Sona and the Golden Beasts by Rajani Larocca [MG Review – Contains Spoilers]

17 January 2026 / brief reviews / 4 Comments
Sona and the Golden Beasts by Rajani Larocca [MG Review – Contains Spoilers]

Sona and the Golden Beastsby Rajani LaRoccaSource: hardcover/libraryPublished: Mar 2024Publisher: Quill Tree (HarperCollins)Length: 400 pages Genre: FantasyTarget Age: Middle gradeRepresentation: Secondary world is an India analogue and explores themes related to British colonization

Portrayals of Fae [Fantasy with Friends]

12 January 2026 / discussion / 16 Comments
Portrayals of Fae [Fantasy with Friends]

This Week’s Prompt: Fae have been popular in fantasy the past couple years. Do you have a favorite portrayal of Fae? What aspects do you think are important to Fae characterization? Do you prefer traditional representations or unique takes? My Thoughts One of my final reads of 2025 was Naomi Novik’s The Summer War, a novella which, to me, is a quintessential faerie story. You get a story set in […]

9 Books I Loved and Didn’t Review in 2025 [Brief Reviews]

11 January 2026 / brief reviews / 10 Comments
9 Books I Loved and Didn’t Review in 2025 [Brief Reviews]

Completing my 2025 wrap up posts reminded me that I did read a solid selection of good books last year which I didn’t review. So, this post shines a little spotlight on those titles. I’ll have a separate post next week specifically for middle grade. Fantasy The Summer War by Naomi Novik This may be the finest fantasy I read in 2025. I didn’t read many! But this was well-suited […]

Wrapping Up 2025, Looking Forward 2026

3 January 2026 / thoughts / 22 Comments
Wrapping Up 2025, Looking Forward 2026

Welcome to my 16th annual ‘Wrapping Up, Looking Forward’ post. In this post, I take a general look back at how I did with my goals in 2025, and set some new goals for 2026. First, I tally up the posts I wrote in 2025 and my goal progress. Then I move into an overview of my posting and reading for 2025, followed by new goals for 2026. 2025 Posts […]

December 2025 Month In Review

December 2025 Month In Review

What to say about December… well, unlike last year, at least I stayed employed! So a bit less reading and blogging than Dec 2024, but I still read the most books of any month in 2025. I received two books as Christmas gifts: The West Passage by Jared Pechaček and The Art of Mercy in Middle-earth: Paintings Inspired by Tolkien’s Legendarium by Miriam Ellis. I also ordered myself the 2026 […]