Wednesday, May 20, 2026

April 2025 Book Club: Waifs and Strays (The Cat Lady Chronicles #1) by Helen Harper

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Nothing I can remember

 

Nobody is just a cat lady.

Kit McCafferty's life is quiet, unremarkable and filled with cat hair. In the magical city of Coldstream, located on the border between Scotland and England, Kit is viewed as little more than mildly eccentric and mostly harmless. She passes her days caring for her family of five cats, feeding the local feral moggies, and maintaining relatively good relations with her neighbours.

All that changes, however, when a teenage werewolf shows up at her door in the desperate hope of renting out a nearby vacant flat. Kit knows that the smart move is to tell him to leave. The last thing she needs is to become embroiled in complicated shapeshifter politics. But something about the secretive young werewolf tugs at her heartstrings.

It's not long before Kit ends up caught in a maelstrom of mysterious crime and magical wrong-doing. Fortunately, there's far more to Kit McCafferty than meets the eye and she has a few dark secrets of her own.

Of course, anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that you underestimate a cat lady at your own peril.
 

 

I liked this but didn't love it. It was a fun, light read with an urban fantasy setup but with a cozier feel. I like that the author included all the normal urban fantasy species in this book; vampires, werewolves, etc., and I liked the different take on a few things. I found the cats to be the best part of the book, but then I always like cats in books. The main character's ability was different from other things I've read, and what she does to trigger this ability made me laugh even though it was also a little gross. 

Where I think the book fell short is the same place I think a lot of other self-published urban fantasies fall short, and that's a lack of depth in the characters and plot. I thought the characters were interesting but a little dull. I thought the world was interesting but the plot was a bit bland and predictable. I did enjoy the reveal at the end and it left me mildly interested in the next book, but I'm not sure if I'll continue.

 

This book was an easy one to draw inspiration from for book club snacks. My husband and I had a really fun time coming up with foods to serve this time around. He had the idea for the 'cat food' and I think he did a great job of making something that looked like cat food but wasn't gross. 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to make sugar cookies shaped like cats and found cute cat cookie cutters.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you've read the book then you'll know why I made 'cat hair' and 'hairball' treats beyond just those things relating to cats, there's something significant about them in the book. I used cotton candy for the cat hair and made coconut haystacks for the hairballs.


 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, May 15, 2026

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Fantasy, Romaance
Content: Moderately descriptive sex, Strong language

 

Born to the firelit domain of the underworld, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land where gods kill each other for magic, Matilda must come of age sooner than most. She may be known to carry letters through the realms, but she also carries secrets of her one of them deadly, the other a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met…

Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life – begging the goddess he befriended in dreams for aid. But his prayer went unanswered, forever hardening his heart against the gods. That is until the same goddess comes tumbling through his window, bearing a letter to change both their destinies. For Matilda and Vincent are tangled together by threads of fate and the promise of a future beyond dreams, one that might rewrite the dark, blood-soaked ways of the gods…or end them.
 

 

After reading and loving A River Enchanted, and A Fire Endless, I was excited to read another book by Rebecca Ross. So it was a little unfortunate that I didn't love this one. In the beginning it took me a while to get into this. I think I was around 20 percent in before it grabbed me and I felt more engrossed in the story. I had mixed feelings about the main female character. I didn't like or understand why she got involved with one of the characters in the story the way she did. It was off-putting to me that she developed the kind of relationship that she did with this person. There were red flags all over the place. She even saw them but that didn't stop her. Also, it didn't make sense to me that she made the deal with the river god, especially considering who he was, when she could have just used her cloak to disappear and swim across? Why did she need to walk across the bottom of the river to get to the keep?

I also had mixed feelings about the main male character. As a romantic character he was fine but I felt like he was a weak leader and a very poor strategist. In fact everyone involved in the war in this book was a poor strategist, and believe me, if I'm saying this then that says something, because that is not my forte. We have the god of war in the story and I have no idea what role he really played in helping them besides killing a few people. He seemed very inept. This part of the story should have been built up more. None of the characters really thought through their actions enough or even used their god powers to the best of their advantage. This stuff really frustrated me. There's more I could say but I'm trying to avoid spoilers so I'll leave it there. 

There were things I did like about this book enough to give it 3 stars. I like some of the supporting characters a lot and I liked the way the romance came about between the two main characters, and once I got into the story it was hard to put it down. I also really enjoy this author's writing style. Will I read more Rebecca Ross after this? Yes, I'll still give her other books a try because I love the first two I read so much.

On another note, I wasn't really sure how to categorize this book. It reads rather YA and although this is a standalone story, it is connected to a YA series. However, the age of the characters and some of the other content has me categorizing it for adult readers. I wouldn't recommend this for younger YA readers.

 

“He chose me first,” I replied. “He dreamt of me before I knew of him. His soul found mine before I even knew how to look for his.”

 

 

 

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Twelve Months (The Dresden Files #18) by Jim Butcher

  

 My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong language, Grief and PTSD are depicted

 

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, has always managed to save the day—but, in this powerful entry in the Dresden Files, can he save himself?

One year. 365 days. Twelve months.

Harry Dresden has been through a lot, and so has his city. After Harry and his allies narrowly managed to save Chicago from being razed, everything is different—and it’s not just the current lack of electricity.

Harry lost people he cared about in the battle, and that’s the kind of loss that takes a toll. Harry being Harry, he’s doing his best to help the city and his friends recover and rebuild, but it’s a heavy load. He needs time.

Time is one thing Harry doesn’t have, however. Ghouls are prowling Chicago and killing innocent civilians. Harry’s brother is dying, and Harry doesn’t know how to help him. And last but certainly not least, the Winter Queen of the Fae has allied with the White Court of vampires—and Harry’s been betrothed to the seductive, deadly vampire Lara Raith to seal the deal.

It’s been a tough year. More than ever, the city needs Harry Dresden the wizard—but after loss and grief, is there enough left of him to rise to the challenge?

  

**Some spoilers for previous books in the series. Read with caution. 

It was nice being back with Harry Dresden, even though he was grieving throughout most of the book. It had a real human quality to it that I think most of us could relate to. There was a big hole in this book without Murphy but that reflected what it feels like in real life when we lose someone. Jim Butcher did a really good job of showing how it feels, and I was feeling all the same things right along with Harry. 

 

“Pain is a fire. That’s true for all of the people, some of the time. If you’ve never had to stand   in that fire, be patient: Your turn is coming.”

 

I liked that this book took it's time in developing the relationships and characters, letting them breath and grow and change at a pace that felt real. I'm not sure how I feel about the deal with Lara yet, but I liked the way things played out. I'm also really glad that Harry was able to step up and be more present in Maggie's life. 

 

 “There’s a little girl who is waiting for you,” he said. “She keeps a little light in her window     at night, you know. In case you come to see her and need it to find your way.”

 

Overall, I'm happy with the way this book progressed the plot and characters and that a couple of things got resolved, one being Thomas's situation. I was glad it wasn't dragged out longer, even if some of it ended up not ideal. I was also glad that Harry found some peace and happiness in the end. 

 

 I realized that peace and happiness aren’t the same thing. Not at all. Happiness is peace in    action. And peace is happiness at rest. And neither one has to be perfect to be real.

 

As always, I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. 

 

 

 

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

May 2026 Reading List

I've got a lot of books planned to read for this month. More than normal, but most of them are novellas. For book club this month we're reading The Will of the Many, which I just finished a reread of so, I won't be reading it again but I'll be starting the second book, The Strength of the Few this month.

 

 

Reading for NetGalley-

 

The Shippers by Katherine Center

One of the hottest, fastest-rising rom-com stars delivers her latest swoon-worthy novel about a destination wedding on a cruise ship.

After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. With the help of a little pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly-divorced wedding guest ), and she decides to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure. Only problem is, her sister’s a little busy being a bride at the moment—so JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, to be her wing man. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but then showed up, anyway. Cooper: who left town without a word four years earlier and moved to London. Cooper: who was, if she’s honest, the worst heartbreak of JoJo’s life. It’s bliss for her to see him again, and it’s agony, too—and the more they team up for Project Conquest, the more she obsesses over questions she can’t bring herself to ask.

Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance—as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, rescue each other over and over, and finally, at last, figure it all out in the most blissful, swoony, romantic way.

No one does summer romance quite like Katherine Center. THE SHIPPERS will take readers on the cruise of a lifetime in a story awash with romantic longing, top-notch banter, long-held secrets . . . and true love rediscovered.
 

 

 

-This month is sci-fi month for the monthly reading challenge so I decided to not only read Platform Decay but I decided to do a reread of the whole series in chronological order. I won't post the covers and descriptions of all the books in the series but there are 8 in total with most of them being novellas.

 

Platform Decay (The Murderbot Diaries #8) by Martha Wells 

Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells' bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.

Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.

Having volunteered to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realises that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know.

Including human children. Ugh.

This may well call for... eye contact!


 

-Another NetGalley read that works for sci-fi month. 

 

The Blindside (Planetside #5) by Michael Mammay

Colonel Carl Butler charges back into the world of military crisis, corporate malfeasance, and intergalactic mystery in the action-packed fifth Planetside novel from science fiction master Michael Mammay.

Carl Butler has returned to his home planet from the moon Taug and is looking forward to some rest and relaxation. But following two mysterious deaths connected with the Taug mission, he realizes that the intruders that recently set off his home’s security system might be looking to add him to the death toll.

Having been Butler’s muscle on numerous missions, Mac is no stranger to getting involved with mysteries that should be none of his business. So when the daughter of one of his gym members goes missing, he offers to help. Mac assumes she’s a simple runaway, but the case turns out not to be so clear-cut. Wondering if these strange occurrences are somehow related, Butler—along with Mac, Ganos, and the rest of his small crew—once again finds himself neck deep in intrigue.

As the clues for the various cases begin to intertwine, Butler sees the hand of an old enemy at work, and…well…he’s never been one to sit back and wait for something to happen. Gathering the team, he heads off across the galaxy to confront his suspects head-on.

But this time, they’re waiting for him.

 

 

-I'll be reading this one if I have time.

 

An Ordinary Sort of Evil (A Rip Through Time #5) by Kelley Armstrong

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns to Victorian Scotland in the latest in the genre-blending Rip Through Time series.

Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Mitchell has grown accustomed to life in Victorian Scotland after travelling 150 years into the past into the body of a housemaid. She’s built a new life for herself. Even though she works as an assistant to forensic-science pioneer Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie, she considers them true friends. And with Gray in particular, perhaps, someday, something more.

Late one night, Gray and Mallory are summoned urgently to the home of Lady Adler, a patron of Gray’s undertaking business, and they assume there's been a death in the household. But instead, they arrive in the midst of a seance with a ghost demanding Gray's presence. The ghost is Lady Adler's former maid, who had gone missing but now requests that Gray investigate her murder. Although Gray and Mallory are skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, whether she's dead or alive. But unsure if there's been a murder or not, unable to call out the medium as a fraud, and concerned for the fate of the young maid, Gray and Mallory are once again drawn into a mystery much more puzzling--and more dangerous--than it first seems
 

 

 

 

 

Reading with the Mystery Book Club-

  

Seams Like Murder (Grace Designs #1) by Tilly Wallace

There are two things that can’t talk—moving pictures and dead showgirls…

1920, Wellington, New Zealand. Grace Devine is poised to build her thriving dress design business as the twenties begin to soar. But when a fashionable client is murdered, suspicion falls on Grace as the last person to see Agatha alive.

As wary clients cancel and business begins to fail, Grace decides there’s only one way to prove her innocence and save her career…this seamstress will turn sleuth to find who really murdered the showgirl.

The more she learns, the more she uncovers of the darker side of the dead woman’s personality. Agatha liked to collect secrets and use them against people. But what target snapped that fatal night? Can Grace stitch together the clues before her life is torn apart…

Seams like Murder is the first installment in the Grace Designs mysteries series. These heart-warming historical mysteries will send you on a unique New Zealand adventure.
 

 


  

Blood Evidence (Cass Leary #5) by Robin James

She’s tough as nails when defending criminals. Can a simple test destroy her resolve?

Defense lawyer Cass Leary believes wholeheartedly in justice for all. So when her deadbeat dad suddenly reappears begging for help, she throws her better judgment out the window. But Cass’s family drama takes a back seat when a new client’s desperate search for her birth parents flips from happy to horrifying.

The adoption investigation hits a dead end, so Cass gives her client a simple at-home DNA kit. However, before she can act on the findings, the attorney’s father gets arrested for a scandalous crime. And as Cass finally follows the trail from the ancestry test, she uncovers a gruesome family tree watered with decades of blood.

Can Cass bring to light the shocking truth of two twisted cases?





Reading at Fantasy Buddy Reads-

 

The Soulforge (Dragonlance: Raistlin Chronicles #1) by Margaret Weis

 A mage's soul is forged in the crucible of magic.

Raistlin Majere is six years old when he is introduced to an archmage who enrolls him in a school for the study of magic. There the gifted - but tormented boy comes to secretly, for they see shadows darkening over Raistlin even as the same shadows lengthen over all of Ansalon.

As Raistlin draws near his goal of becoming a wizard, he must first take the Dread Test in the Tower of High Sorcery. It will change his life forever.

 

 



 Pick it For Me book-

  

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

Margaret Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her: a fiancé she adores, her dream job, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in one tumultuous moment.

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Margaret must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing long-held family secrets, devastating heartbreak, and the idea that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.
 

 

 

 

 

Other Books-

 

The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy #2) by James Islington 

The Hierarchy still call me Vis Telimus. Still hail me as Catenicus. They still, as one, believe they know who I am.

But with all that has happened—with what I fear is coming—I am not sure it matters anymore.

I am no longer one. I won the Iudicium, and lost everything—and now, impossibly, the ancient device beyond the Labyrinth has replicated me across three separate worlds. A different version of myself in each of Obiteum, Luceum, and Res. Three different bodies, three different lives. I have to hide; fight; play politics. I have to train; trust; lie. I have to kill; heal; prove myself again, and again, and again.

I am loved, and hated, and entirely alone.

Above all, though, I need to find answers before it’s too late. To understand the nature of what has happened to me, and why.

I need to find a way to stop the coming Cataclysm, because if all I have learned is true, I may be the only one who can.

 

 

 

No Good Deed (The Scarsdale Fosters #6) by B.E. Baker

Her entire life, Ardath has wanted to do one save people in a way no one managed to save her mother. After growing up without any real family, she wants to spare others from the same fate. She’s come up with a brilliant plan to save even more lives, if only she can fund it.

Albert Devonshire the fourth—whose friends call him Ace—founded a successful gaming company that he loved running. . .until his dad got sick. When he takes over management of the family-owned chain of hospitals, he discovers his Dad’s been struggling with dementia for a while. The business is in shambles, and his mother’s spending isn’t helping anything.

When a young, beautiful doctor asks for funding to launch a program she’s clearly passionate about, he hates turning her down, but he has no choice. They’re one do-gooder program away from shutting down.

Ardath doesn’t take his refusal very well, and the more time Ace spends around Ardath, the more he hates being her enemy, but he can’t let the family empire collapse over yet another crush. Can Ardath and Ace make peace, or will their duties to their families set them irrevocably at odds. . .forever?
 

 

 

 

 

  

Friday, May 1, 2026

Out Law (The Dresden Files #18.75) by Jim Butcher, and Paranormal Payback by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

 

In a city that’s just beginning to recover from the devastation caused by the Battle of Chicago, Harry Dresden is finally pulling himself together as well. He’s ensconced in his own personal castle, healing his various wounds, and training an eager new apprentice. The last thing he wants is any trouble. But, as history has consistently—and quite annoyingly—shown, what Harry wants is rarely what Harry gets.

It starts with a visit from Harry’s most powerful frenemy, Gentleman John Marcone, Baron of Chicago. He needs Harry to assist in the redemption of an underling who’s looking to go straight. And since Harry does kinda sorta owe Marcone for saving his life once (stupid honorable debt!), it’s not a request he can refuse. He’ll just wish he had.

Because this little favor is going to drag Harry into a fight he doesn’t want on behalf of a lowlife he doesn’t trust against an enemy more powerful and pestilent than he ever could’ve an insatiable, demonic foe whom Harry himself may have created when he wiped out the vampires of the Red Court so long ago.

Before, all it wanted was blood. Now it wants the entire world . . .
 

 

I enjoyed this novella set in the world of The Dresden Files. It's a good follow up to the last novella, The Law, with the villain from that story trying to reform. I liked the way Harry goes about trying to help this guy see and understand what it truly takes to make the changes he wants to make in his life. How to change his mindset, and the real reasons for doing so.

Thanks to NetGalley and Podium Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book. 

 

 

 

 

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

 

In this short story collection, our heroes get what’s due to them—with a supernatural flair.

But the injustices that have been holding them back might cost them more than they realized. . . . 

In “Mister Petty,” a brand-new Dresden Files story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher, a woman hires Goodman Grey to get back at her cheating husband. She’s about to find out that Grey isn’t your ordinary detective—he’s a professional monster. And he’s going to balance the scales.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, “Dying Isn’t Just for the Young” follows an elderly widow reckoning with family scheming to take away her independence in a world infected by a disease of vampirism.

New York Times bestselling author Faith Hunter’s “Razors and Revenge” finds the vampire bounty hunter Shiloh awaiting her judgement at the hands of the Dark Queen, fresh off a brutal werewolf attack and the loss of a dear friend. But Shiloh’s not just a vampire anymore—and the wolfish instincts growing inside her are howling for blood.

And Kim Harrison takes us to the #1 New York Times bestselling series of the Hollows in her story “Dog-eared.” The demon Algaliarept makes a bargain with the dangerously insane Newt, the last female demon, to punish an arrogant wizard for abusing his precious magical texts—but how ruthless is Al willing to be to get his petty vengeance?

ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY Jennifer Blackstream * Maurice Broaddus * Delilah S. Dawson * Kevin Hearne * Tanya Huff * Kerrie L. Hughes * R. L. King * R. R. Virdi

Contents:
Mister Petty by Jim Butcher
The Underground Goddess by Kevin Hearne
Dying Isn't Just for the Young by Holly Black
A Midsummer Night's Scheming by Delilah S. Dawson writing as Isla Jewell
Contained by Tanya Huff
Dirt by Jennifer Blackstream
Black Bond by Maurice Broaddus
Dog-Eared by Kim Harrison
Razors and Revenge by Faith Hunter
A Clean Break by R. L. King
Grave Payback by R. R. Virdi
The Broom by Kerrie L. Hughes
 

 

I picked this up for the purpose of reading the stories by Jim Butcher and Jennifer Blackstream, since those are the two authors with stories in the book that relate to books I've read. So my rating is for those two stories.

 

Mister Petty by Jim Butcher- 4 stars

I enjoyed this story, and I thought Goodman Gray and his assistant were fun characters. I wouldn't mind meeting them again sometime. 

 

Dirt by Jennifer Blackstream- 4 stars

I've only read the prequel book to this series, but I'm interested in continuing. I liked this story a lot. The characters are interesting, especially Peasblossom. 

 

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.