WWW Wednesday: April 8th, 2026

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 Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton: The plot is starting to get intriguing in this one, so I find myself picking it up more. That’s certainly a good thing! The not so great thing is that the main characters are starting to get on my nerves… A lot of repetition of goals and being so in love even though they’ve known each other for five seconds. I’m hoping the plot will distract me enough to move past that, haha.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi: I’m joining a new in-person book club and this was the first book that was chosen for all of us to read. I had heard about this book but hadn’t really felt the urge to read it. I’m glad this book club has pushed me to give it a try because I already love our titular character and will fight anyone that is mean to him. I mean… no one has been mean, but the statement stands 😤 I think this is the fastest I’ve latched onto a character in a long time!
Wolfsong by T.J. Klune: I just picked this up today and I’m already invested and whatever the heck is going on in this town. The writing feels a little stilted, but I’m hoping I’ll get used to it as I get farther into the book. I’m hoping to love this one because I’ve already purchased the entire series… oops 😅😂 The paperback Barnes & Noble editions were too pretty!

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top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Places on My Bucket List

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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!

It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday! I’m excited for this week’s topic because we’re talking about books that are set in places that are on my bucket list. I grew up in the military and gained a love of exploring new places. Unfortunately, in my adult life, I haven’t been able to travel nearly as much as I would like to. That means I have a lot of places on my bucket list, haha. I’ve narrowed it down to the top ten and selected a book set in each one.

Now, let me share my list with you!

Books Set in Places I Want to Travel

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (New Zealand)
The Dry by Jane Harper (Australia)
Strange Buildings by Uketsu (Japan)
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Scotland)
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (Ireland)

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goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: April 6th, 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 the beginning of the week and it’s time for another Goodreads Monday! I made it back home to New England and am settling back into the routine. Part of that is logging into my Goodreads TBR and picking a random book to decide whether to keep or toss. My ‘Want to Read’ shelf has mysteriously climbed from 832 books last week to 837 books 👀 Who knows who that happened… *cough*

Perhaps the random number generator will help bring the numbers down a weee bit, haha.

Random Goodreads Pick

Book:
Hench

Author:
Natalie Zina Walschots

Publisher:
HarperCollins

Publication Date:
September 22nd, 2020

Pages:
400

Genre:
Fantasy/Superheroes

Synopsis:
A smart, imaginative, and evocative novel of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption, told with razor-sharp wit and affection, in which a young woman discovers the greatest superpower—for good or ill—is a properly executed spreadsheet.Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn’t glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy?

As a temp, she’s just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything goes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called “hero” leaves her badly injured. And, to her horror, compared to the other bodies strewn about, she’s the lucky one.

So, of course, then she gets laid off.

With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her data tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks.

Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it. By tallying up the human cost these caped forces of nature wreak upon the world, she discovers that the line between good and evil is mostly marketing. And with social media and viral videos, she can control that appearance.

It’s not too long before she’s employed once more, this time by one of the worst villains on earth. As she becomes an increasingly valuable lieutenant, she might just save the world.

A sharp, witty, modern debut, Hench explores the individual cost of justice through a fascinating mix of Millennial office politics, heroism measured through data science, body horror, and a profound misunderstanding of quantum mechanics.

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first lines friday

First Lines Friday: April 3rd, 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!

Happy Friday from sunny Georgia! I’m visiting my folks and the weather down here is drastically different, haha. Makes packing fun. But that’s neither here nor there. What we’re all here for is another First Lines Friday! The book I picked for today’s post is one I’m currently reading. It’s a YA fantasy with themes of grief that I find myself quite enjoying.

Now, let’s see if the first line can pull you in, as well!

The Line(s):

“It was a day for finding things.”

The Build Up:

The Reveal:

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monthly tbr · readathon

Magical Readathon: Orilium Spring Equinox 2026

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Hello, reader!

It’s time to head back to Orilium with the Magical Readathon Spring Equinox! This year is going to be a new adventure for my character, Korrin, because last year she successfully became a Beast Master… Master 😂 I can’t believe it has already been four years since arriving at Orilium!

But, before I talk more about new adventures, what is the Magical Readathon? It is the brain child of the marvelous G @ Book Roast, who created the world of Aeldia, where Orilium dwells, and every aspect therein. It’s an incredibly creative readathon where you build a character, choose a guild, and guide your character through classes to achieve their calling. I am notoriously bad at giving all the details in a coherent way, so you should definitely watch G’s announcement video for the scoop:

My Character

✨✨✨ Name: Korrin Musgrave ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Calling: Beast Master Master ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Guild: The Order of the Crescent Moon ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Current Guild Reputation Points: 755 gp✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Conduit: Quarterstaff ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Legacy: Wolf familiar (Venandi) ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Background: Wildling ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Province: Irtheria ✨✨✨
✨✨✨ Heritage: Earthling (earth element) ✨✨✨

If you want to learn more about these various choices, you can check out the Brief History of Aeldia on the Google drive. It’s awesome what G has dreamed up!

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: April 1st, 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 Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman: I’m currently on a trip and this was the book I was reading on the plane. I have, officially, been sucked back into the world and there have been some twists that have blown my mind! I’m loving this series, so much, I cannot wait to continue.
The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton: I’m still working my way through this one! This is why I’m so far behind on my Netgalley reads… it takes me forever to read an e-book even if I’m enjoying the story. And I am enjoying this YA fantasy so far, though I’m not a huge fan of insta-love, which is rearing its ugly head. I’m still intrigued by the world Pacton is creating.
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green: I quite literally just started this audiobook, so I haven’t gotten far into this one. I’m excited for it, though, because working in clinical microbiology makes me nerd out about all things bacteria. I’m intrigued to see the history of this particular bug.

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blog tour · book reviews

BBNYA 2025 Finalist Tour: Miss Bennet’s Dragon by M.Verant

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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 Pride & Prejudice retelling that had me gasping and swooning: Miss Bennet’s Dragon by M.Verant!

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: Miss Bennet’s Dragon
Author: M. Verant
Publisher: Acerbic Press
Publication date: April 28th, 2021
Length: 372 pages
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Age group: Adult

Book Links

Amazon::StoryGraph::Goodreads

War threatens England, but Elizabeth Bennet’s battles are closer to home. She’s managing the family estate for her ailing father. Insufferable gentlemen keep bursting in to propose marriage. And most dangerous of all, she’s hiding a forbidden skill. Elizabeth can speak to draca, the small, fire-breathing dragons kept by gentry as frivolous status symbols.

When Napoleon’s spies attempt to steal draca, the distant war threatens even cozy Hertfordshire. Elizabeth seeks the aid of Mr. Darcy, the proud man whose proposal she once scorned. Amid the breathtaking halls of Pemberley, she discovers the truth: she is not the first woman to speak with draca. But with her secret revealed, the dark history of Pemberley tears her and Mr. Darcy apart.

One hope remains: her dangerous affinity to draca. But does she dare to trust legends and lost songs? And when a terrible betrayal threatens the man she loves, does she have a choice?

Miss Bennet’s Dragon is the first book in the award-winning Jane Austen Fantasy trilogy. For fans of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and of course Jane Austen.

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goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: March 30th, 2026

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Hello, reader!

Monday is upon us and that means it’s time for another Goodreads Monday! Time to search through my Goodreads TBR and pluck a random book from within to judge. I’m currently sitting on 832 books and I feel like that is up from the last couple of weeks… At least it’s just a digital TBR and not a physical one!

Now, let’s see what the random number generator pulls for me.

Random Goodreads Pick

Book:
House of Earth and Blood

Author:
Sarah J Maas

Publisher:
Bloomsbury Publishing

Publication Date:
March 3rd, 2020

Pages:
803

Genre:
Fantasy/Romance

Synopsis:
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.

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first lines friday

First Lines Friday: March 27th, 2026

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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!

We’ve arrived at the end of the work week and you know what that means. Time for another First Lines Friday! Today, I’m featuring a novel that I found out existed only a few years ago. My 80s kid heart was thrilled! I’ve had this on my bookshelf for awhile and I think it’s time to finally give it a read.

Now, we’re gonna if the first line can help suck me in.

The Line(s):

“This inscription could be seen on the glass door of a small shop, but naturally this was only the way it looked if you were inside the dimly lit shop, looking out at the street through the plateglass door.”

The Build Up:

The Reveal:

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reading project

Project Library Love: March Visit

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Hello, reader!

It’s time for a check-in on one of my 2026 reading projects, Library Love! Gonna be honest, I didn’t do as well in February finishing all my books before they had to be returned to the library 😅 That’s because my reading these past few months has kind of slowed down from my surge in January. Life has been throwing a lot at me lately and it is definitely affecting my reading. Still, I made a point to get back to the library, even if my haul is a bit smaller this month.

Now let’s recap February’s books and talk about what I picked up in March!

Last Month’s Stack

In February, I ended up checking out seven physical books, one audiobook, and one book in both audio and physical form.

My physical picks were:

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Rayborn
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
How to Kill A Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Last First Kiss by Julian Winters
The Love Audit by Lucy Eden
One by One by Ruth Ware

My audiobook pick was:

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

And my audio/physical pick was:

All of Us Murderers by K.J. Charles

As I said, I didn’t do quite so well reading all my library books in February. I ended up reading three of the physical books, one audiobook, and the combined audio/physical checkout. I definitely focused on reading book club books cause I got all of those done! I started All of Us Murderers physically, but ended up switching to the audiobook because my Libby hold came in.

I ended up returning both Last First Kiss and The Love Audit back to the library without reading them. I suppose I just wasn’t in a romance mood last month. And I still have A Curious Beginning and Entangled Life checked out! I’ll probably have to renew them (again…) but I do really want to read them. We’ll see if that happens, haha.

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