Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

Hey everyone and Happy Wednesday!

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:

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawsett! 🐈‍⬛📚

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawsett

LENGTH: 368 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Del Rey

RELEASE DATE: 17 February 2026

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

From Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Heather Fawcett comes a healing and heart-warming fantasy with magic shops, rescue cats and a second chance at love.

All strays are welcome here.

Agnes Aubert is very fond of making lists. These lists kept her afloat when she lost her husband two years ago. And now, as the founder of a cat rescue charity, her meticulous organization skills feel like the only thing standing between her beloved cats – His Majesty, Banshee and sweet elderly Thoreau, to name a few – and utter disaster.

But when Agnes is forced to move the charity, she soon discovers that her new shop is being used as a front; right under her feet is the lair of the decidedly disorganised – not to mention self-absorbed and infuriatingly handsome – Havelock Renard.

Havelock is everything Agnes doesn’t want in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue, perhaps even romance. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats…

Are you looking forward to Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter? 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!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 2/2 – 2/8

Right on time this week! I know I’ve been saying this for the past few weeks, but man did last week fly by.

Last week wasn’t too bad, regarding my blog activity, though I didn’t do everything that I’d wanted to. I didn’t get to reading any books either. Oh well. I’ll aim to do better this week.

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

Tuesday 2/3: The Most Interesting Looking New Books of February 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 February 2026. As always, it’s basically only fantasy and science fiction, as those are the two genres I primarily read. This time there were six books on my list.

The Most Interesting Looking New Books of February 2026

Wednesday 2/4: Can’t-Wait Wednesday

On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the first time in a couple of 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.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Strange Animals

Friday 2/6: Bewitching Book Covers

This past Friday, I posted a Bewitching Book Covers for the first time in over a month. Bewitching Book Covers (formerly known as Majestic Mondays and Tasteful Tuesdays), is when I gush over a book cover that I like as well as analyze it (sometimes). I also typically give the book covers funny rating systems – not the usual blank out of five stars kind of thing.

Bewitching Book Covers: Stolen Midnights

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, last week was okay. It wasn’t great, but it was fine enough. I’m hoping that this week I’ll be a little bit better with my blog stuff, and that I’ll at least read one book. We’ll see.

For my posts, I’m at the very least planning on (finally) posting my review for The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune, as well as my monthly reading wrap-up for January 2026. I’d also like to participate in at least a couple of the usual weekly posts that I try to join in during most weeks.

Regarding books and reading, I think I’m going to read a February new release. After that, it’s a little bit up in the air at the moment. I’ll see what I’m feeling after I finish the next book I decide to go for.

Concerning stuff outside of books and blogging, I did a little more than my usual last week. I mean, yeah, my spouse and I are still trying to be healthier, but I also finally got around to changing the decor. So the Christmas and Winter decorations have at last been taken down, and now the Valentine’s Day stuff is up. Yay! I’m very happy to finally be switched over. So is my spouse, haha.

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

See ya ~Mar

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Strange Animals

Happy Wednesday everybody!

This week’s book is:

Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson! 🌲🦋

This one looks pretty cool! It’s been forever since I’ve last read a book focused on cryptids!

Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson

LENGTH: 320 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Ballantine Books

RELEASE DATE: 10 February 2026

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

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.

Are you looking forward to Strange Animals? 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!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 1/26 – 2/1

Another week has gone by, so it’s time for another Weekly Wrap-Up! This is kind of a quick start to the year, huh?

Last week was pretty good. I’m generally satisfied with both my reading and blogging. I didn’t get a book review out, but oh well – it’s not that big of a deal.

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

Tuesday 1/27: 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 Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025.

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025

Wednesday 1/28: Can’t-Wait Wednesday

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Queen of Faces

Friday 1/30: First Line Friday

Last Friday, I participated in First Line Friday again. Two weeks in a row! 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: 1/30

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, last week wasn’t bad at all. I want this coming week to be just as good or better. I hope that ends up happening.

Concerning blogging and blogging adjacent stuff for this week, I want to do a couple of things. First, I want to participate in at least one of the usual posts that I jump into most weeks. I’d also want to post a book review. Most importantly, though, I want to do my Most Interesting Looking Books of February 2026 post, as well as my monthly reading wrap-up for January 2026. Gotta get those posts out. And for what book I’m reading next, I’m honestly not sure. I have a few ideas, though.

Outside of books and blogging, nothing much is going on. We’ve finally moved from January to February, which I think I like, as I think I might prefer the second month of the year to the first. I’m not sure, though. But yeah, the only thing really going on right now is that my spouse and I are trying to be healthier, and are eating more home-cooked meals and stuff.

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

See ya ~Mar

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Queen of Faces

Hey everyone, and Happy Wednesday! It’s time to participate in one of my favorite Wednesday posts!

This week’s book is:

Queen of Faces by Petra Lord! 🎭🗡️

Can’t-Wait Wednesday this week was so difficult! I was so torn between this and Stolen Midnights by Katherine Quinn. Honorable mention to that one, especially since I personally haven’t seen as much buzz for it. Ugh. This is what I get for deciding to skip this post last week, I guess. Stolen Midnights also looks amazing, and will definitely be on my list of interesting new books of February 2026, though.

Queen of Faces by Petra Lord

SERIES: Queen of Faces #1

LENGTH: 432 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, LGBT+, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

RELEASE DATE: 3 February 2026

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A desperate girl at a cutthroat magical academy faces a choice between life and death: become an assassin for the enchanted elite or watch her decaying body draw its last breath. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, Brandon Sanderson, Lev Grossman, and R.F. Kuang.

Anabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it’s rotting from the inside out. In Caimor, where the magical elite buy and swap designer bodies like clothes, Ana can’t afford to escape her tattered form. When she fails the entrance exam to the prestigious Paragon Academy, her last hope of earning a new body implodes. As the clock ticks down to her last breath, she’s forced to use her illusion magic to steal a healthy chassis – before her own kills her.

But Ana is caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon Academy, who poses a brutal ultimatum: face execution for her crime or become a mercenary at his command. Revolt brews in Caimor’s smog-choked underworld, and the wealthy and powerful will stop at nothing to take down the rebels and the infamous dark witch at their helm, the Black Wraith.

With no choice but to accept, Ana will steal, fight, and kill her way to salvation. But her survival depends on a dangerous band of renegades: an impulsive assassin, a brooding bombmaker, and an alluring exile who might just spell her ruin. As Ana is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, the line between villain and hero shatters – and Ana must decide which side is worth dying for.

Are you looking forward to Queen of Faces? 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!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 1/12 – 1/18

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

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026

Wednesday 1/14: Can’t-Wait Wednesday

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.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Elsewhere Express

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

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.

We also started watching The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife. It’s really cute and we’re really enjoying it. The world and characters are vibrant and interesting. It’s more episodic, but it’s still a lot of fun.

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!

See ya ~Mar

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Elsewhere Express

Happy Wednesday everyone! Two weeks in a row!

This week’s book is:

The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao! 🚂✨

The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao

LENGTH: 368 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Del Rey

RELEASE DATE: 20 January 2026

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

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!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 1/5 – 1/11

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.

The Most Interesting Looking New Books of January 2026

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 ★★★★☆.

The Cat Who Saved Books Review

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.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Love Me to Death (Volume #1)

Saturday 1/10: December Reading 2025

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

Monthly Wrap-Up: December Reading 2025

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.

Another Year of Books: Reading 2025

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.

All the Books I Read Last Year: Reading 2025

The Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

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!

See ya ~Mar

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Love Me to Death (Volume #1)

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.

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!

Love Me to Death: Volume #1 by Toonimated

COMIC: Love Me to Death

LENGTH: 432 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novel, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Ink

RELEASE DATE: 13 January 2026

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

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!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 12/15 – 12/21

Another week has gone by already. And it’s nearly Christmas and the end of the year to boot! Wow. In any case, time for a wrap-up.

Last week was okay. I feel like I’m getting back in the swing of things, even though I still really haven’t been reading, which is somehow I hope to fix before the new year comes around. But my blog activity was good – I did a Weekly Wrap-Up and additional three posts – so I’m satisfied with that.

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

Wednesday 12/17: Can’t-Wait Wednesday

Last Wednesday, I participated in another Can’t-Wait Wednesday for the first time in a couple of 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.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: An Arcane Inheritance

Thursday 12/18: November Reading 2025

On Thursday, I posted my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up for November 2025. It was once again posted little bit later in the month than I’d have liked, but eh, I wanted to get my book reviews from that month out first. 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.

Monthly Wrap-Up: November Reading 2025

Friday 12/19: First Line Friday

Last Friday, I participated in First Line Fridays for the first time in a month or so. 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: 12/19

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, that was all the stuff I did last week. As I said, I kind of wish I’d gotten around to reading something, but with how December usually ends up being in regards to that, I’m not that upset about it. I do want to at least read one more book before the year ends though, so hopefully this week and next week are different.

Considering what week it is, I’m probably not gonna get out more than three posts. One of those is definitely gonna be my review for the last volume of The Glass Scientists by S.H. Cotugno. Honestly, that one should’ve been out last weekend but, oh well. I also want to participate in one or two of my usual weekly posts, as well as my favorite monthly post – doing the latter being the most important to me out of the two. I can’t keep posting that one during the last couple of minutes on the last day of the month! That’s got to stop!

Regarding books, I’m kind of at a crossroads, which is keeping me from reading, which I hate. But sometimes this happens, unfortunately, and it’s the cause of half of my reading slumps: I can’t decide what to read so I end up not reading anything. Ugh. How annoying – I find the way my brain works to be a pain in the ass at times. I’m thinking maybe The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah, though. I kind of feel obligated to read that one before the year is out, since I’ve been stringing it along for about eight months now.

Outside of books and blogging, last week we cleaned the house. Yep, that’s right, it was Cleaning Week. Woohoo. My spouse and I are also generally trying to be healthier, but it being the holiday season and all, it’s kind of hard. So we’re going to wait until the new year starts before getting back into it. There’s just way too much going on this time of year for that kind of thing.

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

See ya ~Mar