On Reading YA for YA'UGUST!

The following is cross posted from my Substack newsletter page!

On Reading YA

 One of my favorite things to read is YA books. I know it was a trend a few years ago, and people might be thinking it’s not that cool anymore for an old reader to still be reading YA, but I jumped on that wagon way back then and have yet to get off.

I truly think YA books are some of the best reading out there. It’s something I like to champion and gush about to this day.

That’s why every August, I celebrate YA books on my BookTube channel (and wherever else I’m talking about reading, like here and Instragram/Threads) with my friend Mariandrea (@books_and_bocadillos) We call this celebration YA’UGUST… the month of reading YA!

Of course I’m reading YA all year long but during August I love to hype it up a bit more. Here are my talking points:

• Even if they are written for a younger audience, older people can still read them and get a TON out of them.

• Even if they are written for a younger audience, the actual writing is still amazing and deep and lush and beautiful. (All the talk about YA books being “lesser than” makes me so crazy!)

• Sometimes, though, it’s true that YA books are lighter and “easier” to read, which can be a balm in this world of hard things.

• YA books have the breadth and range of genres, just like adult books. (YA is a category, not a genre.)

• It is true that in recent years some YA books (and their authors) might be targeted to an older audience, thanks to the trend mentioned above. But there are still a TON of books out there with the aim to attract younger readers.

• Bottom line: YA books are just so much fun!

Mariandrea has come up with a fun image bingo board to help get your creative book choosing juices flowing for YA reading in YA’UGUST. To participate, you just have to read one book, but if you want to go above and beyond, try to get a bingo!

You can watch our announcement video here where we discuss our YA passion a bit more and explain the event:

Here are just some of the YA books I’d love to read this month:

You can watch me talk about all these books and explain the bingo board a bit more here:

Mariandrea and I also thought it would be fun to recommend a YA book to each other, so that book is actually my first YA read this month! Watch here to see what she recommended:

I’m loving it so far!

What are some of your favorite YA books? Let me know in comments!

(I’ll have more on some YA lists to share further on into the month. Stay tuned!)

July 2026 Reading Check In

 Here's what I read (and listened to) this month:

My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner: A memoir about his terrible Snocat accident three years ago. He describes in graphic detail what happened, and then how he found the strength to recover. It's quite the story and he tells it in a very unforgettable way. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Seeking Persephone by Sarah M. Eden: I listened to this on our road trip... I book I've heard about for years but never managed to fit in. It was perfect for road trip listening! A lovely regency romance that has now been turned into a TV series. Have you watched or read it?⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow: Lots and lots of buzz around this one with the new TV series and all. So I listened to it on they way home from the road trip. It was fun to see all these familiar events from Mary's POV, but it did tend to drag for me in the end. Still I gave it ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Emerald Shadow Golden Whisper by J. A. Bennett: A really fun re-imagining of Robin Hood... a Robin Hood romantasy as it's being marketing. Robin Hood and Marian with magic. So good! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Every Beat After by Sara B. Larson: The first adult book for this author. A sweet romance that is both heart warming and heart breaking. Set in a Swedish bakery about a girl who is struggling with the aftermath of getting a heart transplant. She meets the cousin of her roommate and sparks fly, in all the ways both good and bad. I loved it! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

That's what I read! How about you! This month of August is YA reading for me... YA'GUST! (More on that in another post.) I can't wait to get to a bunch of books I've been neglecting.

Here's a few pictures of what I've been up to this past month.

Three years old!

Wedding number 2 of the month!

The finale of our trip... sunset on the beach while flying kites. So perfect!

Wedding number 1 of the month, which turned out to be a sibling trip!

Lots of grandkid tending!

May and June 2026 Reading Check In

 

Oh man I got a bit behind again! Here's what I've been up to these past couple of months!

MAY

Last to Leave by Teresa Richards: This was a Netgalley ARC read for an author I've meet at a conference. So that was fun! It's about an influencer gamer girl who ends up on a reality show where she and other influencers act out and have to solve a mystery game. The "last to leave" wins! But there's all sorts of mysteries going on, and she gets all mixed up in it all. Very fun mash up of genres and etc. I enjoyed it! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor: I finally go to this one, the sequel of Strange the Dreamer and yeah. SOOOO good. What a great series this one is. So intense and so page-turney, swoony, and all the things. I loved this reading experience.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: This was the book club book for May. I was wary I would like it at all, but turned out I thought it was pretty funny in parts and ended up totally enjoying the story. I watched the movie just as I was finishing the book so that was fun too.⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wendy's Ever After by Julie Wright: This is a local author and I was intrigued by a Peter Pan inspired story, so I requested this one from Libby. A fun YA fantasy where Wendy is 17 and is trying to find her place in society and all she can think about is Peter. She ends up back in Neverland where things aren't good and falls for... someone else...!⭐⭐⭐

A Novel Chance by E.S. Rosalynn: This another ARC read, one I got from the author through Threads. It's a small town romance, with girl new in town and is setting up a bookstore and the guy is the handyman and also 5th grade teacher. I enjoyed it for the most part, but it was more spicy than I expected and I wanted less of that and more of the swoon. ⭐⭐⭐

Life Update for May:

- I published a book! On May 12 I put Always Best Buds up on Amazon. My friends threw me an amazing launch party and everything was so excited for about a week. It was even a "hot new release" in its category for about a month. But since that crazy week, it's done nothing.. no sales. Nothing. So I guess that's out these things go. I can't figure out how to market it. I feel like I figured out everything else, but keeping the momentum going it impossible.

- I went to Storymakers, the local very popular writers conference. It was fun to connect with and make new friends. I was said both Maggie Steifvatter and Axie Oh had to cancel, but Beth Brower did come and that was amazing.

- I hosted a reading retreat at the farm in Idaho for a weekend with a handful of friends. I didn't read much, but we had fun! Now I want to do it with my writing friends too!

-We also went to Idaho for to surprise my brother for his 50th birthday. That was fun family day.

- We got back into the routine of grandkid tending after having March and April off. I was glad the book launch timed perfectly with those days off because I don't think I could have done it all otherwise.

JUNE

Yesteryear by Caro Clair Burke: I heard so much buzz about this one, so when I saw it was available to listen to on Spotify, I clicked and listened. It was crazy! Not sure what to think actually. It's about a "trad wife" (a term I hate) influencer who pretty much went crazy. And one day she wakes up in the past and has to do all the things she posed and staged for social media FOR REAL. And she's trying to figure out what's up and how to get home. It's sad and depressing and frustrating and angry-inducing. Some people say it's funny, but I didn't see anything at all funny about it. It was VERY engaging though and very though provoking. And made me feel things, which as you know, means it was a good book.⭐⭐⭐⭐

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera: A YA fantasy-ish? magic realism? book I've been meaning to get to forever. It was a good one to read for Pride Month as the two boy characters fall in love by the end. Even though THEY BOTH DIE and it's heart wrenching. In this world, you get a call the day before you are going to die, so you can spend the day doing all the things you feel/want/need to do. So this is the story of these two boys doing just that.⭐⭐⭐⭐

The One With the Kiss Cam by Cindy Steel: My friend said I should read this one because it gave her vibes like the book I'm now writing, only she said my book does it better. So I was curious. Well. I ended up loving this one and I pretty much don't think I do it better, but I can LEARN from this book. Fun banter, lots of swoon, closed-door (clean but I guess we can't use that word....) and set right here at home! I thought it was awesome. This was also another audiobook, which is crazy.⭐⭐⭐⭐

Play It By Heart by Flick O'mara: An ARC read that I got from the author through Threads. It was closed door but not... um... clean... (that word I can't use but I don't know how else say what I want to say!) Friends to lovers romance where the friends own a wedding business together, the guy sings and the girl does photography and one day their mutual friend says... so hey,I think you are guys are into each other! And they go... Oh wow, we are! (I needed more work up to the coming together bit.) Basically, it was fine as romances go, but I was expecting it to be... I don't know... cuter, warmer... something. And less f bombs for sure.⭐⭐⭐

Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. by Lisa Mangum: This author is also an editor for a local publisher and well loved in the writer community here. I decided to listen to her narrate this one and ended up loving it. Great stories, great advice, lots and lots of things that I want/need to refer back to, so I'm hoping to get a hold of a physical copy. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Serial Killer by Brian Bruce: This was a beta read from a booktube friend who wrote this mystery with his wife. I accepted the call to read for him since he has read something for me, even though I'm not a huge mystery reader, but surprise! I ended up really getting into this and was so invested in the end and loved the conclusion. Very enjoyable read.⭐⭐⭐⭐

The House of my Mother by Shari Franke: I listened to this memoir in preparation for our book club's memoir month in July. (LISTENED... FOUR AUDIOBOOKS THIS MONTH!) It's a fascinating story, told by the daughter, of a family who had a big youtube channel and then everything went bad and crazy and the mom and her therapist were arrested for child abuse. It's a gripping story and has been in my mind constantly since I listened. I sort of need a mind cleanse I'm afraid.⭐⭐⭐⭐

Life Update for June:

-I've spent a lot of time writing.... finishing up my travel adventure romcom and now jumping into what I hope to be final revisions for the space opera. I guess I'll self publish these too? I don't  know. This whole thing is so confusing and frustrating!

- We had a big celebration for a granddaughter turning 1. I can't believe it's been a year already!

- We attended local summer celebrations at the city. Parade, fireworks, and etc. 

- Saw the Back to the Future musical and it was awesome.

-It's been hot and last week fires started and now the whole state is pretty much on fire. Today, at the time of this writing, things have cooled down and the air has cleared and it's been wonderful.

- Book club was The Odyssey, which I didn't finish, but lots of people did and we had a great discussion!

Book Review: A Novel Chance by E.S Rosalynn

 

Book: A Novel Chance by E.S. Rosalynn

Genre: Adult Romance

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This story has every thing I love about a small town romance. Our girl is new in town, having just opened up her quaint and cute bookshop. Our guy is the steady handyman and 5th grade teacher who is there for everyone but himself. 

And of course the town is quaint and cute too, filled with whimsically named stores and all sorts of quirky characters. 

It was sweet and fun for the most part. For some reason I was expecting a "closed door" or "fade to black" spice level, but um... it was not. And that seems to always take me out of the story itself. I don't know how else to explain it, but yeah, I've come to terms with the fact that I enjoy the lower spice levels in my romance. All the swoon though, give THAT to me!

This did have some level of swoon, thankfully. Which is why I quite enjoyed it. The stuff keeping the characters apart did make me a little crazy though. I got mad at both of them for being stupid. But I guess that's how it goes with these stories sometimes!

In the end, I totally enjoyed it and am curious about the other books in the series. I'm sure we'll be getting the stories of the other brothers... maybe? Or at least other characters in the town. 

Bottom line: if you love bookish, slow burn, small town romances with a pretty high spice level, this one is for you!

I got the ARC from the author and it will be released on June 2!

Cross posting this from my Substack:

Authors Are Readers, Too!

Thoughts on Authors as Book Reviewers

Something I didn’t expect when I officially “became an author” (Yes I still have a weird feeling saying/typing that. I am an author! I published a book!) is that suddenly I am seeing people say that authors shouldn’t be reviewing books.

My reaction to that is… WHAT?

I’ve been reviewing books and “in reader spaces” for 20 years now. Blogging, BookTubing, Instagramming, author stalking, and hosting a book club since 2004. Do I give all that up because I published a book?

I went to Threads (I asked here on Substack too, but got one response which was actually better than I expected) and asked for opinions on this matter. Many responses were like mine which is, authors are readers too.

Most people agree that if an author is reviewing a fellow author’s book (and we are all fellow authors, right?) it should be positive. That we should be lifting up and encouraging each other. That if we feel negative toward a book, we should not say anything about it. That it’s okay for authors to be in reader spaces as READERS and not AUTHORS. (Is this why I chose a pen name? Perhaps. Maybe I am trying to keep my two personas separate?)

So why do I keep seeing posts about authors staying away from reader spaces and refrain from giving their thoughts on books? I think it’s because if they are doing it with their author persona, it can be seen in a completely different light. Maybe if they are at all critical it feels differently coming from a peer vs a reader.

On the other hand, if it’s a positive review, maybe it can feel like it’s a “rub my back and I’ll rub yours” kind of thing. I’ll give you five stars if you give me five. Basically, the “honest review” part goes out the window.

At least I’m assuming this is what some people are worried about.

I find it fascinating and like I said above, something I truly never expected and am so surprised to see.

As for me, I think I’ll continue being a reader and frequenting the reader spaces. My BookTube channel will go on. I’ll continue to talk about what I loved reading that month and participate in as many bookish events that I can. I will add indie author books to my TBR and read ARCs when I can. I don’t think I’ll be able to get any of this reader thing out of my system despite the fact that I published a book.

What do you all think? Are you an author that hangs out in reader spaces? What’s your take on all this? Or do you, as an author, read books but keep your thoughts to yourself? I would love to know if you’ve seen this discourse and how you handle this!

I AM PUBLISHED!

It's been a couple of weeks now, but on May 12, my book Always Best Buds became officially available on Amazon! Both an ebook version and a paper back version. Click here if you want to get one!

It's dropped off and on the "hot new release" in ebooks, but currently, as of writing this post, it's back to number one on that list in its category! WOOT!

We had an amazing launch party that day. I posted two videos on the BookTube channel:

This one shows a sort of vlog of getting reading and an overview of the event.

This one is the complete Q&A I did at the end of the event.

Here are a few pictures!

Book Clubbers!

People who came!