Started: 6.6.26
DNF: 7.6.26
Paperback
TBR prompt: Added to list in 2025
I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book. It's about Anna, whose parents committed suicide within a few months of each other, except she's not convinced that it was suicide. I can't say that this particular subject matter appealed to me, so I've decided not to continue.
Started: 4.6.26
Finished: 6.6.26
Paperback
Oldest book on list (from 30.11.25)
A dual timeline story about three keepers who mysteriously vanished from their lighthouse in December 1972. We learn about life in the tower light, and how each man is affected by the remoteness and the claustrophobic living conditions, but the story is also told from the points of view of the women they left behind, as they are interviewed by an author 20 years later seeking to understand what became of the men. An interesting and moving story.
Started: 31.5.26
Finished: 4.6.26
Paperback
At last, a Stephen King book that I've actually enjoyed and finished! At 475 pages it's by no means one of his chunkiest ones, but it's still taken me quite a while to get through; it possibly dragged in places and could've been a bit shorter.
It starts out as a pretty straightforward crime thriller, but soon takes a turn into the weird when the main suspect appears to have been in two places at the same time. I really couldn't guess how this was going to work out; in the end, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.
I didn't realise that this book featured a recurring character from an earlier trilogy. There were a few references to the events in those books, probably not enough to spoil them for me (if and when I ever get around to reading them), but it was still a little frustrating.
1. The Examiner by Janice Hallett
Pretty good, very similar to The Appeal
2. Mrs England by Stacey Halls
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.
3. Hare House by Sally Hinchcliffe
I liked the mystery around the hares
4. All The Colours Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker
Great story, if a little bleak
5. Carrie by Stephen King
Telekinetic female revenge
6. Box 88 by Charles Cumming
Spy thriller - DNF
7. In The Woods by Tana French
Thriller - DNF
8. The House On Cold Hill by Peter James
Haunted house, but still a DNF
9. Graveyard Shift by M. L. Rio
DNF
10. We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
Mostly brilliant, quite creepy
11. 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
Vampires, so a DNF
12. The White Road by Sarah Lotz
Spelunking and climbing Everest - terror at either extreme, really good
13. Abandon by Blake Crouch
Abandoned town called Abandon - very creepy
14. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
Baseball fan lost in the woods - meh
15. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Beautiful, magical, fever dream!
16. Pet Semetary by Stephen King
DNF
17. Gerald's Game by Stephen King
Not even a DNF, just decided I didn't want to read this at all. I don't think my Stephen King challenge is going to be very successful...
18. Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez
Cute romance
19. Revival by Stephen King
Another DNF
I wasn't sure whether to skip the TBR prompts for a bit, or maybe just pull them one at a time as I finish each book, rather than choosing them all at the beginning of the month. But it's just so much fun! So what the heck, here we go for the month of June:
First of all, the oldest book on my list is The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex, from the 30th November 2025.
I don't know what Stephen King book(s) I'll read yet, now that I'm just picking them at random, but I'll try and fit at least one in.
1. Added to list in 2025 - Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh. I think this prompt probably meant "if it's been on the list for ages and you haven't bought it yet, now's your chance!" but I've just decided to choose the next 'oldest' book on the list, which I've had from the 2nd December 2025.
2. Animal on the cover - The Witches At The End Of The World by Chelsea Iversen. This was harder to choose than I thought it would be, but since this book came up in a previous month, and I didn't get around to reading it, I'm going to try again. There are hares on the cover.
3. House on the cover - The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas. I had quite a few, but I've kind of been avoiding some of my thriller books, so I chose this one.
4. Gothic vibes - The Ghost Woods by C. J. Cooke. Gothic vibes is almost every book I own!! But as I sorted through them, this was the first one I saw with the word 'gothic' on the cover, so that decided it for me.
5. Buy something new - hmm, I'm really trying not to buy any more books at the moment, so I'm going to choose another prompt. Ghosts/Supernatural - A Haunting On The Hill by Elizabeth Hand. Again, this prompt covers quite a lot of my books! This is a follow up to The Haunting Of Hill House, officially approved by Shirley Jackson's estate.
6. Yellow book - Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang. The previous book is yellow, and this is the only other yellow book I have left!
7. Cover I don't like - The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell. I bought a proof copy of this from Vinted, and the cover is mostly plain black (slightly patterned), so it's not so much that I don't like it, it's just a bit boring. (Doesn't look like this image-->)
8. Five word title - There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm. Looking forward to this, though I'm not expecting to understand any of it...
9. Two word title - Red Queen by Christina Henry. Hopefully I can still remember most of what happened in Alice...
10. Authors name includes initials - The Other People by C. J. Tudor. I've already got CJ Cooke, RF Kuang and qntm in this list!!
So that's it for June. Excited for some of these!
P.S. I've just remembered that I might also need to read The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah for a book club, but I've got that on Kindle, so I don't know if I'll bother...
Started: 30.5.26
DNF: 31.5.26
Paperback
Why am I doing this to myself? I knew before I started this challenge that I didn't really like Stephen King novels, based on the few I'd read. Another DNF. He's just too... wordy...
Started: 28.5.26
Finished: 30.5.26
Paperback
When I was in my early teens I read about a gazillion Mills and Boon and Silhouette Special Editions. I didn't have Microsoft Excel back then, but I kept a list on paper of every book I had. They had symbols on the spine, like squares, triangles, circles, diamonds - I didn't know what they meant, but I logged them too, just in case I ever figured out the system.
So it's safe to say that I've read my fair share of romance novels. I'm not really into that genre any more, but I'd seen so many good reviews about this book that I wanted to try it, and to be honest, I really enjoyed it. Really cute story with likeable characters, but some quite heavy themes running through it, which I think were dealt with respectfully. It even made me well up a bit in places! I didn't realise till I'd finished it that it's book 3 of 3, but I don't think I missed anything having not read the first two in the series, so presumably they can all be read as stand-alones. I did really enjoy the writing style, so I've added the authors other books to my wish list.
Started: 28.5.26
DNF: 28.5.26
Paperback
I'm not having much luck with Stephen King so far. Another DNF. I think it's just the amount of detail that he goes into about every little thing; it's just too much, I feel kind of bogged down in it all. This is what has put me off in the past, why I haven't read many of his books.
I didn't really know what the story was about - I knew it featured a cat - but I read a few reviews and quickly realised that the plot wasn't going to be one that appealed to me. I skimmed through it and read the last few pages, but I don't regret not finishing it.
Started: 26.5.26
Finished: 27.5.26
Paperback
Well. What can I say about this book? Very little really, because it's a genre-less, fever dream of a story, and most of the time I had no idea what was happening, but not in a bad way! If it ever gets made into a film, Guillermo Del Toro will probably be the director.
A man answering to the name of Piranesi lives in a labyrinthine House of infinite Halls, Staircases and Statues. He doesn't really question why he's there, he just is, and he makes the best of his situation, keeps his routines, and enjoys the beauty of the place. And then he receives a message from someone new, and The House begins to feel strange to him...
