Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Stats and Links

Challenges:
📕Books Read: 70/250
🅰️ATY: 19/52 link
🆎ATY Rejects: 5/25 link
🍧Popsugar: 22/50 link
💘This Challenge Killed the Bookworm: 18/25 link
❄️ATY Winter: 24/24 link Finished Apr. 14th
🌷ATY Spring: 7/16 link
⛱️ATY Summer: TBD link
🍂ATY Fall: TBD link
🎁Twelve Days of Christmas Countdown: 56/78 link
🏅Goodreads Choice: 11/20 link
🔖Goodreads Bookmarks: 12/18 link
🧺Book Basket: 3/10 link
🏛️Classics: 1/2 link
💭My Plan: 36%/60%

Stats:
♻️Rereads: 13
📝Nonfiction: 14
🎓YA/Middle Grade: 5
🍁Can Lit: 6
🌏Translated: 11
👶Published in 2026: 8
🧓Published before 2016: 3
🖍️Graphic Novel/Manga/Comic: 20
👂Audiobook: 5
🐞Short (>300): 45
🐘Long (>499): 2

Rating Breakdown:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 21
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 21
⭐⭐⭐ - 24
⭐⭐ - 3
⭐ - 0
🛑(DNF) - 0

🧮Author Stats:
# of authors/editors - 46
# of new-to-me authors/editors - 22

Most Read Authors: (5 book minimum)
Yayoi Ogawa - 9
Ilona Andrews - 8

Monthly Summary
☃️January - 19 total.
♥️February - 24 total.
☘️March - 17 total.
☔April - 10 so far.
🌻May -
🏳️‍🌈June -
😎July -
🌄August -
🏫September -
🎃October -
✝️November -
🎄December -

🎨Cover Collage🎨 link
👍Best/Worst👎 link
Month in Progress link

💭2026 Plan💭

💭Planned Reads: 100
⬜Unread: 63
✅Read: 36
🛑DNF: 1

📈 36/100 = 36%
(Read / Planned - DNF)

Published in 2026:
✅Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (Jan)
⬜Silver & Blood (Jan)
✅Beast Business (Jan)
✅Free Falling (Feb)
⬜The Astral Library (Feb)
✅Spy x Family, Vol. 15 (Feb)
✅This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Mar)
✅Butterfly Effects (Mar)
⬜London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth (Apr)
⬜Happy Ending (Apr)
⬜The Book Witch (Apr)
⬜The Tapestry of Fate (May)
⬜Platform Decay (May)
⬜Inkpot Gods (June)
⬜Land (June)
⬜Falling into You (July)
⬜Heartstopper: Volume Six (July)
⬜Prince of Swords (July)
⬜The Lion and the Deathless Dark (Aug)
⬜Daggerbound (Aug)
⬜Dead Beat (Sept)
⬜Before I Knew I Loved You (Sept)
⬜The Wrath Gods Reap (Nov)
⬜October Daye 20 (Sept?)
⬜Untitled (Alpha & Omega 7) (Oct?)
⬜Spy x Family 16
⬜Lore Olympus 10
⬜Lore Olympus 11
⬜Innkeeper 6

2025 Carryover
⬜The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror
🛑Cat Chase the Moon
⬜Daughter of No Worlds

Read for a Challenge:
⬜The House of Eve (PS: Infertility)
✅The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America (PS: Birding)
⬜A Bollywood Affair (PS: Sexless Marriage)
✅Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop (PS: Zodiac)
✅Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift (PS: Based on Musician/Song)

Erica Recommends:
⬜Automatic Noodle
✅Castle Swimmer: Volume 1
⬜Divine Rivals
⬜I Am the Swarm

Book Basket:
⬜Fourth Wing (PS: FOMO)
⬜A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
✅Project Hail Mary
⬜Three Holidays and a Wedding
⬜Jekyll & Hyde Inc.
⬜A Gentleman in Moscow
⬜Queen Charlotte
⬜The Book of Two Ways

Goodreads Choice Nominees
✅Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy
⬜My Friends
⬜The Book of Lost Hours
⬜Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng
⬜Alchemised
✅The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb

Other New Reads:
✅Hemlock & Silver (PS: Fruit on cover)
✅Atmosphere (PS: Astronauts)
⬜The Blood of Olympus
✅First Comes Scandal
⬜The Sum of All Kisses
⬜The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy
⬜Gravity Lost
⬜The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Kitchen
⬜We'll Prescribe You Another Cat
⬜Christmas Is All Around
⬜Cat + Gamer Volume 6
⬜Cat + Gamer Volume 7
⬜Cat + Gamer Volume 8
⬜Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom
✅He Falls First
✅Rose/House
✅Taaqtumi 2: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 3
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 4
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 5
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 6
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 7
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 8
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 9
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 10
✅Knight of the Ice, Vol. 11
⬜Mary Poppins
⬜Turns of Fate
✅Mate
✅Patina
⬜Sunny
⬜Lu
⬜Coach
⬜A Mastery of Monsters
✅The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
⬜Brigands & Breadknives
⬜Kills Well with Others
✅What Stalks the Deep
⬜The Missing Pages
✅Monstress, Volume 10: Hollow Gods (PS: Sapphic comic)

Jane Austen Reread:
⬜Emma
⬜Jane Eyre

Other Rereads:
✅System Collapse Dramatized Adaptation
✅Wildfire Dramatized Adaptation
✅To Clutch a Razor

🅰️ATY🅰️
19/52

⬜1. A book from a genre that starts with A, T, or Y.
A
T
Y
⬜2. A book with a primarily red, green or blue cover.
Red
Blue
Green
✅3. A book that fits a prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list: A book that could earn you a Goodreads bookmark.
I Finally Bought Some Jordans: Essays – Hilarious and Sharp Stories About Race, Class, and Dating by a Black Creative Voice - Feb. 15th
⬜4. A book by a new-to-you author.
✅5. A book you want to read because of something you read in 2025.
So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men - Feb. 25th
🟩6. A book related to blood, sweat, or tears.
Blood Wynd Book Four: The Power of the Blood - Feb. 21st
Sweat Patina - Apr. 13th
Tears
✅7. A book with a character who appears in more than one book.
Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane - Mar. 8th
⬜8. A book set in Africa, Asia, or Australia.
✅9. A book with a number, ordinal, or iterative numeral in the title.
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper - Jan. 26th
⬜10. An award winning book.
⬜11. A history or historical fiction book.
⬜12. A book with cover text that is NOT black or white.
⬜13. An author's second/sophomore book.
✅14. A book related to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh.
Red and the Wolves: A Graphic Novel - Mar. 24th
⬜15. A book you've wanted to read for a long time.
🟩16. A book featuring a character with a similar occupation to one of the Clue/Cluedo characters.
Mr. Green
Prof. Plum
Physics for Cats - Jan. 23rd
Col. Mustard
Miss Scarlet
Mrs. Peacock
Mrs. White
✅17. A book set in the wellness or beauty industries.
Pick a Colour - Mar. 26th
⬜18. A book with a location in the title.
⬜19. A book related to yesterday.
⬜20. A book related to today.
⬜21. A book related to tomorrow.
⬜22. A book by a Korean or Korean-diaspora author.
⬜23. A book with a road trip or long journey.
⬜24. A book that is either frothy or gothy.
⬜25. A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.
⬜26. A book with a Z in the title and/or author name.
⬜27. A nonfiction book.
✅28. A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution.
Audition for the Fox - Mar. 5th
⬜29. A vacation book.
⬜30. The most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist: Newest Book.
⬜31. The most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist: Backlist Book.
✅32. A novella of 100-250 pages.
Tread of Angels - Apr. 23rd
✅33. A book with an Indigenous character or author.
Taaqtumi 2: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories- Jan. 9th
✅34. A book with a window on the cover.
First Comes Scandal - Feb. 21st
⬜35. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building.
✅36. A book with a primary character who is a woman over 40.
Three Days in June - Mar. 17th
⬜37. A book that includes a science topic.
⬜38. A book that's part of a series.
⬜39. A book connected in some way to the "Queen of Crime", Agatha Christie.
⬜40. A book that has a punctuation mark in the title.
⬜41. A mystery or true crime book.
✅42. A book set in an isolated location.
Rose/House - Jan. 13th
✅43. A book involving survival.
The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival - Feb. 4th
⬜44. A book with a symbol of death on the cover.
✅45. A book connected to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
Butterfly Effects - Mar. 12th
✅46. A book that is not a novel.
My Perfectly Imperfect Body - Feb. 24th
✅47. A book with "this", "that", "these", or "those" in the title.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Apr. 16th
⬜48. A book with something edible in the title.
⬜49. A second book for your favorite prompt: A book that fits a prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list: A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026.
✅50. A book with a bird on its cover.
The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America - Feb. 6th
⬜51. A book published in 2026.
⬜52. A book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer.

🆎ATY Rejects🆎
5/25

⬜1. Pre-Pre-Poll: A book with a negation in the title.
✅2. Pre-Poll: A book with a main character who is an outsider.
The Lost Daughter of Sparta - Apr. 18th
✅3. Poll 1: A book based on or related to a "legend".
The Everlasting - Apr. 20th
⬜4. Poll 2: A book with a character dealing with birth or rebirth.
⬜5. Poll 3: A book that is related to one of the group’s moderators.
Emily
Jackie
Robin
Pamela
Laura
Trish
⬜6. Poll 4: One book related to the lion, one book related to the witch, and one book related to the wardrobe: The Lion.
⬜7. Poll 4: One book related to the lion, one book related to the witch, and one book related to the wardrobe: The Witch.
⬜8. One book related to the lion, one book related to the witch, and one book related to the wardrobe: The Wardrobe.
⬜9. Poll 5: A poetic book.
✅10. Poll 5: A book related to a current movie or television show.
An American Story: Everyone’s Invited - Apr. 14th
⬜11. Poll 6: A book that's title and author's first or last name start with the same letter.
⬜12. Poll 7: A book set primarily somewhere creepy or scary.
⬜13. Poll 7: A book that could fit the quote: “May you live in interesting times.”
⬜14. Poll 8: A book with a setting that provokes the question, "Why did you go there?"
⬜15. Poll 9: A book with an immortal character.
✅16. Poll 10: A fiction or non-fiction book that could be considered a microhistory.
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy - Jan. 22nd
⬜17. Poll 11: A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play.
⬜18. Poll 12: A book with a character list or family tree.
⬜19. Poll 13: A book set in a NEW Place.
⬜20. Poll 14: A book involving pirates, puppies, parrots, penguins, or pachyderms.
Pirates
Puppies
Parrots
Penguins
Pachyderms
⬜21. Poll 14: A book related to iron or steel.
⬜22. Poll 15: A book with characters in a club.
⬜23. Poll 16: A book with a character pretending to be something or someone else.
✅24. Poll 17: A book related to the phrase "smoke and mirrors."
Beast Business - Feb. 5th
⬜25. Poll 18: A book with a challenge or competition, such as a marathon, contest, or campaign.

🍧Popsugar🍧
22/50

✅1. A book where gardening or a garden is central to the plot.
Up from Garlic Flats - Jan. 23rd
✅2. A book that features a platonic friendship between a man and woman.
Rabbit Moon - Mar. 4th
✅3. A book you meant to read in 2025.
Mate - Feb. 18th
⬜4. A book that starts with the letter "Z".
✅5. A book about female astronauts.
Atmosphere - Jan. 16th
⬜6. A book with an overweight main character whose story isn't about losing weight.
⬜7. A book about a granny hobby.
✅8. A book about a sexless marriage.
Spy x Family, Vol. 15 - Feb. 23rd
⬜9. A book with a "type C" character.
⬜10. A book about a horse or with a horse on the cover.
⬜11. A book with a dad as the primary caregiver.
⬜12. A book with "pop" or "sugar" in the title.
⬜13. A book featuring a character with a hidden past.
⬜14. A book set in Michigan or written by an author from Michigan.
✅15. A book about new beginnings.
Peacocks of Instagram: Stories - Feb. 19th
✅16. A book less than 260 pages.
Recitatif - Mar. 27th
✅17. A book about your favorite event in the Winter Olympics.
Knight of the Ice, Vol. 3 - Jan. 12th
⬜18. A love story that defies social boundaries.
⬜19. A book about teen angst.
✅20. A book with a character who does pilates or some other exercise class.
He Falls First - Jan. 12th
⬜21. A book about a bachelorette trip.
⬜22. A book about a book club.
⬜23. A book you were hoping would fit into a prompt but doesn't.
⬜24. A book about postpartum.
⬜25. A book that explores influencer culture.
⬜26. A book with a character who navigates infertility.
⬜27. A book with a character who has curly hair.
✅28. A book about debt.
Free Falling - Mar. 15th
⬜29. A book that takes place during harvesting season.
✅30. A travel ghost story.
Through Gates of Garnet and Gold - Jan. 10th
✅31. A book that makes you feel FOMO.
Project Hail Mary - Feb. 25th
✅32. A book with an underwater civilization.
Castle Swimmer: Volume 1 - Jan. 18th
⬜33. A book about college.
✅34. A book with a trans or nonbinary protagonist.
What Stalks the Deep - Mar. 18th
⬜35. A book that makes you want to travel to Italy.
⬜36. A book about a mob.
⬜37. A book about a pop star.
✅38. A book with any type of fruit on the cover or in the title.
Hemlock & Silver - Feb. 9th
⬜39. A book with a character who runs a marathon.
⬜40. A book outside your comfort zone.
✅41. A book in a different format than your usual. (Audiobook)
The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb - Mar. 31st
✅42. A book inspired by a real song, album, band, or artist.
Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift - Jan. 2nd
✅43. Two books written by real-life partners or spouses. (1)
Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum - Feb. 23rd
✅44. Two books written by real-life partners or spouses. (2)
Of Swamp & Sea, Volume One - Mar. 25th
✅45. A book that features birding.
The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World - Jan. 30th
✅46. A sapphic comic.
Monstress, Volume 10: Hollow Gods - Jan. 25th
⬜47. A book told entirely through letters.
⬜48. A book with a shadow daddy.
✅49. A book with a mention of your zodiac sign.
Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop - Apr. 6th
⬜50. A book about Afrofuturism.

💘This Challenge Killed the Bookworm:💘
18/25

✅1. Scaled creatures
Castle Swimmer: Volume 1 by Wendy Martin - Jan. 18th
⬜2. Dark academia
✅3. Faeries are bad
Of Swamp & Sea, Volume One by Mia Jay Boulton and Laurel Boulton - Mar. 25th
⬜4. Faeries are good
✅5. Artificial stupidity intelligence
Rose/House by Arkady Martine - Jan. 13th
✅6. Set far, far away
Butterfly Effects by Seanan McGuire - Mar. 12th
✅7. A book by T. Kingfisher
Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher - Feb. 9th
⬜8. A pretty cover
✅9. A creepy cover
Taaqtumi 2: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories edited by Neil Christopher - Jan. 9th

✅10. Space travel
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Jan. 16th
✅11. Cozy fantasy
Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - Apr. 6th
⬜12. Such a fungi *groan*
✅13. There’s probably a deity involved somehow
Monstress, Volume 10: Hollow Gods by Marjorie M. Liu - Jan. 25th
✅14. A fun book
The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World by Matt Kracht - Jan. 30th
⬜15. The great British pastime of commenting on the weather
⬜16. Witchcraft
✅17. Retail therapy
I Finally Bought Some Jordans: Essays – Hilarious and Sharp Stories About Race, Class, and Dating by a Black Creative Voice by Michael Arceneaux - Feb. 15th
✅18. Working in STEM
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach - Jan. 22nd
✅19. The end of the world… or is it?
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - Feb. 28th
✅20. Bookish
Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane by Devoney Looser - Mar. 8th
✅21. Bargain
Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse - Apr. 23rd
✅22. It’s a mystery
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold - Jan. 26th
✅23. Back in my day we called it paranormal romance
Beast Business by Ilona Andrews - Jan. 5th
✅24. Beware of the woods
Red and the Wolves: A Graphic Novel by Cherry Zong - Mar. 24th
⬜25. Water works

❄️ATY Winter❄️

24/24

Trouble The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis - Dec. 22nd
Hy The Sandman Companion by Hy Bender - Dec 20th
Elise Arcana Academy by Elise Kova - Dec. 4th

To To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth - Jan. 4th
White White Hot by Ilona Andrews - Dec. 14th
Emerald Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 17th
Liu Monstress, Volume 10: Hollow Gods by Marjorie M. Liu - Jan. 25th
Valderrama An American Story: Everyone’s Invited by Wilmer Valderrama - Apr. 14th
Endo Spy x Family, Vol. 15 by Tatsuya Endo - Feb. 23rd

Daugherty Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift by Kristie Frederick Daugherty - Jan. 2nd
Abigail The Things Gods Break by Abigail Owen - Dec. 12th
Yayoi Knight of the Ice, Vol. 1 by Yayoi Ogawa - Dec. 6th
Seanan Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire - Jan. 10th

Owusu That Reminds Me by Derek Owusu - Dec. 6th
Five The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold - Jan. 26th

Cullins Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror by Ashley Cullins - Dec. 11th
Heartbreaker Bay #3 Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis - Dec. 26th
Rose Rose/House by Arkady Martine - Jan. 13th
In In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some by Josh Gad - Dec. 10th
System System Collapse Dramatized Adaptation by Martha Wells - Jan. 14th
Taaqtumi Taaqtumi 2: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories edited by Neil Christopher - Jan. 9th
Martha Network Effect by Martha Wells - Dec. 18th
Andrews Small Magics by Ilona Andrews - Dec. 8th
Shalvis He Falls First by Jill Shalvis - Jan. 12th

🌷ATY Spring🌷
7/16

March Winds…

1. A book with March in the title or author name, or the month of March mentioned in the text (share text)
✅2. A book where a major weather event is key to the plot (describe the event)
Free Falling by Jill Shalvis - Mar 15th
The MCs get caught in a major storm that traps them at the house they are remodeling forcing them to share a bed.
✅3. A book where the author’s first and last initials can be found in MARCH WINDS
Audition for the Fox by Martin Cahill - Mar. 5th
4. A book where all the letters of WINDS can be found in the title/subtitle
✅5. A book first published in March of any year
Butterfly Effects by Seanan McGuire - Mar. 12th
Mar. 10th, 2026

And April Showers…

6. A book with April in the title or author name, or the month of April mentioned in the text (share text)
7. A book with an umbrella on the cover (open or furled) or puddles on the ground
✅8. A book where the author’s first and last initials can be found in APRIL SHOWERS
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews - Apr. 16th
9. A book where all the letters of SHOWERS (including two Ss) can be found in the title/subtitle
✅10. A book first published in April of any year
Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh - Mar. 4th
Apr. 1st, 2025

Bring forth May flowers

✅11. A book with May in the title or author name, or the month of May mentioned in the text (share text)
Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - Apr. 6th
Mai = May in French
✅12. A book with flowers on the cover, growing in a flower bed, planter or the wild (not a vase or just flowers as part of the cover design)
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler - Mar. 17th
13. A book where the author’s first and last initials can be found in MAY FLOWERS
14. A book where all the letters of FLOWERS can be found in the title/subtitle
15. A book first published in May of any year

16. Bonus prompt: Read a book by one of the authors born in March, April or May on the list:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

⛱️ATY Summer⛱️

🍂ATY Fall🍂

🎁Twelve Days of Christmas Countdown🎁
Dec. 1st, 2025 to Nov. 30th, 2026
56/78

On the twelfth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me…
Twelve drummers drumming,
🥁12 books from your favorite genre.
🔹Small Magics by Ilona Andrews - Dec. 8th
🔹The Things Gods Break by Abigail Owen - Dec. 12th
🔹White Hot by Ilona Andrews - Dec. 14th
🔹Wildfire by Ilona Andrews - Jan. 21st
🔹Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent - Jan. 25
🔹Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 15th
🔹Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 17th
🔹Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 22nd
🔹Audition for the Fox by Martin Cahill - Mar. 5th
🔹
🔹
🔹
Eleven pipers piping,
🎵11 books with alliteration in the title or author's name.
🔹Arcana Academy by Elise Kova - Dec. 4th
🔹Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire - Jan. 10th
🔹Free Falling by Jill Shalvis - Mar. 15th
🔹Of Swamp & Sea, Volume One by Mia Jay Boulton & Laurel Boulton - Mar 25th
🔹The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb by Garrett M. Graff - Mar. 31st
🔹Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - Apr. 6th
🔹Of Swamp & Sea, Volume Two by Mia Jay Boulton & Laurel Boulton - Apr. 7th
🔹Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse - Apr. 23rd
🔹
🔹
🔹
Ten lords a-leaping,
👑10 books with royalty.
🔹Castle Swimmer: Volume 1 by Wendy Martin - Jan. 18th
🔹Castle Swimmer: Volume 2 by Wendy Martin - Feb. 19th
🔹The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent - Mar. 11th
🔹The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent - Mar. 27th
🔹This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews - Apr. 16th
🔹The Lost Daughter of Sparta by Felicia Day - Apr. 18th
🔹
🔹
🔹
🔹
Nine ladies dancing,
💃9 books with female MCs.
🔹Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Jan. 16th
🔹Monstress, Volume 10: Hollow Gods by Marjorie M. Liu - Jan. 25th
🔹The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold - Jan. 26th
🔹The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival by Anne Sebba - Feb. 4th
🔹My Perfectly Imperfect Body by Debbie Tung - Feb. 24th
🔹Three Days in June by Anne Tyler - Mar. 17th
🔹Red and the Wolves: A Graphic Novel by Cherry Zong - Mar. 24th
🔹Recitatif by Toni Morrison - Mar. 27th
🔹
Eight maids a-milking,
🐮8 books with white covers.
🔹Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness by Inger Sigrun Bredkjær Brodey - Dec. 16th
🔹Up from Garlic Flats by Victor Cicansky - Jan. 23rd
🔹What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher - Mar. 18th
🔹Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa - Mar. 26th
🔹
🔹
🔹
🔹

Seven swans a-swimming,
🦢7 books that feature a major transformation.
🔹To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth - Jan. 4th
🔹Butterfly Effects by Seanan McGuire - Mar. 12th
🔹The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent - Apr. 2nd
🔹The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow - Apr. 20th
🔹
🔹
🔹
Six geese a-laying,
🪶6 books that are silly/funny.
🔹Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind by Nate Bargatze - Dec. 8th
🔹In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some by Josh Gad - Dec 10th.
🔹Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach - Jan. 22nd
🔹Physics for Cats by Tom Gauld - Jan. 23rd
🔹
🔹
Five gold(en) rings,
💍5 books with a wedding or engagement.
🔹The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis - Dec. 22nd
🔹Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis - Dec. 26th
🔹He Falls First by Jill Shalvis - Jan. 12th
🔹Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 12th
🔹First Comes Scandal: A Bridgerton Prequel by Julia Quinn - Feb. 21st
Four calling birds,
🐦4 books with birds on the cover.
🔹The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World by Matt Kracht - Jan. 30th
🔹The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht - Feb. 6th
🔹
🔹

Three French hens,
🌍3 books translated from a different language.
🔹Knight of the Ice, Vol. 1 by Yayoi Ogawa - Dec. 6th
🔹The Chilli Bean Paste Clan by Yan Ge - Dec. 9th
🔹Spy x Family, Vol. 15 by Tatsuya Endo - Feb. 23rd
Two turtle doves
👥2 books by a writing duo/partnership.
🔹Beast Business by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 5th
🔹Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox & Nelle Fortenberry - Feb. 23rd
And a partridge in a pear tree.
🍐1 book with fruit or a single tree on the cover.
🔹Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher - Feb. 9th

🔖GR Bookmarks🔖
12/18

Winter - 12/12 Finished Mar. 11th
✅1. Challenge Faves: Atmosphere
✅2. Choice Archive: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
✅3. Lasting Reads: The Martian
✅4. Star Selections: Atmosphere
✅5. Tale Spinners: Hemlock & Silver
✅6. Swoony Stories: The Serpent and the Wings of Night
✅7. Black Heritage: I Finally Bought Some Jordans: Essays – Hilarious and Sharp Stories About Race, Class, and Dating by a Black Creative Voice
✅8. Personal Picks: Project Hail Mary
✅9. Her Story: Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane

Spring - 6/12
1. Community Picks: The Widow, The Silent Patient, The Guest List, Listen for the Lie
✅2. Trending Books: The Everlasting
3. Marathon Reader: Jane Eyre, Les Miserables, Villette, The Stand, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, Alchemised, Night Circus
✅4. Editor's Picks: The Everlasting
✅5. Books on Books: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
6.
7.
8.
9.

🏅Goodreads Choice🏅
11/20

Book - Award - Year (🏆Winner, 🎉Nominee)

1. Atmosphere - Historical Fiction 2025🏆
2. Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy - Nonfiction 2025🎉
3. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper - History 2019🏆
4. The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World - Humour 2022🎉
5. The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America - Humour 2019🎉
6. Hemlock & Silver - Fantasy 2025🎉
7. Mate - Romantasy 2025🎉
8. Project Hail Mary - Scifi 2021🏆
9. Three Days in June - Fiction 2025🎉
10. The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb - History 2025🎉
11. The Everlasting - Fantasy 2025🎉

Rereads
1. System Collapse Dramatized Adaptation - Scifi 2023🎉
2. The Martian - Scifi 2014🏆
3. Sapphire Flames - Romance 2019🎉
4. Emerald Blaze - Romance 2020🎉
5. The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King - Romantasy 2023🎉
6. The Songbird & the Heart of Stone - Romantasy 2025🎉

2026 Nominees read before they were nominated

Where I stand
2025 - 16
2024 - 19
2023 - 23
2022 - 32
2021 - 35
2020 - 38
2019 - 41
2018 - 29
2017 - 25
2016 - 17
2015 - 14
2014 - 19
2013 - 19
2012 - 21
2011 - 26

🧺Book Basket🧺
3/10

1. Project Hail Mary
2. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
3. Tread of Angels
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

🏛️Classics🏛️
1/2

1. Recitatif
2.

🎨Cover Collage:🎨

New Reads


Rereads

👍Best/Worst👎

Book of the Month Picks:


Best new stand alone fiction:


Best new series:


Best new books in old series:


Best new nonfiction:


Best new-to-me authors:
Martin Cahill
Mia Jay Boulton
Laurel Boulton

Books that disappointed me:


Books I didn't enjoy:


DNFs:

☃️January☃️


📕Total: 19

♻️Rereads: 5
📝Non-Fiction: 5
🎓YA: 1
🖍️Graphic Novels: 4
🐞Under 300 pages: 13
🐘Over 499 pages: 0
🛑DNFs: 1


Best (new) book of the month:
Atmosphere

Runners up:
Taaqtumi 2: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy
Through Gates of Garnet and Gold
Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift

My least favourite book of the month:
Rose/House

Ratings:
🍧📝Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
♻️🐞To Clutch a Razor - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🍁🐞Taaqtumi 2: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧👶🐞Through Gates of Garnet and Gold - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧He Falls First - ⭐⭐⭐
🍧🖍️🌏🧓🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 3 - ⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🐞Rose/House - ⭐⭐
♻️👂🏅🐞System Collapse Dramatized Adaptation - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧🔖🏅Atmosphere - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧🎓🖍️🐞Castle Swimmer: Volume 1 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
♻️👂Wildfire Dramatized Adaptation - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🆎📝🏅🐞Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️📝🖍️🐞Physics for Cats - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧📝🍁🐞Up from Garlic Flats - ⭐⭐⭐
♻️🐞Six Scorched Roses - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧🖍️🐞Monstress, Volume 10: Hollow Gods - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🔖📝👂🏅The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧📝🏅🐞The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
♻️🔖🏅🧓The Martian - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❤️February❤️


📕Total: 24

♻️Rereads: 4
📝Non-Fiction: 5
🎓YA: 2
🖍️Graphic Novels: 9
🐞Under 300 pages: 16
🐘Over 499 pages: 0
🛑DNFs: 0

Best (new) book of the month:
Hemlock & Silver
Project Hail Mary

Runners up:
Beast Business
Peacocks of Instagram: Stories
Castle Swimmer: Volume 2
First Comes Scandal: A Bridgerton Prequel
Wynd Book Four: The Power of the Blood
Spy x Family, Vol. 15

My least favourite book of the month:
I Finally Bought Some Jordans: Essays – Hilarious and Sharp Stories About Race, Class, and Dating by a Black Creative Voice

Ratings:
🖍️🌏🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 4 - ⭐⭐⭐
🖍️🌏🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 5 - ⭐⭐⭐
🅰️📝The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival - ⭐⭐⭐
🆎👶🐞Beast Business - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️📝🏅🐞The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America - ⭐⭐⭐
🖍️🌏🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 6 - ⭐⭐⭐
🍧🔖🏅Hemlock & Silver - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🖍️🌏🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 7 - ⭐⭐⭐
♻️🐞Diamond Fire - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
♻️🏅Sapphire Flames - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🔖📝🐞I Finally Bought Some Jordans: Essays – Hilarious and Sharp Stories About Race, Class, and Dating by a Black Creative Voice - ⭐⭐⭐
🖍️🌏🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 8 - ⭐⭐⭐
♻️🏅Emerald Blaze - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧🏅Mate - ⭐⭐⭐
🍧🍁🐞Peacocks of Instagram: Stories - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎓🖍️Castle Swimmer: Volume 2 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🐞First Comes Scandal: A Bridgerton Prequel - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🎓🖍️🐞Wynd Book Four: The Power of the Blood - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
♻️Ruby Fever - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧🖍️🌏🐞Spy x Family, Vol. 15 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧📝🍁🐞Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum - ⭐⭐⭐
🅰️📝🖍️🐞My Perfectly Imperfect Body - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🐞So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men - ⭐⭐⭐
🍧🔖🧺🏅Project Hail Mary - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

☘️March☘️


📕Total: 17

♻️Rereads: 2
📝Non-Fiction: 2
🎓YA: 1
🖍️Graphic Novels: 5
🐞Under 300 pages: 10
🐘Over 499 pages: 2
🛑DNFs: 0

Best (new) book of the month:
Audition for the Fox

Runners up:
Of Swamp & Sea, Volume One
The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb
Butterfly Effects
Three Days in June
Free Falling
Rabbit Moon
Red and the Wolves: A Graphic Novel

My least favourite book of the month:
Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane

Ratings:
🍧🐞Rabbit Moon - ⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🐞Audition for the Fox - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🖍️🌏🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 9 - ⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🔖📝Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane - ⭐⭐⭐
♻️The Serpent and the Wings of Night - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️👶Butterfly Effects - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧👶Free Falling - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🖍️🌏🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 10 - ⭐⭐⭐
🖍️🌏🐞Knight of the Ice, Vol. 11 - ⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🏅🐞Three Days in June - ⭐⭐⭐
🍧🐞What Stalks the Deep - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🖍️🎓🍁👶Red and the Wolves: A Graphic Novel - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧🖍️🐞Of Swamp & Sea, Volume One - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🍁🐞Pick a Colour - ⭐⭐⭐
🍧🏛️🧓🐞Recitatif - ⭐⭐⭐
♻️🏅🐘The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧📝👂🏅🐘The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

☔April☔


📕Total: 10

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs: 1


Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:
♻️🏅The Songbird & the Heart of Stone - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🍧🌏🐞Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop - ⭐⭐⭐
🖍️👶Of Swamp & Sea, Volume Two - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
♻️👂🐞Diamond Fire Dramatized Adaptation - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🎓🐞Patina - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🆎📝🐞An American Story: Everyone’s Invited - ⭐⭐⭐
🅰️🔖🧺👶This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🆎🖍️🐞👶The Lost Daughter of Sparta - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🆎🔖🏅The Everlasting - ⭐⭐
🅰️🧺🐞Tread of Angels - ⭐⭐

🌻May🌻

📕Total:

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs:

Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:

🏳️‍🌈June🏳️‍🌈

📕Total:

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs:

Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:

😎July😎

📕Total:

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs:

Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:

🌄August🌄

📕Total:

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs:

Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:

🏫September🏫

📕Total:

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs:

Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:

🎃October🎃

📕Total:

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs:

Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:

✝️November✝️

📕Total:

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs:

Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:

🎄December🎄

📕Total:

♻️Rereads:
📝Non-Fiction:
🎓YA:
🖍️Graphic Novels:
🐞Under 300 pages:
🐘Over 499 pages:
🛑DNFs:

Best (new) book of the month:

Runners up:

My least favourite book of the month:

Ratings:

Month in Progress:

☔April Part 1☔

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent - Apr. 2nd
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing my reread of the series.
🔹Plot: After killing the heir to the Shadowborn thrown, Mische is sentenced to death, but is given a second chance if she will accompany the other prince on a quest to the underworld to resurrect the God of death.
🔹Comments: I think I love Mische and Asar even more than Oraya and Raihn.

Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - Apr. 6th
🔹Prompt: 🍧49. A book with a mention of your zodiac sign.
🔹Reason I read it: I read the first book, and this was too perfect for the prompt to not read it too.
🔹Plot: Talking shapeshifting cats, who are the living embodiments of the planets, use astrology to help people find solutions to their problems. In this one, it's a woman who's long distance boyfriend is about to propose, a woman who is still grieving the father she lost when she was a child, and a mother who tries to forgive her estranged father for the sake of her daughter.
🔹Comments: The author takes astrology way too seriously, and I wanted more focus on the food and emotional story, less on why your moon sign is immature and your ascending sign is from your past life....

Of Swamp & Sea, Volume Two by Mia Jay Boulton & Laurel Boulton - Apr. 7th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: I loved the first book in the series.
🔹Plot: Jonah reveals what happened to his eye, and they continue on their journey, but when Mercy realises she can't go back and that the wolf is part of her now, will Jonah be able to accept that. And will a new monster hunter complicate things?
🔹Comments: I loved it, but it didn't quite reach the heights of the first volume.

Diamond Fire Dramatized Adaptation by Ilona Andrews - Apr. 9th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: It's the newest Graphic Audio version of the story.
🔹Plot: It's Nevada and Rogan's wedding, but when the heirloom tiara that Nevada is supposed to wear goes missing, Catalina has to investigate to see which of Rogan's relatives is responsible.
🔹Comment: I just reread this in February, mostly because I couldn't wait for this to be published.

Patina by Jason Reynolds - Apr. 13th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️6. A book related to blood, sweat, or tears. (Sweat)
🔹Reason I read it: I read the first book in the series last year, and I meant to read the second one sooner, but the first time I requested it from the library, they sent me the Spanish edition of the book. If it had been French, I might have tried just for fun.
🔹Plot: Patina lost her Dad when she was little, and her Mom's health issues have meant she and her sister have gone to live with her (white) Aunt and Uncle, and go to a fancy school with mostly white classmates. Running with her run club is one of the only places she feels like old self.
🔹Comments: I really enjoyed it and am hoping to not leave such a gap between this and book 3.

An American Story: Everyone’s Invited by Wilmer Valderrama - Apr. 14th
🔹Prompt: 🆎10. Poll 5: A book related to a current movie or television show.
🔹Reason I read it: Impulse pick from the library.
🔹Plot: An autobiography of the authors life up till 2023
🔹Comments: It was a fun enjoyable read, but nothing special.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews - Apr. 16th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️47. A book with "this", "that", "these", or "those" in the title.
🔹Reason I read it: It's the newest book by Ilona Andrews.
🔹Plot: Maggie goes to bed one night and wakes up in the world from her favorite book series - a notoriously unfinished epic Game of Thronesesque fantasy series. She sets about using her knowledge about what is going to happen to help herself survive, and maybe save a few of her favorite characters while she's at it.
🔹Comments: I wasn't in the right mindset when I started, but I'm glad I persevered. I already have fav characters, a ship to sail and I am ready for book to be published now. Plus the book is dedicated to The Book Devouring Horde - aka fans of house Andrews, of which I am most definitely a member. So it was dedicated to me!!!😁🤗🥳

The Lost Daughter of Sparta by Felicia Day - Apr. 18th
🔹Prompt: 🆎2. Pre-Poll: A book with a main character who is an outsider.
🔹Reason I read it: I'm a fan of Day, and I love Greek mythology, so this was a no brainer.
🔹Plot: Philonoe is Helen of Troy's younger sister, but she was sent away as a baby because she was born with a large birthmark on her face. Now the the Trojan war has been won, her parents seek to marry her off to shore up their political alliances. So Philonoe goes on a quest for the Gods to convince them to remove the curse that was placed on her family before it can destroy her marriage before it even begins.
🔹Comments: I almost didn't get around to this before the library made me give it back, in part because I thought it was a regular book and not a graphic novel. I'm so glad I didn't miss out. It's cool that Day took the one line of Philonoe's story that has survived to this day (Artemis made Philonoe immortal and kept her with her from then on) and created a whole story.

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow - Apr. 20th
🔹Prompt: 🆎3. Poll 1: A book based on or related to a "legend".
🔹Reason I read it: It got me 2 bookmarks, plus I really liked the last book by Harrow I read.
🔹Plot: Owen is a former soldier turned historian who is sent back in time to find out how Una the Everlasting, the famed hero of the realm (Think King Arthur crossed with Joan of Arc) really met her end and write the story of it. They fall in love, but he then finds himself stuck in a time loop, watching her die again and again.
🔹Comments: I almost DNFd this because the beginning was so not my cup of tea (distopian with a MC who is totally brainwashed). It got better, but then it couldn't stick the landing and the ending made no sense.

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse - Apr. 23rd
🔹Prompt: 🅰️32. A novella of 100-250 pages.
🔹Reason I read it: I picked this up from the library sale table and it's stuck around on my shelves until I picked it up on impulse.
🔹Plot: Set in a steam-punk wild westesk world, where angels and demons have left their mark. When one of the Elect (aka the stand in for white) is found murdered, the authorities immediately arrest a fallen woman (read visible minority) leaving her sister, who can pass for elect to try and save her from being executed.
🔹Comments: It was very noir too. So noir, steam-punk, murder mystery, and focus on systemic injustice. There was no way I was going to like this. But it was well written and readable and now it's off my shelf.

☃️January Part 1☃️
So I'm changing up how I'm doing things again. In part because I'm writing more for each entry, so I don't think I will be able to fit a full normal months reading it to one post. So I'll do the first 15 as one post and the rest in the second part. This month hasn't been a great reading month, in part because I've been trying to push through and read all the new books for the prompts, when my brain just wants rereads or nonfiction. So I've given in, and it seems to be going better.

Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift edited by Kristie Frederick Daugherty - Jan. 2nd
🔹Prompt: 🍧42. A book inspired by a real song, album, band, or artist.
🔹Reason I read it: I've been a Swifty from the beginning, so when I heard about this, I knew I had to read it. I held off so I could use it for this year's challenge.
🔹Plot: Each poet was assigned a different Swift song to be inspired by, but it didn't tell you which was based off which song.
🔹Comments: I loved some of the poems, hated others and had fun trying to match the poems to the songs.

To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth - Jan. 4th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: To finish off the impulse reread of the series.
🔹Plot: After becoming a Zmora in book 1, Dymitr returns to his family with the intention of stealing his family's book of curses. Ala and Niko come too, but they each have their own secret mission. (Curse Bearer #2)
🔹Comments: I didn't find it as dark as I did the first time through.

Taaqtumi 2: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories edited by Neil Christopher - Jan 9th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️33. A book with an Indigenous character or author.
🔹Reason I read it: I loved volume one.
🔹Plot: See Below
🔹Comment: I really enjoyed all the stories in this except for one. My breakdown by story:
▪️I Wouldn't Miss Them by Jessie Conrad ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A woman recounts the story of how she ended up in an abusive marriage, and how she got out.
▪️Maniittuq by Aviaq Johnston ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A woman goes to meet her dad on a hunting trip with tragic results.
▪️Mask & Bone by Jamesie Fournier ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A man tells his young nephew a scary story about Inuit monsters that steal children to eat, and eventually reveals that the stories are all too real.
▪️I Am Enough by Rachel & Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley ⭐⭐⭐
- Blair Witch like recounting of a social worker in the 60's who travels north and learns too late that she should've stayed away.
▪️Taaliqtuq by Malcolm Kempt ⭐
- One long fever dream sentence, that circles back to the start without saying anything.
▪️Watch It! by Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Futuristic reality show 2 parts Amazing Race, 1 part Hunger Games
▪️Saatapiaq by Terrie Kusugak ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A man's past comes back to haunt him after he and his friends broke the oldest taboo as children to survive a famine.
▪️The Power Outage by Micah Silu Inutiq ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A family discovers that the old legends are true after all when after all the people working at the power plant go missing.
▪️Utiqtuq: Chapter 2 by Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- After the zombie apocalypse, a kid learns the hard way not to trust people who say that the problem has been fixed.

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire - Jan. 10th
🔹Prompt: 🍧30. A travel ghost story.
🔹Reason I read it: It's McGuire's newest book.
🔹Plot: Nancy comes back begging her friends for their help, after the ghosts in her world start killing the living. (Wayward Children #11)
🔹I always prefer the odd numbered stories that move the plot forward, and it was nice to have the old characters reappear, but Christopher needs to get his HEA stat.

He Falls First by Jill Shalvis - Jan. 12th
🔹Prompt: 🍧20. A book with a character who does pilates or some other exercise class.
🔹Reason I read it: It's Shalvis' newest book.
🔹Plot: A woman who is just recently out of an abusive relationship hits it off with a man who is taking care of his formally abusive father after the man's stroke leaves him severely incapacitated. (Colburn Brothers #1)
🔹Comments: Shalvis' books are usually a big comfort to me, so I was glad to have it when I was dealing with grief. So its hard to tell if I didn't like it as much as some of her books, or if it was just the other stuff intruding on my experience.

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 3 by Yayoi Ogawa - Jan. 12th
🔹Prompt: 🍧17. A book about your favorite event in the Winter Olympics.
🔹Reason I read it: I'm continuing to read through the series.
🔹Plot: Kokoro is a figure skater and Chitose is his childhood friend. In this volume, Kokoro competes at the World Championship and he and Chitose go out on their first date.
🔹Comments: I've read better and I've read worse, but I'm sticking with it because of the skating. There was a time when I was obsessed with the sport, so it's been nice to be reminded of it in time for the Olympics. There is a deeply problematic character though.

Rose/House by Arkady Martine - Jan. 13th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️42. A book set in an isolated location.
🔹Reason I read it: My sister found this and while she decided against reading it, I snagged it because the plot sounded amazing.
🔹Plot: Rose House is a sentient house that has sat empty since it's creator died. When the local cop gets a call informing her that there's a dead body on the premises, she goes to investigate.
🔹Comments: For most of this book, it was a 3 star book, a little wordy, but get premise, eerie atmosphere, intriguing mystery. But then the 'ending' happened.🤬 Seriously, they all just sorta went home and all the set up for a bigger conspiracy was just ignored.

System Collapse Dramatized Adaptation by Martha Wells - Jan. 14th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: Finishing up going through the Murderbot Graphic Audios.
🔹Plot: Picking up immediately after the events in book 5, Muderbot deals with PTSD while trying to save a new group of colonists from the evil corporation trying to enslave them. (Murderbot Diaries #7)
🔹Comments: I am so ready for the next book in the series that comes out later this year.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Jan. 16th
🔹Prompt: 🍧5. A book about female astronauts.
🔹Reason I read it: It was the newest TJR book. I was going to read it last year, but my hold didn't come in until December, so I held off on it so I could use it for this year's challenge.
🔹Plot: 2 women who are chosen to be among the first female astronauts, meet and fall in love, but when something goes wrong on one of their missions, the other has to talk her through getting home.
🔹 Comments: I would have liked more on the problem solving in space part of the story, but I wouldn't have changed a thing about the rest. Carrie Soto is still my fav though.

Castle Swimmer: Volume 1 by Wendy Martin - Jan. 18th
🔹Prompt: 🍧32. A book with an underwater civilization.
🔹Reason I read it: Erica had it and recommended it, plus the cover was pretty and the story worked perfect for a prompt.
🔹Plot: Ancient mermaid prophecies tell of a special golden mermaid that will be the beacon and save all of the various kingdoms. When the beacon shows up, a prince who is supposed to kill him, finds he'd rather sit and talk to the guy and not commit murder.
🔹Comments: The artwork is stunning, and the story is cute.

Wildfire Dramatized Adaptation by Ilona Andrews - Jan. 21st
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: I've been going through the Graphic Audio versions of these books as soon as I can get my hands on them.
🔹Plot: Nevada is hired to find Rogan's ex's husband, whose kidnapping ties in to the ongoing conspiracy. (Hidden Legacy #3)
🔹Comments: Bern and Bug have always been my fav characters, but the the actor who does Leon has pushed him onto my list too.

Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach - Jan. 22nd
🔹Prompt: 🆎16. Poll 10: A fiction or non-fiction book that could be considered a microhistory.
🔹 Reason I read it: I've been meaning to read more of Roach's books, but this is only the second book by her I've managed.
🔹Plot: A look at some of the devices and processes medical science has created to replace or augment the human body. From prosthetic noses, to ventilators, to butt implants.
🔹Comments: The way the author mixes facts, anectdotes and humourous commentary is pretty spot on for me.

Physics for Cats by Tom Gauld - Jan. 23rd
🔹Prompt: 🅰️16. A book featuring a character with a similar occupation to one of the Clue/Cluedo characters. (Prof. Plum)
🔹Reason I read it: Erica requested this from the library, and given how much I enjoyed the first book (Revenge of the Librarians, I read it first before delivering it to her.
🔹Plot: More comics that originally appeared in New Scientist magazine.
🔹Comments: I laughed my way through it.

Up from Garlic Flats by Victor Cicansky - Jan. 23rd
🔹Prompt: 🍧1. A book where gardening or a garden is central to the plot.
🔹Reason I read it: Cicansky is one of my favorite artists.
🔹Plot: Cicansky recounts his life growing up in Regina and how those memories inspired his art.
🔹Comments: He was an amazing artists, but the book got a little repetitive at times and he couldn't stop harping about how important organic gardening was.

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent - Jan. 25th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: Impulse reread.
🔹Plot: Lilith makes a deal with the local vampire: Six roses in exchange for his blood, which she needs to find a cure for the disease slowly killing her sister. (Crowns of Nyaxia #1.5)
🔹Comments: I still love it just as much the second time around. I might need to reread the rest of the series.

☃️January Part 2☃️
I was hoping to get a few more books finished before the end of the month, but I was busy with family.

Monstress, Volume 10: Hollow Gods by Marjorie M. Liu - Jan. 25th
🔹Prompt: 🍧46 A sapphic comic.
🔹Reason I read it: It's the newest book in the series.
🔹Plot: Every person who has touched the mask fragments is now possessed by a fallen god soldier, but there is dissention in the ranks. (Monstress #10)
🔹Comments: It was a weaker installment, with most of the action taking place in Maika or Zinn's mind, and the endless death and destruction is getting tiring.

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold - Jan. 26th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️9. A book with a number, ordinal, or iterative numeral in the title.
🔹Reason I read it: I wanted a nonfiction audiobook, and it got me the Choice Archive Bookmark.
🔹Plot: An in depth look at the lives of Jack the Ripper's victims.
🔹Comments: I read a different book on the Ripper case, and the author spent a lot of time denigrating this book, and now that I've read it, I can see his point. The author was extremely biased, doing everything in her power to insist that the women weren't prostitutes, but she didn't provide proof, so much as she showed that the 'evidence' was thin either way (except for the 2 who were absolutely known to be prostitutes) That being said, it was well written and enjoyable to listen to, so I still ended up giving it a 4, despite the bias. The author did provide as much evidence as she could find, even if it didn't fully match with her preformed conclusion.

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World by Matt Kracht - Jan. 30th
🔹Prompt: 🍧45. A book that features birding.
🔹Reason I read it: I wanted something light and cheerful to read when traveling for my Grandma's funeral and I thought the first book in the series would be perfect, but somebody had already borrowed it (It turned out it was my sister, because she had had the same thought). It made me laugh and that was all I wanted.
🔹Plot: A collection of drawings about various birds, some true facts about them and a lot of snark on the side.
🔹Comments: The renaming the birds thing got old fast, and I would have liked more facts.

The Martian by Andy Weir - Jan. 30th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: When I read Atmosphere, I just kept thinking about how much I wanted to do a reread of this book. And I was going to try for a different book for the bookmark, but then I realised I'm in a reread mood, so I gave in and just read it.
🔹Plot: An Astronaut is accidently left behind on Mars, and has to scramble to figure out how to survive long enough to be rescued.
🔹Comments: I love both the book and the movie so much.

❤️February Part 1❤️

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 4 by Yayoi Ogawa - Feb. 2nd
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing to read through the series.
🔹Plot: The MCs start dating, but when his manager arranges to make the press believe Kokoro is dating someone else, Chitose gets jealous.
🔹Comments: I like the skating parts, but the romantic storyline is a little too overdone.

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 5 by Yayoi Ogawa - Feb. 2nd
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing to read through the series.
🔹Plot: After breaking up, Kokoro is determined to win Nationals.
🔹Comments: The side character stories are starting to be more interesting than the main plotline.

The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival by Anne Sebba - Feb. 4th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️43. A book involving survival.
🔹Reason I read it: I have weakness for these types of books. I always say I don't need to read another book about WW2/The Holocaust, and then I end up reading another one...
🔹Plot: Combining research, interviews the survivors gave in the past, and new interviews with the remaining 2 survivors, it tells the story of the women's orchestra at Birkenau.
🔹Comments: It was a powerful story, but there were a few too many editing issues, which always makes me question a nonfiction book, because if they can't do a proper edit, did they do a proper fact check?

Beast Business by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 5th
🔹Prompt: 🆎24. Poll 17: A book related to the phrase "smoke and mirrors."
🔹Reason I read it: It's the newest Ilona Andrews book.
🔹Plot: Cornelius' sister, Diana hires Augustine to help her hunt down the people who stole one of her animals. And there's a bonus Arabella story at the end.
🔹Comment: The only problem with this was that it ended.

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht - Feb. 6th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️50. A book with a bird on its cover.
🔹Reason I read it: I had planned to read it, and so even though I'd already finished the prompt I'd planned it for, I still wanted to read it.
🔹Plot: A collection of drawings about various birds, some true facts about them and a lot of snark on the side.
🔹Comments: I thought the artwork wasn't as good, and the fact that I'd already read the other one made most of the jokes seem a little stale.

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 6 by Yayoi Ogawa - Feb. 8th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing to read through the series.
🔹Plot: Now back together, Kokoro goes to 4 Continents but he is seriously injured in practice when the American get's in his way.
🔹Comments: This backed off the romance for more skating. Perfect to read while watching the Olympic skating events.

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher - Feb. 9th
🔹Prompt: 🍧38. A book with any type of fruit on the cover or in the title.
🔹Reason I read it: It's by Kingfisher, plus it kept working for all sorts of bookmarks.
🔹Plot: A Snow White retelling, following Anja, an expert on poisons who is called in to find out who is poisoning Snow.
🔹Comments: I loved this book even though it took me so long to finish. I was just struggling to focus, which was not the books fault. It was a really well done retelling.

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 7 by Yayoi Ogawa - Feb. 11th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing to read through the series.
🔹Plot: Chitose is hiding her health issues from Kokoro so he can focus on his skating, but the secrecy ends up causing more problems than it helps.
🔹Comments: It's fun reading these books while watching the Olympics.

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 12th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: Beast Business made me want to reread the series, or at least the Catalina books, so I did.
🔹Plot: It's Nevada and Rogan's wedding, but when a family heirloom goes missing and some one poisons the cake, Catalina has to investigate Rogan's relatives to save the day.
🔹Comments: Nevada's about face to become a bridezilla is still a little weird, but I love Catalina so much, I'll forgive it.

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 15th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing my reread of the series.
🔹Plot: Catalina decides to help when her friend Runa's mother and sister die in a fire. Turns out her mother was a former hitwoman who's past had caught up to her. When Alesandro also takes the case, sparks fly.
🔹Comments: I know these were romance books, but I wish there were more of them that didn't focus on the romance...

I Finally Bought Some Jordans: Essays – Hilarious and Sharp Stories About Race, Class, and Dating by a Black Creative Voice by Michael Arceneaux - Feb. 15th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️3. A book that fits a prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list: A book that could earn you a Goodreads bookmark.
🔹Reason I read it: For the bookmark. I looked through the list, and then when I got to the library this was sitting out on display, so I figured it was meant to be.
🔹Plot: The author reminisces about his experiences during Covid.
🔹Comments: This was a lot more political than I was expecting. If it wasn't for the bookmark and the fact that it was short and during the ATY read-a-thon, I would have DNFd it.

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 8 by Yayoi Ogawa - Feb. 16th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing to read through the series
🔹Plot: The Grand Prix is still going on, but when Kokoro's Dad finds out about Mari and Taiga and tells him that they can't date unless he managed to beat Kokoro.
🔹Comments: The story is starting to be more interesting and less one note, plus all the figure skating is so much fun.

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 17th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing my reread of the series.
🔹Plot: When Catalina goes to investigate the murder of a man who was working to clean up a toxic swamp, she is forced to work with Alesandro again.
🔹Comments: This is still my favorite of the series.

Mate by Ali Hazelwood - Feb. 18th
🔹Prompt: 🍧3. A book you meant to read in 2025.
🔹Reason I read it: I usually like Hazelwood's books, and I'd already read book 1 in the series.
🔹Plot: Serena is playing bait and trying to draw out the vampire conspiracy while staying at Koen's place, while trying to ignore the fact that they're fated mates. But the truth about where she came from proves to be even more complicated that she thought.
🔹Comments: The first book in the series was so bad it was kinda fun, but this was better written, and therefore more of a slog. The snark and humour kept me reading, but just barely. The fantasy politics were just so irritating.

Peacocks of Instagram: Stories by Deepa Rajagopalan - Feb. 19th
🔹Prompt: 🍧15 A book about new beginnings.
🔹Reason I read it: Impulse pick from the library while looking for books for the read-a-thon.
🔹Plot: A series of semi connected short stories, see below for breakdown.
🔹Comments: This ended up being a really nice surprise. It started out kinda dark, so I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it, but by the end I was entranced.
▪️Peacocks of Instagram ⭐⭐⭐
- A women who works in a coffee shop and sells peacock themed jewellery on the side reflects on her past and how she came to be in Canada, while talking to a protester calling on the Indian Government to change it's policies.
▪️Cake ⭐⭐
- A housekeeper in a hotel struggles to get the promotion she deserves.
▪️Whatever Happened, Happened for the Good ⭐⭐⭐
- A girl travels with her family back to India because her mother needs a kidney transplant, and a family member donation is her best option.
▪️Live-In ⭐⭐⭐
- A man hides the fact that he's been living with his soon-to-be wife from his father, when the man comes over for the wedding.
▪️A Thing with Many Legs ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A woman who has fallen in love with her overseas coworker (the now grown character from the kidney transplant story) struggles when she disappears.
▪️Rahel ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A man has a long term affair with a woman named Rahel, but he finds out after her death that he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.
▪️Maths Club ⭐⭐⭐
- A teen sent to boarding school in India finds new friends in an afterschool math club.
▪️Driving Lessons ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Now grown, the MC from the last story moves to LA and struggles to acclimatize.
▪️Surya, Listen! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A woman travels with her family back to India for a visit and begins to forgive the woman who's negligence almost killed her son.
▪️Morningside ⭐⭐⭐
A woman in a bad marriage tries for one last time to save her marriage.
▪️The Many Homes of Kanmani ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A child makes her way through the foster care system after losing both her parents in a hurricane.
▪️Bow Wow ⭐⭐⭐
- A successful theatre actor has to survive a meal with his in-laws who look down on his profession, while caring for his wife who is still recovering from a devastating car accident.
▪️Singing for the Gods ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A power struggle breaks out when the former lead singer at the temple objects to the new lead singer's fiancé because of his caste.
▪️Bestsellers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A woman makes pottery as a way to heal after her divorce, by making art inspired by her story.

❤️February Part 2❤️

Castle Swimmer: Volume 2 by Wendy Martin - Feb. 19th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing to read the sereis.
🔹Plot: Siren hatches a desperate plan to help Kappa escape, but when the true prophecy is revealed, Siren's mother proves she will go to any lengths to prevent it from happening.
🔹Comments: The story got so much better. And it still made me laugh a lot.

First Comes Scandal: A Bridgerton Prequel by Julia Quinn - Feb. 21st
🔹Prompt: 🅰️34. A book with a window on the cover.
🔹Reason I read it: Finishing my read through of the series.
🔹Plot: When an unscrupulous gambler ruins Georgiana's reputation to try and force her to marry him, Nicholas is pressured by his family to save the day and marry her instead. Will they find a way to make the marriage work?
🔹Comments: I like that there was no real conflict, just 2 characters falling in love and figuring out what their life was going to be like.

Wynd Book Four: The Power of the Blood by James Tynion IV - Feb. 21st
🔹Prompt: 🅰️6. A book related to blood, sweat, or tears.
🔹Reason I read it: Newest book in the series.
🔹Plot: With war looming, and Wynd and Prince Yorik trapped by the vampires, the rest of the gang has to come up with a rescue plan.
🔹Comments: It took me a bit to get back into the story, and then just when I did, it ended.

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews - Feb. 22nd
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: Finishing my reread of the series.
🔹Plot: When the speaker of the house is murdered, and Linus is left in a coma, Catalina and Alesandro have to defeat Arkan once and for all.
🔹Comments: I'm still not that sure I need an Arabella/Mihail book, but a book that just focuses on Arabella, sold.

Spy x Family, Vol. 15 by Tatsuya Endo - Feb. 23rd
🔹Prompt: 🍧8. A book about a sexless marriage.
🔹Reason I read it: Newest book in the series.
🔹Plot: Martha finishes telling Becky her backstory. Then the story follows the kids on their school holidays. Yor ends up suggesting to Damian's Mother that she see Loid, a psychiatrist.
🔹Comments: The story finally seems to be picking up.

Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox & Nelle Fortenberry - Feb. 23rd
🔹Prompt: 🍧43 Two books written by real-life partners or spouses. (1)
🔹Reason I read it: My sister had this for the read-a-thon, and it looked at me, so I ended up reading it almost in one sitting.
🔹Plot: Michael recounts his memories associated with filming the movie Back to the Future.
🔹Comments: Not a lot of details about things outside the filming, but it was nice enough.

My Perfectly Imperfect Body by Debbie Tung - Feb. 24th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️46. A book that is not a novel.
🔹Reason I read it: It's the newest book by Debbie Tung
🔹Plot: Debbie recounts her experiences with developing an eating disorder while in high school.
🔹Comments: It was pretty dark subject matter.

So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan - Feb. 25th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️5. A book you want to read because of something you read in 2025.
🔹Reason I read it: I liked the other book by Keegan that I read last year.
🔹Plot: 3 short stories that had been previously published separately, see below.
🔹 Comments: There is something about Keegan's writing that is just so readable and compelling. Even though the stories were kinda dark.
▪️ So Late in the Day ⭐⭐⭐
- A man spends what was supposed to be his wedding day thinking about what went wrong.
▪️ The Long and Painful Death ⭐⭐⭐
- A woman at a writers retreat is inspired by her encounter with an overzealous fan.
▪️ Antarctica ⭐⭐⭐
- A woman takes a solo trip away from her family and decides to have an affair while she's away.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - Feb. 28th
🔹Prompt: 🍧31. A book that makes you feel FOMO.
🔹Reason I read it: I've been meaning to read this for 5 years now. This week, I rewatched The Martian and then saw a couple of trailers for the new movie, so I finally picked it up and read it
🔹Plot: When an alien organism infects the Sun and endangers Earth, a science teacher ends up being tapped to go on the mission that is the only hope for humanity's survival.
🔹Comments: This was every bit as good as The Martian.

🍀March Part 1🍀

Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh - Mar. 4th
🔹Prompt: 🍧2. A book that features a platonic friendship between a man and woman.
🔹Reason I read it: The cover/title caught my eye in the library, and when I picked it up to read the first page to see what the writing style was like, it sucked me in and I had to finish.
🔹Plot: A 22 year old American woman living in China is hit by a drunk driver and ends up in a coma. Her estranged parents fly in and slowly secrets about her life in China come to light.
🔹Comments: I couldn't put this down, even though it was sad. It was very dreamlike in a way, with characters barely interacting with each other.

Audition for the Fox by Martin Cahill - Mar. 5th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️28. A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution.
🔹Reason I read it: Erica recommended it. I was also going to use it for the bookmark, but I ended up accidentally earning it with Project Hail Mary.
🔹Plot: Nesi is a temple acolyte is desperate need for a patron. When she auditions for the trickster god, The Fox, she is sent back in time and challenged to save her ancestors from foreign invaders who serve The Wolf.
🔹Comments: It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I did, I didn't want it to end. I wanted more stories of The Fox and their siblings. This will be in contention for best book of the year for sure.

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 9 by Yayoi Ogawa - Mar. 6th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing to read through the series.
🔹Plot: Kakoro competes in Nationals, which will determine who gets to go to the Olympics. But now he knows the truth about Chitose's health problems, will he crumble or step up to the plate and triumph.
🔹Comments: In a way, I'm keeping the Olympics going by reading these. I still am more invested in the side characters stories.

Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane by Devoney Looser - Mar. 8th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️7. A book with a character who appears in more than one book.
🔹Reason I read it: It's bout Jane Austen, so it was already on my TBR, but it got bumped up the list because of the GR Her Story bookmark.
🔹Plot: A book length essay on why Austen should be considered wild, with anecdotes about events in her life, and then some of the things that involve her books or family that have happened after her death.
🔹Comments: I've read other books that make the same arguments, but do a better job. However, the tangential stories were new to me and interesting enough.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent - Mar. 11th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: I've been wanting to reread the series ever since I reread Six Scorched Roses, and the fact that it got me a bookmark just pushed me to get around to it sooner.
🔹Plot: Oraya is the adopted human daughter of the Vampire King. She enters a deadly competition that if she wins, will grant her the power to finally be safe, but when she forms an uneasy alliance with another vampire, will the choice end up costing her everthing?
🔹Comments: It was fun to be able to pick out the hints that had been dropped a head of time.

Butterfly Effects by Seanan McGuire - Mar. 12th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️45. A book connected to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. "We will not let you go. Let [her] go! We will not let you go"
🔹Reason I read it: It was the newest InCryptid book.
🔹Plot: The Jorhlar come for Sarah to bring her to trial and they take take Arthur as evidence, so Annie and company have to stage a rescue.
🔹Comments: After the death and sadness of the last 2 books, it was nice to get some happiness and positive changes for the characters.

Free Falling by Jill Shalvis - Mar. 15th
🔹Prompt: 🍧28. A book about debt.
🔹Reason I read it: It's the newest Shalvis.
🔹Plot: In college, Emma and Caleb were rivals, fighting for the top grades and scholarships. Now they are thrown back together working on a renovation. With Caleb desperate to prove himself to his brother, and Emma desperate to turn her temp job permanent, a lot is riding on the project. But when someone starts sabotaging the project, will it expose Emma's big secret?
🔹Comments: I always enjoy Shalvis's books and this was no exception. I was expecting more to come of Caleb's impending surgery, though.

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 10 by Yayoi Ogawa - Mar. 16th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing to read through the series.
🔹Plot: It's the final few weeks before the Sochi Olympics. Kokoro has recovered from his surgery and now it's Chitose's turn to go under the knife. But how will the various skaters handle the pressure of the Olympics?
🔹Comments: It was fun to go back to the Olympics even though they're over in real life.

Knight of the Ice, Vol. 11 by Yayoi Ogawa - Mar. 16th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Already used the series)
🔹Reason I read it: Finishing my read through of the series.
🔹Plot: With only the Free Skate left at the Olympics, Kokoro is going in at third place. Will he pull off the gold? And will he finally stand up to his father about Chitose?
🔹Comments: It was a nice ending to the story. Everything got wrapped up, and they all got a happy ending.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler - Mar. 17th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️36. A book with a primary character who is a woman over 40.
🔹Reason I read it: Random pickup at the library.
🔹Plot: 3 days of one woman's life: The day before her daughter's wedding, the day of the wedding, and the day after.
🔹Comments: It was sorta slow, but it was really lovely and sweet in the end.

What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher - Mar. 18th
🔹Prompt: 🍧34. A book with a trans or nonbinary protagonist.
🔹Reason I read it: I've been meaning to read this since it was published, so when the first book in the series was chosen for the PS BotM, I figured I'd use that as the push to read it.
🔹Plot: This time Alex travels to West Virginia to investigate strange things that have been happening around an abandoned mie.
🔹Comments: The horror elements I could take or leave, but the characters are top notch.

Red and the Wolves: A Graphic Novel by Cherry Zong - Mar 24th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️14. A book related to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh.
🔹Reason I read it: Erica borrowed it and said it was good, so I read it too.
🔹Plot: A retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Red lives alone in the forest with her Grandmother, hunting monsters by day to try and fight off the 'rot' that has driven away everybody else. One day, she come across a wolf who can take human form, caught in a bear trap. When she takes her home to tend to her wounds, she discovers that maybe things aren't the way her Grandmother has always said they are.....
🔹Comments: It was a cool take on the story, but I wasn't crazy about all the artwork. I was going to use it for the Z author, but the cover reminded me of the Van Gogh print I have (I don't know the name of the painting. I got it when I was a kid and I lost the paperwork that went with it somewhere along the way), so I used it for that.

Of Swamp & Sea, Volume One by Mia Jay Boulton & Laurel Boulton - Mar 25th
🔹Prompt: 🍧44. Two books written by real-life partners or spouses. (2)
🔹Reason I read it: Erica borrowed it and said it was good, so I read it too.
🔹Plot: Mercy hires a professional monster killer to help her after her father is killed, but the hunt goes bad and she ends up being possessed by the spirit of the monster. Now Jonah is desperate to find a way to free her from his mistake, before the possession becomes permanent.
🔹Comments: The book had me from the minute the MC packed a bunch of books to go on her cross-country (hiking) trip. It set things up for a nice long arc, with a slow burn romance, and plenty of monster fighting along the way.

Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa - Mar. 26th
🔹Prompt: 🅰️17. A book set in the wellness or beauty industries.
🔹Reason I read it: The cover jumped out at me when it was first published last fall, and since then it has been looking at me every time I go to the library. So I finally gave in and read it.
🔹Plot: A single day in the life of a woman who owns and operates a nail salon.
🔹Comments: I love slice of life stories like this, but some things were a little too vague.

Recitatif by Toni Morrison - Mar. 27th
🔹Prompt: 🍧16. A book less than 260 pages.
🔹Reason I read it: My sister borrowed it, so on a whim, I read it too.
🔹Plot: 2 girls, 1 black and one white end up as roomates in foster care when they're little. Over the course of they're lives, they come together again and again, and yet it is never revealed which of the 2 is black and which is white.
🔹Comments: I wish I had taken this in school. It was interesting and thought provoking.

🍀March Part 2🍀

The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent - Mar. 27th
🔹Prompt: N/A (Reread)
🔹Reason I read it: Continuing my reread of the series.
🔹Plot: Oraya is reeling after the events of the last book, stuck in a marriage to the man who killed her father, and dealing with the revelation that she is half vampire. Will she be able to work with Raihn and save their kingdom from the enemies within and without.
🔹Comments: Just as good the second time through.

The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb by Garrett M. Graff - Mar. 31st
🔹Prompt: 🍧41. A book in a different format than your usual. (Audiobook)
🔹Reason I read it: I enjoyed the other Graff book I read.
🔹Plot: A collection of witness accounts, speeches and other historical records pieced together to tell the story of the atom bombs.
🔹Comments: I will need to read the physical book so I can see the pictures.