Book Review | Replay by Ken Grimwood

Posted April 1, 2026 by Haze in Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Replay by Ken Grimwood

Jeff Winston was 43 and trapped in a tepid marriage and a dead-end job, waiting for that time when he could be truly happy, when he died.

And when he woke and he was 18 again, with all his memories of the next 25 years intact. He could live his life again, avoiding the mistakes, making money from his knowledge of the future, seeking happiness.

Until he dies at 43 and wakes up back in college again…

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #11: Requires suspension of disbelief)

The Reason

It was my bookclub’s BOTM for March.

The Quotes

“Only the products of your work will disappear. The struggle, the devotion you put into your endeavors … That’s where the value truly lies, and will remain: within you.”

“Each lifetime had been different, as each choice is always different, unpredictable in its outcome or effect. Yet those choices had to be made, Jeff thought. He’d learned to accept the potential losses, in the hope that they would be outweighed by the gains. The only certain failure, he knew, and the most grievous, would be never to risk at all.”

“All life includes loss. It’s taken me many, many years to learn to deal with that, and I don’t expect I’ll ever be fully resigned to it. But that doesn’t mean we have to turn away from the world, or stop striving for the best that we can do and be. We owe that much to ourselves, at least, and we deserve whatever measure of good may come of it.”

The Narrator(s)

William Dufris. It was okay, no complaints.

My Thoughts

I tried reading this book some years ago and DNF’d at about 20% in, and I probably wouldn’t have picked it up again if it wasn’t because my bookclub chose this for our March BOTM. I decided to try again, and I’m so glad I did because it got more and more interesting the deeper I got into it. It got me thinking a lot, and asking a lot of questions about how I would live my own life/lives if I had to live it over and over again. I would definitely memorize all the lottery numbers, that’s a given! But once money is taken care of, what would I do of importance?

It’s so interesting to see how the author navigates this thought experiment with Jeff and Pamela and the choices they make each time they relive their lives. I don’t feel like we get any real answers in the end, but I think that’s sort of the point, we never really ever get a real answer to the meaning of life. This book made me think, but it also made me feel deeply. I imagine that even though they were able to relive their lives, there must be some grief for everything they lose each time they do. I’m glad I tried again because this was a great book and I think it will be one I’ll likely reread.

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?

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Book Review | Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection

Posted April 1, 2026 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Stephen Fry

Ever since he made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled and delighted millions of fans throughout the world. Now Audible is proud to present Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection, read by Stephen Fry. A lifelong fan of Doyle’s detective fiction, Fry has narrated the complete works of Sherlock Holmes – four novels and five collections of short stories. And, exclusively for Audible, Stephen has written and narrated nine insightful, intimate and deeply personal introductions to each title.

He writes: “Popular fiction offers different kinds of superheroes to save the world by restoring order to the chaos, confusion and criminality of our times. Heroes with remarkable gifts are as in vogue now as they have been since they first appeared, perhaps even more in vogue. But although the very first one was launched in serial published form just like his masked and body-suited successors, it was not in DC or Marvel comic books that he made his appearance; rather it was in the sedate and respectable pages of Mrs Beeton’s Christmas Annual in the mid-Victorian year 1887.”

Stephen Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, comedian, television presenter, film director and all round national treasure. He is the acclaimed narrator of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter audiobooks and most recently recorded The Tales of Max Carrados for Audible Studios. Stephen has contributed columns and articles to newspapers and magazines, appears frequently on radio and has written four novels and three volumes of autobiography.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
I am assigning multiple prompts to this book because it’s technically nine books in one, and it’s my challenge to play with anyway!
2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 
(Prompt #12: A genre-defining read)
(Prompt #21: Written in the 1800s)
(Prompt #22: Spotted in a TV series or movie)

The Reason

Because I wanted to!

The Quotes

“You have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.”

“I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation.”

“I confess that I have been as blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all.”

“To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one’s self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers.”

The Narrator(s)

Stephen Fry. It was the most wonderful experience listening to this man narrate Sherlock Holmes!

My Thoughts

I love Sherlock Holmes and have consumed so much media featuring him over the years. There have been so many different film adaptations, retellings, both on screen and in books, and I have loved so many of them. Imagine my chagrin when I realized that I have never read any of the original Sherlock Holmes stories, until now that is.

This audiobook was on sale in Audible and I decided to get it on a whim. It’s a 72-hour commitment so it sat on my shelf for a while but I finally got started on it, and oh, what a journey! I took my time, but I listened a little every day, and how I loved coming back to it each time. Sherlock Holmes and Watson are such familiar characters, and it was so comforting to relax at the end of the day and come back to them.

Stephen Fry as the narrator was incredible as well, and I cannot recommend this audiobook enough. Reading all of the books can feel daunting if you want to do the complete collection at once, but listening to Stephen Fry narrate all of them is the best experience I could’ve asked for. I was honestly so sad when I got to the end and was seriously considering restarting from the beginning immediately after. I’m quite sure I would’ve done so, if I didn’t have other time-sensitive books I had to get to!

In any case, I loved everything about this experience. I loved Sherlock Holmes and Watson, I loved the stories and cases they got into, I loved Stephen Fry’s narration, I loved the immersion into the times and the mysteries, I loved that it was such a long audiobook that I could escape into… I loved it all!

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?

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Book Review | The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD

Posted April 1, 2026 by Haze in Book Reviews / 3 Comments

The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD

Combining cutting-edge neuroscience with the latest discoveries on the human microbiome, a practical guide in the tradition of Wheat Belly and Grain Brain that conclusively demonstrates the inextricable, biological link between mind and body.

We have all experienced the connection between our mind and our gut—the decision we made because it “felt right;” the butterflies in our stomach before a big meeting; the anxious stomach rumbling when we’re stressed out. While the dialogue between the gut and the brain has been recognized by ancient healing traditions, including Aryuvedic and Chinese medicine, Western medicine has failed to appreciate the complexity of how the brain, gut, and more recently, the microbiome—the microorganisms that live inside us—communicate with one another. In The Mind-Gut Connection, Dr. Emeran Mayer, Executive Director of the UCLA Center for Neurobiology of Stress, offers a revolutionary look at this developing science, teaching us how to harness the power of the mind-gut connection to take charge of our health.

The Mind-Gut Connection shows how to keep the brain-gut communication clear and balanced to:

• Heal the gut by focusing on a plant-based diet
• Balance the microbiome by consuming fermented foods and probiotics, fasting, and cutting out sugar and processed foods
• Promote weight loss by detoxifying and creating a healthy digestion and maximum nutrient absorption
• Boost immunity and prevent the onset of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
• Generate a happier mindset and reduce fatigue, moodiness, anxiety, and depression
• Prevent and heal GI disorders such as leaky gut syndrome; food sensitivities and allergies; and IBS; as well as digestive discomfort such as heartburn and bloating
• And much more.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #15: Subtitle with a comma)

The Reason

I want to read more nonfiction and I got curious about the gut and gut-health.

The Quotes

“The immune cells residing in your gut make up the largest component of your body’s immune system; in other words, there are more immune cells living in the wall of your gut than circulating in the blood or residing in your bone marrow.”

“The gut is also the largest storage facility for serotonin in our body. Ninety-five percent of the body’s serotonin is stored in these warehouses.”

“Your gut microbes are in a prime position to influence your emotions, by generating and modulating signals the gut sends back to the brain.”

“Adults often think that self-confidence is something a child learns, but little kids are by their nature always invincible, it’s self-doubt that needs to be taught.”

My Thoughts

This book was incredibly informative and I learned a lot, but I did feel it was a little dry. Some of the most recent nonfiction books I’ve read have been written by very entertaining and accomplished writers, so I might be a little unfair in my judgement. This book is well-written and very interesting, jam-packed with a lot of details about the gut microbiome, its history, research, and effects on our health.

I was most fascinated with the chapter about gut feelings, and how our microbiome really does affect our intuition because it acts as our second brain and sends signals to our brain when it recognizes a feeling it has had before. I am obviously not explaining it very well, but I do recommend reading this book yourself for this chapter and to understand your body and how it works, especially since we’ve got more bacteria in our gut than we have cells in our body.

Personally, I’ll admit that while I enjoyed reading this book in the moment, I didn’t end up retaining much of the details, as is normal for me as a reader. However, it’s piqued my interest enough that I know I’d like to read more about the gut as well as do more to ensure my own gut health. I’m also intending to reread this book at some point, after I read some others that are more accessible and entertaining to the layperson. I’m hoping I’ll retain more by then and come back to this book with a better understanding.

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?

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Book Review | My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Posted April 1, 2026 by Haze in Book Reviews / 5 Comments

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #23: Grumpy sunshine trope)

The Reason

I loved A Man Called Ove and I’m planning to read more of the author’s works.

The Quotes

“The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else’s belief in them.”

“Art is what can’t fit inside a person. The things that bubble over.”

“It is an act of violence when an adult yells at a child, all adults know that deep down, because all adults were once little. Yet we still do it. Time after time, we fail at being human beings.”

“Adults often think that self-confidence is something a child learns, but little kids are by their nature always invincible, it’s self-doubt that needs to be taught.”

The Narrator(s)

Marin Ireland. No complaints, it was a good listening experience.

My Thoughts

I enjoyed this book but not as much as I hoped I would. I had some high expectations going in because I loved A Man Called Ove so much, and I had heard some people say that this one was better. It’s really good, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t necessarily think it’s better and to be fair, I don’t think we can compare the two books. They’re completely different from each other, but they are both wonderfully written and showcase humans in some of their most vulnerable times struggling to trust other people and allow themselves to be loved.

Perhaps that’s what I love about this book and Backman as a writer; he writes about difficult things, but in a very relatable way. His stories are light-hearted yet deep, bittersweet yet funny, and sometimes that’s just exactly how life is. His characters can be annoying at times but also endearing. They make mistakes but they care about each other, and more importantly, they can count on each other. It was a good read and I look forward to reading more of his works.

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?

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Monthly Wrap Up | March 2026

Posted April 1, 2026 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 12 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

March 2026 Wrap Up

March was a whirlwind! I was kept busy for most of the month with regular stuff and some spring cleaning. And we also had some friends come to visit during spring break with their family. We spent full days with them doing activities we don’t normally do anymore and we were exhausted but so happy to see them and spend time with them. These are people we love, so even though it was tiring, we would’ve love for them to stay even longer. It also made us realize that we’re too young to feel so old, and they’ve given us the inspiration to get more active. New fitness goals coming up for the new month and beyond!

My March 2026 TBR Intentions

As for books, I only ended up reading two out of four books in my March TBR and a total of five books for the whole month, but one of them is the Sherlock Holmes collection, and as I mentioned in last month’s wrap up post, it is massive at 72 hours or 1796 pages and is technically made up of an equivalent of nine books? So it’s not too bad I guess.

  1. Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle
  2. The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan
  3. The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD
  4. This Is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas

Books Read in March 2026

  1. We Met Like This by Kasie West
  2. My Friends by Fredrik Backman
  3. The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD
  4. Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle
  5. Replay by Ken Grimwood

Notable Book(s) This Month

Well, obviously most of my time was spent on Sherlock Holmes! I listened to the definitive collection on audio narrated by Stephen Fry, and it was the most wonderful experience. I was always looking forward to getting back to it and was so sad when it was over. I had such a strong urge to restart the book from the beginning once I got to the end. It just feels like such a comforting book, and Stephen Fry is just the best narrator, I really felt completely lost in the Holmes’ world and I loved it!

The other books were good too, I didn’t have a bad read this month, but Sherlock Holmes was obviously the standout.

April 2026 TBR Intentions

I’ve already started rereading Foundryside, the first book in The Founders Trilogy, and my aim is to finally finish the series. I’m actually anticipating another busy month so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to read as much as I want to and I don’t want to disappoint myself but I’m hoping to get to as many of the books on my Spring TBR as possible.

  1. Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
  2. Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett
  3. Locklands by Robert Jackson Bennett

How was your month in March? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful April with lots of great books!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books with Found Family

Posted March 30, 2026 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 20 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 Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book 

I am a sucker for “found family” tropes. If a book has a found family element, I’m probably going to read it, and I’m probably going to cry. If you’re thinking it’s because I have some deep-seated family trauma, you’d be right, but it really doesn’t take a psychologist to tell me that’s why I crave stories about happy found families. Even so, if anyone is looking to adopt an adult woman in her 40s, I’m available. Just saying.😂😭😂

Top Ten Books with Found Family

  1. Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers – All the books in the Wayfarer series are amazing! They’re all different stories featuring different characters, but the connections these characters make with each other are so heartwarming, especially considering how they are all different species and come from different cultures. The whole series is just such a gorgeous look into how well different people can get along if we come into our relationships with the intent to understand each other.
  2. Fred, the Vampire Accountant series by Drew Hayes – This series gets better as we get deeper. We meet so many different characters, and we get more and more attached to each one of them as we go. Fred is our unlikely hero, and he’s the one who connects everyone and creates those bonds. It’s wonderful to see.
  3. Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman – Carl and Donut are the best found family duo, but there are so many other characters we meet in this series that become a part of their family as well, and I love every single one of them. You start out not taking this series seriously, but it gets really deep and emotional the more you get into it, while still keeping a sense of humor. There are parts where I literally laugh at one paragraph, and cry at the very next. The next book in the series is coming out soon and I’m planning to reread it all over again.
  4. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – I love that the MC was such a grouchy but relatable character. I love how the story progressed, and how all his neighbors loved and cared for him despite his best efforts to discourage them. I watched the movie adaptation with Tom Hanks and ugly cried, and then I read the book and ugly cried all over again even though I already knew the story.
  5. Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery – This series probably ignited my love for found family stories. It’s one of my favorite childhood stories, and I still love it today. I love that Anne found love with Matthew and Marilla, and they found love with her. And Anne just kept creating found families all over the place with every next book. This series is pure magic.
  6. Fairy Tale by Stephen King – Stephen King has a surprisingly strong theme of found family in a lot of his stories; The Body, It, The Institute, Joyland, Mr. Mercedes, Dolores Claiborne… just to name a few of the recent ones I remember. I chose to feature Fairy Tale today just because of the dog. I would die for Radar.
  7. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune – I was resistant to reading this book at first because of the hype at the time, but I’m so glad I did because I loved it. I loved how adorable all the kids were, how distinct each of their personalities, and I also loved the adults and the way they were not too old to learn new things. The magic, the whimsy, the love for each other, my heart melts all over again thinking about it.
  8. Rook and Rose series by M.A. Carrick – This series has higher stakes compared to some of the other ones on this list, but the found family story is just as sweet and heartwarming. There’s so much richness to the world-building and magic system, and so much thought and nuance to the characters and their motivations. I love how the found family find each other here, the way they learn to love and trust each other, everything that they go through together… It’s one of my favorite stories.
  9. The Wild Robot series by Peter Brown – I didn’t know this was a book when I first watched the animation, but I loved it already even then. Then I saw that it’s not just one book but a series. I read them all, and I love that even a robot could have a found family, that they would love so much and be loved so much. Oh no, I’m tearing up just thinking about it!
  10. The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells – Well, here’s another robot with found family. Murderbot is a little more stoic than the Wild Robot, but no less lovable, kind, and caring, even if it doesn’t realize that about itself. It warms my heart because if Murderbot has family who loves it, there must be hope for me, right?!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books on My Spring 2026 TBR

Posted March 23, 2026 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 42 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 Books on My Spring 2026 to-Read List 

Some of these books have been on my TBR for years! I’ve featured a couple of them on several TBR lists over the last few years and it’s just embarrassing at this point, but I feel like I’m going to keep featuring them and purposely embarrass myself until I read them, as a motivation for me to finally read them! Hopefully it works? 😅

Top Ten Books on My Spring 2026 TBR

  1. The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich – I’ve become a fan of the author ever since I read The Sentence and I’ve been wanting to read more of her books. This one has been on my TBR since it came out in 2024 but I haven’t gotten around to it for some reason. I’ve borrowed it multiple times from the library but kept returning it unread. I ended up purchasing the audiobook so I could listen at my convenience but I haven’t started it yet. Hopefully sometime soon!
  2. In The Woods by Tana French – I came across it while researching Irish authors for last week’s Top Ten Tuesday and I’m very excited about it because it really sounds like the kind of book I’d love, and if so, there are a whole bunch of other books by the author I’d probably read too!
  3. Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett – This would be a reread, but I didn’t finish the series the first time I read it, and my intention is to reread to finish the whole series.
  4. Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood – This would aso be a reread. I read this book years ago and loved it, but it’s been a while and I think I’ll get a lot more out of it this time around.
  5. Educated by Tara Westover – This book was overhyped at one point which made me hesitant to read it, but it’s been a while and people are still consistently talking about how good it is. So I’ll give it a try.
  6. Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell – This is relatively new on my TBR but it sounds so good and I love a good monster romance!
  7. The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan – I have loved all of the author’s books and I have featured him and his books many times on my blog. I’ve also featured this book on many of my TBR lists but just haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. This is the one book I hope I will have read by the time the next TBR list feature comes around!
  8. Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane – I don’t understand the holdup for me reading this book either. It’s been on my TBR a long time and I just need to get to it.
  9. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett – This would be another reread. I loved this book when I read it so many years ago and I’ve just been craving the vibes. I’ve also been meaning to read other books from the author, but somehow just never did.
  10. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth – I recently read a couple of the author’s books last month and really enjoyed them. Hopefully I can get to this one soon too.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Top Ten Tuesday | Irish Authors

Posted March 16, 2026 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 38 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 Green Book Covers (In honor of St. Patrick’s Day today!)  

I wasn’t feeling the green book covers so I decided to feature Irish authors instead in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t pay enough attention to where authors usually come from, or even story settings – something I’d like to remedy – so I was surprised to learn about some of these authors’ roots. The first five books are ones I’ve already read, and the next five are books on my TBR I haven’t read yet. Looking forward to see what everyone else has on their list today! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Top Ten Books by Irish Authors

  1. Normal People by Sally Rooney – I enjoyed this book but didn’t love it. I feel like the author is a “journey, not destination” type of storyteller, which I appreciate sometimes, but maybe I needed a little more with this book. I can recognize the author’s mastery while also acknowledging that I may not be the best audience for her work.
  2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – This is one of my favorite classics. I have read it several times and I always love how creepy and chilling it is. I also really liked the 2009 film adaptation.
  3. P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern – I read this book a long time ago and don’t remember much but I’m pretty sure I ugly cried.
  4. Room by Emma Donoghue – I know I ugly cried with this one. I read it for a book club years ago, and I remember thinking about the book and the discussions we got out of it for a long time after that.
  5. Dracula by Bram Stoker – I only read this book recently but I loved it and now understand why it has such an everlasting hold on popular culture and media. It’s just a really good story with really interesting characters and so much tension.
  6. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell – I was very interested in this book but there was so much hype around it that I just kept putting it off. I’m still interested though, and will probably read it eventually.
  7. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce – This has been on my TBR forever but I just haven’t gotten around to it. One day, hopefully soon!
  8. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift – I was very surprised to find that I haven’t read this book because I remember reading it when I was a child, but I realized that I was reading an adapted, abridged, children’s version, so it’s still on my TBR.
  9. This Charming Man by Marian Keyes – One of my friends spoke very highly of this author, and then I found this book in a little free library some years ago. It’s been on my shelf a while, and I keep meaning to read it soon.
  10. In The Woods by Tana French – I’m familiar with this author’s name but have somehow never read any of her books. I came across this book while researching authors for this list and it sounds like something I’d enjoy so it’s on the TBR now!

Have you read any of these authors? What did you think of them? Would you read any of their books?

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Book Review | We Met Like This by Kasie West

Posted March 16, 2026 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

We Met Like This by Kasie West

Beloved author Kasie West’s sparkling adult debut about a hopeless romantic falling for the one man she never expected.

Can a swipe right turn into swept away?

Margot Hart is a hopeless romantic. That’s why she wants to be a literary agent—to help bring romance books to the world. It’s also why she hates dating apps with all her romance-loving soul. She wants her own love story to be just as much fun as those in the books she reads—a mixed-up coffee order, a mistaken identity. She’s not going to tell the story that she swiped right on her future husband’s shirtless pic for the rest of her life.

The problem is that her most consistent relationship over the last several years is with Oliver, a guy she keeps rematching with on the apps. They’ve only been on one date and it was a disaster . . . well, until the make-out session in the car before parting ways. But, she keeps reminding herself, a make-out session does not a relationship make. And so there will not be a date two regardless of how witty their app banter is.

When Margot gets fired from her job on the same day she meets Oliver again, her life becomes a veritable shit show. Her dream career is dying right before her eyes, and Oliver thinks she’s interested in only one thing: a repeat of the hot make-out session they had three years ago so she can get him out of her system. And maybe that is all she wants from him, because she and Oliver are definitely not compatible—he doesn’t hit the snooze button, he runs five miles every morning, he reads nonfiction, and worst of all, she didn’t meet him in a cute way! But in her scramble to keep her dream career alive by opening her own literary agency, Oliver is there with his golden retriever energy, more steady and helpful than any man she’s ever dated. Just when she thinks she’s overcome her app bias, she realizes that maybe it’s not her who’s holding back, but him. And his reasons are more than she bargained for.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #39: A book that cost you nothing)

The Reason

I love the author’s YA books!

My Thoughts

I’m a big fan of the author and have read several of her young adult books over the years. I only found out this was an adult romance recently, but even then I didn’t expect it to get so explicit in the first scene! I’m not necessarily complaining though! I did enjoy the storytelling and the chemistry between the two MCs, but Margot as a character got quite frustrating for me at times, especially with how long she allowed herself to be taken advantage of, and I was also not happy with her sister being so mean to her. It’s still a good and fun read in the moment, but I think I prefer the author’s YA books still.

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?

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Book Review | The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan

Posted March 16, 2026 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan

From the author of the acclaimed The Curiosity comes a compelling and moving story of compassion, courage, and redemption

Deborah Birch is a seasoned hospice nurse whose daily work requires courage and compassion. But her skills and experience are tested in new and dramatic ways when her easygoing husband, Michael, returns from his third deployment to Iraq haunted by nightmares, anxiety, and rage. She is determined to help him heal, and to restore the tender, loving marriage they once had.

At the same time, Deborahs primary patient is Barclay Reed, a retired history professor and expert in the Pacific Theater of World War II whose career ended in academic scandal. Alone in the world, the embittered professor is dying. As Barclay begrudgingly comes to trust Deborah, he tells her stories from that long-ago war, which help her find a way to help her husband battle his demons.

Told with piercing empathy and heartbreaking realism, The Hummingbird is a masterful story of loving commitment, service to country, and absolution through wisdom and forgiveness.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #49: From the 800s of the Dewey Decimal System)

The Reason

This is a reread and the BOTM for my bookclub, but I would’ve reread it anyway because it’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.

The Quotes

“I believe the measure of a vow does not lie in saying it, or in upholding it when things are easy. The power of a promise is proven in times of difficulty, when keeping that pledge is hard.”

“No one dies alone. If every life has value, so does every death.”

“What a notion. The main thing that giving a big gift required was courage.”

“I stayed with him, nothing greater than that, but essential because I stood between Barclay Reed and his being alone.”

My Thoughts

I read this book for the first time eight years ago and loved it then. Reading it again now; I love it still but it also hits a little different for me. Eight years ago isn’t really that long ago, but I was a different person then. I was younger, more hopeful about the future, and seeing things from the caregiver POV. I have since suffered some medical issues and I feel older and more tired in general. I’m not giving up by any means and of course I’m doing my best to take better care of myself, but it’s hard not to think of my own mortality when reading this book about a hospice nurse taking care of a dying patient.

I think it is important that I share my thoughts when I read it all those years ago:

The Hummingbird really speaks to my heart and to my sense of humanity. What makes us human, why do we suffer, why is life so fleeting… and yet so beautiful, so precious, so meaningful? Why do we live, only to die? This book doesn’t answer all of these questions necessarily, but it does make me stop and think of my own approach to life and relationships.

One of the things I loved most about the book is how death is portrayed in such a beautiful way. Tarot readers often spend a lot of time explaining the death card and how it doesn’t have to be a scary card. Most of the time we talk about rebirth, transitions, and new beginnings, and all of that is true. Sometimes it means a physical death, and despite how naturally death is a part of life, many people are still afraid of it. I feel like this book shows how death can be just as beautiful and as precious as birth of a newborn, and such a privilege to witness.

The most important thing for me though, is seeing how the protagonist navigates her world and in the end, how she grows. She is a hospice nurse who cares for those in their final days, and her dedication to her patients, her devotion, compassion, and understanding of their needs, is so humbling to see.

Throughout the book even as she struggles to provide care, she reminds herself that it’s not about her, it is about her patients and their families, and how she can best serve them. This is something that speaks to me as a tarot reader; it is never about my ego or how accurate my interpretation of the cards is, it is always about my clients and how I can best serve my them.

I still feel the same awe and beauty reading it this time, and it feels more meaningful to me now because I feel like I appreciate life and how fleeting it can be now more than ever. I don’t know if I can put into words all the feelings I have about 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?

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