Friday Face Off: Monthly Round Up of Covers
30 October 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Books, fiction, Firday Face Off, Monthly Round Up of Covers, reading
Today is another opportunity to play along at the Friday Face Off where you choose a book and compare the covers. Originally created by Books by Proxy). If you’re taking part I would love you to drop me a link so I can check out your cover choices. .
I’ve decided to make a couple of changes to my weekly Friday Face Off – nothing too drastic – at the start of the month, the first Friday Face Off of the month, I’m aiming to take a look at joining in with the Birthstone Book Covers meme created by Leslie @ Books Are The New Black so for the first FFO every month I will search for covers that match that month’s birthstone (from books that I’ve read) and compare them and choose a favourite. For the last Friday of every month I’m going to look at the books I’ve read that month and do the same.
Today is the final Friday of the month so today I shall be looking at the covers for the books I have read this month:
One of these I’m still reading however I have absolutely no doubt that it will be finished by the end of the month, because it’s brilliant so far, so I’m including it here:
- Sleepers in the Snow by Joanne Harris – read
- A Scholar’s Guide to Demonology & Other Dark Arts by Genevieve Cogman – currently reading
- The Thrice Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman
- Royal Witch by Philippa Gregory
- The House of Cursed Daughters by C.J. Cooke
- The Bookshop Book by Mark Lawrence
- The Porcelain Sisters by Daryl Gregory
- The Wolves of War by John Grwynne
I mean, what can I say, look at this line up of fantastic reads that I’ve been lucky enough to experience this month. Two reviews yet to follow, There is a little bit of everything here, witches, warriors and wolves, books inside books inside bookshops and libraries, fantastically fun fantasy, downright good fun in a school with demons, a porcelain doll (for goodness sake) and a haunting with a difference. Are you not intrigued???
So, to my favourite cover (which was so difficult to choose!)
Okay, I’m going with this bad boy:
Which is your favourite this week?
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Famous Last Lies by Jenny Hollander
28 October 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't wait Wednesday, Famous Last Lies, Jenny Hollander, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is: Famous Last Lies by Jenny Hollander. Here~s the description and cover:
From bestselling author Jenny Hollander comes a star-studded thriller about the complex nature of sisterhood, and the glitz and gore of showbiz.
Eight years ago, Hayley was a nobody. A teenager in suburban England. One-half of a little-known singing duo with her sister Anna. Now Hayley Sharp is a global sensation, famous for her platinum albums, sold-out arenas, and fairytale origin story: discovered by chance by legendary producer Julian Reeves and whisked away to glittering Los Angeles.
But the truth behind Hayley’s rise to fame is darker than anyone imagined.
When Julian Reeves’s skeletal remains are found in the California desert, the investigation into his death threatens to shatter the narrative that made Hayley a global icon. As old secrets claw their way to the surface, pop music’s golden girl must confront the devastating cost of her success—and just how far she’ll go to keep the past buried.
Expected publication: February 2027
Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Freebie
27 October 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Halloween Freebie, That Artsy Reader Girl, Top Ten Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic. Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here. This week’s prompt is:
A Halloween Freebie
Check out these covers and very brief descriptions and links below:
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison – A cult of the unexpected
The Porcelain Sisters by Daryl Gregory – An Absolute Blast With Dolls
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton – World End Scenario with Animals
The Corset by Laura Purcell – Stitch in Time Gothic(y) Goodness
The Last Witch by CJ Cooke – Fantastic Historic Fiction With Witches
Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater – Good vs Evil, Highly Entertaining
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison – Vampires doing what they do
Wolf Worm by T Kingfisher – Insect Horror with a Twist
You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce – Tricksy Fae or Maybe Not
Run by Blake Crouch – Very Entertaining Race to Survive
I had so many books for this that I feel like I should do a few different horror style posts. I tried to find a selection that all had slightly different feels. So, vampires, zombie feel, fae, insect, angels and demons, Witches, Animals, dolls, cults and gothic horror.
Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up
25 October 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Booking Ahead, Caffeinated Book Reviewer, The Sunday Post, The Weekly Wrap Up
Today I’m posting my Weekly Wrap Up and I’m linking up to The Sunday Post over at Kimberly’s Caffeinated Reviewer. Without further ado:
Weekly Update
Hey everyone. How’s your week been? I’ve been a bit neglectful of my blog this week so I need to do some catching up. But, I did manage to complete The House of Cursed Daughters by CJ Cooke (which was brilliant) and then I picked up Royal Witch by Philippa Gregory which is very easy to engage with and I am hoping to finish it later today.
Next Week’s Reads
Next week I shall be picking up Wolves of War by John Grwynne then depending on how I get along I would like to pick up Mazywood by Tananarive Due.
Reviews Posted:
- The House of Cursed Daughters by CJ Cooke
- The Bookshop Book by Mark Lawrence
Outstanding Reviews
- The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
- This Blade of Ours by Shalini Abeysekara
Hoping to see you round the blogosphere this forthcoming week
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Emerald Lake by Nita Prose
21 October 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Can't Wait Wedesday, Emerald Lake, fiction, Nita Prose, reading, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is: Emerald Lake by Nita Prose. I loved her Molly the Maid series so I’m very excited to see what the author has created next. Check out the cover and description below:
An idyllic lakeside cottage hides long-buried secrets in this haunting mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid.
For most of her life, Jane Weber has kept the secrets of one devastating summer submerged in the brooding waters of Emerald Lake. Now, at eighty-four and in failing health, all Jane wants is to live out her days in peace at her lakeside cottage—the place where she first fell in love and where she suffered a loss so profound she wishes she could forget it.
But when her young granddaughters stumble upon human remains by the lake, the discovery sends shock waves through Jane’s entire community, reopening a mystery everyone thought had been laid to rest long ago. Police officer Clair Mundy begins digging into the area’s dark history, unearthing lies, scandals, and the strange legend of a woman who the locals insist has been haunting Emerald Lake for generations.
Jane knows far more than she’s willing to say—including what happened in the summer of 1955 when first she met that mysterious boy who existed in the shadows between the water and the woods. As the investigation closes in, Jane must decide whether to protect the secrets that have defined her life or tell the truth before it’s too late.
Atmospheric, emotionally charged, and utterly immersive, Emerald Lake is a sweeping story of love and loss, memory and wilderness, and the dangerous myths we cling to in order to survive.
Expected publication: April 2027
