Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer

I’m shocked. What did I just read 😂 Gentle reminder please read with care. Please.

This genre is not my usual forte, yet I dove in headfirst because the romance fantasy was simply irresistible. And wow, the enemies to lovers trope here is sugar sweet. I was fully invested until about halfway through the book. Then the story takes a turn that quietly breaks everything I was rooting for.

Why would the author choose that path for the characters? I refuse to explain why I changed my mind about giving this a full five stars. If you know, you know. 😂 This is the kind of book that makes you pause mid page and whisper, “no, don’t do this.”

The premise is solid. The tactical strategies are easy to follow, and the magic is genuinely mesmerizing. Truly one of the book’s strongest elements.

Astranza, Incendar, and Draegonis share one continent. King Theodore of Astranza, gifted with weather manipulating magic, is aging and ill, leaving his kingdom vulnerable. To secure peace, a political marriage is arranged between Princess Marjoriana and King Maddox Kyronan of Incendar, meant to be nothing more than formality. Yet fate intervenes, and Princess Jory and Prince Ky fall in love at first sight.

Everything falls apart when Asher, Princess Jory’s childhood friend and a Hunter Guild assassin, is hired to kill the royal couple. Refusing the job is not an option. Asher loves Jory and wants to flee with her, but Jory cannot abandon Prince Ky. With traitors lurking in both kingdoms, trust becomes a luxury they cannot afford.

Romance, betrayal, magic, physical abuse, and yes, an LGBTQ theme woven naturally into the story. Enter at your own emotional risk, especially if you get attached easily.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Laura 'Lo' Blacklock is a travel journalist whose career feels stuck. When she’s offered an assignment aboard the Aurora, a boutique super luxury cruise liner sailing through the Norwegian fjords on its maiden voyage, she sees it as a chance to reset everything. What should be a dream trip, however, quickly turns unsettling.

Before boarding, Lo’s flat is burglarized. She’s exhausted, struggling with panic attacks, and dependent on antidepressants. Her fragile mental state follows her onto the ship, which is filled with high profile guests including journalists and influential figures such as Lord Richard Bullmer, the owner of the Aurora Borealis, and his wife Anne, who is battling cancer.

Lo is staying in cabin 9. One night, she is jolted awake by a disturbance coming from next door, cabin 10. She hears a violent splash and catches sight of what appears to be a body sinking beneath the black water. When security investigates, cabin ten is claimed to have always been empty. No passenger is missing, and no one remembers seeing the woman Lo recalls so vividly.

As doubt tightens around her, Lo’s grip on reality begins to feel increasingly fragile. Surrounded by disbelief and a lack of evidence, she finds herself isolated, clinging to what she knows she witnessed while the world onboard quietly insists it never happened.

The pacing is admittedly slow in the first half, but the atmosphere is tense and claustrophobic. The writing is sharp, and the ending genuinely made me smile. 4.5 ⭐ for a thriller that lingers quietly before it strikes. 

 

Bitten by Jordan Stephanie Gray

At first glance, the cover and title already hint at a modern werewolf story, so I went in without overthinking and just let the story unfold. Vanessa Hart is an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl who goes to a party with her best friend, Celeste, and never comes back the same. They are attacked by a monster. Both are bitten, but only Celeste dies. Vanessa survives, confused, terrified, and suddenly taken to Castle Severi for her own safety.

Something feels wrong. Unnatural. The transformation begins. Fangs appear, claws tear through her fingers, fur spreads across her body, and her eyes glow purple. Vanessa becomes a werewolf and is imprisoned, cut off from her previous life. From that moment on, all she wants is answers and revenge for Celeste. She feels stronger than before, yet completely lost in a world she never asked to be part of.

In this new world, every werewolf who completes their First Rite must belong to a Wolf Court. Vanessa’s rare purple eyes and unknown abilities make her impossible to ignore. After the Rite, she becomes Vanessa Hart the Truthseer, gifted with the ability to know when someone is lying. That power turns her into a threat rather than a blessing.

When a murder happens with the same method as Celeste’s death and no sign of human involvement, suspicion falls on the Court itself. A traitor may be among them, and Vanessa’s search for the truth begins.

This isn’t my usual genre, but I genuinely enjoyed it. I could feel Vanessa’s loneliness, confusion, and anger, and how unfair it is when innocence is given no choice.

There will definitely be a sequel, and I’ll be waiting 😅📖

Warga Kesunyian by Kannika Claudine

Warga Kesunyian menghimpunkan beberapa watak yang hidup dalam fasa paling rapuh dalam kehidupan mereka. Marya bekerja di sebuah hotel dengan menjaga buku log hilang dan jumpa, memikul trauma kehilangan anak serta keluarganya dalam satu kebakaran.

Gemma pula kembali bertemu ibunya, Ching, selepas dua puluh tahun terpisah akibat salah faham. Pertemuan itu tidak membawa kelegaan sepenuhnya kerana Ching kini menghidap Alzheimer.

Via tenggelam dalam kesedihan selepas putus cinta. Pertemuannya dengan Randall, yang kehilangan isteri, membuka ruang tentang duka dan proses memulihkan diri, walaupun tidak sembuh sepenuhnya.

Ronald, bekas banduan terpaksa berpisah dengan anaknya sekali lagi. Persahabatannya dengan seorang kanak-kanak membuatkan dia menyedari betapa banyak masa lalu yang telah disia-siakan, dan betapa sukarnya untuk melafazkan kata maaf yang tertangguh.

Cindy pula kehilangan cincin pertunangannya selepas keguguran, satu kehilangan kecil yang membawa kepada renungan besar tentang kehidupan. Sementara itu, Dan Ian menerima mesej misteri yang kandungannya seakan membaca isi hatinya sendiri.

Kesemua watak ini berkongsi satu persamaan, hari-hari mereka berlalu tanpa makna yang jelas, dan orang yang singgah dalam hidup mereka hadir bukan untuk kekal, tetapi untuk menyedarkan mereka tentang sesuatu. Warga Kesunyian bercerita tentang manusia yang terperangkap dalam sunyi, dan proses perlahan untuk berdamai dengan takdir. Sebagai novel debut, struktur ceritanya tersusun dan konflik batin wataknya terasa hidup dengan tema universal tentang kehilangan, dan keterasingan. Walaupun terjemahannya kadang-kadang terasa janggal dan ada pilihan frasa yang kurang sedap dibaca, keseluruhannya masih boleh difahami dan meninggalkan kesan yang mendalam. 4.3 ⭐

🖤

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

This is my final read of the year, and the sixth novel in the Robert Langdon series. Even so, it works perfectly as a standalone. I haven't read or watched many of Dan Brown’s earlier works, but this one immediately caught my attention and made me want to go back to his previous novels.

This time, Robert Langdon, a world renowned scholar of religious symbology and a Harvard professor, finds himself targeted alongside Katherine Solomon, a noetic scientist. Katherine’s upcoming book introduces a strictly hypothetical technology she has invented, one with the potential to reshape humanity’s understanding of consciousness. That idea alone makes her a threat to a secret group known as Threshold.

Things spiral quickly when the CIA becomes gravely concerned about Katherine’s manuscript, viewing it as a risk to national security and attempting to suppress its publication. What begins as a race to protect an idea soon turns far darker. Langdon and Katherine uncover a covert military intelligence operation experimenting on innocent test subjects without their consent. If exposed, the consequences would be explosive and global.

I found Dan Brown’s writing fast paced and easy to follow, with short chapters packed with adrenaline. The characters are well drawn, the plot twists are satisfying, and the ethical questions surrounding science and power linger long after the final page. This was a gripping, thought provoking read and a strong reminder of why Dan Brown remains so widely read. 4.5 ⭐

Hari-Hariku di Kedai Buku Morisaki by Satoshi Yagisawa

Selepas mengalami putus cinta yang teruk, Takako mengambil keputusan untuk melupakan sejenak bandar Tokyo. Bila pakciknya, Satoru menelefon dan mencadangkannya untuk bekerja di kedai buku Morisaki milik datuk, Takako tiada pilihan lain selain menerima hari-harinya di tempat baru.

Yang uniknya Kedai Buku Morisaki bukan satu-satunya kedai buku yang terletak di kawasan itu, malah sepanjang jalan dipenuhi dengan kedai-kedai buku lama menjadikan Jimbocho sebuah kota buku-buku lama terbesar di dunia. Ia sebuah kedai buku yang menjual buku-buku sastera moden dan sudah bertahan sejak tiga generasi yang lalu. Walau pun begitu, Takako tidak berminat dengan membaca. Masanya kalau tidak bekerja di kedai buku, dihabiskan dengan tidur.

Baru beberapa hari di sana, dia belajar sesuatu tentang buku, dan pakciknya. Kedua-duanya telah menjadi titik tolak untuk dirinya banyak belajar dan tidak hanya seputar kisahnya sahaja. Saya suka sangat part ni. Bila Takako bertemu dengan buku yang betul-betul kena dengan dirinya. Betullah kata orang yang membaca itu menjadi tidak menarik disebabkan kita belum jumpa buku yang berjaya meruntuh tembok jiwa kita. Dari situ jugalah dia menjadi berani dan mencuba sekali hidup berdikari tapi dengan diri dia yang baru. Tidak berapa lama kemudian, dia menerima panggilan telefon dari Pakcik Satoru bahawa isterinya, Momoko sudah kembali selepas lima tahun menghilangkan diri. Susah juga ya bila berdepan dengan mereka yang jenis avoidant attachment tapi Takako belajar sesuatu dari situ.

Apa yang menarik, penterjemah menggunakan sedikit lenggok bahasa Malaysia membuatkan ia tak nampak kekok dan menghiburkan. Ini antara bacaan terakhir saya (kot😅) untuk tahun 2025. Sesuai dibaca oleh gen z yang ignorant (dibaca dengan nada mesra dan lemah gemalai).

He's So Possessed With Me by Corey Liu

This reading was quite a challenge for me. As you know, I’m not really fond of queer reads, but I successfully finished this one anyway. No matter what year we’re living in, I personally believe there are only two genders. What I did appreciate about this book were the themes of friendship, and family bonds. Those basics play an important role in shaping who we become in the future.

Ren Hsu and Colin Ong are schoolmates who are inseparable and serve as each other’s safe space and support system. Both are Asian, gay, and clearly searching for validation. For about half of the book, the author leans heavily into familiar struggles of being gay, which to me felt a bit cliche and exaggerated.

Things take a turn one day when they are heading home through the woods. A strange incident occurs and Ren is suddenly caught by something, at least that is what Colin thinks, and goes missing for a while. Then, just as suddenly, Ren reappears out of nowhere, but he is not quite himself anymore. While the plot is clearly there, I felt the author could have made this part more cinematic. Instead of building tension and atmosphere, the moment came across as a bit monotonic, which made the impact miss slightly for me.

Their parents do not exactly approve of their tendencies, and soon their dream of living together for college falls apart due to a sudden change of plans. Determined to figure out what is going on, Colin starts investigating and discovers that Ren might be possessed by a demon. A gay demon, to be precise. 😅

Overall, He’s So Possessed With Me by Corey Liu mixes friendship, identity, and supernatural chaos in a way that is quirky, even some parts were not quite for me.

The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine

I know by heart that this book deserves a 5⭐s. Everything about it pulled me in completely, the prose, the plot, the premise, the unsettling vibes, even the book cover. It is one of those reads where you already feel obsessed before you turn the final page.

Set in the early 90s, the story begins with a culinary world scandal that still lingers decades later. Legendary chef Damien Capello vanished without a trace from his family’s farm, leaving behind rumours that grew darker with time. Whispers of murder, cannibalism, and secret ingredients circulated wildly, all tied to his wife, Maria Capello. From grieving spouse, Maria emerged as a celebrated cookbook author and television icon, admired and untouchable.

Years later, Maria agrees to publish a memoir with a small publishing house and personally requests that it be edited by Thea Woods. For Thea, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Maria has been her idol for as long as she can remember, and the Capello case has haunted her curiosity for years. This book is meant to be the highlight of her career.

But as days pass, Maria begins to unravel Thea’s carefully constructed image of her. She is guarded, elusive, and deeply unsettling. The farm where Damien disappeared feels less like a home and more like a carefully protected secret. As Thea digs deeper, the truth behind Damien’s disappearance slowly surfaces, and what she discovers is far more shocking than any rumour.

The shifting narratives kept me completely hooked, blurring the line between truth, myth, and obsession. Each chapter is paired with one of Maria’s recipes, which feels both intimate and unsettling, as if food itself becomes part of the confession. By the time the final revelations surfaced, I was stunned by how expertly the story had been layered. This is a dark, seductive read that creeps under your skin and stays there long after the last page is turned.