Bogormen

Title: Last Night (a.k.a. Just Last Night)
Author: Mhairi McFarlane
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 406
Date read: October, 2021

Eve, Justin, Susie, and Ed have been friends since they were teenagers. Now in their thirties, the four are as close as ever, Thursday pub trivia night is sacred, and Eve is still secretly in love with Ed. Maybe she should have moved on by now, but she can’t stop thinking about what could have been. And she knows Ed still thinks about it, too.

But then, in an instant, their lives are changed forever.

In the aftermath, Eve’s world is upended. As stunning secrets are revealed, she begins to wonder if she really knew her friends as well as she thought. And when someone from the past comes back into her life, Eve’s future veers in a surprising new direction...


An absolute gorgeous description of friendship and grief. I cried buckets, but while it was sad, it wasn't depressing. I loved the friendships described between Eve, Susie, Justin and Ed, and how they were friendships with room for disagreements and fights.

I also enjoyed reading about the trip to Edinburgh (especially as I recognized many of the places from my own visit), and how Finlay was slowly pulled out of his shell, as Finlay and Eve both realized that their preconceived notions about each other were perhaps not as accurate as first expected.

I really do wish that Mhairi McFarlane had stuck to making this a book about friendships with their ups and downs though. ( But the rest is a spoiler... )

Title: Call Me Maybe
Author: Cara Bastone
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~6hrs
Date read: October 2021

Vera Hoffman has just days to make sure her website for her new Date-in-a-Box business launches. When the darn thing glitches, she calls her IT company and connects with Kal Kantola. An intense week of phone calls, DMs, voice messages, and texts ensue, and in between troubleshooting, these two start to develop feelings. But will their systems be compatible when they actually meet face-to-face?


Absolutely adorable, and good enough that I finished listening to it in just 3 days! I think it took me all of 2 minutes to be completely sold, and I pretty much listened to it at every chance I got - laughing out loud more than once, which got slightly embarrassing on the train. I loved Vera and Kal, and their phone conversations were pretty much the cutest thing ever.

So why only 4.5 stars rather than 5? I haaaaate misunderstandings that can be solved by simple communication. Granted, it's not as bad in this one as in some, and they were actually pretty believable, but still… why do so many authors think rom-coms need a conflict? They don't!! Books can be delightfully charming and wonderful comfort reads without them! Trust me! I've read them!

Ahrem... stepping off my soapbox now. Still a wonderful book, and a very strong contender to one of the best I've read this year.

Title: Meet Me in the Margins
Author: Melissa Ferguson
Genre: Chick-lit, ARC
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 320
Date read: October, 2021

Savannah Cade is a low-level editor at Pennington Publishing, a prestigious publisher producing only the highest of highbrow titles. And while editing the latest edition of The Anthology of Medieval Didactic Poetry may be her day job, she has two secrets she’s hiding.

One: She’s writing a romance novel.

Two: She’s discovered the Book Nook—a secret room in the publishing house where she finds inspiration for her “lowbrow” hobby.

After leaving her manuscript behind one afternoon, she returns to the nook only to discover someone has written notes in the margins. Savannah’s first response to the criticism is defensive, but events transpire that force her to admit that she needs the help of this shadowy editor after all. As the notes take a turn for the romantic, and as Savannah’s madcap life gets more complicated than ever, she uses the process of elimination to identify her mysterious editor—only to discover that what she truly wants and what she should want just might not be the same.


I was sent this book in return for an honest review, and I'm so glad. This is chick-lit when it's at its best. Fun, engaging, relatable and with a bunch of book talk that meant it was right up my aisle.

Other people have made the comparison to "You've Got Mail" and for good reason. While the two stories are very different, the general idea (falling in love with somebody through writing) and atmosphere is very much the same. However, "You've Got Mail" is one of my all-time favourite movies, so that's just an added bonus in my book... no pun intended.

While some of the characters were perhaps a tad one-dimensional, others were very relatable, and I really grew to love Savannah as she tried to navigate the waters of a new boss and attempting to edit her own manuscript, while still having to live up to her family's expectations.

Of course I had seen the ending a mile off, but that's to be expected with this genre. I still enjoyed the ride very much, and really appreciated that it didn't fall into some of the same traps that books like this often do (being vague to avoid spoilers...).

At times laugh-out-loud funny, this was one of the best new reads of the year. I'll definitely want to add this to my physical library as well.

Title: The Rest of Us Just Live Here
Author: Patrick Ness
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 352 pages
Date read: October, 2021

What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.


By far the best book I've read by Patrick Ness so far. The writing style took some getting used to, but once I realized what he was doing with the chapter summaries I was absolutely blown away by the brilliant way he managed to tell two stories at the same time - making the "ordinary" plot the more important one.

It's definitely YA, but it's good YA, and I really enjoyed both the characters and the plot. Mikey and Henna especially came across as very real, and liked how Mikey had separate and distinct relationships with Henna, Jared and Mel.

Really good "coming of age" story.

Title: Dragon Kin: Jae & Fendellen
Author: Audrey Faye & Shae Geary
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 206
Date read: November 2018, October 2021

A healer and a dragon queen. They’re meant for each other—and for so much more.

A baby, abandoned on a harsh slope to die. She grew into a healer, but she can’t grow out of the thing that keeps her from being entirely human.

An ice-blue dragon who will one day be queen. Self-confident, and beloved, but there has always been a hole inside her that nothing can fill.

Neither of them is ready for what awaits—but the Star doesn’t wait for those it calls to be ready.


Probably my favourite of the lot. I liked the fact that it was the human who was new to the village, rather than the dragon. Also, Jae's reaction to both all the dragons and elves and suddenly being accepted for who she is was extremely well written. I loved how everybody made sure she felt welcome, and how she slowly discovered how she fit in.

Oh, and the three new dragon hatchlings were more than a little cute too!

Title: Dragon Kin: Lily & Oceana
Author: Audrey Faye, Shae Geary
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 165
Date read: September 2017, October 2021

The Dragon Star has chosen again - and this time, it must be mistaken.

Lily is off to an elf wedding with her friends, which might be a fate worse than death. So she thinks - until she sticks her fingers in the water of a river far from home. What she finds will change her life and challenge the bravest dragons she knows.

And might involve some accidental dragon soup.


I think I might actually like this one a little bit more than the first book in the series! I just got to care for Lily and Oceana in a much more profound way than I did Lotus and Sapphire (something I hadn't thought possible when I read the first book). I also thought the interactions with the dragons of old very fascinating, and thought it an interesting addition to the plot.

Though a bit slow to start (which is the only reason it took me a week to finish), I'll be recommending this far and wide, and can't wait to read the next one!

Title: Ronja Røverdatter (Ronja Robber's Daughter)
Author: Astrid Lindgren
Genre: Childrens
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 226
Date read: December 2011, October 2021

On the night Ronja was born, a thunderstorm raged over the mountain, but in Mattis' castle and among his band of robbers there was only joy - for Mattis now had a spirited little black-haired daughter. Soon Ronja learns to dance and yell with the robbers, but it is alone in the forest that she feels truly at home. Then one day Ronja meets Birk, the son of Mattis' arch-enemy. Soon after Ronja and Birk become friends the worst quarrel ever between the rival bands erupts, and Ronia and Birk are right in the middle.


I grew up with Astrid Lindgren's books, and "Ronja" is still one of my favourites. Ronja's fearlessness in exploring the forest, and her growing friendship with Birk never fail to charm me. This read-through was no exception, and went to prove that "Ronja" passes the test of time better than most.