The Housemaid by. Freida McFadden | Audiobook

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: (closed door)

Title: The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)

Author: Freida McFadden

Narrator: Lauryn Allman

Format: audiobook (Libby)

Pages: 329 Listening Time: approximately 10 hours

Publication Date: 4/26/22

Publisher: Bookouture

Categories: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down!

Content Warning: gaslighting, torture, body horror

+ The narrator did amazing doing the voices for this story! I like how she had an accent for Millie and a different voice for Nina – it helped me distinguish the main characters.

+ I like how this story was a quick read and it is engaging too! The story starts off with Millie’s perspective. She’s the new live-in housemaid for the Winchester’s but she has a mysterious past – all we know is that she used to be in prison. Throughout the story she’s grateful to have a job and a place to live but Nina, her employer is always gaslighting her! The only person nice to her in the house is Nina’s husband Andy.

+ The second half of the story we get Nina’s perspective and I thought it was a fun twist in this mysterious and suspenseful story. The ending is unexpected but I enjoyed this story a lot.

Final Thoughts:

I wanted to read this before the movie comes out and I’m glad I listened to it as an audiobook because it was really entertaining. I like the build up, the mystery and all the suspense at the end, plus the twist!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Let’s Talk Bookish: Are “Special Editions” still special? | 11/14/25

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:

November 14: Are “Special Editions” still special?

Prompts: With the amount of ‘special’, ‘limited’, or ‘collectors’ editions that have saturated the market (including special limited ARCs), do you still consider special editions to be special? Do you buy special editions? If so, what makes you want to buy one (i.e. sprayed edges, foiling, character art, etc.)? Give us the tea— what books do you think have too many special editions, and what books do you wish had more (or even one!) special editions?

**********

With the amount of ‘special’, ‘limited’, or ‘collectors’ editions that have saturated the market (including special limited ARCs), do you still consider special editions to be special?

Yes…because I can’t get all of them. 😅. I think deluxe editions that have sprayed edges are not special, but I do think limited and collectors editions from book subscription boxes or other companies that do their own sprayed edges are very special because it can be hard to get (because it’s limited and sold out OR, I just don’t have the funds lol).

Do you buy special editions?

I subscribe to Fairyloot’s YA box – but I really want all three, YA, Adult and Romantasy. But seems like the waitlist is very long for the Adult and Romantasy. Also if they have other non-box editions, I try to buy them but again…it sells out. I also discovered Allurial – but that one, I’ll buy if I see something I like (I just don’t like the A logo on the book covers).

If so, what makes you want to buy one (i.e. sprayed edges, foiling, character art, etc.)?

It has to be a book I love usually. Sometimes it might just be one that I just love the edges, foiling and character art. But I like to collect special editions of books I’ve already read and loved. Of course the box subscription usually have books I haven’t read and I like that! But when I search for a special edition, it’s usually a book I love. Now sometimes I can go on discounted sites like Book Outlet and find a sprayed edge of a book I didn’t totally love but enjoyed and for the right price I’ll buy it and add to my shelf because it’s pretty. 😅

Give us the tea— what books do you think have too many special editions, and what books do you wish had more (or even one!) special editions?

The ACOTAR series has way too many editions – I don’t know if they are special editions, but there are too many different versions of the cover for the set. Actually that might go for Throne of Glass series too but I’m not sure. I kind of wish the series This Woven Kingdom by. Tahereh Mafi had special editions or sprayed edges, the book covers are gorgeous…would have loved the edges to get some special treatment! I also wish the Legendborn series came out with sprayed edges – there is a Fairyloot version for Oathbound but I want a matching set! Who knows, maybe both these series eventually will have limited editions.

November Topics:

November 7: Reading Non-Fiction

~~Prompts~~: Happy Non-Fiction November! Do you read non-fiction? If you do read it, what do you love about it? What are your favourite categories to read about (i.e. true crime, historical, memoirs, self-help), and what are some of your favourite non-fiction books? Do you have any tips for those who want to get into reading more non-fiction? If you don’t read non-fiction, what don’t you like about it? Do you think that will change (or has it already changed) over the years?

November 14: Are “Special Editions” still special?

~~Prompts:~~ With the amount of ‘special’, ‘limited’, or ‘collectors’ editions that have saturated the market (including special limited ARCs), do you still consider special editions to be special? Do you buy special editions? If so, what makes you want to buy one (i.e. sprayed edges, foiling, character art, etc.)? Give us the tea— what books do you think have too many special editions, and what books do you wish had more (or even one!) special editions?

November 21: End-of-Year Reading Goals?

Prompts: What books do you want to read before the end of the year? Are there any new releases you’re still looking forward to? What goals did you set at the beginning of the year? Have you changed or added to those goals?

November 28: Bookish Etiquette (Laurie @ Laurie Is Reading)

Prompts: There’s always a lot of bookish discourse ongoing on social media. People talk about selling ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies), tagging authors and publishers in reviews, only posting positive reviews— we’ve seen it all! Do you think there’s something such as “bookish etiquette”? Why or why not? What do you think are some dos and don’ts as readers and/or reviewers? Do you agree with all the discourse, or do you stay far away from all the drama?

Spark of the Everflame by. Penn Cole | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️

Title: Spark of the Everflame (Kindred’s Curse, #1)

Author: Penn Cole

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 438

Publication Date: 6/1/25

Categories: Romantasy

When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.

Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.

With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.

Content Warning: violence, death, wounded

So I’ve seen this on social media for awhile, but not lately. I still see it on KU so I wanted to check it out since I have more free time to read books that are not arcs. I was also looking for a light, binge-able fantasy

+~ Diem is a healer – and I love healers as main characters. The world building is interesting, there are mortals with no magic and Descended with colored eyes (mortals only have brown eyes) and powers. There is conflict between both sides and a mortal rebellion is brewing and the enlist Diem’s help to be a spy since she has access to the court. World-building sounded like it had the usual tropes for a romantasy, rebellion, a girl maybe with a secret identity, and an upper class with power. But I just wanted a little more from the world-building.

+ I did like the secondary characters like Maura, Teller (her brother, and her father. They were looking out for Diem and trying o keep her in line.

+~ I found Diem a strong character int he first half, but in the second half, yikes is she impulsive and makes mistakes. To the point where her decision causes harm. I didn’t like her after that much.

+~ Diem is a young woman who has something more going on with her best friend since childhood, Henri. But when he wants more, she can’t give him an answer. Whereas Prince Luther, the handsome, grumpy soon-to-be-heir gets under her skin. As much as I don’t think she’ll end up with Henri, Luther and her don’t have as much interactions as I wanted to warrant what happens in the end between them. It got intense too quick! But I’m sure something grows more in book two.

~ It is a little predictable for someone who reads a lot of romantasy, but the ending was interesting because it finally explains something about her missing mom.

Final Thoughts:

I’d say this was an easy romantasy to read without too much world-building. The story moved quick and I wish I enjoyed Diem’s character more. I liked getting to know her in the first half but then she becomes impulsive and makes mistakes in the second half of the book that I did not like. So I don’t think I’ll continue the series.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

WWW Wednesday | 11/12/25

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?

It’s mid-November and I finally slowed down with reading because I don’t have as many arcs for December! So now I’m going to work on January arcs and hardcovers on my shelf, and some Kindle Unlimited books. It would be nice if my Libby holds would appear lol…now that I have time!

What are you currently reading?

Vesselless by. Cortney L. Winn – 5% little progress and I kind of wish I had the audiobook for this one.

Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan – chapter one

The Ordeals by. Rachel Greenlaw – 145/368

Night Terror by. Vincent Ralph – 2%

What have you just finished reading?

I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by. Kylie Lee Baker ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Uninvited by. Nancy Banks ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trail Rides & Starry Eyes by. Katrina Emmel ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Persephone’s Curse by. Katrina Leno ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spark of the Everflame by. Penn Cole ⭐️⭐️💫

The Housemaid by. Freida McFadden ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dead Fake by. Vincent Ralph ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

An Arcane Inheritance by. Kamilah Cole

Graceless Heart by. Isabel Ibañez

Drive Me Crazy by. Lizzy Dent

Three Shattered Souls by. Mai Corland

What are YOU reading right now?

Books I Enjoyed that Were Outside My Comfort Zone | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 11/11/25

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 Enjoyed that Were Outside My Comfort Zone

(or books you’d like to read that are outside your comfort zone!)

Middle of the Night by. Riley Sager – I kept seeing this author’s book around and I finally read one and did enjoy it. Will definitely try out more of his books.
Hekate: The Witch by. Nikita Gill – I really enjoyed this book and I didn’t think I would because it is written like poetry with some paragraphs for other chapters. So I didn’t think I’d like it because I don’t usually read poetry.
Alchemised by. SenLinYu – this is a long book and super hyped so I am intimidated by it a little. I’m not afraid of how long it is but I was just afraid I’d be disappointed because the hype is so strong.

Coldwire by. Chloe Gong– I love Chloe Gong but Sci-Fi isn’t a genre I usually pick up so I was hesitant going into this one and I enjoyed it – even though there was a lot of tech words to process. 😅
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by. Grady Hendrix – I haven’t read anything from this author yet but definitely want to! Leave me any recs for which book I should read in the comments.
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by. Kylie Lee Baker – I love this author and have read all her books and I thought this was so different in what I’ve read from her before (fantasy). So Bat Eater is horror and out of my element but I loved it.

Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang – it’s VERY academic and I had to process a lot of information but I enjoyed it a lot.
Coffin Moon by. Keith Rosson – it’s horror (and I don’t do a lot of horror) and the villain is a psychopath but the heroes in this story had such an amazing story, I loved this book.
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by. Zoulfa Katouh – a book about living in Syria during a civil war – this book broke my heart.

What’s on your TTT?

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New Book Releases This Week | 11/11/25

Happy book birthday to these new releases this week!

The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson (The Courting of Bristol Keats, #2)

Everyone needs something to hold onto, even if it’s a lie.

After Bristol nearly loses Tyghan to the monsters her mother unleashed, their love deepens to a whole new level. Together, Bristol and Tyghan work to understand and reconcile their differences, moving forward with their common goal of saving Elphame. But, when a daring rescue attempt turns disastrous and a beloved knight dies, Bristol is forced to confront the fact that her mother is more powerful than she could ever have imagined – and more dangerous, too.

Meanwhile, Tyghan’s heart is laid bare when he re-encounters his betrayer, Kierus, and must wrestle with a new secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his past into question. Bristol is Elphame’s last chance for survival, but where do her loyalties truly lie? If she embraces the magic that has always been her birthright, she could become a monster just like her mother. Is she willing to risk losing the people she loves most if it means keeping them safe?

Splintered Kingdom by. Gretchen Powell Fox (Shattered Crown, #2)

Tame her wild. Fan his flame.

A Burgeoning Peace

Two realms sit on the edge—not only of the physical chasms that divide them, but of the fragile truce forged between Arcanians and humans in the wake of the Arcane Crucible.

A Shadow Unleashed

Elyria Lightbreaker may have survived the Celestial Sanctum, but she remains haunted by all that occurred, all that she did, within. Determined to reclaim the Crown of Concord and unmask the dark sorcerer behind its theft, she must master her own inner darkness if she’s to survive the journey ahead—and untangle the dangerous feelings pulling her toward Cedric.

A Victor Unmoored

Cedric Thorne sacrificed everything to conquer the trials. Now, burdened by a power he cannot control and truths he refuses to face, he finds himself in a kingdom splintering beneath the surface—and bound to Elyria by something he cannot, will not, sever. But some secrets are meant to stay buried, and uncovering them could be the key to lasting peace . . . or the spark that ends it.

A Bond Reforged

As twin victors of the Crucible, Elyria and Cedric soon learn there are many roles they must play in the pursuit of a new Arcanis. With enemies lurking in plain sight, they will have to fight with a whole new array of weapons, all the while trying to understand the bond that thrums between them: reforged, rekindled, renewed.

Now the real game begins.

Aphrodite by. Phoenicia Rogerson

From the award-winning author of Herc, an enrapturing feminist tale that brilliantly reimagines the story of Aphrodite and how she transformed herself from a lowly outsider to the darling goddess of love, for readers of Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint.

Aphrodite saw the gods on Mount Olympus and decided she wanted a piece of what they had. Only problem is, she’s not a goddess, just a lowly being who’s supposed to remain in a distant cave, keeping the threads of Fate woven neatly. But Aphrodite’s never let anyone tell her what to do…

Weaving herself a web of lies and careful deceptions, she convinces everyone she’s the goddess of love and that her rightful place is among the Olympians, who lord it over everyone else at the top of the world, but under the stifling rule of Zeus. For the first time, she has the best of everything, as well as friends, peers, even loved ones. Only, being a goddess isn’t quite like she thought. Those who oppose Zeus tend to disappear, or worse. And one day, Aphrodite decides she’s had enough…

Not You Again by. Erin La Ross

They have nothing but time…to hate each other.

In Julian, California, every day is April 23rd—and in a time loop, there are no rules. Eating endless slices of fresh apple pie? Yes. Partner swapping? Why not. Being trapped inside the plot of a sci-fi film would almost be inspiring for LA screenwriter Carly Hart…if she wasn’t waking up at her dad’s funeral every single day. Carly wants out.

Funeral director Adam Rhodes is equally frustrated. Every loop, Adam regenerates in the middle of a fight with his ex-wife. Her infidelity wrecked their perfect life together, and now Adam must relive her confession over and over again.

There’s only one solution to ending the misery: breaking the time loop. Easier said than done. And there’s another hurdle to overcome: Carly and Adam can’t stand each other.

Though strangers at best, Carly and Adam know they must work together to solve this cosmic mystery. But where Carly offers magical theories, Adam relies on facts and figures. When Carly wants to involve the local conspiracy theorist, Adam would rather work alone. The sooner they find a solution, the sooner they’ll never have to see each other again, yet somehow the tension between the two is hotter than a solar flare and as rare as the daily total solar eclipse. Maybe Carly and Adam are destined to be in each other’s orbit after all…

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

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I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by. Kylie Lee Baker | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends

Author: Kylie Lee Baker

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 11/18/25

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Time Travel, Dragon Descendants

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

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

A teen descendant of a Japanese dragon god must team up with a cute rogue agent to subvert a corrupt time travel organization and find out the truth of what happened to her missing sister in acclaimed author Kylie Lee Baker’s magical new YA romance, I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends.

When you’re ready, come find me. I will keep you safe. -Hana

Descended from a Japanese dragon god, Yang Mina was born with the power to travel through time, and has spent her life training to take her place in the Descendants, a secret organization whose purpose is to protect the timeline. Then Mina’s world is uprooted when she moves to Seoul and finds a note from her sister–a sister who no one remembers, as if she had been erased. The only people who could have made her sister vanish so completely are part of the very agency that she’s been working so hard to join. So now Mina has a new mission, infiltrate the agency as quickly as possible to find her lost sister.

And, as if things weren’t complicated enough, a strikingly handsome rogue agent has determined that Mina is the only person who can help him put an end to the Descendants’ corruption. Placed in an impossible situation, Mina must decide how much she’s willing to risk to find the truth.

Content Warning: violence

+ I am a big fan of this author and this is very different than the fantasy and horror stories I’ve read from her. I loved how this story was set in South Korea and but also tied in Japanese mythology.

~ It was very hard to get into this book. I was confused because it is set in a contemporary time period but there is time travel and I got confused, a lot. Mina is descended from a dragon and she’s training to be an agent that fixes the timeline. I felt like I understood more as the story went on but for the first half of the story, I was just confused about what they do as timeline fixers.

+ I thought the romance was cute! It definitely felt like a teen k-drama. Mina meets another “agent” and they spend some together, which I thought was fun. There is a twist at the end of the story that I did enjoy. The romance was my favorite part of this story, but would have loved a lot more time for it to develop though.

~ Mina’s assignment is to get close to a guy named Jihoon and he was such a nice guy. I just wish she didn’t have to fake things to accomplish her assignment. He was innocent but it showed how devious parts of her job. I do wish there was more explanation about why this agency was created to fix the timeline and why it needed fixing.

Final Thoughts:

If my head could follow the time travel and the timeline situation better then I might have enjoyed this way more. I did push through the beginning and did enjoy the romance and the twist. I loved the K-drama vibes of the whole book and honestly love to see how this author is branching out into other genres.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by. Kylie Lee Baker | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Blood Orchid by. Kylie Lee Baker | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Scarlet Alchemist by. Kylie Lee Baker | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

BLOG TOUR} The Empress of Time by. Kylie Lee Baker | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

BLOG TOUR } The Keeper of Night by. Kylie Lee Baker | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Weekly Wrap Up | 11/9/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ It was my birthday week and all I wanted was a good election day (there was no election here in Hawaii) and wow, the results all over the country made my heart so happy so that was the best birthday gift ever.

+ But the government is still shutdown and my hubby has missed 2 paychecks…going on 3. We are dipping into savings – but I cannot believe this admin is saying no to jobs, no to feeding people, no to affordable healthcare but yes to building a ballroom? I cannot wait for midterms!

+ It’s a four day weekend for my kids and my hubby too. We’re gonna go have a belated birthday lunch or dinner for me.

Blog Posts:

Coldwire by. Chloe Gong | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Monthly Wrap Up | October 2025
New Book Releases This Week | 11/4/25
The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 11/4/25
Top 5 Books That Are Song Titles | Top 5 Tuesday | 11/4/25
WWW Wednesday | 11/5/25
Atmosphere by. Taylor Jenkins Reid | Audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tusk Love by. Thea Guanzon | Audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Non-Fiction | 11/7/25

Books I Finished

Currently Reading:

Vesselless by. Cortney L. Winn

Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph

Our Vicious Oaths by. N.E. Davenport

The Uninvited by. Nancy Banks

The Ordeals by. Rachel Greenlaw

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

Football
Wicked: One Wonderful Night
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2025 – was only watching to see what Olivia Rodrigo would perform and wow Salt-N-Pepa got inducted in!!! Talk about bringing me back to my childhood – I grew up on their music. Their performance was so good! Olivia did amazing – I love the White Stripes. Twenty-One Pilots did amazing too! And OutKast getting inducted was awesome too – the music of my 20’s, I loved it! The Soundgarden tribute was amazing too – I still remembering being devastated when I heard Chris Cornell passed, Black Hole Sun was one of my favorite songs. The show was way too long and I was streaming it on youtube since we cancelled Disney+ – I wanted to see Cyndi Lauper – the music of my early childhood, of course lol but I had to do other things.

Music – Lux – Rosalia – I transcended when I listened to this!!! I LOVE IT. It’s definitely the kind of music that cleanses my music palate. I needed this. I even cried to Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti. I haven’t cried to music in forever….I grew up Catholic and I’ve had such a challenging relationship with it (mostly when I was young) and I’m at peace with it now, but it took so much growing. But one thing I always miss about going to mass…the music. Anyway, this album….does something to my soul. It’s on repeat!

Dunno if UMG will remove this video like it did with the last one but whatever…I love all the songs on the album, I can’t pick one right now! She sings in a few different languages on this album which is so AMAZING. I can’t understand any of the foreign languages, I know very little Spanish even though I took it in college but it was easier to practice in college because I went to school in Los Angeles and my Latina friends exposed me to so much music!! So I might have understood more back then but not now and it’s okay because this album makes me feel without having to understand what is being said.

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!

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Non-Fiction | 11/7/25

This week’s topic is:

November 7: Reading Non-Fiction

Prompts: Happy Non-Fiction November! Do you read non-fiction? If you do read it, what do you love about it? What are your favourite categories to read about (i.e. true crime, historical, memoirs, self-help), and what are some of your favourite non-fiction books? Do you have any tips for those who want to get into reading more non-fiction? If you don’t read non-fiction, what don’t you like about it? Do you think that will change (or has it already changed) over the years?

**********

Do you read non-fiction? If you do read it, what do you love about it?

I very seldom read non-fiction, but when I do it’s because I want information – I want “the tea” so to speak. 😅

What are your favourite categories to read about (i.e. true crime, historical, memoirs, self-help), and what are some of your favourite non-fiction books?

I don’t think I’ve read true crime non-fiction (but give me a documentary on tv and I will eat it up!). If I do read non-fiction it will be memoirs.

Do you have any tips for those who want to get into reading more non-fiction?

Unfortunately, I don’t read enough of it to give tips about how to get into reading it but I think reading a memoir is a good start.

November Topics:

November 7: Reading Non-Fiction

November 14: Are “Special Editions” still special?

November 21: End-of-Year Reading Goals?

November 28: Bookish Etiquette (Laurie @ Laurie Is Reading)

Tusk Love by. Thea Guanzon | Audiobook

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Tusk Love

Author: Thea Guanzon

Narrator: Teddy Hamilton, Brittany Pressley

Format: audiobook (Libby)

Pages: 352 Listening Time: approximately 9 hours

Publication Date: 7/1/25

Publisher: Random House Audio

Categories: Cozy Fantasy, Romance

As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure.

Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.

Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down—even if the spark between them sizzles with promise.

Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Thea Guanzon at the behest of Critical Role’s Jester Lavorre, Tusk Love brings the most romantic story on Exandrian bookshelves to life.

Content Warning: violence

+ The narrators for this story are perfect and they really brought these characters to life! I loved their voices so much. It’s exactly how I imagined Guinevere and Oskar would sound.

+ Oskar is the grumpiest half-orc ever; his attitude made me laugh so much. Guinevere is his total opposite, she’s a young lady raised in a merchant family and on her way to her fiancé – a lord. The two of them together were so funny and cute! I loved how Guinevere was always trying to behave as a young lady on this rough journey. There is banter, and then some spicy moments too. I adore the both of them!

+ This story is filled with travel and lots of adventure and I loved seeing Guinevere who is prim and proper grow so much. She went from someone who was always people pleasing (really wanted to please her parents), to someone who fought for what she wanted – Oskar. As for Oskar, he was a half-orc with a soft heart even if he was sarcastic and grumpy!

Final Thoughts:

I loved everything about this audiobook – the narrators are fantastic, and the story is filled with adventure, swoony romance, spice and so much humor. I love Oskar and Guinevere. I’m so glad I listened to this one!