Welcome to October everyone! Time really does fly. As we head into the wonderful fall season (depending where you live), what’s better than cozying up by the fire or under a warm blanket and diving right into a new book? Below we feature a couple of books coming out this month, and have linked their goodreads site for your convenience. Which are you looking forward to?
Happy weekend, friends! I am taking an extra day off on Monday so I’m excited for a long weekend full of fun. But before I go off to try a lot of wines, I wanted to share with you another segment of If You Loved This!
This week, I wanted to highlight historical fictions. If you know me, I absolutely have fallen in love with historical fictions over the last few years. YA keeps putting out really great ones that either follow history pretty accurately, or may have a fun magical twist to what we know. Either way, they’re imaginative and wholly wild to dive into.
That being said, this post is dedicated to a particular favourite on Down the Rabbit Hole. Hopefully it’s not an unfamiliar name to a lot of you, but The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi is our choice today.
From New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi comes a novel set in Paris during a time of extraordinary change–one that is full of mystery, decadence, and dangerous desires…
It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.
To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.
Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.
If you loved the secret society and their respective Houses…
…then you’ll be crazy not to check out Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo’s adult debut. Filled with secrets among students and faculty on Yale University’s campus, badass protagonist Alex Stern is not a girl to be messed with as she pieces together a crime that has been committed both in the present and the past. There’s definitely more than meets the eye to this school with its different magic houses and powerful players Alex has gotten herself involved with. Plus, what exactly happened to her mentor who had disappeared?
If you loved the found family united around the same purpose…
…then the connections built in 1902 Manhattan in The Last Magicianis a good bet. Having travelled back in time, Esta is on a mission to steal an artifact of great importance to her present-day time that was lost in history. To do that, she needs to charm her way into a tight knit crew to help her achieve the heist of the century! But of course, they have no idea she plans on double crossing them all in the end.
If you loved the combination of magical fantasy building in a historical setting…
…then The Dark Days Clubis a wonderful masterpiece that fulfills just that! Lady Helen has been groomed to be a perfect lady to be presented into society in the Regency era, but tragic circumstances draws her into a world of demon fighters and demonic beings hunting humans among them. Equal parts action and romance, this would already be a great book if it was in modern day but the historical England setting only adds to its charm!
Have you read any of these titles? Are you a fan of historical fantasies? Let me know what you think, or if you have a selection or two that you’d recommend for fans of The Gilded Wolves.
And don’t miss Roshani Chokshi’s conclusion to the trilogy, The Bronzed Beasts, out now!
Hello book lovers, and welcome back to another segment of “If You Loved This”. I’m moving to rom-coms today as I’ve been in the mood for lighter reads lately. When I think of a classic YA rom-com of the last decade, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins definitely pops into my head with its romantic tensions and glorious Paris setting. There’s a reason it’s much loved, even getting a fancy new reprint.
So if you have ever loved this book, here are some other books I recommend for you to read next!
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris–until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all…including a serious girlfriend.
But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?
If you loved meeting hot guys while studying abroad…
…then Hot British Boyfriendby Kristy Boyce is your winner! It’s full of, well, hot British guys that our heroine falls for and more romantic tension than I expected as she navigates her turbulent love life. While it’s tempting to go all in for a guy she meets in England (it’s that accent!), perhaps love is closer than she expected.
If you loved a cute romance with plenty of travel…
…then our next book here is Love & Gelatoby Jenna Evans Welch. Set in gorgeous Florence, Italy, this follows our heroine in search of her mother’s mysterious history in Italy. With the help of a cute Italian boy, this novel is full of descriptive sights that makes you feel like you’re travelling around Tuscany alongside them.
If you loved romantic angst in all its torturous forms…
…then American Royals by Katharine McGee is a sure read. When the protagonist(s) cannot immediately be with the guy they want, because it’s forbidden or there is someone else in the picture, this book pushes the boundaries of heart aching angst as we cheer on the couple we ship to finally get together.
Have you read any of these books I’ve chosen? What do you think about these recommendations? Let me know in the comments below! Contemporary romance is the genre I’ve read less in YA relative to fantasy so I’m always happy to learn more from those who absolutely love this genre.
Don’t miss Stephanie Perkins’ latest novel, The Woods Are Always Watching, out now!
Down the Rabbit Hole 