Megan

So do I know anyone who has ever done the Popsugar reading challenges? I heard about them this year and so I’m going to try to do the challenge for 2025. They give 50 prompts that you need to fill with 50 different books. We’ll see how it goes!!

Anyway…Akata Witch is the December read for the Sword and Laser podcast. I’m also using it to fill Popsugar prompt #14 “A book about a nontraditional education.” The book follows Sunny, a Nigerian girl born in America who is also albino. She and her family have returned to Nigeria to live and Sunny has a hard time fitting in. This both becomes better and worse when Sunny learns she is a Leopard person (a magical person). She finds her way to new friends and teachers and learns to take her place in this new world.

This has a lot in common with other magical coming-of-age stories (think Harry Potter, etc), but the setting and characters in this book are unique and fun to read. I especially enjoyed that the way to earn magic currency is to learn new things. In a few places some of the side characters seem a bit one-dimensional (maybe because the book is YA?), but generally a good read. I believe this is the first of a trilogy and I would like to read more!

Woot! Another series finished! This was the third book of the Scholomance series. In this book we get to see our protagonist leave her magical school and confront the realities of the world outside (including a few prophecies/mysteries that have been floating around for most of the series). This book was really action from the very first page, it definitely kept me wanting to turn pages.

This has been a great, fun series, and a must-read if you're into the whole dark academia vibe. Landing the ending to a series is always difficult, but I'm 95% satisfied with how this one turned out. (It got a tiny bit too into the weeds about how some of the pieces of magic worked for my personal preference, and I was sad to “lose” the school as a major character in this book.) Strong recommend, and looking forward to reading more Naomi Novik!

It is always such a satisfying feeling to finish a series! This is the last book in the main Bridgerton series (yes there are prequel and side quests but we're just not going to count that at the moment). It follows the story of Gregory, the youngest brother, as he finds his way into adulthood. The story is fun, and full of many of the romance tropes that will all know and love, plus a few extra twists and turns. The story made me hope that the show actually makes it all the way through the books because Shonda will have a GREAT time with some of the things happening here.

If you, like me, have had the gumption to read all the way to Bridgertons #8, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

Clever Girl is a nonfiction book, a feminist examination of the original Jurassic Park movie. This one is a little off the beaten path for me, it was mentioned on a podcast I like and reminded me of my undergrad days and getting my concentration in women’s studies. I’m glad I read it and got to exercise a different part of my brain……and now I’m heading back to the land of fiction!

This was the January read for the Sword and Laser podcast. What a great book! In the near future, the UK has discovered time travel, and use it to bring “expats” from the past to the present. Our protagonist is a “bridge” (a person whose job it is to acclimate the expats to the present). This is part sci-fi, part thriller, part romance, and all really well done.

Also - I think it wills one of the more challenging prompts for Popsugar this year - A dystopian book with a happy ending