The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Title: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

Author: Megan Bannen

Publisher: Orbit 2022

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Historical (sorta)

Where I Got It: Rainy Day Books, Kansas City, MO June 2023

Spice Rating: 5

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.

Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most—Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares—each other?

This is a very loose retelling of You’ve Got Mail, which honestly did not encourage me to read this book. I was not a fan of the movie and hesitated with this one. Thankfully the book is a very loose retelling with a lot more fantasy plot. I wasn’t quite sure about our main characters at first, but they quickly grew on me. I loved Mercy and her take charge attitude and drive. I loved her care for her family and the business. Hart was a little less likable, but he really started to warm up after being paired with Pen for work. And boy does this book have some great side characters. Zeddie and Pen were definitely my favorites, but there’s also something to be said for the nimkillin. Loved them! And throughout the interpersonal relationships and a bit of romance, we get a big mystery of the increase in drudges. I loved finding out all the threads were interconnected. After the success of this volume, I may just have to pick up the other two in the series.

Hart and Mercy

#1 The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
#2 The Undermining of Twyla and Frank
#3 The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam

Next up on the TBR pile:

Tender Cruelty by Katee Robert

Title: Tender Cruely (Dark Olympus #9)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Suspense

Spice Rating: 5

The barrier that's protected Olympus for generations has fallen. The enemy's breached the gates and the Thirteen are scrambling to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the city they've sworn to protect. At least they would be if they weren't at each others' throats instead.

Hera has no intention of letting her husband, Zeus, survive the oncoming storm. But despite the white-hot hatred burning between them, when Hera and Zeus are forced to work together, enmity crystalizes into something brighter. Hotter. Too powerful to deny or destroy.

Hera never bartered on falling in love with the man she married―the man she once swore to kill. But now, standing back-to-back in the ruins of Olympus, she may be forced to admit that she's been wrong about Zeus all these years…and there may be something about their marriage worth saving if they can survive long enough to turn sworn enemies into something more.

Finally finally finally we get Hera and Zeus’s story!!!! I have been waiting basically the entire series for this story. After the last two volumes, I was hoping that this one was going to be good one but was leery going into it. Thankfully there is a great blend of larger plot and romance in this one. We get to finally see the inner workings of Callisto and Perseus as they find their way through the cluster fuck of Olympus and their own marriage. There is so much packed into this slim novel, but I loved every page of it. The political dealings have come to a boil and things are changing in the city. Seeing our two main characters attempt to fix their situations was suspenseful. The romance aspect isn’t lovey dovey as appropriate for our characters, but much much more realistic. I loved seeing these two frosty closed-off characters slowly open up and become close. This sets up the last book in the series perfectly. I cannot wait until next summer!

Dark Olympus

#0.5 Stone Heart
#1 Neon Gods
#1.5 Hades and Hades
#2 Electric Idol
#2.5 Zeus and Hera
#3 Wicked Beauty
#4 Radiant Sun
#5 Cruel Seduction
#6 Midnight Ruin
#7 Dark Restraint
#8 Sweet Obsession
#9 Tender Cruelty
#10 Shattered Gods

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Next up on the TBR pile:

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Title: Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked #1)

Author: Kerri Maniscalco

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson Books 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 372

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Flagship Books, Kansas City, MO, June 2025

Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe - witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family's renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin...desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister's killer and to seek vengeance at any cost--even if it means using dark magic that's been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked--princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia's side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women's murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems...

I had such high hopes for this book. It’s starts off strong with a very creepy prologue and then dives into world of Princes of Hell and witches. I was hoping for some high-paced tension filled romance and suspense. I was hoping for a strong female character attempting to avenge her sister’s death. And a dark, sexy male character forced into helping her. Instead, we get a whiny teenager who constantly questions everything, but lets other people make decisions for her. And a practically nonexistent male lead who randomly shows up to save Emilia from time to time. I was just so bored and annoyed. Definitely will not be continuing on with this series.

Kingdom of the Wicked

#1 Kingdom of the Wicked
#2 Kingdom of the Cursed
#3 Kingdom of the Feared

Next up on the TBR pile:

Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen

Title: Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch

Author: Rivka Galchen

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 275

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Spooky Season

Where I Got It: The Raven Bookstore, Lawrence KS June 2022

The story begins in 1618, in the German duchy of Württemberg. Plague is spreading. The Thirty Years' War has begun, and fear and suspicion are in the air throughout the Holy Roman Empire. In the small town of Leonberg, Katharina Kepler is accused of being a witch.

Katharina is an illiterate widow, known by her neighbors for her herbal remedies and the success of her children, including her eldest, Johannes, who is the Imperial Mathematician and renowned author of the laws of planetary motion. It's enough to make anyone jealous, and Katharina has done herself no favors by being out and about and in everyone's business.

So when the deranged and insipid Ursula Reinbold (or as Katharina calls her, the Werewolf) accuses Katharina of offering her a bitter, witchy drink that has made her ill, Katharina is in trouble. Her scientist son must turn his attention from the music of the spheres to the job of defending his mother. Facing the threat of financial ruin, torture, and even execution, Katharina tells her side of the story to her friend and next-door neighbor Simon, a reclusive widower imperiled by his own secrets.

I desperately wanted to love this book, but it really fell flat for me. I didn’t realize when I bought it that this was a fictionalized account of a real witch trial. I did not get the connection to famed scientists Johannes Kepler until almost halfway through the book. I completely missed that point! Beyond my lack of understanding, I found the plot and pacing to be very dull and plodding through most of the pages. We get a few fun paragraphs of Katharina’s commentary about her neighbors and the society she lives in. We get some wit and wisdom in there. But most of the chapters are just slow and meandering. This was definitely not the book for me this year.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Royal Heart by Nana Malone

Title: Royal Heart (Black Rose Auction #6)

Author: Nana Malone

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 235

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Preordered

Spice Rating: 7

Damon Hunt, the world's most ruthless thief, wants my skills for a dangerous job. Worse, he wants me...as his wife.

When Damon Hunt—the thief my father trained instead of me, his protégé, the same one responsible for his death—strolled back into my life after years, I shot first and asked questions later.

Then he had the nerve to ask for my help to recover the stolen Royal Heart, a Winston Isles Crown Jewel, from the underground Black Rose Auction.

Despite how I used to feel about him, I see him for who he really is. And I’m not getting sucked back into the world that cost me everything. Not to mention, I’m not a damn thief.

I’ve built my career at a recovery firm, avoiding the field. I might be the best safecracker around, but I won’t go back to my private hell.

Until Damon dangles the one thing I can’t resist, the man who shot my father.

The catch? We have to pose as husband and wife to infiltrate the auction and steal back the Royal Heart for the Winston Isles.

Navigating the underground deals brings back old wounds and undeniable attraction. Damon is like a beast from my past—dangerous, captivating, and hiding secrets behind his fierce exterior. I have to decide if I’m falling for the monster who broke my heart—or the man determined to win it back.

I was very very bored by this story. I was intrigued by the heist premise, but even that could not hold my attention. Damon is too smarmy towards Ari. Ari is constantly throwing accusations at Damon. This isn’t enemies to lovers. This is two people who need therapy to two people who have sex for some reason. I don’t even buy a physical attraction between these two. It was so boring. And the plot was way too contrived for me to buy it. Disappointing end to the series. Really my favorite story out of the entire series was “Irresistible Devil.” Most of them were too icky or boring.

Black Rose Auction

Next up on the TBR pile:

Shattered Innocence by Sara Cate

Title: Shattered Innocence (Black Rose Auction #5)

Author: Sara Cate

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 170

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Preordered

Spice Rating: 7

Welcome to the Black Rose Auction where every sin can be yours for a price.

Birdie wants nothing more than to escape the clutches of her cruel and wicked stepmother, and to be with the only person she’s ever truly loved—her stepsister, Violet.

When her stepmother threatens to auction off Birdie’s hand in marriage to the highest bidder, Birdie sees it as her only way out.

Her stepsister has a plan…

Enlist the help her rich and powerful ex, Alaric Stone, to bid on their behalf.

But when things go awry at the auction, and Birdie is forced give away far more than she expected, Alaric decides he’s playing for keeps.

He wants both of them.

Can the three of them escape the clutches of Birdie’s selfish stepmother together?

And will Birdie be forced to choose between the two who have her heart…or will it be shattered forever?

These Black Rose Auction stories are really hit or miss with me. This one I was not a fan of. I dislike large age gap romances when there are unbalanced power dynamics at play. If power was equal, I can totally get behind an age gap. Unfortunately, Birdie is just way too sheltered and naive for me to buy that she has freedom of choice in this story. No amount of sex can convince me that this is a healthy relationship. Birdie is treated like a child (gross) throughout the entire story. Not a fan at all.

Black Rose Auction

Next up on the TBR pile:

Stolen Vows by Sav R. Miller

Title: Stolen Vows (Black Rose Auction #3)

Author: Sav R. Miller

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 288

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Preordered

Spice Rating: 6

For three days, the doors to this luxe New York estate are thrown wide for anyone with a taste
for the obscenely rich, the ultra-exclusive, and the once in a lifetime thrill of the forbidden: where
nothing is off the table and everything—and everyone—can be had for the claiming.

In STOLEN VOWS by Sav R. Miller, a Rapunzel remix, a virgin is forced to marry a
mafia heir determined to kill anyone who touches her—only to flee from him the day
after their wedding. But he's done waiting and has the perfect trap in mind to lure her
back...

Not my favorite within this series so far, but a pretty decent Rapunzel story. We get our FMC being kept int a proverbial tower and a MMC attempting to rescue her. But of course, we are going to twist the story to fit our dark romance tropes. We get a very broody, dangerous MMC attempting to rescue our FMC but also stumbling around tragically. I liked seeing their dynamic once we actually get to the auction, but the lead up was a bit much. It took so long to get there that I started to lose just a bit of interest. Once we get our characters back together, I was enjoying things but also a bit frustrated that the two characters could never actually speak to each other. Oh well. It was a decent romance novella.

Black Rose Auction

#1 Wicked Pursuit
#2 Divine Intervention
#3 Stolen Vows
#4 Irresistible Devil
#5 Shattered Innocence
#6 Royal Heart

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

Title: Lone Women

Author: Victor LaValle

Publisher: One World 2023

Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction

Pages: 275

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Spooky Season; Read Around the USA - Montana

Where I Got It: The Bookworm, Omaha NE March 2024

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear.

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing that will help her survive the harsh territory.

This was perfect! We dive headfirst into a bleak and unforgiving story of a women attempting to survive on her own in the wilds. We don’t know exactly why Adelaide is running from California, but we know that it was bad. We follow her to Montana where she faces a different set of struggles. Along the way, we meet a varied cast of characters, all of whom are suspicious in their motives at least once. I found myself really rooting for Adelaide to survive and come out stronger than ever. There is violence in this book. There is some spookiness in this book. But ultimately, I found a lot of strength and hope in these pages. This is my brand of feminist rage!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Irresistible Devil by Jenny Nordbak

Title: Irresistible Devil (Black Rose Auction #4)

Author: Jenny Nordbak

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 271

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Preordered

Spice Rating: 6

For three days, the doors to this luxe New York estate are thrown wide for anyone with a taste for the obscenely rich, the ultra-exclusive, and the once in a lifetime thrill of the forbidden: where nothing is off the table and everything—and everyone—can be had for the bargaining.

In IRRESISTIBLE DEVIL by Jenny Nordbak, a Rumpelstiltskin remix, a society darling is willing to make any bargain to benefit her family, but each deal draws her deeper into a dark and decadent world ruled by the dangerous man who's been pulling her strings from the start...

I enjoyed the Katee Robert story in this series. I did not enjoy the RM Virtues story in this collection. I was hoping that this one was going to be a hit and it was. I am always drawn to the villains in stories as they are much more complex and interesting. In this one, we finally get to explore Reaper (Rumplestiltskin) and learn more about his own wants and desires. I knew he was going to be a great character. I was just concerned that he wouldn’t find his partner. Thankfully Juliet shows a spark right away and continues to grow and strength throughout the story. I was glad that she didn’t immediately submit to Reaper, but ended up finding her own path even if it was difficult. We get to see her come into her own identity and eventually take what she wants. I sped through this book in two days not wanting to put it down for even a minute.

Black Rose Auction

#1 Wicked Pursuit
#2 Divine Intervention
#3 Stolen Vows
#4 Irresistible Devil
#5 Shattered Innocence
#6 Royal Heart

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Antidote by Karen Russell

Title: The Antidote

Author: Karen Russell

Publisher: Knopf 2025

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Cover Lover - Real Historical Photograph

Where I Got It: Amazon purchase

The Antidote opens on Black Sunday, as a historic dust storm ravages the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska. But Uz is already collapsing—not just under the weight of the Great Depression and the dust bowl drought but beneath its own violent histories. The Antidote follows a "Prairie Witch,” whose body serves as a bank vault for peoples’ memories and secrets; a Polish wheat farmer who learns how quickly a hoarded blessing can become a curse; his orphan niece, a basketball star and witch’s apprentice in furious flight from her grief; a voluble scarecrow; and a New Deal photographer whose time-traveling camera threatens to reveal both the town’s secrets and its fate.

I kept waffling between three and four stars for this book. There are some parts that I absolutely adored! On the other hand, there were parts that stretched believability (not the magical parts) and parts that dragged on so much. I fell for the strange otherworldly atmosphere of Uz Nebraska during the Dust Bowl. The historical fiction aspects of the book really sucked me into a time and place. I loved those parts! I also really enjoyed the magical realism sections. The short chapters narrated by the scarecrow were great. I loved the injection of strange-ness to the story. I also really enjoyed the Prairie witches and their entire lore. The parts that I did not like all centered around Dell and Cleo. Dell was such a flat character most of the time that I really got annoyed with her. The long passages about Dell and basketball really pulled me out of the story in a very bad way. I did not care at all. Also, the completely dropped mystery of her mother’s murder left me wanting. As for Cleo, I just could not believe that a single Black woman in 1930s Nebraska could really join the community that easily. It really stretched my belief in this story. While I had mixed feelings about the book, I ended up enjoyed most of it. Cannot wait until tonight’s book club meet to discuss!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove

Title: Of Monsters and Mainframes

Author: Barbara Truelove

Publisher: Bindery Books 2025

Genre: Sci-fantasy Horror

Pages: 411

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Unread Shelf

Where I Got It: Afterword Books and Tavern, Kansas City MO - Bookish Retreat June 2025

Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.

To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team of monsters: A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil—Dracula.

On a whim, I picked this one up during this year’s Bookish Retreat. Something about the vibes of the summary gave me pause. I wanted to understand exactly what type of book this was. Thankfully it was an utter delight and a wild ride. I loved every single page of it. We get a cross between the Universal Monsters and the Murderbot series with a mash-up I didn’t realize I needed. Demeter and Steward are great narrators as we span time, space, and realities. We get a beautiful found family story wrapped up in horror and blood. Every chapter felt like a surprising new adventure for me. I kept turning the pages with glee. Ultimately I sped through the book desperate to find out what would happen next. Definitely going to be going onto my year’s Top 10.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtues

Title: Divine Intervention (Black Rose Auction #2)

Author: R.M. Virtues

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 219

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Preordered

Spice Rating: 7

In this Goldilocks remix, a witch must work with her ex's father (who she betrayed) and an angel to steal a magical chalice from the auction floor. But things get scorchingly complicated when all three agree that revenge is best served in the bedroom...

And that's just the beginning. Accept your invitation to this exclusive auction. You never know who you might see there...

After the success of Katee Robert’s story, I went into this one with high hopes. Unfortunately I could barely make it through the story. The author uses my least favorite romance trope “daddy play.” I just could not keep hearing the FMC call her lover “daddy” especially considering that he was the actual father of her husband. I have very few icks when it comes to romance. This is one of them. Definitely not a story for me. I mean I really should have known from that tagline. Nope.

Black Rose Auction

#1 Wicked Pursuit
#2 Divine Intervention
#3 Stolen Vows
#4 Irresistible Devil
#5 Shattered Innocence
#6 Royal Heart

Next up on the TBR pile:

Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert

Title: Wicked Pursuit (Black Rose Auction #1)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales LLC 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 277

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Preordered!

Spice Rating: 7

A mafia heiress meets her match when a dangerously obsessed stalker claims her as his own. In this scorching reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood, bestselling author Katee Robert pulls back the curtain on a world where forbidden tastes are explored, loyalty is lethal, and love is the most dangerous game of all.

I had seen this series teased on Katee Robert’s instagram for months. Unfortunately I do not pay for her Patreon and so had to wait until it was published more traditionally. Thankfully that was in March and I snacthed this up. I didn’t get around to reading until just a bit ago, but devour it I did. We get a Little Red Riding Hood retelling where Red is not so innocent and the Wolf is wearing many disguises. I do love a good stalker romance as an escape fantasy. I don’t often turn there, but I trust Robert to not lead me astray. I could have used a bit more meat to this story, but I understand that they are supposed to be novellas and started as an author challenge. I cannot wait to read the stories from the other authors.

Black Rose Auction

#1 Wicked Pursuit
#2 Divine Intervention
#3 Stolen Vows
#4 Irresistible Devil
#5 Shattered Innocence
#6 Royal Heart

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Title: The Familiar

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Flatiron Books 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 379

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

Where I Got It: Book of the Month May 2024

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

So incredibly boring. That’s my review…

I was so very excited to get this from BOTM last year. I was hoping for a magical fantasy mystery with great characters. Instead, I got a very very very slow moving story with just a little bit of magic and no interesting characters. Luzia wasn’t going to be that interesting, but I hoped that she would be the entry point for the readers to get involved in a great expansive mystery. Most of the book is so incredibly slow and and boring. I kept wanting the plot to actually pick up. When it finally does, it includes a romance that I really never bought at all. Why include that part? No need. I finished this reluctantly.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Title: The Wedding People

Author: Alison Espach

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 2024

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Read Around the US - Rhode Island

Where I Got It: Book of the Month

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

Oof! Terrible people being terrible to each other. I really do not like reading books where people just stumble around low key being terrible to everyone around them. I understand Phoebe’s initial state of mind and the choices she makes. What I do not get is the rest of the book. No way that she radically changes her mind that quickly without true intervention. I did not find this book funny or tender. I really need to stay away from these types of contemporary fiction books.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

Title: Water Moon

Author: Samantha Sotto Yambao

Publisher: Del Rey 2025

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Cover Lover - Frame Worthy Design

Where I Got It: Bought it

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.

Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it.

Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds.

But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.

Everyone once in a while, I really want to fall into a super atmospheric fantasy book. I was something that moves a bit slow and feels like you are in a dream. I don’t want it to be action packed, but have a plot that moves somewhere. And I want it to be a book that I keep thinking about interactions and passages days and weeks and months later. This is that book for me this year! Ultimately this is a story about choices. Hana, Kei, and everyone else in this book wrestle with choices made and choices given up throughout this quest story. I have written down so many quotes from this book. I cannot wait to really dive into some of these quotes and questions at the retreat in two weeks.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

Title: The Stolen Queen

Author: Fiona Davis

Publisher: Dutton 2025

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Cover Lover - Headwear

Where I Got It: BOTM

Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. That is until an unbearable tragedy strikes.

New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.”

Meanwhile, Charlotte is now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art. She’s consumed by her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.

The night of the gala: One of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing, and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening. Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, and a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.

This book started out strong. I was hoping for an interesting deep dive into women in archaeology and the issue of artifact provenance. I wanted to get into a philosophical discussion. Instead, we quickly turn to a melodramatic family conspiracy featuring a meek main character, an overbearing mother, a potentially bad husband, a tragedy, and a caricature of a real person. It just all felt very cliche by 50% of the book. I keep reading hoping that we would get back into the interesting parts of the artifacts. But nope. And then we get the reveal about Charlotte’s husband and child and I just couldn’t care any less. Blergh. I think I really need to step away from historical fiction books for awhile. They are just feeling very tired lately.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson

Title: Love in the Time of Serial Killers

Author: Alicia Thompson

Publisher: Berkley 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Read Around the USA - Florida

Where I Got It: Under the Cover, Kansas City, June 2024

Spice Rating: 4

PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She's even analyzing the genre in her dissertation—if she can manage to finish writing it. It's hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn't had a relationship with for years.

It doesn't help that she's low-key convinced that her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night he's clearly up to something). It's not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarier—a genuinely nice guy who can pierce her armor to reach her vulnerable heart.

I grabbed this at the retreat last year hoping for a great witty, steamy, slightly dark romance. Instead, we got a very slow-moving, low-steam, traditional romcom romance. I couldn’t really connect to the pairing of Phoebe and Sam. They started out with a silly meet cute, but then went into a holding pattern for most of the book. The story is really focused more on Phoebe and her unease with her life than the romance aspect. It read more like women’s fiction than romance. And Phoebe grated on my at many points in the story. She was just a fairly unlikeable character. I really got bored about halfway through the book. I pushed through, but even the ending did not bring it back up for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

Title: Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

Author: John Green

Publisher: Crash Course Books 2025

Genre: Nonfiction - Science, History

Pages: 208

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Nonfiction Reader

Where I Got It: Preordered in 2025!

Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.

I really appreciate John Green’s ability to weave hard science and history with emotional human stories and somehow not make it seem trite or manipulative. We get a comprehensive history of tuberculosis, its place in society, and current state. We get some beautiful and tragic human stories weaving in and out. I really loved hearing personal stories of dealing with the disease. Along the way, Green also includes his own commentary about his obsession with tuberculosis. I absolutely loved this short book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams

Title: Her Last Flight

Author: Beatriz Williams

Publisher: William Morrow 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Read Around the USA - Hawaii

Where I Got It: Won on Goodreads

In 1947, photographer and war correspondent Janey Everett arrives at a remote surfing village on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to research a planned biography of forgotten aviation pioneer Sam Mallory, who joined the loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War and never returned. Obsessed with Sam’s fate, Janey has tracked down Irene Lindquist, the owner of a local island-hopping airline, whom she believes might actually be the legendary Irene Foster, Mallory’s onetime student and flying partner. Foster’s disappearance during a round-the-world flight in 1937 remains one of the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

At first, the flinty Mrs. Lindquist denies any connection to Foster. But Janey informs her that the wreck of Sam Mallory’s airplane has recently been discovered in a Spanish desert, and piece by piece, the details of Foster’s extraordinary life emerge: from the beginnings of her flying career in Southern California, to her complicated, passionate relationship with Mallory, to the collapse of her marriage to her aggressive career manager, the publishing scion George Morrow.

As Irene spins her tale to its searing conclusion, Janey’s past gathers its own power. The duel between the two women takes a heartstopping turn. To whom does Mallory rightfully belong? Can we ever come to terms with the loss of those we love, and the lives we might have lived?

I was excited to read this book based on a few previous Williams’ books. Unfortunately, this one did not really land for me. I was intrigued by the topic of female aviators. The idea that this was partially based on Amelia Earhart pulled me in also. But then I started reading it and was immediately turned off by the main characters. Irene and Janey are in turns annoying and infuriating. I don’t always need to have amazing characters to connect with, but these two were really frustrating. Beyond those two characters, I didn’t ever buy the “romance” between Irene and Same. It just seemed like they were two people in close proximity, but no real relationship was shown. And don’t get me started on the big “twist” revealed near the end. I just wasn’t into this book at all.

Next up on the TBR pile: