Recent Reads

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine (2025)

Margot is a romance author facing backlash after her "Happily Never After" document is released to the public.  She heads to Alaska to work on a murder mystery and there she meets Forrest, who helps run the resort with his father.  Although there are sparks, both try to avoid an entanglement, until it becomes impossible not to.  This was a cute read that managed to mix in some serious topics; I enjoyed the way the author played with romance tropes and how Margot couldn't escape them.  Forrest did seem like the perfect guy and they kept finding themselves in some cliche situations.  I liked how Forrest really seemed to understand Margot and they bonded over their family members being ill.  But while there was a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor at romance novels, I wish this one hadn't succumbed to some of the more tired romance tropes, like the third-act break-up.  Overall, though, this was a fun read!  4 stars

The Family by Naomi Krupitsky (2022)

Sofia and Antonia are best friends growing up in NYC in the 1930s and 1940s.  Their fathers are both also in the mafia.  When Antonia's father "disappears" one night, their lives are forever changed.  I thought this was an interesting read - Antonia and Sofia are so different but forever linked by their fathers' jobs.  The story follows the girls from childhood to marriage and motherhood.  Their relationship ebbs and flows through the years, especially after Antonia's father's disappearance, and we see the girls questioning the family business and their roles in it and also what they envision for their own lives.  The third-person POV allows us to be with both girls and also other characters as the book goes on, and the writing style is quite elegant and ethereal.  That being said, I often had to stop and remind myself which character I was reading about and the story moves quite slowly.  4 stars

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Indie Bookstore Spotlight: Charter Books

We recently took a family trip to Newport, Rhode Island, so you know my sister and I had to check out a local indie bookstore!  Enter Charter Books, which opened in 2020 and is located in the downtown historic district.  The outside is classic and beautiful, and this aesthetic follows inside!

The inside is warm and inviting, with beautiful wood shelves and floors, and seems to go on forever!  There is a large selection of fiction books right when you walk in, and if you go all the way to the back, you'll find an extensive children's section.  My sister was really impressed with their middle grade selection!

The children's section features these adorable reading nooks, decorated with sea life and flowers.  I love that kids get these lovely spaces to check out their books in.

The store continues on a lower level, and along the staircase, visiting authors have signed the walls - I just happened to notice the signatures of Team W, including one of my favorite authors, Beatriz Williams!

The downstairs level is a little more utilitarian, but still offers a lot!  About half of the shelves downstairs are nonfiction and the rest are a continuation of fiction.  

I snagged a book about local Newport history for myself and a board book about lighthouses for Henry, who is still absolutely obsessed with them!  If you ever take a trip to Newport, definitely check out Charter Books!

Recent Reads

When The Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (2025) 

What would happen if, one day, the moon suddenly became a sphere of cheese, floating in space?  John Scalzi imagines a world reacting to the news that our moon, as we know it, has been replaced by cheese.  From regular people to astronauts to politicians, he takes us through various conversations and events, showing the wonder, fear, and incredulity that such an unexpected event might inspire.  Each chapter moves to a different POV, keeping the story fresh and fast-moving.  At times humorous, heart-warming, and whimsical, this was definitely an entertaining read, even if the conclusion was a bit unsatisfying for me.  4 stars

And Then There Was You by Sophie Cousens (2025)

Chloe feels stuck and unsuccessful in her life, and she's worried about seeing her former best friend, now a successful director, at their upcoming college reunion.  So, she uses a dating service to find an unconventional plus-one for the weekend, hoping to save face in front of her friends.  I love Cousens's books - they are heartwarming with just the right amount of quirk.  Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.  I don't know if it's just the books I read, but I am tired of seeing female characters who are always down on their luck, not moving ahead in life, comparing themselves unfavorably to everyone around them.  To a point, I could relate to Chloe, but I also felt exasperated by her situation, and to think she could distract from all that just by bringing a hot date for the weekend was a little heartbreaking.  I also felt no chemistry between Rob (her date) and Chloe (of course, there is a big twist here that I won't spoil!).  I appreciated that the true love story here was quite unexpected, and I'm still looking forward to whatever Cousens writes next!  3.5 stars

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Can't-Wait Wednesday: She Made Herself a Monster

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

She Made Herself a Monster

Anna Kovatcheva

Expected publication date: February 10, 2026

A heady, dark-hued Gothic gem of a debut in nineteenth-century Bulgaria, a self-proclaimed vampire slayer—actually, a traveling con artist—joins forces with a teenage girl to create a monster deadly enough to vanquish their own demons. 

We make monsters in order to destroy them. For thousands of years, we’ve named witches and burned them, suspected demons and exorcised them. When crops die and children fall ill, who better to blame than a monster?

In nineteenth-century Bulgaria, Yana rides from one desolate town to the next, staging grisly displays while the villagers animal corpses in the public square, eggs filled with blood in the chicken coop. She tells the stricken villagers stories of vampires that stalk the night. Then Yana eliminates the threat, and leaves seeds of hope in her wake.

The village of Koprivici, however, is plagued by exceptional illness and misfortune, its children rarely surviving infancy. There, Yana meets a headstrong orphan who the villagers blame for their curse. As Anka approaches womanhood, the village Captain is grooming her for marriage against her will. Anka is powerless against him—that is, until Yana arrives. Together, the orphan and the vampire slayer hatch a to conjure a monster so vile, it might provide cover for Anka to escape. But their plan quickly takes on a horrifying life of its own...

Inspired by Slavic folklore, She Made Herself a Monster concocts a clever mix of witchery, ghost stories, heresy, and deception to spin a feminist fable about agency and the power of collective action. It is a haunting and astoundingly cathartic tale of two women who will stop at nothing to take control of their fate. - from Goodreads

Michele's Monday Picks #87

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my series, Michele’s Monday Picks!  I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you.  Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

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The Forest on the Edge of Time

By Jasmin Kirkbride

Expected Publication: February 3, 2026

From Goodreads:

The Future of Another Timeline meets The Bone Clocks in this dazzling piece of time-travel climate fiction.

Recruited by the mysterious Project Kairos to change history and save the future from ecological disaster, Echo and Hazel are transported through time to opposite worlds. Echo works as a healer’s assistant in Ancient Athens, embroiled in dangerous politics and wild philosophy. Hazel is the last human alive, in a laboratory on a polluted island with nothing but tiny robots and an untrustworthy AI for company.

Both women suffer from amnesia but when they fall asleep, their consciousnesses transcend time and they meet in their dreams. Together, they start to uncover their past – but soon discover the past threatens humanity’s survival.

If Echo and Hazel have a chance of changing the future, they must remember to forget…

THE FOREST ON THE EDGE OF TIME is a novel about family and duty and the worlds we try to save along the way.

I thought this sounded so unique! Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

Fiction/Nonfiction Quick Reviews: The Tudor Edition

The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens by Nicola Clark (2025)

King Henry VIII's six queens were served by numerous ladies-in-waiting (and weirdly enough, four of them became Queen themselves!), and Nicola Clark dives deep into history to tell their stories.  This was an absolutely fascinating read.  The Tudor era is a particular favorite of mine, and Clark has added new dimension to it by exploring the lives of those who served, somewhat of a blank spot in our knowledge.  Yes, there are some we know more about (Jane Boleyn, for example), but others have remained fairly hidden until now.  Told in chronological order, Clark introduces us to many of these ladies-in-waiting, some of whom will have short stints while others will linger for years, serving multiple queens.  She tells us about their personal lives, while also revisiting famous people and events, adding interesting layers to things we thought we knew about.  I enjoyed how Clark explores some accepted rumors of the era and debunks them, and I was truly impressed by her research and how detailed the story is.  Yes, the amount of people (and the fact that many share similar names) can get overwhelming, but this is a small price to pay for such a comprehensive and entertaining read.  4.5 stars

Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory (2025)

Phillipa Gregory is back with another installment in her Plantagenet/Tudor series, and this one focuses on the court life of Jane Boleyn, wife of George and sister-in-law to Queen Anne Boleyn.  It follows her from her time with Anne to her downfall with Kathryn Howard.  Jane served five of King Henry VIII's six queens, so she certainly saw a lot.  Gregory imagines her as a wily, intelligent lady-in-waiting, much relied on by her queens.  It's interesting to get this perspective of the Tudor court, all the behind-the-scenes things, as we watch Jane not only serve her queens, but also exert a lot of power as she guides them.  Gregory's writing is refined and elegant, really evoking the time period.  Another fascinating installment!  4 stars

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2026 Goals

Today I wanted to share some bookish and non-bookish goals for 2026!  I thought about it a lot, and I'm only going to set one bookish goal.  I just want to keep things simple and I don't have the bandwidth in my brain to be keeping track of too many things, ha!  But, I also wanted to set out some non-bookish goals to help me focus on other areas of my life.

1. Read 75 books.  This is lower than what I usually read, but it will keep things low-stress for me!
2. Complete the sit-to-standing test.  Has anyone else been seeing this "longevity" test everywhere lately?  Supposedly, being able to get up from sitting on the floor to standing, without using hands, knees, or leaning on anything, is a good indicator of your health and predicted longevity.  So, I tried it and couldn't do it, but my goal is to gain the strength to complete the test and continue doing it.
3. Do 100 jumps a day.  This is another fitness thing I've been seeing lately - jumping!  In general, I want to get healthier and I am always struggling to lose 15-20 pounds, but unlike my husband, who has impeccable willpower and drive, I am much slower to make changes.  I need to start somewhere, though, and this seems like a good thing to add to my growing fitness routine!
4. Complete 52 puzzles.  Last year I did 95 puzzles and as much as I love doing them, it maybe felt like too much?  Puzzles take time and I don't want to feel like I'm neglecting other things.  Aiming for one per week (treating myself after finishing work on Fridays, LOL!) seems reasonable.
5. Complete at least 4 new-to-us baking projects with Henry.  Henry always wants to "make something" in the kitchen - he loves helping me measure things out and watch its progress in the oven.  We are trying to help him overcome an egg allergy, which means he needs to eat baked egg daily, and the easiest way we've found is through things like muffins.  Admittedly, not the healthiest, so in addition to box mixes, I've been trying to make "healthier" versions from scratch.  So, I would love to find some new things to add to our repertoire!  Please drop your suggestions in the comments!

Michele also wanted to share some bookish and non-bookish goals for 2026, so here they are!

Bookish Goals 2026

• Read 200 books – This is less than my 2025 total, and will force me to be more selective in my reading
• Read books from a wide variety of genres – I have been reading more thrillers, historical fiction and middle grades the last couple years and would like to continue with that
• Utilize my library more – Especially now with my daughter getting more into reading, I will try to be more proactive in using our township library and its resources
• Buddy read with my daughter and husband – Luna and I have been sharing so many middle grade books and I look forward to continuing that in 2026.  My husband has a goal of reading 15 books this year, so I’m sure we’ll have some overlapping reads!

Non-Bookish Goals 2026

My bookish goals are admittedly a rehash of my 2025 goals – reading has been a hobby of mine for years so there’s not much to add at a certain point.  I also want it to keep being something fun for me.  But I thought I would document some of my non-bookish goals as well!  I try to choose a word or phrase for the year – just something small and quick to kind of guide me.  For the last couple years, the phrase has been With Purpose, to remind myself to be intentional with my time and energy.  This year I’m switching it up and the word will be Progress – some of my goals are things I want to learn for the first time or things I want to get better at, so I think this will be a good mindset to have.  

2026 will be a challenging year professionally – my husband is changing jobs and is going to be in office a majority of the time, instead of fully remote.  I was also promoted to partner at my CPA firm last year (kinda cool but mostly terrifying) so my responsibilities there will be changing this year.  Despite this (because of this?) my 2026 goals pretty much pertain to my personal life and the fun stuff I’ll need to stay sane.

• Learn needlepoint.  Do I need a new hobby?  No.  Am I going to do it anyway?  Probably.
• More monthly baking challenges.  My daughter and I follow the monthly baking challenges from Sally’s Baking Blog and The Salted Sweets.  We did a few last year but really want to keep up and do as many as we can this year.  
• Plant a garden.  Ok, not a full garden but a couple vegetable plants would be good to start!
• Complete 24 puzzles.  I try to carve out time to complete a couple puzzles a month – it also helps me bump up my audiobook listens!
• Continue my fitness journey.  I only got serious about exercising a couple years ago – while I regret waiting until I turned 40, I know that I can still make great progress and better myself.  I try to focus on a couple different apps (iFit and Reps nMotion) to keep me on track and progressing and I want to try to accomplish as much as I can.

What will you be focusing on in 2026?