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February 2, 2026
  • V. L. Bovalino
  • November 17, 2025

The Second Death of Locke

4.5
ABOUT: Kier and Gray, mage and power source, childhood friends, both devoted and longing for each other, find themselves at the army’s outpost fighting a war for their kingdom. When the opportunity arises to accompany an enemy prisoner, they find themselves leading an expedition and their secrets coming dangerously to light. Will they be able to protect each other, and will either have the bravery to act on their love and will they confront their past and the war around them? MY THOUGHTS: Hello, Lady Knight, I am obsessed with you. This book is a slowly unwinding yearn- fest, and I was here for it. The way these two are interconnected is so riveting, and the childhood friends-to-lovers was incredibly well done. Devotion is almost too small a word for the way these two care for each other! I appreciated that their backstory was slowly revealed, allowing you to become increasingly invested in the outcome of their present. It was atmospheric, with detailed battles, well-explained complex magic, and rich side characters. Additionally, this world was so queer affirming, and I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on that. From the use of pronouns to Kier’s parents, there was something really special about how Bovalino incorporated queer identities; it was so lovely to read. This was my first Lady Knight book, but it will certainly not be my last! SHOULD YOU READ: If you are into lady knights, soul mates, and slow-burning fantasy, this is not to be missed!
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ABOUT:
Kier and Gray, mage and power source, childhood friends, both devoted and longing for each other, find themselves at the army’s outpost fighting a war for their kingdom.

When the opportunity arises to accompany an enemy prisoner, they find themselves leading an expedition and their secrets coming dangerously to light.

Will they be able to protect each other, and will either have the bravery to act on their love and will they confront their past and the war around them?

MY THOUGHTS:
Hello, Lady Knight, I am obsessed with you.

This book is a slowly unwinding yearn- fest, and I was here for it. The way these two are interconnected is so riveting, and the childhood friends-to-lovers was incredibly well done. Devotion is almost too small a word for the way these two care for each other!

I appreciated that their backstory was slowly revealed, allowing you to become increasingly invested in the outcome of their present.

It was atmospheric, with detailed battles, well-explained complex magic, and rich side characters.

Additionally, this world was so queer affirming, and I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on that. From the use of pronouns to Kier’s parents, there was something really special about how Bovalino incorporated queer identities; it was so lovely to read.

This was my first Lady Knight book, but it will certainly not be my last!

SHOULD YOU READ:
If you are into lady knights, soul mates, and slow-burning fantasy, this is not to be missed!

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107 Days

4
READ VIA: Spotify audio and library borrow. Read as part of Sharon McMahon Book Club. ABOUT: With only 107 days remaining until the general election, Kamala Harris was informed that President Biden was dropping out of the Democratic race, making her the de facto nominee. What follows is a hard-fought yet ultimately unsuccessful run for president of the United States. MY THOUGHTS: This is an exceedingly difficult review to write because while I loved how frank Kamala was in this book, her honesty left me feeling disappointed in both the leaders of the Democratic Party, the political machine, and the American people. Harris provides the reader with essentially a day-by-day description of the craziness required to run a campaign and the toll it took on her. I appreciated her discussing the amount of money, stress, and scheduling difficulties required to acquire endorsements, meet with constituents, and prep for a debate, all of which help to point out how crazy US politics are. What I loved: every moment with Tim Walz, and the love she has for her team and family. The way it was clear she never wavered on who and what she represents. What I disliked: her tiptoeing around her relationship with Biden, her assertion that her term would have been different from Biden but never saying how. Also, the lack of self-reflection (yes, media sucks, yes, you were given a short time frame, but come on). I was hoping this would leave me feeling hopeful, but it mostly left me feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work it will take whoever runs for the Democratic nomination in 2028. AUDIO: Harris does a wonderful job voicing her memoir, and intonation adds an emotional element. SIMILAR BOOKS: This is similar in tone to A Promised Land by Barack Obama. SHOULD YOU READ: I think this humanized Kamala in a way many will appreciate, and it helped me see that politics is so much more than the candidate. I am attending a zoom book club meeting with the author(!!!) later this month so will report if my feelings change!
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4.5
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Undeclared

5.0
Several months ago, I posted about wanting to read more indie authors, and Sherry mentioned she had written and self-published a couple of books. If you follow Sherry, you know her reviews are insightful. More importantly, she has a true knack for making each word on the page feel imperative to the story. Her writing here only exemplifies that. Undeclared follows a widower, Landon, as he navigates solo parenthood, his extremely concerned mother, and his previous in-laws, all while also trying to be a 22-year-old. In a grief group with a collection of older women, Landon meets Iris. Iris immediately connects with his daughter, Sadie, in a way he cannot. Iris, who might also be tugging at his broken heart strings. This novel seems sad on the surface, yet it is filled with hope and healing. You cannot help but want to make things easier for Landon, although, like his friends and family, you are not quite sure how to do that. The secondary characters were exquisitely crafted. From his sly brother-in-law to the women in his group, each had a purpose and added complexity to the plot. Perhaps my favorite character was Landon’s mom. She poured so much love into her son that it became overbearing, as at times he could not see her intentions. I couldn’t help but admire the push and pull in their relationship. Mann truly captured what it feels like to be human and lost, the various forms of love, and the self-sacrifice of toddler parenting with ease and flowing prose. She once told me she is good at self-editing, and I cannot express how tenderly she puts these words on the page. I admired her ability to write book reviews, but I am genuinely in awe of the story she created here. If you seek stories with heavy themes, sparks of joy, and masterful character growth, I cannot help but demand that you read this book!
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4.5
Deavasting, relevant, and yet an ode to the power of Love, Island of Missing Trees is a hauntingly beautiful story. Told in dual timelines and perspectives, this novel follows Ada, a sixteen-year-old Turkish-Greek Girl in London, as she grapples with her family history following the loss of her mother. Through Ada’s conversations with her aunt and in conjunction with the perspective of her father’s beloved fig tree, we learn a story of war, religious intolerance, and compounding atrocities. This story creeps up on you suddenly without your realizing it. You are wrapped up in a world far apart from you in location and time; The tension, the heartbreak, and the slow unwinding of family trauma. I could not help but make parallels to the present with contentions over foreign powers, religious conflicts, and displaced persons’ journeys. It made the emotional journey of this book even more turbulent. The writing is poetic and metaphorical, and the narration brought it to life. I felt fully immersed in both the present day and the conflict centered around the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Specifically, Amira Ghazalla’s voicing of the fig tree was enthralling, and I found myself wanting to savor those parts even more. Readers who enjoy stories about family secrets, historical narrative, and lyrical writing will particularly enjoy this book!
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Wild Dark Shore

5.0
READ VIA: e-book via Libby ABOUT: When a mysterious woman washes up on the shore of a remote island, injured but alive, Dominic Salt finds himself grappling with wanting to care for her but also his drive to protect his three children. Rowan, the woman, struggles to understand why Dominic and his three children are the only people on the island and slowly begins to unravel the mystery that brought her there. As rough tides, flooding, and their own thoughts threaten their safety, the Salt family and Rowan become increasingly entangled in a web that is difficult to unravel once all their secrets are revealed. MY THOUGHTS: Instantly captivating with a mysterious thread pulling the reader throughout the narrative, an atmospheric setting on the verge of catastrophe and a family I could not help but love, Wild Dark Shore. I was STRESSED on how things would unfold, and McConaghy kept the dark twists coming to the very end. Through all five POVs, McConaghy weaves heartbreak, love, and a profound respect for nature. I found myself rooting for all of them, the Salts, Rowan, the whales, the penguins, and the island itself, wanting them to find peace and safety in each other. Each character was perfectly authentic and developed, and the setting was dark. The writing explores the fragility of both humans and animals. How love can be both a gift and entangled with tragedy. The desire we all have to feel loved and protected. Just wow! In the end, I could not stop my compulsive reading and finished with tears streaming down my face. SIMILAR BOOKS: I have not explored this other backlist, but I am now excited to add them to my 2026 books. This reminded me of God of the Woods, but Wild Dark Shore is better IMO! SHOULD YOU READ: This is a must-read for those who enjoy family drama with a side of mystery as well as environmental fiction. Would be excellent for a book club!
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3
Oh, Thanksgiving weekend… the food, the booze, the sports, the re-connecting with old friends. Like Murphy Konowitz, I was excited to see my best friend and have a night out together. However, unlike Murphy, I enjoyed meeting my friend’s new friends and significant others and did not start a fight on my favorite night. Murphy is visibly mad and somehow fight with best friend leads to meet cute with pretty girl? After running into each other in the bathroom, Ellie Meyers and Murphy reconnect and plan a fake dating scheme. The quick timing threw me off, limiting my ability to buy the chemistry between these two. I did enjoy Murphy’s salt-of-the-earth friendship with Kat. There was genuine love among friends here, and I found it touching that they were able to support each other even in the midst of a disagreement. I enjoyed seeing the friendship through multiple other characters’ eyes and felt it was a clever way to indicate how precious female friendship can be! Grischow did an excellent job capturing the feelings and jealousy of seeing your friends figure out their lives and college plans while you remain stuck. While I struggled to connect with Murphy, I appreciated her struggles in community college and and the implications that you don’t necessarily need a degree to be successful. My second gripe is the classification of this book. Is this YA? Is this new adult? The one spicy scene was mostly faded to black (and spoiler at 94%), so it felt unnecessary at that point. I think anyone in college would appreciate the complexity of managing high school nostalgia and being open to something new. The characters felt immature (communication was lacking), but I think it worked if you reminded yourself they were 21, which confirms my belief I am not their intended audience. Overall, I felt okay about reading this. It would be a great read if I were younger, and I would encourage college-aged readers to give it a try
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A small town, a best friend, a life-altering trauma, an enigma, and the enduring power of hope collide in 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬. Chris Whitaker takes us on an epic voyage as we follow Patch, Saint, and several Monta Clare, Missouri townsfolk into their darkest days and deepest secrets. Through 261 succinct chapters, we pursue Joseph ‘Patch’ Macaulay and Saint Brown from adolescence to adulthood. Blending thriller, coming-of-age, romance, and police procedural, Whitaker makes this seemingly long book fly by. While at its core it is character-driven, the plot moves quickly both through time and the very nature of life itself. Each suspenseful chapter leaves you tearful and with bated breath as you attempt to crack the unknown. The main characters were multilayered, and the supporting characters vividly animated. I was wholly invested in this story and spent many chapters worrying over my beloved characters’ fate. Similar to other coming-of-age novels like 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘩 or 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, the reader wishes to stop both Patch and Saint from the path they were heading on. Yet with every seemingly wayward turn, Whitaker laid the foundation for the astonishing yet completely satisfactory conclusion. Like everything else about this book, Edoardo Ballerini’s narration is tremendous. His intonation distinguishes each character and adds a richness that drives the emotional elements to the surface. The performance enhances the intricate detail and suspenseful nature of the story. This review is intentionally vague because the less you know, the better. If you enjoy genre-bending sagas or just want to witness an incredible yet tragic devotion among friends, pick up this book! It’s tender, it’s shocking, it’s full of want and heartache and the kind of suspense that will captivate you to the very last sentence! Undoubtedly, 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 is contender for best book of the year.
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5.0
Moving, warm, teaming with just enough humor for happy tears and depth for sad ones, 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 will be on my shortlist for favorites of the year. Ali is stuck. Between losing her mother, her unfulfilling marriage turned impassioned divorce, and the nonstop nature of raising kids, she struggles to find herself among all the mess in her life. Enter Ethan, full of bold laughter, a love of skateboarding, and lots of eye contact. But it is summer, and she has the kids, and he lives out of town, so how could it be anything more than a summer romance? Just wait! The chemistry! Annabel has a true talent for capturing everyday life and making it romantic. This book feels comfortable like your favorite t-shirt, soft and a little worn, yet always makes you feel good. The crux of the plot is simple everyday life, and I love how she captures so much of the undulating emotions of motherhood in her words. It is refreshing to read about a late-30s woman who still feels like they don’t quite have it all figured out and is still learning who she wants to be. The romance is enchanting and yearning; I swoon at how much they notice each other. Plus, much of this book focuses on family dynamics, and I was captivated by the complexity. {light spoiler ahead} I had the absolutely stellar luck to see Annabel on tour. While I was excited to read 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 after hearing her speak, I had no idea what an absolute imprint this book would make on my heart. While I am not grieving a parent or in an unhappy marriage, I am a mother, a daughter lucky enough to have a loving mother, and I was once a young teen who was bullied by the mean girls at school and a witness to how that impacted my parents. I cannot remember the last time a book gutted me the way I cried reading this one. The mother-daughter dynamics are masterfully intricate, and the details of how those shape womanhood and the experience of being a mother are relatable. I LOVED every sun-filled moment of this fast-paced, lived-in novel, and I highly recommend it!!
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3.5
A mysterious text, a lost love, family secrets, and creepy technology collide in Sabrina Bowen’s debut thriller. Have you ever received a text that made no sense? What if that text was from someone you believe died five years ago? In 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘦, we follow Ariel, a single mom and artist working at her late father’s security firm, as she reopens old wounds and attempts to find the father of her child and what led him to ghost her. The vibe was a cozy thriller crossed with a romance. Each of the three points of view, Ariel in the present, Drew in the past, and a creepy unknown third, were differentiated by a different narrator. I felt the narration changes helped highlight each chapter’s short nature. The well-done narration, in combination with Bowen’s writing, made both timelines easy to follow, and I liked that the changes in POV signaled a shift in the timeline. The audio was clear; I never needed to consult a text version. This wasn’t spooky, with just enough suspense to keep me returning to it each time I got into the car. Being the romantic I am, I found the romance subplot sweet and unexpected bonus. Bowen’s previous novels are romance/ steam, and her expertise in crafting relationships is evident. While both the beginning and end 25% of this book were fast-paced and engaging, I felt like the discovery of evidence in the middle was a bit strung out. I predicted most of the twists, so there was almost no suspense. Moreover, I wish we had more explanation at the end, as things wrapped very quickly after the climax. That said, the chapters were short, and the plot focus on the use of video technology was both frightening and eerily believable. I would recommend this for those who like thrillers lite and those who enjoy a cross-over between suspense and romance. I wouldn’t go out of my way to read it, but it is a solid Kindle Unlimited pick.
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This Summer Will Be Different

4.5
Beach walks, an endless supply of fresh seafood, a soulmate of a best friend, a few game nights with one too many drinks, and, of course, a lust-filled 5-year journey is just a little bit of ✨magic ✨ of Carley Fortune’s latest novel. Creating three stellar variations on second-chance romance, all with summer themes is exceptionally difficult, yet Fortune nailed it again. While this might be more lust to lovers, I think calling it that would be a disservice. This novel is full of that gentle love you don’t see coming until it overwhelms you. The main characters are finely crafted, and the supporting cast is robust and integral to the plot. From banter over books to remembering her favorite brand of butter, Felix embodies that kind, understated, patient love that will have you swooning from the moment you meet him. I found Lucy incredibly relatable, like someone I could easily have in my inner circle. Her love for her best friend and their relationship subplot was perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this book. Fortune’s writing is detailed yet comforting and formatted to make it easy to read. She vividly depicts Prince Edward Island; you can feel the salt air and picture the grassy fields. This is spicy, with just enough descriptions to make you want to blush. I think this might be my favorite variety of spice, sprinkled throughout but nothing too over the top. I spent much of this book smiling because the romance felt inevitable, even if the main characters couldn’t see it themselves. This book radiates summer and feels like being wrapped up in a cozy, warm sweatshirt at a beach bonfire. I loved that Felix and Lucy’s story was so much about everyday moments; there was lots of cooking, eating, and gathering. (Swipe for an inspired menu.) 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 encompasses all there is to love about summer romances and is perhaps Fortune’s best work yet!
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