Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

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.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

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.

February Reading Wrap-Up

                              

14 books read, 2 DNFs

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.

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

Started: 27.2.26

Finished: 28.2.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Free pick from bookshelves

I've been wanting to read this book for a long time as I've heard such good things about it. It was meant to be one of my March reads, but I started it yesterday and finished it today, oops!

The narrator is an un-named person, recounting a series of random occurrences from his childhood; at the start of the novel he talks about memories and how they become distorted over time. The chapters do flit forwards and backwards in a non-linear way, which makes it a bit hard to follow. As he reconstructs his past, he realises with hindsight that all the odd things that happened to him were linked, and that they all culminated in a horrific event. 

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. I don't think it lived up to the hype for me. One of the things I struggled with is that a lot of the actions and dialogue felt too mature for the age that he claimed to be in that particular memory - running around in the woods with his friend when they were five and six years old, for example. And although the ending, and the way he finds out about everything that happened, was certainly horrific, I would put this book in the thriller genre rather than horror. 

TBR Picks For March

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) 

2. First In A Series - Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree (KU)

3. Short stories - A Taste Of Darkness by Amy McCaw / Various (paperback)

4. Free pick from my shelves - Penpal by Dathan Auerbach (paperback)

5. Five word title - A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck (paperback)

6. Four word title - Blood On Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen (paperback)

7. Red book - Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (paperback)

8. Continue a series - Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman (KU)

9. Non-fiction - The Frozen Silence by Dr James Pennington (KU)

10. Yellow book - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (paperback)

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.

Ledge by Stacey McEwan

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?

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

 

Started: 23.2.26

Finished: 25.2.26

Kindle Unlimited

TBR Prompt: A Yellow Book

I couldn't resist choosing another book to read before the end of the month, and I'm quite glad I chose this one as it was only 25 pages long! I think I was aware that it was a short story, but I hadn't realised how short.

It centres around a woman whose husband, a doctor, has prescribed a kind of bed rest for her; she is allowed a bit of movement around the house and garden, but mostly she's encouraged to sleep, and not to do anything intellectually stimulating. I believe this is following the birth of her child, although little is said about that really, just that someone else is caring for the baby. The story is told in the first person, as she writes a journal (secretly), and we witness a subtle but steady descent into obsession, focused on the yellow wallpaper of the room. This short story packs a powerful punch of psychological dread.

What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

Started: 20.2.26

Finished: 22.2.26

Kindle Unlimited

Chosen by RNG

Botanical horror! An intelligent fungus growing in a tarn, which can infect and then control the movements of a body, even a dead one. Creepily atmospheric, with a small cast of likeable characters. Set in a fictional European country, the language of which includes seven personal pronouns. 

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Started: 19.2.26

Finished: 21.2.26

Kindle Unlimited

Chosen by RNG

A really unique and unusual horror story of revenge, with themes of indigenous life and culture, violence and addiction, and attitudes towards women. Basketball features heavily, which I understand has a lot of significance among Native Americans, but I found myself skimming over the long descriptions of play and technique. Very gory horror, and a lot of animal death. A satisfying ending.

The Other People by C.B. Everett

Started: 18.2.26

Finished: 20.2.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: House on the cover

Ten people awaken in a locked house, unaware of how they arrived there. A woman named Amanda tells them that they have 12 hours to solve the disappearance of a young woman. As they begin to come to terms with this unusual situation, they very quickly realise that a killer is stalking them and picking them off one by one. But who? And why? And who is the Beast In The Cellar? 

I wasn't too sure if I was going to like this book when I started it, but I persevered and it did hook me in eventually (although I found the beast chapters really annoying). I didn't guess the twist at the end at all, and to be honest, I didn't really like it, it just felt a bit 'bolted on' somehow.