Tag: 2026 Release

Book Review:: Liar in the Hollow Court | Bethany Atazadeh

I’ve been following Bethany Atazadeh’s youtube channel for some time now for the author content, so I was excited to get a chance to read one of her books early through netgalley.

Liar in the Hollow Court by Bethany Atazadeh Book Cover

Once upon a time this book was plotted publicly on her youtube channel. I remember watching the first few streams, and I was very curious to see how she would pull off some of the ideas discussed there, but it turned into a really cozy little fantasy.

To me, this read very YA. There’s not a lot of tension really, one thing very clearly leads into the next, the romance is more like new high-stakes friendship, and things just sort of happen because they’re supposed to, not because they HAVE to. But really, it’s a good book to pick up when you just want to sit down and take a load off, you know? I felt very calm and peaceful as I read it, which was actually really nice.

This was one of those books that I wasn’t sure how it was going to resolve as the pages kept inching toward over and there was still so much to resolve, but honestly, I think that was my favorite part. Everything was wrapped up very well during the climax and resolution. With how much was left to solve, it was quite an impressive feat!

Personally I don’t really get the Pride and Prejudice vibes that are being marketed. It was almost more of a Beauty and the Beast thing, which I think was the original intent? Ah, just my two cents on that.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title::Liar in the Hollow Court (The Courts Beneath #1)
Author::Bethany Atazadeh
Genre::Cozy Fantasy
Publisher::Indie
Length:: 375 pages
Published:: May 1st, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

Book Review:: Every Exquisite Thing | Laura Steven

After reading and adoring Our Infinite Fates, Laura Steven’s new book Every Exquisite Thing was a pleasant enough surprise. While Fates is about an endless love story (my absolute weak spot), and Every Exquisite Thing is about a young woman coming to terms with herself and the forces that have acted upon her short life, they are both about curses.

Twisted, awful, curses.

Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven Book Review

More than anything this book reminded me of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, or even more so its creative progeny, If We Were Villains. It is dark academia, certainly, and there is a violent mystery to solve. Actually, you know what? This is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (my fav).

Dear Penny is the daughter of a world famous actress, trying to live up to her standard so that she might earn what should be freely given: a mother’s love. She was granted a prestigious position at Dorian Drama School (yes, that Dorian is very relevant as well), and she’s sure she’ll win the top role in Macbeth, when a rival comes in a swoops it up instead, giving Penny a formative choice: what exactly is she willing to do to get it back?

The pages here are dripping with a gothic style tension. Every storyline is ratcheted with drama and choices that will define the story, and as the mystery is slowly revealed, it is fascinating. And the themes are powerful and important as well.

Penny struggles with an eating disorder, so for those who are sensitive to that topic, please be aware that is a very big part of this story.

Overall, I was impressed, again, with Laura Steven’s talent for weaving a compelling story, and I look forward to reading what she comes out with next!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Every Exquisite Thing
Author:: Laura Steven
Genre:: Fantasy Thriller
Publisher:: Wednesday Books
Length:: 384 pages
Published:: May 26th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

Our Infinite Fates | Laura Steven
We Were Villains | M.L Rio
Divine Rivals | Rebecca Ross

Book Review:: Dolly All the Time | Annabel Monaghan

For all the Monaghan fans waiting for the new Nora Goes Off Script, I present to you: Dolly All the Time.

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan Book Cover

I frigging adore Annabel Monaghan, and I can recommend any of her books. Any of them, seriously—you won’t be sorry you read them. She’s got that something special that just makes summer romances sing.

In this case, single mom, Dolly, who is supporting her father (and younger brother) and trying to save his business while juggling all of her other responsibilities, almost literally stumbles into an unconventional and highly lucrative opportunity to pose as the girlfriend of a hot millionaire.

It might sound trite and tropey, but remember? This one has music.

The heart behind it is beating like, we, too, are falling in love. When a book is this immaculately put together, it’s almost impossible to tease apart the threads to identify exactly what it is that makes it so lovely, so I’m not even going to try.

If you want to read a good book, just know you can’t go wrong with Dolly All the Time.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Dolly All the Time
Author:: Annabel Monaghan
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Length:: 368 pages
Published:: May 26th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

Funny Story | Emily Henry
Songs of Summer | Jane L. Rosen
Everything’s Coming Up Rosie | Courtney Walsh
The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain | Hannah Brown

Book Review:: Wild About You | Jo Lovett

Second chance romance just has a little something extra — am I right?

Wild About You by Jo Lovett Book Cover

Flavia and Dominic grew up together, and their family’s remain close friends. That didn’t stop them from having a passionate tryst in their early twenties, just when both of them were about to embark on new life trajectories. Now years later, Flavia is at the end of her marriage, and she wins a vacation to South Africa in a raffle, and Dominic wins the other ticket.

This is a romance that won’t surprise you. At times, it glosses over some of the emotional work, doing more telling than I’d generally prefer, over showing, however, there is a lot of emotional work going on for the characters before they are ready to give into this thing for real. In that sense, it’s not ‘too easy’ of a romance, which I always appreciate.

It was actually quite a pleasant little adventure. A one-day, entertaining, endearing little romance perfect for summer.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Wild About You
Author:: Jo Lovett
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Boldwood Books
Length:: 256 pages
Published:: May 18th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

The Bodyguard Affair | Amy Lea
If Only You Knew | Ellie K. Wilde
Meet Me at Midnight | Max Monroe
An Italian Wedding Adventure | Leonie Mack

Book Review:: This Story Might Save Your Life | Tiffany Crum

If you have the chance to read This Story Might Save Your Life, do.not.waste.it. It is frigging phenomenal. I was hooked immediately and giddy the entire way through.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum Book Cover

When Benny’s best friend and podcast co-host disappears, he stops at absolutely nothing to find her. She may have been the one that got away, romantically, but she’s still the most important part of his life, despite her overbearing husband, who happens to manage the podcast empire they’ve been building for years.

The tension is fabulous. Not just the present timeline urgency to find Joy, who has severe narcolepsy, but also as we learn the backstory of their friendship and how they ended up in the situation they’re in. The format is absolutely perfect, and I ate up every single word.

It’s really hard to talk about a story that is about the unfolding of it, but I love these characters. I mean, I’d have them over on a weekly basis, best-friend, talking-late-into-the-night, kind of love. I could not stop turning pages to figure out what happened to them. If things resolved, and resolved in a way I could accept, spiritually, you understand.

Though I received a free digital copy through netgalley to review, I pre-ordered my own hardcover copy for my shelves before I was halfway through. Tiffany Crum, you may be my next favorite author to watch!! With a debut like this…I seriously can’t wait to see what you come up with next. Whatever it is…cowboy western, travel diary, space opera…I’m going to read it.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title::This Story Might Save Your Life
Author::Tiffany Crum
Genre::Mystery Thriller (Romance)
Publisher:: Flatiron Books
Length:: 357 pages
Published:: March 10th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

All the Missing Pieces | Catherine Cowles
The Storm | Rachel Hawkins
Listen for the Lie | Amy Tintera
All That We See or Seem | Ken Liu
Four Weekends and a Funeral | Ellie Palmer
Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon | Matthew Norman

Book Review:: Once and Again | Rebecca Serle

We’ve all had those moments, those crossroads moments, when we can see two paths stretching out before us, and we have to pick between them. Or something happens that is the furthest thing from our plans we wish we could erase them.

Well—what if you could?

Once and Again by Rebecca Serle Book Cover

This is a family saga that will tug at your heart. There is just a touch of magical realism here, but it’s load bearing. I’m not always the biggest fan of it, and in this case my rational mind wanted to protest in a few places, but I went along for the ride, the emotional experiment of it all, and I came away appreciating it.

Lauren is at one of those crossroads we talked about before. But she has a chance to make one change, thanks to a legacy in the women of her family. But only one, and she’s been saving it to save her father from his health condition. But she realizes she might need it for something else, after all.

This book has plenty to rachet up the tension: choices going forward, choices made in the past, and the kind of soul-searching that makes you think about your life differently.

You know you’re in good hands with Rebecca Serle. This one is no exception. Also, the audiobook is narrated by Julia Whelan—the queen—so that’s always an excellent option!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Once and Again
Author:: Rebecca Serle
Genre:: Women’s Fiction
Publisher:: Atria Books
Length:: 256 pages
Published:: March 10th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

If I Were You | Cesca Major
After Life | Gayle Forman
Maybe Next Time | Cesca Major
Ghosted | Sarah Ready
Change of Heart | Falon Ballard

Book Review:: Stranger Things Have Happened | Kasie West

Kasie West’s books almost have that 90s rom-com feel. The situational, emotionally stunted but slowly falling anyway, long-story kind of feel. The kind that so many others have been struggling to tap into for decades since. I’m not saying she’s the next Nora Ephron, but there is something about her books…that x-factor sort of feeling.

Stranger Things Have Happened by Kasie West Book Cover

The concept: Sutton agrees to fake couple’s therapy with her best friend’s fiancée’s brother, because said fiancée is against it himself. They have this bet, see, that the therapist is a quack and won’t even be able to tell they don’t know each other. He wants to prove a point.

Why does she agree? Well, she needs therapy — and apparently doesn’t have anything better to do.

I adored this book. The set-up is weird, it’s fake dating without actual fake dating (the best kind, in my opinion, lol), but the characters are beautiful. I just believed it, you know? Elijah felt whole and convincing, and I was seriously rooting for them the whole time.

Beyond the romance, though, Sutton has some issues to sort out with her mother, who is a piece of work. She’s still nursing wounds from when her husband left, about a million years ago, and new wounds from being in an accident, which is why Sutton is back in her hometown.

At this point I will read anything Kasie West puts out. She knows her way around a romance, and I’m happy to recommend her books to anyone looking to step into a compelling romance that feels fresh and perfectly sophisticated.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Stranger Things Have Happened
Author:: Kasie West
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Saturday Books
Length:: 352 pages
Published:: April 14th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

We Met Like This | Kasie West
Where You’re Planted | Melanie Sweeney
As A Last Resort | Kristin Wollett
The Slowest Burn | Sarah Chamberlain

Book Review:: The Gray Sheep | S. M. Somerset

The Gray Sheep by S.M. Somerset is a complex fantastical world with a rich history and plenty of conflict.

The Gray Sheep by S. M. Somerset Book Cover

Cosette is doing her best to continue running her father’s jeweler shop in a war-torn country as he recovers from an illness that isn’t getting any better with her uncle in another part of town. When she gets word of his decline, she decides to risk everything to go see him, even though the space between them is occupied and extremely dangerous.

Resourceful, thoughtful, and quite stubborn, Cosette is a worthy heroine. This story is deeply political, as all the marketing materials promise. To be honest, some of it was a little too much for me, and it tended to linger in sections I felt could do with more urgency. The language was urgent in these spaces, but the actual sentences still took their time leaving a strange feeling of needing to move forward, but not being able to because there were just too many words to get through in the scene.

I really admired Cosette’s bravery and determination, and several of the characters she encounters were interesting, and at times unexpected.

Overall, I think people who enjoy the political side of fantasy will enjoy this, or even sweeping historical epics might try their hand at it and be delightfully surprised.

As a whole, it strikes me mostly as quite an accomplishment!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title::The Gray Sheep (The Lochsmith Book I)
Author::S. M. Somerset
Genre:: Historical Fantasy
Publisher::Indie
Length:: 582 pages
Published::May 5th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

The Cheesemaker’s Daughter | Kristin Vukovic
Daughter of Ruins | Yvette Manassis Corporon
Divine Rivals | Rebecca Ross

Book Review:: The Heart of Everything | Marc Levy

The Heart of Everything is a magical tale of fathers and sons and the intricacies of families.

The Heart of Everything by Marc Levy Book Cover

Thomas’s father passed away five years ago, but he still thinks of him at every concert he plays in as a professional pianist. But when he sees his ghost, literally, in the crowd one day, he cannot believe his eyes. And when he sees him again in the dressing room afterward, he cannot believe his request.

This novel is a testament of the complexity of the human animal, but not in a deep, philosophical, brooding, way — it is packaged in a deeply moving, farewell adventure between a boy and the ghost of his dead father. There is a clear goal, and plenty to thwart the achievement of it, and the heart lives in the spaces in between.

I cannot overstate the importance of reading this as an audiobook. Simon Mattacks is incredible. The accents, the tone, the pace of it all was just — impeccable. I will remember this and it will certainly sway me toward any title with his name on it!

Everyone should read this book. I can’t think of a single fault. It’s concise, heartful, expressive, thoughtful, hopeful, and somehow melodic, in its own way. It’s lovely.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: The Heart of Everything
Author:: Marc Levy (translated from French by Maren Baudet-Lackner)
Genre:: General Fiction
Publisher:: Brilliance Audio / Amazon Crossing
Length:: 208 pages
Published::January 1st, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife | Anna Johnston
The Last Love Note | Emma Grey

Book Review:: Girls Our Age | Pheobe Thompson

This psychologically intense story of female friendship was kind of like a fever dream, if I’m honest. Lily, Ana, and Margot have been friends since they were roommates in college, and now ten years later, things are more complex than ever.

Girls Our Age by Pheobe Thompson Book Cover

Each of the girls is struggling in a different way. One with the resurgence of a mental illness that once consumed her. One with her relationship with her high school sweetheart and coming to terms with her social status. One with her career.

The novel lives inside each of their heads, walking through the state of their thinking and the facts of their lives. The friendship is what ties them together, but, as with many old friendships, the thing itself is hardly ever a priority, and that becomes part of the story too.

I don’t know, maybe this book deserves more than three stars. If I was judging by writing craft alone, I would certainly rate it higher, but all I can do is rate it as an experience as a whole, and there’s something holding me back there for that fourth star.

Perhaps you love reading about the complexities of female friendship and the kind of coming-of-age that comes through dodging psychological shrapnel. In that case, I can recommend this title to you whole-heartedly. But for me, there was a layer of something missing. My feelings about this book probably say more about myself than the book itself.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Girls Our Age
Author:: Phoebe Thompson
Genre:: Literary Fiction
Publisher:: Lake Union Publishing
Length:: 340 pages
Published:: May 5th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

amazon
B & N
Bookshop.org

Goodreads
author website

If you liked this book, check out…

The Homemade God | Rachel Joyce
The Greatest Possible Good | Ben Brooks
The Goldens | Laura Wilson
Bittersweet | Hattie Williams