Can't-Wait Wednesday: Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas, Voidverse by Damien Ober, The Complex by Karan Mahajan, & No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes

   

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

Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas
Publication: March 31st, 2026
Atria Books
Hardcover. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"The acclaimed author of the “disorienting, creepy, paranoia-inducing” (Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World) A History of Fear returns with a spine-tingling new thriller about a weight loss treatment with potentially murderous side effects.

Retail worker Emmett Truesdale has never fit the Southern California mold of six-pack, suntanned masculinity. Over three hundred pounds, he carries the weight of his childhood trauma and millennial ennui around his waist and in his soul. After trying every diet under the sun, he remains stuck—in his dead-end job, in love, and in his body.

Desperate for help, he enrolls in a clinical trial for a new weight loss product called Obexity. The treatment is as horrifying as the results are miraculous and as Emmett sheds pounds at superhuman speed, every part of his life improves overnight.

Unfortunately, Obexity comes with some killer side effects, including lost stretches of time and overwhelming cravings. Worse, people who were cruel to him have started disappearing and when the police warn of a cannibalistic killer on the loose, he fears that Obexity is turning him into a monster. But how can he give it up now that people are finally starting to treat him like he’s human?

Nerve-racking, sinister, and at times surreal, Nothing Tastes as Good is an unputdownable thriller that combines The Substance with the best of Stephen King and keeps you guessing until the final page."

Voidverse by Damien Ober

Publication: March 10th, 2026

S&S/Saga Press

Hardcover. 336 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"Dune meets Wool in this high-octane quest through the void, where two eternal forces are about to collide in an epic showdown.

A HALF-FORMED UNIVERSE.
A POWERFUL ANOMALY.
A POEM THAT IS PROPHECY.

When the Sinker was a child, all she knew was violence. To survive, she fled into the Void—a seemingly infinite nothingness where people live on “rocks,” individual lands spread out in all directions, floating in the vast empty space. Some rocks are giant magnets, others burn with eternal flame, and some are influenced by seemingly magical anomalies with such great powers that evil forces would stop at nothing to possess them. And while most are afraid of traveling through the Void, the Sinker is not. With a sword on her back, she speeds through the darkness, running from a past that is quickly gaining on her.

Emery only knows the comfort of Fairviel, but when her son falls ill and the Sinker arrives on her doorstep, she ventures into the Void in search of a cure. When she returns, Fairviel is destroyed. With no home, Emery begins to sink, chasing a recurring dream that feels bigger than a dream, that feels like the key to everything.

But they are not alone in the Void. Mercenaries rise and fall around them, princes and kings guard their kingdoms, and a great machine fuels its ascent by consuming all in its path. With the Void destabilizing, Emery and the Sinker find themselves at a turning point in history, a moment when everything could collapse or realign, and the only thing that may save them exists at the bottom of it all. Or so legend says…"

The Complex by Karan Mahajan
Publication: March 10th, 2026
Viking
Hardcover. 448 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"A brilliant, sweeping tour de force moving between the US and modern India, following the illicit liaisons, real estate dramas, political ambitions, and mortal betrayals of one prominent Delhi family — from the author of the National Book Award finalist The Association of Small Bombs

In a sprawling complex in Delhi, the sons and daughters of SP Chopra, one of India's political architects, live together vying for influence in a family shaped by the great man's legacy. By the late 1970s, his descendants are scrambling to define their own futures in a still-young nation on the brink of transformation.

Sachin Chopra leaves for America, with his bride Gita following not long after, as the newlyweds are eager to forge their own lives beyond the pressures of the family compound. Yet Delhi remains an inescapable force, one that keeps pulling them back, even as Gita is menaced by Sachin’s predatory uncle, Laxman. A man of restless ambition, Laxman ascends through the ranks of a rising Hindu nationalist movement, caught between his political aspirations and his personal transgressions. Meanwhile, Vibha, his sister, tries to keep the peace and the reputation of the family intact even as she wrestles with her own exile.

As India erupts in violence and long-buried secrets come to light, the embattled Chopras must reckon with the cost of power, the weight of tradition, and the shifting nature of love and allegiance. Equal parts brilliant family saga and piercing political drama, The Complex is a virtuosic novel of revenge and redemption, ambition and undoing, loyalty and love, by one of the most lauded voices in contemporary fiction."

No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes

Publication: March 10th, 2026

Harper

Hardcover. 384 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"No Friend to This House is an extraordinary reimagining of the myth of Medea from the New York Times bestselling author of Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes.

This is what no one tells you, in the songs sung about Jason and the Argo. This part of his quest has been forgotten, by everyone but me . . .

Jason and his Argonauts set sail to find the Golden Fleece. The journey is filled with danger, for him and everyone he meets. But if he ever reaches the distant land he seeks, he faces almost certain death.

Medea—priestess, witch, and daughter of a brutal king—has the power to save the life of a stranger. Will she betray her family and her home, and what will she demand in return?

Medea and Jason seize their one chance of a life together, as the gods intend. But their love is steeped in vengeance from the beginning, and no one—not even those closest to them—will be safe. Based on the classic tragedy by Euripides, this is Medea as you've never seen her before . . ."

Review: The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

  

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

Tor Books
Publication Date: February 24th, 2026
Hardcover. 544 pages.

About The Red Winter:

"A devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption.

In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake.

Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel – who takes payment in living hearts – it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down.

Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.

But Gévaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian’s unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian’s arcane activities – not to mention his demonic counterpart – have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war.

Debut author Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history with this darkly entertaining retelling of the hunt for the Beast of Gévaudan. Lifting the veil on the hidden world behind our own, it reimagines the story of Europe, from Imperial Rome to Saint Jehanne d’Arc, the madness of Gilles de Rais and the first flickers of the French Revolution."

Wow, what a story The Red Winter is! I definitely felt like I needed a couple days to process this one after finishing this one.

The Red Winter is a brutal, beautifully-written, and deeply ambitious fantasy debut that really sinks its teeth into (get it?) history and myth--and it definitely does not let go. It’s a dark reimagining of the Beast of Gevaudan and the origin of the werewolf and it's full of blood, sorrow, and a long, intense hunt for redemption.

Sebastian Grave is a monster-slayer who comes with a whole lot of background and baggage (most of this background revolves around a character known as Antoine). He has a demon stuck with him, a very, very long history on this earth, and even a love story that has managed to bleed into every aspect of his life (yes, the aforementioned Antoine). His alliance (of sorts) with the demon Sarmodel--wherein said demon inhabits his body with him and requires living hearts as regular payment (super fun!)--adds some really intriguing layers and a bit of chaos and, at times, some dark humor to the story that was its own sort of enjoyable. Sebastian is thrust back into chaos and violence when it seems as though the Beast has returned and Antoine's son, Jacques, comes to fetch Sebastian to go back to the past he thought he left behind.

The Red Winter is a deeply layered story that covers centuries of time and brings in supernatural elements and roots from European history, ranging from Rome to Joan of Arc to Gilles de Rais and the French revolution. It’s incredibly imaginative and, as I mentioned before, also really ambitious to take all of this on, and I have to say I was immensely impressed by Sullivan’s ability to weave all of this together in a way that actually made sense.

With that being said, all of this also makes this an incredibly dense read. The narrative frequently shifts in both POV and timeline, and although the structure does ultimate strengthen the world-building and scale/scope of the story, it really broke the emotional momentum and my own emotional investment in some aspects and characters of the books. There were sections where I really wanted to stay with a certain character or storyline, but then the book would switch for what felt like far too long before it returned and I would lose interest at times and even forget exactly where that exciting/interesting part even left off, which ultimately made the return lose steam for me. This all contributed to making the pacing feel quite slow at times, which I felt was already rather slow in certain chapters, and therefore made parts of this book really drag for me.

Despite many of the slower moments, I was still fully invested in the story and felt everything did come together relatively well. The writing is undeniably rich and incredibly atmospheric, the themes were compelling, and the characters are wonderfully complex. The Red Winter explores what happens when grief, guilt, love, and so many of those wonderfully common human emotions take center stage, and what the consequences of those things are.

Overall, this is a brutal, fascinating historical fantasy. If you’re looking for that dark winter read complete with tragedy, monsters, and violence, then look no further because The Red Winter is what you’re looking for.

*I received a copy of The Red Winter courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Mini-Review: Native America: The Story of the First Peoples by Kenneth L. Feder

 

Native America: The Story of the First Peoples by Kenneth L. Feder

Princeton University Press
Publication Date: February 10th, 2026
Hardcover. 440 pages.

About Native America:

"An epic deep history of the Indigenous peoples of North America, covering more than 20,000 years of astonishing diversity, adaptation, resilience, and continuity

Native America presents an infinitely surprising and fascinating deep history of the continent’s Indigenous peoples. Kenneth Feder, a leading expert on Native American history and archaeology, draws on archaeological, historical, and cultural evidence to tell the ongoing story, more than 20,000 years in the making, of an incredibly resilient and diverse mixture of peoples, revealing how they have ingeniously adapted to the many changing environments of the continent, from the Arctic to the desert Southwest.

Richly illustrated, Native America introduces close to a hundred different peoples, each with their own language, economic and social system, and religious beliefs. Here, we meet the Pequot, Tunxis, Iroquois, and Huron of the Northeast; the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and Apache of the Southwest; the Hidatsa, Mandan, and Lakota of the Northern Plains; the Haida, Kwakiutl, Nootka, and Salish of the Northwest Coast; the Tule River and Mohave of Southern California; the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole of the Southeast; and the Inuit and Kalaallit of the Arctic. We learn about hunters of enormous Ice Age beasts; people who raised stone toolmaking to the level of art; a Native American empire ruled by a king and queen, with a huge city at its center and colonies hundreds of miles away; a society that made the desert bloom by designing complex irrigation networks; brilliant architects who built fairy castles in sandstone cliffs; and artists who produced beautiful and moving petroglyphs and pictographs that reflect their deep thinking about history, the sacred, the land, and the sky.

Native America is not about peoples of the past, but vibrant, living ones with an epic history of genius and tenacity—a history that everyone should know."

Native America is a fantastic overview of the history of Native Americans across North America, with a particular focus on archaeological elements.

I think this would be a perfect introductory book for anyone who wants to know more about the culture and history of Native Americans, as I think the author does a great job in discussing common stereotypes, misconception, and other ideas to draw readers in who may not have much background about Native American history. I've read a number of books on Indigenous history over the years, but there's always more to learn and I really appreciated the thorough research and care that went into crafting this history. Feder also really brings this history to life in a way that lets the reader feel like they are almost being told of these topics by a friend who is sharing something they're passionate about, and as a result it makes it incredibly easy to engage with the topic and truly understand more about the history of Native America. The author is also incredibly respectful of the many topics covered in this book, and I really appreciated seeing this in the way he chose to discuss every topic in here, including ones surrounding more sensitive topics. I think it's important that he doesn't shy away from diving into those heavier themes, but instead of explores them fully and gives them the respect they deserve.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and thought it was incredibly well-done and was a joy to listen to--I definitely recommend it! I'd actually love to pick up a physical copy to see some mentioned charts and the like that weren't available in audio format. I highly recommend this one!

*I received a copy of Native America courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Weathering by Artem Chapeye, The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula, Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue, & Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran

     

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

The Weathering by Artem Chapeye, trans. Daisy Gibons
Publication: March 24th, 2026
Seven Stories Press
Paperback. 212 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Award-winning Ukranian author Artem Chapeye’s new novel follows a young couple who escape city life to the mountains in Ukraine, only to discover an altered reality upon their return.

As in Ling Ma’s Severance and Emily Mandel’s Station Eleven, the survivors must seek ways to retain their humanity and help to build a new world in a post-apocalyptic dystopia.

After a young couple return from their summer in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, they discover that the world as they once knew it no longer exists. Survivors are forced to adapt to the harsh conditions of their new reality: a place where erosion floats in on a breeze, and ceasing to exist comes with a deceptively joyous capitulation. Overcoming deeply rooted fears, they try to forge another world, uniting with those who continue to fight the darker urges that can emerge when a society must rebuild.

Will the couple be able to survive, make alliances with others, and give birth to a new generation? Will the insidiousness of human nature manifest itself in this new, post-apocalyptic world? Filled with beautifully melancholic and black humor, The Weathering becomes a kind of study of behavior in critical situations when everything that once seemed stable falls apart."

The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula

Publication: March 31st, 2026

Del Rey

Hardcover. 464 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"When a Victorian fossil hunter discovers a baby pterodactyl, she vows to protect him, with the help of a fellow scholar—her former fiancé—in this enchanting and transporting historical fantasy.

“Scholarly and clever but still full of heart . . . Five baby pterodactyls out of five.”—Heather Fawcett, New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Wilde series

Mary Anning wants to be a geomagician—a paleontologist who uses fossils to wield magic—but since the Geomagical Society of London refuses to admit women, she’s stuck selling her discoveries to tourists instead. Then an ancient egg hatches in her hands, revealing a lovable baby pterodactyl that Mary names Ajax, and she knows that this is a scientific find that could make her career—if she’s strategic.

But when Mary contacts the Society about her discovery, they demand to take possession of Ajax. Their emissary is none other than Henry Stanton, a distinguished (and infuriatingly handsome) scholar . . . and the man who once broke Mary’s heart. She knows she can’t trust her fellow scholars, who want to discredit her and claim Ajax for their own, but Henry insists he believes in the brilliant Mary and only wants to help her obtain the respect she deserves.

Now Mary has a new mystery to solve that’s buried deeper than any dinosaur skeleton: She must uncover the secrets behind the Society and the truth about Henry. As her conscience begins to chafe against her ambition, Mary must decide what lengths she’s willing to go to finally belong—and what her heart really wants."

Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue, trans. Natasha Wimmer
Publication: March 3rd, 2026
Riverhead Books
Hardcover. 464 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A woman’s desperate flight from an Apache raid unfolds into a sweeping tale of the Mexico–US border wars.

Orchestrated with a stunningly imagined cast of characters, both historical and purely fictional, Now I Surrender radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” In the contested borderlands between Mexico and the United States, a woman flees into the desert after a devastating raid on her dead husband’s ranch. A lieutenant colonel in service to the fledgling Republic, sent in pursuit of cattle rustlers, discovers he’s on the trail of a more dramatic abduction. Decades later, with political ambitions on the line, the American and Mexican militaries try to maneuver Geronimo, the most legendary of Apache warriors, into surrender. In our own day, a family travels through the region in search of a truer version of the past.

Part epic, part alt-Western, Now I Surrender is Álvaro Enrigue’s most expansive and impassioned novel yet. It weaves past and present, myth and history into a searing elegy for a way of life that was an incarnation of true liberty—and an homage to the spark in us that still thrills to its memory."

Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran
Publication: March 10th, 2026
Doubleday
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A thrilling gothic debut • The untimely death of a student at a girls’ boarding school marks the first in a haunting series of escalating supernatural events, and uncovers buried truths of teenage repression, queer desire, and the everyday horror of coming of age.

"A truly impeccable novel.” —Julia Armfield, author of Our Wives Under the Sea

"This book destroyed me.” —Tamsyn Muir, author of Gideon the Ninth

In 1928, Emily Locke's final year at the isolated Briarley School for Girls is derailed when Violet, the school's brightest star (and a cunning beauty for whom Emily would do anything), falls to her death on her eighteenth birthday. Emily and her buttoned-up rival Evelyn are, for once, in agreement: Violet’s death was no accident. There's an obvious culprit, the French schoolmistress with whom Violet was getting a little too close—they only need to prove it.

Desperate for answers, Emily and her classmates turn to spiritualism, hoping for a glimpse of wisdom from the great beyond. To their shock, Violet’s spirit appears, choosing pious Evelyn as her unlikely medium. And Violet has a warning for them: the danger has just begun.

Something deadly is infecting Briarley. It starts with rotten food and curdled milk, but quickly grows more threatening. As the body count rises and the students race to save themselves, Emily must confront the fatal forces poisoning the school. Emily's fight for survival forces her to reevaluate everything she knows: about Violet, Evelyn, Briarley, and, ultimately, herself. Avery Curran channels the indelible ambience and intrigue of the classic boarding school novel while turning the beloved genre on its head in this visceral, exuberant debut."

Review: Patchwork Dolls by Isabelle Cheung

 

Patchwork Dolls by Ysabelle Cheung

Blair
Publication Date: February 10th, 2026
Paperback. 212 pages.

About Patchwork Dolls:

"In this debut story collection, Ysabelle Cheung weaves an eerie fabulism with tales that cross continents, technology, and time.

Set in Hong Kong and America—between the present day and an uncannily altered future—this story collection warps the familiar rules of our world to what does it mean to be Asian and a woman—living under the specter of state and technological surveillance—or trying to break free from it?

In the title story, a young woman of color realizes she can make her fortune by surgically selling her facial features to whiter, wealthier clients. In “Please, Get Out and Dance,” a group of rebels escapes a city that is literally disappearing around them—building by building, person by person—to migrate to a new home beneath the ocean, defying their government’s mandate. “Herbs” follows an elderly widow who, when the clones of her dead husband start to appear uninvited in her home, must grapple with her memories.

In each of these stories, Cheung tilts the world just slightly off its axis to bring together a haunting meditation on what it means to survive within our increasingly digitized and mechanized world."

Patchwork Dolls is a fascinating collection of stories. It’s one of those collections that’s filled with ideas that will continue to linger long after you’ve finished reading it. It’s eerie and exceedingly weird--weird being used in a good, positive way here--and incredibly thought-provoking and contemplative in tone. These are stories that you will want to sit with and play around with in your head, and they will most assuredly leave you feeling a little bit unsettled while doing so.

The stories in this collection are set across Hong Kong and New York and seem to meld bits of body horror and magical realism, as well as some dystopian qualities, in ways that feel both intimate and unsettling. Cheung really centers her stories around themes of Asian womanhood and women’s bodies, such as how they are viewed, controlled and treated, as well as identity and how women move throughout the world. She explores these ideas through some truly strange and creative avenues that at times made it hard for me to read them, but at the same time hard to look away from. A few stories that stood out to me were:

“Mycomorphosis”: I have a very real, very strong aversion to mushrooms (I know, I’m sorry!), so this one felt truly horrific to me! That being said, I was still somehow completely hooked despite being unbelievably squicked out and desperate to not see what was written on the page. It’s visceral, disturbing, and incredibly effective at getting under your skin, and the thought behind it was equally intriguing.

“The Reader”: This was a really clever and invented “choose your own adventure” style of story that was really creatively done and exceedingly though-provoking as I worked my way through different directions in the story (because yes, I am definitely the person who tries out different paths--other people do this, right?).

“Patchwork Dolls”: This titular story was adequately chosen for the collection title and was completely captivating. It was such a fascinating and generally horrific concept that I couldn’t look away from or stop thinking about. I think it also reflects the entire collection pretty well in how it highlights and zeroes in on some discomfort with uncomfortable topics and the emotional unease that was stitched into the more speculative fiction background that is still grounded in our own reality.

Every story brought something unique to the table, and even when stories didn’t particularly click with me, I still found myself generally interested in the ideas Cheung chose to play with and explore. I will always be someone that prefers authors to explore new ideas and take chances with varying levels of execution over authors that maybe just do the exact same thing without testing new ideas.

Overall, this isn’t a comfortable read, but it’s a very compelling one. If you enjoy your stories a bit uncanny (meaning: very weird) and extraordinarily thought-provoking, then Patchwork Dolls should absolutely be your next read.

*I received a copy of Patchwork Dolls courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Month in Review: January 2026

January continues to earn its reputation as the longest month of year, haha. I might be in the minority, but I don't typically mind it because I feel like it gives me plenty of time to adapt to a new year... but maybe that's just me. This post is up a bit later than I intended, but this past week has just been hectic as hell so I'm glad I'm getting it up at all. I have felt very fortunate to live in Southern California this month as I've seen the crazy winter storms hit so many places throughout the country, so I hope if you are somewhere caught up in all of that that you are safe and doing well!

I also posted my Best Books of 2025 and my 2025 Reading Stats posts if you missed those!

In personal news.. January has been... a lot. The good news is that I started a new part-time job and I still have a couple interviews and leads, so fingers crossed things end up going well and work out in whatever way they are meant to. There's also some less fun personal things that have happened in my life in January, but let's just focus on the positive, haha. 

In reading news, it was a pretty decent reading month. I started out strong, but then fizzled out a bit as the month got crazier. Still, I'm not complaining! I read some great books this and I don't think I really disliked any, so that's always a plus for me. I posted about a review a week which is less than I meant to, but I'm trying to be realistic about what I can feasibly get up right now, haha, so I'm going to just accept it and keep trying to improve each month. 

How was your January and what books have you been reading? How's the new year been? Any reading-related goals?  Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

   

# books read: 11

The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry

Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I finally got around to this one and really enjoyed it! I appreciated how unique it felt for a haunted house type of story. 

Native America: The Story of the First Peoples by Kenneth L. Feder

Source: NetGalley | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: This is a fantastic overview of the history Native American peoples and I thought the author did an incredible job of explaining things clearly and in a very readable manner. It has more of an introductory vibe to me, so if you're new to learning about Native American history, this is a great place to start. 

The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper

Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to finally finish this trilogy, but I'm so glad I finally did because it was a very solid ending to a fantastic trilogy. 

Patchwork Dolls by Ysabelle Cheung

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: This was an incredibly thought-provoking and weird (good weird!) collection of stories and my review for it will be up next week!

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: For some reason, I though I read this years ago. And then I realized I hadn't, so I decided to finally check it out and it was very informative. I still hold true to the belief that it is exceedingly rare for any catastrophic event/etc. to ever be handled well by any government/people in power... and this was not an exception.

Just Watch Me by Lior Torenberg

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

Thoughts: This was a bit of an adrenaline-fueled fever dream that I was hooked on for the entire ride. 

The Compound by Aisling Rawlee

Source: Library | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I started reading this a couple months ago, but couldn't really get into it so set it aside. But then I started hearing so many mixed things about it that I was tempted to try it again, so I did and I was much more engaged this time--I found it to be surprisingly compelling and an interesting look at social dynamics and individual nature. 

Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: Detour is a sci-fi/space thriller with a super intriguing concept. It's a bit slow to start, but places with some fun ideas and I'm eager for more.

Eden of Witches, Vol. 2 by Yumeji

Source: Library | Format: Ebook
Thoughts: I've been enjoying checking this one out, though I wouldn't say I'm overly hooked on it. I really love some of the art!

The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff

Source: Publisher | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: This was such a fun Greek mythology-inspired middle grade read, and my review is already up for it!

The Power of Guilt by Chris Moore

Source: NetGalley | Format: ALC
Thoughts: My focus hasn't been great with fiction books on audio lately, so I've been trying to stick to more nonfiction and this was one I saw on NetGalley so decided to give it a read. Although I didn't find too much to be necessarily "groundbreaking," I think it does make some really interesting points about guilt and where it manifests, its effects, guilt vs. shame, and more--I'd recommend it!

To-Be-Finished:

For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce
I really tried with this one, but it just wasn't working for me. I really love the concept and thought this book would be amazing, but the directions it took and how it explored the concept were pretty disappointing and, honestly, a bit boring, so I've set it down for now. 

 

City of Others by Jared Poon
Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart
Just Watch Me by Lior Torenberg
The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff

 Posts:

Month in Review: December 2025
Best Books of 2025
2025 Reading Stats
Anticipated February 2026 Releases

Blog Memes:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:
1/7: The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui, She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva, White River Crossing by Ian McGuire
1/14: After the Fall by Edward Ashton, The Renovation by Kenan Orhan, & The Pohaku by Jasmin 'Iolani Hakes
1/21: The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride, The Fox Hunt by Caitlin Breeze, & Eradication: A Fable by Jonathan Miles, & The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff
1/28: Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman, The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang, & Patchwork Dolls by Ysabelle Cheung