In The Solarium

  Welcome back Bookworms! Today I thought I would talk a little bit about how I log my reading and how I have tracked my reading progress in the past. And what I am probably going to try in the future.  I basically stopped reading for fun when I was in my undergrad. But my final year I started a bookstagram and I was off. I even started a book blog (it no longer exists). And for a time that was how I kept track. What I was posting and reviewing was all that I did to keep track of what I was reading. But that didn't last long.  And I also stopped reading for a long while after that. I was in the middle of my Masters program and working multiple jobs. I didn't have the time or energy to read. But once I graduated and found the time I picked it up and haven't stopped since.  It was around that time that a colleague turned me on to NetGalley. As it is a big part of my job reading and knowing what was coming became important and a big plus to the job. But with ARCs it became mor

5/5  ⭐ An atmospheric setting, steeping in traditions and folklore with a tightknit community on the secluded island of Saoirse make this adult fantasy impossible to put down.  Drawn together no matter the time or distance, Emery and August must face difficult facts as the truth about what drove August away all those years ago comes to light. Others, determined to keep the truth well buried will do anything to keep it that way. No matter the cost.  Young balances magic and mystery perfectly as the story progresses, reaching the climatic point that will leave you stunned.  This novel is not one to miss. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

      Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This is a meme hosted by Sam of  Taking on a World of Words . A fun midweek check-in where you answer three questions: What are you currently reading?  What did you recently finish reading?  What do you think you'll read next? I've started Back in a Spell  by Lana Harper.  It is her 3rd in the Thistle Grove series and I received it as an ARC from Edelweiss+. I have read the previous ones in the series and loved the world Harper created.  This past week I finished: Can't Spell Treason without Tea  by Rebecca Thorne. I follow this author on tiktok and I ended up reading this in just a few days. It was so so good and I was so excited to see that there is a sequel in the works! Shady Hollow  by Juneau Black. This is a super cute cozy mystery featuring a cast of all woodland creatures. When this first came across my desk as a possible purchase it had mixed reviews and I was thrilled to see that it lived up to the positive hype it had.  I am workin

5/5  ⭐ *Potential spoilers ahead, read with care.  This was so much more than I could have ever imagined. It left me in a state for days after finishing where all I could do was think about it. It consumed me.  The Change  follows three women Nessa, Harriet, and Jo. All at different stages in their lives but come together with a common goal to right the wrongs that led to the death of an unidentified teen that the police seem keen to ignore.  Not all is well in this picturesque coastal town as the women dig deep and investigate they are met with threats, danger and new friends.    Nessa hears the voices of the dead, Harriet grows more than one might think in her wild gardens, and Jo can channel her anger and rage into something fiery. And together they force to be reckoned with that this town is just not ready for. These changes all come about with 'The Change' or menopause. Or if you are Blanche Devereaux, "The Curse."  I was cautiously optimistic when I started this

     Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This is a meme hosted by Sam of  Taking on a World of Words . A fun midweek check-in where you answer three questions: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading?  What do you think you'll read next? I am just starting Shady Hollow by Juneau Black. It is a cozy mystery where all the characters are woodland creatures. I am very excited to start it! This past week I finished Over my Dead Body by Sweeney Boo. This is an amazing YA graphic novel featuring found family, witchcraft, and long kept secrets coming to light. I loved the artwork so much! Secretly Yours (ARC)  by Tessa Bailey. This ARC was very kindly sent to me by the publisher. This is a grumpy/sunshine romance that is for the masses.  Cackle  by Rachel Harrison. A speculative fiction that I read in one day I was so enthralled.  I am coming back after an over a month long reading slump so I am letting myself just read whatever I want to read in the moment. I do have a

 4/5  ⭐ Sarah Pearse is back with another destination mystery featuring Detective Elin Warner. A family trip to an all-new eco-retreat to help reconnect and learn more about new family members starts off as they travel to the island clouded with a dark past. The cast of characters presented covers the gambit, self-absorbed influence who scored the tickets, freeloading boyfriends, distant sisters, and cousins with a tragic past. Take your pick there is one of each. And they are all stranded together on this island with a murderer picking them off one by one. We definitely get to see some character growth with Elin which I loved. Instead of being stagnant and making it a focus of her character we get to see her grow from the traumas of her past. As well as see how she does solving a crime in an official capacity and being backed by her department. I love a locked room mystery and boy, does Pearse know how to structure one. The twists in this were flawless and kept me on my toes. And ther

Happy Fall! It is finally Fall and I could not be happier. The past two months have been really difficult with impossibly hot weather and working all the time. And because of how busy I have been I haven't read anything traditionally published in over a month... I haven't read a book since the middle of July.  And I am desperate to read something. Without oversharing, things have been going on in the background that also impacted my ability and want to read and I am trying to push through that so here we are! I saw a booktube video about an Autumn TBR list and I thought that would be a great idea for a post to welcome me back into the thick of things!  Since I am mood reader and very much leaning into the autumn vibes I am going to build my TBR list around that and some ARCs I was fortunate enough to receive. I am looking for some easier, lighter reads in an attempt to ease myself into and not overwhelm my baby brain with something too intense. It's been over a month, I got

5/5 ⭐ This was everything I wanted and more. I am relatively new to sci-fi and am always a little hesitant to start a new book for fear of not liking it because it ends up being very science and math-heavy. But whoa, when I tell you I fell in love with Murderbot and their just general attitude toward most things, I did. I very much enjoyed seeing things through their eyes and how they responded to the others and how they essentially developed their own personality without it having been impacted from years of childhood. Now they say they really don’t know who they are, they are still figuring it out and that’s only fair. How many of us know who we are even after living by our own prerogative? I ended up devouring this book in just a couple of hours because I just couldn’t not know what happened next. And if I hadn’t been outside when I finished it I would have screamed at that ending. It is the only way it could have ended but damn did I want it to go the other way. So very good. Recom