Thursday, December 4, 2025

Month in Review: November 2025

 


In personal news.. it was a very busy month! My husband and I took a trip to South Korea and Taiwan in the beginning of November and it was incredible. We had some wonderful food, experienced new cultures, and saw some incredible sights! South Korea had the most stunning fall foliage (some of which is pictured above!). I loved both countries, but especially loved Taiwan and would love to go back someday (and to be fair, I'd love to visit Korea again, as well!). The day we were scheduled to fly back home coincided with the day a typhoon was heading to Taiwan so we were a bit nervous about that, but we made it back safe and sound with no issues, so we are very grateful. After that, it was back into the job hunt (boo) and back to all the other stressors of life, haha, but it's been a very productive month so I can't complain too much. 

In reading news, I had a really great month, and boy did it feel good to be back in reading groove! I didn't expect to read too much given that I was traveling (and I don't tend to get much reading done while traveling), so this was a very pleasant surprise. I even managed to start read a couple 2026 ARCs already (me? ahead of schedule? I promise I'm more surprised than you are). I somehow haven't gotten to The Strength of the Few yet, despite the fact that James Islington is one of my favorite authors and I loved The Will of the Many, but I wanted to get through the recap and make sure I really have the time to dedicate to this tome. I'm hoping to start it soon!

I also finally read one of my most anticipated released, The Blackfire Blade, and it was fantastic. I also really enjoyed The Works of Vermin, City of Others, and Hemlock & Silver (because I realized I  never finished it, apparently). All the books I read in November are listed below, as well as some quick thoughts about them. I also already have reviews up for a number of them if you're curious about any, and those can be found below as well. 

How was your November and what books have you been reading? And how was everyone's Thanksgiving (for those also in the US and who celebrate)?  Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!
   

# books read: 14





The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes ★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: This was the perfectly delightfully odd type of book that I really love. Incredibly inventive and creative, a ridiculous world and world-building, and a fascinating story.

The Blackfire Blade (The Last Legacy #2) by James Logan ★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thought: I had so much fun with this sequel! I wasn't sure at first if I'd end up liking it as much as the first one, and while I still like the first book better, this one still ended up being a blast and I can't wait for the third book. 

Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories by Amar El-Mohtar ★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: This was such a beautiful collection of stories! I really loved the first two, but the rest were also really well done and gorgeously written. I think I might finally need to get around to reading Amar El-Mohtar's other works, because I'm woefully behind. 

City of Others by Jared Poon ★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: This is another 2026 release and I had a blast! I really didn't expect to enjoy it quite as much as I did (even though the premise sounded amazing), so I was really happy about the experience and think it'll be a hit with many other readers as well.

There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm ★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: A very mindbending mindf*ck of a book that is definitely a fun--and weird--time. 

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher ★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: Another T. Kingfisher win! I loved the mirror concept in this book and, of course, I'm always up for a talking cat. 

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (Dungeon Crawler Carl #6) by Matt Dinniman ★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: This series is truly crazy, and while I haven't been enjoying these ones as much as some of the earlier books, I'm still having an amazing time and can't wait for more. 

All that We See or Seem by Ken Liu ★★★
Source: | Format: 
Thoughts: Based on the reviews for this book, I had very low expectations, and this wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be? It wasn't perfect, but I thought it was a perfectly entertaining and fascinating concept to explore. 

Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman ★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: This ended up falling a bit flat for me, but I enjoyed the vibe and overall idea. 

One of Us by Dan Chaon ★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: This was much more intense and impactful than I anticipated, and also much sadder than I expected, but I really liked it and reminded me how great Dan Chaon is. 

Whisper in the Wind (The Fetch Phillips Archives #4) by Luke Arnold ★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Paperback
Thoughts: I actually started this a couple months ago, but it got pushed to the side as I got sidetracked by so many other things, but I finally finished and it was a fun time! I didn't enjoy it as much as previous books in the series, but it was still a solid instalment. 

Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa ★★★
Source: | Format: 
Thought: I have a review up for this one and enjoyed it! A very thoughtful and quick read about some great topics.

MindWorks: An Uncanny Compendium of Short Fiction by Neal Shusterman ★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Paperback
Thoughts: This collection of stories was a mixed bag for me, but overall felt very classic Shusterman and I don't think you can go wrong with that. 

Sadie by Courtney Summers ★★★
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: I had this recommended to me recently as a really good audiobook, so I decided to give it a shot and it was indeed a really well-produced audiobook. I'd recommend it! I'm not a huge true crime person and it kinda leans into that format a bit (but it's fiction!), but I think the heart of the story was really intense and meaningful. 

To-Be-Finished:
None! (that I recall, at least)
 Posts:
Blog Memes:

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Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Pedro the Vast by Simón López Trujillo, A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang, & Polar War by Kenneth R. Rosen

     

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!


Pedro the Vast by Simón López Trujillo, trans. Robin Myers
Publication: January 13th, 2026
Algonquin Books
Paperback. 144 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"Simón López Trujillo’s “mind-blowing” (Gabriela Cabezón Cámara) debut takes readers into a dry and degraded, fire-prone landscape where humanity has encroached a step too far into the natural world, and a deadly fungus mounts its own resistance . . .

In the disorienting, devastatingly tense world of López Trujillo, a eucalyptus farm worker named Pedro starts coughing. Several of his coworkers die of a strange fungal disease, which has jumped to humans for the first time, but Pedro, miraculously, awakes. His survival fascinates a foreign mycologist, as well as a local priest, who dubs his mysterious mutterings to be the words of a prophet. Meanwhile Pedro's kids are left to fend for themselves: the young Cata, whose creepy art projects are getting harder and harder to decipher, and Patricio, who wasn't ready to be thrust into the role of father. Their competing efforts to reckon with Pedro’s condition eventually meet in a horrifying climax that readers will never forget.

For readers of Jeff Vandermeer and Samanta Schweblin, López Trujillo is a next-generation Bolaño with a fresh, speculative edge and a mind that's always one step ahead of us."

This is so intriguing to me, and at just 144 pages, I'm curious to see what the author will do with this idea. 


A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang
Publication: January 27th, 2026
William Morrow
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"A dark, magical realist debut family saga that moves through the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, the Cultural Revolution, and the present day to explore the effects of intergenerational trauma, the legacy of colonialism, and the inescapability of fate.

Qianze has not seen her father in eleven years, since he walked out of her life the night of her fourteenth birthday and disappeared without a trace. But then she gets a call—there is a man on the porch of her childhood home, and he’s asking for her. This man isn’t the Ba Qianze remembers: he is much older, more fragile, and worst of all, haunted by a half-forgotten prophecy.

While Qianze wrestles with what she owes this near-stranger, Ba begins telling stories of his past. From his bloody days as a Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution to his mother’s youth under Japanese occupation, he circles around the prophecy he came to deliver. Qianze has always longed to know more about her family history, but as Ba reveals a past far darker than she could have imagined, she finds herself plagued by strange visions—fox spirits trail her on her evening commute, a terrifying jackalope stalks her nightmares, and the looming prophecy slinks ever closer.

Spanning decades and continents, A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing employs a combination of stunningly rendered folklore and atmospheric prose to examine the legacy of colonialism through the eyes of three generations. Alice Evelyn Yang’s debut novel is a story of family and forgiveness, of folklore and fate, that will leave you unsettled and undone."

This honestly sounds like it's going to be an incredible read, and I'm really eager to have a chance to check it out. 


Polar War: Submarine, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic by Kenneth R. Rosen 
Publication: January 6th, 2026
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"A gripping blend of travelogue and frontline reporting that reveals how climate change, military ambition, and economic opportunity are transforming the Arctic into the epicenter of a new cold war, where a struggle for dominance between the planet’s great powers heralds the next global conflict.

Russian spies. Nuclear submarines. Sabotaged pipelines. Undersea communications severed in the dark of night. The fastest-warming place on earth—where apartment buildings, hospitals, and homes crumble daily as permafrost melts and villages get washed away by rising seas—the Arctic stands at the crossroads of geopolitical ambition and environmental catastrophe. As climate change thaws the northern latitudes, opening once ice-bound shipping lanes and access to natural resources, the world’s military powers are rushing to stake their claims in this increasingly strategic region. We’ve entered a new cold war—and every day it grows hotter.

In Polar War, Kenneth R. Rosen takes readers on an extraordinary journey across the changing face of the far north. Through intimate portraits of scientists, soldiers, and Indigenous community leaders representing the interests of twenty-one countries across four continents, he witnesses firsthand how rising temperatures and growing tensions are reshaping life above and below the Arctic Circle. He finds himself on the trail of Navy SEALs training for arctic warfare, embarks on Coast Guard patrols monitoring Russian incursions, participates in close-quarter-combat training aboard foreign icebreakers in the Arctic sea ice, and visits remote research stations where international cooperation is giving way to espionage and the search for long-frozen biological weapons.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and three years of reporting from the frontlines of climate change and great power competition, Rosen blends incisive analysis with the vivid immediacy of a travelogue. His deeply researched and personal accounts capture the diverse landscapes, people, and conflicted interests that define this complex northern region. The result is both an elegy for a vanishing landscape and an urgent warning about how the race for Arctic dominance could spark the next global conflict."

As may be obvious, I'm always curious about topics relating to the Arctic and Antarctic, and this sounds like a really fascinating read. 

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Monday, December 1, 2025

Blog Tour + Excerpt: No One Aboard by Emy McGuire


Today I’m excited to share my stop on the blog tour for No One Aboard by Emy McGuire! This haunting, atmospheric tale blends mystery and psychological suspense in all the best ways. Below, you’ll find an excerpt from the book, as well as more information about the story and its author, Emy McGuire. No One Aboard is available now!
Happy reading!

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Title: No One Aboard
Author:  Emy McGuire
Pub. Date: December 2, 2025
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 368
Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org


SYNOPSIS:
"The White Lotus meets Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me in this debut domestic mystery about a luxury sailboat found floating adrift in the ocean and the secrets of the missing family who set sail aboard it weeks before.

"No One Aboard is a riveting, astonishing debut, and Emy McGuire is an important new voice in fiction. I will read anything she writes!" —Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling author

At the start of summer, billionaire couple Francis and Lila Cameron set off on their private luxury sailboat to celebrate the high school graduation of their two beloved children.

Three weeks later, the Camerons have not been heard from, the captain hasn’t responded to radio calls, and the sailboat is found floating off the coast of Florida.

Empty.

Where are the Camerons? What happened on their trip? And what secrets does the beautiful boat hold?

Set over the course of their vacation and in the aftermath of the sailboat’s discovery, No One Aboard asks who is more dangerous to a family: a stormy ocean or each other?"



Excerpt:

Chapter 1
Jerry Baugh

Jerry Baugh didn’t see the ship. He didn’t notice the red warning on the screen. He was, in fact, cozied up in the cockpit of his Dyer 29 lobster boat, feet propped between the rungs of the helm and hands stacked on his belly.

Jerry’s day of deep-sea fishing had been successful—a sailfish bill, broken at the hilt, currently stuck out of his bomber jacket pocket—and he was thinking about whether the meat should be marinated in lemon juice or just plain old butter.

He was too distracted to detect the boat in his path—white and gleaming, suspended between the black water of the Atlantic and the starless, moonless sky with the same sinister beauty of an iceberg.

Or a ghost.

When the boat alarm went off, Jerry jolted in his seat, sending his Bass Pro Shops cap tumbling down his chest. A single drop of sailfish blood had, at some point, fallen onto the face of his watch, which read nine minutes after midnight.

He detangled his feet from the helm and peered at the radar. He was heading two hundred and fifty-eight degrees toward Hallandale Marina. The strange white sailboat blocked his way.

Jerry switched off the autopilot and eased the throttle to slow down, his heart thumping soundly in his chest. If the alarm hadn’t sounded, he might have shipwrecked them both.

This sent a surge of anger through him. Why hadn’t the captain of the sailboat moved out of his way? Sheila 2.0 wasn’t subtle, her engine making an ugly chewing noise not unlike a trash compactor. They should have heard her coming.

Jerry allowed his boat to chug closer before he killed the engine and processed what on the devil’s blue sea he was looking at.

It was a sailboat, yes, but not like the rust-laced ones that docked near Sheila 2.0 in the Hallandale Marina.

This boat was mesmerizing.

It had twin aluminum masts, a wood-finished deck, and sunbathing mattresses laid out on the chart house. The body of the boat was a blinding white, smooth, curvaceous. The cap rails were teak and coated with a glittering crust of sea salt. No one had cleaned them in some time. Cursive lettering on the side spelled out the boat’s name.

The Old Eileen

Jerry stared, a bit starstruck. Boats like Sheila 2.0 were made to choke marine diesel oil and seawater until they finally died twitching in a harbor like a waterlogged beetle on its back.

Boats like The Old Eileen were made to be beautiful.

Jerry found his radio, hooked to his waistband, and cleared his throat before speaking into it.

“Eileen, Eileen, Eileen, this is Sheila, Sheila, Sheila, over.” He waited.

There was a time when Jerry was younger (and a good bit stupider) that he wanted to buy a sailboat instead of a motorboat. It was romantic, the idea of harnessing the wind to travel the world. But in the end, it was those same winds that terrified him. Wind could overpower him, seize control of the boat and bend its course. Jerry would have had to accept that possibility. He would have had to bare his throat to the mercy of the sea.

A mercy, he had come to understand, that did not exist.
“Eileen, Eileen, Eileen!” Jerry repeated into the radio.
They must be asleep. Jerry leaned forward and sounded his horn—five short blasts to signal danger. He waited for the radio to crackle to life, for a silver-spooned captain to sputter apologies, or maybe for an underpaid deckhand to rush up top and get the boat moving once more.

There was only the sound of the luffing, useless sails, and the ever-shifting sea.

Jerry frowned and fiddled with the fish bill in his pocket.
He should leave.
He fumbled in the dark to switch the engine back on. He would report what he’d seen to the coast guard, get the captain in trouble for being so reckless. He’d be back in Florida by dawn.
But Steve . . .

Jerry glanced at his dash where he had taped up a photograph of himself with his younger brother. It was the last picture taken of Steve before he died. Jerry closed his eyes for a moment. He would have traded his boat, his bait, and everything he owned if someone had stopped that night to help Steve.

“Well, shit.” Jerry rubbed at his clavicle and swallowed hard. He would be in and out. Just to make sure all was well.

Jerry moved across the deck, aware of every sound his shuffling feet made. He rummaged through his fishing equipment, eyes never leaving The Old Eileen. His calloused, practiced hands fit right around the harpoon gun, and he felt a measure of reassurance with a weapon in his grasp. He wasn’t scared, he was too old for that, but there was nothing quite like a creaking, old ship on the ocean at night to make a man into a boy again.

He tucked the harpoon gun under one arm and set to work lowering his tiny dinghy. He’d take one moment to wake whoever was on board, then get right back on his boat. Good deed done for the day. Maybe the decade.

Jerry grunted as he climbed up the Eileen’s porthole and over the rail. The deck was empty save for an orange life preserver tied to the stern, the boat’s name written in black on the top and a slogan in italics around the bottom.

Unwind Yachting Co.
Safe to sail in any gale!

With no one in sight, Jerry located the companionway stairs that led down beneath the cockpit and gave one last scan of the deck before going below.

Downstairs, the chart house was neat and captainless, but the ship’s manifest was sitting in the center of the table, open to the first page.

SHIP’S MANIFEST—THE OLD EILEEN
SKIPPER—Captain Francis Ryan Cameron (55)
MATE—MJ Tuckett (67)
CREW—Alejandro Matamoros (54), Nicolás de la Vega (22)
PASSENGERS—Lila Logan Cameron (54), Francis Rylan Cameron (17), Taliea Indigo Cameron (17)

Seven souls. Seven souls aboard The Old Eileen, and not a single one had answered the radio, which lay next to the manifest like an amputated limb. Jerry picked it up and felt an ice-cold trickle of sweat on the back of his neck.

The cord had been cut.

Jerry’s knuckles went white against the harpoon gun. Bad things happen at sea. Storms kill and brothers drown.

But the radio cord hadn’t been severed by the ocean.

Jerry crept through the luxurious salon and to a door that must lead to a cabin. He let his trigger hand slip down for a moment so he could turn his radio to 16—the international maritime emergency channel.

Just in case.

He opened the door to the cabin.

The master bedroom. King-size bed with an indigo comforter and cream sheets. Velvet couch molded to fit the tight corner. A woman’s lipstick lay open on one bedside table, rolling back and forth as the boat rocked.

There was no one there. No sleeping captain, no apologetic deckhands, no life whatsoever. Had they just . . . left?

Jerry checked the next room. This one held two twin beds with identical navy bedspreads. One bed was unmade, with a variety of books scattered at its foot. The bedclothes on the other were tucked in, military-style.

A sketchbook was half hidden by the pillowcase, open to an illustration of some kind of monster.

Jerry mopped his brow with a rag he kept in his shirt pocket, not caring that it had dried sailfish blood caking the edges. He should have motored on by and called the damn guard.

He forced himself to concentrate. He was doing the right thing. The captain could be out cold and in need of help.

There were only a few more rooms.

But the last cabin was just as quiet.

Jerry peeked into the galley and the bilges, running out of places to check.

The heads. Each of the three cabins must have its own personal bathroom, and he hadn’t yet tried any of them. Hands slick with sweat around the harpoon gun, Jerry retraced his steps, checking first in the crew members’ head, then the master suite’s, then back to the room with the twin beds and the drawing of the monster.

He nudged open the last bathroom door and looked inside.

In the mirror, his own ref lection stared back at him, interrupted only by a string of crimson words that had been written on the glass.

A weight dropped anchor inside his stomach, flooding Jerry with a kind of dread he had avoided for thirty years. The harpoon gun slipped from his hands, and he reached for his radio, unable to peel his gaze from the message on the mirror.

Save yOur Self

The Convey
OPINION: The Ocean Is Our Great Equalizer (why the newest Atlantic disaster seems to spell K-A-R-M-A for the one percent)
MIKE GRADY The Camerons—a family of four headed by television darling Lila Logan and business tycoon Francis Cameron—have been reported missing after their multimillion-dollar sailing yacht turned up eighty miles offshore without a single person onboard early in the morning of June 9. Authorities and reporters have leaped into extensive action. The Atlantic has already been tempestuous at the beginning of this year’s hurricane season. Potential upcoming storms have given the search a dangerous time component in an investigation reminiscent of the Titan, the infamous submersible that imploded with five passengers aboard on its way to see the Titanic wreck. The world had plenty to say about the Titan and its affluent victims, and this latest oceanic mystery has the potential to play out the same. Francis and Lila Cameron both had modest childhoods, but thanks to the entertainment industry, the business world, and the good old American dream, they have skyrocketed into the fraction of Americans who own multiple homes (Palm Beach villa, LA bungalow, and a sleek Aspen chalet, if anyone’s wondering), not to mention the multimillion-dollar sailing yacht that came up empty in the early hours of yesterday morning. While I’m not necessarily here to say that the Atlantic Ocean is doing a better job than God or taxes to rid us of the elite, I do want to pose a big-picture question while authorities are sussing out the how did this happen? and where did they go? Of it all. My question instead to you, dear reader, is this: Why the Camerons?


Excerpted from No One Aboard by Emy McGuire, Copyright © 2025 by Emy McGuire. Published by Graydon House.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
EMY MCGUIRE holds a bachelor’s degree in theatre/creative writing from New College of Florida. She has toured nationally in the Edgar Allan Poe Show, sailed from Rome to Antigua, and written everything from ocean thrillers to pirate musicals. She lives in Colorado.

Find Emy McGuire online: Author Website | Goodreads | Instagram | X/Twitter | Facebook | TikTok
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Friday, November 28, 2025

Anticipated December 2025 Releases


December is always one of the slower months for publishing, but that doesn't mean there aren't still some great new releases on deck! I’ve collected some excellent new releases hitting shelves next month below, so be sure to have a look and let me know what books you’re looking forward to checking out. 

 Happy reading!


Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher || December 1st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Obsession by Natasha Preston || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Fallen Gods by Rachel Van Dyken || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Persephone's Curse by Katrina Leno || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Needle Lake by Justine Champine || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Cape Fever by Nadia Davids || December 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole || December 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty || December 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Book of Luke by Lovell Holder || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Happiness Collector by Crystal King || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Jaguar's Roar by Micheliny Verunschk || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Daring to be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World by Sudhir Hazareesingh || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo || December 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Queens at War by Alison Weir || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Best Debut Short Stories 2025: The PEN America Dau Prize edited by Kendall Storey || December 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Winter Stories by Ingvild Rishøi, trans. Diane Oatley || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy It by Samuel Miller McDonald || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org



What are your anticipated December releases?
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