Month: August 2026

September TBR

Posted August 28, 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. September TBR I definitely did not have a good reading month in August, which is annoying as hell because September is always a bad reading month too. I was hoping to stay on track and read a ton during my week off from work, but unfortunately I ended up with less time to read than expected. I went away for the weekend with friends and it took me like an entire week to read a book I could’ve read in a few sittings if I started it at a different time. Nevertheless, we’ll persist! Review Copies Unfortunately this list is the same as last month with the exception of the one book I managed to read (and adding in the last one to replace it)! (EDIT: I finished ROMANTIC HERO in August after this post!) A few of these are literally some of my most anticipated 2026 releases (the final three in particular) so I do really hope to read all of them this month. September – aka my birthday month – should be the very best reading month! September Releases The good news is that even though there […]

Recent Reads | How to Solve Your Own Murder and The Secrets We Hide

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

I’ve owned this book for a year or two and thought it sounded like a unique twist on a murder mystery. I don’t think I fully understood that this was more someone else trying to solve a murder of someone else who had a fortune determine how they’d die; I think I was originally thinking it’d be more like Holly Jackson’s latest (which had a great premise but terrible execution for me). Annie is summoned to her Great Aunt Frances’s country estate where she learns that she was killed. In order for her will to be executed and assets divided, Annie and others need to figure out who killed her and why. I liked this but it took me a really long time to settle into the story, which wasn’t great because I started it at the last minute for book club lol. For some reason it felt like an actual historical mystery so it kept taking me out of the story when I couldn’t really place the timeline. My book club wasn’t really a fan of it, as the story was repetitive (especially how many times she said “Great Aunt Frances”) and the characters were overall pretty unlikeable. I thought it was definitely interesting enough to hold my attention and I’m intrigued enough to read additional books in the series. WE ARE ALL GUILTY HERE was one of my favorite books of last year, maybe not rating-wise (I think it was a 4.5 star too) but just from how […]

Recent Reads | The Chowder House Murder and The Unknown

Posted August 20, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I saw this book at the library and grabbed it on a whim – a cozy mystery centered around a chowder house set in Coastal Maine? Perfect for me. I almost returned it without reading it like I unfortunately do with a lot of library books, but I decided to just push myself to actually read it… and I’m really glad I did! I think this is a promising start to a new cozy mystery series that I will definitely be continuing. I obviously loved the Maine and chowder restaurant. The mystery itself was interesting too! I didn’t put all the pieces together but did feel like I was coming to the same conclusions along with the characters. There was a fun multi-generational element here with the grandma, mom, and daughter, along with the sons of the grandma character (brothers or uncles for the other two obviously). I found some repetition in spots that could’ve used more editing. For example, on one page it said something about Tom being handsome and charming, “not to mention a real looker,” as if that isn’t the same thing has handsome? And in one paragraph one of the villains says something like “you think you’re real smart, don’t you?” and two seconds later “you think you’re real clever, don’t you?” My other main issue with the book is that there were a ton of characters. I know this is meant to set up some red herrings while also laying groundwork for future characters in […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #502: Series

Posted August 18, 2026 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Book Series I Want to Catch Up On 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. The answer to this is “too many” because I am pretty bad at continuing series unless I’m incredibly obsessed. Even when I really enjoy a book, I struggle to finish it off for whatever reason.

Authors I Need New Books From

Posted August 17, 2026 / Book Lists, Features / 0 Comments

This was a Top Ten Tuesday topic a while ago but I got sad about a few authors that passed away, like Huntley Fitzpatrick and Sophie Kinsella, and couldn’t decide if it felt “right” to include that. I was browsing last week around Goodreads and was reminded of a few authors I am really waiting for new book announcements from, so I decided to finally write this post! I would have included Lucy Keating (I’ve been missing her books!) but she just announced her adult debut, and I’m pumped. Megan Goldin | Read 4 of 5 books | Last book: 2023 Whereeee is the next Megan Goldin book!? I feel like she had a great (and popular!) run of thrillers, and her latest release was a widely read sequel that was featured in BOTM. I’m really hoping she’s been writing and is waiting for a new deal? It hasn’t been THAT long but I’m still eager to at least know if she has a new book coming out at some point… TJ Newman | Read 3 of 3 books | Last book: 2024 Another one from the not-so-distant past, only two years ago, but Newman had three books come out across three years and they were all bangers. I believe they were widely read too, so I don’t think it’s due to lack of publisher interest. I have wondered though how she’ll keep up with the “airplane thriller” theme she’s used. One book involved a hijacking, another involved a plane […]

Recent Reads | Lies Between Us and The Someday Garden

Posted August 13, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

I always read Jessica Goodman‘s books when they come out because they’re typically easy and addicting reads, but overall pretty middle-of-the-road. I don’t know why but she’s an auto-read author for me, despite never giving her books more than 4 stars. This story follows three sisters in the wake of a mysterious death/possible murder of one of the local boys. The youngest, Frankie, decides she’s going to solve the crime, while the others (Lucy and Millie) are hiding secrets of their own. These girls are best friends with the three boys that live next door and that dynamic is heavily featured in the story. I thought some of it was unnecessarily cheesy (the girls last name is Silver and the boys last name is Gold…) but it felt somewhat realistic, with some of them dating each other or having crushes, etc. I liked the small beach town vibes of this one, which made it a good quick summer mystery. Goodman writes in a very accessible way without feeling “young” for a YA book. I know I’m not the audience anymore but I do find them pretty good for adult readers. Nothing groundbreaking happens in this one but I thought the resolution to the mystery was actually interesting and pretty unique. No spoilers obviously but I feel like it was generally something I hadn’t read before. I’m so surprised how Ashley Poston’s have turned into “hit or miss” for me. She’s been one of my favorite authors for years now, back […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #501: Ten Years

Posted August 11, 2026 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Books I Was Reading On This Day Over the Last Ten Years 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. This is such a fun topic! I have been tracking my reading semi-obsessively for years, ever since I started blogging in 2014. I was able to go into my yearly read shelves on Goodreads and scroll to the August 11th timeframe to see what I was reading. If I was reading two books at that time, I did decide to share each book for that year. 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

Books I Want to Read by the End of 2026

Posted August 10, 2026 / Book Lists, Features / 0 Comments

I usually will write this post late in the year to try to keep track of things in the final hours, but I was thinking about a couple of series and books I really want to get to and thought I’d write an early one too. We’re just past the midway point of the year and there are quite a few books I either can’t believe I haven’t read yet OR just keep putting off and would love to check off my list in 2026. Finish off Emma M. Lion I keep putting these three “final” books on my TBR each month because I am definitely determined to read all of them before the end of the year. I know the author plans to continue the series and honestly I don’t know when the next ones (volume 9 and beyond?) are coming, but getting the current books done is a priority. Finish off the Seaside Cafe Mysteries I last read one of these cozy mysteries in the summer of 2024, which is totally crazy. CLOSELY HARBORED SECRETS involves Halloween so I wanted to read it last October and just never got to it. The final two books don’t seem to be holiday-based so hopefully I can just read them through the end of the year, with the fifth book happening sometime around Halloween. Make Progress in The Grandest Game/etc. Series THE INHERITANCE GAMES is one of my favorite series because of the fun world of games Barnes […]

Recent Reads | The Romance Revival and Every Version of You

Posted August 6, 2026 / Book Reviews, Recent Reads / 0 Comments

It’s been far too long since I’ve read a Christina Lauren book and they are absolutely an auto-read/buy author for me. Their last book was a top favorite so I had pretty high expectations for this one, despite not really even reading the synopsis. I am a fan of magical realism (this was not really that) and the science-y books they’ve had in the past (definitely that except heightened) so I was cautiously optimistic. Emery is a scientist in a super secret job with a husband she loves but does not show up for enough. When Luca unexpectedly gets into an accident, Emery acts quickly thanks to her job, but he doesn’t remember anything about his life. She feels like she’s been blessed with a second chance to prioritize her relationship. You definitely have to suspend your disbelief on Emery’s work and what happens with Luca, but the premise was interesting and unique to me. I love romances with a unique concept and Christina Lauren have written quite a few of them. I do prefer when their books are funny with a lot of banter – more like a rom-com – and this was definitely more serious. I liked Luca and Emery and watching them fall for each other again, but there was a little something missing for me. I know a lot of people don’t enjoy second chance romances where the couple already knows each other and has this whole backstory involved, but this is a bit different – […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #500: Cover Freebie

Posted August 4, 2026 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 5 Comments

Cover Freebie: Cover Reveals I NEED and Unreleased Book Covers I love 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 am literally always going to do a cover freebie. I feel like I haven’t been pulled to as many covers as I usually am and my “cover love” shelf on Goodreads is looking a little bleak. I usually wouldn’t want to feature NON covers for this challenge but I figured I should show covers I am really excited to see revealed soon. Covers I Can’t Wait to See Feels Like Falling by Abby Jimenez // I love Abby’s books so I’m always curious to see what the covers look like! Usually they have really pretty colors and illustrated designs. Every Ordinary Thing by Jessica Joyce // I haven’t had success with Joyce’s other two books (I DNFed one and didn’t read her followup) but the covers are totally gorgeous. I can’t wait to see what this new release’s cover looks like… and if I’ll read it! Emily Wilde’s History of Dark Faerie by Heather Fawcett // I put the first book’s cover here as a placeholder because I think all of them are so pretty. When this fourth unexpected book was announced, I got so […]