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

Looking Back on 2024: Books on the Backlist

I did read some books from the backlist this year. I’m not good at trying to clear my TBR list EVER…I just try to get some books I’ve been wanting to read from the online library so if my backlist titles are few…that’s why. Let’s take a look at the backlist titles I read in 2024.

Books on the Backlist

  • The Endless War (The Bridge Kingdom, #4) by. Danielle L. Jensen
  • The Great Alone by. Kristin Hannah
  • Nettle & Bone by. T. Kingfisher
  • The Fine Print by. Lauren Asher (Dreamland Billionaires, #1)
  • Heart of the Sun Warrior (The Celestial Kingdom, #2) by. Sue Lynn Tan
  • Some Mistakes Were Made by. Kristin Dwyer
  • Verity by. Colleen Hoover
  • King of Greed (Kings of Sin, #3) by. Ana Huang
  • Check & Mate by. Ali Hazelwood
  • A Fire Endless by. Rebecca Ross
  • The Unmaking of June Farrow by. Adrienne Young
  • The Ever King (The Ever Seas, #1) by. L.J. Andrews
  • The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by. Megan Bannen
  • Butcher & Blackbird by. Brynne Weaver

Let me know in the comments!

Dating and Dragons by. Kristy Boyce | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Dating and Dragons

Author: Kristy Boyce

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 12/31/24

Publisher: Delacorte Romance

Categories: Romance, Young Adult, D&D, Contemporary

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 Romance for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the author of the nationally bestselling Dungeons and Drama comes another gaming romance that’s sure to win you over!

After moving to a new high school, Quinn is desperate for friends, so she joins a D&D group with their own livestream and serious rules—most no dating fellow party members.

But when sparks fly with a cute but irritating player, and ex-friends from an old campaign start stirring up trouble, she’ll need to figure out where her loyalties—and heart—lie beyond the game.

Content Warning: bullying, cyberbullying

I LOVED Dungeons and Drama, and so I though I’d read this one by the same author. Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ If you like Dungeons & Dragons (the game), you will probably enjoy this book. I’m neutral about it. I loved it in the previous book because it combined the game and the drama kids. I think this one is just most about D&D, which gives me more insight into the game.

+ The romance is cute, Quinn has joined a D&D group but one person in the group, Logan, doesn’t seem to want her there. It’s only because he doesn’t want his attraction to her to disrupt the group. Also Quinn is trying not to let her past haunt her.

+ The friend group was fun and I thought Quinn’s grandma was quite a personality!

Dislikes:

~ I’m an older reader, so I might just be too old for this kind of book now but there were some angsty, dramatic stuff that made me laugh. This one is definitely for the teen readers!

~ I thought it was interesting how for the most part the attraction is held back but when they couldn’t fight it anymore, Logan was saying some heated stuff and I thought, whoa this guy is 16? That was a little off to me.

Final Thoughts:

Can I just say I love whoever did the book cover for this book and the last one? This is what some of the adult romance books need for their cover art, especially when they do the cartoonish designs. Overall, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I loved Dungeons and Drama but I think teen readers will really like this one!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read By This Author:

Dungeons and Drama by. Kristy Boyce | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WWW Wednesday | 12/25/24

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?

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrate! My kiddos were excited this morning of course and for lunch they are going to open more present at their grandparents’ house. And also it’s Hanukkah and we also celebrate that so…

It’s why my daughter loves December and January. She’s got Hanukkah, Christmas and her birthday lol. And my wallet is like…😩. Also my energy is like 🫠. But I did read some books – woohoo!

What are you currently reading?

Unhallowed Halls by. Lili Wilkinson – 6%

Breath of the Dragon by. Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee (arc) – 10%

Nature of Frost by. Jus Accardo (arc) – 7% – I just found out this is a sequel and I never read book one! 🫠. Where is my brain? sigh…

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 12/24/24

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is:

Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes

Santa is ME or gift cards from loved ones. LOL…so here are some books I want to put on my shelves. Honestly, I’m okay just waiting for these books to go to Libby so I can borrow them and save money.

Onyx Storm by. Rebecca Yarros – of course I’m super excited for this one!

Where the Library Hides by. Isabel Ibanez – a book I saw at B&N but I just didn’t want to pay for it. Lol…I’ll buy it if it goes on sale or when I see in on Libby.

Immortal Dark by. Tigest Girya – so curious about this one! I’ve heard good things.

Poison in Their Hearts by. Laura Sebastian – would love to finish the series.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by. Suzanne Collins – With the new book coming out next year, I need to read this one.

A Sky Beyond the Storm by. Sabaa Tahir – I really need to finish this series.

What’s on your TTT?

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (shop)

Top Ten Tuesday Topics:

November 5: Covers with [Item] on the Cover (You choose the item! It can be anything at all.)
November 12: Destination Titles (titles with name of places in them. These places can be real or fiction!) (this was a topic Rachel @ Sunny Side came up with for a freebie week last year and has let me steal it!)
November 19: Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My TBR (submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits)
November 26: Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie
December 3: Freebie
December 10: Books to Read During a Storm (these can be cozy/comfy reads, books with storms in them, atmospheric reads for dark and stormy nights, light reads to combat the heavy weather, etc.) (Submitted by Astilbe.)
December 17: Books on My Winter 2024-2025 to-Read List
December 24: Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!)
December 31: Best Books I Read in 2024

Goodreads Monday: A Sea of Unspoken Things by. Adrienne Young

Happy Monday!

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.

Title: A Sea of Unspoken Things

Author: Adrienne Young

Pages: 288

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Publication Date: 1/7/25

Synopsis:


A woman investigates her brother’s mysterious death while coming to terms with her own haunting past in this atmospheric novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Unmaking of June Farrow

The only thing James and Johnny Golden have ever had is each other. For as long as she can remember, James’s deep connection with her twin brother, Johnny, has gone beyond intuition—she can feel what he feels. So, when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that her brother is gone and that she’s alone—truly alone—for the first time in her life. 

When James arrives in the rural town of Hawthorne, California to settle her brother’s affairs, she’s forced to rehash the ominous past she and Johnny shared and finally face Micah, the only person who knows about it. He’s also the only man she’s ever loved. 

But James soon discovers that the strange connection she had with Johnny isn’t quite gone, and the more she immerses herself into his world, the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew. Johnny was keeping secrets, and he’s not the only one. What she uncovers will push her to unravel what happened in the days before Johnny’s death, but in the end, she’ll have to decide which truths should come to light, and which should stay buried forever.

Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!

Weekly Wrap Up | 12/22/24

Aloha friends!

It was a long week at school for the kiddos and we can’t wait for winter break which starts this Saturday! Are you all feeling in the Christmas spirit at all? It’s still warm here so for me, I feel like it isn’t the holidays at all.

I’m gonna try make some Christmas cookies for a Christmas eve party we got invited too. Maybe that will put me in the spirit!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

  • The Lotus Shoes by. Jane Yang

Currently Reading:

  • Lies on the Serpent’s Tongue by. Kate Pearsall
  • North is the Night by. Emily Rath
  • Breath of the Dragon by. Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Football

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!

The End of the Year Book Tag – 2024 Edition

I didn’t do one of these last year even though I thought I did. 🤔. It’s a fun post and I get to look back on the year, so let’s take a look!

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Not in Love by. Ali Hazelwood – I don’t know what it was but the first chapter was okay and I put it aside to read some arcs and never picked this one back up.

Worst in Show by. Anna E. Collins – My borrowing time came to an end on this one but I do want to read it!

Haunted Ever After by. Jen DeLuca – same reason, borrowing time came to an end but I will pick this one off.

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

No I don’t. I feel like Christmas comes upon us in a rush and Christmas books sometimes publish in October. This one was an arc published in mid-October and I was in a spooky season mood. It didn’t help me transition at all lol but it was such a cute holiday story!

Is there a new release that you’re still waiting for?

A Cruel Thirst by. Angela Montoya – this one comes out on 12/17 but I’m all about borrowing books these days so we’ll see when I get a chance to read it.

What are three books you want to read before the year ends?

Is there a book that you think could still shock you and become your favourite of the year?

The Grandest Game by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes – this was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024 and I’m waiting for it to be on Libby (online library). I might have to buy it lol.

Have you already started to make reading plans for 2025?

Looking Back on 2024: New to Me Authors

I feel like I read a bunch of new authors this year – let’s take a look!

New to Me Authors in 2024

  • If I Promise You Wings by. A.K. Small
  • These Deadly Prophecies by. Andrea Tang
  • The Summer She Went Missing by. Chelsea Ichado
  • Snowglobe by. Soyoung Park
  • Compass and Blade by. Rachel Greenlaw
  • The Half King by. Melissa Landers
  • The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le
  • Nettle & Bone by. T. Kingfisher
  • The Fine Print by. Lauren Asher
  • So Let Them Burn by. Kamilah Cole
  • The Poisons We Drink by. Bethany Baptiste
  • A Winter Wish by. Emily Stone
  • Spindleheart by. T. I. Avens
  • Beautiful Villain by. Rebecca Kenney
  • Curious Tides by. Pascale LaCelle
  • Just for the Summer by. Abby Jimenez
  • Warm Hands of Ghosts by. Katherine Arden
  • Flawless Girls by. Anna-Marie McLemore
  • The Calculation of You and Me by. Serena Kaylor
  • Dungeons and Drama by. Kristy Boyce
  • A Magic Fierce & Bright by. Hemant Nayak
  • This Summer Will Be Different by. Carley Fortune
  • Not Here to Be Liked by. Michelle Quach
  • A Song to Drown Rivers by. Ann Liang
  • Birding with Benefits by. Sarah T. Dubb
  • All Roads Lead to Rome by. Sabrina Fedel
  • The Girl with No Reflection by. Keshe Chow
  • Castle of the Cursed by. Romina Garber
  • The Monstrous Kind by. Lydia Gregovic
  • Happy Medium by. Sarah Adler
  • Filthy Rich Fae by. Geneva Lee
  • Dishonestly Yours by. Krista & Becca Ritchie
  • Fledgling by. S.K. Ali
  • Deja Brew by. Celestine Martin
  • Fear of the Flames by. Olivia Rose Darling
  • Road of Bones by. Demi Winters
  • House of Thorns by. Isabel Strychacz
  • Eleven Houses by. Colleen Oakes
  • The Wren in the Holly Library by. K.A. Linde
  • Bloodguard by. Cecy Robson
  • Truly, Madly, Deeply by. Alexandria Bellefleur
  • Cloak of the Vampire by. Sapir A. England
  • Darkly by. Marisha Pessl

I read from 45 new-to-me authors this year! 👏🏽 My favorites that I would definitely read from again are:

Vanessa Le, Marisha Pessl, Demi Winters, Geneva Lee, Sabrina Lee, Lydia Gregovic, Sarah Adler, Serena Kaylor, T. Kingfisher, Emily Stone, Kristy Boyce

How many new to you authors did you read in 2024? Or who is your new favorite?

Let me know in the comments!

Looking Back on 2024: Series That I Started or Finished

I did a similar post last year to see what series I started and finished during the year. It’s very interesting to see if I stick to a series or not. It’s so hard sometimes to get back into a series after waiting so long for the next book since I don’t re-read a lot of books anymore.

Series That I Started or Finished in 2024

Here’s what I started:

  • A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea, #1) by Hafsah Faizal
  • Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth, #1) by. Kristen Ciccarelli
  • A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated, #1) by. Danielle L. Jensen
  • Snowglobe (Snowglobe Duology) by. Soyoung Park
  • The Last Bloodcarver (The Last Bloodcarver) by. Vanessa Le
  • The Veiled Kingdom (The Veiled Kingdom) by. Holly Renee
  • Curious Tides (Drowned Gods) by. Pascale LaCelle
  • When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall) by. Sarah A. Parker
  • Heavenbreaker (Heavenbreaker) by. Sara Wolf
  • The Ever King (The Ever Seas Series) by. LJ Andrews
  • Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy) by. Brynne Weaver
  • Heir (Heir Duology) by. Sabaa Tahir
  • The Dagger and the Flame (The City of Fantome series) by. Catherine Doyle
  • Dishonestly Yours (Webs We Weave series) by. Krista & Becca Ritchie
  • The House at Watch Hill (The Watch Hill Trilogy) by. Karen Marie Moning
  • Fledgling (The Keeper’s Records of Revolution series) by. S.K. Ali
  • A Fire in the Sky (A Fire in the Sky series) by. Sophie Jordan
  • Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames series) by. Olivia Rose Darling
  • The Road of Bones (The Ashen series) by. Demi Winters
  • The Games Gods Play (The Crucible series) by. Abigail Owen
  • Filthy Rich Fae (Filthy Rich Fae series) by. Geneva Lee
  • Fangs for Nothing (The Nevermore Murder Club & Smutty Book Coven) by. Steffanie Holmes
  • The Wren in the Holly Library (The Oak and Holly Cycle series) by. K.A. Linde
  • Zodiac Rising (Descendants of the Zodiac series) by. Katie Zhao
  • The Half King (The Half King series) by. Melissa Landers
  • Bloodguard (Old Erth series) by. Cecy Robson

The ones I won’t be continuing are:

  • Snowglobe (Snowglobe Duology) by. Soyoung Park – from what I remember it was intriguing but don’t know if it’s enough for me to read part two.
  • When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall) by. Sarah A. Parker – this first book was SO long, but I pushed through. I don’t know if I have the patience to read a book two.
  • Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy) by. Brynne Weaver – read this because of the hype and this was entertaining but not interested in the rest of the series.
  • Fledgling (The Keeper’s Records of Revolution series) by. S.K. Ali – entertaining dystopian read but would have to be in the right mood to read it.
  • Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames series) by. Olivia Rose Darling – I liked this one but didn’t love the flow and wasn’t connecting to the characters.
  • Fangs for Nothing (The Nevermore Murder Club & Smutty Book Coven) by. Steffanie Holmes – this was fun but no interest in continuing unless I have nothing else to read
  • The Wren in the Holly Library (The Oak and Holly Cycle series) by. K.A. Linde – bought this because the book cover was pretty but ugh, I didn’t love the story, wanted more from the story.
  • Zodiac Rising (Descendants of the Zodiac series) by. Katie Zhao – interesting world building but didn’t love.
  • Bloodguard (Old Erth series) by. Cecy Robson – another pretty cover but story was okay.

Here are the series that I finished:

I finished 12 series this year! Many were duologies which makes it easier to finish.

  • Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment series) by. Rebecca Ross
  • Destroy the Day (Defy the Night series) by. Brigid Kemmerer
  • The Prisoner’s Throne (The Stolen Heir Duology) by. Holly Black
  • A Fire Endless (An Elements of Cadence series) by. Rebecca Ross
  • Ghostsmith (House of the Dead series) by. Nicki Pau Preto
  • The Mirror of Beasts (Silver in the Bone series) by. Alexandra Bracken
  • Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies series) by. Lynn Painter
  • The Blood Orchid (The Scarlet Alchemist series) Kylie Lee Baker
  • Wisteria (Belladonna series) by. Adalyn Grace
  • Fangs for Nothing by. Steffanie Holmes
  • The Whispering Night (The Luminaries series) by. Susan Dennard
  • The Darkness Within Us (The Shadows Between Us series) by. Tricia Levenseller

What series did you start or finish in 2024?

Let me know in the comments!

WWW Wednesday | 12/18/24

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?

There is one week until Christmas! Are you ready? (if you celebrate). I am but also we have Hanukkah in our house so my kids love the holidays – they get a bunch of presents lol. Then it’s my daughter’s birthday the following week, so she REALLY loves the holidays! I did finish a few books and am still working on some arcs but I’m all about easy reads right now and not so many heavy world-building fantasy books.

What are you currently reading?

The Lotus Shoes by. Jane Yang (arc) – 24%, I need to finish this one because I’m on the blog tour.

Lies on the Serpents Tongue by. Kate Purcell (arc) – 5%

Unhallowed Halls by. Lili Wilkinson – 6%

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?