October 2025

Katie Peterson
Oct 2, 2025
6 min read

Something old, something new, something steamy, something true-ish

Book Review Blog-Previous Posts

(Hint: If you click on the image of a book below, it will take you directly to the section about that book!)

Something old: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Something new: You [Don't] Belong Here by Megan Miranda

Something steamy: Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Something true-ish: The Chanel Sisters by Judithe Little

Book club pick: Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

The Ratings:

Like plain, black coffee. Strong dislike.

A little cream, a little sugar. Not bad. Not great.

Add some flavor or syrup, it's getting good.

I liked this a latte!

Love! Refill please!

The Steam:

No peppers: Love/romance not a major part of this story

One pepper: Mild! Some love scenes; nothing risque on the page; fade to black

Two peppers: Moderate! Slightly descriptive romantic scenes may occur on page; some implied innuendos

Three peppers: Hot! Blushing while reading may occur; lots of spice

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Sangu Mandanna

Mika Moon has always known that the life of a witch is full of adventure, enchantment, and magic...but is severely lacking in relationships. To maintain their secrecy, and in turn their survival, witches must not congregate together. Too much magic in one spot can lead to spontaneous magical combustion...and the consequences can be dire. Although she loves being a witch, she doesn't love having to keep such an integral part of her life secret from everyone she knows. By "pretending" to be a witch online, Mika makes do with followers instead of friends. However, she may not be as good at "faking" as she thinks, because she is soon contacted by someone needing a tutor for some young witches.

Intrigued, and with nothing to lose, Mika moves into Nowhere House, a place protected by the most powerful spell she's ever encountered. There, she finds three young witches in need of someone to teach them how to control their magic. Mika has always been taught that witches are solitary creatures, so seeing multiple coexist has her excited. Can there be more to life than she once thought? Can she have magic and more? Rounding out the cast of lovable characters at Nowhere House are Ian and Ken, the father figures and heads of the household, Lucie, the beloved cook and housekeeper, and Jamie. Jamie is trickier to figure out for Mika...because unlike the others, he's not glad she's there. Mika has never backed down from a challenge, and Jamie may have just become the next one.

My rating:

Steam rating:

(Hardly anything worth mentioning...but there is a romantic scene that's mostly non-descriptive)

This is the cutest little witchy novel; perfect for a cozy, quick, fall read. It has such an uplifting narrative, and you'll be rooting for all of the characters.

You [Don't] Belong Here

Megan Miranda

Growing up with parents who teach there, Beckett always knew she was destined to attend Wyatt College. Her childhood is etched with campus traditions. Playing hide and seek in the halls, cleaning out the dorm rooms in the spring, taking part in the hallowed game at the first howling. When the weather changes, and the wind changes course, all the college kids, and the local high schoolers, take part in the revered game. Run as fast as you can through the woods to the edge of campus, trying not to get caught by a senior. Get there unscathed, celebrate. If you're not quick enough, back through the dark to your room...alone. But Beckett has something that the others don't: her dads keys to the underground tunnel system, used years prior by the school. What she doesn't anticipate is using them will lead to two locals dying...and her roommate being wanted for their murders.

After leaving town, Beckett swore she'd never go back. To her dismay, she finds out her daughter has secretly applied for and been accepted to none other than Wyatt. And when Delilah fails to check in, Beckett knows that she has to return. The past creeps back, reminding her at every turn why she left. People who haven't forgotten. Loved ones who still blame her. To have any chance in saving her daughter, Beckett may have to take part in one last howling after all.

My rating:

If you like twisty thrillers, you'll love this one.

Play Nice

Rachel Harrison

Clio lives a seemingly glamorous life as a stylist and influencer. Hair, nails, make-up-always on point and picture-perfect. But when she gets the news that her mother has died, the perfect veneer starts to crack. Meeting with her sisters, they try to convince her to stay far away from their mother, even dead. Being older than her, they were around for much more of their mother's eccentricity...and their scars are deeper. Clio has few memories of her mom and the house they lived in...which her mom insisted was haunted. Clio and her sisters made a pact to never read the 'spirit themed tell all' their mother wrote...except now they find out that the house, the one they all vowed never to set foot in again, has now been left to them.

Determined to prove her capability, Clio decides to renovate the house for resale and moves in while working on it. Is she imagining the noises? What about the fans and lights that turn on and off by themselves? One thing she knows for sure-she isn't hallucinating when she discovers her mom's book on the bookshelf-as if it was put there just for her. As she reads, she gets glimpses into her childhood that have her questioning everything. Was her mom crazy, or was she telling the truth?

My rating:

Fun fall read! The main character is totally unlikeable-but in a likeable way. ;)

Steam rating:

Nothing too descriptive, but some sexy scenes.

The Chanel Sisters

Judithe Little

A beautifully written historical fiction, on survival and purpose in the face of poverty, loss, and war. Sisters, who together, start something from nothing...and turn it into a fashion name still relevant over a century later. Antoinette and Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel know that they are destined for more than their life in the shadows of the convent where they're raised. Although being brought up by pious nuns, they still find ways to let their personalities soar...stashing romance novels and magazine cut outs in their floorboards. When they are old enough to join society, sheer determination propels them forward.

Setting up shop in their apartment, they soon see their hats in the most elegant of places. Gaining popularity around town, they open their own shop in Paris, becoming a sought after fashion locale. Their success pushes them towards expansion throughout France, making their way to glamorous resort towns by the beach. However, like many French lives, theirs is changed forever by the start of World War I. Do they have the courage to move onward, even through unimaginable loss and circumstances?

The early life of "Coco" Chanel is relatively secret...she never liked talking about her upbringing and kept memories of her family sacred. What is known is that she revolutionized women's fashion by introducing high quality, practical, casual, and comfortable clothing. This imagining is heartfelt, giving a possible glimpse into what it may have been like in the early store rooms of the Chanel brand.

My rating:

Darling Girls

Sally Hepworth

Before reading this book you have to come to terms with the fact that you'll be reading about horrific things happening to children in the foster care system. If you can get past that, the book is compelling and quick-paced. If you can't, don't even pick it up.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are thrust together as wards of Miss Fairchild. From the outside, it appears as if Miss Fairchild has provided an idyllic childhood for the girls at Wild Meadows, a quaint but clean home. From the inside, the girls are living a nightmare. Forced to clean for hours, locked in basements, food withheld...the girls survive by relying on each other. But although Miss Fairchild is cruel, she's also clever. She pits the girls against each other and ensures that the horrors they experience won't be viewed as such by others, so that when they try to seek help, no one believes them.

Years later, the girls are still close as sisters, the one positive thing Miss Fairchild gave them was each other. Each leading very different lives, they are still in tune and committed to one another. So when they hear that a body was discovered buried underneath Wild Meadows, they know they have to revisit the place that still haunts their memories. When they return, they're puzzled by some of the details. Will the truth about their upbringing finally come to light? Or did they just become the prime suspects?

My rating:

Read along with me in November

Something old	The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede
Something new	Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
Something steamy	Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian
Something true-ish	Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Book club pick	Perfect Strangers by J.T. Geissinger