This might be a boring post, but my hands are giving me a chance. I want to try to write even if on a whim. I wasn’t meant to do this post, so this is a TBR of sorts. At two AM my time, Dewey’s 24-hour readathon and the goal is to read as many books as possible. I will share some tips which help me in these kinds of readathons. My record is 10 books. Let’s start with the novellas I have in my Kindle, or end up finding. For myself, I do try to read books under the 200-page mark, which might sound like cheating to some, but I don’t agree. I want to do the hard part first: pick my TBR. Disclaimer: Some books might have AI help, but I’m really bad at figuring it out.
Amazon Blurb:
In the quiet heart of Calder’s Crossing, Jim Calder and Ed Haney have built a sanctuary of books and antiques. But their peaceful existence is shattered when a regular at their Sunday spiritual Circle is found dead—poisoned by a booby-trapped herbalism book bearing their shop’s return address.
As local detectives circle the bookstore, the arrival of Evan Brown, a young folklorist with a deep connection to the region’s past, changes everything. Moving into the shop’s third-floor loft, Evan brings more than just academic curiosity; he brings a bridge between three hearts. As the men delve into the dark history of land seizures and family grievances, a slow-burning romantic bond begins to weave them together.
But the shadows of the Appalachian hills hold long memories. The investigation uncovers a trail of bitter vengeance leading back to a family matriarch who will stop at nothing to reclaim what was lost. The three men must confront the ultimate betrayal before the final chapter of their lives is written in blood.
Amazon Blurb
Everyone on campus knows the Eastern University Eagles hockey team is untouchable. The players are gods in jerseys, worshipped by the student body and feared by their opponents. No one crosses them. No one challenges them. Especially not the two players who rule the locker room with iron fists and ice-cold stares.
Spencer Maldonado didn’t get the memo.
When the broken transfer student steps onto the ice for his first practice, he does the unthinkable. He skates circles around Captain Layton Sears, the golden boy with the platinum hair and the arrogance of a king. He makes the star forward look like an amateur in front of the entire team. And when Layton retaliates with a brutal, illegal hit that splits Spencer’s lip and sends him crashing into the boards, Spencer does something even worse.
He gets up. He wipes the blood from his mouth. And he skates away without saying a word.
That silence haunts Layton. It haunts Zavier McCormick too, the massive enforcer with the dark eyes and the permanent scowl. Zavier has spent three years hating Layton Sears, locked in a bitter rivalry that has torn the team apart. But when Spencer arrives, all beautiful, broken, and completely unafraid of either of them, something shifts. T
Now, the two men who can’t stand each other find themselves circling the same prey. Watching Spencer in the locker room. Following him across campus. Fighting the urge to touch him, to claim him, to destroy the walls he’s built around his heart. Their rivalry intensifies, but so does something else. A shared obsession. A forbidden desire. A hunger that can only be satisfied by both of them.
Spencer has been hurt before. He’s been betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect him. His body is covered in scars, each one a reminder of why he should never trust anyone again. But Layton and Zavier are relentless. They see his pain. They see his fear. And they want to be the ones to heal him, even as they crave the pleasure of breaking him apart.
When the three of them are thrown together for a team bonding weekend, the tension finally erupts. Stolen glances become heated touches. Heated touches become desperate kisses. And desperate kisses lead to something none of them expected. A connection that defies logic. A love that refuses to be hidden. A bond that forces Layton and Zavier to confront the truth they’ve been avoiding.
They want Spencer.
But they want each other too.
Spencer never imagined he’d find himself caught between two alpha hockey players who want to worship him and claim him in equal measure. Layton is fire, passionate and demanding. Zavier is ice, controlled and intense. Together, they are unstoppable. Together, they make Spencer feel things he never thought he’d feel again.
But the world isn’t kind to men like them. The team watches. The scouts judge. The media circles like sharks smelling blood. And Layton’s family, the ones who built him up to be the perfect golden boy, are about to find out the truth.
Can three broken men find a way to be whole together? Or will the pressure of their secrets destroy everything they’ve built?
Goodreads Blurb:
Lena Davis’ life will never be the same.
Aunt Melba Lynn was gone. And with her, the only fragment of comfort left Lena’s life.
Without Aunt Melba Lynn, Lena doesn’t have a choice but to spend her days alone, surviving while Mom spends her days away.
Unless the stranger in town can provide a solution.
Amazon Blurb
he Lantern Demon’s Last Light Bloodroot Market’s Lantern Quarter was built to glow through any darkness. Then the lamps begin to die. Lio Venn, a scarred human lightwright, knows exactly what desperate towns ask of useful men. Burn brighter. Hold longer. Give until nothing is left. He came to Bloodroot for emergency repairs, not for the horned demon guardian whose embered eyes see every trick Lio uses to hide pain. Veyr Ash-Lantern has guarded the quarter for decades. When contractors arrive with illegal replacement light and an old Merrow clause tries to name his body as public fuel, Veyr gives the only answer that matters: no. But the darkness is spreading, the old heart-lantern is waking, and the truth buried under the district is worse than either man expected. The Lantern Quarter was never meant to survive on one sacrifice. It was built from hundreds of small, voluntary lights. To save it, Lio and Veyr must trust a dangerous link, expose the fraud in the dark, and prove that desire freely chosen can burn hotter than fear.
Goodreads Blurb:
The Monument Garden is a short story that follows one scientist’s descent into madness. Is he losing his mind? Or being tormented by a strong and ancient evil?
For years, the Ubrinx Institute has conducted inhumane experiments on chimpanzees in the name of science, testing products on their skin and even injecting them with viruses. In commemoration of the lives lost to this testing, new monuments are placed in the garden behind the a mouse, a rabbit, and a chimpanzee. These large concrete statues are as powerful as they are beautiful, bringing life to the once-forgotten space.
When the institute is shut down, only the monument garden remains. Join one scientist as he discovers and explores the darkness that dwells within the monument garden. This dark psychological thriller features supernatural elements while exploring themes of guilt and the human condition.
Amazon Blurb:
Seven places. Seven stories. Some doors should never be opened.
At the edge of the known world lie places that maps refuse to acknowledge. Buildings left standing long after they should have been demolished. Roads that lead somewhere impossible. Structures that appear where they have no right to exist.
Most people never find them.
Those who do rarely leave unchanged.
In this chilling collection of seven horror stories, Marcus R Horne invites readers into a dark atlas of forgotten locations, each harbouring a secret more terrifying than the last.
Enter:
- A mirror factory abandoned after a catastrophic accident, where reflections continue to move long after you’ve stepped away.
- A silent forest clearing untouched by birdsong, where something waits beneath the trees.
- A cryogenic research wing officially decommissioned decades ago, though the sleepers inside may not know it.
- A lighthouse standing impossibly far from any coastline, its beam searching for something in the darkness.
- A community radio station whose nightly broadcasts reach radios that aren’t even plugged in.
- A sealed hospice wing where calls for nurses echo through empty corridors.
- A fogbound bridge that leads somewhere different each night—and may never bring you back.
Blending psychological dread, supernatural terror, liminal horror, and creeping mystery, The Atlas of Forgotten Places is a collection for readers who enjoy unsettling atmospheres, impossible locations, and stories that linger long after the final page.
Because some places are forgotten for a reason.
Amazon Blurb:
Princess Sara only wanted the perfect pastries for her birthday ball.
A trip beyond the castle walls leads her to a charming village bakery, where warm ovens, sweet treats, and the kindhearted baker Emma make it impossible to leave. What begins as a private tasting soon becomes something far more tempting as sparks fly between the proud young princess and the woman who sees past her crown.
Amazon Blurb:
She grabbed the wrong bag. He grabbed the wrong bag. They grabbed the right flight.
Nadia Amaro does not have her life together. She knows this. Her sister Kit (who color-codes her calendar and owns a succulent named Gerald) definitely knows this. But Nadia makes her flight to Tampa, which is basically a win, until she opens her carry-on and finds a stranger’s laptop, a bag of unhinged trail mix, and concert tickets to three cities she’s never been to.
The stranger in 14B has her bag. Her romance novel. Her uncapped lip glosses smeared over everything. And a question: “Page 47. What happens on page 47?”
The obvious move is to swap bags and never speak again. The obvious move is not what happens.
They have 2.5 hours, one middle seat between them, and a mutual agreement: show me yours, I’ll show you mine. Every item is a conversation. Every conversation is a dare. And by the time the wheels touch down in Tampa, Nadia is running out of sky and out of excuses not to want this
Amazon Blurb:
Spring, 1241.
The prosperous Saxon settlement on the banks of Cibin River stands on the edge of catastrophe. Rumours of an unstoppable army have travelled faster than the horsemen themselves, but rumours cannot prepare a city for the Mongol invasion.
As fire and fear sweep across the land, one young woman is forced to choose between the home she has always known and an uncertain road . Survival will demand courage and a decision that will echo through generations.
Set more than two centuries before When Secrets Bloom, this atmospheric historical short story reveals the origins of a family whose legacy will shape the events of the Blood of Kings, Heart of Shadows series.
Rich in medieval history and inspired by real events, Hermannstadt, 1241: The Mongol Invasion is a tale of resilience, loss, and hope in one of Eastern Europe’s darkest hours.
Whether you are discovering this world for the first time or returning after reading When Secrets Bloom, this story offers a glimpse into the distant past that helped forge the people, secrets, and struggles waiting in fifteenth-century Transylvania.
Goodreads Blurb:
A chance encounter at the ballpark. A second chance at love. And one very inconvenient ex-wife.
Nora Bellamy came to the Crosshaven Gulls game for one her sister insisted she needed fresh air, human contact, and possibly a life. What Nora did not expect was mustard on her sleeve, a stadium kiss cam, or Valentina Reyes, the warm, quick-witted café owner in the next seat who somehow made baseball, cloth napkins, and extra innings feel dangerously romantic.
Valentina knows Crosshaven, baseball, and heartbreak. After a quiet divorce that left more bruises than drama, she is not looking to rush into anything fragile. But Nora’s dry humor, careful heart, and devotion to saving the town’s old Alder Street house begin to feel like something Valentina thought she had stopped hoping for.
As their connection deepens, old fears surface. Nora is used to fixing houses, not letting someone see the cracks in her own heart. Valentina refuses to be loved from a safe distance. And when Nora’s preservation battle puts them in the path of Valentina’s polished ex-wife, both women must decide whether this new romance is just a sweet summer inning or the beginning of the real game.
I have a few backups, but now back to the tips. If you have any you want, please do; I would get all the help I can get. I’m doing this on the day, and it’s 7 am, and I’m on my second book, so I’m not doing so hot. Next will be my longer novels to get them out of the way.
Tips:
- Have plenty of water and snacks on hand. Watermelon would be a good one if it weren’t this expensive.
- Have a list; it will keep things moving.
- Try novels in verse, middle grade or graphic novels.
- Pick different genres to change the pace.
- Join a reading sprint; it helps you keep focus.