The Sun-Kissed Summer Reading Guide for the Whole Family Plus Free Printable Canva Trackers!

Summer vacation is officially here! Eleven long weeks of warm afternoons, beach trips, and lazy mornings mean one very important thing: it’s peak reading season. Whether you are packing a tote bag for a day by the ocean, loading up the car for a family road trip, or looking for a thrilling mystery to dive into during a late-night thunderstorm, a good book is the ultimate summer essential.

To make sure everyone in the house has the perfect page-turner, we have curated a massive, multi-generational Summer Reading Guide. We have broken it down by age group, from delightful beachside picture books for the little ones to thrilling young adult mysteries and sizzling adult beach reads.

Even better? We want to help your family keep track of their reading goals this season! At the bottom of this post, you'll find links to our custom, beautifully designed Canva Reading Logs and Trackers that you can customize and print at home.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org and Amazon. If you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps support our book club community!

🏖️ Picture Books & Early Readers Perfect for Beach Days & Read-Alouds

1. Jules vs. the Ocean by Jessie Sima

Jules is on a mission to build the biggest, the fanciest, and the most excellent sandcastle. Her sister will be so impressed! But the ocean has other plans. Waves keep smashing her creations, and when the ocean finally takes her bucket, Jules decides to take a stand. This is a tongue-in-cheek story of sand, sea, and sisterhood told with signature warmth and delightful illustrations.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

2. Sand Cakes by Kallie George Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth

"Sand cake, Sun cake, Sprinkle-topped with rocks cake. Will you eat what I baked?" A fun day at the beach means making sweet treats out of sand! Unfortunately, this little beachside baker can’t seem to find anyone, not even the seagulls willing to try her seaweed pies and sea foam cream puffs. This buoyantly poetic, funny picture book is a treat for all ages.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

3. The Colors of Summer by Danna Smith

Celebrate the bright, beautiful shades of the season with this vibrant Little Golden Book. From turquoise beach towels and purple flip-flops to orange sand shovels and blue waves, young kids will love discovering their favorite summer hues across a fun-filled day at the shore.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

4. The Octopus Escapes by Maile Meloy

An octopus is perfectly happy in his undersea cave until a diver captures him for an aquarium. Though the humans give him food and toy-like tests, he quickly tires of captivity. Under the cover of darkness, he plots a daring escape. This exciting, heartfelt story captures the thrill of hard-won freedom and the ultimate pull of home.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

5. See You Later by April Suddendorf

A quirky, darkly detailed, and funny cautionary tale proving the swamp isn't always greener on the other side! Gary the alligator grows tired of his small, soggy home and decides a nearby human house would be much more luxurious. He turns out to be very wrong, leading to a hilarious twist ending.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

🍦 Middle Grade & Chapter Books

6. The Underdogs Catch a Cat Burglar by Kate Temple and Jol Temple

Crime is rising in Dogtown thanks to a mysterious cat burglar stealing everything from handbags to ham sandwiches. The Underdog Detective Agency is on the case, but they are in a major slump. To solve this mystery, they do the unthinkable: hire Fang, a street-smart, one-eyed cat detective. Can a cat and dog work together? A paws-itively hilarious mystery!

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

7. Would You Rather? Summer Fun Box Set by Lindsey Daly

The ultimate road trip companion! This box set includes three bestselling books: Summer Edition, Animals Edition, and Made You Think! Edition. Packed with hilarious, thought-provoking questions, it is an essential summer activity to keep kids entertained in the car, at camp, or around the campfire.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

8. It Began with Lemonade by Gideon Sterer

On a scorching hot day, a spunky young girl decides to start a lemonade stand, only to find her street is already crowded with kid entrepreneurs. Refusing to give up, she moves her stand out to the river's edge, where she discovers an unexpected, quirky, and incredibly thirsty new clientele.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

9. Milkshake the Disappearing Milk Snake: A Graphic Novel by Akeem S. Roberts

The class pet from next door is missing! Carter and his ghost detective sidekick, Mr. Pebbles, are back on the case at Creek Elementary. Carter’s older brother reveals that his class milk snake, Milkshake, has vanished. The duo must follow the clues and solve the mystery before time runs out.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

10. What's Inside A Bird's Nest? And Other Questions About Nature & Life Cycles by Rachel Ignotofsky

From the creator of Women in Science comes a stunning nonfiction picture book exploring the lives of our winged neighbors. Perfect for curious minds, this book answers everything about eggs, nests, and life cycles using Ignotofsky’s distinctively beautiful art style, compassion, and subtle humor.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

11. The Dragon's Apprentice by James Riley

Warning: Do not read this book! The Emperor has forbidden magic, but twelve-year-old Ciara accidentally opens a book of spells and summons a fire-breathing dragon named Scorch. It turns out Scorch might be the only one who can help rescue Ciara's mother and free her village. A thrilling, magical fantasy ride.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

12. The Ghost in Cabin 13: A Graphic Novel by J.C. Phillipps

Twelve-year-old Leah is already nervous about attending sleepaway camp for the first time. But she didn't expect to deal with a real ghost in Cabin 13! Between mean girls, a séance gone wrong, and a potentially possessed doll, Leah's summer at Camp Cottontail goes from normal to straight-up spooky.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

🪵 Teen & Young Adult High Stakes & Summer Magic

13. Forbidden Mountain by Brandon Mull

In the Anoran Empire, children bond with magical spirit guides. Mako discovers a forbidden agent of chaos has returned to spread an ancient evil, forcing him into a deadly magical choice. Meanwhile, a girl named Arden infiltrates an underground criminal network to find her missing friend. When their paths collide, they must face bandit armies and dark conspiracies to save their world.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

14. Mythspeaker by Christopher Roubique

Inspired by Indigenous American folktales, thirteen-year-old Kyta has always known he was destined to save the world. When invaders steal the precious Egg of the World Turtle, threatening to destroy the land beneath them, Kyta assembles a ragtag team of kids to pull off a dangerous fortress heist. A heartwarming fantasy about teamwork and respect for nature.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

15. The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller

Luna starts seventh grade knowing exactly who she is: a quiet writer who loves making zines with her best friend, Scott. But when one of their zines goes viral, Luna gets swept up into the school's popular crowd. Soon, she faces a major dilemma: how much of her writing, her beliefs, and her best friend is she willing to compromise to stay popular?

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

16. A Copycat Conundrum, The Misfits by Lisa Yee

After solving their last major case, the awkward underdog crime-fighters known as the Misfits are acing their missions for a covert agency. But when a friendly classmate starts receiving threatening notes, and unusual earthquakes shake San Francisco just as priceless art disappears, the team must uncover a massive scheme.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

17. The QB, Summer and Me by Tay Marley

From the author of the Wattpad hit The QB Bad Boy and Me comes a novel capturing the bittersweet heat of summer love. High school sweethearts Dallas and Drayton have eleven weeks of summer vacation left before leaving for separate colleges. While Dallas worries about their future, Drayton is harboring a massive secret that could change their entire love story.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

18. In Case I Go Missing by R. N. Swann

Sarah Vincenty, a small-town amateur detective, has gone missing. The police dismiss her as a runaway, but her sidekick Fenny knows something is wrong. When Fenny finds a binder titled In Case I Go Missing, she realizes Sarah was deep into a decades-old mystery tied to the town’s dark history. Now, it's up to Fenny to finish the investigation before it’s too late.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

19. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights by Celeste Dador

Abigail, the eldest daughter of the President, just wants a normal teenage life. After an impulsive pizza order turns into front-page news, she is exiled to a Wi-Fi-free country inn for the summer. There she meets Gabriel, a camera-obsessed local unimpressed by her status. Armed with a summer bucket list, Abby discovers small-town life and unexpected romance.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

20. That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall

In this chilling Hawaiian Gothic tale, the ultra-wealthy escape to Kōpaʻa Island Resort for a luxury tech-free retreat. But for Lehua, it's a nightmare. She sneaks onto the island to find her missing twin sister, Ohia. Stranded when the boat leaves, Lehua uncovers a dark plantation history hidden behind the resort's sweet persimmons and must face the horrors lurking in the sugarcane fields.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

21. Summer Official by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Bubbly, popular basketball player Saylor and grumpy, artistic skateboarder Heaven could not be more different. But when Saylor breaks her arm and needs to escape her influencer mom’s viral videos, she strikes a deal with Heaven. Saylor helps Heaven build a social media presence for her tattoo art, leading to an intimate summer romance.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

22. Meet Me Under the Lights by Cassie Miller

Eliza Crowley is focusing on her hometown's community theater production to shake off her reputation as a rich girl. But her summer plans shift when Reed Fulton, the ace pitcher of a rival baseball team, returns to town. Drawn together despite a bitter thirty-year dispute between their families, Eliza and Reed find themselves caught in the middle of a high-stakes small-town summer.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

🔥 Adult Fiction & Beach Reads Romance, Thrillers, & Scandals

23. Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey

Madden Donahue, the new star catcher for the Yankees, has been in love with burlesque club owner Eve Mitchell since high school. When Eve’s sister suddenly leaves her with two kids, Madden steps in with a private marriage of convenience for the health benefits. What starts as a business arrangement quickly ignites into something much hotter as Madden fights to make it real.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

24. Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti

Fleeing London’s stifling marriage market, eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore crashes an absent princess’s Cornwall holiday estate using a forged invitation. Instead of a luxury vacation, she finds a derelict mansion occupied by Captain Malcolm Archer a former privateer turned con artist using the estate to cover his smuggling scheme. An entertaining, rakish historical rom-com.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

25. Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead

Ten years after her sister’s mysterious death at a Hollywood party, aspiring pop star Scout Sage is framed for a slew of targeted L.A. murders. Overnight, she becomes the world’s most famous alleged killer. To clear her name and find justice for her sister, Scout must team up with an unusual detective to unearth a dangerous pattern of Hollywood crimes.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

26. Crash Into Me by Robinne Lee

Trapped in a complicated marriage within Los Angeles’s playground of privilege, artist Cecilia Chen is struggling to find her real identity. Everything upends when she literally crashes into Anouk Ferrand, an enigmatic model she shared a brief, explosive physical and emotional entanglement with twenty years prior in Mexico. A sweeping, intense story of the past colliding with reality.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

27. The Au Pair by Teddy Wayne

Steven Hammer's literary career and marriage are both crumbling. The only bright spot is Astrid, the young Norwegian au pair who cares for his children and reveres his writing. When their secret infatuation spirals into a salacious, headline-grabbing trial, Steven must confront the wreckage of his obsession, power dynamics, and betrayal.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

28. Rules for the Summer by Meghan Quinn

Renley Gossage is determined to restore a failing Cape Meril candy shop on her own. Theo Williams is a posh, wealthy escapee from his father’s control who rents the house next door on a dare. Forced together by collapsing drywall, gossiping neighbors, and eccentric family members, their proximity turns a summer fling into something dangerously real.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

🖍️ Free Printable Summer Reading Logs & Trackers!

Ready to track your family's summer reading goals? We have designed three distinct, easy-to-use Canva templates perfect for printing or digital tracking. Click the links below to claim your free templates, edit the colors or names, and start logging those summer pages!

• ✨ Kids Weekly Reading Chart: Access Template 1 on Canva

• 📚 Family Summer Reading Bingo Log: Access Template 2 on Canva

• 🌊 Aesthetic Reading Tracker & Goal Setter: Access Template 3 on Canva

Happy reading, everyone! Drop a comment below and let us know which book you are adding to your library stack first?

Have you ever read a news headline and thought: "That's probably going to become a thriller in five years." A new AI breakthrough. Facial recognition software. Self-driving cars. Gene editing. Algorithms that know us better than we know ourselves.

Most of the time, technological progress is presented as something exciting and something that makes life easier, safer, faster, or more connected.

Techno thrillers begin with that promise. Then they ask what happens next, and the amazing thing is that the technology works, but that also turns into the problem.

💻 What Is a Techno Thriller?

Techno thrillers are built around a simple idea: innovation creates consequences.

The central conflict usually grows from a technological advancement, scientific discovery, or system that changes the way people live, communicate, travel, fight, or govern.

Unlike many forms of science fiction, the technology often feels uncomfortably believable. The suspense comes from watching those innovations collide with human ambition, greed, fear, or simple human error.

Because technology may be advancing rapidly, but people, unfortunately, are still people.

🚀 Why Readers Love Them

I think techno thrillers appeal to readers who constantly ask "What if?"

• What if dinosaurs could be cloned?

• What if social media companies had even more access to our lives?

• What if artificial intelligence became impossible to contain?

• What if warfare became automated?

The best techno thrillers take questions that already exist in the real world and push them one step further. That creates a unique kind of suspense where the threat feels possible.

Even when the story becomes larger than life, there's usually a moment where readers recognize a piece of the world they're already living in, and that's what makes these books so compelling and occasionally so unsettling.

🧬 When Progress Outpaces Control

One thing you'll notice across the genre is that the technology itself is rarely evil. The problem is usually what happens after the breakthrough.

• A corporation sees an opportunity.

• A government wants control.

• A scientist pushes a little further than they should.

• Someone builds a system without fully understanding the consequences.

The technology often performs exactly as designed, but it's the humans surrounding it who create the disaster.

That tension sits at the heart of many great techno thrillers. Progress moves faster than our ability to predict every outcome, and somebody eventually has to deal with the fallout.

📚 Why They Feel So Different

Many thrillers ask readers whether the protagonist can stop the threat. Techno thrillers often ask whether the threat should have existed in the first place.

The tension focuses on BOTH survival and responsibility.

• Who created this?

• Who controls it?

• Who benefits from it?

• And what happens once it can't be undone?

Those questions give the genre a different flavor than traditional crime novels or mystery-driven thrillers. The danger often feels bigger than a single villain because the problem is woven into a system, a technology, or an idea that has already been unleashed.

📖 If You Usually Read Other Genres...

One reason techno thrillers attract such a wide audience is that they naturally blend with several neighboring genres.

🚀 Science Fiction Readers

Start with: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

If you enjoy scientific problem-solving and high-concept ideas, this is a natural bridge into stories where technology drives the plot.

🕵️ Conspiracy Thriller Readers

Start with: The Firm by John Grisham

Power, secrecy, and information control play major roles in both genres, especially when technology becomes a tool for manipulation.

⚔️ Military Thriller Readers

Start with: Ghost Fleet by P.W. Singer and August Cole

Advanced technology, modern warfare, and geopolitical tension combine to create one of the most influential military techno thrillers of the last decade.

😱 Horror Readers

Start with: Cold Storage by David Koepp

A scientific discovery spirals into a nightmare, blending technological suspense with genuine horror energy.

📚 Beginner Pick

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Scientists achieve a breakthrough that changes the world.

Then reality arrives.

Why it works:

• instantly understandable premise

• relentless pacing

• fascinating scientific ideas

• remains surprisingly relevant decades later

This is still one of the best introductions to the genre because it perfectly captures the question at the center of every techno thriller.

Just because we can do something, should we?

📚 Advanced Pick

Daemon by Daniel Suarez

After a brilliant game designer dies, an autonomous computer program begins reshaping society according to a plan nobody can stop.

Why it works:

• ambitious scope

• frighteningly plausible concepts

• explores automation and power

• feels more relevant every year

This is the kind of techno thriller that leaves readers staring at their phones a little differently afterward.

🌙 Final Thoughts

I think techno thrillers tap into one of the most fascinating fears of the modern age: not that technology will fail, but that it will succeed far beyond our initial thoughts.

The systems we build are becoming more powerful, more connected, and more integrated into our daily lives every year. Most of that progress is wonderful.

Techno thrillers simply ask us to imagine what happens when those same tools are placed in the wrong hands, pushed too far, or allowed to operate without limits.

I wanted to talk about StokerCon a little more here because I’ve had a lot of feelings about it.

StokerCon is something I look forward to every year. I know it’s one of the biggest events in the horror world, and for those of us who write, publish, sell books, review books, or are just trying to be part of this genre in whatever way we can, it means a lot.

I’ve learned so much from the panels over the years. I’ve found new authors, learned more about publishing, listened to conversations I never would have been able to be in otherwise, and felt a little less alone in this weird little horror life I’m trying to build.

This year was also special because I got to be part of a virtual panel, which I really appreciated. I would love to do that again.

But I also have to be honest. The virtual side of StokerCon was frustrating.

Virtual tickets are not just a cute extra option for people who don’t feel like traveling. A lot of us attend virtually because we have to. Disabilities, money, work, family, health, travel, anxiety, all of it. There are a lot of reasons someone can’t just get on a plane and spend several days at a convention.

For me, virtual attendance is still attendance. I plan around it. I clear time for panels. I try to watch live when I can. I make notes. I save recordings. I treat it like a real convention because it is one.

This year, it didn’t feel like the virtual attendees were treated that way.

The recordings were delayed. Communication was almost impossible. One of the two recorded rooms had audio that was hard to understand, even after the recordings went up. And honestly, for an event this size, having only two rooms available virtually already felt limited.

I don’t think anyone set out to make virtual attendees feel forgotten. I know everyone running the in-person event is busy. I know conventions are a lot of work. I know there are always going to be problems.

But when people pay for a virtual ticket, especially when that ticket is being offered as an accessible option, there needs to be a better plan.

There needs to be someone virtual attendees can actually contact. There needs to be clear communication when recordings are delayed. There needs to be audio that people can hear. And if virtual access is going to be part of the convention, it needs to be treated like part of the convention.

Not something to deal with later.

This also ties into why I didn’t renew my HWA membership this year. Part of it was the lack of disability accommodation I’ve felt overall. The other part was the mentor program. I waited two years and was never assigned a mentor.

During the Stoker Awards, I heard people say more than once that you get out of the HWA what you put into it. I understand why people say that. But that has not been my experience.

I did try.

I joined. I attended. I waited. I reached out. I tried to be part of things in the ways I could.

And after a while, it starts to feel bad to keep showing up to spaces that say they want people included, but don’t seem ready for what that actually means.

I’m not saying this because I hate StokerCon. I don’t. I love what StokerCon can be. I love that it brings horror people together. I love the panels. I love seeing the genre celebrated. I love that for a few days, horror gets to be the main thing in the room.

I just wish the people who can’t physically be in that room were treated like they mattered too.

If virtual tickets are offered again, I really hope they’re handled with more care. Because for some of us, that’s the only door we have.

Hi gremlins and friends!

I am reorganizing my monster romance shelves and need some help.

Right now they are separated by standard edition, special edition, and NSFW special editions, but I am running low on special edition space. I always have them organized in alphabetical order, right now its genre sections as well(omegaverse, aliens, paranormal, monster, etc).

Buuuuut I used to have them organized just as one whole monstery section, combining all the inhuman stuff from aliens, to vampires, to omegaverse, just and alphabetical order.

I think I’m leaning back toward that plan, but the main question is: Do I mix my special editions back in? Or try to keep them separate? I have a LOT of books to add from Monsterotica, so I’m a tad worried, but we vibe regardless.

Help me pleeeease.

Hello comrades! It's time for another accountability post of what I'm reading and have up next on my TBR pile. In a few weeks I'm traveling to Europe to visit family (and maybe get some impulsive tattoos?? Stay tuned!), so I'm figuring out what I want to read on my flights/train rides/etc. I also smashed through a bunch of books in the last few weeks for podcast guest research, some of which were real home runs.

Here's what I've got on the docket:

• It's Different This Time by Joss Richard

• In Every Possible Way by Alicia Thompson

• The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn (I will be in Paris for a few days, so this is a perfect pick)

• By The Bootstraps by Alexa Martin

And here's what I've read recently that I loved:

• Let's Kiss and Tell by Joss Richard (eARC)— It's so refreshing to read a contemporary romance novel about characters who enjoy sex and have it often (and not necessarily with each other)!

• Whiteout by Andrea Anders — This was a reread because I was in the mood for a "we have to cuddle for warmth" scene. It's arguably the best romantic suspense I've ever read. A surly scientist and a hot chef working at a remote research station in Antarctica are on the run across the ice from mercenaries because PLOT REASONS.

• She Haunts Me Still by De Elizabeth (ARC) — Dark academia paranormal bisexual love triangle starring ghosts, vampires and theater kids!! A wild ride I couldn't put down.

• The Last Page by Katie Holt — Finally a rom-com for anyone who fantasizes about getting married in the rare books room at The Strand.

What are you reading this month?

Under a Hollow Sky by Wynter SaintClare

Representation: blindness

Genre: science fiction

In the Wake of the Gods by Kent Priore

Representation: bipolar disorder

Genre: fantasy

Love Variations by Victoria Lee*

Representation: multiple sclerosis, autism

Genre: romance

Mother Tongue by Sara Nović*

Representation: Deaf

Genre: memoir

Spur of the Moment by Juliana Smith

Representation: epilepsy

Genre: romance

Seams Like Love by Chrissie Harrison

Representation: chronic illness

Genre: romance

Never Back Down by Luna Peters

Representation: borderline personality disorder

Genre: romance

Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae*

Representation: autism

Genre: YA romance

Never Say Never by Kylie Skye

Representation: ADHD

Genre: romance

Stops Along the Way by Anna Sortino*

Representation: hard of hearing

Genre: YA romance

Pot Shot by Laura Piper Lee

Representation: Crohn's disease

Genre: romance

The Place Between Our Pains by K.J. Ramsey*

Representation: 7+ chronic illnesses

Genre: memoir

Score by Kennedy Ryan

Representation: bipolar disorder

Genre: romance

The Last Resort by Liz Leiby

Representation: migraines

Genre: romance

A Handy Duo by Sarah Madeline*

Representation: anxiety

Genre: romance

*denotes a book with own voices representation and/or an openly disabled author

DISCLAIMERS: I have not yet read these books myself and cannot testify to the accuracy of representation. Please do your own research if you have concerns! I am also sure many of the books that aren't marked with a * also contain own voices rep or are written by disabled authors, but I am only marking those that I am certain are by disabled authors!

I finished The Butcher of Nazareth and I have so many things to say about this beautiful, horrifying book. This book is a five-star read for me. However, with full sincerity, it is very much not going to be for everyone.

I'm going to do something I rarely do and put trigger warnings down so people know what to expect: child loss, blood, gore, religion, violence, pregnancy.

Okay. Now that that's out there, all I want to do is talk about this book. David Scott Hay wrote something unreal. Wholly original. I've never read anything like it in my life. This story is a prequel to the New Testament, told between the Old Testament before Jesus becomes Jesus.

We follow The Butcher who was a participant in the Culling ordered by King Herod. We follow the Butcher through his pain and agony, the death of his infant son, his isolation from his family, his loss of self in his fury and rage. We see the Butcher and his anger at God, his hatred of Jesus, his resentment of faith. Along the way, it's the Butcher who plants the seeds for the death of Jesus in his search to find him and cull the only babe who escaped when his infant son did not.

The Butcher copes with his son's death, his resentment at Jesus for not suffering the same, and the way the world was changing around religion for the Jewish people. His story is of suffering and a never-ending grief felt by a father. Hay wrote the story in an extremely specific way that removes the barrier between reader and anti-hero. You are neck deep in the Butcher's grief with him and there is no escape. You cannot look away and it makes the story a raw, emotional, painful experience for us just like it was for the Butcher.

He rediscovers hope and temptation, the chance to try again, only to have it snatched away and tumble back into despair. We see Mary Magdalene and Nazareth and Jesus and how community is so critical to their survival, success, and emotional growth. Without community, when we isolate ourselves, our grief and anger rule us and turn us into monsters. We need each other to create life and we need each other to navigate death.

This book made me think. It forced me to stop thinking of linear stories and read it differently. The paper texture, the text choice, the margins, all of them play a part in telling Hay's story and I think it is so much richer because of it. The writing is spellbinding, something new in the genre done so expertly I've never read anything like it before. He captures you immediately, then holds you with style that's saturated with substance. It reads like a scream of grief into the earth and sky. A terrible catharsis as if exhaled after holding your breath.

You rarely know what's real and what's imagined, but that isn't the point. The point is to witness the Butcher and what being consumed by his loss has done to him, what it has taken from him because he cannot find a way to atone and forgive and seek comfort in his community. This book is brutal. It's so raw and emotional I never knew if I wanted to cry or gasp or hold my breath. I just knew it was important to be a witness to this spectacle of loss and pray in the end there was a way for the Butcher to find his way home.

5/5. Incredible.

Hi Chanterelle Keepers & Producers

Here's our quarterly update and giveaway🥹 I sent a blog post to all the tiers last week explaining why it's been quieter these last few weeks/months and this is an updated post for you guys.

Updates & Membership Features:

Going forward, I'm hoping to have content exclusively for you guys. What this will look like, I'm not sure yet! I'm definitely a trial and error kind of person and will be experimenting with the posts I make in here. What I know it will include is my lists with more options in them so that you guys get extra books or games that isn't available to everyone🥹

At the moment, I'm moving and still in my recovery stage after my surgery. I'm also starting a new job later this summer and with everything going on, I'm looking for a sustainable way to keep things going with my Bindery! If there's anything you'd like to see, please do let me know🥰

Spring Giveaway:

What with the move, this giveaway is also going to be digital and Digital giveaway won in the last post in April in here so going forward, I do think we'll be sticking to this type of giveaway as it gives all of us flexibility

So this giveaway is running from today, June 17th to June 25th at 11:59 UK Timing next week. I'll be contacting the winner as usual and please always check your spam folder as sometimes emails make their way there.

This Giveaway, you can choose to:

• Bookshop.org or any indie bookshops

• Any small business that do any Cozy Hobbies, Teas or anything to support your slow living

• Steam or Indie Games giftcard

• Really anything within the same theme as above but might not exactly fit! (Feel free to DM/email me to discuss this)

Just fill out the form in here before June 25th and I will be in touch with the winner through email! Good luck to everyone🤎

8/10
Spice - 10/10 🔥🔥🔥

Can't go wrong with Rina Kent and her dark mafia romances. In her newest MM Romance, Kiss the Villain, we follow the story of Gareth, a student and his criminal law professor, Kayden. But wait, did I mention that they both are rivals and want to unalive 💀 each other?

The story is them going against each other but unable to resist the attraction that they both have for each other. They both are so possessive and so twisted, it's crazy ❤️‍🔥. The twist in the second half had my flabbers gasted , in a good way duh. The ending was good. The spice was 🤌

And the tropes - age gap, billionaire romance, student professor, dom-sub, coming out, touch him and die

Trigger warnings - gRape, non-consent kink, mentions of self harm, killing

Thank you so much @sourcebookscasa and @read_bloom for this copy! The glossy finish is 🫶

Author - @author_rina

Keywords : Mafia | Rina Kent | Age gap | Dark Romance | enemies to Lovers | MM romance

Blurb - My darkness meets a darker soul.

I’m a golden boy.
A genius law student, the heir to the Carson empire, and the dutiful son.
Or, at least, that's what it looks like from the outside.
Deep inside, I have the urge to set the world on fire.
I keep these impulses in check, rarely indulging in mayhem.
Until one night of debauchery backfires, and I'm caught by a villain.
I bury the entire ordeal with the rest of my skeletons.
That is, until that night walks into my classroom in the form of my new professor.
Kayden Lockwood.
A criminal who’s teaching criminal law.
I can't expose what he's done without unmasking my secret life.
What I can do, however, is force him to taste the poison he gave me.
In the clash of titans, Kayden and I break and crumble.
And I'm starting to realize this dangerous game may have no winners.

"Leo Bridgers, always slightly oriented to Simran like she's his cardinal north"

GENRE: Romance or RomComFamDram!
RATING: 4.75/5
FORMAT: eBook & physical Arc
Tropes: Meddlesome family, Indian Wedding Hijinks, Family Reunion, Intergenerational grief & yearning, If he wanted to he would

Overall Impression:Literally, just give me more books with Bollywood vibes in them!

Review:
I mean if you put meddling family, Bollywood vibes and wedding drama with Romance in a book, I will DEFINITELY be there for it and this did not disappoint!

Leave and Come Back is such a fun, wholesome & funny story and yet, it's also sad as we dive into Simi's grief and her loss following her parent's death. We get to dive into what it means to move to another country and have to learn a new culture and a new way of living while coping with grief.

Simi's journey takes us through what life is like for her versus her aunt, Veena, both of who share a lot of similarities. They both left and moved to the west and while they are in different generations, we see their struggles and how it all ties together throughout the story. In a way, reading the story isn't just watching Simi slowly heal but also seeing how this impacts her aunt.

And as for how meddlesome her aunt and the family members are, this was SO relatable to my own experience but the older you get, you start to slowly realise what Simi's cousins tell her throughout the story: that every generation and person has a different way of expressing their love and sometimes, you fight but you can't give up on each other.

Oh and Leo & Simi's journey? This was SO cute. I think we definitely get to go on the journey with them but it's more of watching Leo learn about Simi as a person and her life back home while learning about her culture and trying to win her aunt & the rest of the family. I felt that we got to know everyone in the story so well and the focus wasn't just on Simi & Leo alone but rather every family member in a way that wasn't overwhelming!

OH and Operation DDLJ? My god, that was a throwback as I havent watched it in SO long but time to fix that!🤭

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

One of my goals this year is to help you spend less time wondering what to read next and more time actually reading.

This week's releases took me everywhere.

I traveled on a twelve-day wilderness trek, fake-married my way across the globe on a reality TV show, got tangled up in Egyptian-inspired court politics, and returned to a small Florida town where long-buried secrets refused to stay buried.

As always, these are just my personal reactions. A book that didn't work for me may end up being your next five-star read, and a book I loved might completely miss the mark for someone else.

Let's get into it.

❤️ Good at Being Alive

Read or Skip: READ

Rating: 4 stars

I went into this expecting a fake-dating rom-com.

What I got was a surprisingly emotional story about grief, healing, and learning how to move forward after losing people you had complicated relationships with.

After the death of her family, Bex inherits half of her father's struggling travel company and is forced to work alongside Theo, her serious and perpetually exasperated British business partner. When an opportunity arises to save the company through a travel reality show, the two agree to pretend to be newlyweds for the cameras.

The fake marriage premise hooked me immediately, but what kept me reading was the emotional depth underneath it.

One of my favorite aspects of the novel was its exploration of grief. Not just grief in general, but the specific kind that comes from losing someone who wasn't always easy to love. The book handles those complicated emotions with a lot of honesty and nuance.

I was also completely invested in Bex and Theo. Their banter is fantastic, their chemistry feels natural, and watching Theo fall for Bex long before he's willing to admit it was easily one of my favorite parts of the story.

Final thought: Come for the fake marriage and travel adventures. Stay for the emotional depth, sharp banter, and surprisingly thoughtful exploration of grief.

🏔️ The Great Outdoors

Read or Skip: READ

Rating: 3.75 stars

This is the kind of romance that takes a character completely out of their comfort zone and then makes you cheer for them every step of the way.

After being dumped for being "too high maintenance," Sadie signs up for a twelve-day wilderness trek through the High Sierras to prove she can handle anything. Enter Thorn, the rugged trek leader who may or may not be exactly what she needs.

What worked best for me was Sadie's character growth.

It would have been easy to make her the stereotypical fish-out-of-water heroine who spends the entire book complaining, but instead she adapts, grows, and learns that she doesn't have to control every detail of her life to be happy.

The romance between Sadie and Thorn is sweet, heartfelt, and develops naturally throughout the journey. Their opposites-attract dynamic worked really well for me, and I found myself rooting for them almost immediately.

The wilderness setting also adds a lot of charm.

Did this book make me want to spend twelve days hiking through the mountains Absolutely not.

Did I enjoy experiencing it from the comfort of my couch and air conditioning? Very much yes.

Final thought: A sweet summer romance with strong character growth, forced proximity, outdoor adventure, and plenty of heart.

👑 The Shrouded Queen

Read or Skip: READ (with one caveat)

Rating: 3.75 stars

The Shrouded Queen came incredibly close to being a five-star read for me.

When a rival clan attacks the palace, Princess Amunet escapes while her maid, Samira, is mistaken for the princess and taken into enemy territory. As both women embark on separate journeys, questions of identity, destiny, power, and leadership begin to emerge.

The Egyptian-inspired mythology immediately pulled me in.

The worldbuilding feels fresh, the political intrigue is compelling, and the magical elements kept me fully invested throughout the novel.

The standout character for me was Samira. Her chapters were consistently fascinating, and I found myself deeply invested in both her growth and the mysteries surrounding her identity.

Unfortunately, I struggled with Amunet's perspective. While I understood what the author was trying to accomplish, I never fully connected with her character and often found myself impatient to return to Samira's storyline.

Thankfully, the strength of the worldbuilding, mythology, and overall plot more than made up for it.

Final thought: If you love mythology-inspired fantasy, hidden identities, political intrigue, and complex female characters, this is absolutely worth picking up. Just be prepared to have a favorite POV.

🔪 Nasty Little Secrets

Read or Skip: READ

Rating: 4.25 stars

This was a debut?!

Because if it is, I cannot wait to see what this author does next.

More than a decade after her brother was convicted of murdering his high school girlfriend, Rose returns to her Florida hometown when her younger sister suddenly disappears. As the search unfolds, old secrets begin resurfacing, and it becomes clear that the past may not be as settled as everyone believed.

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter.

The dual timelines are handled incredibly well, with each reveal adding another layer to the mystery. The combination of family drama, small-town secrets, and long-buried lies kept me turning pages long past my bedtime.

Rose is also a wonderfully complicated protagonist. She's flawed, stubborn, messy, and entirely understandable given everything she's endured.

Final thought: A gripping debut packed with family drama, small-town secrets, strong character work, and enough twists to keep thriller readers happy.

🔪 The Summer Fun Massacre

Read or Skip: SKIP

Rating: 3 stars

This may be my biggest case this year of a book not matching the version I created in my head.

Based on the title, cover, and premise, I expected a campy summer slasher packed with creepy campgrounds, ridiculous camp activities, folklore-fueled horror, and all the chaotic energy of an '80s horror movie.

That is not the book I got.

The novel opens strong, with a gruesome attack, a lone survivor, and the promise of a bloody mystery. For a brief moment, I thought I was about to get exactly the kind of summer horror read I'd been craving.

Instead, the story quickly shifts into a police procedural focused on small-town politics, sheriff's department drama, investigations, and interpersonal conflicts.

Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you enjoy police procedurals, there may be a lot here for you. The problem is that the marketing, title, and premise all led me to expect something very different.

There are absolutely horror elements throughout the novel, including some genuinely gruesome scenes, but they felt secondary to the investigation. I also found myself wishing the folklore and mythical horror aspects had been explored much more deeply. The story introduces some intriguing ideas, then largely pushes them into the background.

I also struggled with the cast. There are a lot of characters, many of whom are law enforcement officers, and I had a difficult time keeping track of who was who. The main character never fully clicked for me either, which made it harder to stay invested in the slower sections of the story.

To the book's credit, it is incredibly readable. I flew through it in just a few sittings because the pacing moves quickly and there's always something happening.

Final thought: If you're looking for a police procedural with horror elements and small-town intrigue, this may work much better for you than it did for me. But if you're hoping for a campy summer slasher packed with campground chaos, folklore horror, and classic horror-movie energy, I'd probably point you elsewhere.

Also Hitting Shelves This Week

Didn't see your next read above? Here are a few other releases arriving today that caught my attention.

🔫 Three Hitmen and a Baby by Rob Hart

If you enjoy found family, action-comedy, and stories that somehow manage to be both heartfelt and completely ridiculous, this one sounds like a blast.

The premise alone sold me: three reformed assassins are tasked with babysitting a toddler while their friend searches for her missing brother. Naturally, everything immediately goes wrong. Add a Russian mob boss, fabricated identities, a police manhunt, and a group of killers desperately trying not to kill anyone, and you've got what looks like a chaotic, high-stakes crime caper.

Pick this up if you enjoy: found family, action-comedy, quirky crime novels, and The Hitman's Bodyguard-style energy.

🌊 Meet Me at the Seaside Cottages by Jenny Colgan

This sounds tailor-made for readers who want comfort in book form.

A mother rebuilding her confidence after divorce. A daughter returning home after her life falls apart. Rescue dogs, seaside renovations, pub quizzes, and a second-chance romance.

Everything about this screams cozy, heartwarming summer read.

Pick this up if you enjoy: women's fiction, small-town settings, family relationships, found community, and uplifting stories about fresh starts.

☀️ The Lake Club by Lina Patton

Give me wealthy people behaving badly and I'm already interested.

Set in an exclusive lakeside country club, this debut follows two women whose lives become increasingly entangled with a charming male nanny. As tensions rise, long-buried scandals begin surfacing and threaten the carefully curated image of the community.

This feels like it could be the perfect beach read for fans of messy people making questionable decisions.

Pick this up if you enjoy: domestic drama, wealthy communities, gossip, scandals, and books that feel like binge-worthy television.

🖤 Such a Lucky Girl by Wendy Heard

When a successful influencer leaves her former best friend behind, a chance encounter with an occult self-help book unleashes something far darker than either of them expected.

This sounds like it could land somewhere between YA horror, social commentary, and supernatural revenge story.

Pick this up if you enjoy: horror with modern themes, influencer culture, dark magic, friendship betrayals, and books with strong Tiffany D. Jackson energy.

🥃 The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee

An aging Hollywood actor wakes up beside his murdered wife in a luxury Mumbai apartment.

If that premise doesn't hook you, I don't know what will.

Part murder mystery, part international thriller, part examination of fame and privilege, this one sounds packed with tension. The Bollywood setting also gives it a backdrop that feels refreshingly different from many thrillers hitting shelves right now.

Pick this up if you enjoy: murder mysteries, unreliable narrators, international settings, celebrity scandals, and stories where absolutely nobody is having a good time.

Final Verdict

• 🏆 My favorite of the week: Nasty Little Secrets

• 💔 Most emotionally surprising: Good at Being Alive

• 🏕️ Best summer escape: The Great Outdoors

• 👑 Most intriguing worldbuilding: The Shrouded Queen

If you've read any of these, I'd love to know where you landed. Did we agree? Or am I about to be politely yelled at in the comments?

If you like horror, romance, and sapphics, then boy do I have the book for you. LETHAL KISS by Taylor Grothe (out October 20, 2026) is a horrormance with sapphic characters. It's also a monster romance, which was my first! I'm not generally a romance kinda person, but when you mix it with some horror and mystery, apparently it's right up my alley! Let's get into it.

WHAT WORKED (for me!):

• Characters

  • Marcella is DIVINE omg, step on me please

  • Lacie is adorable but also relatable

• Setting

  • Dark academia? Hell yeah

• Pacing

  • It didn't feel like it moved too fast or too slow!

• Spice

  • Okay so generally smut in published books gives me the ick for some reason but this was soooooo good.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK (for me!):

• Honestly? The only thing that didn't really work for me was the way Marcella called Lacie "little lamb" all the time. That was it. (I'm not a big fan of cutesy nicknames like that, babe works just as well lol)

Thank to Tor Nightfire for the e-ARC which I devoured in April on a business trip. This was just what I needed at that time and I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend for your spooky season line up and please consider ordering it from us!

Till next time!

Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs!

We're deep into World Cup fever has taken over Discord. If you're looking for a place to chat during matches, we have a thread lead by Nani and G for every match and it's been a delight to read their recaps and conversations after the matches I miss. And you didn't hear it from me, but you may start seeing some giveaways on Discord very soon.

Speaking of Nani, they have been putting together World Cup content for over a month and I am collaborating with them on Instagram on their posts highlighting books from ALL participating World Cup countries. Be sure to follow Nani (@LibrosMeansBooks) if you haven't already on Instagram.

BOOK CLUB

We're only halfway through June, so a reminder that we're currently reading:

• Fiction: And I'll Take Out Your Eyes by A.M. Sosa

• Nonfiction: Accordion Eulogies by Noe Alvarez

In July, we're going to summer school and reading 2 nonfiction books:

• Main read: P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance by Vanessa Diaz and Petra R. Rivera-Rideau

• Nonfiction (2 month read): Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer

In August, we're picking up The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and September book polls will be up soon!

Support My Work!

If you'd like to receive an early version of this newsletter and help me as a full-time content creator, you can join for as little as $5 a month!

And, now, onto this week's books!

Translated Literary Fiction

Medea Sang Me A Corrido by Dahlia De La Cerda and translated by Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches

YA Novel In Verse

Together We See by Ari Tison (Audiobook)

Middle Grade Fiction

Tangled Roots & Wild Dreams by Angela Velez (Audiobook)

YA Fantasy

The Hero Twins in the Realm of Fright By David Bowles, Charlene Bowles: Fantasy (Tales of the Feathered Serpent #3)

xo,

Carmen