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Places I’ll be in 2026:
It’s that time of year again where we take time to reflect on the past year. In this instance I’m talking about reading. This year my reading crashed. If you saw my list of events you know I was swamped working on vendor events. Add to that I read a couple of non-fiction books and I am world’s slowest non-fiction reader. Then there was a beta read that turned into a full blown editing project that had been sidelined and slowed sometime over the summer.
Also, I should mention I’ve started trying to keep up reviews online also via my instagram page: Jenpen_books and also on YouTube with a new thing I’ve been calling “Barnyard Book Reviews”. You get to meet one of our barnyard critters and they help me recommend books to read and so forth.
Enough of the excuses here’s the books I read in 2025, thoughts, notes, etc.
1: I Will Bury You by Brandy Nacole- Brandy is a friend of mine and we’ve had a couple of her books that’ve gotten buried in the endless TBR. At some point the year before my daughter had wrapped a handful of books in the style of a blind date with a book only instead of giving me clues as to what the book was about she numbered them in the order she thought I should read them. I don’t remember what number this was but I was actually reading them in order whenever I took one. I will say her books do well in my blind date with a book boxes.
My notes: As far as the book itself it was a psychological thriller. The MC has a multiple personality disorder. There is one point where I might have missed something. A couple of shifts were a little confusing, however I think it was done intentionally considering the subject. The ending just wasn’t right. Don’t want to give away spoilers just know I didn’t like the way it ended. 4.9/5 stars
2: Where The Library Hides by Isabel Ibanez- Isabel may be one of my new favorite writers. Pretty sure this is listed as a YA, but it was the sequel to a really good read so had to start it as soon as it came out. In the first book the MC finds out her parents had supposedly died. She runs away to Egypt to find her uncle and figure out what actually happened to them. And of course her uncle employs a handsome man.
My notes: Curve. Balls. Did not see some of that coming. Pleasantly unpredictable but not overly done to become unbelievable. Ending was good. Definitely one of my favorites of the year. 5/5 stars
3: Her Wicked Highway Man by Lauren Smith- I’m part of this website for ARC readers and sometimes I pick books up from there. This was one of them. Not really sure what provoked me to pick up a pure romance read. Something about it just struck me.
My notes: For a romance it was good. Didn’t guess the plot immediately. Okay, so I thought I did, but didn’t. For real almost groaned but then went “do what?!” Picked it because both were supposed to be highway robbers. What?! Author was from OK so gotta give the neighbor a try.
Almost got whiplash from plot twist, or maybe neck was still sore from “Where the Library Hides”. The end was a lot of blah, blah, blah because gotta wrap it up neat and tidy bow, but overall it almost made me want to go read a chunk of the series before this, at least characters in this books’ stories. Yes, it’s part of a series but can be read alone. 5/5 stars
4: Trust Betrayed by Christopher Flory- Flory is an author I follow on twitter (X). He’s a mystery/crime writer. He was looking for ARC readers so of course I volunteered. He definitely writes like a male mystery/crime writer.
My notes: crime, murder, mayhem. Read one of Flory’s books before, liked this one better. Several twists at the end. I liked Tobey, the dog. He was a nice touch. 5/5 stars
5: Blazing Justice by Thea Landen- this is another author I follow on Twitter (X). I will say this is not a read for everyone. It’s –how should I say it?- risqué.
My notes: simple 1 day read. It’s a multi-thread story. Each ending was unique. Averaged about 3 threads per storyline. Story was simplistic. For the length of the story felt like could’ve used more actual plot lines and intrigue, it’s a murder! But it worked. 4.8/5 stars
6: Reflections by Elizabeth Lim- this is twisted fairytale I’d been staring at for a while. It’s the spin-off of Mulan. Honestly, I’ve been a sucker for anything fairytale retold, twisted, whatever, for a while.
My notes: Fast read. Picks up where Mulan fires the cannons at the Huns. Shang gets swiped with the sword and nearly dies.7/8ths of the book was Mulan and Shang and Shishi fighting their way out of the Underworld. It was definitely more of a finding yourself book over romance. True friendship, trust. Not really romance, at all. In that aspect it was a little bit of a let down. 4/5 stars
7: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning- It was a Marva (thriftstore book) that my daughter had blind date wrapped for me. This was the supposed to be like the story of where Ursula came from in The Little Mermaid.
My notes: It’s warped, dark, twisted, and sad. I don’t feel like the intensity of the story picks up until at least halfway through, then it leaves you hanging to finish the end only to be disappointed. Spoiler: it’s not a happily-ever-after. The end almost creates more questions. 4.5/5 stars
8:The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson- admittedly, I have not read much, if any Patterson before. This one had a fairytale ring to it and obviously I was on a kick. Genre was crime/police procedural.
My notes: Super short chapters. Barely enough info to get the story out. Emotionally invested in characters, don’t really get that. A little hair prickling at the nap of the neck but not much. It’s like a series of snapshot pictures trying to tell a story, not a 3-D model. 3.8/5 stars
9: Deadly Inheritance by Carol Light- here I’m back on my ARC website. This book was supposed to be set in Arkansas!
It was okay. A lot of it could be guessed before spelled out. Questionable ‘small town’. It felt very template style to me. Following the formal writing. Don’t worry it’s clean. 4/5 stars
10: The Inheritance of Amaya Montgomery by Geletta Shavers- came across this at a vendor event. She was an Arkansas author and the story sounded promising.
My notes:My eye was twitching by pg 26 from the way it was written. The husband was a Class A jerk. Flipped through the rest of the book to see POV. Four people could be considered consistent with a handful of others thrown in along the way. The way it was worded wasn’t working. Ended up at a DNF. I felt guilty, but I just couldn’t.
11: Stealing Home by Grace Reilly- This one I’d picked up, I can’t remember for sure the year before for either me or my daughter, but after we got to looking a little closer we noticed that somethings that flagged it as potentially not appropriate for her age. It’s a sports romance so the genre is up both our allies. Since it was a book from a story and sounded promising I dove into it.
My notes: MC is bi. Half the sex scenes weren’t justified to the furtherment of the story. More than necessary. So much for the baseball aspect. Gave up 251 pages in. Yes, at that point I might as well have finished it but there was still a ways to go. I’d fought it enough, but was trying not to go on a full DNF streak. But it did DNF with no plans to finish it.
12: Misery Loves Calamity by Karen Ann Hopkins- after a few DNF’s I decided to switch it up and went back to my ARC website, and more promising things, like a small town murder mystery.
My notes: It was a breath of fresh air from what I’d been reading. Hillbillies, biker gangs, mafia. It has it all in one small town and don’t forget the single divorced lady sheriff with a teenaged daughter and two taboo men interested in her.
As long as the two love interests aren’t dragged out too long (this is already book 5) it should be a good series. 5/5 stars
13: The Affinity Within by Erin Guerra- on a local writer’s group page I’d seen where someone had shared a local writer was looking for beta readers. I’m enjoy helping other writers and my little group has fallen to pieces, because life. Anyway it was a fantasy read, I was like okay, yeah, sure, I’m game.
First attempt-after I started it I realized it needed a lot of work still. I raised my white flag and called for surrender by chapter 4. Gave a list of general feedback that needed to be done across the board on the book. You never know how people will take it so I figured if I got any response at all it would tell me how much stock she put into my feedback. She was actually very encouraging and eager to learn.
Second attempt- I told her it needed a lot of work so I printed it out and ended up meeting and passing off pieces at a time. It was a good sized book. My advice was to split it into at least two books, possibly make it a series. Gave a lot of other feedback inside of that. Haven’t heard any updates on it in a while, but like the rest of us, life slows our most ambitious plans.
14: Ghost of Honolulu by Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll Jr.- this was my first non fiction of the year. I think I’d got it for Christmas possibly, or I picked it up sometime the year before. Anyway I needed something solid to fall back on and it promised history, spies, and war.
My notes: very interesting. Hard to digest. Cut and dry. Hard to chew, been reading too much fiction, but follows through well with info available. 4.7/5 stars
15: The First by Rebecca R Ganiere- after a slow crawl through non-fiction I returned to fiction, fantasy actually, and my ARC website where there’s always a plethora of options. I also was still working on the beta read and was looking for something comparable to make sure I wasn’t completely off in my analysis.
My notes-this might be my first intergalactic read. No, make that my second. The first I enjoyed. Starts off like any teenage story and builds until the MC is about to go to war with her ‘ex’ and it’s not just a local deal, the whole planet it at risk.
Surprisingly good read considering if someone had told me about it, I probably wouldn’t have read it. 5/5 stars
16: Frozen Secrets by Judy Harrington- picked it up at an author thing the year before. My go to genre, mystery/crime.
My notes- It started out good. Until found out the killer by pg 72 and while sometimes that can amp up the spookiness of a story, that wasn’t really the case. The POV was shifty. The timeline, especially towards the end, was sketchy. And it almost didn’t end with the same character it started with. 3/5 stars
17: How to Expose Yourself to Women by David Badurina- this is another author from Twitter. He actually had a author show going on youtube and all kinds of stuff. Anyway he was looking for ARC’s readers. It sounded funny so I took it on.
My notes- It was freaking hilarious. It was really hard not to burst out laughing, especially the first part. The second part took a dark turn, but fitting. It’s a short satire, but well worth it. 5/5 stars
18: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black- this was another blind book thanks to daughter.
My notes- This is one of daughter’s favorite series. May be a touch too fantasy for me with the character descriptions, but definitely intriguing. 5/5 stars
19: The Wicked King by Holly Black- well duh I had to keep reading the series.
My notes- none! What the heck? I think I was so busy and/or so intrigued I didn’t even know what to think or write. Either way it got missed.
20: The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black- Last book of the series. (Aren’t you proud of me for reading a full series all at one time? lol)
My notes- Interesting. Happily-ever-after. Last part got a little much but mostly good. 4.8/5 stars
21: Blow by Logan Black- this is one of my Twitter friends and favorite authors. He was looking for beta readers so of course I jumped on it.
My notes- gut punching end. Loved it. The Wonderland After Dark series has been fabulous. The characters are so jacked up but the feel so real! *note this book/series is not for everyone. Triggers, triggers everywhere. 5/5 stars
22: Lightwalkers by Jacqueline Holmes- This is an author I met a yearish ago. Finally got around to reading one of her books and she’s a decent writer. Anyway she was looking for beta readers too so of course I volunteered.
My notes- As a beta feels a little rough around the edges, but mostly easily fixable. The plot behind it is solid. 3.5/5 stars pre published (I assume it’s better after the feedback, there were good comments)
23: Reasonable by K. T. Carlisle- another author from Twitter that I watch. I’d seen it floating around and had grabbed it just before the end of the year.
My notes- The book started off with one character, Cat, and ended with a different, Rachel. That was the first thing that annoyed me. It alternates POV equally. Each has two sections although not sure how much of Cat’s POV is actually beneficial. 500pgs feels excessive only to end with “to be continued…”
The timeline is excessively bouncy. Extremely hard to keep up with when any of it happened, especially since both POV have bouncy timelines. The story was interesting but starts with one murder and then the focus stays on a suicide/murder cover-up. Mixed feelings on that.
While it’s tempting to read the follow-up story to tie it all up in a tidy bow, I can’t do another 500pgs of bouncy timelines. 3.7/5stars
24: Violet’s Violin by Laurie Jameson-Sims- I met Laurie at a vendor event and have been at a few events with her. Always enjoy getting to chat with her. I picked her historical fiction ghost story to read.
My notes- Starts off strong with 1970’s Danni. The ghost doesn’t do a lot. The of it is Violet’s Diary, which is basically a telling of Civil War events, but then it starts flipping from diary to ‘live-action’ and Danni makes little appearance until the end. This it’s like a year from when the book started. Skimmed about 10-20 pgs in the back to wrap up the story. Ends nicely enough. 3.7/5 stars
25: Stealing Squatch by Savanna Golden- I met Savanna at a fantasy convention and had collected way too many books from there, but this one sounded interesting enough. I mean Sasquatch.
My notes: Cover was neat despite not liking people on the cover, the shadows of their shifted form was cool.
It was a fated mate story. That part wasn’t too bad, and I’m not really a fan of the trope. Biggest problem: too much passive action and too many POV’s, some gave too much info didn’t leave enough tension. Fast, easy read. Almost anticlimactic. Okay overall. 3.7/5 stars
26: Window of Time by Erin R Howard- this is another author from the fantasy that I almost missed and was a little hesitant to get books. It was a time travel type fantasy story.
My notes- It was a nice break from hard fantasy, hard subjects, and kooky timelines, which is ironic considering it’s a time travel story. It was well written. Sweet, ‘hallmark-ish style’ but not enough to make me want to punch something. It was clean and loosely religious. The only thing that got me (*spoiler alert*) she doesn’t go back home! Never got to say goodbye. But she did get an HEA. 5/5 stars
27: No Bones About It, Moss and Wolf casefiles 1 by B. Williams and J.J. White- met one of the authors at the fantasy convetion and we chatted a lot. Supernatural bounty hunters. Sounded interested enough.
My notes- This was an interesting read, not bad, but I think I expected a little more intensity and action. Half of it was about Wolf and Moss’ relationship. Felt like the bad guy was too easy to find and destroy. The writing was pretty solid and flowed well. 4.5/5 stars
28: Secrets Under the Sycamores by Tyler Mosley- met the author at Author Fest. It was my genre, crime, mystery, but I admit I was a little hesitant to get it because of the size for a simple reason, as a self pub author if it’s thick there’s a good chance there’s a lot of rambling and hasn’t been edited well.
My notes- Super detailed. Long, but not boring. Layers and layers to uncover. Generations of bad luck stories all rolled into one. Over good, writing, characters, etc. I think it has a wide appeal and was pleasantly surprised. 5/5 stars
29: Lethal Red Riding Hood by Leonard and Ann Marie Wilson- yet another author duo I met at Author Fest. Their books where intriguing in that they hinted at fairytale reinterpreting. They advertised as horror, but the concept and cover was too intriguing for me to let it go. I had to ask. She told me it was more a jump scare, cause let’s face it, I’m not a blood, guts, and gore type of reader.
My notes: managed to get halfway through it. I’m not sure what it was, but it just wasn’t grabbing me. I decided to stop forcing myself to read it and move on. It’s been temporarily shelved. Not sure if, or when, I’ll try to pick it up again.
30: Wickedly Ever After by R. Lee Fryar- she’s one of the last standing from my local writers group. She’s a fantastic writer (although her stories don’t always have the highest appeal to me) and we’d started this story in our group meetings a while back and had been anxiously awaiting its release. I will add she was able to find an agent and traditionally. Did I mention she has two books currently in my blind date with a book boxes?
My notes- Was pretty hyped about this book. It did deliver. Funny. So many pieces on point with reference, the little details. My only point of contention was the character of Cear. I felt like it was put there for marketing for a “they” pronoun character and a convenient catalyst. Or maybe Ida and Hector just needed a burden to carry around with them, literally. 5/5 stars
31: Folklore and Flesh by Willie Martinez- Willie is another of my Twitter friends. He reached out and asked if I’d ARC read this collection of poems and short stories. As a disclaimer I’m not much on the horror genre.
My notes: Reading this I realized I’m not a big fan of short stories. Definitely a much deeper book person. Most the stories were interesting, if not a little unsettling. The poetry was actually not bad. 3/5 stars
32: One Shot by Brandi Easterling Collins- Brandi is one of my local author friends and is one I keep her books in my blind date with a book boxes. Anyway I’d read one of her books a few years ago. This one looked interesting so one time when we’re at the same event I grabbed this one to read. Politics and kidnapping, how could I resist?
My notes- It was okay. 4-5 POV’s and didn’t feel like they were all necessary. To me, it seemed the more POV’s ratcheted the intensity down. The overall storyline was good. Didn’t particularly care of the detectives notes. Didn’t think they added much to the story. A lot of info seemed repetitive. 4/5 stars
33: The Heart of Everything That Is by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin- had it in my TBR for who knows how long, but recently had been on a podcast binge and had listened to a short series about Red Cloud so wanted to see if they added new light to what had been on the podcast.
My notes- took a while to read (nonfiction always does), but it was interesting. It brought in a lot of info, especially the U.S. side but considering the lack of available info on the Indian side, it made sense. Red Cloud was very interesting study. 5/5 stars
Where I’ll be this summer 2025 (at least confirmed ones. There may be others.)
May 31- Party in The Park, Russellville Arts Center 9a-4p
June 6- Russellville Art Walk, downtown Russellville 6p-9p
June 21-22 Spellbound Convention, Cape Girardeau, MO
July 11-13 Bella Rustina vintage market Conway, AR
July 17-19 Johnson County Peach Festival, Clarksville, AR
September 5- Art Walk, downtown Russellville 6p-9p
September 27- Ozark Memories Day, Dover 9a-4p
October 3-4 Shopapalooza, Dardanelle community center 9a-5p
2024 Reading Review
2024 looked a little different than 2023, as far as numbers go. I read- how do I say this- I read less than last year. 2023 I hit a whopping 58 books. 2024 I eeked out a measly 40. Okay so 2023 was the first year I started keeping track of the books I read so I don’t have a lot of data to go off of, but as I flip through the pages it occurs to me that I may’ve been reading bigger books this year. My attention span definitely wandered, most likely due to my crazy schedule, which leads to another excuse. A lot of life changes happened, such as job not to mention the kids schedule which affected my gym time where I read ebooks more. Basically my excuse is a domino effect of reasons my reading tanked.
Either way here’s a list of books, thoughts, and recommendations for those:
1: The Rebel King by Kennedy Ryan.
I was in the store one day and stumbled across this book. Two things caught my eye, the cover and the words ‘Ambition, love, revenge’. It didn’t take much more prodding and I bought it.
90 pages in I was struggling to keep pushing through. I gave up. All I heard was Charlie Brown’s mom’s voice in my head – wah, wah, wah, wah – droning on and on.
DNF
2: Stranger at Stonewyke by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella
This was an older book I found that looked interesting. One thing I’ve discovered is sometimes books tell us more about ourselves and our reading than the story. This was one of those journeys.
The POV on this one absolutely killed it. It started really slow and languid. Too many hints as to what happens. No real connection to the characters. Turns out omnipresent POV is not my thing.
DNF
3: The Corpse Wore a Sombrero by M.J. O’Neill
After my first few failed attempts to read, I turned to an ARC site I’m involved in and found an intriguing looking mystery. It was a nice little cozy mystery. Typical.
5 stars would recommend (ARC 1)
4: The Water War II by Shirley Johnson
Johnson is an author I follow on X (formerly Twitter) and finally got around to reading. Typically dystopian isn’t my genre of choice, but I’d given it a go with the first book last year and she left me hanging so I had to read more. The lead character is a African American female.
Book 2 was more action, more emotions, and added and continued to build on the characters from the first. And then… and then she left me hanging!!
5 stars would recommend
5: The Black Noel by Logan Black
Black is a friend of mine I met through X. I’ve read nearly everything he’s come out with, at least published alone. He has co-written with several authors. His work is definitely niche, so keep that in mind before reading.
The Black Noel is a novella prequel to a previous book. I loved the noir feel with the dark crimes overtone. It did leave a lot of unanswered questions, but fills in gaps from other books. I assume the unanswered questions will be addressed in other books to come.
5 star would recommend if this is your niche.
6: The Water War III by Shirley Johnson
I’m really getting into the series by now, of course I have to read the next one. Each book is getting grittier, rougher, the MC is really getting it. Relationships are created and breaking. The intensity is ratcheting up.
And then she left it hanging! Aaahhh!!
Still, 5 star would recommend, take heed if you need trigger warnings.
7: Once Bitten by Hank Dolworth
Somewhere along the way I took up a reading challenge. There was certain criteria a book had to have for me to read to meet the challenge. This was the first.
This is an author I follow on X that I hadn’t read yet and the book fit the challenge. In short it was dumb. 3% storyline 97% BS. It was not what I expected, even after reading the blurb. Yes, everyone’s opinion is different, but it just wasn’t my thing. At all. It didn’t help that it needed another editing run through.
DNF
8: Bounce by Logan Black
Oh, look, we’ve seen this name before haven’t we? Yeah, he sent out inquiries to see who would do an ARC read for him. Uh, yeah! Hey, me, me, me, over here!
It was written as part of an anthology then came out as a novella on its own. It’s a dark twist to the classic Alice In Wonderland fairy tale. I love it. Despite its short length, it covers a lot of human character flaws and depth. I also like the cover.
5 stars, highly recommend, definitely check trigger warnings if you have them
9: The Peculiar Affliction of Thomas Wade Duncan by Kip Koelsch
This book fit the qualifications for the next book in my reading challenge. I follow Kip on X and have read some of his sci-fi books. Solid writer. I’d seen this particular book floating around and it called to my love of history, because who doesn’t love history with a twist?
It was a curious dark tale, intriguing. I still have questions. It’s a short read.
5 star would recommend
10: Harvest Cruise by Rebecca Benison
This book was the third book in my reading challenge. I’d watched it floating around social media and it looked interesting enough, decided to give it a go round.
To be honest, I almost DNF’d it early on. There was a lot of “blah, blah, blah”. I was determined not to DNF another book though. It started getting interesting. Convenient details of the finer points were cut out,, but what food was ordered was plenty detailed. Probably could’ve cut some parts to pick up pace in places. In the end it was a creative concept and execution.
3.8 stars, if you have a little patience, read it.
11: Hooked by Emily McIntire
Hooked was a book I stumbled across while grocery shopping. Fairytale retellings, spin offs, etc are my weakness. And this one was Peter Pan! A rare find, at least compared to Beauty and the Beast and other princess stories.
The book itself was dark and messed up. The parallels to Peter Pan were fabulous. The twist at the end was unexpected. The prologue and extended prologue were a bit excessive. Definitely gave me Harley Quinn and Joker feels.
5 star recommended with trigger warnings in mind
12: The Earl’s Red-Hot Wedding by Barbara Russell
For my fourth book of my reading challenge I turned to the ARC site I’m active on to find a book that fit what I was looking for. It had a pretty cover and fit the parameters. Let me just preface this before I get started in that romance is not a typical go-to for me. It’s more of a filler, fast read to regroup especially after dark and disturbing.
It was everything you’d expect from a historical romance. The beginning was almost too much. The epilogue definitely was. There were a few good parts but they literally didn’t have a single falling out. All sunshine and roses. The outlying factors were the antagonist and it didn’t even wrap up all the loose ends.
4 star although some romance enthusiasts would probably gush all over it
13: Last Rays Of Daylight by Christopher Flory
Another of the reading challenge. Again, an author I follow on X. Don’t see his stuff floating around a lot so was a little surprised when I realized it was crime. That’s one of my favorite genre’s.
The parts that were good were really good. The parts that were meh were big meh. Started with a lot of backstory, mostly could’ve cared less. The chic the MC, Dodge, meets is way too willing, thought she might’ve been a mole. Nope, just written in perspective of what a man wants. Nothing explicit, or at least overtly.
The ending was kind of flash-bang. Gratifying and not all at the same time. Never understood how the informant was getting info or what happened with that. I think there’s more books in the series, but I don’t see it answering my questions.
4 star
14: The Maiden’s Sleep by Michael J. Stiehl
I was back to my ARC site for stories. It was a short book, well synced to the emotions of the character. Deception, grief, desperation. It had a steampunk feel.
5 star recommended read, maybe check trigger warnings
15: In My Brother’s Name by Wayland Smith
Back to the reading challenge. I will definitely preface this review with the knowledge that this is one of my author friends from X. He writes various things and had yet to read any. This sounded interesting in that it was terrorist related. Thought it might be interesting.
My notes: Discombobulated story. Eerie to think about.
The POV (point-of-view) flipped too much and without a physical break to know it was changing. Had a nice little “gotcha” at the end post story.
4 star recommend with the thought that the writing still is pretty niche.
16: The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy
One day as our writers group meeting broke up we’re walking out and one of my fellow writer friends pointed to a display shelf in the library where several Arkansas authors were displayed. She pointed this book out in particularly. The title alone was intriguing especially knowing it was an Arkansas author.
It was an interesting story. The parallel POV 50 years apart was well told and creepy. It’s definitely an alphabet soup book. In this aspect I felt it was written for market rather than the story. Otherwise I’d have absolutely loved it. There was a whole incubus thing that was bleh, personally.
5 star recommended as long as you’re open minded.
17: Ashes, Ashes by Jessica Goeken
Want to guess where I found this author? If you said X, you’d be correct. We’re loosely acquainted and have read another of her books. This was also the last one in my little reading challenge.
For real though, I almost didn’t read it. The cover made me second guess myself despite the story sounding interesting. I jumped in with both feet and gave a read.
It was good. Pace, characters, all of it was well balanced. Fantasy and probably YA because of age of MC.
5 star recommend. I would have my teenager read it.
18: Crushed Vol. 0 by Eliza Black, Ranch Hand, Logan Black
Do you see a familiar name? Also, have I mentioned my reading tastes are all over the board? Anyway there was a collaboration project between several authors and this was the first. I’d been watching it floating around X for a bit and finally took the bait.
It was great. My notes: I’m dying. Cracks me up. They’re super short stories. I think 3,000 ish words each.
5 star for those into this genre
19: Pestilence (The Four Horseman series 1) by Laura Thalasse
I’m not sure what intrigued me enough about this book to pick it up. I think it was curiosity to see what it wanted to portray.
It was … weird. I had a little trouble with the religious angles. It just didn’t sit right in my gut. The mash up of fantasy, apocalyptic, and romance was not to my taste. Won’t be finishing the series.
4 star. I mean if you’re curious go for it. It might be your thing.
20: Crushed Vol 2 by Jordan Lubov, Ranch Hand, and Logan Black
Recognize any of this? That’s right. Another ARC got passed my way, had a minute to read it.
Fun, silly romp. It almost felt it was written more for the writers than the readers. It was entertaining.
5 star. They really are fantastic writers.
21: A Winter Of Fish and Favor by E.M. Epps
Random ARC I picked up. Strange title? Yeah, maybe. What attracted me to the book? Action, mystery, difficult decisions, layers of intrigue, and a murky past. Sounds great right? Nearly. However I caught myself looking to see how much of the book was left which brings me to the conclusion the pacing of it was slower than I wanted/needed at the time. Yes, my reading varies and I can’t always read slow books.
Interesting story. Love match works well.
4 star
22: Crushed Vol 3 by J.A. Martin, Ranch Hand, Logan Black
Yeah, by now you know. Short stories good for a giggle and maybe a hot flash.
5 star, do your research before reading.
23: The Prisoner by Karyn Monk
For a few years we owned a little resale store where we had a small book section. Sometimes I would pick up books from that section with bizarre titles or something that caught my fancy that day. I guess I was in a strange mood the day I picked this one because here I am reading romance again.
Tropes to the highest power. Barf. Can’t believe I actually finished it and didn’t DNF
3 star mostly for its writing, taken off for lack of creativity, postage stamp tropes.
24: The 24th Hour by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Not sure if I’ve read any Patterson before, maybe one, can’t remember. I think that’s part of the reason I picked this one aside from it being a mystery to see if he lived up to the hype.
It was meh. Four women, four different occupations, four stories running simultaneous. None of the stories seemed that related to each other. Just flip flopped telling and meeting.
4 star somebody probably likes this style.
25: Crimson Lake by Candace Fox
Don’t even remember where I picked this one up at. Pretty sure it was used so very possibly the local thrift store or our store.
It was Good! A wrongfully accused man, living the life of accused of a heinous crime. Good mystery.
5 star, beware probably has triggers
26: The Last Available by Sean R Frazier
This is one of my X authors I follow. Have yet to read any to this point. At first I was like nah. But I kept seeing it and finally gave in.
Have you ever watched “Ella Enchanted” or “Robin Hood Men In tights”? Same narration vibe. It’s funny although not sure if it’s brilliant or absolute trash. Lots of play on words, twists, and all the dumb things.
5 star for those who need something a little different in their life
27: The Water War IV by Shirley Johnson
Yep, she’s back had to catch up on the series. It could’ve been longer, but it did cover some of the to be continued of book 3.
5 star
28: The Caretaker by David Badurina
This one came into my possession almost by accident. Badurina is an author I follow on X, yet again. He was trying to get more eyes on it so for anyone retweeting his post their name was going into a drawing for the book. As one author to another, I retweeted without really expecting any return. Lo and behold, guess who got the book? Yep.
It was an interesting concept, the word concept being used loosely here as each concept in life was used as a real person such as greed and ambition. It was a different look at these concepts. Really didn’t know what to think, it was a little weird, but overall well written with an intriguing story line.
29: A Single Drop of Ink by Carla Ramsey Weeks
Stumbled across this at the local thrift store. Two things caught my eye: history and turns out author was from Arkansas. I had high expectations from the blurb on the back.
It failed miserably. I was reading it for a summer challenge me and my kids do otherwise would have DNF’d it. Too much 1st person to 3rd person flip flopping back and forth. Started the book with one person, ended with another.
Sadly, this is one Arkansas author’s book I wouldn’t recommend unless it was literally the only thing you had to read besides my other DNF’s.
30: The Nightfire by Micheal Connelly
Picked up randomly because crime. Need I say more?
Three threads, 2 interconnected weave about. Quick easy read.
5 star
31: What The River Knows by Isabel Ibanez
Came across this while strolling through the book store. Egypt, Cleopatra, crocodiles. That’s all I needed to know.
Gut punch. You love it, you hate it, you need the sequel. Convinced my teenage daughter to read it (yes, it’s YA). She finished it the other day and I think she was doing her dramatic dying from a book ending for a good 30 minutes. Ha, ha, I got to the sequel first, and that’s what I’m currently reading.
5 star you can read it, you’re teen can read it.
32: Isles of Corruption by Elyse Thompson
Year or so ago I picked up the first book of this series to ARC read. Since then I have picked up every ARC in the series. I believe this was book 3. You do not need to read one before another. They follow different characters that are only loosely related.
If you enjoy fantasy and romance pick them up. You will not be disappointed.
5 star
33: The Wolf Queen by Marie McCurdy
Stumbled across this in my ARC site I periodically peruse, it was already out, but still it sounded interesting to me. It did not disappoint.
Women leaders are always in a precarious position, it’s how they handle them that matters. I love the strong FMC and then of course there’s always fire in the blood. War, love, hate.
5 star
34: Ride by Logan Black
Ride is a novella follow-up to “Bounce” with a Little Red Riding Hood flare. Let’s see one of my favorite authors combined with a fairytale spin, umm yeah, I loved it.
5 star. Always check genre and content warnings. I read all kinds.
35: Back to Front Murder by Tim Majors
Not sure where I picked this one up at, and I really struggled with my attention span. Not sure if it was the book or me.
4.5 star
36: Heartless by Marissa Meyer
I read this on the recommendation of my teenage daughter. For her it was a hard hitting book. I didn’t not have the same experience.
Heartless is a spin on Alice in Wonderland. There were things I loved about it, some of the fairytale parallels, and then there were things I wasn’t a fan of. I was left with questions and things I wondered what their purpose in the story were.
4.5 star. Obviously preferred more than hated.
37: Traitor Son by Melissa J Cave
As an author I have different places I interact with other authors, some I know more than others. This is one of those authors who I met in such a group. She was looking for more reviews on her book so I volunteered.
Highs and lows. Author does an excellent job of showing how verbal abuse affects a person. It’s the beginnings to building a civilization. It was interesting.
4 star
38: The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
Pretty sure this was a book I picked up at thrift store with a handful of others. It sounded interesting enough.
Then I read it. I didn’t think it was ever going to end. Manners and money, dresses and elegance. Best part was finishing it.
3 star. Slow read. Not much “meat” to the story.
39: Dominance Behaviors by Jessica Goeken
This was book 2 in a series. Does that name sound familiar? If so, I’ve read her books before. This was an ARC read because of course I’m jumping in early on these.
My reaction in my notes: The end- whaaaatttt? No! it can’t end like that. Wait, how many books are in this series?
5 star, pretty sure it’s YA and fantasy. Also, I like the book covers
40: Three Days to Be Ruined by Giovanna Siniscalchi
ARC. Also, why do I do this to myself? Ugh. The title is as telling as the book. Basic romance. Pretty sure this was the one that had two chapters from different POV, each one was different character, literally it’s only purpose was to put more sexy into the book, but did nothing to the plot. For real?
3 star. Writing solid.
41: Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong
I discovered Gong about 2 years ago when I stumbled across “These Violent Delights” between the cover and the fact it was a Romeo and Juliet twist in 1920’s Shanghai, I was hooked. I loved it so I had to get the sequel “These Violent Ends” and have since read each following book. The book before this is more sci-fi historical fiction to me.
By the time I got to this book it’d been probably a year or more since I read the latest. There were so many characters, familiar and memorable yet so much going on with them, that it took me a bit to get back into it good. I almost had to go back read “Foul Lady Fortune” again. It had a lot. I struggled in the mire. The epilogue bits are absolute useless fluff.
4 star. If you’ve read the others go ahead, it keeps tying a few loose ends.
42: Now or Never 31 On the Run by Janet Evanovich
When I need to cycle through a hard read or too distracted to read anything worth much, this is my go to. Evanovich’s characters and antics are predictable yet entertaining.
Can we stop being so wishy washy already? This love triangle has gone on way too long. Is anyone really this indecisive?
4.5 star
43: Rabbit Trapped by Jacquelyn Holmes
Few months back I went to an author event, as an author myself, but was joined by several others. Of course we have to check out each other’s books. I picked up 3 different authors. This was one.
Basically it’s parallel stories from Creek lore and mostly modern day. Intriguing. Title well played. Creepy, disturbing factor, check. Good use of POV shift back and forth. Have a few questions, but that could be the fact that there’s more books in the series.
5 star. Did I mention I like the covers of these too?
This concludes my reading log from 2024. As you can see I took really bad notes. My DNF’s were higher than usual. Life was superbly chaotic. We went through a remodel early in the year. At the end of summer, I did a job/career change, not to mention the kids getting into more and more extracurriculars.
If you’d like to keep up with more full book reviews as I read them, follow me on Instagram at jenpen_books or on Facebook at Jennette Gahlot Books.