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An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.
Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.
So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.
And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.
Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.
Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.
After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.
For the Reading Challenge(s): TBD
The Reason
This book has been on my TBR for-freaking-ever! I finally read it! Woot!
The Quotes
“I didn’t find out who I wanted to be until I was almost 40. You have to try on a lot of shoes until you find some you like walking in. Never apologize for that.”
“Nothing lasts forever. Not the good things, not the bad. So just find what makes you happy, and do it for as long as you can.”
“Isn’t it strange how the world works sometimes? It’s never a matter of time, but a matter of timing.”
“Because the things that mattered most never really left. The love stays. The love always stays, and so do we.”
My Thoughts
I have heard so much praise for this book and had this book on my TBR for so long, but for some reason, never got around to reading it because I was so mired in buddy reads and deadlines. I finally started and got hooked immediately, and basically finished reading it in a single day because I just couldn’t put it down!
I love the idea the moment I heard it but I was worried about the execution because seven years is a long time and I hoped we wouldn’t get a whole middle part of the story where nothing was happening but ah, I of little faith was wrong and I apologize. The pacing of the story, the execution of it, the timing of it (hah, see what I did there!) was absolutely perfect. The chemistry between the two MCs, Clementine and Iwan, was *chef’s kiss* (hah, see what I did there again!). The backstories, the connection with their friends, all of it made the characters feel so real. I just absolutely loved this book!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians comes a tale of the American West, writ in blood.
This chilling historical novel is set in the nascent days of the state of Montana, following a Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab as he haunts the fields of the Blackfeet Nation looking for justice.
It begins when a diary written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall in 2012. What is unveiled is a slow massacre, a nearly forgotten chain of events that goes back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow, told in the transcribed interviews with Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar and unnaturally long life over a series of confessional visits.
This is an American Indian revenge story, captured in the vivid voices of the time, by one of the new masters of literary horror, Stephen Graham Jones.
This is my bookclub’s Book of the Month, and I wanted to read more diverse books and Indigenous authors.
The Quotes
“What I am is the Indian who can’t die. I’m the worst dream America ever had.”
“You put your reminders of pain on the wall and pray to them. We still hurt, so we don’t need that reminder.”
“My father used to tell me that I needed to pay attention to where I was instead of looking farther away than I could see, and I know he was right, but knowing and doing aren’t the same thing.”
The Narrator(s)
Shane Ghostkeeper. Marin Ireland. Owen Teale. The narrations and production was incredible, very well done.
My Thoughts
I really loved the story; I loved how Indigenous history and culture was presented here but also woven into the story’s vampire lore. It brings a whole new level to the “you are what you eat” thing and I am here for it, but it’s also such an interesting detail because of the theme throughout the story about how there is this whole “us vs. them” mentality, and how we dehumanize “the others” so that we can feel good about victimizing them.
There is a lot more to parse through with topics of morality, religion, heritage, and revenge, and the story itself is thrilling in and of itself and I found myself rushing through it in order to find out what happens next. The format of the story was also really meta; it’s a story within a story within a story within a story! Good Stab’s story as told by Arthur, Arthur’s story as told by Etsy, and Etsy’s story finally, and the story as a whole.
I feel like there is so much to this book and I’m very aware of the fact that I probably missed a lot of details, but I also feel like this is the kind of book that I will go back to again and get more out of it.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
I found Jamie’s End of Year Book Survey through Jana @ The Artsy Reader Girl two years ago and I’m doing it again this year, albeit really late! Please feel free to do this too if you haven’t already, and leave a comment with your link so I can check out your answers!
Number of books you read: 124 Number of re-reads: 24 out of 124! Number of books you DNFed: I didn’t keep track of them! Number of pages you read: 50,837 Most read genre: Fantasy at 63 books Number of new-to-you authors you discovered: 53
Firsts and Lasts
First book you read: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Last book you read: Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
Best In Books
1. Best book you read in 2025: The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman. Maybe I’m cheating because it’s a series, but they are just so good! If you want to see the top ten best books I read in 2025, I have a Top Ten Tuesday post featuring them!
2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn’t: The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan. I was so excited about a Malaysian author writing Malaysian historical fiction, and it could’ve been good except the characters weren’t believable at all. One character’s behaviors in particular was so implausible that I would’ve dnf’d if it was any other book.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read: Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum. This is one of those stories that you think you know because it’s well-known in pop culture, but it’s the first time for me reading the book and whole collection, and I’m so suprised by how much more there is to the stories! I never really cared for the story we know, but now I’m a fan of the books!
4. Book you “pushed” the most people to read (and they did): The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. This is one of my all-time favorite books by a Malaysian author writing Malaysian historical fantasy, and I managed to get my bookclub to read it! They all enjoyed it (at least they said they did! 😂) and we had a great discussion about it.
5. Best first book in a series you started in 2025. Best sequel of 2025. Best series ender of 2025. Started: I’m not counting Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman here because I read it in 2024 first. So The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal is the next best one! Sequel: The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal. Ender: I’m not counting Book 7 of Dungeon Crawler Carl because it’s not the end of the series, and I’m also not counting Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, because it’s not a series ender even though it was written last, so The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal is the next best one!
It just so happened I read the whole Lady Astronaut series in 2025, and the other series contenders didn’t qualify for one reason or other, but I had a good year of finishing series in general!
6. Favorite new-to-you author you discovered in 2025: Fredrik Backman and/or John Scalzi. Backman’s book that I read was just so heartwarming and beautiful, and Scalzi is so much fun. I’m going to enjoy so many more books by these authors!
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone: I actually read a variety of different genres but there was one subject matter I read in 2025 that I’m most ignorant about and that’s art, so The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. There were other nonfiction I loved more, but this was a topic I don’t typically read about.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year: The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman. No question. I can’t get enough of them, I still can’t. I love them all so much! I loved the first book and I thought the rest couldn’t keep getting better but they did! I am obsessed and I want more!
9. Book you read in 2025 that you are most likely to re-read in 2026? I don’t think there are any books I read in 2025 that I’d want to read again this year except the Dungeon Crawler Carl series if I need a refresher before reading the next book. Heck, I might reread them just for fun anyway!
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2025: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. It’s gorgeous!
11. Most memorable character of 2025: Oooh, this is tough! I have so many if we count the rereads because I reread so many favorites in 2025, but if we stick to only new reads, it’s definitely Cathy Ames from East of Eden. She kind of haunts me!
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2025: Stoner by John Williams. I don’t know what it is about it but it’s just so well-written. It reads so easy, flows so well, it’s just beautiful.
13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2025: It’s surprising to me too, but What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. I think it was the way he talked about his life; the writing, the running, the audacity of assuming success – which I found both so arrogant but also admirable. It made me wonder how I would live my life differently if I assumed success for everything I do, and it made me want to live that way, so we’ll see how that changes my life!
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2025 to finally read: Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum. I cannot believe I have never read any of the Oz books until 2025! They are so good and I think I would’ve loved them as a child.
15. Favorite quote from a book you read in 2025: I have so many! But these are some of the ones I’m trying to take to heart;
“Nobody can take care of you the way you need to take care of yourself. It’s your job to take care of yourself like that.” – The Wedding People by Alison Espach
“Don’t cheat your friendships. Don’t ask them to mean less to you than they do, or think they only have value if they’re a stop on the way to a *real* relationship. All relationships are real. Friendship can be as deep as the ocean. It’s all a kind of love, and love isn’t any one kind of thing.” – Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
“I’m the kind of person who likes to be by himself. To put a finer point on it, I’m the type of person who doesn’t find it painful to be alone. I find spending an hour or two every day running alone, not speaking to anyone, as well as four or five hours alone at my desk, to be neither difficult nor boring. I’ve had this tendency ever since I was young, when, given a choice, I much preferred reading books on my own or concentrating on listening to music over being with someone else. I could always think of things to do by myself.” – What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
16. Shortest and longest books you read in 2024: Shortest: The Main Dish by Michael Ruhlman (1hour 11mins) Longest: Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum (1796 pages)
17. Book that shocked you the most: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. Perhaps I should say that it shocked me with how blatant the killings were when I read it early in the year, but we are now in January 2026 and have had some shockingly blatant killings happen already and I’m just numb at this point.
18. OTP, One True Pairing, of the year (you will go down with this ship!): Emily Wilde and Wendell from the Emily Wilde books!
19. Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year: I answered Carl and Donut from Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman last year, and I’m going to answer them again this year. It counts because I read the majority of the series this year and reread the first two books too. What I said in 2024 and still think for 2025: “I love their dynamic, I love their chemistry, I love the way they work together, I love how hilarious they are! I love them!”
20. Favorite book you read in 2025 from an author you’ve read previously: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. This was an incredible book and one that sticks with me.
21. Best book you read in 2025 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else: Stoner by John Williams. This was recommended by a bookclub member. I resisted reading it for so long until I finally read it and was surprised by how well-written it was.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2025: Nicole from The Relentless Moon, book 3 of the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal. Nicole appears in the other books but is not the protagonist of the series except for in book 3, but she really shines in book 3 and I fell in love with her.
23. Best 2025 debut you read: I don’t think I read a single debut in 2025!
24. Most vivid setting you read this year: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I mean, it was such a great book, but so vivid and brutal.
25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read: The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman was definitely the most fun, but in the interest of giving other books a fair chance, The Dispatcher series by John Scalzi was really fun too!
26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2024: I am a crybaby and an emotional reader. Everything makes me cry so I’m sure there are a lot more than these but these are just the ones I remember most; A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, The Relentless Moon, book 3 of the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal, and seriously, almost all the books in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.
27. Hidden gem of the year: This is a reread but I have to plug it because it’s just so good and not well-known enough. I need more people to know about it; The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo.
28. Most unique book you read in 2025: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck. It has the most unique premise, I’d say. The MCs are newlyweds, but the husband had just been diagnosed with a condition that will slowly transform him into a shark. It sounds funny, but it’s a serious book and quite heartbreaking.
29. Book that made you the maddest (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it): Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, for obvious reasons that I’ve already mentioned.
My Blogging/Bookish Life
I am forgoing this part of the Survey because I feel like I haven’t been very present with my blogging life at all and don’t have answers for them. Hopefully next year will be better.
Looking Ahead in 2026
1. Book you are most anticipating in 2026 (non-debut): Some of the books I’m anticipating for 2026 made it to my Top Ten Tuesday post, but Book 8 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series didn’t make it to the list because the cover image wasn’t out yet at the time. It’s out now (just the cover image!) and the book’s expected release date is May 12, 2026, so I am just giddy with excitement!
2. 2026 debut you are most anticipating: If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle, releasing June 18, 2026. I am so excited for this because I love bookish books and I love the whole idea for this book – a reader wishes for her favorite romance author to write her life into a book, and gets her wish, except the author is writing a thriller this time, and the MC has to live it!
3. Sequel you are most anticipating in 2026: I answered All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan, the sequel to Long Live Evil last year, but it didn’t come out last year unfortunately. But it’s expected to be released May 12, 2026, now, and I’m still very excited for it!
4. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2026? I am really hoping to get my reading life more manageable; read more intentionally, write my reviews more promptly, be more present on the blog, make more connections with other bloggers, maybe write a few discussion posts, maybe write a couple of posts about my other hobbies outside of reading. Fingers crossed!
What are your answers to these questions? If you do this survey, let me know so I can visit your post and check out your answers. You can also leave your answers in the comments!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025
I will be focusing on new-to-me authors for today’s topic. There were a lot more than ten new-to-me authors in 2025, but I didn’t like all of them, and some only had the one book written. For my list today, I listed the authors whose books I enjoyed, who have written more than one book, and whose works I intend to read more of. Have you read any of these books/authors?
Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2025
David Grann – I really enjoyed Killers of the Flower Moon, and I was stoked to find out that he also wrote The Lost City of Z and The Wager, books I definitely want to read!
Ariel Lawhon – I was surprised by how much I loved The Frozen River and I see that she has several other historical fiction books published as well, many of which look interesting to me.
Dan Simmons – I’d heard a lot about the Hyperion Cantos series, and had no idea when I was reading The Terror that they were written by the same author. I hope to read the Hyperion series soon!
Victor Hugo – Les Misérables was an excruciatingly long read, but I enjoyed it and I still intend to read The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
M.L. Wang – The Sword of Kaigen has been on my tbr for a while, but I ended up reading Blood Over Bright Haven first. I loved it and it’s made me even more curious to read the former!
Fredrik Backman – A Man Called Ove was one of my favorite reads in 2025, and there are so many books by Backman I want to read!
Haruki Murakami – I read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running without realizing who the author was, and I loved it. I’ve never really been curious about Murakami’s books before but I feel like I should read a couple now.
Jenny Lawson – Let’s Pretend This Never Happened was a book club BOTM. I fell in love with her weird humor and really want to read her other books now!
Kate Racculia – Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts was another book that really surprised me by how much I enjoyed it, and I love the sound of her two other books as well. I hope she writes more!
John Scalzi – I’ve heard so much about John Scalzi and his books but only read them because a couple were on Audible Plus. I loved how fun and creative they are and I intend to read many more!
Have you read any of these authors? What did you think of them? Would you read any of their books?
Bel’s joined the tiny Manchester office of a national paper from her indie podcast.
Thirty-something Connor is going to back to the start as the new intern.
The latest office news? They can’t stand each other.
So of course Bel bumps into Connor when she’s working undercover on the biggest scoop of her career. And of course she’s forced to improvise, pretending they’re a couple. A couple deeply in love.
Two rivals. One fake romance. The headline writes itself…
I have loved many of the author’s other works and would read anything by her.
The Narrator(s)
Kristin Atherton. I really like her narration! Her male voices were a little funny, but not funny enough to be an issue. It was quite a pleasure.
My Thoughts
I loved this book and it reminds me why I love McFarlane’s works so much! Her books are always thoughtful, sensitive to real life issues, and yet still feeds the romantic need in my soul. I love the chemistry between Bel and Connor, and I love how their relationship builds as we move forward in the story and they continue working together. I also love the premise of the story itself; the undercover story that they work on together, the other issues that they face individually and as a team, their personal backstories, and their professional lives at stake. McFarlane’s books always hit, and I am very strongly tempted to binge read and reread all of McFarlane’s books right now.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.
But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.
Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.
Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.
But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.
This book caught my attention last year but I didn’t get around to reading it. I saw that the author has a new book coming out this year, so I thought I should probably read this one first.
The Quotes
“I hope you never have to watch the one person you love most in the world, the person who loves you just as fiercely in return, lose that love, day by day, bit by bit, a steady draining away until there’s nothing left. Until they’re just a person who sleeps inches from you at night, and eats meals across a table from you, and reads books at your side, even smiles at you or laughs with you, but whose heart has shut you out forever.”
“There should be some kind of warning when your life is about to change forever.”
“The truth isn’t some finite thing, it’s what we all choose to believe.”
“I had just turned forty, an interesting point in a woman’s life, the age at which she finally begins to feel like she might have finally become the person she was meant to be.”
The Narrator(s)
Dan Bittner. Eliza Foss. John Pirhalla. Patti Murin. They all did a very good job. The storytelling felt seamless and very natural. I loved it.
My Thoughts
The story itself was pretty good, but I think what I loved most about it was the storytelling style. I love the way things were revealed, the way the twists were doled out, the way we are able to guess at some things and be surprised at others. The funny thing is I’m usually a character-driven reader, but I don’t think I like any of the characters in the story very much at all. However, I did find them all very interesting, and I love hating some of them. I was very much invested in each of their individual stories as well as their interlocking stories, and even though I found Cam boring and Jules suspicious, I was still rooting for them somehow. I enjoyed this story very much and I’m definitely looking forward to other books by the author.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.
In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.
In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.
This has been on my TBR for a while and I’ve heard a lot of praise for it as well. It was also voted in for my online bookclub’s January BOTM so I finally took the plunge!
The Quotes
“Nothing is so privileged as thinking history belongs to the past.”
“It reminded me, that when we know about suffering, when we are proximal to it, we are capable of extraordinary generosity. We can do and be so much for each other. But only when we see one another in our full humanity. Not as statistics or problems, but as people who deserve to be alive in the world.”
“Framing illness as even involving morality seems to me a mistake, because of course cancer does not give a shit whether you are a good person. Biology has no moral compass. It does not punish the evil and reward the good. It doesn’t even know about evil and good.”
“The idea of becoming sick in order to look healthy or beautiful speaks to how profoundly consumptive beauty ideals still shape the world we share.”
The Narrator(s)
John Green. It was a wonderful narration; clear and expressive.
My Thoughts
It’s the Book of the Month for my online bookclub and we had some interesting discussions about the book. Some of which revolved around the whole idea that Green writes in his introduction; “the cure is where the disease is not, and the disease is where the cure is not”.
We lament our ignorance on the topic but we acknowledge our privilege in that we’re ignorant because we don’t need to know about it, because it doesn’t affect us as much, and when it does, we have the cure. We discuss the racism, classism, sexism, and other -isms, that lead to some of us having easy access to the cure and others dying from it. It’s a disgrace to see corporations like J&J profiting off the suffering of others and often directly causing death by witholding cures and treatments.
It is also difficult to read it and realize that this isn’t history; this is still happening right now. We are not living in better times, far from it. This book has given me so much to think about. I’m glad I read it.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Bookish Goals for 2026
I have to admit that I wasn’t the most intentional reader in 2025. I read a lot of amazing books, happily, but I feel like I was very checked out and going on automatic for most of the year. I joined too many buddy reads, went along with what other people wanted to read most of the time, rushed through reading deadlines, and was not intentional at all with my reading life.
The pro is that I did discover a lot of really good books from other readers, but the con is that I felt rushed and constantly chasing deadlines, and ended up putting a lot of my own TBRs and reading goals aside. I feel like I need to find the right balance so that I can enjoy the best of both worlds, so I’m going back to some of my basic goals this year.
Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2026
Read more non-fiction – This is a repeat of my bookish goals from a couple of years ago because I didn’t do well with this last year. I do often read and enjoy non-fiction, but I’ve had some specific titles on my TBR for ages that I haven’t gotten to because they require me to pay more attention and I haven’t been very focused lately.
Read more physical books – In the last couple of years, I’ve been reading a lot more books on digital and audio format, which is completely fine and valid, and very helpful for when I have to do chores but still want to read! But I miss physical books sometimes, being able to flip through them especially with fantasy books that have maps and character lists and so on. I’ve also neglected a lot of the physical books I already have on my shelves, so this is part of my next goal as well.
Prioritize the older books from my TBR – I get very easily distracted by all the shiny new books that everyone else recommends, but I have a few books featured on my TBR lists since I started my blog that I still haven’t read yet and it’s getting embarrassing! I’m not going to pretend that I won’t get distracted by new books, but I want to at least try to read some books that have been on my TBR the longest.
Finish series I start – If I start a series that I like and there are multiple books out already, I’d like to read them all back to back if possible so that I don’t forget and have to reread again. Obviously, I still have unfinished series from before that I’m going to try prioritize the ones that already have all their books out.
DNF books more decisively – In relation to the above, I also need to make a decision after reading the first book in the series if it’s good enough for me to continue reading the rest of them. I have such a backlog because I can’t decide. I also need to be able to DNF standalone books sooner.
Keep a book journal – Not an aesthetic book journal, I tried that before and couldn’t keep up. I bought a cheap daily planner that I’m not planning on decorating at all, and I plan to write very messy, spoiler-y notes about the books I read as I’m reading them.
Stay on top of my book reviews – The reviews themselves don’t take a lot of time individually, but I tend to accumulate a whole bunch of them because I procrastinate about writing them, and then they add up and get overwhelming and I procrastinate some more. I feel like if I just write them as I finish each book, it would be much easier!
Be more present with my book blog – For most of 2025, I’ve felt disconnected with my blogging and like I’m constantly rushing and catching up with everything. I really want to change that and go back to feeling the fun and enjoyment I had when I first started blogging. This relates with other non-bookish goals and how I want to reorganize other parts of my life so that I have more time and energy for things I love.
Participate more in the book community – There have been so many bloghops, booktags, other fun stuff I’ve been wanting to participate in, people whose blogs I love reading and connecting with, and I’m hoping that I can do more of them this year!
Reactivate my bookstagram account – This is not a priority and I don’t intend to do this immediately. I feel like I’m already not keeping up well enough with my blog so I definitely don’t need a bookstagram account to keep up with too. I’m only doing this if I feel like I can manage both, and my goal is to possibly get there before the end of the year.
I’m very hopeful for a more active presence on the blog in 2026! What are your bookish goals this year?
The Catenan Republic-the Hierarchy-may rule the world, but they do not know everything.
I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned three years ago, and that only good fortune has got me into their most prestigious school. I tell them that, when I graduate, I will allow my strength and drive-what they call Will-to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as everyone must do.
I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.
But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.
And that I will never cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.
To survive, though, I will have to rise through the Academy’s ranks, and win. Because if I cannot, those who know my real name will no longer have any use for me.
And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.
A friend talked about these books recently and I got curious!
The Quotes
“Silence is a statement, Diago. Inaction picks a side. And when those lead to personal benefit, they are complicity.”
“There comes a point in every man’s life where he can rail against the unfairness of the world until he loses, or he can do his best in it. Remain a victim, or become a survivor.”
“They know the system is wrong, but they choose not to think or speak up or act because they ultimately hope that in their silence, they will gain. Or at the very least not have to give more than they have already given.”
“They ask something small of you. A thing you would prefer not to do, but is not so terrible. You think you are working your way up, but in fact they are changing you. Moulding you into what they think you should be, one compromise at a time.”
The Narrator(s)
Euan Morton. He did an amazing job for both books! I loved the narration and the different voices for each character. It was very immersive.
My Thoughts
Book 1 – The Will of the Many It reminded me a lot of Red Rising to an extent. Vis was a little bit of a Gary Stu character, to be honest, but it’s also somewhat understandable because of his background and I’ll accept it and hold my suspension of belief. I love the worldbuilding and the concept of the hierarchy magical system. I also love the bromance between Vis and Eidhin. Those were my favorite parts. I find it difficult to trust anyone else in the book for Vis at this point, but I’d trust Eidhin with my life. I do feel like the story was trying to do too much; there were too many things happening and not enough follow-through, but hopefully these are things that will be addressed in future books. Overall, I’m loving the story and characters.
Book 2 – The Strength of the Few This book was a little confusing to listen on audio because now there are several different worlds to follow, and I found it difficult to keep track of them. It got better later into the book once I got a clearer idea of who, what, and where, we were reading about. There were a lot of exciting moments, the chariot scene was so thrilling, but again, I’ll state that we are in danger of Vis becoming too much of a Gary Stu. I also didn’t like the hypocrisy of his actions no matter his justification. Everyone has their justification on why it’s okay for them to do the things, and it doesn’t make it right, much less for Vis. As with the first book, a lot happens and it’s a bit overwhelming. I don’t know where this story is going and how many more books there’s going to be, but a lot of the plot seems overcomplicated at this point. I still really loved the story and I’m still curious about how the story’s going to go, but I may or may not finish the series depending on what comes next.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.
What Tom doesn’t tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world. They’re the universe’s largest and most dangerous panda and they’re in trouble.
It’s not just the Kaiju Preservation Society that’s found its way to the alternate world. Others have, too–and their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.
For the Reading Challenge(s): TBD
The Reason
I’ve been loving John Scalzi’s works and impulsively bought a couple of his books on audio.
The Quotes
“It was stupidly perfect how all my problems were suddenly solved with the strategic application of money.”
“There is a certain type of person who feels like they must be armed at every moment of the day or else the world will come for them in some way. Back home, this is very much not a good way to live.”
“I mean, I don’t know that I was actually planning to possibly die tonight in order to protect a kaiju,” Kahurangi said. “But I might be willing to possibly die to save a kaiju and ten thousand Canadians.”
The Narrator(s)
Wil Wheaton. I did not like his narration at all, to the point that I wanted to DNF and/or finish the book on a print copy. I only hate-listened to the audiobook because I bought the it on a promo and I couldn’t even return it. I didn’t like his inflections and it was incredibly difficult to differentiate the characters so a lot of the time I don’t even know who said what. It also felt like he was reading the book to children with exaggerated voices and expressions, it’s not how natural conversation sounds like. I like Wheaton as an actor and have listened to some of his narration before without much issue, but his work with this book for some reason is horrendous.
My Thoughts
I don’t know if I can give a fair review for this book seeing as how my experience of listening to it on audiobook was so bad. However, I have read a couple of Scalzi’s other works and loved them, and I think I got the gist of this book too and loved parts of it that I got. I will probably reread this book on a print copy some time soon.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
