Reading with a Griffin: July 2026

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

D'ORC ARC Review 🐔

D'ORC by Brett Bean

My Star Rating: 4 Stars

Page Count: pages

Genre: Fantasy Graphic Novel

Dates Read: July 21st, 2026

Publication Date: August 25th, 2026

Publisher: Image Comics

Review:

D'ORC has a humor similar to what I have found in the I Hate Fairyland comics, though the story is uniquely Brett Bean's own. I enjoyed the idea of the prophecy causing everyone to believe D'orc is the one meant to bring upon the end of the world and seeing what their blame causes.

The sentient/possessed shield and the ghost of the head of a chicken were clever ideas for companions who brought a lot of humorous scenes. I like how the shield is a play on the talking sword trope and how it is blood thirsty. The ghost chicken head was an interesting take on the animal sidekick. Some of it's scenes were so funny.

There are many powerful messages throughout this volume such as don't blindly judge someone you don't know just because you are told to. It was interesting to see how Brett Bean used these messages in this oftentimes absurd and funny fantasy story.

I have loved Brett Bean's artwork for years in the I Hate Fairyland series and I was looking forward to what he would bring in his own adventure. His illustrations are great as always. I loved the map. D'orc's story is a fun one that I look forward to getting more of it in future volumes.

*Thank you to Image Comics, NetGalley, and Brett Bean for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Poems / Poetry Collections / Novels in Verse That Live in My Head Rent-Free

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Poems / Poetry Collections / Novels in Verse

That Live in My Head Rent-Free

I decided to use poems/poetry collections/novels in verse for this week's prompt that I have not been able to forget ever since I first read them. On my blog, I talk a lot about the books that would be on a list like this so I wanted to branch out into poetry. Along with each of these, I have provided a favorite verse or a couple of verses from the piece. It was very hard picking what to share here for each of them.

1. The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris- Poetry Collection

- One of the most beautiful collections of poetry I have ever read. It has stayed in my mind ever since I first read it in 2021. Along with the stunning poems, there are amazing illustrations which fit so well with each. The Lost Spells is one of my favorite poetic works. If you love poetry and artwork, I cannot recommend this one enough.

"Below Barn Owl spreads silence;
All sound crouches to ground,
Runs for cover, huddles down.
Noise is what Owl hunts,
   drops on, stops dead.

Over rushes, across marshes,
   Owl hushes -
Will you listen with Owl ears
   for awhile?
Let the wild world's whispers
   call you in? " - "Barn Owl"

2. Days Like These: An alternative guide to the year in 366 poems by Brian Bilston- Poetry Collection

- I read this collection throughout the whole year last year and absolutely loved it. Brian Bilston's poems oftentimes make me laugh which I usually never do for poetry. There are so many poems I love in this book and I like how he gave information before each of them. I cannot recommend this enough. It was wonderful.

February 24th poem is one of my absolute favorites from the collection. He did this one for Wilhelm Grimm's birthday:

"Avoid, where possible, all houses situated in dark forests,
particularly ones owned by bears or witches,
or those constructed predominantly from gingerbread.

As tempting as it may be to scythe off the end of your feet
in order to squeeze them into a pair of glass slippers,
do be aware this is unlikely to provide a long-term solution." - "A Few Take Home Points from Grimm's Fairy Tales"

3. "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe- Poem

- My favorite poem has always been "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe. It is so beautiful.

"It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me... "

4. Death's Country by R. M. Romero- Novel in Verse

- As soon as I saw this being comped as part Hadestown and the myth of "Orpheus and Eurydice”, I knew I had to read it. Many of my favorite myths deal with the Underworld. Romero takes the myth and breathes new life into it with Andres, Renee, and Liora. It follows Andres and Renee as they travel into the Underworld to try and save their girlfriend, Liora from Death. It is such a stunning book.

"The most important lesson I’ve learned
since I turned sixteen:
Love can’t be contained
in a word, a kiss, a single heart.
Love’s a pandemonium of parakeets,
free and bright.
Love isn’t a single beat; it’s a serenade,
one line rolling into the next.
Love can be stretched like toffee
across bodies and lips.
Love won’t shatter when it’s held
in more than one hand.
Love doesn’t need to be divided
between only two people.
There’s enough of it
to go around."

5. Great Goddesses: Life Lessons From Myths and Monsters by Nikita Gill- Poetry Collection

- Nikita Gill is my favorite poet and this is my favorite collection of hers. There are so many poems from Great Goddesses that I often think about and I love picking it up to reread many of them.

"When I was a child, I loved rainbows.
The way the sun scrambled into the sky after the rain to shine through the prisms of blue, make violet, indigo, blue, green- I tried to catch them between my small fingers but ended up empty-handed. Still, I never stopped trying." -"Iphigenia, Daughter of Agamemnon"

6. Bull by David Elliot- Novel in Verse

- One of the best novels in verse I have ever read. It is a retelling of the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth and is told from many different perspectives, including Asterion the Minotaur. Each perspective is written in a different form of poetry, which David Elliot explains at the end of the book. I love when poets do this in their novels in verse.

"Mommy has a little calf.
Little calf.
Little calf.
Mommy has a little calf.
His nose is black as tar.

She calls her calf Asterion.
Asterion.
Asterion.
That's my name — Asterion.
I'm Ruler of the Stars."

7. Amber and Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz- Novel in Verse along with Prose

- The next two novels in verse are two of my most recommended books on this list. Amber and Clay was one of my favorite books of 2024. It is an intricately woven story told through artifacts, verse, and prose. Each artifact is illustrated and precedes a section of the story. The artifacts are meant to be exhibits in a museum which we then get context for in the poetry or prose that follows. It was brilliant how Laura chose to play with format throughout the entire book. This is a story I highly recommend reading physically so you can see the illustrations/formatting and also listen to with the audiobook. Rachel Botchan and Tom Picasso do an incredible job creating voices for each of the characters. Hermes is probably favorite of the voices in the book, though I highly enjoyed reading from them all.

"Hermes here. The Greek god-
No. Don't put down the book-
I'm talking to you. If the lines look like poetry,
relax. This book is shorter than it looks."- "Hermes Speaks"

8. Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge- Novel in Verse

- One of my all-time favorite pieces of nonfiction. The illustrations are absolutely stunning and the writing is impeccable. Going into this book, I knew very little of Mary Shelley's life and really enjoyed how it was depicted here. I will always be a fan of books that are written in verse. It was a great idea to get so much of it from her journals. This was just such a fabulous book inside and out.

"My hands continue to pore through books

giving me glimpses of different worlds.

My heart chases freedom alongside fighting clansmen

in Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake.

My feet plunge bare into cold crystal waters

of Highland streams

While I read Wordsworth's account of

his Scottish travels.

My mind descends into hell

with Milton in Paradise Lost...

I read everything I can find

because they all promise

adventure

sacrifice

love

freedom

life

as my mother had wished

for me."- "Poetry and Novels"

9. Enter the Body by Joy McCullough- Novel in Verse

- Enter the Body focuses on four of Shakespeare's heroines: Juliet from Romeo and Juliet, Cordelia from King Lear, Ophelia from Hamlet, and Lavinia from Titus Andronicus. It is told through both verse and a dialogue between the women. The first part gives verse versions of the original plays and then the second gives the versions the heroines wanted. Such a beautiful book with deeply heavy messages that hit hard.

“But only notice me
When you have use
And I will scream
So loud I'll wake the dead,
And they might have
Some words for you.”

10. Now We are Six and When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne- Poetry collections

- Two of the earliest poetry collections I ever read. There was a collection of Winnie-the-Pooh books and these poetry books in my elementary library that I absolutely adored. I vividly remember signing it out and reading through it multiple times. To this day, one of my favorite book finds was being able to find the same collection from those days. The picture I have below is the book.

"She wore her yellow sun-bonnet
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
'Winter is dead.' "- "Daffodowndilly"

Some of my other posts on poetry if you would be interested:

- Happy National Poetry Month! - A post all about my favorite examples of poems, poetry collections, epics, etc. It also includes ones I would like to read soon. I had a great time making this post for April.

- 26 Books Written in Verse and Poetry Collections : Jan-Feb- The first in my series where I want to read 26 Novels Written in Verse and Poetry Collections throughout 2026. I'm doing pretty well with this challenge.

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Sea of Charms ARC Review ⛵

Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst

My Star Rating: 5 Stars

Page Count: 384 pages

Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance

Dates Read: July 13th-15th, 2026

Publication Date: July 28th, 2026

Publisher: Bramble and Macmillan Audio

Review:

Sea of Charms is the third book in The Spellshop series. It follows Marin who we met previously in the series. She is a sailor who does supply runs for people on many of the different islands in the Crescent Islands Empire. After the man she thought was the love of her life betrays her and her family, she is stuck trying to pay back the debt her parents got into because of it. Her crew consists of a sea serpent named Perri and Ree a sailor shrub. While on a routine trip to the capital, she rescues a group of musicians from the Conservatory in Alyssium. One of them is a friend she and Perri had made while delivering supplies. She lets the man, Drax join her crew temporarily. It is a story about finding your crew, family, and yourself.

Sarah Beth Durst has created a world in The Spellshop series that I cannot get enough of. This book was just as great as the others before it. I enjoyed following Marin on her adventures. She goes all over the Crescent Islands Empire meeting all sorts of people but her life is a lonely one. My favorite part of this story was the bond she forms with her crew: Perri, Ree, and Drax. Found family is my favorite trope in a story and I loved seeing the dynamic they formed while sailing.

The book was also full of the love of music. Drax is a prodigy musician who has lived his life being told what he was supposed to do in the Conservatory. Marin gives him a chance to live a different life on the sea with her crew. I love how she was so insistent on him being able to make the decisions he wanted to no matter what, even if it could go against what she wanted most. He has a deep passion for music but also for stories. It was so fun hearing some of the stories Marin would tell.

I enjoyed the connections to The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse throughout this book. You don't have to have read those books to read this one, but I believe it is more enjoyable if you have. Caitlin Davies did an incredible job again with this audiobook. She embodies the characters' voices very well and she creates a cozy atmosphere with her narration style.

Sea of Charms is a great little escape with a cozy world I love visiting with each subsequent novel. I look forward to the fourth book which comes out in January 2027 called The Magical Cheese Emporium. Sarah Beth Durst is one of the best at creating cozy fantasy stories in my opinion. I don't think I will ever get enough of her books and I cannot wait to add this to my collection.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Sarah Beth Durst for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors

Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors

Another Top Ten Tuesday list which felt like it was impossible to narrow down. There are so many books I would like to read by authors I have never picked up books from before. Here is a list of books from ten different authors I have never read from before.

1. Agnes Grey or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

- I feel in love with Charlotte Brontë's writing when I read Jane Eyre for the first time and then was surprised by how much I enjoyed Emily Brontë's in Wuthering Heights this year. So, the next step is to read one of these two books and see if Anne's writing holds up to her sisters. Don't know which I will pick.

2. Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez

- I have owned the audiobook for this book for so many years and am planning to pick it up sometime soon. The sound of this fantasy roadtrip sounds great.

3. The Binding by Bridget Collins

- Another book I have owned for years now. I have just never really been in the mood for this one but I would like to read it in the near future. Many of Bridget Collins' books sound very interesting.

4. Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (Red #1) by Anne Carson

- A novel written in verse is one of my favorite mediums for books and I absolutely love Greek Mythology. So, I really don't know why I have yet to pick this one up.

5. Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel #1) by Josiah Bancroft

- Ever since I saw Allen from @TheLibraryofAllenxandria, review this book and another two on this list I added them right to my TBR. He really sold me on these books. I got the first two books in The Books of Babel series from a book sale earlier this year for just 25 cents for the set. The plan is for me to read the first book this year, but I'm not too sure if that is going to happen.

6. The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig

- I don't know why I have never picked up one of Erin A. Craig's books yet. There are three of her books so far that I would like to read. The Thirteenth Child is the one I'm probably most excited to pick up. It sounds incredible. Hopefully, I'll get to it sometime soon.

7. Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

- Yet, another book I have heard nothing but amazing things about. This is one I know I will have to be in the right mood though because I have heard it is quite emotional.

8. Stoner or Augustus by John Williams

- The other books I heard recommended by Allen from @TheLibraryofAllenxandria that sound absolutely incredible. If I had to pick one of these to read first it would probably be Augustus because it is told in an epistolary format.

9. The Wandering Inn (The Wandering Inn, #1) by Pirateaba

- One of the longest books on my TBR at over 1300 pages. I have heard so many great things about this over the years and would like to read at least one of the books in 2026. We will see if that happens.

10. The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers by Margaret George

- I have been interested in King Henry VIII ever since I first learned about him and his family in my tenth grade history class. This is a book I only know about because I happened to find it at a book sale last year. It is told from the perspective of the king with commentary from his court jester, Will Somers. The size is one of the only reason I have not read it yet, with it being over 900 pages. Margaret George also has a couple of other books that sound really good, especially Helen of Troy.

Friday, July 10, 2026

Summerween 2026 👻🏖️

Between July 3rd-9th, I participated in Summerween, hosted by Gabby from @gabbyreads. I was happy to get to these four books during those days and enjoyed most of them very much. Also, during the week I completed all of Gabby's prompts. My favorite from the books was The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs.

Books Read:

1. Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mystery Book 1) by Gigi Pandian: 👻👻👻👻

- I highly enjoyed this cozy mystery and will be continuing on with the rest of the series. One of my favorite parts of this story was the whole idea of Secret Staircase Construction. It was so interesting to hear about the locked rooms they created. Also, the family elements of this story were wonderful. I love how Gigi Pandian used classic mystery stories throughout this and especially here use of Edgar Allen Poe.

2. The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs: 👻👻👻👻👻

- Such a strange little book, that I loved. It has a mix of humor, creepy scenes, and a lot of fantasy fun. It is my favorite of John Bellairs books I have read so far.

3. The Last Delivery by Evan Dahm: 👻

- I was really looking forward to this book because I have heard it described as a world similar to Wonderland with quirky characters like that. Sadly this was not at all what I thought it was going to be. It was unsettling and quite disturbing with no real plot to it. The only reason I even finished it was because of how short it was. I did not enjoy this in the slightest.

4. In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste: 👻👻👻👻

-In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts is a queer continuation of The Great Gatsby, following Daisy Buchanan's daughter Pamela (Mel) over 30 years after the events of the original novel. Daisy is found dead in Gatsby's mansion, though Mel knows Daisy has been spiraling out of control for years. At Gatsby's estate, she fin's her mother's ghost and tries to figure out how to free her from the house.

The novella has stunning writing which drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked in like the house and its "visitors." Gatsby is one of my favorite novels and I loved seeing where Gwendolyn took this "sequel" of the story. There are many different eerie and creepy scenes which were so good.

Along with Mel, we get some new characters and then many of the characters from the classic including Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway. Nick is my favorite character from the original novel and the author does an incredible job with his characterization in this. The haunted house became a character itself and I loved reading about its hunger. I think it's interesting how grief and guilt are looked at in this novella.

Overall this was a very entertaining read, I highly enjoyed reading as a big fan of The Great Gatsby.

*Thank you to Edelweiss, Creature Publishing, and Gwendolyn Kiste for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Gabby's Prompts:

1. Read a book in the dark or at night ✔️

- Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mystery Book 1) by Gigi Pandian