Another month, another bunch of birthstone colored book covers to showcase! It’s time for Birthstone Book Covers, this time posted at a reasonable time in the month.
Birthstone Book Covers is a fun monthly post created by Leslie @Books Are the New Black. Each month, she features book covers that are either the same color of that month’s birthstone or include the color in the title.
January has one birthstone – Garnet. So shades of red for this month’s books!
Rules:
📚 Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black) and link back to her so she can check out your post. 📚 Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone. 📚 HAVE FUN! 📚 Nominate people if you want!
Wool by Hugh Howey
Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
A New Darkness by Joseph Delaney
The Bronze Beasts by Roshani Chokshi
Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab
What are your favorite books with red covers? If you participated in Birthstone Book Covers, which books did you choose this January?
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have the most amazing day/night!
Every story is a memory. A tale that happened neither here nor there, but in another time and place. Our job as story-tellers is to describe that reality as we understand it. It is the listener who must determine what is and is not.
A thief and a prince trapped in the crumbling, magical realm of the jinn must figure out how to save one world in order to return to their own in The Ashfire King, the second book in this epic series of myth and magic, perfect for fans of The City of Brass and The Bone Shard Daughter.
Neither here nor there, but long ago… After fleeing a patricidal prince, legendary merchant Loulie al-Nazari and banished prince Mazen bin Malik find themselves in the realm of jinn. But instead of sanctuary, they find a world on the cusp of collapse.
The jinn cities, long sheltered beneath the Sandsea by the magic of its kings, are sinking. And amid the turmoil, political alliances are forming, and rebellion in the jinn’s capital city is on the rise. When Loulie saves the life of a dissenter – one of her bodyguard’s old comrades – she puts herself in the center of a centuries-old war.
Trapped in a world that isn’t her own and wielding magic that belongs to a fallen king, Loulie must decide: Will she carry on someone else’s legacy or carve out her own?
My Review
There is no such thing as a single truth. There are just the stories we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves.
It’s been quite some time since the first book in the Sandsea Trilogy. This is true for me as well even though I read and reviewed The Stardust Thief about a year after it came out, I’m also reading and reviewing its sequel nine months after it first released. So it’s been almost as long for me as it had been for everyone else last April.
I don’t know why it took me so long to read The Ashfire King. I got the book the day it came out and I was so excited about it (it was one of – if not my most – anticipated new book of last year), but then I just… didn’t read it. Part of it is because I was currently in the middle of another series and I wanted to wait to read anything else, I think. I’m disappointed it took me this long to read it, though.
Anyway, to the review!
General Thoughts
“So long as I breathe, I will not falter. To live is to persevere. For the world, and in spite of it.”
I did enjoy this book a lot, though not as much as its predecessor – that one I loved. I think it might be because it was a little slower, plus I didn’t vibe nearly as strongly with it as I did the first book. Oh well, I still liked it, though.
When we left our characters at the end of The Stardust Thief, the party was split. Qadir was captured by Omar, Loulie and Mazen were hurtling down into the jinn realm with the ifrit Rijah, and Aisha was fleeing into the desert.
And The Ashfire King pretty much continues from where the first one left off. It should be noted that the book starts off with one of the trilogy’s ‘story sections’ and this one kind of gave a little summary of what happened in the first book, which was very nice after the gap. It was integrated well into the story itself, as well, since there was a new character introduced that needed to be caught up on the events of book one. Not to mention it was in-character, what with Mazen being a storyteller and all.
The Characters and Story
She gasped at the sight of the compass in his hands.
Her compass.
Loulie stifled a cry as she grabbed it from him. The moment she felt its magic humming beneath her fingers, she grinned. Even had she wanted to, she could not have smothered that smile.”You went back for the compass?”
“You came back for me. It was the least I could do.”
Speaking of the main characters, they each continue to have their own little arcs here.Loulie is desperate and determined to get back to the surface and find Qadir, and she’ll do whatever it takes. Mazen is struggling with Omar murdering their father the sultan, his uncertainty of Hakim’s whereabouts, and his fear of returning home. Aisha has sworn revenge on Omar for lying and betraying her, whilst she deals with sharing a body with the Resurrectionist after their bargain in the first novel. And Qadir and what happened to him is unknown, though it is strongly implied he’s been captured by Omar. And everyone’s character development was extremely compelling here – I ultimately really enjoyed where they all ended up at the end of the book.
The plot was pretty slow, as I mentioned earlier. There were a lot of big moments throughout, but the book didn’t really ‘pick up’ so to say until almost two thirds of the way through. I’m not sure if this is a case of middle book syndrome, or if this book is just kind of slower just because it is, but I don’t recall the first book being as much of a slow-burn. I remember being pretty invested in that one for almost the whole time. Don’t get me wrong, the plot here was interesting and I enjoyed all the character moments. But parts of it did feel slow.
The Romance and Writing
Remembering the last time they had flown-the last time he had convinced Loulie to fly – he smiled and said, “Are you scared, Loulie?”
She cast a sharp look back at him. Just as they had been then, her eyes were filled with defiance. She gave him the same answer.
“Never.”
The climax was great though, and I generally liked the ending (except for the cliffhanger – ugh). The romance and relationship development is also a very slow-burn, but that was fine as it works for this story and makes sense with the characters. (I will confess to being unsure of its existence occasionally, however, with how slow it is, lol.)
The novel’s writing is also just as strong as its predecessor. I again also really enjoyed the way the little story sections were written and stylized. It’s probably one of my favorite things about this series.
Final Thoughts
His dedication flummoxed her. But then she realized she felt the same way. She did not know when it was she had come to rely on Mazen bin Malik, but at some point, the thought of losing him had become unbearable.But he was safe. They were safe.
But he was safe. They were safe.
For a moment, Loulie let herself believe it. She leaned her cheek into Mazen’s chest and thought, I refuse to lose anyone again.
Somehow, she would make certain of it.
The Ashfire King is a pretty good sequel to The Stardust Thief, and it clearly sets up the third book in the trilogy well. I definitely recommend it to fans of the first book – I think they’ll probably enjoy it. I also think it’s a good read anytime of the year, though you should definitely only read it if you’ve read the book one.
As always, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!
Right on time this week! Whew! Last week went by pretty quickly! I can’t believe it!
The blog activity was not as strong last week, especially compared to the week prior. But because of how many posts I got in the week before last, (Six!) I’m actually okay with my more lackluster posting from last week. For once. My reading on the other hand was much better.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!
Tuesday 1/13: 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 Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026.
On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the second week in a row. 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.
So yeah, not the greatest week in terms of blogging, but my novel reading was good. I wish both could’ve been good, but alas. Hopefully both books and blogging end up being up to par this coming week. 🍀🤞
In regards to blog posts this week, I want to do a book review (or two), participate in a couple of my weekly posts, and also join in on my favorite monthly post. For reading, I just finished up with The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah finally (you’ll hear my thoughts about it soon when I do a review), and I’m pretty sure I want to read the first volume of Love Me to Death by Toonimated next. After that, I want to read Water Moon and The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao, though I might not get to those two until this weekend or early next week. We’ll see.
Outside of books and blogging, my spouse and I started the new season of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. It’s a high fantasy anime that focuses on an elf with a long lifespan who seeks to learn to understand humans and connect with others, decades after defeating the Demon King with the group she journeyed with at the time. It’s a great story so far, if a bit of a slow-burn, and season two just started releasing weekly this past Saturday.
My spouse and I are also still trying to be healthier. I think it’s going okay so far, but I hope for us to improve even further with it.
Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
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:
The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao! 🚂✨
When you lose your way in life, the Elsewhere Express just might find you. Step aboard the train that can take you to your life’s purpose, in this cozy and inspiring fantasy from the author of Water Moon.
You can’t buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it’s a magical train carrying very rare and special cargo: a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging.
Raya is one of those lost souls. She had dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead.
One day on the subway, as her thoughts wander, she’s swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, a charming, handsome artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world.
Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that’s also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lily pads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds.
But they also discover that the train harbors secrets – and danger: A mysterious stranger has stowed away and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy the train.
But in investigating the stowaway’s identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life’s true purpose – and might Q be connected to it?
Are you looking forward to The Elsewhere Express? 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!
Annnd another week has passed already. Wow. I’m slightly later than I usually try to be, but I’m not too late with this.
The blog activity was very strong last week. I can’t remember the last time I did six posts in a week (technically seven actually, if you count last week’s Weekly Wrap-Up). Six. And here I was last week saying that I might be slowing down here. What a way to immediately contradict myself. (I might still drop off, though. This was an unusually strong start to the new year.)
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!
Tuesday 1/6: The Most Interesting Looking New Books of January 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 January 2026. As always, it’s basically only fantasy and science fiction, as those are the two genres I primarily read. This time there were five books on my list.
Wednesday 1/7: The Cat Who Saved Books Review / Can’t-Wait Wednesday
On Wednesday, I finally got around to posting my review for the last book I read in 2025. It was The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa. I generally liked it and it wasn’t what I expected it to be. I gave it ★★★★☆.
I also participated in another Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the first time in a few weeks. 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 Saturday, I posted my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up for December 2025. Compared to the last couple of months, it was posted at a reasonable time of the month this time around. For those who don’t know, monthly wrap-ups are when I go over the books I read over the past month, as well as my stats over on The StoryGraph
Sunday 1/11: Yearly Reading 2025 / All the Books I Read in 2025
On Sunday, I posted my Yearly Reading Wrap-Up for 2025. (At least the first part.) It was basically a list of my statistics and analytics from The StoryGraph from this past year. There was just as much of it as last year, so I had to split it into two posts again.
I also managed to post the second part of my Yearly Reading Wrap-Up for 2025. The part of the post mostly focused on all the books I read last year, in 2025.
So yeah, there was a lot of blog activity from me last week. I probably won’t keep up that pace, as the reason all of those posts happened like that was because I wanted to get the rest of my end of the last year/beginning of the next year posts out. Hopefully I’ll still be able to put out a decent amount of posts this week, though.
I’m about to start reading The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah. I’m right months late, but I’m finally gonna read it, and I’m pretty excited about it. It was one of my most anticipated new books from last year, after all.
After I’m done with that, I think I’m probably going to read the first volume of Love Me to Death by Toonimated, and then maybe Water Moon and The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao. Who really knows, though.
For blog posts, I want to participate in at least one or two of the weekly posts that I usually do, and hopefully post a book review. I’m not sure what else I’ll post if anything.
Outside of the blog, my spouse and I have been trying to be healthier again. I’m not quite sure how it’s going so far, but I hope we can find a rhythm with it. I do know that we haven’t started off the year as strong as we’d wanted to.
Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
Here it is! Part 2 of my reading wrap-up for the books I read during 2025. You can check out Part #1 here if you’re interested in the rest of my statistics from The StoryGraph and you haven’t already.
Anyway, I read 20 books, which were 6,379 pages all together. A decent amount of books. Not as many as I read in 2024 or 2023 as I mentioned in Part #1, but it’s still not bad. I’m hoping I’ll get back in the game this year, though, and that my reading in 2026 will be much better than it was last year.
2025 Reading Wrap-Up
The Books I Read in 2025
How many books did you read last year? How many did you like and dislike? What was your favorite and least favorite? Did we read any of the same books?
Anyway, last year was fine, and I did okay with my novel reading as well as posting on this blog. I think. I could’ve done better, though. Hopefully this year things will be different.
But yeah, as always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!
Yet another year has gone by, and with it, another several books read. I didn’t read as much as I did in 2023 or 2024, but I read at least twenty books in 2025, so I’m not that disappointed. Not to mention, I had a lot of really difficult Real Life Stuff going on as well, which definitely contributed.
Anyway, I’m not gonna waste time explaining everything to you guys. The StoryGraph has all these awesome features that track different aspects of your reading. It’s really cool. So, without further ado, here’s all of my stats from the year from The StoryGraph.
There’s an important thing I want to note before I move on. Like last year, this post is gonna be a two-parter. The StoryGraph just logs and analyzes so much information, and there’s a lot of stats. Almost too much. Next year I think I might try to condense some things, because this is kind of ridiculous. Anyhow, here’s the link to Part #2 of this post.
So yeah. These are all my statistics and stuff from The StoryGraph. Well, almost all of them at least. The rest of them are coming in the next post, since there’s so much.
Anyway, as always, thank you to everyone so much for reading and stuff, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
I’m a little later than I’d like to be with this wrap-up, but it isn’t as bad as the last two months, so I’m fine with it. But yeah, here’s my reading wrap-up for December 2025! I still can’t believe that 2025 is over and a new year has started!
December was pretty decent. It’s not my best month of 2025, but I read two books, which is better than most of the months last year, not to mention some of the Decembers of the past. So I’ll take it as a win.
Anyway, let’s just start talking about my StoryGraph statistics from last month!
December Reading 2025
I read 2 books and 438 pages
😶 MOODS: I had three Moods in December, which is one more than the month before. The Moods from this past month were: Adventurous, Hopeful, and Reflective.
👢 PACE: The books I read last month were both medium-paced.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: The novels I read were between 198 and 240 pages.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction. As usual.
🎭 GENRES: There were a bunch of Genres on the graph this month, and I’m really happy about it. They were: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Magical Realism, Young Adult, LGBT+, and Graphic Novel.
📄 FORMAT: This pie chart was correct again this time. Both books I read were physical copies.
⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 4.5
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: My reading was pretty divided in December. I read a lot during the first week, didn’t read anything at all for the next couple of weeks, and then I read some during the last couple of days of the month.
So yeah, my reading in December wasn’t too bad. I managed to keep up the same pace of the two months preceding it, and end the year in a decent way in regards to reading. I’m also happy that I enjoyed the last couple of books that I read last year. It felt like leaving on a high note.
Regarding what I want to read next, I’m in between The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah and waiting for a book to be released in the next few days and reading that. I also would like to read Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao, as well as her new book also coming out this month. I’m not sure what I’m going to end up choosing next, though. We’ll see.
Anyway, as always, thank you for joining me in checking out my StoryGraph stats for my December reading in 2025. Thank you also for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!
Happy Wednesday everybody! It’s been a few weeks since I last participated. But January once again has a fair amount of interesting looking new books.
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:
Love Me to Death: Volume #1 by Toonimated! 💀🌹
I’ve only just discovered this recently, and have never read the original webcomic. But the premise seems fun and the art looks great!
Whoever said ’til death do us part wasn’t trying hard enough.
Toonimated’s wildly popular Webtoon is now in print for with a never-before-seen short story! For fans of Anatomy: A Love Story and Lore Olympus comes a graphic novel romantasy about the love triangle between a necromancer, a resurrected bride, and her very-much-alive groom.
In the city of San Guadario, necromancy has been banned for one hundred years. Every aspect of life, from buying food to getting married, requires a signature written in one’s own blood. If a necromancer were to sign, their identity would be revealed by the magic that courses through their veins. As a necromancer, Victor and his cute one-eyed cat must live a discreet life, constantly on the run.
Everything changes when the wealthiest patron in San Guadario hires Victor to resurrect his recently deceased, and impossibly beautiful, bride. The catch? Victor must perform an ancient ritual which eternally binds himself to this bride. After he brings her back to life, Victor finds himself magically entangled with the bride and groom and caught in the middle of more romance than he knows what to do with.
Adapted from the wildly popular webtoon series, Love Me to Death is a gorgeously illustrated saga that is bound to stop your heart.
Are you looking forward to Love Me to Death: Volume #1? 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!
Books have tremendous power. There are timeless stories, powerful enough to have survived through the ages. Read lots of books like these – they’ll be like friends to you. They’ll inspire and support you.
RELEASE DATE: 29 October 2024 (originally released 5 February 2017)
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat named Tiger appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for – or rather, demands – the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and Tiger and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.
Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, Tiger and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge – the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter…
My Review
“Reading a book is a lot like climbing a mountain.”
“What do you mean?”
His curiosity piqued, Rintaro had finally looked up from his book. His grandfather wafted his teacup slowly under his nose as if savoring the aroma of the tea.
“Reading isn’t only for pleasure or entertainment. Some-times you need to examine the same lines deeply, read the same sentences over again. Sometimes you sit there, head in hands, only progressing at a painstakingly slow pace. And the result of all this hard work and careful study is that suddenly you’re there and your field of vision expands. It’s like finding a great view at the end of a long climbing trail.”
I haven’t read a translated book for over a year and I’ve only ever read and reviewed two so far on this blog – one in 2023 and then one in 2024 (not counting One Piece, as that’s a little bit different) – and I’ve wanted to get into another novel like that again for a while. So when I received The Cat Who Saved Books as a gift a couple of months ago, I was excited. And not only is it a foreign novel, but it features the perfect duo – a cat and books. So I knew I had to read it. And I’m glad I’m finally reviewing it.
This book isn’t quite what I expected. Admittedly, this may be because it’s been a couple of months since I looked at the synopsis and I skimmed it when I read it, but I was surprised a little bit by the novel. I’m honestly glad that I forgot what it was about though, as I believe that I enjoyed it more because of it.
The Characters
“You seem strangely unperturbed to see me, Mr. Proprietor,” said the cat in its distinctive deep voice. Its jade eyes had that knowing gleam. “It’d be helpful if you reacted with a little more amazement. I would be much more amused.”
“I’ve been thinking about how you called where we went ‘the first labyrinth.’ That means there’s going to be a second one, right?”
“Such amazing powers of wisdom. Such penetrating in-sight! Guess that’ll save me the trouble of explaining.”
The book follows 👓 Rintaro Natsuki, 📖 a hikikomori (“shut-in”) bookworm that recently lost his grandfather, and is struggling with moving forward. He doesn’t have much time to grieve, however, as very soon after a talking tabby cat named 📚 Tiger 🐾 shows up and demands he go on a quest with him to save books.
I liked Rintaro, and felt he was pretty relatable, as someone who’s always been an introvert who loves books, as well as someone who lost an individual very dear to me quite recently. It was also wonderful to see him gradually come out of his shell and create bonds with others as the novel went on. His interactions with Tiger and his new friend Sayo were particularly fun. 🖋️ Sayo Yuzuki 🗒️ complemented him pretty well, too, and their budding romance was cute.
The ✨ magical realism 🌀 aspect of the book was also fantastic. I haven’t read too much of that kind of thing, so I always forget how whimsical stories with it can feel. This is also definitely a fantasy book, but the magical realism was definitely stronger.
The Story
“A book that sits on a shelf is nothing but a bundle of paper. Unless it is opened, a book possessing great power or an epic story is mere scraps of paper. But a book that has been cherished and loved, filled with human thoughts, has been endowed with a soul.”
I really enjoyed the meta commentary on the modern day relationship between people and books. So many people nowadays frequently do the things featured in the labyrinths here. In the book community, there are tons of individuals who point out and complain about how people don’t really read books like they used to. And how some will just get books that they’ll never read to fill up a bookshelf so they’ll look smart. Or how people will frequently just look up summaries or exclusively use Spark Notes and [Insert Book Title] for Dummies instead of reading. Or how publishers will basically always publish the most popular thing and it’s hundreds of copycats (though this is something that’s kind of always been a thing).
But yeah, it was nice to see a book point this out, particularly one that actually came out before these topics started being big discussions in the book community. I also loved the 🍀 hopeful and optimistic tone 🤞 that The Cat Who Saved Books had concerning books and how humans are changed and inspired by them. Because books are powerful.
I also liked how there weren’t really any antagonists or villains here, not truly. Just misguided individuals who loved books, but who lost their way at some point. The book also comes together and ends nicely.
Final Thoughts
“Books have souls,” repeated the cat softly. “A cherished book will always have a soul. It will come to its reader’s aid in times of crisis.”
The calm, measured voice warmed Rintaro’s heart. He looked over and saw the cat faintly smiling.
“I told you that you weren’t alone.”
The thing that I thought was probably the weakest – or at least the most awkward part of the novel – was the translation. But that’s usually one of my biggest issues whenever I read a book that was originally in a different language. This translation was one of the better ones, but it did take me a couple of chapters to get into it, as the text felt pretty clunky at first. But, I did get used to it after a while, and it was definitely a pretty decent translation.
The 🖌️ novel’s artwork 🎨 was also beautiful. I love the cover, as well as the cloud motif, that’s present both inside of the outside of the novel. The main colors chosen are also gorgeous and complement and contrast one another wonderfully.
I definitely recommend The Cat Who Saved Books to those who enjoy magical realism, like to read translated fiction, and are huge book nerds. I know books that were originally in another language aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, which is why I mention it. But this is also a good book. I definitely enjoyed and am glad that I ended last year finishing a book I liked.
As always, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!
