BBNYA 2025 Finalist Tour: Carousel by Sarah McKnight

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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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!

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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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!

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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first lines friday

First Lines Friday: May 8th, 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!

For today’s First Line Friday post, I’m pulling another book from my library stack! This one is a sequel to a book I read last year on a lark because it just sounded like a good time. I ended up enjoying it, so I decided to pick this one up when I saw it was out! It’s a translated work and, hopefully, we’ll be just as much of a thrill as the first one.

Now, let’s see if the first line can draw us in!

The Line(s):

“I am sitting in a cafe in Toyama Prefecture, with a woman across the table from me.”

The Build Up:

The Reveal:

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goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: April 27th, 2026

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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!

Random Goodreads Pick

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 can’t die.

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

Braith can’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 can’t help but be intrigued, but she’s also trapped by the offer. Braith has made it clear that he knows she’s the only person he can trust with his secret, because he knows all about hers.

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

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top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: April Showers Bring Blue Books

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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” 😂 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!

My Fave Blue Books

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

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book tag

Book Tag: 2026 Quarter Year Crisis

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Hello, reader!

I’ve been feeling the urge to do a book tag. Thankfully, I’ve been seeing the 2026 Quarter Year Crisis tag popping up everywhere. I love reading everyone’s post, I’ve been wanting to do a tag as I mentioned, so this just feels right! This tag was created by Roisin’s Reading on BookTube, so go check them out, as well 😊

Now let’s get to the tag!

How many books have you read so far?

I’m currently sitting at 26 books read for 2026. Which means I’m well on my way to meeting my goal of 65 books read this year! According to Goodreads, I’m 8 books ahead of schedule 🥳

More importantly than how many books I’ve read, I’ve been enjoying the majority of the books I’ve read so far this year! I’m also exploring non-fiction a lot more and discovering that maybe I don’t hate it as much as I thought I did, haha. No one is more shocked that my fantasy-loving self. Here’s hoping this trend continues!

Have you found a book that you think might be a 2026 favorite?

I’ve only had two five stars so far in 2026, which makes me sad… But, of those two five stars, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones is definitely the frontrunner! I adored this horror novel. It’s quietly disturbing, which is my favorite kind of horror, and I love the format in which it’s presented. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this, but a book written in a journal or diary format is always going to pique my interest. This is freakin’ stunning novel.

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top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Describe Me

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Hello, reader!

It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday and this one is pretty creative! I scrolled through a bunch of my read books on Goodreads to see if I could pick some books out that tell you a little bit more about me. I definitely had fun with this (and some may be a bit of stretch 😂) and I’m excited to share my picks with y’all.

Book Titles That Describe Me

The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis: My husband recently got his Bachelor’s degree and is currently working a more entry level job, so I’m the one bringing in the dough 😉
Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez: Summer is my favorite season and this cover embodies a perfect summer day to me.
How Freaking Romantic by Emily Harding: I’m a romantic at heart, but I’m also sarcastic as hell 😂
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: Even with some hard times recently, I’m truly living a wonderful life and I need to remind myself to appreciate that every once in awhile.
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean: I may not physically eat them, but I certainly love to “devour” a good book!

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reading project

Project Library Love: March Visit

March 26, 2026 kerrimcbooknerd5 Comments

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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