Lala

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Silent Jenny by Mathieu Bablet ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

• 3.5/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Silent Jenny is one of those books that’s incredibly easy to admire, even when parts of it didn’t fully click for me as a reader. The amount of talent and detail poured into this graphic novel is undeniable. The artwork is stunning, intricate, atmospheric, and full of emotion. Every page feels crafted with intention, and the worldbuilding around climate change, loss, and survival is both powerful and relevant.

The concept itself is fascinating, and I can absolutely see why this story resonates deeply with other readers. There’s a quiet beauty in the way it explores a changed world and the emotional weight that comes with it.

Where I struggled was with the pacing and with my connection to the story. I found myself appreciating the craft more than I was enjoying the actual reading experience. The storytelling felt a little too distant for me, and the emotional heaviness made it harder to stay fully invested. 

Even so, I don’t think this is a bad graphic novel, far from it. It’s creative, thoughtful, and visually stunning. It didn’t fully match my tastes, but I can see its strengths clearly.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ atmospheric worlds

✔️ graphic novels with unique art

✔️ quiet, introspective storytelling

✔️ post apocalyptic themes 

✔️ slow, reflective pacing

✔️ stories rooted in loss and survival

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: Oct 16, 2026 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Oni Press. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Claustrophobis by Evan Jameson ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

• 2.5/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

The beginning of this book hooked me right away. The writing is sharp, the atmosphere is unsettling in the best way, and the setup feels like it’s building toward something dark and claustrophobic. I was fully in. The tension, the mystery, the strange little details, it all worked.

And everything slowed to a crawl.

The middle section slows things down considerably. Scenes start repeating themselves. The same ideas circle over and over. The pacing loses its edge, and the dread that felt so tight early on just… stalls. Some of the rules around the horror elements feel inconsistent too, which makes the stakes feel softer instead of sharper. It’s like the book keeps promising escalation but never quite delivers on it.

There are still flashes of what made the opening so strong. The writing stays solid. The atmosphere stays eerie. The premise is genuinely cool. But the momentum never fully recovers, and by the end I felt more tired than tense.

Overall, a strong start weighed down by a sluggish middle. Not a bad read, but not one that held me all the way through.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ stories with strong openings

✔️ slow creeping horror

✔️ atmospheric dread

✔️ unsettling creature lore

✔️ isolated settings

✔️ horror that takes its time

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: June 05, 2026 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Witching Hole Publications. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ An Artful Dodge by Karen Odden ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

• 4/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

This is not my usual kind of book, but once I settled into the storytelling, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected. Odden’s London is vivid and feels lived in. The noise, the grime, the crowded streets. It's easy to picture Kit moving through it all with the instincts of someone who has survived by being quick and clever.

Kit Jimeson is the heart of the story. She's a talented pickpocket and one of the top earners in an all women thieving ring, but her motivations are simple. Take care of her family and find a way out. She's written with a mix of grit and vulnerability that makes her easy to root for, especially as the pressure around her builds. I liked the tension in her choices, the way she weighs survival against the hope of something better. The stakes rise as Kit realizes how tangled the connections around her really are. The story stays grounded in character, but there are enough twists and turns to keep the momentum moving.

The audiobook narration is excellent. Anna Burnett brings the cast to life with clear, expressive delivery that fits the tone of the world. I was pleasantly surprised by how immersive the audio is. It really adds texture to the setting.

Overall, this is a well crafted historical crime story with a strong sense of place, a compelling heroine, and a cast of women trying to survive a world that gives them very few choices. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ Victorian heists

✔️ all women crime crews

✔️ morally grey heroines

✔️ historical crime fiction

✔️ stories about survival and loyalty

✔️ immersive audiobooks

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: Out Now 🎧📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from RBMedia. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 14%. Unfortunately the pacing wasn't good for me, and I'm having trouble focusing on it. I may come back to it in the future.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Lovers XXX by Allie Rowbottom ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

• 3.5/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── This was interesting and well written, but it just didn't wow me the way I hoped. The writing has a strong sense of mood, and I appreciated the way the story explores friendship, longing, and the stories people tell themselves about the past. There's a lot of focus on memory and the way people rewrite their own histories, which ended up being one of the most interesting parts for me.

The atmosphere is intimate and emotionally heavy, and the characters feel layered and believable. The book spends most of its time inside those relationships and emotional landscapes, which will probably work well for readers who connect deeply with character driven stories.

Where it faltered for me was the balance between character work and plot. It feels more interested in exploring its characters than building tension, which is a valid choice, but it left the ending feeling a little quick and lighter than I wanted. I understood what the book was aiming for, but I never felt as emotionally invested as I wanted to be.

Overall, it's thoughtful, well crafted, and clearly written with intention. I can absolutely see why it will resonate with some readers. It just didn't land as strongly for me. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ moody slow burn ✔️ quiet emotional tension ✔️ friendship stories with sharp edges ✔️ reflective literary fiction ✔️ longing and nostalgia ✔️ intimate character studies

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: June 02, 2026 🎧 💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from RBMedia. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ The Last Time We Drowned by Saratoga Schaefer ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

• 3.25/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

This was a solid thriller with clean writing and a fun setup, but if you read a lot of thrillers, you'll probably spot the major twists long before they arrive. The setup is fun. Influencers, a luxury yacht, a curated “sisterhood” that’s clearly full of jealousy and contention, and the atmosphere hits that glossy turned claustrophobic tone right away.

What worked for me was the setting and the tension of being trapped at sea with people who are all performing versions of themselves. The hurricane backdrop adds a good layer of pressure and the missing influencer thread gives the story a ghost in the walls feeling that I liked. The paranoia and the shifting alliances and the sense that everyone is lying all of that lands.

Where it lost me a little was the predictability. The reveals did not shock and some of the character beats felt familiar if you have read a lot of influencer culture thrillers. Even when I guessed where things were going I still wanted to see how everything would finally come apart.

Overall it is a fast and readable thriller with a strong sense of place. It did not surprise me and I wanted a little more bite from the reveals. Still if you like glossy to feral mysteries with a locked room edge this one fits the bill.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ influencer culture thrillers

✔️ locked room mysteries

✔️ yacht set suspense

✔️ luxury to nightmare flips

✔️ paranoia spirals

✔️ storm trapped tension

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: Jun 02, 2026 🎧

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Sourcebooks Audio. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Desperate Bodies by Lydia Mathis ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

• 4/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Desperate Bodies is one of those collections that sits heavy in your chest. It focuses on some of the everyday experiences of Black girls and women, and as someone who’s mixed, I felt seen in a way that doesn’t happen often. The stories move through exhaustion, resilience, humor, fear, and the quiet (and not so quiet) moments that shape a life, and they do it with a voice that feels lived in instead of performative.

Some pieces lean into quiet horror, and those were some of my favorites. They’re grounded in real emotional truths, the kind that makes your skin itch because they’re familiar. Even when the stories touched on heavier topics, they didn’t tip into being too much. There’s a balance here that feels intentional and respectful of the experiences being portrayed.

What stood out to me most was how honest the collection is about the constant struggles Black women face, and how those struggles can shape identity, relationships, and self worth. It’s the kind of book that resonates whether you’ve lived these realities or you’re trying to understand them with more depth and compassion.

It’s thoughtful, sharp, and full of emotion, and it delivers its impact without ever feeling overwhelming.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ black girlhood 🖤

✔️ quiet horror

✔️ emotional realism

✔️ identity and survival

✔️ character driven stories

✔️ literary short fiction

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: Sep 15, 2026 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Grove Atlantic. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ All Expenses Paid by Zoe Rosi ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

• 4/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

This novella drops you straight into a sun bleached nightmare, luxury on the surface, absolute dread underneath. It has that glossy influencer trip vibe that curdles fast, and the shift from “dream vacation” to “you’re not getting out of this alive” hit exactly the way I wanted.

I love the way Zoe Rosi writes these sharp, vicious little stories. This is my third book from them, and the pacing is always tight: no filler, no downtime, just a steady slide into danger. The whole setup gave me major Hostel energy, but filtered through modern content creator culture, which somehow makes it even more unsettling.

If I’m nitpicking, I wanted a little more depth between the two girls before everything went sideways. But that's also the reality of a novella. There's only so much room before the story has to start breaking things.

Overall, this was quick, brutal, and easy to inhale in one sitting. Zoe Rosi continues to be reliably unhinged in the best way.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ sun drenched horror

✔️ influencer culture

✔️ fast, brutal novellas

✔️ psychological tension

✔️ luxury to nightmare flips

✔️ Hostel adjacent themes

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: May 20, 2026 🎧

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Lighthouse Books. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Accidental Assassin Vol 1 by Molly Ni Chéileachair ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 3.5/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

This volume is pure chaotic fun. It's bright, silly, violent, and surprisingly charming. Bonnie is an office worker with a survivalist upbringing, which gives her just enough instinct to stumble through situations she has absolutely no business surviving. She's cute, pink, loves fruit shaped jewelry, and constantly underestimated… sometimes correctly.

The tone swings between cartoonish violence and romcom energy. One minute she is stabbing a guy in the eye with a pen, the next she's in a chibi panel being dramatic. It shouldn't work, but it kinda does. The art is expressive and colorful, which keeps the whole thing feeling playful even during the violence.

Ronan is the classic grumpy stoic counterpart, and even though his attachment to Bonnie sometimes feels sudden, the chemistry is there. Their dynamic ends up being one of the most entertaining parts of the volume.

It's a fast, colorful read that never takes itself too seriously, and it leaves you curious about where the story will go next.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ sunshine x grumpy

✔️ WEBTOON style humor

✔️ accidental chaos

✔️ spy romcoms that don’t take themselves seriously

✔️ messy partnerships

✔️ bright expressive art

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: September 1, 2026 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from WEBTOON Unscrolled. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Love Shots by Travis M. Riddle ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 4/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

That was definitely a direction I wasn’t expecting!

As a Big Brother fan (never got into Love Island), Love Shots was a super fun read. The whole setup is a reality show that’s been twisted enough to make you uneasy.

The contestants are shallow the way reality TV practically requires, bouncing between alliances, paranoia, and trying to keep up appearances for the cameras. And then "Mic Drop" Lara shows up a week before the finale, blowing the whole social game apart. She walks in, instantly shifting the power balance and forcing the couples to scramble. It’s the kind of twist designed for pure chaos.

The production team is even worse, and the way the story peels back what they’re actually doing gives the book this creeping, uncomfortable tension. It’s not just drama for entertainment anymore. It’s manipulation, control, and something darker shaping the season.

It’s chaotic, entertaining, and unhinged enough to keep you guessing where it’s going next.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ reality TV chaos

✔️ behind the scenes scheming

✔️ paranoia

✔️ unhinged late season twists

✔️ messy contestants

✔️ competition shows gone wrong

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: May 29, 2026 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Travis M. Riddle. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Crybaby by Sierra Frank ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 5/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

This one gutted me in that personal way where you don't realize how deep it's cutting until you're already bleeding. It's raw without being performative, emotional without being melodramatic, and written with this soft honesty that feels like someone opening their ribcage and letting you look inside. This book feels like getting dragged through someone else’s coming of age in the worst, most intoxicating way. It’s not a diary. But it reads like someone trying to make sense of their own thoughts, feelings, and wreckage in real time.

Apple is the kind of girl who wants to belong so badly she would follow anyone into the dark. Dahlia and Starr are both beautiful disasters, and she folds herself into their world like it's the only place she's ever been wanted. The book captures that specific girlhood ache; wanting to be chosen, wanting to be seen, wanting to be loved even if it ruins you.

The writing is dreamy and bruised, drifting between motel rooms, strip clubs, late night drives, and the dangerous men who treat girls like currency. It's messy, impulsive, and painfully believable. You can feel the heat, the exhaustion, the bad decisions stacking up until there is no way out that doesn't hurt.

It's not trying to be inspirational. It's not sanitized. It's just honest, and that's what makes it such a hard read.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ feral girlhood narratives

✔️ unhealthy attachment

✔️ the movie Thirteen (Evan Rachel Wood is literally my crush)

✔️ messy teens making worse choices

✔️ toxic friendships

✔️ coming of age gone wrong

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: June 1, 2026 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Xpresso Book Tours. All opinions are my own.

Review of advance copy received from Netgalley. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy!

I’ve seen Freida do her thing enough times to know the drill, and this one hits all the familiar notes… until the twist shows up, flailing like it had no clue where it was going. Entertaining? Sure. Believable? Not so much.

Finally getting around to finishing this series, so I figured I’d start from the beginning.

Attack on Titan pulls you in from the first page. The opening drops you straight into a world that’s already breaking, and the scale of everything hits before you can settle in. The Titans are creepy, huge, and impossible to look away from, and the art makes every moment heavier and sharper.

There’s this fast build of dread and curiosity that gives the whole thing a sharp urgency. It’s dark, brutal, and full of emotion. I’m already attached and already wondering how the story will end.

I’m hooked! This is going to be a wild journey, and I’m ready to dive into all of it.

Short, Brutal and Bloody.

I put this book off for so long for no particular reason, and it ended up being everything you want in a Splatterpunk novella. It is fast, vicious, and strangely beautiful in that way where the gore feels almost poetic. The brutality has this emotional undercurrent that makes the violence feel intentional instead of empty. The body horror goes wild, but it’s tied to obsession, decay, and the way obsession rots everything it touches.

The pacing never slows down. Every scene hits hard, and the imagery sticks to you in that “I should not be enjoying this as much as I am” way. The flower motif blooms through the violence in a way that feels symbolic and disgusting at the same time. It’s messy and completely unafraid to go too far.

For a novella, it leaves a bigger mark than it has any right to. Splatterpunk fans who like their stories fast and feral, bloody but intentional, and beautifully grotesque will have a good time with this one.

•┈๑⋅⋯ Death Do Us by Ruthy Mason ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 4/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

This was a genuinely fun read. The story feels fresh and unpredictable in a way that kept me paying attention, and I enjoyed the writing style. It has that quality where you think about the book even when you aren't reading and you look forward to getting back to it. I NEEDED to see how everything would end.

I can't justify a full five stars, but not for any dramatic reason. It's more of a feeling than a flaw. I enjoyed the ride and I liked the characters, but it didn't quite reach that top tier for me. Still, it's entertaining, clever, and very easy to sink into.

A solid pick for readers who want something fun, a little chaotic, and full of surprises.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ dark humor

✔️ relationship driven tension

✔️ fast paced reads

✔️ unpredictable twists

✔️ light horror elements

✔️ compulsive reading energy

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: June 30, 2026 📚

💌 ARC provided via NetGalley from Union Square & CO. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ The Iliad by Homer (Translated by Bruce Heiden) ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 2/5 ☆ •

DNF at 9%

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

I made it to 9% and realized I still had no idea what was happening. Every scene slid right out of my brain the moment I read it. I picked this up multiple times hoping something would click, but it never did. I appreciate the Classics for what they are, but I just could not find the willpower to keep going. This one was not for me, so I am calling it here.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ epic poetry

✔️ ancient literature

✔️ mythology focused stories

✔️ dense classical language

✔️ slow unfolding narratives

✔️ historical foundational texts

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: Out Now 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Bruce Heiden | Palmetto. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ The Lemon Twist by Élan Les Vies ⋯⋅๑┈•✦  

➝ • 3.5/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

This story felt clever in a way that kept me curious, even when it drifted into slightly silly territory. Some moments stretched reality a bit, especially toward the end, but I still enjoyed the ride. There was a soft sadness in watching Iris try to pull her memories together, and it added a weight I didn’t expect. Sam and Sierra’s backstories brought a quiet ache that made the mystery feel more personal.

The whole thing gave me that little detective feeling, like I was piecing things together right beside Iris. The atmosphere, the tapes, the fractured memories, all of it worked together in a way that felt strange and interesting, even when it wasn’t perfect.  

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──  

If you like:  

✔️ memory fractured mysteries

✔️ sister centered tension

✔️ 80s coastal atmosphere

✔️ stories told through tapes

✔️ emotional mysteries

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──  

📅 Pub Day: May 26, 2026 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Turner Publishing Company. All opinions are my own.

•┈๑⋅⋯ Death Do Us by Ruthy Mason ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 4/5 ☆ •

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆
This was a genuinely fun read. The story feels fresh and unpredictable in a way that kept me paying attention, and I enjoyed the writing style. It has that quality where you think about the book even when you aren't reading and you look forward to getting back to it. I NEEDED to see how everything would end.

I can't justify a full five stars, but not for any dramatic reason. It's more of a feeling than a flaw. I enjoyed the ride and I liked the characters, but it didn't quite reach that top tier for me. Still, it's entertaining, clever, and very easy to sink into.

A solid pick for readers who want something fun, a little chaotic, and full of surprises.
☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ dark humor
✔️ relationship driven tension
✔️ fast paced reads
✔️ unpredictable twists
✔️ light horror elements
✔️ compulsive reading energy
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──•┈๑⋅⋯ Death Do Us by Ruthy Mason ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 4/5 ☆ •

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

This was a genuinely fun read. The story feels fresh and unpredictable in a way that kept me paying attention, and I enjoyed the writing style. It has that quality where you think about the book even when you aren't reading and you look forward to getting back to it. I NEEDED to see how everything would end.

I can't justify a full five stars, but not for any dramatic reason. It's more of a feeling than a flaw. I enjoyed the ride and I liked the characters, but it didn't quite reach that top tier for me. Still, it's entertaining, clever, and very easy to sink into.

A solid pick for readers who want something fun, a little chaotic, and full of surprises.

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ dark humor

✔️ relationship driven tension

✔️ fast paced reads

✔️ unpredictable twists

✔️ light horror elements

✔️ compulsive reading energy

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: June 30, 2026 📚

💌 ARC provided via NetGalley from Union Square & CO. All opinions are my own.

•┈๑⋅⋯ Death Do Us by Ruthy Mason ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 4/5 ☆ •

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

This was a genuinely fun read. The story feels fresh and unpredictable in a way that kept me paying attention, and I enjoyed the writing style. It has that quality where you think about the book even when you aren't reading and you look forward to getting back to it. I NEEDED to see how everything would end.

I can't justify a full five stars, but not for any dramatic reason. It's more of a feeling than a flaw. I enjoyed the ride and I liked the characters, but it didn't quite reach that top tier for me. Still, it's entertaining, clever, and very easy to sink into.

A solid pick for readers who want something fun, a little chaotic, and full of surprises.

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ dark humor

✔️ relationship driven tension

✔️ fast paced reads

✔️ unpredictable twists

✔️ light horror elements

✔️ compulsive reading energy

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: June 30, 2026 📚

💌 ARC provided via NetGalley from Union Square & CO. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ The Christian Past That Wasn’t by Warren Throckmorton ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 3.5/5 ☆ •

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

This book takes on the myths about America’s founding and the idea that it was built as a Christian nation. It uses sources and historical context to separate fact from long standing political storytelling. I learned a lot from the sections that unpacked how those myths formed and how they continue to circulate. The research feels solid and the documentation is thorough.

My main issue was the writing style. A few sections lean more academic than narrative, and that shift made it harder to stay fully focused. The information itself is strong, but the delivery occasionally feels more formal than it needs to be. Still, the content itself is valuable and the historical corrections are well supported.

This is a good choice for readers interested in American history, religion in politics, or myth busting nonfiction. It might not change minds across ideological lines, but it does offer clear, well sourced information for anyone who wants to understand where these claims come from.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ religious history

✔️ American founding myths

✔️ fact checking nonfiction

✔️ church and state discussions

✔️ historical debunking

✔️ reexamining American history

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: Out now! 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Broadleaf Books. All opinions are my own.

Strong art, a solid setup, and a premise that hooked me fast. It's a very short issue and doesn't give much away, but I'm interested enough to continue the series.

•┈๑⋅⋯ Death Do Us by Ruthy Mason ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 4/5 ☆ •

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

This was a genuinely fun read. The story feels fresh and unpredictable in a way that kept me paying attention, and I enjoyed the writing style. It has that quality where you think about the book even when you aren't reading and you look forward to getting back to it. I NEEDED to see how everything would end.

I can't justify a full five stars, but not for any dramatic reason. It's more of a feeling than a flaw. I enjoyed the ride and I liked the characters, but it didn't quite reach that top tier for me. Still, it's entertaining, clever, and very easy to sink into.

A solid pick for readers who want something fun, a little chaotic, and full of surprises.

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ dark humor

✔️ relationship driven tension

✔️ fast paced reads

✔️ unpredictable twists

✔️ light horror elements

✔️ compulsive reading energy

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: June 30, 2026 📚

💌 ARC provided via NetGalley from Union Square & CO. All opinions are my own.

•┈๑⋅⋯ Death Do Us by Ruthy Mason ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 4/5 ☆ •

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

This was a genuinely fun read. The story feels fresh and unpredictable in a way that kept me paying attention, and I enjoyed the writing style. It has that quality where you think about the book even when you aren't reading and you look forward to getting back to it. I NEEDED to see how everything would end.

I can't justify a full five stars, but not for any dramatic reason. It's more of a feeling than a flaw. I enjoyed the ride and I liked the characters, but it didn't quite reach that top tier for me. Still, it's entertaining, clever, and very easy to sink into.

A solid pick for readers who want something fun, a little chaotic, and full of surprises.

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

If you like:

✔️ dark humor

✔️ relationship driven tension

✔️ fast paced reads

✔️ unpredictable twists

✔️ light horror elements

✔️ compulsive reading energy

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

📅 Pub Day: June 30, 2026 📚

💌 ARC provided via NetGalley from Union Square & CO. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ The Isle by Remy Porter ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 3.5/5 ☆ •

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

This feels like the kind of prequel that actually earns its place. The action hits early, the atmosphere stays tight, and the setting gives everything this isolated, doomed energy. I liked getting a clearer look at life before the outbreak, that slow build where you can practically hear the doom humming in the background.

Some of the more supernatural touches were not totally my thing, but they didn't break the story for me either. The way Rowan’s abilities slip into the chaos adds a strange edge to the usual outbreak tension, even if it was not what I expected going in. Seeing how people react before the world collapses gives the story a sharper emotional edge than I expected.

Overall, it’s a solid, fast moving prequel with that heavy feeling that nothing here is going to end well. I’d absolutely read more in this world.

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

If you like:

✔️ pre-apocalypse tension

✔️ isolated island settings

✔️ fast moving horror

✔️ slow unease

✔️ zombie horror

✔️ survival under pressure

📅 Pub Day: Out Now 📚

💌 ARC gifted via BookSirens from Northern Dark. All opinions are my own.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Tell Your Friends by Lauren Wilson ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

➝ • 4.5/5 ☆ •

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

The first stretch of this book had me checking the genre like I had wandered into the wrong room. Mystery and thriller, sure, but the story takes its time getting there. The pacing is slow enough that I kept wondering if anything was going to spark at all, especially as it lays out the influencer world and all the curated, filtered nonsense that comes with it. There is a quiet commentary underneath about how much of yourself you lose when your life becomes content.

Once the tension finally sharpens, everything shifts. The secrets start grinding against each other, the atmosphere turns heavier, and the story finally finds its pulse. The danger feels closer, the choices get worse, and the toxic friendship threads hit especially well where admiration, envy, and obsession blur together.

The audiobook narration elevates this section too. The emotional strain comes through clearly, and the dual POV contrast makes the unraveling feel more personal.

By the final stretch, I was fully locked in. The ending works, and the story leans into the darker tones promised in the blurb. What surprised me most was the emotional weight underneath it all, especially around grief, growing up online, and trying to rebuild yourself when your past still shapes every decision. The pacing in the beginning was a little uneven, but the second half lands hard enough to make the whole thing worth it.

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦..◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆

If you like:

✔️ slow burn suspense

✔️ family secrets

✔️ dangerous, unstable friends

✔️ character driven mystery

✔️ escalating stakes

✔️ messy emotional fallout

📅 Pub Day: Jun 02 2026 🎧 📚

💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Macmillan Audio. All opinions are my own.