FFAF: 2026 Bookish Predictions

  

Intro

As we are still at the beginning of 2026, let's do some predictions shall we? I got the idea from Mehsi aka Twirling Book Princess. The original is from Book Princess Reviews.

The Prompts and My Picks

Next Read

The Spiral Key by Kelsey Day

I am due up for a thriller honestly, and this one just released which I had an ARC for.

Next 5 star read

The Primrose Murder Society by Stacy Hackney

I have already explained my excitement for this one. I have also seen some great early reviews that encourage me.

Next 1 star read

To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast

This is a fantasy books that I got an ARC for. As I'm sure you remember, I am not much of a fantasy girlie

Next love interest (or character you think will be cool)

One of the many MCs of 13 Little Love Stories by Elise Bryant; Jennifer Dugan; J. Elle; Jessica Goodman; Sloan Harlow; Crystal Maldonado; Krystal Marquis; Katharine McGee; Julie Murphy; Lynn Painter; Laura Sebastian; Sara Shepard; Jesse Q. Sutanto

There are so many characters here, I feel like I'm destined to like at least one of them. 

Next book you'll be buying

The Gilded Blade by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Barnes is my only auto-buy author (as I am too low income to have more than one). I quite literally just ordered this because I was able to get an exclusive signed edition for a good price!

Next book that will give you a book hangover

How to Fake a Husband by Bella Rivers

This one has such a pretty cover, I feel like I might not want to pick up anything else for the fear it will be a downgrade. 

Outro

If you'd like to do this yourself, go for it! It was easy and has me excited for my future reads! What are some of your bookish predictions?

  

March 2026 Birthstone Book Covers

Intro

This is a fun challenge where I match book covers to each month's birthstone based on their colors. It is a fun way to look back at a rainbow of reads by the end of the year! I got this idea from Books Are the New Black so thanks to them for the fun challenge! Let's hope I can keep up with this for the whole year! If you would like to tackle this challenge yourself, consider yourself tagged!

For each month I will find 5 books that match that month's birthstone. March's birthstone is aquamarine which is a blue color that looks like this:

Book Covers

Let Me Count the Ways by Laurel Osterkamp

It Seemed Like a Good Idea by Lauren Blakely 

Hurt Me Not by Davidson King

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Outro

I was actually able to use all books I read this year, so I consider that an accomplishment! I hope I can keep this as a streak for the rest of the year. Wish me luck!

 

February 2026 Birthstone Book Covers

Intro

This is a fun challenge where I match book covers to each month's birthstone based on their colors. It is a fun way to look back at a rainbow of reads by the end of the year! I got this idea from Books Are the New Black so thanks to them for the fun challenge! Let's hope I can keep up with this for the whole year! If you would like to tackle this challenge yourself, consider yourself tagged!

For each month I will find 5 books that match that month's birthstone. February's birthstone is amethyst which is a gorgeous purple color that looks like this:

Book Covers

Tough Guy by Rachel Reid

Cubby Season by Bindi Kennedy

Superfan by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

The Rival Upgrade by Lauren Blakely

Between the Lines by Olivia Hayle

Outro

Gosh I love a good purple cover! Aren't they all so pretty! I truly adore them so much. Next month should be a bit a challenge but we shall see. (Also yes I did forget to upload this on time but shhh, don't worry about that).

CWW: Game On

 

This week's book is.... Game On

Author: Navessa Allen

Publisher: Slowburn

Release Date: March 31st

Series: Into Darkness

Blurb:

I hate that woman.

Tyler Neumann has spent years looking for his father, and not because he wants to meet the man. No, he wants to destroy him. And he'll manipulate whoever he can to exact his revenge.

Including Stella McCormick. She's everything Tyler hates. Her wealth and privilege have protected her for her entire life, and Tyler thinks it's time she finally paid the price. Whether she's ready to or not.

I hate that man.

Stella might not believe in love at first sight, but loathing at first sight - no question. From the moment she sets eyes on Tyler in her tattoo parlor, she knows he's the devil planning to make her life hell.

Forced to play the part of his girlfriend and invite him into her family's glittering circles, Stella quickly clocks Tyler's ulterior motives. But love and hate are two sides of the same coin, and soon she doesn't know which is being blackmailed by a man who wants to ruin her, or that they can't seem to keep their hands off each other.

Explanation:

I absolutely adored the audiobook of the first book in this series (Lights Out). I finally got my library hold for the second book (Caught Up) this week, so I will be up to date when this book comes out. I can handle a pretty dark romance if there is some humor included, which Allen excels at. I am also sure the audiobook will have great narration too so I am very excited!

T10T: Romances with LGBTQ+ Representation

  

Welcome back to Top 10 Tuesday, following the list from That Artsy Reader Girl! This week is a genre-related freebie. As such, you'll not be surprised I'm picking LGBTQ+ romances

This week's prompt is..... romances with LGBTQ+ rep

These are in no particular order

1. Cubby Season by Bindi Kennedy
2. Hurt Me Not by Davidson King
3. Playing for Keeps by Alexandria Bellefleur
4. Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks
5. My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich
6. Meant to Burn by Shae Ruby
7. In Love's Key, Reprised by Guri Nojiro
8. Kitty Season by Bindi Kennedy
9. When Ivy Met Adam by Jennifer J. Coldwater
10. Outdrawn by Deanna Grey

Absolutely none of you should be surprised that I decided to take a queer approach to this prompt if you've been around my blog for any significant about of time. I am here and proudly queer, and will absolutely champion books with LGBTQ+ rep whenever I can. I am also a big romance girlie, so here we are. 

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic as always

Have you read any of these? I am so down for any kind of LGBTQ+ book recs if you have any! See you tomorrow for my gushing!

February 2026 Reads

 

 February 2026 Reads 

This month I read 16 books 

I DNFed 1 book

These books were 63% fiction

They were 19% physical, 13% digital, and 69% audio

The most popular genres were LGBTQ+, romance, and contemporary

My average rating was 4.18 stars

My longest reading day was the 23rd

The Books

➽ The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

➽ Growing Up Urkel by Jaleel White

➽ Stolen Moments by A.B. Jackson

➽ Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

➽ All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

➽ Cubby Season by Bindi Kennedy

➽ Tough Guy by Rachel Reid

➽ This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us by (too many authors to list here)

➽ The House of My Mother by Shari Franke

➽ Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

➽ Hurt Me Not by Davidson King

➽ Attention Seeker by Darcy Michael

➽ It Seemed Like a Good Idea by Lauren Blakely

➽ Delusions by Cazzie David

➽ Let Me Count the Ways by Laurel Osterkamp

➽ Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

T10T: Books I Can't Believe I Read

 

Welcome back to Top 10 Tuesday, following the list from That Artsy Reader Girl! This week I am doing another backlist prompt... because I am awful about keeping track of quotes. I am very happy to see what everyone else pulls though!

This week's prompt is..... books I can't believe I read

These are in no particular order

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
3. My Hero Academia Volume 1 by Kōhei Horikoshi
4. Your Honest Deceit by Sakufu Ajimine 
5. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
6. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
7. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
8. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
9. Madumo, a Man Bewitched by Adam Ashforth
10. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Let's get into the why for all of these, because I feel like this prompt needs some explanation.

In terms of The Hobbit... well, I am not at all a fantasy person and this book reminded me of that tenfold. It was required summer reading for one of my classes in high school and I HATED it, to the point of not being able to finish. Longwinded fantasy books will never be my cup of tea, but I'm not here to yuck your yum.

Another fantasy Crimson Bound was not actually that bad for me. I enjoyed the retelling aspect a good bit actually. But it was not the first book in the series, it was just something randomly available at the library. I don't know why I wouldn't start at the beginning. Needless to say, I never went back to the series.  

For the manga representation on this list, I have My Hero Academia Volume 1. At the time, I quite enjoyed the anime (this was like season 4 time-period, okay?), so I was like "why not try the manga?" Looking back, I cannot help but cringe a bit, knowing a smidge of where the series ended up.

Another manga was Your Honest Deceit. This one was SPICYYYYYY. Which at the time I read it, was something I primarily avoided, so I was shocked I got through it back then.

While the OG book was a fond memory of my middle school years, Love, Stargirl is not a book I needed to pick up. That could've been left back then, with a book good for a middle schooler that truly did not require a sequel. This sequel was not good, I would gladly unread it not gonna lie. 

Impulse was so intense, again especially for me at the time (spoiler, none of these were read in the last 3 years). That said, it did convince me to check out the thriller genre more. 

I read Fangirl before we knew how not great of a person Rainbow Rowell is. This was also well before I had my bookish social media. I did not mind the book, being honest. But I will not be supporting this author in any way ever again. 

Oh wow another fantasy with Howl's Moving Castle. I again, did not love it as I cannot be a fantasy girlie no matter how hard I try. This was required reading for one of my college classes. I did like the discussion about it though.

The only non-fiction on the list is Madumo, a Man Bewitched. This one was quite fascinating, and I actually enjoyed it. I read it for an anthropology class, which was great. I just never thought I'd pick up a book featuring medicine men. That said, now I know I can be open to it. 

The unfortunate horror on this list is The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. I definitely thought this book was a different one, whose title I cannot remember and was  not a disgusting horror. This book genuinely traumatized me. Way too many ample body horror descriptions for my tastes by far. But I got far enough in, I struggled through it. I am not happy to report I know the power of a DNF. 

Once again, none of this was to diss any books that others loved, I just know what is the vibe for me and what isn't and that's okay. We are all unique, including our reading tastes, and that is what makes the community so fun.

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic as always

What are some books you can't believe you read? Was that a good or a bad thing for you? See you next week, where maybe I will actually do the original prompt XD

Book Mail Monday #5

    

Intro

Welcome back to Book Mail Monday! I've got 2 pieces of book mail to gush about. Let's dive into it

The Book Mail

Books Included

-  What Happened That Night by Nicci French

- How to Fake a Husband by Bella Rivers

Discussion

What Happened That Night was sent to me by the publisher Harper Collins. It is a first printing that releases tomorrow. I'm happy to get another thriller for my shelves.

The other piece of book mail is How to Fake a Husband. This was sent by the author for an upcoming promo. Isn't the cover stunning??

Outro

Another chill week of book mail. Makes it a lot easier to store them. Did you get any fun mail this week?

See you next time I have some exciting book mail to share!

FFAF: In My Audiobook Era Tag

 

Intro

I have been an audiobook fan hardcore for the last few years. As such, this is the perfect challenge for me! I got the prompts from Alli the Book Giraffe whose list can be found here. Let's dive into it!

The Prompts and My Picks

The first audiobook I ever listened to: While I am not particularly confident about this, I think it might've been Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

My favorite narrators: I enjoy Emma Wilder, J.F. Harding, and Stella Hunter.

My preferred audiobook platforms: it is a whole lot of Libby, with some BookFunnel, and NetGalley for ARCs.

A book I enjoyed on audio that I might not have liked physically: My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich

My go-to audiobook speed: I actually listen to almost everything at 3x speed. I know, I'm a heathen, but my ADHD likes it. My fiancée thinks I'm crazy for it. 

I prefer multi-narration when available

I listen while multitasking for example, I am listening to an audiobook while I write out this blog. I also color, journal, and do things like laundry while listening to audiobooks. It's how I'm able to read so many books in a year.

My biggest audiobook pet peeve: all characters sound the same and it doesn't suit the characters at all. Also when someone mispronounces a bunch of words.

A book I'd love to make into an audiobook: Bunny Season by Bindi Kennedy

My all time favorite audiobook experience: Lights Out by Navessa Allen. The narration was so funny and immersive. I feel like the narrators truly added to the experience and had such perfect delivery.

Have I ever listened to an audiobook that made me pause and say "wait, what did I just hear?": Oh gosh, Just Pervs by Jess Taylor. That book was truly awful and completely grossed me out to hear in headphones.

Outro

This was a lot of fun! These prompts actually made me stop and think about my audiobook experience. Are you an audiobook lover?

 

Spell the Month in Books: February 2026

Intro

This is a fun challenge that I am going to try for 2026. This is inspired by Mehsi-Hime! You can check out their picks here!

This month I decided to do this based on the first manga series I could come up with. I want to read more manga soon, so this is a smidge of motivation to help do that. It is also admittedly a way to help prevent the challenge of not overlapping books month-to-month.

The Books

F - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe

E - Eden: It's an Endless World by Hiroki Endo

B - Blue Period by Tsubasa Yamaguchi

R - Requiem of the Rose King by Aya Kanno

U - Uzumaki by Junji Ito

A - Ao Haru Ride by Io Sakisaka

R - Rent-A-Girlfriend by Reiji Miyajima

Y - Your Lie in April by Naoshi Arakawa

Outro

It's amazing to me, that with almost no limits, this challenge was actually still difficult. That lowkey blows my mind. That said, it was fun to do and I shall plan on continuing it.

CWW: Just Friends

 

This week's book is.... Just Friends

Author: Hayley Pham

Publisher: Atria Books

Release Date: March 3rd, 2026

Series: n/a

Blurb:

Blair and Declan were inseparable growing up—best friends who knew each other better than anyone else. But when an impulsive kiss took them from friends to something more, everything changed. Just as quickly as their romance started, one moment shattered it all, leaving them with nothing but heartbreak and silence.

Now, four years later, Blair is back in their coastal hometown of Seabrook to support her mom and care for her great-aunt Lottie as her health declines. To make ends meet, Blair applies to work at a coffee shop—only to discover it’s managed by none other than Declan. The boy she loved. The boy she lost. The boy who still makes her heart race.

As Blair’s path keeps crossing with Declan’s, old wounds resurface, secrets are revealed, and sparks reignite. But could their future ever be free of their past?

Told in dual timelines that unravel the magic and pain of first love, Just Friends is a moving, romantic story about second chances, the weight of dreams, and finding your way back to the people who feel like home.

Explanation:

I have watched Hayley's videos for a few years and followed along with her process of writing this book. While early reviews are mixed, I know it's a debut and I want to from my own opinions. I feel like I might actually like it.

T10T: Books I Liked, But Can't Remember

  

Welcome back to Top 10 Tuesday, following the list from That Artsy Reader Girl! This week I really don't have any books I would recommend for the original prompt (which I do not really understand in the first place...), so I am doing a backlist prompt.

This week's prompt is..... books I really liked, but can't remember much about

These are in no particular order

1. Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
2. The Noh Family by Grace K. Shim
3. Y'allywood Billionaire by Terra Weiss
4. The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren
5. Love in the Scottish Christmas Village by Beatrice Bradshaw
6. Light Em' Up by Kelly Jamieson
7. Trouble in Love by Bindi Kennedy
8. The Wiener Across the Way by Amy Award
9. Half-Light Harbor by Samantha Young
10. Wild Love by Elsie Silver

No offense to any of these authors or books. I simply cannot remember everything. I do remember liking them and enjoying my time. Just please don't ask me to describe much about the plot

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic as always

Does this happen to you too? Please let me know I'm not alone. What's a favorite book you have forgotten? See you next week.

Book Mail Monday #4

   

Intro

Welcome back to Book Mail Monday! I'm pretty proud I get to do this again this week. I've got 2 fun pieces of book mail to gush about. Ready to see what I've got?

The Book Mail

Books Included

-  The Primrose Murder Society by Stacy Hackney

- Let Me Count the Ways by Laurel Osterkamp

Discussion

Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart was sent to me by the publisher Harper Collins. It is a first printing that releases March 3rd. I knew this one was coming and have been impatiently waiting to read it honestly.

The other piece of book mail is Let Me Count the Ways. This one was a lot of fun and beautifully personal. The book itself is signed. There is a personalized thank you note, a few stickers, a heart-shaped magnetic bookmark, and a copy of Emma's Poetry Journal (which is bonus content and oh so cute!) I am forever grateful for thoughtful 

Outro

This was a chill week for book mail, which my shelves are thankful for. Did you get any fun mail this week?

See you next time I have some exciting book mail to share!

FFAF: Romance Reader Book Tag

  

Intro

As Valentine's Day is tomorrow, it is definitely the perfect time to talk all about romance books. It is my favorite genre after all! I got the prompts from Alli the Book Giraffe whose list can be found here. Let's dive into it!

The Prompts and My Picks

What age did you start reading romance novels? I do not exactly remember, but I think I read a romance or two in middle school. Since then, my consumption of the genre has skyrocketed.

If you could pick one hero to meet from your favorite romance novels who would it be and why? Oh gosh, this is a tough one. Maybe Mark from Something Lost by Erin Fitzgerald. I feel like he has a pretty similar personality and mannerisms to my fiancée, so I feel like we would get along well. 

Who is your favorite romance authors and why? I enjoy Erin FitzGerald, Dani Galliaro, Maren Moore, and Harriet Ashford because they write incredible indie romance stories that feel like home.

What is a favorite romance novel to re-read? Soooooo, I don't actually reread almost at all. So uh, the only romance I have considered rereading is Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood so I can annotate it.

What book would you recommend to a non romance reader? I would recommend any books in the Colson Creek series by Erin FitzGerald because they are fantastic stories with such loveable characters. But more importantly, all of the books also have strong suspense storylines which adds a bit beyond the romance to get a good start.

Which is your favorite, contemporary, suspense, or historical and why? In the past, I would wholeheartedly say contemporary because that is what most of my favorite authors write. As of late, it is honestly romantic suspense. It makes me wanna keep reading endlessly. I will always kinda hate historical because all I can focus on is how it is inaccurate. 

Outro

I feel like this was the perfect tag to celebrate Valentine's Day. Are you a fellow romance lover? I would love to hear your recs!

CWW: Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) to Read on TikTok

 

This week's book is.... Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) to Read on TikTok

Author: Oliver Games

Publisher: Union Square & Co.

Release Date: February 24th, 2026

Series: n/a

Blurb:

As a result of childhood learning disabilities and educational neglect, Oliver James graduated from high school and became one of over eight million functionally illiterate Americans. However, at age 34, with big dreams and few tools to actualize them, he dedicated himself to learning the key skill that had evaded him his entire reading.

Oliver become a TikTok/BookTok sensation for the way he’s candidly documented his decision to learn to read as an adult, and his struggles and triumphs along the way. Here, he tells the full story behind his journey for the first time through the 21 key books that shaped and informed his experience. His story reveals the ways in which reading can teach each of us how to be better, more empathetic people. In just 365 days, Oliver went from barely being able to read a restaurant menu to closing in on his goal of finishing 100 books in a year.

Explanation:

This sounds like a fascinating and unique perspective for a memoir. I do not know a lot of the upcoming non-fiction releases to be honest, so now that I found one, I am quite excited. As someone who makes a bit of money on social media, this also intrigues me. While I am new to BookTok, I have been a watcher for a long time.

T10T: Red and Pink Covers

 

Welcome back to Top 10 Tuesday, following the list from That Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's prompt is..... Valentine's freebie (so I am doing red and pink covers!)

These are in no particular order

1. Just for the Cameras by Meghan Quinn
2. Superfan by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
3. Dear Red, Be Mine by Bella Greene
4. Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel
5. Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
6. Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstrong
7. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
8. Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks
9. Better Not Pout by Maren Moore
10. Once Upon a Holidate by Susan Mallery

  

  

   

I wanted to share the covers so we can admire the color palette. They all look so cute together! Have you read any of these?

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic as always

I hope you enjoyed my freebie Valentine's Day Top 10 Tuesday! I really enjoyed putting it together. I'm excited to see what everyone else does with the freebie! See you next week.

Book Mail Monday #3

  

Intro

Welcome back to Book Mail Monday! This week I've got 4 fun pieces of book mail to gush about. Ready to see what I've got?

The Book Mail

Books Included

- Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman

- Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson

- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney

- Murder at the CDC by Jon Land (continuing Margaret Truman's work).

Discussion

Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart was sent to me by the publisher Harper Collins. It is a first printing. I have actually already enjoyed the ALC of this one as part of the Epic Tastemakers program. You can read my review here. This one was actually a great debut book that I recommend. (Stay tuned to get your hands on a copy of this one as I may be selling 👀).

Next up is Missing Sister. This one is also first printing from Harper Collins and also expected. I have not had the chance to read it yet but the blurb has me intrigued. 

Another fun piece of book mail is Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever. This one is one I ordered from Little Free Bookshop for my sister. She loves this series and I saw I could get her a copy for free, so I can't complain. Maybe we will see a future review from her?

Last, but not least is Murder at the CDC This is one is also from the Little Free Bookshop! This one is a continuation of a book series from last week, so I am happy I can read more than one if I enjoy it. 

Outro

This was a nice and pretty calm week for book mail! I am grateful to Harper Collins for the books! Did you get any fun mail this week?

See you next time I have some exciting book mail to share!