Bitter Texas Honey by Ashley Whitaker

Started: 1/2/2026

Finished: DNF

Year: 2025

Pages: 321

Genre: literature

Grade: F

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "It’s 2011, and twenty-three-year-old Joan West is not like the rest of her liberal peers in Austin, nor is she quite like her Tea Party Republican, God-loving family. Sure, she listens to conservative talk radio on her way to and from her internship at the Capitol. But she was once an America-hating leftist who kissed girls at parties, refused to shave, and had plenty of emotionless sex with jazz school friends—that is until a drug-induced mania forced her to return to her senses.  

"But above all Joan is a writer, an artist, or at least she desperately wants to be. Always in search of inspiration for her novel, she catalogs every detail of her relationships with men—including with her former muse slash current arch nemesis Roberto—and mines her very dysfunctional family for material. But when her beloved, credit card debt–racked cousin Wyatt finds himself in crisis, Joan’s worldview is cracked open and everything comes crashing down."

Opinion: Joan is such an awful character and I just could not get past her and her family's limited worldview.

Exiles by Jane Harper

Started: 12/30/2025

Finished: 1/2/2026

Year: 2022

Pages: 354

Genre: mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Federal Investigator Aaron Falk is on his way to a small town deep in Southern Australian wine country for the christening of an old friend's baby. But mystery follows him, even on vacation.

"This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Kim Gillespie's disappearance. One year ago, at a busy town festival on a warm spring night, Kim safely tucked her sleeping baby into her stroller, then vanished into the crowd. No one has seen her since. When Kim's older daughter makes a plea for anyone with information about her missing mom to come forward, Falk and his old buddy Raco can't leave the case alone.

"As Falk soaks up life in the lush valley, he is welcomed into the tight-knit circle of Kim’s friends and loved ones. But the group may be more fractured than it seems. Between Falk’s closest friend, the missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge. What would make a mother abandon her child? What happened to Kim Gillespie?"

Opinion: More heartwarming than expected. Decent main and mini mystery. Not sure about Falk's character development

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Started: 12/30/2025

Finished: DNF

Year: 2023

Pages: 317

Genre: Romantasy

Grade: F

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party—or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

"So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, muddle Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

"But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones—the most elusive of all faeries—lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all—her own heart."

Opinion: Trying to branch out away from all the cozy mysteries that I've been reading and yeah, um, this isn't it.

Breakneck by Marc Cameron

Started: 12/25/2025

Finished: 12/29/2025

Year: 2023

Pages: 353

Genre: mystery/thriller

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Off the northeast coast of Russia, the captain and crew of a small crabbing vessel are brutally murdered by members of Bratva, the Russian mafia. The killers scuttle the vessel off the coast of Alaska and slip ashore.

"In Washington, DC, Supreme Court Justice Charlotte Townsend prepares for a trip to Alaska, unaware that a killer is waiting to take his revenge—by livestreaming her death to the world.

"In Anchorage, Alaska, Deputy US Marshals Arliss Cutter and Lola Teariki are assigned to security detail. Lola is tasked with guarding Justice Townsend’s teenaged daughter while Cutter provides counter-surveillance. It’s a routine assignment until the mother and daughter decide to explore the Alaskan wilderness on the famous Glacier Discovery train. Hiding onboard are the Chechen terrorists, who launch a surprise attack. While they seize control of the engine, Cutter manages to escape with Justice Townsend by jumping off the moving train—and into the unforgiving wilderness."

Opinion: Lots of thrilling moments well described. 

Zenith Man by McCracken Poston Jr.

Started: 12/24/2025

Finished: DNF

Year: 2024

Pages: 291

Genre: true crime

Grade: F

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "In October 1997, the town of Ringgold in northwest Georgia was shaken by reports of a murder in its midst. A dead woman was found in Alvin Ridley’s house—and even more shockingly, she was the wife no one knew he had.

"McCracken Poston had been a state representative before he lost his bid for U.S. Congress and returned to his law career. Alvin Ridley was a local character who once sold and serviced Zenith televisions. Though reclusive and an outsider, the “Zenith Man,” as Poston knew him, hardly seemed capable of murder.

"Alvin was a difficult client, storing evidence in a cockroach-infested suitcase, unwilling to reveal key facts to his defender. Gradually, Poston pieced together the full story behind Virginia and Alvin’s curious marriage and her cause of death—which was completely overlooked by law enforcement. Calling on medical experts, testimony from Alvin himself, and a wealth of surprising evidence gleaned from Alvin’s junk-strewn house, Poston presented a groundbreaking defense that allowed Alvin to return to his peculiar lifestyle, a free man.

"Years after his trial, Alvin was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a revelation that sheds light on much of his lifelong personal battle—and shows how easily those who don’t fit societal norms can be castigated and misunderstood."

Opinion: How to make a legal case all about the lawyer instead of the client...at least this is how this book starts out and honestly, I don't care. I want to know about the client, the murder, the case, what the lawyer is going to do to help their client out. 

A Limited Edition Murder by Lauren Elliott

Started: 12/21/2025

Finished: 12/24/2025

Year: 2024

Pages: 316

Genre: mystery

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Although enjoying her extended stay working at Second Chance Books and Bindery in West Yorkshire, Addie still feels adrift--far from home, her friends, and her own beloved bookstore, Beyond the Page Books and Curios. The engagement party of her dear friend, Tony, at Milton Manor promises to be a joyful distraction. But there's an ill wind blowing at the estate: When Tony presents his fiancâe with a special copy of Wuthering Heights as an engagement gift, the lord of the manor insists the book was stolenfrom his library . . . Things go from troubling to tragic when Addie takes her Yorkipoo, Pippi, out for a walk on the moors and stumbles across the body of a young woman. When the police suspect Tony of foul play, Addie vows to get to the bottom of what's going on. But it's a twisted, treacherous path to the truth and Addie will need to watch her every step "

Opinion: This was not a good continuation of the series. New country. No real development of Addie. A throw in of two of her friends that just seemed pointless. The mystery was good.

The Librarians of Lisbon by Suzanne Nelson

Started: 12/20/2025

Finished: DNF

Year: 2025

Pages: 315

Genre: historical fiction (WWII)

Grade: D

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Lisbon 1943. As two American librarians are drawn into a city of dangerous subterfuge and unexpected love affairs, they are forced to choose between their missions and the men they love. Brimming with evocative writing and meticulous research, award-winning author Suzanne Nelson spins a web of secret aliases, sweeping romance, and great sacrifice. Inspired by real historical figures, this is the captivating story of two remarkable young women, their bravery and heartache, and a friendship that withstands the ravages of war.

"With World War Two raging across Europe, best friends Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan are enlisted by the U.S. Intelligence Office and sent to Lisbon—a sparkling city and hotbed of trouble, harboring exiled royalty, hunted refugees, and spies trading double-edged secrets in seductively dark corners. In official capacity, librarians Selene and Bea have been recruited to catalog the vast mountain of information gathered by the Allies, but by night, both women are undercover agents tasked with infiltrating the Axis spy network.

"Where Selene is confident and brash, Bea is bookish and careful. Selene longs to escape her family’s impossible expectations and embrace her independence, while all Bea wants is to heal from heartbreak and keep impulsive Selene out of trouble. But soon, both librarians are caught up in treacherous games of deception alongside two of Lisbon’s most notorious men—the outcast Portuguese baron, Luca Caldeira, and the lethal double-agent, Gable. As Selene charms her way through lavish ballrooms and fêtes with Luca, Bea is plunged into Gable’s shadowy underworld of informants. Victory depends upon the joint success of their missions, but when an unexpected betrayal throws a carefully spun web of lies into chaos, everything they’ve sacrificed is put at risk. As Selene and Bea are pushed to their breaking points can their friendship, and their hearts, survive the cost of war?"

Opinion: Eh...too many things going on. Characters are blah. 

Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson

Started: 12/17/2025

Finished: 12/19/2025

Year: 2024

Pages: 321

Genre: mystery

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved, eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she's left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstop, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn't leave immediately.

"But Madeline Brimley, not one to be intimidated, ignores the threats and soldiers on. Until there's another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now with a cloud of suspicion falling over her, it's up to Madeline to untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim."

Opinion: Not a great story. Some things did not flow. Hard to remember how old Madeline based on her how she acts. The mystery was decent.

Remain by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan

Started: 12/15/2025

Finished: 12/17/2025

Year: 2025

Pages: 329

Genre: paranormal romance mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation—that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world, a gift that runs in their family—sits uneasily with Tate, who struggles to believe in more than what reason can explain. But when he takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world.

"Tate and Wren find themselves forging an immediate connection, one that neither has ever experienced before. But Tate gradually discovers that below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy, and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom. Tate realizes that in order to free Wren from an increasingly desperate fate, he will need to unearth the truth about her past before time runs out . . . a quest that will make him doubt whether we can ever believe the stories we tell about ourselves, and the laws that govern our existence. Love—while transformative—can sometimes be frightening.

"A story about the power of transcendent emotion, Remain asks us all: Can love set us free not only from our greatest sorrows, but even from the boundaries of life and death?"

Opinion: A good mix of paranormal (ghost), romance and mystery. Not a tearjerker like other Sparks' books have been.