Tell Me Something Tuesday: Which Books Are You Looking Forward to Reading This Fall? (September-November)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

WHICH BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS FALL? (SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER)

I don't know if I'll ever get around to buying all these books or when, since 1) early reviews and excerpts might cause me to change my mind in the future, and 2) given my current situation (see: unemployment status), book money is scarce...(I got most of these in eARC form though! See below). Anyhow, I wanted to give a bit of exposure to all the fall books that caught my eye, so here's my list (complete with pub dates)...

SEPTEMBER

3rd. Cheryl Isaacs: The Unfinished (YA)

When small-town athlete Avery’s morning run leads her to a strange pond in the middle of the forest, she awakens a horror the townspeople of Crook’s Falls have long forgotten.

The black water has been waiting. Watching. Hungry for the souls it needs to survive. 

Avery can smell the water, see it flooding everywhere; she thinks she's losing her mind. And as the black water haunts Avery—taking a new form each time—people in town begin to go missing.

Though Avery had heard whispers of monsters from her Kanien’kéha:ka (Mohawk) relatives, she has never really connected to her Indigenous culture or understood the stories. But the Elders she has distanced herself from now may have the answers she needs.

When Key, her best friend and longtime crush, is the next to disappear, Avery is faced with a choice: listen to the Kanien’kéha:ka and save the town but lose her friend forever…or listen to her heart and risk everything to get Key back.

Note: I got an ARC of this one. Not a favourite, but a good one for the younger crowd. Mini review coming next month.

 ***

24th. Margot Harrison: The Midnight Club (Adult)

It’s been twenty-five years since The Midnight Club last convened. A tight-knit group of college friends bonded by late nights at the campus literary magazine, they’re also bonded by something darker: the death of their brilliant friend Jennet junior year. But now, decades later, a mysterious invitation has pulled them back to the pine-shrouded Vermont town where it all began.

As the estranged friends gather for a weeklong campus reunion, they soon learn that their host has an ulterior motive: she wants them to uncover the truth about the night Jennet died, and she’s provided them with an extraordinary method—a secret substance that helps them not only remember but relive the past.

But each one of the friends has something to hide. And the more they question each other, the deeper they dive into their own memories, the more they understand that nothing they thought they knew about their college years, and that fateful night, is true.

Twisty, nostalgic, and emotionally thrilling, The Midnight Club explores that innate desire to revisit our first loves, our biggest mistakes, and the gulf between who we are and who we hoped we’d be.

Note: AWESOME premise! I'm bummed about having been denied an ARC, but I plan to buy the book because, c'mon 😃.

***

24th. Daniel Church: The Ravening (Adult)

Jenna's life has always been a fight. From the traumatic and mysterious loss of her mother on a dark woodland road when she was fifteen, to the abusive and controlling boyfriend she's recently escaped, she has learned that trust hurts you in the end.

Now Jenna's found what she hopes is happiness with her new girlfriend, Holly. But the world is full of darkness - some of it ancient, some of it closer to home... Evil, and those who serve it, will not let Jenna go.

The Ravening is a gripping, claustrophobic horror novel that sets a timeless nightmare against one woman and her belief in herself, and the possibility that somewhere, somehow, there is love in the world.

Note: Another ARC I got...an engrossing read. Review to come near pub date.

***

OCTOBER

1st. Sophia Ajram: Coup de Grâce (Adult)

Vicken has a plan: throw himself into the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal and end it all for good, believing it to be the only way out for him after a lifetime of depression and pain. But, stepping off the subway, he finds himself in an endless, looping station.

Determined to find a way out again, he starts to explore the rooms and corridors ahead of him. But no matter how many claustrophobic hallways or vast cathedral-esque rooms he passes through, the exit is nowhere in sight.

The more he explores his strange new prison, the more he becomes convinced that he hasn’t been trapped there accidentally, and amongst the shadows and concrete, he comes to realise that he almost certainly is not alone.

A terrifying psychological nightmare from a powerful new voice in horror.

Note: Yet another ARC I got, but alas, I DNF it. Too gross for me. It's having good reviews though, so maybe check those? My DNF-mini one will be up next month.

***

7th. Mira Gonzalez: The Darkness Behind the Door (NA)

When a phantom moose nearly runs Theo's car off an icy Alaskan road, Theo succumbs to curiosity, following the moose's trail to a door hidden amongst the trees. Despite the threat of becoming the latest victim in a string of mysterious disappearances, Theo crosses the threshold. To his horror, the door vanishes, stranding him in a monster-infested alternate reality. Looming adult responsibilities are forgotten as Theo must fight just to survive.

Inside the surreal dimension behind the door, Theo finds allies who hold the encroaching darkness at bay: a sword-wielding man named Archer with a strange case of amnesia, and a shapeshifting dragon named Zephyr. A sinister phenomenon threatens to consume Theo as he grapples with his sense of identity and growing feelings for Archer; the longer he remains in this realm, the more his own memories slip away.

With darkness closing in and his time running out, Theo must unravel the secrets his companions harbor and confront his own inner demons if he hopes to find a way back to the world he knows before all is lost to the shadows.

Note: OK...a bit of romance here...but I love portal fantasy, and I like to support indie authors...I requested this one on NG, and I was promptly given access to it (in a matter of minutes!).

***

22nd. Richard Chizmar: Memorials (NA)

1983: Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another.

But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can’t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here?

Note: What's with all these books set in the '80s lately? Capitalising on the Stranger Things phenomenon? Regardless, I love this premise! And it has Christopher Pike vibes, which is a plus. My EW request is still in limbo though...

***

NOVEMBER

5th. Charlene Thomas: Streetlight People (YA)

For most, Streetlight is a dot on the map you pass on your way to somewhere else. But if you live there, you’re either a Have-Not, like Kady, or a Have-Lot like her boyfriend, Nik, who also happens to be a member of the exclusive social club, The IV Boys.

Known for their powerful families and the coveted ball they host for a selective guest list, The IV Boys have always refused to accept Kady regardless of how much Nik loves her. All the Boys except for Aaron, who didn’t grow up in Streetlight and is one of the few who knows that life—real life—exists outside of it. But his stepmom has the kind of wealth and power even IV Boys can’t resist.

With Nik at college, Aaron stands by Kady’s side. But all Kady really wants is Nik, and when a chance encounter on Halloween hands her the power to twist and hold time, she doesn’t hesitate. Now she can keep Nik close for as long as she wants. 

While Kady tries to relive her best moments with Nik, the IV Boys have her in their sights. A rumor’s spreading that Kady and Aaron are much more than friends—and not even twisting time is enough to defend against the power that the Boys were born with.

The more Kady changes the clock, the more dizzying reality becomes, until she stumbles upon a truth darker than anything she could have imagined. Streetlight is filled with monsters—and maybe she’s always been one, too.

Note: This one was Read Now on NG, so I snatched a copy. Yep, there's romance, but...you know me and time travel, right? Plus the whole premise is exciting...

***

19th. Melissa Caruso: The Last Hour Between Worlds (Adult)

Kembral Thorne has a few hours away from her newborn, and she’s determined to enjoy herself at the year-turning ball. But when guests start dropping dead, she can’t help sniffing out trouble—she’s a Hound, after all. Especially when her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is also on the prowl.

Everyone knows you shouldn’t get involved with Echo games. Let alone one involving ancient Echo lords who can turn layers of reality into a gameboard with human lives for pieces. But as the ballroom grows stranger and more otherworldly with each strike of the hour, it’s clearly too late.

Kem knows the rules: One Echo down is no big deal. Stay alert for trouble. 

Four Echoes down, there are things with eyes in their teeth, and walls that drip blood. Four is the limit. 

As the party plunges through increasingly deadly realities, the rules can’t help Kem anymore. She’ll have to rely on her wits—and Rika—to unravel the most dangerous game of the century before it unleashes catastrophe on their world.

Note: Book 1 in The Echo Archives series. I got an ARC of this one, and even if there are enemies-to lovers undertones, the premise is such a hoot! How could I stay away? 🤤

***

Well, that's it for now. Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to participate in the meme on a regular or semi-regular basis, and get emailed the prompt list? Just head over here and fill in Jen's form! (Of course, you can jump in anytime you like - you are under no obligation to actually do all the posts, or even most of them, just because you signed up, and you can remove yourself from the list at any time). And if you're interested in participating in a more casual manner, or only in commenting, here is the TMST prompt list for the months of September and October:

• September 3rd: How do you keep up with your favourite blogs?
• September 10th: What day in your life would you like to relive?
• September 17th: Do you have a go-to comfort book/read?
• September 24th: Do you have a series you've been meaning to finish but haven't? Which one(s) and why?
• October 1st: What were your favorite surprise books of the year? 
• October 8th: Tell us about your favorite fall comfort foods
• October 15th: Who is your ideal book boyfriend/girlfriend?
• October 22nd: What are the top three items on your bucket list?
• October 29th: How do you like to be scared? Horror or thriller?

I've already scheduled my post for September 10th, after which I won't be back for the meme until November (that's why I've listed two months' worth of posts), since 1) I'm still tangled in my pile of ARCs (I guess you noticed 😅) and 2) I'm planning a new hiatus for October...maybe I'll do a recap post in November where I'll reply to the last batch of questions in brief, but don't hold your breath...

Now tell me something...which fall books are on your TBR list?