Weekly Wrap-Up: 1/19 – 1/25

Jeez, I can’t believe it’s been another week already. Oh well, time flies when you’re being relatively productive, I guess.

Last week wasn’t too bad, in regards to both my reading and my blog activity. I finished a book and reviewed it – and it was my first of both for the year too! I also managed to post a few times, and am happy with the amount of blog posts I was able to do. So yeah, a pretty good week overall.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!

Wednesday 1/21: The Ashfire King Review

Last Wednesday, I finally posted my review for The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah. It’s the sequel to The Stardust Thief, as well as the second book in the Sandsea Trilogy. This one was a long time coming – but I finally read and reviewed it!

The book ended up being slower than I expected for a good portion of it, but I liked it overall. The plot and characters are still great, and the writing is as engaging as ever. I gave it ★★★★☆.

The Ashfire King Review

Thursday 1/22: Birthstone Book Covers

On Thursday, I participated in Birthstone Book Covers at a more reasonable time for the first time in months. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun little post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black.

Each month, for the post, you feature book covers that are either the same color of the month’s birthstone or include the color in the title. This month was January, and its birthstone is garnet. So the colors to pick from are shades of red.

Birthstone Book Covers: January 2026

Friday 1/23: First Line Friday

Last Friday, I participated in First Line Friday for the first time in a few weeks. 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.

First Line Friday: 1/23

The Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, my reading and blogging this past week was pretty good. I’m pretty happy with all that I did. I hope this week is just as good.

Concerning the blog this coming week, I want to participate in at least a couple of the usual weekly posts that I participate in as well as do a book review. So hopefully I’ll finish the book I’m about to start reading before the end of the week so that I can review it.

Speaking of what I’m planning to read next, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune. I already have it checked out from the library. I haven’t read any of his works in a couple of years, so I’m looking forward to it. This has actually been nebulously on my TBR for about a year, lol. I was going to read Water Moon and The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao, but I ended up not feeling either of them at the last second.

Being in late January, we’re now in the midst of winter, and it really displayed that in my area late last week. It snowed quite a bit, and said snow is still piled on the ground even now. It’s also been freezing cold and will continue to be for at least the next several days. Brrr. In other news, my spouse and I are still trying to be healthier.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

To 2026 | Happy New Year 🥂📖

Jeez, I can’t believe the new year has already begun. 2025 was crazy in a lot of (mostly bad) ways, and the last few months really flew by. I’m hoping that 2026 is a much better year than last year was!

And yeah, this is later than I usually do this post. Sorry, the latter part of this week was kind of busy.

Once again, I’ve got some goals and a bookish New Year’s resolution for this year. I’m very excited about all of it. Hopefully some of it’ll go better than the last couple of years. Here it comes.

For 2026

For this year… I’m not strongly decided on anything. Last year was just so tough and it was honestly the worst year of my life. And I’m still working on finding my footing from all that had happened.

I’d like to continue with the blog, as I do enjoy it. But I’d also like to try to work on some of my other original writing, and a lot of times after finishing up a post for the Blog That Nobody Knows, I feel like my writing battery has run out. Which is weird, because part of the reason that I started this blog in the first place was because I was trying to get into the mindset for writing more often. I dunno. I still want to try to keep up with this blog, and I probably will, but I might post a little less often.

In 2025, I read 20 books and over 6,000 pages. Which wasn’t nearly as good as my reading in the years before, not to mention I didn’t even come close to my reading goal last year. I’m hoping to do much better than that in 2026 – I’d like to read at least 30 books this coming year. Well, I’d actually like to read one book a week and read 52 books this year, but after last year, I want to take it easier with my reading goal.

List of Goals for 2026

📚 Read 30 books

📚 Keep posting on the blog

📚 Try to read more books outside of fantasy and science fiction

📚 Write and maybe publish a novel – like come on I have so many ideas, I just have to use them

…And that’s kind of all I’ve got for my goals for books and blogging. I do have a few other goals, but they aren’t really relevant to the blog. The other goals are also more related to my personal life, so I’m keeping them to myself.

I definitely want to start to be a more productive and proactive person though. I think I’ve been better about it lately, but I know I could improve even more, so that’s what I want to do. So anyway everybody, cheers to a great 2026 and Happy New Year!! 🥂🎆🕛🎉

Bewitching Book Covers: The Crone of Midnight Embers

Wow, it’s already Sunday! This week has flown by! It’s been forever, but I’m back with another Bewitching Book Covers post.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Bewitching Book Covers (formerly Tasteful Tuesdays, and before that, Majestic Mondays), is a series where I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it. That’s it, that’s pretty much the point of this post.

This week, the book cover I’m highlighting is The Crone of Midnight Embers by Iris Beaglehole!

The Crone of Midnight Embers by Iris Beaglehole

SERIES: Myrtlewood Crones #1

LENGTH: 302 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Te Ra Aroha Press

RELEASE DATE: 23 September 2023

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Why don’t more 60-something-year-olds get to have fun magical adventures?

Delia Spark is caught in a maelstrom. Her former life as a London theatre director is on the brink of implosion amid a scandalous divorce, a tarnished reputation, and, for reasons she cannot fathom, things keep spontaneously combusting around her. Her sixties were supposed to be peaceful, but now even her grown daughter won’t return her calls. Escape is the only option.

In the remote village of Myrtlewood, she seeks solace, not suspecting that in this quaint haven, far stranger adventures await than the urban chaos she left behind. Delia is oblivious to the undercurrent that her arrival stirs. Amid whispers of magic, she finds herself on the precipice of an extraordinary transformation.

As she grapples with these new realities, an ominous shadow lurks – a secret Order, steeped in ancient lore, is watching, plotting and scheming. Delia must confront her destiny. Will she surrender to the enchanting pull of Myrtlewood and the ancient prophecies of the elemental crones, or will she claw back her former life from her power-hungry ex?

Welcome to a world where the extraordinary is ordinary, where tranquillity is a veil for the mystical, and where time itself whispers secrets of old served with delicious cakes and cups of tea – or coffee if you insist!

Book Cover Rating: ☕☕☕☕ • 4 delicious cups of tea filled with adventure

So I’ll get into the cover in a moment, but can we just all agree that this is a great premise? Like, I haven’t read it, but the idea of a much older protagonist is super interesting to me. I love the idea that you’re never too old for an adventure!

Anyway, the book cover art for The Crone of Midnight Embers is very good. I’m always a sucker for blue, so it’s no surprise that I like it so much, considering the background is just that. I also like the lighter blue sequin-like designs around the border of the cover.

The bright golden yellow is also a beautiful addition to the book cover. I love how it stands out and contrasts with all the blue, but also isn’t jarring at all. I love the font used here (I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s one of my favorites), and the flowers are also very pretty. I’m a sucker for flowers, too.

My favorite thing about this cover art, though, has to be the crow and the moon sequestered off on the upper half on the right side of the cover. It just looks so good, and I love crows in stories. (Moons are cool too, I guess. Lol.) I also like the little journal/book with the feather pen near the bottom as well. I can never not complement a book, haha. This is a very pretty book cover.

So yeah, here’s yet another beautiful book cover. What do you think about this cover art? Have you read The Crone of Midnight Embers?

Anyway, as always, thank you for reading, and I hope that you have an excellent day/night!

See ya ~Mar

The Blog That Nobody Knows

book stuff