Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Secondary/Minor Characters

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 “born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.”

Hello, reader!

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic kind of threw me, I’m not gonna lie. Why? Because it asks about your favorite secondary or minor characters and I have a very bad habit of forgetting every character name ever after I finish a book 😅😂 Even if I gave the book five stars! So I decided to kind of fudge it and go with something I can definitely recall… my favorite found families. Found families contain secondary/minor characters and I don’t have to remember their names, haha!

(I should, I know, please forgive me…)

Let’s jump into it!

My Favorite Found Families

Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies
Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

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goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: May 18th, 2026

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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 “to read” 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! The weekend went way too fast, but the weather is making me happy, so I’m okay with having to go back to work already 😂 It’s amazing what warm, sunny weather can do for my mood. Now, though, it’s time to pick through my Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ shelf and find a book to put on the (potential) chopping block.

Let’s see what book we get this week!

Random Goodreads Pick

Book:
The Lady of the Lake (The Witcher #5)

Author:
Andrzej Sapkowski

Publisher:
Orbit

Publication Date:
January 1st, 1999

Pages:
560

Genre:
Fantasy

Synopsis:
The Witcher returns in this action-packed sequel to The Tower of Swallows, in the New York Times bestselling series that inspired The Witcher video games.

After walking through the portal in the Tower of Swallows while narrowly escaping death, Ciri finds herself in a completely different world… an Elven world. She is trapped with no way out. Time does not seem to exist and there are no obvious borders or portals to cross back into her home world.

But this is Ciri, the child of prophecy, and she will not be defeated. She knows she must escape to finally rejoin the Witcher, Geralt, and his companions – and also to try to conquer her worst nightmare. Leo Bonhart, the man who chased, wounded and tortured Ciri, is still on her trail. And the world is still at war.

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the sunday post

The Sunday Post: May 17th, 2026

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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!

Happy Sunday, everyone! It’s time for The Sunday Post and it feels crazy to be saying that. I feel like the weekend just started! But, no, it’s time to talk about my week and what’s been happening on the blog. I wouldn’t have minded if time had slowed down just a smidge this week, haha.

Let’s get to it!

Week in Review

Work was an absolute whirlwind this past week 😵‍💫 There were call-outs, instrument issues, and just a general feeling of chaos that reigned, haha. I did get to work from home on Friday, which was nice, but this past week definitely made me eager for vacation in July!

It was a lovely weekend, though! The fam went to Costco to stock up and, afterwards, we hit up a local ice cream spot. The weather was absolutely gorgeous this weekend, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to sit outside and enjoy a tasty treat! It’s so nice having my oldest kiddo home for the summer. I didn’t realize how much I missed her while she was off at college!

Today was less fun, but definitely necessary. We spent most of the day Spring cleaning. So much sweeping and laundry and scrubbing 🫠 Still, I do love the feeling of a clean house, so it was worth it. There’s still a couple of spots to hit, but I’ll save those for next weekend, haha.

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book blogger hop

Book Blogger Hop: To Dog-Ear or Not to Dog-Ear

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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!

This Week’s Prompt

Are you team dog-eared pages or strictly no creases?

Submitted by Billy, Coffee-Addicted Writer.

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first lines friday

First Lines Friday: May 15th, 2026

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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 don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re sharing on social media, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

Hello, reader!

I hope y’all have had a good Friday! I spent the day working from home, which was nice because I could wear comfy pants and actually get some stuff done 😂 Now, it’s time for First Lines Friday! Today, I’m featuring a book I started recently that certainly has an interesting premise.

I’ll admit the first line caught my attention. Let’s see if it can hook y’all, as well!

The Line(s):

“Dead, grey skin rotted away to show off the stringy sinews of muscle below.”

The Build Up:

The Reveal:

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blog tour · book reviews

BBNYA 2025 Finalist Tour: Carousel by Sarah McKnight

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Hello, reader!

In 2025, I once again participated as a panelist for the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award! It was a tough competition but we eventually narrowed it down a group of finalists. Now, those finalists are on tour! Today, I’ll be sharing my review for a horror novel that had me on the edge of my seat: Carousel by Sarah McKnight!

But, before I go on, let me tell you more about this award. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with, typically, 15 finalists (though we had 17 in 2025) and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

And, now, let’s talk about the book 📚

Title: Carousel
Author: Sarah McKnight
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: April 27th, 2024
Length: 290 pages
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Age group: Young Adult

Book Links

Amazon::StoryGraph::Goodreads

Ladies and gentlemen, the show is about to begin…

All Laura Fitzpatrick wanted to do was tell her lab partner, Maddie, how she really feels about her, but when a perfect opportunity falls into her lap, Laura does what she does best – chickens out.

Then, Laura is dared to check out the abandoned carnival grounds outside of town, and she seizes the opportunity to prove to herself and others that she can be brave after all. To her surprise, Maddie isn’t about to let her go alone.

As they explore the eerie property, they’re thrust into an endless night of terror, where danger lurks around every corner. With a century-old mystery waiting to be uncovered, Laura must learn what true bravery means if she hopes to get herself – and Maddie – out of the Plum Creek Carnival alive.

Whatever you do, don’t let the Carnival Man see you…

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: May 13th, 2026

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It’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:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

If you’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: Audiobooks continue to own my soul, so my physical reads are getting neglected! I did read another chapter of this and chided myself for not reading more. Because this is so much fun already and I do want more! I’m going to try and focus on my physical reads a bit more.
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham: My e-books are also suffering from my not wanting to read anything with my eyeballs. I read another chapter of this, as well, and honestly? I was kind of bored 😅😂 The first chapter really sucked me in and I was hoping that momentum would keep going! It is only one chapter, though, so I gotta give it more of a chance.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson: This is my current audiobook read and it’s the monthly read for the Always Fully Booked Book Club. So far, I’m unsure how I feel about it… On one hand, I am intrigued by what’s happening and I want to see how it plays out. On the other hand, the main character is driving me insane. Part of that is just her personality, but the other part is the voice the narrator has settled on for her. It’s this weird mixture of gravelly with a healthy dose of vocal fry and it absolutely grates on my nerves 😂 If the plot didn’t have me so fascinated, I’m not sure I’d be able to make it through this one, y’all…

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top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: May Flowers

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Hello, reader!

We’ve made it through the April showers, y’all. Well… it’s still kinda rainy here in New England, so those April showers are hanging on. But it is, officially, May and it’s time for those flowers to start popping! That’s the theme for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday. We’re on the second portion of the old saying “April showers bring May flowers” and it’s time for the books to bloom. This prompt was open to interpretation, so I decided to share with you ten of my favorite books that have flowers on the cover! There is nothing on this list that I rated less than 4 stars.

Now, let’s get to my flowery selection 🌷

My May Bouquet

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

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goodreads monday

Goodreads Monday/TBR: May 11th, 2026

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Hello, reader!

We’ve arrived at the beginning of the week, which means it’s time for Goodreads Monday! My Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ shelf has moved down to 841 books and I’m not 100% sure how 😂 My reading has been pretty slow, as of late. But now it’s time to pick a random book from among the digital book mountain and see if it gets to stay.

Let’s dive in!

Random Goodreads Pick

Book:
Into the Drowning Deep

Author:
Mira Grant

Publisher:
Run For It

Publication Date:
November 14th, 2017

Pages:
448

Genre:
Horror/Fantasy

Synopsis:
Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

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the sunday post

The Sunday Post: May 10th, 2026

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Hello, reader!

I hope you all have had a wonderful week! We’ve made it through and to a new one, which means it’s time for The Sunday Post! Another weekly catch-up to fill you in on life, the blog, and more.

Let’s jump into it 😊

Week in Review

This week was pretty uneventful for most of it. Work went well (if it was a bit busy) and nothing to crazy happening on the home front. Then the weekend came and everything got busy!

On Friday, I went and picked up my oldest from college. She has just finished up her freshman year! I can’t believe she’s already done with her first year… it feels like it has flown by! And she has been absolutely thriving. I’m so proud of her 💕 Then, on Saturday, I went to spend time with my best friend. This is the first time we got to see each other since her mom passed last week. It was great to be able to just hang together and… be. We went out to brunch, too, and it was lovely. And now, it’s Mother’s Day here in the States! I have spent the day playing games, chilling out, and generally being pampered, haha. My family has done a great job of spoiling me today and I definitely appreciate it.

The other activity I’ve been doing is playing an inordinate amount of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream! I bought it for my youngest after watching some videos about it online. And then I thought, “Why not make my own island?” Well, now I’ve been sucked into the unhinged little world of my Miis and it’s so. much. FUN! It’s definitely pulling me away from reading, though 😅 Still, it’s definitely worth the month, so far.

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