The Polyglot

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross My rating: 5 of 5 stars After reading other books by Rebecca Ross I knew I was in for something beautiful. I wasn’t wrong. Rebecca’s writing is as inventive as it is poetic. Her imagining of the world of the divines, both the underground and the sky gods, is beautiful and original with touches of Chinese mythology intermingled with Scandinavian lore (I love…

Meg Macy has a new MM contemporary romance out, Love Is Love book two: Love Me Do. Longtime friends Jackson Riley and Juliette (aka Jules) Baxter are committed to fulfilling their first year of business at their breakfast café, but trouble is brewing again in their personal lives. Jack and Reese Baxter are in a committed relationship — or are they? Jack’s not so certain given Reese’s continued…

 Title: Stinky Sardines and Roses Author: Natalina Reis Genre: Gay Paranormal Romance Release Date: April 9, 2026 Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing Cover Designer: BookSmith Design NOW LIVE! Amazon: https://readerlinks.com/l/5134137 All Links: http://books2read.com/stinkysardines Blue only wanted to clear his name, not hook a brooding detective, but when sparks fly hotter than a Portuguese summer,…

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig My rating: 5 of 5 stars Why can’t we give a book more than five stars? This one deserved a million of them.I’ve read a lot of good books but this duology really hit the spot. It had everything I have always loved in a good story: great but flawed characters, found family, action that doesn’t feel like a filler, suspense, wonder, magic… too many to name here.The…

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig My rating: 5 of 5 stars Holy Shirt, this was so good! I haven’t read a book this fast in years. No matter how much I enjoy the first book in a series or duology I normally don’t jump immediately to the next book in the series. I am one of those weird readers that likes to read in-between books (don’t ask me why). But I loved this one so much I already have the…

Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was excited when I found out there was a new book by Isabel Ibañez who has quickly become a favorite of mine. The hardcover is absolutely gorgeous, by the way. So why not give it five stars, you ask? Well, I honestly can’t put my finger on it but there was something that felt a bit off. But let’s start with the good stuff (which there was…

I have recently come across a Netflix production titled “Man on the Inside”, starring Ted Danson. I watched the whole first season in a few days. I have not yet started the second season, which looks like it’s going in a different direction, but the first one is one of the best and most touching series I have watched in a long time. The show follows an elderly widower who has isolated himself…

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer My rating: 5 of 5 stars I found my spirit author (is that a thing?) finally!I heard a lot of good things about this book (and no, it wasn’t anything to do with TikTok) but the one thing that sold me was the humor. The cover is on point with the mood of the whole story and it only gets better inside.I had just finished reading a heavier fantasy and…

A Incrível História Secreta da Língua Portuguesa by Marco Neves My rating: 5 of 5 stars As a long-time language nerd I absolutely loved this book and all the “secrets” revealed within. Great job Marco Neves in telling such a long and anything-but-simple story of how a language evolved to what it is nowadays, raising the question of how the Portuguese of the future will be like. I have already…

Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wow, this story takes off the minute you start reading and it never stops.I absolutely loved it. The romance was well balanced with the rest of the plot, the unnecessary antagonism between witches and non-witches was such apropos commentary for the time in history we are living right now.The story can get frustrating at times as the two…

Jaye C. Watts has a new queer sci-fi book out (transgender, poly, non-binary, pansexual, lesbian): The New Worlds. The year is 2293 and the Truth no longer exists. In the future there are many truths, giving rise to many worlds, but each must be kept separate. Born to protect these truths, Axton Bryce patrols the New Worlds Star System—to observe, participate, and gather information. But as she…

You Better Not Pout by Mia Sosa My rating: 4 of 5 stars Cute, short, and Christmasy. Just what I needed this time of the year.I loved the addition of Portuguese in the story (my native language) and the overall feel-good mood throughout the book. The characters were well developed despite the shortness of the story and likable. I particularly loved the uncle’s Christmas tree incident. Funny and…

Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo My rating: 3 of 5 stars I don’t normally read nonfiction but when someone recommended this one I decided to give it a chance. All in all it’s a good and enjoyable read with a lot of excellent advice. My only gripe with the content is that even though she was obviously a fighter who wouldn’t take no for an answer and managed to somehow always figure it…

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen My rating: 5 of 5 stars A friend could not recommend this book enough so I had to read it, of course. I bought the paperback and also the audio so I could listen to it during my commute. Let me tell you, a narrator can make or destroy the story and after a few chapters of listening to it, I told my friend I was about to quit. The narrator made Freya…

The Undead Mr. Tenpenny by Tammie Painter My rating: 5 of 5 stars This author came recommended to me by my favorite humorous-mystery-fantasy writer (it’s a thing. Trust me), Kim M. Watt. I think I bought the book on sale (Kindle) and it took me a while to get to it. Well, I loved it. It’s a little crazy, mixes up magic with the modern world, lots of humor, there’s a running mystery and a found…

Asterix in Lusitania by Fabcaro My rating: 5 of 5 stars Finally an Asterix set in Lusitania (modern Portugal). I really should have bought the Portuguese version to get the full range of the jokes but the English version did not disappoint. I was worried that Fabcaro and Conrad wouldn’t make Goscinny and Uderzo justice but they did a wonderful job. The original creators would have been proud, I’m…

During my vacation in Portugal I was half-forced to watch a couple of reality shows, something I normally avoid at all costs. But since I was visiting my elderly mother who loves these shows, I watched them with her. And—shame on me—got hooked. When I first arrived, Big Brother was on its last couple weeks and right after the grand ending gala, another one started, The Secret Story (Casa dos…