Category: In Review

It finally happened. I finished my first prompt! Light the fireworks. Cut the cake. Let’s celebrate! I’m beyond excited for this accomplishment. Thank you all for your support. I couldn’t do it without you. Thank you to my mom and dad… Too soon to make an acceptance speech? The challenge isn’t over yet? Ups. Sorry, I got carried away. Still, it was a good month, and I made much progress in the challenge. The books of October For the October new release, I read Blasfamous‘s complete edition of the three-issue comic book. This is by the Italian author Mirka Andolfo, who created the Unnatural, a comic book series published by Image Comics. I haven’t finished that series yet, but there’s something in her illustrations and storytelling that I enjoy a lot. Also, her characters tend to be gorgeous curvy females, and I’m here for it. As I mentioned in the …

Mysteries are the cornerstone of autumn. The falling leaves, paired with falling dead bodies, fill the air with some creepy magic. To gruesome? I’m sorry. I’m still feeling the remnants of Halloween. The A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series isn’t weird or scary – at least from what I’ve seen so far. If you are new to this series, hi! Welcome! This is a review for the second book, so be careful since there will be spoilers below. And may I interest you in the review of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder? It’s a fun time, and you should read it. However, if you are here because you are unsure if you want to continue with Good Girl, Bad Blood or looking for reviews to make sense of what you just read, then join me. We are in the same boat. Title: Good Girl, Bad Blood Author: Holly …

The first time I ever saw the name Harlan Coben was on Netflix. Little did I know how chefs kiss his stories can be. The Stranger was the first and most certainly not the last I saw. It’s mysterious and thrilling, and with each episode, you just want to watch more and more. Since it’s a mini-series, there’s a lot of time to develop the story and make a faithful adaptation of the book. And as any “good” reader, I had to pick up the book. Title: The Stranger Author: Harlan Coben Publication year: 2015 Length: 9 hours 43 minutes Genre: Mystery, Thriller Pace: Medium Story focus: Plot Adam has the perfect life. A good job, a great house, a beautiful wife, and two wonderful sons. One day, he’s approached by a stranger who confesses Corinne faked her last pregnancy. The seed of mistrust threatens to destroy Adam’s idyllic home …

June marks a new year. A new reading year. Another year of reading my TBR. But before I do anything else, I need to recount my books. I want to start with a clean sheet. I’m afraid I miscount some books. Here’s the thing, I never wrote down a list of all the books. So, I’m not sure which books I counted for the TBR and which I didn’t. Not every book I own is part of this challenge. Some books I sort of inherited, and others were given because the other person didn’t want them anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested in reading those books. Now, with a list, there will be no more mistakes. June I was still feeling the downfall of a subscription to Everand. I like the idea of reading whatever you want at any moment, but it always takes a toll on my TBR. …

Every time I have to write an update for the Hardest Reading Challenge You’ve Ever Done, I get so excited. I would lie if I said it was so easy and that I’m not starting to question my life choices… BUT! I’m enjoying to see the progress. The books of September After the flop of A Study in Charlotte last month, I was missing a 4+ book series to read. The next one on the list was Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco. Now, this is the book I was looking for. I don’t care if any part of the book is historically accurate because it was what I wanted from a mystery set in the late 1800s. I loved the characters. I loved the banter. I loved the mystery, even though there isn’t much hands-on investigation. I wanted to read this book for a long time, and I’m …

Does the name Albert Kiefer mean anything to you? And how about Housesketcher on Instagram? If you walk around the artsy and sketching side of the internet, you have probably crossed paths with some of his works. The first time I heard about Kiefer was browsing the Domestika website. When I saw Housesketching, something felt familiar. And so I jumped at the opportunity to see what this man had to teach me. His sketching style is very characteristic and recognisable. For me, it’s often too chaotic and busy, although that’s one of the reasons his drawings are so alive. The colour in some sketches is so pleasant and lovely that I want to jump into the page and land in that world. That’s what attracts me the most to his sketches and why I didn’t pass on the opportunity to check out his new book. Disclaimer: Thank you to the …

I want to keep these updates monthly and neat… And I’m doing a terrible job! I swear I’m not taking this long to read the books. Once again, I bring you another late update for the Hardest Reading Challenge You’ve Ever Done. Please don’t be confused. I know we are at the end of September, but this post is about the books I read in August. I’m already writing the next update, so it will be on time. Before I get ahead of myself, let’s travel back to the 7th of August. The books of August I started the month reading The Bachelorette Party by Sandra Block. I received an ARC to review closer to its September release date. It’s a thriller quite fast and intense, verging on horror. I already have a review here on the blog if you are interested to know more about it. Sadly, I couldn’t …

Family secrets, grief, and an icon, The Essential Elizabeth Stone by Jennifer Banash, tells the tale of a woman who created an empire around herself. And even in death, she can crumble down her daughter’s life. With the release date of the 10th of September, just in time for a gloomy rainy day. Disclaimer: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free. All the thoughts and opinions here are my own. Title: The Essential Elizabeth Stone Author: Jennifer Banash Publication year: 2024 Length: 11 hours 15 minutes Genre: Literary Fiction Pace: Slow Story focus: Character Elizabeth Stone is more than a woman, she’s a brand, a lifestyle. And now that she passed away, she left all the empire that she built to her only daughter. Although, Juliet has no idea what she’s doing. She never wanted to be her mother’s successor or …

Please note: This is the 2024- 2025 edition of this challenge, not the HRCYED 2.0 for 2025-2026. Often, I spill here and there about a readathon I’m excited about. I can’t resist. I see a readathon, I see a challenge, I’m in. And the hardest, the better. Now, do I finish the readathons I started? No. So far, I’ve only had one completed readathon, but that doesn’t push me away to keep trying. When I saw on my YouTuber feed, in big bold letters, The Hardest Reading Challenge You’ll Ever Do, I knew I was in even before hitting the play button. Qwordy is a channel I’ve never seen before, but that didn’t push me away from this challenge. And to be honest, I need to spend a little more time browsing the interwebs because there are so many reading challenges and readathons for every taste that comes from small …

If you are looking for a bone-chilling, fast-paced story, look no further. The Bachelorette Party by Sandra Block is coming out on the 3rd of September to bring you just that. Snowed in at a murder lodge? Let the bachelorette party begin! Disclaimer: Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book for free. All the thoughts and opinions here are my own. Title: The Bachelorette Party Author: Sandra Block Publication year: 2024 Length: 9 hours 31 minutes Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller Pace: Fast Story focus: Plot Alex has spent the last few months working as an intern in a popular crime news program, her dream job. To finally get a seat at the grown-up’s table and leave her intern position, she has to prove herself as an investigator journalist. And the case she chose was the 666 Killer. Over the months, this has become her obsession. …

It has been two years. Two years since I decided to tackle my TBR and reduce it to zero. Am I closer to that number than I was when I started? I like to think that I’m crushing it! Although I’ve only managed to cut it down to about 20 books. So, 10 books read per year. At this rhythm, it will take me a decade. At best! Looking back, the project was structured to force me to read the books I already own. That has changed completely. I ended book-buying bans, went through reading slumps, and thought about ending the challenge altogether. But life continues, and I’m still determined to see this through. I imagine I’m just taking a stroll, enjoying the view, and sizing down my TBR in the meantime. February I was still feeling the high of finally being out of the reading slump, and I got …