We Burned So Bright

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by TJ Klune
First sentence: “Don switched off the television.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: April 28, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs. There is also discussion of suicide, murder, and violence. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy bookstore.

The world is ending. A black hole is coming, and there is no way to stop it. So, it’s just acceptance. Except everyone is facing it differently. For Don and Rodney, this means driving from Maine to the Pacific Coast to fulfill their obligations. Along the way, they meet a myriad of people, all dealing with the end of the world in their own way.

This was such a depressing book, especially for Klune. I suppose it’s because I’m used to end-of-the-world stories where humanity has hope of surviving. But, when faced with a black hole? Nothing. It’s nihilistic, in many ways. And yet, because it’s Klune, this was hopeful and touching, Don and Rodney had a beautiful life together, despite the challenges they faced being gay. They loved each other, supported each other and they were ready to face the end together. And Klune is a very astute observer of humanity, and every character, no matter how long we interacted with them, felt real.

So, no, it won’t be my favorite Klune book, but it’s absolutely worth reading.

Audiobook: All the Crooked Saints

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by Maggie Stiefvater
Read by Thom Rivera
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There’s some swearing, including a couple of f-bombs. It is in the Young Adult Science Fiction section of the bookstore, but younger kids might be interested in it.

I’m not really going to sum up the plot, since I did that when I first read this book eight years ago. I did enjoy Rivera’s narration, though. And maybe I enjoyed this better as an audiobook. It felt like Rivera was sitting there telling me this tall tale about family and love and miracles. It’s the least Stiefvater-y book of all the ones I’ve read this year, but I still loved it. And yeah, while I see it’s problematic that Stiefvater is exploring a culture that isn’t hers, I still liked the way she wove religion and myth with Latinx culture and 1960s. It was a delightful audiobook to listen to.

Highly recommended on audio, especially.

Monthly Round-Up: November 2025

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I have NO idea where this month went. Or why Christmas is only 3 weeks away. This does not compute with my brain. I’m still stuck somewhere back in August or September, I think.

That said, my favorite book this month is about a VERY November story:

The Gales of November

It was a fascinating book.

As for the rest:

Adult Fiction:

Every Step She Takes (audiobook)
The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion, Vol 2 and 3
First-Time Caller
Good Spirits
The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion, Vol 4 and 5

Graphic Novels:

Two Tribes

Non-Fiction:

Inspired

Middle Grade:

Red River Rose

Young Adult:

The Scorpio Races (audiobook)

What was your favorite this month?

Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vols 4 and 5

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by Beth Brower
First sentence (vol 4): ” Dr. Fairchild just left.” (vol 5): “I woke to the bells of St. Chrispian’s church.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: Volume 1, Volume 2 and 3
Content: There is talk of death, and a funeral. and some questionable situations for a 20-year-old woman. It’s in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

These two volumes pick up Emma’s story from September through December. There are more trials with Cousin Archibald, there are intriguing things with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes (and the Reprobates Ten). There’s a funeral, there is Christmas and Halloween, and just more adventures (and mis-adventures) by Emma.

And much like the other volumes, these were incredibly delightful to read. No, nothing really happens – it’s a daily journal after all – but the characters are SO charming, the lack of plot doesn’t really matter. I want to spend time with Emma and her friends, to experience her life and adventures, and just bathe in the delight that is these books.

On to the next one!

Good Spirits

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by B. K. Borison
First sentence: “On the first day of December, the universe gave to me –“
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some swearing, including f-bombs, and on-page sexytimes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Harriet York is a decent person who absolutely adores Christmas. So, she’s incredibly surprised when Nolan, a Ghost of Christmas Past, shows up at her house, saying that she is due for a reckoning. However, things don’t go as usual: Harriet’s not a bad person, though she has some regrets, and Nolan is finding that being with Harriet is more important than doing his afterlife job. Though the deadline of Christmas Eve is quickly approaching, and they need to figure out why it’s Harriet being haunted.

Ok, the premise of this one is so silly: she falls in love with the Ghost of Christmas Past. I mean, c’mon. However, Borison does it well. She makes it work. She’s developed a whole Department of Hauntings and Spirits, that I definitely want to know more about, and made the magic part of this book actually work. Harriet was a delightful character – quirky but not that girl – to spend time with, and she made some tough decisions, standing up for herself to her (admittedly rotten) parents. While it was a bit slow to start, I found myself enjoying this one enormously.

So yeah, silly but worth it. And I’m hooked on Borison’s books now.

Audiobook: The Gales of November

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by John U. Bacon
Read by Johnny Heller
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There are some harrowing instances, and talk (of course) of shipwrecks. It’s in the History section of the bookstore.

I honestly didn’t know much about the Edmund Fitzgerald and its wreck in Lake Superior, except the Gordon Lightfoot song (though I have been to the shipwreck museum in Whitefish Bay). That said, I didn’t know everything, and Bacon looks at all the aspects of it. From sailing on the Great Lakes (more dangerous than the ocean, believe it or not) to the importance of shipping, to the history of the ship, to the actual circumstances of the ship sinking. It’s a social history as well as a history of the ship, looking at the sailors’ lives, as well as the shipping industry as a whole.

And it was utterly fascinating. Having grown up in Michigan, I adore the Great Lakes, but I didn’t realize just the scope of the impact the lakes have had over the years. I found myself wanting to stay in the car listening. Heller was a fine narrator, but it really was the story that carried this book.

A remarkable book about a fascinating incident in time.

Two Tribes

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by Emily Bowen Cohen
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher
Content: There is bad-mouthing by divorced parents of the other parent, a runaway kid (nothing happens), and some slurs against Native Peoples. It’s in the Middle Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Mia lives with her Jewish mother and stepfather in LA, and goes to a Jewish school. Which is all good, except her father is Muscogee and she longs to learn about her Native side of the family. Her mom is not really open to talking about Mia’s dad, or her Native family, so Mia hatches a plan to take a bus to Oklahoma and visit them, without her mom’s knowledge or approval. Once in Oklahoma, she meets relatives she barely remembers, learns about the traditions, and goes to a powwow. Once her mom figures out what she’s done, however, she is whisked back to LA. There, she finds the courage to confront her mother about wanting to learn more about both sides, both tribes, that she has inherited.

On the one hand, I think this is an excellent story about kids struggling between identities, with divorced parents who aren’t on good terms with each other. It’s a basic primer about Native peoples – there is a confrontation with a kid at the Jewish school who insists she can’t be Native because they “aren’t even alive anymore.” There’s also a side bit about a book that perpetuates negative Native stereotypes. And a confrontation with her Rabbi about using a slur – something he didn’t even register.

On the other hand, I’m not sure I really liked it. I liked parts of it, sure, and I liked the Idea behind it, and I think it’ll be good for kids to have access to. But, the story felt flat. It all happened too quickly. There wasn’t enough development with the character or her family. Mom turned on a dime (I wanted a story about mom, honestly). It just lacked the depth I think it could have had.

But it’s still a good graphic novel.

Inspired

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by Rachel Held Evans
First sentence: “Once upon a time, there lived a girl with a magic book.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: It’s accessible and not too scholarly. It’s in the Religion and Philosophy section of the bookstore.

In this thoughtful work of scriptural examination, Evans looks at the stories in the Bible and deconstructs them. She asserts that the Bible isn’t an instruction manual, at least not in the way modern Christians have come to think of it, but rather a collection of stories that are meant to instruct, to challenge, and yes, to inspire.

I don’t know what I expected going in, but Evans’s writing is so accessible, so comforting, that even though she’s talking about challenging things, I was willing to take them in and think about them. She makes excellent points about faith and community, and about the dangers of prooftexting and being too absolutist about the Bible. Everything in context, as it should be.

A very good read.

First-Time Caller

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by B. K .Borison
First sentence: “Love is a lie.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some on-page sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Aiden is the host of a local call-in Romance advice show in Baltimore, but he’s lost his way. He’s gotten snippy with the callers, lost his will to care about their problems, and – possibly worst of all – has lost his faith in love.

Lucie is a single mom who’s not unhappy with her life. She’s co-parenting with her child’s dad and his husband, she’s got a good job as a mechanic. Except her 12-year-old daughter thinks differently. So, when her daughter calls in to Aiden’s show asking for help with her mom’s love life, he’s intrigued. And, after getting annoyed/upset/frustrated, Lucie is also intrigued. And what if, in the middle of trying to find someone for Lucie, they discover that maybe they don’t want to find someone else?

I haven’t read Borison’s work before, but I loved the cover of this one (yes, I do judge a book by it’s cover sometimes), and so I picked it up when it was on sale at the store. And I wasn’t disappointed! It’s such a delightful romance, with everything I want: fun characters, snappy dialogue, and a romance worth having (plus some spicy scenes!). It’s a good thing I liked this, because I have her other two books on my pile to read as well!

The Unselected Journals of Emma Lion, Vols 2 and 3

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by Beth Brower
First sentence (vol 2): “Aunt Eugenia’s mandate was waiting with a degree of importance when I awoke this morning.”
First sentence (vol 3): “A noise woke me from my dreams this morning.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy them there!
Others in the series: Vol 1
Content: There is nothing untoward in the books (maybe a bit of drunkenness). They are in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

One of the nice things about the journals is the next one picks up right where the last one left off. Which is why I ended up buying them all; I didn’t want to wait! Volume two is May and June – in which Emma goes on an Adventure and rescues Jane Eyre (the book) from the clutches of the strict headmistress of the school for girls she used to go to. We also learn a bit more about her relationship with Maxwell (who has been killed in Afghanistan). There are increasing connections (which continue in volume 3) with The Tennant (Mr. Pierce) the Duke of Islington, Roland, and Young Hawkes (the parish rector). Of course, there is Aunt Eugenia compelling Emma to be the foil for the lovely Arabella, /money woes, and always Cousin Archibald being his usual nasty self.

I think Volume 3 delighted me more – there was a ridiculous scavenger hunt for tickets to an impromptu Julias Cesar (so silly!) in mid-July, and a couple of delightful parties. Emma deepened her relationship with Mr. Pierce (going back the early 2000s – which team am I on?), and Cousin Archibald hilariously falls down the stairs and breaks a leg.

The most delightful thing about these is that, even though there is not much plot, the characters are SO delightful, Emma is such a charming narrator, the setting – St. Crispain’s – is such a quirky, fun, silly place that I can’t help but be charmed on every page. I know I will be sad when I reach the end of the eight volumes, but for now, I’m thoroughly enjoying this!