Friday R.E.P.O.R.T. (4/10/26)

Posted April 10, 2026 / Friday REPORT, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

This Friday R.E.P.O.R.T will consist of what I’ve been reading, eating, planning (instead of playing, I don’t really think it works for me), obsessing over, recommending, and treating. Written on Wednesday 4/8. R / reading Like everyone else in the book world, I’m reading THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION. It’s a historical fiction novella series that follows Emma as she returns to London, living with her cousin in her family home, and encountering all kinds of people and things. It’s really cute so far though I don’t see the hype of folks naming this a favorite series. I finished the second book early in April and am almost done with the third installment now. I need to take a little break and get into some egalleys on my Kindle once I finish this one, but I do anticipate finishing all 8 in the first half of the year. I also plan to finish FINLAY DONOVAN CROSSES THE LINE later today during my pedicure appointment. I have the audio, which I always love, but grabbed the physical copy from a library last week too. E / eating We’re eating a lot of easier things lately (thanks to the new pup) and finishing up the true crockpot season. I still use mine during the summer for certain things because it’s lovely to not use a hot oven on the nights we don’t grill something. Otherwise, we’ve been making it our mission to try different breakfast takeout spots on the […]

Bookmark Lit Bulletin | March 2026

Posted April 6, 2026 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 0 Comments

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days. March was a better month for sure! I feel like we got into a good swing with the pups and I was able to crank through books. There were some days I didn’t read and some days I read an entire book, but it was a great month overall. 6 books in March 6 read • 0 reread • 0 DNF Formats: 4 physical/audio, 1 ebook, 1 ebook/audio Status/source: 2 preordered, 2 library, 1 book box pick, 1 Kindle Unlimited Age Target: 6 adult Here are all the books I read this month with ratings! Shelf Reflection Challenge: 38% Read with Allison Challenge: 33% Buzzword Reading Challenge: 42% Buzzword Cover Challenge: 58% Breakdown: 4 hardcovers | 1 paperbacks | 0 ARC | 4 egalleys | 2 ebook | 0 audiobooks All review copies were provided for free in exchange for an honest review. Review Copies From Hachette: Book Club Boyfriend by Holiday, The Thoroughbreds by Hilderbrand/Cunningham From Macmillan: The Women in White by Pekkanen, Hot Girl Murder Club by Winstead Physical Books Book box: This Story Might Save Your […]

Mini Reviews: A Perilous Undertaking, The Plot, and Her Last Breath

Posted April 4, 2026 / Bite-Sized Reviews, Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I’m not sure when I’ll finish this long ass series but I’m proud I prioritized the second book fairly quickly! I continue to enjoy Veronica and Stoker’s slow-burn (I’m assuming) romance. I don’t think I paid a ton of attention when reading (so I forgot who characters were) and the mystery was fine. The lower rating is probably due to my reading slump and lack of interest in reading much of anything, but to be fair – other books have managed to keep my attention when this one didn’t as much. Happy to move onto the next within a few months though! This was a good albeit predictable read. I did enjoy the mystery of trying to figure out what the twist in the novel-within-the-novel was going to be, but the bigger reveals toward the end were more obvious afterwards. I read like 95% of this in one day so I didn’t find it slow like other readers (though the book club deadline helped lol). My other friends in book club agreed that it was super predictable but we are all curious enough to read the sequel! I have a feeling it will follow a similar trajectory though, which would be a little annoying and possibly repetitive. Like with most Taylor Adams books, the story seems so closed off and straightforward. I kept asking myself how he was going to find twists within this plot line, or keep the book interesting. I really didn’t think it was possible but I […]

April TBR

Posted April 3, 2026 / Book Lists, Features, TBR Lists / 0 Comments

My monthly TBR feature here shows my progress based on last month’s TBR, my plans for this month, and anything else I might be thinking about from a reading perspective. Sometimes I feature a little poll at the bottom so you guys can help me figure out a certain title I should read from a group of books. April TBR March was a better month though there were a couple of short books in there! I hope to continue that series and add to my progress. As of now, I’m on track with my reading challenge. Review Copies I have more review copies upcoming than I thought! I really hope I can keep on track. Most of these are April books but there’s at least one May book because I’m excited to read it and may jump the line lol. New or Popular Releases I decided to consolidate this section because it’s kind of a mix of physical books I own, preordered, or have coming soon, among other things. I’m currently reading the new FINLAY DONOVAN book and the third EMMA M. LION book. I got into the Emma series on a whim because everyone’s been loving them and they’re fun to read at bedtime on my Kindle. I preordered AGNES AUBERT and got ADRIFT from my last book box so I definitely want to read them soon. And finally, THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF and THIS WEEKEND DOESN’T END WELL FOR ANYONE are coming this month via BOTM or […]

Recent Reads | Nightwatching and This Story Might Save Your Life

Posted March 26, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

This book has been on my radar for a while but I wasn’t sure what I’d think of it. Many reviews said the book starts one way and kind of turns into something else for the second half, so I was just on the fence. I saw it at the library and decided I was in the mood for it, then randomly picked it up when we got a blizzard. This book is also set during a snowstorm so I thought the vibes would be perfect. I ended up being really glad I picked this one up! The book starts with a bang – a mother is alone in her house with her two kids when she notices an intruder. They manage to hide while she figures out what to do, and realizes who the man is. I won’t say anything else that happens because yes, the book takes a bit of a turn. It was incredibly suspenseful and creepy from the jump, especially to read at night. I’m glad I didn’t have this on my Kindle to read in bed! The next part of this paragraph is generally/slightly spoiler-y but not in a way that would ruin the book: I was so frustrated in many scenes with the cops (shocker) but really enjoyed the often tense ride. There are some intentional/interesting choices by the author though. I didn’t realize until I finished that she doesn’t include names for literally any characters, I’m fairly positive – I’m assuming this was a […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #490: Spring TBR

Posted March 24, 2026 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 1 Comment

Spring 2026 TBR Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I always love a little TBR post for TTT! Spring for me will include March, April, and May releases. I’ll be including my review copies as well. March April May

Recent Reads | In Your Dreams and The Storm

Posted March 19, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

Unsurprisingly, five stars. I may have blinders on when it comes to the writing or characters but there’s something about this Rome, Kentucky series that just works for me every single time. It’s sweet without being too much. This was such a perfect way to wrap up the series, with multiple scenes of former main characters/ siblings/ significant others getting together and finishing with the couple I’ve been waiting for. Madison and James got the perfect story for them and it was worth the wait. We’ve all seen the tension brewing between them – my sister and I were eagerly awaiting their inevitable book! Madison has always been the wild child, the one who moved out of Rome to follow her dreams at culinary school in NYC. She hasn’t told anyone she’s struggling, except Emily in the last book, so she keeps plugging along through graduation. James has been pining over Madison for years so when she accidentally calls him and spills her guts, he has the perfect solution: a farm-to-table restaurant on his farm. He needs the financial boost and she needs a job, especially back at home. Win-win. I loved watching these two spend time together and the feelings develop for Madison, since James has already been in that place. I loved the conversations they had; Jame was such a perfect balance for her. I grew to love him more than I already did from previous books. Aside from the main romance/couple, as I mentioned, we get all […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #489: Green Covers

Posted March 17, 2026 / Goals & Planning, Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Green Book Covers on my TBR Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I was going to do my favorite books with green covers or favorite green covers in general, but I couldn’t pull enough. I thought going into the TBR makes more sense! I think all of these are upcoming releases and none are already out, but there could be a few recent ones. Either way… all on my TBR to read at some point in time!

The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances

Posted March 13, 2026 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I read three different Amazon short story collections in 2024 but haven’t really kept up with the more recent ones beyond those. When I saw there was a follow-up to the Improbable Meet Cute books, I knew I’d be blazing through them right away. This group is called THE IMPROBABLE MEET-CUTE: SECOND CHANCES. It features only one repeat author, Christina Lauren, along with five new ones: Hannah Bonham-Young Julie Soto, Trilina Pucci, Catherine Cowles, and Navessa Allen. I’ve heard all of them except one and quite a few are on my “their books are probably not for me” list, so I was cautious going into this lol. I was expecting to either validate my feelings on potentially not reading from these authors in the future OR realizing that perhaps I’m missing out! I thought I’d rank order the stories and share my ratings for them along with a mini review, then compare the collection as a whole to the first go-around in 2024. Story Ranking and Mini Reviews/Ratings Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young // // Sooo cute. I think I need to read a full-length book from this author. I was very smitten and smiling like a dummy reading their emails but wish that part was a little longer. The rest felt a little rushed but still so good! I have a feeling this will be the best of this bunch for me. Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren // // Very cute, as expected! I love this pen pal/You’ve Got […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #488: Ordinal Numbers

Posted March 10, 2026 / Goals & Planning, Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Book Titles Featuring Ordinal Numbers Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I decided to do this by searching in my Goodreads shelves in order (“first” then “second” etc.) so this list will feature my favorite books for each of the ordinal numbers. I haven’t read a book for all ten-ish of them so there’s a small TBR section below as well. Favorites by Number TBR Books