Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers That Feel Like Fall

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is: Books With Fall Colors/Vibes. 

Like many bibliophiles, I love fall. Fall is all about cozying up with a good book, a mug of coffee and a soft blanket (probably with my cats) and falling blissfully into the pages of whatever book I'm reading. And I especially love reading autumn themed books during the fall. It just ramps that cozy feeling up a couple of notches. I've already done a post on my recommended Autumn Reads so following that up with a list of book covers that scream autumn to me just seems like a natural choice.

While I have not read all of these books (some have been on my TBR for far too long - time to remedy that!) all of them give off autumn vibes to me, whether it's cozy feelings or downright creepy, perfect for Halloween. And now, onto the covers!

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight

I'd love to know what book covers give you those autumn feelings most or what covers you think look like fall colors. Leave a message in the comments and let me know!

xx Melissa

review: lies like poison by chelsea pitcher

Lies Like Poison by Chelsea Pitcher
Publication Date: November 10, 2020
Rating: 4 stars

Summary:

Poppy, Lily, and Belladonna would do anything to protect their best friend, Raven. So when they discovered he was suffering abuse at the hands of his stepmother, they came up with a lethal plan: petals of poppy, belladonna, and lily in her evening tea so she’d never be able to hurt Raven again. But someone got cold feet, the plot faded to a secret of the past, and the group fell apart.

Three years later, on the eve of Raven’s seventeenth birthday, his stepmother turns up dead. But it’s only belladonna found in her tea, and it’s only Belladonna who’s carted off to jail. Desperate for help, Belle reaches out to her estranged friends to prove her innocence. They answer the call, but no one is prepared for what comes next.

Lies Like Poison is a contemporary dark fairy tale that deals with many complex themes such as transgender / LGBTQ+ representation, murder, grief and abuse and handles them beautifully with intriguing characters and stunning writing. Honestly Chelsea Pitcher's writing in this book reminds me of Francesca Lia Block and Alice Hoffman and I am 100% for it. Pitcher's writing is lyrical and haunting yet also packs a punch.

Having four main characters and being able to give them such distinct personalities and stories can be tricky and often times one of the characters will fall by the wayside, yet that doesn't happen here. All characters are given ample time to tell their individual stories and still come together to finish the mystery. It's rare when I can't figure out who the murderer is in a story pretty quickly but Lies Like Poison did manage to keep me guessing until right before the reveal. 

I won't say Lies Like Poison is a perfect read. I did have a little trouble following who was narrating at times but could quickly figure it out after a moment. Unreliable narrators can be pretty tricky to follow in general and there's more than one here. There are also moments that are definitely hard to read, especially during flashbacks to abusive moments and situations, but they are vital to the story. But I will say that I loved this book. I absolutely devoured it. I'm pretty sure I read it within 3 hours and definitely lost sleep before work the next day so that I could finish it. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery and enjoys Young Adult reads or to anyone who is a fan of fairy tales, especially twisted ones.

A huge thank you goes out to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and Margaret K. McElderry Books for giving me an advance copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

xx Melissa