Sunday Summary – 24th May 2026

Posted on May 24, 2026 by fantasyst95

Good evening, friends – welcome back to my latest Sunday Summary post! In today’s catch-up, I’ll get you up to speed on the books I’ve been reading this week, as well as recap the content I’ve posted online. That way, if you’ve missed anything, you have the opportunity to catch up.

Compared to recent weeks, I’d say it’s been a productive one. Certainly on the content front anyway. After a blip a few weeks ago, I’m back to posting content both here on the blog and on YouTube. Now, the only thing I need to get up to speed is the likes of Instagram and my other social media accounts. I’ve never been great with it, but I promise to make more of an effort with those too.

So, content. What have I posted? Well, here on the blog, a little later than planned, I shared my review of Wizard and Glass by Stephen King. That review was intended to go out towards the beginning of this week. However, I had complex feelings about this book and I wanted to be sure I articulated this right. So, I took my time and ultimately shared this review yesterday.

Before that though, I posted a First Lines Friday, featuring a book I may get to as part of the Goodreads 2026 Spring Reading Challenge. The particular book in question wasn’t one of my original preferences compared to others on my TBR for the same prompt (Editor’s Picks). However, after reading those opening lines and talking about the book in that post, I may reconsider!

Over on YouTube, I’ve shared another review. This one was for Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama. If you want to keep more up-to-date with my book reviews, make sure to follow me on YouTube. My reviews on my blog are older – as of writing, I’m a couple of years behind! However, if you are interested in my thoughts on the books I’m reading this year, YouTube is the place to be!

Finally, earlier today I posted a video version of my Completing the Goodreads 2026 Spring Reading Challenge. If you haven’t read the written version, or don’t have time, maybe go watch/listen to my picks on YouTube…

Books Read

Heir of Fire

Now onto my favourite section of my Sunday Summary – what I’ve read! My reading priority this week is Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. You may be aware I’m hosting readalongs for the Throne of Glass series. May is the month to complete book 3, Heir of Fire. I confess, I was late finishing Crown of Midnight so I’ve set this readalong to run until 7th June. If you’ve not started yet, there’s still time to read with me.

As of this Sunday Summary, I’m 20% into the book and I have plans to pick this up again before bed. I’ve picked up a digital copy of Heir of Fire as a library loan. I have around a week left, and also a personal deadline of the end of the month to complete this book. Then, I’ll at least be on track with my own readalong. It’ll be a first, trust me!

One aspect of the books I love so far is that with each one, the scope and storyline get bigger. At the same time, it all comes together really well and without feeling forced. For a fantasy romance series, the emphasis on the fantasy plot and conflicts outweighs the romance sideline of the book. I’m personally not complaining, as that’s exactly what I was hoping for.

Naturally, with only 20% progression into the book, there’s only so much I can talk about right now. Let’s hope I can share completion in next week’s Sunday Summary and then tell you more about it!

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Progress with Somewhere Beyond the Sea has ticked along steadily this week, and that has been intentional. I’m listening to Somewhere Beyond the Sea in the hopes it qualifies for the Pride Month prompt of the Goodreads 2026 Spring Reading Challenge. Given that’s a month-long event, I’m assuming I’ll need to finish the book in June for it to qualify. With this in mind, I’ve been listening to 30 mins-45 mins a night before bed. That way, completion of this book should fall around the beginning of June.

My latest position in this audio is that I’m now around 33% into the book. I’d say this is an ideal place to be. With just eight days left in the month, including tonight, I can listen to an hour a day and still just fall into the early June timeline I need.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a beautiful book, and it follows off from The House in the Cerulean Sea well. Although part of that series, it has its own unique storyline that follows on from its predecessor without feeling same-y. We’ll see if that continues, given an aspect of the plot is going to somewhat be reminiscent of the first book (no spoilers here!).

More to follow on this book in next week’s Sunday Summary. Whilst I plan to not have completed the book by next week’s update, I could cheat a little and read 99% of it… leaving just the final few minutes to finish in June.

Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon

I had the urge to pick up another title from my May TBR today. Given I’ve been reading Throne of Glass back-to-back, and I acknowledge that’s my fault here, I fancied a change.

I had a little trouble choosing what to pick up. I steered away from The Great Hunt and Sleeping Beauties because I’m already reading a fantasy book. Both of these have fantasy elements, even if one of these doesn’t strictly call in the fantasy genre. So, that left Don’t Fix Women and Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon. The choice ultimately came down to what I owned and what I didn’t. I had a copy of Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon on my bookshelf ready to be picked up.

As of this Sunday Summary, I’ve only read the first 20 pages. That said, I appreciated picking up a very different title. I’m also very heavily invested in the subject matter too. Whilst not strictly Game of Thrones (my favourite all-time series), it’s about the filming of the TV series. There’s new stuff for me to explore here. And, if it inspires ANOTHER re-read of this series, well, I won’t be mad. I’ll take any excuse!

Books Discovered

All the reading and content creation this week has kept my head down. No new books to the TBR to note here, thank goodness! I have enough with the 230 odd I already have. Wouldn’t you agree?

Coming Up…

What I’m Reading…

Naturally, next week is planned to be a continuation of this week. Finish Heir of Fire, if I can, or get as close as I can. Mix things up with some Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon here and there if I need a change. Listen to Somewhere Beyond the Sea before bed, or any other opportunity I can. Basically, anything to keep the reading pace up.

It feels good to be out of the slump I’ve been in recently. I’m also enjoying my current reads, so let’s hope for more of the same!

Blog

For the first time in a little while, I’m posting a Top Ten Tuesday next week. I’ve been holding out for a topic I’m interested in. Next week’s topic fits in nicely with a YouTube video idea I have. So, it makes sense to do both of these as I can repurpose and reframe some of the content both ways. This week’s topic is My Favourite Books by My Favourite Authors.

On Friday, I’ll get back to you with a Shelf Control post. The fun about this regular feature is that I get to look ahead at books coming up on my TBR, share them with you, and hype myself for them. Next week, I feature a daring WW2 historical fiction novel with a female lead. I understand it has some romance element to it too – if that’s your cup of tea, be sure to check out that post!

You know the drill, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary to round up the week. Will I have reading completions to share with you? I can only hope for a successful week of reading… but time will tell.

YouTube

Over on YouTube, I’ve recorded one video to share next week already. I’ve got another planned to film tomorrow. So, you won’t be bored! Before those go live, I’ve got my weekly catch-up which should go live early tomorrow.

Next, I’ll post my review video of a book I read back in February – Grace by A.M. Shine. I’ve already reviewed that book here on my blog. However, I’m endeavouring to record reviews for every book I’ve read this year to share on my channel. So, it was a relatively easy piece of content to produce as I’ve already committed my thoughts. All I’m doing is adapting it to a new medium and hopefully a new audience!

Finally, in an attempt to help viewers get a feel for who I am as a content creator on that new-to-me platform, I’ve got a video idea to share the books I deem must-read recommendations. It’ll give viewers a feel for my reading taste and the type of content you can expect from me there. I hope you’re as excited for that video as I am!

Summary

If you’re still with me, thanks for checking out today’s Sunday Summary. Have you read any of the books I feature in today’s post? Are any on your TBR, or do you have something similar you’d like to recommend?

Let me know in the comments, and I’ll catch you in the next post ☺️📚

Sunday Summary – 24th May 2026