Waiting on Wednesday (25): An Endless Cycle of Evenings by Caroline Mason

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

This week for the Waiting on Wednesday spotlight, I'm showcasing An Endless Cycle of Evenings by Caroline Mason.

Expected publication date:  May 4, 2027

Goodreads Synopsis

A messy, hopeful coming-of-age novel following a twenty-something in Brooklyn as she spirals through grief and a dangerously tangled relationship with her boss and his wife

Carson, twenty-five and reeling from her mother’s death, is coping the only way she knows with cheap wine and bars full of strangers. Her life is an endless cycle of evenings, blackout nights washing into hungover mornings—until she meets Jasper Stewart, a celebrated novelist who offers her a glimpse of the adult life she can’t quite figure out how to build for herself.

When Camille—an enviably self-possessed woman whose boys frequent the bookstore where Carson is underemployed—offers her a nannying job, Carson is pulled into a household that feels dangerously like home. It isn’t until after she’s already ensnared in their world that she realizes Camille is Jasper’s wife. As she is pulled closer to Jasper, what began as casual quickly evolves into a full-fledged affair, and Carson ricochets between loathing the enigmatic Camille and longing to be mothered by her. Add in a situationship with Arabelle, another nanny, and a growing dependence on alcohol, and Carson’s free fall through New York becomes impossible to ignore. As the lines between desire, grief, and self-destruction blur, Carson must decide whether she can pull herself out of the spiral . . . or let the chaos of her twenties swallow her whole.

An Endless Cycle of Evenings is at once a tender, funny, and ultimately redemptive love letter to Brooklyn and a compassionate salute to the beautiful disasters of early adulthood.

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I found this book while browsing through Netgalley for ARCs, and I feel really taken with this one. It feels like a great kind of book to crack into over the winter, and I suspect it is going to pull at my heartstrings a bit. I can't wait to get my hands on it. 

Mini Monday (6): Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

Goodreads synopsis

When Sarah Merson receives the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the most elite prep school in the country-Sanctuary Bay Academy-it seems almost too good to be true. But, after years of bouncing from foster home to foster home, escaping to its tranquil setting, nestled deep in Swans Island, couldn't sound more appealing. Swiftly thrown into a world of privilege and secrets, Sarah quickly realizes finding herself noticed by class charmer, Nate, as well as her roommate's dangerously attentive boyfriend, Ethan, are the least of her worries. When her roommate suddenly goes missing, she finds herself in a race against time, not only to find her, but to save herself and discover the dark truth behind Sanctuary Bay's glossy reputation.

Thoughts

Synopsis was a little misleading, but I liked this book well enough. It was fast paced and held my interest most of the time. The beginning has a lot of world building but once we get past that it picks up. Sometimes a little darker than I expected to be, so I would recommend it probably to older teen readers.  

Obsession (2026) Review

Rating: R

Genre: Horror, psychological thiller

Release date: May 15, 2026

Director/Writer: Curry Baker

Cast: Micheal Johnnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless

Intro

Lonely and feeling like there wasn't much to lose, Bear uses a "One Wish Willow" to wish that his crush, Nikki would love him more than anything else in the world. But you know what they say: Be careful what you wish for.

Review

I know I'm late to the party on this one. Everybody has seen this movie. My own horror movie hating, resident scaredy cat mother, saw this movie when it released in the theatres. And all these months of people raving about it, I never once thought that the movie wasn't going to live up to the hype, which is rare for me. Typically, when everybody is obsessed with something for so long, by the time I actually get around to experiencing it for myself, I end up a little underwhelmed.

But let me tell you something, in case you needed one more person in your ear saying it.

This movie was phenomenal.

The acting was insane. Inde Navarrette, who plays Nikki nailed every single emotion, every single expression, every single movement in this movie. The scene where she is watching Bear sleep was quite literally a masterpiece plucked from my nightmares. The party scene where she frowns at the potential of Bear kissing another girl? I think we must move the Florence Pugh frown down a notch to make room for the work that Navarrette did in this film. I truly think I could sing her praises for days.

Micheal Johnston, who played Bear, also did a fantastic job. The insecurities of his character were palpable. Bear was ultimately a weak man, and Johnston did a great job of portraying that.

Another aspect of the film that I think was done so well was the lighting. The shadows of Nikki in the bedroom scene, and the shadow of her in doorways were so effective. I loved the way you could almost see her becoming somebody—or something—else.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the way footage was played in reverse to get some of Nikki’s odd movements. Such a simple trick, and so effective.

Now, on to how I felt about the story of the film and the characters generally. If you couldn’t already guess, I loved every minute of this.

It has been quite a year for weak men in horror. (Nicky Cunningham from Something Very Bad is Going to Happen, I’m looking at you.) And their female counterparts getting a fate they so desperately did not deserve, and this is another one of those stories.

Firstly, I want to say that Bear is the villain. Maybe it didn’t start that way. Maybe his wish was a silly attempt at hoping that love would find him. Nobody actually thought that the One Wish Willow would work. The problem comes in when he really knows that the wish did work. When he called the help number. He knew that this was not Nikki. It was definitely Nikki’s body. But not her. He asked to alter the wish instead of cancelling it. He didn’t consider Nikki in this at all. He simply wanted to have his cake and eat it too. When I tell you how my stomach dropped when he dared to utter “What’s so bad about being with me?” after the real Nikki asked him to kill her? He’s lucky I couldn’t reach through the screen.

Anyway, before I get too carried away here. This whole thing is a horror story. And sometimes the villain of the whole thing is just some guy you know.

Overall, this movie truly unsettled me, and it’s been years since I’ve been able to say that as an avid horror movie watcher. A true 10/10 for me. I would be shocked if this didn’t end up being the top movie of the year for me.

Mini Monday (5): Rikki by Abigail Strom

Goodreads synopsis

Ever since junior high and an ill-fated game of seven minutes in heaven, Rikki Eisendrath and Sam Payne have hated each others’ guts. But when they end up at the same college—and the same dorm—they figure it’s time to declare a truce.

They even become friends… sort of. But when Sam asks Rikki to model for his sculpting project, they start spending more time together—and her feelings for him get more complicated.

She tries to focus on the guy she’s been crushing on instead. But Sam’s the one she can’t stop thinking about, even though their arguments are starting to heat up as much as the chemistry between them.

With antagonism and attraction this intense, there’s bound to be an explosion. But when the dust settles, will Sam and Rikki be enemies, friends… or something more?

Thoughts

A fun and angsty quick read! Very easy to get through in an evening if you have the time. The protagonists were quite funny throughout and generally pretty likeable. I would like to continue with this series. 

Mini Monday (4): Dead Ringer by Jessie Rosen

Goodreads synopsis

From the moment Laura Rivers steps foot into Englewood High, she notices the stares—and they aren’t the typical once-overs every pretty new girl endures. The students seem confused and…spooked. Whispers echoing through the halls confirm that something is seriously off. “That new girl looks just like her,” they say.

It turns out Laura has a doppelgänger, and it isn't just anyone—it's Sarah Castro-Tanner, the girl who killed herself by jumping into the Navasink River one year ago.

Laura is determined not to let the gossip ruin her chances of making a fresh start. Thanks to her charming personality and California tan, she catches the eye of Englewood’s undisputed golden boy, Charlie Sanders, and it’s only a matter of time before they make their relationship official.

But something is making Charlie and his friends paranoid—and Laura soon discovers it has to do with Sarah Castro-Tanner.

What really happened to Sarah? Why is Charlie unraveling? And how does Laura Rivers fit into it all?

After all, she’s the dead ringer for a dead girl.

Thoughts

At best this was an average YA thriller/mystery for me. Took a long time to get going and I didn’t find the characters very interesting. It gets a few point for having some “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes. Younger teens just getting into YA mystery would probably enjoy the most, especially those who are fans of Pretty Little Liars. This whole plot could have been a Pretty Little Liars episode.

Waiting on Wednesday (24): Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

For this week's waiting on Wednesday I'm spotlighting Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom.

Publication date: September 14, 2021

Goodreads synopsis

A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger – only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.

Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken ... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.

Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.

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Another book that has already been released as my spotlight for this week. This book has been on my TBR forever, and I'm hoping that this year is the year that I finally get my hands on it. Hopefully just in time for spooky season too! 

Mini Monday (3): The Zeuorian Awakening by Cindy Zablockis

Goodreads synopsis

Lexi’s no ordinary teenager. She was born with the ability to read minds and sense danger. But on her seventeenth birthday, she realized how different she was after transforming, literally that is. Now she’s developing powers stronger than a superhero. But she’s no superhero.

Far from it.

She has no control over her abilities and causes accidents every time she’s nervous or upset, which being a teenager is hard to avoid, especially when the most popular boys in school are fighting to be with her.

If that isn’t bad enough, a stranger is following her. She doesn't know who he is or what he wants, yet he knows all about her abilities and that she’s developing more. And . . . he’s her only hope of understanding why she’s changing and others are after her. What she learns will send her life into overdrive.

A romantic and suspenseful story with several unexpected twists, The Zeuorian captures the struggle between wanting to survive and longing to know the truth even if it means risking death.

Thoughts

The idea for this book was something that I think had the potential to be good, but the execution missed the mark for me. I loved the premise of Lexi's abilities and how she struggled for control. What I didn't like, is the slew of potential love interests that weren't at all, well, interesting. This book is another one that is VERY YA. I would probably only recommend it to younger YA readers.