Reading helps me wind down and relax before bed or lets my mind float away to another world on a rainy afternoon or sat on a sunny beach. A good audiobook makes my 90 minute round trip to work more interesting.

I’m a weird reader. I love reading, but I find it hard to concentrate or I just don’t have the time. Even when I’m reading, I can be horribly distracted, so it takes me forever to get into a book. Or I just dissociate while reading because I’m so engrossed. Ask me what I just read, and I’m like… ??? All I know is how the books made me feel. I’m also super weird with rearranging my bookshelves all the time.
Reading is important if you want to write. You get a sense of what makes a good story along with elements you want to focus on. If you love a book, ask yourself why you loved it. Use that element (while not copying the author, of course) to grab your readers’ attention. Do you prefer character or plot driven stories? Do you love plot twists? Would you like to write an MC that’s very often associated with a secondary character and give them the spotlight?
See below for some reading ranting, reviews, and some of my favourite books. Also, see the sidebar (might be below or above on a mobile) for my up-to-date reading habits via Goodreads and Instagram.
Booksish posts 2021

Book Review – The Awakening, Zodiac Academy book 1 – By Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti – 5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Dragon shifters… say no more. 😍 This book took a while to get…
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Book Review – How to Date Your Dragon by Molly Harper – 5 stars.
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. This has all the ingredients for a great story and was super delicious to read (technically listen to).Firstly, dragon shifters… Yes…
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Book Review – Love and Other Wild Things by Molly Harper – 5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. “Love and other wild things” focuses on Zed, the bear shifting mayor of…
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Book Review – Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues by Molly Harper – 4 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. This is a short review since it was a short book, but I…
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Book Review – Selkies Are a Girl’s Best Friend by Molly Harper – 5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. These books aren’t getting enough love, and it makes me sad. I’m giving…
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Book Review – Shifters in the Night – By Molly Harper – 4.5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. So many Mystic Bayou books to love. This follows Jon, a selkie shifter…
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Book Review – Always Be My Banshee by Molly Harper – 4 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Two completely new characters, Cordelia and Brendan, join the league to investigate the…
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Book Review – Gild by Raven Kennedy – 4.5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. This definitely has A Court of Thorns and Roses and From Bood and…
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Book Review – Glint by Reven Kennedy 4.5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. At the end of Gild, Auren was in the clutches of Fourth Kingdom’s…
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Book Review – Stalking Jack the Ripper by Keri Maniscalco – 5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I absolutely loved this historical novel, which I haven’t read much of lately…
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Book Review – Caraval by Stephanie Garber – 5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Wow. This book swept me far, far away just like Legend’s game. It…
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Book Review – Legendary by Stephanie Garber – 4 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Once again, the Dragna sisters are playing a bigger game than everyone else,…
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Book Review – Finale by Stephanie Garber – 5 stars
Warning: May contain spoilers, but opening comments are spoiler-free. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. An amazing almost ending, and an even better true ending. This was one…
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Book Review – A House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas – 3.5 Stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. I really liked this…
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Book Review – House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas – 4.5 stars
Warning: Review contains minor spoilers. Opening comments are spoiler-free. The ending was 5 stars, but the whole book loses points for what felt like a long haul for the first…
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Book Review – Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas – 4 stars
Warning: Some reviews contain spoilers. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. There are some dark themes, on page torture, flashbacks to abuse, and mentions of sexual abuse, so…
Keep readingBook Reviews from 2021

Book Review. Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin. 5 stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. Serpent & Dove is…
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Book Review. Blood and Honey by Shelby Mahurin. 4 stars.
Warning: Content may contain minor spoilers. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t quite as captivating as…
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Book Review. Gods and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin. 4 stars.
Warning: Contains minor spoilers. Another amazing book from Shelby Mahurin and another amazing series that left me sad that it was over. I can’t live like this… great stories just…
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Book Review. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. 5 stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. If The Infernal Devices and The Colour of Magic had a baby, Sorcery of Thorns would…
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Book Review. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco, 3.5 Stars
Warning: Contains minor spoilers. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. Another Hades and Persephone adaptation. That’s like the 5th I’ve read this year. But that’s not a criticism…
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Book Review. Rhapsodic, The Bargainer #1 by Laura Thalassa, 5 Stars
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. You can never tell…
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Book Review. A Strange Hymm, The Bargainer #2 by Laura Thalassa, 4 stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. I was so excited…
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Book Review. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. 5 Stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain spoilers. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. This is the 2nd round of reading this book. I read them when they first came out…
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Book Review. A Court of Silver Flames. 5 Stars
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. What I liked… So…
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Book Review. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen. 4.5 Stars
Warning: Some reviews contain spoilers. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more. I got serious Pirates of the Caribbean vibes in most of this book, but a completely different…
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Book Review. A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair. 3.5 Stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. I love all things…
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Book Review. A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair. 2 Stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. What I liked… Persephone’s…
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Book Review. Once and Future Witches. 5 Stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. So many things to…
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Book Review. Eversong by Donna Grant. 3.5 Stars
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. What I liked… Multiple…
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Book to Movie Review. Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout 4 stars
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. I know I had…
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Book Review. From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 3.5 stars
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. I’ve read a few…
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Book Review. The Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, and Crown of Guilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 2 stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. Disclosure: I didn’t finish…
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Book Review. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. 4 stars.
Warning: Some reviews contain minor spoilers, but I keep the best parts vague. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more reviews and thoughts on reading. I’ve been finding it…
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Writing Has Ruined My Reading!
Warning: This gets ranty. But since this blog is about ranting… Also, shout out to my writing buddy T-Rex who prompted this post. How he puts up with my rants,…
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Screw Book Purists!
With the release of Shadow and Bone on Netflix, I got to thinking how huffy some readers get when a great book makes it to the screen. Book to TV…
Keep readingFirst Chapters Are the Worst!
Quick announcement: I’ve been on blogging hiatus for a couple of weeks due to losing a close family friend. It’s left us all deeply shocked and upset. I’m not sure…
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Read Terrible Books!
Yes, I recommend reading terrible books. Why, you ask? Because it helps you learn what not to do as a writer. And that’s even better than learning what to do.…
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Talk Dirty to Me 😉!
Disclosure: May contain book spoilers but only in relation to… relations 🤣 Also, this is about sex in literature in case it was unclear. This is also about sex in…
Keep readingYou can’t beat a classic sometimes. This is one of my all-time favourite books. It’s timeless with its complex characters, deep desires, and hints of magic. Dorian just captures the true essence of our darkest selves.

I took a while to get into this, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down and got desperate for the rest of the series.

WINGS!!! I love winged characters. I have a few of them, so reading about angels or demons or other winged people is so much fun.

Terry’s style is quirky and ironic and so bizarre. I find myself laughing at what the MC states is obvious when us normal folk tilt our heads.

I read this and book 2 a few years ago. Because of life stuff, I never got around top book 3. But it’s on my list. I’ve also read her Titan series. I can’t wait for the Wicked movies.
I just love this book for so many fun reasons. The MC goes from a quiet and sheltered life to discovering dark secrets that seduce her into breaking some rules.

This is very relatable story from a writer who lives next to my old town. I had to get her book. I’m glad I did.

I was highly disappointed when they stopped the films after just one. I was looking forward to seeing the series on the big screen. Then they made the TV series. I loved how they adapted the story so it wasn’t the same as the books. It added to the surprises.