Hey there! What? It's 2026 already? Lies! Lies! Wasn't it just March the other day? (Will be again soon enough cough)
I was too tired to post any reviews in 2025, but I still read a lot of books. However, after the absolute banger that was the end 2024, finding amazing books was kind of hard for me. Also I had no impulse control and borrowed every library book that sounded mildly interesting (and not all of them were in the end).
What I learned about myself is that I'm not only terrible with audio books but western graphic novels as well. Of the 4 books I didn't finish two were graphic novels, one an audio book (didn't like the narrator's voice) and one was a classic for which my English is not good enough.
Here are the stats: 73 finished books, of which were 32 borrowed from the library, 2 non-fiction books, 2 graphic novels, 7 audio books and 12 rereads.
When Among Crows & To Clutch a Razor / Curse Bearer series (Veronica Roth)
A Rival most Vial, A Captured Cauldron & A Draught for a Dragon / The Side Quest Row Series (R.K. Ashwick)
Silver in the Woods (Emily Tesh)
Und dazwischen irgendwo wir (Amani Padda)
The Summer Queen / The Buried and the Bound 2 (Rochelle Hassan)
Prince of Agony / Perilous Courts 6 (Tavia Lark)
Charming Young Man (Eliot Schrefer)
The Hollow and the Haunted & The Forsaken and the Fated (Camilla Raines)
the Soulbound series (Hailey Turner)
The Duke at Hazard / Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune 2 (KJ Charles)
When Among Crows & To Clutch a Razor (narrated by Helen Laser, James Fouhey, Tim Campbell & Nina Yndis)
Favorite Non-Fiction Book:
The Aro & Ace Reationship Guide (Cody Daigle-Orians)
Ambrose Beake (The Side Quest Row series)
Nikodem Kostka (Curse Bearer series)
Most different from what I expected and/or usually read:
Nur ein wenig Angst (original: Litt redd, bare) (Alexander Kielland Krag)
Costumes for Time Travelers (A.R. Capetta)
Worst Storytelling (not a book but it counts because I say so):
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (the story might be okay, but the choices they made to deliver it were horrendous. I played this for 80 hours and have earned the right to say it: I hate this game. It has sooo many issues.)
Don't Let me Go (Kevin Christopher Snipes): Srsly? The better alternative for the ending was RIGHT THERE! ò_ó
A Mark on my Soul (Jordon Greene): I should learn to read the summary to the end. First I was bored by the book, then annoyed. Also, it was Christmas Eve when I listened to the last hours and I really didn't need that on Christmas Eve ...
Nothing but the Rain (Naomi Salman): a real creepypasta would have done it better
On a Sunbeam (Tillie Walden): It's pretty and I like space, but this didn't catch me at allll
The Good Vampires Guide to Blood and Boyfriends (Jamie d'Amato): nice idea, but boring. I can only hear about how cute and nice the guy is so often
The Curse of Eelgrass Bog (Mary Averling): I enjoy the occassional middle-grade book but this had all the things I did not like, starting from "I hate my big brother" to "parents who let mud-covered kids eat dinner at the table without at least sending them to wash their hands"
Bonus! My favorite scene!
You know that feeling of feeling seen? Of finding something of yourself in a character, in a story?
In To Clutch A Razor Niko considers scooping out the remaining foam from his cup of coffee with his finger.
That's me. Bubble tea, hot chocolate, chai latte. My cup will be clean. I have a friend who will always leave a sip. That goes beyond my understanding. Even if you're a grown adult or monster - it's not silly. If it's delicious, don't waste any.
That's it for 2025! I hope I can get around to write more about the books I read this year. I have things to say about most of them after all. :'D But writing reviews is harder than writing my own novels, I'm always overthinking, so let's see how it goes.
Stay safe, stay strong. My good stories be your way.
