My favorite season has arrived and while it's still quite hot where I live, it's not the unbearable boiling heat and humidity of summer either. The mornings are cool, and the days are pleasantly hot. If I sit in front of my Vornado floor fan, I might get cold enough to want to drink hot chocolate.
When fall comes and I'm looking for something to read, I'm attracted by any book cover that's orange or contains the words 'pumpkin', 'autumn', or 'harvest.'
As a result, some of my recent reads include:
"Death by Pumpkin Spice" by Alex Erickson (wasn't a huge fan, but it was fun)
"A Pumpkin Spice Killing" by Lynn Cahoon (had nothing to do with pumpkin spice being a murder weapon in any way, but it was a cute, short book)
"Pumpkin Everything" by Beth Labonte (A sweet and fun romance)
And my current read is "Maple Leaf Harvest" by Catherine Anderson. I just started it today, so I'm not too far into it yet.
I also love that most all of these books take place in small towns where trees turn vibrant colors in the autumn air. Perhaps I love these settings because my own personal setting is a huge city in the sweltering south where trees don't really change colors. They go from summer green to leaves falling off the trees sometime in the winter.
My own books take place in a small (fictional) town called Pineridge, located in Vermont. I lived in Vermont for one beautiful year and the pictures of Vermont in the fall can't begin to capture the true beauty of the state. I miss the fall festivals with maple cotton candy and other maple treat delights. I miss the need for sweaters and going to the apple orchards to collect apples by the bushel, after having an apple cider donut with hot chocolate.
One day I will return to the most beautiful state I've ever lived. Until then, I will read my pumpkin mysteries and autumn romances while sipping pumpkin-flavored hot chocolate.