Started: 14.3.26
DNF: 14.3.26
Paperback
TBR Prompt: Red book
I only made it to page 34 I'm afraid. I knew what the book was about, so it's not as if that was a shock, and it's not that I felt particularly squeamish reading those first few pages. But it's a pretty horrific subject matter and I just didn't think I needed that in my life! It's ok to say "this is not for me!" I did skip through the rest of the book so I got the gist of the main parts and the ending, and that didn't change my mind.
Started: 12.3.26
Finished: 13.3.36
Paperback
TBR Prompt: Five words in the title
This is a short (104 pages) novella about a man who finds himself in a version of Hell which is a library of unfathomable size. He can only escape if he finds a book of the story of his life, but the library contains every book that has ever been written, and that ever could be written, so it becomes clear that this is an impossible task. The novella certainly raises a lot of philosophical and existential questions, but the answers are probably too far beyond the reach of my little brain though.
Started: 6.3.26
Finished: 12.3.26
Paperback
TBR Prompt: 4 word title
I can't actually remember the last time a book made me feel a little bit sick, but this one succeeded! Obsession, hunger, madness and a LOT of body horror! Coincidentally, I was reading this at the same time as reading Weyward, and although two different stories, they both featured wronged women fighting against the misogyny of the time. There was female rage and revenge (in both books), and I can't say I was sorry about it!
Started: 7.3.26
Finished: 12.3.26
Kindle Unlimited
TBR Prompt: Pink book
Oh, I loved this! Told from the POV of 3 different Weyward women, I was rooting for them all the way through to rise up against the fear and injustice that was levelled at them.
Started: 2.3.26
DNF: 7.3.26
Kindle Unlimited
TBR Prompt: First in a series
Aww, I really wanted to like this, but I just wasn't feeling it. Viv, an Orc, wants to give up the fighting life and open a coffee shop, in a town where nobody knows what coffee is. The first dozen or so chapters are about her converting an old livery into said cafe, and then selling the coffee once her gnomish-made coffee machine arrives. She acquires an assistant, and then a baker to make some baked goods and... it was all very twee and cute and cosy and just... not for me. It felt like a DIY / makeover show in book form to begin with, and then a guide to how to run a business. I didn't dislike it, but I just didn't love it either.
Started: 28.2.26
Finished: 6.3.26
Paperback
TBR Prompt: Yellow book
I feel like this has taken me a long time to get through. I wasn't really feeling a strong urge to pick it up, and yet when I did, I really enjoyed it. The plot was fairly obvious early on, but this was always more of a character-driven story. Who couldn't love Marcellus?! I definitely shed a few tears at the end. Apparently the film version is being released on Netflix on May 8th 2026.
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1. Bitter Passage by Colin Mills.
Loved this! Another book about the Franklin expedition to navigate the NorthWest Passage, or rather, the recovery service which sets out to find Erebus and Terror, 4 years after they left. There was no supernatural element to this book, instead it focused on Lieutenant Robinson and Assistant Surgeon Adams, and their very different motives for trying to find Franklin and his men. This was an Amazon First Reads that I've had on my Kindle since 2024, I don't know why it's taken me so long to read it.
2. When The Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
Was very excited to read this. Thought it was going to be a straightforward werewolf type of story - wasn't. At all. Gripping and fast-paced with some pretty horrific outcomes for several characters.
3. Bloom by Delilah S Dawson
A sapphic romance which takes a very dark turn!
4. The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
Very creepy story about a wormhole opening up between worlds, good characters, lots of humour too.
5. The Apparition Phase by Will Maclean
Not quite the ghost story I was expecting
6. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
Fictionalised retelling of The Donner Party's failed attempt to cross an inhospitable mountain range, with a bit of a supernatural twist.
7. Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
Hunger! So much hunger!
8. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Grimdark fantasy, but actually really good fun! Looking forwards to reading the rest of the trilogy, but just feel like I need breaks in between.
9. Night Watching by Tracy Sierra
This was a DNF.
10. The Storytellers by Sue Heath
Another DNF
11. The Other People by C. B. Everett
'Locked room'(/house) mystery with a twist that I didn't particularly enjoy
12. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Elk revenge.
13. What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher
Botanical horror!
14. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A descent into madness
15. Ledge by Stacey McEwan
Icy fantasy with a cliffhanger ending!
16. Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
Random childhood memories recalled in later life, which, with hindsight, lead to a terrifying conclusion.
I've just used a random number generator to pick out 10 TBR prompts from my list, to choose my March reads. Below are the books I've chosen, in the order that the prompts came out:
1. Pink Book - Weyward by Emilia Hart (KU)
I did manage to read the 14 books I chose for February (well, 12 with 2 DNFs, and then I snuck an extra one in), but this time I decided to just choose ten. This leaves a bit of wiggle room should I want to read anything else, and in March I'm also planning to read Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine as part of a Facebook book group.
Started: 20.2.26
Finished: 27.2.26
Kindle
Chosen by RNG
Strong, stubborn, feisty FMC, dark and mysterious MMC with wings, if that floats your boat. This was a tense enemies to lovers, found family fantasy; at times the pacing was a little slow, but it ramped up towards the end and talk about finishing on a cliffhanger... or should that be a chasm-hanger?
