

Review of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying #1) by Ilona Andrews
At once a book within a book and a real-life dive into a fantasy story, the novel offers adventure and a quest; an everyday person in an extraordinary situation; secret identities; a ragtag, loyal group of friends; twists; and a forbidden romance with No Swooning. Maggie has long leaned on rereading her favorite fantasy series for comfort and security. She eagerly awaits the final book in the series, and by now she feels like she personally knows the characters and world of K
15 hours ago


Review of You with the Sad Eyes by Christina Applegate
Applegate's memoir is more focused on her personal life than her acting, which has created structure in her life since childhood. She is brutally honest about recounting her health struggles as well as past trauma and the joy of her marriage and daughter. Christina Applegate began acting as an infant, and she was fifteen when she began starring in the long-running sitcom Married...with Children. She went on to star in movies like Anchorman and in television series like Dead t
2 days ago


Three Books I'm Reading Now, 4/27/26 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now This week I'm reading a book in which a modern-day, luxury tradwife influencer wakes up in the gritty, unforgiving 1800s, Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear; I'm listening to Mai Nguyen's darkly funny and moving book about deep grief and finding a way forward, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead; and I'm listening to Ilona Andrews's novel about a superfan who wakes up in the world of her favorite fantasy series--danger, wonder, and all, This Kingdom Will Not
3 days ago


Six Bossy Favorite Literary Fiction Reads from the Past Year
Six Bossy Literary Fiction Favorites I'm still mining my reading for the Bossy best of the best from the past year. If you've missed my prior lists, take a look on the blog! You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overall favorite reads from last year. If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think! What are some of your favorite literary fiction reads, whether from the past year or beyond? 01 What We Ca
6 days ago


Review of This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page
Page's romantic novel celebrates the importance of books for coping, celebrating, and exploring, while also delving into our main protagonist's deep grief and fight to find her footing again after loss. The sweet story offers poignancy, heart, and hope. Tilly is a young adult still reeling from the death of her beloved husband Joe, and she's hoping that the start of a new year will mean hope and maybe a version of a fresh start. She receives a mysterious message from the owne
7 days ago


Review of Upward Bound by Woody Brown
I felt that knowing the story of the nonspeaking author of this novel added significant depth and poignancy to this big-hearted, heartbreaking story of the clients and staff of an adult daycare center, their personal stories, and their inner lives. In his debut novel, author Woody Brown, who is nonspeaking and autistic, shares a portrait of an adult daycare center in California through glimpses of its varied clients and staff members, their motivations, their frustrations, th
Apr 22
