Tag: amreading

Monthly TBR – December 2025

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We’re in the final month of 2025, and I have a great list of books to round up the year. As of this monthly TBR, I’ve completed my Goodreads reading challenge. At the beginning the year, I set out to read 45 books this year, and increase of three on the previous year. The great news is I’ve met that target, so there is no numerical target to hit any longer. Instead, this monthly TBR is made up of books to meet my other goals. If you recall, those were: –

  • Get up-to-date or finish 10 series
  • Complete Goodreads Reading Challenges
  • Get out of my comfort zone

From final books of trilogies to books written in unusual dialects, I have a weird and wonderful list of books that make up my last monthly TBR of the year. Shall we take a look at what those are? 

 

Fixed Reads 

 

Empire of the Dawn

Starting off this monthly TBR is my current physical read, Empire pf the Dawn by Jay Kristoff. So far, progress with the book has been a little slow. I’ve not picked it up loads. Partly, I think this is out of fear of finishing the series. However, I’ve also had other bits on, and I know it sounds silly, but keeping up with I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Has impacted my reading time. I’m not a religious watcher of TV, and especially not live programs. However, this is the one exception I will bend over backwards for. 

Now though, I’ve got a deadline. Of all the goals left to achieve this month, finishing 10 series is highest on my list. That puts Empire of the Dawn and two other books on this list as priority reads this month. Oh, what a shame, never mind… 

Seriously though, I can’t wait to see what happens in this book. The hinted at trials and betrayals will be juicy and emotional, I’m sure… 

 

A Crucible of Souls

Next on this monthly TBR is my current audiobook listen. It makes absolutely no sense to drop this book given it’s one I’ve already started. Whilst reading towards my ChatGPT reading challenge isn’t a goal I set myself this year in my 2025 resolutions post, its a fun piece of content I want to make. Also, I want to know if ChatGPT or other AI can make good recommendations for books if I’m in a slump or stumped on what I want. That, or if I’m looking for an off-the-wall recommendation. 

I’m also playing with recording my thoughts on these books in video format, so watch this space. I’ll likely release these together as one comprehensive post. It’s a trial to see if I can get used to filming and recording myself with a view to publishing for video content in future. So, A crucible of Souls, as well as the final book on this challenge, are on my December TBR so I can release that video in the new year. Maybe. We’ll see how reading progress goes.

As of this monthly TBR, I’m a third of the way into A Crucible of Souls. I’m enjoying the audio so far, so fingers crossed more good progress follows! 

 

After the Forest

If you are a regular reader, you’ll know I help moderate a book club online. The Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club recently changed their format from a traditional to a non-traditional book club. Instead of picking one designated book to read, the club has put together a list of suggestions that meet Cottagecore themes. Even still, books aren’t limited to those that the club has highlighted. If readers have a book on their TBR that meets the criteria, they can pick those up instead and share their thoughts (and hopefully recommendations) in Discord and on the monthly call. 

For my pick, I’m committing to reading After the Forest. It’s a Cottagecore, witchy spin-off of the fairytale Hansel and Gretel, as far as I can tell. It’s a bit different and I’m interested to see how well I like the book in due course. 

 

The Doors of Midnight

The second book on this monthly TBR that will help me complete my goal of finishing series is picking up R.R. Virdi’s The Doors of Midnight. I read and reviewed the first book, The First Binding, a while ago now as part of the publication blog tour with Gollancz. 

Whilst I’m later to the party with this book, I’m looking forward to returning to this complex silk-road inspired fantasy. It’s a chunk at over 800 pages, but not unexpected. The first book could knock someone out if you hit them over the head with it as well! 

On a serious note, I loved the narration style and story of the first book in the series. Reading The Doors of Midnight will bring me up to date, so will be a worthwhile accomlishment if I can finish it before the end of December. 

 

The Housemaid is Watching

The final sequel I’m finishing in December, after listening to A Crucible of Souls, is The Housemaid is Watching. This is the final sequel on this monthly TBR and finishing this book (as well as Empire of the Dawn and The Doors of Midnight) will mean I’ve hit my target finishing or getting up-to-date with 10 series throughout 2025. 

I enjoyed listening to The Housemaid earlier this year and The Housemaid’s Secret last month. It was an impromptu listen in November (see more in my monthly wrap-up for November), but it proved an easy and entertaining listen. Of the sequels on my list, I think it’s the easiest to finish due to its size. The series so far has also been really engaging, and listening to the books is pretty easy as well. It’s engaging, with multiple perspectives unveiling the twists in the story. I can’t wait to finish this one! 

 

Mood Reads 

 

Beyond Redemption 

I didn’t get to Beyond Redemption last month. As I said above, completing my ChatGPT book recommendations challenge isn’t top of my list and therefore this book makes it to the Mood Read list. 

I’ve still got a copy of Beyond Redemption via Kindle Unlimited, ready and waiting for me. It’s the grimdark recommendation I asked ChatGPT for. It’s been a while since I leaned into this sub-genre, and I’m looking forward to getting into it. Last time I read in this genre, I discovered a favourite trilogy. I’m optimistic I’m onto another winner here! 

As I mentioned above, this doesn’t contribute to my 2025 resolutions goals. However, I want to keep up progress with the book for the ChatGPT challenge I started much later. 

 

Yellowface

The last book I read by R.F. Kuang was Babel, and that book was one of my favourite reads that year. As a result, I can’t wait to see if Yellowface is as well received! 

From what I recall of the hype when Yellowface released, I’m confident I’ll enjoy this one. It deals with a morally grey character who steals the literary work of another after a lack of success of her own merit. My understanding is that it also deals with cultural appropriation. It should make sure an entertaining and thought-provoking read! 

Yellowface will help me towards one of the Goodreads Fall Challenges – Fiction Faves. 

 

The Burning Girls

Another Goodreads Fall Challenge is picking up a Spine Tingler. For that challenge, I want to pick up The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor. 

I’ve enjoyed numerous books by this author to date, including The Chalk Man, The Other People and The Taking of Annie Thorne. It’s a pretty safe bet as thrillers go. With darker nights right now, it’s fun to cozy in at home and read something spooky! 

 

Deep Wheel Orcadia

The final book on this monthly TBR, and on the list as a book ‘out of my comfort zone’, is Deep Wheel Orcadia. This book caught my attention and landed on my TBR as I was intrigued by the idea of a sci-fi book written in Orkney slang. It’s also written in English, so I will actually be able to read it. However, it’s a unique book and idea, and I knew I had to give it a look! 

Deep Wheel Orcadia is a reasonably short read. In a way, it’s the last priority book on this monthly TBR. However, I may choose to call on it if I need a break between genres, or just a short read if I fancy something different. 

 

Summary 

With my Goodreads reading challenge done, the final books that make up my December monthly TBR are to wrap-up my last resolutions for the year. 

Did you set yourself any goals for 2025? Do you have any goals you’re making a final push to complete? 

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Blog Tour Review: Death of a Billionaire – Tucker May

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When the nights are drawing in, a funny murder mystery definitely lifts the spirits. If you’re in the market for a quick and engaging whodunnit, Death of a Billionaire will be perfect for you! 

Before I get stuck into this review in earnest, thank you to Tucker May and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review Death of a Billionaire. Whilst I was provided with a copy of the book for the purposes of providing my review, my thoughts are my own. 

Now, let’s dive in, shall we? 

 

Death of a Billionaire – Tucker May

Genre: Murder Mystery

Pages: 268

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Tucker May Books

Original Publication Date: 14 Nov 2025

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Death of a Billionaire

Ever dream of killing your boss? Alan Benning knows how you feel.

The problem: his billionaire boss actually winds up murdered. And the whole world thinks he did it.

When globetrotting tech billionaire Barron Fisk is found dead on the floor of his swanky Silicon Valley office, all evidence points to Alan.

Alan must venture into the glitzy, treacherous world of tech billionaires to clear his name by sortingthrough a long list of suspects with motive aplenty. If he can’t find the real culprit, Alan’s going down.

The clock is ticking.

Who killed Barron Fisk? The truth will shock— and change— the entire world.

Fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series, Carl Hiaasen’s tales of high-stakes hijinks,or Ruth Ware’s page-turning mysteries will love Death of a Billionaire.

Purchase Link

 

My Thoughts… 

Plot 

Do we all dream of murdering our bosses? I can’t say I do, but then again, I am pretty boring by a lot of people’s standards. Alan Benning, however, despite the same reputation, finds himself accused of his CEO’s murder. So begins Death of a Billionaire. From here, the book almost comically lays out all the potential suspects and why they have a motive to see the late Barron Fisk off. 

The book also has a good twist at the end. I had my suspicions from quite early on as to the identity of a mysterious anonymous narrator. And I was close, so close. Tucker May is clever in unveiling the big reveal at just the right time! 

Generally, the book is well paced, and revelations, stake outs, and parodied corporate boardroom drama drive the plot forward. Death of a Billionaire isn’t shy on the action, which is what I really enjoyed about this narrative. 

 

Setting

Aside from being a little futuristic in technology, the world of Death of a Billionaire is much like our own. It’s fun and approachable, regardless of whether you are technically minded or have a lot of interest in technology. Let’s be honest, in our world 30% of smartphone users are loyal to one of the tech brands in the world. Hint, their logo and name are fruity… It’s therefore not a stretch for one brand to dominate the market in this fictional world. 

The spectrum of characters in the book allows us to see people and settings from all demographics. Rich, poor, people of colour – it’s a diverse place! I also like to see this wider representation, so kudos that Death of a Billionaire does this well. 

 

Characters

The suspects in Death of a Billionaire are all comically shady in some way. It was a fun jaunt to pick apart their stories and get under the hood with their relationships to Barron Fisk. He, and some of the other characters in this book, are far from noble or even nice. It’s hard to feel sorry about what happened to him. The police investigation tears apart the lives of those closest to Fisk, some deserving, others less so. 

Barron Fisk is not a likeable character, so Tucker May has done a fantastic job of maintaining that personality and facade of Fisk whilst keeping us readers invested in his murder investigation. 

 

Narrative Style 

The book is short and snappy. With concise chapters and lots of action to match, you’ll be whiling away the page count before you know it! The plot does a lot of the work to get you compulsively turning the pages, but this does help you along 😉

Combine that with the humour and unique disdain shown to us readers by the narrator, and you get a fun, quirky read. Death of a Billionaire was fantastic as a light palate cleanser around some longer, heavier books. Its tone and joviality are refreshing. Truthfully, it was the type of book I needed right now.  

 

Summary 

Are you after a lighter, humorous murder mystery where everyone is a suspect and probably should be for a good reason? If so, pick up Death of a Billionaire and you won’t regret it! I shared that I’d just started this book in my Sunday Summary a few days ago, and I finished it quickly.

 

Author Bio

Tucker May was raised in southern Missouri. He attended Northwestern University, where he was trained in acting and playwriting. He now lives in Pasadena, California, with his wife, Barbara, and their cat, Principal Spittle. He is an avid reader and longtime fan of the Los Angeles Rams and Geelong Cats. Death of a Billionaire is his debut novel.

Social Media Links – 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuckermaymysteries/

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/tuckermaymysteries.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556491591135

Monthly Wrap-Up – November 2025

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I’m looking forward to sharing the books I read in the last 30 days in today’s monthly wrap-up for November! I put in some solid reading, and I have a lot of good books to recap and share with you. How many books did you read in November? I’m not even sure how many I read; let’s take a look, shall we? 

 

Books Read 

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping 

As of my last monthly wrap-up post, I had just 100 pages left of A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. I got on so well with this book, I didn’t even feature it on November’s monthly TBR – I finished it on the first day of the month. 

I enjoyed this cozy, whimsical read. The message is great, and I was compelled to find out whether Sara’s life and circumstances changed after the book or not. The characters were great, and A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping was a well-received read, even if it’s not one I’d have picked myself. That’s what makes books clubs fun – and helps me meet me reading goal of reading outside of my comfort zone. 

 

Wizard of Ends: United Army

The beginning of the month was punctuated with reading deadlines. In a way, I actually think that helped me get some solid reading done. Sometimes, you need something like that to give you a kick up the bum, right? 

The added bonus is that Wizard of Ends: United Army was a shorter read. I read the book over the course of a day, and I published my review of the book on the 3rd November. No rest for the wicked, is there? In the interests of getting you to appreciate my efforts in writing down my thoughts, I’m going to point you to that review. I had fun with this short fantasy book. I also have a unique perspective in that unusually, I read this third instalment before picking up the earlier books. It’s not a habit of mine, but necessity struck. 

 

The Angel Prophecy

Just three days after my review of Wizard of Ends went live, I had another deadline to meet. When it rains, it pours, eh? It’s my own fault! I have a tendency to book myself on to a load of blog tours in one go, then not do any for a bit. Rinse and repeat. 

I wanted to pick up The Angel Prophecy after reading and reviewing The Atlantis Covenant as part of a blog tour back at the beginning of September. Honestly, it was as fun as I anticipated after reading that first instalment. Not only that, but I enjoyed getting to read some chapter perspectives from characters I liked from that first book, but maybe didn’t have a dominant enough role or personality to shine in The Atlantis Covenant. 

As with Wizard of Ends, if you want to read more on this book, you can check out my review. 

 

The God of the Woods

My final deadline was to read The God of the Woods ahead of our book club meet at work. I did have to put this meeting back a couple of weeks, as originally it was coinciding with my deadlines earlier in the month. 

Thankfully, events of this book were compulsively readable and I enjoyed this one thoroughly. So did Meg, who listened to the audiobook of this in just a matter of days after I announced the read to the club. If anything, I had to remind her of events as it had been a good while between her reading and our meet! 

We had a good discussion about the book too. The characters are interesting and I was doubting pretty much everyone at some point in the narrative. What’s real, and who could be trusted? It’s an interesting narrative. I’m glad I chose this book! 

 

The Shadow of What Was Lost 

Another book carried forward from October’s monthly wrap-up is my audiobook listen of The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington.  

Progress remained slow and steady throughout the month, until my time off work in the second half of the month. I was 30% into the audio as of the beginning of November, but rapidly made much more progress in the first week I had off and finished the audiobook on the 22nd. 

It’s a long audiobook, and I felt it in a way. However, it was a solid story and the ending really made the book for me. My decision to continue the series was made by the epilogue and by the epilogue alone! I had some suspicions that there was more to Kaden’s character. It wasn’t what I expected, but somehow, it was better… 

 

The Housemaid’s Secret

After listening to The Shadow of What Was Lost, I flew through The Housemaid’s Secret. The audiobook is about a third of the length of that first audiobook. That, and I was midway through kitchen renovations and both a crochet and cross-stitch project at the time. All are perfect opportunities to listen to audiobooks at the same time. 

I listened to the first book of the series, The Housemaid, earlier this year. To be consistent, I opted to continue the series in the same format. It was every bit as good as the first instalment. Given that I’d just listened to such a long audio, this one felt like it flew by! 

 

Empire of the Dawn

The last physical book I progressed with in November was Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff. Admittedly, I slowed down on physical reads towards the end of the month. On the one hand, I’d argue that it’s because I was doing more physical things and therefore listening to audio instead. However, that wouldn’t be a real answer. If I’m honest, I think I started holding out on reading the book because I’m scared and sad to get to the end. 

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far, and I am having a good time with the book. As a result of not finishing it in November, this is one of my first reads of December – and I need completion to achieve my series goal. Is that motivation enough to get over my trepidation about finishing the book? 

 

A Crucible of Souls

Finally, the last book on this monthly wrap-up is A Crucible of Souls. I started listening to this audiobook right at the end of the month, but still succeeded in getting to 33% before the end of the month. Audiobooks have really been working for me, what can I say? 

So far, this audio is pretty interesting and I’m optimistic it’s only going to get better. Caldan is an intriguing character and I can’t wait to find out more. What really happened to his parents, and who is he? Is he going to be taken advantage of in the big wide world he’s not used to? I suspect so, but that remains to be seen. 

You’ll find out more in the near future as I report progress in my Sunday Summary updates. 

 

Death of a Billionaire

Finally, I picked up my e-reader for the first time in a while to start an ARC of a book you’ll be hearing more about soon. Sneaking on to today’s monthly wrap-up post is Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May. I started this book yesterday, the last day of the month, as I am due to review this in just a couple of days time as part of an ongoing blog tour.

I read the first 20% yesterday, with the rest to follow very shortly!

 

Summary 

I’ve made good reading progress this month, especially audiobooks! Circumstances have meant these have suited what I’ve been doing this month. It’s odd, because there are months I don’t read a lot on that format at all. Then, I get months like this where I listen to several. 

I’ve enjoyed this month, and I also have the great news to share that I met my Goodreads Challenge of 45 books this month. I’m a happy bunny, so any reading above and beyond this is a bonus. Naturally, in December’s monthly TBR I’m going to focus on reading towards my other reading goals. 

Thanks for checking out today’s monthly wrap-up! How many books have you read so far this year? 

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Sunday Summary – 30th November 2025

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This week’s Sunday Summary follows another week off work. Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not rubbing it in. If you feel that way, you can laugh at me because I’m back tomorrow. Bag packed? Check. Lunch organised? Yup. Jokes aside, it’ll be nice to get back into my normal routine.

The routine that hasn’t really changed is my blog schedule for this week. Whilst I’ve been off, I’ve kept up with posting online as usual. This week, my first post was a final review of my 2025 resolutions and a list of books I could pick up in December to meet my outstanding goals. As of that post, I have actually already completed one of my goals due by the end of the year! If you haven’t read that post and you want to find out what’s coming up in the very near future, you can check that out now.

On Friday, I set myself a challenge to feature a young adult novel in my First Lines Friday feature. In the end, I featured the first book of a series loved and plan to re-read in future. Whilst young adult isn’t a genre I gravitate to very often, I did enjoy this one. I even confess in that post that I could get behind the relationship between the protagonists – that’s not something I say lightly! 

 

Books Read

Empire of the Dawn 

Progress with Empire of the Dawn has admittedly been slow. I’ve enjoyed picking up this book in the couple of instalments I have, but honestly, I think I’m holding myself back. Empire of the Dawn is the final instalment of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire trilogy. The only reason I can give for my resistance picking up this book is that I’m not looking forward to finishing it and the series being over. 

I’ve enjoyed every aspect of the book I’ve read so far and to continuing with it. I’ll have to put my big girl pants on and just accept that it’s the final book and I won’t find out what happens unless I read it! Even when it’s over, I can always re-read it… 

 

The Housemaid’s Secret

You may recall in last week’s Sunday Summary post, I shared that I’d listened to just over 25% of The Housemaid’s Secret. Well, it’s fair to say I made pretty light work of that book! Having listened to such a long audiobook before picking up this one, finishing Freida McFadden‘s second instalment in her housemaid’s trilogy was a breeze! 

As I mentioned in last week’s post, whilst I’ve been off work, I’ve been doing some work around the house. More specifically, I’m updating my kitchen. Because I’ve been doing physical work, I’ve been occupying myself with audio to keep myself entertained. I’ve also been doing a lot of crafty projects in my downtime, and listening to audio works really well for me at the same time. 

As a result, I devoured The Housemaid’s Secret. The plot and characters in the book really helped this along. It was an easier read because it was a lot shorter, but it is also engaging and an interesting story to listen to. Truthfully, I expected nothing less. I felt the same about the first instalment of the series, The Housemaid. If you read or checked out my 2025 resolutions review post earlier this week, you may have spotted the sequel to the series on that list as a potential December read.

Watch this space… 

 

A Crucible of Souls

After devouring The Housemaid’s Secret, I started A Crucible of Souls by Mitchell Hogan. This is the second book I’m reading as part of a ChatGPT recommendations challenge I’ve set myself. 

So far, I’m getting on pretty well with the book. For a debut, it reads really well and I’m hoping the action in the book starts to pick up pace very shortly. As of this Sunday Summary post, I am a third of the way through this audiobook. It’s interesting, and there are elements of the plot that have us intrigued because they are unresolved at the moment. The main character Caldan is also a little bit of a mystery. Who is he, and is he going to draw unwanted attention by his abilities? Time will only tell. 

 

Death of a Billionaire 

Finally, I picked up Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May today. I am reviewing this book as part of a blog tour which kicked off earlier this week. My review is due on Wednesday, so naturally this book is taking priority in the immediate future. 

As things stand, it’s a pretty short and easy read. I’m enjoying the humour and I’m intrigued as to who the mystery narrator is. Their overt opinions and distain for a lot of people, the reader included, has me asking questions as to who it is and why they presenting themselves that way. It’s not the sort of thing you see in a lot of books, but it has me intrigued! I have a suspicion already, but it remains to be seen whether that turns out to be the case! 

As of this Sunday Summary update, I’m 20% into Death of a Billionaire. Naturally, I’ll be sharing more about this book on Wednesday, so I hope you can check in with me then. 

 

Books Discovered

I popped into town on Friday to do some Christmas shopping, and of course I had to take a look in our local Waterstones. Armed with some vouchers, I picked up Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad and Come to This Court and Cry. 

No prizes for guessing I combed through the history section… as sad as it is, I love reading about World War II and the associated events, history and people affected. I’m looking forward to reading these books in this category. 

 

Coming Up… 

I may be back to work next week, but there is no rest for the wicked here! I have a full week of content planned, and I’m excited to share each of these posts with you 😊

My first post will go live tomorrow as it will officially be the beginning of December. I can no longer complain about premature Christmas music or mince pies being on sale. With it being the end of the month, I’m looking forward to sharing my monthly wrap-up for November and sharing the books I’ve read over these last few weeks. Progress has felt really good, so I hope to have plenty of content in that post for you.

Next, on Wednesday I’ll be sharing my review for Death of a Billionaire, as I’ve previously alluded to. December 3rd is my official stop date, so that’s a hard deadline to meet.

On Friday, I’ll share my December reading list in my usual monthly TBR format. I’ve already got several books planned which has been shaped from my 2025 resolutions review post. I’ve got some cracking books to finish up the year with. If you are intrigued to see what those will be, I hope you can check in with me later this week.

Finally, this time next week I’ll be back with my next Sunday Summary instalment. No doubt I’ll be a little bit tired and fed up because I’m planning to put up my Christmas decorations. Good luck to me – I have no idea how the cats are going to react to the Christmas tree. However, I have my suspicions and it may not be pretty 😂 

Like I said, no rest for the wicked! 

What have you been up to this weekend?

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2025 Reading Goals… 1 month to go!

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I have a fraction over 1 month to go to complete the 2025 Reading Goals I set myself at the beginning of the year. Before I drill into each goal, my impression is that progress towards my 2025 reading goals is good. However, the purpose of today’s post is to get into the detail on that and see if I am on track and if not, make plans in my December TBR to get me there.

Shall we take a look at where I’m at?

 

2025 Reading Goals

Read 45 Books

Back when I set my resolutions, I set my goal at 45 books. I’d read 42 in 2024 throughout the year. Hoping o push myself just a little, I set that target a fraction higher. 

As of this 2025 reading goal review, this is the goal I’m the least worried about as I’ve already done it! I thought I hadn’t quite finished this goal as of this post, but I realised when reviewing progress towards my series goal that I’d not marked The Giver by Lois Lowry as read although I finished it in September. So, I’ve already got this goal finished. Having a number helps motivate me. However, I’m going to enjoy reading at a little more of a leisurely pace in December. 

 

Complete Goodreads Challenges Throughout the Year

With new Goodreads Challenges available this year, my plan was to invest time and energy this year on targeted reading towards these goals. 

As of drafting this 2025 reading goals post, I got three challenges between January and May (Community Favourites), three between May to July (Seasonal Challenge) and four achievements for the Summer Challenge. 

The final challenge this year is the Fall Challenge, and I’ve got four achievements to date. This is a goal I’d like to invest some time in. So far this year, progress has been a coincidence and I’ve not given it as much time and attention as I’d have liked. So far, some Fall challenges I could easily progress with are Spine Tinglers and Fiction Faves. I’ve already got books on my TBR for each award. I plan to pick up The Burning Girls and Yellowface in December to get these awards before the end of the year. 

 

Finish or get up-to-date on 10 series 

Of the 45 books I’ve completed so far this year, 24 have been part of a series. You can tell I’m a big series reader at the best of times. The bigger question, however, is whether I’ve completed or got up to date on the ten series goal.

So far this year, I’m up-to-date or finished 7 series and I’m actively finishing an eighth (Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff). It’s solid progress, and there are some books I can include on my December TBR to boost that number. I recently listened to The Housemaid’s Secret, leaving just The Housemaid is Watching in Freida McFadden’s series. 

The only other quick-win book I have on the list, though debatable, is The Doors of Midnight by R.R. Virdi. I say debatable, as the book is over 800 pages! However, it’s the only other book on my list where I have just one book unread in the series. I’m going to try my damned hardest to read both books in December to meet my series completion goal. 

 

Read Out of my Comfort Zone

My last goal is a little less tangible to quantify. I set myself the challenge to read outside of my comfort zone; I would say I have. I’ve read books with our work book club and through The Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club that I wouldn’t necessarily have picked up myself (Shuggie Bain, House of Frank, A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison). Also, I’ve read books on American Politics (A Promised Land), which is a topic I usually steer clear of. Finally, I’ve read books about food and sustainable weight management, educating myself on arguably sensitive topics for me but I’ve got something useful out of it. 

Whilst I haven’t read lots of books that are out of my comfort zone, my primary goals of 2025 have involved prioritising books that are. It’s why they’re on my TBR in the first place. However, I’m glad I’ve made space for some new and different books. If I want to add one more book in December that fits this bill, Deep Wheel Orcadia works. It’s on my TBR, but I added it because it’s different. What makes this different is that it’s the first science fiction verse novel written in the Orkney dialect. It’s also accompanied with a translation to English, so I can still read it. I’m intrigued, and it’s not a long read so definitely achievable! 

 

Summary 

I’m happy with my assessment that my reading goals are going very well. It’s been fun to look at where I am to date, as well as make some plans for how I can boost progress with some of my goals. 

Have you completed any 2025 reading goals you set yourself?

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Sunday Summary – 23rd November 2025

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Today’s Sunday Summary brings plenty of reading progress. I’ve enjoyed the week off work, and the good news is, I’ve got another one next week! I’ve enjoyed doing some jobs round the house, and reading… of course! 

On the blog, I shared a book review for Stephen King’s The Waste Lands. I’ve enjoyed reading this series so far, and The Waste Lands is probably my favourite book so far! 

On Friday, I shared a Shelf Control post. In this series, I look at upcoming books on my TBR. Friday’s feature was a historical fiction classic that’s nearly 1000 pages long. 

 

Books Read

 

The Shadow of What Was Lost

Last week, I shared in my Sunday Summary that I was about 50% through the book. It’s a long audiobook, and I had approximately 14hrs audio left. I wasn’t sure if I’d manage to listen to it all this week. Progress so far was pretty slow. However, I shouldn’t have doubted myself! 

I’ve spent a good portion of the week doing household jobs that allow me to listen to audio as well. That, and working on a large cross-stitch project! I love listening to audiobooks at the same time. Thankfully I’m not having to wrestle kittens off my work too frequently anymore and the two hobbies go side-by-side very well 😂

I finished The Shadow of What Was Lost yesterday and I have lots of thoughts! The epilogue did so much for convincing me to pick up the sequel. I’m looking forward to documenting my thoughts on this one properly. 

 

Empire of the Dawn 

Another finish I was hoping for this week, but didn’t quite get to, was Empire of the Dawn. 

I’ve read the book spasmodically over the week. And I’m enjoying it! However, with the jobs I’m doing at home at the moment, I’ve not done much in the way of conventional reading. I was also out watching Wicked: For Good last night. 

My focus will be to finish Empire of the Dawn next week. As of this Sunday Summary, I’m about 20% through. I’m intrigued where the story is going to take us. 

 

The Housemaid’s Secret

The final book I’ve progressed with this week is one I started today – The Housemaid’s Secret. Just as I was settling down to read Empire of the Dawn, one of the kittens decided to fall asleep on my arm and rendered holding a hardback book impossible. 

So, I started my next audiobook instead! It’s been a good few months since I listened to The Housemaid earlier this year. My efforts to continue series whilst they’re still fresh in my mind motivated me to start The Housemaid’s Secret. 

Already, I have listened to 2 hours and 30 minutes of the housemaid secret so far. If you are a stats boffin, that puts me at 26% progress in one sitting. Not bad, eh? I always feel like progress goes really quickly when I pick up a short audiobook straight after a lengthy one 😂 When you consider this audiobook is just under 10 hours long, it’s only a fraction over a third of The Shadow of What Was Lost in terms of page count. Big difference! 

I’m actually enjoying the shorter and more faster post read. I do enjoy a lengthy epic, but sometimes something short and sweet (and a thriller to boot) helps pick up the pace.

 

Books Discovered

It’s another quiet week here in terms of new additions to my monthly TBR. I actually took a book off my reading list when prepping for Friday’s Shelf Control post. It’s fair to say things are moving in the right direction… 

 

Coming Up… 

Next week is the last week of November. Please tell me where that’s gone! I’ll have to start mentioning the C word before long 😂 

Before that though, I’ve got plenty of non-festive related content to share with you. I’m pointedly avoiding this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post theme to get away from the festivities – how bad is that? 

My first post of the week will be a recap on where I’m up to with my reading goals this year and an opportunity to set my final intentions for the last month of the year. How close am I to my reading goals? Is there anything I can do to get myself over the finish line with some of these before the end of the year? That post is all about setting out my intentions. I hope you can check in with me and celebrate my progress so far. 

On Friday, I’ll return with a First Lines Friday feature post. I’m in the mood to set myself a challenge for next week’s post. Sometimes I like to make my life difficult, okay? 😆 For next week’s First Lines Friday, I’m challenging myself to feature a book that is either for a young adult or new adult audience. Most of my reading list falls outside of these two genres, so I’ve got my work cut out for me to feature something interesting that meets these criteria.

Last, but certainly by no means least, I’ll be back the same time next week with another Sunday Summary. Fingers crossed, I’m able to use my time off work to get a lot more reading done before I’m back to the daily grind. 

That’s all for me in this Sunday Summary update, however. How have you spent your weekend? What projects do you have ongoing at the moment, bookish or otherwise? 

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Books Review: The Waste Lands – Stephen King

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When I started reading The Waste Lands, I’d had a couple of slower reads right before it. It’s not the best mindset to go into a book in, but it happens. Thankfully, The Waste Lands is a sequel to a series I’d loved to date. It felt like a safe option – and rightly so! 

Picking up this book coincided with time off work and long story short, I demolished the book in a matter of days and broke my slump. Stephen King is a pretty safe bet for me in that regard. The Waste Lands was fun, and I particularly enjoyed the ending. 

 

The Waste Lands – Stephen King  

Genre: Fantasy / Horror

Pages: 581

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton 

Publication Date: 23 Jun 2003

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – The Waste Lands

In the third novel in King’s epic fantasy masterpiece, Roland, the Last Gunslinger, is moving ever closer to the Dark Tower, which haunts his dreams and nightmares. Pursued by the Ageless Stranger, he and his friends follow the perilous path to Lud, an urban wasteland. And crossing a desert of damnation in this macabre new world, revelations begin to unfold about who – and what – is driving him forward.

 

My Thoughts

Plot 

I started The Waste Lands at a bit of a disadvantage – it had been 4 years since I read The Drawing of the Three. I’d read some recaps prior to starting the book to be on the safe side. However, if you are in this boat, fear not! The book naturally recaps what has happened to date anyway. Although I had prepared myself in case this wasn’t a feature of the book, it wasn’t necessary. It’s a feature I valued a lot picking up this book. 

The plot of this book has a natural and interesting progression as well. Much like the earlier books in the series, The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three, there’s a lot of travel. We also see more characters in this book. It helps set a wider scene for Roland, Jake, Eddie and Susannah. To date, the narrative has felt a little centred on them without too much context or interaction in the wider world of Mid-World. I enjoyed the increased world-building in The Waste Lands, it’s fair to say!

 

Characters 

Roland gets quite complex in The Waste Lands, because he’s suffering as a result of end in the second book. He’s created a paradox, and his personal timeline is impacted as a result. 

Even though our dark, moody gunslinger is the main character, he’s far from a lone beacon in a dystopian world. Eddie and Susannah are coming along in their character arcs, and things get really weird with Susannah. No spoilers here folks! The wider narrative scope and the cast that comes along with it make for interesting reading. Tick tock and the creepy man in Lud are notable on progress with the story and are standouts. 

The character that stole the show for me, however, is Blaine. It’s a mad invention, and one you can only expect from Stephen King. However, it was a fun, nail-biting cliffhanger to the story! Not everyone loves how The Waste Lands ends. Not everyone loves the cliffhanger, and having read Wizard and Glass, it would have made sense just to finish this part of the story. However, it made me pick up Wizard and Glass a lot sooner than the four year gap I left between books 2 & 3. 

 

Setting 

Mid-World is a creepy, Western themed post-apocalyptic world with unusual links to a world not unlike our own. It’s dark, with shattered remains begging you to ask the question of what has happened to Mid-World. That’s no doubt a revelation for a later book, but it captures the interest of us readers early on, and gives us ample time to speculate!  

I really love this setting and the complexities of the ties to other worlds. It’s an interesting aspect of the narrative, that makes the book more relatable through association to worlds we know. 

 

Narrative Style 

Although The Waste Lands is a long book, it’s pretty compulsively readable! Well, I read the nearly 600 page book in four days. Now, I was off work at the time, but even still. It’s unlike me to consistently read 150 pages a day without a deadline. 

I like big and long books, so whether a chapter is long or short doesn’t make much difference to me. The intensity of the action and pacing of events make The Waste Lands a very compulsive read. 

 

Summary 

The Waste Lands was a fun sequel to pick up. We’ve already seen a lot of character progression in the series, and The Waste Lands was a perfect continuation of both plot and character-driven narrative. I love that Stephen Kling’s horror and thriller genius fits into a fantasy. It’s a way he gets to touch one of my favourite genres. It makes The Dark Tower a strong contender for one of the most memorable series I’m reading to date. 

Have you read The Waste Lands, or other books in The Dark Tower series? 

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Sunday Summary – 16th November 2025

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This Sunday Summary is one I’ve been looking forward to writing. Why? Because it finally coming around means I’m now off work for Two. Whole. Weeks! Yes! I’ve got all the time for reading, crafting, doing some random jobs round the house and generally enjoying a slower pace. 

But, before I get too hot on what’s happening next week, I suppose I should update you on my news from the week just gone, right? That’s the point of my Sunday Summary after all! 

In terms of content, this week I shared a Top Ten Tuesday of books I enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone. This is a fun one if you’re looking for a diverse list of reads and need some inspiration. On Friday, I shared a First Lines Friday and the opening lines to my current read. 

 

Books Read

 

The Shadow of What Was Lost

Progress has been a little slow with The Shadow of What Was Lost up until now. This week though, I’ve tripled last week’s meagre hours progress. And, as I’ll be spending a good chunk of time home in the next couple of weeks, it’s prime time for audiobook listening! 

Events I’ve listened to today have taken the story in a direction I wasn’t expecting. However, I’m keen to see where it leads. Naturally, I expect to make a lot more progress in the next seven days. I’m coming up 50% through, with under 14 hours left. Can I do it in a week? We’ll see! 

 

The God of the Woods 

In last week’s Sunday Summary, I shared that I was pushing for completion of The God of the Woods ahead of book club. 

Thankfully, I finished The God of the Woods the night before and it was a great read. It was also well received at the club, so it was a good choice all round. 

The mystery was twisty yet somewhat resolved how I wanted it to. The narrative was cleverly written and I was engaged all the way through! 

 

Empire of the Dawn 

The final book to share progress with in today’s Sunday Summary is my current read, Empire of the Dawn. I’m looking forward to reading more of this book. With a bit of a rush to finishing the God of the woods, I stepped back a little from reading in the last couple of days. That’s no reflection on this book though! 

At 50 pages in, I am back up to speed with what has happened to date and I can’t wait to see where his final book takes us in Gabriel’s story. 

Needless to say, I’m excited picking this up coincides with my time off work. It’s a hefty book over 750 pages. Will I get it finished next week? I sincerely hope so! 

 

Books Discovered

I’ve not added any more books to my reading pile this week. Whilst that’s not the most exciting news for you, it’s not a bad thing for me 😅 

 

Coming Up… 

I feel like I’m overdue a backlist review. With that in mind, my plan is to share my thoughts on a classic fantasy horror from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. The Waste Lands is the third book of the series and I hope you like reading my review. 

On Friday I return with a Shelf Control post. In this series, I feature upcoming books on my reading list and why I’m looking forward to reading them. I’m excited to look forward at what is coming up on my TBR – fingers crossed you are too! 

Finally, I’m back with another Sunday Summary post at the end of next week. I’ve got no excuse for a lack of reading progress, although I don’t expect that to happen in the slightest! 

What is the name of the book you last finished? How do you rate it? 

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Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Enjoyed That Were Out of My Comfort Zone

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Today’s Top Ten Tuesday features books I enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone. I’ve been excited to share this post since I announced it coming up in my Sunday Summary. There were some clear frontrunner books I knew I wanted to feature. There are also some recent reads as well. 

Hopefully you can find yourself a new read in today’s books I enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone post. Or, if nothing else, I can encourage you to try something new! I used to stick to familiar books in my teens, and I got bored. Now, I pick up all manner of genres. I try books in genres I don’t traditionally read anyway. There’s always a reason to get out of your comfort zone. 

Without further preamble, here’s my list of ten books I enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone! 

 

Books I Enjoyed That Were Out of My Comfort Zone

Me Before You 

I read Me Before You because I interested in a book with a quadriplegic protagonist. Let’s face it, you’re every day main character hasn’t already gone through an event this horrific in their lifetime by the time you pick up the first page. It’s clearly a life altering event, and I wanted to see what kind of impact this accident had on Will’s life. 

By no means am I a romance fan. However, this book was so well written that despite my predilection for a cold heart, I was invested in this one… so much so I was ugly crying at the end! 

 

My Sister’s Keeper

I really enjoyed the moral dilemma of My Sister’s Keeper. Generally speaking, I don’t read a lot of pure contemporary books, but this one was worth it. 

I wasn’t particularly aware of this in the storyline before I picked up the book. However, it surprised me in that I really enjoyed exploring this element of the narrative as it was engaging and made me really think about each of the characters, their needs and rights. 

 

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping 

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is a very recent read, but very applicable to this ‘books I enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone’ list. It’s a contemporary and reasonably light fantasy read. I generally prefer heftier, epic tomes when it comes to fantasy. However, if there is one thing I have come to appreciate whilst moderating the cottage core fantasy book club, it’s that lighter fantasy books have their place on my reading list.

This book also flirts with a light romance I saw coming a mile away. Generally speaking, it’s not something I look for in my books however it’s an element of this story that I didn’t hate. 

 

Gran Familia

I’m not a big manga reader, although I do have a small selection on my reading list to pick up. I can only hope that my experience of the likes of Gran Familia (and the other books I pick up and coming years), inspire me to pick up more of this genre. 

I really enjoyed the fast-paced story. As a fan of mixed media for MacBooks, it isn’t a stretch of the imagination to understand why I enjoyed this manga. And, I definitely want to read more  – not just of this serial, but in the genre more widely!

 

A Promised Land 

As a general rule, I stay away from politics. That not just in my reading life, but more widely. I don’t have the energy for it, and the power struggles and spats between alleged adults have my questioning why some people are in power. 

An exception to this rule is Barack Obama. I actually had a lot of respect for him as a person and what he stood for. It’s the only reason I picked up A Promised Land. The material was a little heavy, but I’m glad I read it.

 

A Brief History of Time 

A Brief History of Time surprised me in that I expected the book to be technical. When you think of Stephen Hawking, you think of complex theories like black holes and quantum physics. 

However, it wasn’t unapproachable. Was it the easiest read going? Obviously not. However, I didn’t struggle with it like I anticipated. 

 

The House in the Cerulean Sea 

The slower, more cozy vibe of The House in the Cerulean Sea isn’t my usual read. However, it was fun and I invested in the characters. 

It’s inspired me to pick up more books by T. J. Klune. That’s the level of impression it made! This book has a sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea. However, I also plan to try the likes of In The Lives of Puppets. 

 

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow 

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is a very interesting novel. It has a shocking twist you wouldn’t expect from this genre of book. The author portrays an inspiring passion for the country of Syria through protagonist Salama. 

This isn’t what I expected, but I loved this book. It’s a book I’d love to read again and it made my favourite debut novels post. 

 

The Toymakers 

This book is magical and inspiring. I love historical fiction and the magical realism of this book is perfect. If I read a fantasy/magical book, it’s generally not realism. It’s a tough balance to get the realism and magic right. The Toymakers got this so right! 

Also, I don’t often read Christmas themed books but this one was fun. 

 

A Clockwork Orange 

The last book on this books I enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone post is A Clockwork Orange.

A Clockwork Orange is an unusual book in that a lot of the language is substituted. It doesn’t read like a normal book and when you first start, it doesn’t make sense. 

However, the substitutions are consistent and over time, context fills in the gaps so you can work out the language. 

It’s not something I’ve really come across in a book before. However, considering the slang kids come out with nowadays I could do with brushing up on my skills… 

 

Summary 

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Top Ten Tuesday post exploring books I enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone. There’s quite the range of books on today’s Top Ten Tuesday, but that’s pretty reflective of my reading tastes in general. 

Can you share any books you enjoyed that were out of your comfort zone?

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Sunday Summary – 9th November 2025

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Today’s Sunday Summary post is jam-packed full of reading progress and a recap of what else I’ve shared on the blog this week. Having taken a bit of a break in order to catch up with some reading obligations, it’s fair to say it’s good to be back. 

As always, before I get into what I’ve been reading over the course of this week, let’s take a look at the blog posts I’ve shared. 

 

Blog Posts

My first post of the week was my review of Wizard of Ends: United Army by Vanessa Finaughty. This was a fun read to pick up and review. I thought I might struggle with sharing my thoughts given I have yet to read the earlier books in the series. However, I had plenty to share in that review and I hope you can check that out.

Next, I shared my monthly wrap-up for October‘s reading progress. That post went live mid-week. Having had a bit of a lull with reading progress mid-month, I went into drafting that post thinking I hadn’t read a lot. However, I had a better month than I thought. I still picked up a good number of books, even if progressed slow towards the end. If you want a recap of the books I’ve read in the last month, take a look at that update here. 

Hot on the heels of that post, I shared my review of The Angel Prophecy by Rob Jones on Thursday. I was one of the last stops on the blog tour for this book. If you read my review on The Atlantis Covenant and liked the sound of that book, The Angel Prophecy continues that series. It’s very Indiana Jones, so if that’s your bag, take a look. 

Aside from this Sunday Summary post, that was all I had scheduled for this week. However, I was in the mood to share my Monthly TBR for November this week rather than next. I hadn’t put that in my schedule as I didn’t want to overcommit. However, it’s ready and live! Check out which books I’m reading this month here.

 

Books Read

 

The Shadow of What Was Lost

I confess, with the latter books in this Sunday Summary taking priority, I haven’t listened to a whole lot of this book this week.

However, I am still enjoying the story. My intention is to record my thoughts on this book and now I’m a third of the way in, I have plenty to talk about already. I’m enjoying the different storylines that are taking place at the moment and I hope the characters end up coming together. Whether that will happen in this book or later in the series, I don’t yet know. Regardless, I’m really excited to find out what happens next. I have just one reading obligation left and then The Shadow of What Was Lost will start to see greater progress.

 

The Angel Prophecy 

With my review for The Angel Prophecy imminently coming up due, my focus early this week was to read this book ready for the review.

The Angel Prophecy is actually quite a short book, so I polished this off in British short order. I was already familiar with the setting, characters and style of the book after reading The Atlantis Covenant back in September. The Angel Prophecy lift up to this expectation, and I hope that reflects in my review I published on Thursday. 

The Angel Prophecy was a fun quick read. Having found myself lagging on other reads of late, it was fun to have a short, snappy and action-packed book.

 

The God of the Woods 

The last book I’ve picked up this week, and has especially been the focus of my reading this weekend, is The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. 

I’ve already pushed back our workbook or meet by two weeks in order to get this read before the meet. Attendance is pretty low this month, so I kind of had to pick it up in order to make the meet worthwhile. It’s a bit of a shame, because this is a great book! As of this post, I’m coming up halfway through the book having binge-read the start this weekend.

Not only does this book span multiple timelines, but it’s also a multi perspective book. I like the mystery and intrigue this adds as we don’t know who knows what or where false information could be strewed amongst the narrative; there is no central truth if you like, and I’m curious to see how this plays out. There are multiple characters in the book who aren’t exactly made out to be altruistic. Do they have a role in what has happened both in the past and in the present day? I’m very excited to find out! 

 

Books Discovered

Since I added a few books to my reading list just last week, I’ve behaved this week. Mostly. Whilst I haven’t spent any money, I did add an Amazon first reads book to my account – Artificial Truth. 

 

Coming Up… 

My first post next week is going to be a Top Ten Tuesday post. This week’s topic is Books I Enjoyed That Were Out of my Comfort Zone. I have plenty of those, owing to the fact that I read quite diversely. I’m looking forward to sharing my list already! 

Later in the week, I’m back with a Friday feature not seen on my blog in over a month! I’ll be back with a First Lines Friday update. I already have a book in mind to feature. Naturally, I’ll need to check the first lines are actually ‘interesting’ enough. Knowing this author though, I’m pretty sure it’ll make the cut.

Finally, this time next week I’ll be sharing my next Sunday Summary instalment. My goals for next week are: –

  • Finish The God of the Woods
  • Get to at least 75% progress with The Shadow of What Was Lost
  • Get to at least halfway through Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff

Will quantifying these goals help? We can only find out next week in my Sunday Summary! 

I’ll catch you then; in the meantime, what’s the latest book you’ve read? 

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