Sunday Confessions #333

 


This week, I’ve been feeling that familiar tug-of-war between wanting to devour every book in sight and wanting to curl up under a blanket and hide from the world. Maybe it’s the season, maybe it’s the stack of half finished reads staring me down, but either way, my reading life has been a mix of quiet triumphs and unexpected detours. So, in true confession fashion, I’m here to spill the honest, cozy, slightly chaotic truth about what I picked up, what I put down, and what absolutely swept me away this week.


Sunday Confessions #332
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Weekly Menu #635 And The Book Of The Week
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ARC Review: We Were Never Friends by Kaira Rouda
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Book Review: A Dark Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
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Book Review: The Anthropocene Review by John Green
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ARC Review: I, Medusa by Ayana Gray



Weekly Menu #636 And The Book Of The Week
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Book Review: The Temporary Roomie by Sarah Adams
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ARC Review: Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer
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Book Review: Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
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ARC Review: We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark
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Sunday Confessions #334




★★★☆☆

This book was entertaining and kept my attention through most of the story, but it really fell apart at the end. The setup was strong, the tension was great, and I was invested in where it all might lead, only to feel let down when the finale didn’t quite deliver. It wasn’t a bad read, just one that left me wishing the payoff matched the promising build up.








381/100 2025 Reading Challenge





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ARC Review: I, Medusa by Ayana Gray

 

Title: I, Medusa

By: Ayana Fray

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 336

Release Date: November 18th, 2025

Rating: ★★★★★

 

Summary from Goodreads:

From New York Times bestselling author Ayana Gray comes a new kind of villain origin story, reimagining one of the most iconic monsters in Greek mythology as a provocative and powerful young heroine.

Meddy has spent her whole life as a footnote in someone else’s story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters and her parents—both gods, albeit minor ones—she dreams of leaving her family’s island for a life of adventure. So when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home.

In Athens’ colorful market streets and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena’s favored acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, a drunken night between girl and god ends in violence, and the course of Meddy’s promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.

Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity—not as a victim, but as a vigilante—and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth.

Exploding with rage, heartbreak, and love, I, Medusa portrays a young woman caught in the cross currents between her heart’s deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.

 

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Review:

I absolutely loved this read. It had everything I could’ve wanted in a Greek drama: tragedy, passion, and power. Ayana Gray’s reimagining of Medusa’s story was haunting and beautiful, giving voice to a character who has too often been silenced or villainized. Poor Medusa couldn’t win, no matter how hard she tried, and that made her journey all the more heartbreaking and human. This book captured both the cruelty and the grace of Greek mythology perfectly.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. 

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Book Review: The Anthropocene Review by John Green

 

Title: The Anthropocene Reviewed

By: John Green

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pages: 304

Release Date: May 18th, 2021

Rating: ★★★★★

 

Summary from Goodreads:

A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.

Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book.

 

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Review:

This book had me reviewing everything for a week after I finished it, in the best possible way. John Green’s reflections on the human experience are tender, curious, and quietly profound, turning everyday moments into small marvels worth examining. Each essay feels like a gentle nudge to pay attention, to breathe in the world a little deeper, and to find wonder in the ordinary. I loved it.
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Book Review: A Dark Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

 

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic

By: V.E. Schwab

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 400

Release Date: February 24th, 2015

Rating: ★★★★★

 

Summary from Goodreads:

Kell is one of the last travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes, connected by one magical city.

There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad king—George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered—and where Kell was raised alongside Rhys Maresh, the rougish heir to a flourishing empire. White London—a place where people fight to control magic and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, ambassador of the Maresh empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

 

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Review:

I absolutely loved this book. It was just pure, immersive fun from start to finish. Schwab’s multiverse of parallel Londons is as clever as it is captivating, and the magic system is both elegant and wildly entertaining. Kell’s quiet power, Lila’s chaotic charm, and the fast-paced, high stakes adventure made this an effortless page turner. Every chapter felt like stepping through a different door into a richer world, and I never wanted to step back out. An absolute delight of a fantasy read.

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ARC Review: We Were Never Friends by Kaira Rouda

 

Title: We Were Never Friends

By: Kiara Rouda

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 228

Release Date: February 3rd, 2026

Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

Summary from Goodreads:

Sisters? Forever. Friends? NEVER. Who knew a reunion weekend could be so deadly?

Meet the sorority sisters of Theta Gamma

Roxy Callahan Gentry, the ruthless former sorority president and current hostess who has painstakingly choreographed every detail of this weekend—even matching the cocktails to her couture—to prove that she remains their undisputed queenAmelia Dell, the widow drenched in old money and alcohol, with her big pot-stirring spoon and uninvited boy-toy in towJamie Vale, the double-legacy pledge, straight-A student with no sparkle, now a top cardiologist with a picture-perfect family—and a well-guarded bad habitBeth Harrison, the scholarship student who never quite fit in and was only admitted because her best friend Sunny insisted that the two were a package dealSunny Spencer, the carefree and beloved friend to all, or so it seemed—until she wasn'tThey've been summoned to Roxy's luxurious Palm Springs vacation home to celebrate the engagement of her son to Beth's daughter. But the refurbished 1920s estate is eerily reminiscent of the hotel where tragedy struck during Spring Break twenty-five years ago. Long-simmering tensions and shocking secrets begin bubbling to the surface like bodies—because while the weekend was supposed to be about celebrating the future, it's not so easy to bury the past…

 

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Review:

This book gave off strong I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes but unfortunately fell short in its delivery. There was so much potential. A cast of characters who clearly don’t like each other but pretend to, all while sharing a dark secret, but the tension never quite built the way I hoped. Every detail about that secret seemed too easily revealed, leaving little mystery or suspense. By the time the ending rolled around, it just didn’t pack the punch it could have. A promising premise that fizzled out before it found its footing.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. 

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