mothersβ group that forces them all to look at one another with new cynicism: How could this have happened right under their noses? To one of them? Between her death and the harrowing private school admission season on the horizon, these women are forced to explore the hard truths about themselves.
Vic, a single mom with literary aspirations, is shocked and confused by the unexpected death of her best friend.
Mystery & Thrillers
All The Little Raindrops β Mia Sheridan
This book sounds dark so read with caution. But, hopefully it provides some closure to the story as well!
Official Blurb
Itβs senior-year spring break, and Noelle Meyer and Evan Sinclair have been kidnapped. Neither knows why they were chosen, only that they share a tragic past: Evanβs father got away with killing Noelleβs mother, effectively ruining her family when the death was ruled an accident.
Despite the connection that should have made them enemies, the teens instead unite to face their other common denominatorβtheir abductors. Noelle and Evan survive one sadistic circumstance after another, eventually making a harrowing escape. But every happy ending comes at a priceβ¦
Lights Out β Elise Hart Kipness
A classic mystery thriller set in the sports world!
Official Blurb
Former Olympic athlete and sports reporter Kate Green isnβt sure how much more tumultuous her life can get. Sheβs been put on temporary leave from her job, then NBA superstar Kurt Robbins is killed and the prime suspect in his murder is none other than his wifeβ¦and Kateβs best friend.
Kate knows that Yvetteβs marriage wasnβt exactly stable, but her friend is no murderer, and Kate is determined to prove it with her own investigation. While she tries to salvage Yvetteβs life, Kateβs own continues to unravel. Her career is in limbo. Gossip columns speculate about her future. Her children are battling their own demonsβ¦
Farewell Thoughts
Let me know which books you grab or if youβve read any of these β in the comments or over on Instagram! If you liked my October 2023 Amazon First Reads recommendations, Iβd love for you to share this post!