She blinked and somehow January was already over. I spent the first (almost) 2 weeks of the month in Sri Lanka attending a friend’s wedding, ringing in the new year, and going on a mini-beach vacation. It was jarring to fly back to reality because my brain had basically been checked out since Christmas 2025, and I had to remind myself what days and dates were a little too quickly for my liking, lol. 😂 Coming back to work after close to 3-weeks away wasn’t fun—especially since I was thrown straight into the deep end—but we survived. Despite passing so quickly I can’t believe it’s over, January also felt like a decade long. There was so much chaos and heartbreak in the news. I’m sending so much strength and support to my friends on the other side of the world! I hope everyone is taking care and doing as okay as can be. 🫂
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:
Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn.
With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.
Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, The Stardust Thief weaves the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince, and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a legendary, magical lamp.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Blood, gore, death of a parent, genocide, torture, kidnapping
And with that, we have our first 5-star read of 2026! 🎉 Excuse this rambly review — I wrote it fresh off finishing the book so my main thoughts were: LOVED IT SO MUCH. EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS. I WANT MORE ASAP. 😂
TL;DR:All the hype you’ve heard about The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi were spot on. This was a swashbuckling good time and I’m so sad that it had to end (seriously, can’t wait until book two is out)! With an incredibly vast, historically and culturally rich medieval setting, a world full of magic and the supernatural, and a crew of fantastic characters—with Amina at its heart—this is a story that will keep you up reading all night and racing to the end. If you love banter-filled adventure and all of the above, then you need check this out immediately!
Special thanks to Sparkpoint Studio and Storytide for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
Better the Devil Publisher: Storytide Publication Date: 20 January 2026 Genre: Young Adult Psychological Thriller
Panda Rating: (3 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
A harrowing, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about a queer homeless teen who, in a bid for safety, assumes the identity of a boy who went missing ten years ago…only to find that his new home is anything but a safe haven—from All That’s Left in the World author Erik J. Brown! Perfect for fans of Karen McManus, Holly Jackson, and Ryan La Sala.
When a runaway teen is arrested for shoplifting, he’s desperate not to be sent back to the hyper-religious parents he knows will never accept him. While at the police station, he notices a resemblance to the aged-up photos of Nate Beaumont, a child who went missing ten years ago—and, in a moment of desperation, he takes Nate’s identity in hopes that it will help him make a quick getaway.
Before he can run again, Nate’s family arrives and welcomes him home to a life he never had. As “Nate” watches and waits for his chance to run, he finds that the Beaumonts are nurturing and loving, very different from his own parents.
But soon unsettling things start to happen—vandalism, alarms going off in the middle of the night—and it becomes clear that someone knows “Nate” isn’t who he says he is…and that the real Nate wasn’t kidnapped, but murdered.
As he starts to unravel the mystery, he gets ever closer to the devil he may know—and learns he might be their next victim.
TL;DR:Better the Devil wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. The title, cover, and synopsis led me to expect a slightly more “horror” take on a psychological thriller. While maybe that was my misinterpretation, I do think this wound up being much less thrilling than I wanted. This was a very slow-paced mystery thriller, and while there were interesting parts, I didn’t find that enough happened to make those 400 pages feel worth it.
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:
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:
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 