Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I must like stories about astronauts and space travel more than I thought, because I ended up enjoying Atmosphere considering my lackluster feelings towards Taylor Jenkins Reid.
…Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Untamed Shore is a noir novel featuring a questionable death and a shockingly cunning protagonist. I thought this was going to be another rote story about a good girl getting caught up with bad people, but I quite enjoyed the change in the protagonist’s character late in the story.
…The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
The Burning God is the final book of The Poppy War trilogy. Although I liked this book better than The Dragon Republic, my favourite is the first book, before the story devolved into one long civil war. If you are a fan of the fantasy genre, and do not find war to be a tedious subject, then I think you will enjoy this trilogy.
Spoilers ahead for both The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic, just in case you plan on reading them.
…The Mystery Guest and The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose
Two in one review! Honestly, I probably would have never bothered with reading these sequels to Nita Prose’s The Maid if I had not come across them on Book Outlet. As it is, I did not read the novella set between The Mystery Guest and The Maid’s Secret. Both of these novels are as cutesy as the first novel in the series, but I do not think they are good mystery novels.
Spoilers ahead for The Maid in case you plan on reading it.
…The Teacher by Freida McFadden
Just because a book is compulsively readable does not mean it is good. I read The Teacher in about two days, and it is the trashiest trash that I have ever read. It is even worse than that one Colleen Hoover book I read. I have never read anything by Freida McFadden until now and I do not understand why any of her books would be made into movies. And just so you know, I did not buy this book myself, my sister gave it to me. I am now beginning to question her taste in books.
Spoilers ahead because I really do not think you should bother reading this crap.
…The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang
I think I waited too long after finishing The Poppy War to read book two of the trilogy, The Dragon Republic, because the story has lost momentum for me and Rin is becoming an exasperating protagonist.
If you plan on reading The Poppy War, obviously do not continue reading this review of The Dragon Republic as there are spoilers.
…My Top Five Reads of 2025
I feel like I did not read enough books in 2025, so I am going to have to up the ante in 2026. Before I do that, though, here are my top five books of 2025:
…Playground by Richard Powers
After reading Richard Powers’ dense novel, The Overstory, Playground is definitely a much easier read, but there are many different thematic threads woven through Playground that I found myself feeling disoriented about what the novel is supposed to be about, and then the end hit me with a sledgehammer and left me feeling devastated.
…Bunny by Mona Awad
Mona Awad’s Bunny was first published in 2019 and in the years since has become a BookTok darling, but it is a divisive novel. You are either going to love this book or think it is one of the most unhinged things you have ever read. I’m in the latter camp. I don’t hate it, but I am wondering what the fuck did I just read?
…Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
As I said, I am continuing to read Kristin Hannah’s novels (at least the ones that sound interesting to me). I like Winter Garden better than The Four Winds, but like The Four Winds, Winter Garden can’t hold a candle to The Nightingale.
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