Next to be Published November 2025 Sign Up

I've stayed pretty consistently with 80% on reading my ARC's, so I'm fairly happy with that, but there's always more to read, and get that even better if I can, plus I really need to read more of my Edelweiss ARC's! 

The rules for this are the only non-ARC's that I'll be reading in November are ones that are earlier books in series for books I have ARC's of, though again, there's my Book Battle TBR, but I'm trying my best to have as many ARC's as I can! 

My goal as always for these months, is 30 ARC's. So many books to read, so little time! I just want to read all of the books, but I don't have the time to do so! 

What about you guys? Do you do ARC reading months? Happy reading! 

Last Letter, First Letter Reading Challenge Update 96

So I read my next LLFL Book!  

 
I read The Split! 

Yep. Happy reading!

Here's the link to this year's post with my journey.

What it is:

You pick a book, read it. Then you look at the last letter of the title, for example, "The Adventures of Tom Saywer." Then you take that last letter, and search you TBR piles for a book starting with the last letter, so continuing the example, someone could read "Rotters" next, and then a title that starts with "s."

Rules:
1. Have fun!
2. Read!
3. The last letter of the book you read must be the first letter of the next book you read.
4. Words like "the," "a," "and," and those such don't count as the first letter.
5. If a letter becomes overused, like d, e, l, w, ext., and you run out of books that you really want to read for this challenge, cycle in letters that don't often get used like a, b, i, k, p, ext, and note what you cycle in, where!  

Monthly Series November Round Up

In 2025, I going to continue to focus on continuing series. So each month, I'll chose a series that I was current on in a previous year, but has since been continued. A series that I started or continued, but didn't catch up with what was currently published. A series that I haven't touched since 2020. A series that I read from this year, but still need to continue. A series that I haven't started yet, but have been meaning to. Then each month, I'll do one more series from one of these types, so I have 2, it'll just depend on what I'm planning on reading that month. The goal is to finish out as many series as I can, and keep current on the series that are still ongoing. 

So how did I do last month? 

I read Angels & Demons by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Married to the Devil by Lillian Lark, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, Inferno by Dan Brown, State of Decay by James Knapp, The Silent Army by James Knapp, Origin by Dan Brown, The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown, First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong, Element Zero by James Knapp, The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman, Leviathan's Song by Elsie Winters, Magpies & Mayhem by Elsie Winters, Seduction of a Psychopomp: Erogenous Hand Holding and Other Ways to Tame your Reaper by Elsie Winters, so I've finished 1 series, and stayed current with 5 series (one might be finished) so I'm happy with that!

 

This month I've chosen which series, and the ones that got chosen and I'm going to be reading this month are:

Current in a Previous Year:

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

Unfinished in a Previous Year: 

Waxways by Scott Reintgen

Untouched Since 2020:

Front Lines by Michael Grant

Series from This Year:

The Floating World by Axie Oh

Magic and Romance by Sara Raasch

Series to Start:

Book of Arden by Gena Showalter

Monthly ARC's December Round Up

This is my monthly ARC accountability challenge, to list out the books that I have as ARC's that are being published in the coming month, rounding them up at the start of the month, and seeing how well I did at the end, as well as rounding up the next month's books. 

So how did I do last month? 

I read 0 of 16 books. Which isn't great, but I'm about a month behind on blogging, so I'd only made the list up maybe a week before the end of October, so I'm trying to catch up, but I didn't even know what books where going to be on that list, so I can understand why I didn't read any of them, but this is an ARC reading month, so I'm going to be reading some of them now, I hope!

So the ARC's that I have coming out in December are

NetGalley:

Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher - December 1st, 2025

Friends and Liars by Kit Frick - December 2nd, 2025 

A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death by Maxie Dara - December 2nd, 2025 

Seven All Alone by Kirsty McKay - December 2nd, 2025 

The Last Vampire by Romina Garber - December 2nd, 2025 

Edelweiss:

The Library of Fates by Margot Harrison - December 2nd, 2025 

An Archive of Romance by Ava Reid - December 9th, 2025 

7 books, which is much more manageable, and I just want to read these books so much! 

Book Blogger Hop #421, October 31st

Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer from Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer's permission, Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the meme on February 15, 2013. Check out the hop here! 

Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end on Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop's purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

The Question of the week is: Have you ever been haunted by a book's plot or character? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Almost never. Except once that I can think of, a short story in Up to the Challenge by Maria V. Snyder, The Halloween Men. It was short, but the ending was so haunting. I picture a happy ending following the end of the story, but I'm not sure. It's been years now since I read it, but it still gets me. What about you guys? Happy reading! 

First Lines Friday #755, October 31st

 First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. We encourage all of our fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

-Grab your current read(s)
-Share the first line(s)
-Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists!

"'Rokkaku.' Gasp. 'Sorry...' 'Don't space out just because you're in the office. Are you okay? You look like you're having trouble staying alert. Some sugar might help.'"-Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 12 by Yuu Toyota

That sounds like it was nice to offer candy (though the context is of him bragging with that candy is hilarious!( What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Jess Armstrong Author Page

The Story: I saw The Curse of Penryth Hall on NetGalley, and it sounded really great, and I read it and loved it, and I loved the sequel, and I can't wait to read more by Jess Armstrong! 

Website

Series: Ruby Vaughn.

Ruby Vaughn: The Curse of Penryth Hall and her site, my review, The Secret of the Three Fates and her site, my review, The Devil in Oxford and her site, my review.

Angeline Boulley Author Page

The Story: I saw Firekeeper's Daughter around, and it sounded fantastic, so I read it, loved it, and have since loved all of her books, and I can't wait to read more by Angeline Boulley! 

Website

Stand Alone's: Firekeeper's Daughter and her site, my review, Warrior Girl Unearthed and her site, my review, Sisters in the Wind and her site, my review. 

Clear Your S**t Readathon 6.0 2025 Sign Up

So I'm signing up for Round 5 of the Clear Your S**t, hosted by Andee: Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube and El/Art: Blog | Instagram | Twitter. You can check out the twitter here, website here, and the blog! 

This round is taking place November 1st to December 31st! 

Weakness: Maximalist

Strength: CUS Survivor

Weapon: Telephone Book

And here are the books I'm planning on reading: 

Read the most recently added book on your TBR - Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

Read a children's/middle grade book, or one with a child in it - Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Read a book with a potentially intimidating or scary character in it - Cast in Blood by Michelle Sagara

Read a book where someone goes on a journey - Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 6 by Yuu Toyota

Read a book that the title starts with "T" - Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos

Free Space Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 1 by Yuu Toyota

Mini Boss (Weaknesses) - Peace Talks by Jim Butcher

Read a book with magical elements in it - The Demon and the Light by Axie Oh

Read a book with gold on the cover - The Alchemary by Rachel Vincent

Read a book you keep putting off - Princess of Blood by Sarah Hawley

Read a book set in another time - A Moment's Shadow by Anna Lee Huber

Read a book you keep forgetting you have - Watch Me Disappear by Ross Armstrong

Side quest - Read a sapphic book - Greta Gets the Girl by Melissa Marr

Pick a book at random out of a selection of 5 - Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 7 by Yuu Toyota

Read a book with a blue cover - Thirty, Flirty, and Forever Alone by Christine Riccio

Read a book you think has an ugly cover - The Storm by Rachel Hawkins

Read a book with a strange animal or pet - What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher

Free Space - Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 5 by Yuu Toyota

Mini Boss (Strengths)

Read a book set in another world - Alchemised by SenLinYu

Read a book you think Narrator, Ariadne, or Hawthorne would like - The Cuffing Game by Lyla Lee

Read a book you haven't been able to fit into a prompt yet - Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 10 by Yuu Toyota

Read a book you got for a different readathon/challenge - A Whisper in the Walls by Scott Reintgen

Read a book outside of your comfort zone/genre - The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Read a book published in your birth month - Thunder Game by Christine Feehan

Free Space Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 14 by Yuu Toyota

Boss Battle (weapons)

Mini Boss: Weaknesses is to is to deal with your weakness. For me, that's Maximalist. So for me, it's read a book that doesn't fit on your shelves. So I chose Peace Talks by Jim Butcher, my mass market collection has been overspilling since I set it up, and this book was bought after I set it up, so it's been living as a double stacked book since I bought it..

Mini Boss: Strengths is to use your strength. For me, that's CUS Survivor. So for me, it's ?. So I chose 

Boss Battle: Weapons is to use your weapon. For me, that's Telephone Book. So for me, it's ?. 

Random Reads #728, October 30th

Random Reads is a monthly meme (that I'm going to do weekly) hosted by I'm Loving Books to read some books that have been on our TBR piles for a long time. Using Random.org, I got 2198 which turned out to be Embrace the Serpent by Sunya Mara! It's been on my TBR pile since February 1st, 2025, and I added it because it sounded really good! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Third Sentence Thursday #742, October 30th

Third Sentence Thursday is a weekly meme which likes to watch fireworks especially while eating a cookie!

1) Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn't a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.

2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)

3) Post a link to your sentence at Words I Write Crazy (This Blog)

4) Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentences!

"You'll be down here on and off for a while, right?" -Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 8 by Yuu Toyota, page 11.

I know the context, so I'm happy, and I must continue to read on! What are your guy's 3rd lines? Link up below! 

Will the Time Come #752, October 30th

Every Thursday I am going to list a book which I really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! Thanks to Jodie from Books for Company for this meme!

Want to Join?

-Pick a book you have been meaning to read

-Do a post telling us about the book    

-Link the post up in the linky  

-Visit the other blogs

From Goodreads:

She Gets the Girl meets Bottoms in this “thoroughly charming and entertaining” (Kirkus Reviews) young adult sapphic rom-com about two teens who want revenge on the flaky popular girl they’re both crushing on.

Cynical but sensitive Beau Carl is on a mission. She needs to know if ultra-popular Maia Moon—the girl she’s been secretly hooking up with for months—really has feelings for her. But when she shows up at the last big party of the year before prom, she sees Maia about to kiss someone else.

Sweet, inexperienced Charm Montgomery is the “someone else.” And she’s ecstatic that she’s been reading Maia’s flirty behavior in their tutoring sessions correctly. But when the kiss is interrupted and Maia accepts an elaborate promposal from her douchey, popular boyfriend just a few days later, both Charm and Beau end up heartbroken.

There’s only one thing for them to do—get her back. And the only way to do that is for Beau to tutor Charm on how she can get their former crush to fall for her so hard that Maia will dump her ex…and then get dumped for once.

As their plan starts working, Beau and Charm grow closer too, in a way neither expected. But are either of them ready to let go of their scheme to take a chance on something a little sweeter—and scarier—than revenge?

Why the time hasn't come yet...

I don't know, I love Olivia A. Cole's writing and it sounds really good. I want to read it! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Waiting on Wednesday #755, October 29th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop

Expected Publication: November 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

A young detective investigating crimes of the uncanny will learn that bargains can change your fate—for good or ill—in this darkly enthralling fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Others and the Black Jewels series.

Words have power. Intentions matter.

Most people come to Destiny Park for entertainment. They come to have their cards read to tell them a bit about their future. They come to walk through a beautiful park and to eat at the hotel’s restaurant. They come in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Arcana, the paranormal beings who rule the Isle of Wyrd.

But some people come to make a bargain with the Arcana—to change their fate. And some people come for dark purposes.

When Detective Beth Fahey is sent to Destiny Park to inquire about a “ghost gun,” she will begin a strange journey on which she must learn to navigate the Arcana’s unforgiving laws and dangerous attractions. Her search will draw her into seemingly impossible cases and the secrets of her own past as tensions rise between the Arcana and their human neighbors across the river.

For the Isle of Wyrd is a place where the dead ride trains to their final destinations, predators literally become prey, and seekers’ true natures are revealed in the ripples of destiny unknowingly stirred in their wakes.

Who will live? Who will die? And who will be lost in between?

Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree

Expected Publication: November 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller, Fern.

Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!

If only things were so simple…

It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.

A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior surviving on inertia, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.

As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when there isn’t a job to get in the way.

The Strength of the Few by James Islington

Expected Publication: November 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

This highly anticipated follow-up to The Will of the Many—one of 2023’s most lauded and bestselling fantasy novels—follows Vis as he grapples with a dangerous secret that could change the course of history across alternate dimensions.

OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM.

The Hierarchy still call me Vis Telimus. Still hail me as Catenicus. They still, as one, believe they know who I am.

But with all that has happened—with what I fear is coming—I am not sure it matters anymore.

I am no longer one. I won the Iudicium, and lost everything—and now, impossibly, the ancient device beyond the Labyrinth has replicated me across three separate worlds. A different version of myself in each of Obiteum, Luceum, and Res. Three different bodies, three different lives. I have to hide; fight; play politics. I have to train; trust; lie. I have to kill; heal; prove myself again, and again, and again.

I am loved, and hated, and entirely alone.

Above all, though, I need to find answers before it’s too late. To understand the nature of what has happened to me, and why.

I need to find a way to stop the coming Cataclysm, because if all I have learned is true, I may be the only one who can.

This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne

Expected Publication: November 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

From USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Thorne comes This Gilded Abyss, a thrilling lesbian fantasy where Arcane meets Titanic

Sergeant Nix Marr is a damn good soldier, but she's desperate to leave her haunted past in the bioluminescent ocean, buried alongside old friends...and old flames. Unfortunately, even the icy ocean can't extinguish some fires. When Kessandra, everyone's favorite princess—and Nix's loathed ex—requests Nix's help investigating a massacre in the abyssal city of Fall, Nix refuses. Vehemently.

But Kessandra always gets what she wants.

Consigned as Kessandra's bodyguard, Nix grudgingly boards a luxurious submersible that offers the only transportation to Fall. It's frustrating, irritating, how quickly Nix and Kess fall back in sync—much as she tries to fight, Nix can't deny their spark. But Kessandra wasn't truthful—surprise, surprise—and Nix quickly realizes their "investigation" isn't about the massacre, but rather what caused an illness that incites its victims into a violent craze.

When another royal is brutally murdered, it becomes apparent the disease has spread—and no one on the submersible is safe. Suddenly, survival hinges on trusting each other, which would be a hell of a lot easier if Kessandra didn't keep lying. Injured, fighting for their lives, Nix has to decide if she can trust Kessandra again...and what she'll lose this time.

The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

Expected Publication: November 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

Be wary of the legends you hear. Who knows, one day you may be a legend yourself.

After Bristol Keats nearly loses her beloved King Tyghan to the monsters her mother had unleashed, their love deepens to a whole new level. Together, Bristol and Tyghan work to understand and reconcile their differences, moving forward with their common goal of saving Elphame. But when a daring rescue attempt turns into a disaster, and a beloved knight dies, Bristol is forced to confront the fact that her mother is more powerful than she could have ever imagined―and more dangerous. Meanwhile, Tyghan’s heart is laid bare when he encounters his former best friend and betrayer again, Bristol's own father, and must wrestle with a new secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his past into question.

Bristol is Elphame’s last chance for survival, but where do her loyalties truly lie? If she fully embraces the magic that has always been her birthright, she could become a different kind of monster from her mother. Is she willing to risk losing the people she loves most, if it means keeping them safe?

Brimming with dark secrets, lush world-building, and addictive romance, The Last Wish of Bristol Keats is the unforgettable conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Mary E. Pearson's first adult series.

Break Wide the Sea by Sara Holland

Expected Publication: November 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

A young woman cursed with a fatal heartbreak-induced sickness must race against time to find a cure and protect her family legacy from the ancient finfolk that would destroy it, the fiancé that would kill her for it, and the boy who would love her if she forsook it.

The seafaring humans of Kirkrell have always been plagued by finfolk—bloodthirsty fae who haunt the seas, sinking ships and cursing bloodlines. Yet it’s only by hunting magical whales that Kirkrell can prosper. Nineteen-year-old Annie is heir to the Fairfax Whaling Company, but their family's success came at a cost: a curse by which heartbreak turns Fairfaxes slowly into monsters. And six years ago, the shipwreck that killed Annie’s parents left her with scales spreading up her arms, claws sprouting from her fingertips.

The love of her fiancé, August, salved her heart for a while—but when she learns August is maneuvering to take over the company, the curse worsens. Fearing her time is running out, she strikes a bargain with a disreputable young captain, half-finfolk and half-human Silas Price: on a voyage to hunt whales in the far north, Silas will take Annie to the finfolk queen, who can lift the curse in return for a promise to end whaling forever.

As Annie, August and Silas sail north, she is determined to uphold her family’s legacy, but the threat of the finfolk tests her resolve. Lies corrupt her relationship with August; meanwhile a dangerous connection with Silas blooms—but he’s keeping secrets too, and his might be the most dangerous of all.

As heiress, it’s Annie’s responsibility to deliver whale magic to her city. But as heartbreak looms, she must choose between saving herself and her family’s legacy—and hope it doesn’t cost her everyone she loves.

Much fewer books than last week, but all from authors that I love, and I've read a few, and they were so great, and I can't wait to see them all released! What about you guys? Happy reading!

WWW Wednesday #759, October 29th

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Thanks to MizB of Should Be Writing now A Daily Rhythm for starting this meme! And thanks now to Taking on a World of Words for reviving it! 

I'm currently reading Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol 5, and I'm absolutely loving this volume, and this series! 

I read Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol 4, and it was so cute and I enjoyed it so much! 

I'm going to be reading Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol 6 next, and I can't wait, I'm just obsessed with this manga! 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Teaser Tuesday #759, October 28th

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia of The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser comes from Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 1 by Yuu Toyota, page 4.

"Well, how about we take the stairs? All the way to 17...It'll be a great workout.."

Honestly, that kinda sounds like a nightmare, all the stairs, winding around and around to the 17th floor. But must read more now! What about you guys? Happy reading!

The Bookworm Revolution November 2025 TBR

Well it's time to choose my November TBR for The Bookworm Revolution. So here are the books that I've picked this month: 

5pts: Seasonal Read-Alchemised by SenLinYu

5pts: Long Book (450+ pages)-Cast in Blood by Michelle Sagara

5pts: Mood Read-The Alchemary by Rachel Vincent

5pts: Pick and Choose 1-Audiobook-The Demon and the Light by Axie Oh

5pts: Pick and Choose 2-ARC-Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos

5pts: Pick and Choose 3-Favourite Author-Borrowed Book-The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

5pts: Pick and Choose 4-Kingdom of Tomorrow by Gena Showalter

10pts: Revolution Read 1-1HP Club, 161-170

10pts: Revolution Read 2-Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver

10pts: Book You'd Recommend to Team TBR-The Cuffing Game by Lyla Lee

10pts: Random Generator Read-It Had to Be You by Eliza Jane Brazier

15pts: A Book You Got Because the Cover Was Pretty-How Girls Are Made by Mindy McGinnis

15pts: Anticipated Read from 2025-The Same Forward as Backward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

20pts: Book From a Previous Theme You Didn't Get to Read-A Whisper in the Walls by Scott Reintgen

30pts: TBR Veteran (pre2024 release)-The Page-Turners-Watch Me Disappear by Ross Armstrong

So this month, the theme is 2025 release, the Genre Bonus is Your Favourite Genre, and the Inclusivity Bonus is BIPOC Author. Which some are easy and some are hard, so I won't be making a list.

How did I do last month?

5pts: Seasonal Read-Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake-Read!

5pts: Short Book (75-150 pages)-Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood-Read!

5pts: Book you read at night-Holly by Adalyn Grace-Read!

5pts: Pick and Choose 1-Physical Book-Mate by Ali Hazelwood-Read!

5pts: Pick and Choose 2-ARC-First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong-Read!

10pts: Revolution Read 1-The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman-Read!

10pts: Revolution Read 2-Leviathan's Song by Elsie Winters-Read!

10pts: Book that gave you goosebumps-What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally-Read!

15pts: Book that contains one of your favourite monsters-A Scar in the Bone by Sophie Jordan-Read!

20pts: Book inspired by your team-Mothman-Married to the Devil by Lillian Lark-Read!

I read all my TBR, but I didn't finalize all the books until the month was almost done, so I hope I do better with this month! But I can't wait, this theme and bonuses are awesome, and I already have some really great books on the TBR! What about you guys? Happy reading!  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #751, October 27th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #750
Teaser Tuesday #758
WWW Wednesday #758
WOW #754
Will the Time Come #751
Third Sentence Thursday #741
Random Reads #727
First Lines Friday #754
Book Blogger Hop #420
The Reward Challenge Update #736
Wheel of TBR #283
How Well I Stuck to It #588
Wrote that Review Update #585

Week 43 Reviews:

What We Did to Survive 

Venom

Ghost 

Dragon 

Anna Dressed in Blood 

Girl of Nightmares 

Princess of Death 

A Door in the Dark 

Overdue 

Empire of the Damned 

Where the Dark Stands Still 

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Update 74

Phase Out Your TBR: 

Update 17 

Update 18

Update 19

Update 20

Update 21

Update 22 and Wrap Up

OK, so I got 29 posts in 7 days, and it was a decent week, read some really great books, though I'm still massively behind on blogging, I'm still working on catching up. What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read The Intruder!

Who knows what the storm will blow in…

Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.

She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.

The girl won't explain where she came from or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.

The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

In this taut, deadly tale of survival and desperation, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden explores how far one girl will go to save herself.

Wrote that Review Update #585, October 26th

If you want to participate, set a certain amount of reviews to write, and once you make that goal, you can get a reward!

My reviews to reward is writing all of the reviews of the week, and I motivated myself to write my review for What We Did to Survive, Venom, Ghost and Dragon, Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares, 

Princess of Death, A Door in the Dark, Overdue, Empire of the Damned, Where the Dark Stands Still, so I have 8 of 8 reviews written!

And as always, I want to review this week's reviews!

What about you guys? Happy reading!

How Well I Stuck to It #588, October 26th

So I decided that I should have accountability on sticking to what should be in a week, so I'm doing How Well I Stuck to It every Sunday, because my schedule should be fixed in by now!

Week 44:

The Intruder by Freida McFadden

NetGalley: #. Check.

Edelweiss: #. Check.

New Books: 1. Check.

One new book that I just need to read! 

Week 43:

Nothing Planned!

vs.

What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally, Venom by Fiona Paul, Ghost by Kat Blackthorne, Dragon by Kat Blackthorne, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake, Princess of Death by Penelope Barsetti, A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen, Overdue by Stephanie Perkins, Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff, Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

I had a free week, and I read a good number of books, so I'm happy with this, and need it to be next week now! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Wheel of TBR #283, October 26th

I saw Codie's Book Corner doing the Wheel of TBR, and I thought that sounded like a great way to pick what to read from your TBR. So thanks to her! I'll only do 3 spins, because I'm doing this every week, and so it won't make up my total TBR of the week, but it'll be a start!

Rules:

1. For each week of the month, I'll do 3 spins each week to read each week though I do have the rest of the month to read them. Once a prompt is used, I'll randomly choose one from the list, keeping track of how often a colour comes up. If colour comes up 3 or more times in month, I'll do another spin once it comes up 3 times.

2. If I don't read a book that week or at least start it before the end of the month, then for my next week of spins, I have to add a punishment for each book unread. I'll roll for each unread book, and have to apply each and every punishment chosen to the week.

3. Each month I'll get a prompt from my Binge Read Wheel (either specifically picking the prompt, or spinning the wheel) and I have to read at least 9 books, though I can read more!

Of the books from the last week, I read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake, Princess of Death by Penelope Barsetti. 

Binge Read Wheel:

For this month, the wheel picked Yearly Goals. I read Overdue by Stephanie Perkins, so I've read 16/9+.

For this coming month, I chose ARC.

Prompts Used This Week:
Read a Book in the Same Place, Newly Published, DAC Book.

Read a Book in the Same Place-Azure-Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 1 by Yuu Toyota-I'll be reading this is my new reading chair, and it's a manga so it'll read quickly, too. 

Newly Published-Green-Lore Olympus: Volume 9 by Rachel Smythe-This came out at the beginning of October this year, so that's very new!

DAC Book-Violet-A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales-This appears to be Julia Seals debut book, so I'll be reading that! 

Colour Totals:
Red: 0
Orange: 0
Yellow: 1
Chartreuse: 2
Green: 2
Spring Green: 0
Cyan: 0
Azure: 2
Blue: 1
Violet: 1
Magenta: 2
Rose: 1

Prompts for Next Week:

Holly Pick-Red

My Initials-Orange

Odd Chapters-Yellow

Stand Alone-Chartreuse

Oversized Hardcover-Green

Mass Market Paperback-Spring Green

#Bookstagram-Cyan

Less Than 500 Reviews-Azure

Ebook-Blue

Series Started and Unfinished/Current 2024-Violet

ARC-Edelweiss-Magenta

A-Z End Title-Rose

So those are some of the books I'm going to try to read this week. What about you guys? Happy reading!

The Reward Challenge Update #736, October 26th

The Reward Challenge is almost the complete opposite to a book buying ban as you'll end up buying lots of new books throughout the challenge but only after you've completed a certain amount of reading. It was hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly, so thanks to her for starting it!

OK, so I read What We Did to Survive which counts 4 times as a NetGalley Book, SAC 2025 Book and a WoW Book, Venom which counts 3 times as a Historical Fiction 2025 Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, Ghost which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, Dragon which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, Anna Dressed in Blood which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, Girl of Nightmares which counts 3 times as a End of Series 2025 Book and Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, Princess of Death which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, A Door in the Dark which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, Overdue which counts 4 times as a NetGalley Book, SAC 2025 Book and a WoW Book, Empire of the Damned which counts twice as a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book, Where the Dark Stands Still which counts 3 times as a DAC Book and a SAC 2025 Book.

So I have 29 counts which translates to $14.50 this week! I'll use it to buy books!

Week 43 Review: Where the Dark Stands Still

From Goodreads:

Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters.

After a deadly mistake, Liska delves into the dangerous spirit-wood, guarded by a demon to steal a mythical fern flower. Pluck it, and she can use its one wish to banish her own power.

Everyone who has sought the fern flower has fallen prey to the horrors of the Czantory, so when Liska is caught by the demon warden of the wood - The Leszy - a bargain seems better than death: one year of servitude in exchange for the fern flower and its wish.

Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon makes an unsettling discovery. She is not the first person to strike this bargain. And If Liska wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her taciturn host's spool of secrets and face the ghosts—figurative and literal—of his past.

Something wakes in the woods, killing off villagers one by one. Something that Frightens even The Leszy … something that cannot be defeated unless Liska embraces the monster she's always feared becoming.

My Review:


Author: A.B. Poranek
Read: October 24th, 2025
Source: Bought 
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a DAC Book and a SAC 2025 Book! 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: February 27th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 43 Review: Empire of the Damned

From Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Nevernight Chronicle, Jay Kristoff, comes the much-anticipated sequel to the #1 international bestselling sensation EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE.

From holy cup comes holy light;

The faithful hands sets world aright.

And in the Seven Martyrs' sight,

Mere man shall end this endless night.

Gabriel de León has saved the Holy Grail from death, but his chance to end the endless night is lost. Drawn into an uneasy alliance with the mysterious vampire Liathe, Gabriel must now deliver the Grail to ancients of the Blood Esani, and learn the truth of how Daysdeath might be finally undone.

But the Last Silversaint faces peril, within and without. Pursued by terrors of the Blood Voss, drawn into warfare between the Blood Dyvok and duskdancers of the frozen Highlands, and ravaged by his own rising bloodlust, Gabriel may not survive to see the Grail learn her truth.

And that truth may be too awful for any to imagine.

My first review of Empire of the Damned
My Review:

Author: Jay Kristoff 
Series: Empire of the Vampire #2
First Read: March 23rd, 2024 

Read: October 23rd, 2025
Source: Own
Reason Why: Love his writing and this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book! 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: March 12th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 43 Review: Overdue

From Goodreads:

Is it time to renew love or start a new chapter?

Ingrid Dahl, a cheerful twenty-nine-year-old librarian in the cozy mountain town of Ridgetop, North Carolina, has been happily dating her college boyfriend, Cory, for eleven years without ever discussing marriage. But when Ingrid's sister announces her engagement to a woman she's only been dating for two years, Ingrid and Cory feel pressured to consider their future. Neither has ever been with anybody else, so they make an unconventional decision. They'll take a one-month break to date other people, then they'll reunite and move toward marriage. Ingrid even has someone in mind: her charmingly grumpy coworker, Macon Nowakowski, on whom she's secretly crushed for years. But plans go awry, and when the month ends, Ingrid and Cory realize they're not ready to resume their relationship—and Ingrid's harmless crush on Macon has turned into something much more complicated.

Overdue is a beautiful, slow-burn romance full of lust and longing about new beginnings and finding your way.

My Review:


Author: Stephanie Perkins 
Read: October 22nd, 2025
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2025 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Saturday Books
Published: October 7th 2025 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 43 Review: A Door in the Dark

From Goodreads:

One of Us is Lying meets A Deadly Education in this fantasy thriller that follows six teenage wizards as they fight to make it home alive after a malfunctioning spell leaves them stranded in the wilderness.

Ren Monroe has spent four years proving she's one of the best wizards in her generation. But top marks at Balmerick University will mean nothing if she fails to get recruited into one of the major houses. Enter Theo Brood. If being rich were a sin, he’d already be halfway to hell. After a failed and disastrous party trick, fate has the two of them crossing paths at the public waxway portal the day before holidays—Theo's punishment is to travel home with the scholarship kids. Which doesn't sit well with any of them.

A fight breaks out. In the chaos, the portal spell malfunctions. All six students are snatched from the safety of the school’s campus and set down in the middle of nowhere. And one of them is dead on arrival.

If anyone can get them through the punishing wilderness with limited magical reserves it's Ren. She's been in survival mode her entire life. But no magic could prepare her for the tangled secrets the rest of the group is harboring, or for what's following them through the dark woods…

My first review of A Door in the Dark
My Review:


Author: Scott Reintgen
Series: Waxways #1
First Read: April 28th, 2024

Read: October 21st, 2025
Source: Bought
Reason Why: Rereading! And it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book! 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: March 28th 2023

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 43 Review: Princess of Death

From Goodreads:

The Death Series continues with the next generation of dragons and Rothschilds...the ultimate enemies-to-lovers romance.

Twenty four years have passed since Talon and Calista defeated Barron and his sons. The dragons were freed of their mental imprisonment and now they soar proudly in the skies above the Southern Isles.

Twenty four years of peace.

Until Lily Rothschild's galleon sails off course and ends up far to the east...

My parents didn't raise me to be a beautiful princess in a gown. Didn't raise me to sit on the terrace and drink tea and birth children. At twenty-three years old, I'm still unwed and geriatric to most people.

But neither of my parents have ever cared. My mother has always wanted me to live the life that I want. My father raised me like a son. Taught me the sword. How to fish and hunt. How to sail in the dark. And my mother taught me how to speak with dragons.

When I decide to live a life of adventure, I can see the hint of sadness in my father's eyes, the worry that he always wears for me. But he lets me go. Encourages me to live the life that I want without reservation.

It makes me love him all the more.

I set sail with my crew, see white beaches and dense jungle, visit villages across the world, even take a vampire for a lover. But our ship becomes caught in a storm and is blown off course, and I find myself in the one place my father warned me to never visit.

We get stuck on the rocks of an island and have to wait for the tide to rise before we can leave. But this island is strange, everything is dead and the mist is suffocating on the lungs .And then I hear my name, spoken in a voice deep and powerful, an endless echo in my mind. "Lily Rothschild -- come to me."

A behemoth of a man, over six feet tall and with muscles thicker than tree trunks, he stands before me in a midnight blue uniform with a broadsword across his back. With deep brown hair, his eyes are dark like the earth and hard like a tombstone. I know who he is without an introduction.

The God of The Underworld.

"Daughter of Talon Rothschild, King of the Southern Isles, a man who doesn't pay his debts. You shouldn't have come here."

I'm a woman who fears nothing -- but I fear him. My heart races in a way it never has. This is an opponent I could never match. But there's also an indescribable burn between us. Despite how terrifying he is, he's also the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on. He stares at me with an intensity and a confidence none of my lovers have ever shown. He can touch me with just his eyes.

The God of the Underworld, the most evil being in our world, makes his demand. "Pay his debt. Or I will come to collect."

He doesn't want my life or my soul. He wants my body underneath his, at his beck and call, a servant to his desires, to take me into his dark bedchamber in his world and visit me in mine. He's the king of demons and I shouldn't want his touch...but I do.

And I want to save my father's soul.

My Review:


Author: Penelope Barsetti
Series: Death #5
Read: October 21st, 2025  
Source: Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book!
Publisher: Hartwick Publishing
Published: June 13th 2025

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 43 Reviews: Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares

From Goodreads:
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

From Goodreads:
It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor

My first review of Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares
My Review:


Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #1, 2
First Read: April 18th, October 15th, 2012

Read: October 20th, 20th, 2025
Source: Own
Reason Why: Rereading, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Books, and Girl of Nightmares is a End of Series 2025 Book!
Publisher: Tor Teen
Published: August 30th 2011, August 7th 2012

Anna Dressed in Blood: 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Girl of Nightmares:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 43 Reviews: Ghost, Dragon

From Goodreads:

Ash Grove is a fine place to die. 

Blythe has accepted her fate and is tired of running. Who would miss her anyway? She attends her new and eccentric town's month long Halloween masquerade for one last party before meeting her end. But what will she find...and what will find her? 

A man in a skeleton mask is watching... and he's not the only one.  

She's being hunted by a devil she knows and a ghost she doesn't. But all is not what it seems in Ash Grove. Not all masks are made of paint and leather. Some are made of flesh and smiles. What's lurking behind the ordinary facade in this space that swings between Mayberry and Gotham? 

Ghost has killed before, he'll kill again, and his sights are set on Blythe. 

The grown up ghost story for anyone who loves Halloween and is ready to meet their new favorite monster.

Tricks and treats lurk around every jack o'lantern and gravestone in this grown up Halloween themed paranormal romance. Meet witches, vampires, wolves, and ghouls, and maybe a few odd birds and pirates too. Sink your teeth into this paranormal urban fantasy romance and get ready for all the Halloween vibes. Come to Ash Grove with an open mind, choose your mask, sit, and stay a spell... if you dare. 

Dual POV, spicy, and spooky. Content information on author's site.

From Goodreads:

Dragon and the crew go in search of his family. They'll find allies, and foes, in unlikely places as they travel to a mysterious castle in the sky... and a brand-new spooky town where new and old hauntings converge. They may be a world away but secrets and evils have a way of following them wherever they go.

This is a dark polyamorous romance intended for readers 18+. There is no cheating. Please check CW's on the author's site before reading.

My Review:


Author: Kat Blackthorne
Series: The Halloween Boys #1, 2
Read: October 19th, 19th, 2025 
Source: Ebook.bike  
Reason Why: Sounded good, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Books!
Publisher: Dark Hearts Press, LLC
Published: October 1st 2022, February 14th 2023

Ghost:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Dragon:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars