goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: April 27th, 2026

Goodreads Monday/TBR Monday is a bookish meme hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog invites you to post about what books are on your Goodreads โ€œto readโ€ lists or TBR lists, the progress you have made on your current books and reading challenges, and any other bookish news!


Hello, reader!

It’s time for another Goodreads Monday! We’re working with 843 books this Monday which gives a lot of choices for the random number generator, haha. The TBR just continuously grows, y’all. Let’s see which book we’re gonna pull today!


Book:
Dead First

Author:
Johnny Compton

Publisher:
G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Publication Date:
February 10th, 2026

Pages:
359

Genre:
Horror

Synopsis:
From the Bram Stoker award-nominated author of The Spite House comes a bone-chilling new novel about a private investigator hired by a mysterious billionaire to discover why he canโ€™t die.

When private investigator Shyla Sinclair is invited to the looming mansion of eccentric billionaire Saxton Braith, sheโ€™s more than a little suspicious. The last thing she expects to see that night is Braithโ€™s assistant driving an iron rod straight through the back of his skull. Scratch thatโ€”the last thing she expects to see is Braithโ€™s resurrection afterward.

Braith canโ€™t die, it turns out, but he has no explanation for his immortality, and very few intact memories of his past. Which is why he wants to pay Shyla millions to investigate him, and bring his long-buried history to light. 

Shyla canโ€™t help but be intrigued, but sheโ€™s also trapped by the offer. Braith has made it clear that he knows sheโ€™s the only person he can trust with his secret, because he knows all about hers

Bold, atmospheric, and utterly frightening, Johnny Comptonโ€™s Dead First is spine-chilling supernatural horror about the pursuit of power and the undying need for reckoning.

Continue reading “Goodreads/TBR Monday: April 27th, 2026”
the sunday post

The Sunday Post: April 26th, 2026

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme created by @CaffeinatedReviewer! It gives you a chance to post a recap of your last week, whether that pertains to books or not. You can talk about however much (or however little) you would like.


Hello, reader!

The weekend is already over, y’all ๐Ÿ˜ญ Though I’m bummed my time to chill is at an end, at least that means I get to catch y’all up in another Sunday Post! It has been a wonderful weekend and I think that’s why I wish it could keep going, haha. But, alas, I do like having a roof over my head and such, so I gotta get back to work. At least I like my job!

Now, let’s talk about what I got into last week.


Last week was Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, which means there were a lot of events going on at work! There was food galore, a lunch & learn about some instrument we’re never going to get, and so. many. COOKIES. It was a fun but busy week and I was tired by the end. It didn’t help that there seemed to be crisis after crisis and I was stressed.

At least I didn’t have to worry about my husband to work on the youngest on the bus because it was April break for the kiddo, so my husband took the week off to stay home with him. They spent the week just hanging out at home (since we only have one car) and playing video games. I wish I could have stayed home with them, too!

We did get to spend the weekend hanging out. That mostly consisted of the kiddo convincing me to buy Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, lol. Y’all, I can already tell this game is going to be taking all my time in the near future! I already made my husband and I and I just keep tossing our Miis at each other, yelling at them to fall in love ๐Ÿ˜‚ The game is freakin’ hilarious and I’m having a great time. I did take some time to finish reading a book, so yay for me! It was a good weekend.

Continue reading “The Sunday Post: April 26th, 2026”
book blogger hop

Book Blogger Hop: Bookish Board Game


The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!


Imagine creating a book-themed board game. What kind of gameplay would it have?

Submitted by Billy, Coffee-Addicted Writer.

Continue reading “Book Blogger Hop: Bookish Board Game”
first lines friday

First Lines Friday: April 24th, 2026


First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?  If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but donโ€™t give anything else about the book away just yet โ€“ you need to hook the reader first
  • Finallyโ€ฆ reveal the book!

If youโ€™re sharing on social media, donโ€™t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!


Hello, reader!

It’s finally the weekend! This week has felt ridiculously long and I have been ridiculously tired today, so I’m happy to have some time to relax. I’m also happy to do another First Lines Friday! This week, I’m giving a little sneak peek of my April library haul. This is a novel I’ve been seeing around the bookish community and, when I saw it on my library’s shelves, I decided to see what all the fuss is about.

Now I’ll see if the first lines can pull me in!


The Line(s):

“I decided to write this all down while on a business trip to my European offices in Florence It was one of those romantically black and violent autumn days when the rain does not fall so much as dash itself against the city.”


The Build Up:


The Reveal:

Continue reading “First Lines Friday: April 24th, 2026”
book reviews

DNF Review: The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton




The heart-wrenching story ofโ€ฏThe Radium Girlsโ€ฏmeets the enchanting world ofโ€ฏHowlโ€™s Moving Castle. Jamie Pactonโ€™s fantasy debut is a story of timeless love and deadly consequences.

It was a day for finding things . . .
โ€ฏ
On the morning Twain, a lonely boy with a knack for danger, discovers a strand of starlight on the cliffs outside Severon, a mysterious curiosity shop appears in town. Meanwhile, Quinta, the ordinary daughter of an extraordinary circus performer, chases rumors of the shop,โ€ฏThe Vermilion Emporium,โ€ฏdesperate for a way to live up to her motherโ€™s magical legacy.
โ€ฏ
When Quinta meets Twain outside the Emporium, two things happen: One, Quinta starts to fall for this starlight boy, who uses his charm to hide his scars. Two, they enter the store and discover a book that teaches them how to weave starlight into lace.
โ€ฏ
Soon, their lace catches the eye of the Casorina, the ruler of Severon. She commissions Quinta and Twain to make her a starlight dress and will reward them handsomely enough to make their dreams come true. However, they canโ€™t sew a dress without more material, and the secret to starlightโ€™s origins has been lost for centuries. As Quinta and Twain search the Emporium for answers, though, they discover the secret might not have been lostโ€”but destroyed. And likely, for good reason.

Continue reading “DNF Review: The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton”
www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: April 22nd, 2026


Itโ€™s time for another WWW Wednesday! This is a bookish meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where bloggers answer the 3 Ws:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What did you recently finish reading?
  3. What do you think youโ€™ll read next?

If youโ€™d like to learn more about any of these books, click on the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page.


Current Reads

  • Wolfsong by T.J. Klune: I’m a good chunk into this one and I’m having a good time! The chapter I’m currently about to read promises some drama and I’m looking forward. I’ve adjusted to the choppy writing and now I’m just immersed in the story. Still a little skeeved out by the fact that Ox met the love interest, Joe, when he was ten and Ox was sixteen… Six years is a pretty minimal age gap, I suppose, but still.
  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna: I was looking for an audiobook to read while at lunch today. Lucky for me, a lot of my Libby holds came in recently, so I had plenty from which to choose! I ended up picking this one because I’ve returned it so many times because I was in the middle of reading something else and it’s also due back the soonest, haha. I’m glad I picked it though because I feel like I’m already falling in love!
  • The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman: I’m so behind on the group buddy read I’m participating in for the Dungeon Crawler Carl series ๐Ÿ˜… But I’m still having a great time with this series! I just started this today when I got home so I’m not too far in. Far enough to be excited about the set up of this newest level, though!
Continue reading “WWW Wednesday: April 22nd, 2026”
top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: April Showers Bring Blue Books

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish back in June 2010. It is currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and, as is stated on the blog, it was โ€œborn of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.โ€


Hello, reader!

Tuesday has arrived and that means it’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday. April is winding up and New England has been living up to the “April showers” part of “April showers bring May flowers” ๐Ÿ˜‚ Though the sun has definitely been making appearances and I’m not mad about the temps lately! It’s chilly but not as bad as it has been in previous years. Either way, I’ve had a lot of nice, rainy days for some reading, so today’s prompt being “April showers” felt perfect.

I decided to pick ten of my favorite books that have blue covers to share with you today. So let’s get to the list!


Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday: April Showers Bring Blue Books”
goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: April 20th, 2026

Goodreads Monday/TBR Monday is a bookish meme hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog invites you to post about what books are on your Goodreads โ€œto readโ€ lists or TBR lists, the progress you have made on your current books and reading challenges, and any other bookish news!


Hello, reader!

Happy Monday, everyone. I’m hoping you had a good start to your week. Today has been a busy one, for me, and I’m happy to finally be home and ready to do Goodreads Monday! I’m sitting at 842 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf, so let’s see what the random number generator picks for me today.


Book:
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians

Author:
H.G. Parry

Publisher:
Redhook

Publication Date:
June 23rd, 2020

Pages:
531

Genre:
Fantasy/Historical Fantasy

Synopsis:
A sweeping tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own, A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians is a genre-defying story of magic, war, and the struggle for freedom in the early modern world.

It is the Age of Enlightenment — of new and magical political movements, from the necromancer Robespierre calling for revolution in France to the weather mage Toussaint L’Ouverture leading the slaves of Haiti in their fight for freedom, to the bold new Prime Minister William Pitt weighing the legalization of magic amongst commoners in Britain and abolition throughout its colonies overseas.

But amidst all of the upheaval of the early modern world, there is an unknown force inciting all of human civilization into violent conflict. And it will require the combined efforts of revolutionaries, magicians, and abolitionists to unmask this hidden enemy before the whole world falls to darkness and chaos.

Continue reading “Goodreads/TBR Monday: April 20th, 2026”
the sunday post

The Sunday Post: April 19th, 2026

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme created by @CaffeinatedReviewer! It gives you a chance to post a recap of your last week, whether that pertains to books or not. You can talk about however much (or however little) you would like.


Hello, reader!

It’s time for The Sunday Post! It’s been a pretty chill Sunday here with rain storms and lots of cuddling under blankets while reading. Honestly, kind of a perfect day! But now it’s time to start thinking about next week and wrap up what I was up to last week. Let’s jump into it!


Last week is honestly kind of a blur ๐Ÿซ  Work felt like everything was going off the rails all at once, though it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be handled. Still, it made for a very hectic week. I also had an endoscopy to try and figure out my whole anemia thing. That was fine, though no answers seem to be forthcoming from that as the doctor said everything looked good. Still, better to know that is the case than to wonder!

I did get to visit my best friend and my other mother (her mom), which was bittersweet. Her mom is not doing well and watching her deteriorate is kind of gut-wrenching after going through something similar with my grandma just last month. We’ve both decided that the universe really needs to leave us be for a little bit ๐Ÿ˜…

Good things did happen last week, though! I got a very exciting email from Del Rey that I get to read the e-ARC for the next Ana & Din mystery! A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett is my most anticipated book for 2026 and now I get to read it early! You can tell by all the exclamation points that I’m thrilled, lol. I also got back into my This Month’s Craft boxes and finally did one I’d been putting off… moss art! My youngest and I spent the morning designing our lovely moss creation and now it’s displayed on one of the bookcases downstairs. It was a lot of fun once we figured out how to use the hot glue gun ๐Ÿ˜‚

Continue reading “The Sunday Post: April 19th, 2026”
book blogger hop

Book Blogger Hop: Bookish Habits and Quirks


The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!


Do you have any bookish habits or quirks you catch yourself doing again and again?

Submitted by Billy, Coffee-Addicted Writer.

Continue reading “Book Blogger Hop: Bookish Habits and Quirks”