This was such a cute middle grade book!

The book had excellent themes which were appropriate for the age range (ages 8+). It centered around friendship and teamwork. I loved that they were a ragtag basketball team and that each member brought something special to the team.

The characters were adorable. I loved Bermudez.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2026/01/13/review-the-basketball-tournament-...

This was a beautiful and touching story!

I loved the premise. It‘s about a magical bookshop that only appears during cherry blossom season and when certain conditions are met (the person has to be reading the same passage at the same time as the owner). I love reading books about books so naturally the story appealed to me.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2026/01/06/review-the-vanishing-cherry-bloss...

What a delightful little book about dragons!

This book gives a short overview of dragons from around the world. It primarily focuses on dragon lore from ancient Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean, Europe, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. It also briefly addresses dragons from other regions like Africa and the Americas.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/31/review-pocket-book-of-dragons/

What a thrilling fantasy adventure!

From the very first chapter, I was hooked into the story. The story centers on two young women, Menilmonea and Aureal, who go on an adventure to find out why their village‘s Titan won‘t wake up. Right away, you can tell something is amiss in their world and the story slowly reveals itself.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/27/review-menilmonea-the-cycle-of-th...

If you‘ve seen reviews for this book, you‘ll know a lot of people hated it, but I didn‘t. I liked it for what it was. A cute and fluffy young adult holiday romance. I wasn‘t expecting anything revolutionary or for it to be the greatest romance I‘ve ever read.

This book had a very fun concept. It‘s an advent book, so you open and read one chapter every day.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/25/review-a-heart-for-christmas/

Wow! This middle grade graphic novel packed quite the emotional punch!

The story is based on the author‘s own life. It followed Cindy at age 12 when she discovers some major family secrets.

I loved the structure of the this book. It was a linear story with some flashbacks. The flashbacks added to the story and were well placed.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/22/review-how-to-draw-a-secret/

I am familiar with the Wicked musical and movies as well as the first Wizard of Oz book. I knew going into the book that it was going to be different from all of those.

I have to say I was surprised by how much I ended up liking this one!

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/21/review-wicked-wicked-years-1/

What a fun and exciting graphic novel!

The book is set in 1992 and is about 5 high schoolers who play a role-playing game that comes alive. It reminded me of Jumanji and the Gryphons and Gargoyles season of Riverdale.

The story was easy to follow along. I liked how the characters were introduced with a short bio stating their name, age, and clique.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/15/review-creatures-corridors/

This was a cute Christmas romance!

The story was hilarious. The fake dating at Christmas was an entertaining premise. This truly was a romantic comedy. There were so many laugh out loud and crazy moments.

There were also a lot of pop culture references throughout which I enjoyed. They added to the humor of the story.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/13/review-christmas-fling/

This was a very unique read! I hadn‘t read anything like it before.

It blends fact and fiction to create a “history” of animals starting from the Paleozoic Era all the way to present day and beyond. Basically it personifies animals and tells their story in relation to humans. The animals are presented in a very human way.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/08/review-animal-intelligence/

What an exciting political thriller!

The best part of the book were the characters. I loved the two main characters, Kostas and Jessica. Sometimes in thrillers characters can take a backseat to the action of the story, but not here. They were well developed and I loved their bond.

The story was well crafted. It was fast paced and had short chapters.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/03/review-running-with-the-gods/

This was so fun and so cute!

First off, I loved the premise. Two “enemies” have to work together to help their best friends propose to each other. As part of their ruse to keep it a secret, they end up fake dating.

I loved the proposal planning parts. Planning dual proposals was such a unique concept and made the story so entertaining.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/11/29/review-the-proposal-project/

This was a solid start to a new fantasy series!

It follows a common story, a boy finds out he‘s the chosen one and must embark on a quest to save his world.

I loved the quest aspect. Quests in fantasy books are one of my favorite things to read about. They are always so fun. This book set up the quest nicely.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/11/28/review-willem-caster-and-the-lege...

This was a delightfully sweet and spicy Christmas novella!

I had read the author‘s previous book, Somewhere Along the Line, and enjoyed it, so I knew I was going to love this one.

I typically don‘t love novellas. They rarely hit for me. But this one was a huge hit. It was exactly what a novella should be. Short and focused, but still told a satisfying story.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/11/22/review-untangled/

This book was so much fun!

A medieval retelling of Legally Blonde was something I never knew I needed! I‘m a huge Legally Blonde fan but I never realized that it could be retold in such a unique way. As a retelling, it worked very well. The original characters were translated very well. Clía, the female lead, definitely gave Elle Woods vibes.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/review-the-princess-knight/

This was a cute witchy romance!

The premise is super fun. It‘s about two witches who fall in love during a spell casting reality show competition. The competition parts were very entertaining to read.

The romance aspect worked very well. The two leads, Penelope and Gil, made a great couple. I loved their dynamic and their chemistry.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/11/08/review-witch-you-would/

This was such a cute fall romance!

So many people have read this book, so when I saw it TJ Maxx (for a great price) I knew it was time to give it a shot. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This book was loaded with fall vibes! It gave me all the autumn feels while reading it.

The romance was super sweet but basic.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/review-the-pumpkin-spice-cafe-dre...

This was an insightful look into the creation of Frankenstein!

I read Frankenstein earlier this year and loved it, so naturally I had to read this book. I was impressed that Mary Shelley wrote a masterpiece at age 19.

The best part of the book was the depiction of female rage. Mary‘s rage starts off quietly and then slowly simmers into an inferno.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/review-love-sex-and-frankenstein/

What a fun book!

This is not your traditional murder mystery book since it‘s not written in a novel format. Instead, you are given all the pieces to solve the mystery yourself. These included pictures, interview transcripts, notes, maps, newspaper articles, etc.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/27/review-you-are-the-detective-the-...

This book had a great premise, but the execution was lackluster.

I will say the book is relatable. As a 30 year old who survived my 20s, I did relate to some of the feelings and experiences the author wrote about.

My main issue with this book is that the essays are way too long. They could have easily been trimmed down to half their length.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/26/review-does-anyone-else-feel-this...

Wow! What a powerful memoir!

As an Asian American female, I was super intrigued by the premise of this memoir. It did not disappoint!

The memoir is told through a series of essays, which worked so well. Each essay was well crafted and blended personal experience with research. It dove deep into how Asian women have been fetishized throughout history and the media.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/21/review-fetishized/

This was a great start to the series!

Going into this, I knew nothing about the comic or the danmei novel it was based on. I went into it blind.

First off, the art is absolutely stunning! Since I had an ARC, the majority of the book was in black and white. However, there were some pages in the beginning that were in full color.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/19/review-heaven-officials-blessing-...

This was an interesting middle grade look into America during the Vietnam War.

First off, I did like that it took place during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War is not often depicted in books, especially middle grade ones, so it was refreshing to see. I also loved the setting of San Diego. I used to live there so it holds a special place in my heart.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/16/review-yolis-favorite-things/

Wow! What a book! It was one of the most unique fantasy books I‘ve ever read.

It took me about 2 months to read this book, mainly because it‘s a story worth savoring. I didn‘t want to rush through it and I am glad I didn‘t. I enjoyed every page of this book!

The world was so different from anything I've read before.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/13/review-house-of-the-beast/

This was such an entertaining graphic novel!

The premise was super fun. Basically, one day the sky turns purple and it causes people to create scientific breakthroughs and become superheroes and supervillains.

At times the story was somewhat hard to follow because of the many characters. However, there is a cast list at the end of the book.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/11/review-super-science-vol-1/

This was a cute romance with all the fall vibes!

This book checked off every box when it came to everything fall related: apple cider donuts, Gilmore Girls, a corn maze, and even a dog named Pumpkin! It also had all the cozy small town vibes with the mom and pop shops. The inn was adorable and so was Aiden‘s house.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/10/07/review-the-honeycrisp-orchard-inn...

Wow! What a phenomenal YA fantasy!

First off, the blend of Hamlet, the Tudors, and deadly flowers were an amazing combination. It all worked together perfectly. It had a gothic feel with a touch of horror. I loved it!

Let‘s take a moment to talk about the grave flowers themselves. These killer flowers had a life of their own and were so fascinating.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/09/30/review-grave-flowers/

This was a cute fall romance!

The set up is not the greatest and is the weakest part of the book. The party at the pumpkin farm and fixing up the barn premise didn‘t quite work. But since this is a romance I just rolled with it. The book is also a bit of a slow burn.

The two leads were cute together. I loved seeing their relationship slowly develop.

Full Review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/09/21/review-theres-pumpkin-about-you/

What an action packed fantasy!

The best part was the forest setting. Forests are incredible places and the story captured the beauty and harshness of it well. It was the perfect setting of the survival theme that ran throughout the story. An integral part of the story was being able to survive in the forest with limited resources.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/09/18/review-leave-no-trace-stories-fro...

Such a fun and strange (in a good way) graphic novel!

The premise is very cool. It‘s about a soon to be 13 year old girl who starts getting nightmares of her impending doom filled birthday (she‘s born on 4/4, which is considered unlucky in Chinese culture). These dreams somehow end up in the comic she is creating.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/09/13/review-the-many-misfortunes-of-eu...

First off, it was interesting that the book was a story within a story and had 3 narrators (Walton, Frankenstein, and the Creature). That was something I wasn‘t expecting but it worked.

The star of the story was the Creature (aka Frankenstein‘s monster). The Creature was the epitome of being othered. He was so misunderstood and just wanted to belong and feel loved.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/09/11/review-frankenstein/

This book started off so strong and I was loving it, then the “reveal” happened and I didn‘t love it. What the “reveal” was felt so out of character for Percy. It didn‘t work for me. I want to keep this spoiler free so all I will say is what Percy did just wasn‘t consistent with how she acted all throughout the book.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/review-every-summer-after/

This was a dark and twisted romance!

The story is basically an erotic dark romance retelling of Beauty and the Beast. As a retelling, it worked well. It followed the storyline and a lot of elements were present, including a protagonist who loves to read and a stunning library. The library was massive.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/review-a-bedtime-story-fairy-tale...

What a charming story!

This is exactly the kind of story I would have devoured as a kid. Growing up, I loved historical fiction, especially niche stories of children evacuating WWII London. I also enjoyed stories set in quaint country houses. This book had both!

I loved how the book incorporated Native American culture.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/08/25/review-the-blossoming-summer/

This was a cute rom-com set in Ireland!

The best part of the book was definitely the setting. Ireland makes for an incredible backdrop to the story. I enjoyed how the book gave you a little tour through Ireland and explored some Irish culture like fairy stories.

The book is fairly short (around 300 pages) which was the perfect length. It was short and sweet.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/review-an-irish-summer/

What a wonderful coming of age story!

The book is set in a hotel in Seattle during the 1990s and I loved how authentically Seattle it felt. There were numerous references to Seattle pop culture (and 90s pop culture in general) throughout, including a chapter cleverly named, “Pleatless in Seattle” (pg. 114).

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/review-the-sylvan-hotel/

This was a moving family drama!

The book starts off strong. The story is about 3 sisters who reunite at their home on the Japanese coast. Immediately, I was invested in the story and the scandal involving the youngest sister. The ending was also very strong. It was touching and packed an emotional punch. However, the middle of the book was slow and dragged on.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/08/09/review-kakigori-summer/

This was a powerful YA fantasy!

First off, I loved that the story was inspired by the authors‘ grandparents and their romance during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Drawing on real life experiences gave the story a ton of emotional depth.

I also enjoyed the dual POVs. The story is told in alternating points of view of the two leads, Seung and Eunji.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/08/07/review-the-last-tiger/

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book!

Going into the book, I wasn‘t quite sure how I would like it. I love graphic novels but sci-fi is often a hit or a miss for me. This one was a hit!

I don‘t want to give away too much of the plot, since it‘s more fun if you go into it blind.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/07/27/review-essentials-vol-1/

What a beautiful novel in verse!

This book tells the story of two young women in two different timelines. The first is Lula, a present day young vocal prodigy studying at a music conservatory. The other is Barbara Strozzi, a 17th century Italian servant turned composer who was a real person. Both storylines were compelling and I loved how they merged!

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/07/25/review-the-siren-and-the-star/

This was a sweet romance with a lot of heart.

The story is about Abbey, a plus sized architect turned baker, and her journey towards love and self acceptance. I loved that the book explored deeper topics like fat shaming and aging parents. Caring for an ailing parent is a very common thing these days, but I rarely see it depicted in books.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/07/20/review-eat-dessert-first/

This was such a cute fall romance set in Scotland!

First off, the vibes are immaculate. It took place during autumn, so it gave off super cozy fall vibes. It was also set in a small town in the Scottish Highlands, which added to the dreamy coziness.

The romance was adorable. I loved Harper and Fraser, both separately and as a couple. I found them both endearing.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/review-kindling/

This book was just as cute as the first one!

I read the first Winnie the Pooh book 2 years ago and was obsessed. I am so glad I got around to reading the sequel. It had all the charm of its predecessor. Pooh and all his friends were (still) so adorable. In this story, we are finally introduced to Tigger. Tigger was an absolute delight.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/review-the-house-at-pooh-corner-w...

This was by far the best book in the trilogy!

Having read this before season 3 came out, I had limited knowledge on the plot line and went into this with few expectations.

Everything worked so well in this one. The book had the perfect amount of drama and suspense that the conclusion to the series needed.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/review-well-always-have-summer-th...

This was a super cute romance with some spice!

First off, I loved that it was dual POVs. I will never not be a fan of them in romance novels. I always love seeing how and when the characters start to fall for one another through their POVs.

I loved all the characters. The leads, Piper and James, were both so likable and sweet. They made a great couple.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/07/01/review-somewhere-along-the-line/

This was an insightful self help book on love! As someone who is perpetually single, I need all the help I can get.

It is very easy to feel powerless when it comes to love, but this book tells you what you can do to improve your love life and relationships.

The book is very accessible and is written in an easy to understand manner.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/06/25/review-it-begins-with-you/

What an amazing novel in verse!

First off, I love novels in verse. I always find them to be so creative and moving and this book was no exception.

This is the debut book from the author and I was very impressed. The poems were all well crafted and really hit the mark, which is a tough thing to accomplish.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/06/21/review-top-heavy/

This book is technically the last book in a trilogy but can be read as a standalone. I have not read the previous two books and was able to follow the story. Reading the other books would have been helpful, but it was not necessary.

I enjoyed the writing style the most. It was elegant and felt like a throwback to classic literature.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/06/19/review-the-forgers-requiem-forger...

This one was so much better than the first book!

First off, I have to preface this review by saying I have seen the second season of the show, so I did know a lot of the plot points going into the book and obviously wasn‘t surprised by some of the things that happened.

This book was much more emotional than the first.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/06/15/review-its-not-summer-without-you...

Honestly, I don‘t quite know how to feel about this book which is why I gave it 3 stars.

This book started off so slow. It took me a while to get into it. It just felt like the story was meandering and that made it boring.

By the second half it got more exciting and it low key got a little horny, which I typically don‘t mind but in this case it felt random.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/06/13/review-how-to-read-a-book/