My First Book Haul of 2025 & Some Personal Oversharing Yada Yada…

As I always say, reading books and buying books are two different hobbies.

Typically, I read as much as I buy. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m reading owned books; in fact, I’m definitely not, but it’s the spirit of reading that counts, not where the books come from. But for the last year or so, I’ve been reading less and buying more. Like, way more. I was using book purchases for jolts of serotonin, my only source of happiness during the most stressful year of my life.

If life has taught me anything, it’s that shit can always get worse, so I need to maintain a high level of anxiety at all times, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Yes, I am in therapy.

But certainly my response to 2024 could have been way worse. I could have gotten into heavy drugs. Maybe considered alcoholism, but I try to avoid swallowing as a general rule. That’s a weird thing to say, so more on that in a minute.

I guess there’s always a chance I totally lose it in 2025 with the way things are currently shaping up globally.

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💩Mini Review Dump — #NetGalley Edition Part 3: Love Betrayal Murder, This Delicious Death, Dearest, Motherthing, A Fig For All the Devils, Lucy’s Coming For You

Welcome to “Part 3” of NetGalley reviews that are long overdue! Will it be the last part? Will I stay on top of my NetGalley arcs? Who can say?

Oh, I’m supposed to say? Then probably not.

Reviews in this post:

Love Betrayal Murder by Adam Mitzner
This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham
Dearest by Jacquie Walters
Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
A Fig For All the Devils by CS Fritz
Lucy’s Coming For You by Ashley Beegan

*All books were provided to me in exchange for a review.

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💩Mini Review Dump — #NetGalley Edition Part 2: Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead, A Killer’s Game, Find Me, Unmissing, The Resting Place

Annnnnnd I’m back with another batch — or dump, as it were — of NetGalley reviews. My ratio is seriously suffering, and I’m starting to feel guilty, so please bear with me while I try to cleanse my book nerd soul.

Reviews in this post:

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander
A Killer’s Game (Daniela Vega, #1) by Isabella Maldonado
Find Me (Inland Empire, #1) by Anne Frasier
Unmissing by Minka Kent
The Resting Place by Camilla Sten

*All books were provided to me in exchange for a review.

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💩Mini Review Dump — #NetGalley Edition Part 1: The Nightmare Man, Dark House, The Summer We Buried, Off the Air, The Redemption of Morgan Bright

It’s really quite hilarious, and also rude, how many NetGalley arcs I’ve read and not reviewed. Or not read at all. But we’re not going to talk about those ones right now…

Reviews in this post:

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert
Dark House (Detective Lucy Harwin, #1) by Helen Phifer
The Summer We Buried by Jody Gehrman
Off the Air by Christina Estes
The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier

*All books were provided to me in exchange for a review.

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Review: The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

“That was the way of the world: if you were a woman, then you had a job to do, and that was to pretend to love everyone else walking all over your body, leaving imprints on your face. You were supposed to crave it, to beg for more.”

★★★★

Atria | 2023

Filed Under: “V is for this very surprising turn of events.”

Honestly, what the fuck was this?

But still – 4 stars.

This is one of the most ridiculous thriller novels I’ve ever read. It’s completely over-the-top, just off it’s fucking rocker. The plot read a dozen mainstream thrillers, burped and then said, “Hold my beer.”

And you just have to respect that.

All you ever hear is people complaining about remakes, reboots, how everything is the same and no one has an original thought in their head. Most thrillers and mysteries you read are, in some way, things you’ve read before with a different twist here and there. Then, when we finally get something original and outside the box, and people complain that it’s too weird or unbelievable.

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Review: Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

“She is obsessed, she is compelled, she is called. She is a selkie, and Ash has her skin. It’s infuriating and delicious and easy and challenging and tumultuous and she is hungry for more.”

★★★★

Titan Books | 2023

Filed Under: The cottagecore has rotted.

This is a sapphic horror novel – two women, both equally giving off bad vibes in very different ways – fall in love after meeting at a farmer’s market.

It sounds just precious, doesn’t it?

Side note: My husband was going to propose to me at a farmer’s market. And then, not knowing his plan, I managed to say something about public proposals being my worst nightmare. So he changed his plan to something more intimate. Anyway…

Don’t get too caught up in the meet-cute of this novel, because everything else is a fucking insecure, anxiety-ridden hellscape of awkwardness and red flags and infatuation, and then like some gross shit I won’t get into because it’s all a big fucked up spoiler.

And trust me when I say, you do not want this to be spoiled for you.

Ash is a mysterious waif who runs an apothecary stall at the weekend farmer’s market, where she sells decadent cupcakes, homemade soaps and lotions, candles, pottery and plants… and whatever else off-grid no-waste purists make. Shoes made out of bark? Hats made out of grass? I saw that on Naked and Afraid.

Rosemary has a PhD, is a literature professor and just got out of a 3-year relationship with a shitty guy. She sees herself as Ash’s opposite, and when they meet, there are immediate sparks and Ro finds herself obsessing over this ethereal beauty who is everything she’s not.

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Review: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

★★★★½

Sandycove | 2023

Filed Under: I want to be where the people aren’t…

I don’t know, man, if my dad was like, “When I die, put me in the garbage,” and I really thought those were his genuine final wishes… maybe I would. I hope he doesn’t ask.

But, that is exactly how this novel opens, and from there the plot was nothing like I expected it to be… but that’s not a bad thing.

It’s an odd novel, but it’s also familiar. Sometimes it’s emotional, sometimes it’s very dark, sometimes it’s mysterious. It even made me laugh a handful of times. It’s just so charming and weird and blunt, much like the character of Sally Diamond herself. But is the tone all over the place? Yeah, it fucking is.

There is a strange but accessible world created within the pages, bringing vivid characters and a plot unlike anything I have read recently, and even though it seems like it should be in my usual genres, there’s so much about the writing style that sometimes felt just different enough that it added to the narrative’s complexity.

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Review: It’s One of Us by J.T. Ellison

★★★★½

Mira | 2023

Filed Under: Throw the whole man away.

Well, well, well, how the turntables…

I don’t know what that means here, I just wanted to quote Michael Scott. It’s not really relevant other than I’m high and The Office is on.

What I wanted to say is well, well, well! I think this may be my favourite standalone novel that J.T. Ellison has put out. Like ever. I mean, of all time.

Maybe that’s saying a lot? I don’t want to give myself too much status here, but I’ve been going around the Ellison track for a while and she’s always an auto-read author for me.

I’ve been reading Ellison for like fifteen years. And that’s ugh, oh god what is time? Where does it go? Cotton-Eyed Fucking Joe. So, fifteen years. One. Five. That’s that. And I feel like this novel is such a perfect example of an author just getting better and better.

There’s something special about this one. It starts out immediately with the prologue – the prose kicking everything off is seriously captivating. As you settle into the narrative, it feels more connected, more emotional and more honest than the typical domestic thriller. There is life here. The author clearly poured real emotions onto the page. And in the end, everything comes together with a perfect twist.

Did I like any of these characters? No, I didn’t. But I did like reading them and how they navigated this totally bananas Our Father-ish plot. But seriously, minus half a star because no one punched Park in the throat. I would have really loved to see that.