My apologies to anyone who is still reading this, I have been really bad at keeping up with my Substack. I meant to update this monthly, but haven’t had time. Right now, I don’t have much capacity for anything, and reserve my creative energy for my fiction projects. Substack has been feeling really busy, and like I need to post weekly or daily to get attention, but it’s just for fun for me. Oh well! Enough about that.
Summer started out slow for reading. I started and DNFed a lot of books. I’m back in the office and it has shot my energy and concentration levels in my free time.
My favorite read of May ended up being a middle grade, Gut Reaction, by mother-daughter duo Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt. It’s about a middle schooler, Tess, who gets diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. I loved that the main character had lots of other things going on (trying to make friends, grief over losing her dad, a baking contest!)-and it wasn’t just an “issue” book. It was a well-written story of self-acceptance and coping with chronic illness.
“So maybe I will always need to keep tabs on the nearest bathroom. Deal with flare-ups. Leave sleepovers early. I might even have to ask for some accommodations at school. I have a disease; I’m not a disease."
I thought the portrayal of chronic illness was great and actually pretty unflinching for a middle grade, with all the embarrassing moments. I don’t have Crohn’s, but I have another digestive disease and I related to everything that Tess was going through, from the humiliation of frequent bathroom visits to the ever-narrowing list of safe foods and a world that gets smaller and smaller. The only thing that wasn’t realistic was how quickly Tess gets attention and receives a diagnosis, as well as the doctor immediately putting her on a top-line treatment instead of making her trial a bunch of less effective stuff first. The authors do address this in the afterword, and talk about how difficult diagnosis is for many, especially young patients. I recommend this to anyone who is dealing with chronic illness, of all ages.
Middle grade goes so hard sometimes—books for kids will tackle things I never see represented in adult fiction.
In June, I participated in The Amazing Readathon, a challenge held on Booktube and Discord modeled on the Amazing Race. “Route” prompts are released one at a time, and in order to reach the destination you have to read a book focused on the prompt. I signed up for the “Pathfinders” team, which was the just-for-fun team that didn’t have to track points or be competitive. I ended up being pleased with how much more I read, and that it got me to read some things I might not have otherwise.
The first one I read, for Oz-was a book with a green cover—and I read Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra Rowland. I’m so glad the readathon got me to pick this book up sooner than I might have, because I loved it. It’s a character centered cozy fantasy-romance, about a cranky tea shop owner, Tam, and his relationship with the Lord of the Manor, Lyford.
A Taste of Gold and Iron was one of my favorites last year, and Yield was even better! If you love books with complex characters, you’ll enjoy this. The plot is straightforward, but there are some juicy conversations.
Lyford’s nickname for Tam is “goblin” and he’s so grumpy and prickly, it’s delightful. I’m a grumpy little goblin myself and I love a good black cat/golden retriever pairing. An unlikable but still lovable main character is catnip to me. This is some of the best portrayal of self-loathing and rumination I’ve seen in fiction. I’ve read books that deal with anxiety and panic before, but it’s usually surface level. Tam’s internal monologue uncovers the ugly side of mental health, with the spiraling thoughts and distorted beliefs, and I found it incredibly relatable. And I really wanted to hug him. Fortunately, he has Lyford for that. (also, BIG touch-starved protagonist vibes)
“He was just plain old Tam Becket—the worst possible thing to be—and that truth was so unavoidable that it felt shocking, inevitable, wrong. He didn’t want to be Tam Becket, but there was no escape from the fact that he had to be, that he didn’t get a choice in it. The only thing as inevitable and certain was death.”
The steam is pretty good too—the book opens on a spicy scene, but later focuses more on the emotional aspects of intimacy. However, Rowland has a talent for writing absolutely sexy scenes even if there isn’t much detail. Plus, these people are actually communicating about their emotional needs! So hot!
It’s cozy, with low stakes, but those stakes still feel extremely important to the lives of the characters. The book is only 250 words long but I was invested immediately. I wish the book had been longer. The ending is a little abrupt, and I would have read much more about Tam and Lyford. I hope we get a bonus scene or epilogue sometime!
There was only one book I dnfed this month, A Crown So Silver by Lyra Selene, the sequel to A Feather So Black. I enjoyed the first one in the series, but read it almost a year ago, so I didn’t remember anything that happened and the beginning of the second book wasn't enough to pull me back into the story. I don’t usually like it when characters get together decisively in the first book—I would rather have more slow burn development throughout the series. Too often, the couple becomes boring and out of character in the second book. I also felt like there was another love triangle coming and I wasn't in the mood for that, so I decided I wouldn’t finish this series.
I did finish the Emily Wilde series, with the third installment Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales. And this was no disappointment! I loved seeing more of Wendell’s kingdom and Emily is such a distinct character that hasn't lost any of her sharp edges! (Ok, I do love a grumpy protagonist.) I thought the ending was perfect. I also enjoyed the side characters in Wendell’s kingdom, especially Taran and Callum—I would love to read a novella or story about them! I liked seeing some of the characters from the first book return too. I’m sad the story is over, but I was very satisfied with the ending.
Here’s the full list of “Destinations” and what I read:
Oz- Green Cover- Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra Rowland
Basgiath- Violent Title- Egg Drop Dead by Vivien Chen (the next installment in the Noodle Shop Mysteries)
Panem- Over the Top Cover- Name of the Mermaid Princess (manga)
The Shire- Comfort Read- Role Playing by Cathy Yardley
The Wall- Winter Cover- A Crown so Silver (dnf)
Ketterdam- Set in a large city - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Set in Tokyo, but this ended up being a stretch because it actually takes place entirely in the cafe.)
Camp Half Blood- Celestial or Godly- By the Lights of Ystrac’s Wood by Alexandra Rowland (part of the Seven Gods series, a novella set before Yield. I stretched this one, because a fictional god's name is in the title, haha.)
Srinivasan- A book with a low rating- I counted Before the Coffee Gets Cold for this too.
Chestnut Springs- A book with a romance- Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
This month, I have to get back to my planned tbr. I’m going to finally continue my re-read of the Ember in the Ashes series, and I have a few book club picks to finish. What are your summer reading plans?
Addendum: For fun, here is the “mid year book freakout tag” that is going around booktok.
What Is the Best Book That You’ve Read So Far in 2025?
-Yield Under Great Persuasion (see above)
What Has Been Your Favorite Sequel of The First Half of The Year?
-Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Tales (also see above)
Is There a New Release That You Haven’t Read Yet, but You’re Really Excited To?
-Bury Our Bones In the Midnight Soil!
What Is Your Most Anticipated Release for The Second Half of The Year?
-I’m excited for To Clutch A Razor by Veronica Roth, the sequel to her urban fantasy novella When Among Crows, which was my one of my favorites last year.
What Is Your Biggest Disappointment So Far?
-Hmm, maybe Dungeon Crawler Carl. Everyone seems to love it and I got bored by the second half. I don’t care about combat scenes, so it wasn't for me.
What Is Your Biggest Surprise So Far?
-Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasch. The first book, Nightmare Before Kissmas was enjoyable but just fine to me, and I adored the sequel, Go Luck Yourself. It had me kicking my feet and giggling, and I couldn’t put it down!
A Book That Made You Cry?
-The Match by Sarah Adams, which is funny because it's mostly a comedy. I cried at the scene where the main character has an episode of her epilepsy, and her love interest is there to support her in the aftermath. She talked about not wanting anyone to see her during a flare up, which I related to, but the MMC handled it so well, and ultimately the FMC felt loved and supported. It was so sweet. I loved the disability rep in this one.
A Book That Made You Happy?
-Deep End, because it wasn't even very good but Ali Hazelwood books are pure fun.
What Books Do You Want to Read by The End of The Year?
-Enchantra, the sequel to Phantasma, and Rebel Witch, the sequel to The Crimson Moth. I would also like to read everything by Alexandra Rowland, and maybe Heather Fawcett’s middle grade backlist.
Sounds like you discovered some great books, Kate. I’m eager to read Fredrik Backman’s latest My Friends. I’ve loved every one of his books.