Genre: Young Adult Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ

June ’26 Wrap-Up

Posted 06/30/2026 by Charli in Wrap Up / 0 Comments

I finally got back into reading this month after almost a year of not reading. I didn’t review all the books on this list, but I did review several of them. Here’s what I read in June 2026: So there it is – all 13 books I read during the month of June 2026! Clown in a Cornfield, Together We Rot, We Did Nothing Wrong, 1 Peter, 52-Week Prayer Practice for Women, The Courage to Change, Sweet Nightmare, and The Joy of an Uncluttered Life were NetGalley reads. Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives and Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo were just to finish the released books in the series. ‘Salem’s Lot, Hell House, and The Exorcist were part of my Summerween/Scariest Books Ever Written list. What did you read this month?

Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo..

Posted 06/04/2026 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

As I said in my review for Clown in a Cornfield, I found it much easier to listen to this book than I did to read it. So when I went to start Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives, I went straight for the audiobook. Fortunately, my local public library carries this series, so I was able to snag this one as an audiobook as well. First, I want to shout out to Jesse Vilinsky. She does an amazing job of narrating this series. I mean, AMAZING. The voices she’s created for each of the characters is now ubiquitous with those characters in my mind. I cannot imagine one of them speaking in any other voice. When I first started Frendo Lives, I hadn’t imagined that we’d be combining PTSD with Internet Conspiracy Theories, but here we are, and it is amazing. I should have known that this would be part of […]

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam C..

Posted 06/03/2026 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I’ve been trying to read Clown in a Cornfield since it first came out. I tried to get an ARC but failed, I tried to get it from the library but failed. Then I finally got it from the library, but couldn’t get into it. I was just about to give up when I was able to request it from NetGalley. I still couldn’t get into it – until I managed to snag the audiobook through the Libby app via my public library. Then… it clicked. Normally, I’d do the CAWPIRE review, but I think I’m going to just keep it low key today. I loved Quinn, Cole, and Rust. I liked Quinn’s dad. Wasn’t overly fond of the rest of the characters – although Janet was pretty cool. The rest of the cast was more or less window-dressing to me and I found myself more interested in Quinn and Cole than […]

A Darker Mischief by Derek Mil..

Posted 07/01/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

I love secret societies. Whenever I read a book set in a school, that is one of my biggest hopes – that there is some sort of secret society involved in the plot. Well, with A Darker Mischief, that hope is definitely fulfilled. This book is definitely a slow-burn type of book. It will take a while to fully get into the story. It will also take a while to start understanding the characters presented A Darker Mischief. This is not one of those books where you get the characters’ life story at the beginning. Even our main character, Cal, largely remains a mystery until later in the book. And if someone’s story isn’t important to the plot? Well, their story remains untold. I have to say that I actually liked Luke more than I liked Cal. He seemed more genuine than Cal did. But Cal had his moments. Now […]

What the Woods Took by Courtne..

Posted 06/14/2024 by Charli in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Content Warning: What the Woods Took contains: I periodically receive emails from NetGalley telling me what books are “Read Now”. In the most recent email, What the Woods Took was listed among the books on offer. While I had previously seen Courtney Gould’s other books on NetGalley, I had not been lucky enough to be chosen to read them. But since this one was “Read Now” I managed to snag it. I’m so glad I was able to get it. In this book we follow five teenagers who have been sent away to “wilderness therapy” by their parents/guardians. Our illustrious group consists of: As we follow these five teens on their wilderness therapy journey, we find that things in this wilderness aren’t exactly what they seem. One of the things I loved about this book is that the enemy isn’t what you’d expect – and in some cases might actually […]