I’ve always been a fan of mysteries and thrillers. Some of my first memorable favorites were the Pretty Little Liars and Private series, featuring rich teens behaving badly to various degrees. Sometimes murder and death was involved and other times a little less, but still… I didn’t always just read cute contemporary romances when I was a teen! However, I’ve realized that I’m way more likely to read a classic mystery or, more often, a fast-paced thriller. I like the twists and turns and am often disappointed when the book isn’t giving me whiplash with twists. I’m always expecting more from it and that’s probably not fair. One thing I’ve noticed lately is that – despite my nerves about reading them – I really enjoy the slower-burn literary mysteries. I read BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN thinking that it was a bit out of my comfort zone but for some reason it called to me. It was my first book of the year in 2024 and my brief Goodreads review said: This is going to stick with me. I was on the fence about reading it and hadn’t even marked it as “to read” on Goodreads when I bought it on a whim at the store and started it within the week. I don’t follow serial killer true crime stories or podcasts because the victims aren’t at the forefront so my only knowledge of the man “featured” in this book was the Zac Efron movie (watched only because of said actor). This […]

I actually started to draft this post with authors for 2026, thinking it would be a fun idea… and realized I did this exact post last year. As a result, I’m going to update on my success rate from 2025 and then share the authors I hope to read in 2026 below. How Many Did I Read from 2025?   I had nine authors on my list last year including the book I assumed I’d read by them. I ended up reading 6 out of 9 authors, but only 3 of those 6 books were the ones I chose. I really enjoyed A KILLING COLD and PARENTS WEEKEND for my first experiences with Kate Alice Marshall and Alex Finlay, but I didn’t enjoy my first Shari Lapena. I will probably read more of hers to see if this was a fluke though… As for the authors I read but chose different books for, a couple of them ended up being random holiday novellas! I wanted to read Richard Osman but apparently thought I’d try his new series first. The new movie version of THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB on Netflix inspired me to just read his OG, so that’s what I did! The other two authors – Lisa Unger and Ali Brady – released Christmas/Hanukkah novellas that I ended up reading to finish off the year… very much not part of the plan, but still some exposure to their writing styles. The three authors I didn’t get around to were Stephen King, Brandon […]

I’m constantly trying to figure out the best way to get my reading done and share the wealth across all of my various platforms and devices. I’ve talked a lot about how I plan my reading and TBRs (and occasionally throw that out the window), as well as the different reading devices I have (primarily Kindle and Boox Palma) and subscriptions I use (Everand, Spotify, etc.). I thought I’d update some of my general reading preferences, book buying habits, reading and listening formats, and more. Reading Formats – When & Why Audiobooks everywhere Audiobooks are my favorite and I do supplement the VAST majority of my reading with them. Spotify’s audiobooks have made this work sooo seamlessly and I’m truly obsessed with the fact that I can access almost any book there and listen to bits and pieces of it. 15 hours is plenty of listening time for me when I only use them in addition to whatever I’m reading physically or digitally. I always check Everand, Libby, and Hoopla for audiobooks though – listening on one of those services/apps is my priority since those don’t count hours like Spotify. Kindle Oasis for egalleys and already-purchased ebooks Like many people, I’m not interested in supporting Amazon any more than I have to. I’ll get into that a little more when I talk about my Boox Palma. I have a Kindle Oasis that I am obsessed with (sorry to my neglected Paperwhite) but I won’t be buying new ebooks from Amazon. […]

I’ve written in the past about books and authors I’m a little scared of reading for various reasons, but I don’t have many excuses for the authors on this list. I was watching some end of year wrap-ups on booktube and thinking about how I should really read a Brandon Sanderson book at some point. I started to then think about all the authors where I keep adding their books to my TBR or shelves on Goodreads just to never actually read from them. Stacy Willingham was a perfect example until I finally read one of her books this winter for book club. All that being said, here are some authors I really need to get to for the first time in 2025, as well as the books by them I think I’ll start with.   Kate Alice Marshall / Lisa Under / Alex Finlay Here begins the list of five mystery/thriller authors that I’m shocked I haven’t read a book from yet. They’re all well-established and popular authors who release a book each year and have fairly extensive backlists of three or more books. I own a number of Kate Alice Marshall’s books but I think A KILLING COLD, her 2025 release, may be the first I get to. The same could be said for Lisa Unger and Alex Finlay. Both books shown here are their releases coming out this year that sound really interesting to me.   Shari Lapena / Richard Osman / Ali Brady Shari Lapena and Richard […]

Like everyone else, I was so jacked up when Spotify released Audiobooks in their Premium subscription! I’ve been a member for years and have always debated reducing my membership just because I don’t listen to a ton of music. If you see me driving or washing dishes, I’m likely listening to an audiobook or a podcast. The Spotify Audiobook section of the platform allows for 15 hours of listening time per month, with the option of paying a little bit to “top up” with 10 more hours to finish whatever other books you may want to listen to. In the six months(-ish) since this was released, I’ve only gotten close to finishing it once. I elected to top it up because I saw that you can use the extra hours at any point within twelve months – I spent $12.99 for another 10 hours of listening and I didn’t have to use it up right away. How I Use It This feature has been a game-changer for me personally because my favorite way to listen to an audiobook is when I’m already reading the book physically or on my Kindle. I love to switch back and forth to progress faster in my reading. For example, I usually am reading one physical book and one digital book at the same time. I don’t usually listen to three books at once, so I’ll try to grab an audio copy of either my physical or digital read, and switch back and forth between […]

Here again with another chat about mysteries and thrillers! My new fave genre. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this category surpasses romance or contemporary fiction for me this year. Okay, maybe not, but it will definitely come closer! Some related posts for further or introductory reading – I’ve spoken about my favorite mystery/thriller reads (I still lump them together because I’m really bad at remembering the difference…) – both adult and young adult – in recent weeks. Way back in the day I also talked about some of my struggles with YA mystery/thrillers (and just had a general discussion about my favorite tropes back then). As for today, I thought I would go through some of my favorite tropes and plot points in mystery/thriller books. (Similar to my read-bait series but I’m being lazy about the formatting and just calling this a discussion 😉 lol). What are some of the keywords, plot points, and tropes in a mystery or thriller synopsis that lead me to pick the book up? Back when I posted my original discussion about YA specifically, I listed the following tropes and types of books within the genre: Historical fiction mysteries Political thrillers Disappearances Memory loss Long series of mystery novels Paranormal elements Boarding school / secret societies I think these are still fairly accurate but not a perfect representation today. For example, I couldn’t tell you the last time I read a historical mystery, paranormal mystery, or political thriller. (There are some notable exceptions like The […]

I feel like most people fall into two camps: those who keep up with the hottest and most hyped releases, and those who pretty much refuse to do so (with some exceptions). I think I’ve been more of the latter in recent years because my reading time, energy, and interest has been so limited. I’m sick of talking about it and you’re sick of reading about it by now but yes, my reading life has been crappy since mid-2020. This year, it’s like I’m reinvigorated and back to my old self. I’m finding myself more curious about all the books and adding them to my TBR, even when I’m not sure they’re for “me.” I’m going out of my way to read books that are hyped and seeing if they are as good as everyone says. Many of these overhyped releases are usually literary fiction and that’s kind of the main reason I’ve stayed away, especially in recent years. I don’t love books with heavy topics or ones that make me sad (especially for contemporary fiction – it’s different for me if it’s a mystery or thriller). I just don’t gravitate toward those topics when I read because I like to either solve a crime or be happy in a romance haha. I don’t know what it is about this year that has me wanting to keep up with the Joneses but I’m having a lot of fun doing it, if I’m being honest! Instead of saying “ugh I won’t ever […]