I haven’t written anything this week. I’ve barely read anything. Work has been exhausting and stressful and all I’ve managed to do is survive. Hopefully next week will be better.
Happy writing!
Tag: what I’ve been reading lately
The Best Books I Read in April (2026)
I read 15 books in April. Still behind in my reading…Of those 15 books, several were really excellent reads.
First Witches Club, by Maisey Yates. i enjoyed this from the very first page! This was relatable, cathartic, and made me laugh out loud several times (And root for happy endings, of course!).
The Mountains We Call Home: The Book Woman’s Legacy, by Kim Michele Richardson. I’m so glad the book woman’s story continued! I’ve really enjoyed these books and seeing more about life in Appalachia. This was a wonderful read!
Cast in Blood, by Michelle Sagara. I can’t believe there are as many books in this series as there are…and I’ve enjoyed all of them. Kaylin and the gang are always a lot of fun to read and I find myself so immersed in the different cultures that it’s hard to put the book down. Same for this one!
What I Read in April (2026)
Books Read in April: 15
Books Read for the Year: 51/225
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
This Inevitable Ruin, by Matt Dinniman (TBR, Audio): Still can’t believe I’m so invested in this.
The Last Caretaker, by Jessica Strawser (TBR): This was a solid thriller.
Recipe for Second Chances, by Ali Rosen (TBR): This was a tiny step above meh for me, because Stella was ridiculous.
Gorgon with the Wind, by Devon Monk (TBR): This is going to be a great series!
First Witches Club, by Maisey Yates (TBR): This was SO GOOD!
Keeper of Enchanted Rooms, by Charlie N. Holmberg (TBR): I enjoyed this.
The Canopy Keepers, by Veronica G. Henry (TBR): Meh.
Snag, by Meghan Ciana Dodidge (TBR): Interesting world.
For Review:
The Book Witch, by Meg Shaffer. This is the perfect read for bookworms everywhere. For anyone who has ever fallen for a fictional character. For anyone who loves to read.
Deathly Fates, by Tesia Tsai. This was a solid fantasy read, even if it wasn’t very twisty. Does that make sense?
Metal Slinger, by Rachel Schneider. The twist in this completely surprised me! I enjoyed the world and the characters, and the cliffhanger has me eager to read more.
Thistlemarsh, by Moorea Corrigan. I really enjoyed this! It felt like a classical novel with magic thrown in.
The Mountains We Call Home: The Book Woman’s Legacy, by Kim Michele Richardson. I’ve really enjoyed the Book Woman books. This is such engrossing historical fiction, about something I had no idea about.
Cast in Blood, by Michelle Sagara. Another great read in this series!
The Ruins Beneath Us, by Sasha E. Sloan. The MC got on my nerves, not going to lie, but this was a decent read.
Left Unfinished:
While You Were Seething, by Charlotte Stein. It’s not that this was bad. But, I didn’t have time to read for 5 days, and I felt no urge to pick it back up.
Mad Mable, by Sally Hepworth. I just need to accept that this author writes characters I do not like, and stop trying to read her novels.
The Girl Upstairs, by Jessica R. Patch. The first 20% of this just gave me weird vibes, and I don’t care to read more.
The Island Club, by Nicola Harrison. This author is hit or miss for me. I found the characters boring.
Sundays are for Writing #365
Happy Easter!
This was a good writing week, although I didn’t get any fiction in. My Muse is…mulling over some things currently. I did write one book review, The Book Witch, by Meg Shaffer, my March reading post, and the best books I read in March.
Happy writing!
The Best Books I Read in March (2026)
In March, I read 15 books, bringing my total for the year to 36 books read. I also only DNFed 5 books in March. Of the 15 books, I read, several were excellent reads.
Midnight on the Celestial, by Julia Alexandra. I really liked this book! My favorite of the month, by far.
The Geomagician, by Jennifer Mandula. Historical fiction, magic, and dinosaurs/archeology? How could I not love this? Also, I want a pterodactyl.
Honey in Her Veins, by Ruth McKell. I don’t think I’ve ever read any Appalachian fantasy, especially with nature magic, so this was a fun ride.
What I Read in March (2026)
Books Read in March: 15
Books Read for the Year: 36/225
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, by Matt Dinniman (audio, TBR): Still astonished I’m enjoying this series so much. Donut is getting on my nerves, though.
Still the Sun, by Charlie N. Holmberg (TBR): I actually really enjoyed this, although it was a bit odd.
Land of Dreams, by Gian Sardar (TBR): Liked this historical fiction read–although I couldn’t figure out the killer.
The Last Supper on the Moon, by Levi Lusko (TBR, Christian): This was an excellent read!
Awry, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR): I enjoy this author’s writing.
The Lost Heiress, by Elizabeth Khehfoth (TBR): Nice dual timeline read.
Where Have All the Boys Gone, by Jenny Colgan. This audiobook was a perfect light read.
For Review:
Midnight on the Celestial, by Julia Alexandra. I enjoyed this a lot! Unique setting and I liked the world, the magic system, and the characters. I’d definitely read more.
Heiress of Nowhere, by Stacey Lee. I enjoyed this YA historical fiction, although I wish there would have been more about the sea wolves.
Only Spell Deep, by Ava Morgyn. I really didn’t care for this too much. The writing wasn’t bad, but the MC was supremely selfish and I didn’t like her.
When the Rain Came, by Matthew Eicheldinger. This felt more like middle grade than YA, but it was a decent read and a solid start to a series.
Daughter of Egypt, by Marie Benedict. I enjoyed this a lot, as it combined my love of Egyptian history with the 1920s.
The Geomagician, by Jennifer Mandula. Historical fiction with magic and fossils? Yes, please. I really liked this–and I want a pterodactyl.
Honey in Her Veins, by Ruth McKell (review forthcoming). This was quite an interesting read! Appalachian fantasy with nature magic, anyone?
Burn the Kingdom Down, by Addie Thorley. This fantasy read will make you question pretty much everything you see on the page.
Left Unfinished:
There’s Something About Mira, by Sonali Dev. I found Mira pretty boring and lost interest quickly.
Spellbound by Murder, by Stacie Ramey. I saw a lot of comparisons to Charmed and Gilmore Girls in reviews of this book. I never watched Gilmore Girls and only occasionally watched Charmed, so I didn’t DNF this because of that. But because it felt cliched and over-the-top and kitschy and it was just very meh.
The Creek, the Crone, and the Crow, by Rachel Weiss. I read the author’s previous book in this same Appalachian community and enjoyed it. I read almost 20% of this one and it just seemed to drag and meander in circles. The cover is absolutely beautiful, though.
Love By the Book, by Jessica George. I made it 15%, but…why keep reading about people I don’t care about?
The Last Woman of Warsaw, by Judy Batalion. WW2 historical fiction is my absolute favorite genre to read, so believe me when I say I tried. But at 20%, I still didn’t care about either of these MCs.
Sundays are for Writing #361
This week, I only wrote one book review, Midnight on the Celestial, by Julia Alexandra. I thoroughly enjoyed this read! I also wrote my February reading post, and the best books I read in February.
I also outlined two scenes in the fiction project and wrote 1k.
Happy writing!
The Best Books I Read in February (2026)
In February, I read 10 books, bringing my total for the year to 20.
I also DNFed nine books in February, bringing that total to 15 books. No wonder I’m so behind on my Goodreads goal.
Of the 10 books I read in February, several were really excellent reads.
Love Does, by Bob Goff. Not the first time I’ve read this. Goff’s voice is fantastic, so relatable and personable, that each chapter is a pleasure to read. And the lessons on how to love people can’t be beat.
The Lie You Don’t Know You Believe, by Jenni Allen. This really resonated with me. Again, very relatable. And this makes talking about some hard truths just a tiny bit easier. I believe we all have lies that we’ve believed about ourselves.
Dirty Work, by Devon Monk. I thoroughly enjoyed this final book in the Broken Magic series. It was good to see Allie and Zayvion (and their daughter) again, and I loved how the book was resolved with all of these familiar characters.
The Best Books I Read in January (2026)
My reading goal for the year is 225 books. I did not do very well in January, only finishing eleven books and DNFing seven. Of those eleven, here are the three I enjoyed the most:
Back Lash, by Devon Monk. Because I love Shane and this world, and I recently discovered this short spinoff series existed. Only one more to read!
Strange Animals, by Jarod K. Anderson. Not going to lie, this was a weird book. Very…strange. It was also enthralling from the first page, and I loved the entire adventure and would happily read more.
Battlefield of the Mind, by Joyce Meyer. This is not the first time I’ve read this, but I needed a refresher, because life in general has been rough lately.
The Best Books I Read in December (2025)
In December, I finished 20 books, bringing my total for the the year to 232 books read of my goal of 225. I have to be honest and say none of them completely blew me away, although most of them were solid reads. The three I liked the most were:
Secrets of the Octopus, by Sy Montgomery. The octopus is my favorite animal, and this was a fascinating read filled with gorgeous pictures.
Stone Cold, by Devon Monk. I’m enjoying this spinoff to the Allie Beckstrom books. Shane is a lot of fun to read.
Silver & Blood, by Jessie Mihalik. I liked these characters a lot, even if this wasn’t the most original thing I’ve ever read. (It also wasn’t the least original, so there’s that.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 