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!

April 2026 Reading Wrap Up

Here's what I read in April:

Just Friends by Haley Pham: I really enjoyed this romance by an author who I'm familiar with from YouTube. It's been fun to watch her journey to becoming an author. It's a cute second chance romance novel where our main character comes back to her hometown and finds out the girl she's loved forever, despite the falling out they had, is also there. We get the backstory and the story of their figuring it all out and getting back together. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky: The book club book of the month... a crazy science fiction/dystopian story about robots who find themselves in a world without humans and nothing at all is working as it should. They on a quest to see if they can find out what's going and if they can fix anything at all. I really enjoyed it despite the parts that were a little long-winded in its philosophizing. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Gods and Comics by Kat Cho: An ARC read from the month by an author I've enjoyed before. Check out my longer review here. It's a fun romantasy that blends modern day problems with problems of the Korean mythology gods. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge: I did a longer review here, so check that out if you want details, but just know... I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book and it will go on my yearend favorites list for sure! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 

For the video version of this post, you can watch it here on my channel!

What have you loved reading lately?

Book Review: Last to Leave by Teresa Richards

Book: Last to Leave by Teresa Richards

Genre: YA mystery

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a fun read! So many great mash ups of genres and story types.

It's the story of our girl, Fallon, who is a famous online video game streamer. She's been outspoken about girls in the gaming space and is well loved. She also has an online friend, a guy, who is also a gaming streamer. Together they are hoping to get chosen to participate in a murder mystery game that will also be live streamed, all with contestants from the streaming (but not necessarily) gaming world.

 So, of course they do and the book then follows their adventures within this game. It's like the How to Host a Murder games where they are all given characters to play and a pretend narrative to learn and a mystery to solve. If they are the "last to leave" the game and solve the mystery, they win!

It's also a lot like the board game Clue where to solve the mystery they have to figure out who did it, with what weapon in what room. The contestants are all housed in a huge mansion and have the run of the place as they try to find clue and make guesses and act out the story.

So much fun!

But, while this is all going on, there's the in real life mysteries. The connections these players have to each other outside the game. The back story of things that happened. The many problems and insecurities they have to overcome. Which, for me, was the best part of the story for sure.

I really enjoyed it! Such a unique story. Very fresh and modern and just... cool! Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it early! This one comes out June 2. Keep an eye out for it!

Book Review: West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

 Book Review: West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think when I first heard about this book last year when someone suggested it for book club, it just called to me somehow. Even without knowing a whole lot about it. I just FELT something. And so, since it wasn't voted in for book club, I kept it on my radar, got a hold of my own copy, and suggested it as a readalong this year.

I only had a handful of people join me, but I think we all agreed that the book is awesome. And for me anyway, a sold five star read without a doubt. 

I loved the setting... during the terrible dust bowl and the depression. World War II is about to start. People are worried about so many things, but then this story about driving giraffes across the country to get them to the San Diego Zoo captures everyone's attention and brightens their lives.

I loved the characters... our boy Woody Nickel, who ends up as the driver of the truck these giraffes are on. The dude that is taking care of the giraffes. The girl who is following them trying to get pictures for Life Magazine. And the amazing giraffes themselves. They all blend to make such a unique found family. And as we learn their backstories, they all become even more real and more endearing.

I loved the writing... Woody has a voice that is so easy to read/love/become attached to. Our author captures him so well! I can tell she did a ton of research to make this story come to life and now I want to make this road trip myself and see all the things!

It's such a heart-warming and at times heart-breaking story. So, yes all the feels. And I loved it. So much. Please add it to your TBRs if you haven't already read it!

Book Review: Gods and Comics by Kat Cho

Book: Gods and Comics by Kat Cho

Genre: YA urban fantasy

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a story about a girl who writes a webtoon based on the myths and legends her Korean grandmother told her... about the sun god and the water god and their kids. Her story is pretty popular and her webtoon actually goes viral. Which... somehow... brings her characters to life!

So now we have a story with her normal, ordinary girl problems mixed in with the problems of these gods, all set in our normal world, so it gets a little crazy, but in a fantastic and fun way.

Our girl, Grace, is dealing with things like grief because of the loss of both her mom and grandma, and anxiety (she suffers from panic attacks) and the feeling that she needs to be perfect and take care of everything for her dad. All these issues are dealt with in a nice, positive way, which I appreciated.

The romance is a simple one, with Grace falling for the character she created and who is now come to life, Hae, the son of the Sun God. But he has lost his powers. Which makes it really hard to fight Haebak, the Water God, when he comes to take revenge all the humans. 

As always, I love to learn more about these Korean stories and enjoy any sort of version and interpretation I can as the opportunity comes. So very fun. The story as a whole is a typical YA one, with all the expected tropes and feelings. 

Thank you to NetGalley for accepting me to read this ARC. The book will be released tomorrow, April 21! Check it out if any of these things sound awesome to you!

 

West With Giraffes Readalong: Half Way Check in!

 Hey everyone! Are you reading West With Giraffes with me? Here's what I'm thinking so far:

In this, the first half of the book, we met our main characters which consist of a boy who has survived the Dust Bowl and has already had terrible terrible luck, the two giraffes which have survived a hurricane on the boat that has brought them from Africa, the guy in charge of them that our boy calls Old Man, a girl with bright red hair who is somehow mixed up in all of this craziness too! 

Bottom line summary so far: the giraffes need to get to the San Diego Zoo. They barely survived the hurricane and the Old Man has put them on a truck to haul them there. Our boy, Woody Nickel, has also just survived the hurricane and has no one and no place to go. He is fascinated with the giraffes and they seem to like him a lot too, so he follows them for awhile until he is discovered and somehow manages to get himself hired to drive the truck. 

Slowly but surely they make their way across the US on the Lee Highway, but not with out incident. Tons of crazy things get in their way obstacles, not so great people but also very nice people who help them out. And Red, the girl, is following them with her camera to write a story for Life Magazine.

I'm dying to know if that article is for real... can we look it up and see her pictures? I think Woody is for real, and the whole bit about the giraffes is real. Who knows if all the crazy things that are happening to them are for real. But I don't want to look up stuff until I've finished for fear of spoilers.

I did look up the Lee Highway to see it's route. I love the idea of travelling on the old roads, off the freeways, to learn history and see the country. This one would be so fun!

Our book goes forward in time to when Woody is old and trying so hard to write down this story before it's too late. It's great to see him looking back on all this and also knowing that he had a rich, long and full life. We get some articles thrown in about the whole adventure too, which I assume are real ones. It's a great way to tell this story.

I love the voice... Woody is a great story teller! I'm loving that part so much!

If you are reading along, let me know what you are thinking so far too! I'm so glad I'm fitting this one in!