Review: Witches of Brooklyn - Curse and Reverse - Book #5 - Sophie Escabasse - September 2025 Right, so I'll be totally honest with you  I have been deep in a reading slump lately. You know the kind. The sort where you pick up a book, read two pages, and put it back down again in favour of staring blankly at the ceiling. Not fun. So when this gorgeous physical ARC from RH Kids Graphic landed on my doorstep, I knew exactly what I was doing with my afternoon. Sometimes you just need to go back to what you know, and for me, that's Effie. And oh my goodness, did Curse and Reverse deliver. If you haven't yet discovered Sophie Escabasse's Witches of Brooklyn series, first of all where have you been? and second, you genuinely don't need to feel overwhelmed catching up. These books have such a warm, welcoming energy that feels a little like settling into your favourite armchair with a mug of something hot. They're cosy and fun, but with real heart underneath. In t...

Review: Death of a Pop Star - Volume #1 - Violet Karim - September 2025 You know those seasons of life where work just swallows you whole? That was me these past few weeks , head down, to-do lists multiplying like gremlins, and by the time I'd finally collapse onto the sofa of an evening, I'd pick up a book and read the same paragraph four times without a single word landing. My concentration had practically packed its bags and left. So when this gorgeous physical ARC of Death of a Popstar Volume 1 arrived, I genuinely wasn't sure I'd be in the right headspace for it. Reader, it fixed me. The premise is wonderfully absurd in the best possible way. Sophie Lim is sitting pretty at number one on the pop charts ,  the whole world adores her  until she takes a tumble down the stairs which I believe she was pushed and, well, that's rather that. Except it isn't, because the Grim Reaper turns out to be her biggest fan. Eli strikes a deal with her: Sophie gets her life ...

Review: Ms Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest - Chris Grabenstein - October 2025 Oh, this one had me grinning from the first page. You know how some books just feel like summer? Like the literary equivalent of a road trip with the windows down and a cooler full of snacks? That's exactly what Chris Grabenstein has served up with Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest, and I am absolutely here for it. Think The Amazing Race but make it tween fiction, Route 66, and absolutely brimming with riddles. At the heart of this romp are brothers Ben and Ethan Broderick, who couldn't be more different if they tried. Twelve-year-old Ben is the kind of kid who'd rather spend a Saturday mastering a retro arcade game than breathe fresh air, while older brother Ethan is all sports, friends, and cool. The one thing they do share? An equal and very relatable resentment of being dragged on a family road trip. (Honestly, same.) But here...

Review: Skin and Bone - T.L Keary - November 2019 I'll be honest with you this week nearly broke me. Work absolutely swallowed me whole, and by the time I dragged myself to the sofa each evening, I had barely enough energy to reach for my book, let alone make any real progress. Three books for the week. That's all I managed. Three. A number that would usually have me feeling quietly shameful, but honestly? One of those three was Skin and Bone by TL Keary, and that alone made the whole exhausting week feel worthwhile. I need to talk about this book. Skin and Bone is the kind of psychological thriller that grabs you by the collar from the very first page and simply refuses to let go. The premise alone is deliciously chilling: a woman so desperate for a man's love that she doesn't just change herself for him , she becomes the woman he's pining for. Completely. Obsessively. Down to the clothes, the laugh, the face. The dual narrative between the imposter and the real...

Review: Mr Lemoncello's Library Olympics - Book #2 Mr Lemoncello's Graphic Novels - Chris Grabenstein and Illustrated by Douglas Holgate - October 2025 I have to be honest with you, lovely readers, some books arrive at just the right moment and wrap around your heart like a warm hug from an old friend. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics: The Graphic Novel was exactly that for me. Growing up, the library wasn't just a place I visited ,it was my place. Every Saturday without fail, I'd be there, tucked into a corner with a stack of books taller than my good sense. And for years and years after that, it became my workplace too, five days a week right up until April 2021. The library was simply woven into the fabric of who I am. Sadly, due to some difficult and toxic circumstances in that workplace, I had to say goodbye to the physical library experience, something I never in a million years imagined I would do. Walking through those doors started to bring up feelings I...

Review: Redeeming 6 - Book #4 Boys of Tommen Series - Chloe Walsh - March 2023 I'll never forget the bus ride home from Auckland to Tauranga when I devoured Redeeming 6 by Chloe Walsh in one glorious sitting. There's something magical about being completely transported by a book while the New Zealand countryside rolls past your window, and this fourth installment in the Boys of Tommen series did exactly that. As someone who's read most of Chloe Walsh's work, I can confidently say she's outdone herself here. If you loved Rebecca Donovan's Reason to Breathe series, you'll absolutely fall head over heels for these books. Chloe Walsh has this incredible gift for capturing the raw, unfiltered power of first love , the kind that makes your heart ache and soar simultaneously. Joey and Aoife's story continues with even more intensity than before, and honestly, I wasn't prepared for how deeply it would affect me. Joey's world is crumbling around him, th...

Review: The Royals Upstairs - Karina Halle - September 2024 There's something magical about receiving the perfect book at just the right moment. When "The Royals Upstairs" by Karina Halle arrived as a birthday gift from one of my wonderful bookstagram groups, I had no idea I was about to fall head over heels for this charming romance. Holding this paperback in my hands felt like unwrapping a cozy hug and that's exactly what this story delivered. From the very first page, I was swept into pure Hallmark royal movie territory, and I mean that in the absolute best way. This book has all those deliciously swoon-worthy elements we crave: a brooding bodyguard, a spirited nanny, adorable royal children (who James hilariously describes as "demon children"), and a picturesque Norwegian estate that practically begs you to curl up with a warm blanket and get lost in its pages. James Hunter and Laila Bruset's second-chance romance absolutely captivated me. There...