Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.
This week’s topic is:
Recapping Anticipated Releases
Prompts:With two months left in the year following October, let’s recap your anticipated releases so far. How have you fared with your most anticipated releases in 2025—have they mostly met with your expectations or have you been let down? Were you surprised by 2025 releases you weren’t anticipating but ended up being more enjoyable than expected? Are there any 2025 releases you’re still waiting on? If you like, share your top 2025 releases so far!
A deliciously witty and inspiring memoir by One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz about her decade in a cult and her quest to break free.
In the early 2000s, after years of hard work and determination to breakthrough as an actor, Bethany Joy Lenz was finally cast as one of the leads on the hit drama One Tree Hill. Her career was about to take off, but her personal life was slowly beginning to unravel. What none of the show’s millions of fans knew, hidden even from her costars, was her secret double life in a cult.
An only child who often had to fend for herself and always wanted a place to belong, Lenz found the safe haven she’d been searching for in a Bible study group with other Hollywood creatives. However, the group soon morphed into something more sinister – a slowly woven web of manipulation, abuse and fear under the guise of a church covenant called The Big House Family. Piece by piece, Lenz began to give away her autonomy, ultimately relocating to the Family’s Pacific Northwest compound, overseen by a domineering minister who would convince Lenz to marry one of his sons and steadily drained millions of her TV income without her knowledge. Family ‘minders’ assigned to her on set, ‘Maoist struggle session’-inspired meetings in the basement of a filthy house, and regular counselling with ‘Leadership’ were just part of the tactics used to keep her loyal.
Only when she became a mother did Lenz find the courage to leave and spare her child from a similar fate. After nearly a decade (and with the unlikely help of a One Tree Hill super-fan), she finally managed to escape the family’s grip and begin to heal from the deep trauma that forever altered the course of her life.
Written with powerful honesty and dark humour, Dinner for Vampires is an inspiring story about the importance of identity, faith and independence.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Domestic abuse, sexual abuse, possible drugging, mentions of drugging and sexual abuse (character past), gaslighting, manipulation, racism, misogyny, toxic relationships
TL;DR: As someone who was a huge fan of One Tree Hill and whose favourite characters were Haley (and Nathan—Naley 4ever!), I was immediately intrigued when I saw that Lenz had published a book about her “cult” experience. I was shocked by the events that transpired in this and it’s difficult to imagine this was all happening behind-the-scenes as Lenz was on set playing her biggest role to date. It’s a heartbreaking and emotional read! It takes such strength and courage to tell a story like this and I hope that it brought Lenz a measure of peace for her future. I would definitely recommend the audiobook as it’s read by the author and there were several cameos from OTH stars, which was a pleasant surprise!
Leslie and I are planning a group read for Dungeon Crawler Carl starting in January 2026! Find more details on Leslie’s page or at the end of this post!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
Let’s start today’s post by ignoring the fact that we’re halfway through October and I’m only now posting my favourite September posts from across the community… Okay? Great! I hope you’ll take the time to visit some of these creators and show them the love they deserve! ✨📖 Happy reading! 📖✨
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.
I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday night finishing my ARC of Temping Is Hell by Cathy Yardley. I completely overestimated by ability to actually focus this weekend, and I’ve done almost everything but read. 😮💨 Don’t know what’s going on with me! But anyway, I’m about 65% in this and things have moved quickly and been kinda intense! I’m a bit sad that this is the first in a new series cos I’m impatient, lol.
What book are you spending your Sunday in bed with?
Happy Thursday, book lovers! I can’t believe that we’re almost to the second-to-last month of the year. Where has 2025 gone?! Here’s what’s in store for the ✨November 2025 LTB Topics!✨
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.
This week’s topic is:
Oh, the Horror
Suggested by: Snapdragon @ Snapdragon Alcove Prompts:Do you read horror? What do you think of when you hear the word horror? Are there any books you read that are not practically horror but have some horror element in them?
Hello, friends! Today I’m sharing my possibility pile for the The Life of a Showgirl Taylor Swift Inspired Reading Challenge. Isn’t that a mouthful?! 🤭 Anyway, we’re halfway through the month now, and I’m just posting about this for the first time, so I guess you can probably tell how well this is going, lol. I have been able to tick off two of the prompts, but I’m hoping to complete a few more soon!
This is a reading challenge created by four hosts @katscreations614 (Kristin), @bookish.ciara (Ciara), @wander.through.books (Ruby), and @challengecoven (Nicole) on Instagram. I believe it was created before the album came out, so some of the prompts don’t really match the song well, but I thought it’d be fun to do anyway! 😂
Okay, I’m not waffling on anymore! Let’s get straight to the prompts and bookish possibilities, but I’ll include a full list of the prompts at the end in case anyone wants to be a chaos monster with me and join halfway through the month! I’m marking the books that I’ll likely read with a ☀︎ symbol.
The Fate of Ophelia — Retelling
The Earl That Got Away — Persuasion, James — Huck Finn, Blood of Hercules — Hercules, The Gilded Heiress — Anastasia, A Forgery of Fate — Beauty and the Beast
This was the first prompt I finished! This was definitely a strange little book that was a step outside my comfort zone with its eerie/chilling vibes. I really enjoyed it though 🙂
Father Figure — Strong male figure
I’m not gonna lie, friends. I had a really hard time coming up with any options but the first that popped into my mind was the book that I’ll be counting for this prompt. I’d love to know what you’d recommend for this!
It was also hard for me to come up with more options for this but these were the only ones I could think of (and one would be a re-read if I go for it, lol). I’d love to know what you’d recommend for this!
This merman fell hard, fast, and first! Sure, the “fated mates” trope came into play a little bit, but it was wonderful to see Arges be so absolutely taken by Mira (even despite being simultaneously disgusted by humans, lol)!
Wi$h Li$t — Got for free (gifted, ARC, library, borrowed)
I’m currently reading this ARC by Yardley. It’s an absolute hoot and romp in Hell and I’m enjoying it immensely! There are hints that this will possibly be an instalove romance, but I’m crossing all my fingers and toes that it’s not (or at least, that it’s more believable, lol).
Opalite — Makes you nervous or outside your comfort zone
Father Figure — Strong male figure
Eldest Daughter — First in the series
Ruin the Friendship — Featuring betrayal
Actually Romantic — “He falls first” romance
Wi$h Li$t — Got for free (gifted, ARC, library, borrowed)
Wood — Trees on the cover
CANCELLED! — Title with all uppercase
Honey — Yellow or gold cover
Life of A Showgirl — Two authors
And that’s it for my possibility pile for The Life of a Showgirl reading challenge! Are you also joining this challenge? What books would you recommend for some of these prompts? If you are joining, I hope you’re having fun!
Leslie and I are planning a group read for Dungeon Crawler Carl starting in January 2026! Find more details on Leslie’s page or at the end of this post!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
dinipandareads 