Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a good week! It’s time for another Weekly Wrap-Up!
Last week was fine. I missed a blog post or two that I’d wanted to do, but that’s okay. I’ve certainly had worse. I also read a book again this past week, which I’m really happy about.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!
Tuesday 3/3: The Most Interesting Looking New Books of March 2026
Last Tuesday, I posted a list of the books that I’m looking forward to this month. Or, at least the ones that I think look the most interesting. It was the The Most Interesting Looking New Books of March 2026. As always, it’s basically only fantasy and science fiction, as those are the two genres I primarily read. This time there were once again six books on my list.
On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday again. Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.
I also participated in WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. It focuses on the Three Ws of Reading: What are you currently reading?What did you recently finish reading? and What do you think you’ll read next?
On Friday, I finally posted my review for Stolen Midnights by Katherine Quinn. It’s a never fantasy novel, that just came out last month. I had mixed feelings about it.
There was a lot to like about it, but there were just as many – if not more – things to dislike about it. I thought the world building and magic and mystery was interesting, but I was less impressed with the characters and romance. I gave it ★★✫☆☆.
So yeah, I think that last week was pretty okay. I’m hoping to do at least as good this week, if not a little better. I want to keep up with at least a book a week again – I miss doing that. Fingers crossed. 🍀🤞
Regarding my blog activity for the week, I want to definitely post my monthly reading wrap-up for February 2026. I wanted to do it last week, but sometimes things happen. I also want to participate in at least a couple of my favorite weekly memes, as well as get out another book review. For my reading, the next book I’m planning on diving into is Brighter Than Nine by June CL Tan, which comes out tomorrow.
Concerning stuff outside the blog, last week I switched over my decorations from Valentine’s Day to St. Patrick’s Day. So now the decor is now shades of green instead of red and pink. Aside from that, my spouse and I are still up to our usual.
Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
The first in a new magical young adult romantasy duology from the New York Times bestselling author of To Kill a Shadow. A palace darling and a thief join forces after he unwittingly steals a necklace with the power to change their world forever.
In the city of Andalay, the ruling Fates bestow gifts among society’s most favored. When Damien, a cold and hardened thief, is hired to steal one of those gifts – meant for the “princess” of Ward One, Wren Hayes – he finds himself entangled in a web of secrets.
The gift? A locket containing his own photograph.
Once the locket is opened, hidden truths unravel, shedding light on the ruthless ways of the upper class. Yearning for the three Fates and the magical gifts they bestow, the lords of Andalay will go to any length to keep their power – including murder.
Brought together by destiny, and fighting a dangerous temptation that’s becoming harder to resist, Wren and Damien navigate a seedy world where the truth can destroy not only their lives, but the city itself.
My Review
When the clock chimed midnight on an Aurilian’s eighteenth birthday, a remarkable and utterly beguiling event would occur.
It’s a little later than I intended, but it turned out I had a lot of feelings about this book. And unfortunately, for me at least, Stolen Midnights didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some things to like – and even love – about this book. But I found myself annoyed more often than not by just as many other things, if not more. I have a lot to say about this novel, as I mentioned, so strap in!
The Characters and Story
There was no question in my mind that Wren Hayes and I had been destined to meet. And without a doubt, our lives were now tied together in a way that would be impossible to unravel.
Wren Hayes is our female lead. At the start of the novel she’s a rich girl expecting the accustomed gift of a magical object that the elite receive on their eighteenth birthdays. But she is left wanting, as it has been stolen by Damien, the male protagonist to this story. He’s basically your typical thief character, sassy and suave (or at least he thought so) with a vulnerable side. And unfortunately, I didn’t care much for either of them. Especially early on – Wren is pretty bratty and naive, and I don’t like the way Damien flirts with Wren for the first half of the novel. But, I do think both of them grew some by the climax of the novel, and I was rooting for them at that point a little. I just wish they’d both stop making stupid decisions.
I found the side characters more interesting this time around, like Ruby and Grayson and Everett, and I was honestly more interested in their backgrounds and stories than I was the MCs. The antagonist kind of came a little out of nowhere for me, though it made sense it was them, but I was screaming at the characters constantly about how the villain’s accomplice was right there stop being stupid it’s so obvious. But I digress – that’s how it goes sometimes with these kinds of novels.
The plot for Stolen Midnights was pretty decent, though it got bogged down a little bit by the main characters and their antics and stupidity. It’s also a relatively simple story with a bit of a mystery going on throughout, and the latter is honestly the only thing that kept me going for a while. Until the missing persons part of the plot was introduced, then I had to know what was up. The author was pretty good at seeding along a mystery, and I wish that that had more focus on it. But instead it was the romance.
The Romance and Writing
A finger pressed into my chest, startling me. “You’ve been watching me,” Wren accused-correctly-doing her very best to sound intimidating. Such an adorable yet incompetent attempt.
“Obviously.” I shrugged, pressing deeper into that little finger of hers. “You were practically begging to be robbed.” Again.
“You would be the expert,” she snipped.
I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t like the romance here. I didn’t think Wren and Damien had any chemistry with each other, at any point in the novel. I also hated how they were constantly sniping at one another. And yes, I get that this was (an attempt at) an enemies to lovers plot, but then I’d rather there wasn’t literal immediate insta-lust happening. Like seriously immediate – basically as soon as they have their first proper conversation. And then it just didn’t stop. This should’ve been more of a slow-burn. But it wasn’t, and I think that the romance suffered for it.
The writing was… okay. It certainly could’ve been better, but it was YA, which doesn’t always have the best quality. It’s not an excuse, because I think YA deserves better, but it is what it is. The prose seemed almost middle grade though, which felt at odds with the numerous cringe worthy lust filled scenes throughout. What I mean to say is: the writing felt like it should’ve been more mature, to match Stolen Midnights tones and themes.
The Cover and World Building
One day our world would change, and all it took to start a revolution was one person.
I know it might be hard to believe at this point, but there were things I quite enjoyed about this book. The cover art and sprayed edges for one thing, are absolutely phenomenal. I almost passed on this novel, or at least put it on my tentative TBR for later, but I couldn’t just walk by that book cover art and ignore it. And combined with the title, there’s a downright lethal combination there. This book was very, very pretty. But I’ve already gushed about the cover art enough in another post.
The world building and the magic system are also interesting. I really liked how the characters frequently talk about places outside of the city of Andalay, and that there’s a map at the beginning of the book. I love maps in books.
The magic system is also intriguing. I found myself invested in the way the knowledge of it evolved as the characters discovered more about how it worked.
The lore and history sprinkled all over Stolen Midnights was also fascinating. I loved the little excerpts at the beginning of some of the chapters, predominantly Wren’s. Not just because it distributed relevant lore for each chapter or two, but also because it tells the reader that Wren is also interested in the history of her world, and that’s one of the few things I liked about her.
The only thing I felt was odd about it was how the lore and the divine leaders of Andalay – the Fates – affected the way the city was run. It’s a patriarchy and women seem to have hardly any rights, but the Fates are women as well. It just seems weird to me that the society is structured that way, especially since the Fates themselves also live in the city with everyone – it doesn’t seem like it should be a patriarchy at all. I understand that they manipulate certain things about how Andalay is run, but nowhere in the book is it mentioned that they’re manipulating it into a patriarchy. I guess we as the reader are just meant to infer that? I don’t know, it seemed a little sloppy is all.
Final Thoughts
But I often got ahead of myself. First I needed to find where Wren Hayes had run off to.
Something told me I should’ve had one more glass of whiskey.
Though I didn’t enjoy a lot of what Stolen Midnights had to offer, there were a few things that I really liked about it. There’s a lot of stuff set up for the sequel here, too, and it seems like it might be more lore and magic focused (though there’s definitely still going to be a lot of romance as well), so I might enjoy it more, if I decide to read it. This book really feels like one half of a whole, or a very long prologue.
Also, I couldn’t find a place to mention this earlier, but several aspects of this novel reminded me of Once Upon a Broken Heart and its sequels. Down to one of the big twists in the book, as well as the big event that happens at the ending. I think it shares the most similarities with the second book, and I suspect the sequel to this book might share some with the last book in the trilogy. They also had a lot of the same vibes and some of the same tropes. I think that a lot of that stuff, however, was executed a little better in Once Upon a Broken Heart. If you like Stephanie Garber’s works, though, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this book.
Anyway, as always, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!
It’s been quite a long time since I last participated in this post. There were a couple of reasons, but I think the biggest one was that I’d mention most if not all of the Three Ws in my Weekly Wrap-Ups every week, so I thought it was a little redundant.
But I’ve missed it, so I’m back! I can’t believe it’s been over a year. The other big reason I stopped is that I was in-between books half the time whenever the middle of the week came around, so hopefully that stops happening. 🍀🤞
Also: I made a new cover image!!
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!
★★ I’m conflicted about this book, and my star rating keeps changing. It’s why it’s taken me this long to review it, (which I’m angling to do tomorrow) even though I finished it last weekend. ★★
Hey all! It’s rather late, but Happy Wednesday nonetheless!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
This week’s book is:
Brighter Than Nine by June CL Tan! 🗡️✨
One of my most anticipated books of 2026, and one of my top two anticipated sequels of the first half of the year! (The other being the new Murderbot Diaries book.) I’m so excited for this book!
The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets Chinese diaspora folklore in this sequel to the #1 Sunday Times bestseller Darker by Four! The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets the Chinese underworld, drawing inspiration from diaspora folklore, in this epic, sweeping contemporary fantasy duology from Jade Fire Gold author June CL Tan.
Rui has her life back together – or so it seems. Hailed as a hero, she’s finally on her way to becoming an important member of the Exorcist Guild. But she knows the Hybrid Revenants are still out there, and they’re planning something big. Something evil.
Ziziis trapped in the underworld. As his mortal body deteriorates, he realizes he can access the Fourth King’s memories, which may be the key to keeping the mortal realm safe. To save the girl he loves, he must defy fate – and escape Hell.
Yiran watches from the shadows, magicless once more. When he discovers a dark family secret that changes everything he thought he knew, his hunger for power tempts him toward a possible betrayal. And he must decide what he truly stands for – before it’s too late.
As the consequences of the past wreak havoc on the present, three lives bound by the threads of fate must weave a new destiny for themselves – and the realms.
Are you looking forward to Brighter Than Nine? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!
Hey everyone and Happy March! Another month, another bunch of new books that are coming out! Yep, it’s time for The Most Intriguing New Books of March 2026.
Here’s the sitch if you’re unfamiliar: this is a monthly post about new releases. Specifically, it’s about new releases that I find interesting, which means they’re most likely all going to be fantasy or science fiction, since those are my favorite genres. There’s occasionally an outlier, though.
These are just books that look interesting to me, by the way. There’s no guarantee which ones I’ll read, or if I’ll even read half of them. We’ll see. Anyway, let’s get going! This month – much like last month – six books have once again caught my eye!
RELEASING: March 3rd
Centuries ago, necromancy almost destroyed the world. That’s how history remembers it.
Mathaiik has studied all his life to join the sacred order of the Idallik Knights, charged with defending their world from the forces of necromancy and the grim witches who practice it. Only vestiges of that cursed magic remain–nothing like the fabled days of the Grim Lords, the undead wizards who once nearly destroyed the entire world.
Until monsters once more begin to wake. But something about them is even stranger: whole forests coming alive and devouring anyone so foolish as to trespass, formerly peaceful animals mutating into savage carnivores… as if the land itself has turned upon humanity, in a riot of chaotic magic the Knights quickly prove powerless to stop.
It’s a good thing, then, that the Grim Lords were never truly destroyed. One of their number sleeps below the Knights’ very fortress. And when an army of twisted tree monsters attacks the young initiates in his charge, Math decides to do the unthinkable: he wakes her up.
This is only the beginning of his problems. Because said necromancer, Kaiataris, knows something history has forgotten. The threat of this wild magic is part of a cycle that has repeated countless times: life after death, chaos after order. And if she and Math can’t find a new way to balance the scales, this won’t just be the end of the world as they know it, but the end of all life, everywhere.
RELEASING: March 3rd
A conflicted villain and his unstoppable bride form the realm’s most chaotic alliance in this riotously funny dark romantasy perfect for fans of Assistant to the Villain, but darker and spicier.
“What’s mine stays mine.”
Step One: Kidnap someone cute. Step Two: Force her into marriage. Step Three: Try not to catch feelings.
When Dark Lord Kazimir Blackrose kidnaps Lady Arabella for a forced marriage, he expects an obedient, trembling bride. What he gets is a knife to the throat and a furious woman with demands of her own. He may need her heroic bloodline to achieve ultimate dominion, but she’s not about to make this easy for him.
Arabella has already survived her father’s tower prison and a lifetime of being treated like property. Getting abducted by the realm’s most notorious villain is just another Tuesday. If she must be married to the infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) Dark Lord, she’ll do it on her terms: freedom within his fortress, hands strictly to himself, and complete honesty about his plans.
But when those plans go awry, Kazimir faces his most terrifying challenge yet: he must date his own wife. Between magical training sessions, playing golf with the eyeballs of his enemies, and aphrodisiac dinners gone spectacularly wrong, his attempts at villainous seduction are failing at every turn.
As Kazimir and Arabella navigate magical explosions and jealous exes, they discover a far more terrifying prospect than war or magical catastrophe: They might actually be falling for each other.
RELEASING: March 3rd
Perfect for fans of Powerless, Lightlark, and Red Queen, this heart-pounding romantasy forces a girl to make an impossible decision: watch the boy she loves get exiled for lack of magic, or pass her formidable powers off as his own.
In a world where dragons soar through the skies and magical abilities are an elite privilege, the ruling family of Ailm’s Keep is on a knife-edge: Can their son Ionain prove that he can channel magic, or will his entire family be cast out in disgrace?
Éadha, a servant girl who loves Ionain, is shocked to discover shortly before the test that she can wield magic herself. It’s extremely rare for a girl to have this talent, especially outside the few great Families. At Ionain’s moment of truth, when it’s clear he is about to fail, Éadha makes a desperate gamble to save him from humiliation by pretending her magic is his, forfeiting her own claim to power.
Her decision sends them both to an academy of magic, where she must shield her secret from every grim teacher and scheming student – especially the handsome but enigmatic Gry. As Éadha enters this whirlwind of patriarchy, class, heartache, and jealousy, she also learns about magic’s terrible cost – the human price that Channellers willingly pay to maintain their power.
How far would you go to empower the one you love?
RELEASING: March 10th
The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets Chinese diaspora folklore in this sequel to the #1 Sunday Times bestseller Darker by Four! The Shadowhunter Chroniclesmeets the Chinese underworld, drawing inspiration from diaspora folklore, in this epic, sweeping contemporary fantasy duology from Jade Fire Gold author June CL Tan.
Rui has her life back together – or so it seems. Hailed as a hero, she’s finally on her way to becoming an important member of the Exorcist Guild. But she knows the Hybrid Revenants are still out there, and they’re planning something big. Something evil.
Zizi is trapped in the underworld. As his mortal body deteriorates, he realizes he can access the Fourth King’s memories, which may be the key to keeping the mortal realm safe. To save the girl he loves, he must defy fate – and escape Hell.
Yiran watches from the shadows, magicless once more. When he discovers a dark family secret that changes everything he thought he knew, his hunger for power tempts him toward a possible betrayal. And he must decide what he truly stands for – before it’s too late.
As the consequences of the past wreak havoc on the present, three lives bound by the threads of fate must weave a new destiny for themselves – and the realms.
RELEASING: March 10th
For fans of Hannah Whitten and Ava Reid comes a thrilling new fantasy by the author of Spit Back the Bones.
Once a fool. Twice a thief.
In a village plagued by mysterious deaths, Adelaide Thorn wonders if she is truly touched by the Devil. The villagers believe her to be the monster responsible for all the tragedies. Even her father, the vicar, presumes she’s guilty, tying her to a chair as punishment, afraid that if he cuts her loose, more girls will wind up dead. Her chronic illness causes her to have strange visions and blackouts, and even Addie herself begins to wonder if she is the one with blood on her hands.
Addie feels drawn to the Rowan Wood on the outskirts of her village, and when she wades out into the river to get closer, she cuts her foot on a strange bell nestled in the riverbed. Ransom Black, a lordling with secrets of his own, helps her stanch the bleeding and speaks to her without any indication of fear.
Back at home, Addie rings the bell and realizes it gives her the power to see the ghosts of those the village has lost, including the ghost of Bram Avery, who begs for her help. Bram tells her that the bell–a Reaper’s Bell–can open the door to the Rowan Wood, a hellish purgatory where the souls of the dead reside.
Accompanied by Bram and Ransom, Addie ventures into the Rowan Wood with hopes of rescuing her late mother. There, Addie quickly realizes that their beloved might not be who they once were. Addie’s journey to find her mother’s soul is complicated by her attraction to Ransom and her unexpected feelings for Bram, who might be more dead than alive but sees Addie in a way no one has before.
As the three make their way deeper into the Wood, each motivated by their own desperate desires, trust turns to betrayal and flawless facades begin to flicker. It may be that the ones Addie has so longed to reunite are those who have been lying to her her entire life.
RELEASING: March 31st
In this witty fantasy romance, a widow blackmails her rakish necromancer neighbor to bring her husband back to life and save her home – only to find herself falling for him instead.
Lady Hildegarde Croft is accustomed to changes in position. After all, she rose from maidservant to lady of the manor when she married Lord Thorgoode Croft. But when he drops dead quite unexpectedly, the plans that would have protected her and the people of Croftholde from her malevolent brother-in-law die along with him. What’s a widow to do?
Fortunately, potential salvation arrives in the form of Lord Erol Elmwood, who is fleeing the consequences of using his forbidden Charm to raise the dead and save his own life. Now he’s injured, destitute, and miserable, stuck hiding out at the neighboring estate.
For Hilde, blackmailing Lord Elmwood to resurrect Thorgoode seems like the perfect solution. For Elmwood, beautiful Lady Croft seems like the ideal distraction from his troubles. The problem is, all she wants from him is the horrifying power he knows he can never use again.
So yeah, these are all of the books releasing in March 2026 that I’m at least a little interested in. What books are coming out soon that you’re looking forward to? Do we share some of the same ones?
As always, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!
Hey there, I hope you had a good week. It’s time for another Weekly Wrap-Up!
This past week was great! My blog activity was pretty high, and I read a book and a half! Woohoo! And I know the next couple of books that I want to read next, as well as have an idea of what I’ll probably read after them. (The latter could change of course – sometimes my reading whims are weird.)
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!
Tuesday 2/24: Top Ten Tuesday
Last Tuesday, I participated in Top Ten Tuesday for the first time in a couple of weeks. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. The prompt for last week was Quotes From/About Books.
On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday again – for like the fifth time in a row. Wow! I’ve never been on a roll like that before – and I’m not planning on stopping now!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.
Last Thursday, I posted my review for Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson. It was an interesting new fantasy novel, and it featured cryptids, which I loved.
Despite the excessive purple prose and my other couple of criticisms about it, I thought that it was a pretty decent book overall. There were even a couple of things that I really liked about it. I gave it ★★★✬☆.
This past Friday, I participated in First Line Friday again. Two weeks in a row! Not quite the streak that I have on Wednesday, but not too shabby. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words. It’s where you guess what book the post is highlighting based on the book’s first words.
So yeah, I’m really happy with last week, and I hope I can keep it up this week. I’m also feeling ready to read the next books on my To Be Read List, so I’m hoping that the slump I was in last year is officially over. Already I’m doing better than the first couple of months of 2025, though – four books in January and February as opposed to three. Fingers crossed! 🍀🤞
Concerning my blogging this week, I want to definitely post my book review for Stolen Midnights by Katherine Quinn. I’m also going to do my interesting looking new books in March 2026 post, and I’m planning on doing that before today is out, actually. For other posts, I’m going to do my monthly reading wrap-up for February 2026, and hopefully a couple of the usual weekly posts I usually participate in. I’m also hoping to post more often on the weekends going forward – I just haven’t had the time the last couple of months.
Regarding my reading, Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews is next, and I’m definitely planning on reading it this week – probably even starting it tomorrow. After that, it’s most likely going to end up being Brighter Than Nine by June CL Tan, which is releasing next week. Beyond that, I’m not super positive, but I have ideas. I’m thinking I might want to get back into catching up on the next arc of One Piece that my spouse and I left off at, sometime next week, as season two of the live action is coming out next week as well. Then, possibly the Dresden Files – I do want to get back into the series, I’m just not sure when I’ll get around to it.
Outside of books and blogging, the biggest thing my spouse and I did was watch a full playthrough of Resident Evil 9 officially known as Resident Evil Requiem, the latest main installment of the Resident Evil videogame series that came out last week. We just finished it and it was absolutely fantastic – we loved it. Other than that, we’ve done a few other things, but that was definitely the biggest highlight of the week by far.
Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.
What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?
If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:
📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page 📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 📙 Finally… reveal the book!
Here’s the first line:
It hadn’t hurt, the day he had cut out his own heart.
Know the novel? If not, here are a couple more hints…
Still don’t know? Here are some gorgeous photos of books to scroll past while you consider it a bit longer…
Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews!
GENRES: Fantasy, Horror, LGBT+, Young Adult, Fiction
PUBLISHER: Feiwel & Friends
RELEASE DATE: 29 October 2024
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him.
Kill for him.
High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality – Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more.
But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won’t say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork – whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew’s wicked stories.
Desperate to figure out what’s wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster – Thomas’s drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him. To make sure no one else dies, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew begins to fear that the only way to stop the creatures might be to destroy their creator…
What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!
An ordinary man discovers a hidden world of wondrous supernatural creatures – and an unexpected home – in this enchanting contemporary fantasy debut.
Cryptonaturalist: one who studies cryptids; an expert in or student of supernatural history.
After a series of inexplicable encounters upends his life, Green finds himself alone and terrified in the Appalachian mountains, full of questions about the transformation he’s undergoing and the impossible creatures he’s starting to see.
When he meets a hermit named Valentina, he realizes that something more than chance has brought him to her door. For she has devoted centuries to researching the hidden world of cryptids that Green is only now beginning to perceive.
As Green begins his studies beneath her watchful eye, he comes face to face with time-stopping giant moths, cyclops squirrels, and doorways to elsewhere. Along the way come clues about his own nature and the powerful beings who led him here – and, most wondrous of all, a sense of fulfillment like nothing he’s felt before.
But Green’s new happiness promises to be short-lived, because alongside these marvels lurks a deadly threat to this place he’s already come to love.
Featuring incredible creatures and an unforgettable cast of characters, Strange Animals is a charming, addictive fantasy about the magic all around us.
My Review
“Empathy and curiosity take more courage than blunt force, but it is the wiser long-term path.”
Strange Animals was a pretty interesting book. It’s was one of my anticipated reads for February 2026, and thought it didn’t hit quite the way I’d hoped, I still liked it.
This novel was notably the first time I got to use the green highlighter on my Kindle, the newest color you can now use. I was actually excited about it, which is one of the reasons I mention it. I chose it for what I think is probably an obvious reason (I usually pick my color of highlighter to match the book in some way), the setting and the name of one of the characters. The other reason I’m bringing this up is because, if Kindle had a purple highlighter available, I might have picked that, for something I’ll get into more extensively later.
Anyway, the book follows Green. And no, I’m not sure if it’s his first or last name. Anyway, Green starts off the novel with an intriguing experience – wherein he has a brush with death – key word here being death, of course. Because of this, and the magic acorn that had appeared in his pocket, he decides to go find himself in the Catskill Mountains.
The Characters
“I hear you. You’re trying to make this a lesson about becoming comfortable with the unknown?”
Valentina set aside her coffee cup. “That lesson arrives most days whether or not we invite it. But we are not in the business of passively noting our own ignorance. We are in the business of finding out.”
I had some trouble getting a feel for Green’s personality here for some reason, but I did catch a few things about him. His trauma and confusion from his experience in the prologue, and his curiosity and interet in the new world order he’s found himself tangled up in are what stood out to me the most, though. He’s also kind and brave, as well. Honestly, nothing about him stood out to me as much, unfortunately, as I like to love the protagonists I’m following.
The other characters I found far more interesting. Valentina Blackwood is a mysterious woman who has lived on the mountain for seemingly forever, and is Green’s new cryptonatural teacher. She’s directly direct and intelligent, as well as very nononsence when it comes to being a cryptonaturalist. I absolutely adored her – she was so cool. The mystery surrounding her circumstances and why she became interested in cryptids was just as interesting as the things that happen to Green throughout the story, and I loved discovering the answers to them.
The rest of the cast doesn’t get too much page-time, but I still really enjoyed them. Dancer was fun and weird and I loved her character immediately. Clara Rodriguez was also pretty awesome, and I loved meeting her. I even really liked Alf and his two friends, even though they had the least appearance out of everyone. They left a strong impression, though. I also really, really liked another character, but I won’t get into him because of massive spoilers surrounding him.
The Story
“Fear has two fangs. The first is a pervasive sense of helplessness. The second is the enormity of the unknown. Today, we aim to armor ourselves against both. We are not helpless. We are not hiding in our shelters. We are actively seeking information to improve our position. The unknown does not root us where we stand. We are rejecting both helplessness and the premise of unknowability.”
The plot of Strange Animals was also quite interesting, even if the characters stood out to me slightly more. Green’s journey and encounters were very compelling. Not to mention cryptids have always been something fascinating to me, and it feels like they don’t show up in fiction in this way too often. The last time I encountered a novel focusing on them, it was Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith from forever ago – back when I was just about to start middle school. (It’s a great book though – I think I only read the first book, though I might have also read the second, I’m not sure though. It’s a four book series in any case.)
Speaking of books that I read in middle school, I loved seeing the shout-out to My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George – one of my favorite books I read when I was younger (the entire trilogy is goated, honestly). I can definitely see that the author was inspired for Strange Animals, too.
The Writing
There, just beyond his windshield, the woods drank in radiation from a nearby star and used that energy to create oxygen, to reproduce, to send chemical messages in a language older than humanity, older than the warm blood of mammals.
I think the things I had the most mixed feelings about were the writing and the ending. Anderson’s writing style is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but it’s almost too beautiful. The purple prose here is honestly too much – it was just heaps of it everywhere, in every chapter. It was incredibly distracting, and made some of the book feel incredibly overwritten. The author dabbled in poetry before this, and you can really tell.
Occasionally it even got to the point where my brain started digging up whenever I’d approach one of the heavy purple prose sections. I’m not a fan of it in the first place, so to see it so much in the novel brought the whole thing down for me somewhat. Despite all this, I do think that some of the writing was still very well done, and pieces of it were quite effective.
The ending was also kind of weird. I didn’t hate it, but one of the characters goes through a metamorphosis mostly off-screen and acts very differently to how they had been for the entire book before. And I didn’t really like that – I like to see my character growth and development happen in real-time, thanks.
Final Thoughts
I write to you today in a language you didn’t know on a page you will never see.
I’d say that Strange Animals was an overall positive experience for me, and I’m glad I read it. The plot and characters were both entertaining, and I really flew through the book whenever I sat down to read it, even despite the purple prose. I think that it was a pretty strong debut novel, too. And the cover is also absolutely stunning – I love everything about it.
As always, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!
Happy Wednesday! It’s been over a month since I’ve had a break between these. There are just so many interesting looking books coming out lately, and they’re just not stopping!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
Centuries ago, necromancy almost destroyed the world. That’s how history remembers it.
Mathaiik has studied all his life to join the sacred order of the Idallik Knights, charged with defending their world from the forces of necromancy and the grim witches who practice it. Only vestiges of that cursed magic remain–nothing like the fabled days of the Grim Lords, the undead wizards who once nearly destroyed the entire world.
Until monsters once more begin to wake. But something about them is even stranger: whole forests coming alive and devouring anyone so foolish as to trespass, formerly peaceful animals mutating into savage carnivores… as if the land itself has turned upon humanity, in a riot of chaotic magic the Knights quickly prove powerless to stop.
It’s a good thing, then, that the Grim Lords were never truly destroyed. One of their number sleeps below the Knights’ very fortress. And when an army of twisted tree monsters attacks the young initiates in his charge, Math decides to do the unthinkable: he wakes her up.
This is only the beginning of his problems. Because said necromancer, Kaiataris, knows something history has forgotten. The threat of this wild magic is part of a cycle that has repeated countless times: life after death, chaos after order. And if she and Math can’t find a new way to balance the scales, this won’t just be the end of the world as they know it, but the end of all life, everywhere.
Are you looking forward to Green & Deadly Things? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Quotes From/About Books. So you can share book quotes that you love, quotes about books themselves, quotes about being a reader, etc. I decided to highlight Quotes That I Really Like From Ten Books That I Love. I went with the last ten books I gave five star for this one, because I’ve just read so many books.
Without further ado, let’s get into it! From most recently read and rated to least recently read and rated – to keep them straight in my head (but mostly because I’m having trouble choosing which books I like better than others).
#1
Perhaps that is what it is like with other people. Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.
Susanna Clarke – Piranesi
#2
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”
Becky Chambers – A Psalm for the Wild-Built
#3
One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.
Heather Fawsett – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
#4
Art doesn’t need to be good to be valuable. I’ve heard it said that art is the one truly useless creation-intended for no mechanical purpose. Valued only because of the perception of the people who view it. The thing is, everything is useless, intrinsically. Nothing has value unless we grant it that value. Any object can be worth whatever we decide it to be worth.
Brandon Sanderson –Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
#5
There is no such thing as a single truth. There are just the stories we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves.
Chelsea Abdullah –The Stardust Thief
#6
Humanity is awful, angry, and violent. But we are also magical and musical. We dance. We sing. We create. We live and laugh and rage and cry and despair and hope. We are a bundle of contradictions without rhyme or reason. And there is no one like us in all the universe.
TJ Klune – In the Lives of Puppets
#7
Real hearts are nothing but trouble. They break and bleed and bring their owners torment. But without them existence is hollow, only breath following breath.
Frances Hardinge –Unraveller
#8
You are the Ship of Theseus. We all are. There is not a single living cell in my body that was alive and a part of me ten years ago, and the same is true for you. We’re constantly being rebuilt, one board at a time.
Edward Ashton – Mickey7
#9
“Not every story is willing to reveal itself right away. Some of them are bashful.”
Marissa Meyer – Gilded
#10
“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”
V.E. Schwab –A Darker Shade of Magic
What are your favorite quotes? Are they from your favorite books? Do you have any quotes you really like that are just about books and reading in general?
As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!
