living read girl

A double dose of magical romance wraps up my Winter’s Respite of reading

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 20:49:00 +0000

As we are now facing the lions of March, it’s time to recap my reading for Seasons of Reading’s Winter’s Respite challenge.

I began with B.K. Borison’s Good Spirits in which a Ghost of Christmas Past winds up falling in love with one of his assignments.

Harriet is far from the usual sort of person being visited by holiday ghosts in order to mend her ways; she’s a charming soul who runs her late aunt’s antique shop and adores this time of year( even keeps a candy cane or two in her pocket at all times!).

Nonetheless, Nolan is determined to do his ethereal duty by taking Harriet into her past so she’s on the road to redemption by Christmas Eve. Yet, those trips back in time are more pleasant than sad and when one of those journeys takes them both into a moment from Nolan’s mortal life, it’s quite clear that perhaps Harriet isn’t the one in need of saving.

Can Harriet help Nolan get what he needs to move on from his haunting position or will they face some less than Christmas cherry consequences?

Since I have read Borison’s earlier novel,First Time Caller(which was a Book of the Year nominee at Book of the Month Club), this book was a must-have that I was happy to catch up on during the after holiday season.

It’s just as engaging as that Nora Ephron inspired work, only this particular story put me in mind of a different movie and writer altogether.

If I had to pitch this book Hollywood style, I would have to say “It’s a Christmas Carol meets Defending Your Life”-the Albert Brooks 1991 comedy about a man in the afterlife facing his fears and falling in love with a perfectly wonderful woman to boot. See the movie and read this book, trust me-a match made in storytelling heaven there:

After that, I picked up Witch You Would by Lia Amador, set in a modern day Miami where magic is commonplace and spell casting can either be a celebrated art form or just commercially viable.

Penelope wants to do more with her spells than work at a thankless mystical retail outlet and becoming a contestant on the competition show Cast Judgement could truly be her magic ticket to success.

However, this season of Cast Judgement has contenders teaming up with celebrity partners and Penelope is matched with Leandro Presto, an internet sensation best known for his spells going hilariously wrong.

She is less than thrilled with this, wanting to be taken seriously and hoping to make a future business connection as well. As it turns out, Leandro is a bit taken aback as well, due to the fact that his real name is Gil, who created the Presto persona in order to raise funds for his grandfather’s magic school charity.

Gil also has a blog where he helps others fix their spells and through one of those requests, became Penelope’s online pen pal. A chance encounter before the show has Gil recognize her but telling Penelope his secret identity might be tricky in more ways than one.

With the two of them growing closer during the course of the show (and being encouraged to “fake flirting “ by the obnoxious producer), things may unravel quickly for their futures both personally and professionally. Can Gil and Penelope make true magic together or are they cursed to disaster?

This novel is a solidly enchanting read that gives an everyday quality to the magical elements of the story that blend beautifully with the blossoming romance on page.

The character work is nicely done and I look forward to revisiting these two, along with a few new friends, in the author’s next book, which is being highlighted on the side of this blog here! Amador does know how cast a great literary spell on her readers and I look forward to more of her bookish magic:

Alas, I was unable to get to my Ali Hazelwood book but I l’ll just save that one for the summer. In the meantime, much thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for starting us off on another year of great reads.

I’m sure that I don’t have to tell any of you out there just how incredibly awful things are right now and as of this writing, how much worse they may get.

What I would like to say is that sticking together and giving each other the emotional support needed to get through these extremely challenging times is more vital than ever. Despair is completely understandable but let’s not fall into that trap if we can.

Do give yourself breaks from ongoing coverage, if you can, as a means to revive your spirits. I’m rereading a very good romance novel at the moment (Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly) and it’s really helping me de-stress here.

Whatever hobby or pop culture delight that you have in your life, don’t feel guilty about engaging with it during this time. Your mental health is just as important to maintain as your physical one, especially these days now and yet to come.

Speaking of tension, the next Seasons of Reading readathon will be in April with Spring Into Horror and yes, I already have a trio of books set aside for that! Hopefully, I will finish all three and my chances are good here as a) they’re much shorter in page count than these winter books are and b) scary stories are great for channeling anxiety , particularly those abounding in society of the moment.

Yeah, something tells me this is going to be quite the year for horror, both onscreen and on page(not to mention headlines yet to come) but with any luck. our collective fears will compel us to mightily move forward rather than linger back in timid terror:

Paging through some bookish TV

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:43:00 +0000

If you’re like me at the moment, staying safe as can be inside with a seriously snowy blizzard wailing outside, then making plans to check out some upcoming book based TV sounds ideal indeed.

PBS is the perfect place to start here and set to debut on March 22 is The Forsytes , a new adaptation of the John Galsworthy award winning saga of novels and stories covering more than one generation of a wealthy Victorian family in life, love and loss.

The cast includes such notables as Francesca Annis, Stephen Moyer and Elinor Tomlinson and unlike prior versions, this series seems to be planning to cover all of the source material as a second season has already been announced.

If you’re a fan of The Gilded Age, this drama should quench that thirst rather nicely, I should think(maybe not in the HBO style but still simmering with romantic intrigue nonetheless):

Starting even sooner than that is a new take on Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale of revenge, The Count of Monte Cristo, beginning on March 1.

Sam Clafin stars as Edmond Dante’s, unjustly imprisoned on a remote island institution for years yet with the aid of a clerical fellow prisoner (Jeremy Irons) is able to escape and claim a hidden fortune.

Now, in his new identity, Edmond seeks vengeance on those who wronged him but can he truly reclaim what was lost from his former life?

This is an eight part series , so plenty of emotional depth and detail from the original novel should be rather abundant here, not to mention the quest to avenge some grievous wrongs feels very much in the spirit of the times we’re living in these days:

Now, I don’t have BritBox but it might be worthwhile to check it out later this year because a new Jane Austen themed series is on their schedule for 2026.

Based on Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel, The Other Bennet Sister does more than revisit Pride & Prejudice; it places Mary Bennet(Ella Bruccoleri) at the center of this story as she tries to figure out her own place in the world, not to mention the family line-up.

I know Mary isn’t the most favored Bennet sister amongst the fans but she does deserve a little bit of the spotlight and hopefully this ten part series gives her some moments to shine. Plus, having Richard E. Grant as Mr. Bennet is a true bonus, if you ask me(yes. he’s my favorite Austen parent and I will not be persuaded otherwise!):

In the meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy PBS programming and I do heartily recommend signing on to PBS Passport as it’s very reasonably priced as well as contributing to such a good cause like quality television in such times as these.

Most recently, my sibling and I watched the season six finale of All Creatures Great and Small, the kind of show that she would usually refer to as a “British coma” yet this heartfelt series set in a time and place far from our own has become one of our favorite shared experiences of late.

Public TV may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it does come in handy when looking for a relief from our everyday troubles and/or some insights into the wider world. Hopefully with all the strife going on all around us, one of the better things that gets us through and remains relatively intact is PBS with viewers old and new to keep tuning in:

Considering my BOTY bonus read

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 20:23:00 +0000

One of the benefits that I’ve enjoyed from Book of the Month Club is their Book of the Year(BOTY) prize which gives both authors and readers a nice little treat during this time of year.

BOTM members vote from a list of twenty titles from the past year from which five are chosen as the main contenders. The winner is announced by the end of February, which gives that particular writer a cash prize (the runners-up get one as well) as well as an extra bit of publicity.

For BOTM members, we get to choose a free special edition of either the winner or the other contenders for our March box.

In my case, I have three of the nominees from Book of the Month but have only finished one. Layne Fargo’s The Favorites is stuck on one of my in progress reading piles ( got to unpause that book!) and Bury My Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab was a holiday gift so too soon for that book!

The book that I finished (and voted for) was First Time Caller by B.K. Borison, an enchanting novel inspired by the classic romcom Sleepless in Seattle. Single mom Lucie gets more than she bargained for when her daughter makes a call to a local radio show, asking for help in setting her mother up with a Mr. Right.

Since the radio show in question is in dire need of a ratings boost, DJ Aiden reluctantly agrees to make the search for Lucie’s perfect partner an ongoing series.

As time goes by, however, both Lucie and Aiden find themselves tuning into each other’s hearts rather than seeking out a new love. Can this on-air romance become a n off the charts hit or be banished to the emotional ratings basement there?

It’s a delightful read, even if Sleepless in Seattle is not your favorite Nora Ephron movie(more of a You’ve Got Mail gal myself). Nonetheless, First Time Caller would make an excellent film about life, love and awkward moments between friends and lovers yet for now, it plays well in the mental matinee of your heart:

That being said, this leaves me with a choice of two books here; the first being Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.

Set on a remote island used to house a seed bank(storage for seeds needed for replanting in case of food emergencies), Dominic Salt and his trio of children are now the only residents left due to the dangers of rising sea levels.

When a mysterious woman named Rowan washes up on shore, her arrival stirs up fear and tension. Even as the family helps their new guest to recover, a number of secrets and lies are battened down for their mutual protection.

As it turns out, Rowan has a few secrets of her own to look after as well. With the threat from the ocean putting them all in peril, can Rowan and Dominic work together to save what they all hold dear?

This does sound intriguing and I did hear plenty of critical praise from readers and reviewers alike about this book. Also, this story is from a newer genre called climate fiction (I think you can guess what that’s all about) and I would like to give that a try.

Plus, the island setting is actually based on a real research protected island (Macquarie Island, home to penguins also) which adds a realistic cherry on top of this saltwater story sundae:

The choice is Florence Knapp’s debut novel, The Names. The story is divided into three separate time lines as the newborn son of British couple Cora and Gordon experiences life with one of the three names available for choosing on his birth certificate.

If his mother had given him Julian, he would have been raised in Ireland with his maternal grandmother yet if given his father’s name, would be living in his paternal home under rather harsh circumstances.

His older sister Maia wanted to name him Bear, which might’ve been the best choice of all but which name really does lead him and his loved ones down a future path that is best for all?

Debut novels are a weakness of mine and this one has a very creative premise indeed. The themes of family dysfunction combined with the notion that one’s name can make or break you is not an easy balancing act for any writer but from what I hear, Knapp achieves this with a rather deft touch.

Both of these books are quite literary in terms of style and happen to be celebrity book club picks(WDS is a Reese’s Book Club, The Names was a Read with Jenna selection). Choosing between them is tricky yet either one should provide some serious food for thought and a quality meal at that:

The choice between two well written books to get for free is a luxury these days to be sure yet I simply don’t want to grab at something because it’s readily available.

Choosing a book is an investment in your time and headspace( not to mention a shelf spot) and while I do read for fun , I also want to spend my mental coin wisely. No doubt either title will be well worth it. However, I will probably wait and see which of the five BOTY nominees win before making my final decision.

In the meanwhile, this does give me something to look forward to at the end of this short month and while I’m rooting for First Time Caller, my congratulations are for all of the books up for this award this time around.

The saying about so many books, so little time is totally true especially for folks with subscription boxes. When it comes to those monthly selections however, creativity is not just found between the pages-it can make bookish storage quite the art form worth admiring:

Falling in love with my library haul

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:46:00 +0000

While Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, my big plans for this year’s celebration are all about reading.

Specifically, diving into my most recent library haul that included a nice surprise at my local Little Free Library (more on that in a moment). During this incredibly arctic winter, books have become more of a warm comfort than ever before, plus my best romances in life have always been page turners!

The excitement that I felt last week when finding Kelly Bishop’s delightful memoir The Third Gilmore Girl on the shelf was truly passionate in a pop culture sense there.

Being a fan of the now iconic TV series (which celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary last year), Emily Gilmore as critical mother and loving grandmother to Lorelai and Rory was a key component to the success of the show and one of my favorites.

Bishop, who had a thriving career on stage and screen beforehand, gives her personal take on the GG experience as well as her own life and times. While I am interested in seeing how she got along with co-stars such as Lauren Graham and the late great Edward Herrmann, learning more about this grand lady herself should be an adventure worth exploring indeed:

Another pulse pounding moment for me that day was finding a copy of Long Bright River by Liz Moore as well.

This Philadelphia set story follows a pair of sisters, one a police officer, the other an addict on the streets. Mickey hates running into her sister Kacey while patrolling but can’t stop looking out for her.

When Kacey goes missing for longer than usual, it is up to Mickey to try and find her, only to be caught up in a gruesome string of local murders that may or may not be connected to her sister’s situation.

While I haven’t seen the limited series adaptation of the book, I did get a brief start in Moore’s big bestseller The God of the Woods and wound up putting it on pause. I’m hoping that LBR might revive my interest in TGOTW before that book gets an adaptation onscreen:

Before I mention the last library book of this bunch, I do want to talk about the LFL find that I had there.

As I dropped off a Maeve Binchy title (Chestnut Street, which is fine but not a must have for me), my sheer amazement in seeing Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop tucked in there was palatable to say the least. This translated novel by Hwang Bo-Reum was all the literary rage a couple of years ago but I just never got a chance to read it for myself until now, that is!

This charming tale of Yeongju, who flees the corporate world to open up the small bookstore of the title, and the friends she makes along the way was well appreciated during it’s initial release yet with the way things are going these days, I have a feeling that the gentle sentiments of this story are more needed right now.

Plus, it sounds like the kind of low key engaging drama that folks would enjoy tuning into, with it’s takes on life, love and literature as a welcome relief from the hectic pace of reality in all forms:

Back to my haul, the last book that I added to the pile was the final entry in Nora Roberts’ Lost Bride trilogy, The Seven Rings.

Yes, I now have all three volumes on loan and this set combines two of my personal reading challenges for the year(finishing my library reads/Return to Roberts).

However , that’s not the only reason for choosing this particular trilogy here; some of it has to do with the upcoming release of the new Wuthering Heights movie. I know that as of this writing, there’s a big debate over the merits of this film for better or worse (especially the latter) and I have two things to say on this subject:

1) I am not a big Brontë fan (read Jane Eyre several times as a kid and liked it) but do like some Gothic flair from time to time in my stories. The Lost Bride trilogy has a haunted mansion with ghost brides and a new owner dealing with the ancient curse that set this whole thing off and that is really more my jam at the moment.

2) I read WH once as an adult and honestly, found it rather dreary. Yes, it’s a classic worth reading but Cathy and Heathcliff are just too miserable both together and apart for me to want to revisit them either on or off the page.

I have seen a couple of film versions of the book before (did like the one with Ralph Finnes and Juliette Binoche)so I suspect that I’m not missing out on much with what sounds like a very overheated and overdone production at best.

If you’re looking forward to this new Wuthering Heights for your holiday weekend entertainment, I wish you well. Hope you find the fun that you seek from it and plenty of popcorn on hand. As for me, my library finds are the best Valentine and the best version of WH is the Kate Bush song:

Back in the BOTM groove

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:55:00 +0000

Since it has been decreed that six more weeks of winter are our weatherly lot, it’s a good thing that I started my Book of the Month Club subscription right back up this February!

Having a pile of good books on hand does make the colder seasons fly by indeed and while I was eager to get my BOTM groove back on, this month’s main selections weren’t really speaking to me.

Fortunately, they also offer Member Favorites (books from prior months) to choose from instead, so I went with The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. The title character is Olivia Dumont, who is requested by her late father Vincent Taylor to complete his final book.

Vincent, in addition to being a popular horror writer, also has a past terror of his own dating back to the summer of 1975. His two siblings died tragically, with rumors insisting that Vincent was the one responsible for their mutual demise. No proof was ever found to make that notion true or false.

Olivia kept the fact of her connection to Vincent secret for personal and professional reasons but with this big assignment that could really help her out financially, she’s about to get way more than she bargained for here.

I’ve heard great word of mouth regarding this book and glad to have a chance to enjoy this chilling thrill ride for myself:

As for the add-ons, my first pick was How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson.

Jamie Prescott is a film student focusing more on her horror movie thesis than any form of social life when her roommate Lauren asks her to join in on a speed dating session.

Figuring it might be good to blow off some study steam, Jamie decided to go but soon enough regrets her choice of wardrobe and footwear. When a slasher strikes the dating event, she’s willing to use her scary movie knowledge to survive but a dress with pockets and comfortable shoes would certainly make this situation a little easier!

I like the notion of a horror romcom and with Valentine’s Day coming up, this dark comedy sounds ideal. After all, what’s more scary than speed dating, am I right?:

For something much more sentimental, my last choice was Libby Page’s This Book Made Me Think of You.

A few months after the death of her beloved husband Joe, Tilly Nightingale gets a phone call from her local bookstore that there’s a birthday present waiting for her.

The owner, Alf, explains that Joe had set aside twelve books for Tilly, each one with a handwritten letter included . Since she had stopped reading due to Joe’s illness, going back to books for pleasure seemed pointless. However, since this was his last gift to her, Tilly decides to try again.

Between the books and a new found friendship with Alf, Tilly starts to appreciate both books and life once more yet she wants to do more. By setting out on a couple of book based adventures, can she connect more to the wider world or should Tilly know when to put a bookmark in her page turning progress there?

This just feels like a charmingly bittersweet read and with the author noting that one of her inspirations for this novel is You’ve Got Mail, how could I resist?:

Between the bitter cold and the bitterness in our daily headlines, this is a hard winter for sure. It does good to have something positive to look forward to as well as keep your mind from getting too bogged down by stress.

For example, this year happens to be the 100 year anniversary of BOTM and they’re doing certain things to celebrate such as release special Centennial Editions of past picks- the first one out this month is All Quiet on the Western Front-and free bookmarks that highlight past favorites to boot.

The bookmark that I received this month was for a 1981 novel called Heading West by Doris Betts. It tells the tale of a small town librarian being swept up into a journey with a mysterious stranger and a hitchhiker that changes all of their lives in one way or another.

I don’t know if this particular book will be reissued by BOTM or not but I am curious about it and might see if my local library has a copy available. At any rate, it’s good to have a new interest on the horizon as we head towards warmer (and hopefully better) days to come:

Some page turning Oscar nominees

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 20:58:00 +0000

With everything going on right now, finding joy is far from easy yet this year’s Academy Award nominations offered up some wonderful surprises that couldn’t help but to lift my spirits.

I will get into some of my thoughts about the Oscar race by the end here (especially a certain history making 16 nominations for one of my favorites from last year!)but for the purposes of this blog, we’re going to highlight the Best Adapted Screenplay category and the books they’re based on.

I say books because one of the nominees is a remake of an international film (Bugonia) and the other is rather loosely inspired by the works of Thomas Pynchon (One Battle After Another). Therefore, there are just three out of the five available in traditional literary form.

Let’s start with Frankenstein , adapted by writer/director Guillermo Del Toro, based on Mary Shelley’s iconic tale of a monster and his maker. Therefore film received nine nominations, including Best Picture, Best Makeup and Hair Styling (love how that category has expanded!) and Best Supporting Actor for Jacob Elordi as the Creature.

While I haven’t seen the film (don’t have Netflix right now), I did reread the book recently and have no doubt that Del Toro did well here. I know some folks claim that a female director would’ve been a better choice but this was a passion project for Del Toro, who has loved Shelley’s book along with prior movie incarnations, and his sensibility for cinematic storytelling has never been in serious question.

Based on his nuanced approach with similar material with movies such as The Shape of Water and Cronos, his heartfelt take on what both monsters and the meaning of love truly are is what movie making legends are made of:

Next up is Hamnet, based upon Maggie O’Farrell’s award winning novel which the writer adapted in partnership with director Chloe Zhao.

The film tells the story of what might have inspired William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) to write Hamlet, mainly the emotional aftermath from the death of his young son.

This intense grief is shared by his wife Agnes(Jessie Buckley, who is up for Best Actress) and by turning their personal tragedy into an epic play , may have paid the ultimate price for his art.

The film is up for eight nominations, with not only Buckley contending for Actress but Zhao as Best Director and placing in the new Oscar category Best Casting to boot. I have heard great praise for both book and film and have no doubt that this will make a fine showing on Oscar night indeed:

For our final nominee. we have Train Dreams which is based on a novella by Denis Johnson. The screenplay was co-written by Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley. the latter being the movie’s director.

The bare bones of the plot has Robert Grainer(Joel Edgerton) leading a simple yet at times sad life, with more than his fair share of tragedies to deal with as time goes on.

The film received four nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Song. I’m sure that this is an award worthy film but just sounds too bleak for my taste. Nonetheless, the story does feel to be poignantly relatable so it has a decent chance at winning something here:

While I know all too well that celebrating the arts at the moment seems to be a concern best put aside, the truth is that art in all of it’s forms is one of our best sources of inspiration and hope in terrible times such as these.

The everyday struggles that we’ve been dealing with(particularly what happened just a few days ago) can be made bearable not only by uniting our voices together in demands for change and support for those being directly affected here but by appreciating the good that is still out there worth fighting for. The arts can give relief from the stress of it all as well as provide us a goal to aim for as we make our way towards a better tomorrow.

That being said, seeing Sinners get that ground breaking number of Oscar nominations was wonderful beyond belief! Long have I waited for Michael B. Jordan to receive a Best Actor nod, along with writer/director Ryan Coogler up for Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture!!!!

Sinners was the movie I saw for my birthday last spring and it’s definitely the gift that keeps on giving.

This blend of historical fiction with vampire lore felt like a full fledged novel come to vivid life on screen and while I know that the Academy rarely likes to acknowledge anything horror genre related, it’s not entirely impossible for this film to garner some major wins on Oscar night.

Yes, folks are cautioning Sinners fans to not get their hopes up too high(it wouldn’t be the first time that a multiple movie nominee got disappointed on the big night) but this time, it may be truly movie magic on display that rewards one of it’s actual best that evening.

We shall see. As for me, I do hope that Miles Canton is available to perform “I Lied to You “ on stage in the Best Original Song category there. That scene alone is an amazing movie memorable moment that will inspire future creators on and off screen for decades to come:

The upcoming Winter’s Respite of reading is my ticket to paradise

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:14:00 +0000

With everything that’s going on everywhere seemingly all at once these days, any sort of vacation is a welcome relief indeed.

Fortunately for us readers, Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading will start our new year off right with the Winter’s Respite readathon next month. All of February will be reserved for either catching up on books old and new or just revisiting some comfort classics-your choice!

You can get more details here about it and sign up to join in the fun. As for me, I have a trio of books set aside for this event and yes, one of them happens to be a Christmas romance that I didn’t get to sooner! In the meanwhile, let’s start off a somewhat summery selection:

Problematic Summer Romance:

This Ali Hazelwood novel takes us to a destination wedding in Sicily where 23 year old Maya has more on her mind than her brother’s impending nuptials.

For some time now, she’s been interested in Conor, the best friend of her brother , who feels that he’s much too old for Maya(he’s 38). When the two of them wind up sharing a villa together. Maya hopes to change his mind and he hopes to change hers but both of them might be surprised at what they learn about each other.

While this book is connected to an earlier Hazelwood novel(Not in Love), I believe it can be read as a standalone and I can always backtrack that one later. The age gap trope is tricky but when handled correctly, can be a very reasonable issue for any potential couple to work out and I’m willing to give Hazelwood some leeway here.

Hey, if Jane Austen makes it work for Emma Woodhouse(and her modern day equivalent Cher Horowitz), maybe this could be in that romantic vicinity there:

Witch You Would:

Set in a magic-is-real Miami, Lia Amador’s romcom has a meet cute on a reality show for spell casters that could be the best or worst experience of their lives.

Penelope hopes to change her life for the better by winning Cast Judgement but being paired with celebrity partner Leandro Presto, best known for his viral video prowess, has her in doubt of victory.

Leandro, on the other hand, is thrilled since his real name is Gil Contreras and has been Penelope’s secret pen pal for some time now. They’ve been planning to save his grandfather‘s charity but in order to do that, Gil is keeping up his Presto persona for the show and not telling Penelope who he really is becomes part of that game.

Can the two of the them win the contest and each other’s heart or must one be sacrificed for the ultimate win?

I do like a little witchcraft mixed into my romance and this seems as satisfyingly sweet as a certain peanut butter cup indeed:

Good Spirits:

And we get to the Christmas book and while I did mean to read this in December, my TBR grew unexpectedly during that month(wound up reading four holiday themed titles) and I figured, “Why not save it for February? After all, it is a romance and Valentine’s Day should be suitable enough for this.”

So I am planning to read Good Spirits by B. K. Borison first, just to start things off with a good catching up. Our couple here is Harriet, who has recently inherited an antique shop and Nolan, a Ghost of Christmas Past who is assigned to help her out.

As they get to know each other better, it becomes clear that Harriet is not the one who needs to make peace with her past-rather, it’s Nolan whose emotional rescue is long overdue. Will they be able to make their season bright with love or be lost in a winter wonderland of the heart for good?

I did enjoy Borison’s First Time Caller last year(and hope that BOTM gets her new book, Back to You, soon!), plus a good hearted ghostly love story seems fitting for any time of year. Christmas does give it an extra boost of coziness though:

The Winter’s Respite readathon begins on February 1 and I do hope that if you’re looking for an opportunity to de-stress from the bone chilling weather, not to mention the equally bone chilling headlines, that you take this bookish retreat opportunity up.

As much as I am crossing my fingers that things will get better sooner rather than later, it’s truly hard to tell which way it is going to go. Let’s keep a good lookout for our friends, neighbors and loved ones and do what we can to help each other.

Part of that calls for giving ourselves a time out every now and then to revive our spirits before heading back into the fray. Curling up with a few good books is great for just that as we head into quite the hazy shade of winter going forward:

Working on my reading resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:40:00 +0000

With the growing chaos in our world right now, it’s all too easy to feel completely out of control of things right now.

However, giving yourself an emotional breathing space is important and for me, setting up some reading goals for myself is a good way to do just that.

One of those goals is to continue doing my morning reading duets(read a pair of books that have a direct connection on and off a little bit each day). While I do plan to reread David Copperfield along side Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead, I think that I will start off with a reread of The Wizard of Oz with Wicked, since I finally got to watch the movie over the holidays!

Granted, I only saw part one(hopefully it won’t take me as long to see Wicked:For Good) but still, going down both of these versions of the Yellow Brick Road seems to be the best way to begin here:

Another bookish thing that I want to do is Return to Roberts-that I know that I like Nora Roberts’ work, I have fallen behind in reading her books.

Part of my plan to get back onboard is by reading the first two entries in her Lost Bride trilogy, Inheritance and The Mirror , which I picked up during my last library haul of 2025.

The first book has Sonya MacTavish discovering that her father had a twin brother that he didn’t know existed, that newly found uncle has died and left her a rather mysterious mansion in the bargain.

The house, as warned by estate attorney Trey, appears to be haunted by several spirits, many of whom were meant to be brides of the family in question. One of those brides was Astrid Poole, who was murdered on her wedding night and vowed to stay with her husband Collin despite the “death do they part” clause in their wedding contract.

Sonya becomes more convinced each day that the ghost stories are true and in the second installment, finds the title object that reveals what happened to Astrid all those years ago. Can this magical insight break the curse upon the family or will it draw Sonya in too far to escape its centuries old clutches?

I am still new to Nora, so finding my favored footing with her books is tricky. The Gothic vibes of this trilogy do sound eerily enticing and perhaps engaging enough for me to seek out book three(The Seven Rings) as well as more riveting Roberts fare:

Speaking of library loans, a major resolution that I have this year is to finish all of my library books.

Hate to admit but sometimes, I borrow books that I either don’t finish reading or don’t get to at all.

I do make sure to return them on time (occasionally stretching the renewal limits) but it is frustrating when I have new authors and stories that I want to try and for one reason or another, just don’t get beyond the first chapters or open up altogether.

Well, I am already making amends in that front by tackling Renee Rosen’s Let’s Call Her Barbie, a novel about the folks who brought the iconic doll to life and how that affected their lives. It’s a solid read that I should be able to finish in reasonable time.

Right after that, my next library read will be Voyage of the Damned by Frances White. Set in the kingdom of Concordia, a special boating trip for the heirs of the Twelve Provinces that make up the realm is being taken as a celebration of a thousand years of peace among them.

When one of the heirs dies under suspicious circumstances, it falls to the least likely of them to find the killer. Ganymede Piscaro is the only heir to not possess a magical ability( called a Blessing) which lead him to develop a snarky sense of humor.

That sharp wit is no protection from the menace onboard that is targeting the royal heirs one by one, which Ganymede realizes that the only way to not be next is to outsmart their mutual enemy. Can he trust any one of his fellow passengers or will those Blessings be counted sooner than he thinks?

This does sound fun and since this book is being touted as Agatha Christie style mystery with fantasy flair, I am ready to dive in:

I have a couple of other reading projects in the works (really to catch up with last year’s books!) but this basic three point plan ought to get my bookish motor running there.

While I know that focusing on fiction might seem trivial right now, it’s interesting at how relevant certain works turn out to be.

Last night, I watched the season six premiere of All Creatures Great and Small, which was set in 1945 England. By the end of the episode, WWII had been declared over(known as VE Day, I believe) and even in that small village, joy and relief were abounding.

Two of the characters, the Farnon brothers, were standing in the town square, watching the local celebration and remembering the past. One brother remarked how he had stood in that same spot with a friend when the war had started and that friend had told him that “we should be grateful for what we do have.”

The other nodded in agreement and said “Yes but we have to fight for it. It’s not enough to be grateful, we had to fight.”

Strangely resilient, that bit of dialogue, to what we’ve been going through at the moment. Being grateful for what we have is a strong motivation to fight for our freedom and whether or not those lines come from the original source material, such a sentiment still rings true even tucked into a literary adaptation.

Anyway, I do also want to shop more from Better World Books and one of my recent finds there is the first book in a Jane Austen themed mystery series.

Murder in Highbury by Vanessa Kelly has it’s lead detective in the form of Emma Knightley (formerly Woodhouse) being stunned to find the obnoxious wife of Mr. Elton deceased in her husband’s church and while asked not to interfere with the investigation, feels duty bound when one of the least likely residents of Highbury is targeted as a possible suspect!

The book is a charming tale so far and while Emma is not a favorite Austen heroine of mine, her talents for uncovering social secrets is rather fitting with her original literary incarnation. Having Emma as a Regency Nancy Drew is delightfully fine reading that I resolve to enjoy more often:

Counting my bookish blessings

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 19:21:00 +0000

It has been quite the rough start to the year, to say the least, but the one thing that helps to lift my spirits is having good books to read and talk about.

Just getting access to new reads is a true blessing; by the end of last year, I had won two titles in giveaways and discovered a possible gem in a Little Free Library. So, in interest of sharing my good fortune, let’s take a look at this trio of bookish prizes here:

I, Medusa: This retelling of the classic myth from Ayana Gray has our leading lady destined to be a villain shown in a different light.

As the daughter of minor deities, Meddy is thrilled to be noticed by the great goddess Athena and granted a place amongst her high priestesses at her temple in Athens. Quickly becoming a favorite, she also gains the attention of another god but with more dire consequences than expected.

Forced into a punishment for a crime that she’s innocent of, Medusa decides to use her monstrous status as a means of striking back against those who inflict their malice carelessly upon others.

Thanks to The First Look Book Club, I was given not only the chance to read this intriguing book but to get such an excellent edition (sprayed edges and all) as well:

Thanks to an author giveaway, I was sent a copy of Ava Morgyn’s most recent novel, The Bane Witch, along with a signed bookplate and a couple of postcards connected to the world of the story!

That story begins with Piers Corbin, a woman fleeing from a terrible marriage who finds refuge with her great aunt in a small mountain town. While rebuilding her life, Piers learns that she is the latest in a long line of “bane witches “-women who can tap into poison magic in order to take down evil men.

As she settles into her new community, a dangerous threat in the form of a serial killer makes their presence known. Soon enough, Piers realizes that her special set of sorcery skills are needed to halt this predator in his tracks but can she do so without revealing who she really is?

This premise sounds awesome and I do like the Poison Ivy vibes that this tale is giving off. I may save it for a future readathon this spring but in the meantime, this poisonous page turner is a welcome addition to my literary garden:

During my last library haul of 2025(that post will be available soon!), I stopped by a Little Free Library nearby and found a book that I have heard nothing but praise for, an extra treat that day.

Sulari Gentill’s The Woman in the Library starts at the Boston Public Library, as a group of strangers using the Reading Room are instant suspects in a murder that took place in that very building at the same time they were all there.

It’s more than your average mystery, however, as this story is being created by Hannah, an Australian writer who is getting the insights on Boston from Leo, a fan of her work who is happy to help via correspondence. His advice is very useful but are his suggestions merely artistic input or something a bit more sinister than that?

To be honest, the books left at this particular LFL can be very hit or miss for the most part( not a complaint, just an observation)so finding this book was very much in the golden ticket category here. Also, I do enjoy the whole book within a book setting along the lines of The Magpie Murders and their sequels, which makes this find all the more of a delight:

So, as I said earlier, this new year has gotten off to a terrible start and the events of yesterday have certainly made things incredibly worse. I share my condolences with the wider world to those directly impacted by such horror and wish them better days to come.

Someone online today wondered aloud why anyone would bother with book content at a time like this and that perspective is totally understandable. Yes, it can feel trivial to focus on art related topics during an ongoing crisis like this and if you want to opt out, I get it.

However, I feel that it’s important to remind ourselves of the better nature of humanity out there in times like these. While it is extremely difficult to do that, it is a necessity to surviving and thriving under such stress.

Art, whether in book, film, television or otherwise, is a reflection of that humanity and while it’s not always pretty, it’s also a powerful incentive for us as a people to do better for not just ourselves but future generations who may face (hopefully not) even worse circumstances than ours in their lives.

Granted , not all art is intended to do that but inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources and supporting such outbursts of imagination is the first in many steps towards the evolution of a more promising world to come.

So, look forward to a better tomorrow but in the meantime, it is okay to look forward to a new book from your favorite author, that upcoming summer blockbuster or the next great PBS miniseries. Entertainment is a healthy part of a balanced emotional diet, if you ask me:

My Happy Holiday haul of books for the new year!

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 22:23:00 +0000

Happy new year, folks and hope your holiday season was a good one there. As for me, I decided to make gift gifting easier on my family by using both Book of the Month and Aardvark for their one stop shopping for me.

I must confess that I did get a couple of books early, due to adding Christmas themed titles (one of which I will talk more about later) but the other ones I received fit very nicely under my tree indeed:

Aardvark: The Once and Future Queen

Since I already started reading this one from Aardvark, it makes sense to begin with this debut novel by Paula Lafferty. Our leading lady is Vera, a modern day young woman who tends to feel out of place in the world and can’t quite figure out why.

As it turns out, she’s not truly meant to be here as a visit from the legendary wizard Merlin reveals. Vera is actually Queen Guinevere , sent to this future time as an infant due to a deadly spell that could only restore her by this unusual rebirth.

Now, she has to return to Camelot to help Arthur save their realm but those past memories are locked away, leaving her confused about what needs to be done. Having Lancelot as a ready ally seems to be more hinderance than help yet can his connection with her past self be the key to saving all of their futures?

So far, this is a rather lively and engaging read, intended to be the first in a trilogy. I certainly hope Aardvark keeps up with this twist on the classic tale as it certainly makes for an enchanting story indeed:

My other Aardvark pick was Local Heavens by K.M. Fajardo. Set in the year 2075, cyberspace diver Nick takes on a corporate espionage job that brings him in the middle of a twisted love triangle among the idle rich that involves body modification, a failing pharmaceutical fortune and class warfare.

Yes, this is a cyberpunk take on The Great Gatsby, a book that I haven’t read in a long time (and will be rereading now) and for a sharp look at the future of corporate greed upon our society, Gatsby is an excellent template for a fresh look at the subject. I am intrigued to check this out, particularly in the special ombré edition that Aardvark had in stock(I think I got the last copy!):

Book of the Month: Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil

V.E. Schwab is a writer that I’ve heard much about but never read before and yet, her latest work has gotten such praise from critics and readers alike that I just had to add this book to my gift pile.

This multi generational journey of three women, from Maria in 16th century Spain to Charlotte in London during the 1900s and then to Alice in 2019 Boston , takes us down the Gothic garden path of love, despair and literal blood lust. Is there a way to find true happiness in this eternal turmoil or is that the price of immortality?

I do like lady vampires and hopefully, this is a good introduction to Schwab’s writing for me. At the very least, I can use this book as an excuse to rewatch The Hunger:

On the lighter side, Violet Thistlewaite is not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz is a cozy fantasy featuring a bench woman seeking redemption and perhaps a bit of romance.

With her former employer having been dispatched, Violet has settled down in a small town as a flower shop owner, hoping to put her times as a wicked botanical witch behind her. Keeping her past(as well as a certain murderous house plant) in check should be easy enough.

Yet, when a new danger threatens her new home as well as her new friendship with local alchemist Nicholas, Violet finds that she may have no other choice but to open up that nasty bag of tricks again to save the day. However, even if she wins, what will she lose?

This does sound like charming fun and I do enjoy seeing a villainess trying to make a comeback in the better sense of the term:

By the way, one of the early holiday books that I got happened to be the last book that I finished in 2025!

Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman is a beautifully bittersweet delight that follows the pair of widowed people of the title into an unexpected friendship aided by watching a number of holiday themed films (and yes, Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie!).

The story blends heartbreak and humor so skillfully that it’s destined to be a seasonal classic in this genre, if you ask me. As for the other early gift, I will be saving that for a future readathon-watch this space!

Anyway, once again, hope you all had a good start to this new year and I look forward to reading more good books and talking about them . Stay warm, folks and with any luck, this time next year, all of us will be in no doubt of better days ahead:

Some of my favorite BOTM steps down the Reader’s Road this year

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:53:00 +0000

I’ve seen a good number of “read what you own/read down your TBR” type of challenges talked about online over the past couple of years and this year, I felt it was high time that I did one of my own.

So, my take on this turned out to be Book of the Month club centric with a tip of the hat to Agatha All Along; Down the Reader’s Road(with each chosen title showcased on the side panel of this blog) has been pretty successful for me as my current total of completed books adds up to a baker’s dozen so far.

I did consider doing full on reviews for each one but as time went on, a year end look at my Top Three reads seemed to be the best bet:

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel takes a character from the Ramayana and tells her side of the story, transforming her from wicked stepmother to mystical warrior queen.

Kaikeyi begins life as a princess who discovers that she has magical abilities but is forced to suppress them due to the patriarchal nature of society. When she becomes the third wife of a prominent king, finding her way to use her gifts to help other women (as well as connect with the other queens) is rewarding in more ways than one.

However, when one of her stepsons starts to show godlike powers that he can barely control, hard choices have to be made that cost Kaikeyi dearly.

Not being familiar with the source material, I was completely drawn into this vividly described world and rooting for the leading lady all the way, despite some of the decisions that tested her spirit. As a debut novel, this book was definitely a royal triumph that will lead me to seek out the author’s other stories as soon as can be:

The Mayor of Maxwell Street, another debut novel, from Avery Cunningham is set in 1920s Chicago where an ambitious young debutante seeks out the title character as part of her journalistic ambitions.

Nelly Sawyer is meant to be marrying a suitable man in order to solidify her family’s horse breeding empire yet when tasked to find the secretive go-between for the underworld gangs of Chicago by a newspaper editor, she can’t resist the challenge.

With the help of new acquaintance Jay, Nelly takes quite a walk on the wild side with consequences that are more life changing than she could have imagined.

It’s a steady paced , absorbing read that focuses on character development along with some action. Think of this as a well made miniseries, one that might give you an idea of what Chicago was like for the twin brothers Smoke and Stack before they headed home to face Sinners:

Jennifer Close’s Marrying the Ketchups is a more modern day story, following a fractured family as each of them tries to cope with a changing world once the male mainstay, Bud Sullivan, passes away.

With eager to please Teddy running the family restaurant that desperately needs an upgrade, the return of wayward sister Gretchen is quite the shake up and even the supposedly perfect suburban wife and mother Jane realizes that her reality is not what she thought it would be. Figuring out what to do next is something they all have to decide on their own but still need a little support along the way.

I know that the plot may sound sobering but there are brilliant moments of humor and relatable character development that make the pages turn briskly here. I have read one of Close’s earlier works(The Hopefuls) so I had some familiarity with her writing but clearly this particular book was truly next level for her:

I do plan to continue this challenge in the new year and with any luck, make some serious progress. It’s nice to discover that your reading choices can turn out to be better than you expected and taking a chance on new literary horizons can be fun and formative to boot.

This is my last post of 2025 and it has to end on a couple of sad notes(par for the course this year, I’m afraid). Recently, the news of Sophie Kinsella (aka Madeline Wickham) departure from this life , due to cancer, has given her worldwide readers much to mourn. My sincere sympathies are sent to her loved ones.

Best known for her entertaining Shopaholic series featuring the well meaning but prone to impulsive purchases Becky Bloomwood, Kinsella wrote 30 books with titles aimed at teens and children as well as her adult audience. Her stand alone stories dealt with romance but also other subjects such as coping with trauma, found family and emotional development.

Kinsella outlasted the “chick lit” era of publishing and created a solid niche of stories that brought more than one generation together to embrace the touching and relatable struggles of her characters quite nicely.

At the moment, I am doing a reread of Christmas Shopaholic (not the book to start this series, btw, Confessions of a Shopaholic is the place for new readers to begin) in her memory and I have no doubt that many others are doing the same. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten:

The other sad note is the tragic passing of writer/actor/director Rob Reiner and his beloved wife Michele, a prominent photographer and producer. In such a miserable year as this, the news of this terrible event is especially difficult, although much more for their circle of family and friends and all of my deepest condolences goes out to them.

The less said about a certain disrespect to their memories the better, although as one Jane Austen character might say , their sorrowful situation should secure your compassion not your ridicule! Then again, one can not offer the fruits of a crop that they never grew in the first place.

If one good notion can come out of this horrible moment, it is that it shows the importance of living a good life. Not necessarily a wealthy or public one, just being a kind and caring person that people are all too happy to think well of when they are no longer with us is enough.

Part of Rob Reiner’s legacy as an entertainer was showing the many ways that love can make the world better.

Take for example, When Harry met Sally, which is a romantic story but at the core of it is the tale of two people with completely opposite outlooks on life who discover that the best way to deal with an ever changing world is with each other, facing it together.

Love doesn’t have to be romantic or set in the expected social formats to connect people but when you give it a honest chance, great things can happen. It takes time and patience but always worth a try.

Rob Reiner came back to that theme quite often in his work, whether it was about friends, family or fellow travelers on the stage we call life. Perhaps by this time next year, we can prove him right:

A Jane Austen birthday celebration in song!

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 20:41:00 +0000

With the 250th birthday of our dear Jane Austen fast approaching this month(December 16, to be precise), choosing the best way to honor such an auspicious occasion was difficult indeed.

However, as I put my mind to the task of selecting just the proper approach for such a literary icon, the answer came as loud and clear as a bell; a musical soirée. After all, Jane was fond of music in her day and that has been reflected in many of her characters for better (Marianne Dashwood) and for worse(poor Mary Bennet!).

So, presented here for your entertainment is a gathering of Austen folk using quite a bit of creative license in the manner of Julia Quinn’s charming Bridgerton series to perform some very rollicking music pieces:

We begin with Miss Anne Eliot, lately of Kellylynch Hall, on the pianoforte to play in honor of a renewed acquaintance that promises to be a more congenial connection as time goes on, Double’s “The Captain of her Heart”:

Next, we have a duet from the newly married Mr and Mrs. Darcy ,who have chosen to recreate the first proposal of marriage between them that did not directly lead to their presently contented union.

As Mr. Darcy’s new father-in-law is wont to say”What do we live , but to make sport for our neighbors and be laughed at them in return?”, in that spirit, this rendition of The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” is performed:

From our visitors from Mansfield Park, here’s another duet with Miss Mary Crawford on harp and Miss Fanny Price in song(accompanied on piano by her cousin Maria) with the assistance of Mr. Edmund Bertram, a rather playful number that might remind one of a sadly cancelled amateur theatre production of Lovers Vows.

For which young lady to be considered either the Brandy or the Monica of this particular version of “The Boy is Mine”, I allow the audience to discern for themselves:

For our finale, Miss Jane Fairfax is, as her aunt Bates repeatedly assures us, is most happy to delight us on the piano that was just sent to her.

Perhaps the musical gift came from her benefactor Col. Campbell or may perhaps someone else eager to gain her attentions before she went visiting to Highbury, as suggested to Miss Emma Woodhouse the other day.

Regardless, the sender was kind enough to include some Irish melodies with this gift, such as the late Sinead O’Connor’s beautifully composed “Nothing Compares to You”:

As our ensemble takes their bows, we here at LRG do wish the memory of Jane Austen and her brief yet spectacular body of work our very best, with fond hopes of this pleasure being repeated for another two hundred and fifty years or more.

As for our assembly of devoted readers, may we all take a delightful moment of celebration for all of the joy that Miss Austen’s books have given us, perhaps a bid of posh dancing might be in order indeed:

Making merry with the Yuletide Spirit reading challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 20:23:00 +0000

Well, the winter holiday season is definitely upon us and as a break from the seasonal frenzy all around me, I decided to join in on Seasons of Reading’s Yuletide Spirit reading challenge, held by Michelle Miller(who also has a separate series dedicated to the Christmas season).

For the challenge, you just need to select a level of holiday themed reading to go for; mine is Mistletoe which is between two to four books and I have three in this TBR at the moment. One is on order , the other arrived a couple of days ago and currently, I am in the midst of…

The Christmas Tree Farm:

In this third entry of Laurie Gilmore’s Dream Harbor series, we met Kira, a new arrival to town, who is surprised to learn that the quaint piece of property that she brought is a tree farm that everyone expects her to reopen in time for the holidays.

Due to spending more than she intended on the land, Kira finds that she has no other choice but to restart the business and finds unexpected help in the form of Bennet, a temporary visitor (his sister runs the local cafe) who has been recruited by the town to revive the farm as well as keep an eye out for a possible buried treasure on the grounds.

Since Kira is more fond of Bennet’s dogs(one of them is named Odie as in the Garfield comics!) than she is of him, this relationship is not off to a promising start to say the least. However, they do begin to slowly warm up to each other and by the time a major snow storm hits the area, those few sparks are ready to set off a roaring fire indeed!

I have read the first two books in this series (and there are more to follow after this one) and enjoyed them quite a bit. The “Gilmore Girls with a sexier edge”vibe of these stories works for me and that each book has a musical playlist attached to it especially helps for setting the right holiday romance mood here:

After that, my next pick is The Mistletoe Mystery, a novella from the Molly the Maid series by Nita Prose.

Molly hasn’t had a good Christmas since her beloved grandmother died yet this year promises to be different. With her circumstances becoming much better than before and having Juan Michael to share this season with, Molly hopes to not have any mysterious events to look into.

However, a bizarre exchange during the Regency Grand Hotel’s Secret Santa party brings up a lot of questions about who she can trust, particularly when it comes to Juan Michael. Is Molly able to solve this mystery without having her heart broken into the bargain?

Since this book is still on its way to me via Better World Books, I hope to find out before Christmas Eve. Molly is a delight to know on page and if anyone fictional deserves a romantic happy ending, she’s the one:

Fortunately, the last book in this TBR is already awaiting to be opened, thanks to Book of the Month Club.

Good Spirits by B.K. Borison is best described as “A Christmas Carol meets The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” with our leading lady Harriet being haunted by a spirit of Christmas Past named Nolan.

With Harriet being a rather sweet natured soul, Nolan wonders why he was sent to haunt her in the first place. She is curious about that as well and the more they get to know each other, the distinct possibility that he’s the one in need of saving begins to cross their minds. Can this the case and if so, do they want to risk the love connection forged between them to earn a redemption by Christmas Eve?

This does sound charming and since I did read one of Borison’s other works this year(First Time Caller), this ought to the perfect holiday read for me. An added bonus is the ghost angle as one of my favorite sitcoms has similar themes in abundance:

If you’re interested in signing up for either the readathon or the challenge, there is a link in the second paragraph of this post that will steer you towards the correct website. As always, much thanks to Michelle Miller for getting us band of eager readers on the proper path this and every other year.

Look, I know good and well how chaotic this year alone has become, with more difficult challenges perhaps in the year to come. However, one thing to keep in mind as the end of the year approaches is that renewing your energy for what lies ahead is the best way to start off on the new adventures before us.

Also, appreciating the good that we do have in our lives such as family, friends or loved ones of all sorts are treasures that no one can truly rob us of, despite their dubious best efforts. While it’s hard to reimagine our lives from what they once were in the past, we can use our present moment in time to give ourselves a better future for all to share in.

So, let’s keep our spirits bright with some good books and of course, a classic song in our hearts:

Taking some Turkey Time off

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 19:24:00 +0000

As it turns out, next week is going to be busier than I expected so LRG is going to have to take a Thanksgiving break. However, I did want to leave some festive bookish goodies out for all of you to snack on:

First, if you’re in the mood for a good cozy mystery with seasonal flair, Leslie Meier’s Lucy Stone series is a sure bet for savory fun.

Her small town leading lady of the title covers the holiday and special occasion front (Wedding Day Murder and Bake Sale Murder are just two examples)quite well and in the later books, she often adds a sprinkle of social justice issues to boot.

The two titles that are well suited here are Turkey Day Murder and Turkey Trot Murder, the latter involving a 5K race and obnoxious rich people (take that as you will). What I do enjoy about this series is the sitcom vibes of the setting that offsets the murders rather nicely, strange but true! If you’re looking for some light hearted reading in between recipe planning and TV specials, these turkey tales are certainly worth a taste:

If you happen to be more interested in what’s coming up in next year’s book adaptation at the movies, these new teaser trailer for Sunrise on the Reaping has just been released.

This second prequel for The Hunger Games series follows the gruesome Quarter Quell that future mentor to Katniss Everdeen Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zara) had to endure. The casting includes such notables as Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, Ralph Fiennes, Billy Porter and Glenn Close, with a release for November of 2026.

While I didn’t read the first prequel or see that movie(both of which had mixed reviews), the praise for Sunrise on the Reaping has been strongly solid from day one, making me a little intrigued to check this out, plus Glenn Close’s entrance is cinematic diva gold, if you ask me!:

Also, this upcoming January has an adaptation of Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation due to arrive on Netflix with a trailer already out and about.

Emily Bader and Tom Blyth star as Poppy and Alex, who having been taking vacations together as friends for a number of years. After a serious falling out that divided them for two years, Poppy manages to convince Alex to take one last trip together to see if they can make things right.

This is the first of Emily Henry’s rather popular novels to get the major movie treatment so expectations are quite high to say the least.

While I haven’t read this particular book yet, I did read the novel written by Yulin Kuang(How to End a Love Story)who adapted this screenplay and that book was heartbreakingly good which bodes well for this movie indeed:

With that, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and look forward to wrapping up the rest of this bizarrely memorable year in December.

Look, I know that it’s hard to relax and just get into the holiday groove these days but we can take a break to recharge and reassess before New Year’s Eve strikes that final chime into a fresh set of twelve months into the unknown.

Yet, we did have a few good things happen along the way and if we give each other the proper emotional support to get us through another round of this, that number of good things might rapidly increase by this time next year. Worth trying for at the very least.

So, do take that well deserved time off and find some fun with a good book, movie or song. Speaking of song, I leave you with this excellent take on a truly trippy classic perfect for a hotel stay on the wild side-enjoy!:

My GR Choice Awards TBR(long list edition)!

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 21:20:00 +0000

It’s that time of year when book lovers both cheer and lament over the Goodreads Choice Awards, which opened up the voting last week for the long list of categories such as Best Fiction, Best Romance and Best Romantasy(looks like that one here to stay).

The final round of voting, which cuts down the number of contenders, begins on November 25 and the winners to b announced on December 4. While the GR awards are mostly the literary version of the People’s Choice Awards (if you know, you know), they still are useful as a way to go over your current reading for the year.

To that end, I decided to set up a TBR based on the long list of books I need to catch up on by the end of 2025 into the early part of 2026.

Two of these books are Book of the Month club and the other two are Aardvark selections. These are not the only GRCA nominees I have in the unread category but if those others make it to the finals, I might add them in(even one of my Cozy November reads is on the long list!)later. For now, this should be a good starting point:

Aardvark

In the Debut Nivel category, I was thrilled to see Venessa Vida Kelley’s When the Tides Held the Moon and yes, I voted for it right away!

It will be read, I promise. This gorgeously illustrated novel tells the tale of Benny, who used his blacksmith skills in the 1910s to create a unique cage for the sideshow in Luna Park that holds Rio, a merman captured in the East River.

While Benny finds friendship among his new coworkers, his feelings for Rio grow much stronger, leading him to choose between freeing his beloved or becoming another cynical human doing what he can to survive a harsh world.

This book is such a gem to behold in and of itself yet ultimately a book is made to be opened and appreciated for its words as well. Perhaps saving the best for last isn’t such a bad idea after all:

In the Fantasy section, The Devils by Joe Abercrombie was still among the unread on my shelf so I clearly needed to add it here.

I’ve heard nothing but praise about Abercrombie’s offbeat take on the genre and this book certainly sounds like fun. Set in an alternate medieval universe, Brother Diaz is tasked by the female Pope to claim an ancient crown with the help of a motley crew of mystical misfits before her political rivals can get to it first. Adventures, bloody action and a touch of romance follows along the perilous pages.

I don’t know if this is the best book to start reading of this author’s but since this does have The Suicide Squad(James Gunn.version) vibes, it sounds like the ideal one to me:

Book of the Month Club

In Historical Fiction, the latest by Fiona Davis, The Stolen Queen, was to be found and I wonder if being chosen by the Calvi Book Club earlier this season didn’t give this one an extra boost of reader attention.

Set in New York of 1978, museum curator Charlotte Cross must enlist the aid of Anne Jenkins when an Egyptian artifact is discovered missing during the iconic Met Gala, which Anne was organizing.

Charlotte is very familiar with the stolen item as she was on the archaeological team that found it in 1936, with dire consequences that came along with it. Having no other choice, the pair must go to Egypt to reclaim what was once owned by a female Pharaoh whose curse may doom them both.

I’ve enjoyed Davis’ work before, with her solid New York centric settings and well crafted characters. This book might benefit from the recent buzz around the Lourve heist but I prefer the focus on untold feminine rulers all the more:

The Horror section was pretty strong this time around and among the ones that I haven’t gotten to yet, The Posession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Canas stood out strongly to me.

Fleeing from a plague in 1865, Alba and her family take refuge at the home of her fiancé near a remote mine. This proximity to such a haunted place causes a slow yet steady series of changes in Alba that only her future cousin in law Elias seems to notice.

With a demonic force taking over, Alba finds that Elias is her strongest ally in fighting off this particular evil and perhaps their true chance at some form of salvation.

Having read Canas before, it’s great to see her get more recognition for her increasingly good and sinister storytelling that ought to make her the next big thing in this field indeed:

Having a reading plan in motion for this time of yearly transition is good, especially since I will need room for the books I’m hoping to get this Christmas! Also, this gives me a nice focus for my page turning future.

While the Goodreads Choice Awards are far from perfect (having one author with multiple books in one category is way too much) and does need to showcase better diversity in books and authors, it can be a boon to highlighting many titles that could benefit from an extra spotlight here.

At the very least, it’s a worthwhile distraction from the real world chaos we’re dealing with right now and that’s not an excuse for the awards being less than fully representative of their entire audience. All I am saying is that for now, this can be both a rallying cry for change and a welcome relief from our collective anxiety. The two goals are not mutually exclusive.

Think of the Goodreads Choice Awards as akin to the Dundies given out on various seasons of The Office; somewhat well meaning yet awkwardly presented and at the best of times, enduringly amusing. Just don’t get too overwrought about it, find that Pam Beasley balance if you can!:

The LRG Best Books of 2025

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 21:27:00 +0000

It may be November but those end of the year round-ups are already starting and with book award season in full swing, what better time to share my LRG Best Books List for this rather tumultuous year of 2025?

This is a basic top five(with some honorable mentions coming up) of books that I read to completion this year and throughly enjoyed. My picks are all fiction (didn’t want to get into too much nonfiction as the daily headlines give me enough to deal with) and for the most part, published this year.

There’s a TBR reading challenge that I’ve been doing this year that will get a separate post of top reads later this month( none of those titles are listed here for that reason), Okay, time to present my literary winners in a somewhat chronological order of when I read them:

Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert: This debut novel from Drag Race superstar Bob the Drag Queen gives us a what if scenario; what if legendary figures from the past just suddenly showed up and decided to use modern day means to talk about their experiences with the rest of us?

As the title suggests, our narrator Darnell is recruited by Harriet and a small number of her historical traveling companions to produce their rap album as well as set up their tour. During this process, Darnell not only gets to work on the project of a lifetime, he also comes away with learning a few truths that could help him get over one of the worst moments of his personal and professional life.

The book is a short ride but filled to the brim with history, humor and heart, plus a couple of songs (added to the audio book edition) that make for a meaningful emotional soundtrack indeed:

Storybook Ending: Moira Macdonald’s charming ode to romcoms is set in a bookstore, of course, with an offbeat love triangle to say the least.

For one thing, two women are trying to romance the same man without each other knowing it along the guy in question!

It starts with April, who leaves a note in a book for handsome store clerk Westley, only he doesn’t read it. Instead, the note is found by Laura, who thinks that Westley wrote it for her.

As for Westley, he’s more interested in the big league indie movie being filmed at the store than anything else and the camera really seems to love him as he takes a small part in the production. A charming sort of chaos soon follows.

This is the kind of novel that makes you wish that Nora Ephron was still with us in order to bring this engaging romantic comedy of errors to vivid cinematic life. For a debut novel, Macdonald shows the steady hand of a seasoned pro when it comes to this type of prose:

The Will of the Many: If I had to sum up this epic book in one Hollywood style pitch, I’d have to say “Hunger Games meets I,Claudius”yet it’s much more than that.

This first entry in James Islington’s

fantasy series introduces us to Vis, once a prince but now alone and orphaned by the empire known as The Hierarchy, which gains its powers by draining people of their actual will power.

Living a rough and tumble existence, Vis is recruited by Ulciscor Telimus, a high ranking official, to infiltrate Catenan Academy, a training ground for young future leaders, to discover the truth behind the mysterious death of Ulciscor’s brother . Having a hidden agenda of his own, Vis takes the offer yet finds that there’s much more that he bargained for here.

I won’t say more than that but I can say that now I understand the immense praise this story has been getting from readers and critics alike.

Granted, I had a rushed reading time with it(had to return it to the library sooner than I expected) but this intense blend of political drama, fantasy and coming of age saga was quite the page turning intoxicating bookish delight that I haven’t had the pleasure of in such a long time.

The second book, The Strength of the Few, was released earlier this month and I don’t know when it will be in my hands but I do know for a certainty that it will be worth the wait and then some:

Love is a War Song: On that same library trip that brought me to Will of the Many, I considered myself blessed by the bookish gods upon finding Danica Nava’s second novel on the shelves as well.

Our leading lady is Avery Fox, a rising pop star whose career has taken a major stumble due to a controversial magazine cover.

To ride out the backlash in private, Avery’s mom/manager sends to Oklahoma to stay at the horse ranch of her grandmother Lottie, whom she’s never met due to unresolved emotional issues. While there, Avery begins to learn more about her heritage and family history as well as clash with Lucas , Lottie’s right hand man who finds her shallow upon first sight.

Having read Nava’s first novel, The Truth According to Ember, not long before taking up this book, it was a treat to see the quick leaps and bounds in storytelling skills that the author has made so far. No doubt about it, Nava is on her way to being a literary chart topper with this riveting romcom that shows love is a battlefield yet worth winning nonetheless:

Lucky Day:

This wild new ride by Chuck Tingle has a number of interesting themes in it, such as the depths of corruption, recovery from trauma and bi erasure, yet the overwhelming universal theme that I found within these pages is facing the utter chaos of life itself.

The novel follows Vera, who lost her mother during a bizarrely tragic occurrence called the Low Probability Event, in which the most unlikely events happened all at once. This LPE lead to massive deaths and emotional aftershocks that even four years later, Vera hasn’t been able to start to recover from.

Having been a devoted statistician, Vera’s faith in stability has been shattered severely but when a government agent asks her to join in an investigation on a suspiciously lucky casino that may hold the answers to what happened that terrible day, she takes him up on that offer and her true journey begins.

To say that the story that unfolds here is unimaginable is an understatement and a compliment all at once. Tingle has an amazing talent in mixing horror, humor and finely tuned emotional depth that is breathtaking to behold. It’s a strong cup of tea to be sure yet worth taking a taste of true literary magic worthy of being seriously savored:

Lucky Day, as it happens, is a nominee in the Horror category of the Goodreads Choice Awards, which started their opening voting rounds today, Yes, I voted for Lucky Day and a few others ( which I plan to post about soon) and hopefully, it will make the finals. Keeping my fingers crossed for sure on that one!

In the meanwhile, here are my honorable mentions, books that are great reads that I highly recommend:

The Build-a-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

A couple of those book are also Goodreads nominees but regardless of that , they are definitely awesome books on their own merits. I just didn’t want to overwhelm my post with such massive praise for them!

Here’s to looking forward to more wonderful books in our collective future, despite how fraught our timeline looks at the moment. Yes, it’s hard to deal with these times that we’re going through yet it does help to take a break for simple moments of joy.

This morning, I saw the first snow of the season( snow flurries but still..) and while running my usual errands, discovered to my delight that it was cold enough for my breath to fog up. It happened briefly but that once was plenty enough for a small surprise of fun.

Not much of a thrill, I know, but being able to do that was always a mini magical bit that I have been charmed by since childhood and it’s nice to get that little jolt of bliss from such a mundane thing after all these years.

It may not be much but those tiny things that give you a sense of pure happiness are treasures worth protecting. Whether it’s the weather, a favorite cookie or a good book, those are gifts that no one can take away, no matter how much they try. Happy reading, folks , this and every year to come:

Going through my FrightFall bag of bookish treats

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 21:19:00 +0000

Happy post-Halloween, folks and I hope your seasonal reading was a real treat as was mine for the FrightFall readathon hosted by Michelle Miller over at Seasons of Reading!

Before we begin here, yes, I swapped out a book from my already established TBR for this event(my mood had changed as I shall explain) and yes, the final book was finished on All Saints Day but it was completed before the end of the weekend, which sort of counts, I hope?

Anyway, the first book that I did finish here was Play Nice by Rachel Harrison. Clio, a snarky social influencer, is the youngest of three sisters whose mother Alex gained dubious fame by claiming the house that she and her daughters moved into was demonically possessed.

Clio barely remembered that bizarre period in their lives so when the news of Alex’s death reached her, she had no major qualms about reclaiming the house for a makeover project she could vlog about. This whole move angers her remaining family yet Clio is determined to do this.

Upon cleaning out the place, she discovers a copy of the book her mom wrote about the haunting, a book that she and her sisters swore to their father that they would never read. Driven by curiosity and some of the strange vibes in the house itself, Clio finds herself in a situation where either she’s reliving Alex’s nightmare or making a new one for herself.

This is my first time reading Harrison and I have to say that I really liked it and want to read more from her. The story is supernaturally based but it’s also a smart and savvy look at dysfunctional family dynamics as well as the deadly allure of attention seeking in both private and public life.

Plus, some engaging moments of humor mixed with the emotional tension all make for a storytelling tune you can hum along with in fearsome harmony:

After that, I dove into Sophie Jordan’s Marked by Moonlight , a reissue of the first book in her Moon Chasers series.

Meek and mild schoolteacher Claire has her life turned upside down after an encounter with a large “dog” marks her for death in more ways than one.

According to the new man in her life, Gideon, Claire was bitten by a werewolf and meant to become one herself by the time of the new moon. The secret lycan hunter society that he belongs to has a set protocol for such cases as hers; instant death before that happens.

However, Gideon finds himself moved to try and save Claire from that fate, a difficult task since she doesn’t believe him at first and then later on. finds some enticing advantages to being a were. Heightened strength, speed and a new found confidence are pretty good benefits yet she doesn’t want to lose her soul in the bargain.

While the focus of the book is on the romance between Claire and Gideon, I was much more intrigued by the werewolf cultural norms that cropped up towards the latter half of the story. While it’s a rather alpha male setup, there is an introduction to a werewolf who refuses to be part of a pack and has sworn off attacking humans during his changing times. A good concept that reminds me of Oz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer(only Oz was way more chill).

No doubt more of that is explored in the other books in this series (plus a couple of characters such as Gideon’s younger sister who wants to a lycan hunter yet is shut out due to being a woman) I might want to check a couple of those entries out as well. For now, this was a fun romp into popcorn page turning moonlit delight:

And finally, I decided to take up T. Kingfisher’s Hemlock & Silver as my last read here. I was still in the mood for supernatural scares and this fairy tale inspired novel has quite a bit of that and then some.

Anja is a poison expert who has been fascinated by the search for an antidote for numerous deadly concoctions almost all her life.

Her talents bring the newly bereaved king to her door, seeking her help in discovering what ails his daughter Snow. Her mother the queen and little sister Rose died under tragic circumstances yet Snow’s wasting away is more than just grief over that loss.

At first, Anja is frustrated at not being able to find not only the possibility of poisoning but any sort of cause for her new patient’s condition. Then one day, the discovery of a strange apple linked to the multitude of mirrors at the remote royal estate that they’re staying at reveals much and yet conceals some terrifying secrets that could doom all involved.

Without getting into more details, this story is a take on the classic Snow White tale yet Kingfisher has an amazing ability to create fresh new fiction from such well known material, embroidering rich character development along side fantastical swatches of creatures both human and otherwise that make up a gorgeous tapestry of fantasy at it’s best.

Yes, there were plenty of scary moments to include this book into this challenge but it’s the heartfelt affection given to these characters that truly is the spine of the story. This reimagining of Snow White and the wicked queen is steady enough to stand on its own and also makes for a welcome addition to that iconic pantheon:

So, this was definitely a good gruesome time and my thanks to Michelle Miller for giving us all the perfect treat basket to put such devious delights in.

In the meanwhile, the holiday season ahead is going to be rough going, given the daily headlines that seem to get worse as we go on. Nonetheless, the best way forward is to help each other out as much as possible and to keep a good thought or two in our hearts.

Hard to do, I know, but finding what comfort you can to revive your spirits is important to your emotional health. For me, one of those things that I take comfort in is a reread of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, which I plan on doing this month.

While Alcott disliked having this book being her crowning achievement in literature (she would’ve rather preferred one of her gothic novels claiming that honor instead), her use of family lore in bringing the March sisters to vivid life was a special kind of magic that couldn’t be ignored by anyone.

It’s also inspired many a reader to have such a loving family to look to in bad as well as good times and no matter how that family has come together, the love, laughter and support is what makes any version of such a story worth revisiting.

A true classic shows both the best and worst of what we have to offer the world and in the case of Little Women, hopefully our best will be good enough for those readers yet to turn that first page:

Treating myself to an Aardvark Autumn feast of reading

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 19:59:00 +0000

One of the reading adventures I took this year was trying out Aardvark, the book subscription service that offered rather more offbeat titles than the average book boxes out there.

As much as I enjoyed gathering up some new to me books and authors to engage with, my time with Aardvark had to come to an end due to the limits of my entertainment budget (we all know how the economy is these days..).

So, I was fine with that for the most part as I still had plenty of other affordable book buying options to work with. Yet, I did look in on their latest offerings every now and then, sighing longingly at times. It was nice while it lasted or so I thought!

Thanks to a very tiny windfall that covered the price of a one month gift subscription to Aardvark , my new box of September/October books are on the way!

My must-have title was Chuck Tingle’s Lucky Day, which happens to be a special edition, which looks at the seemingly randomness of the universe and just how random is it? When former statistics professor Vera is recruited by a special government agent to investigate the against the odds success of a certain casino, the stakes for her are quite personal.

The source of the casino’s luck can be traced to a bizarre event four years prior that caused multiple deaths in rather improbable ways(being attacked by a monkey using a typewriter for example and Vera’s mother was one of those casualties.

Her faith in her field of interest shattered, Vera was feeling useless until Special Agent Layne arrived. Given the chance to find out what really happened , along with possibly preventing another such occurrence from destroying more lives, she’s ready to resharpen her skills but can she truly play the game to win?

Tingle’s take on story telling is engagingly strange and emotionally touching, quite the fictional combination to be sure. However, like a top chef, Tingle blends those offbeat flavors into a satisfying plate of page turning delight:

I paired that with Mate, Ali Hazelwood’s follow-up to Bride, that has another paranormal romance in store for some supporting players from the previous novel.

Serena Paris is the first of her kind, a hybrid of human and were. With one foot in each realm and yet not being accepted by either side, her safety is at risk from more than one quarter.

Her best chance for survival is Koen Alexander, a powerful Alpha leader amongst the Weres whose authority is never questioned. Being his mate is an instant guarantee of protection yet the real risks here may be if the heart for them both.

I did like Bride, which I read earlier this year, and while my story telling tastes tend to favor vampires in this category, some heartfelt howling at the moon just feels so right to me these days:

To round things up, my choice was a magical romcom, Witch You Would by Lia Amador.

Penelope is hoping to make her dreams come true by taking part in a spell casting competition show with a huge cash prize at stake and a celebrity partner to boot,

Said partner is Leandro, a viral video magician whose gimmicky tricks may not be enough to get the win. As it happens, Leandro is actually Gil, Penelope’s secret pen pal who took on this goofy online persona in order to raise money to save the charity his grandfather created. Can the two of them cast the ultimate spell for love and victory in more ways than one?

This sounds like fabulous fun and I might even add this magical treat to my Cozy November challenge, we shall see:

With any luck, the Aardvark box should be here by Halloween, giving me the best grown up treat in time for the holiday. Believe you me, I could a little pick me up right about now.

Look, I do know that there are more pressing concerns when it comes to money at the moment and I seriously want to see those we put in charge of such things get their act together and work together to make life better for all concerned.

I do consider myself to be very fortunate in my situation with my loved ones that getting some new books is still a viable option yet it’s also important to realize that this is not even a practical concern for most people here. I want so much for folks to feel safe and secure in their lives when it comes to basic needs and rights and shame on those who are eager to rob them of that.

Taking this opportunity for some extra literary bliss is emotionally healthy for me as the state of the world is scarier than any horror movie marathon playing this Halloween week. Mental health refreshers are important to keep our spirits up and give us the fortitude to fight the good fight as best we can.

So, if you have a moment to yourself (or just make one a priority), eat that treat, watch that silly show or grab a hold of a good book to put your worries away for just a little while. Do what you are able to do for others but don’t neglect yourself in the process.

Also, as a fan of autumn vibes, this book box couldn’t arrive at a more perfect time. With the weather finally getting colder and the leaves on the verge of bursting into seasonal colors, curling up under warm blanket with one or two these Aardvark reads while rewatching Gilmore Girls is a simple joy to be sipped and savored as a cup of hot cocoa indeed:

Challenging myself to a Cozy November of reading

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 19:40:00 +0000

I know that Halloween is only a couple of weeks away and my current holiday themed readathon is going pretty good at the moment-finished one book, in the middle of another and might swap out the third-yet, it doesn’t feel too soon to make bookish plans for next month.

So, I decided to challenge myself to Cozy November , in which I pick a trio of books off my TBR that are definitely on the lighter side of their respective genres to indulge in. A perfect excuse to settle down under a warm blanket and sip an equally warm drink as the pages turn.

To start this off right, A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna is my first pick. Our leading lady is Sera Swan, who has lost most of her powers due to a spell that brought her great Aunt Jasmine back from the beyond.

Having been shut out of her guild, Sera now runs an inn with her aunt and a talking fox with dubious motives. When moody magical historian Luke Larsen arrives in town in need of a room, Sera’s inn is not only available but in need of his vast knowledge that could restore her powers completely.

Will Luke help her or is Sera simply stuck between the realms of mortals and magicians for all time? Plus, can a little love make things right for them both?

I did enjoy Mandanna’s earlier novel(The Secret Society of Irregular Witches) very much and this new book promises to be as enchanting as that one, perhaps even more. At the very least, this should be a spell binding slow burn of a story fit for the fall season:

Speaking of stories, my next choice for this challenge is Poppy Alexander’s The Battle of the Bookshops, set in a quaint seaside village in England, where Jules Capelthorne returns home to in order save her family’s nearly century old bookshop.

Competition has arrived in the form of Roman Montbeaus, who has opened a rival bookstore right across from Capelthorne’s Books and is determined to keep the long tradition of their mutual families’ rivalry going strong. With sales down and the lease about to be called up, can Jules save the beloved business and maybe find some true love in the bargain?

The Romeo and Juliet vibes mixed in with small town sweetness are very appealing here, plus a bookseller themed showdown is true catnip to a fan of You’ve Got Mail like me:

Last yet far from least, Every Time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies, the first in a new series by Catherine Mack, seems like a fitting finale read to me.

When Eleanor Dash reaches Italy on her latest book tour for her successful murder mystery novels, she finds herself in the midst of a perilous plot against her former collaborator Connor, whose claims of someone out to kill him may be all too true.

Granted, she was planning to do away with his fictional counterpart in her books but killing him off outside of that seems a bit too much! With numerous suspects on hand and among her friends and fans as well, will Eleanor be able to keep the real life version of her popular hero safe and sound for the next chapter of their lives?

The concept sounds fun and I have heard good word of mouth about this quirky mystery machine. Plus, I could use a fresh take on this particular genre , which feels so fall friendly indeed:

With my reading stack at the ready, my Cozy November will begin on the first of the month and hopefully get me through Thanksgiving as well as Black Friday to boot. If anyone out there likes this idea and wants to take it up on their own or with other reading buddies, please feel free to do so.

Part of my reason for doing this is to celebrate what I consider the apex of autumn; the Thanksgiving season that, despite its problematic origins, still holds a special charm for me.

Call it nostalgia if you will but the general notion of people gathering together for a nice meal with friends and family of all sorts to celebrate what good things in life they do have to share to me is just a sweet and simple tradition that is worth upholding. Especially during these chaotic times that we’re collectively dealing with, perhaps a time out such as this might be helpful towards figuring out how best to face what lies ahead and figure out what to do next.

Also, I’m on a bit of a Gilmore Girls kick at the moment and we can all agree that that show has a serious pop culture lockdown on those fabulous fall feelings there. Not to mention that Luke and Lorelai are the OG of the Grumpy/Sunshine sub genre of romance for sure! All good reasons to read some cozy goodness, if you ask me:

Adding some creative toppings to my Movie Trailer Park popcorn

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 19:08:00 +0000

One pop culture crop that always is ready for harvest this time of year are literary adaptations at the movies. Particularly since award season is not too far off there…

Yet my film focus for today is on those current and upcoming movies that take some creative chances with the source material.

To start, let’s look at Frankenstein , Guillermo Del Toro’s latest movie that will be available for streaming this No and is arriving in theaters this very week. Oscar Issac plays the well known creator of the creature (Jacob Elordi), shunned by society and rejected by the one that made him even before the death toll begins.

Critical praise for the film has been strong and given not only the magnificent visuals that Del Toro is renowned for but the screenplay that he also wrote showcases the creature in a more sympathetic light(another hallmark of his work), this new production of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel should be a fresh vision that honors the original story beautifully:

Also in November is The Running Man , based on one of Stephen King’s Richard Bachman books, which is technically a remake yet not at all.

Instead of following the formula of the earlier Arnold Schwarzenegger action film version, director/co-screenwriter Edgar Wright takes the story straight from the book itself.

Here, Ben Richards(Glen Powell) signs up for the futuristic reality show that hunts him down within the larger population in order to pay for his child’s medical bills.

The popular show, gleefully run by producer Dan Killian(Josh Brolin) and hosted by Bobby Thompson (Coleman Domingo), encourages regular people to assist the Hunters and claim some rewards of their own but as Ben continues to defy the odds, more and more folks are betting against the house and rooting for a potentially ground shifting winner this time around.

As entertaining as the 1987 movie adaptation was, this one should blow the roof off of that film in more ways than one. Seeing this as well as The Long Walk(which had it’s first adaptation released over the summer) be made available to wider audiences promises to widen the circle of Richard Bachman readers as well:

However, if you want to see a movie right now that takes it’s cues from the literary realm, then I highly recommend One Battle After Another.

This latest work by Paul Thomas Anderson is said to be inspired by iconoclastic writer Thomas Pynchon’s book Vineland and granted, this is an author whose works I find much too daunting to dive into yet PTA does capture the flavor of that style of writing quite nicely.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob aka Pat Calhoun, a former revolutionary turned stoner slacker dad to daughter Willa(Chase Infiniti), who have been on their own since the disappearance of his romantic partner and Willa’s mother Perfidia Beverley Hills(Teyana Taylor).

When a past enemy, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), decides to use what powers are available to him to track Bob and Willa down for his own personal purposes, that awkward existence quickly changes for parent and child, taking them and anyone who joins them along the way on a long, strange journey that’s hard to predict how it ends.

I saw this movie over the past weekend and it is quite the wild ride indeed. Yes, it’s long(about two and an half hours) but never boring. Instead, this story is a heady mix of humor, tension and emotional drama blended with some sharp edged social satire that strongly resonates with today’s headlines. I don’t want to get into too much detail here but this is a movie that very much ,like a good book, sucks you into the world it’s created and doesn’t let go for a second.

While OBAA is more of an “inspired by” than a direct adaptation of Vineland, PTA is a major fan of Thomas Pynchon and has made a movie based on that writer’s work before(Inherent Vice in 2014) yet it received a mixed reception at best. Perhaps it was by being a bit more free and easy with this particular story that helped him showcase why Pynchon is one of his all time favorites.

The performances are amazingly great, the look of the film(made in old school Vista Vision) is captivating and even if you haven’t read or heard of Pynchon, director/co-writer PTA gives you a very good idea of what that author’s writing is like and why it’s one of his artistic inspirations to this day:

Interesting how all three of these adaptations have their directors take part in writing the screenplays as well. Guess it really can be a bonus to have a visual creator be able to see and feel the depths of the tale he or she is translating from one medium to another there.

That trend seems to be continuing into next year as actress Maggie Gyllenhaal gives us The Bride! in March of 2026. This new twist on The Bride of Frankenstein is set in Chicago during the 1930s with Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale as an undead Bonnie and Clyde.

This is Gyllenhaal’s second film as a writer/director and certainly one to watch out for. Whether it makes its mark as a new cult classic or simply inspires an eyebrow raise or two, such chances taken are what the best movies and books are all about. At the very least, all roads here will lead back to the book, the truly desired result of them all:

Setting up a reading rhapsody in blue with BOTM

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 19:12:00 +0000

I know that October is supposed to be all about scary books(enjoying my current readathon read as we speak) for Halloween but my grown-up version of trick or treat this month includes getting my Book Boss prize from Book of the Month Club(it’s a book sleeve, my very first one!) and a couple of books with blue tinged covers to match.

For my main selection, The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss , her debut novel,seemed like the perfect ticket.

Engaged couple Ellie and Drake feel as if their new life together is getting off to a great start yet that notion is challenged by an unusual film festival. Upon discovering the movie theater of the title, they are given 10 passes to a ten part film series called The Story of You, which is literally about their past memories.

Drake is rather freaked out by this but Ellie is not as much ,despite having a tragic time in her past that she hasn’t yet shared with him. Can they face their mutual fears in this unique movie viewing experience and be willing to step into the sequel of the rest of their lives together? Or is this cinematic adventure a one and done deal?

I do love a story with a movie themed plot and this story does sound charmingly refreshing. Plus, debut novels do have that inviting flavor of buttery newness like a fresh bucket of popcorn at a weekend matinee so this was a hard to resist choice for me:

For my add on , I went with Hayley Gelfuso’s The Book of Lost Hours that has more that one point in time for it’s characters to explore.

We start with Lisavet, who has been living in a special time space library since 1938 , making it her duty to protect the books that store precious memories of those departed within them from those seeking to rewrite history.

When an American agent named Ernest enters the library in 1949, at first Lisavet is curious about the world she had to leave behind. Yet, once she learns the true nature of his mission, hard choices that could change more than just the time line must be made.

Ernest’s quest is then followed up by his niece Amelia in 1965, with the assistance of a CIA operative with mysterious motives. While Amelia has an innate ability to travel between worlds, her special skills can’t fully prepare for what’s to come.

This novel is also a debut and a Good Morning America book pick to boot. Word of mouth has been good for this heartfelt tale of time , love and what our connections to the world are through each of those doors:

As it turns out, one of my recent library loans also has a blue hued cover and a story line with magical elements as well. Blue is not usually my go-to on the color wheel (that would be purple) but something about that shade is drawing me to certain books right now.

One of the big differences here is that my library book is not a debut; The Glass Maker is Tracy Chevalier’s eleventh novel and while it begins in the fifteenth century, it’s leading lady thrives all the way into our present day world.

Orsola grew up in a family of glass makers from the island village of Milano near Venice, Italy, wanting nothing than to be one of the best in that practical art. Such a dream was not encouraged for a woman in those days yet she still persisted in achieving it.

Through leaps in time, we see Orsola guide her family through the struggles of historical events such as world wars, technological innovations and plagues , all the while pursuing the wonders of glassworks even when such creativity is not as valued as it once was.

Chevalier is quite the literary maestra when it comes to historical fiction and thus touch of magical realism into this well crafted book seems to give it that extra special sparkle that many a glass blown creation encases in abundance:

So, in a weird way I’m feeling a bit blue about my new reads but in this case, that is not a bad thing. With all of the chaos swirling around us these days, finding a safe harbor in some good books is a great place to start clearing our hearts and minds of the distracting clutter out there.

Plus, sometimes, it’s fun to be “blue”, particularly when books are the reason for keeping a good thought or song in your head:

Banned Books Week wants you to think about the future

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 19:28:00 +0000

October is about to begin and along with the traditional spooky season festivities, something even scarier approaches; Banned Books Week,which runs from Oct.5-11 this year.

The annual celebration of our freedom to read has grown to frighteningly factional levels these days with the urgent need to protect books and ideas now more than ever in danger. Fortunately, many folks are fighting the good fight on this front such as George Takei, famed Star Trek actor as well as an author, playwright and activist who is this year’s honorary chair of Banned Books Week this time around.

To salute this iconic superstar, I decided to focus on banned titles that deal with the consequences of future times, books that are still under fire today and beginning to seem too close to an actual tomorrow:

Since the tagline for BBW in 2025 happens to be “Censorship is so 1984”, it only makes sense to start with the George Orwell classic.

The novel has been challenged in many countries for it’s depiction of authoritarian rule and most recently in the US was on a banned book list in Iowa(citing it for sexual content) which was thankfully struck down by the courts.

Orwell’s living nightmare of a world where even your imagination was under the control of a tyrannical government still holds a strong influence today as terms such as “Big Brother” and “Thought Police” are part of our quick reference guide to political overreach. It’s the kind of story that you would seriously prefer to stay on the page rather than leak out into our shared reality indeed:

The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins might seem like too recent an entry here but trust me, these books are being targeted by those who fear their influence.

In February of 2025, a school board in South Carolina held a vote to decide whether or not to ban the first book from a class discussing dystopian fiction (the end result was for keeping the book and offering an alternative choice for any student whose family had objections to that title).

While most of the complaints about all of the books in this saga of children being forced to entertain the masses via a televised death match revolve around the violence and sexual content (of which there isn’t that much of), the one that stands out the most is anti-authoritarianism.

How interesting that the concept of young people questioning the rules of their society and banding together to rebel against oppression is very objectionable to many folks out there, even when no one side is exempt from criticism. It’s as if they’re afraid of being on the reckoning half of such an equation….:

Given the numerous legal challenges surrounding women’s reproductive rights of late, it’s not surprising that Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has become both pop culturally relevant and a recent subject of censorship at school board meetings.

While it has had international challenges as well, states in our own country such as Florida, Texas and Oregon have been putting this harrowing narrative of a woman trapped by a viciously patriarchal society to become a baby breeder for the oppressive elites on lists of books to be kept away from students.

Never mind the fact that this book not only has been adapted for a movie readily available for viewing but was turned into an award winning TV series that even the least tech savvy person can find and watch to learn what all the fuss it is about. Why fear something that is “only a novel” unless it has plenty to say regarding our current state of alarming affairs..:

The ultimate novel on this topic is ,of course, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

This portrayal of a world where a firefighter’s main duty is to burn books by order of the state has been challenged as recently as this year in Colorado where it was among other titles removed from school library shelves.

Thankfully it, along with the other disputed books, was restored by court order. The most particular objections to this science fiction classic focus on the language (the mildest of profanities are included) and violence yet what I truly suspect bothers certain parties quite a lot are the anti-intellectual goals of the authorities depicted here.

Suppression of deeper thought and shouting down rational discussions based upon true knowledge seems to be the

dominant tactic of those who hate books for providing the basis for just such pushback against such self serving small mindedness. Bradbury adored libraries and if he was still with us, would first in line to protect them from being destroyed both from without and within our communities:

Banned Books Week starts this upcoming weekend and if you’d like to learn more about it, I have placed links in the second paragraph of this post to the official website for BBW there.

I know that there is so much to deal with right now when it comes to the state of the world right now yet all of that makes the fight to preserve our freedom to read freely more important these days. Do what you are able to do to encourage folks to protect our reading rights or at the very least, think about the future of reading and how it should be cherished for the readers both here and now as well as those awaiting their turn in the years to come.

Also, much thanks to George Takei for speaking out and standing up for the rights of others on his various social media platforms. His support for free expression is a beacon of hope to many of us worrying about the dark days ahead of us and taking some solace in the fact that we are not alone in wanting a better world for all:

Having a FrightFall film festival of fearful reading

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:35:00 +0000

Well, fall has officially arrived and I’m very enraptured by this season, especially since it heralds the beginning of FrightFall, the perfect excuse to indulge in scary books , courtesy of Seasons of Reading and Michelle Miller!

While you are only required to read just one sinister story ( in the genre of your choice, horror, mystery,etc), some of us do tend to dive into the deep end of the page turning pool and go for as many as we can cram into our trick or treat TBR piles. I keep my reading list at a minimum of three-with the option to switch out a book, if need be-and my theme was Horror Movie Adjacent, as my first pick will show:

Marked by Moonlight is the first entry in a paranormal romance series by Sophie Morgan that has a reluctant leading lady in Claire, a mild mannered schoolteacher who suddenly feels renewed upon a strange encounter with a stray dog one night.

Turns out that dog was actually a werewolf and, according to her new associate Gideon, if she can’t break the curse before the next new moon, Claire will become a lycan and it’s Gideon’s duty to take her down.

However, the two of them start to fall in love and the closer it gets to the new moon, the more intense the odds become for them both. Even if the curse isn’t undone in time, can their relationship survive beyond the night?

This does sound enchantingly fun and it would be great to get a werewolf romance made into a movie someday; as much as I adore vampires, it’s only fair to let the werewolves have their turn here:

Next up is one of my recent BOTM selections from Rachel Harrison, Play Nice.

When social media influencer Clio inherits the haunted family house from her recently deceased mother (who wrote a book about those harrowing days), she sees this as a prime opportunity for the ultimate in home makeovers.

However, perhaps her mom wasn’t exaggerating about the demon lurking in the walls there. After several strange occurrences, Clio finally reads the infamous book her mother wrote and begins to believe that this was more than just a suburban scary story. The evil within this dwelling may be truly terrifying in a very personal way.

I am planning to read this one first(in spite of the order of this listing) as Harrison is a new-to-me author that I have heard excellent word of mouth praise about and this premise brings back fun pop culture memories of The Amityville Horror (yes, I am old enough to remember when that franchise started!), quite the homeowner nightmare indeed:

For my finale, Jessica Knoll’s Bright Young Woman seems to fit the bookish bill.

This twist on true crime has two women, Pamela(who survived an attack on her college dormitory) and Ruth(whose best friend was an early victim of the same man suspected in that later incident) teaming up to get justice for their mutual losses at the hands of a celebrated spree killer.

This novel was quite the sensation a couple of years ago, praised for keeping the fictional focus on the women rather than the man who gained notoriety for his brutal deeds. Personally, I do appreciate a solid story where women can get the upper hand on the slasher stalking them on and off screen and this book promises to deliver on that fearsome front nicely:

The FrightFall readathon starts on October 1st and lasts through out the month-more details can be found via the link in the top section of this post-and there’s plenty of time to sign up and join in the spooky seasonal fun!

While our daily headlines are certainly just as frightening as any horror movie, just remember that a good way to channel that anxiety is through a good book. At least with a book, you can always stop and mark your spot when you need a break from the terror within. Not to mention that it’s good to know that some nightmares can end with a turn of the last page.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little bit of entertainment in all sorts of flavors, from ghoulishly sweet to darkly delicious and yes, Halloween is the best holiday for sugary indulgences of all sorts so do enjoy!:

Having a book haul to get ready for fall!

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 19:21:00 +0000

While the official start of autumn is next week, I have already begun to gather up a few books to settle into the season just right.

Even though Aardvark is no longer an option for me at this time, Better World Books(which donates a portion of every book sale made to literary programs) was ready with a back to school special that I happily took part in!

My first selection was The Davenports by Krystal Marquis, a YA historical fiction set in Chicago in 1910. The family of the title have a pair of daughters who are about to make their marks on society in very different ways.

Olivia, the older sister, is set to marry an approved choice yet her heart and mind seems to changed once she meets Washington, a charming lawyer and civil rights leader. Meanwhile, her sister Helen is more interested in becoming a mechanic yet has caught the eye of Jacob, the man Olivia is expected to wed.

Their brother John is not exempt from such romantic struggles as two contemporaries vie for his attention; Amy-Rose,who is following in her mother’s footsteps as a maid while planning to own her own hair salon, and Ruby, a longtime friend of his older sister . Can these siblings find the best love for themselves without tearing their family apart?

The word of mouth from critics and readers on this book has been excellent and there is a sequel already out, plus plans to adapt this novel for streaming platforms. The praise I heard from BookTube already had me eager to check it out there.

Marquis has based this story upon a real life family from this time period (the Pattersons who started an automobile empire) and with shows like The Gilded Age bringing fresh interest to the history of the Black Elite, this promises to be a dazzling delight to read:

I paired that with the fourth book in Evie Dunmore’s League of Extraordinary Women series, The Gentleman’s Gambit.

Our leading lady is Catriona, who prefers to focus on her writing and working for the cause of suffrage in England rather than indulge in romantic pursuits that often lead nowhere for her.

However, when her father receives a visit from Elías, a prominent new colleague in his academic circle, she finds herself having to play hostess, a distraction that Catriona doesn’t need or want, no matter how charming he seems to be.

Elías, on the other hand, is being strategic in his attentions to her as his true goal is not to study a particular set of artifacts that her father has access to but to reclaim them for his home country, where they rightfully belong.

However, the mutual attraction between them slowly but surely conflicts with their mutual mistrust and perhaps more than one set of goals might be achieved together in an alliance of sorts. Can this be accomplished without too much risk to their futures, romantic and otherwise?

I do enjoy this series (reading the third book, Portrait of a Scotsman, as we speak) and find it a shame that is the final entry as these stories blend period romance and historical fiction as nicely as a warming cup of tea. Yet I am sure that Dunmore will have new fictional paths to lead us on and that this tale of an unexpected love match should be good until the last drop:

On the same day those books arrived, I happened to take an impromptu trip to the movies(saw Fantastic Four: First Steps and it was amazingly good!) and while at the mall-yes, those still exist-I picked up a paperback mystery that has great potential for a fun read.

Everytime I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is quite the eye catching title and this is the first in a new series by Catherine Mack, featuring a writer of mystery novels who finds herself in hot water while on her latest book tour.

Eleanor Dash has become a very successful author of the Vacation Mysteries but not without the help of detective Connor Smith, who insists upon his share of the royalties from the books despite his lack of input beyond being named as the main character.

This tour in Italy is to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first entry in the series and Eleanor is planning to rid herself of the fictional Connor by killing him off in the next book. Only thing is, someone is trying to do away with the real world Connor and possibly even Eleanor as well , with a variety pack of suspects all around them to choose from!

Could it be Eleanor’s sister Harper, who put her own literary dreams aside to be her more popular sibling’s personal assistant? Or is it Alison, Connor’s ex-wife and author of a very personal account of their less than idyllic relationship? Perhaps a diehard fan who finds the whole notion of ending the series worth killing for?

Regardless of who, the ultimate question is how to find the killer before their actions close this chapter of Eleanor and Connor’s lives for good.

This book does sound like fun in a Knives Out sort of way and I am ready to do some serious page turning with it this season for sure:

So, between these new additions to my TBR, along with a few library loans and BOTM selections, my reading for fall is pretty well set. Still making plans for the FrightFall readathon next month, plus a personal challenge of cozy reading in November (we shall see) but all in all, a rather respectable lineup.

Yes, it may seem trivial in light of ongoing events but you know what? I refuse to put my creative life on hold while all of this seemingly endless awfulness is dominating the headlines and affecting our lives for the worst. While I am able to do what I can for the greater good within my own small set of circumstances, enriching my imagination is a right that I will not surrender.

With the world upping its chaos levels to eleven right now, taking a break from all of that is essential to keep our collective spirits up as well. Reading can be escapist but it’s also a good way to renew our weary hearts and minds. A good book, movie, TV show or song, can do wonders in this department and while they’re not the complete solution, these pastimes are helpful to maintain our purpose as we go forward towards better days.

Speaking of TV, I have two cable channels showcasing Gilmore Girls on slightly different seasonal tracks now and that alone is beneficial to my emotional health.

I would much rather debate who was the better boyfriend for Rory (Team Jess all the way here and yes, he does have plenty of flaws but Logan is much worse, in my opinion!)than get into other online arguments these days. Plus, more excuse for book talk with this show and a perfect way to anticipate autumn as it drops those gorgeous leaves and gives us sweater weather:

Stocking up for Spooky Season w/ my September BOTM box

noreply@blogger.com (lady t) — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 19:10:00 +0000

Finally,after taking a book buying break this August, I was able to fulfill a promise to myself by shopping in September, beginning with Book of the Month Club.

Given that most people are eager for October (aka spooky season)to begin already,much like the stores putting out candy corn by the first day of school, BOTM had a few fearsome offerings this month that I snapped up quick.

For my Main Selection, it was Play Nice by Rachel Harrison. Our leading lady is Clio, an influencer who has just inherited the house that her mother Alex has claimed for years to be haunted by a demonic presence. Alex even took that belief far enough to publish a book about what she experienced.

Upon her mother’s sudden death, Clio sees this as an opportunity to do the ultimate house flip , a notion that neither of her sisters is at all interested in. She’s willing to go this route alone yet along the way, starts to learn a few family secrets that not only could validate her mother’s claims but change her own life for the worse in more ways than one.

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Rachel Harrison’s work and very thrilled to check her newest book(an early release from BOTM) for a specially themed readathon this fall. This novel does feel rather timely as the saying goes, home is where the horror is….:

When it came to picking add ons, my first choice was the latest by T. Kingfisher,Hemlock & Silver, a sinister sorcery take on the classic Snow White story.

Anja has made the study of poisons her specialty as a healer and her knowledge of them, along with their antidotes, brings royal trouble right to her door.

Requested by the king himself to discover what is ailing his daughter Snow, Anja reluctantly journeys to the isolated estate where the regal family lives and while Snow is quite ill( and a bit ill tempered as well), the cause is not easily known.

Nevertheless, Anja is determined to find out what is causing the princess to be as physically sick as she is, with the assistance of Javier, a royal bodyguard. The two of them find Snow eating a rather odd looking apple one day, a clue that leads to a darkly dangerous discovery of a mirror world that reveals less than it reflects…

I do love a twisted take on fairy tales and my favorite Disney villain happens to be the Evil Queen from Snow White(yes, she was wicked but she had style!), so this book sounds like my cup of poisonous tea indeed:

To round this terrifying trio out, I went with The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Cañas.

Set in Mexico during the 1800s, our title heroine has fled with her family to a small mining town to escape the plague ravaging their city.

Her fiancé Carlos is happy to have Alba and her family stay with him but all is not calm and peaceful as it should be. For one, his cousin Elías has newly arrived from Spain, planning to chime in on the silvery wealth of his relatives and who has an instant attraction to Alba.

While Alba feels the same, she’s more concerned about her strange new habits of sleepwalking and bizarre visions that have developed since she got to town. All too soon, it appears that an unholy force has taken hold of her and the only real help that she can get is from Elías. Can Alba save her soul and her heart from what is determined to claim both?

Canas has a relatable nuance to her terror tales, focusing strongly on the emotional elements that dominate her characters just as equally as the otherworldly threats that are facing them.

Possession stories are more than just scary faces and shocking moments; they’re metaphors for internal conflict that forces one person to be the catalyst for others to reveal their true nature. Having read and enjoyed her prior novels (Hacienda, The Vampires of El Norte), I have no doubt that Isabel Canas will deliver the gruesome yet glorious goods here:

As happy as I am to be getting some Book of the Month Club reads, sadly, my time with Aardvark has come to an end. It’s just not in my budget right now but I did get some wonderful books from them(a few that I still need to catch up with) and would gladly recommend Aardvark to anyone preferring a more offbeat selection of new reads.

In the meanwhile, I do have plans for one or perhaps two of these books to be on my FrightFall TBR later this season-stay tuned for that announcement!

The way things are going these days, looking forward to some serious trick or treat time that involves a good scary read and perhaps a snappy spooky song to hum along as I turn the pages with fearsome delight: