September Wrap-Up & Book Haul


Happy Tuesday in Fall Bookworms! I friggin LOVE this beautiful season to pieces but I can’t write a wrap-up without mentioning recent events that hit close to home. September wasn’t a easy month to get through with Hurricane Maria affecting the island of Puerto-Rico where one half of my family lives. That being said, I have a pretty pro-active family doing everything possible to make sure we are doing our part in helping and providing for our loved ones. Hoping for a much better tomorrow as our family here in New York continue to send relief in hopes that the basic needs are met. The world is hurting & I know I myself can’t turn a blind eye, it has definitely weighed heavy in my heart & thoughts each & every night. Reading has always provided a sense of comfort but once disaster hit, for the first time in a long time I had no desire to read at all. It took me about 2 weeks to get through my 6th book of the month Girls Made of Snow and Glass. I chose to push through seeing as it was the only thing allowing my mind to pull back a bit from the sadness. Fantasy will always be one of my top favorite genres for its very nature asks that you suspend belief in reality which was much needed. The stories I read this month only helped booster my need to help & do more. Heroines like Mira Minkoba from Before She Ignites helped me be more aware of my own anxiety & triggers when faced with a issue that seems like it can swallow you whole. This month has showed me the strength in family unity (ups & downs) and I have hope we can come back stronger than ever…

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust ★★★★ 

Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows ★★★★1/2

Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett ★★★1/2

Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle Prendergast ★★★★1/2

Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor ★★★★★

Runaways #1 by Rainbow Rowell & illustrated by Kris Anka (no review for this 1st issue, will be reviewing trade paperback of Vol 1 when it’s released)

These weren’t small books my friends, I didn’t intentionally set out to read 400+ pg books but that’s exactly what happened lol. This is why I had to throw in a novella and a comic. Besides being thick books, they were also very slow paced (all of them) which contributed to the docking of stars. I love character driven stories which is probably why I still really enjoyed all of my reads. Night of Cake & Puppets let me re-visit some of my fave characters with the addition of awesome illustrations. Runaways managed to seriously stir my curiosity for this comic run, I’m already signed up with Comixology to receive each issue as they are released. Girls Made of Snow and Glass has to be the freshest most unique re-telling I’ve ever read. Before She Ignites gave us our first MC in YA Fantasy with anxiety & OCD. Zero Repeat Forever was so sad bookworms! *sobs* LOVED IT! & lastly, Even the Darkest Stars had potential however it fell victim to its Mountain setting. All in all, a quality reading month 😉

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Snot Girl: Green Hair Don’t Care Volume 1

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2) by Jay Kristoff (no, I haven’t read Nevernight but I have every intention of doing so & Bookdepository is notorious for selling out of these editions *sobs* lol)

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell (gift from who who listened to me RAVE about this book every single time I put it down lol)

Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) by Sarah J. Maas (a gift from my hubby who has already read & rated this installment 4 stars…he’s stingy with the stars so this is a good sign)

Wonder Woman (DC Comics #1) by Leigh Bardugo 

Warcross by Marie Lu

September Owlcrate

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Before She Ignites (Fallen Isles Trilogy #1) by Jodi Meadows

September Book of the Month

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Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (my pick for the month, the other 2 were add-ons)

The Clockwork Dynasty by Daniel H. Wilson

The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo  (a gift from my Soul twin Gretchen over at @ChicNerdReads, she’ll be making her return to book blogging this week so YAY!)

OHMYGOSH-THIS-SHOW!!!! I legit didn’t know just how much I LOVE Jason Bateman till’ I binge watched Ozark! for those who are fans of Breaking Bad this is one you’re going to want to watch. The pilot episode was ominous and slow yet I knew I’d be watching the 2nd episode to see where it was going. Marty Byrde played by Bateman comes across as if he were on auto-pilot after a life changing event puts him & his family in a very sticky dangerous situation. Unraveling bit by bit it almost feels as if our MC will lose it any minute but he perseveres. Laura Linney who plays his wife is a character who grew on me, I did not love her from the start but grew to appreciate her later on. I’ve always been attracted to stories set in small towns & the characters they produce, in Ozark everyone has their own agenda. I don’t want to give anything away, part of what makes this series so good is the mystery that surrounds it.  There are many jaw dropping moments & an ending to knock your socks off lol.

Happy reading in October Bookworms!!! October is already setting itself up to be a good Bookish month with some FAB reads. Comic Con later this week should be fun, let me know if you’d like a post on my 2 days there. Also, if you’ve read or watched any of these? drop your comments down below <3’s!

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Author: LairOfBooks

"I didn't choose the Book Life, the Book Life chose me"

36 thoughts on “September Wrap-Up & Book Haul”

    1. Thank you Kristin! I really hope you enjoy the read, it’s slow so you really have to be in the mood for it but the pay off is worth it! I have Stalking Jack the Ripper on my October “Want to Read” lol so this haul is on pause as far as me reading them haha!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by Tammy! Ozark is DARK & the characters are 50 shades of messed up haha! but so worth it if you’re into these types of series. Hope you enjoy 🙂

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    1. Thank you Krysti! & I agree it was most def dark, that’s how I like my characters in books though so it was easy to get hooked to this TV series LOL. I had so many WTF moments while watching, it’s a train-wreck I couldn’t turn away from haha! Happy October reading Krysti! ❤ ❤ ❤

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    1. Thank you Trang! ☺️ ugh that book is seriously GORGE! 😍 easiest photo I’ve ever taken lol. I actually already read The Last Magician, it’s one of my TOP faves this year! I wrote a Gush review for it and then went hunting down any bit of info I could find lol, fortunately there’s one more book 🤗

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  6. Great reading month there, Lilly! I’m really looking forward to Tower of Dawn since your hubby enjoyed it, haha! So glad you snagged The Blinds, too. That one has really been calling to me from my TBR bookshelf lately!

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    1. Thank you Larkin!!! hahA, yes he did enjoy it and now is left to wait for the final installment. I think seeing him with a book hangover keeps me from picking it up myself lol. The Blinds intrigues the hell outta me, If I see you reading it I will be in your DM’s haha!

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      1. You’re so welcome!.. I know!! I keep going back and forth on whether I want to read it immediately or wait a few months. I’m not looking forward to waiting for so long!.. Hahaha I’ll let you know for sure as soon as I pick it up!

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  8. It seems like you had a great month Lilly. You definitely got through some amazing books.
    My copy of Night of Cake and Puppets was dispatched today and I cannot wait for it to arrive so I can finally have it in my hands. 🙂 Also I hope you manage to get around to Godsgrave (and Nevernight) soon. That’s a favourite series of mine so I can’t wait to see your review for both books. Good plan getting the editions before Book Despository ran out of stock. That’s what I’d do. 🙂
    Great photos, your Owl Crate looks amazing and oh your picture for The Language of Thorns is amazing! 🙂 That’s another book I really hope you enjoy.
    Seems like you had a great month Lilly, I hope you have an incredible October as well. 😀 ❤

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  9. I really want to read Girls made of snow and glass. And I am so excited about Leigh Bardugo’s book. I am currently reading Crooked Kingdom; so I am all in the ‘Give me anything Bardugo’ mode. Did you start reading The Girl in the Tower btw?

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  12. I’m sorry to hear this was a bit of a tough month, but I’m hoping your family will get out of all of this stronger, with tighter links and everything else. Sending you all tons of love and hugs ❤
    It seems like you managed to have a good reading month overall, I'm glad to see this – also, Language of Thorns looks SO stunning?!!
    I hope you'll have a great October xxx

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    1. Thank you for your kind words Marie, I appreciate them more than you can imagine 💓 as for my reading, no complaints here. I think my books matched the mellow mood if that makes any sense lol. Language of Thorns is stunning inside & out and I hear the stories are wonderful, excited for this one. Wishing you an Amazing October <3! XoXo 💜

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  13. I’m sorry September wasn’t a great month for you but I’m glad you had a wonderful bookish month. I’m sorry to hear about your family in Puerto Rico. You really got some amazing books this month and I hope enjoy reading them.
    I hope you have a great October and Happy Reading! 🙂

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  14. Sorry to hear about your family in Puerto Rico. Sending good vibes to Puerto Rico and hope that everything works out.
    Great job reading six books even with so much going on in your personal life and with your family. That’s pretty amazing. 😀
    Your haul is amazing! So many awesome book. I’ve been skipping Book of the Month club for the last few months. None of the books have interested me.
    I hope you enjoy all your new books and I hope you have a great October! 🙂

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  15. Sending you all the love and good thoughts about the hurricane ♥ I can’t imagine how devastating that must be for everyone.

    Great reading month though!! Glad you enjoyed Girls Made of Snow and Glass because that’s one I’m really interested in. ALSO THANKS FOR REMINDING ME ABOUT RUNAWAYS. Amazing haul too!! I loved They Both Die at the End and Snotgirl! I’ve also really gotta read Godsgrave and Warcross.

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    1. Thank you Lauren! 💗 thankfully we are able to help them & now it’s just a matter of hoping electricity is restored as well as clean water. It’s tough but we are doing our best to be there for our family in this time of need. I appreciate your kind words 💜

      I’m curious to hear your thoughts on Girls Made of Snow and Glass, will keep an eye out. Lol yes Runaways is currently my new comic and I can’t wait for issue #2 to hit my inbox 🤗🤗🤗 Snot Girl I have to get to soon 🤞🏼and I would raise a brow at you if you hadn’t loved TBDATE 😂😂😂

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      1. So glad I’m not alone! I think that I need to take 1-3 months per year that I devote to the books that are sitting un-read on my shelves hahaha.

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  19. I loved the Wonder Woman book, hope you like it too! I really wanna get to Girls of Snow and Glass, Before She Ignites and Hunting Prince Dracula… it’s that saying, too many books, too little time!

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    1. Oh! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, hearing positive reviews is a real motivation for me to get to it soon 😃 & yes! That is our curse as bookworms, so many books yet so little time 😫😂

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