Author: Yolanda @ Past Midnight

I've been addicted to books for about thirty plus years! Too bad I didn't track all the books I've read. 😬 Follow me on Twitter: @ylmpastmidnight , Instagram: @ylmpastmidnight and Facebook: ylmpastmidnight

For No Mortal Creature by. Keshe Chow | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: For No Mortal Creature

Author: Keshe Chow

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 480

Publication Date: 10/7/25

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!


A teen girl with the power of resurrection must venture into the afterlife, but to survive the death realm, she’ll need the help of her two mortal enemies–both of whom she is inexplicably drawn to–in this romantic, gothic fantasy inspired by Wuthering Heights.

When Jia Yi suddenly finds herself alive again after being stabbed through the heart by an enemy’s sword, she realizes she possesses a rare power: the ability to move between the living realm and the shrouded world of ghosts. Ghosts including Lin, her ex-best friend and former love, whose betrayal she still hasn’t recovered from.

At first, Jia wants nothing to do with Lin, or any ghosts–metaphorical or otherwise. But when her beloved grandmother abruptly passes away, Jia is forced to travel into the afterlife to save her.

To survive the treacherous death realm, Jia will need to rely on both Lin and her longtime enemy, the cold and enigmatic Prince Essien Lancaster. Only, she isn’t sure whether she can trust either of them. With tensions high and new and old connections blooming, Jia must confront the ghosts of her past…or risk becoming one herself.

Content Warning: violence, death

+ I really liked how this started. Jia Yi is caught trespassing on Lancaster land, but she’s there to get an herb that could help her sick grandmother. When things escalate and she dies, she realizes she can walk in both worlds, living and dead. There is also a prophecy that involves Jia Yi saying she will be the one to find this deadly and powerful sword, but to retrieve it she needs to search in the afterlife.

+ The world-building is great! I loved the world of the after-life, which has different layers. And to retrieve this infamous sword Jia Yi has to travel to the lowest level. In the afterlife she encounters ghosts, some of the ghosts are family members and also a ghost of someone who had her heart in the living world, Lin.

+ Jia Yi was is a feisty character, and I enjoyed her personality. She gets into some tense with Lin but there are things he isn’t telling her. I liked her power of being able to die and resurrect.

+~ The romance was interesting. There is so much angst and longing on Lin’s part, she is the only one he’s ever loved. She felt the same before he died but there is now another love interest in the living world, who is a Yske (her enemy) and a prince. I didn’t love the love story on either part. With Lin, we get thrown into the story right away, so there is animosity between them before he confesses everything. As for the prince, Essian – his people are her enemy. But there just wasn’t room to build their romance in this story since she was mostly in the afterlife.

~ I’ve seen the movie Inception multiple times and the ending is one of my favorite parts! But using something similar in this story just are ending feel too abrupt.

Final Thoughts:

My favorite part of this story is the world-building. I loved how Jia could jump between the land of the living and the dead. Plus the afterlife and all it’s levels were really fun. I liked the themes of family, death and life. I didn’t care for the love triangle – I think there should have been more time for things to build with the prince, but I loved how Lin loved Jia in life and the afterlife. I also didn’t love the ending which just felt too abrupt. Overall, it was still entertaining read despite my little issues with it.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

The Girl with No Reflection by. Keshe Chow | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Weekly Wrap Up | 10/5/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ My hubby took a very last minute trip to Osaka, Japan, where he is looking to buy a small house. We aren’t moving, but he likes knowing we can have a place when we visit there. He comes back home today but I loved the pictures he sent, I hope we can go next year or something (never mind, next year is busy lol)…maybe 2027?

+ My hubby is also furloughed during this govt. shutdown so who knows how long it will go on – sucks. I’m trying to stay be cheerful for my kids, you know it’s October, it’s the holidays but damn am I always worried. I hate this timeline in the USA and all around the world. It’s bad. BAD.

+ This week my kids are on fall break! They are so happy about that.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

Currently Reading:

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie

Julia Song Is Undateable by. Susan Lee (audiobook)

Blackthorn by. J.T. Geissinger

Sounds Like Love by. Ashley Poston (audiobook)

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • House of Guinness (Netflix) – it’s so good! I love the complicated family bonds and all the drama. I hope there is a season 2!
  • Football

Albums I listened to:

  • Cardi B – Am I the Drama? – on repeat, daily – it pumps me up! This is just my MOOD lately.
  • Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl – first listen? I had high expectations for an energetic album…I think I was expecting something like 1989 because of Max Martin – but I know, I know it’s a different album, different times, she’s older, she’s happy now. I wanted the “showgirl” part 😅. Like big and bright but it was slower beats than I was expecting. I like The Fate of Ophelia, Opalite (reminds me of the song, Be My Little Baby by the Ronettes – oh oh oh ohhhhh!) and Ruin the Friendship so far. Second listen? Same songs I like and honestly all the other songs, I can’t listen through. Is it the writing? I like the beats but the lyrics…It’s not hitting. 😟 It’s okay, not my favorite album of hers.

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube

Birthstone Book Covers: October – Opal | Tourmaline


The original creator of this book tag is Leslie @ Books Are The New Black so go check out her blog!

THE RULES

  • Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back to me so I can see your post!
  • Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
  • HAVE FUN!
  • Nominate people if you want!

Once a Villain by. Vanessa Len

*****

The Irresistible Uge to Fall for Your Enemy by. Brigitte Knightley

*****

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie

*****

Embrace the Serpent by. Sunya Mara

*****

Nightshade by. Autumn Woods

I nominate everyone! It’s a fun and easy tag to do so try it out. ☺️

Let’s Talk Bookish:  Authors Branching Out | 10/3/25

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

October 3: Authors Branching Out (Melanie @ Melanie’s Book Blog)

Prompts: How do you feel when an author you love does something new and not at all like their previous work? Do you still read all their books, or do you stop after a point? If they write in a new genre that you don’t read, do you read it for the author, or stop following every title the author releases (in the new genre)? What are some of your favourite books where the author veered away from their previous work quite drastically?

**********

How do you feel when an author you love does something new and not at all like their previous work? Do you still read all their books, or do you stop after a point?

I definitely get intrigued and try out their new books. I continue to read their books if I like their new stuff, if not then I stop.

If they write in a new genre that you don’t read, do you read it for the author, or stop following every title the author releases (in the new genre)?

I want to say I read it for the author but I will stop reading it if I’m not into it. But I at least give it a try.

What are some of your favourite books where the author veered away from their previous work quite drastically?

I can’t say these books are drastic changes from the genres they’ve written in but it’s the only ones I can think of right now. 😅

I just listened to Marie Lu’s adult fiction debut, Red City and loved it!! It’s definitely a departure from her YA stuff, it’s more violent and bloody but I really enjoyed it.

I read almost all of Sarah MacLean’s historical romance books so when she ventured into contemporary romance, I was definitely going to read it since I already know I loved her writing and it did not disappoint!

I read Julie Soto’s romance novel Forget Me Not and loved it. Then another romance came out last year, Not Another Love Song and loved that as well. Then she did something different this year. She put out The Thrashers which is a young adult thriller – loved it. And then she put out Rose in Chains, a dark romance and I loved that too! She’s been putting in the writing work and I’m loving her dip into different genres so far!

I read Lynette Noni’s The Prison Healer series a few years ago and loved it. It’s young adult fantasy and when I saw her name on a ya contemporary romance, Wandering Wild, I thought to give it a try and I enjoyed it a lot! I’m looking forward to see what she does next.

October Topics:

October 3: Authors Branching Out (Melanie @ Melanie’s Book Blog)

Prompts: How do you feel when an author you love does something new and not at all like their previous work? Do you still read all their books, or do you stop after a point? If they write in a new genre that you don’t read, do you read it for the author, or stop following every title the author releases (in the new genre)? What are some of your favourite books where the author veered away from their previous work quite drastically?

October 10: TBR Roulette

Prompts: What makes you keep a book on your TBR? Find a random number generator, put in the number of books on your TBR and roll 5 times! Note down the book each number corresponds to on your list (or just pick 5 books at random off your TBR) and tell us: what made you add the book to your shelf—was it a cover add? Does it have your favourite tropes? How long has it been on your TBR? If it has been on your TBR for a long time, do you still want to read it or have you lost interest?

October 17: Oh, the Horror (Snapdragon @ Snapdragon Alcove)

Prompts: Do you read horror? What do you think of when you hear the word horror? Are there any books you read that are not practically horror but have some horror element in them?

October 24: Recapping Anticipated Reads

Prompts: With two months left in the year following October, let’s recap your anticipated releases so far. How have you fared with your most anticipated releases in 2025—have they mostly met with your expectations or have you been let down? Were you surprised by 2025 releases you weren’t anticipating but ended up being more enjoyable than expected? Are there any 2025 releases you’re still waiting on? If you like, share your top 2025 releases so far!

October 31: Halloween Freebie! 👻

Prompts: Happy Halloween, folks! 🎃 To celebrate the spooky fest, we’re making today a Halloween freebie! You can check out our blogs for inspiration (Aria and Dini) or write about something else you’re interested in!


Eldritch by. Keri Lake | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Eldritch (The Eating Woods, #2)

Author: Keri Lake

Format: ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 766

Publication Date: 9/9/25

Categories: Dark Romance, Dark Fantasy, Horror


In the grimly captivating sequel to Anathema, Maevyth and Zevander must navigate the perilous mortal lands to deliver Zevander from the clutches of an ancient, malevolent power that threatens to shatter both worlds.
An eldritch magic has awakened, turning the mortal world darker. Colder. Famished. With flesh-eating monsters and a sinister curse spreading like a plague, the last glimmer of humanity in Foxglove Parish has long-since faded.

For Maevyth and Zevander, the only chance of escape is through The Eating Woods. But fate has woven a new web, tangling the threads of destiny, and crossing the mystical boundary to Aethyria might not be so simple.

As the bones of Maevyth’s past are unearthed, and truths unravel with unsettling clarity, the possibility of never leaving Mortasia is becoming more of a reality. Unfortunately for Zevander, time is running out. The longer he stays in the mortal lands, deprived of essential vivicantem, the more he succumbs to the encroaching specter of madness.

Or maybe those chasing shadows are someone hunting him. A wretched evil closing in, threatening to pull him into the darkest corners of his mind.

Only, this time, Maevyth may not have the power to save him.

Eldritch is a full-length, gothic dark fantasy, the second book in The Eating Woods trilogy. Perfect for readers who enjoy a character-driven and atmospheric story with a unique magic system, a slow-burn romance and a touch of horror.


Content Warning: violence, physical-emotional-sexual abuse, slavery, torture, death, trauma

+ Anathema was the first book I read from this author and I gave it a 3.5 rating because as much as I loved the slow burn romance, it was too long of a book and a little too dark for me. I wanted to read this sequel though because I am invested in Maevyth and Zevander’s beautiful and tragic romance.

+ The atmosphere in Eldritch is continued from Anathema. It’s dark, it’s mysterious and filled with worshipping Gods, people in fear of magic and witches, a portal to a different world, scary creatures and the spiders! Ugh, the spiders are something. The story is told in two timelines, past and present and focuses mostly on Zevander’s past. There is also a different place he goes to, Caligorya – a place in his mind that he can go to escape the torture and abuses happening to him under General Loyce.

+ This is Zevander’s story and though we get hints of what happened to him while reading Anathema – in Eldritch, we see his past in full light and the torture he’s been put through by General Loyce. It’s heavy and dark and at times, my heart just broke for him. All this history fleshes him out more as a character and we get to see him in all his complicated, broken self.

+ Maevyth grows as a character in Eldritch. She is still compassionate but this time she needs to learn to fight because people she love are in grave danger. We get to see her love for her family very strongly in this one. And when it comes to Zevander, she is beautifully patient and kind to him.

+ My favorite thing about this whole story is the romance and it’s why I read Eldritch. Their love is so beautiful even though they are both broke, Zevander being the most broken of the two of them. But Maevyth is steadfast, strong and the perfect partner for him.

+ I liked the second half when there are more characters added to Maevyth and Zevander’s group – there was actually humor from Aleysia and I appreciated that a lot!

~ This book is 766 pages long. It is too long again, longer even than the first book. I love Kazhimyr and his side quest but I think having his POV chapters were unnecessary unless he plays a big part in book three. I found myself skimming some of his chapters because I wanted to get back to Zevander and Maevyth.

~ The story only really moves forward in the last part of the book, so most of the book is Zevander’s history. And the slow burn love story was beautiful but I did wish they kind of got right to working things out between them in the beginning. It takes a few chapters for them to address their sexual relationship and I know it’s because Zevander respected her wishes, but Aleysia was knocked out and healing so I think there was time for them there to move things along in their relationship.

~ There is another cliffhanger in this story.

Final Thoughts:

I think this is a solid sequel to Anathem with all the same dark elements, if not more. I was mostly in it for the romance between Zevander and Maevyth and that didn’t disappoint. I do think the book is too long with most of the story moving quicker in the second half. This sequel is mostly about getting to know Zevander and I think the story did the job. I’d like to read book three but also hope it’s not a long book again.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Anathema by. Keri Lake | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Monthly Wrap Up | September 2025

September was long and I was busy! I was also working on arcs because I had so many for September. I can’t believe we are in the last three months of the year, let’s just get through it, yeah?

I read 25 books and posted 23 book reviews in September.

Books I Read – 25 books:

  1. The Austen Affair by. Madeline Bell
  2. Hekate: The Witch by. Nikita Gill
  3. Fevered Star by. Rebecca Roanhorse (audiobook)
  4. Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang
  5. You Make it Feel Like Christmas by. Sophie Sullivan
  6. Thief of Night by. Holly Black
  7. We Who Will Die by. Stacia Clark
  8. And the River Drags Her Down by. Jihyun Yun
  9. Starchaser by. R.M. Gray
  10. Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry (audiobook)
  11. Moth Dark by. Kika Hatzpoulou
  12. Heartsick by. Kristina Forest
  13. The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson
  14. Yours for the Season by. Emily Stone
  15. My Favorite Holidate by. Lauren Blakely
  16. The Crimson Throne by. Sara Raasch and Beth Revis
  17. Bitten by. Jordan Stephanie Gray (audiobook)
  18. To Cage a Wild Bird by. Brooke Fast
  19. Spellcaster by. Jaymin Eve (audiobook)
  20. With Thoughts of Jason by. Caleb A. Mertz
  21. Traitor Wolf by. Leia Stone
  22. Red City by. Marie Lu
  23. I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by. Ann Liang
  24. Eldritch by. Keri Lake
  25. For No Mortal Creature by. Keshe Chow

Reviews I Posted On My Blog: 23 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

Book Tags:

Birthstone Book Covers: September – Sapphire

Blog Tours:

BLOG TOUR} The Dating Prohibition by. Taj McCoy | Book Excerpt

Other:

How was your month?

Yours For the Season by. Emily Stone | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️

Title: Yours For the Season

Author: Emily Stone

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 10/7/25

Publisher: Dell

Categories: Holiday Romance, Contemporary, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Dell for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Could a fake relationship with your ex over Christmas in Scotland be the perfect opportunity for revenge—or a second chance at love? One woman is about to find out in this charming holiday romance from the author of Always, in December and A Winter Wish.

Melanie has not had a good year. Things are definitely not going as planned in her work life, her best friend has moved to the other side of the world, and her favorite bagel shop is closing down. But the real reason this year has been awful is because Finn, the man who she was sure was the love of her life, dumped her. In front of everyone. At his sister’s engagement party.

So when Finn shows up at her doorstep two weeks before Christmas asking if she’ll help him, her first instinct is to slam the door in his face—or punch him. But he has a proposal for her.

Finn wants Melanie to spend the week of Christmas with him. He has to face the holiday at a vacation cottage in the Scottish Highlands with his two perfect siblings who are happily paired off with their perfect partners. His mother is obsessed with the idea of a perfect Christmas—and to try and help, Finn may have told his mother he and Mel are dating again. All she has to do is come with him and pretend they’re back together.

Melanie may hate Finn, but she loves his mom. And with her own parents on a trip, it looks like the only way to spend the holiday with someone she cares about is to suffer through being around the person she despises most.

So Melanie agrees—on one condition. At the end of the week, Finn will allow Mel to publicly dump him—in front of his family—so she can get her dignity back and he can experience the same humiliation she felt.

As they embark on seven days with Finn’s family, Mel tells herself it’s only a week. She just has to pretend to still be in love with him. Until she starts to lose track of which feelings are fake, and which are for real…

Content Warning: illness

+ A holiday romance set in the Scotland Highlands? Sounds like amazing Christmas season vibes. And this story has it in abundance.

+ Mel and Finn have been broken up for 6 months but he shows up out of the blue asking her if she could pretend to fake date him and attend his family’s Christmas trip with him. She agrees if she can enact a revenge breakup on him in front of his family. The story is told with flashbacks to when Mel and Finn were together and leading up to their first breakup.

+ The romance is a second chance romance and I think it’s obvious that being in forced proximity with one another would revive old memories and feelings. They get to work out the challenges that came between them the first time: Finn thinking he will be like his dad, and Mel trying to please everyone and not knowing if she can come through for everyone.

+ I enjoyed the family vibes along with the Christmas ones.

~ The beginning felt a little slow, maybe because of the flashbacks but it eventually picks up in the second half.

Final Thoughts:

If you like second chance romance and a Christmas story set in Scotland, you will enjoy this one.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

A Winter Wish by. Emily Stone | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

WWW Wednesday | 10/1/25

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Last week was so busy but finally I got some down time during the weekend and managed to finish Eldritch by Keri Lake, which is 766 pages. 😅 I was reading it while sorta watching football (the sound was off).

What are you currently reading?

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie – chapter 3

Julia Song is Undateable by. Susan Lee – audiobook – 2%

Blackthorn by. J.T. Geissinger – 9%

The Possession of Alba Díaz by. Isabel Cañas – 1%

What have you just finished reading?

Eldritch by. Keri Lake ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Traitor Wolf by. Leia Stone ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red City by. Marie Lu (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by. Ann Liang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

For No Mortal Creature by. Keshe Chow ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

Mirrored Heaves by. Rebecca Roanhorse

Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan

The House Saphir by. Marissa Meyer

Fallen City by. Adrienne Young

Burning Daylight by. Emily McIntire

What are YOU reading right now?

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by. Ann Liang | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice:

Title: I Hope This Doesn’t Find You

Author: Ann Liang

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 2/6/24

Categories: Young Adult, Romance


Snarky and romantic, I Hope This Doesn’t Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters.

Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a “pleasure to have in class.” It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She’d never send them of course — she’d rather die than hurt anyone’s feelings — but it’s a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie’s work.

All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. “You’re attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you’ve been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft…”

Sadie doesn’t have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them… that is, until they’re accidentally sent out.

Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It’s her worst nightmare — now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they’re not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there’s one person growing to appreciate the “real” Sadie — Julius, the only boy she’s sworn to hate…


Content Warning:

+ I finally got to borrow this book and why did it only take me less than 3 hours to read this? I loved it!

+ Sadie and Julius are co-captains of their student body at school but they don’t like one another. Sadie loathes Julius and he just seem to be egging her on. Their competition is on another level! And when Sadie vents she writes an email that she doesn’t send – until one day at school, those emails get sent. More than half of them go to Julius and now Sadie is trying to fix everything since people seem to hate her.

+ Sadie is the typical Asian daughter who is always programmed to please others – she has the best grades, she helps her mom at the store, she will do anything to stay on top and be successful. Julius has his own issues at home, he’s competing with his older brother who is successful and was always the top of his class. It’s what makes the competition between Sadie and Julius so intense but I thought there were so many funny moments in this story! I loved the classmates, Sadie’s best-friend, and the class trip shenanigans.

+ This rivals to lovers romance is so good because of the competition between Sadie and Julius. I love the snark, the funny moments, the arguments, all of it! They hate each other so much it comes full circle and they both realize they actually like one another. I loved seeing them fall for one another, it’s a young adult romance, so there’s drama and angst, but I loved it. I was rooting for them hard!

~ The ending is a little abrupt – would have loved to see more of Sadie and Julius together as a couple in love!

Final Thoughts:

I loved this one and read it so fast because it was fun! I adored Sadie and Julius, two high achieving kids in competition with one another and both obsessed with each other by the end of the story. Will definitely be reading the novella, I Hope This Finds You.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

This Time it’s Real by. Ann Liang | Audiobook Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Song to Drown Rivers by. Ann Liang | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️