Tag: book-reviews

January reads, 2026

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So much going on this January, didn’t have as much time to read as I would’ve liked. Still, I ended up finishing 12 books. You can see from the format chart that I read way more digital than print, implicating that I had more time to read on the go than at home (usually those are pretty balanced out). I hope life slows down a bit again – reading time is not only desired for the reason of reading, but it’s my highly important me-time, downtime, battery charging time. Anyway, this is what my reading year began with:

  • The Burning Witch 3, by Delemhach – the (latter half of the) final book of Kat’s adventures, but hey! The saga continues in…
  • …The Ether Witch trilogy books 1 & 2, by Delemhach – where we get to travel with Tam into new adventures with danger and love, and Tam finding his true power. I absolutely love the Ashowan family and can’t wait to get my hands on book 3 (but haven’t seen any release date estimates yet, unfortunately)
  • Kraken’s Guide to the House Witch, by Delemhach – the bonus materials book I got mainly for the sake of the map, but I also enjoyed the short stories in it. Just a booklet really, but a delightful one!
  • Whispers Most Deadly (Dunhollow 2), by Emma MacDonald – this one started off rather blah, but the second half was quite enjoyable, especially with the polyamory that is so rare in lit
  • Light and Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page, by Brad Tolinsky – a rather intriguing and well-constructed book about the legendary musician, concentrating on the rock star side of things
  • Postmortem of a Poem (Autopsy of a Fairytale 6), by Nicole Scarano – another supernatural murder mystery with Bel and Eamon et al. I really do love it how the personal relationships with their highs and lows are such a natural and important part of the stories. And, there’s more books to come (at the end of this year)
  • Witches of Dubious Origin, by Jenn McKinley – I loved the story, though it had it’s draggy moments before the action really caught up.
  • Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames 1), by Olivia Rose Darling – an excellent romantacy with magic and dragons, and love and deception, and taking back what’s yours.
  • Dream On, Ramona Riley, by Ashely Herring Blake – LGBT romance for a change, with all the necessary improbabilities and misunderstandings and all that. Sweet story.
  • My Friends, by Fredrik Backman – people from the underbelly of society, neurodivergence and trauma, violent childhoods and abusive adults, but most of all friendship and love. Backman totally gets what it is to be human.
  • Wrath of the Dragons (Fear the Flames 2), by Olivia Rose Darling – Ellowen and Cayden prepare for war, determined to put the world to its rights

Jan 6, Yesterday I was reading The Ether Witch 1 (Delemhach) when once again I thought I’d love to have a map of that world, so I went to search online. What I found was a companion book: Kraken’s Guide to the House Witch, with short stories, portraits and other imagery, little details, and those maps.

Not available in Kindle, though, only in Campfire, and had a bit of a hassle to get it all sorted out (I mean, just my own hassle, nothing complicated about it really), and it was well worth it and the few bucks for the booklet 💜 Didn’t read the stories yet, though, but I’ll get to them once I’m done with the Ether Witches.

Jan 6, Trial books aren’t really my thing, though at least the actual trials played a relatively small part in Whispers Most Deadly (Dunhollow 2), by Emma MacDonald. Still, the first half of the book almost had me DNF:ing it, until it redeemed itself when the tormented martyr of a protagonist finally caved in and stopped pushing everyone away and I actually enjoyed the second half – especially the polyamory bit. Such a rarity in literature.

Jan 25, I’m half-way through Fredrik Backman’s My Friends, and while the language stuffs (where do these people live where even the police asks people if they speak the language?), I’m loving it, like I’ve loved all of his books.  It’s just so sweet, so lovely 💜 Not your action and adventure book, but a book about humans, humanity, friendship, loss and grief – the big feelings. The thing is that Backman really GETS human emotions. So relatable.

December reads, 2025

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December is a tricky month in the way that there’s a lot of holidays that sort of offer more time to read, but then at the same time those holidays are full of baking and cooking and celebrating with the family. Also, some work events and my son’s graduation (though the party will be right after New Year). Still, I obviously found plenty of time to read too, finishing 13 books (5005pages), bringing the total of the year to a dazzling 163 books, 60 137 pages (year wrap-up to come). So, my last month of 2025:

  • The Austen Intrigue (Regency Secrets 4), by Julia Golding – another regency mystery solved by Dora and Jacob, this time with Jane Austen as the main supporting character. Charming and witty with a touch of danger, as always.
  • The Forget-Me-Not Library, by Heather Webber – a touch of magic and a lot of love and goodwill is the recipe for personal healing and finding a home in this lovely story. Webber at her best.
  • The Last Wish of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats 2), by Mary E. Pearson – while maybe I wasn’t entirely happy with the ending, it was still a rather excellent ending to this enchanting fae tale.
  • The House Witch trilogy, by Delemhach (Emilie Nikota) – a lowly cook, a peasant, a supposedly weak witch, who turns out to be a lot more than he seems. Not to mention his familiar, who all but ends up running the entire nation! Charming, hilarious, sweet and romantic, with mysteries to solve and the day to save; everything I love in a book!
  • The Princess of Potential (The House Witch 4), by Delemhach (Emilie Nikota) – the stand-alone book 4 is the story of princess Alina finding her potential, her love, and her place in the world, setting the scene for The Burning Witch trilogy. As excellent as the preceeding trilogy.
  • The Bookshop Below, by Georgia Summers – a bit of a disappointment as I so wanted to love this book, but ended up only liking it. It was it all, but the pace was too slow for me, it sort of slugs along in an ethereal way that is enchanting but not entirely engaging.
  • Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore, by Emily Krempholtz – now this one I simply devoured! Charming, quirky, warm and good at heart. A story of deception and new beginnings. Of victory over the evil, both without and within.
  • The House Saphir, by Marissa Mayer – magical mystery that reads like a fairytale. Absolutely loved the story and the unraveling of the history of the mystery at hand. Learning to trust, learning to ask for help, learning to love. Great read!
  • Books 1 & 2 of The Burning Witch trilogy, by Delemhach (Emilie Nikota) – Kat, the daughter of the House Witch, is charming though maybe a bit annoying (well, she does proudly hold the title of the most annoying person in the world). This book starts her story, how she finds her place, purpose and love. If she wasn’t a witch, I’d just call her ADHD.
  • Cackle, by Rachel Harrison – Start anew, get adopted by a witch, discover you’re a witch, find your own strength while being manipulated. I dunno. There was a lot to love in this story, but still I couldn’t, not entirely. Just rubbed me the wrong way, if only subtly.

Dec 14, I seem to have found a new series (of series) to obsess over: The House Witch series by Delemhach. I finished the first book last night and enjoyed it immensely! It’s humorous with lots of action, quirky lovable characters, loyalty and love. It radiates good will and warmth, that makes you believe that everythig will always turn our alright (and it does!) – even when there’s some evil plans threatening the totally adorable kingdom.

As noted, it seems to be an entire series of series – the original trilogy, the Burning Witch trilogy (daughter of the House Witch), a standalone story of the crown princess of Daxaria (The Princess of Potential), and The Ether Witch duology (or trilogy? is there a third book to come?*) about the son of the House Witch.

*) Yes, I learned that there will be a third and final book in the Ether Witch trilogy. Also, The Princess of Potential definitely stands as book 4 of The House Witch trilogy and should be read before The Burning Witch books, if one wants to read them in their (chrono)logical order.

Dec 23, I finished The Bookshop Below, by Georgia Summers, yesterday, and while I liked it a lot, I was disappointed that I didn’t love it like I had expected. It was a bit too slow paced, a bit too… ethereal, maybe? Today I started Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore, by Emily Krempholtz, and am happy to find that one seems to be exactly what I expected.

November reads, 2025

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Somehow a bit slower reading month again. Been a lot of stuff going on at work and it seems to take a bit of a toll on my ability to focus on books – as much as I want to read, I can’t always seem to have the energy to go on deciphering words and end up playing a mobile game instead 😄 Still, the 11 books of November already brought the cumulative year toll to 150 books exactly, a bit over 55 000 pages so far (which is already over 3000 pages more than last year with the 147 read books, so I seem to increase my time spent with books all the time – and maybe my reading speed is still increasing too).

  • Metal Slinger (Fire & Metal 1), by Rachel Schneider – Well that was a plot twister for sure! I lost count of them 😄 Sure kept things interesting. Looking forward to book 2 (coming in June next year) to see where it all goes in the end!
  • The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton – So how many times did Evelyn actually die? That’s for the reader to find out but it¨’s not easy with all the time loop stuff and multiple instances of same person in the same place but different time location and… whoa, have mercy on my brain! Excellently built story.
  • Hex and Hexability (Best Hex Ever 3), by Kate Johnson – The pefect palate cleaner after the mind twists of Evelyn Hardcastle, even though these books include a bit of time travel too. Fun and fast moving and a delicious romance too.
  • Princess of Blood (The Shards of Magic 2), by Sarah Hawley – More court politics than I really care for; thus a more tedious read than book 1. It did gather up some speed towards the end, also as the romance matured, and boy did it leave off on a cliffhanger!
  • Rewitched, by Lucy Jane Wood – A lovely journey to finding one’s bearings and courage, with a dose of mystery and a bit of danger in the mix.
  • The Poisoned King (Impossible Creatures 2), by Catherine Rundell – Sort of independent sequel to to book 1, middle grade read, and a good one for the intended audience, which I obviously am not really, but I did like the story.
  • Uncharmed, by Lucy Jace Wood – I didn’t enjoy this as much as I did Rewitched. The protagonist annoyed me big time with her living to please others (and maybe it hit a bit too close to home too…). In the end though, very satisfying.
  • The Everlasting, by Alix E. Harrow – Started a bit slow, took me 1/3 of the book or so to get to speed but then it was an etherial kind of ride through times in the attempt to stop the one who wanted to rule it all no matter the cost.
  • King’s Ransom (Gabriela Rose 2), by Janet Evanovich – Perhaps not the best of Evanovich but entertaining and fun story taking the reader from the States to UK to Egypt to Italy on a race to find stolen (and missing) artifacts.
  • Brigands and Breadknives (Legends & Lattes 2), by Travis Baldree – D&D or so, a travel story both through the Territories and one’s self. A bit slow moving for me, but I still liked it a lot.
  • Higher Magic, by Courtney Floyd – Dark academia, adult romantacy, themed with divergence (neuro and other) and inclusion/exclusion, infused with literature. Simply a fabulous book, pure enjoyment with the perfect level of mystery and suspence.

Nov 5, God what a mind twister! The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (by Stuart Turton) broke my brain with the time loop stuff and multiple instances of the same individual in different states of the time loop and… whoa! Didn’t keep me from loving the book, maybe on the contrary. What a ride!

Nov 27, combine academia, literature, and magic into a romantacy mystery, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a book – at least if you aim for my top reads of the year (or decade or maybe life) list. I mean, what’s there not to love? In the hands of a skilled author, it’s pure satisfaction. That’s Higher Magic (by Courtney Floyd) for you!

September reads, 2025

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September was a month with one birthday party (and baking for it) and one Sunday spent fully with my (adult) kids, a bit of shopping, eating and a concert in the evening. A regular reading month, though “only” 11 books, but some rather long ones in the mix, like Murakami’s Kafka and 1Q84 books 1-2 (one volume).

  • Midnight in Everwood, by M. A. Kuzniar – a retelling of Nutcracker, quite enjoyable, while maybe not exquisite
  • A Dark and Secret Magic, by Wallis Kinney – witches and warlocks, secrets and danger, love and courage, the perfect mix for a rather perfect book
  • Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami – maybe Murakami’s best known book, been in my library for some years, waiting for me to be in the mood. Great read, with its parallel universes kind of magical realism that only slightly twists the brain, but not too much
  • The Queens of Renthia trilogy: Queen of Blood, The Reluctant Queen, The Queen of Sorrow, by Sarah Beth Durst – where the spirits are torn between wanting to build and wanting to kill humans, only a powerful queen can keep them in control. A story with tragedy, love, hope, and deception. Loved it💜
  • 1984, by George Orwell – I was surprised by how much I liked this despite my prejudices. Excellent book about politics, power greed and human psychology
  • The Witch is Back, by Sophie H. Morgan – first of a series, a witchy romance. Cozy sweet read.
  • 1Q84 books 1-2 and book 3, by Haruki Murakami – inspired by 1984, though the connection is very loose. Magical realism, the best of Murakami in my opinion, excellently woven parallel stories with just a bit of mind twisting and suspence
  • Accomplice to the Villain, by Hannah Nicole Maehrer – just can’t get enough of Evie, Trystan et al! The mystery of the prophesy unravels slowly, as does the romance between Evie and Trystan, but there is more deception and destruction to come! One more (at least, you never know with these nincompoops, as the author stated) book to come, need to wait a year for it 😭

Sept. 13, I’m halfway through George Orwell’s 1984. I don’t exactly know how I avoided it in school, but I did, and it really never interested me; I was sure it would just infuriate and disgust me so I’ve been avoiding it until now. I’ve had a copy in my library for some years now, though, and the reason I’m reading it now is the reason I bought it to begin with: Murakami’s 1Q84, which is now next up on my TBR. So gotta read 1984 first.

I’m actually finding it an intriguing read. It resonates but is sufficiently distanced from reality that it reads like any dystopia, no more sinister than that even though a whole lot of the stuff IS reality to some extent. I found myself thinking that e.g. the Cancel Culture people should read it – but then immediately thought, just like Winston: they wouldn’t listen to him. I can relate to Winston in his musings on many levels, and he puts my ultimate feeling in words with the notion: “I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY.”

I think I wouldn’t have known how to appreciate the book when I was young. I think it’s better I didn’t get to it until I had a few more years behind me.

Sept. 20, At the end of 1984, I still did not understand the WHY. “Power” as a “why” makes zero sense to me. Anyway, it surprised me a bit how much I liked the book, despite my heavy prejudices. Those prejudices had leaked somewhat to my expectation of Murakami’s 1Q84, due to the connection, but at least that slate was wiped clean, then. I had put off reading 1Q84 for twofold reasons, fueled by its 1984 connection: 1) I “needed” to read 1984 first, 2) it’s long and what if I can’t stand it? I hate to DNF books.

Well, now I’ve finished book 1 of 3, and I have to say it is probably my favorite work of Murakami’s. The parallel universe twist is subtle enough to tickle the brain while not fully twisting it, the two stories are being woven together masterfully, one tiny strand at a time, and it is highly intellectual and intelligent, a real treat to one’s mind. The connection to 1984 is more inspirational than a real connection, but having read it, helps understand many of 1Q84’s nuances that might otherwise be lost on the reader.

As it goes, I select the books I read at any given time purely by mood, current interest, feeling, inspiration – and it pays off to listen to that and not try to push. Time was ripe for these two works now, and I am fully enjoying my experience!

Sept. 27, ”Someone once said unless you have those kind of opportunities [being in jail or having to hide out for a long time], you can’t read the whole of Proust.” – 1Q84, book3 (Haruki Murakami)

Well, I’ve certainly never even looked at Proust, doubt I ever will, but I definitely am enjoying these 3 books of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.

August reads, 2025

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Back to work after summer holidays, and free weekends and even though I wrote a fairytale of my own (The Tale of the Twisted Tree), and did a bit of painting (Swan in Snowfall, Watching the World Burn, Hummingbird on Full Moon), I somehow ended up reading 17 books, just shy of 6000 pages. So, quite some reads to cover here, better get started:

  • Glorious Rivals (book 2 of The Grandest Game trilogy), by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – so much expected, only to (obviously) leave me on another cliffhanger in the end 😅 Such delicious suspence! Devious and clever, and now I’ll just have to wait a year for the finale.
  • A Curse of Crows, by Lauren Dedroog – first book of the A Curse of Crows and Serpents duology and I totally, fully enjoyed the book! The surprises, the secrets, the masks and facades, the fragile and sweet relationship between the protagonist and her love interest, but not void of banter and fun. Book 2 coming in the autumn.
  • George Michael: Elämäkerta (orig. The Life), by Emily Herbert – kinda like a book to read while waiting for an order to arrive 😄 Tragic life, but as a read, the book was mediocre.
  • The Enchanted Greenhouse, by Sarah Beth Durst – back to the world of the Spellshop, connected while not. Took me a while to get into the story, but then it flew and I totally loved it.
  • A Witch’s Guide to Magical Inkeeping, by Sangu Mandanna – so not disappointing! Wonderful, whimsical, heartwarming – a lovestory but also so much more. A story about finding your way Home.
  • The Glimmer Falls trilogy (A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch, A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire), by Sarah Hawley – surprisingly substantial examples of the genre of steamy(ish) romantacy. Mysteries, family issues, and personal growth.
  • The Library at Hellebore, by Cassandra Khaw – uh, I’d rather forget that I read the book. The sole purpose of the book was to showcase gore and disgusting stuff. So much so that I simply grew numb. Thin plot to support the, uh, gore.
  • Koira, joka pelastaa kissoja and Ginny, suurkaupungin enkeli (orig. The Dog Who Rescues Cats, and The Blessing of the Animals), by Philip Gonzales – my palate cleaners after Hellebore, sweet sweet true story that restores one’s faith in humanity. Or doganity. Or both.
  • Regency Secrets, books 1-3 (The Persephone Code, The Elgin Conspiracy, The Wordsworth Key), by Julia Golding – a bit of a Veronica Speedwell meets Robert Langdon but in the Regency era. I loved Dora and Jacob, and can’t hardly wait for book 4 (coming in November).
  • The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, by Roshani Chokshi – a dreamy, ethereal tale with the kind of uglyish undertone as is common for fairytales. Magic is insinuated, but never proven, leaving the reader forever guessing what is “real” and what simply the perception or fancy of the storyteller(s). I loved it.
  • Neverthorn, by Shannon Mayer – some good ole dark academy, book 1 of a duology, and gah I need to wait for a year for book 2! Actually adults (if young), and a proper plot with deception, surprises, and some bits of romance. Oh, and gotta love the frucking potty mouth rune gag!
  • The Baby Dragon Bakery (book 2 of The Baby Dragon Cafe), by A.T. Kureshi – Firends to lovers is not my thing I guess. Too much of this being too scared of ruining things to talk. I mean, I get it, but one pining already is ruining it. So when things start happening, maybe, um, talk? Also, I may be too old for 24yo immaturity (esp. the girl; the guy had shit parents so kinda excused). So, no, I didn’t enjoy this like I did the first book. Maybe book 3 with the enemies to lovers trope is more to my fancies again, I hope, bc I love this baby draggo world.

Aug 11, Every now and then you (or at least I) stumble upon the most bizzarre (I’d like to say disturbing but that would be dishonest and not quite right since I’m not actually DISTURBED at all) thing you’ve read since the previous most bizzarre thing you’ve read since… you know…

Right now that most recent most bizzarre thing is the book I just started: The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw (pic on the left), which is the most bizzare thing since I read Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham (pic on the right) several years ago.

And by bizzarre, I don’t by any means mean bad or not good or not likeable – on the contrary. It’s good to get your mind twisted a bit now and then. So, high expectations for Hellebore – I certainly enjoyed Winterset Hollow!

Aug 16, Update: I’m a bit disappointed. The Library at Hellebore is definitely gory and then some, prolly to the point where it should be disgusting and disturbing – and I’m sure it would be if it was a movie, for the thing is that my brain does not visualize words to a level that would make anything vivid enough to truly bother me.

I find myself more like bored. Kinda like excessive chase or sex scenes bore me. Really, anything that becomes repetitive and goes on too long. The gore upon gore being most of the storyline, paired with complicated interrelational musings(also not something I endure wel), the actual plot seems thin at best, spun for the sole puprpose of offering a stage for the gruesome characters to be gruesome.

Aug 17, So, as a palate cleaner I wanted to read something heartwarming and grounding, which led me to finally reading the two books about Ginny the dog who rescues cats (The Dog Who Rescues Cats, and The Blessing of the Animals, by Philip Gonzales) which I have in Finnish because they used to belong to my grandma. I remember her talking about them and discovered that I actually gave her the other one back in !999, but just hadn’t gotten around to reading them yet. Now I did, and what a wonderful trip that was! Exactly the kind of story I needed, reminding me that there IS love and beauty in this real world ❣️