Category: reasons I’m not writing

What I Read in August (2026)

Books Read in August: 12
Books Read for the Year:  108/225

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
Alchemised, by SenLinYu (audio): This was a looong audio book. I still haven’t made up my mind about the book itself.
Maybe It’s Fate, by Heidi McLaughlin (TBR): This was a decent read. A little sad.
The Twelve, by Justin Cronin (TBR): i need to stop reading this author. his style just doesn’t work for me.
The Faith to Flourish, by Christine Cane (faith): Interesting read
Uncomplicate It, by Hosanna Wong (faith): This was a fantastic read! I’ve heard this author speak, and I love how her books are just as conversational.

For Review:

Fishbone Cinderella, by Elizabeth Lim. This was beautifully written, but…pretty sad.

The Mortal Enemy Murder Club, by Gloria Chao. This was a fun, enjoyable read.

Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore, by Emily Krempholtz. This was a cute cozy fantasy read! (I only realized recently that was even a thing.) I enjoyed it and would happily read more in this world.

A Trade of Blood, by Robert Jackson Bennett. This is the oddest setting I’ve ever read in my life, but the two main characters are fascinating.

The Women in White, by Sarah Pekkanen. This was not a period in history I’m particularly interested in, but I was engrossed in this story from the very beginning.

The Lion & the Deathless Dark, by Carissa Broadbent. Despite not having read any of the other books in this series, this was surprisingly easy to get into. An interesting story—and I’m interested to read more.

Just Because:
Seeing Beautiful Again, by Lysa TerKeurst. This was a great devotional!

Left Unfinished:

Pride Comes Before a Fall, by Virginia Heath. This MC just did not catch my interest at all. I usually like this author’s books, but this wasn’t working for me.
Spellcast, by Sophie Jordan. I thought the first book in this series was decent, but I’ve DNFed the other two, so I’m going to stop trying. I found this boring and didn’t really care about the MC.
The Tomorrow Tree, by Carolyn Brown. Yeah…I just couldn’t care about these people.
A Single Captive Spark, by Emberly Ash. This felt like it jumped around way too much.
Too Perfect to Die, by Juliana Goodman. The MC felt very flat, and all of the characters were one-dimensional.
I’ll Stop the World, by Lauren Thomas, Mindy Kaling: These characters got on my NERVES.
The Iron Hex, by Victoria S. Walsh. This felt very juvenile and surface-level, more like an outline than anything with depth.
Queen of Shadow, by P.C. Cast. I used to love this author’s work, but now…this felt like a juvenile telenovela.

Sundays are for Writing #384

Still not much reading time, so I only wrote one book review, The Mortal Enemy Murder Club, by Gloria Chao. Some fiction work was done. And naps were a priority when I had the opportunity. I’m really over the 100+ degree Texas heat. I’m ready for fall…

Happy writing!

Sundays are for Writing #383

I wrote zero book reviews this week, mainly because I DNFed several books. I also have very little reading time, so I gotta get my schedule sorted out somehow to fix that. It’s Texas. It’s over 100 degrees outside. I’m hot, tired, and super busy. Reading just isn’t happening much. Neither is writing. :/

Happy writing!

Sundays are for Writing #381

This has been a very chaotic week at work. My dad was in the hospital for over two weeks and I was about to head to new Orleans when I heard he was getting out. I’m…exhausted. I did write two book reviews, though. The Story Keeper, by Kelly Rimmer and Hell to Pay, by Lora Beth Johnson. I’m woefully behind on my reading, but…oh well. I’m trying. No fiction work this week, except for finishing my read-through of the draft.

Happy writing!

Sundays are for Writing #380

This hasn’t been a very good week for actual writing–I wrote one book review, Destination Funeral, by Paige Harbison  –but…I also read through a story draft in preparation to start working on it again, so that part was great.

Happy writing!

Sundays are for Writing #379

This was just an okay writing week. I wrote one book review, The Moonsingers, by Robyn J Pritzker. I DNFed a couple of books, and it was a terribly demanding and stressful week at work, so that’s it.

Happy writing!

What I Read in May (2026)

Books Read in May: 16
Books Read for the Year:  67/225

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
Penelope in Retrograde, by Brooke Abrams (TBR): I really enjoyed this! Penelope was almost clueless, but the whole family was pretty entertaining.
Brave New Girl, by Rachel Vincent (TBR): I enjoyed this, although it felt pretty familiar, like I’d read something similar.
The Alchemary, by Rachel Vincent (TBR): I REALLY en joyed this read!
Escape to Honeysuckle Hall, by Rebecca Raisin (TBR): This was basically too cutesy to be believable, but it was a nice, light read.
A Parade of Horribles, by Matt Dinniman (audio): Still enjoying this.
Warp, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR): I’m not sure I’m going to read more of these.
For Review:

Burnout Summer, by Jenna Ramirez. This was a decent read, although the MC blamed everyone but herself for pretty much everything, which got on my nerves.

Seconds to Spare, by Rachel Reiss. I enjoyed this YA mystery/thriller. not sure I’d ever step foot onto a plane again…

The Shippers, by Katherine Center. It’s a Katherine Center book. Of course I loved it. This was both funny and relatable.

Dungeons and Danger, by Elizabeth Penney. An enjoyable cozy mystery read.  

The Valencia Expat Club, by June Patrick. Really enjoyed this read about growth, change, and travel.

The Heirs, by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. I only liked one of the MCs, but this was a quick and interesting murder mystery.

My Roman Summer, by Bruna De Luca. This was a quick YA romance. Sweet, but not anything unexpected.

The Unicorn Hunters, by Katherine Arden. This was a great read! Historical fiction mixed with fantasy, with strong, fascinating characters. I found this deeply engrossing.

The Chateau on Sunset, by Natasha Lester. If you’re looking for a read about strong female characters fostering great friendships and learning to be strong, this is it.

The Stargazer of Nantucket, by Julie Gerstenblatt. This was a decent historical fiction read.

Left Unfinished:
The Night of Many Endings, by Melissa Payne: The MC seemed to be obsessed with her brother and his drug use, and I didn’t want to keep reading about ONLY that.
The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett: I really, really wanted to read this. But I found it very slow going and I couldn’t continue reading with my attention wandering.
Enormous Wings, by Laurie Frankel: While I thought the writing was solid and the premise was great, I refuse to read anything that promotes abortion.
Only the Pretty Lies, by Rebekah Crane: Just nope.
Good Joy, Bad Joy, by Mikki Brammer: This just didn’t hold my attention.
The Cove, by Claire Rose: From the GOP-bashing, the let’s-portray-Chrsitians-as-evil-and-closed-minded rhetoric, and the glorifying the occult…this was a bad choice for me. And I find anything that sticks to surface level characterization to be poorly written.
Welcome to Fae Café, by Jennifer Kropf (audio): This was…bad. The characters were annoying at best, and ridiculous the rest of the time. And WHY did everything have to be “Faeborn”? Would the MMC really think about his “Faeborn days” to himself? Or just…his days?
The Cupid Dilemma, by April Asher. Just…why did the first five pages feel like a farce?
Deathbringer, by Sonia Tagliareni. I didn’t make it too far in this because I didn’t like either of the MCs.
A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity, by Rachel Linden. This just felt too predictable.
When the Forest Dreams, by Andrea Ezerins. I read almost half of this, but Emma…cannot POSSIBLY be this clueless about real life. This wasn’t remotely believable to me, and I quite at the part where Emma has narrowly escaped being assaulted, and Jake shows up and they hop into bed together. Jake, who knows she hasn’t even been kissed, and he takes advantage of her? No, thank you.
Road Trip, by Mary Kay Andrews. I read the first three chapters, but I didn’t like either of the FMC, so…I stopped reading.

Sundays are for Writing #372

This was a decent writing week, considering my allergies are trying to kill me (bleh) and work felt like it was complicit in that effort. I wrote two book reviews, The Shippers, by Katherine Center, and Dungeons and Danger, by Elizabeth Penney.

I’m drinking copious amounts of hot tea, reading, and journaling, hoping my allergies cooperate with me so I can enjoy my birthday tomorrow.

Happy writing!  

Sundays are for Writing #370

This was not a good reading week, so I only wrote one book review, Burnout Summer, by Jenna Ramirez. I DNFed eight straight books before that one held my attention enough to finish it. I certainly hope this is a better reading (and writing) week!

Happy writing!  

Sundays are for Writing #367

Despite unrelenting craziness at work, this was a decent writing week. I wrote two book reviews, Metal Slinger, by Rachel Schneider (as far as twists go, this one had a doozy) and Thistlemarsh, by Moorea Corrigan (this felt like reading one of my favorite classic novels mixed with fantasy). I’m predicting minimal reading or writing this week, due a mandatory work conference, but we’ll see.

Happy writing!