Once again, I'm publishing a Top Off Your TBR post and wondering if the Harper Collins Publishing Union will have a fair contract in hand by the time these books release. The strike began on November 10, 2022 and Harper Collins/NewsCorp finally agreed to mediation last week. I'm cautiously optimistic that the two parties can reach a deal sometime soon, but we've been asked to keep applying pressure until it's all official.

With that in mind, I've listed a few Harper Collins titles below and marked them with an asterisk *. There are a couple I would have loved to feature in the top part of this post, but out of solidarity with the union, I'm holding off for now. (I'm cheating a little by showing their covers, but you're already here and Harper Collins can't use any of this for their socials, which is the point of the union's ask.)

I also wanted to mention that we're heading into the second month of Shop Your Shelves Winter Bingo and I've loved all the posts you've shared with me on Instagram. I'm not doing great on my own board (classes started, sick kids, a death in the family, a surprisingly time-intensive volunteer assignment) so I really appreciate the inspiration and fun!

I hope your month is full of excellent reading.

This post contains affiliate links.

I've fallen so far behind on reviewing books that I decided the only solution is to publish a big list of little reviews! These are primarily f/m contemporary romances, with a sapphic historical fantasy and two f/m contemporary fantasies thrown in.

You'll notice that the content warnings are sparse and well, that's because it's been a while since I read the books. If you have questions about anything in particular, please let me know and I'll do some research for you!

Ratings are based on whether or not I recommend them to fellow readers -  DNF (Did Not Finish), Pass, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), Read It, Read it Soon.

I was pleasantly surprised by Not the Witch You Wed. This fake engagement romance is what I thought we were getting with that big crop of paranormal rom-coms that includes The Ex Hex, Payback's a Witch, and all the others. It's funny, sexy and generally a good time. It doesn't take itself too seriously and while there are internal and external obstacles in the protagonists' personal and romantic arcs, it's not a heavy book.

New year, new books! This is the time of year when we make resolutions and while the cynical part of me knows most of us won't stick to them, I get a certain warm and fuzzy feeling from the optimism in the air at the turn of the calendar. I put together a separate post with my 2023 reading goals and I hope you'll share yours, too!

This month brings a bunch of new books and while there aren't many on the list, I want to note that the Harper Collins Union is still on strike as I write this. They're striking for NYC wages and an increased commitment to improving diversity at the company. The two are, of course, closely related since low wages prevent all but the economically privileged from joining and staying in the profession. You can read more, download graphics and contribute to their strike fund here. The union isn't calling for a boycott and you can support them and Harper Collins authors by shopping through their Bookshop storefront (at no extra cost to you) here.

This post contains affiliate links.

I'm not going to be a cookbook author and write a lengthy intro to this post. Instead, here are my reading goals for 2023!

We made it to the end of another year! I didn't write a Best of 2021 piece last year because I wasn't up for it, so the fact that I've pulled this 2022 list together is something of an achievement.

Shop Your Shelves is back for 2023! Due to popular demand and my own burgeoning bookshelves, I've set up a new bingo board for the first quarter of 2023. Below you'll find rules, explanations for the squares and a link to square, story and print boards.

December is usually a wasteland for new releases from mainstream publishers and this year is no different. There are lots of indie releases, most of which are Christmassy and a couple of which I've featured here. I'm not a big holiday romance person (sorry?) so this list is short.

Though Kobo tells me it released on Nov. 30, I'd like to draw your attention to the Current anthology, a collection of new stories to benefit community groups in Jackson, Mississippi. This first volume features stories by talented A.H. Cunningham, Meka James, Dria Andersen, Karmen Lee, Jayce Ellis and Nicole Falls. I've read and enjoyed books from four of these authors, so I'll be picking this up once my book buying pause lifts in January!

I also want to note that a couple of the books in the list at the bottom are Harper Collins titles. The unionized US employees of Harper Collins have been on strike since November 10 and have asked readers to support the strike and the authors by continuing to talk about the strike and buy books, but not to generate the kind of review coverage and social media posts that HC could use to replace the work of publicity employees. I've added an asterisk next to HC titles.

This post contains affiliate links.

Shop Your Shelves Bingo

Announcing... Shop Your Shelves Bingo! This reading challenge is organized around one goal: to read books you already own.

Time for a YA fantasy round-up! I'm very behind on these reviews, so I hope you're ready for a bunch of magical, murderous teens! Read on for short and sweet reviews of:

• This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra, #1), by Emily Thiede
• Belladonna (Belladonna, #1), by Adalyn Grace
• A Far Wilder Magic, by Allison Saft
• The Liar's Crown (Dominions, #1), by Abigail Owen
• Edgewood, by Kristen Ciccarelli

I also want to warn folks that I read most of these before or around release date, so my recollection of the content warnings is kind of fuzzy. I apologize if I've missed some.

Rating refresher! Categories are based on whether or not I recommend them to fellow readers -  DNF (Did Not Finish), Pass, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), Read it Eventually, Read it Soon.