This spicy Christmas novella is my #bookspin for #bookspinbingo this month and I thoroughly enjoyed it! And when I say it's spicy 🫣🌶🌶 The niece of one of the Christmas Magi crashes at Santa's beach house in the Caribbean expecting to have it to herself-- only for Kris Kringle herself to show up at the most opportune time. Short, sweet, sapphic, and spicy! Definitely going to have to read the rest of Herrera's Toy Runner series.

A winter romance that would've worked a lot better without the Pride and Prejudice comparison. A college student with a crush on the campus social media star convinces him to join her dating show only for him to realize she's the one he wants. I have a lot of trouble with anything compared to P&P where the "Lizzy" character has a crush on Darcy from the beginning. I think I would've liked it more if it stood on its own. Between a pick and a so-so.

My #weekendreads . The Cuffing Game on audio and Platform Decay as an e-arc.

A new seasonally appropriate #weekendreads template to enjoy

Another lovely fairy tale from Kingfisher, this time not a retelling but an original story filled with fairy tale tropes such as evil princes and fairy godmothers. Thoroughly enjoyable. I can always count on T. Kingfisher for a good, reliable read.

A novelist and transcriber finally meet after a long correspondence, but neither realizes who the other is in this Pride and Prejudice inspired romance set in a period of late-eighteenth-century Joseon Korea when fiction was banned by the government. A truly lovely take that makes nods to the original while forging its own unique path.

#NetgalleyARC

I think this is one of those graphic novels where more than one volume is needed to really get a feel for it. The artwork is gorgeous, but the story feels lackluster. There's a lot of introspection and...not much else. I'm curious to see if the series starts to go somewhere / do something in future volumes.

This adorable graphic novel from the creator of Sheets follows a quiet girl with social anxiety and a band of young outlaw mailgirls trying to catch Two Gum Tilly, a notorious mail thief. It's silly and big-hearted and all around adorable. This is a must-read for fans of heart-warming middle grade comics. And the social anxiety rep is so on point and great to see in a graphic novel for young readers!

I've had a busy few months and wasn't on litsy much, but I'm feeling reinvigorated and excited to be back! November wasn't a big reading month for me, but The Posession of Alba Diaz was my favorite of the ones I read. Also catching up on my September and October faves #bookbracket2025 @CSeydel

Have you read any of the books from Book Riot's Best Books of 2025 list? I've read 14 with a 15th in progress, but so many others sound incredible!

https://bookriot.com/best-books-of-2025/

Very excited to get to dig into my #AuldLangSpine list from @Soubhiville ! I'm interested in a lot of the books (a few of which were already on my tbr and three of which I've read and loved, starred) but for January I'm going to focus on the bolded titled. Not sure I'll make it through all of them but I'm excited to try!

A million thanks as always for putting this event together@monalyisha !

My #BookSpinBingo for December @TheAromaofBooks

What a read! This is now my new frontrunner for best book of the year. In a land where stories are everything, a witch and knight are fated to love and be the death of each other-- but what if they change their story? An absolutely incredible book about the power of stories and the way we're all interconnected.

Fall book bingo from book riot! #FallReadingBingo

Got some great new historical fiction for fall over on Book Riot:
https://bookriot.com/horrifying-new-historical-fiction-for-fall/

I just finished up The Entanglement of Rival Wizards on audiobook and haven't started another one yet, so just two ebooks going so far this weekend: Tha salvage and The Possession of Alba Diaz #WeekendReads

I'm reading three great books this weekend. What about you?

Ebook: A Lady for All Seasons by TJ Alexander
Physical book: The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda
Audiobook: The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

I'm getting in the fall spirit, so let's have a new #WeekendReads template shall we?

A psycho sexual thriller like only Sarah Gailey could write. At an isolated habitat running experiments in the desert, a sample brought into the lab unleashes a contagion, one that seems dead set on finding out exactly what makes lead researcher Dr. Kinsey tick. A creepy sexual fever dream.

I have a fairy tale short story up on CorvidQueen.com! It's the story of a statue coming to life. You can read it for free at

https://corvidqueen.com/stories/the-story-of-you-rachel-brittain

I forgot to post my favorite book from July so here's my updated reading bracket for July and August. It was a tough call, because I really loved Hemlock & Silver but Cinder House just blew me away so it had to move forward. #ReadingBracket2025 @CSeydel

My #Weekendreads

Ebook: A Lady for All Seasons
Audiobook: Silver Borne
Physical book: Swordheart

Two very different historical novels going on this weekend. #WeekendReads

Repost and share what you're reading! Be sure to tag me and use the hashtag #WeekendReads

I loved a number of Alyson Stoner's movies growing up, but I don't think you need to know her work to get something out of this book. Like "I'm Glad My Mom Died," it explores the exploitation and abuse child actors. Even more so than McCurdy's book, though, Stoner's account is noteworthy in the ways it exposes an industry (not just bad actors within it) that seems to be inherently abusive toward the children working within it. TWs hidden below.

T. Kingfisher knows how to write a fairy tale reimagining like no other. Snow White, but from the perspective of a poison expert brought in to try to save the young princess who her father suspects is being poisoned after the death of her mother and sister. It's dark and suspenseful and evocative and a touch romantic, and I utterly loved our poison obsessed narrator.

A once powerful witch who lost her magic after bringing her aunt back to life discovers there may be a way to get her powers back--but it will take the help of the cold historian staying at her family's inn to translate the spell she needs. This was such a sweet, cozy fantasy romance. I could read a hundred of these if Sangu Mandanna continues to write them!

This dark medieval romp was sent to me by a publisher and then turned our to echo various parts of my journey to Ireland and Norway, during which I was reading it. Wild happenstance that made reading it truly unique and personal. Anyway, this is a darkly funny, gorey meditation on survival and faith and relationships. Not for the squemish or anyone unwilling to read a book that opens on a horrific Viking raid. I like it quite a lot, though.

Review catch-up! This was a lovely little novella about a fantasy version of pre-modern life in the fens of a Celtic culture (not sure if it's meant to be more Irish or Scottish). The kidnapped daughter of a neighboring clan is raised alongside the children of a rival chieftain, forbidden from acting on the feelings she shares with his daughter. But when the clans go to war, both women will have to decide where their loyalty truly lies.

Just couldn't help myself at the Nobel Peace Center. They practically had a whole bookstore in the gift shop! And I learned about a few other books I definitely want to put on my tbr, primarily The Witness of Those Two Days about the memories of the survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Nihon Hidankyo (the recipients of the 2024 Novel Peace Prize for their ongoing advocacy against the use of nuclear weapons).

Audiobook knitting. Having traveled by boat, plane, and car the last few weeks, I've gotta say train is by far my favorite way to travel. I wish there was more infrastructure to support it throughout the States!

I've been working on the start of the Purl Soho pocket scarf while road tripping on vacation with my friends. When we haven't been chatting, I've also been listening to A Witch's Guide To Magical Innkeeping #ShowandTellTuesday #LitsyCrafters @Catsandbooks

Post-hike hot cocoa and rainy fjord views

An appropriately medieval bookmark for this book.

The ideal morning

First travel read down, on to the next!

Squeezing a little reading into my day (along with a blackberry Italian cream soda)

The dangers of self-righteousness and herd mentality come to a head in this tense historical novel about a community who descend into a fervor over the rumor-turned-belief that 5 odd sisters are turning into dogs. This novel says a lot, including in the things it doesn't explicitly say. It's all too realistic in the ways in which people are quick to turn on others they feel are different. Haunting and evocative.

A gorgeous climate dystopia where Alcatraz is used as one of the last zoos in the world for the dwindling species of animals. Camille has worked there for years and prefers animals to people, but when a new coworker shows up, her disruptive commitment to the animals pushes Camille into trouble for the first time in her life. It's sad and propulsive and all too plausible a future to feel remotely escapist, but that's much of what I loved about it.

When I tell you this book surprised the heck out of me! Started it on a road trip with a friend who was checking it out for her recently retired dad, and we were shocked to find ourselves laughing out loud. Had to finish it when I got home. I learned so much I didn't know and found the stories of John Quincy Adams and Taft particularly fascinating. Your dad and grandfather probably need to read this book!

Went into the local bookstore to get some presents for my friend's birthday and somehow came out with this book for myself. I couldn't resist the sprayed edges! Oops 😅

Spent the weekend reading, crafting, and relaxing with some of my favorite people including @TorryK

To coincide with the big Best Books of 2025 (So Far) list, here are some of the best historical fiction books of 2025 so far! I would wholeheartedly add Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which I read shortly after writing this.

It's here! The best books of the year (so far)! I love these big lists of the best books that Book Riot puts out twice a year. Find my picks and so many others in this awesome list:

https://bookriot.com/best-books-of-2025-so-far/

One of the most inventive Cinderella retellings I've ever come across! When Ella is killed by her stepmother, her spirit lingers. Bound by ghostly limits, Ella is unable to leave the house for years. But when she discovers a means of wandering farther, she discovers 3 people who change her life forever: a fairy selling wares, a young man at the ballet, and a mage from a neighboring country. You've never read a Cinderella story like this before.

Jet was murdered--but she's not quite dead yet. With only days to live after a brutal assualt fractured her skull, Jet is determined to find who killed her. Whew this book was a wild ride. It took me a minute to warm up to Jet who is a bit of a privileged asshole, but I also realized eventually that I was only seeing Jet as her dying self, someone who didn't need to worry about consequences. This was a truly unique premise that worked so well!

A bride runs away on her wedding night only to be mistaken for a boy everyone seems to be looking for--and some people clearly want dead. I loved the explorations of gender identity and Jewish culture in a historical setting.

Trying to fit in a few more cute LGBTQ romances before Pride Month is over. I'm listening to Kiss Me, Maybe on audio and reading Isn't It Obvious and The Entanglement of Rival Wizarda on ebook. #WeekenReads

I was not expecting a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel to start off by giving The Martian vibes, but I am *not* complaining. If you're expecting a nonstop thrill ride, though, that's not what this book is. Atmosphere is still very much a character study, romance, and exploration of what life was like during the 1970s and 80s: for queer people, for women, and for people working on the space shuttle program at NASA. Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best.

Impromptu library book haul 📚