It's been a long, tiring, but also incredibly exciting week. I've been working on the second draft to my upcoming middle grade novel, I Wish I Was a Vampire, and will have it ready for beta readers in July! It's been really freeing to write this book. I went through a lot of what the MC goes through, but I thought, "What if she had a mom who actually cared?" or "What if the girl realized having one best friend who accepts you for you is enough?" Through these characters, I'm able to have hope and closure with different times of my life.

Also, as of this afternoon I have shipped ALL of the preorders for Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night: Another Halloween Horror Anthology along with other pending orders. This weekend I'll be editing one of the Yuletide Horror stories, writing/editing the middle grade book, and continuing my grassroots effort to gain readers for Death by TBR Books titles. Sunday is Litha (Summer Solstice), so I'll be doing a ritual and rewatching Midsommar. I'm definitely excited for the upcoming week with the release, but also fewer packages NOT that I'm complaining over sales. I'm incredibly grateful. :)

I love the summer solstice because it gets darker and darker every day after that. Muahahaha!

BOOKS
The Elsewhere Express by Sotto Yambao
The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy
How to Be Okay When Nothing is Okay by Jenny Lawson
Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli

Currently reading: Witch Season by Julia Bianco and Moonflow by Bitter Karella

SHOWS

NEW
MasterChef
Widows Bay
Something Bad is Going to Happen

FILMS - I'm on LetterBoxd - horrormaven13
Deep Water
Swapped

Rewatches that I'm enjoying as I pretend to live in the late 90s/early 00s.

TV
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The X-Files
Law and Order: SVU
Owl House
Cruel Summer
The Golden Girls

FILMS
Evil Dead Rises
Enough
Maternal Instinct

That's all for this week! Please share what you've been reading and watching! The next exclusive post (a week from Wednesday) will be decided by a poll. :)

xoxo

Spooky Girl

Our Bindery Bookclub is back and with it comes some fun new features!

Our book to finish out June is one that I am so proud to say has my debut short story in it! It’s a medieval horror anthology under 200 pages. It had some FANTASTIC stories in it.

Of Plagues and Blasphemy 🔔

All proceeds go to The Trevor Project ❤️

The club is available through Fable and you can comment on each story without worrying about spoilers!

Link here 🔗 https://fable.co/club/bindery-horror-bookclub-with-ashreadshorror-238137833929?invite=5207f1aa-a08c-4abc-a187-c6bc60c5b3c8&referralID=BjEDttN2kn

HERE is the link to join our community Discord server and get access to:

• book club

• unhauls

• readathons

• and general community!

Once you're in the server, message "/link" in the #welcome channel to sync your Bindery membership and get full access to the server!

https://discord.gg/THMeRKBSV5

Voting has officially begun for our July Book Club selection!

We invite you to join our Discord community to participate in lively discussions, connect with fellow readers, and share your thoughts throughout the month. For those who prefer to vote here on Bindery, we'll also be posting a poll so members can cast their votes directly on the platform.

🗳️ Voting will remain open for one week.
📖 Our group reading will begin on July 1.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, please join our Discord and let us know. We're always happy to hear from our community.

Happy reading, and we can't wait to see which book you choose for July!

Happy Juneteenth! A highlight this week was our June pick for the Read Herring Book Club. Speaking of which, I am running a special giveaway to celebrate 1,000 followers on Instagram!

Learn more and enter here: @readherringbookclub

I really love this special edition of Murder on the Orient Express and I know you will, too. As a note, your copy of the giveaway book will be shrink wrapped and untouched.

This week’s reads:

• Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd (finished): An enjoyable return to Nora Breen and her new home in Gore-on-Sea. Excellent writing and characterization makes this a pleasure to read. The mystery is entertaining but predictable, in my opinion.

• The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada (finished): I knew from the prologue that I was going to be gripped by this one, and that feeling remained straight through the epilogue. It is now tied for my favorite Read Herring Book Club selection so far (alongside February’s Devil in a Blue Dress). A puzzling mystery, an entertaining detective, and just the right amount of emotion made this an immensely satisfying mystery. I was literally giddy when I got to the explanation of the crime.

• Breakout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon (currently reading): I am rounding the final bend on this one and have my popcorn in hand for what I hope is a dramatic conclusion. While I am enjoying the story, the audiobook narration is hit or miss (but such is the risk of multiple narrators).

This week’s book mail:

• Moriarty: The Great Chaos (Audible Original): I got a crazy PR box for this third and final installment in Audible’s Moriarty audio drama series, which stars Dominic Monaghan as James Moriarty and Phil LaMarr as Sherlock Holmes, and Sir Ben Kingsley as Moriarty’s father. Watch my unboxing on your platform of choice: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook

• The Great Game by Arvind Ethan David (out July 14): A historical mystery with a Holmesian flare in which two men, a veteran-turned-law student and a gentleman thief, investigate a series of brutal aristocratic murders in 1905 London.

• The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (out July 14): A 1940s noir novel about a handsome con man and the two women who get in his way. Say less!

• The Enigma Challenge by S.C. Godfrey (out August 11): Here is the blurb that sold me on this one: “This is what you’d get if a Dan Brown novel was rewritten by Emily Henry.” (Kirkus)

Thank you to Audible, Thomas & Mercer/Megan Beatie Communications, Del Rey, and Pamela Dorman Books/Viking Books for these gifts.

Yours mysteriously,

Manon

Hi Disco Dancers!

I have a little secret I’ve been keeping that I want to share with you. I might announce it at some point… but for now, keep it secret, keep it safe!

Scroll down…

I’ve written an MM romance! I wrote it earlier this year and I’m currently querying agents and Indie publishers. Wish me luck!

Here’s the blurb:

HIS MAJESTY’S SECRET SCANDAL is a contemporary MM romance about a Black, gay actor cast as the UK’s favourite superspy, and the handsome publicist he just can’t resist.

Samuel Joseph has just become the first Black British actor to be cast as Carter Blake. Fame, glamour, money, it’s all coming his way. There’s just one problem. He’s secretly gay, and he can’t get his publicist’s smile out of his head.

Luke Brown is done with love. Healing from a bad breakup with his cheating ex-boyfriend, he throws himself into his work. He’s excited to land his first high-profile client, the up-and-coming actor Samuel Joseph. But from the moment they meet, he knows he’s in trouble.

Amid the glamour of red carpets, celebrity parties and sun-soaked European locations, the two try, and fail, to resist their attraction. But is love worth the scandal?

Alongside the core gay romance, other representation includes: two trans side characters, a non-binary side character, an aro-ace side character, and multiple characters of colour.

It combines the secret yearning of Heated Rivalry with the showbiz glamour of The Charm Offensive and the playful banter of Red, White & Royal Blue.

I'm hoping to get it out somehow next year, to tie in with the casting of the next James Bond, ahead of the upcoming movie in 2028. I didn't write it with that in mind, and then realised - oh yeah! A new movie is coming...

In my head, the fancast for the two leads is Damson Idris and Peter Claffey (from Knight of the Seven Kingdoms).

So.. let me know - would you read a romance with these two? How does a James Bond showbiz romance sound (but use code in the comments please!)

Bye!

Disco x

I finished Queen of Shadows and I have thoughts and feelings.

First, this is absolutely the strongest book in the series so far. I really enjoyed it. Despite every criticism I have for it, I think this was such a fun read and a good time. The reason I loved it so much, however, was because of the side characters. Yes, the rumors are true. People love Throne of Glass because of the side characters and they are... correct.

I'm not a fan of Aelin as a character for a lot of reasons I'll get into later. Let's start with the fun stuff.

This was much more action-heavy and things actually happened! The writing was snappy and kept my attention the whole time. I really resonated with the new POVs and had such a good time in the other stories, especially Manon's who I think had the best arc in QoS. I love Asterin so much, too. She is fantastic. And Elide! Elide was such a sweet, soft, wonderful character to add into this book. She really softened Manon's edges in a way that I loved.

Throne of Glass is a very character-driven story, not as much plot-driven. This is NOT a bad thing or a dig. There's a reason we have both types of stories! That said, I do have some issues with the shakiness of the larger plot premise. It definitely feels like it started half-baked and now it's finally formed, but it does suffer from that earlier half-baked nature from the previous books. It coalesced in Heir of Fire and expanded in Queen of Shadows though! Still, I can see the gaps. Which is okay because let's talk about the reason I had so much fun reading this book:

The characters.

Manon is fantastic. Her arc is identical to Chaol's, which is why I will remain an ardent Chaol defender and point out that people aren't paying any attention to him as a person and what his story is meant to do. Manon and Chaol have endured the same propagandist brainwashing loyalty demands. It's not easy to break out of that and we see Manon more explicitly trying than Chaol, which I think is just a product of SJM being younger when she first wrote Chaol as a character. If it were written today, it would probably be more overt. Still, it's the same damage and the same struggle. I actually think Chaol had it worse because he does his deconstruction in isolation.

Dorian abandons Chaol without empathy or understanding for how hard all of this it on his friend's worldview after knowing him his WHOLE life. You're telling me Dorian grew up with Chaol and knows what a deeply loyal and unquestioning person he is and then resents him for being unquestioningly loyal? That's just being a bad friend if you never try to put yourself in their shoes. I hope Dorian changes my mind because I'm a bit miffed at him for a few more reasons than that.

Aelin immediately expected Chaol to drop his entire worldview, loyalty, and life and just support her unquestioningly. That's crazy. Do you understand how wild that is to expect of someone? Nobody ever expected Aelin to drop all her history and trauma for their cause, but she does that to other people? No. That's nuts. Chaol wasn't wrong for staying the path he thought was best based off of his understanding of the world.

In the end, Chaol winds up processing literally the entire destruction of what he thought to be true and the person he believed himself to be on his own. His friends who should have been there and had empathy for him demanded he just be okay with betraying his core values ditched him when he wasn't immediately like yeah sounds good. Manon had The Thirteen to help her see and understood why she couldn't just abandon her beliefs. And yet Chaol gets hated on. It's hypocrisy.

Okay! Moving along. Aedion? I love him. I'm so sorry. I know he's so toxic and I want to slap him in the mouth, but I love him. He reminds me of one of my most beloved, favorite people in my real life who I adore with my whole entire heart. Like. I was texting him paragraphs and saying "YOU" and he replied with "shut up you're so annoying" but he loves the attention so I kept doing it.

Elide? I love the introduction of Elide. She is kind and soft and still tries to find her emotional strength. I think she is such a phenomenal foil to Manon. I love her impact and how she is echoing the Crochan witch Manon regrets killing. I can't wait to see what they do with her.

Now. I'm about to make people mad.

Rowan doesn't really do anything for me. In fact, he upsets me actively because he never holds Aelin accountable for her actions or behavior. A good partner doesn't just tell you you're doing everything right and never do anything wrong. A good partner helps you see your shortcomings and your mistakes and stands by you while you experience and learn from them. Rowan is 300+ years old. He's seen kingdoms rise and fall. Yet he doesn't see the potential for ruin in Aelin never owning her shortfalls or learning from her mistakes? He just tells her she's never in the wrong? I actually find that super worrisome and detrimental to their romantic arc. It makes it unromantic to me that he doesn't see her mistakes - he's no different than Chaol idealizing her.

Also I make no apologies but I find him kind of bland and boring. His personality is be growl, am hot, have face tattoo. That's nice for a few days but I would be bored to tears if there wasn't more to a person. Still, just a first impression! There's 3 more books to go.

You're not allowed to be mad at me for this next bit.

Aelin lost me in this book. Lost me HARD. Which is a shame because Heir of Fire Aelin had started to win me to her cause. I'm sorry, she is absolutely the worst and I'm struggling to keep an open mind for her. I think my patience has thinned immeasurably because I was so hopeful for her in HOF when she really seemed to have actual growth. Then I felt it all fell apart in QOS.

First, she comes back and asks nothing about what it was like for Chaol, then decides he's to blame for Dorian being collared. Aedion had been captured, Chaol had no weapons, and Dorian was the ONLY one in that room who could've done anything to fight the king. Dorian told Chaol to run. If Chaol had stayed, what was he gonna do? Toss Sorcha's head at him and hope she was the deus ex machina he needed? No. If he had stayed, he would have been killed and Dorian STILL would have been collared. He heeded his doomed friend's perceived dying wish to flee and get out.

Aelin rails into him for not getting Dorian and Sorcha out but has NO idea that Dorian wasn't speaking to Chaol and Chaol DID try to get them out. People forget that. He attempted to tell Dorian to leave and Dorian declined to do so until Sorcha went. What was Chaol supposed to do? Kidnap a prince? Ah yes that would've been a splendid plan. Aelin would have known any of this if she had asked Chaol a single thing about how things had been for him while she was gone. She was in the woods falling in love and learning magic. He was in the sewers fighting for his life to free innocent civilians from demons.

The Arobynn of it all is where I started to get a bit frustrated. There are literally demons taking over and possessing people and an evil king bent on destroying the world, but Aelin decides to take over half the book to play games with her old master when she has several opportunities to just kill him. "She's looking for the amulet" and she could've gone to his house, killed him in his sleep, and looked for it. There were surely a dozen other ways we could've wrapped that up faster. I got frustrated because she was fixated on her revenge and not on the much more globally pressing issue of demons taking over the world.

This also feeds into my other frustration with her. She expects everyone to drop their kingdoms, lineage, trauma, heritage, etc. and rally to her because she's using her real name finally. Like. Girl. Ten years is a long time. She's made no alliance, these people don't know anything about her, she could be as hell bent on evil shit as the king is. Why would they sight unseen come to her aid? She makes no effort to build alliances and then says they deserve to die and she'll kill them all for not coming to her aid. WHAT? Diva, that's not how political maneuvering works! Like. I don't understand what she believes the impetus for everyone coming to help her is? Just because she carries the name Galathynius doesn't mean she's inherently good or noble. She is a stranger to everyone who hasn't really done anything to fight for their cause for the last decade. Why would they suddenly be unquestioningly devoted to her?

Aelin never takes accountability or ownership of her behavior. She uses her self-claimed (which is what it is!) title of Queen of Terrasen to demand respect so she doesn't have to earn it whenever it's convenient, then drops that crown whenever it demands she be held responsible or accountable. She's volatile and has a cruel streak, which triggers Chaol's VERY REAL AND VALID CONCERN that she will use magic to destroy like the king did and believe herself righteous. Which she then immediately threatens to do. Frankly, I have a lot of worries about her having powerful fire magic and no emotional self control or sense of responsibility for her behavior. It's concerning, not charming to me.

Aelin regularly dismisses and disrespects and disregards and lies to everyone around her, then is shocked they are angry at her or frustrated with her and she immediately resents them for it. She's asked to meet at X place or Y time and don't follow, then immediately ignores that and follows. She interrupts missions without knowing the first thing about the risks these people are taking or why they told her to go a different direction. She just assumes she knows better than everyone and when it makes everyone else's plans go to shit, she blames them for bad planning when it was her fault they fell apart.

The lack of accountability for her character is making me despise her. A lot. And I'm annoyed with some of the decisions SJM made in writing her. Being able to outsmart Lorcan, a 500+ year old highly trained warrior-hunter with... a spare cloak? Are we real right now? And then she fights Manon, a 500+ year old battle-trained ruthless witch and beats her with... a leg hook? My problem with this is it makes Aelin feel plot armored. The stakes don't exist. Every plan she makes and fight she gets into she's going to win by some uninspired deus ex machina so where's my reason to worry about her? It also flattens the hell out of Fae and the witches. Like. They were built up to be such powerful, formidable enemies and... they're fooled and bested by a 19 year old human girl pulling out grade-school level tricks? This means one of two things. 1: Manon and Lorcan actually aren't very good at what they're doing OR 2: Fae and witches actually aren't very formidable. Both options conflict with everything SJM built up. Both are disappointing.

I also have a big problem with this whole... hiding things from the reader bit. It's one thing to surprise an audience, it's another to fool them. The overindulged plot device of "she switched it with a fake" fell flat after the second time. We are in Aelin's head in her POV, but we aren't let into any of her plans. We never get to see the exciting stuff like HOW she does it or what the plan is or what to watch for. We're just told "It was a fake she switched and the plan was a rousing success! Ta da!". That can work once, but this happened FOUR TIMES in the book. After a while, I just don't care about her plans. I'm not a part of them, so send a carrier pigeon when it goes off perfectly without a hitch and leave me to follow Manon.

The issue is these criticisms I have of the character make her feel so... flat. Not even likably unlikeable. She's just... boring. That's my thing. After the Manon fight, my feelings about Aelin kind of collapsed. I'm bored wit her. She's choosy about when she uses her trauma to justify her actions, she never shares with the class how the plan is going and it always goes perfectly, she's the best fighter and assassin and strategist and investigator and... after a while I just don't care. There's no threat to her. She has no flaws she acknowledges or explores. I don't care about the journey because "How do they pull it off" isn't a question that ever gets engaged. I know she wants to do X thing, she doesn't show me or share with me how she's going to do it, and I'm told it went perfectly. Like... great. What's her purpose to the story then?

Finally. I swear this is finally.

I do not understand why we care about Terrasen at all.

I know it's Aelin's former kingdom, but why would everyone around her with their own kingdoms and their own people and their own obligations throw all of that in the trash to prioritize Terrasen...? Am I missing something? I know she loves her homeland, as she should! It's her homeland! But I'm unclear why Rowan and Aelin expect everyone else to do the same? What's in it for them? I don't know why Terrasen is more important than everywhere else. "It was the site of a good kingdom" like... okay? Historically, that's been the case for thousands of years in different forms around the world. There's ruins of once great kingdoms all over the place. Why Terrasen?

I'm hoping some of my questions and holes and frustrations can be addressed in Empire of Storms. I've been advised there's a good transformation for Aelin as a character in that one and I really hope it's true because right now I'm fighting not to skim her sections entirely.

I'm about 70% of the way through our June book club pick and I'm really enjoying the premise so far. I didn't realize that this book was so short (just shy of 200 pages per my Kindle), so I'm definitely getting through it faster than some of the previous books we've read. With that said, I'm not sure how the story is going to wrap up with so little remaining, but I'm trusting the process! I would love to know: How's your reading progress coming along?

Happy Friday, and happy Juneteenth! I hope you will consider donating to a Black-led cause or organization near you today, especially if you're a white person with the day off work.

My favorite read this week was Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar. I know this is quite a shock considering I have literally tattooed This Is How You Lose The Time War onto my body, lol.

This book is a short story collection, which I often have a hard time with because I want more time in each story's world. But El-Mohtar is so good at spinning up perfect, tiny little universes in just a few paragraphs. Sure, I wanted some of these to go on longer, but that's just me being greedy.

I think what draws me to her writing is how ethereal it is. The descriptions of the settings are so gorgeous, and even when the action doesn't make Earth-bound logical sense, I'm willing to follow it. That's probably actually why I'm willing to follow it, actually, because I often have no idea where things are going to go.

El-Mohtar does bring the real world into some of the stories. There are a few that focus on queer and/or Arab experiences that weave the magic into the heartbreak.

I just love her so much. I hope you'll pick this book up, even if short stories aren't usually your jam.

My non-bo0kish fave this week is that I went to my cousin's wedding last weekend. It was held up in the mountains and we stayed in a lakeside cabin, and then we danced our butts off at the reception. I just love weddings so much, especially when it's some of my favorite people getting married. I made my spouse take a zillion photos with me because we never get dressed up anymore, so please enjoy, haha.

Hi there besties,

I'm finally starting to feel the urge to write, so I think you can expect more regular updates again. In the meantime, I wanted to share a little something that I wrote a few weeks ago but didn't have the guts to press publish. Grief is weird that way. This is for anyone wondering what those first few days were like and what happened to my dad. Thanks for your patience and support. ❤️

Even the Gator Knows

This month I'll turn 46 (the oldest I've ever been 😜), and it's also the first month that I'll be parentless.

My father passed away this weekend, and I'm unwell.

I'm currently sitting in his kitchen drinking coffee from one of his favorite mugs pondering where to even begin. There is so much to do, yet I feel paralyzed. It's as if I fear disturbing anything in his space will break the spell currently allowing me to hold myself together, albeit haphazardly.

Like I told my newsletter subs, for the past 4 years he and I have become closer than ever. He relied on me for so much after my mother's passing, and, in turn, I learned to lean on him for support I once sought from her. We spoke near daily, often for extended periods of time. We spoke about everything (weather, politics, his health, my relationship, dogs, recipes, life in general), and it's those daily chats that I will miss more than anything.

Barry was a wealth of knowledge, a born teacher who never got the chance to teach. A true Renaissance man, he could literally DO anything. Sculpt, paint, draw, play music by ear, sing, build, design: he could create like no one I've ever met. Sitting here surrounded by his pottery, paintings, doodles, and instruments, I know that I have a treasure trove of memories to sort through. And that feels both exciting and overwhelming. Buried treasure that will break my heart.

I'm here in Louisiana for the week to set affairs in order and prepare the house for the next inhabitants. Seeing his space as he left it the day he went to the Emergency Room feels unreal. The half smoked cigar in the ashtray, the laundry in the hamper, the grocery list...all ripping me into tiny pieces.

The truth is we knew this was coming; he had been suffering from advanced heart failure for a long time, with his symptoms worsening significantly since February. I was here to witness that struggle recently, so I know in my heart of hearts that his passing is a blessing. He's no longer struggling to breath or walk or any of the things that we take for granted every day.

Still, the suddenness of his passing is jarring. I spoke to him in the morning, and he sounded in good spirits though a little short-winded. He volunteered to go to the Emergency Room to get checked out and within 12 hours he was gone. The worst part: I didn't make it in time to say goodbye in person. I was standing in line to board my plane at LAX when I got the text saying "he's gone." I'll be forever grateful to technology for allowing me to Facetime him so that I could tell him that I loved him (and hear it back) one last time.

My sweet little daddy is gone. And I'm not ok. Sadly, I know from experience that I will be in time. One foot in front of the other. One day at a time. Deep breath. In. Out.

And what's wild, even the gator knows. Every year, a new little alligator would turn up in the bayou out back of his house. And every year, he would throw the gator scraps so they would continue to hang around and chase off snakes. This year, he had a little 4-footer hanging around ready for a handout. He swam up the day I got here, hoping that I had something to share. He must have understood me when I told him that Dad was gone, because he hasn't been back since. Even the gator knows.

Update on the Gator

Eventually he did swim back up, almost a week later. But I'm convinced he knows. It's funny how sensitive you become to the physical world around you in those early stages grief. Everything seems so alive, pulsing with the energy you no longer have. Birds in flight, flowers in bloom...everything in nature reminding you simultaneously of the life lost and the life left to live.

If you've lost someone dear to you in the past, then you know grief is a funny thing. It's heavy, and we all need a place to put it down for a while. Writing is one of the ways I like to do that. I appreciate you giving me space to grieve and share.

xoxo

c

Hi all!

Many apologies for being MIA. I've been reading and trying to beat the heat, but I'm happy to share with you a debut that I just finished and think you should add to your TBR.

Soft Spots by Leila Renee will be published in August, and it's an incredible debut. It follows Robin, a young Black college grad who has run away from her family. In her new home, she's focused on joining a teacher program (Like Teach For America) and becoming the best English teacher she can be. She meets Naomi, her roommate and fellow corps member, and develops an intense obsession immediately. The story unfolds over the course of 5-6 months and includes Robin's struggles with leaving her family behind, the abuse she suffered while at home, the observations she makes as a new teacher, and the parallels between her life and Naomi's.

I highly recommend if you enjoy character driven stories with heavy emotional themes.

Hi, my loves!

If you've been here a minute, you know I don't resell Advanced Reader Copies I am sent — it has a seal on the cover and everything! It tells you not to!

Anywho, I prefer to share the wealth wherever I can, and that means coming to y'all first. These are all 2026 releases, and if you're interested, comment below with the title you'd like me to send you! Any that aren't claimed by Sunday will go to a Little Free Library in my area.

"If I Ruled the World" by Amy DoBois Barnett (published January 27) follows Nikki Rose as she leaves her job at a prestigious fashion magazine where she is the only Black editor to take over an up-and-coming hip hop and lifestyle magazine called Sugar. Think late-'90s New York City, self-discovery, and the cost of ambition. — I definitely recommend this one! Just not one I think I'll reread, so she needs a new home.

"Body Electric" by Manoush Zomorodi (published May 6) is a non-fiction book that explores the very real health costs of being constantly plugged in to a digital world. The author also hosts the NPR podcast of the same name, to which I have become thoroughly addicted. — I enjoyed the book, but I think I prefer the podcast!

"The Lowe Job" by Grace Alexander (published June 16) begs the question: what happens when a young woman's salacious scandal meets a talent agent/momager's ambition? Fame, fortune, family drama... and all the comes with it. The cost of notoriety is high, but the tensions between mother and daughters may be higher. — I got a final copy of this in the mail just days after the ARC came, so I plan to read it soon! Meanwhile, I don't need both.

Let me know! I'm so happy you're here.

Hi Friends, and happy Trans Joy Thursday. This newsletter will look a little different today. There are two very special people I would like to honor.

On Tuesday, June 16 my beloved Memaw left this earth. If you've read Coming Home, you have read the chapter dedicated to her, and our relationship spanning my entire life. If you haven't read it yet, she was my fiercest protector, my first best friend, my A1 since day 1, my favorite person on this entire planet, and the one I admired the most. She was my confidante, the one who made me laugh the most, and the only one who was allowed to misgender and deadname me (She was diagnosed with Dementia and in a memory care unit when I came out with my name change and trans non-binary identity and pronouns.) She was diagnosed with Stage 3C colon cancer, and I literally dropped my entire life in my mid-20's to be there for her on this journey and be one of her care-takers before she was moved to an assisted living facility, and then to the memory care unit.

I could share so many stories of how she took care of me spanning my entire life, from wanting to adopt me from my mother (that was family drama) to always sneaking me $20 bills in my hand every single time I visited her. She bought me books. I still have a box of books that I kept from when we went through her belongings at her house. She was my rock and my motivation. She never agreed with my "lifestyle" but always asked me how "gay sex worked." We would have this conversation often, and it never failed to make me laugh. She always, always made sure I knew she loved me the most.

The above photo was taken exactly two years ago today - which makes it even more bittersweet. I took Alisha and the kids to NC during the summer of 2024 to meet some of the family I still remain in contact with, and while they were napping, I went to visit Memaw. In my heart, I knew this would be the last time I saw her, and still, I remained hopeful of another visit face-to-face. I will hold these special memories close to my heart and know she's at peace. I will always do my best to honor her love for me.

In that same breath, Alisha and I are celebrating our 5 year mark of meeting. It's so funny to me that while I am grieving a significant loss of love, I am also celebrating a significant love that walked into my life (with 3 little loves, to boot.) She has shown me a type of love and peace and comfort that I didn't know was possible. I know my Memaw didn't agree with how I lived my life, but I just know that she would be happy with how happy I am - both internally and externally. Alisha has shown up and provided a type of nurturing and love that I never knew I needed.

I love my life now. It's so weird that two things are colliding, my two favorite people - Memaw, my grandmother, and Alisha, my wife, are showing me simultaneously what grief and love look like.

With that being said, for those of you on my social media, I may be absent for a while, as I've stated on there, due to returning to North Carolina for the funeral services. I will more than likely be traveling Saturday to my birthday on Wednesday. Not really how I imagined spending my birthday in airports, but my Memaw deserves all the things.

If you have your grandparents or loved ones you consider close to you, I hope you hug them extra tight for me. Memaw was the last living grandparent of mine, and that's an extra shock to my system.

As I navigate my immense grief of losing my Memaw, and celebrate my birthday next week, and my anniversary today, I hope you all remember that grief is ultimately just love with no place to go.

I will be traveling with some books, and figured I would also share with you in case you needed some recommendations. Not all are queer, but I believe they deserve a place on the feed:

1. My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

2. Ship Happens by Mason Deaver

3. Among The Wildflowers by Anita Kelly

4. The Lovers, The Liars, And Me by DeAndra Davis

I hope you all have an incredible Thursday and the rest of your week.

With all the trans joy I can muster,

Sawyer Cole

Junes' Sad Rich Girl Salon dove into aging&beauty:

We talked about "fox eye" makeup and Frownies, and Clavicular and a plastic surgery procedure I had never heard of where they liposuction a 6-pack onto your stomach (insane). So much of our convo dealt with how one "learns" beauty standards and how to self-police that I made a game-time decision on the breakout question: What media diet would you want your daughter to have?

Suggested reading and media:

• 55 Brides on What They Spent to Look Their Best on the Big Day

• What Should a 30-Something Look Like? in The Cut

• Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

• Actors OBSESSION With Aging Is KILLING Cinema… (12 min video)

• "Neck tape works"

• "Examining 'iPhone face' and the Art of Timeless Beauty" by Sophia Butsch (essay)

• Reddit For women choosing to age naturally—how do you resist comparing yourself to other women when cosmetic enhancements have become so normalized?

• Kris Jenner’s Facelift Is Apparently Now “Slipping”

• Gen Z soldiers' plastic surgeries strain Korea's military readiness in The Korea Times

• Feeling Old: 44 Is the First Big Aging Cliff for Millennials in The Cut

• Frownies (a product that I kept getting served ads for once I started looking at anti-aging content)

• Perception drift

• self-congratulatory "i'm not having work done" (parody) reel

The Sun-Kissed Summer Reading Guide for the Whole Family Plus Free Printable Canva Trackers!

Summer vacation is officially here! Eleven long weeks of warm afternoons, beach trips, and lazy mornings mean one very important thing: it’s peak reading season. Whether you are packing a tote bag for a day by the ocean, loading up the car for a family road trip, or looking for a thrilling mystery to dive into during a late-night thunderstorm, a good book is the ultimate summer essential.

To make sure everyone in the house has the perfect page-turner, we have curated a massive, multi-generational Summer Reading Guide. We have broken it down by age group, from delightful beachside picture books for the little ones to thrilling young adult mysteries and sizzling adult beach reads.

Even better? We want to help your family keep track of their reading goals this season! At the bottom of this post, you'll find links to our custom, beautifully designed Canva Reading Logs and Trackers that you can customize and print at home.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org and Amazon. If you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps support our book club community!

🏖️ Picture Books & Early Readers Perfect for Beach Days & Read-Alouds

1. Jules vs. the Ocean by Jessie Sima

Jules is on a mission to build the biggest, the fanciest, and the most excellent sandcastle. Her sister will be so impressed! But the ocean has other plans. Waves keep smashing her creations, and when the ocean finally takes her bucket, Jules decides to take a stand. This is a tongue-in-cheek story of sand, sea, and sisterhood told with signature warmth and delightful illustrations.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

2. Sand Cakes by Kallie George Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth

"Sand cake, Sun cake, Sprinkle-topped with rocks cake. Will you eat what I baked?" A fun day at the beach means making sweet treats out of sand! Unfortunately, this little beachside baker can’t seem to find anyone, not even the seagulls willing to try her seaweed pies and sea foam cream puffs. This buoyantly poetic, funny picture book is a treat for all ages.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

3. The Colors of Summer by Danna Smith

Celebrate the bright, beautiful shades of the season with this vibrant Little Golden Book. From turquoise beach towels and purple flip-flops to orange sand shovels and blue waves, young kids will love discovering their favorite summer hues across a fun-filled day at the shore.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

4. The Octopus Escapes by Maile Meloy

An octopus is perfectly happy in his undersea cave until a diver captures him for an aquarium. Though the humans give him food and toy-like tests, he quickly tires of captivity. Under the cover of darkness, he plots a daring escape. This exciting, heartfelt story captures the thrill of hard-won freedom and the ultimate pull of home.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

5. See You Later by April Suddendorf

A quirky, darkly detailed, and funny cautionary tale proving the swamp isn't always greener on the other side! Gary the alligator grows tired of his small, soggy home and decides a nearby human house would be much more luxurious. He turns out to be very wrong, leading to a hilarious twist ending.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

🍦 Middle Grade & Chapter Books

6. The Underdogs Catch a Cat Burglar by Kate Temple and Jol Temple

Crime is rising in Dogtown thanks to a mysterious cat burglar stealing everything from handbags to ham sandwiches. The Underdog Detective Agency is on the case, but they are in a major slump. To solve this mystery, they do the unthinkable: hire Fang, a street-smart, one-eyed cat detective. Can a cat and dog work together? A paws-itively hilarious mystery!

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

7. Would You Rather? Summer Fun Box Set by Lindsey Daly

The ultimate road trip companion! This box set includes three bestselling books: Summer Edition, Animals Edition, and Made You Think! Edition. Packed with hilarious, thought-provoking questions, it is an essential summer activity to keep kids entertained in the car, at camp, or around the campfire.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

8. It Began with Lemonade by Gideon Sterer

On a scorching hot day, a spunky young girl decides to start a lemonade stand, only to find her street is already crowded with kid entrepreneurs. Refusing to give up, she moves her stand out to the river's edge, where she discovers an unexpected, quirky, and incredibly thirsty new clientele.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

9. Milkshake the Disappearing Milk Snake: A Graphic Novel by Akeem S. Roberts

The class pet from next door is missing! Carter and his ghost detective sidekick, Mr. Pebbles, are back on the case at Creek Elementary. Carter’s older brother reveals that his class milk snake, Milkshake, has vanished. The duo must follow the clues and solve the mystery before time runs out.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

10. What's Inside A Bird's Nest? And Other Questions About Nature & Life Cycles by Rachel Ignotofsky

From the creator of Women in Science comes a stunning nonfiction picture book exploring the lives of our winged neighbors. Perfect for curious minds, this book answers everything about eggs, nests, and life cycles using Ignotofsky’s distinctively beautiful art style, compassion, and subtle humor.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

11. The Dragon's Apprentice by James Riley

Warning: Do not read this book! The Emperor has forbidden magic, but twelve-year-old Ciara accidentally opens a book of spells and summons a fire-breathing dragon named Scorch. It turns out Scorch might be the only one who can help rescue Ciara's mother and free her village. A thrilling, magical fantasy ride.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

12. The Ghost in Cabin 13: A Graphic Novel by J.C. Phillipps

Twelve-year-old Leah is already nervous about attending sleepaway camp for the first time. But she didn't expect to deal with a real ghost in Cabin 13! Between mean girls, a séance gone wrong, and a potentially possessed doll, Leah's summer at Camp Cottontail goes from normal to straight-up spooky.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

🪵 Teen & Young Adult High Stakes & Summer Magic

13. Forbidden Mountain by Brandon Mull

In the Anoran Empire, children bond with magical spirit guides. Mako discovers a forbidden agent of chaos has returned to spread an ancient evil, forcing him into a deadly magical choice. Meanwhile, a girl named Arden infiltrates an underground criminal network to find her missing friend. When their paths collide, they must face bandit armies and dark conspiracies to save their world.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

14. Mythspeaker by Christopher Roubique

Inspired by Indigenous American folktales, thirteen-year-old Kyta has always known he was destined to save the world. When invaders steal the precious Egg of the World Turtle, threatening to destroy the land beneath them, Kyta assembles a ragtag team of kids to pull off a dangerous fortress heist. A heartwarming fantasy about teamwork and respect for nature.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

15. The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller

Luna starts seventh grade knowing exactly who she is: a quiet writer who loves making zines with her best friend, Scott. But when one of their zines goes viral, Luna gets swept up into the school's popular crowd. Soon, she faces a major dilemma: how much of her writing, her beliefs, and her best friend is she willing to compromise to stay popular?

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

16. A Copycat Conundrum, The Misfits by Lisa Yee

After solving their last major case, the awkward underdog crime-fighters known as the Misfits are acing their missions for a covert agency. But when a friendly classmate starts receiving threatening notes, and unusual earthquakes shake San Francisco just as priceless art disappears, the team must uncover a massive scheme.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

17. The QB, Summer and Me by Tay Marley

From the author of the Wattpad hit The QB Bad Boy and Me comes a novel capturing the bittersweet heat of summer love. High school sweethearts Dallas and Drayton have eleven weeks of summer vacation left before leaving for separate colleges. While Dallas worries about their future, Drayton is harboring a massive secret that could change their entire love story.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

18. In Case I Go Missing by R. N. Swann

Sarah Vincenty, a small-town amateur detective, has gone missing. The police dismiss her as a runaway, but her sidekick Fenny knows something is wrong. When Fenny finds a binder titled In Case I Go Missing, she realizes Sarah was deep into a decades-old mystery tied to the town’s dark history. Now, it's up to Fenny to finish the investigation before it’s too late.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

19. Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights by Celeste Dador

Abigail, the eldest daughter of the President, just wants a normal teenage life. After an impulsive pizza order turns into front-page news, she is exiled to a Wi-Fi-free country inn for the summer. There she meets Gabriel, a camera-obsessed local unimpressed by her status. Armed with a summer bucket list, Abby discovers small-town life and unexpected romance.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

20. That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall

In this chilling Hawaiian Gothic tale, the ultra-wealthy escape to Kōpaʻa Island Resort for a luxury tech-free retreat. But for Lehua, it's a nightmare. She sneaks onto the island to find her missing twin sister, Ohia. Stranded when the boat leaves, Lehua uncovers a dark plantation history hidden behind the resort's sweet persimmons and must face the horrors lurking in the sugarcane fields.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

21. Summer Official by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Bubbly, popular basketball player Saylor and grumpy, artistic skateboarder Heaven could not be more different. But when Saylor breaks her arm and needs to escape her influencer mom’s viral videos, she strikes a deal with Heaven. Saylor helps Heaven build a social media presence for her tattoo art, leading to an intimate summer romance.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

22. Meet Me Under the Lights by Cassie Miller

Eliza Crowley is focusing on her hometown's community theater production to shake off her reputation as a rich girl. But her summer plans shift when Reed Fulton, the ace pitcher of a rival baseball team, returns to town. Drawn together despite a bitter thirty-year dispute between their families, Eliza and Reed find themselves caught in the middle of a high-stakes small-town summer.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

🔥 Adult Fiction & Beach Reads Romance, Thrillers, & Scandals

23. Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey

Madden Donahue, the new star catcher for the Yankees, has been in love with burlesque club owner Eve Mitchell since high school. When Eve’s sister suddenly leaves her with two kids, Madden steps in with a private marriage of convenience for the health benefits. What starts as a business arrangement quickly ignites into something much hotter as Madden fights to make it real.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

24. Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti

Fleeing London’s stifling marriage market, eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore crashes an absent princess’s Cornwall holiday estate using a forged invitation. Instead of a luxury vacation, she finds a derelict mansion occupied by Captain Malcolm Archer a former privateer turned con artist using the estate to cover his smuggling scheme. An entertaining, rakish historical rom-com.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

25. Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead

Ten years after her sister’s mysterious death at a Hollywood party, aspiring pop star Scout Sage is framed for a slew of targeted L.A. murders. Overnight, she becomes the world’s most famous alleged killer. To clear her name and find justice for her sister, Scout must team up with an unusual detective to unearth a dangerous pattern of Hollywood crimes.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

26. Crash Into Me by Robinne Lee

Trapped in a complicated marriage within Los Angeles’s playground of privilege, artist Cecilia Chen is struggling to find her real identity. Everything upends when she literally crashes into Anouk Ferrand, an enigmatic model she shared a brief, explosive physical and emotional entanglement with twenty years prior in Mexico. A sweeping, intense story of the past colliding with reality.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

27. The Au Pair by Teddy Wayne

Steven Hammer's literary career and marriage are both crumbling. The only bright spot is Astrid, the young Norwegian au pair who cares for his children and reveres his writing. When their secret infatuation spirals into a salacious, headline-grabbing trial, Steven must confront the wreckage of his obsession, power dynamics, and betrayal.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

28. Rules for the Summer by Meghan Quinn

Renley Gossage is determined to restore a failing Cape Meril candy shop on her own. Theo Williams is a posh, wealthy escapee from his father’s control who rents the house next door on a dare. Forced together by collapsing drywall, gossiping neighbors, and eccentric family members, their proximity turns a summer fling into something dangerously real.

• Shop it here: Bookshop.org | Amazon

🖍️ Free Printable Summer Reading Logs & Trackers!

Ready to track your family's summer reading goals? We have designed three distinct, easy-to-use Canva templates perfect for printing or digital tracking. Click the links below to claim your free templates, edit the colors or names, and start logging those summer pages!

• ✨ Kids Weekly Reading Chart: Access Template 1 on Canva

• 📚 Family Summer Reading Bingo Log: Access Template 2 on Canva

• 🌊 Aesthetic Reading Tracker & Goal Setter: Access Template 3 on Canva

Happy reading, everyone! Drop a comment below and let us know which book you are adding to your library stack first?