January Round Up: What’s on My Plate for February
31 January 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Backlist books, Book Reviews, book-blog, Bookforager's Picture Prompt Book Bingo 2026, Books, Books Bones and Buffy, February reads, fiction, January Round Up, reading, What's on my Plate
This year I’m once again going to try to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
My Monthly Wrap Up: January
I had a really good reading month in January. I managed to complete all my review books, plus I read two of my February books. I also picked up one of my backlist books. I have three reviews outstanding which I am hoping to post next week. Here’s what I read:
- Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
- A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St James
- Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz
- The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May
- Fiend by Alma Katsu
- Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis
- Traitor in the Ice by Karen Maitland
- Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill
- Storm by Rachel Hawkins
- A Forest Darkly by AG Slatter
What’s On My Plate: February:
- Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill – Already Read
- A Forest Darkly by AG Slatter – Already Read
- Temple Fall by RL Boyle
- Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
- Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward
- Loving a Vampire is Total Chaos by Aura Hayes
- The Magician’s Daughter by HG Parry (Backlist book)
Backlist Book
Traitor in the Ice by KJ Maitland (review to follow next week)
February’s Backlist book: The Magician’s Daughter by HG Parry
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt Book Bingo
And the ‘wordy’ version:
Picture Prompt Book Bingo 2026 (text version)
| 1. A teacup and saucer | 2. A set of weighing scales | 3. A moth | 4. A hand holding some fanned out playing cards |
| 5. A hot air balloon | 7. A human eye | 8. A cooking pot hanging over a campfire | |
| 9. A griffin | 10. A large, old key | 11. A hand holding a threaded needle | 12. An octopus |
| 13. A plant being repotted | 14. A skull and crossbones | 15. A decorative water fountain | 16. A pinch-clip purse |
This month I’m going to tick off No.6 – An acorn by using Nightshade and Oak (which feels very appropriate) – I mean, check out the cover:
Review: Outlaw Planet by MR Carey
29 January 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, fiction, MR Carey, Outlaw Planet, reading, Review
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Very clever, but, takes time
Okay, so I’ve read and enjoyed a good number of MR Carey’s books (with the odd one or two being misses) and so I’m always eager when I see a new one on the horizon. To be honest, science fiction doesn’t always work for me but Carey seems to cross over between fantasy and sci fi with ease and so I feel more confident picking up his books – even if they veer out of my comfort zone. Basically, he’s a fine author but when I saw Outlaw Planet I literally thought ‘no, this is too much, this looks hardcore sci-fi’ and it scared me a little, but I also wanted the gunslinging outlaw. I was equally daunted and desperate so when I picked it up, at least 50% (maybe 60%, maths isn’t my strong point either) of me expected to really struggle! I’m not even joking. As it happens, there was no need to fear. Trust in Carey. Yes, this takes its time a little, but for goodness sake, when did we all become so impatient. Give the story a chance to develop and I guarantee you this will hook you, line and sinker. There were even tears. Who even am I?
Firstly, I’m not going to attempt to outline the plot, this review is a little late, there are so many great reviews out there and I usually keep plot descriptions to the minimum, but those are not the reasons. This book is some kind of gender mash up, there’s the western, gunslinging outlaw, this whole other planet, multiverse ‘thing’ and of course this kind of military feel also going on so, you better believe I’m going to make a mess of giving you the description so here it is:
“This is the story of Bess – or Dog-Bitch Bess as she came to be known. It’s the story of the gun she carried, whose name was Wakeful Slim. It’s the story of the dead man who carried that gun before her and left a piece of himself inside it. And it’s the tale of how she turned from teacher, to renegade, and ultimately to hero.
This is also the tale of the last violent engagements in an inter-dimensional war – one of the most brutal the multiverse had ever seen.
This is how Bess learned the truth about her world. Came to it the hard way, through pain and loss and the reckless spilling of blood, and carried it with her like a brand on her soul. And once she knew it – knew for sure how badly she’d been used – she had no option but to do something about it.”
Now, I can move on to what I liked.
I will start actually by giving you my one slight downer – this is a slow build. But, trust the author. He has people to see and places to go that require the backstory. Take Bess, you need to know why she became an outlaw, she had a beautiful life.. no read it for yourself and find out. And, Bess isn’t the only backstory, we have these soldiers (I confess it took me a little time to really get into this storyline but then – wow, it all comes together in such a perfect way), the planet also has a backstory and a twist in the tale that I didn’t see coming.
I loved, absolutely loved, the idea of Wakeful Slim. A sentient gun. Slim is next level.
On top of this we have other standout characters and I loved the little crew that Bess eventually found herself surrounded by.
Anyway, I’m probably making a bit of a pig’s ear out of this review but the long and the short of it is I really enjoyed it. It took me a little while to get into and for part of that time I really didn’t know where the author was going but then he brings it all together in such a fantastic fashion. Heartfelt. Bittersweet. Emotionally satisfying.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The Above is my own opiniion.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars
Review: Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill
26 January 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, fiction, Greenteeth, Molly O'Neill, Nightshade and Oak, Review
My Five Word TL:DR Review: History and Mythology Perfectly Blended
I absolutely adored Greenteeth and couldn’t wait to read more by this author and Nightshade and Oak certainly didn’t disappoint. O’Neill has a way of blending history and folklore that is quite magical, she also seems to like to bring together two totally different characters, who, on the face of it, really shouldn’t get on, and then throw them into a situation. In Greenteeth we had a lake monster and a witch and in Nightshade and Oak we have a Goddess and a warrior.
The start of the story is amazing. We witness the Goddess of Death, Mallt Y Nos, and her pack of dogs roaming as they sweep through the carnage of a battlefield. Mallt is responsible for sending souls to their final resting place, helping those that are stuck or unhappy. Unfortunately, during her work she is struck by an errant spell that strips her of her immortality. She becomes a frail human, no longer blessed with great strength and speed. The person responsible for this action is a female warrior called Bellis, daughter of Boudicca. The Iceni tribe were making a final stand against the Romans, it didn’t go well and Belis was trying a spell of healing. The two are now thrown together through need and to be fair, although they set out on a quite simple quest things become much more complicated along the way.
What I loved about this.
It’s a really easy story to engage with, similar to Greenteeth. It’s set in a period where myth and magic were still believed in and it blends into the story easily.
I love Mallt. She’s a great character to get along with. She’s been a Goddess for so long, she barely thinks about the things she now does, it’s all automatic, she takes for granted her long life and her abilities so when she loses them not only is it devastating for her but it does make for some situations that definitely bring light relief. She’s so naturally arrogant, but then she finds she can’t climb a hill without hurting everywhere, she feels hunger, she can’t run fast, and she’s smaller in stature than Belis. It’s all quite unbelievable to her and she has to go through a massive learning curve, understanding once again how to speak to others, how to ask for help and finally realising that she can be hurt, both physically and emotionally. She’s interesting and easy to read.
Belis isn’t quite as quirky so in some ways she takes a back seat. She also doesn’t share as much page time as Mallt so although we are treated to little chapters where we see her in the past, it’s not as easy to become attached. Don’t get me wrong, I liked this character, she’s steadfast and clearly been taught well but a lot of what she does takes place off page so you don’t really witness her capabilities. It’s like we’re more wrapped up in Mallt’s conundrum than Belis’s. Which I really didn’t mind.
The world building is to the point. It definitely is the sort of story that expects readers to pick up and run with things and I can’t deny that I found that easy enough to do. This isn’t a history lesson and I’m not sure how historically correct certain story lines depicted are but I enjoyed the way the story blends the Roman elements with the mythological. I also really liked the dialogue and the style in which the story is told. It isn’t heavily described but it conjures a picture and the dialogue isn’t olde worlde but at the same time it isn’t modern and I really appreciate that.
I think I’ve seen the author described as ‘cosy’ fantasy. I can see where this description fits in some ways as there is almost a fairytale element to her storytelling, probably more so with Greenteeth I think, but, I don’t know that I’d say this is cosy. This certainly doesn’t shy away from warfare and death. There is a very slow building romance but there’s also a bittersweet ending – which to me felt like the only real way that this story could end.
Overall, I had a really good time reading this and in fact practically completed it in only two sittings because I didn’t really like putting it aside. I think I can safely say that Molly O’Neill is an author that I will be watching with interest.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4 of 5 twinkly stars
Booking Ahead/Weekly Wrap Up
18 January 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Booking Ahead, Books, Caffeinated Book Reviewer, fiction, reading, Sunday Post, Weekly Update, 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
The weather is horrible, it seems to rain 80% of the time at the moment which makes everything very dreary, and it’s so cold. I feel like this is the worst winter I’ve had for about 5 or 6 years. Still, it is what it is. In other news, I’ve had quite a good week in terms of reading and blogging. This week I posted a TTT which was all about anticipated books in 2026, I’ve posted a couple of reviews Rings of Fate and The Last Death of the Year and also took part in my first Spell the Month in Books post *reminder to self to go link up! I’ve also managed to read The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May and Fiend by Alma Katsu. I’ll be posting reviews for both next week along with my review (hopefully) for Outlaw Planet by MR Carey. Later today I’ll be making a start on Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis which I’m really looking forward to.
Next Week’s reads
Next week I’m hoping to complete Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis which will mean I’ve completed my January books and can make a start on February, and also fit in a Backlist book. I decided to generate a random number list for the books that I’ve chosen to read and the first book picked out was number 6. So, Traitor in the Ice by KJ Maitland will be my first Backlist Book. My first February review book is Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill – I might have to pick this up directly after finishing the Fae Queen book – I don’t think I can wait any longer.
Reviews Posted:
- Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz
- The Last Death of the Year by Sophie Hannah
Outstanding Reviews
- Outlaw Planet by MR Carey
- The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May
- Fiend by Alma Katsu
Review: Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
9 January 2026
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Black Sheep, Book Reviews, Books, Cackle, fiction, Horror, Play Nice, Rachel Harrison, Review
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Unreliable Narrator plus Possessed House
What could possibly go wrong!?!
I really enjoyed Play Nice. I wouldn’t say this was a haunted house story, it’s more a possession and the core of the plot revolves around secrets and lies and a dysfunctional family but it has drama, intrigue and a few scares up it’s sleeves
As the story begins we meet Clio. A young woman with a picture perfect life – on the face of it at least. She’s an influencer, she is happy in life to be honest and again, on the face of it, she has a good relationship with her family, she’s the youngest member who is seemingly doted on. In reality. Her parents divorced when she was young and after a series of dramatic episodes their mother lost custody. A lot of Clio’s memories of that period seem to have been lost to time so when she receives a phone call informing her that her mother has passed away (and died in the house where all the drama took place, a house that everyone believed to have been sold) well, a whole can of worms is opened up.
Firstly, Clio, wants to prove her maturity by ‘flipping’ the house. Her sisters don’t want her to do so but reluctantly agree. Clio is also the only family member to attend the mother’s funeral – which leads to discord. To be honest, relationships between all the family members are a little strained and come quite easy to fall outs which leads me to think that their happy family vibe was a very surface level affair. Of course, at the funeral, Clio learns a few home truths about the family (because of course she’s only ever heard one side of the story) and then moving into her mother’s house, and finding a copy of the book that their mother wrote about her experiences living at the house, a copy that seems to have been annotated especially with Clio in mind, well, her memory starts to open up a little and something doesn’t quite fit.
What I really enjoyed about this.
Well, I won’t deny that I’m a fan of this author. I’ve not read all of her backlist but the books I’ve read have been really good. (I will gave a special shout out to Black Sheep and Cackle). Always easy to engage with and incredibly entertaining and Play Nice is no exception.
I think that Clio could be a downside for some readers. She’s basically a bit selfish, immature and makes some stupid decisions, but I didn’t find her unlikable. She’s young, she’s popular and she basically thinks her life is golden, that nothing will ever go wrong for her. I think her side of the story did give me doubts as to whether she could be totally reliable as a narrator but, again, I quite enjoy the whole ‘unreliable narrator’ trope and as her mother also fits into this category you have something of a double whammy going on which is a win/win for me.
I liked that we have a double story taking place. The one we’re reading in the moment and the backstory being provided by the now deceased mom who published an account of what she says took place in the house. This is a creepy story – of course you have no idea how much artistic license has been taken by the mother – so, this is why we have the is she/isn’t she an unreliable narrator.
On top of this there is plenty of family drama. As I mentioned above it doesn’t take long before cracks begin to appear in what at first felt like a perfect family unit. And, not everyone is being totally honest with the truth.
The scary scenes were kept to a minimum but when they appeared they certainly produced goosebumps.
This isn’t an all out horror story. There’s a lot of blown out of all proportion family drama and some psychological scares. Frankly, I couldn’t have slept in that house for a New York minute but I’m a total wuss so any of the parts with the demon/possession element did give me the heebies. I suppose if you’re an absolute horror aficionado you might find this a bit tame. Frankly, I enjoyed it very much and have no problem recommending so long as you go in knowing – light on horror, demon not ghost, annoying central character, lots of family drama and unreliable narrators. Haha, that sounds terrible when I write it down like that but personally I would pick up this/any book based on that list.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4 of 5 stars
Books and travelling with Lynn 