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Holly Reads Too Much

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  • February 2026 Reading Recap

    March 5, 2026

    February was a serious reading month because I had series with a lot of books that were readily available from Libby 📚✨ 27 books | 4 novellas | 1 DNF (Valley of the Dolls 💊) | 1 glorious 5-star read AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE 🤩 The Riordanverse ate up 6 slots, Will Trent was half of my total with 15 books 😅 and the Housemaid had me paranoid about everyone I know.

    • Project Hail Mary Andy Weir ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Housemaid Freida McFadden ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Housemaid’s Secret (The Housemaid, #2) Freida McFadden ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Housemaid Is Watching (The Housemaid, #3) Freida McFadden ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Housemaid’s Wedding: A Short Story Freida McFadden ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Cross and Sampson (Alex Cross #35) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Triptych (Will Trent, #1) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Fractured (Will Trent, #2) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Undone (Will Trent, #3) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Broken (Will Trent, #4) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Fallen (Will Trent, #5) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Snatched (Will Trent #5.5) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Criminal (Will Trent, #6) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Busted (Will Trent, #6.5) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Unseen (Will Trent, #7) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Kept Woman (Will Trent, #8) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Cleaning the Gold (Will Trent, #8.5) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ 
    • The Last Widow (Will Trent, #9) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Silent Wife (Will Trent #10) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • After That Night (Will Trent, #11) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • This is Why We Lied (Will Trent, #12) Karin Slaughter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • A Field Guide to Murder Michelle L. Cullen ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Storm Rachel Hawkins ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo, #2) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure (Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, #17) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Tower of Nero (The Trials of Apollo, #5) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Serpent’s Shadow (The Kane Chronicles, #3) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Murder at World’s End Ross Montgomery ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Silversmith’s Puzzle (Captain Jim and Lady Diana Mysteries #4) Nev March ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

     #readingwrap #willtrentseries #karinslaughter #riordanverse #projecthailmary

  • January 2026 Reading Recap

    February 2, 2026

    15 🎧audiobooks for January
    10 🔱 Percy Jackson/Riordanverse
    2 ⭐️ NetGalley
    9 re-reads
    1 📚book club
    3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    • The Devil in the Details (Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery #11) Vicki Delany ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Seven Dials Mystery Agatha Christie ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Malfoy: The Fall and the Fate of the Wizarding World’s Most Treacherous Family (The Unofficial Harry Potter Character Series) Irvin Khaytman ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Woman in Suite 11 (Lo Blacklock, #2) Ruth Ware ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Lady Tremaine: A Novel Rachel Hochhauser ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, #1) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles, #2) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, #1) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #6) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Wrath of the Triple Goddess (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #7) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

    riordanverse #netgalley

  • Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

    January 20, 2026

    ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Lady Tremaine is a brilliant and unexpectedly moving retelling of Cinderella, told from the stepmother’s point of view. This novel begins with the stepmother (Ethel) as a young girl and follows her through two marriages, two widowhoods, and the relentless struggle to secure safety and stability for her children, carrying the story well beyond the infamous royal ball where the prince makes his choice.

    What makes this book so compelling is how fully it stands on its own. Even without any familiarity with the fairy tale, this would work beautifully as historical fiction. It vividly captures how precarious women’s lives were, especially when financial security depended entirely on husbands, titles, and marriages that could vanish overnight. Ethel’s choices, often judged harshly in the original tale, are reframed here as acts of fierce, sometimes desperate, maternal love.

    Ethel is not softened into a saint, but she is rendered deeply human. Her determination to protect her daughters (even her prickly, resistant stepdaughter) drives every decision she makes, no matter the personal cost. This reimagining asks readers to reconsider who gets labeled a villain, and why, and it does so with empathy, emotional weight, and real narrative momentum.

    Smart, emotionally rich, and surprisingly tender, Lady Tremaine transforms a familiar story into something fresh and powerful, reminding us that survival itself can look like cruelty when history leaves women no good choices.

    Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion. And to @laura.tremaine
    for adding this to the @secretstuffbylauratremaine Book Club schedule this year, otherwise I might not have been interested in reading because I didn’t really know what it was about.

    Bessie Carter was the perfect voice for the narration of this story.

    @netgalley@macmillan.audio

  • December 2025 Reading Recap

    January 1, 2026

    🎧20 (audio) books in December:
    9 brand new books
    11 re-reads
    🐉🌀👁️Sea of Monsters twice because of the Disney Plus show
    1 five star (The List of Suspicious Things)
    1 NetGalley review

    There were clever detectives, suspicious neighbors, emotional gut-punches, comfort re-reads, and more murders than I can count. 🔪🔪🔪

    • The Widow John Grisham ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • An Ambush of Tigers (Nell Ward, #7) Sarah Yarwood-Lovett ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • A Case of Life and Limb: The Trials of Gabriel Ward, Book 2 Sally Smith ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Murder on Harley Street: Cleopatra Fox Mysteries, Book 11 C.J. Archer ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The List of Suspicious Things: A Novel Jennie Godfrey ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, #1) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Demigod Diaries (The Heroes of Olympus, #2.5) Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Percy Jackson: The Demigod Files Rick Riordan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • A Fashionably French Murder: American in Paris Mysteries, Book 3 Colleen Cambridge ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Fair Play: A Novel Louise Hegarty ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Sugar and Spite (Agatha Raisin #36) M.C. Beaton ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Malice Aforethought Francis Iles ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Violets Are Blue (Alex Cross #7) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Four Blind Mice (Alex Cross #8) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️
  • The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

    December 30, 2025

    ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ This is probably my favorite book of the 2025. That might be recency bias talking, or it might be because Harriet the Spy was one of my defining childhood reads. Either way, I can’t remember another book this year that made me feel quite like this one did.

    Set in Yorkshire in 1979, the story follows twelve-year-old Miv, who is already struggling with a quiet, unspoken crisis at home when fear spreads through her neighborhood as young women begin to disappear. When her father starts talking about moving the family “down south,” Miv becomes determined to solve the mystery herself. Along with her best friend Sharon, she creates a list of all the suspicious people and things on their street, and starts investigating.

    What begins as a child’s attempt at detective work slowly unfolds into something much deeper and more devastating. The novel captures the way children observe the world with startling clarity while not fully understanding what they’re seeing. Secrets accumulate. Not just in the neighborhood, but inside families and friendships, and the emotional weight builds in a way that feels painfully real. I especially loved how Miv and Sharon befriended so many people in the neighborhood.

    The audiobook production is excellent, with a full cast that brings texture and warmth to the story without overwhelming it. The performances give the characters distinct voices and make the emotional beats land even harder.

    This book broke my heart and lifted it at the same time. It’s tender, unsettling, and deeply humane. It’s less about solving crimes than about grief, fear, friendship, and the quiet resilience of children trying to make sense of an adult world that feels suddenly dangerous. I will be thinking about it for a long time, and probably listening again soon to go back to Miv’s world.

    Special thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia/Tantor Audio for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

  • The Queen Who Came In From The Cold by S.J. Bennett

    December 7, 2025

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A delightfully clever blend of Cold War intrigue and cozy mystery. This time, the Queen of England and her assistant private secretary find themselves quietly facilitating the defection of a Soviet scientist and untangling a murder spotted from the royal train. The Venice scenes were very suspenseful (fog, canals, gunfire), and the playful nods to classic James Bond lore were perfect.

    The narration by Samantha Bond is perfection. She brings such elegance and wit to the story, and it’s extra fun knowing she stars in the TV adaptation of another mystery series I love (The Marlow Murder Club).

    Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the early audiobook copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.


    #TheQueenWhoCameinfromtheCold#NetGalley

  • November 2025 Reading Recap

    December 7, 2025

    23 audiobooks for November

    This month was a cozy collision of crime, classics, kids’ adventures, and King-level chaos:

    ✨ 7 newly published
    🔁 15 re-reads
    📖 1 book club pick
    💻 1 NetGalley
    🎧 100% audiobooks

    Highlights included an Alex Cross binge, a Bill Hodges + Holly Gibney run, clever mysteries with Phyllida Bright and Her Majesty, the strangely timeless weight of The Bell Jar, and a nostalgic return to The Mysterious Benedict Society.

    Mood of the month:
    🔍 Murder
    👑 British sleuths
    🕷️ Serial killers
    🧠 Smart kids saving the world
    📜 One emotional classic for balance

    Complete list for November:

    • The Case of the Missing Maid: Harriet Morrow Investigates, Book 1 Rob Osler ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • We Had a Hunch: A Mystery Tom Ryan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Queen Who Came in from the Cold (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #5) S.J.  Bennett ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Murder in Miniature (Maple Bishop #2) Katie Tietjen ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Two Truths and a Murder (A Phyllida Bright Mystery Book 5) Colleen Cambridge ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Unexpected Guest Charles Osborne ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Impossible Fortune (Thursday Murder Club, #5) Richard Osman ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1) Stephen King ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2) Stephen King ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) Stephen King ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Outsider (Holly Gibney #1) Stephen King ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • If It Bleeds (Holly Gibney #2) Stephen King ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross, #1) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, #2) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Jack & Jill (Alex Cross, #3) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Cat & Mouse (Alex Cross, #4) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Pop Goes the Weasel (Alex Cross, #5) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Roses Are Red (Alex Cross, #6) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • Return of the Spider (Alex Cross, #33) James Patterson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1) Trenton Lee Stewart ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2) Trenton Lee Stewart ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    • The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3) Trenton Lee Stewart ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
  • October 2025 Reading Recap

    November 2, 2025

    October 2025 Audiobooks 🎧
    22 audiobooks for October!
    10 first-time listens 🎧
    12 re-reads — some old favorites I’ve revisited many times ❤️
    1 #NetGalley audio-ARC
    1 Non-fiction pick (for #SecretStuffBookClub)
    16 of the 22 books crossed 7 different series, with 2 complete series read this month

    ⭐️ 5-Star Favorites (One of my all time favorite books)
    • The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith (3rd read)

    🌟 4-Star Reads (Loved and would read again)
    • Murder in Matrimony by Mary Winters
    • Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood
    • The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
    • Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman
    • The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall by Ali Standish (2nd)
    • The Sign of the Five by Ali Standish (2nd)
    • The Valley of Lies by Ali Standish
    • Writers and Liars by Carol Goodman
    • All the Words We Know by Bruce Nash
    • Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (3rd)
    • The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith (3rd)
    • Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (4th)
    • Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (2nd)
    • Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (6th)
    • The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (4th)
    • The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (5th)
    • The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters (2nd)

    💫 3-Star Listens (Was good but probably would not re-read)
    • The Last Death of the Year by Sophie Hannah
    • Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
    • The Running Man by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
    • The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith (2nd)

    Series covered:
    #CormoranStrike#HungerGames#ALadyofLettersMystery#theimprobabletales#NewHerculePoirot#AmeliaPeabody#TheMarlowMurders

  • Murder in Matrimony (Lady of Letters #4) by Mary Winter

    November 2, 2025

    💍 Murder in Matrimony (Lady of Letters #4)
    🖋️ by Mary Winters | 🎧 Narrated by Sophie Roberts

    Lady Amelia Amesbury, secret advice columnist “Lady Agony,” has her hands full this time! A blackmailer threatens to reveal her identity, her sister announces a wedding in one month, and then her dear friend the vicar turns up dead. The police call it a robbery gone wrong, but Amelia suspects something far more sinister…

    This installment mixes mystery, humor, and heart so well. I adored Amelia’s loud country relatives shaking up her London townhouse, and Aunt Tabitha’s efforts to maintain perfect Victorian manners made me laugh out loud. The slow-burn romance between Amelia and Simon continues to be absolutely swoon-worthy. 💕

    Sophie Roberts is the perfect narrator for this series. She nails every bit of wit and charm.

    🎧 Listened on Audible using my own credit. Totally worth it.

    #MurderInMatrimony#MaryWinters#LadyOfLettersMystery#CozyMystery#AudiobookAddict#HistoricalMystery#SophieRobertsNarration#Bookstagram#AudiobookReview#VictorianMystery
    @tantoraudio@marywintersauthor

  • The Valley of Lies by Ali Standish

    October 29, 2025

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This has quickly become one of my favorite middle-grade series—but honestly, any Sherlock Holmes fan could enjoy it, no matter their age. Ali Standish does such a clever job weaving Holmesian lore into the mischievous adventures of these young students at Baskerville Hall.

    I’ve been wondering since book one how Arthur’s roommate Jimmie (whose last name happens to belong to a famous Holmes villain), might one day become an enemy. This book finally delivers that answer in a big, emotional way. Poor Arthur had me worried from start to finish as he struggled under the weight of blackmail and isolation, refusing to reach out to friends or teachers for help.

    Fans will appreciate the subtle nods to The Adventure of the Speckled Band and The Final Problem. I probably missed other references since it’s been a while since I’ve read any Holmes.

    I just learned this might be the final book in the trilogy, and I truly hope it isn’t the last we see of Baskerville Hall. The world and its characters deserve more mysteries to solve!

    Special thanks to @netgalley and HarperAudio Children’s / @harpercollins for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

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