Marigold leaves everything behind to join her grandma on Innisfree to train as the next honey witch to protect the island from the mysterious ash witch.

Overall it was delightful but the pacing seemed off and the magic and conflict didn‘t feel as thought out or deep as it could‘ve been. It felt like something was missing.

I found this book about the six women rulers of Egypt very interesting, although at some times it felt a little tilted rather than neutral fact.
It, of course, covered the more well-known women like Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and Cleopatra, but I really enjoyed learning about the lesser known women rulers: Merneith, Neferusobek, and Tawisret.

Simi is Mami Wata, a mermaid who serves one of the goddesses of the sea and her mission is to save the souls of those who die on the slave ships. When she breaks the rules and rescues a living boy, it tosses her more into the world of the divine and makes her the target of the messenger of the gods.
Beautiful tale utilizing African mythology and interesting characters. Cannot wait for the sequel.

I liked it overall but there was basically nobody in it who wasn‘t a raging, horny bisexual. It really leaned into that stereotype for nearly every character except Orla who was thankfully faithful to her wife.
The travel and food portion was interesting but the characters were kind of one-dimensional.
If all you want is a light, spicy romp around Europe, this is for you, otherwise look elsewhere.

Fictionalized rise and fall of Giulia Tofana from abused child to successful entrepreneur to prisoner of the church.

2.5/5 right in the middle. I liked the history of it and the distinct personalities each woman had but I don‘t think the style of writing itself was for me. It was a lot of internal monologuing and I kind of got bored with that after a while.

It also needs a child SA trigger warning

This collection of articles Douglas has written for various publications over the years includes such mysteries as the dead lake high in the Himalayas, possibly cannibalistic prehistoric Native Americans, the Dyatlov Pass, and, of course, the lost Egyptian tomb.
Such a good read for those interested in archaeology, anthropology, and historic mysteries.

Green explores a number of British villages that have disappeared from history. Some from natural causes such as floods, earthquakes, and the rising sea. Some from more human causes like corporate greed.

“Our actions are judged by men in hoods who represent a church that does not recognize us except as sinners and she-devils.”

On the morning that Hanna takes over running her family‘s magical pawnshop, she wakes to find it ransacked and her father missing. With real-world physicist Kei in tow, Hanna sets off to find her father, find the truth about her mother, and return what her father stole.
Traveling by puddle, dream, paper crane, boat, among others, the pair follow her father‘s path through different worlds while being chased by the Shiikuin who also seek her father.

Like a plot out of a 1950s noir film, Rail investigates the man exposed by a group of connoisseurs as the absinthe forger.
Using his knowledge of pre-ban and modern absinthes, Christian managed to blend various vintages and herbs in his own recipe that was a good dupe for a pre-ban absinthe that he bottled and sold as originals.
I learned so much about absinthe and all the legalities around the “green fairy.”

Cathy works as a grim reaper for SCYTHE, the corporation that collects the souls of the dead. When one of her natural death cases refuses to come with her and convinces her he was murdered, she goes against her nature and does everything she can to help him all while dealing with a divorce and an unplanned pregnancy.

I couldn‘t help but compare it to First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones and how Charlie did it better.

Coal is the Christmas heir but also the family fuck-up, no matter how much he tries to clean up his act. When Santa forces him into an arranged engagement with his BFF, the Easter princess, he didn‘t expect his rival would be his drunken mystery kiss from years earlier, who is also Hex, the Halloween prince.

Way more political than I was expecting but it was cute. Very Hallmark Christmas movie meets Red White & Royal Blue and Boyfriend Material.

Sue Black is kind of like the Scottish Bones but with fewer near-death experiences.
As a forensic anthropologist, Black‘s job is to read human remains and tell the story of the decedent‘s life and death. Going part by part, she talks about how the human body is formed, how they‘re affected in life, and what they can tell her after death.
Incredibly interesting but it made me terrified of the human body. 😅

When monk Brother Nicephorus has a dream about St. Nicholas, his superiors take it as a sign to bring the saint‘s remains back to Bari, Italy. Relic-hunter Tyun is hired to lead the expedition and the party races against hunters from another church to reach the blessed bones first.
Heist and hijinks, religion and slight sacrilege, I really enjoyed this kinda true, kinda queer tale.

Short of options and money, Ellie agrees to be her landlord‘s fake fiancée so he can get his inheritance and he‘ll pay her a percentage. One of the requirements of the deal was spending Christmas with his family but when Andrew‘s sister Jack arrives, she‘s the same person Ellie had a life-changing date with the year before.

Overall, pretty meh. A conversation would‘ve cleared everything up for everybody, but the grandmas were great.

Introvert-to-the-extreme Kiela has found purpose in her job as a librarian but when rebels set the building on fire, she escapes with 5 crates of spellbooks and Caz, her only friend who is also a sentient spider plant. Without a place to go, she returns to the island where she was born.
Short on funds and skills, she turns to the spellbooks and builds herself a successful jam business and life.
So cozy and delightful.

Esme‘s entire life has been about words. Her father was an assistant editor on the first Oxford English Dictionary and she grew up playing under the table where the editors worked.
When she starts collecting rejected words, most of which are used primarily by women or lower class people, she finds purpose.

I felt like it spent way too much time on her childhood and it wasn‘t quite what I was expecting from the blurb.

When a body falls out of Hal‘s pear tree, a victim of a horrible ski pole attack that ended in the ski lift, she and Hobbs are hot on the trail of yet another killer in their Christmas-obsessed hamlet of Marshmallow Hallow.
The investigation is eased by Hobb‘s new knowledge of Hal‘s magic and word running around town of Hal‘s other successful investigations endeavors.

E. Cidnosin witnesses strange, giant eel-like creatures and starts a correspondence with scholar Henerey Clel. This leads to investigating a mysterious structure and the pair‘s disappearance.
E.‘s sister Sophy and Henerey‘s brother Vyerin delve into their siblings‘ exchanged letters to find out what happened.

If you want something different, cozy with a good mystery, academia with some excitement, all told in letter format, this is for you.

Lowen is a struggling author and finds a lifeline in the form of Jeremy Crawford who is looking for an author to finish his injured wife, Verity‘s, bestselling series. Lowen agrees and goes to the Crawford home to search Verity‘s study but found things that had her questioning everything.
Major Jane Eyre/Rebecca vibes. Every character is a terrible person but the plot kept me engaged.

Ghosts scare rich miser into becoming a decent human and sharing his wealth.
I can‘t think of a time when this message isn‘t sorely needed.

I‘ve seen a number of movie adaptations dozens of times but this is the first time I‘ve read the book. I really enjoyed this version narrated by Hugh Grant.

Kitty is a viral cat sitter and pet whisperer. Miles is a statistician for a hockey team and looking for someone to take care of his mom‘s problem cat while she‘s in the hospital.
Fairly predictable HEA but there were some good, funny moments. There was a lot of cringey moments too and some of the dialogue was pretty terrible.

As a life-long Midwesterner, I don‘t think Phillips could have nailed us better.
From ope to the Midwestern goodbye, garage fridges and casseroles of all kinds, this book would help anybody understand their loved ones from the flyover states.
And for any of my fellow Midwesterners, it‘s so accurate it‘s painful. 😅

Kari has had a tough life & it‘s about to get worse.
When her cousin, Debby, gives her a bracelet from her mom who disappeared when Kari was two days old, she starts getting visions of her mother & the Lofa, a monster from Native American folklore.
It sets Kari on the path to finding out what happened to her mom, allowing herself to finally heal from her friend‘s death, & restructure her relationship with her family.
Slow start but it got better.

I loved this short story collection so much!
From people who are able to harvest magic from the dead and to teens trying to save humankind, people fighting for their royal loves, to a fantastic retelling of Rapunzel, there wasn‘t a single miss in the whole book.
While it‘s technically YA, it has more than enough to keep adult readers engaged, in fact I was half way through it before I knew it was YA.

Saoirse Island is magic and witches practice openly. When Lily Morgan is found dead and the Salt family orchard, the island‘s lifeblood, burns, island life is irreparably changed.
August Salt and his mother flee the island in the shadow of rumors and Emery is left to pick up the pieces at the dual loss of her best friend and boyfriend.
14 years later, August returns and the island finally has to face its past.

I really enjoyed learning more about Harris and her early days in politics. It also helped me understand more of what was going on in the early 2000‘s, much of the aftermath we are still feeling.
It helped humanize her both inside and outside the political sphere and makes me even sadder about how the election went.
💙

Just a few years after the end of WWII, pregnant Charlie is sent to Europe to rectify her “situation” but she takes the opportunity to track down her cousin who went missing in Nazi-occupied France. She recruits Londoner Eve to help.
Eve has spent the last few decades trying to recover from her time as a spy during WWI and agrees to help Charlie in the hopes it will lead to her revenge against the man who betrayed her.

Bailed at 56%
I wanted to like this book. The historical stuff is impeccable but it got kind of repetitive and I really didn‘t care about Jake/George.
If I had had only a few hours left, I would‘ve soldiered on but I couldn‘t make myself finish the last 13.5 hours.

More historical romance than horror but it doesnt detract from the lush emotion & suspense in this gothic story.
When Nena & Nestor are attacked by a mysterious monster as children, Nestor flees, assuming his actions caused Nena‘s death. 9 years later, he returns as men from the rancho ride to defend Mexico from invaders.
Nena goes with to provide first aid, only to flee from Yanquis & the same monsters that nearly killed her when she was a child.

Told in dual timelines, this book follows Silvestre Swan, the keeper of Newfoundland‘s Swan lighthouse in 1913. When family politics get in the way of funding, he knows the lighthouse‘s days are numbered.
2014 brings Mari Adams in her search for the wreck of the Californian. To ensure the funding for her passion project, she accepts the job to find the story behind Swan Light.
Bittersweet with wonderful characters.

Detective Poirot has his work cut out for him when a man is found murdered just a few doors away. He and a wild cast of characters are snowed in and without access to regular law enforcement, it is up to Poirot to solve the crime.
Some of the leaps in logic felt a bit contrived but I was listening to the audio book so I might‘ve missed some things that made them make more sense.
Xenophobia aside (ahh the 1930s), I had a good time.

When arms instructor Lin Chong is wrongfully accused of treason, she is rescued and taken to the mountain sanctuary of Liangshan where she joins bandits who fight for the good of the Empire.

Bad ass women being bad ass while taking down corrupt politicians. Shes, Theys, and (maybe??) Gays unite!
Also, magic (that isn‘t magic).
I enjoyed this book so much!

Six friends, acquaintances, and strangers gather to discuss Austen‘s collective works while navigating their own messy lives.

I don‘t say this often, but the movie was much better. The book bounced around from so many POVs and timelines that it got confusing at times. There was also a lot of time spent on the characters‘ childhoods that didn‘t seem to matter to the plot.

When Sonya catches her fiancee in bed with her cousin, her world quickly deteriorates. When a surprise inheritance from an unknown uncle offers her a new start, she takes it with both hands. But living in a haunted mansion with one ghost that has it out for her family might not be the fresh start she was looking for.
This one didn‘t suck me in like Roberts‘ other books but it was fine. The cliffhanger ending has me eagerly waiting for #2.

When 5 year old Ruthie disappears, it sends the rest of her family, especially her brother Joe, spiraling, the effects that last for decades.
As a child, Norma was plagued by dreams of a mother different than her own, brothers & sisters, and a house full of laughter. It wasn‘t until a lifetime of gaslighting & emotional abuse later, does she find out that the dreams are actually memories of her childhood.
A lot of sad moments but such a good book

What a weird little story lol the plot was fairly predictable and the climax was pretty lackluster but I really enjoyed the characters. They were funny and real. A plus sized FMC whose personality wasn‘t all about being plus sized was nice to see. As was the diversity and LGBTQIA+ characters.
The insta-love trope was kinda 🙄 but with the short timeline of the book, it was the only way to make it happen.

It was interesting learning more about Grohl‘s life and about the bands he was in. He is a wonderful juxtaposition of dorky kid, anti-everything rebel, and man with a heart of gold.

I DNF‘d about a third of the way through. I just struggled to relate to or care about any of the characters.

In a world where women have magic but are forbidden from using it once they are married, Beatrice wants to forgo the marriage mart in favor of developing her magic but her family is nearly destitute and she needs to find a wealthy husband.
When she meets the Lavan siblings, people she believed to be her enemies would eventually show to be the answer to all her problems.

Murderbot, ART, ART‘s crew, and the team from Preservation are still on the planet that caused so many problems in Network Effect but with a different mission: getting the inhabitants to side with them against the corporate rim group wanting to mine the planet for resources. The colonists threw a wrench in the plans when they revealed there was a third settlement that had been isolated for 30 years. The race is on to beat Barish-Estranza to them.

This is an incredible book about the Troubles in Northern Ireland, using the disappearance of Jean McConville as the framework to show the key players on both sides of the divide.
It was tough to know who to root for by the end. Nearly everybody was both a victim and a villain, but Jean left ten kids behind and they, like so many other Irish children, paid the price.

I love when past me sends present me gifts! I totally forgot I preordered this until it showed up at my door!

After the death of her grandmother, Cleo Fox is invited to live at the Mayfield, the luxury London hotel owned by her aunt and uncle. When a guest is murdered, Cleo dives into the investigation with the help of the hotel staff.

Such a delightful book. Cleo is very competent but not infallible and is more than willing to admit when she makes mistakes and accepts the consequences.

New graduate Aimee takes to the skies as the newest portal mage on her teacher‘s skyship, Elysium. When her first portal goes wonky and they end up in the middle of battle for a powerful relic, the Axiom Diamond, their small crew takes on the might of the Eternal Order.
Sci-fi and fantasy, this story of a found family has amazing characters, fantastic world building, and impeccable fight scenes.

This book feels like a love letter to book people wrapped up in a story about a woman finding her path in life while helping at her friend‘s bookstore.
Maggie is jobless and agrees to cover her friend‘s bookshop when she goes on maternity leave, but Maggie isn‘t a book person. When one mistake lands the shop in trouble, Maggie breaks all the rules to help it survive and accidentally builds a community.

Very much not for me.

Edit: this book is impeccably written, no plot holes, and Flynn‘s portrayal of mental illness is incredibly realistic. Now that I‘ve had a chance to think about it. I believe that was my problem, there was nothing to take me out of the story.

Gideon the Ninth vibes in a whodunnit set in an imperial court of intrigue with psychics.

Charm is the emperor‘s mistress, given Orchard House to run as a gentleman‘s club and brothel. Before he dies, he gives her the order to figure out who murdered him and kill any of his sons who wanted his throne.

Meanwhile, Charm has to protect her boneghosts and appease the new emperor and his mad brothers, all with her own splintered personality.

Five people, all struggling with different aspects of their lives, find their way to a mysterious coffee shop pop up where they are given delectable treats and life advice based on their astrology by giant talking cats.

The astrology stuff went over my head but the self-help stuff was actually lovely and light-handed with both a touch of fate and free will. The reveal at the end brought me to tears.

Chloe has spent the last few years overwhelmed by her chronic illness but when she‘s nearly hit by a car, she decides to take more risks. She makes a list of things she wants to accomplish and strong-arms her hot apartment super Red into helping her.
Really adorable hate-to-love romance with great disability representation, a plus size FMC, and struggles with mental illness.