Tag: mini book review

new blog post: october 2025 wrap-up post October 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

October 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

October has been productive yet anti-climactic. It’s been one of those months where things weren’t bad, but they weren’t particularly good either. I’ve been trying to enjoy the small things more, like the leaves changing and spending time with my partner and pets. And, of course, writing. Let’s look at my goals for October again:

  • Write 20,000 words
  • Keep up with grades
  • Maintain my mental health
  • Make a dent in Christmas shopping
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Cover reveal??

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 11 in October.

  1. Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake- 4 stars, a sapphic second chance romance between childhood sweethearts set against a Hallmark style holiday matchmaking event. Of all of Blake’s books, I think this is my favorite so far, mostly due to the complexity of the characters.
  2. Magically Generated by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, a cynical woman and a sunshine man are neighbors in the same building, and she soon learns that not only is he jolly but that he is making ice sculptures all over the city in an unbelievable way.
  3. Queer as Folklore by Sacha Coward- 5 stars, a nonfiction book where the origins of folktales are examined for their queer roots. I loved how this book covered a wide spectrum of creatures and groups, including but not limited to vampires, werewolves, mermaids, pirates, and more much.
  4. A Mouthful of Dust (#6) by Nghi Vo- 5 stars, Cleric Chih reaches a town known for its pork noodles only to find a story about a past famine is far more disturbing than they bargained for. This pairs very well with Eaters of the Dead by Kevin Wetmore.
  5. Cinder House by Freya Marske- 5 stars, a Cinderella retelling where the titular character is a ghost compelled to clean who decides to have one last hurrah as a human and accidentally finds herself in a poly relationship.
  6. What Stalks the Deep (#3) by T. Kingfisher- 5 stars, this book reminded me so much of Jordan L. Hawk’s Widdershins books. Our sworn soldier is summoned to America to help an old friend only to face down monsters in a creepy mine.
  7. Smell by Nagabe- 4 stars, Nagabe’s work is almost always erotic, just as a heads-up. This one is two dogs with a smell kink. Yes, it’s weird. Yes, I still enjoyed it.
  8. The Moon on a Rainy Night (#7) by Kuzushiro- 4 stars, this is a sapphic YA series featuring a hard of hearing character. The girls finally get to put on their chorus performance and work at a maid cafe at school. It’s a very cute episode where we get to see them shine and support each other.
  9. Lore Olympus (#9) by Rachel Smythe- 4 stars, Persephone’s trial is over, and she and Hades are trying to start their life together, only Demeter is once again making things difficult.
  10. The Ancient Magus’s Bride (#21) by Kore Yamazaki, 4 stars, we are beginning a new arc here involving dragons. I really liked this volume as it brought back some older characters. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
  11. My Twisted Eating Disorder by Nagata Kabi- 4 stars, Kabi’s work is autobiographical and deals with her many mental health struggles as someone with an addictive personality. I would not recommend this volume if anyone has an eating disorder as it may be triggering, but it was interesting to see inside someone’s mind as they struggle with it.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Mostly worked on The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Caught up on my bookkeeping
  • Worked with my cover designer on the TRF cover
  • Worked on managing my stress better
  • Spent a lot of time with my partner (see bullet point above, lol)
  • My oldest dog had a seizure (he’s okay, but it was scary)
  • Voted in the NJ gubernatorial election
  • Pulled off a successful event at work with my students
  • Graded a shit ton of papers
  • Dealt with repairmen

Blogs

Writing

I don’t want to jinx it, but writing went well in October. I managed to untangle an issue I was having and make a chunk of The Reanimator’s Fate much more focused and less clunky than I had originally planned. I don’t want to give too much away, but I really like the arc in this book, especially the emotional one. Poor Felipe is going through it, as is Oliver. It’s going to be a rough one for the boys, but they will come out of it far stronger by the end. And Gwen also plays an important role in this story as well (since I know so many of you love Gwen like I do).

Hopes for November

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Reread and edit act 2
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Cover reveal (hopefully)
  • Keep up with grading
  • Finish Christmas shopping
new blog post: july 2025 wrap up post July 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

July 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

July was one of those months where I feel like I didn’t get a lot done, but it’s because I was mostly focused on one thing, well two things: not losing my marbles with *gestures to the US* and writing The Reanimator’s Fate. As a refresher, here were my goals for July:

  • Write at least 20,000 words of TRF
  • Set up the preorder for TRF
  • Work a little on the rewrite of F&F
  • Manage my stress better as a USian living in this hellscape
  • Keep up with my bullet journal better
  • Catch up with my cross-stitch
  • Enjoy my birthday
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • send out my monthly newsletter

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 9 during July.

  1. The Ancient Magus’s Bride (#20) by Kore Yamazaki- 4 stars, in this volume we are heading into a new arc at the college where the families are coming together and the kids are going to be stuck in another power play. I’m interested to see where this new arc goes.
  2. Six Crimson Cranes (#1) by Elizabeth Lim- 4 stars, a princess realizes her stepmother is actually an evil snake, witch person who turns her six brothers into cranes and makes it so the princess cannot speak about her past without killing her brothers. While in exile, they struggle to break the curse and defeat their stepmother with the help of the princess’s betrothed (who doesn’t recognize her) and a dragon.
  3. Ark by Veronica Roth- 5 stars, the world is ending and the only people left behind are those working on a seed bank that they will take from earth to their new outer space home. It’s a story about loss, futures, and what is truly important. It is very short, but I LOVED it immensely.
  4. Void by Veronica Roth- 4 stars, a murder mystery on a space cruise that has some interesting wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff going on. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers, but it was also quite good.
  5. Therapy Game Restart (#5) by Meguru Hinohara- 5 stars, in this volume, the one MC is doing a photoshoot for the drag queens at his job at a beautiful location, which turns steamy with his boyfriend after they haven’t been able to have any time together. It is a very sweet and steamy volume, and I absolutely love seeing these two navigate a new world together. There are also more hints about a trans side character that is quite interesting.
  6. Copper Script by KJ Charles- 5 stars, an amputee graphologist falls in with a honest, straight-laced police detective who must solve a mystery together while navigating anti-queer historical sentiment, mobsters, and a crooked cop in high places. I really enjoyed this story and how much of London at this time period we get, especially the diversity of it.
  7. Masked City (#2) by Genevieve Cogman- 3 stars, a world-hopping librarian and her dragon librarian trainee sidekick get more than they bargained for when stealing a book turns into a kidnapping. Kai, the dragon, gets taken to a chaos world of fae where our librarian must find him before the magic breaks all of them and sets them on a crash course with fae who would happily sacrifice them like pawns.
  8. Compulsy (#0.5) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, a little prequel to Murder Bot. I bought the box set for the first half of the series and dipped my toe in by reading this short. I’m eager to read the others and get more of our sardonic but good hearted murder bot.
  9. Fence: Challengers (#7) by C. S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad- 4 stars, the boys are now at a fencing competition where they need to face rivals, be strategic, and perhaps figure out where they stand with each other. This is sort of a bridge/filler volume, so it is a little slower than others but not bad.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Was on the Trope-ology Podcast and talked about hurt-comfort
  • Had a lovely and relaxing birthday
  • Ventured to the DMV in person (bleck) and renewed my license
  • Actively tried to pace myself to avoid burnout
  • Managed to catch up with my bullet journaling
  • Finally hit my stride with TRF (this was my main focus this month)
  • Blogged weekly
  • Sent out my monthly newsletter

Blog

Writing

I figured now was a good time to give a bit of a writing update about book 4 since it’s been a while. Usually by now I would have a cover reveal and a preorder for the next Reanimator Mysteries book up by now, and frankly, that has been weighing on me. Earlier this year, I had a few setbacks writing it. Initially, I was absolutely fried. With the US election going the way it did and then just being tired from writing, it took longer than usual to get a plot together. As soon as I thought I had an idea, I jumped into writing it only to belatedly realize it wasn’t working. I ended up having to completely restart the draft of TRF from scratch. It was the best option, but it also set me back by like 2-3 months, so more than likely, book 4 won’t be out until the end of November or beginning of December. I don’t want to set a preorder for it until I’m a bit farther along and better gauge when it will be finished since pushing preorder dates out can be dicey.

What I can tell you is that I am really happy with how this draft is turning out (especially compared to the previous one), and that hopefully by the end of August, I will have a preorder and possibly a cover. We’ll see about that one as I don’t ever want to rush my designer who has been very understanding about me having to push things back. In July, I was able to write a significant amount, all of which works well and has been edited, so the draft is rather clean this far. This book starts with a bit of a groutesque bang that I hope all my book lovers will appreciate 😉 More than anything, I want this to be the ending Oliver, Felipe, Gwen, and my readers deserve, so I hope you will hang in there while I make it as good as possible for you all.

Hopes for August

  • Write 20,000 words of TRF
  • Get my book cover stuff in order for TRF
  • Attempt to work on the F&F rewrite
  • Make my syllabi for my classes
  • Set up my Blackboards for my classes
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out newsletter

new blog post: April 2025 wrap up post April 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

April 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

April felt like the longest month ever for me. I think it was mostly due to being kept busy by grading nonstop (April is the November of the spring semester), and I, for one, am exhausted. I’m really looking forward to break starting in May, so with that, let’s remember what my goals were for April.

  • Write 20,000 words for book 4
  • Continue to proof the audiobook for TRR as it comes in
  • Stay on grading as there is a lot this month
  • Finish Act 1 and 2 outlines for book 4
  • Continue to bug my senators and house rep
  • Participate in the Narratess Sale (4/5-4/7)
  • Maintain my sanity as best as I can
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 10 this month.

  1. What Feasts at Night (#2) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, I love a nonbinary protagonist, and we get that along with a nightmarish monster who is sucking the life out of people. As always with T. Kingfisher, it is very atmospheric and creepy.
  2. The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid- 4 stars, a fantasy story that pulls together pagan Eastern European, Jewish, and Christian folklore. We have a wolf girl who reluctantly falls for a woodsman/prince who needs to save his kingdom from fanaticism.
  3. Turning the Tables by Andrew P. Haley- 4 stars, book research, but I think it’s interesting for anyone who is into culinary history or how the rise of the middle class in the late 1800s led to the formation of restaurant culture.
  4. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman- 3 stars, a steampunk adventure featuring librarians from a timeless library, book dragons, and tons of nods to classics.
  5. A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbanes- 4 stars, if you’re a book lover or a collector, this book is for you. Basbanes delves into rare book collecting, bibliomania, and the people who have made some of the greatest collections in history.
  6. Book Curses by Eleanor Baker- 4 stars, this was book research for The Reanimator’s Fate. It’s a very short book that could be a webpage, but it’s fun to have.
  7. Don’t Sleep with the Dead (#2) by Nghi Vo- 5 stars, the loose sequel to The Chosen and the Beautiful set 20 years later during WWII where Nick starts hearing Gatsby long after his death. I absolutely love the demons and world this is set in and how the characters are handled.
  8. Into the Dark (#3) by Jordan L. Hawk- 4 stars, a ghost hunting story featuring lots of queer characters where they go to investigate the asylum the medium’s grandmother was sent to. This is definitely 95% ghost hunting with like 5% romance with an established couple, just as an FYI if you’ve read Jordan’s other series.
  9. The Case Study of Vanitas (#11) by Jun Mochizuki- 4 stars, it was nice to see all the characters back together again as we begin a new story arc. I look forward to seeing where the new story line goes.
  10. Ornithography (#2) by Jessica Roux- 4 stars, this is a book about the symbolism of birds. It would probably be nicer as a coffee table book than an ebook, but it was interesting.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Fixed the outline for the beginning of The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Restarted writing The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Participated in several sales/bundles
  • Did more research for The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Proofed more of the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Blogged weekly
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Finished teaching for the semester (thank god)
  • Finished the literary magazine for my class
  • Graded a shit ton of papers
  • Paid quarterly and yearly taxes (no one cares but it’s stressful, so it counts, lol)

Blog

Writing

The writing section for this month is a little odd for me. At first, things were going well until I realized I started in the wrong place and had to scrap what I wrote. Ultimately, the idea I had wasn’t going to work, and restarting it was for the best. This sucks since my word count went back to zero, and I spent two weeks figuring out how to fix it and make sure it didn’t happen again. Writing the final book in a series is hard because I want to do the characters justice, and I really want to make my audience happy. It’s really easy to get into your own head and give yourself performance anxiety or choice paralysis. I’m going to try very hard to stay true to myself, to my characters, and to the vision I have for this final book. In the near future, I will talk more about some specifics in the books and reveal the blurb, so stay tuned for that!

Hopes for May

  • Write 20,000 words of TRF
  • Write the working blurb for TRF
  • Maintain my mental health
  • Keep working out consistently
  • Continue proofing the audiobook of TRR
  • Finish grading portfolios
  • Send out my May newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly

new blog post: February 2024 Wrap-Up Post February 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

February 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

February managed to come and go so fast, but I finally feel like I’m hitting my stride this year. The semester is in full swing, I shoveled snow a few times, and I’m finally working in earnest on book 3 of the Reanimator Mysteries series. Let’s recap the goals I had for February and see how it went.

  • Put together the elliptical and use it
  • Do the bulk of the historical research for The Reanimator Mysteries #3
  • Start actually writing The Reanimator Mysteries #3
  • Proof any audiobook chapters that come in
  • Stay on top of grading
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out monthly newsletter
  • Read 8 books

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I managed to read 12! Some were short or graphic novels, but DAMN.

  1. Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble (#2) by Alexis Hall, 4 stars, a romance-adjacent story about a highly anxious young man, a baking competition, the adorable gay Muslim dude who finds him cute, and the mess he gets himself into (see Goodreads review for some quibbles regarding this book)
  2. Galatea by Madelline Miller- 4 stars, the story of a statue-turned-human taking back control of her life
  3. Of Socialites and Prizefights by Arden Powell- 4 stars, a social-climbing woman is cursed by a jilted suitor to turn into a wildcat every night unless she finds true love’s kiss. Turns out that might be a butch mechanic from the other side of the tracks.
  4. Taproot by Keezy Young- 4 stars, a ghost and a medium bond over plants and try to figure out how to make their otherworldly relationship work, very cute and fluffy
  5. Shtup Me at Sunrise (#0.5) by Felicia Grossman- 4 stars, the prequel to the Once Upon the East End series, featuring a headstrong woman determined to take her place in a society that has seemingly rejected her
  6. Ghostland by Colin Dickey- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about how ghost stories come to be and what they say about our society
  7. Of Honeymoons and Wildcats by Arden Powell- 4 stars, the companion story to Of Socialites and Prizefights where they go off to a cabin and find something very cute
  8. The Sitcom Star (#1) by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, an overworked TV star and writer accidentally runs into one of her childhood friends who helps her relax and more
  9. Vampire Forensics by Mark Collins Jenkins, a nonfiction book about how disease and irregular decomposition team up to create vampire legends
  10. Therapy Game Restart (#1) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, Shizuma and Minato are back to figure out how to navigate their first real relationship along with new jobs and complicated feelings
  11. A Haunted History of Invisible Women by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about how women who live outside the norm become legends and ghost stories
  12. The Invisible Man & His Soon-to-be Wife (#3) by Iwatobineko- 4 stars, really cute fluffy volume of this manga with good blindness rep

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Researched about ghosts for book 3
  • Researched about the undead for book 3
  • Did character sheets for book 3
  • Outlined a chunk of book 3
  • Helped a former student with their poetry book
  • Celebrated my partner’s birthday (more like a bday week since I had to work on their actual bday)
  • Stayed on top of grading (mostly)
  • Refilled my creative well with tons of reading
  • Started learning to cross-stitch
  • Began putting together the elliptical (oops)

Blogs

Writing

This month I decided to refill the well as much as possible and plan out the beginning of book 3 of the Reanimator Mysteries series. While I had hoped that I could start actually drafting it, I’m excited to get started in March. I know where the story is, generally, going and the main threads that the characters will follow. One of the first things I need to figure out before writing a book is how the two main characters’ emotional issues will intertwine and fit with the rest of the outer story. Once I figured that out with Felipe and Oliver, things clicked, especially after I bounced ideas off my partner. The beginnings of stories are the most daunting for me. I’m mostly a discovery writer (who does minimal planning), so there are still so many paths left open at the beginning that I become overwhelmed and get choice paralysis. I know by the halfway point, I’ll be fine, but I know the first act will be done in fits and starts as I figure things out and narrow down the path forward. If you’re interested in what’s going on in book 3, check out the Pinterest board and the playlist I made on Youtube. All vibes are subject to change.

Hopes for March

  • Writing at least 20k words of book 3
  • Proof any audiobook chapters that come in
  • Grade papers but enjoy spring break
  • Set up the preorder for book 3
  • Do a title reveal for book 3
  • Do taxes ;–;
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send monthly newsletter