It is the new year, but there are still books from 2025 that I
wanted to read and didn’t get around to them.
You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao is one of them. This is a
YA novel following 17-year old Julie Clark. She has plans for her future. They involve moving out of her small town and attending college in the big city. She also wants to spend the summer in Japan. The plans include her boyfriend Sam. The plans change when Sam dies.
In order to get past the heartbreak, Julie skips the funeral, throws out his belongings, and does all she can to forget him. It doesn’t help that there is a message left for her left in the yearbook.
Julie calls Sam’s cellphone to hear his voice. Something unexpected occurs. She calls the phone and someone answers. The person on the other end is Sam.
Released in 2024, Dustin Thao also released a novel in 2025 called You’ve Found Oliver.
After reading the Romantasy novel Heavenly Bodies, the author for that book Imani Erriu mentioned Olivia Rose Darling in the acknowledgements. That got me to find Darling’s debut novel Fear the Flames.
It is about a princess with the ability to communicate and link with the dragon hatchlings she befriends as a child, and to be able to continue that bond as she becomes older. Fearing her abilities, her father imprisons her.
Elowen gains enough strength to escape. She establishes a secret kingdom with the purpose of gaining enough power to free the dragons her father has imprisoned. She seeks vengeance and aligns with a rival kingdom, and finds in the commander Cayden, someone who is capable in achieving her aims, as well as someone who can be more than a comrade. There is an attraction.
Cayden is ruthless, lethal and has secrets he keeps to himself, but he promises to help Elowen in exchange for her to stand against his foes.
Released in 2024, a second book was released in 2025, with a third book in the series expected in 2026.
The year is 2026. The year has begun with a few surprises as I begin the reading year with some solid reading time. Things may change over the next few weeks as read down all the books in my physical TBR. There are a lot of them, and there are also the new titles being released in the new year.
After a quiet holiday season with a few social gatherings and music, I am anticipating the new year with a mix of optimism and caution. There is so much to be grateful for, and there is also so much to be concerned with. It is a troubled world we live in.
I am thinking about the passage of time and what matters. The past is gone, and the future is uncertain. The only sure thing is the present moment, which can last as long as you need it to.
As the chilly wind and fog coats the city that has tall buildings, and nature that is part of the life here, there is a sense that it is winter that will give way a year that will be momentous as the Year of the Fire Horse.
Rings of Fate is a new Romantasy novel from
prolific author Melissa de la Cruz. An author of 80 titles for adults, teens, and children, she has written fantasy, contemporary, and historical fiction.
The latest book is a cross between Princess Bride and the Wheel of Time. It follows Aren, a savvy barmaid, and a prince who offers her a bargain. She has no time to be a princess, instead she has a tavern to run. The prince has been cursed, so to escape his fate, he proposes that the two get into a fake engagement that would quiet the schemers after his throne and inheritance.
Melissa de la Cruz released the second book in her YA Fantasy duology back in March 2025. The first book is The Encanto’s Daughter, and the second is The Encanto’s Cures. The series draws from Filipino folk stories.
She is known for her urban fantasy series, , the Witches of East End, and the Blue Bloods, as well as her recent short novel, When Stars Align released in May 2025.
She has also released a series for children, The Descendants, which has 5 books.
It is 2011. Samuel Andresen-Anderson has not seen his mother for
decades. Faye disappeared, abandoning the family when he was
young.
She appears once again after committing a crime that garners the
public attention in the nightly news and causing heated discussion
in a politically divided country.
Faye is deemed a radical by the media, but to Samuel, his mother
was an ordinary woman who married her high school sweetheart.
Who is Faye really? Which persona is the actual Faye, the person in
the news, or the mother he remembers when he was only a boy?
Released in 2016, The Nix seemed to be THE GREAT AMERICAN novel
that tries to capture what America is about through a look at politics,
pop culture, and the changes that occurred in the post-war period
and during the Cold War that has shaped American society.
I waited a long time to finally get around to this novel, and it seems
such a strange time to read it, with the US government making the
decisions being made that will again change history as it is already a
quarter-century in the new millennia.
ABOUT ME
JKStar88 Reader is an active community organizer, radio host, avid reader, and self-published poet. Interests include pop culture, current events, literature, and food. Enjoys visiting local book stores, cafes, going to live theatre, and movies. Things to work on are being more social at gatherings, and being a better friend.
RECENT READ
Bunny by Mona Awad had its original release, then it regained life when the book made the rounds on BookTok. It is unclear how some books gain the attention of online micro-vloggers, and how others don't. There must be something widely appealing to a story about a poor kid getting into an MFA program.
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A breakfast of rice roll, congee, and milk tea. With a street food style, the items are simple, and takes care to prepare. The eatery recently renovated so that it can serve savory foods, along with desserts. It would be ideal to linger a bit longer, but only had time to eat everything, then rush to catch the train. There will be another time to try the other flavours.