BBNYA 2025 Winner Review: Fiona and the Forgotten Piano by Kate DeMaio

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, all the finalists have had their moments in the sun and it’s time to talk about our 2025 champion! This is an adventurous middle grade fantasy that was a lot of fun: Fiona and the Forgotten Piano by Kate DeMaio!

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: Fiona and the Forgotten Piano
Author: Sarah McKnight
Publisher: Wild Ink Publishing
Publication date: January 14th, 2025
Length: 247 pages
Genre: Fantasy/Contemporary Fiction
Age group: Middle Grade

Book Links

Amazon::StoryGraph::Goodreads

Eleven-year-old Fiona isn’t allowed in the Fermata woods. And though its unique trees are fascinating, Fiona has no problem following her mother’s rules. That is, until the trees begin to sing.

Suddenly, it feels as though long forgotten memories are being unlocked in Fiona’s mind. As she nears the woods edge, the trees fall silent, so silent even the leaves stop rustling. Fiona will finally break the rules and venture into the woods. She’ll soon find herself traveling through portals to undiscovered worlds. And she’ll have to trust her instincts and her quirky new friends to bring back the music or she may get lost within its notes.

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top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: April Showers Bring Blue Books

April 21, 2026 kerrimcbooknerd2 Comments

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!

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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bbnya spotlight · blog tour

BBNYA 2025 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Another Kind of Thing by A.P. Pullan

December 12, 2025 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

Today on the blog, I’m helping the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) spotlight all the books that made it to the semi-finals! There were so many incredible books entered this year, so it’s my pleasure to feature the ones that may not have made it to the finals, but were still worthy of note!

But what is BBNYA, exactly? The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 (17 in 2025) finalists and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.

Our spotlight for today is shining on a middle grade mystery set in Scotland: Another Kind of Thing by A.P. Pullan!

Title: Another Kind of Thing
Authors: A.P. Pullan
Publication date: November 28th, 2024
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Mystery
Age group: Middle Grade
Length: 216 pages

Book Links

Amazon::Goodreads::StoryGraph

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bbnya spotlight · blog tour

BBNYA 2025 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: I Was an Alien Fashion Model by Ivy Hamid

November 26, 2025November 25, 2025 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

But what is BBNYA, exactly? The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.

Our spotlight for today is shining on a middle grade fantasy that sounds so fun: I Was an Alien Fashion Model by Ivy Hamid!

Title: I Was an Alien Fashion Model
Authors: Ivy Hamid
Publication date: November 10th, 2024
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Age group: Middle Grade
Length: 285 pages

Book Links

Amazon::Goodreads::StoryGraph

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bbnya spotlight · blog tour

BBNYA 2025 Semi-Finalist Spotlight: Vampire Mall Cop: Damien vs the Entrail Eater by Molly Blake

October 15, 2025 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

But what is BBNYA, exactly? The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.

Our spotlight for today is shining on a fantasy that sounds like it’ll a wild, humorous ride: Vampire Mall Cop: Damien vs the Entrail Eater by Molly Blake!

Title: Vampire Mall Cop: Damien vs the Entrail Eater
Author: Molly Blake
Publication date: August 6th, 2024
Genre: Fantasy/Action Adventure/Comedy
Age group: Middle Grade
Length: 221 pages

Book Links

Amazon::Goodreads::StoryGraph

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blog tour · book reviews

BBNYA 2024 Finalist Tour: Bad Grains by Susanne Schmidt

July 23, 2025 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

Hello, reader!

Our finalists for 2024’s Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award are on tour and I’m joining in! Today, I’ll be bringing you my thoughts on our 4th place finalist, a middle grade horror that feels like an enchanted folktale called Bad Grains by Susanne Schmidt!

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 16 in 2024) 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: Bad Grains
Author: Susanne Schmidt
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: October 1st, 2024
Length: 167 pages
Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Age group: Middle Grade

Book Links

Bookshop::B&N::Amazon::StoryGraph::
Goodreads

In the quaint German town of Fels, Halloween takes a dark turn for eleven-year-old Jo when her annoying older brother, Hektor, goes missing. Jo suspects he’s playing a prank, but then both her father and grandma forget Hektor’s name, and his stuff mysteriously disappears from his room.

With the adults of no help whatsoever, Jo starts her own investigation and uncovers a gruesome legend: A monster lives in the rye fields and it has been preying on the children of Fels for centuries, ensnaring them into its world under the roots. Now Jo will have two days until the gates between worlds closes on Halloween night.

Armed with a trusty turnip lantern, and her brother’s obnoxious best friend as her only ally, can Jo outsmart the ancient monster, or will the rye fields claim even more innocent victims?

Join Jo an experience a spine-chilling adventure that combines the darkness of German folklore with the magic of spooky season.

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Uncategorized

WWW Wednesday: February 26th, 2025

February 26, 2025 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

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

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

In anticipation of the release of Holy Terrors, the last book in the Little Thieves trilogy, I thought it was about time I gave the second book a read. I have a bad habit where, when I’m loving a series, I take forever to read the books because I don’t want it to be over 😭 But now that I’m back with Vanja and Emeric, I can’t believe I stayed away so long! I love this gremlin girl and her prefect and am loving this read.

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blog tour · book reviews

Blog Tour: Buddy the Knight and the Queen of Sorrows by Peter David

February 23, 2025 kerrimcbooknerd3 Comments

Hello, reader!

Today is my stop on the a blog tour run by The Write Reads! The book I’ll be reviewing today is a middle grade fantasy that spoke to my inner child: Buddy the Knight and the Queen of Sorrows by Peter David. From the beautiful cover to the wonderful story contained within, this captured my imagination!

But, before I give you my full thoughts on the book, I have people to thank. First, thank you to Dave @ The Write Reads and all of the crew for giving me a spot on this tour! Second, thank you to the author for providing me with a free copy of the book so that I could participate in this tour. It is, as always, appreciated!

Alright, now let’s get to the post 🧸

Title: Buddy the Knight and the Queen of Sorrows
Author: Peter David
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: August 31st, 2024
Length: 160 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Age group: Middle Grade

Book Links

B&N::Amazon::StoryGraph::
Goodreads

Buddy is no ordinary teddy bear.

He’s a Knight, crafted by The Nameless Wizard himself, and sworn to protect his Person, 10-year old Mieya, from all the Things-That-Go-Bump-In-The-Night.

When Mieya is cursed into a magical sleep, it’s up to Buddy and his friends Esteban the Bard, Sasha the Warrior-Princess, and Copper the Butterfly to journey across The Realm-Under-The-Bed and find the one responsible.

But this is no ordinary Quest. The Realm is a dangerous place, filled with jungles, deserts, lightning storms, and Monsters. But worst of all is The Queen of Sorrow who waits for them in her dark castle in the crags. To break her curse, Buddy will need more than his skill with a blade, Esteban’s witty songs, or Sasha’s ferocious might.

He’ll need Heart.

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: February 19th, 2025

February 19, 2025 kerrimcbooknerd7 Comments

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 Bones Beneath My Skin by T.J. Klune: Y’all, I went into this book already being a pretty big lover of T.J. Klune’s novels. I mean, that was the entire reason I picked this book as my February Book of the Month pick! I didn’t even know what the book was about before I cracked it open, haha. Well, I picked this up on Monday and I almost finished that day. I probably would have if I didn’t have errands I needed to run and those would have been abandoned if I could have! That’s how much I am loving this book! It’s getting finished today, I can promise you that, and I already know it’s going to be 5 stars. It’s follows a man who goes to a cabin in the woods to pick up the pieces of his recently shattered life and encounters a couple of squatters instead. It doesn’t sound like something that would be both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and yet here we are 😭
Buddy the Knight and the Queen of Sorrow by Peter David: I’m reading this book for a tour hosted by The Write Reads. It’s a cute middle grade tale that I’ve just started, so I can’t really give you my feelings on it just yet. I am having a good time! I do love a story about toys that are alive because that was a particularly favorite fantasy when I was a kid. I’m hoping I end up loving this one!

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: February 12th, 2025

February 12, 2025 kerrimcbooknerdLeave a comment

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

Reforged by Seth Haddon: I’ve been eyeing this book for awhile. Honestly, ever since I saw the cover, I knew I wanted to read it (total cover read, lol). It’s a royalty/bodyguard romance which is a trope I’m learning I quite enjoy. But this goes beyond just the romance. There’s quite a bit of political intrigue going on in the background, as well. I’m loving it so far! I’m listening to the audiobook and the narrator, Gary Furlong, is knocking it out of the park. This may not been on my mental TBR for the month, but I’m so glad I picked it up!
Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson: I’m reading this for the Weirdo Book Club as this is the pick for February. I’ve heard so many great things about this novel and, so far, it has not disappointed! The writing is engaging and quite evocative, painting a vivid picture in my mind of this story. I’m also enjoying the quiet dread that has been peppered throughout the early chapters. This is a short one and sounds like it’s gonna get wild, so it’s interesting to see the foreshadowing slipping in between the main character’s bi-awakening.

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