Hi everyone! Welcome back (whether you’ve been here before or not, let’s just pretend 😌🤣). In true Mariah Carey style fashion…IT’S TIMEEEEE!!..for a bookish post 😜 she likes those right? 🫣😂 To be honest I’m sort of in a reading slump with fiction novels at the moment. It’s a bit easier with non fiction but I’m trying to get back into fiction so this post is to acknowledge where I’m currently at in my bookish journey fiction-wise, warts n all! 😖
Because of this slump I haven’t finished any books in 2026 yet but I’m not even determined to change that as I don’t wanna rush anything…..except from library books so I can make space on my parents cards so theres more for them than there is for me (I’ve made bad life choices 😅). Anywho, let’s move on from that train wreck! 😳 Let us begin with….
The last book I Finished
My husband next door by K.L. Slater – I listened to the audiobook of this whilst I was making Christmas crafts in December for my family (you can check out my DIY projects in this post!). My husband next door was actually the last book I read in 2025! It was really good, the ending felt a tad rushed but for the most part I enjoyed it and went along for the thrill. The only major part I can’t get over tho is that the cover shows two precise next door neighbours when in the book the husband is a couple of doors down 🤔 I think the cover art wasn’t really thought about or the person who approved it either didn’t read the book or simply didn’t give a f.
What I’m currently reading
The Intruder by Freida Mcfadden – I’m reading this as part of a Freida Mcfadden book club I have with my mum! If you wanna know all about the secret reading that led up to this club being created then you should probably go listen to The Cosy Corner where I talk all about it in today’s episode (which was recorded in three different eras 🤯 it will all make sense over there I promise 🙌🤣). It’s tough reading with a Freida Mcfadden lover, my mum drives a hard bargain over how many more chapters we read each night, I can’t keep up! 🤣 but I’m really enjoying it, it’s a great book and I’m intrigued to see how it ends!
As I’m no longer a one book at a time kinda woman (that lasted a hot minute), I’m also reading more books, starting with No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen – Okay so I know I said I’m in a rut but whenever I pick up this book (which the rut makes difficult to start with), things start to flow and I read a little bit. It’s about a boy and his mother who end up homeless and (so far) their journey to keep this under wraps so that he doesn’t get taken away from her. It’s the kind of book where you lose all sense of your surroundings when you pick it up. This is one of the books that I don’t want to end but I gotta make space on a library card or two so read it I shall!
Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor – This book is my otherworldly escape (we’ve all gotta have one!). It’s set in a traveling hotel that is full of all kinds of magic and there is a strong sense of control over this hotel by the proprietor (who isn’t the nicest guy but more has to develop in order for me to know if this is in fact true) which shows when our main character gets thrown into this world in a building with a little sister to protect from all of these spells. I am a good way into it and I have absolutely no idea where it is going to go. Oh and did I mention that there is a love interest thingamajig occurring and its interwoven perfectly into the story? Yeah, theres that too! With this book you’ve gotta be ready for it, I’ll admit, I don’t know if its the writing style or my current rut but I am severely enjoying it!
What’s next? You decide!
So, I have a long list of books on my TBR but if I were to pick three they would be these:
- A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen – Trapped in an unwanted marriage, Freya dreams of becoming a warrior – and of putting an axe in her controlling husband’s back.
But those dreams become a nightmare when he makes a deal with their fanatical ruler, and she’s forced into a fight to the death. To survive, she must reveal her deepest secret: she possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood and magic that will unite their nation beneath the one who controls her fate.
Believing he’s destined to be king, the ruler binds Freya with a blood oath and orders his fierce but charming son to train her to fight, to control her magic . . . and to make sure no one lays a hand on her.
But the greatest test of all may be resisting her forbidden attraction to the son of her enemy. - A tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal – Join the high-stakes heist into a dark vampire underworld . . .
Arthie Casimir is a collector of secrets. At night her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse, feeding the vampires who stalk the streets. But when her livelihood is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike a deal with an unlikely – and frustratingly handsome – ally.
Desperate, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. For in the vampire-laden streets of White Roaring, things are never as they seem . . . - Once upon a broken heart by Stephanie Garber – (I may or may not have already started this one 😅 but it was a long time ago so I’ll have to start it again!). Should I give it another chance?? – For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in happily ever after. Until she learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, and her dreams are shattered.
Desperate to stop the wedding, and heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.
But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game – and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy . . .
Leave your answers in the comments, book 1, 2 or 3!! 🥲
Thank you for joining in & if you didn’t then you better scroll back up and pick a book! If you want to know what non-fiction books I’m currently flicking through then let me know in the comments below, I will gladly do another one of these posts dedicated entirely to those!
Now, its your turn again! Yes, I’m putting you to work so far with this post but hold on 🤣. Let me know what was the last book you finished/what you are currently reading & what’s next on the horizon for you! (The possibilities are endless 🫨).
Right, I’m off to pick up a book of course! Can you guess which one? Okay, I’ll stop with the questions! 😅 I hope you have a cosy, reading filled weekend or if you can’t have that then you can live vicariously through the rest of us 😉. Take care, stay safe and buh-bye! ✨️💕
Elsie LMC 
Ugh reading slumps suck! I had it last year and reading was so tough. I hope your slump breaks soon!💝
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Don’t they! I wish there was a surefire tactic to make it disappear. Thank you so much! ☺️
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