Category: books

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Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 2

This sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea was good, but not as good for me as the first book. I loved being introduced to the world Klune created, meeting the magical children, and seeing things unfold between Linus and Arthur. In this book, the story focuses on the fight the inhabitants of the island wage against the Department in Charge of Magical Youth to be able to live in peace. It was clever and had some really touching moments, and I appreciated the social commentary. I just didn’t feel that it drew me in the way book one did.

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All the Broken Places

I haven’t read a Christian fiction book in quite a while, not since my favorite Christian writer Jamie Langston Turner had a new book out. But I have been following M. Jean Pike’s blog for a while now and decided to read one of her books and really enjoyed it!

In All the Broken Places, we meet Monica Humphrey, who is a schoolteacher living with her cat Ginger. She is lonely and overweight. A fall in the grocery store leads her into a relationship with the store’s manager, Barry, as well as into a weight-loss journey. As both of these storylines unfold, we learn about Monica’s history, especially with her father and the female relatives who raised her after her mother died.

I was quickly drawn into this book and connected with Monica right away. As someone who is overweight myself, I really appreciated that Monica was portrayed as a complex human being with a range of emotions and abilities.I loved seeing her emotional growth alongside her physical transformation as she reflects on the past and how it has affected her.

Unlike many Christian fiction books, the story was not predictable, and I enjoyed the twists and turns that it took, especially at the end. I definitely recommend checking out this or one of her other books!

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The Devil You Know

The Devil You Know is a chick lit/romance by Freida McFadden. It is a sequel to The Devil Wears Scrubs, which I read back in 2023. I must not have realized there was a second book, but when I saw this one on Kindle Unlimited, I grabbed it to read right away.

The story centers on Dr. Jane McGill, who has a husband, a daughter, and a job at a VA hospital. At work, she runs into Dr. Ryan Reilly, who she had previously dated, and starts to wonder if she made the wrong choice back then.

I liked the first book better and would recommend starting with that one if you decide to read these, but this was a fun read and I’m glad I read it. I think it’s kind of funny that McFadden is known for her thrillers but I haven’t read any of them yet!

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The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 1

Linus Baker is a solitary man who lives with his cat and enjoys old records. He works at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth and is sent to observe and report on one of the orphanages run by the department. This classified assignment is unique because this orphanage is home to six dangerous children and an enigmatic caretaker named Arthur Parnassus.What follows is a delightful tale of discovery and understanding.

This book is just the sort of thing I would have loved as a child, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a 50-something adult. I especially identified with Linus and his longing for beauty and connection, but all of the characters were wonderfully drawn and the story is enchanting. The social commentary is on point but not overdone as well.

I highly recommend this book and am already reading the sequel.

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Author Spotlight: Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg is an author who never disappoints. I always enjoy her books – they are full of colorful characters and heartwarming stories with both humor and a bit of social commentary mixed in. Her Southern charm shines through all of her work.

She is most famous for her book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and for writing the award-winning screenplay for the film adaptation, “Fried Green Tomatoes.” I can’t actually remember whether I read the book or saw the movie first; either way, I am glad I came across her and have been able to enjoy her books over the years. I have read all of them except the short stories published last year.

Flagg has written eleven books to date:

Whistle Stop Series

  • Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (1987)
  • The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop (2020)

Elmwood Springs Series

  • Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! (1998)
  • Standing in the Rainbow (2002)
  • Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven (2006)
  • The Whole Town’s Talking (2016)

Standalone Novels

  • Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man (1981)
  • A Redbird Christmas (2004)
  • I Still Dream About You (2010)
  • The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion (2013)

Short Stories

  • Something to Look Forward To: Fictions (2025)
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ICYMI: Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig

ICYMI: my quest to highlight books you may have missed

The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig contains twelve books, which were published between 2004 and 2015. I learned about the series in 2013 from my former college roommate and quickly became enamored with them.

The series starts out with present day doctoral student Eloise Kelly, who travels from America to England to study the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, two spies from the Napoleonic Wars. As she digs into her research, she discovers the secret history of the Pink Carnation, an elusive spy who saved England from Napoleon. From there, the story focuses on the intrigues of the Pink Carnation, occasionally coming back to the present to follow Eloise’s journey. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this series with its mix of mystery and romance. Highly recommend checking it out!

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Butterfly Inn

Butterfly Inn by Kate Wentworth is the first book in her new series, Butterfly Lane. It is set in the same location as the Bella Beach series she just wrapped up and includes many of the same characters as that series. 

I enjoyed the book; it was a fun, quick read. I did feel that she spent a lot of time setting things up and explaining who everyone was, but that’s not unexpected when starting a series.

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Sheepfarmer’s Daughter

Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon is book 1 of The Deed of Paksenarrion and was published in 1988. I originally read this as a teenager shortly after it first came out, so this was a reread for me, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

If you enjoy high fantasy, this book would be a great choice for you. Moon wrote it after playing Dungeons & Dragons, and it reads like the best D&D campaign you could want to be involved with. 

One thing that really caught my attention was that the main character, who goes by Paks for short, is asexual and aromantic. I don’t remember hearing those terms back then, but her orientation is very clear in the book and is understood and accepted by the other characters.

I am so glad I decided to reread this one, and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

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What I’m Reading – February 2026

What I’m Reading Now

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Cerulean Chronicles #1) – I have seen this book around a lot and decided to give it a try.

How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy by Terran Williams – Good book but pretty dry. I keep avoiding going back to it, so I may have to skim the rest.

What I Recently Finished

  • The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey (Elemental Masters #18)
  • Christmas Wedding at Bella Beach by Kate Wentworth (Bella Beach #8)
  • The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms
  • Never Meant to Stay by Trisha Das
  • The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation by Elizabeth Berg
  • The Dandelion and the Thistle by Pip Dolyn
  • Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion #1)
  • Butterfly Inn by Kate Wentworth (Butterfly Lane #1)

What I Added to my TBR

  • Driving with the Top Down by Beth Harbison
  • Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily Austin
  • Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
  • Fury in Death by J.D. Robb (In Death #63)
  • The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain
  • Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg
  • Chasing the Clouds Away by Debbie Macomber
  • Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven
  • Book Club at Butterfly Inn by Kate Wentworth (Butterfly Lane #2)
  • Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion #2)
  • Oath of Gold by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion #3)
  • Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
  • This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer by Kay Mills

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 184 books on my TBR. Of these, 7 are nonfiction and 177 are fiction.
  • I have read 8 books so far in 2026. My goal is 100.
  • I have not finished any nonfiction books so far in 2026. My goal is 6.
  • I am still on my 3-month free trial of Kindle Unlimited. I have read 12 books on KU so far and have 2 currently borrowed. I only have 1 more book planned to borrow, so I should be able to cancel before the free trial is over.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:
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Bookish Question: DNF

Bookish Question: How do you decide when to DNF a book?

I ask this because I recently had my first DNF of 2026. It was women’s fiction, which is normally right up my alley, but I picked it up twice and both times just felt stressed out by it. 

I am not going to name the book, but I will say that I found the situation the main character was in to be very stressful and I also thought the book was kind of dated. When I checked my progress in the Libby app, I was only at 10%, but I just decided to be done with it. I have plenty of other books on my TBR.

I feel a mild sense of guilt about this, although I will say that is a vast improvement over where I was a decade ago when I wouldn’t have considered not finishing a book. So that makes me curious how other people decide when and why to DNF a book.