A year ago, I started seasonal reflections alongside the seasonal TBR’s. The first season I reflected on was summer 2023. I can’t believe this has been more than a year ago and that it’s already time to look back on fall 2024. Fall is not showing up yet, we still had lots of summery days until now. The weather forecast for the upcoming week doesn’t look too bright, but still no real signs of fall yet. I can’t remember a lot about fall 2024, so maybe this post will have some surprises upon its sleeves for myself as well. Let’s find out if I read the seasonal TBR I set for myself and my bookhauls from October, November and December 2024! Links will direct you to reviews if existent.

Did I read my fall 2024 TBR?

1. Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree – One of my resolutions was to pick this book up for a second try, but I haven’t gotten to it. I figured out that cozy fantasy and I aren’t the best match unfortunately, so I wonder whether I actually will ever read this book.
2. The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore – Yes, unfortunately I read this one. This book is tremendously overhyped, not worth it. It has been one of the worst I read in a while and that says a lot. I’m a critical reader, but usually not that harsh. However, this book just isn’t good at all.
3. Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli – This one I read back in November, and I really enjoyed it. The cliffhanger is terrible, I really needed to continue with the final book.
4. Tale of the Heart Queen by Nisha J. Tuli – Yes, after the cliffhanger in the previous book, I had to continue. However, I wasn’t too pleased with this final instalment in the series, it didn’t captivate me as much as the previous books did.
5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – Another book I’ve read and I’m about to start the third book in this series in fall. Still, I just don’t get the hype really, because these books are so incredibly vague. Such a bummer.
6. The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde – I actually have quite forgotten about this one. Needless to say, I haven’t read it.
7. Born of Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout – Another book I’ve read, and this was… a disappointment. It’s dragging, dragging and dragging some more, without much happening. At one point I was so done, I just wanted it to be over. I finished it though for the sake of finishing the series.
8. Slaying the Vampire Conqueror by Carissa Broadbent – I read this one as well and this is a decent stand alone set in the world of Nyaxia. I understand this story will be of importance later on in the bigger scheme, so let’s see when we’ll meet these characters again!
9. The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent – My most anticipated read of fall 2024 and my biggest disappointment of winter 2024/2025. I read it in December last year and I was so, so underwhelmed. Mische was a ray of sunshine in the previous books, but now she’s bordering on boring. The story itself is not too intriguing either. Will I continue with the series? Probably yes, because my curiosity might win.
10. Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood – No, I still haven’t picked this one up. I just didn’t feel like it.

Did I read my fal 2024 bookhauls?

1. When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson – This was one of my first reads of fall 2024 and after quite a rough start, I enjoyed it. It’s a book that needs time to actually captivate you, but when it does, it does its job well. Reviewing this was a nightmare though, because it’s hard to capture all the vibes on paper without giving away too much.
2. Caught Up by Liz Tomforde – Of course I read this, but apparently not in fall. I read this in spring 2025. The “Windy City” series is one of the better romance series that’s hyped on TikTok, although this and the fourth book didn’t captivate me as much. I still have to read the final one in this series though. Character growth is as important as the romance, maybe even more important when thinking of it. It’s sports romance, but the sports play a subordinate role.
3. Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston – I really loved this book once again! I was afraid this series was over due to some events in the final part of this novel, but thankfully there’s more to come someday.
4. Heir by Sabaa Tahir – I didn’t get to this book in fall, but I did so in summer 2025. Unfortunately, I was bored out of my mind and didn’t root for any off these characters. Caring was a bit too much to ask already, they just didn’t intrigue me. Unfortunately, this was a DNF, something I truly did not expect after reading so many positive reviews and loving the “Ember Quartet” and All My Rage by this author.
5. Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole – I got to it in the 2025 part of winter and this book was a pleasant surprise. Your typical romantasy, but I needed it after some books that didn’t stick well with me. The second book was a bit of a sloggg, but the third book is even longer. I hope that one is more exciting though.
6. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig – I managed to finish this in December 2024, but I had to pause it. The Dutch edition of One Dark Window was released in the meantime, and I wanted to read that one first to check whether I understood the previous book correctly. I struggled a lot with it, but it turns out I already understood it better than I was aware of. This book was okay, but less captivating than its predecessor.
7. The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore – See above, this was terrible.
8. A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber – I have to admit that I bought this book on a whim as I had a leftover Audible credit. I somehow want to finish the series, even though I saw mixed reviews about this final book. Now, one year later, I haven’t picked it up and I actually forgot about it.
9. The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center – Short and sweet, no I haven’t read it, I haven’t felt like doing so yet.
10. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (rebuy in Dutch) – I finally read it in late fall and that was exactly the time and vibe I needed for this book. This gives of wintery vibes. It’s a good start to the trilogy, but the second book is the best in my opinion.
11. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – Oh wait, I was too early with giving my opinion on this. This was my first read of 2025 and I finished it pretty quickly. It’s more intriguing than the first book in this series, it’s less cozy. There’s more at stake. Unfortunately, the last book in this trilogy falls flat compared to this.
12. The Dagger and The Flame by Catherine Doyle – Ouch, I haven’t picked this one up. Maybe because I wanted to finish the “Twin Crowns” series first, which was a little disappointing in the end.
13. Throttled by Lauren Asher – No, haven’t picked this up either.
14. Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher – And again this is still left on the shelf, unread.
15. The Songbird & The Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent – I read this, see above. I felt let down.
16. The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr – This book is on my TBR for September, because I really need to find the right time for it. It’s a brick and a challenging one. I was hoping to read this during my holiday, but I didn’t. I barely finished anything that week, so I have to juggle it in sometime before work starts again next week I suppose. Or when work is starting again, not sure if that’s a clever idea as my energy levels are spiralling when fall really kicks in.
17. Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan – My final read of 2024 and I honestly don’t know why on earth I didn’t pick this up sooner! I left it rotting on my TBR for over seven years before I finally bought an ebook.
18. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (Dutch edition) – This was a reread, see my explanation above. I finished it and picked up Two Twisted Crowns where I left off in order to read this Dutch translation.
19. Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi – Oops, I forgot about its existence. Haven’t read it.
20. Splintered by A.G. Howard – I read this one in late winter, when the sun was already shining that much I could actually read outside again. It feels really mediocre to me and I won’t pick up the rest of the trilogy.
21. Wie ik ben zonder jou by Susan Muskee – No, I haven’t read many Dutch books lately. I’m slowly catching up on them.
22. Als ik je weer zie by Gillian King – Same applies for this one.
23. Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco – No, I haven’t read it either, this is a series I “someday want to finish”.
24. Phoenix and the Frost Palace by Aisling Fowler – No, haven’t had the time for this.
25. Starling and the Cavern of Light by Aisling Fowler – Same for this third book in this series.
26. The Pearl that Broke its Shell by Nadia Hashimi – I finally picked this book up in summer and I was relieved after my previous experience with a book by this author. This was a totally different one. Read my review for more context.
27. Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao – Whereas I really enjoyed the previous book in this series, this sequel was a major disappointment. I was done with it quite quick, I was so bored. This is very heavy on politics, and I just couldn’t e bothered any longer. This book doesn’t have the charm Iron Widow did have for me.
28. Tale of the Heart Queen by Nisha J. Tuli – One of my final reads of the year, see earlier explanation.
29. Phantasma by Kaylie Smith – Booktok got me good, because this book was not for me. I was bored. I wonder why I tried and tried and tried till I reached the 67% mark, but I eventually had to DNF this for my own sanity.

Verdict:

• I read 8 books from my fall 2024 TBR with 0 DNFs
• I read 17 books from my fall 2024 bookhauls with 3 DNFs

Fall was a mixed season. Many of my proposed books were pushed back to different seasons, some even to the new year. Fortunately, the dreaded annual reading slump stayed away, but unfortunately, I had 3 DNFs in my bookhauls.

Do you enjoy looking back on the seasons a year ago and whether you’ve read everything you wanted and hauled?