✨ Being an Indian girl, it is refreshing to read a book with lead characters having Indian roots. I could relate to the family dynamics and the character thought process. Hence, firstly, thank you Naina Kumar for the representation.

✨ Reading the book feels like taking a road trip in Scotland. 2 strangers meet each other, thinking the first time they meet might be the last time. But fate has different plans for them. Both Neelu and Jacob have a their own baggage that they needs to overcome to finally be free of the past. I think a lot of thought is put into the character development - especially Neelu's. I would have liked some more light upon James and Jacob's relationship.

✨ But overall despite the books name being "Just a Highland fling", it was quite the romantic relationship for me.

✨ Thank you @booksparks and @nkumarwrites

#TheBookOdyssey
#SRC2026

Hi there book besties,

The wait is over! Here's the link and password to the November Historical Fiction Look Ahead. There aren't as many big names on the list this month, but there are some fun mysteries and fantasies, plus a few names you'll recognize. 😜

I'm super eager to hear from you: which of these books are you adding to your library hold list?

https://shesbecomingbookish.com/new-historical-fiction-books-november-2026/

password: leaves

Happy reading!

xoxo

c

Hello everyone!

Tor Publishing has offered to cohost a giveaway with us for Mathilda Zeller's new book IT LOOKS LIKE YOU IN THE DARK!

The only people who know are the people who have gone. Those people no longer have throats to tell us.

Tapeesa is newly out of high school and working in a fish processing plant in the Inupiat village, Chukchi, where she’s lived her whole life. Maybe that’s why people tend to assume she isn’t that bright―or maybe her mama is right and she does have bad blood. Either way, she knows the legend, and she knows the history. Her Ahna told her that the hungry creature―the kushtuka―appears to us in the form of someone we love. It will try to get us to follow it. Follow it where? Those who have gone no longer have throats to tell us.

The Kobuk River Valley of remote Alaska draws greedy white men time and time again. But whenever they come, death comes too. This time the white men are here for the long term, to create an open pit, a rare earths mine just north of the village. When her sister Esther goes missing, Tapeesa will do anything to get her back. Seeking justice, Tapeesa must track down the kidnapper in the darkening Arctic. What awaits beyond the warmth of her village is more horrible than she could imagine and closer to her than she knows.

In order to enter the giveaway, please follow the rules below. You've already completed one! Submissions close Monday (9/14) night and the winner will be announced on Tuesday (9/15). If you don't win, you can always purchase the book through Bookshop.org or Libro.fm, and you can request it at your local library. Best of luck to everyone!

1. Be following us and Tor Publishing on Instagram

2. Be signed up for any tier on our Bindery (link in bio)

3. In the comments tell us what your favorite horror book is

4. For an extra submission, tag a friend