u/Past-Wrangler9513

My day is off to a great start! This one felt like a long shot when I requested it. I'm so excited!

I like to keep up with children's/middle grade fiction so I can gift my nieces and nephew books that aren't just the ones I remember from my childhood. I read Sangu Mandanna's adult books so when I saw she had a middle grade book I wanted to check it out and honestly I think I loved it even more than her adult books.

Vanya is a normal girl growing up in the UK. Well mostly normal she can talk to the priceless books in her parents bookshop and they actually talk back. She thinks she's the only one but when a monster attacks her family she learns there are a lot of secrets her parents have been keeping from her.

After the secret magical world her parents have been hiding from her is revealed she's whisked off to a magic school/library - Auramere. Where she learns about the wonderful magic that exists in the world but also about new dangers she could have never imagined before.

This book was such a delight to read. Vanya is such a fun character to follow and there are so many great side characters. The author weaves in different creatures from different places and cultures in a really interesting way. Also the audiobook was so well done. If you enjoy middle grade books or have kids in your life I highly recommend it

51 books read this year! I've made 52 my goal for the past several years. This year I've decided to up it to 100 since I'm hitting 52 about half way through. June was a pretty good reading month, a lot of different genres as my mood was a bit all over the place this month.

Heather by Caitlin Mullen - I really enjoyed this one. More of a literary thriller, it was compared to God of the Woods which I actually DNF'd so I was a little wary going into this one but Mullen did a really good job with the multiple POVs and timelines. So I'd say if you liked God of the Woods then yes you should try this one but also if you wanted to like God of the Woods but didn't this one is a more clearly told story (imo).

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle - this one was good, a little predictable but still a fun read especially if you enjoy summer horror. I wish there's been more actually at the camp though.

The River She Became by Emily Varga - New Adult Romantasy which is not normally my genre but I loved Varga's previous book, For She is Wrath, so I was willing to try it. And I didn't really enjoy it. It gives The Mummy but with Fae vibes. It had some really great world building and ended at the perfect spot to make me excited to read the next book without being a total cliffhanger.

Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorne - Anything by Rebecca Thorne is 5 stars for me. I absolutely loved this first book in her new cozy sci-fi series. A cast of quirky characters, talking moss, space adventures - yes love it all!

The Neighbors are Watching by Aggie Blum Thompson - This was a good domestic thriller. The switching between POVs kept the pace fast and interesting. A little predictable (I didn't guess the killer pretty early on) but a fun read

The Make-Believe by Hannah Murray - I picked this up expecting a story about a cult and it kinda is but it's really much more about the author's mental health. It was an interesting read but it also felt like there wasn't quite enough story for a whole book, maybe a long form article would've been better as it did feel really slow in some places almost as if to just make it book length.

Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz - This one is actually about being in a cult. Honestly, this book made me so heartbroken for her and was a really sad read. She does a really good job making her voice come through and it almost feels like a friend telling you their story. Very good but definitely a bummer.

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D Jackson - This one was so dark. There was a section at the end that was really upsetting to listen to (I did the audiobook). I used to listen to a lot of true crime and this was a fictional version of the kind of crimes I usually tried to avoid. It was really well written but ugh I don't know if I'd have picked it up if I knew what the ending was. Look up trigger warnings for this one before starting.

May was a bit hit or miss for me. But 8 books is pretty good!

Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth - for reasons I cannot explain I have been reading and been being disappointed by Roth for like a decade now lol She pulls me in with a great premise that ends up falling flat. But Seek the Traitor's Son was perfect. I loved it. A mix of sci-fi/dystopia/fantasy. A romance that doesn't pull too much focus from the main plot. Fantastic characters. Really great portrayals of grief and handling of some other really tough subjects.

This Is Why We Lie by Karin Slaughter - I accidentally started the Will Trent series with the latest book. It didn't really matter that I hadn't read books 1 - 11 I picked up well enough on what was going on. Solid mystery. Every character (except the main characters) are the worst person in the world.

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kriste - Interesting premise (an entire haunted neighborhood, a sort of ghost realm existing in our world). I just couldn't really get into this one. It was okay, I think I only finished it because it's short.

The Children by Melissa Albert - I was really loving this one right up to the last maybe 5%. Such a great story with a fumbled ending. I'd still definitely recommend it because I do think the ending will work for others.

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio - A re-read (third time) I love this book, I will hear no criticism of it.

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler - My mom loves this series and has been recommending it forever. I did not enjoy this book. It dragged on. I figured out the mystery and there was still like 200 pages left. But my mom insists this one is the worst and I need to keep reading (we'll see)

The Break Up Retreat by Camilla Sten - I was expecting more horror (because that's what I've read from Sten in the past) but this was definitely just a thriller. But I still really enjoyed it. If you liked Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty then definitely pick this one up!

Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews - First of all, there is no road trip in this book. Two sisters take a trip to Ireland (where they stay in one small town the whole time thus not a road trip). Misleading title aside, I did enjoy this book. It had a nice blend of mystery, romance, dealing with family dynamics. A little predictable but good if you're looking for a light, easy read.

I am obsessed! One of my favorite reads of 2026!

Elegy has just learned she is the subject of a prophecy...maybe. Either she will lead her people, the Cedre, to victory over the Talusar (a powerful nation who worship a deadly fever) or the prophecy is actually about Rava Vidar and she will lead the Talusar to finally completely vanquish the Cedre once and for all. The choices Elegy make will determine which prophecy comes true.

This book hooked me right from the start and kept me gripped the entire way. I never wanted to set it down because I needed to know what happened next!

I loved the characters and it was just the right amount of romance and it doesn't take over the story. Roth also does such a good job with pacing, I really enjoyed her use of flashbacks to highlight the important aspects of what happened during a 4 year time jump the book takes.

The MMC is such a nice break from all the brooding, angsty love interests. A man with emotional intelligence and empathy, yay! The FMC is also great, she's a badass for sure but without the over the top snarkyness you get with some FMC (the snark is mostly saved for her sister who I absolutely love!)

Both main characters experience trauma and Roth did such an amazing job of handling both of their heavy storylines.

I absolutely can't wait for book 2!

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The narrators were excellent! Would absolutely recommend the audiobook if you like to listen to your books!

April was a good reading month! I got to 34 books read so far this year so decided to up my goal to 100 as I've hit 52 the past few years in a row.

My favorite book was Legendborn. I've heard a lot about this series and felt like the first book definitely lived up to the hype.

Also I decided to re-read the Divergent series because the author announced she was releasing an AU book where the main character makes a major choice differently. It's been more than a decade since I read the series originally so I figured I'd refresh my memory.