32. Circe

By Madeline Miller (393 pp)

Several of my writer friends and I have a bookclub that meets periodically and talks about books and craft. I enjoy the group but we often read books that aren't part of my current and very large "to be read" pile. They asked me to look at my TBR and pick some things the group might like and this is what we agreed on. What a wonderful book! The prose style is so beautiful and a delight to read. Circe is an immortal born to Helios, the sun god and into a family of vicious gods. She is banished to this island where she develops her powers as a witch, turns bad men into pigs, has a bunch of lovers both human and immortal, becomes a 5 star helicopter parent, and is a general badass. I wanted to read it again as soon as I finished.

31. Cowboy, It's Cold Outside

By Maisey Yates (320 pp)

See book #30. This is from the same best-of set. In this one, Sheena has overcome her father's death and sacrificed a lot to raise her sisters. Now she has an idea to start her own business with an axe throwing bar. Denver's father was a bad guy and responsible for the death above so Denver has felt responsible for Sheena's situation and helped where he could. He helps her with her business to consider his debt to her paid and they are determined to dislike each other except they are hot for each other.

30. Into the Woods

By Jenny Holiday (360 pp)

Did I already explain this? I bought the Fated Mates Best of 2025 boxed set. I'm helping the economy, everyone! Meanwhile, I have this stack of books here so I'm trying harder to read them because the best of 2026 is going to be here soon. 🤣 This is a summer camp story. Gretchen is done with terrible dates and dating apps and swears off men. Teddy's rock band just broke up and he's not happy about how that happened. They both end up at a summer camp for arts kids and you can guess what happens next.

29. The Devil You Know (Mercenary Libraries #2)

By Kit Rocha (416 pp ebook)

I bought this 3 book series on sale - dystopian romance. I read the first one in June. In this one they discover the bad guys are trading genetically enhanced children. They need to call in dangerous favors and take lots of risks to save the day. Also Maya and Gray fall in love. Fun read and perfect for all my bus rides.

28. Tripwire (Reacher #3)

By Lee Child (401 pp)

I have been on a mission to thin out my books so every couple of weeks I take some around and drop them off in the free little libraries. Unfortunately, I also check out the books in these libraries and it is difficult to resist the urge to grab the ones that look interesting. That's where this book came from. Reacher books are always fun and page-turny. In this one, Jack Reacher is minding his own business hanging out in Key West when someone comes looking for him. Then all these people end up dead and this woman who was his friend's daughter is all grown up and they are hot for each other. There's a squad of men who served in Vietnam and secrets everywhere. Good read.

27. Catch and Kill

By Ronan Farrow (426 pp)

This is about breaking the Harvey Weinstein case and it is also a harrowing story. The things those women went through. Poor Rose McGowan. And so many careers destroyed by this terrible person. And it was a tough story to break with the journalists also facing threats, intimidation, and higher-ups who were afraid of the fall out. Bless the tenacious people who kept after the story.

26. A Marriage At Sea

By Sophie Elmhirst (244 pp)

This is a true story about a couple who sail a boat from England to New Zealand in the 70s. Somewhere around the Galápagos Islands region a whale destroys their boat and they are left with a dingy and a life boat. You know when you start the story that they survive but the sequence of them out there on the open sea is one of the most harrowing things I've ever read. They survived out of pure determination, especially Maralyn who was delusional about their chances. Yet, they make it. Beautifully written and captures how people can be complex. Recommend.

25. The Hellion

By LaVyrle Spencer (293 pp)

I have developed a terrible habit of grabbing category romance when I'm out and about peeking into Little Free Libraries. This one is from 1984 -- how could I resist? Sadly, this book hasn't aged well and felt overly melodramatic. It's a second chane about Tommy Lee and Rachel, in small town Alabama, who grew up together and fell in love as teens. There was an unplanned pregnancy and the parents sent Rachel off to have the baby somewhere else and went to great lengths to keep them apart. The story opens 20 year later after Rachel is widowed. Tommy Lee has been the town hellraiser with a number of wives but when Rachel is free he is determined to win her back. It's hard to believe there was a time when a hero could be a heavy smoker. I loved the descriptions of the home furnishings and the clothes -- so 80s. The story had some great heart twisting moments but it a little much.

24. Love at First Fright

By Nadia El-Fassi (356 pp ebook)

Book club also talked about this one and since we're meeting next weekend we're going to talk about this, too. This one is about Rosemary a horror novelist and screenwriter who gots to a haunted country manor where one of her stories is being shot. There she connects with Ellis, a hugely famous action star and seemingly not a good fit for this small, historical horror movie. He and Rosemary hit it off. There are some ghosts. Didn't really work for me. The characterization felt flat and the tone was a little off.

23. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

By Ilona Andrews (470 pp)

This book was a gift from someone who really wanted me to read it because she loved it so much. I also loved it and we mentioned it in our small, informal book group. Now everyone has finished and we all have questions and comments so we are having an EMERGENCY book club meeting next weekend to talk about it. This book is about Maggie who has woken up in her favorite fantasy series. Books she loves so much she know them by heart. This book is Game of Thrones dangerous with betrayals and maneuvering and she has to use what she knows from the books and her own smarts to survive. Also, there are lots of sexy primary male characters who are interested. 10 stars. Loved it. Hope to read it again this weekend but I've been trying to tackle some projects instead.

22. The Deal

By Elle Kennedy (360 pp, ebook)

I went 2 months without finishing a book. I think I re-read some books and also DNF'd a book. Also I was going through a thing and instead of reading I was doing puzzles and listening to podcasts and not reading books. Then I watched Off Campus which was a TV series based on this book. I loved the show and wondered if I ever read anything by Elle Kennedy and searched my ereader and this very book was in my DNFs. (insert LMAO emoji) This seems to keep happening that I am intrigued about a book people are talking about and when I check my ereader, I learn that I shelved it. Oh well. This is set in college and is about a young woman who has an unrequited crush and some baggage she's dealing with. The big star hockey player needs some tutoring and manages to convince her to help him and in return he will help her connect with her crush. Except, oops, he falls for her. Cute romance.

21. Deal with the Devil (Mercenary Librarians 1)

By Kit Rocha (336 pp)

I bought this trilogy as a set and I needed something fun and easy to read and how could I resist post-apocolyptic romance? In this one Nina and her group of mercenary librarians set out on a mission with some Silver Devils who are escaped soldiers and led by Knox. Somehow everyone is tricking everyone to get something critical they need but also Nina and Knox are hot for each other. It delivered on all counts. I fully intended to read all three at once but something else caught my eye so I still have 2 left.