Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

 

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry | 528 pages | 2025

The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.

I’ve spent my life kneeling—to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king. I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood. But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.

Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him—bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know. Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated? And what if—for the first time—I reached for it?

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

 

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young | 336 pages | 2025

High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have always been a sure thing. For the past seventeen years, they have had each other’s backs through all of life’s ups and downs. But Sarah has begun to wonder... who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memoriam of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter, after all, independent and capable. That is, until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances and doubts. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be? In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to get out of their comfort zone and join a grueling, week-long hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Crooked by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

Crooked by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward -- 367 pages

The last thing I needed was a live-in bodyguard. And I definitely didn’t want him. Six foot two, with broad shoulders that were impossible to ignore and a talent for getting in my way, Wes Callahan was a walking bad decision.

But when you’re the daughter of a notorious mob boss, apparently your opinions stop mattering the moment your father ignites another war. I’d spent my entire life trying to escape that crooked world—new name, new city, newfound freedom. At least until I was suddenly shacked up with my new bodyguard.

Wes knew exactly how to push my buttons. He was also infuriatingly protective. And smart. And funny. And thoughtful when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. Little by little, the walls I’d built started to crack, and falling for the bodyguard became the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done. Because if my father found out, Wes wouldn’t just lose his job. He’d lose his life. Getting involved with him was reckless, yet I couldn’t find a way to stop it, no matter how hard I tried. But while I was busy losing my heart, the man who took it was hiding a secret. And it turned out, the most dangerous man in my life wasn’t my father after all—it was the one who threatened to break my heart.

Westfallen: Into the Fire by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

 Westfallen: Into the Fire by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares (384 Pages)

Summary: Former best friends Henry, Frances, and Lukas thought they’d managed to restore history to its original path after their antics with a time-bending radio went awry. But they’re still trapped in Westfallen, the version of present-day America where the Axis won WWII, living an alternate—and much darker—version of their lives. Henry has to work at the Home for Incurables, Lukas is on hard labor all day, and only Frances, whose parents are members of the Nazi elite, gets to go to school and move freely. And since they and their friends in 1944 destroyed the radio, they have to find cruder and ever-more-desperate ways to communicate across time. Frances uses her privilege in Westfallen to gather as much information as she can, while Henry tries to turn Lukas into a local baseball hero to save him from being sent away to a work camp. But the deeper the three friends and their 1944 counterparts dig into how Westfallen came to be, the more they begin to attract unwanted attention from people with a vested interest in making sure this version of history becomes permanent…at any cost.

Opinion: I loved the first book, and I am happy to report that the second one is even better. I was a bit worried this book would be a copy of the first, but this book takes what the first establishes and raises the bar. I enjoyed getting to read from multiple POVS in each timeline, not just Henry and Alice. Francy's POV in particular was illuminating. I also really liked the Lukas baseball subplot. Overall, this book will resonate with plenty of, both kids and adults, about what it means to be brave. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the series. 

The Girl With The Make-Believe Husband - Julia Quinn

 The Girl With The Make-Believe Husband by Julia Quinn - 384 pages

While you were sleeping…

With her brother Thomas injured on the battlefront in the Colonies, orphaned Cecilia Harcourt has two unbearable choices: move in with a maiden aunt or marry a scheming cousin. Instead, she chooses option three and travels across the Atlantic, determined to nurse her brother back to health. But after a week of searching, she finds not her brother but his best friend, the handsome officer Edward Rokesby. He’s unconscious and in desperate need of her care, and Cecilia vows that she will save this soldier’s life, even if staying by his side means telling one little lie…

I told everyone I was your wife

When Edward comes to, he’s more than a little confused. The blow to his head knocked out three months of his memory, but surely he would recall getting married. He knows who Cecilia Harcourt is—even if he does not recall her face—and with everyone calling her his wife, he decides it must be true, even though he’d always assumed he’d marry his neighbor back in England.

If only it were true…

Cecilia risks her entire future by giving herself—completely—to the man she loves. But when the truth comes out, Edward may have a few surprises of his own for the new Mrs. Rokesby.

Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden

 Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden-358 pages

⭐⭐⭐.75/5

Everyone has secrets.

YouTube baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she’d rather you didn’t know.

Like where did her son go when he snuck out of the house? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows? And what’s buried in her backyard?

Everyone has secrets. Some are worse than others. April’s secrets are enough to destroy her.

I’ll make sure of that.

Thoughts: This one is pretty good. I guessed some of the twists, but not all. Overall, this is not one of my favorites of McFadden's, but it's still a pretty good read. 

Open Wide

 

Open Wide by Jessica Gross - 272 pages

Synopsis: Olive is desperate to get close to Theo—really, really close. She’s always struggled to connect with people. And now she’s in her thirties, single, and so flustered by relationships that she secretly records her conversations, hoping to decipher social clues
and find a way to be less alone.

Then Theo turns up for a shift at the same food pantry where she volunteers. He’s a surgeon fascinated by human organs, a former soccer player, and possibly as weird as Olive. For the first time, someone seems to crave and understand her. Every recording Olive makes of Theo is a balm, which just makes her more afraid of losing him. The only solution seems to be to bind him to her forever. Luckily, the gap between Theo’s front teeth is just wide enough for something—or someone—to slip inside.

Arresting and immersive, Open Wide explores the boundaries of love and the body, as universal human impulses bleed into the surreal.

My Thoughts: This was an... interesting read. I really appreciate weird-girl representation in any media but this one had me going "What am I reading?" the entire time. Complete confusion the entire way through. Overall a good book and had a lot of relatable themes, if you can get past the surreal nightmare it turns into. Olive will give any other fictional weird-girl a run for her money.