book reviews

Book Review: Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher




From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Nine Goblins, a tale of low fantasy and high mischief.

No one knows exactly how the Goblin War began, but folks will tell you that goblins are stinking, slinking, filthy, sheep-stealing, henhouse-raiding, obnoxious, rude, and violent. Goblins would actually agree with all this, and might throw in โ€œcowardlyโ€ and โ€œlazyโ€ too for good measure.

But goblins don’t go around killing people for fun, no matter what the propaganda posters say. And when a confrontation with an evil wizard lands a troop of nine goblins deep behind enemy lines, goblin sergeant Nessilka must figure out how to keep her hapless band together and get them home in one piece.

Unfortunately, between them and safety lies a forest full of elves, trolls, monsters, and that most terrifying of creaturesโ€ฆa human being.

Continue reading “Book Review: Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher”
www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: April 29th, 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

  • The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman: I’m not much farther into this one, but I’m having a great time! I’ve just been sucked in by all my audiobooks lately and I’ve been neglecting my physical reads! I have a day off coming up soon and I’m hoping to lose myself in this one all day.
  • All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham: I’m back on my Netgalley catch-up game and this is the oldest e-ARC I have at the moment. I didn’t even remember the premise of this thriller, but I’m already hooked! The first couple of chapters really throw you right in, haha.
  • The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni: This is another book on my Netgalley list. I just started the audiobook today and… I’m not sure how I feel about the story right now. Our main character met a woman and instantly felt a connection to the point that he’s kind of being a creep about it, lol. But maybe there’s some kind of supernatural element going on that caused it? Maybe? I dunno, I’m kind of confused and interested at the same time!
Continue reading “WWW Wednesday: April 29th, 2026”
reading project

Project Library Love: April Visit

Hello, reader!

It’s time for my April check in for Project Library Love! My stack is less modest than last month, but definitely more reasonable than my February stack, haha. It’s been a busy month, so I only got to visit the library once. Still, it’s always a fun time when I get to go to the library and I got a great stack of books this month!

Now let’s talk about it ๐Ÿ˜


In March, I ended up checking out two physical books and three audiobooks.

My physical picks were:

  • Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher
  • Black-Owned by Char Adams

My audiobook picks were:

  • The Fisherman by John Langan
  • Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
  • Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Y’all should be proud of me because I actually read all of these books! Not all of them were read in March, but I’m happy that I actually read ’em! Bonus: I enjoyed pretty much all of them. The Fisherman was my lowest rated and it still got a 3.5, haha. I even had a 5 star (finally!) among my picks! Looking at you, Nine Goblins ๐Ÿ˜‰ It was a pretty great library stack, I must say.

Continue reading “Project Library Love: April Visit”
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”