Tag: book-reviews

February reads, 2026

MarilkaLeave a comment

There’s still too much going on in my life, too much stress, too many things. I escape into books as much as I can, and my one week vacation obviously offered much opportunity for that, though there was a lot going on during that time too. So anyhow, 18 books, 6604 pages, a lot of excellent books in Febuary💜

  • Cat Dragon (Tangleroot Valley book 1), by Samantha Birch – A truly delightful whimsy cozy mystery romantacy adventure with witches and wizards and magical beasts, especially the awesome cat dragons, those designated familiars of the magic users. Eagerly waiting for book 2 (which won’t be until November).
  • Enchanting the Fae Queen (Queens of Villainy 2), by Stephainie Burgis – Enchanting second book of the whimsical, magical trilogy where magical queens battle against the emperor who wants to sweep magic and magical beings out of the realm and rule over everyone.
  • The Chatelaine, by Kate Heartfield – Magical historical realism, or historical fantasy or something. but we plunge straight into the middle ages of Europe, where the king of France is conniving with the chatelaine of Hell (which is a beast more than a place), but a slighted widow (or is she?) has other ideas.
  • The Murder at World’s End (Stockinham & Pike 1), by Ross Montgomery – Fun, witty, twisty, the mystery keeps you guessing till the very end. Excellent detective story, entertaining characters, a totally enjoyable read.
  • The Valkyrie, by Kate Heartfield – A retelling of a Nordic/European mythology story with the expected love, deception, greed, trickery of wicked gods and goddesses, wars, and persistance. Good reading.
  • Dangerous Damsels trilogy (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, The League of Gentlewomen Witches, The Sercret Service of Tea and Treason), by India Holton – Whimsical satire of the Victorian society, literature, and clichés. Three different romances, with separate mysteries, but never fear – the characters move through the trilogy, so you’ll be among friends (and known foes) the entire ride. And what a wild ride it is!
  • Orphia and Eurydicius, by Elyse John – More mythology retelling, Greek this time. A compelling weaving of Orphia’s journey and the uncinditional love of Eurydicius, of prophesies and gods, and how it is our choices that make our life and death. In the end, prophesies only show the result of those choices, but the journey to those results is our own.
  • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Brontë – Finally a Brontë book I actually enjoyed. More Austeny than the other books (that I’ve read), with actual action and characters more regular and relatable. I guess, less Gothic.
  • Into the Midnight Wood, by Alexandra McCollum – Absolutely wonderful, sweet, loveable 💜 Finding oneself, one’s worth, and a love so hidden you didn’t realize it until it bit you in the ass. Queer characters, and the struggle against boxes and labels.
  • The Baby Dragon Bookshop (The Baby Dragon 3), by Aamna Qureshi – Enemies to lovers, romance with (baby) dragons and chimeras, competition and undeniable passion, family messiness and love that is both healthy and not. I quite enjoy the world and the characters, and while I might not label these as excellent, I know I will return to these friends again in the opening story of the Dragon Racers trilogy (coming out in August).
  • Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, by Heather Fawcett – Excellent magical realism/fantasy in historical Montreal, heartwarming and fully enjoyable story about prejudices and surprises, a bit of magical warfare and war against magic users, of cats and love.
  • Moonlight Inn (Moonlight Springs 5), by Lula Ward – The writing of this series is getting better, though the storylines remain a bit thin, but I enjoy these enough to want to see all stones united and Moonlight Springs saved and finally rid of its nasty enemy. Book 6 will be out in May; I’m pretty sure these are quite AI generated, or at least written with a lot of AI assistance.
  • An Arcane Inheritance, by Kamilah Cole – Another excellent read, this dark academy story where nothing is as it seems, magic is hoarded while hidden, and love is strong enough to conquer the evil. Loved this book!
  • Hiiriä ja ihmisiä (Of Mice and Men), by John Steinbeck – A snack of a book, read in Finnish as I happen to have this in Finnish. I remember loving East of Eden as teen, but haven’t read any other Steinbeck since, and won’t really after this again. Not my cuppa. Crude and brutish, realism at its worst 😄
  • The Sea Witch (Salt & Sorcery 1), by Eva Leigh – Oh, when will book 2 be out, when?! The piratees of the Caribbean – a ship full of women, some of who are witches, some not – who aren’t exactly like all other pirates. The British Navy officer caught in the middle of things, finding that true nobility lies not where he thought it did. And of course there’s the fated love. And the cliffhanger ending!
  • Mika Waltari – Mielikuvituksen jättiläinen, by Ritva Haavikko – an academicy collection of analyses, articles and essays about Mika Waltari’s (one of the greatest Finnish authors of all time) works and of him as an author and play/screen play writer, dissecting his career and author person from multiple points of view.

Feb 14, Victorian England. Society ladies, just not that society. I mean, yes, that society, but not. Because while pirates, witches and suches may enjoy their afternoon tea like any civilized people, they don’t exactly have the time nor the interest in balls and marrying their daughters off. Well, except for relieving the hosts of their valuables and encouraging their daughters to NOT do the right thing – I mean, doing the right thing would totally ruin the family reputation!

It’s a world where wrong is right, up is down, every statement is an oxymoron, and what I say is definately not what I mean, but God forbid you go out without a parasol and get freckles! A satire of the Victorian society, where trading barbs concealed as polite conversation is down to art and being set as the target for assassination (by an honorary aunt) is the height of accomplishment.

Oh, but did I even mention? Of course there’s magic! I mean, how else would the pirate battle houses fly around and about? But withches certainly DO NOT exist, but if they did, they would be the sworn enemies of those scoundrel pirates, duh! But we all know animosity is the best breeding ground for romance, and an inn ALWAYS has only one room left.

Add the regency romance twist – of COURSE our heroins are obsessed with literature; after all, one of them is most certainly the granddaughter of Branwell Brontë (or it might’ve been Darwin, but brooding poets ARE more romantic). And what can cause more delightful friction between people than differing opinions about Wordsworth and Byron?

Hilarious, delightful, just a touch steamy! Let me introduce my latest find of absolute joy: the Dangerous Damsels series, by India Holton.

“He drew in a breath he hadn’t known he’d been inhaling”

Feb 17, Out of anything (by any) Brontë I’ve read, I have enjoyed The Tenant of Wildfell (by Anne Brontë) Hall the best. By which I mean, of course, this is the first book of theirs I’ve enjoyed reading, to begin with. It’s not boring, nor outrageous or insane, but more like austenish, I suppose. Though still dwelling more on the ugly side of life than Austen, but still.

I can understand why it didn’t catch the same fame as Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, in their outrageous insanity (latter) and miserable peculiarity (former), it being simply a story of rather ordinary life and love. I can relate to Helen, I can be outraged by the cruelty of Arthur, I can root for Helen’s happy ending and for Arthur’s demise. I’m not dusgusted or bored, I see a life, a story with possibilities.

And I do so like a happy ending,

January reads, 2026

MarilkaLeave a comment

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.