I finally got back on track and cranked out some reading this month. 2026 will finish strong! Optimism will prevail! Remember to vote in the midterms! Go team!

Total Books: 9
Audio: 4
Physical: 2
Mix of Physical/Audio: 3
DNF: 3

Genre: Romantasy (2 explicit scenes)
Format: Physical
Rating: 3/5 (because I have no idea what to do with this book)

Summary: It’s a dystopian love triangle between two crappy dudes and a clueless gal.

There were elements of this story that were very well done and parts that were absolutely bad. If I had to hear about one guy’s “starburst eyes” and the other’s “sapphire pools” (eyes) one more time, I was going to try to find a sapphire pool into which I could throw this book. After a LONG (400+ pages) tale which mixes A Handmaid’s Tale with the Matched Triology with the Hunger Games with the Divergent series, it ends on a cliffhanger. AND THE FOLLOW UP BOOK IS A PREQUEL AND THE THIRD BOOK ISN’T OUT UNTIL NEXT YEAR. Infuriating. Anyway, the heroine of the story never knows what’s going on and somehow still has to do her boring day job while being engaged to the hot guy of the highest corrupt class while also falling into insta-love with the leader of the rebellion. She’s known both of them for two weeks. I had questions.

Genre: Magical Realism (with some….ahem….romance)
Format: Mix of Audio/Physical
Rating: 4/5

Summary: A magical apartment connects a couple through time.

After being mildly disappointed with Ashley Poston’s latest “hot guy through a time door” book, I decided to reread her original “hot guy through a time door” book. This one is definitely better, although I forgot they both had big grief subplots. Whether cancer or suspected suicide, subplots can really smother the joy of “hot guy through a time door”. I had to stop the audio book and finish with a hard copy, as the narrator wasn’t telling the story how *I* would tell the story. I’m such a diva. Anyway, let me know if you find an even better “hot guy through a time door” book.

Genre: Cozy Fantasy (one explicit scene)
Format: Audio
Rating: 3/5 (Lots to love, lots to cringe)

Summary: A thorn witch tries to reform herself by gardening.

This is a better version of The Spellshop, but it still had some major flaws. It’s hard to write a grumpy/sunshine romance when the “sunshine” character is dealing with the trauma of being raised as a murderer? Again, I had questions. The romance was a bit forced and the fun fight scene at the end was a bit out of place, but it was fine. The lead male character stopped the explicit scene to put on a silver bracelet infused with contraception spells. I literally tossed my earbuds aside and cackled for five minutes. I need to go back to Nancy Drew.

Genre: Fantasy (Not raunchy! Just violent adventures!)
Format: Audio/Physical Mix
Rating: 5/5 (Over-rated, but sometimes it feels good to be generous)

Summary: It’s a compilation of short stories, serving as prequels to 4th Wing books.

While it sometimes reads like “How I Got My Dragon on Summer Vacation”, this was a short book allowing fans of Fourth Wing to dip back into the world between books 3 & 4. It was a break from war college politics, drama, and angst. Less plot! More dragons! I’ll take it!

Genre: Mystery-ish
Format: Audio/Physical Mix
Rating: 2.75/5

Summary: A mother and daughter are on the run, needing to solve a family mystery.

The story picks up five years after “The Last Thing He Told Me”. While it was a decent step to closure of the overall story, the book jumps around in time and spends most of the story with family history and focuses on the least interesting characters. I’m glad I checked it out, but it was not as good as the first book.

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Format: Audio
Rating: 3.25/5

Summary: A girl gets tricked into trading books for a magical lion.

(I usually don’t spoiler, but skip ahead if you care about the ending.) It’s a story about a girl who wants to believe in magic and find her voice. This book started out so incredibly strong, but the back 40% fell quite flat. It was a tough plot to wrap up, and unfortunately, the landing did not stick for me (they went full men-in-black mode, ugh. Let Alice remember the rabbit hole, man!). That said, it was a good fantasy tale which focused on the impact books can make on one’s life.

Genre: Memoir
Format: Audio
Rating: 4.25/5

Summary: Taylor Tomlinson tells short stories/essays about all the topics an average person would not want to put in a book.

I’ve seen Taylor Tomlinson live stand-up and greatly enjoy her voice and storytelling style. Therefore, I appreciated this book and her brutal honesty. No topic is off limits, so of course she dabbles in grief, religious trauma, family, sexuality, and the life of a stand-up comedian. It’s not for everybody, but I flew through this audio book in a day and went on the impressive emotional roller coaster.

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Format: Physical (read aloud with a child of mine, which makes the rating 10000/5)
Rating: 4/5

Summary: A diva of a PTA mom dodges protocol and removes books from the school library.

Once you suspend your disbelief of a modern day girl’s favorite book being The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Heidi ducks), this is a charming tale of speaking up, building friendships, and finding confidence. It is an excellent conversation starter. I’m almost sad that this focuses on fourth grade students, as it would have been a more effective/believable setting in middle school. That said, it had humor and heart and it’s unfortunately still relevant nine years after its publication.

Genre: Bummer Fiction
Format: Audio
Rating: 1.25/5

Summary: Toxic people are surrounded by other toxic people.

The only John Green book I’ve ever read is the Tuberculosis book, and I’ve avoided his YA material in fear of the angst. This is his first adult novel, and it is full of the angst. I thought the Hollywood setting would help me through it, but this was a slog of trauma-bonding. If you are into that (See: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow), this is for you! Also, there was nowhere in the blurb or any content warning I could find where it was going to jump-scare you with child/sexual abuse throughout the book. It is a major subplot. Ugh. (Don’t worry, the first review of November will be MUCH cheerier.)

The Quit List

31% I just wasn’t enjoying it. NEXT!

28% Let’s be honest. I am way too stressed out about the midterms to read about how hard it was to even get women the right to vote. So I quit this book and went to vote early. Well done, Sister Suffragette! (Also: Next!)

8% This is possibly a “not right now” instead of a “did not finish”. Let’s just say that I have to be in a very specific mood for a very densely British-style adventure comedy. Next!

The Goodreads Book Challenge is reminding me that I’m exactly on track for my 100 book goal. I cannot afford to slack off in the last 60 days of the year (WHAT HAPPENED TO 2026!?). I’m excited about some November books, so stay tuned!