Unfiltered Book Reviews - 2026 Reads

New year, new books! I took a break from reading for basically the entire winter holiday stretch, and this book is what kicks off this year. This was SUPER cool, and let me just say, I was FUCKING RIGHT about there being a body in the clay sculpture. Just, you know. Wrong about whose body. This book is told through instant message chats between some external examiners for a Master's art course, who then go through class discussions, essays, and even private WhatsApp chats that were provided. I wasn't entirely sure that I would like this method of storytelling, but it was really compelling, and I liked the little breaks of chats between the external examiners while they were all reading along. This book was SO cool and I definitely kept pausing to tell my husband about what was going on in it.

Wow, this was fun! I love me a good monsterfucker romance (even though werewolves aren't the most "monster" but whatever.) An arranged marriage between a vampire and a werewolf? And it turns out she's his mate??? But she can't ever understand because she's not a were? That's the good shit. There was, unfortunately, a 3rd act breakup, which I fucking hate in romance, but it was resolved really quickly and without much wallowing in sadness. Also, big fan of making vampire feeding hot. I remember thinking when I read "Crave" that the author somehow managed to make feeding NOT hot... Hazelwood does not suffer from the same thing. I've got the second book on hold at the library, so I'm looking forward to reading that when my loan comes up. I think it'll be another "same universe, different characters" thing, which is fine with me!

The blurb written by one of my favorite authors (VE Schwab) about this book was "it is like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket." I absolutely agree with this assessment. Once more, Klune has made me rethink what "home" means - is it the place I pay rent in, or is it the people I surround myself with? Thankfully, this one didn't make me cry like "Under the Whispering Door" did, but it was just as compelling, and I feel so warm and fuzzy inside after finishing it. What a sweet cast of characters.

This was a neat read. At the very beginning, the author's note said something along the lines of "these characters are fictional. They're not good people. But they're fun to write about. Eat well." and honestly? I really appreciated that. They're NOT good people. After finishing "The Atlas Six", I've realized that I like fucked up characters with fucked up motivations. I mean, for the first half of the book, the two MCs are just trying to kill each other! It was fun to read, and I felt very much like that one AITA Reddit post... "You're perfect for each other. Just don't involve anyone else in whatever you've got going on." Cool twist there at the end. It's apparently part of a series, but I don't think I'll read the rest. I like how self-contained it is for now.

Starting off the romance month strong with a cute romance novel! This one is celebrity x bodyguard, it's super gay, and was just an overall fun read. Nice and light, not too serious, and I liked how the relationship developed. I'm a sucker for bodyguard romances and fake dating, and this was BOTH! I would definitely recommend this as a palette-cleanser between more intense things. Also, no 3rd act breakup! We love to see it! Just gals bein pals!

Book 2 of the "Bride" series! This one follows Serena, who we found out was a half-human, half-Were hybrid... AND UM. HELLO? Girlypop gets her first heat and the alpha of the pack (her mate) who has taken a vow of celibacy in order to be alpha helps her through it??? EVEN THO HE CAN'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING??? Good shit. The YEARNING. The LUST. The lack of CONTROL. It's cool and was fun to read. A little annoyed at that 3rd act breakup again, but meh, it was fine and made sense narratively. Not a breakup just for the sake of drama. Anyway, I think Hazelwood is doing really well with these fantasy books. I haven't read any of her other stuff, though, so I don't know how they hold up.

AAAAHHH. AAAAAAAAHHHHHH. THIS MOTHERFUCKER. Man. I wanna start this review off by saying: I fucking LOVE this guy's books. There's just something about his writing style that forces me to slow down and actually absorb what is happening, which is really impressive for me given how quickly I read usually. I normally skim books to read them, but not these. Anyway, I'm screaming because at the very end I realized that IT'S CONNECTED TO THE OTHER TWO BOOKS. IT'S ALL THE SAME WORLD AND THE CHARACTERS INTRACT TANGENTIALLY AND AAAAHHHHH. FUCKING COOL. Anyway. 10/10, I HIGHLY recommend these books. They're all fucking phenomenal.