Weekly recap - Aug 23 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

The Two of Us at the End of the World - hope core apocalypse. This is a DNF review due to my difficulties with a writing choice by the author, but I highly recommend the story.

Rise - claustrophobic terror on a mothballed spaceship

The Pumpkin Bride - the most autumny autumn that ever autumned

The Book was Better - a completely subjective look at books better than their movies, and vice versa

This week, I read

The Book was Better - see above

Dive Bar at the End of the Road - still deciding how I feel about the ending

When Life Gives you Corpses - another great story with a minor formatting thing that just bugged me (no pun on the giant praying mantis there)

The Best Christmas Ever - should have been completely stressful. Was somehow lovely and gentle.

Coming up 

It's all about zombies and other dead things this week.

The Book was Better by Louise Wilder

Yes, book lovers cry! Hollywood never gets it right – they gloss over crucial moments, the dialogue sounds bizarre and the characters never look like they’re supposed to.

But what about Jaws or The Godfather? These films are so much better than the potboiler novels they came from. And then there are some perfect adaptations. Doesn’t every reader’s heart sing when they watch Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility?

In this rollicking adventure through the towering heights and unplumbed depths of book to screen adaptations, Louise Willder, the critically acclaimed author of Blurb Your Enthusiasm, uncovers what makes a good adaption, how some can be so bad, and why we insist on telling the same stories over and over and over.*

*See: Pride and Prejudice 1940, 1980, 1995, 2005, 2027, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Austenland, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Fire Island, Lost in Austen, Bride and Prejudice…

The Pumpkin Bride by Fiona Buttercup

Some curses just need a cozy fire, a little magic, and a second chance to break them.

A cursed knight.

Sir Bram Duncan was once a knight of legend in Harvest Hollow—until the whim of a jealous prince and the trickery of an autumn sprite turned him into the hulking orc Jask Bone-Cracker, and tethered him to Grimroot Farm. For three long, lonely years, he’s hidden his monstrous form and the truth of what happened the night he lost everything, including his true love, Princess Marigold.

A runaway princess.

Fleeing an arranged marriage to the vain and intolerable Prince Crispin, Marigold finds a safe haven when she stumbles across Jask’s charmed pumpkin farm deep in the forest. Sensing glimmers of gentleness—and a surprising talent for baking—beneath the grumpy orc’s imposing exterior, she begins to feel a familiar longing she believed dead when her Bram disappeared.

One true love.

As magic stirs and pies are baked, truths about Jask’s curse begin to surface. But curses don’t break easily, and wronged princes don’t capitulate. As their peace is threatened, Jask and Marigold must decide: cling to the lies that protect them, or risk everything for a love that could set them free.

Happy #BookBirthday! Aug 20 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there is ONE book on our lists publishing!

Rise by Ron Wolff

The ship that brought them hope… now wants them dead.

Adam is the first—and only—human born on Mars. He survived the massacre that killed most of his colony. Now he just wants to keep the others alive.

But Earth has sent new a documentary crew, five genius teens, and a mission wrapped in lies. They don’t believe what happened here. They were told there’d been an incident. They think the survivors are just traumatized kids.

Until it starts again.

Forced to abandon the Martian surface, the survivors take refuge aboard the orbiting starship Horizon. But the nightmare came with them. Something that doesn’t just kill.

It learns. It evolves.

As the infection spreads and the ship turns against them, Adam must lead a fractured crew through a living maze of metal and memory—before there’s no one left to save.

The Two of Us at the End of the World by C A Fletcher - DNF review

What if one person was your whole world?

In the overgrown ruins of a world almost empty of people, the only person Mouse has ever known is Cat, the brave girl who carried him inland, away from the sickness that came from the sea. When strangers arrive with a choice to be made, nothing will ever be the same.

Almost two hundred years earlier, a couple are falling in love as the world is dying out. When they discover they are two of the few people still able to have a child, so do the authorities. They may be separated from Mouse and Cat by an insurmountable gulf of time, but some truths family comes in all shapes and sizes, so does love.

And even at the end of the world, hope dies last.

Weekly recap - 16 Aug 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed - redemption that sticks

Daggerbound - grumpy immortal sword spirit meets marshmallow scholar (that's a scholar who is a marshmallow, not someone who studies marshmallows. Is that a job? I want it.)

A Fellowship of Cats and Curses - or Curses and Cats, I keep getting it backwards

A Fellowship of Academics and Arts - the currently-final Adenashire book

This week, I read

Rise - space horror

The Pumpkin Bride - autumn cosy

All the Hidden Places - short stories

Coming up 

There is an actual gap in my schedule. Don't scare it.

A Fellowship of Academics and Arts by J Penner

What if sharing a cookie with your enemy made your dreams come true?

Verdreth and Ervash, both orcs, are about to embark on the most “terrifying” adventure in their lives together… becoming grandpas.

Their adopted human daughter, Arleta, is ready to give birth in mere hours. Of course Verdreth is thrilled to take on this new role with his long-time partner since he never imagined they’d experience such an honor… particularly with the rocky start to their relationship.

To pass the time, one of their friends asks Verdreth to tell the tale of how he and Ervash met. He’s reluctant, since they were very different orcs when they met over thirty years prior. But with Ervash’s permission, (and to help him calm his nerves) he starts at the beginning…

Since, in fact, it’s always a good place to start.

A Fellowship of Curses and Cats by J Penner

When life gives you cats, open a café.

When a spell gone wrong brings more than just magic to Theo Brylar’s life, things in Adenashire get a little… purrplexing. Suddenly, cats of all shapes and sizes are drawn to him, much to the amusement of Faylin the forest lynx (and Theo’s “house cat”). But when Faylin suggests opening a cat café next to Arleta’s bakery, Theo finds himself juggling more than feline antics.

Between his long-lost father reappearing, his mother’s distaste for that fact, and the lingering grief of his brother’s death, Theo’s family drama surfaces at the most inconvenient time. With Arleta pregnant and facing her own fears, Theo must untangle his emotions and reconcile with his past...all while keeping his cat café (and family) from spiraling out of control.

Escape to Adenashire for a heartfelt, cozy fantasy filled with warm drinks, the healing power of love, friendship, and furry companions.

Happy #BookBirthday! 13 August 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are TWO books on our lists publishing!

Daggerbound by T Kingfisher

Learned Edmund, a disillusioned scholar, is transporting yet another precious relic from one stuffy temple to a different stuffy temple. Another great adventure for the ages…

But when Edmund is set upon by bandits, in desperation, he breaks the cardinal rule and grabs for the relic, an ancient sword. To his surprise, instead of unsheathing a rusty, ancient weapon, an alarmingly handsome man appears, wielding daggers of blue steel and cutting the thieves down.

This man is the Dervish, an immortal warrior who’s been trapped for centuries in a sword of enchanted steel, and is angry as hell about it. He hates the curse that put him there, and he wants to hate Edmund, just as he has hated every wielder before him.

But the damned scholar is just so sweet and clever and kind. And while the Dervish may be able to protect Edmund from bandits, cultists, dragons, and strange inhuman diplomats, he may find it much harder to protect his own heart.

Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed by S B West

Abandoning his days of beheading to live out an undercover retirement as a goat farmer, Morfran finds himself accidentally leading a rebellion against the kingdom’s Dark Lord, who, inconveniently, is him.

Morfran the Beheader is done being the Dark Lord of the kingdom of Ruthven. He’s tired of managing minions, and his wife, Queen Ravana, has officially exceeded his personal comfort level of evil. Yet when he books it for the hills with the hopes to live out his days disguised as a goat farmer, his aspirations are tragically cut short when Morfran’s former soldiers catch up with plans to behead him.

Morfran’s only chance at safety is to seek refuge within a tiny forest dwelling where no one recognizes him. But he quickly learns the village is the base for a brewing rebellion against his rule. And after he reluctantly saves said village from an attack, he’s voted the one to lead the charge. Against himself.

Morfran helps the rebels while planning to desert them at the soonest moment. But as he fights by their side, he discovers that they’re actually quite pleasant—especially the lovely assassin who has been out for his blood for a decade. Too bad Ravana has sent Morfran’s best men to nip the revolt in the bud, and too bad his unlikely allies would burn him alive if they learned he’s no hero, but actually their Dark Lord in disguise. Because even Morfran knows that only a hero would stand up to Ravana and fight for friends, and he’s certainly no hero.

Right?

Weekly recap - 9 Aug 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

Tendrils - 80s cartoon has actual lasting effects

Sunny Days - the story of Sesame Street and its stablemates

There and Back Again - Lord of the Rings films in the words of the cast and crew

I am the Night - the Caped Crusader's life as a cartoon

This week, I read

A Fellowship of Curses and Cats/A Fellowship of Academics and Arts - the last two Adenashire books

The Two of Us at the End of the World - the last few humans reckon with what's left of the world

Yeah, I was a bit back and forth there, wasn't I?

Coming up 

Mixing horror with cozy. Corror? Hozy!

I am the Night by Daniel Dockery

At a time when televised cartoons—especially within the superhero genre—were often over-looked, The Animated Series introduced an entire generation of soon-to-be Batman fanatics to the caped crusader. The series triumphed into what is largely considered one of the best superhero cartoons of all time, and the best depiction of Batman mythology in any format.

But the road to genre-defying and genre-defining success was hardly guaranteed. Along the way, co-creator Bruce Timm and his team of artists at Warner Bros Animation battled a landscape prejudiced against all things Batman. Internal struggles led the writing team and the network to debate everything (literally everything) about how best to depict Batman—from whether or not the eco-friendly hero would have a recycling bin in the Batcave to how many women he was allowed to kiss onscreen.

In I Am the Night, Daniel Dockery lovingly deep dives into The Animated Series and the cartoon renaissance it inspired, becoming the definitive primary source for new and old fans of the series alike. Including exclusive interviews with the team behind the cartoon and many never-before-shared insights about the series, I Am the Night will surprise even the staunchest of Batman enthusiasts and capture what made people first fall in love with the series. As many ups and downs as the DC Cinematic Universe may have, Batman is eternal–and so is The Animated Series.

There and Back Again by Sam Moore

The definitive, unofficial oral history of the making of the iconic and beloved Lord of the Rings film trilogy—featuring interviews with cast and crew, who give the inside story of the landmark series twenty-five years after its original release.

Celebrate the beloved, influential, and truly epic Lord of the Rings films with this essential read following the making of the trilogy, as told by cast and crew members. Journalist Sam Moore weaves together interviews with stars like Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, and Andy Serkis, to the writers and brilliant crew members who revolutionized filmmaking special effects and brought to vivid life what was thought of as a project as impossible to adapt as the hobbits scaling Mount Doom.

Twenty-five years after the first film’s premiere, There and Back Again takes readers behind the scenes into director Peter Jackson’s battles to get the trilogy made, the groundbreaking motion capture special effects that helped bring Gollum to life, and how the cast became a true fellowship that remains bonded to this day, complete with matching tattoos.

Through Sam Moore’s insightful and entertaining interviews with almost a hundred cast and crew members, There and Back Again is the definitive account of the making of these modern movie classics, which was almost as thrilling as the films themselves.

Happy #BookBirthday! Aug 6th 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are TWO books on our lists publishing!

Sunny Days by David Kamp

In 1970, on a soundstage on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a group of men, women, and Muppets of various ages and colors worked doggedly to finish the first season of a children’s TV program that was not yet assured a second season: Sesame Street. They were conducting an experiment to see if television could be used to better prepare disadvantaged preschoolers for kindergarten. What they didn’t know then was that they were starting a cultural revolution that would affect all American kids. In Sunny Days, bestselling author David Kamp captures the unique political and social moment that gave us not only Sesame Street, but also Fred Rogers’s gentle yet brave Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood; Marlo Thomas’s unabashed gender-politics primer Free to Be...You and Me; Schoolhouse Rock!, an infectious series of educational shorts dreamed up by Madison Avenue admen; and more, including The Electric Company, ZOOM, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. It was a unique time when an uncommon number of media professionals and thought leaders leveraged their influence to help children learn—and, just as notably, a time of unprecedented buy-in from American parents.

Kamp conducted rigorous research and interviewed such Sesame Street figures as Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, Sonia Manzano, Emilio Delgado, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, and Frank Oz, along with Free to Be’s Marlo Thomas and The Electric Company’s Rita Moreno—and in Sunny Days, he explains how these and other like-minded individuals found their way into children’s television not for fame or money, but to make a difference.

Fun, fascinating, and a masterful work of cultural history, Sunny Days captures a wondrous period in the US when a determined few proved that, with persistence and effort, they could change the lives of millions. It’s both a rollicking ride through a turbulent time and a joyful testament to what Americans are capable of at their best.

Tendrils by Carrie Harris

Sixteen-year-old Leigh Carrol has returned to Lovely Locks Kingdom and reclaimed her place as Lady Lovely Locks. A dark enchantment seeps through the forests, unraveling the magic that once protected the land. Leigh must confront whispers of an ancient evil once thought vanquished: Lady Knot.

With her loyal Pixietails, her fiercely brave companions Brandish, Maiden Curlycrown and Maiden Fairhair, and a heart full of courage, Leigh must journey beyond the borders of her world—into the Forgotten Wilds, where truth tangles with illusion, and every strand of trust can be broken. But as old rivalries spark into unexpected alliances, and destiny braids itself with danger, Leigh discovers that the hardest battles are not always fought with swords—but with forgiveness, sacrifice, and the strength to change.

Weekly recap - 2 Aug 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

Gingerbread Bones - survival horror becomes fairytale horror

A Reader's Guide to Terry Pratchett - from the great man's earliest beginnings to 1999

The Killing of a Chestnut Tree - the gay Sherlock Holmes we always deserved

How to find a Nameless Fae - middle aged heroine is competent, film at eleven

This week, I read

There and Back Again - the history of the best films ever

Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed - sounds like a Tumblr prompt, is actually really good

The Killing of a Chestnut Tree - yeah, I got a bit close to posting date there

Daggerbound - Angry immortal sword spirit meets marshmallow scholar

It was cosies and fun this week!

Coming up 

Cosy, romance and heartfelt, what else could you ask for?

TBR check in 

Because I've been on holiday, my TBR is at 38 (it'll probably shoot back up when I go back to work next week!) Fantasy is still the biggest, but comtemp, romcom, sci fi and horror are all hanging in there, and I expect horror to grow a little over the next month!

How to Find a Nameless Fae by A J Lancaster

What happens when a first-born bargain goes wrong?

Princess Gisele was pledged in payment before she was even born, after her mother failed to guess a fae sorcerer’s true name. Gisele has spent her life dutifully preparing for the day that fearsome mage will return to claim her.

But it’s been decades, and he still hasn’t shown up.

Which would be great, if the unfulfilled fairytale-debt wasn’t wreaking increasing havoc on her life. When it reaches unbearable levels, Gisele takes matters into her own hands. Terrifying sorcerer or not, she’ll hunt him down and force him to relinquish the debt.

But instead of the evil mastermind she expects, she finds a nameless lord of a magical house. He wants nothing to do with the angry knife-wielding spinster on his doorstep, but the fairytale-debt has other ideas.

Now magically bound to her lifelong nemesis, the only way to break the magic between them is to work together to find the nameless lord’s lost name. Assuming they don’t strangle each other first.

The Killing of a Chestnut Tree by Oliver K Langmead

Everyone in England knows Havelock Harper, the celebrated consulting detective, from the cases published in the papers. If any of them read his secret files, they would discover a very different man. His most fantastical cases must never reach the public eye, and nor must the love he shares with his stalwart companion, the formidable Major Sebastian Wright.

The Duke of Farleigh has been killed, and Havelock Harper summoned to the secluded Farleigh Forest to solve his murder. When he and Sebastian arrive, they discover a greater mystery. The trees of Farleigh have begun to speak, writing words into their leaves and bark. The victim is one of those an ancient chestnut, cruelly chopped down.

Why has the forest begun to speak? Why would anyone cut down the Duke? And how can Farleigh’s gentle, quiet paradise survive this crime?

Blog Tour: Finding Arthur Whittle

Hi all! We're taking part in the blog tour for Finding Arthur Whittle today. Follow the jump for an extract and all the details of this exciting read!

Happy #BoookBirthday! 30 July 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are FOUR books on our lists publishing!

A Reader's Guide to Terry Pratchett by Marc Burrows

Terry Pratchett sold over 100 million books worldwide, was translated into forty languages, and became one of the most widely loved writers of the twentieth century. His work, including the Discworld series, is often praised for its wit and invention, but less often examined for what it really is: one of the most sustained and coherent philosophical projects in modern popular fiction.

From the author of The Magic of Terry Pratchett, the Locus Award-winning first biography of Sir Terry, The Terry Pratchett Reader’s Guide takes Pratchett seriously as a literary figure without taking the fun out of him. Moving chronologically from his earliest short stories through to 1999’s The Fifth Elephant, this first volume charts how an angry young journalist from Beaconsfield turned genre parody into something far more ambitious: a body of work concerned with belief, power, identity, and what happens when enough people believe the same thing at once. A second volume will cover The Truth (2000) through to Pratchett’s final novel, The Shepherd’s Crown.

A reader’s guide written for readers, not academics, complete with jokes and footnotes of its own, each chapter explores a book’s themes, cultural context, and place in Pratchett’s development, tracing the connections between the man, the work, and the world around him.

Whether you’ve read every Discworld novel multiple times or are wondering where to begin, the Readers Guide is a new way to understand what Pratchett achieved: a serious meditation on justice, belief, and what it means to be human — with terrible puns, endless cups of tea, and the occasional joke about bums.

Gingerbread Bones by Lindsay Lovise

They're being hunted…

When sixteen-year-old Georgie and her troublemaking brother are shipped off to the wilderness for their stepmother’s newest reality show, Georgie is convinced it’ll be the worst experience of her life. Two weeks. No phones. Hiking. Camping. Cameras catching every humiliating second.

Then she meets Mack Gray. Tattooed, unreadable, and―among a cast of kids already branded as trouble―he’s the one she’s sure is dangerous.

One night, the counselors are chanting affirmations around the fire. By morning, they’re gone.

But the kids are not alone.

Georgie can feel it, stalking them from the shadows―watching, waiting, picking them off one by one. Whatever it is, it isn’t just hunting.

It’s playing.

And in this game, there seems to be only one ending: no one gets out alive.

Weekly recap - 26 Jul 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

Just as long as we're Together - classic teen story that still hits today

Here's to you, Rachel Robinson - the companion to the above

and then we screamed - teen anger is visceral 

The Imagitorium - Sarah Beth Durst's new triumph

This week, I read

Gingerbread Bones - a teen horror with a great fairytale link

Tendrils - the follow up to the story based on an 80s cartoon

How to Find a Nameless Fae - fantasy with a great fairytale link

I am the Night - a close look at the creation of the animated Batman show

Sunny Days - a look at Sesame Street and its contemporaries

Apparently I just wanted to read things based on other things this week

Coming up 

It's back to cosy fantasy while I'm on my holiday!

The Imagitorium by Sarah Beth Durst

It’s really very impolite to ask anyone to risk life, limb, and extra limbs without giving them a choice.

Shy daydreamer Amelia has been looking forward to this day for as long as she can the day she, as a ten-year-old, finally gets to enter the magical Imagitorium and create her very own imaginary friend.

But when she walks out of the Creation Room with Ruru, a fluffy, bearlike being with butterfly wings who gives excellent hugs, and into a scene of pure chaos, she quickly realizes that something’s gone very wrong. The Imagitorium is so much bigger than anyone outside knows, filled with dragons and sea monsters and candy cyclones, and now it’s starting to fall apart. The Caretaker is missing, and it’s up to Amelia to find her.

Amelia knows that she’s never been a hero, but… maybe she can still help?

and then we screamed by Holly Bourne

Everything was perfect in the small town of Maple Lakes...until the cheerleaders started screaming.

Clover wishes something would happen in her boring high school - so she can spend more time with her crush Brody, covering it for the school newspaper. But she never wished for this...

When cheerleader Abigail starts screaming in the middle of an exam, people laugh. But as more girls start breaking into uncontrollable screaming fits, it's clear something is seriously wrong. The authorities don't have a clue what's happening - so it's up to Clover and Brody to investigate. What they discover is a darkness beneath the perfect veneer of Maple Lakes - and it is spreading fast.

Happy #BookBirthday! 23 July 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are TWO books on our lists publishing!

Here's to you, Rachel Robinson by Judy Blume

Trouble in Rachel's family is spelled with a capital C—for Charles.

From the outside, Rachel looks like the perfect daughter in the perfect family. She’s a straight-A student, a gifted musician, and a good friend. But her older brother, Charles, seems determined to ruin everything. Rachel feels as if it’s all falling apart. Her best friends, Stephanie and Alison, find Charles funny. They urge Rachel to lighten up and enjoy the end of seventh grade. Easy for them to say. Not so easy for Rachel. Not even when Jeremy Dragon, the coolest boy in ninth grade, notices her. Is it possible that perfection isn’t the key to an exciting life?

Just as long as we're Together by Judy Blume

Stephanie and Rachel have been best friends for years, in spite of their differences. Alison is new in town, and immediately becomes an integral part of their group. But is it possible to have two best friends? And how can you call anyone a friend if you can't tell them your most painful secrets?

Weekly recap - 19th July 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

Natural Selection - boy vs bear has never been so literal

Dead Teenager Movie - horror that's aware of its own tropes

You Only Live Twice - romance that's genuinely different

Alex, by Proxy - a difficult read, but worth it

This week, I read

and then we screamed - Holly Bourne being angry as only Holly Bourne can

The Imagitorium - I can't even talk about this yet

A Reader's Guide to Terry Pratchett - a look at the first half of his career, from schoolboy writings to halfway through the Disc

Coming up 

It'll depend on whether Edelweiss approves me, but I'm hoping for a media themed week!

Alex, by Proxy by Karen Cantor

HARROWING NEW DETAILS IN ‘MONSTER MOMMY’ CASE… SHOCKING INFORMATION SURFACES AS ‘MONSTER MOMMY’ CASE HEADS TO TRIAL… HOW COULD A MOTHER POISON HER SON?

Welcome to sixteen-year-old Alex’s life, ripped straight from the headlines.

Alex is a victim of Munchausen by proxy, but he’s also a witty, sarcastic kid with unusually good crossword skills and a penchant for astronomy. At least he used to be. Now that he’s recovered from years of illness induced by his mother, he sort of has to figure out who he is all over again… And most importantly, he’ll have to decide if he can testify against the woman who gave birth to him.

As Alex awaits the trial, his friends convince him to start a podcast as a way to tell his story. Together, they create “Lethal Lullaby.” The podcast brings Alex closer to his old life—hanging out with friends, cracking jokes, having fun… At the same time, new memories surface and disturbing revelations come out, forcing Alex to acknowledge that the podcast could be making things worse. It seems like he’s got deeper issues than he’d like to admit–and this time, he can’t blame them on his mom.

Day by day, Alex’s mental health crumbles, until he can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction. Should he trust himself to testify? And if he gets up there, what version of the truth will he share?

You Only Live Twice by Autumn Allen

Barely one week into senior year of high school, Boston native Zakiyyah is making her 2012-2013 Get Free Plan.

Step one: quit high school. (PSA: There are other ways to get to college!)

Step two: live like it’s Ramadan year-round.

As she gets deeper into her Plan, she starts to wonder if there’s someone out there who would be a good companion. To everyone’s surprise, Zakiyyah decides she wants to get married. But there are some complications.

Problem one: she’s never met a guy she liked. Zakiyyah’s family (reluctantly) and friends (eagerly) agree to support the search.

Problem two: what’s the secret to choosing a good life partner?

Enter Musa, by way of mutual friends. With marriage in mind, Zakiyyah and Musa get to know each other, progressing from email to instant messaging to phone calls. Things are going well… thrillingly well… until tragedy strikes Boston. In a moment of heightened emotion and stress, Zakiyyah and Musa have their first major disagreement.

Zakiyyah can call the whole thing off. But with or without Musa, what does it mean to live on her own terms?

Happy #BookBirthday! 16 July 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are FIVE books on our lists publishing!

Dead Teenager Movie by Cethan Leahy

She loved scary movies… until she had the starring role.

A spree of murders is haunting Cork city, leaving behind stories of ghost parties and dismembered janitors, of dead diner owners and folkloric entities.

Die-hard horror buff April ignores it all for one perfect weekend of debauchery with Carl and his group of rich, hot and dangerously irresistible friends.

Together, they head to the West Cork countryside for an unforgettable trip before college begins. But in a remote mountainside house with views to die for, the dream party turns into a nightmare. Because some stories don't stay stories. And someone, or something, inside the house wants more than fear. They want blood.

Natural Selection by Clare Edge

When it comes to boys and bears, always choose the bear.

The girls of Riverside are raised to grin and bear it. Until three of them can’t anymore.

Megan Lawless (aka Outlaw): Riverside born and raised. Lettered in volleyball, basketball, and track. HATES Kevin Johnson, but tolerates him for her best friend, Megan.

Megan Deloria: Outlaw’s ride or die. Riverside royalty and soon to be valedictorian. Shoo-in for the homecoming crown alongside her boyfriend, Kevin.

Meghan Bach (aka Bee): Moved to Riverside last year. Still the “new girl.” Pulls tarot cards daily. Just wants to forget what happened last summer at that party with Kevin.

And then there’s Kevin Johnson: Riverside’s Golden Boy. Only scared of two things—the dark and bears. Soon, he’ll be scared of three more.

Because Megan, Megan, and Meghan are done with Kevin, and they’re about to teach everyone in their tiny rural town the new natural order: Predator, meet prey.

Weekly recap 12th Jul 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

Moss'd in Space - Firefly vibes, botany based tech

Where Lost Girls Go - is it a cult? Is it not a cult?

Unsilent Heart - Death takes a vacation. Or, more accurately, dies.

Not with a Bang - family struggles with issues during apocalypse

This week, I read

Dead Teenager Movie - teen dances on the edge of meta awareness

 Alex, by Proxy - a Munchasen's victim attempts to understand why

just as long as we're together AND Here's to You, Rachel Robinson - reissues of Judy Blume's classics

Coming up 

Teen angst, cosy fantasy and mystery.

Not with a Bang by Temi Oh

When the world finally ends, will you see it coming? Will you be prepared?

In the summer sky, a celestial object is fast approaching, due to slingshot around the Earth and disappear again. And everyone has their own theory on what it is – a meteor, a planet, aliens?

Meanwhile, the Minton family is in crisis. Briar Minton can't stop thinking about the girl who went missing six months ago. Investigating her disappearance takes her down a rabbit hole, deep into the world of a cult and the extraterrestrial intelligence they claim is communicating with them.

At the same time, her father Marcus is becoming more unhinged after losing his job as a policeman, becoming obsessed with doomsday prepping and forcing his wife and four daughters along for the ride. He is completely convinced, and maybe even a little bit hopeful, that the apocalypse is imminent.

As the celestial object approaches, the Mintons reach breaking point.

Can they find their way back to each other, at the end of the world?

Unsilent Heart by Conrad Walters

A novel about death that’s full of life

Something strange is happening in Australia. People who should be dying, aren’t – even a tourist dismembered by dingoes. The non-deaths create havoc across the country, but sixteen-year-old Nick Hartford just feels relief. His terminally ill grandfather can now live forever.

But Nick soon realizes eternal life can bring eternal suffering.

Determined to help his beloved grandfather, Nick investigates a phenomenon that traps people between life and death, leaving them unable to communicate with the living or join the dead. What he discovers is linked to the last person to die: a reclusive neighbor who may be Death himself.

As his grandfather’s condition worsens, Nick and three classmates race to unravel the mystery. Their urgency grows when he learns one of those friends could be next to enter the chasm between living and dying.

Darkly funny and deftly paced, Unsilent Heart is a coming-of-age novel about what death adds to life, the demands of loyalty, and how to find love when time is short.

Happy #Bookbirthday! 9th Jul 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are THREE books on our lists publishing!

Where Lost Girls Go by Kody Keplinger

There are many reasons why five girls have ended up living with Sol in a cabin in the Kentucky mountains. But the girls don't talk about what has brought each of them here or who they were before. They have become sisters and are grateful to have a place to call home. 

Iris knows she owes everything to Sol. He has promised to keep them safe from their pasts. All he asks in return is for their loyalty, which Iris freely gives. With her sisters and Sol as her family, she feels happier than she has in a long time. 

Until a new girl arrives and everything changes. Sol christens her Rose and the sisters are quick to welcome her. Iris is drawn to Rose, but as they grow closer, Rose has Iris questioning things about this life in the woods. When Sol notices, he challenges Iris to prove her commitment to their family. 

Her sisters tell her that she should be willing to do anything for the man who saved her. But with each new ask, Iris realizes there is more to Sol - and her sisters - than she knows and some secrets should stay buried deep.

Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorne

Her starship gave her freedom.

But could it also become a friend?

Torian thought she was getting a bargain: a century-old alien starship, abandoned and covered in moss. It was her ticket away from a smuggling past and her overbearing ex . . . ah, ex-captain, Amelia. But the moss has a mind of its own.

As the ship’s ‘organic computer,’ Moss is lonely, snarky and harbouring serious abandonment issues. And when Torian journeys onward, she encounters the immortal alien who built the craft, then just left it behind – with Moss inside. The ship he’s now accusing Torian of stealing. Charting a new course across the galaxy, Torian finds an unexpected ally in Amelia, who might help her find the safe haven she craves. Torian can pilot a starship. But can she uncover ancient secrets and connect with a computer that just wants to belong?

Weekly recap - 5 July 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

Ukrainian Spiritual Traditions - a beautiful mix of recipes, stories and beliefs

It's for your own Good - survival thriller with teens

If we Survive the Night - zombie survival with teens

Highlander - the novel of the original 80s movie. So eighties.

The Quickening - if you're a Highlander fan, you know why this one is here

Labyrinth Illustrated Novelisation - a sneaky addition I absolutely had to get in as soon as possible!

This week, I read

Not with a Bang - family drama in the middle of an implausible apocalypse

Natural Selection - teen girls chose the bear over the boys

Labyrinth - see above

Coming up 

It's all teen adventure for the next while!

TBR check in 

I'm feeling a bit ambitious, with 50 titles on my TBR! Fantasy is still far and away my busiest category, but there's a good mix below that with horror, mystery, romance and sci fi all showing up.

Labyrinth by Liz Braswell and Andrea Guardino

Enter the labyrinth in this illustrated novelization of the classic film that will transport you to a world where nothing is what it seems . . .

Welcome to the realm of the Goblin King, where walls are doors, doors will lie to you, up is sometimes down, and left is rarely right. Join Sarah in her hero's quest through the Labyrinth with her band of adventurous new friends as they make their way to the castle beyond the Goblin City in this illustrated movie adaptation the whole family can enjoy. This brand-new edition, adapted by New York Times bestselling author Liz Braswell, brings Jim Henson's iconic story to life with vibrant art by Andrea Guardino featuring all the imaginative characters and creatures that call the Labyrinth home.

The Quickening by Claire McGowan

Your body. Their Choice.

The Hope Party's new laws have transformed Great Britain: the countryside rewilded, children's rights prioritised, and births on the rise. But freedom is fading.

Karen has learned to navigate this new world, keeping her head down as her fertility is constantly monitored. As her husband's career thrives, while hers stalls. As her son is drawn into misogynist groups. Like everyone else, she's too frightened to speak up.

Until her teenage daughter reveals a life-changing secret: she's pregnant. With abortion and contraception banned, her future has gone up in flames. But Karen won't let this happen - Charlotte is going to have the life she lost.

Karen turns to her sister Isobel, a doctor who's initially reluctant to help. But when they learn Charlotte's pregnancy is ectopic and life-threatening, the stakes skyrocket. The three women go on the run, getting deeper into danger with every hour that passes. With powerful enemies on their tail, they will risk everything in a desperate fight for freedom, and for life.

Highlander by Garry Kilworth

'There Can Be Only One'

The battle rages across the centuries, from the wind-scoured Sahara to the wild Russian steppes to the rocky crags of Scotland. And only one Immortal can survive.

MacLeod is the Highlander. A Scottish clan warrior from the 16th century, he was taught the deadly arts by an ancient mentor, who then suffered the only wound that can end an Immortal's life: decapitation.

Now, seven lifetimes later, MacLeod faces the final test. The Kurgan, his ancient adversary, has tracked him all the way to the streets of New York City.

The fight will be the same: blade to blade. Only the outcome is in doubt. Will the Highlander win? Or will the Kurgan's scimitar stop him with a blow that will plunge the earth itself into an era of darkness and chaos?

Happy #BookBirthday! 2 July 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are FIVE books on our lists publishing!

If We Survive the Night by Jo Salazar

Sixteen-year-old Quinn is used to being told that what she feels inside isn't quite right. After getting kicked out of multiple foster homes and narrowly escaping juvenile detention, she's undergoing therapy at a residential treatment center for "troubled" girls. Looking for a night of freedom, Quinn sneaks onto the roof with her best friend Keisha, and what she sees changes everything…

She witnesses the start of the zombie apocalypse.

As zombies, or "carriers" as the news calls them, infiltrate the treatment center, escape becomes crucial. Quinn and Keisha make a pact to leave together, but several unexpected complications screw up their plans.

As the girls battle the carriers and wrestle with their doubts about each other, Quinn realizes she has never felt more alive. Maybe this is exactly the kind of world she was built for. And part of thriving in this cutthroat environment means cutting off the dead weight – even if that means putting other lives at risk…But even if she's willing to sacrifice everything, can anyone really outlive the apocalypse?

It's For your Own Good by Kate Francis

In the middle of the night, Liv Walker is kidnapped from her bedroom by two masked figures. As she's dragged into an unmarked van, she's met with an even more horrifying sight: her family are waving goodbye...

Camp Smiling Skies is a wilderness therapy camp for "troubled teens". At least, that's what it says in the brochure. In truth, it's filled with dark secrets, cruel counsellors and no chance of escape.

Things seem as bad as they can get...until, one by one, people start to die.

Liv has already been betrayed by her family, but it seems like they're not the only traitors in her life.

There's a murderer in the camp, and everyone's a suspect.

Ukrainian Spiritual Traditions by Tania Andrushko

Discover the sacred wisdom of Ukraine through ceremony, myth, and magic.

Step into the heart of Ukrainian folk wisdom with this inspiring guide to seasonal rituals, earth-centered practices, and the sacred symbols of an enduring spiritual culture. Ukrainian Spiritual Traditions invites you to honor the elements, celebrate the turning of the year, and infuse your life with meaning through nature-based ceremony and connection.

Inside you’ll find a plethora of practices based around the seasonal year, including herbal lore, seasonal recipes, sacred songs and chants, and traditional rites, and much more. Explore the symbolic language of animals, birds, and natural forces; discover Ukraine’s folk deities; and learn divination practices that offer guidance through the seasons.

With rites for love, protection, renewal, and transformation, this book helps you align with the energies of the land and bring intention to everyday life. Whether you’re seeking spiritual depth, cultural insight, or simply a closer bond with nature, these teachings offer a beautiful and practical path forward.

Folklore here is not just preserved—it’s lived. Let these traditions inspire your own sacred practices, and rediscover the magic of a world where spirit and season speak as one.

Weekly recap - 28 June 2026

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

It's a Spellshop reread to celebrate receiving the new ARC!

The Spellshop - Kiela and Caz begin this series

The Enchanted Greenhouse - Terlu gets her focus 

The Sea of Charms - Marin sails in for her story

The Magical Cheese Emporium - Eloren finds her passion again

And for a while, I really thought each title would have one more word than the one before...sigh.

This week, I read

Moss'd in Space - it's pitched as Firefly-like. I'm only human.

Where Lost Girls Go - it's Kody Keplinger. I'm only human.

Unsilent Heart - it's about Death dying. I'm only human.

Coming up 

Things might slow down a bit because I'm not very well, but I have a backlog of reviews, so you'll still have plenty to read!

The Magical Cheese Emporium by Sarah Beth Durst

When Eloren joined the revolution against the empire, she didn't expect to lose everything -- her job, her purpose, and her closest friend.

After the Great Library burned down and her position as Assistant Librarian burned down with it, she had no other choice but to return to the only home that will have her: her grandmother's shop.

Now, Eloren is stuck at the Magical Cheese Emporium in the remote island town of Dew, struggling to become the cheesemonger heiress she never wanted to be. But the unicorns won't let her milk them, there's a monster in the cheese caves, and Eloren is more into books than cheese. The only good thing about coming home is reuniting with Garyn, the childhood friend and clever inventor who, at some point, got a whole lot taller.

When Dew's governor imposes impossible taxes on small business owners like her grandmother, Eloren knows one thing: she didn't take down the emperor just so someone else could exploit good people.

Eloren, Garyn, a mouse made of cheese, and Garyn's (mostly) helpful contraptions set off to rescue the cheese emporium and all the other local businesses. And in saving her community, Eloren might finally agree to call it home.

Reread: The Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst

Marin has always belonged on the great blue sea. When the man she thought was the love of her life schemed to ruin her parents' business, she did what her heart knew best: she fled to the sea.

Now working as a supply runner on her own boat, Marin sails from island to island, delivering a varied array of goods: letters, flour, stories, and even the occasional enchanted statue. It's a lonely life, but it's hers. Besides, she's got the company of Perri the sea serpent and Ree the sailor shrub. They're the best crew she could ask for.

On one of her routine trips to the capital of the Crescent Islands Empire, Alyssium, Marin finds the city on fire and a revolution underway -- so she offers transportation to Dax, a composer friend who refuses to leave behind his instruments. What starts as a rescue evolves into a deal: Marin will keep Dax on as a (temporary) member of her crew if he becomes her pretend boyfriend at the End-of-Harvest Festival back home.

Against her better judgment, Marin finds herself intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, his charming smile -- and realizes that perhaps she isn't saving him. Maybe it's the other way around.

Happy #BookBirthday! 25 June 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there is ONE book on our lists publishing!

Reread: The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.

This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She's starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes -- at least until she's ready to sail home.

But Terlu can't return home and doesn't want to -- the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. As she grows closer with the unwittingly charming gardener, Yarrow, she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing -- causing the death of everything within them. Terlu knows she must help, even if that means breaking the law. Again.

This time, though, she isn't alone. Assisted by Yarrow and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island -- and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.

Reread: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn't had to.

She and her assistant, Caz, a magically sentient spider plant, have spent the last eleven years sequestered among the empire's most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city's elite. But when a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz save as many books as they can carry and flee to a faraway island Kiela was sure she'd never return to: her childhood home. Kiela hopes to lay low in the overgrown and rundown cottage her late parents left her and figure out a way to survive without drawing the attention of either the empire or the revolutionaries. Much to her dismay, in addition to a nosy -- and very handsome -- neighbor, she finds the town neglected and in a state of disrepair.

The empire, for all its magic and power, has been neglecting for years the people who depend on magical intervention to maintain healthy livestock and crops. Not only that, but the very magic that should be helping them has been creating destructive storms that have taken a toll on the island. Due to her past role at the library, Kiela feels partially responsible for this, and now she's determined to find a way to make things right: by opening the island's first-ever secret spellshop.

Her plan comes with risks -- the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the kind and quirky townspeople of her former home, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must learn to break down the walls she has built up so high.

Weekly recap 21 Jun 26

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to the weekly recap. 

This week, I reviewed

The Little House that Needed a Witch - a gorgeous picture book

Cursed Ever After - Curses, magic and an awful lot of snark

The Princess Diaries Graphic Novel - A new version of the story we all know

Princess (Apparently) - Rags to riches in the Caribbean

This week, I read

It's for your own Good - teen thriller

If we Survive the Night - zombies and teens in care

Highlander - yes, the awesome movie

The Quickening - laws meant to protect babies go too far

Apparently I wanted All The Kinds Of Survival this week. Also, I deliberately put two of these together, and if you know which two and why you get an internet cookie. 🍪

Coming up 

Sci fi? Teen games? There's a mix this time.

Princess (Apparently) by Siren Knight

Two weeks ago and a few thousand miles away, Della was just a normal teenage girl. She didn't fit in at her posh school in London, she didn't think her crush would ever like her back, and she certainly didn't know anything about a Caribbean royal family.

But when a video of her protesting goes viral, she receives a royal invitation that changes everything. Now, she's at a lavish ball in a Caribbean palace, caught in a love triangle with her best friend and a dreamy islander, and discovering dangerous royal secrets.

With so much at stake, the last thing Della needs is to find out that her connection to the royal family runs far deeper than she ever imagined...

The Princess Diaries Graphic Novel by Meg Cabot and Bethany Crandail

Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there's nothing worse than being a five-foot-nine frizzy-haired freshman, who also happens to be flunking algebra.

A frizzy-haired freshman who is flunking algebra, and also happens to be a PRINCESS.

Is she ever in for a surprise.

Happy #BookBirthday! 18 June 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are THREE books on our lists publishing!

Cursed Ever After by Andy C Naranjo

Risa Porto is a Bad Thing born on a Bad Day and cursed with Bad Luck.

After years of taking the blame for every calamity, mishap, and minor inconvenience that befalls the townspeople of Barrow, she longs for escape. And on her seventeenth birthday, her wish is granted.

Sort of.

Risa owes a (very annoying) witch a favor, and it comes in the form of a quest: escort Prince Javi—the youngest, handsomest, and least significant prince— through the dark (and deadly) Woods to his wedding. This measly errand quickly spirals into a struggle against greedy assassins, a murderous cult, a vicious tyrant – and Risa’s own curse.

Most unfortunate of all...

She is not immune to Javi’s charms and has a highly irritating urge to kiss the prince. Though, surviving the darkest corners of the Woods is only the beginning. If Risa is to hold up her end of a witch’s bargain, she’ll need a lot more than luck on her side to untangle the web of lies threatening the kingdom. Is Risa willing to pay the price of happily ever after? What if the only person she’s meant to save is herself?

The Little House that Needed a Witch by Sophie Pluim

Deep in the forest sat a little house, empty and alone. The old witch who'd lived there had gone for good. The little house felt empty and alone.

The little house decided it needed a new witch. So, creaking and squeaking, it stood up! And went in search of a witch in need of a house.

When the witch who lived in a little house deep in the forest is gone, the house decides the obvious solution is to find itself a new witch.

---

📚 Pre-Reading Thoughts

There's something immediately appealing about a premise where a house is the one taking action. Houses in children's stories are often places of safety, but they're usually passive. This little house has other ideas.

Also, any story that begins with a lonely, mobile house wandering through the forest looking for a purpose already has my attention.

---

📖 Post-Reading

As I thought…

• This is a wonderfully gentle story. Even though it begins with loss, it never feels sad in a frightening or overwhelming way.
• The house itself is immediately lovable. Its determination to solve its own problem gives the story warmth and humour from the very first pages.
• The tone strikes a lovely balance between magical and matter-of-fact. A house deciding to stand up and go for a walk is treated as entirely reasonable, which somehow makes it feel even more magical.

It surprised me by...

• How comforting the story's view of change is. The old witch's departure is clearly significant, but the book focuses on what comes next rather than what has been lost.
• The reactions of the characters the house meets. Nobody seems especially alarmed that a house is wandering around the forest looking for a witch, which creates the delightful impression that this sort of thing happens all the time.
• The ending. I particularly loved that the new witch settles where the house originally stood rather than forcing the house to relocate permanently. It gives the story a lovely sense of continuity and belonging.

And perhaps my favourite detail of all is tucked into the artwork. The illustrations suggest that the old witch becomes a tree rather than simply dying and disappearing. As the seasons pass, the tree grows and flourishes, quietly remaining part of the landscape.

It's such a gentle, beautiful way of depicting the idea that someone can be gone and still remain part of the world around us.

---

🌈 Vibe Check

• Colour Palette: moss green, mushroom brown, warm wood, autumn gold
• Season: all four seasons turning quietly through the forest
• Mood: comforting, whimsical, hopeful
• Scent: damp earth, fallen leaves, woodsmoke drifting through trees
• Setting: the sort of forest where magical things happen so regularly that nobody bothers to mention it

---

👀 For fans of

• The House in the Cerulean Sea for its gentle kindness and found-family spirit
• stories where homes are just as important as the people who live in them
• cosy fantasy that feels like a warm blanket on a rainy afternoon

This is a story about endings, new beginnings, and finding where you belong—but wrapped in such warmth and gentleness that it never feels heavy. Just sweet, thoughtful, and quietly magical. The sort of picture book that lingers long after you've closed it.

The Little House that Needed a Witch publishes on the 15th of September, 2026. I am giving an honest review.