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Life Lately

We got our patio!!!!! It’s only something we’ve talked about since we moved into this house four years ago! And only something we’ve been waiting for (and waiting, and waiting, and waiting) since last fall! It is SUCH A DREAM to have it done! Don’t ask me how it went tearing apart the deck, because frankly I’ve never had a worse time.

Now comes the fun part: decorating! We’re dipping our toes into the flower section at Home Depot, seeing what looks good (and can stay alive) in pots in the backyard, with little to no supervision, because we all know I’m not doing that. Party lights are right around the corner, so expect to find me on my patio furniture, soaking up my well-spent money, very soon.

Another fun update: I started (barely) rowing! My husband has had a rower in our basement for a long time, but I never felt the urge to use it until recently, what with walking by it every day to hang out down there, so I’m playing around with whether I actually like rowing, whether I get any benefit from it, etc. So far, having a good time, even if my legs feel like they don’t belong to my body afterward.

Finally went to see The Odyssey, jumping on the tail end of the bandwagon. It was good! It was LOUD, like terrifyingly loud. But I knew the story going in, I like most of the actors anyway, so it just seemed like a good fit, and it was! I’ll definitely not sit through three hours of a movie most days, but it was a great adaptation of the story, in my opinion. (Side note: maybe this movie is why I wanted to try rowing? Subconsciously, I can see it.)

And we started a complete rewatch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we head into a very busy fall, aiming to be completely caught up in time for Doomsday in December. Yes, I realize how large this commitment is, but we’re ready. We zoomed through Phase 1 and 2 so fast, and we’re currently finishing up Phase 3, which means we’re making great time! I have no metric for that other than I feel good about how much of the list I have left to scroll through on my Notes app before we hit this goal.

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The Reading Chronicles

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

A woman receives a book a month from her recently deceased husband as she learns to navigate life without him.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

Delightful. I listened to this on audio and loved the narrator. While sad, this book never felt directly sad; it felt like finding yourself again after loss, told through all the books that help us understand the feelings we feel. So good, so thoughtful, and will definitely be going in the reread pile.

Meet Cute Magic by Morgan Elizabeth

A cozy witchy fantasy, frenemies-to-lovers, all about finding your person to do life with.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

I already gushed about this one in my fall TBR post. Short version: bookstore witch, cursed family, spicier than the cover lets on, I was grinning the whole time.

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

A debutante forced into a deal with a bloodthirsty Fae Queen ends up competing Bachelor-style for a prince’s hand.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

This one was fun! An intriguing concept we’ve definitely seen before, but I enjoyed this take on it. The multiple perspectives were probably my favorite part and made this book feel like its own thing. A quick YA read with enough drama to keep me on my toes the entire time.

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All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman

A not-so-likable mother must prove her son had nothing to do with his missing classmate... despite not being totally sure herself.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

Fans of unlikable, unreliable narrators, come to the front! At some points this was fun to read, but our main character tipped a little too far into hate-her territory for me. The mystery was intriguing and took plenty of turns. If you’re looking for a Bad Moms Become Detectives book, this one isn’t bad.

Rose in Chains by Julie Soto

Stripped of her magic, her castle, and her country, our underestimated main character is sold to the highest bidder of the conquerors: her long-time childhood crush.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

Dare I say the best fantasy I’ve read so far this year? This is book one of a trilogy; book two comes out in December, so if you don’t like starting unfinished series, hold off, but put it on your TBR immediately. Preorder it and let it sit on your shelf for a bit if you have to. It’s a must-read eventually. The story moves between past and present, and while the cast is a little overwhelming at first, you grow to understand every player in the game, such a good intro into the world. I cannot wait for more.

Broken Dove by Dani Francis (Silver Elite, #2)

Following the events of book one, Wren finds herself torn between two sides of a war, while deciding who’s actually on her side, and who she has to lose to keep her beliefs.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

I was excited for this one because I enjoyed Silver Elite, but it fell a little flat for me. If you liked book one, you’ll probably still like this, but two things kept it average for me. One: the length. It’s too long without enough happening to justify it. Two: the lack of depth. I think I would’ve enjoyed a different POV at points, to get a fuller picture of the world and what’s coming, but we only get Wren’s perspective for most of the book. I could be convinced to read book three, but it’s not high on my list.

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood

Three unlikely people find their lives intersecting, showcasing how to seize second chances, let go of guilt, and lean on the power of books to help us through life.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

I love a found family, and this one did not disappoint! It took a second to get into, but once you get to know the characters, it’s hard to let them go. Such a wonderful story about three people with something to work through, and how to have empathy for every situation and person.

Love Felt Like This by Julie Olivia

A grumpy rock star and a joyful children’s show creator revive television magic in this cozy small-town romance.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

Also covered in my fall TBR post, so I’ll keep it brief here: this book has so much heart it kind of hurts to read, in the best way.

The Ascended by Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox

When twins Thais and Thatcher are thrust into the deadly Trials of Ascension, they navigate brutal competitions and forbidden desires, discovering some secrets are worth dying for and others are worth killing for.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

This one had me hooked from the very beginning! The magic system is just confusing enough to keep me interested and just easy enough to understand that it didn’t make me want to pull my hair out, a genuinely hard balance to strike. The twin storyline is so good, and the fantasy elements were done so well. And we cannot forget the spice!!! Girls, there is a library and there is a ladder. You’re welcome. Pick this up now. Outside of that, it’s also got a genuinely great plot that had me itching to get back to it the whole time I was reading.

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

Childhood best friends turned acting partners, AJ and Noah spend decades circling the line between friendship and something bigger, on screen and off.

📖 Bookshop.org · Goodreads

This has been an IT book on my list for a while and we finally got to it! Fair warning, this is a long one for a romance, my friends, but so worth it. Talk about a man who yearns for real! It’s a long book because it spans years and years of AJ and Noah figuring out not just themselves but how, or if, they fit into a “we” at all. All this with a backdrop of a sci-fi TV show. Very impressed. This one lived up to every bit of the hype.

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The Reading Goals Scorecard

Let’s see how we’re tracking:

📚 68/100 books read — closing in on the triple digits, we love to see it.
💚 4/5 books with green covers — still stuck, apparently August just wasn't a green-cover month.
🌊 3/8 Emily Henry books read — no movement this month, but she's not going anywhere.
🐉 24/40 fantasy books read — over halfway there, the dragons are winning!
🕵️ 6/6 Gallagher Girls books read

Until Next Time...

And that's a wrap on August! Between the patio, the rowing, and apparently now needing to have opinions about every Marvel movie, it was a busier month than I expected, but a good one.

September means the annual reading retreat is finally here, so expect that to completely take over all aspects of my life for the month. Until then, keep reading!

See you on the next page,
Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

I’ve been lucky enough to finish three ARCs this month, all releasing this fall, all different, but all centered on that cozy fall romance feeling. As someone who just spent a month buried in them, I can attest: these were a blast to read. Let’s get into it.

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Love Felt Like This by Julie Olivia

Release Date: Sept. 8

The blurb: A grumpy rock star and a joyful children’s show creator revive television magic in this cozy small-town romance.

Griffin Harvey, the brooding famous singer-songwriter is on the cusp of composing his sophomore album . . . if only he could find the notes. But after gaining custody of his two-year-old daughter, the only music he’s writing is about shapes and counting to ten.

Enter Beverly, who lives her life in the background producing children’s television and laughter. Except joy is hard to find when her nonprofit loses funding. She sinks all of her savings into reviving the show herself, but when her variety show appearance collides with Griffin’s, their banter and chemistry get caught on live television.

Suddenly, Griffin is singing a new tune. He needs a muse, and Beverly needs all the help she can get. With his secret daughter in tow, they hide out in her cozy mountain hometown, attempting to script, compose, and revive television magic. Once their three months of work are done, they’ll return to their separate worlds. But what happens if the real magic turns out to be each other?

My thoughts: This one is exactly as warm as it sounds: grumpy-meets-sunshine but make it a whole found family situation. Griffin’s slow unraveling from “brooding rock star” to “guy who knows all the words to a kids’ show theme song” is the whole appeal here, and Beverly’s earnestness never tips into too cheeky for me.

And the whole family is the quirky lovable bunch we live to see in books. This book has so much heart at some points it kinda hurts to read! Like my heart can’t take the love coming off these pages! Put it away!

While songs in a book are always a thing that makes me cringe (I really can’t with books like these but I read it anyway!), in this one it wasn’t too overdone that I couldn’t overlook it for the sake of the good story. And the end was really just what I want in a love story to wrap everything up in a lovely bow.

Meet Cute Magic by Morgan Elizabeth

Release Date: Sept. 8

The blurb: A witch who can’t fall in love without getting her heart broken teams up with the one man in town who holds a grudge against her.

Bookstore owner Rosie Mayfield wants a love of her own, but it’s not meant to be: her family is cursed. To break it, she conjures a ghost who will do it for her, but for a cost… she has to brew a potion to help him cross over. The problem? The ghost’s grandson is the one person in Heartwood Hollow who hates her, and she needs his help to pull it off.

Jack Haggerty has disliked Rosie for years; she’s a disaster, and she’s banned from his gaming shop. He doesn’t believe in ghosts, so he’s stunned when his beloved grandfather shows up. While he loves his family and will do anything to help him, Jack fights the chemistry brewing between him and Rosie until he can’t anymore. He doesn’t know how to admit he no longer wants to go through with the plan, and she won’t admit she’s falling for him, because they’re doomed from the start.

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My thoughts: Morgan Elizabeth just writes for me. I love her mix of banter and whimsy, and this book is no exception. Rosie is a perfectly loveable bookstore witch who only wants the love story she’s spent her life handing everyone else, truly what’s a girl to do!

The magic here is handled so well. It’s just another character, a fact of life rather than a Big Plot Device. This could be any small town, anywhere, except it has magic. Reading it felt like watching all my favorite cozy halloween movies.

Fair warning: this is the spiciest of the three, and these people do not act like they do in real life in the bedroom. The spice ran hotter than I was anticipating based on the cover, but the rest of the story is so cutesy, you’ll love it either way.

Spellstruck by Martha Waters

Release Date: Sept. 29

The blurb: A speakeasy owner supplying magical drinks and the enforcer sworn to shut her down team up when potions start going awry, proving chemistry isn’t just for cocktails.

In an alternate 1920s London, remnants of England’s magical past still linger, but magic itself has been outlawed. The old magical families haven’t given it up, though, they’ve just gone underground, running illegal speakeasies for a public still thirsty for a little spellwork with their drink order. Vesper (what a great name!) Holloway runs her family’s club, where the right dash of spell powder can turn an ordinary night into something extraordinary.

But when a patron’s Flotation Fizz, which should only lift him a few inches off his chair, sends him straight into the ceiling, word spreads fast that these “accidents” are becoming more frequent. With the magical elite growing nervous that the danger is spreading, Vesper finds herself teamed up with the very enforcer sent to shut clubs like hers down, and the two must get to the bottom of it before the whole underground scene goes up in smoke.

My thoughts: Such a fun, fresh take! I loved the Roaring Twenties vibes; the fashion, the tone, the setting is really where this one shines. I was completely transported, looking at the era through rose-colored (bootlegged?) glasses.

Vesper, while being the “shallow” member of her family, I just grew to love so much. From the beginning I liked her, but she just gets better as she grows in this book. I don’t care what anyone says, she can do no wrong for me!

What I loved most: both leads have personal struggles they have to work through on their own, not just together. Most romances give the leads one shared conflict to solve as a team. Here, both characters have flaws and growth outside the relationship, which somehow made their love story more satisfying. We got to see the whole person, not just the half that shows up for the meet-cute.

And these are just three books! I’m already counting down to all the cozy fall releases still to come.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for all the fun reads.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary…

School has also given us some of the best backdrops in fiction. But before you brace yourself for a syllabus of books you were forced to read in tenth grade, relax, that is not what this is. However, if you want that list, I do have the recs there too.

This is a list of books that are school-adjacent. Think Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars… school exists, technically, as a location, and also as a fourth main character you’d die for. And yet not a single person in any of these universes appears to open a textbook, let alone have any real grades to qualify to graduate. Iconic behavior, honestly.

Six books, six moods, zero homework required. Let’s go.

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Make it fall 🍂 — The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand & Shelby Cunningham

Hilderbrand steps away from Nantucket for this one (I know, I gasped too) and co-writes it with her daughter instead. It's set at Tiffin Academy, a boarding school that just got ranked #2 in the country despite crumbling dorms and losing sports teams and before anyone can bask in it, an anonymous gossip app starts blasting scandalous secrets about literally everyone on campus. Less a mystery to solve, more a slow-motion group implosion, and I mean that as the highest compliment.

Make it dark 🖤 Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Unpopular opinion, maybe, but I love this series with my whole chest. It’s set at Yale and gives serious “wait, you’re expected to attend office hours and fight paranormal entities?” energy. The prestige of the school is doing just as much work as any character in this book, it’s not a setting, it’s a personality. It is dark in both content and vibes but is written so well, AND to make it even better, the last book in the series comes out this fall. Start reading now.

Make it pink 💗 Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

A love letter to how simple life used to be in high school… unless, of course, you joined the cheerleading squad and it turned out to be a front for a covert government spy operation. Genuinely could be finished in one sitting, and honestly should be, ideally paired with a girl dinner and a Bring It On marathon immediately after. That’s not a suggestion, that’s a lifestyle.

Make it fantasy ✨ Bloodwing Academy series by Briar Boleyn

Dragons, vampires and homework about history and magic that nobody actually does, the true romantasy trifecta. Our main character is confused 90% of the time and that also adds to the fun of learning about the world and all the players in the game. This series is probably one of my favorites for the year. The final book also drops this fall, which means now is your window to get caught up before everyone’s talking about the ending and you’re standing there like an extra credit assignment you forgot to turn in.

Make it spicy 🌶️ Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

Her first college romance, and if you assumed college setting meant toned down like the rest of us, you would be wrong. This might be some of her spiciest writing yet, and also some of her best. She writes college students like I want them to be written. The characters all feel real and its present without too many references that will date the book. I need at least twenty more of these, immediately, no notes.

Make it thrilling 🔪 One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Five students walk into detention, only four walk out, the fifth ends up dead, and it turns out he ran an app that knew everyone's secrets, which means all four had a reason to want him gone. Classic locked-room whodunit setup, except the room is a high school and the suspects are the Breakfast Club if one of them were definitely a murderer. Solid trilogy opener and the Peacock adaptation is a decent watch too if you want to keep the vibe going after the last page.

What’s your favorite school-adjacent read — team dark academia, team spy cheerleaders, or team “why is nobody in this book ever in class”? Tell me in the comments.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary…

Take a deep breath. You will eventually read everything you want to read.

WE (me) are choosing to see this as exciting and not, say, a slow-building existential crisis about the limits of time and my TBR (see deep breath). So many fantasy series I haven’t started! So many worlds! So many opportunities to be the last person at the party to find out something everyone else has known for years!

In the spirit of that optimism (forced though it may be), I’m airing out the full list. Every fantasy series I keep hearing about, keep meaning to start, and keep somehow not starting. Consider this a public confession, a cry for help, and a request for peer pressure, all in one post.

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The ones I have literally no excuse for

Shield of Sparrows is the “everyone but me has read this” pick of the year. I’ve seen nothing but glowing reviews from people whose taste I trust, and it still keeps getting benched every single time something shinier catches my eye. At this point it’s not “haven’t gotten to it.” It’s a bit. A whole ongoing bit at my own expense.

The Knight and the Moth should honestly be at the top of this list, not buried in the middle of it. I’m fairly sure book two is either already out or about to be which should make it the prime time to begin! I just need to commit!

Red Rising is the one I know I would love. I know it in my soul, the way you know certain things about yourself without needing proof. And yet I still haven’t started, mostly because I have a personal policy against beginning long series until I know the ending exists and isn’t going to flatten me emotionally (because frankly I’m in the middle of SO MANY of those I can’t make that list longer PLEASE). Maybe once the whole thing is out I’ll finally let myself in.

The ones I’m weirdly nervous about

Daughter of No Worlds gets compared to Throne of Glass constantly, like that’s supposed to be the thing that finally gets me to pick it up. Instead it mostly makes me back away slowly, because I am simply not ready for that tier of fantasy commitment. That said, my “not ready yet” timeline keeps getting shorter every time someone mentions it, so we might be closer than I think.

Once Upon a Broken Heart feels like it should be an automatic yes. I loved Caraval. I know I’ll probably love this. And still, something keeps holding me back, and I genuinely cannot tell you what it is. Someone please tell me it’s worth the leap, because I need the push.

Heartstring Duet has a reputation. I’ve heard this one wrecks people — not gently, not “a little sad,” but full emotional demolition. So instead of diving in unprepared like a fool, I’m treating this like an event I need to train for. Snacks, low expectations for the next day’s productivity, tissues on standby.

The ones I know almost nothing about (and love that for me)

Blood of Hercules wins purely on cover work. I haven’t even confirmed the plot, but you already know I’m contractually obligated to be interested in anything Greek-mythology-retelling shaped, so I’m choosing to assume this qualifies until proven otherwise.

House of Devils has been sitting on this list for ages, doing absolutely nothing to sell itself to me one way or the other, which somehow makes it more intriguing rather than less. The less I know, the more curious I get. This might say something about me as a reader. I’m choosing not to examine it further.

The Ascended has a cover that looks like it crawled directly out of a horror movie, and normally that alone would send me running. But I’ve heard genuinely great things, so now I’m just standing here, cover judging me, reviews reassuring me, completely stuck in the middle.

The one I’m saving on purpose

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is by the same author as Daughter of No Worlds, different series, vampires (I think), and it is giving heavy “read this by candlelight in October” energy. I refuse to rush that experience. This is not procrastination. This is seasonal planning, and I stand by it.

The one that lives in the gray area

Immortal Consequences has genuinely mixed reviews, and yet it will not stop being talked about, which might be the most telling thing about it. In my experience, divisive books are usually either doing something bold enough to upset people or something bad enough to upset people, and there’s rarely an in-between. I need someone to tell me which one this is before I commit.

So there it is. My fantasy shame list, fully public, fully embarrassing, and somehow still not the whole thing, because I guarantee there are series I don’t even know exist yet that will show up in my comments and ruin my week.

Tell me: which one do I start first? Which one is going to wreck me the way everyone keeps warning me it will? And more importantly, what am I missing that should already be on this list?

See you on the next page,
Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

So here’s the list: where I stopped, why, and whether I really want to even pick it back up again, or if this is goodbye for good.

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Hades x Persephone Saga by Scarlett St. Clair

Last book I read: A Touch of Malice

When I started this series, this was the last book. Now there is a real last book in A Touch of Chaos, and I didn’t know that existed, or I knew at one point and forgot about it. I actually really enjoyed this series, so it’s sitting patiently on my shelf waiting for me to feel like reading it. Someday soon, not a never, for me.

From Blood and Ash / Flesh and Fire series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Last book I read: A Crown of Gilded Bones

I own A Shadow in the Ember. It lives on my shelf. I see it every day. And yet every single time I go back to reread the first three books to refresh my memory before diving in, I finish that reread and feel... nothing. No pull. No “I NEED to know what happens next.” I don’t know what it is, and I have heard the Flesh and Fire is so good, but maybe I just need to go in cold and be confused, because rereading for like the third time to catch up does not sound like something I’m going to do.

Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deonn

Last book I read: Bloodmarked

This one isn’t abandonment, technically, it’s strategy. I found out partway through that this was going to be a four book series instead of a trilogy, and my brain immediately did the math: why put myself through the emotional whiplash of a cliffhanger I have to sit with for a year when I could just wait for book four to drop and binge three and four back to back like a responsible adult with self-control? So this is less “left on read” and more “intentionally left on delivered.” I will be back. With snacks.

Zodiac Academy series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Last book I read: Sorrow and Starlight

Okay, so, I read all eight books. Eight! That is not a small commitment, that is basically a part time job. And then I got to the end and was told to wait for book nine, and somewhere in that waiting period my momentum just... evaporated. I will finish this series eventually, I think, because eight books in is too much sunk cost to walk away entirely, especially since I did enjoy the drug-induced haze that is this series. But “eventually” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.

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Boys of Tommen series by Chloe Walsh

Last book I read: Binding 13

Unpopular opinion incoming: I hated the first book. Not “it wasn’t for me,” not “I can see why people like it,” just straight up did not enjoy my time with it. So this one’s not getting a sequel chance from me. Sorry to the fans, we can still be friends.

We Who Will Die series by Stacia Stark

Last book I read: We Who Will Die

The first book didn’t wow me, which is really the most polite way I can put “I finished it and immediately forgot most of what happened.” I’m not slamming the door shut completely, though. If book two starts racking up genuinely great reviews, I’ll reconsider. But I’m not going out of my way to find out.

Into Darkness series by Navessa Allen

Last book I read: Caught Up

This one hurts a little, not gonna lie. I loved Lights Out, like properly loved it, the kind of book where you tell everyone you know to read it. Then Caught Up happened and it was a letdown, and now the buzz on Game On isn’t exactly glowing either. So it looks like this is where our journey ends. Devastating, considering how strong the start was, but I’m not going to force a relationship that’s clearly run its course.

Lady of Darkness series by Melissa K. Roehrich

Last book I read: Lady of Darkness

This is the one that genuinely confuses me. On paper, this series should be hitting every single one of my buttons. All the puzzle pieces I usually love are right there. And yet, I just didn’t vibe with it, and I couldn’t tell you why if you asked me directly. The good news is I don’t think it’s a Melissa K. Roehrich problem, it’s a this-specific-series problem, so I do want to try some of her other books at some point. Just maybe not these.

So there you have it: my personal graveyard of unfinished series. If there’s something on my maybe list you feel strongly I should pick back up, let me know.

But also, tell me I’m not alone in this. What unfinished series is sitting on your never ending TBR?

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary…

But besides the obvious discomfort of dying of sweat the second I step out of my house, I still did things, and more importantly read things! Let’s get into it:

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Life Lately

Went to a waffles and board games night out with friends. Had so much fun playing games and eating waffle flavors that you would never think would taste good. I got the loaded baked potato waffle, which was a very strong contender for best way to eat a dinner waffle, but the WACHO (nacho waffle), while sounding disgusting, was phenomenal. Genuinely reconsidering my whole relationship with breakfast food.

Bought a new couch for our basement. Now normally I really am a basement hater. It’s too cold down there (were you not just complaining about being too hot? yes) and the vibes in my living room have always been better. But now that we have a couch that I want people to sit on… I do need to completely redecorate the space. After about six months we should check back in on if I make any progress towards this.

My sweet bean Stella turned 4!!!! She's just a baby!!! I refuse to do the math on dog years, she will remain an infant forever, thank you for understanding.

Went to an author panel hosted by Rainy Day Books for the release of Christina Lauren’s new book, The Romance Revival. The other authors on the panel included Ali Hazelwood, Susan Lee and Julie Soto… so truly a STACKED cast. Had the most fun time, and will definitely be going to more events this fall. Very well done and executed, and just being surrounded by the girlies who get it was great. Side note, you have literally never seen that many women come out of Unity Temple in your life, I wish someone would have taken a photo because it was phenomenal, just a see of good taste all around.

Now let’s get into the books!

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The Reading Chronicles

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell writes books that are so nuanced and interesting. This one is about a woman whose marriage is falling apart and somehow she can make phone calls to the past to see where she went wrong. Not my favorite Rainbow book but was still a strong marriage-in-crisis story.

Avalon Tower and Vale of Dreams by C.N. Crawford and Alex Rivers

Gripped me from the beginning. I love a King Arthur story and this one weaves plot and world-building together nicely. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming but all good fantasy is.

The second book was better in some ways, especially in the romance department. The Dream Stalker is better than the other guy (his name escapes me because he’s just average). The actual plot I felt like dragged in some places, but again, left me wanting to finish the series so I will be continuing.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

This one is for the city girls! Books about books and tropes and book lovers that didn’t feel too trope-y? So enjoyed this one. And Charlie Lastra stole my heart, I forgot how much I loved him. Nora, while many see her as a villain in her real life, I don’t. She likes her things and she likes things done her way. I actually understand her completely.

A Million Junes by Emily Henry

Oh Romeo (and Juliet) retelling, how I love to catch you in the wild. This book was slow to start but by the end I was full sobbing in my bed at past-my-bedtime-o’clock. While it might not be her best work, writing-wise, to me it was incredibly impactful. I have thought about this book many times since finishing it.

Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Was posed to me as Bring It On! meets Charlie's Angels and delivered! I enjoyed it a lot. It was very YA so go into it with that in mind, but I could see this as a fun CW (or streaming adjacent) show immediately. Give me the theme song and the fake-out reveal, I'm ready.

Spellstruck by Martha Waters

My first ARC! How exciting for me!! This one comes out this fall and is a fabulous fall cozy read. LOVE the cover, love the vibes. Just the right amount of fun, flirty and magical. The speakeasy, secret bar with magic, was such a fun way to set the scene, and our two main characters, while obviously going to end up together, also went through their own things in the story separate from falling in love. Such a fun breath of fresh air.

Land of Wolves: Atonement by Invi Wright

Solid ending to this duology. Wrapped everything up that I personally wanted wrapped up, while also leaving some space for other stories in the universe… basically just open ended enough that I can picture my own ending, which I love in a book.

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The Reading Goals Scorecard

Let’s see how we’re tracking:

📚 58/100 books read — I think this is a solid amount for the month.
💚 4/5 books with green covers — Leaned heavy dark blue this month but still no green.
🌊 3/8 Emily Henry books read — We moved the needle!!
🐉 19/40 fantasy books read — Starting the fire of getting through some fantasy here!
🕵️ 6/6 Gallagher Girls books read

Until Next Time...

And there you have it! Can't wait to see what August brings but actually really just excited for September, where the annual reading retreat will commence! Stay tuned!

See you on the next page,
Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

You know that thing people say about a truly great writer: “I would read their grocery list”? These are the ten authors who’ve earned that from me, receipts included.

I don’t read the blurb, I don’t check the reviews, I don’t even really need to know what the book is about. I see the name, I click buy, I deal with the consequences later. Here they are, in no particular order:

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Sarah J. Maas

I know, I know, this one’s so obvious it’s basically a personality trait at this point. But I’ve been here since Heir of Fire first published, back when talking about ACOTAR at a party got you a polite nod instead of a twenty-minute discussion about mating bonds. I’ve put in my time. I’ve earned my spot on this throne (sorry).

Favorite: Queen of Shadows

Taylor Jenkins Reid

I still haven’t read her entire backlist, Atmosphere is waiting for me in paperback, patiently, like it knows I’ll get there eventually, but every single book of hers I have read has landed at 4 stars or higher. That’s not a fluke, that’s a batting average.

Favorite: Physically it’s probably The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. On audio, its Daisy Jones and The Six for sure.

Abby Jimenez

I get her, and she gets me. That’s it, that’s the whole entry. (yeah, right). Her covers are always fun to me, I love that we always include a dog and I think Jimenez does try to go into all her romances with the goal to make the reader cry somehow. That’s my personal theory with my evidence being that it happens to me every time.

Favorite: Just for the Summer or Life’s Too Short.

Cara Bastone

Talk about a girl who makes me cry!! She will make me cry every single time, no exceptions, and somehow also grow this Grinch’s heart three sizes in the process. I don’t know how she does it and I don’t want to know, I just want to keep getting emotionally wrecked on a schedule of her choosing. Her romances always feel more lit fic than romance with a dash of an obsession with New York that I love.

Favorite: Promise Me Sunshine

Cassandra Clare

The undisputed queen of early 2010s YA fantasy. I ate up everything she wrote, no notes (except for maybe the almost incest storyline but she fixed that). And she’s still killing the game now, with representation that actually feels intentional instead of like an afterthought. Respect the elders.

Favorite: City of Heavenly Fire just holds the most special place in my heart. And again, the main character is a redhead so have to love.

Emily Henry

I didn’t build an entire 2026 reading goal around her for nothing. When your TBR strategy involves “read every Emily Henry book,” you know exactly where your loyalties lie.

Favorite: I’m pretty sure at this moment its Beach Read or Book Lovers but this reread challenge could change my favorite.

Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games shaped me the way it shaped basically every Zillennial who lived through the original trilogy in real time. Even the prequel series just gets better and better. The world building, the discussions she has started and the commentary on our current climate is just so well done.

Favorite: Sunrise on the Reaping. But if we’re talking the OG trilogy it’s Catching Fire.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

A genuinely fabulous YA author I love losing myself in. Her mysteries hit that perfect sweet spot of hard enough to crack that you feel like a genius when you finally solve it, but never so far-fetched that it stops being fun. That balance is harder to pull off than people think.

Favorite: Bad Blood from the Naturals series.

Rebecca Yarros

Still criminally underrated in my opinion. Fourth Wing gets all the love (deservedly!) but her contemporary romances hit just as hard, if not harder. If you’ve only read her dragons, you’re missing half the picture (but her dragons are also fire).

Favorite: The Things We Leave Unfinished but Fourth Wing is one of the best romantasy series out there right now.

Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus hold a permanent, non-negotiable place in my little middle school heart so he has to have a call out. I was already intrigued by Greek mythology when I read this series and he turned it into a full blown obsession. The movies are a choice (but we love Logan Lerman) but the show is convincing me there is hope to see a solid adaptation on my screen of this beloved story.

Favorite: The Titan’s Curse or The Mark of Athena

And that's the list so far! The ten names that get an automatic yes from me before I even read the description, grocery list or otherwise. Who's on your auto-buy list? Tell me I'm missing someone criminal (because I definitely am).

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary…

There’s something about the physical act of reading certain stories that earbuds simply cannot replicate. For the most part, I find myself physically reading anything fantasy related, or anything I think will change my life when I read it, because some books deserve your full, undivided, put-your-phone-in-another-room attention.

Here are my picks for books that belong in your hands, not your headphones.

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The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

Her writing needs to be visible. Something about Collins’ style is so deliberately paced that hearing it out loud just flattens it. And if you haven’t picked up Sunrise on the Reaping yet (what are you doing?) the physical act of turning pages while Haymitch’s story unfolds is an experience I will not let you skip. You need to be able to stop. Stare at the wall. Quietly (or not so quietly) spiral.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

An oldie but a goodie. This one is meant to be read in a cozy chair, overlooking something, with a hot tea and a storm brewing outside. The writing is old school (obviously, it was literally written in 1938) and for me it’s so much easier to understand when I can see the words flow together on the page. Most classics I would say the same thing. Listening to it feels like trying to catch fog, while seeing the words makes the world make more sense.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

There are charts. There are diagrams. There are maps and math problems and visual formatting that is quite literally part of the storytelling. I genuinely do not know what the audio version does about this and I don’t want to know. It’s part of the fun to fully dive into Christopher’s brain in this way.

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Zodiac Academy series by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

I read these as ebooks and to me there is no other way. Part of the magic of this series is making up the character voices in your head for this one. Everyone has a slightly different version of these people living rent free up there and that is entirely the point. I made my voices, I committed to my voices and I think everyone else should be legally required to do the same. Plus I don’t think I would like some of the dialogue if I heard it as much as I do reading it.

The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

If you loved the Percy Jackson series, great, (me too) but you should have already physically read this series and if you haven’t… what are you doing. There are a lot of shifting perspectives and characters across these books and it’s so much easier to keep up with when you can see whose chapter you’re in. For most fantasy I would say to physically read first and then listen on the reread.

Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

It’s short. It is so short. If you listen to it, it will be over before you have even fully committed to caring about these people. Also it’s told entirely through letters, and letters are always more fun to read than to hear read aloud. There’s something about seeing the words on the page that makes the whole format land exactly the way TJR intended. And in this house, we do as TJR would do.

At the end of the day, audiobooks are great and I will continue to use them aggressively for books that can handle it. But these six? They were written to be read. Your eyes, the page, no narrator required. Trust me on this one — or don’t, and learn the hard way like the rest of us.

Drop your “better read than listened to” picks in the comments. I know you have them.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

What follows is my ideal physical book, hardback and paperback, broken down in full. And I want to be clear before we start: your opinion is your opinion and mine is mine. And I do change my mind on my ideal every day. I am sharing my ideal currently with you now out of the goodness of my heart.

You’re welcome.

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The Universal No's

Before we even get to the good stuff, let me clear the air on a few things that are simply wrong:

• No capes. One color sprayed edges, I am talking directly to you. Unless the color means something, thematically, narratively, intentionally, I do not want it. A single-color sprayed edge with zero connection to the story is not an aesthetic choice. It is a tax. A pretty, sneaky little tax on my wallet and I am not paying it. A buh bye!

• No stickers. I think we all know why. The “Now a Major Motion Picture” sticker. The “#1 Bestseller” sticker placed directly over the cover art. The “Reese’s Book Club” sticker that requires a heat gun and a prayer to remove without destroying the cover. I don’t want them. I didn’t ask for them. Please stop.

• No author name larger than the title. I don’t care how famous you are. I don’t care how many people have your name tattooed on them. I don’t care if your last book sold seventeen million copies. The book has a name. It was presumably the whole point. Lead with that.

The Hardback

A hardback is a commitment. It’s more money, it’s more space and it’s more weight literally. It goes on the shelf and it stays on the shelf and it has a responsibility to look the part. Here’s what that means.

The Musts:

• A dust cover is required. No exceptions. (Unless it’s a children’s hardback. I’m not a monster.) A naked hardback without a dust jacket that is not a special edition of some sort is just wrong to me. Now you will never catch me reading a hardback with the dust jacket on, it’s suimply not done. but I need the dust cover.

• It must be longer than 400 pages. This is not negotiable. If your book is 280 pages, it does not need to be a hardback. It needs to be a paperback and it needs to think long and hard about what it’s done. The price point of a hardback requires the page count to justify it. Simple math.

• And it absolutely, positively cannot be a true romance. Romance is paperback’s domain. That is paperback’s house. Paperback built that. Romantasy? Fine, welcome in, pull up a chair, you’ve earned it. But a straight contemporary romance in a hardback is a choice I will not be respecting.

The Ideal:

• Raised words on the dust cover. Just a little something when your fingers run across it. A tiny bit of drama. Tactile interest. I love.

• And then, my personal favorite, when you take the dust cover off, the actual book underneath has something on it. A design. An emblem. A small detail that only makes sense once you’ve read it. That little moment of oohh and ahh is the whole thing.

• Fan art on the inside cover. The illustrated endpapers. A map. A scene. Anything that tells you the world inside is worth the real estate. When you open a book and it’s there, the art, the world, already waiting for you before page one, that’s a book that knows what it is.

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The Paperback

The paperback is the workhorse. The everyday carry. The “I’m going to read this on the couch and also in the car and also while standing in line” book. It has to be dressed for the job.

The Musts:

• Under 500 pages. A 600-page paperback is not a book, it’s a weapon. My wrists are not doing that. My bag is not doing that. Nobody is doing that.

• The flop test is real and it is that serious. Hold it horizontal. Does it fall with gravity? Or does it stay stiff and rigid like it has somewhere else to be? I need the flop. The flop tells you everything about the binding, the paper weight and whether the publisher actually thought about the person holding this thing. If it won’t flop, it goes back on the shelf. Hard pass.

• Full front page cover art. Full. I do not know who decided the half-cover was acceptable, but they need to be stopped. You had the entire canvas. You had infinite creative space. Why would you take that away for a sliver on the side that leads to a page that means next to nothing.

The Ideal:

• Matte cover with just a little texture. Soft to the touch. Barely any shine, a slight shimmer at most, enough to feel intentional rather than accidental. I want to feel the cover, not see my reflection in it. A glossy paperback cover slides right out of my hand and my heart.

• A spine that cracks. A good, satisfying, deeply rude little crack when you open it for the first time. You know the one. It’s the book’s way of saying: we’re doing this. Let’s go. The crack is not damage. The crack is a beginning.

• Off-white pages. Perfectly white pages are not my personal favorite. Eggshell or ivory all the way.

That’s the whole rubric. I don’t make the rules (but I do because I’m the one buying the books for my shelves).

One caviat I will make at the end of this list… I’m not talking about special editions. Special editions should have all the bells and whistles. Sprayed edges, hardcover with a story and maybe even a ribbon bookmark if we’re feeling wild and crazy. This is just a general guideline for the majority of books on my shelf.

Drop in the comments: what is your physical book dealbreaker? What’s the one thing that immediately makes a book worse for you before you even open it? And conversely, what makes you pick something up off a shelf just because of how it feels?

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary…

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Life Lately

We start with the thing you all are here for: home improvement projects! (obviously a joke but let me brag)

It started with the blinds. I broke one of the old ones, not through negligence, technically, but simply by attempting to open it, which feels incorrect but we move forward, and decided that was the sign I needed to replace all three in the living room. The new ones are genuinely too expensive for what they are and I say that as someone currently staring at them and loving them so much it’s embarrassing. I want to redo every blind in my house now.

Then came the laundry room. My husband knocked out this full reno in a day basically. The result was incredible, if I do say so myself, and I absolutely do say so myself. Please take a moment to appreciate his hard work and, specifically, my phenomenal countertop stain job. I did that with my own two hands.

In friend news, we have officially entered that season of life where everyone is either getting pregnant or getting married, and I am getting coffee. (Just kidding! I just could not pass up a Friends reference.) I got to celebrate one of my people at her baby shower this month, which is genuinely my idea of a great time. Any excuse to dress up and show up for someone I love? I’m there.

I also went to an Alex Warren concert, as all book girlies are contractually obligated to do this summer. Cried during most of the middle section. Not a little emotional, like full tears. He reads signs from the audience throughout the whole show, which with those lights pointed directly at his face I could never do in a million years but he absolutely thrives. Loved every second of it.

On the TV front: I ditched Grey’s Anatomy for Glee. I know. I know! We are having a theatre kid summer now and I have zero regrets. Glee is so problematic and so gloriously campy that it loops back around to being genuinely great.

Oh, and I got fully obsessed with Pop Culture Jeopardy, which was basically inevitable. It’s trivia about all the things I already talk about constantly, and now I get to watch other people be judged for knowing it too. Big fan. No notes.

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The Reading Chronicles

Strangers by Belle Burden

A fan favorite in the book community right now and the hype is completely earned. This memoir about a marriage falling apart reads like a thriller, which is not a sentence I expected to type but here we are. It's a seven-hour audiobook and I genuinely could not stop. She is raw and real in the most authentic way, and my jaw was on the floor for a solid half of it at the sheer audacity of this man.

Silver Elite by Dani Francis

Enjoyed the story and the characters a lot. The writing could have used another editing pass, but I’m intrigued enough to keep going with the series. The magic system is easy to follow, and I appreciated the military training angle, most authors are leaning into military school right now, so this felt like a fresher take.

The Night Prince by Lauren Plaphreyman

The beginning was slow and could have been trimmed, but book two delivered. Aurora comes into her own, a new bond introduces a love interest she did not exactly sign up for and yet, I love it for her. Left me with enough questions to be very interested in the next one this fall.

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

Rich people doing bad things. Interesting family dynamics, even more interesting characters. Nothing life-changing, but a genuinely good summer read and exactly what it needed to be.

Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh

Has been on my list for a hot minute and was/is a BookTok favorite for a hot minute - with an impending TV adaptation on the horizon. But BookTok lied to me. Goodreads also lied to me. This is the closest I have ever come to a DNF, I wanted it to be over basically the entire time I was reading it. I know I'm firmly in the minority here and that's fine. This one was just not for me.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Interesting concept from the jump and it delivers on what it promises. The middle lags a little, but the ending lands the way it's supposed to. Overall, solid.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Another It Book of the Year, and this time I actually agree with the hype. I've seen mixed reviews but I genuinely enjoyed it. I also read the entire thing in Tilly's voice from The Help (Bryce Dallas Howard, please tell me you know what I'm talking about), which made my personal reading experience that much better. You had to be in my head to fully get it, but trust me on this one.

Writers and Lovers by Lily King

I read Heart the Lover first. So I had high expectations going into this book and I went in blind to the actual plot going in. I like Heart the Lover more because I feel like there was more of a full arch in that one, but this one gives similar vibes. King loves to make you think, which I respect deeply.

Death’s Daughter by S.A. Barnes

Solid premise, solid writing. My only real complaint is that the spicy scene went on a little too long and just wasn't the vibe, personally. But the plot and concept I genuinely enjoyed and I would absolutely read the next book if it finds its way to me!

People Watching by Hannah Bonam-Young

All the ingredients of a great love story are here, but it just didn't hit the way I expected. Nothing truly wrong with it, I just couldn't get into it. Unfortunately I think this is going to be a forgotten plot situation for me, which is a bummer because I wanted to love it.

The Love Trials by Claire Fraise

I was sold on this by a TikTok that compared it to Criminal Minds. That undersold it. This is Ghostbusters meets Criminal Minds with a little Scooby-Doo thrown in, and I loved every single second. It's fun while also being a little terrifying, and I was itching to pick it up every time I had to put it down. The title and cover do it absolutely no justice! If you love a thriller/mystery with a little cringe, ignore both and just read the book.

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The Reading Goals Scorecard

Let’s see how we’re tracking:

📚 50/100 books read — 50 books by 50% of the year. On track and feeling smug about it.
💚 4/5 books with green covers — I have one idea to finish this out. We'll see if it happens.
🌊 1/8 Emily Henry books read — If you're starting to think I'll never accomplish this goal, girl, same.
🐉 14/40 fantasy books read — We need to lock in. Fall is coming though, and I will be deep in this genre before we know it.
🕵️ 6/6 Gallagher Girls books read

Until Next Time...

Junie girl, you were a lot! In a good way!

July, the bar is set. Let’s not blow it!

See you on the next page,
Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

Now I don't have a beach house nor a yacht. I don't even have a particularly good beach towel if we're being honest. What I DO have is a reading list that makes me feel like I could, and sometimes that's enough.

Here are the books that have been doing that for me lately, one for every beach mood, because the beach is a whole spectrum and we deserve options.

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We’re living for the coast, with old money energy

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand (or really anything by Elin Hilderbrand)

If Elin Hilderbrand doesn’t have “Queen of Beach Reads” trademarked she is leaving money on the table. This woman has written a book set on Nantucket for approximately every summer of our lives and they are GOOD every single time, which frankly isn’t fair.

The Hotel Nantucket has everything: a glamorous hotel with a ghost, a cast of characters you will either root for or love to hate and that particular brand of rich-people drama that I just live for. It’s the literary equivalent of a really cold rosé on a hot dock. If you’ve never read her, start here. If you already have, you already know it’s fire.

We’re living for the gossip and a good bev

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Okay first of all: a fake marriage to your husband you thought you divorced so his super-wealthy family doesn’t cut him off and strip him of his inheritance? At a private island compound? Where everyone is suspicious and the vibes are very much OFF? Yes please and thank you.

Christina Lauren always delivers on banter but this one has an extra layer because the couple already has history, which means every interaction is loaded in the best possible way. It’s juicy without being mean and the setting alone is worth the price of admission. Perfect book to read while pretending you are also on a private island.

We’re living for a holiday Hallmark movie in the summer

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Hear me out: a plus-size influencer gets invited to her ex best friend’s extravagant Cape Cod wedding, the friend who dropped her without explanation years ago, and things go sideways in ways she absolutely did not see coming. The setting is chef’s kiss. The drama is intriguing. The protagonist is someone you will root for immediately and completely.

This book does not get nearly enough credit in the beach read conversation and I am personally offended on its behalf. Jennifer Weiner has been writing compulsively readable women’s fiction for decades and this one has everything — friendship, mystery, a little romance, and enough Cape Cod atmosphere to make you want to immediately Google flights.

We’re living for the one nobody told you about

Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder

If you’ve read Will They or Won’t They and somehow haven’t picked this one up yet, fix that immediately. A washed-up former child star trying to quietly rebuild her life meets the town fixer and the rest is history.

Ava Wilder writes romantic tension better than almost anyone and this one is criminally underrated. It’s sharp and funny and a little bittersweet and an ending that calls back to Mamma Mia! so you know we have to love it.

We’re living for something short, sweet and spicy.

Cruel Summer by Morgan Elizabeth

Okay the title alone should tell you everything you need to know about the energy of this book and I am obsessed with it. A revenge plot that somehow becomes a romance, banter that made me actually laugh out loud, and enough spice to make you grateful you’re already somewhere warm. This is the kind of book that you pick up and then look up and it’s three hours later and you have a sunburn because you forgot to reapply.

Morgan Elizabeth is one of those authors who is massive in certain corners of the internet and somehow still flying under the radar everywhere else, which means you get to be the person who recommends her to everyone you know. You’re welcome for that power.

We’re living for being mildly paranoid in the sunshine

The Ex by Freida McFadden

Everyone knows The Housemaid. Not enough people are talking about this one, and that is a problem I am here to fix. The Ex has that same Freida McFadden quality of making you feel like you can see exactly where it’s going and then pulling the rug out from under you anyway.

It’s the perfect beach thriller because it reads fast, it keeps you genuinely on edge, and you will absolutely finish it in one day and immediately want to tell someone about the ending. Pack it. You’re welcome in advance.

So there you have it: beach reads for every possible mood, because your vacation reading (or your pretend-you’re-on-vacation reading) should have options.

Now go get that bev. You’ve earned it.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary…

I have officially, completely, finally finished my Gallagher Girls reread, all six books of Ally Carter’s YA series about a prep school for girl spies, and I have thoughts. Many thoughts. Organized thoughts, even, which feels like a personal growth moment.

For context: I read this series when I was in middle school, loved it, forgot most of it and added a full reread to my 2026 reading goals because I genuinely could not tell you what happened past book three. What I could tell you is that teenage me had excellent taste and I was willing to bet on that. I was right. We love to see it.

This is my breakdown of every book, my full series thoughts and a definitive personal ranking that I am prepared to defend.

(Also if you get the title reference, we are already best friends. Totally Spies the show was formative and I will not hear otherwise.)

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Book 1: I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You

A near-perfect series opener. You get introduced to Cammie, Gallagher Academy, and the whole glorious premise of girls who are being trained to be world-class spies but are still, fundamentally, teenage girls and it works so well. The balance of spy training and completely normal teenage chaos is charming in a way that doesn’t feel forced. It’s cute. It’s fun. It sets everything up beautifully.

Here’s the thing though: the series does not end the way it starts. The tone shifts significantly by the back half of the series, and that’s actually a feature, not a bug. But it does mean that if someone read only book one and never continued, I would understand it. You could close it after book one, feel satisfied, and move on with your life.

To quote Selena Gomez: I mean I could but why would I want to?

Book 2: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

This one is the weakest link for me and I say that with love.

We get the introduction of Zach in this book, which is important, and which I appreciated. But the book itself has a very specific energy where it feels like a lot is happening and also somehow nothing is happening at the same time. Does that make sense? It’s busy without feeling consequential.

It’s not bad. It’s just the book I remember least and I think that says something.

Book 3: Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover

Now we’re talking. This one gives us a real dive into Macey, and honestly Macey deserved that spotlight. The pace picks up noticeably here and things start to feel like they’re building toward something. It still has that fun energy, they are teenagers doing cute spy things in a way that feels correct and not silly, but you start to get the first hints that this series has more weight in it than the first two books suggested.

A solid turning point. Macey appreciation book mostly.

Book 4: Only the Good Spy Young

The shift.

This is where Ally Carter flips the switch and suddenly we are actually, genuinely, in spy territory with a side of girlhood rather than the other way around. The stakes go up. The danger feels real. The girls are still the girls, but the world around them is heavier and it shows.

I have already written about this in my April recap and I stand by everything I said there. This book is where the series earns the back half of itself. The jump between books one through three and books four through six is significant and intentional and it works.

Book 5: Out of Sight, Out of Time

My personal favorite. And I don’t think it’s particularly close.

Everything that this series has been building toward hits differently in book five. The girl drama, the amnesia plot, the countdown structure as Cammie pieces together what she’s missing — this one played out like a movie in my head from start to finish. I was genuinely tense in a way that a book I’d technically already read has no business making me.

Book 6: United We Spy

The ending. What a world.

I’ll be honest, endings are hard and series finales are even harder, and this one had a lot to wrap up. I think it does it well. It’s not my favorite book in the series, but it sticks the landing in the ways that count. The characters you’ve spent five books with get the sendoff they deserve and you close it feeling like you were in good hands the whole time.

And you were. Ally Carter earned it.

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My Personal Ranking

In order, from “I think about this one constantly” to “I love you but I love the others more”:

1. Book 5 — Out of Sight, Out of Time

2. Book 4 — Only the Good Spy Young

3. Book 6 — United We Spy

4. Book 3 — Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover

5. Book 1 — I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You

6. Book 2 — Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

The Series as a Whole

The first book is genuinely charming YA. The last book is genuinely satisfying YA. The journey between them involves real stakes, real character development, and a tonal shift that you can tell is a choice and not an accident.

It’s a series that respects its characters and its readers. And it is, frankly, a series that my reading goal list is very smug about because I knew this reread was going to be worth it.

Goal: completed. Heart: full. Totally Spies theme: playing somewhere in my head always and forever.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary…

So he wrote it all up, handed it to his mom (one of my best friends) and asked her to send it my way. He is eleven years old. He came up with this entirely on his own. And honestly? The fact that a kid sat down, organized his thoughts, ranked his favorites and sought out a platform for his writing is exactly the kind of thing that makes me want to cry a little in the best way.

If you've ever written off manga as 'not real books,' I promise Samuel is about to make you reconsider. Take it away, Samuel.

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Okay so I’m 11 and I read a lot of graphic novels and most adults don’t take that seriously but hear me out because I’m about to change your mind about three series that are genuinely bussin.

Blue Lock

This one is about soccer but not boring soccer. Like, they take a bunch of forwards and basically tell them “only one of you gets to be the best striker in Japan, good luck, don’t be mid.” And then chaos happens.

The main character Isagi keeps having these moments where he’s convinced he can’t score and then he does and it’s actually so hype every single time. Also I’m not gonna lie, the characters say some things that would get me sent to the principal’s office and that’s kind of amazing.

If you like sports and competition and characters who are kind of unhinged about winning, this one’s for you. No cap.

Demon Slayer

The fights in this are not normal. They’re like, painted. Every character has their own style and you can tell exactly who’s fighting just by how they move. Tanjiro is genuinely one of the most likable main characters I’ve read and his whole thing — protecting his sister, learning his breath style, never giving up — doesn’t feel cheesy. It just feels real.

Also the villain designs go crazy hard. Just saying.

Jujutsu Kaisen

This one has the best character details out of all three. Every single person in this series has a whole personality and a whole backstory and you actually care when something bad happens to them. (Something bad will happen to them.)

The fights are unreal and the powers actually make sense in a weird way — like there are rules to everything and figuring out those rules while you’re reading is half the fun.

Gojo Satoru is the GOAT and I will not be taking questions.

Final Ranking (you’re welcome):

1. Jujutsu Kaisen

2. Blue Lock

3. Demon Slayer

All three are a solid W. If you’re sleeping on manga, this is your sign to wake up.

— Samuel

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I don’t know about you, but I feel like I just got schooled in the best way. “The fights are like, painted.” That’s a legitimate piece of literary criticism and Samuel wrote it at eleven years old.

If any of you have been manga-curious, consider this your permission slip. And if you have a kid in your life who reads graphic novels, maybe ask them what they’re reading. Apparently, they’ve been holding out on us.

A huge thank you to Samuel for letting me feature his work here on Booked by Mary. Future bestselling author, obviously.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

If you’re here, you probably grew up with a Disney movie that felt like it was made specifically for you. One you watched until the tape wore out or the DVD (or VHS queens!) got scratched or the streaming algorithm stopped recommending it because you’d seen it too many times to be normal.

You’re older now. You read books instead of rewatching the same movie for the hundredth time. (You also still rewatch the movie. Obviously.)

This list is for you. Eight books for every Disney era that shaped you, because the obsession didn’t go away. It just found a new medium.

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Rapunzel → To Bleed a Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker

Tower. Magic. A world outside she desperately wants to reach but her protector won’t let her.

If you watched Tangled and thought “yes, but darker,” this is your book. It features a sheltered young woman who must confront her past and a dangerous world outside of her walls when monsters threaten her existence.

Brave → The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman

Full transparency: the main character is named Aurora. Yes. Like Sleeping Beauty. But this is not that.

The setting is basically Scotland. She has wild red hair. Does not want the life put in front of her. Wants choice. Refuses to be told who she is. The second I started reading I heard Merida’s voice and I could not unhear it. While not everything is the same, it gives what it needs to give.

Wreck-It Ralph → Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ralph thinks he doesn’t fit his game. Ralph jumps into other games. There are rules to the universe that he does not respect, chaos ensues, people almost die, and there is a surprising amount of heart underneath all of it.

Ready Player One is all of that with more fictional worlds and the same zero-plan energy. Also genuinely so fun to read. And there is a movie for this book too! So you can basically watch two movies for one book. Win win.

Multiple Disney Princesses, Actually → The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

This series exists as if someone said “Disney but Sci-Fi”

Every book follows a different story but the first one, Cinder follows a cyborg mechanic who meets a prince and uncovers secrets about her identity. The other books are all retellings of stories like Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White.

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Peter Pan → Hooked by Emily McIntire

You can tell. I know you can tell.

It’s dark, it’s romantic, and if you ever watched the original movie and thought “Hook has a little something going on actually” — welcome, you are among friends with this book.

Its part of the Never After series, which is all villain gets the girl romances so if you have a favorite villain, here you go!

Pirates of the Caribbean (and the Pirate Fairy) → Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Alosa is a pirate captain who gets herself captured on purpose. She has a plan. She is completely in control even when it looks like she isn’t and watching everyone around her slowly figure that out is one of the great joys of this book.

Full Jack Sparrow chaos energy, the “actually I knew this would happen” of it all, but Alosa is sharper and slightly better dressed (no shade). If you ever wanted to be a pirate (you did), she’s who you wanted to grow up to be.

Hercules (via Hades) → Neon Gods by Katee Robert

Technically this is a Hades and Persephone retelling, not Hercules. But the Hades in Hercules was doing something and we all knew it. Neon Gods takes that energy, moves it to a modern NYC where the Olympians are a billionaire ruling class, and makes Hades into the kind of brooding, surprisingly decent man by the end.

Fair warning: it’s spicy. I want to be upfront. But underneath the spice there’s a genuinely interesting story there.

Disney World (Like the Park) → The Fine Print by Lauren Asher

This series is set in a fictional Disney-inspired park, following a family of billionaire brothers who are fighting for who takes over what and a will with specific instructions.

It’s the comfort read of this list. Each book follows a different brother and their love interest and it’s spicy and fun.

Eight books. One Disney era that never actually ended. Drop your favorite Disney retelling or your favorite Disney princess in the comments.

Mine is Belle. Bookshelf the size of a room. No more context needed.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

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Life Lately

May-cember is a real thing, even if I’m not in the school-age kid phase of my life. Between Mother’s Day, my mom’s birthday, my birthday, approximately every other person I know’s birthday, graduation season, a retirement party, AND the Memorial Day sales that ensure I start more home projects (because you simply cannot miss a sale, that is not how sales work) it has been a full month. And now somehow it’s almost June!

Off Campus came to the little big screen, and by that I mean my living room, which has a big TV, a recliner, and snacks, so basically the same thing, don’t @ me, and the internet went wild and crazy, as we should! I liked it a lot. Some of the changes weren’t my favorite, but overall the show felt like a CW show and that is genuinely high praise coming from me. Thumbs up. Would watch again.

Oh, and as if I didn’t have enough going on, I definitely spent too long reading this month. In my defense, it is entirely the books’ fault. They were too good to put down and I am not going to apologize for having good taste.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

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The Reading Chronicles

The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman

Really enjoyed this one! A Scottish fantasy about a princess who ends up on the "wrong" side of the war with the wolves, and honestly? Good for her. The banter was fun, the pacing was strong and the world felt atmospheric and pulled me in fast. Big fan. If you're looking for a fantasy with some enemies-adjacent energy and a setting that does a lot of heavy lifting, this one delivers.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum

Solid audiobook but I think I've seen this film before. I guessed the ending too early to fully invest, which kept it out of favorite thriller territory for me. Not bad, just predictable if you read enough of the genre. Sometimes you clock it before the book wants you to and there's nothing to be done about that.

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

Okay, if you survived buying a home any time after 2020, this one is for you. I really enjoyed watching the slow, very relatable spiral our main character goes through in the push to get her dream house. Nobody I know personally went this far (thank goodness), but I understand on a cellular level how you get there, house hunting is not for the weak and this book captures that perfectly. (She does go fully off the rails though. Like, fully. Just a heads up.)

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Okay, hot take I will absolutely stand behind: if you are not a sci-fi nerd OR you barely passed high school physics, watch the movie first. I know, I know. Book before movie is practically sacred. But hear me out. The book is heavy on math and science, which isn't a bad thing, but going in with the visual foundation of the movie meant I could actually follow what was happening with the space travel instead of just nodding along and hoping for the best. Enjoyed the book just as much as the movie, which is really saying something. Weir does something special here.

Out of Sight, Out of Time and United We Spy by Ally Carter

And we accomplished a 2026 reading goal! How emotional!

Out of Sight is probably my favorite of the whole series, it was completely unhinged and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Realistic? Oh, absolutely not. That is exactly what made it work. Sometimes a book just commits to the bit and you have to respect it.

United We Spy was the perfect bow on the series as a whole. Gets everyone out in the field, wraps up everything you’ve been holding onto and somehow had me nostalgic for something that wasn’t even over yet, that very specific bittersweet feeling of knowing a chapter is ending before you’re fully ready to let it. More on the series as a whole to come, because I have a lot of feelings and they deserve their own post.

No Matter What by Cara Bastone

Cara always writes a funny, warm, gutpunch-in-the-best-way love story about grief and I will read every single one of them without question. This might not be my favorite of her three, Promise Me Sunshine still reigns supreme in my heart and that is a hill I will die on, but it is still such a strong book. Romantic lit fic? Literary fiction with romance? A good book that makes you feel things? Whatever we're calling it, I'm in. Every time, no hesitation.

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Normally I roll my eyes clean out of my head at real-world brand references dropped into fiction. But in a book about books, about bookstores, about people whose whole lives are books? It actually worked pretty well! Two bookstore owners, one contested block, the kind of rivalry that is obviously going one very specific direction. Fully invested. My only note: the male main character was a little too perfect sometimes, which is its own category of problem. The absolute tragedy of a fictional man with no discernible flaws. How will I ever recover?

The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage

I do so love reading about princesses and this one delivered in all the right ways. It felt real and grounded and I was captivated start to finish. If you like The Princess Diaries, have watched The Crown an unreasonable number of times, or have ever picked up anything about the British royals ever, this one is a standout.

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The Reading Goals Scorecard

Let’s see how we’re tracking:

📚 39/100 books read — pacing well and feeling good about it
💚 4/5 books with green covers — one away, the pressure is real
🌊 1/8 Emily Henry books read — yeah yeah I know! Summer is coming though!
🐉 11/40 fantasy books read — slowly but surely
🕵️ 6/6 Gallagher Girls books read — COMPLETED. Look at me go!

Until Next Time...

May, you were A Lot.

June, the bar is set. Don’t blow it.

See you on the next page,
Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

But then there are the exceptions. The ones that stuck. These are so thoroughly lodged in my brain that I can’t un-know them, un-feel them and would genuinely do a concerning amount of bad things to get back to that first-read feeling.

This is that list. And if you haven’t read these yet, please know that this is your sign. Go. Now. Report back immediately.

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The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

omg she cannot be talking about this again.

I can. And I will. Forever, actually.

Reading Empire of Storms and Kingdom of Ash for the first time is my actual dream. When other people get to experience this series blind, I feel something I can only describe as profound jealousy. The green monster does not just come out — it fully takes over. There are moments in this series that are engrained in my brain and I cannot move past them, which means I also can never re-experience them the way I did at 2am clutching my book and questioning everything.

You’ll know when you get there. I’m not saying anything else.

Educated by Tara Westover

I cannot fully put my finger on why this one stuck the way it did, and honestly that might be part of the reason it stuck. Most books I can tell you exactly why they hit — the twist, the romance, the ending that destroyed me. This one is different. It just quietly got into my head and never left.

It’s a memoir, which means it’s also a true story, which somehow makes it harder to process. There’s no fictional distance to hide behind. Everything that happened, happened. And Tara Westover writes it in this way that isn’t asking you to feel sorry for her — she’s just telling you what her life was, clearly and honestly, and letting you sit with it.

The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros

Dude. When I tell you I did NOT see the twist coming.

I stared at a wall for an embarrassingly long time after finishing this book. Full on red-faced ugly crying. Gripped me from start to finish and then absolutely wrecked me at the end. One of those books where you want to immediately call someone who’s also read it but also don’t want to say a single word out loud about it.

The Selection series by Kiera Cass

A redhead on the cover? SOLD. Immediately and without hesitation.

I’ve re-read this series more times than I’d like to admit, which means the first-read magic is pretty much gone at this point but honestly I think about what it felt like to discover it for the first time constantly. Dystopian Bachelor. Comfort read. Gives exactly what it needs to give. There is something deeply satisfying about a book that knows exactly what it is.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

Most thrillers earn a spot on this list by default, once you know the twist, it’s nearly impossible to experience the story the same way. But this one especially. I loved the twist, I loved the audiobook and I genuinely wish I could go back and feel that slow creeping dread again without knowing where it’s going. 10/10 do not look anything up before you start.

The Maximum Ride series by James Patterson

Okay look. This one is more complicated.

The first couple of books? Actually fire, I’m sorry, I said what I said. Human test subjects who got wings, found family, a little romance blooming — it’s fun! It’s genuinely fun! And then the series... went somewhere. Somewhere weird. And I wish I could forget the weird so I could go back and just enjoy the good parts the right way again without the dread of knowing what’s coming.

We don’t talk about what happens. We just mourn what could have been.

Okay, your turn — what’s the book you wish you could read again for the first time? Drop it in the comments because I am always looking for my next obsession and also I like to live vicariously through other people’s first reads since apparently I’ve ruined most of my own.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

You’ve picked up a fantasy novel before and bounced off it hard. Maybe it was six hundred pages with a map at the front and a glossary at the back and a cast of characters with names that required a pronunciation guide. Maybe someone handed you a doorstop of a book with a lot of politics and war and you just wanted a story. Maybe you got thirty pages in, couldn’t keep track of who was who, and quietly put it down and pretended it never happened.

I get it. Fantasy has a reputation for being a lot. And honestly? Sometimes it is.

But here’s what nobody tells you: fantasy is just as massive and varied a genre as any other. There is a fantasy novel for every kind of reader. Cozy and soft? It exists. Dark and twisty? Absolutely exists. Romance-forward with a side of magic? Oh, it exists, and it’s thriving.

The problem was never that fantasy isn’t for you. The problem was that you started with the wrong book.

Let me fix that.

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First: The Thing About Fantasy World-Building

The number one reason people bounce off fantasy is world-building overwhelm. You open the book and suddenly there are three kingdoms, two magic systems, a prophecy, and seventeen characters whose names all start with the same letter.

Here’s the thing: good fantasy world-building should feel invisible. You shouldn’t feel like you’re studying for an exam. You should just be in the world, and the details should come to you naturally as the story unfolds. Every book on this list does exactly that. No homework required. This is the starting line.

If You Want to Start Small and Cozy

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This is the softest possible entry point into fantasy and I mean that as a complete compliment. It’s about a caseworker named Linus Baker who gets sent to evaluate a magical orphanage full of supposedly dangerous mythical children — a kid who might be the Antichrist, a wyvern, a gnome, a sprite, a were-Pomeranian and a girl with a bag over her head — and ends up finding something he didn’t know he was looking for.

It’s warm and gentle and quietly radical and it will make you feel like you’re wrapped in a blanket the entire time you’re reading it. The magic is whimsical and low-stakes. The found family is everything.

There is no war. There is no prophecy. There is tea and paperwork and a found family built out of the most unexpected parts. Start here if you’re nervous. You’ll be fine. You’ll be better than fine.

If You Want Something Darker With a Real Edge

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

I have talked about this book before and I will talk about it again until every single person I know has read it. This is Leigh Bardugo operating at a completely different level than anything she’d written before: dark, atmospheric, genuinely unsettling in places and set in a world you can actually visit. Yale’s secret societies, except with real magic and real consequences.

Galaxy “Alex” Stern has spent her whole life seeing things other people can’t, the Greys, the dead who linger. She gets recruited to oversee the occult societies of Yale’s campus and make sure their rituals don’t go sideways. Then a girl turns up dead on a night Alex was supposed to be watching, and she starts pulling on a thread that unravels everything.

It is not cozy. It will follow you around for weeks after you finish it. The magic system is eerie and specific and fascinating, Alex is one of the most compelling protagonists I’ve read in years, and there’s a murder mystery threaded through the whole thing that keeps you turning pages even when you’re scared of what’s coming. The trauma is real, the stakes are real and it respects you enough to not pull any punches.

If you want fantasy that takes you seriously as a reader, this is it.

If You Want the Romance AND the Fantasy

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

You already kind of know the story, Hades and Persephone, but this version sets it in a modern city where gods run nightclubs and mortals strike bargains they can’t win. Persephone is the Goddess of Spring who has never once made a flower bloom. She’s been hiding her divine nature for years, living as a journalism student in New Athens, until she accidentally ends up in a high-stakes card game with the God of the Underworld himself and walks away with a contract she can’t escape.

The deal: create life in the Underworld, or lose her freedom forever. The complication: Hades is not what she expected, and the pull between them is impossible to ignore.

It’s fast-paced, it’s addictive, and the tension between these two is the kind of thing you feel in your chest. The world is vivid and fun — Hades as a brooding nightclub owner who runs soul-gambling empires is genuinely inspired — and the romance is a slow burn that earns every single payoff. Fair warning: there is spice. Some meaningful spice. You’ve been told.

This is a series, so clear your schedule.

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If You Want Epic with a Side of War

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

A warrior princess. A king she was trained since childhood to destroy. An arranged marriage that is entirely a cover for espionage.

Lara has spent her entire life being prepared for one mission: marry the king of the Bridge Kingdom, infiltrate his defenses, and hand his secrets to her father so their army can conquer the only trade route in a storm-ravaged world. She walks into that marriage knowing exactly what she’s there to do. What she doesn’t account for is that everything she was told about this kingdom and this king might be a lie.

This is enemies-to-lovers done right, slow, earned, with actual stakes beyond just the romance. The world-building is lush but never overwhelming; the politics make sense without requiring a flow chart. Lara is a genuinely great protagonist, morally complicated in all the interesting ways, and Aren is the kind of hero who keeps you reading to figure him out. The action is real, the tension is relentless, and the ending will absolutely wreck you before sending you immediately to buy the sequel.

If you want something with more meat to it, real conflict, real consequences, an actual story surrounding the romance, this is your entry point.

If You Want Something Atmospheric and Strange

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Picture this: a Victorian gothic manor, a girl who has been followed by Death her entire life, a poisoning mystery, and a romance with Death himself. Not a metaphor. Literal Death, who it turns out has been watching over Signa Farrow since the night her family was killed, because she is the one person in existence he can touch without causing to die.

When Signa arrives at Thorn Grove, the home of her last remaining relatives, one of whom is mysteriously falling ill, she quickly realizes that something is very wrong inside those walls. A ghost wants answers. Death wants to help. And Signa, who has spent her whole life being shunted between guardians who either ignored her or died, is finally somewhere that feels like it might matter.

The atmosphere in this book is everything. It reads like a candlelit house at the end of a long hall — unsettling and beautiful in equal measure. The murder mystery is genuinely good, the slow burn with Death is the specific flavor of unhinged romantic tension that lives in your brain for weeks, and it’s the kind of gothic that feels lush rather than exhausting.

Come for the premise of falling for Death personified. Stay because you actually need to know who poisoned the family.

If You Want the Ease of a Standalone

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

The first line of this book is: “They’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. And they never will.”

Hook, line and sinker.

Alessandra is done being overlooked. She has a plan: seduce the Shadow King, marry him, then kill him and take the throne for herself. It’s a clean three-step. What she doesn’t plan for is that the Shadow King is surrounded by people already trying to kill him, which means she has to keep him alive long enough to do it herself. And also that he might be the only person who has ever actually looked at her and liked what he saw.

This is a villain romance done in the most fun possible way. Alessandra is unapologetically ruthless and it is delightful to spend 326 pages inside her head. The Shadow King is her perfect foil, quiet where she is loud, patient where she is impulsive, equally morally gray. The court intrigue is juicy without being overwhelming. And it is a standalone, which in this genre is genuinely a rare and precious gift.

No cliffhanger. No waiting for the next book. Just a complete, satisfying story with a villain heroine you will absolutely root for.

One Last Thing

Deep-rooted fantasy readers will tell you there’s a right way to enter the genre. That you need to start with Tolkien, or that you haven’t really read fantasy until you’ve read (insert 900-page classic here).

BORING. LOSER. SNORE FEST.

Ignore them. The right entry point is the one that makes you want to keep reading. That’s the whole job of a first book. Start where you’re curious, not where you feel obligated. The genre is enormous and there is a corner of it that was made exactly for you, you just have to find your door in.

These are six doors. Pick the one that sounds like you.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

But here’s what I need you to understand: reading has one of the lowest barriers to entry of any hobby that exists. The problem is that the book community on the internet is very good at making it look otherwise. Aesthetically stacked shelves. Special editions with sprayed edges and illustrated covers that cost forty-five dollars per book. Bookish boxes delivered monthly to your door. Reading journals, bookmarks, candles that allegedly smell like your favorite fantasy world.

It’s gorgeous. It’s also a trap. That I have fallen for many times don’t get me wrong.

I read over 100 books a year and after doing a deep dive, I spend a genuinely embarrassing little amount of money doing it. Here’s how.

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Your Library Card Is the Main Character

I’m going to need you to look me in the eye and tell me when you last used your library card. And if it’s not within the last week, you’re doing it wrong babe.

The library is free. The books are free. And before you say “but my library never has the books I want”, have you heard of the Libby app? Because your library card also gets you free ebooks and audiobooks, available to borrow directly on your phone, no commute required. A lot of libraries also have Hoopla, which is a different app with even more titles.

The waitlist thing is real, I’ll give you that. Popular new releases always have a wait. Patience my dear grasshopper.

One thing I learned from a very young age is that I love the cost of free. And I’m willing to have my TBR stack higher in order to get it. Waiting three weeks for a book you want to read costs you nothing. And the more you do it, the easier the wait gets I promise. I currently have about 25 holds on Libby and when they get to me, its like getting a package from Amazon to my door, the endorphines are FLOWING.

Buy Used Like It’s a Personality

I buy used books constantly. ThriftBooks, your local used bookstore, the library sale section, the sale a library will also usually have a couple times a year to get all books for like a $1. Yeah, and they are usually in good shape and sometimes great shape.

I love a brand new book, I do. BUT especially for a series I only kinda care about or a children’s book series I want to re-read, I will be buying it for less than $10 because I know I don’t need it to be perfect - I just need the vibes to be there.

The Special Edition Problem

Okay. Let me address the elephant in the room.

Special editions are beautiful. I have some. I understand the pull completely. You are allowed to buy them.

BUT here is the thing I want you to consider before you spend sixty dollars on an illustrated foiled sprayed-edge edition of a book you haven’t read yet: what if you hate it?

My personal rule is that I buy the special edition of books I have already loved. Proven five-star reads only. That way the shelf piece is also a sentimental object and not just a very expensive gamble on a pretty cover.

Borrow the regular copy first. Read it. Then decide if it’s worth the collector’s price.

(Bonus: by the time you decide you want the special edition, it’ll probably be on sale.)

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Build Your Library With Intention (Not Impulse)

The dream of floor-to-ceiling shelves full of books you love lives within every reader. I’m currently working on mine! (and will be forever probably.) I support it wholeheartedly. But there’s a difference between building a library and accumulating books faster than you can read them because they were pretty and on sale.

The goal is a shelf full of books you would actually recommend to someone, books you’d reread, books that mean something to you. Not a shelf full of books you bought because the cover was giving and you fully intended to get to it eventually.

My filter before buying a physical copy to keep: is this a book I already know I love, or have strong reason to believe I will? If yes, buy it, own it, display it proudly. If the honest answer is “not sure yet” — borrow it first. Library, friend, Libby app, whatever. Then buy the copy you want to keep forever once you know it’s earned its spot.

This means your shelves grow more slowly. It also means every book on them is one you’d actually defend. Quality over quantity is a more satisfying library to live with and a significantly cheaper one to build.

The Merch Situation: An Honest Conversation

The bookish merch industrial complex is real, thriving and it would like your wallet specifically.

Some of it is genuinely worth it. A good reading lamp you’ll use every night for years? Worth it. Anything in my starter pack? Worth it. If you’re the kind of person who actually lights candles while you read and the library-scented one from that small shop genuinely adds something to your experience? Fine. Buy the candle. I’m not a monster. I love a candle.

But here’s the test I use: is this something I will use, or something I will own?

Because a lot of bookish merch falls into the “own” category. The bookmark when you can use literally anything as a bookmark? The tote bag when you have five you already never use? The 20th book related mug when you don’t even drink coffee?

The stuff worth spending on is stuff that actively improves the reading experience: a comfortable reading chair, good lighting, the Kindle or e-reader if you’re a digital reader, an Audible credit for the audiobook you’ve been wanting. Functional, used regularly, genuinely makes you read more or enjoy it more.

Actually Track What You Spend

Had to be said, I’m sorry! Unfortunately, it really just must be done.

Not forever if that idea gives you hives, just for a month. Write down every book and book-adjacent purchase. You will either find out it’s less than you thought (great news) or you’ll see exactly where it’s going and be able to make a different call (also useful).

No guilt. Just clarity. (and then an adjustment as needed.)

Reading is, at its core, a story and your imagination. That’s it. Everything else is optional and most of the best parts are free.

You can be a reader who spends almost nothing and has a completely full, completely wonderful reading life. The library exists. Used books exist. Friends with good taste exist.

The rich girl era is not about spending less on something you love. It’s about being smart enough to know you don’t have to.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

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Life Lately

If April had a sponsored hashtag, it would be #SendHelp — and by help, I mean licensed contractors.

Our house is currently going through a whole thing. And while I consider myself an expert in many areas (books obviously sitting comfortably at the top of that list) I am, as it turns out, not a concrete foundation expert. Nor a garage door expert. I had no idea how much these two things had in common until I was suddenly paying separate, very real people to come fix both of them within the same month. Adulting is a scam and nobody warned me enough. Please send good thoughts.

The silver lining? I spent most of this month reminding myself that a house that is actively being repaired is still, technically, a house. It could be worse. (My husband is so tired of hearing me say that.)

In non-house news, I helped run a work conference, which meant two full days of sustained extroversion at a level that would impress even the most socially enthusiastic among us. I am a self-certified extroverted introvert and I still came home, sat in my recliner and was asleep within ten minutes of my back hitting the cushion. Not a gradual wind-down. Not a slow drift. Full shutdown.

AND — big news — I saw Project Hail Mary in theaters. I JUST got the book on Libby so stay tuned on my book thoughts. But the movie? The movie had me absolutely. I went in knowing only the basic premise and cried three times.

Mostly though, April was a chill, head-down, TBR-chipping kind of month. Storms rolling through, wallet taking hits and me on the couch with a book, which honestly isn’t the worst way to ride it out.

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The Reading Chronicles

The Bond that Burns and The Wings that Bind by Briar Boleyn

Books two and three of the Bloodwing Academy series, consumed back to back like the completely functional and chill person I am. Book two started a little slow, not in a bad way, more in a “we’re still getting somewhere” way, but once it picked up, I was sweating trying to get to the end. Physically tense. At a book. Totally normal.

Book three felt like the bridge that answered a bunch of questions I’d been holding but overall is no it wrapped up in a way that left me feeling okay about waiting until fall for the next one. (I say this now. I am already lying to myself. I will not be fine.)

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 3 and 4 by Beth Brower

The story continues and so does my love for Emma! This whole series is a genuinely good time, it’s cozy and funny and reads like a warm afternoon in a way I can’t fully explain but completely mean. It is giving spring in book form and I am here for every volume. Fun fact: I should have made Beth Brower a dedicated reading goal because she is now almost certainly going to be my most-read author of the year. Nobody tell my other goals.

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Book four of the Gallagher Girls reread! I retained absolutely nothing from this one. Not a single scene, not a single twist. It felt completely new, which could be alarming but I’ve chosen to frame it as a gift I gave my past self. A gift that kept on giving. It was fun, it was fast, it was everything these books deliver. And I think this might be my favorite one yet? They genuinely just keep getting better.

Land of Wolves: Revelations by Invi Wright

Dark shifter werewolf romance and I need you to understand: it was giving early 2010s paranormal romance in the best possible way. (That is high praise. Please read it as such.) The pacing was excellent, I stayed engaged the whole way through, which is not something I take for granted. It does end on a cliffhanger and I am actively very upset about that. But the next book comes out in June, so the wound is manageable. Barely. I’ll live.

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Okay so. How do I explain this one.

Imagine Love Island. Now make it dystopian. Now add food as a prize you have to earn through challenges. Now sit with that for a second. Yeah. This one lives firmly in my Weird Literary Fiction category and I genuinely couldn't tell you if I liked it or not but I thought about it more than expected after finishing, which I think is its own kind of answer. Weird in a way that worked. Somehow.

And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison

A cute, breezy little rom-com that I had a genuinely good time with. Could it have had a little more substance? Maybe, for my specific preferences. But it delivered what it promised and sometimes that’s exactly what you need between heavier reads. Fun characters, fun premise, no notes on the vibe.

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The Reading Goals Scorecard

Let’s see how we’re tracking:

📚 30/100 books read — Goodreads and I are in a complicated relationship right now but we're still speaking.
💚 4/5 books with green covers — One away! The pressure!
🌊 1/8 Emily Henry books read — Okay we are going to revisit this goal urgently. She deserves better from me.
🐉 9/40 fantasy books read — low and steady, the Bloodwing Academy series is doing some heavy lifting here.
🕵️ 4/6 Gallagher Girls books read — Two left! We are in the home stretch and I am emotional about it already.

Until Next Time...

April, you were a lot. Expensive, stormy, exhausting, BUT the books were good. The couch was comfortable. The recliner did not let me down.

May better bring those flowers. I’ve earned them.

See you on the next page,
Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...

Case in point — the Darkling is still years later, discourse fully alive, high on most people’s lists of who Alina should have ended up with. Shadow and Bone, for anyone who needs the reference. The Darkling. The villain. The man who has committed multiple atrocities and wears a lot of black.

And I get it. I do. But also — why? Why are we over here shipping him with the main character like he just needs a good woman to turn it around? Why do we always end up rooting for the villain?

Because it’s not just the Darkling. This is a pattern and I think it’s time we talked about it.

Take Snow in The Hunger Games. Everyone hates President Snow. He is the villain. Cold, calculating, absolutely no redeeming qualities in the original trilogy. And then Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes comes out and suddenly a very large portion of readers are quietly, maybe a little shamefully, rooting for him to get the girl and win — even though we all know exactly where his story ends. We’ve been to the end of his story. And then Tom Blyth went and played young Snow in the movie and that ship just got a whole lot more crowded. (I’m not judging. I’ve been on that boat.)

The entire dark romance genre is basically built on this premise. The “villain”, or at least the morally gray, questionable, probably-should-be-avoided love interest, is the point. And we eat it up. Cannot get enough. Would like seconds.

So here’s why I think we’re like this:

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1. The villain is usually hot.

I know. I know. But can we be honest? In most recent fiction, the villain is doing something for us aesthetically. The Darkling, tall, dark, cheekbones for days. Draco Malfoy, people have been writing fan fiction about him for two decades and counting. The main character in Lights Out, I don’t need to say more. It’s a whole thing. We clock the threat, we clock the cheekbones and something in our brain short-circuits. It’s not our fault. It’s the authors’. (Thank you to the authors.)

2. The villain has the best backstory.

This is the one that actually gets me. Every good villain has a genuinely meaty backstory, and it’s never just “I woke up one day and decided to be evil.” It’s layered. It’s interesting. It’s “my father was this way, and his father before him, and I was raised in a world that taught me this was survival.” It’s the Mafia kid who didn’t choose his family. The boy who was beaten down until cruelty was the only language he was taught. The person who made one terrible decision a long time ago and then just kept walking in that direction because they didn’t know how to stop.

And here’s the uncomfortable part: it’s usually ever so slightly relatable. Not the crimes. Not the red flags the size of actual flags. But the wound underneath it? The thing that made them that way? Yeah. We see it. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

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3. The villain gets to say the things the hero can’t.

The hero has to be good. Has to make the right call, take the high road, be the bigger person. And sometimes that is genuinely boring to read. The villain? They say the quiet part loud. They call out the hypocrisy in the room. They look at the whole broken system and go “actually, you’re all complicit” and walk away. And even when they’re wrong, even when their logic is completely twisted, there’s something almost cathartic about a character who just doesn’t perform goodness for anyone. They’re not trying to be liked. They’re not managing anyone’s feelings. There’s a weird freedom in that and we feel it as readers even when we know we shouldn’t.

4. The hero is kind of bland by comparison (sometimes).

I said what I said. The main character in a lot of these stories is written to be relatable, which often means they’re a little... flat. They’re good and well-meaning and they make mostly reasonable decisions and we appreciate them. But the villain has dimension. They have contradictions. They have a scene where they’re terrifying and then a scene where they’re almost tender and you’re sitting there like — who ARE you?? That push and pull is just more interesting to read than a protagonist who does the right thing on a mostly predictable schedule. Authors put their whole heart into writing the villain and sometimes it shows a little too much. We notice. We respond accordingly.

5. We desperately want to believe people can change.

This is the one we don’t want to admit. Every time the villain shows one flicker, one moment of genuine decency, one crack in the armor, one scene where they’re almost human, we latch on. Because if that little spec of good is in there somewhere, then there’s hope, right? They could change. The right person could reach them. Love could be the thing that does it.

(It almost never does. But it’s the hope that kills you.)

And when you stack all five of those reasons on top of each other, it stops being a coincidence. It’s not a character flaw in us as readers. It’s intentional. Authors build these villains to be compelling, to be beautiful and broken and just self-aware enough to be dangerous. They give them the best lines and the most interesting wounds and then act surprised when we show up to the fandom with a full defense prepared.

We were set up. Every single time.

And honestly? I’ll keep falling for it. The Darkling could never be redeemed and I already know the end of Snow’s story and Draco Malfoy made his choices and yet here I am, a fully grown adult, emotionally invested in all of them. No notes. No regrets. Fully committed to my villain era as a reader.

The authors know what they’re doing. We know what they’re doing. And we are all in silent agreement to never stop.

See you on the next page,

Mary

Previously on Booked By Mary...