2026 Recent Reads #19

I loved this book so much! When I first put in a rating, I put in 4.75 hesitantly because even though I could not find anything wrong with the book, I also did not feel 5 star magic. Upon reflection though, I bumped it all the way up. I need to stop being stingy with the five stars. I loved every bit of this book from the main character to the curmudgeonly love interest to the magic system all set in an era that gave off Jane Austen vibes. I will definitely pick up from Atwater in the future.

By the time McGuire, under the pen name A. Deborah Baker, got to book four, the series had decidedly lost the plot. While I did not mind returning to the world, I think one or perhaps two books would have sufficed in this sin off from the Middlegame series. At least it helped me cross off a square on r/fantasy.

I wish I had more to say about this ultimately middling and a times odd middle grade graphic novel. I remember the plot but do not really have much if anything to say about it. This one will not get recommended by me.

I had this book on my radar after hearing a keynote speech from the author back in the fall. I think that this author did a really good job sharing the story of his father and his father‘s families escape from Cuba during the initial tumultuous days after the Cuban Revolution. I also think that the artwork was well done and captivating. Unfortunately, like so many books that I have read recently (because I have read so many books) some if not all of the details are escaping at the

I think that this is an excellent middle grade book inverse that deals with both the idea of typical middle school crushes while centering. The main character’s grief about her sister‘s tragic passing, and the weight that she has placed on herself to do all of the things that her sister wanted to do but never got to do. I definitely recommend this book. 

 xI really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I remember when the author became ““ infamous because of her prayer at the service before the current presidents inauguration. I would love to learn more about her and her story. However, I do not think that this is the book for that purpose. It felt, unfortunately,