D.L.’s Comments (group member since Dec 24, 2015)

D.L.’s comments from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.

I'm looking forward to this one, but there's a bit of a wait on Libby, so I expect to get it towards the middle of June. :)

Beth wrote: "I have the audiobook for this... there is a months-long wait for the book through Libby. The audiobook is 45 hours long; I will definitely be starting it this week!"

This book is very popular and hard to get on Libby, especially since the movies came out a few years ago. I hope you enjoy the audio version.

I have been putting off reading this book for a long time. Its sheer size is super intimidating to me. But eh, let's give it the old college try!! LOL I'm looking forward to reading and discussing it.

I just finished The Widow. Hopefully this book is better than that one lol

I finished, and I'm with all of you.

(view spoiler)[The book was pretty bland and flat. A mystery without a lot of mystery, a thriller without any thrills. I really did not like any character but Sparkes so it made turning the pages difficult. I wonder why Barton is centering the series around the reporter Kate when she's not that rootable or likable. We'll see if she gets better in book 2.

I figured the Widow killed the pedo and he deserved it but she tolerated his awfulness for too long which IMO makes her pretty culpable in his awfulness. She definitely had serious issues. (hide spoiler)]

I think I'll be done with this one tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest, and then I can start book 2. It's pretty slow-moving and seems like standard 'unreliable narrator' fare. I hope we get a great twist along the way.

7/14 completed :)

All good.

26/52 now complete.

25/50 now complete.

I would like to suggest one more: They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran (for July, though I am open to other months).

Suggesting The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares for July. It's perfect for Summer though I'm open to other months.

ETA: Suggesting The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth for August (open to other months).

Please add me to The Hunger Games buddy read. I'll start with just book one for now. Thanks!

I finally started it! Like many others I've read, this feels like a standard psychological thriller, yet I am intrigued enough to keep turning the pages into the wee hours to see what happens.

It seems like everyone in our buddy group is not loving it lol I'll let you know what I think when I'm done

Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa

Summary: Inspired by Sri Lankan folklore, award-winning author Amanda Jayatissa turns her feverish, Gothic-tinged talents to late 19th century Sri Lanka where the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.

Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father’s craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise.

Now someone—or something —is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara’s father’s help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself.

As she tries to clear her father’s name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can’t shake the feeling that it’s all connected to the night she was recovering from a strange illness, and woke up, scared and confused, to hear her mother’s frantic cries: No one can find out what happened .

Lush, otherworldly, and recalling horror classics like Carrie and The Exorcist , Island Witch is a deliciously creepy and darkly feminist tale about the horrors of moral panic, the violent space between girlhood and adulthood, and what happens when female rage is finally unleashed.


The connection is the title.

TerryJane wrote: "Love your page, D.L. Such pretty graphics! I hope you are enjoying your 2025 reads and challenges."

I am enjoying the challenges and most of the books I've read, although I am still looking for a book that really wows me. I have had some strong 4-star ones, but no 5-star worthy reads yet. There's lots of time left, though!

I don't think I'm going to finish the challenge in time but I did get 3/6 done. TY for hosting!!

Thanks!!

I'm going with a poem so please put me down for 7 books.

COMPLETED: 0/7

Apple of My Eye
The Perfect Mother
Finding Ways to Share Joy
and Ways to Build Dreams
Beautiful, Sweet Dreams
Let's Be Best Friends Forever

Can I join in? I have this book and the second one as well.