Peed's Reads

Everything I read in June

Katrina Peed — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:20:15 GMT

Hey… how y’all doin’? I know. It’s been more than a minute.

There will be a full update in the near future, but since you last heard from me, I have:

Moved to North Carolina
Spent a week in Hawaii
Finished a book with my eyeballs for the first time in 237 days!!!

That’s enough about me; let’s get right into it!

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

3 stars | audiobook | (Bright Falls #2)

Meh. It took me forever to get to this book because I didn’t love Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (the first in the series). I’m calling it on this series. I have had very poor luck with sapphic romances. If you have any suggestions, PLEASE leave them in the comments/send them my way.

You’re the Problem, It’s You by Emma R. Alban

3 stars | audiobook | (Mischief & Matchmaking #2)

I think I liked it? It was a solid MM historical romance.

I need to get back to writing my reviews immediately, because books like this are forgettable. I know I didn’t love this as much as the first in the series (I Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend), but I loved seeing the girls in here. The pacing is iffy, and there is an icky villain ex who gets too much screen time.

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5 stars | audiobook | (The Midnight Strike Series #1)

I am obsessed with this book. This book is about two DEPRESSED people falling madly in love.

I am so sat for the rest of the series. You need to understand how rare it is for me to be down bad for a college romance.

Black Cat [gold medalist] X Golden Retriever [future MLB star]
The epilogue was the opposite of an Icebreaker (by Hannah Grace) catastrophe
It’s SPICY
makes me wish I liked spam.

The Midnight Strike Series, The Windy City Series, and The Boys of Tommen is my holy trinity of sports romance series.

I really think this series is the next Off Campus.

Instead of hockey, it’s baseball. (And a swimmer in this one) It’s the West Coast instead of the East Coast. And it’s a diverse cast of characters in lieu of all-white everything.

Scarlet Angel by S.T. Abby

**4 stars | audiobook | (Mindf*ck #3)**

As a reminder, “The Mindf*ck Series” is a collection of 5 novellas, often sold/bound/referred to as a single book. I am listening to the novellas from the library, so breaking it into 5 instead of the 1 collective. In May, I finished the first novella and nothing short of hated it.

I accidentally jumped from the first novella to the third, and that was the best thing ever because listening to this, I was like, I GET IT!

It has so much more of the vengeance and FBI profiling that I loved in the first novella, and none of the cheesy “romance” I despised. I think this is the one where we get “ily” (maybe that was in 2 — reading out of order is hard), but I can just pretend they’ve been together forever and it is what it is, making them just a meh couple instead of an ick couple! BRILLIANT!

Again, the television show is going to go so hard because there’s so much fucked up stuff they can do AND so much room for nothing but improvement in the romance section — tbh, in the show, they’ll need to tamp down the flashback assaults because audiences will not be able to stomach that on screen. It is a tough line to toe because the grotesque cruelty of the original crimes is what excuses the disgusting assaults perpetrated by our heroine, but it’s a lot.

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

4 stars | audiobook | (Robert Langdon #6)

I can’t believe this is my first Dan Brown. I get it. This whole story and concept are now living rent-free in my mind, and I’m not mad; color me tuned in.

I really hope Taylor Swift has read this book because I just feel like she’d enjoy/appreciate it.

I LOVED being back in Prague. (I studied abroad for a semester in the Czech capital 10 years ago.) While I have some notes, the walk down memory lane was fantastic. We just needed a Praha 5 / Andel shoutout to complete my bingo card. Also, could have used some FAMU, DAMU, or puppetry love.

Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh

5 stars | kindle | (Boys of Tommen #1)

We have a new “God Tier” book series, I fear. Never in my life did I think a high school love story (with a supernova athlete) would pull me out of my nearly 8-month reading slump. When I tell you I could not put this book down… my parents had to tell me not to bring my Kindle to a wedding ceremony at the Four Seasons in Hawaii because I didn’t want to part from my beloved Johnny and Shannon. I wrecked my sleep schedule for over a week because instead of sleeping on my 9-hour red-eye flight back to Atlanta, I finished this book (in tears) and jumped straight into the second book on my phone while listening to the soundtrack for the first.

Holy Guacamole. Even though these characters are roughly 15 to 18, it’s definitely a New Adult (NA) book series, not Young Adult (YA). I’ve thought a lot about it because on-page domestic violence and promiscuous, popular high school boys are usually DEAL-BREAKERS for me, but this book handles it all brilliantly.

There will be an in-depth post in the near future on the masterpiece that is this series.

Johnny and Shannon are not even my favorite characters, so I can only imagine how hard the rest of the series is going to hit. I have been browsing merch on Etsy like I haven’t since SJM. MY GOD GUYS!

JUST READ THIS SERIES; I’M BEGGING YOU — I need someone to discuss it with

found family
first love
Rugby STAR (like one of the best in the country)
She’s giving anxiety; he’s giving anxiety and OCD
IRISH! Cork County! He’s a Dubliner though
unpudtownable
tragic tears all around
It’s going to be a tv show

Those are the six books I finished in the sixth month of the year

I’m behind on my annual goal, but I'm feeling good about reading again for the first time in forever. All books 3 stars and above, with an eyeball read thrown in? You won’t catch me complaining!

Hyper-fixation du jour: Love Island (UK)

Mom and I are HOOKED on season 13. None of that USA shit everyone is talking about. ICK!

I also just binged Season 12, so all my vocal stims are of the British and Irish variety. (tbh probably enhanced by the Boys of Tommen of it all)

Ataraxia Update: 11 months!

She’s my whole world. She’s quite the trouper with our weekly 5-hour commutes. Let’s hope she still loves me by the time school starts next month.

Jane Fonda is set to star and produce the film adaptation

Everything I read in May

Katrina Peed — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:20:56 GMT

I’m still in a big ol’ reading slump, even though you wouldn’t be able to tell by my 12 reads listed below. I have been reading with my eyeballs, just not as much as I’d like… and never to completion. So these were all consumed in audiobook format.

Prime Video’s Off Campus is the moment.

My friends have been imploring me to read Elle Kennedy’s iconic college hockey romance series for nearly a decade now, but I managed to resist until this summer. With the release date imminent, I splurged and bought the audiobook — ƒ¨çk “Audible Exclusives.”

Then Amazon pissed me off further and dropped the entire season at once (way to make something super irrelevant super quickly). I finished The Deal, and figured I could listen to one book a summer and have a fun time, then the show dropped, and everyone and their mother told me I needed to read the first three before watching. (In hindsight, I actually don’t think it’s necessary.)

I have a lot of thoughts on the Off-Campus series and each book, and I will have a deep dive posted soon. For now, here are my ratings and some highlights.

The Deal by Elle Kennedy | 3.75 stars

(Off-Campus #1)

The first book of the Off-Campus series followsGarrett Graham and Hannah “Wellsy” Wells. It’s a fun and steamy college sports romance where the playboy hockey captain falls hard for his ethics tutor, whom he’d never noticed before.

Elle Kennedy does an impressive job covering heavy topics, including sexual assault (previous) and domestic violence (previous). My favorite thing about this book was watching Garrett beg and bargain with Hannah to be his tutor, and then witnessing their friendship blossom and eventually evolve into a full-on romance.

The Mistake by Elle Kennedy | 4 stars

(Off-Campus #2)

John Logan’s fuckboy-to-devoted-simp pipeline for Grace Ivers bothered me the least because we get to see him yearning for a more serious relationship pretty early in the previous book.

my fyp has concluded this is Antonio Cipriano at his finest because he looks like a butch lesbian, and I’m not disputing or complaining

[Grace had one unforgivable moment, which is a big reason this is 4 instead of 5 stars.] The heavy topics in this book are addiction, specifically a loved one/caregiver being the addict. Both Logan and Grace are children of divorce, but have very different experiences and parental relationships with that, and that was a fun representation!

The Score by Elle Kennedy | 4 stars

(Off-Campus #3)

The third book, featuring Allie Hayes (Hannah’s best friend and roommate) and Dean Di Laurentis, is universally accepted as the best book in the series. As excited as I am for the TV adaptation to jump around and bump their love story up to season two, I am dreading the timeline changes they’ve already implemented.

when “this” happens in the book, they’re in an exclusive situationship; she’s not in a couple's costume with her boyfriend of three years 🤢

You will cry in this book. Allie has already lost her mother, and she is now the only child of a chronically ill father. But there is so much more in this book, so have the tissues ready. (It’s also the first attempt at “kink” in the series, which I appreciate but could use more.

Mom and I headed south for the Vidalia Onion Festival, and I attended my first rodeo in nearly 20 years. Naturally, a yee-haw romance moment commenced.

With two roadtrips, Mom and I explored the B-side of Elsie Silver’s Chestnut Spring Series. While looking for yee-haw romances, I found Raya Morris Edwards and her kinky cowboys!

Sovereign by Raya Morris Edwards | 3.5 stars

(Sovereign Mountain #1)

A kinky, dark, yee-haw, billionaire romance. I had fun with this one. Definitely a roller coaster of emotions, but in the end, I do ship them and was rooting for their HEA.

Age Gap (with a capital A and a capital G)
morally grey MMC
heavy BDSM
forced proximity
rancher
TRAUMATIZED main characters

Reckless by Elsie Silver | 3.75 stars

(Chestnut Springs #4)

Widely accepted as the fan favorite of the series, I finally met and fell for Theo Silva. Elsie lives up to her hype and delivers an accidental pregnancy trope I ate up!

grumpy - sunshine
accidental pregnancy (one-night stand)
opposites attract
brother-in-law’s best friend?
SMALL town
a doctor and a bull rider
found family

Hopeless by Elsie Silver | 3.75 stars

(Chestnut Springs #5)

I also listened to this one with mom, but on our drive to Chicago. I might like it more than I liked Reckless...

age gap
fake engagement
small town
grumpyXsunshine, kinda?
opposites attract, kinda?
inexperienced FMC
forced proximity
kink-light
PTSD (he was a POW/MIA)

Messed around and listened to The Correspondent twice; gotta keep ‘em on their toes

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans | 5 stars

I listened to this audiobook in one day when I found out my Atlanta book club was meeting that night. It is soooo good! It covers many themes in life, as well as complicated characters and relationships. The audiobook production is SO BRILLIANT! The format of the whole book is some correspondence of a septuagenarian over the course of ten years. It’s a fully cast production, and so much fun!

Then, when I drove to Wisconsin with friend of the stack, Yiayia, not three weeks later, I listened again — this time in two days.

Hopped on a buddy read with my bestie (20 months later, without her knowing)

Taylor Swift was listening to the audiobook [at a painfully slow speed] to decompress on the Eras Tour in 2024.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore | 4 stars

My New York book club’s June pick is this soon-to-be-adapted mystery.

I “buddy-read” this with my dad. We both enjoyed it and loved discussing our theories and perspectives throughout. We found it very well written, but Papa Peed was much less satisfied with the ending than I was.

When Taylor Swift was listening to this in The Eras Tour docuseries, I kept repeating “I didn’t expect the least relatable thing about a billionaire to be the rate at which she listens to her audiobooks,” only to have to listen to the beginning of this one at 1x speed with my father. When we sped it up, it was challenging to keep up. By the end (when I was listening without him), I did speed up to 2x, but it would have been impossible in the beginning. (Dad even confessed that he bumped it to 1.5 once he was on his own.)

We loved the vocabulary in this and found ourselves pausing several times to discuss word choice. “Indefatiguable” will always mean “crazy hair” to us from now on.

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The Housemaid by Freida McFadden | 3.5 stars

(Housemaid #1)

Another super-hyped book I’ve avoided for fear of disappointment. I’d say it lives up to the hype for the most part. I was mad, bored, and wicked annoyed for most of the book, and felt like I could see the twists coming a mile away. This “twist” has been done in so many books, so many ways. But ultimately, there were more layers, creatively executed, that left me satisfied!

I had very little interest in the film, but I just found out it’s directed by Paul Feig. Now I NEED to see it!

When I read The Deal, I had fun, but dreaded seeing it on screen. Meanwhile, I hated listening to The Risk, but think it’s an incredible title to adapt and will love seeing it on the screen!

I want the original mindfuck series paperback so badly. Like what in the twisted twilight is this cover?!

The Risk by S.T. Abby | 2 stars

(The Mindf*ck Series #1)

The second star is solely for the criminal profiling and vengeance tour!

The whole thing reads 2000s romance cringe. Not to mention, the portrayal of the congregating, unrelated “thugs” in “a New York City alley” IN 2016 is worse than any sort of 1980s Giuliani wet dream; I’m shook. Literally, the reality she’s trying to portray is straight out of the set of Se7en, but somehow more dangerous, ruthless, but like also set on a soundstage alley?

my og serial killer x profiler ship <3

And the romance is ick. But I’m sat to see how this terrible idea and experiment in self-sabotage will continue.

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban | 4 stars

(Mischief & Matchmaking #1)

I liked this so much more than I thought I would! The separation in the middle was annoying, but I built a bridge and got over it pretty quickly.

Ataraxia Update: 10 months!

Of the 31 nights in May, I only spent 8 with her. This period affirms that if I ever get her dubbed an “emotional support animal,” it won’t be a sham!

Currently Reading: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Currently Listening: Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

Current Jam: tbh, can’t get enough Kacey Musgraves

Latest Binge: Pokerface Season 1

Last Film Watched: Ladies First

Trips this month: drove ATL>CHI (flew back). drove ATL>IND>MKE, flew to High Point then flew back. AND SO MUCH MORE DOMESTICALLY! (I’m pooped)

Everything I read in April

Katrina Peed — Tue, 05 May 2026 14:20:52 GMT

I finished four books in the fourth month of the year. Here’s the 411 on those 4 titles.

me jammin’ out to my audiobooks

I finished The Dirty Air Series!

I will have a Dirty Air reading vlog/series deep dive on my YouTube channel.

Wrecked (Dirty Air #3) by Lauren Asher

4 stars | audiobook

This is my favorite in the series! Thanks to Jax and Elena, I will be fully endorsing and recommending this series.

It’s still cheesy and iffy, but these are two tortured characters who fall hard for each other and want nothing more than to help the other heal. It also helps that these characters have known each other for a year (as seen in earlier books) so it’s not as insta-lust/love as the first two books. That being said... the way they talk to each other from the start is a bit much.

Redeemed (Diry Air #4) by Lauren Asher

3.5 stars | audiobook

The last two books in this series really take a turn in the emotional depth of the characters and their relationships. I am glad this was not the second-chance romance I feared, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I cared for both bitter love interests in the end.

These characters are BITTER. In Collided, Jax and Elena were traumatized; Santi & Chloe are traumatized and resentful of the world—bad combo. But I got over it. (and they did too)

Really neat to see the representation of disability and amputation.

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Audition by Katie Kitamura

2.5 stars | audiobook

I am still unsure what this book was…. It’s a 200-page fever dream. I could not in good faith recommend this novel to anyone for anything other than a book club pick. We all wanted more details and action, but no more pages. It’s just weird.

Children of Fallen Gods (The War of Lost Hearts, Vol. II) by Carissa Broadbent

4 stars | audiobook

I am not as enamoured with this series as I was after the first (Daughter of No Worlds), but after spending most of this novel zoned out and bored, Carissa went and drew me back in with the final act. I will be continuing with the series and appreciate the characters more now than ever. This is more Machiavellian than any other fantasy novel I’ve read.

It was a simple month for the books, but a good one nonetheless! Reading four books in the fourth month makes me consider reducing my reading goal to 78 (that's the total if you add all the months together). Maybe more achievable?

What books did you read this month? Any new favs? Any DNFs we should avoid? What is your book club reading? Let me know!

Hyper-fixation du jour: Rodeos

Mama Marina and I went to the Onion Festival in Vidalia, GA, last month. The highlights were definitely the Tumi Warehouse Sale and the Rodeo!

Ataraxia Update: 9 months!

Mom is taking care of her this week while I house and dogsit across town, and I miss her so much! She’s made another trip to New York and is more snuggly than ever!

Currently Reading: Between Two Kings (Split or Swallow #2) by Lindsay Straube

Currently Listening: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Recent 5 Star: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Current Jam: Kacey Musgraves & Noah Kahan

Current Crafts: coloring

Latest Binge: Running Point, Hacks, & Rooster (so obsessed with all three!)

@pages.grapes Did you know that we ship across the US! As a primarily brick-and-mortar shop, our online selection does not reflect our full inventory. Additionally, we have a lot of preorder campaigns that you do not want to miss ❤️

My Michigan Bookstore Crawl

Katrina Peed — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:20:20 GMT

Mom and I just spent a week in Michigan around our cousin Connie’s 100th birthday. Yes, she is an icon and a legend, and the same age as Route 66. True to form, I visited four independent bookstores in four days. With Independent Bookstore Day around the corner on Saturday, April 25th, I refuse to gate-keep!

Here’s the 411 on Mon Coeur in Canton, Epilogue Books in Rockford, Grand Rapids’s two romance bookstores, Pages & Peonies and Pages & Grapes.

first stop: Canton, Michigan

Mon Coeur - A Romance Bookstore

Just outside Detroit, we really pulled a “save the best for first” with this one. I am capital-O Obsessed with this shop! Mom bought socks, I got Her Soul to Take by Harley Laroux, and a hat that I have not taken off my head since.

we had to stop at “my restaurant” in Jackson, MI for some Mich-Mex

This store had the most complete romance selection of all our stops, and the vibes were everything you’d want and more!

Share this with all the romance-loving Michiganders in your life!

epilogue books

The loveliest indie bookstore right in Downtown Rockford. They have a wide, varied, and well-stocked selection across genres, including featured local books and stories about Michigan. There was a darling children’s section and reading area, but I don’t have any photos to share as families and children were using it while I was there.

They even have a shop dog named Tommy, but unfortunately, he wasn’t around for my visit. (Their selection of bespoke wrapping paper was SOOO COOL.)

final stop: Grand Rapids, Michigan

pages & peonies - romance books & more

The “& more” had my Thea Vesta sweating as we ushered my 9-year-old cousin Anna through the doors, but nothing to worry about! Anna wound up leaving with the most goodies, having secured cutie 3D printed animal fidgits, books, a mood ring, candy, & more!

This shop had the cutest tchotchkes, including wooden (not plastic) bookshelf street signs! I even scooped my cousin Katina her first Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry novels for some light summer reading! (Buying Beach Read in Michigan was a spiritual experience.)

peep the TBR Rd sign for my future TBR shelf!

Pages & Peonies was the first romance bookstore I’ve come across that also offered free access to reproductive health items and information. I loved seeing the resources they’ve collected for their community. They also had a used bookshelf with excellent choices, and I scooped a copy of Pucking Around by Emily Rath for around $5.

Pages & Grapes

This romance bookstore is also a wine store. Let me repeat that: Pages & Grapes sells romance novels AND wine! We have a new happy place!

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Their events calendar is where it’s at! They love partnering with local businesses, artisans, and authors to create a third space that all the girlies love. I can’t wait to return, and I hope to align with a release party, crafting day, or signing event.

Mom got a cap so she can represent her three favorite things: books, wine, and Grand Rapids (in no particular order) ALL SUMMER LONG!

So many bookstores, so little time…

Of course, there were many more stores across southern Michigan that I had on my list but couldn’t get to. But I did fall in love with all four of these shops. I hope you have a chance to check these out on your next trip to the Great Lake State!

Join the chat, leave a comment, or shoot me a message with your plans for April 25th — Independent Bookstore Day. Share with the class your favorite indie bookshops you think we should check out.

Hyper-fixation du jour: Pickleball

I joined a local pickleball league and actually had fun! I’m far from professional and am sure I’ll forget all the rules before my next match in two weeks… but I remind Papa Peed daily now that his daughter is an athlete!

Currently Reading: Between Two Kings (Split or Swallow #2) by Lindsay Straube

Currently Listening: Children of Fallen Gods (The Way of Lost Hearts: Vol. II) by Carissa Broadbent

Latest Binge: Poker Face (spending a day on my brother’s couch means taking advantage of his peacock)

Last Film Watched: Roommates on Netflix

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Am I a YouTuber Now?

Katrina Peed — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:20:44 GMT

Y’all, I did it! I posted my first video to the official Peed’s Reads YouTube channel!

This is so wild to me. I’ve toyed with the idea of starting a legit YouTube channel for years, and figured what better time than this 6 month limbo between New York and grad school. (Because carrying the daily shame of neglecting my substack audience wasn’t enough.)

I’ll still post here, but now will have some visual fun as well! Please consider subscribing and tagging along on my solo adventures this summer!

Hyper-fixation du jour: YouTube

I have banked several videos of footage before posting this first one so that it wouldn’t be a thing that starts and dies in one month. But now I have to edit it all 😑

I have been carrying cameras with me everywhere for a month and come to realize vlogging is basically having your own reality show except you’re the entire cast and entire crew and studio. It’s a lot.

Anyway, it’s been a lot of fun and I hope it turns out!

Ataraxia Update: 8 months!

I’m obsessed even though she’s taken years off of all of our lives this month with her antics. She’s determined to be an outside adventure cat but I’m not having it.

Currently Reading: Between Two Kings (Split or Swallow #2) by Lindsay Straube

Currently Listening: Redeemed (Dirty Air #4) by Lauren Asher

Latest Binge: Sons of Anarchy [currently on season 4] & Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat

Last Film Watched: The Drama & Project Hail Mary

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Everything I read in February & March

Katrina Peed — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 14:20:48 GMT

As Q1 comes to an end, Papa Peed helpfully informed me that with 21 books under my belt, I am behind schedule to hit a triple digit goal in 2026. C’est la vie!

All of these books were consumed as audiobooks. I don’t think I’ve finished a single book with my eyeballs this year… #slumpstayingstrong

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean

3.75 stars

My new favorite Sarah MacLean book! I cannot wait to go back and binge this whole series. I had a few frustrations with miscommunications/assumptions and stubbornness, but overall I found it enthralling and I appreciated her agency!

Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent

4 stars

If you’re a Lyssandra fan in TOG — if you’re not, you should be — this book is for you! It’s like if Lyssandra had her own spin-off series and revenge tour. [BONUS: the love interest is much more interesting and worthy than the fool she’s paired with in TOG]

I have been dipping my toe in many popular fantasy series lately, and this one is my favorite. I am so excited to continue this series!

[editors note: I have since started the second book in the series and we be lagging baby]

Much Ado About You by Eloisa James

4 stars

Inspired by Louisa May Alcott’s Rose in Bloom (a sequel to Little Women), I ate this up. Eloisa James sets up her Essex Sister series with a tangled web of characters and societal expectations that burrowed straight into my heart. There were also some Austen vibes that were giving. [tbh it gave Belinda and I an excuse to overuse the word “ward” just when Bridgerton season 4 was releasing so bonus points]

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3.5 stars

Like her Psycho Shifters series, this is a lot of angst and horniness with such a slow burn there’s not really much on page intimacy… yet it’s extremely explicit. IDK

This is an interesting spin on Greek Mythology that has me invested in continuing the series. A fun listen!

Bonds of Hercules by Jasmine Mas

3 stars

The sequel had the same kind of fun, but was drawn out in a way that bored me. The whole putting up with cruelty for entertainment to avoid a civil war was a MAJOR ICK. Alexis/Hercules is a baddie who made it worth it.

Overall too much yearning not enough banging and honestly too many gladiator games. I'm not thrilled watching people be senselessly tortured. sory not sorry

Dom-Com by Adriana Anders

4 stars

I loved this! It’s not going to be a new obsession or something I scream from the rooftops, but it exceeded all expectations. If you want to [be a good girl and] giggle, squeal, and kick your heels... this one’s for you! An eldest daughter, plus size, crafty FMC... need I say more?! It’s a kinky, better-written, The Hating Game!

Muscles & Monsters by Ashley Bennett

3 stars

cute & spicy monster novella

TRIGGER WARNING: insta-love

First Family Book Club:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

5 stars

I don't know why I waited to so long to read this. Everyone was right. Duh! The audiobook is brilliant.

Loved pretending I was an Ali Hazelwood FMC getting down with all the science shit. I am so impressed with the amount of science there was in here that did not bore me. I only zoned out during procedural stuff like twice. ASTONISHING!

I could picture Ryan Gosling, but I can't imagine his voice for this character. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE IN IMAX!

Throttled by Lauren Asher

3 stars

Speaking of movies, F1 The Movie pushed me to finally pick up Lauren Asher’s Dirty Air Series. The beginning was so ick. This man is NOT book boyfriend material. By the end I was able to have a lot of fun and root for the couple. (He literally purposefully put himself in a hard core therapy treatment so I came around a bit)

NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP!!

Collided by Lauren Asher

2.5 stars

The sequel didn’t land as well with me. While Throttled annoyed me throughout, it left me with a sweet taste in my mouth. I enjoyed Collided more during but then resented the couple, book, world, and writing by the end.

I can’t explain, but these books are just giving ~Republican~. Rich people racing cars feels like a conservative demo? SHOCKING. But still, meh. I’ll continue the series so stay tuned!

Tell me,

Have you had similar experiences with any of these books? Or find my takeaways way off base?

I’d love to hear what your favorite books have been this year. I need to get out of my slump stat!

Hyper-fixation du jour: Ocmulgee Mounds

Last Friday I took a solo day trip to Macon, Georgia. I went down to see the Cherry Blossoms and participate in a lantern-lit tour of the National Historic Park Ocmulgee Mounds.

I visited a beautiful locally owned used bookstore, Gottwals Books, walked around the downtown area, and then made my way over to the park for a sunset history lesson. I strong recommend this experience for families or anyone interested in a different perspective on local history. The park only sells tickets for admission (and stays open after dark) four nights a year — around the cherry blossom festival — as their main fundraising event. My ticket cost was $11.21, and completely worth it!

Ataraxia Update: nearly 8 months!

Sweet girl is at her chattiest now and fully confident in the house and around Meli. She spends her mornings and afternoons “barking” out the window at the dozens of carpenter bees loitering in her view.

Currently Reading: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

Current Crafts: needlepoint! I’ve been cranking out canvases 💅

Latest Binge: tbh I’ve been binging Ziwe’s backlog of iconic interviews

Last Film Watched: Singin’ in The Rain (1952)

Where in the World is Katrina Peed?

Katrina Peed — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:20:16 GMT

I’ve mentioned it in many pieces but never flat-out announced it:

I have moved from Brooklyn, New York to Duluth, Georgia!

This transition has been has been expectedly disorienting for both Ataraxia and me, but on the whole, a net positive experience. I spent this winter applying for screenwriting MFA programs and now is the super exciting season of “wait and see.” This all started when a family friend opened my eyes to low residency programs. There are masters degrees you can get (all over the country) where you have a 1-2 week “residency” on campus each semester and the rest is remote.

In my twenties I weighed the pros and cons to graduate school (film MFAs specifically) and my final assessment was “too expensive for the result.” Well when applying these same qualifications to low residency programs, my math shifted. Long story short, I have applied to 5 Masters Programs, some are “full time” and some are the low residency model. There are so many potential autumns on my 2026 bingo card across three corners of the USA.

With my fate released to the Admission Gods [and Financial Aid Goddessess], it’s been challenging to trust fall into my future. My “Park Slope” lease ended in January, and when my job [unexpectedly] ended in January as well, it only made sense to pack up my belongings and head home to Chez Peed. Of course there have been many more details, considerations, and complications along the way, but these are the important factors that have lead to what I have affectionately deemed “my homeless and unemployed era.” 💅

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My word for the year is Kismet ✨

My therapist reminded me of the idea, “What is meant for you won’t miss you.” When I find myself spiraling and second-guessing my decisions, I’m to reminding myself that I’ve been preparing for this moment (knowingly or not) for years and that making these bold, intentional, changes is the only way to step into a future I want.

My second word is Kinetic 🤸🏼‍♀️

I like the idea of kismet, because I want it to finally be my turn to have some luck and beschert in my life, but I also know “luck is where preparedness meets opportunity.” 🙄 While kismet has a joyous sparkle to it, it can also feel a wee bit passive. That’s why I want to focus on maintaining momentum and actively creating the life I want to live.

So what am I doing for 6 months…

I’m sure I’ll be documenting many of my adventures on here this year, but I am spending my days working on my craft (prioritizing reading scripts and writing), filling in my blindspots in film literacy (attempting to watch a film a day with my family), crafting so much (bedazzling, beading, coloring, and needlepoint primarily), baking (really studying the sourdough process), and a few other hobbies. I do fear I may try my hand at hiking as so many “cool Georgia things” include walking in the woods for hours 🤢. I made a “Georgia Bingo Card” for activities I’d like to do by summer’s end. Oh, and I’ve been to two hockey games already since being home.

In a few weeks I should hear back from all the programs I’ve applied to, and once I have a better idea about where in the world I will be next year, it’ll be time to find a form of employment, so I am taking full advantage of this “free” time while it’s mine.

Hyper-fixation du jour: organizing my room

This is a really boring one, but it is driving me crazy right now and all I want to do!

Ataraxia Update: still 7 months

Baby girl has become a bolter. Every time her yiayia opens the door to let Meli out to potty, Atty takes it as a challenge to get out and as far from safety as possible. As a result we’ve begun “walking her.” She hates it. It has cut down on her escape attempts, but it’s very important to me that she learns the perimeter of our house so she can always find her way back home.

BIG UPDATE: Ataraxia & Meli (my parents’ cavapoo) are officially friends! I won’t say “besties” yet, but nemesies no more, and a win is a win.

Currently Reading: Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

Currently Listening: Throttled (Dirty Air #1) by Lauren Asher

Recent 5 Star: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Current Jam: “Dry Spell” by Kacey Musgraves

Current Crafts: needlepointing gifts for friends

Latest Binge: How to Get to Heaven From Belfast

Last Film Watched: The Horse Whisperer (1998)

Best Picture Book Recommendations

Award Season Book Recs - Round 2

Katrina Peed — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:47:34 GMT

I told y’all part 2 was coming soon! Up against the clock, I’m calling this batch of book recommendations “The Blitz Round.” If you missed Round 1 where I recommended novels, novellas, and songs for Train Dreams, The Secret Agent, One Battle After Another, Hamnet, and Frankenstein, go back and check it out!

If you’d like to purchase any of the books mentioned today, please consider supporting your favorite indie bookseller and book blogger ;)

First up: Norway’s Sentimental Value

I absolutely adored this movie. The Irish (maybe she’s Nova Scotian, I’m not great with accents) woman next to me did not feel the same way and proudly told me about her nap. I on the other hand, was riveted. This film is giving multi-generational trauma AND the house is a character. Both of these themes are beautifully explored in hundreds of novels, so please share with me your favorites under these umbrellas.

It’s giving… Ann Patchett [kinda]

The Dutch House and Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

The Dutch House came to mind immediately — and not because I struggle distinguishing Scandinavian countries — because it follows one family over the course of a century, much of which centers on the family home. TBH I need to revisit this one because I only recall random details, but I do remember it’s narrated by Tom Hanks, has a beautiful brother-sister relationship (callback to part 1, iykyk), and it made me cry.

Tom Lake was another five star from the same author that I listened to last year. Meryl Streep read it to me, and I again cried. There is an element of a family home being passed down through generations, but that’s not what made it come to mind for the film. The novel is based around a couple at home with their three adult daughters when Covid-19 forced the world to slow down. (The only COVID novel I’ve adored thus far.) When a movie star takes his life during lockdown the girls demand it’s time to get the full story of their mother’s young love affair with the star. Ugh it’s so beautiful (and slow enough to probably put my ambiguous-accented neighbor to sleep) and I strong recommend.

The house is a character… Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series and A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas

In A Deadly Education we [the readers] are thrown into The Scholomance — a sentient school that trains the world’s young magic wielders. The world building is so insane you will be convinced you missed a book, but stick with it and then it’ll all make sense. I’ve never read a setting so sentient before and it just felt compulsory to recommend. That being said, after recommending it to Belinda and then having to hear her complain about it incessantly, this is a strong recommend for audiobook. In the first book especially, the main character purposefully has no friends, and even though the school is alive, it’s not providing dialogue. So you are stuck in the never ending inner monologue of an isolated girl with no friends in a living Hell…. And in the audiobook she has an English accent!

A Court of Silver Flames is the fifth book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses “ACOTAR” series, and one of my all time favorite books. So it takes a while to get there, but The House of Wind is a crowd favorite character. Even though you visit the house as early as book two, it doesn’t become sentient until the fifth book… so that’s why the whole series isn’t recommended. But much like Nora in the film, Nesta is a super depressed eldest daughter needing to come to terms with herself. Through the course of both stories, these women find the beginnings of ataraxia, some could say [in Nesta’s case the author literally said she Made it and yes that’s where the inspiration for my cat’s name came from].

You know I couldn’t leave here without a Taylor Swift song pairing

Vroom Vroom!!! F1 The Movie

In the words of Mama Pearce, That is one good looking man!

What’s in the box?

I just reworked my industrial analysis of Se7en for an MFA application so this was top of mind.

How about the Dirty Air Box Set?!

The Dirty Air Series by Lauren Asher

This series as been at the top of my TBR for the last 3 years and I think it’s time I finally buckle-in and binge it. It’s a “sports romance” series about race car drivers (maybe F1?) and the amount of times “dirty air” was mentioned in this film, I knew I could wait no longer to read Lauren Asher’s debut series.

EDIT 6 HOURS LATER: I started the audiobook for the first one Throttled and ick… I think this was her first ever novel and it probably went uphill from here, but the writing is “accessible” to be polite and the man is HORRIBLE. Honestly I’ve had so many feels listening to it on my hour and half drive to and from my Godson’s 5th birthday I feel inspired to start a vlog again.

But watching this film as someone who knows nothing about F1 helped a lot already with understanding the F1 world in this romance novel!

A minute to appreciate the soundtrack

If you’ve read this far, you must have a friend you text about movie shit and books. PLEASE share this post with them. LET ME IN THE GROUP CHAT!

Love the cast; hate the characters: Marty Supreme

Flawed characters compellingly portrayed across an unfathomable amount of plot-lines… it’s giving Taylor Jenkins Reid.

image borrowed from The Communicator.

TJR loves writing flawed women to the point where I just don’t like them anymore.

Unfortunately my favorite novel from Reid was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but it was my first. I’ve since read at least eight of her novels and have never felt that spark again. Carrie Soto is Back came to mind first because it follows a driven, talented, narcissistic ~~table~~ tennis star, but then I remembered that Malibu Rising covers dozens of storylines with it’s central story being a short period of time, and I literally root for no one. (I hated that book.) And then there’s Daisy Jones and the Six which will give us the unethical, adulterous central characters who follow their whims.

Whatever, you get it, but if you want to see Gwenyth Paltrow have an age-inappropriate, extra-marital affair, as a washed up star wearing nothing but a diamond tennis necklace in the shower…

PLEASE watch Country Strong!

Country Strong is one of my favorite films of all time. I bought both CDs affiliated with the film because the music is just that good. Tim McGraw is the only main character who doesn’t sing on screen, and he’s the only lead who’s a professional country singer. His, Gwenyth’s, Garrett Hedlund’s, and Leighton Meester’s performances are all SO STRONG and I cannot get enough. You can thank this film for my overuse of the word “ignoramus” (I bet you thought y’all had Cracker Barrel to thank for that vocal stim). I literally had the movie poster on my dorm room wall. AHHHHHH!

Best Picture Book Recommendations

Probably my vote: Sinners

As was totally predicted, I lost count of the scream count. I did warn my immediate neighbors before it started, but I found one “shush” just plain rude.

Even though the jump scares were outside my comfort zone, I so enjoyed watching this film and can’t wait for the inevitable Broadway adaptation!

This week’s arm workouts are dedicated to Michael B. Jordan’s four arms. [Not a typo for forearms… iykyk]

Book recommendation wise, I had two clear novels jump to the front of mind.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

This novel’s central theme is colorism in the United States and the different paths available to white-passing, light-skinned black folk across decades. This is a theme brought up through the character of Mary played by my Goddess Hailee Steinfeld. (She’s as “black” as my brother’s future children will be “Greek” and I dare you to try and take that identity away from them.)

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

I love this romance novel SO MUCH, but much like Sinners explores the legacy of family and how their stories and traumas follow you, even after you’ve moved away. Similarly, the FMC Eva is drawn to unearthing the stories of her female ancestors in Louisiana even though she’s lived most of her life in DC and Brooklyn. She is determined to return south and discover the stories of the women who came before her. (There might even be a colorism element there, but I could be confusing it with The Vanishing Half tbh.)

This story needs to make it to the stage!

Watching the movie I was struck by how sensationally this diegetic musical could be adapted for the stage. Somewhere between Once and HadesTown, the groundwork is there.

Another one of my favorite films — a diegetic musical like Sinners and Country Strong — Begin Again is coming to the stage this fall, with a San Diego premiere. Coincidentally, that film features one of my all time favorite actresses, HAILEE STEINFELD!

& Finally: Bugonia

This movie threw me for a loop. For the first 10 minutes I was like “absolutely not” then I was like “weird. I like weird.” THEN I was like “ewwww not for me” and then I was like “yaaasss kween!” and then I was like “oh snap.” and finally I was like “fuuuuuuck” oh yeah and “cats!” ALL THE WHILE I WAS DISTRACTED BY THE SETTING OF METRO ATLANTA GEORGIA AND ALL THE PLACES I’VE BEEN. Her “facility” is totally the place in the Avengers but then somehow also in downtown Atlanta… okay. Sure. And the water tower seen in the sherriff pulling over the guy on his bike… AI! I don’t know that tower and fear I’m about to waste way too much gas trying to find it. The man two seats down from me yelled “I know that Piggly Wiggly!” and I wanted to say “We all do!” Anywho, props to the Greek director for making Atlanta seem bikeble. JOKES!

I also was really annoyed with most of the film being shot in Georgia but then reading England was a major location for the picture. WE HAVE SOUND STAGES HERE! But whatever. Love the Greeks.

Karin Slaughter… DUH!

Karin Slaughter is a best-selling author of REALLY CREEPY crime thrillers, all set in Georgia (and mainly Atlanta). Her Will Trent series is what birthed one of my favorite shows to follow week to week. From her prolific catalogue, I’ve read The Last Widow and The Good Daughter (soon to be a mini series with my babes Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy. I had to DNF her infamous Pretty Girls because it was so grotesque.

I don’t remember much from The Last Widow besides it being a woman kidnapped in Atlanta, that they drove through Emory Village, and that she sends out an SOS on her apple watch (I listened to this shortly after purchasing an Apple Watch myself). Seems fitting to the kidnapping of Michelle from her Atlanta mansion and the precautions taken of shaving her hair because it acted as a “locator” for the mothership.

In an effort to get this in your inboxes before the awards begin, I’m going to link the list where I’ll have every book mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2 below. (Future parts will be added to this same list.)

Award Season Book Recs - Round 1

Katrina Peed — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 14:20:56 GMT

Alright, alright, alright! Graduate school application season has officially come to an end, just in time for the best season of the year: Awards!

May Catherine O’Hara’s memory be eternal.

I’m over the moon to get back on my b^llsh*t and write unserious breaking news for my loyal subscribers instead of spending my writing time on polished impersonal essays. You may or may not know this about me, but I am an amateur cinephile. (Like so lightweight I have to reset my Letterboxd password every time I remember it exists.)

My favorite Oscars Season tradition is spending two Saturdays reclined in an AMC cinema binging the best picture nominations.

So if you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the last two weeks binging the nominees. As I was cozy under my blanket in my local AMC theater — a place where somehow, heartbreak feels good — naturally, my first thought was, BOOK RECS! So here are some book recommendations co-mingled with my thoughts and other associations I’ve made with the first 5 of 10 Best Picture nominees for the 2025 Academy Awards.

Today's Recommendations

First up: Train Dreams

Train Dreams stole my heart, even though I know it put many of you to sleep. Even though I have [sometimes crippling] ADHD, I love nothing more than a quiet poignant film. (I had a whole Nomadland era years before this blog existed.)

The obvious: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson

This novella is the source material for the film.

The “Katrina Associations”: The Swimmers but Julie Otsuka and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Otsuka’s novella and Ng’s debut novel are two pieces of fiction that stuck with me for years and opened my eyes to the history of Asian specific racism in America that was glossed over in school. (Saying it was “glossed over” is generous.)

Next, a Brazilian film: The Secret Agent

This film had me on the edge of my seat, but then in the end I was left asking, “that’s it?”

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

This one is a stretch, but it does follow an eclectic cast of characters who are living with the knowledge that there are hired hitmen after them.

The Last Letter from your Lover by Jojo Moyes

Despite it’s own atrocious film adaptation, the novel is stunning and broken into three distinct parts (and timelines). In the end we discover the whole story through the lense of 21st century journalists who found the letter, similar to the contemporary transcribers who listen to Marcello/Armando’s taped interviews.

Alchemised by SenLinYu

iykyk

Please share this with your culture-appreciating and hyper-fixating friends!

My least favorite: One Battle After Another

ugh

Benicio Del Toro & the sk8r bois are the only part I enjoyed

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Another “masterpiece” about a bunch of assholes I loathed.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

More Jojo Moyes rep! Unlike Paul Thomas Anderson, Jojo can do no wrong. This was the first novel to open. my eyes to the idea that sometimes true justice can only be achieved outside of the law.

Be still my heart: Hamnet

I cried harder in this film than I have since The Good Dinosaur in 2020 — iykyk. I quite literally was actively grabbing my chest to keep from audibly gasp/wheaping in the crowded theater. And on top of that, you know I love me a freaky little sapiosexual romance.

Agnes: He loves me for what I am, not what I ought to be.

Add to that, it’s the first time I’ve ever understood how Joe Alwyn had a song called “Gorgeous” written about him… a true miracle on screen. I usually don’t give a flip about the great Willie S, but watching these two geniuses fall in love I was humming Taylor Swift’s “Sweet Nothing”

On the way home, I wrote a poem
You say, "What a mind"
This happens all the time

And while this film has a heavy emphasis on parental relationships as well as romances, the themes that stood out to me most strongly were those of siblings, especially the love shared between a brother and a sister. Both relationships, between Bartholomew and Agnes and between Hamnet and Judith, demonstrated the agape love I know from being blessed with a brother not 16 months my junior. This beautiful representation highlighted a blank space in the media I’ve consumed.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Ever since Michelle read me her phenomenal memoir, I’ve understood how special and central her relationship with her older brother Craig Robinson is. Today they co-host the IMO Podcast (which I adore!) and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my 60s than as a co-host of Two Peeds on a Pod with Alexander!

Mile High and The Right Move by Liz Tomforde

The first two novels in The Windy City Series follow a set of brother-sister twins, Stevie and Ryan. (I realize those names are both gender neutral, but Stevie Shay is the plus-size sister who falls in love with an NHL star in Mile High and Ryan Shay is the NBA super-star brother who falls in love with his sister’s best friend in The Right Move.) This dynamic duo has each other’s backs through everything and love and appreciate their counterpart for exactly who they are and where they are in life. The Windy City Series is the gold-star for sports romance series. I will scream it from the rooftops. Mile High is my personal favorite, but it is most people’s least favorite and then deters them from continuing the series. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do, but if not, don’t stop. Continue with the series!

If you have any beautiful brother-sister relationships on the page (where they just love and support each other with no strings and little to no resentments/burdens attached) please send them my way!

Another no-kidding: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

The novel that inspired the film! This screenplay was co-written by the director Chloe Zhao (who also happened to write and direct the Katrina fav: Nomadland — I love the award season overlaps) and the author of the source material Maggie O’Farrell. Now I never read this novel because even though it’s so beloved, I have historically held no interest in Shakespeare or the plague. Now, I’m rethinking things. I might have to give it a listen.

Best Picture Book Recommendations

To close out week one: Frankenstein

I’m just obsessed with this IMAX poster

Frankenstein, also known as the 2 hours and 29 minutes I had to wonder if I’ve read too many monster romances because I was into the big dangerous monster. (tbh I fluctuated between thinking he was yummy and thinking he reminded me of Ataraxia.) Once the credits rolled and I saw Jacob Elordi’s name, it all made sense. I can’t keep up if he’s a nice guy or not, but let’s just say… I understand why Barry was tempted to drink his bath water. Sue me!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Well duh! But frankly, this was the first novel in high school I remember enjoying annotating and discussing every day in class. (I still have that copy!) Then when Evie Dunmore enlightened me in her League of Extraordinary Women Series that Shelley is the daughter of feminist icon Mary Wollstonecraft, I was sold!

MotherThing by Ainslie Hogarth

In Ainslie Hogarth’s body-horror novel (isn’t that enough for this match up?) she defines a “motherthing” as an inanimate object or person onto which a child projects the need for maternal love and nurturing in the absence of a loving mother. And if there isn’t some trippy father-son projection between Frankie and his monster… maybe I zoned out too much.

Tough Guy by Rachel Reid

I needed a romance because I totally understood Elizabeth’s enthrall with not-so-lil-Frankie, and I was drooling for the “man.” Like I mentioned, there are so many monster and paranormal romance novels that could work (almost anything in the Ruby Dixon catalogue should scratch that itch consensually), but I’m going the relevant route and suggesting the third book in The Game Changers Series (aka Heated Rivalry) and recommending Tough Guy!

Ryan Price and Fabian Salah’s love story has already been teased in the show. In episode 4 Shane and Ilya have a conversation about Ryan Price being different IRL than you’d expect. He’s a big fighter on the ice, and a secret softie after hours. He feels trapped in a box because of his size and skills but when he falls for a dainty lover who brings out the giant’s gentle side, he finds the strength to step out of the box and live the life he really wants. This is my epilogue for Elordi-Monster-Man!

Katrina-specific Association: “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” by Taylor Swift

Honestly ALL the lyrics…

The scandal was contained
The bullet had just grazed
At all costs, keep your good name
You don’t get to tell me you feel bad

…

I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me
You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

…

You caged me and then you called me crazy
I am what I am 'cause you trained me

If you’d like to purchase any of the books mentioned today, please consider supporting your favorite indie bookseller and book blogger ;)

Ataraxia Update: 7 months

Hyper-fixation du jour: The Oscars…

see above.

TBH Part 2 is coming very soon, so the rest of the updates will wait. Here’s the admin stuff

Everything I Read in January

Katrina Peed — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 15:20:27 GMT

My January was filled with challenges, curveballs, and a whole lot of bullshit. When life gives you lemons, disassociate with audiobooks.

“transition” is the word of the month, but metamorphosis is more fun

A romantasy a day keeps the doom-scrolling at bay.

Alchemised by SenLinYu

We have a book that lives up to the hype! This is not a romance. It’s 1000+ pages of devastation with some romance in there despite it all. This book hangover made me want to start my Manacled journey, AND want to go nap on a hammock for a month while to process.

book hangover had me like

Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows #1) by Devney Perry

Is it 2022? Because I’m ALL ABOARD! the Devney Perry train again. I didn’t know she had it in her, but I shouldn’t be surprised. This is fun, angsty, pining, and doesn’t feel like it’s her first foray into the fantasy genre at all. I can’t wait for the next one!

Psycho Fae (Cruel Shiftverse #2) by Jasmine Mas

Being the second in a series, I had a solid idea what I was getting myself into, and it delivered. You can’t take it seriously or it will ruin your day. (It’s written in 2015 girl-boss slang with a dash of trendy-millennial-on-TikTok, but I don’t care.)

There’s a full cast narration which brings the story to another level and helps with the why chose of it all! This series is smut forward, but has an impressive and intriguing world-building and fantasy elements. This chick’s virginity is like freaking boomerang, she can’t get rid of it no matter how hard she throws it away.

The Book of Azrael (Gods & Monsters #1) by Amber Nicole

OH BOY! I am so glad I finally started this series! It’s not going to be my new personality trait, but I am enjoying pretty much every element of it! I am excited to continue with the series even though I’ve heard there are ups and downs to come.

I don’t know that I was obsessed with it enough to have been able to power through physically reading it, but also the audiobook really could have used a second narrator. Don’t get it twisted, Ruthie Bowles CRUSHED IT! but I do think it was hard to swoon full force for this man when his inner monologue was narrated by a woman putting on her deep voice. I want to be down bad for him.

NOTE ON THE ROMANCE: It might be the first truly Enemies to Lovers I’ve ever read!

Bound by Ali Hazelwood

A fun little vampyic illicit affair, but not obsession worthy at all. Only available on audio right now.

Mate (Bride #2) by Ali Hazelwood

Where do I find a were-alpha fated mate for myself?! It’s not anything to obsess over, but I was enthralled from beginning to end, and super invested in the couple. The duet narration... CHEF’S KISS!!!

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

I enjoyed this novella, even with the juvenile tone to the narration. (I understand the choice and think it served the story well, but sometimes in the audiobook format, it annoyed me.)

I appreciated Sandra Cisneros’s introduction and her encouragement to write the stories only you can tell. How to find your voice.

As challenging as it is to read about trauma, Cisneros handles the objectification of growing from a girl to woman brilliantly, and all the blessings and burdens that come along with it.

When the president demands systematic cruelty and the privileged seem desensitized to torture… re-read an old favorite

Listening to both books in one day was an insane experience.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I listened to this in one day and it holds up. I’ve been re-visiting and reading-for-the-first-time many young adult and middle grade series, and this is one of the ones that hits just as hard as an adult. It’s captivating, exciting, and devastating.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I remember this being the best one but I forgot so much of the book. I LOVE it! It might just be a “God-Tier” for me. Holy moly. The book hangover is so real. I was SCREAMING at the end because I’d totally forgotten. So many powerful symbols in this book.

Greek mythology romance and “bodice-rippers” never hurt no one

Tender Cruelty (Dark Olympus #9) by Katee Robert

Zeus and Hera’s book is my favorite in a while for this series. I really just like the characters, and the timing of their relationship is realistic.

Seduce Me At Sunrise (The Hathaways #2) by Lisa Kleypas

scratched an itch. v mediocre. new favorite “grand gesture” unlocked

Hyper-fixation du jour: Viktor&Rolf

Meg, Yiayia, and I went to the Viktor&Rolf exhibit its last weekend at The High Museum of Art. As I spend the next six months in the state of Georgia, I have created a “Bingo card” for my time here and am endeavoring to go on many adventures and see all the state has to offer.

Follow along my weekly side-quests on my resurrected travel instagram Peed There and Everywhere!

Ataraxia Update: 6 months!

My 12 Reads of December

Katrina Peed — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:20:21 GMT

All the rumors are true… I achieved my 2025 reading goal!

I’ll do a recap of all the books I read soon. In the meantime feel free to check out the first 100 books I read this year.

Everyone wish a happy 30th birthday to number one fan of the stack… my (barely younger) baby brother, Alexander Peed <3

Full flex: 12 books in the 12th month feels significant.

While November was strictly “eyeball reads,” December’s reads were exclusively aural.

Shane Hollander understands a thing or two about an aural fixation.

In December I drove from New York to Georgia to New York to Georgia, so there was lots of time for audiobooks. ~~Unfortunately~~, Fantastically, I was joined by my mother for two of the three legs. I love the quality time with Mom, but it shortens the list of possible audiobooks as well and slows the rate at which the narrator can inject the stories into my brain.

Game Changer

Kip & Scott’s love story, AKA episodes 3 & 5 in the HBO Max series. This book is cheesy, corny, insta-love, and just pure-smut, but their relationship is pivotal to every other relationship in this series. Scott Hunter and Kip Grady are the Game Changers. [trigger warning: Kip’s “Brooklyn accent” in the audiobook is painfully atrocious]

Heated Rivalry

Ilya & Shane’s love story that stole the hearts of millions this winter. They are far the best couple in the series, and live rent-free in my mind. I listened to this book first and then did 1, 3, 4,5, & 6. Recommend this order, or only reading their books (2 and 6… then soon to be 7).

Tough Guy

This book is a childhood crushes-to-strangers-to-lovers. Fabian is the gender-fluid performance artist to Ryan’s giant, scary, hockey monster.

Common Goal

Eric Bennett and Kyle Swift’s age-gap romance may be my least favorite of the series, but if you don’t take it too seriously, it’s still a super fun time! We got to meet sweet Kyle in the show already: The Kingfisher’s bartender!

And I am shocked that we didn’t get to meet Eric, as he’s the soon-to-retire goal tender on Scott Hunter’s team. One of my favorite random tropes is front and center here, SUITOR TUTOR!

Role Model

Before Heated Rivalry hit our screens last year, I had already purchased the kindle version of this book, but never got around to reading it. Troy Barrett and Wyatt Hayes are my favorite couple after Hollanov. Troy is a super-closeted, super-angry defenseman blacklisted by the league for turning on his assaulter bff, and Wyatt is the rainbows-and-sunshine, out-and-proud, social media manager for his new team. HIS NEW TEAM CAPTAINED BY ILYA GRIGORYEVICH ROZANOV.

The Long Game

This is the best book in the series. The beginning pissed me off and made me think it was going to suck, but then UGH. Ilya Rozanov owns my heart. Shane’s autism and OCD is omnipresent through the series, but this book is when we drown in Ilya’s depression and you know that’s my JAM, BREAD, AND BUTTER!

I cannot wait for Unrivaled!

Continuing with the sports romance theme

Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey - 2.5 stars

The first 2/3 were soooo good, like TOP SHELF TESSA BAILEY, and then the final act ruined it all and cemented my assertion that Tessa Bailey’s book couples have the highest rates of divorce.

Then the country started going to Hell in a hand basket even faster so I turned to fantasy worlds to escape. Starting with Callie Hart’s

Quicksilver and Brimstone - both 4 stars

These romantasy reads have mixed (extreme) receptions. I’ve really enjoyed them and have recommended them to other fantasy romance readers. I am eager to go back and re-listen to them before the third (could be years from now).

Is it even the holiday season if you don’t consume a couple Christmas romances?

The Nightmare before Kissmas by Sara Raasch - 3 stars

This has all the makings of a classic holiday movie:
-Royals
-A corrupt Santa
-Magic in peril
-Winter themed games and competitions
-Opposites attract
-Forbidden Royal Romance

I thought this was really cute and fun. Someone said it was a "silly and gay," and that's exactly what it was! I think I'm just aging out of new adult romance. No offense, but Cole had the personality of every snarky, bi teen boy I've ever read. I wish there was more Hex.

It was spicy, which was fun. But I just didn't give a hoot about the holiday politics.

Good Spirits by B.K. Borison - 3 stars

A+ holiday romance for originality, fun, spirit, and spice!

Claire Keegan does it again

Foster by Claire Keegan - 5 stars

Mom and I listened to this novella/short story in the car, and I was crying through Virginia. It was quietly moving, and I cannot recommend it enough.

BONUS BOOK!

I realize I missed one in November. (It was that forgettable.)

Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage - 3 stars

The final installment in the Rebel Blue Ranch series, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Interesting story and romance and so much pining, but also meh. Not meh, just whatever.

Ataraxia Update:

I have come back and forth so much to this piece that she’s grown a million years. But she is officially 6 months old, and officially a denizen of Georgia. She misses the city and her sister.

Hyper-fixation du jour: Opalite Music Video

Where the hell have you been, loca?

Katrina Peed — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 15:20:25 GMT

Hello, my beautiful, bibliophile besties! Peed’s Reads has been MIA, but I don’t want anyone to think I’ve gone away.

My plate has been over-served, and to put it corporately, I haven’t had the bandwidth for weekly updates here.

TBH, these New Moon references are perfect because Bella’s November-December looks a lot like mine has.

Fortunately, I haven’t been in a major depressive episode after being ghosted by a centagenarian vampire, but I have spent all of my spare time clad in sweats, in my room, with greasy hair…

…because I’ve been applying to graduate schools!

yay me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share that on here, but it’s important to me that you know this cozy corner of the internet wasn’t a flight of fancy, nor something I’m slowly abandoning, I’ve just been super preoccupied writing other shit.

Thanks for reading Peed's Reads (even when I’m inconsistent)! This post is public so feel free to share it with a friend! (I’m thirsty)

I’ve never written so much in my life. It’s not some big revelation that when you’re applying to graduate writing programs, the application process will require lots of writing, but also… it’s a lot of writing y’all. For the last month I’ve been cranking out essays, scenes, and film treatments constantly. It has been oddly reaffirming in my decision to pursue this pivot, but between these applications, working full time (with an hour commute), and having two kittens in the home undergoing all their major first year of life veterinary care, pretty much everything that is not on my time card, applications, or cat-related has been neglected.

Just like my blog, social life, and crafting time has been impacted, so has my reading it seems. Because I only finished two books in November… (the biggest gag is that both of these were read with my eyeballs!) ZERO AUDIOBOOKS!

So without further ado…

Everything I Read in November

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde

3.5 stars

The final book in my beloved Windy City Series, Rio’s love story was as unputdownable as all the others. I loved reading it, but I just wasn’t obsessed with it like I was the other books. (Liz Tomforde’s romances are elite, and as a result I hold them to a higher standard than other contemporary romances.) This one was just way too cheesy for me.

“A second chance romance for people who hate second chance romances.” - Larry Reads

Rio had more personality in his other books. And sorry not sorry, his mom sucks!!! There’s a codependency between them that is ridiculously unhealthy on top of her emotional immaturity. Really she fell in love with some boy in the neighborhood as a kid then decided she didn’t need to mature for the rest of her life.

My favorite thing about these books is the tempo! Even though they’re 400+ pages and often have conflicts or subplots that irritate me, she never lingers on them and we move through everything efficiently. Impressive in this genre!

Side thesis: It hurts to see dynamic main characters become two dimensional side characters in inter-connected standalones.
I first noticed this phenomenon in Jill Shalvis’s Heartbreaker Bay series (ugh I miss that series). But Liz Tomforde’s strength is her character development and the depth of romantic relationships she crafts, and it seems like once their book ends, so does anything remarkable about that character.
This scene included all of the characters from the series and leaned hard into the found family elements because it is the final book in the series, but I fear it was to the detriment of the series. Instead of the relatable, tender moments I held close with each of her main characters, I’m left with a stale caricature aftertaste for each.
The whole friend group gave me the ick and that makes me so angry. But tbh if I knew these people irl, I’d hate them. For the love of God, someone please give Indy a Lexapro. The only almost-interesting thing was getting to see Ryan Shay fanboy.

Needless to say my thoughts are conflicted on this one. I both loved and couldn’t stand it?

The Anti-Hero by Sara Cate

3 stars

AKA the book that finally made me order a privacy screen for my kindle. I continued the momentum from Rewind It Back to keep reading daily on my subway commute. All Aboard: the KU smut express!

In typical smutty fashion, we follow a preacher’s son and a wannabe sex club owner embark in a fake relationship where they post spicy content online in an effort to enrage his violent, homophobic, bully of a father.

Overall I enjoyed this and couldn’t put it down, but I was far from obsessed and honestly didn’t particularly love either main character. What I did love was Sara Cate’s writing style, per usual

Hyper-fixation du jour: ROAD TRIPS!

Ataraxia and I are roadtrippin’ it together from New York to Georgia for the holidays! Wish us luck.

Ataraxia Update: 18-20 weeks

I can’t believe she’s still growing so much every day. She is now fully vaccinated, spayed, microchipped, and ready to party!!!

Currently Reading: You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

Currently Listening: The Game Changers Series by Rachel Reid
Currently Binging: The Game Changers Series by Rachel Reid
On Repeat: The Game Changers Series by Rachel Reid

“Main Character Energy”: Did you not catch how I decided to rent a car and drive from New York to Georgia in a day with my kitten just because I have a big ass picture frame that needs to be relocated?

Secret Santa Survival Books (a.k.a. My Last-Minute Gift Stash)

Katrina Peed — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:20:14 GMT

I love holiday shopping. Each year money becomes irrelevant and I go crazy filling carts for all my loved ones.

If you’re anything like me, you keep a note in your phone all year and write down your ideas and purchases for holiday gifts, but come December you scramble and still need so many more gifts for people. No need to get your yolks in a scramble, I have a solution. Pick up some of these books and keep them on hand for any last minute gift needs.

Find these recommendations, and more, linked in my bookshop.org storefront!

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For your dad who still brags about reading Game of Thrones

The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas or The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros.

These are also great for late teen and early twenties readers falling off the reading wagon.

My dad may love to complain about the “16 page kisses” (if his font wasn’t so big he wouldn’t have that problem), but don’t let him fool you. He loves these fantasy worlds, and having a common interest has been beneficial for our relationship.

You don’t have to buy box sets. You can just buy Throne of Glass and The Assassin’s Blade or just Fourth Wing.

For the matriarchs closer to burnout than retirement

Have you met ?

Em Hen is the only author without fail that will keep my mom in her room all weekend after release day. For a woman whose comfort zone is typically 30% of a nonfiction or some cozy audiobook she got in a Chirp deal, she goes hard for our lit-fic-feeling-rom-com queen.

This year’s release was Great Big Beautiful Life. This novel might be a bit boring for our peers (I still gave it 5 stars), but perfect for moms who will then eagerly discuss the tabloid royalties of their day with you.

People We Meet on Vacation is one of my all-time favorite novels and it’s her first page to screen adaptation to release. Coming to Netflix January 9th, the film adaptation was written by QUEEN (author of How to End a Love Story) and stars the beloved Emily Bader & Tom Blyth.

For your other loved ones who get off on “being in the know”

These are some books coming to the big screen in the next year.

The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis and Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - are two classics being adapted by some of my favorite filmmakers. Greta Gerwig is directing the newest Narnia adaptation; her Little Women adaptation remains one of my favorites to date. Dolly Alderton is writing the new 6 part mini-series for Pride & Prejudice. As a lover of both the 1995 BBC mini-series and the 2005 feature film, I cannot wait to have more Bennett sisters in my life. (I highly suggest the audible narration by Rosamund Pike.)

Sense and Senibility by Jane Austen - While we’re on the Jane train, there’s a new Sense and Sensibility coming to the screen starring our girl Daisy Edgar Jones!

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood and Every Summer After by Carley Fortune are two of my favorite contemporary romance novels and both are heading to the big screen next year. My aunt reads a romance a day but only on KU because that’s an expensive hobby. So maybe I’ll gift her two of my favorite trad published romances so she can be “in the know” next year.

Lili Reinhart kept us fed with content during production this year.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden - for the thriller loving MAGA-sympathizers in your life, give them an insight to Sydney Sweeney’s next flop. I’ve heard great things about this thriller, but unfortunately have had a very low success rate with Freida.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - This titles has topped my TBR for years. I’ve heard this is actually so good and everyone would love it. Ryan Gosling stars in the film set to hit theaters March 20, 2026. Need I say more?

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell - a vey popular book I had no interest in until Paul Mescal was cast as the lead

The Favorites by Layne Fargo - I hated Wuthering Heights, but am stoked for the film because Emerald Fennell, Margot Robbie, & Jacob Elordi. The Favorites was a very popular lit fic last year and is allegedly a contemporary Wuthering Heights retelling. So while I could never recommend Emily Brontë in good faith, I will recommend this trendy 400+ page fiction that will scratch my Tessa Virtue-Scott Moir itch.

Verity, Reminders of Him, or Regretting You by Colleen Hoover - I am not shy about sharing my aversion to Colleen Hoover and her novels, but it’s nothing to laugh at that she dominates the best seller list and outsold the bible in print copies in 2022. People love her tragedy-porn dramatic “love” stories, and I non-ironically appreciate that

Other adaptations include Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Christopher Nolan’s next blockbuster, an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation for Netflix of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson (adapted by Julia Roberts and James Gray), You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle starring Meghann Fahy and Penn Badgley, and of course the new Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins.

For the burgeoning readers in your life

The City Spies series by James Ponti - a middle-grade spy novel series that I am obsessed with. As someone reading books written for 10 year olds in her thirties… Percy Jackson’s Olympians has nothing on Mother and her foster kids from around the world. (I’m currently trying to get my dad to listen to these because he will love them.)

The Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman - I love these graphic novels SOOOO MUCH! I think these are perfect for readers between 15 and 35.

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter - think groundhogs day but make it Valentine’s Day. It gives major Rory and Jess vibes and is perfect for all the high school girls in your life.

A Million Junes by Emily Henry - This young adult, magical realism, contemporary re-telling of Romeo and Juliet is my go to high school graduation gift. I despise Romeo and Juliet re-tellings, but I love this one.

Scoop these now so you’re stocked for all your surprise holiday party needs!

Shop Now

Hyper-fixation du jour: Royal Icing

I used Sally’s Baking Addiction’s recipe and received rave reviews for my Wicked-themed cookies this Thanksgiving. I have plenty of room for improvement, but am excited to continue on this journey.

Ataraxia Update: 16 weeks

Baby girl is growing up so fast. She is bonding with Papa Peed as we speak.

Lily Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, & books that'll help you disassociate

Katrina Peed — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 15:20:53 GMT

‘Tis the damn season. The ~~regimes~~ leaves are changing. Sweaters are coming out from the backs of drawers. Festive decor switches like clock work the first of every month. It’s fall y’all!

Now more than ever, I find myself collapsing into homebody habits and craving my creature comforts. When I overanalyze it — and I do — I come up with many reasons. But as the most basic bitch on the block, I know this has gotta be a trend and not a unique experience.

If you too find yourself trending toward the indoor cat life this autumn, I have some book recommendations for you. Give me an excuse, and I’ll give you a book recommendation.

Last year I did a whole series of autumnal book recommendations. (You know it was jam-packed with bookish fun, because that’s the series that resulted in a call from my [then number one reader] Papouli to call and say “you’re asking a lot of your readers, making the articles this long.”)

So give me your excuse to stay inside, and I’ll give you a book recommendation.

(Lily Allen and Kelsea Ballerini have both released music rencently that is giving me life. Go listen right now.)

“I would… but I need to feed my sourdough starter”

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

I mean he’s a chef so like he’d always approve staying home in the kitchen. This gender-swapped When Harry Met Sally is my current read. It’s sooo New York and so millennial. I’m really enjoying it so far, and all the allusions to the original film. I’m only like 15% in right now and am already struck with how imperfect the main characters are. If you’re looking for A+ chemistry without lots of on page ~intimacy,~ this recommendation is for you!

“It’s too cold out there…”

All four books are currently available on Kindle Unlimited

The Goode Brothers series by Sara Cate

This KU series is guaranteed to warm you up when the temperatures drop.
I just read the first book, The Anti-Hero, and immediately came back for more. The second book, The Home-Wrecker, is my current listen. These books are not going to change your life, but Sara Cate’s thoughtful writing and character development makes it that much easier to devour her salacious, soup-opera plots.

The Anti-Hero

⁃ Preacher’s Son 🤝 Wannabe Sex Club Owner
⁃ Fake dating
⁃ Physical before feelings
⁃ Cam-ing
⁃ Think of it as a vengeful, straight, For The Fans
⁃ Abusive father
⁃ On page VIOLENCE (not between the couple)

The Home-Wrecker

⁃ Married Couple 🤝 Younger Sex Worker
⁃ Marriage in crisis
⁃ Soft fertility struggle plot line

Thanks for reading Peed's Reads! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Emily Henry

“Emily Henry Summers” is a thing, but her stories are evergreen.

Emily Henry vibes = Nora Ephron vibes
Nora Ephron vibes = fall
Ipso Facto… Emily Henry vibes = fall 🤷🏼‍♀️

Particularly autumnal romance novels by Emily Henry include Funny Story (my SIL literally calls it “recession romance”), Great Big Beautiful Life, Book Lovers, & Beach Read.

@lyssielooloo We’re in this together 😭

But her OG young adult novels SCREAM fall. I highly recommend picking up A Million Junes and When the Sky Fell on Splendor if you haven’t already. (The Love that Split the World is still on my TBR)

The Hollywood Reporter’s A Guide to Emily Henry’s Book Adaptations

And of course! My personal favorite People We Meet on Vacation is super summer coded, but the film starring Emily Bader & Tom Blyth hits Netflix in January, so what better time to crack it open?

“My cats get lonely”

Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

“Would you love me if I was a worm?” Proof women love men the more they get to know them and men love women less the more they get to know them. 🪱 theory in action.

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This magical realism, extended metaphor for chronic and terminal illness is moving and guaranteed to worm its way into your thoughts for months after you’ve read the last page. It’s a love story not a romance.

“Q4 is crunch time for my reading goal”

All 5 books are currently available on Kindle Unlimited

The Windy City Series by Liz Tomforde

Widely accepted as the best sports romance series, I cannot recommend Liz Tomforde’s Chicago set love stories enough. These books are guaranteed slump-busters. With 5 published books, this is a complete series (with bonus stories to come). It always took me a long time to pick up each book, but then I could not put them down. (The Right Move being the exception in the great slump of 2023.)

My unpopular opinion is Evan “Zee” Zanders of Mile High fame being my favorite. But I guess that just means he can be my real book boyfriend. Call me old school, but I’m a monogamist. Liz serves the character development and scorching chemistry to warrant her elevated page counts.

“I’d rather honor fall foliage indoors… with my own leaves”

Emily St. John Mandel

Who needs to go outside to see the leaves change when you can just smoke them in your apartment. Emily St. John Mandel’s vivid, hypothetical realities read like a stoned thought experiment. Definitely recommend reading or listening to these sober, but maybe lace the book club brownies for the discussion. (I need to emphasize, these are really good books. Like so “good” I recommended them to my yiayia and she loved them. Iykyk)

Her big 3: Station 11, The Glass Hotel, & Sea of Tranquility

Recommended reading order is publication order, but I’m going backwards [on accident] and it’s been fine so far. Also Sea of Tranquility might be her best, so the perfect entry point if speculative fiction isn’t your comfort genre.

Give a gift subscription

“It’s expen$ive outside”

for my birthday I treated myself to two books at The Ripped Bodice, this adorable edition of Persuasion being one of them.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

I’m so thankful for the $200 from Aunt Kathy, but it only goes so far. Recommending a classic is the epitome of “we have that at home.” No need to go out and buy a new book when Jane Austen’s novels have been feeding us for years. I haven’t read Persuasion yet, but fully intend for it to be my Austen of the year. And based on the synopsis it seems to be about a family downsizing to save money… in this economy — say less. (Orange you glad this wasn’t just an excuse for a purr-pun?)

Falling into a fantasy world is the best coping mechanism when your country is falling into fascism

Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Papa Peed has finished all 3 Sarah J Maas series and is having withdrawals and honestly I’m in need of some good old fashioned fae-escapism. He and I are starting Quicksilver by Callie Hart. I’ve been told this is a fun fae/alchemy fantasy world — even if it’s not a five star beloved. And there are only two books out! Wish us luck 🤞🏻

Available for iOS and Android

Hyper-fixation du jour: widows

I’m not talking about surviving wives or spiders. I’m talking about the pesky little straggler words isolated on their own line with no company but a punctuation mark.

(Can you tell I’m in grad school application hell?)

Honorable mention—Belinda ;) iykyk

Ataraxia Update: 15 weeks

This week Ataraxia & Poppy finally met their Theo Alexander. Their spay appointments were scheduled for this morning but had to be rescheduled at the last minute due to an emergency on the vet’s end. Their uteri live to see another day.

Everything I read in October

Katrina Peed — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 15:20:37 GMT

As far as reading goes… I’d give October 2025

did I do that right?

It was grand, the Irish way. (I recently learned that in Ireland when someting’s “grand” it’s fine not great.)

The headliner is HOFAS

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas

4 stars | hardcover & ebook & audiobook (& graphic audio)

Shop Indie | Kindle

t only took twenty and a half months, but I finally finished the third installment of the Crescent City series. Even though I had to put it down for about a year halfway through, it reaffirmed that this is my favorite fantasy series. The web of characters is in a league of its own and I am on the edge of my seat.

Read My Review

I hurried to finish because Papa Peed has been plowing throught he SJM-universe and I barely beat him by a week. Yes, he has read all of Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City in six months.

An underrated romantasy series

Filthy Rich Fae: Fallen Court by Geneva Lee

4 stars | audiobook

Shop Indie | Kindle (included with Kindle Unlimited right now)

Fun I think? I listened so fast that it’s kind of fuzzy. I love how easy and enjoyable these books have been to listen to. Lee deserves a standing ovation for not dragging out the central couple’s separation in this book. She would have been justified in a New Moon type split of the characters, but she knows what makes this story compelling. As such, I will definitely continue with the series.

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I love reading about my romance heroes being down bad for our heroines, but there is a line between fantasy and delusional.

Giddy on giddy-up romances

Lyla Sage continued to be my salvation for an unending audiobook listening slump

Swift and Saddled (Rebel Blue Ranch #2) by Lyla Sage

3 stars | audiobook

Shop Indie | Kindle

Fun and steamy but the suspension of disbelief that this is what men’s inner-monologues are is too far. I love reading about my romance heroes being down bad, but there is a line between fantasy and delusional.

if you haven’t watched The Wrong Paris on Netflix yet… 10/10 recommend

Lost and Lassoed (Rebel Blue Ranch #2) by Lyla Sage

3 stars | audiobook

Shop Indie | Kindle

I totally understand why this is a lot of people’s favorite; I really enjoyed it. The communication and mutual attracting/admiration/criticism was immaculate. The age gap worked for the current ages but for the flashback scene to when “he first noticed her as a woman” was a bit ick. But, you know me: I love me a single dad and fire-hearted woman.

Spooky Season Musts (aka I finished Amazon’s Scared Sexy collection)

ya girl loves a theme

Space Vampire by Ruby Dixon

3 stars | audiobook (prime reading so free with an Amazon Prime membership)

One of my favorite in this group of novellas. But I just Ruby Dixon alien romances. and it’s literally in the Ice Planet Barbarian universe <3

Beautiful Nightmare by Katee Robert

2 stars | audiobook (prime reading so free with an Amazon Prime membership)

This novella is just perverted Monsters Inc. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot! But like meh for me. It is very Katee Robert, so obviously I liked it, but I was far from obsessed.

Hyper-fixation du jour: Ataraxia

Need I say more?

Currently Reading: You, Again by Kate Goldbek (tbh I just finished my last read last night and think I want to do this next for an autumnal read, but tbd… have you read it? Should I read it next? All I know is it’s a contemporary When Harry Met Sally and fall in New York.) There is a solid chance I just continue with The Goode Brothers Series and jump into The Home-Wrecker.

Currently Listening: Alone with you in the Ether by Olivie Blake (possibly a new favorite book…)

Current Book Club Book: The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward

Currently Binging: Murder, She Wrote season 10 (a correction because I mistakenly said season 11 last week)

On Repeat: Perrie by Perrie and THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! by JADE (the Little Mix girlies really do be killing it)

Crafting Obsession: coloring. I’ve gotten super into coloring. It’s a problem.

@talkofthetownsends Send this to your fun friend

Bringing the Fun into 31

Katrina Peed — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:20:29 GMT

I saw online this “dinner party topic” that a person can either be fun or she can be funny, but she can’t be both. Naturally that got under my skin immediately.

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Naturally this reignited my whole crisis of character that I’ve just recently been able to put to rest, “My family doesn’t think I’m funny.” Remember when I realized I have Daddy-Issues after-all, but not the “normal” ones that have me seeking male attention and validation in unhealthy ways, rather just needing to convince everyone around me that I’m hilarious because my own father thinks I need to carry around a “laugh now” sign so he can tell when I’m attempting a joke?

Well after stewing on this “phenomenon” (the fun OR funny paradox) for a couple months, I’ve accepted I’m in the fun camp. And I’m okay with that. And if that means I end up with a “funny” partner, all the better!

All of this to say, this birthday month, I’ve leaned in hard-core to the fun lifestyle. It’s already the end of October and I have no idea how that happened. I feel like this month has been a wash: I’ve gotten nothing done I wanted to, and it feels like I wasted so much precious time. But when I look back at the month I realize it’s actually been jam-packed and incredibly productive, just in unpredictable ways.

“not a lot going on at the moment”

Seriously though. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been able to maintain my typical Peed’s Reads cadence, and I didn’t realize how grounding this blog is for me and my routine. (Love y’all more than you’ll ever know.)

In the last 31 days I’ve…

turned 31!
taken 4 plane rides
adapted to becoming a full time [cat] mom
attended 2 beautiful weddings (in Georgia and California)
visited an old friend “upstate”
thrown a talent show birthday party (more on this fabulous bullshit later)
resuscitated my fiddle leaf fig
gotten a new piercing
made home-made butter and buttermilk for the first time
started my sourdough starter
caught up with cousins irl (from both sides of the family)
wrapped on my latest 8 month project
landed my next show (as a true second, iykyk)
fell hard and skinned the shit out of my knee (27 days later and it’s still healing)
attended a book club, 4 doctors appointments, and 2 vet appointments
rid our girls of THREE parasites (become a stool sample collecting wiz)
cleaned out my dryer vent
made two phone charm chains
Power-lunched with my brother at the top of the World Trade Center on my birthday

& that’s showbiz baby.

Thanks for reading Peed's Reads! This post is public so feel free to share it.

The show must go on…

I’m sure I’ll have a whole post dedicated to my birthday party, but I fear we started a tradition with this Birthday of a Showgirl. 25 friends came out and performed 17 different acts for the crowd. It was the most absurd party I’ve ever thrown, but every single friend passed the vibe test!

And no award show is complete without an opening monologue, awkward host transitions, an in absentia presentation, a dance break, and of course awards!

Naturally we let Robert Wagner and Marina Sampanes kick off the award presentation, and then the 12 awards ranged from “The Eugene Levy Award for Best in Show” to the “Olivia Rodrigo Award for Guts.” The judges struggled deliberating because all 25 performers really left it all on the main stage.

10/10 recommend making your friends get up on stage and perform for you for your next birthday celebration.

I’ll be back with your regularly scheduled programming (book recommendations) before you know it. But I wanted to provide a little peek into what’s been keeping my time and attention offline recently.

I will say, I finally finished House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3) by Sarah J. Maas and now the obsession is as alive as ever. Papa Peed just finished as well and has now read the entirety of the SJM universe (that random Catwoman book excluded) so we’ll have to do a Papa Peed’s Reads soon!

I will say Liz Tomforde strikes again and is the ultimate slump breaker! Rewind It Back (Windy City #5) is so good and all I want to be doing at all times!

Lyla Sage (a fellow Greek?) has been the perfect audiobook slump breaker for me as of late. I haven’t been obsessed with the Rebel Blue Ranch series, but I’m so glad I listened to it with my earholes and didn’t read it with my eyeballs. I’m now on the fourth and final book of that series Wild and Wrangled and similar to Liz T’s sports romance, I find my brain constantly wanting to go back to this small town romance world she’s created.

Hyper-fixation du jour: My sourdough Era

I’ve been reading and watching videos about it non-stop.

I don’t want to jinx it, but my starter (that I’m creating myself) is way ahead of the curve. Does that mean my apartment is extra hospitable to bacteria and fermentation? sure. But that’s what we call finding a silver lining!

Emily Lewis is my new obsession/mentor!

I’m getting so many fixings and already offering to be multiple people’s weekly bread sources across boroughs which will be challenging once I start this show, but whatever!

Currently Reading: Rewind it Back (Windy City #5) by Liz Tomforde

Currently Listening: Wild and Wrangled (Rebel Blue Ranch #4) by Lyla Sage

Current Book Club Book: The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward

Currently Binging: Murder, She Wrote season 11

On Repeat: The Life of a Showgirl still

Crafting Obsession: coloring & making beaded phone wristlets

“Main Character Energy”: Do you not remember that I rented a venue and produced a three hour talent show for my 31st birthday party? Oh but I also went solo to a wedding in California where I basically didn’t know anyone and befriended a man who might have lived in the same freshman dorm room as my brother (years earlier) and he called me “basically a gay man” so like my life peaked.

Everything I read in September

Katrina Peed — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 14:20:28 GMT

September was a busy month. So while my reading had to take a backseat (still finished 10 titles), I was fulfilled in nearly every other way!

3 strong recommends

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

5 stars | audiobook

Shop Local | Amazon

My New York book club unanimously agreed this is the best book we’ve read together.

The Gentleman’s Gambit (A League of Extraordinary Women #4) by Evie Dunmore

4 stars | hardcover, ebook, & a touch of audio

Shop Local | Amazon | BOTM

A perfect conclusion to the steamy suffrage series.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

4 stars | audiobook

Shop Local | Amazon

Ugh. Liane Moriarty. Thank you. I so enjoyed this book, but not in an easily explainable way. It was a clever way to write about mortality, life expectancy, and the precious gift that is our time on this planet.

Something that stood out to me, was her use of citing various statistics, studies, phenomena, and general non-fiction-esque data dumps. Many of which I was already aware of, but several were new to me. It felt relatable in the way she tied them in to the story. Again, it’s challenging for me to put my thoughts into words with regards to the story structure.

I found myself getting really invested in some of the characters’ lives (the grieving 30 year old dude living with the heiress, Allegra the flight attendant, Cherry some of the time) and I really couldn’t care less about some of them (the married couple and the OCD mum). But I even liked those sometimes. So many details came together beautifully and it was a realistic (in my opinion) portrayal of how small the world really is.

It’s such a unique book, I really think I’d only recommend it to fans of Liane Moriarty, because I’m not sure how to describe it or prescribe it outside of her world.

Thanks for reading Peed's Reads! This post is public so feel free to share it.

3 to put On Hold at your library

I’m glad I listened to each of these when I did and think you should give them a shot if they speak to you. But maybe just borrow from the library; I wouldn’t spend money on any of these.

Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch #1) by Lyla Sage

3 stars | audiobook

Shop Local | Amazon

A fun yee-haw romance, but ultimately too insta-lovey and insignificant to be a standout.

What I loved:
-the ADHD rep
-nothing really pissed me off

(strong recommend this romantic comedy on Netflix)

Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen

3 stars | audiobook

Shop Local | Amazon

This was the perfect lighthearted audiobook to listen to while running errands for my brother’s wedding weekend. But overall, it was extremely mid. I’d only recommend this to readers who are new to the romance genre.

Just Pervs by Jess Taylor

3 stars | audiobook

Shop Local | Amazon

What was I expecting from a book called “Just Pervs?” Honestly, this book is an awesome little weirdo, just slightly off brand of my personal line of weirdo.

Starting Off Spooky Season Spicy

Amazon’s Scared Sexy Series (steamy novellas from your favorite authors, no KU membership required. ebooks and audioboks are available for free to anyone with a Prime Membership)

Falling by Christina Lauren

3.5 stars | audiobook

When a random (really hot hook up) at a Halloween party leads to breaking the centuries-long curse of a fallen angel… worse novellas have been enjoyed by me. I still like Christina Lauren’s Valentines Day novella for Amazon better than this one, but I this is the standout from this series.

Moment of silence for them writing a male POV where he earnestly yearns for a woman dressed as a sheep…

Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood

3 stars | audiobook

Scratched my Buffy the Vampire Slayer itch. But this time she’s the vamp, and he’s her designated slayer. They’ve been playing cat and mouse for centuries and this novella is when they finally get together thanks to some convenient head-trauma-induced amnesia a la Overboard.

Working centuries of foreplay into the less than 100 page love story was Ali flexing on her novella game, but something didn’t quite click for me with this one and that bummed me out big time. It’s okay, if i really want a hot vampyre book from Ali, she just released Mate yesterday.

Spicy Little Curses by J.T. Geissinger

3 stars | audiobook

This one has the most interesting plot. It could be produced into a full low-budget, highly-watched Netflix Rom-Com the best. She’s an investigative journalist in New Orleans looking into some magic shit and he’s this magic tattoo artist.

The details are fuzzy, but it’s a fun ride. I’d just develop the romantic storyline (particularly on his side) more fully!

My Boyfriends Are All Monsters by Kimberly Lemming

3 stars | audiobook

A fun and sassy little monster romance, but be prepared for 0 to 100. Or more like -20 to 200!

These are the books I read in September. I have several I’m hoping to hit in October, so let’s see if I have more luck reading this month.

What did you read in September? Do you have any recommendations for our book club to read next?

Hyper-fixation du jour: The Life of a Showgirl

Least surprising revelation of the day. My feelings about this album have gone all over the place. Yes I’m a Tortured Poets Department / folklore / evermore girl to my core, but what I love about this album is I think it is the most elevated lyrics and storytelling of her pop-forward albums! (Well this and Midnights.)

So is it going to be my long-term favorite album? Probably not. But do I finally have Taylor Swift certified BOPS to play at my wedding reception? Finally!

At midnight I took notes on all my first listens and had so much fun with the lyrics and vibes of the songs! Please reach out for a song by song debrief! (Or maybe it can be a future post here too)

Currently Reading: House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas

Currently Listening: Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Current Book Club Book: Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

Currently Binging: Wednesday on Netflix and Love Island Games on Peacock. Belinda and I are watching together with our cats. We watched season 1 of Wednesday last week, and this week’s season two.

On Repeat: The Life of a Showgirl duh I really think The Fate of Ophelia is one of her best music videos!

“Main Character Energy”: I had a pretty hard fall last week and scraped up my knee real bad. But the next day sweet three-year-old Scarlett gave me a Baby Shark Band-Aid so our boo-boos could match so that did make it feel a lot better!

You may call me Mother

Katrina Peed — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:20:22 GMT

ajeKNwuMQhuvaMKASmHnOmVrXdfythjbIOKnkajeiHADFjkSKasdfOBVAncaKjd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The mush that comes out of my brain when asked about my new cat. It’s a full-body joy and excitement I haven’t felt since I was a kid and it was my turn at bat under the piñata. There are no words. I am happy. Cat’s are great. Kittens are angels on earth. Words fail me.

So I got a cat.

Well we got kittens. My roommate and best friend, Belinda and I have adopted to kitten sisters from the same litter. Our incredible, inspiring, one-of-a-kind friend Alice rescued a feral kitten and her 7 kitten litter in August. She nursed them back to health and got them all in fighting shape and found their forever homes in less than 8 weeks.

On Sunday, she drove our sweet babies from her home in New Jersey to ours in Brooklyn, and we became the last two of the 8 to go home. Upon their arrival, we chose to double down on the trauma and administer their first ever baths. I’m very proud of how well they handled it. We all came away scratched, soaked, and shaking, but none perished (other than the many fleas) and we bonded all the better for it.

After our babies first blowouts, we made them comfy little burritos and bonded for hours on the couch. Can’t you see how they just stole our hearts.

Both of these sweet girls weigh-in under two pounds. But don’t let that fool you. Even though they can hardly jump, they can climb and play and pounce with the best of them.

Now they are eight weeks old and about to have their first vet appointment! Send us good vibes.

Thanks for reading! Know any other new cat moms? I’d love to connect. Send them this article!

Ataraxia is a unique name, I know.

My friend Erin did worry she’d be bullied in school with a name like Ataraxia, but I’m hoping it’ll build her resilience and thick skin. I am encouraging people to call her whatever they’d like from “Ataraxia” to “Roxi” or “Atty.” Papa Peed has already declared he’s calling her “Rax” and I love the rapport he’s building over 800 miles away.

my strong girl bursting with personality

Ataraxia is a specific inner-peace.

Central in many Ancient Greek philosophies, ataraxia often translates to “unperturbedness," “imperturbability,” “equanimity,” or “tranquility.” It also happens to be the name of the magic sword made by Nesta in A Court of Silver Flames, one of my favorite books and one of my favorite characters of all times.

Nesta with Ataraxia - art by mystery.artistz

Like Nesta (and her sword), I want my girl to be strong, brave, and fierce. She’ll be a loyal girls’ girl if it kills me. And if she has some abrasive “bitchiness,” I will not be disappointed.

Ataraxia, has also been described as the ideal mental state for soldiers to enter battle. Over the course of 784 pages, Nesta must face her inner daemons, shames, and judgements from others in order to find any semblance of inner-piece. Does she become a badass Valkyrie in the process? Hell yeah she does! I haven’t shared a lot about it on here, but I sense major transitions coming in my life. I’ve been feeling untethered and uncertain. The idea of getting a cat washed me in waves a calm. I was not anticipating.

my partner in crime for the next 10-20 years (Gods willing)

When Belinda and I decided to adopt kittens rather spontaneously, instead of panic, it brought me peace. Yes, I was terrified to tell my parents, but I also was determined and knew I wasn’t going to let them talk me out of this. I just had to tell them something they wouldn’t approve of and get over it.

(y’all already know all about that fateful night)

All of the sudden the idea of moving across the country without a job (again) wasn’t anxiety inducing at all. Nor the thought of enrolling in a full time graduate program that costs a lot of money and guarantees no job security. Let’s be so for real, even the thought of moving home to reevaluate my career because the industry to which I’ve dedicated my professional life has deserted its workforce, doesn’t sound so bad with Ataraxia by my side. I’m the first to admit I used to judge girlies that got dogs as people “who just don’t know how to be alone.” But why brave it all alone just to say you did?

Will I have to find pet-friendly housing for the next 20 years? Yes. Will I have to budget the time and money for cat-sitters for all future getaways? You-betcha. But I’ll also have a partner in crime for all of my crazy shenanigans and “main character behavior” moments. Ataraxia is such a “act first, deal with the consequences later” personality and I need more of that in my life if I want to live the kind of life I’ve dreamed.

Are you too a crazy cat lady?

Let me know! I’ve been watching kitten adoption YouTube videos in my spare time because I crave these babies when we’re apart. Give me all your favorites!

Hyper-fixation du jour: cats

Okay we missed it. I had a solid 2 weeks hyper-hyper-fixated on my brother’s wedding (wasn’t that pre-scheduled content seamless?!) But we’ll have to circle back to that, because right now, it’s all about the CATS!

Update Alley:

Currently Reading: House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3) by Sarah J Maas

Currently Listening: Swift and Saddled (Rebel Blue Ranch #2) by Lyla Sage

Just Finished Binging: English Teacher (season 2) It’s coming out week to week on FX, but the full season is on Hulu! IT’S SO GOOD!

Currently Craving: The Life of a Showgirl - 13 hours and 40 minutes…!

Currently Procrastinating: purging. I need to do a big purge of my shit in the apartment.