Category: Book Review

My first review of 2026

First off, hats off to the beautiful artwork that accompanies this book—the dragon illustrations are absolutely stunning. This is a very different kind of fantasy from what I usually read. Set in a Victorian-era–inspired world, the story unfolds as the memoir of our protagonist, Isabella, written when she looks back on her life beginning at nineteen.

The author paints a clear and vivid picture of Isabella: a young woman deeply passionate about science, and dragons in particular. One of my favorite scenes is a quiet, heartwarming moment with her father, who recognizes her love for learning. In a world where she is unlikely to be allowed to pursue her passions, he gives her a list of potential suitors who at least own the books she loves—so she can keep reading. It’s such a tender, realistic gesture, told entirely in the voice of a scientist, and it made me smile.

“A husband willing to fund a library for his bookish wife is not so easy to obtain; most would see it as a pointless expense. You might, however, find one willing to share his library.”

Isabella’s meeting with her future husband and their courtship are described with the same analytical restraint—observed, measured, and yet surprisingly moving. The author somehow manages to keep everything fully in character while still warming the reader’s heart. Isabella’s first expedition with her husband forms the backbone of the novel, chronicling their study of dragons, complete with a touch of mystery and a wonderful cast of side characters, each with distinct personalities.

“The dragon within my heart stirred, shifting her wings, as if remembering they could be used to fly.”

My only reservation is the ending, which didn’t quite deliver the same emotional punch as some of the earlier moments. That said, this is a wonderful premise, thoughtfully executed. This kind of fantasy won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you enjoy historical fiction with a speculative twist, this is well worth picking up.

A Fitting Farewell to the Witcher Series

I wondered how the author would conclude this fantasy series with so many characters, plots, and subplots, and I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. In the previous book, we left Ciri in a different world with the elves, who knew of the prophecy and her supposed role in it. In this book, Ciri is trying to return to Geralt and Yennefer, who are each fighting their own battles.

The Battle of Brenna is one of the highlights of the novel. Told through multiple points of view—especially from the perspective of the field hospital staff struggling to save lives—it is written with remarkable skill and emotional impact. Another clever narrative choice is the way the author lets us glimpse the future, where the present story has already turned into legend, and then allows those future characters to influence events in the present.

The ending is open to interpretation, and I can see how some readers might be unhappy with it—particularly with how Emperor Emhyr’s quest concludes, what becomes of Geralt and Yennefer, and where Ciri ultimately ends up. For me, though, this was a satisfying, if unorthodox, conclusion to the series.

This is a series that will truly benefit from a reread; there are so many Easter eggs and layered details that are easy to miss the first time around. I am not sure when I would have the time or energy to re-read the series. Happy reading.

“I’m alive, she thought. So it’s not the end of the fight. The fight only end with death, everything else is just an interruption”

“Any dream that we dream for too long becomes a nightmare. And from it we awake with a scream.”

Reading Goals for 2026

As the year winds down, I’ve been taking stock of my reading goals—because of course I have. My goal for 2025 was to read 25 books. As of now, I’m at 23, and currently reading two books at once: Abundance (non-fiction) and Lady of the Lake, the final book in The Witcher series. Surely reading hefty fantasy tomes should count as at least two books each, right? I remain cautiously optimistic that I’ll limp across the finish line at 25 before the year ends.

In January, I’ll share my favorite reads of 2025, but for now I’m already thinking ahead. My reading goal for 2026 is—boldly, bravely—the same: 25 books. Mostly fiction, a sprinkling of non-fiction, a mix of new releases and classics I’ve somehow missed. The challenge, of course, is that as I write Book Three of my fantasy series, I’ll also be reading other fantasy novels… many of them comfortably over 100,000 words. Epic quests are wonderful. They are not fast.

Wish me luck. And tell me—what are your reading goals for 2026?

Devoured this book in three days

From start to finish, I devoured this book in three days—turning pages over my morning coffee and reading at night instead of watching television. There are no dragons, no grand calamities, nothing fantastical to demand attention. Instead, Towles gives us something even better: exquisite prose, fully realized characters, and a marvelous, atmospheric portrait of New York City.

Set in 1938, the story follows Katey Kontent and her roommate Eve, who meet Tinker Grey, a wealthy banker, on New Year’s Eve—and from that moment, Katey’s life shifts. Eve burns bright, all impulse and charm. Katey is the reader (I now want to read every book she references), the observer, the deep thinker. And Tinker… he’s the man doing the wrong things for what he believes are the right reasons.

“It is a lovely oddity of human nature that a person is more inclined to interrupt two people in conversation than one person alone with a book.”

“If we only fell in love with people who were perfect for us…then there wouldn’t be so much fuss about love in the first place.”

“I’ve come to realize that however blue my circumstances, if after finishing a chapter of a Dickens novel I feel a miss-my-stop-on-the-train sort of compulsion to read on, then everything is probably going to be just fine.”

This novel feels like an ode to being young—making mistakes, forging friendships, and stepping boldly into life even when you don’t fully understand it. Towles captures that restless, hopeful energy with such elegance.

I’ll definitely be reaching for more of his books.

Witcher Book Review – Tower of the Swallow (Book Four)

This book picks up right where Book Three left off, with our protagonists scattered across the continent, each desperately trying to reach the others. The story unfolds through multiple POVs, across shifting timelines, and with what feels like dozens of characters and locations. I only vaguely remember some of the peripheral players, yet it never diminished my enjoyment or my ability to follow along. That may not be the case for all readers, but for me, the sheer scope of this world is part of the charm.

“Mamma, are they demons? Is it the Wild Hunt? Phantoms from hell? Mamma, mamma! Quiet, quiet, children. They are not demons, not devils . . . Worse than that. They are people.”

I remain in awe of the complex, deeply layered world the author has built—and the authentic voices he manages to give every single character. Not much “happens” in the grand scheme of the series arc. The violence and torture are graphic, and I skimmed those sections.

Geralt is no longer hunting monsters; he is knee-deep in political intrigue, trekking toward Ciri with a vampire, Dandelion, an archer, and Cahir as companions. Their interactions and misadventures are consistently engaging. Dandelion is, of course, writing a memoir—glimpses of which we get—and it adds a humorous, meta touch. Yennefer appears only briefly, while Ciri’s story is mostly told in flashback, and just when we catch up to the present timeline… the book ends abruptly.

Some sequences, like the ice-skating scene near the end, are elaborate and beautifully constructed—showcasing the author’s incredible choreography. I’m honestly not sure how he plans to wrap up this sprawling saga in one final book, but I’m eager to find out. I’ll be diving into the next one soon.

Book Review: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

This is my first book by Rebecca Makkai, and it definitely won’t be my last. The protagonist, Bodie, is a messy, complicated woman—professor, podcaster, and mother—returning to the boarding school where she spent four formative years. As a teenager, she began by trying to fit in, then found acceptance with a small circle of friends who saw her for who she really was.

Her sophomore-year roommate, Thalia, was everything Bodie thought she wasn’t—rich, popular, beautiful. Though not close friends, there was mutual respect between them. When Thalia is killed during their senior year, the tragedy leaves deep scars. Years later, Bodie returns to teach at the same school, and one of her students chooses Thalia’s murder as the subject of a podcast. The story unfolds as a letter Bodie writes to a man she suspects had a significant role in Thalia’s death.

Back then, Omar, a Black athletic director, was convicted of the crime. Through Bodie’s eyes, the book explores racism, abuse, class, and gender norms—issues that continue to shape contemporary America. What I particularly liked was that Makkai doesn’t make Bodie fit neatly into any box. We humans are complex, and how we react when something touches us personally often differs from how we think we’d respond in theory.

The mystery of Thalia’s death forms the spine of the story, but what lingers is the reflection on memory, justice, and the messy gray areas between right and wrong. It’s not easy to write a novel that captures the pulse of our times while keeping readers fully engaged, but Makkai manages it beautifully.

The hell of imprisonment isn’t the terrible food, it’s the lack of choice of food. It isn’t the cold, wet floor, it’s that you can’t choose another place to stand. It isn’t the confinement so much as the fact of never running, never getting in your car and speeding off, as Omar loved to do.

My only nitpick: there are moments when too many societal issues crowd the narrative. Focusing on fewer might have given the story even more punch. Still, this is a powerful, thought-provoking read—one I’ll be thinking about for a while.

Don’t make my mistake: stay up late to read this book

I normally don’t read psychological thrillers, but when Almost Surely Dead by Amina Akhtar was offered as part of Kindle First Reads, I decided to make an exception. I’ll admit—I don’t know much about Jinn folklore, but after reading this book, I’m definitely interested in learning more.

The story opens with Dunia, our protagonist, narrowly escaping death at a subway station. From there, the narrative flips between three threads: her five-year-old self, her present, and a podcast set in the future (that’s how I kept track, at least). The podcast narration was crisp, engaging, and if the author’s goal was to make them sound like slightly obnoxious true-crime podcasters, she nailed it. I’ve never listened to a podcast like this, so I can’t say if that’s the norm, but it felt authentic.

The sections with five-year-old Dunia and the podcast held the most reveals and kept me turning the pages. My only nitpick: present-day Dunia sometimes felt like she had less agency. Maybe that was intentional, a reflection of her cultural upbringing, but I wanted her to be more active in uncovering the truth about the folklore and the accidents.

“How do you grieve someone who hated you? I wasn’t sure how to, but I was trying.”

Overall, this was a gripping tale—creepy, layered, and unsettling. Just don’t make the mistake I did: stay up late, reading it in the dark.

When Dickens Meets Appalachia

I first read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens as a child, and it might be time for another reread to see how the story feels through adult eyes. A Tale of Two Cities remains one of my favorites—I’ve read it several times—and I keep a Dickens collection at home. So when I picked up Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver’s reimagining of Dickens’ classic, I knew I was in for something powerful. What I didn’t expect was just how much this book would squeeze my heart with every chapter.

Kingsolver brings Damon, a boy born to a teenage mother, vividly to life. The early chapters, focused on his childhood, were especially heavy—I often had to pause after a single chapter to take a breath. When your heart aches for a fictional character, you know the author has done something extraordinary.

Her writing is remarkable. I could smell the dumpster where Damon hides one night, dirty, hungry, and desperate. The characters she creates are unforgettable—you only have to read the chapter where U-Haul first appears to see her genius at work. It’s fitting that Damon is an artist himself, because through his eyes, people are described with such raw precision they leap off the page.

Having lived in a coastal city all my life, I found myself rooting for Damon to one day see the ocean. This is a book that touched my heart deeply and will linger in my mind for a long time to come.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“The wonder is that you could start life with nothing, end with nothing, and lose so much in between.”

“This is what I would say if I could, to all smart people of the world with their dumb hillbilly jokes: We are right here in the stall. We can actually hear you.”

“The moral of his story was how you never know the size of hurt that’s in people’s hearts, or what they’re liable to do about it, given the chance.”

Book Review: A Twist of the Blade (Shadows and Crowns, Book 2)

I read Book One of the Shadows and Crowns series back in October 2023, so some time had passed before I picked up A Twist of the Blade. Even so, I remembered the story well enough to jump right in, which says a lot about how memorable the first book was.

A Twist of the Blade picks up right where Book One left us—on that cliffhanger—and plunges us deeper into the Shadows and Crowns series. In this installment, we meet several gods and finally gain more clarity on how Cas came into her powers. The story also expands beyond familiar borders as we encounter royalty from other kingdoms, broadening the scope of the world.

Cas continues to wrestle with her royal heritage, and much of the book is devoted to her journey toward fully embracing it. At the same time, we learn more about Elander’s past, with a twist that adds new depth to his relationship with Cas.

The pacing wasn’t quite as tight as in the first book, but the blend of mythology, character growth, and world-building kept me engaged. I’m invested in these characters and their journeys, and I’m looking forward to seeing what unfolds in Book Three.

“You can be afraid, and you’re allowed to feel stuck…you just can’t stay there. You have to keep going until you see what’s on the other side of that fear.”

“In this lifetime and in every other.”

Did book two live up to the magic of book one?

I just finished book two of Tomi Adeyemi’s series—she’s a local San Diego author, which makes me extra happy to support her work. Magic is back in Orïsha, and nothing is better. The magic system continues to be excellent, the world building is immersive, and the book cover? Absolutely stunning.

Zélie and Amari are at odds about how best to protect Orïsha and the maji, and their conflict is at the heart of the story. From page one, the action takes off and rarely lets up—there’s hardly a moment to catch your breath.

That said, I have a couple of nitpicks. I wanted more clarity around Zélie’s inner motivations, especially why she’s so resistant to peace. Her emotional arc felt a little underdeveloped in places. But the story is still gripping, and the surprise ending definitely left me wondering what’s next.

You are not your mistakes. Do not let one moment define or destroy you. The gods work in mysterious ways. Have faith in their greater plan.

Will I read book three? Likely yes. I’m invested enough in these characters to want to see where their story goes next. A solid fantasy read.