CBR18 Book 25: "Change of Plans" by Sarah Dessen

Page count: 368 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book is out on May 5th, 2026.

Finley is graduating from high school, and is worried about several weeks away from her charismatic boyfriend, Colin, their friend group and her entire social circle. Most of all, she would have wanted to join Colin and his family on a Disney cruise, but her distant mother, Catherine (her father has custody and she only sees her Mum a few times a year), has declared that they are spending time together in New York City, and that the dates cannot be changed.

So imagine Finley's surprise when she is told on the morning of their departure that New York will have to wait. Instead, they are going to her mother's home town, Lakeview, to sell a house neither Finley nor her father knew existed. Catherine was estranged from her parents until they died, and has kept up the distance to her two sisters, but for reasons she refuses to go into, the old family home needs to be cleared out and sold as soon as possible. 

Once they arrive, Finley discovers that "Cat" has been in communication with her sisters but refused to make any decisions for months, and this sudden change is a surprise to absolutely everyone. 

Her aunts are very happy to see Finley again, though. She hasn't really seen anyone from her mother's family since her grandmother's funeral, and that is long enough ago that she barely remembers anyone, certainly not her cousins, who are all grown up now. 

Cell reception is pretty unreliable in the middle of the woods, and Finley worries that she can't get in touch with Colin. Although when she finally does, it's because he calls her, from the boat, to break up with her via video chat. Since Colin has been the centre of Finley's life for the past two years, and featured in all of her plans for the future (she deferred all her other college choices to go to the same place as him), she is absolutely devastated, and shortly after, throws her phone in the lake in a fit of drunken impulsiveness. 

One of Finley's aunts co-owns a diner, the Egg, where it seems most of the teens she's met during the last few days work. Heartbroken and without real purpose, Finley starts helping out during the breakfast rush, when most of the tourists come in to eat, and soon she's making money and has made new friends. There's Clark, who runs the grill, and whose now deceased father founded the Egg with Finley's aunt. There's Lana, who sneaks into the old house where Finlay and Cat are staying and sleeps on the couch, leaving before anyone else wakes up. She takes it upon herself to become Finley's BFF after Colin dumps her, since she has considerable experience with romantic disappointments in her past. And finally, there is Ben, the shy guitarist who helps Clark in the kitchen and claims that he's super awkward around new people, but seems to warm to Finley immediately. 

I've only read two Sarah Dessen books, The Truth About Forever and Just Listen, but as a many-year follower of Forever Young Adult, I am aware of how highly a lot of people rate her books. While it seems like she writes a lot of YA romances, the central plot of this story was more about family and estrangement, and long-buried truths that needed to come into the light. Catherine left Finley and her father when Finley was about four years old, and while she has seen her daughter a few times a year since, she has never been a stable part of Finley's life, and certainly not anyone she has felt able to properly talk to or confide in.

Rather shy and retiring, Finley was shocked when handsome and popular Colin noticed her on her first day in Junior year. They were teamed up for a school task, after which Finley acquired the nickname "Idaho", and not long after, was swept off her feet by Colin. His friends became her friends. His close-knit family, so very different from her own chaotic home life (distant mother, stressed father and stepmother, six-year-old twins and a toddler), became her safe haven. When he dumps her after a few days of no contact, her entire world implodes. She has no idea who she is without Colin, but thankfully, helping out at the Egg, making new friends in Lakeview and getting to know her mother's family are good distractions. Nevertheless, it takes her most of the summer to realise that Colin dumping her might have opened up opportunities she would otherwise not have had.

I liked this a lot, and having re-read my reviews for the other two Dessen books I read (many years ago now), it's clear that I should make an effort to read some more of the books of hers I have in my e-book collection. The world is a dark and scary place, and wholesome YA contemporaries are a slightly different brand of escapism from all the fantasy I tend to gravitate towards. 

Judging a book by its cover: This cover feels extremely generic, and could be put on pretty much any YA book with a female protagonist. There is nothing to really distinguish it from so many other books out there. It's perfectly fine, but nothing more than that, either

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 24: "Platform Decay" by Martha Wells

Page count: 256 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

Monthly Keyword 26: Decay

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book is out on May 5th, 2026.

Murderbot (who has installed a mental health module now, and keeps doing Emotion checks on itself) is on a rescue mission on a large artificial planet controlled mostly by Barish-Estranza. What starts out as needing to find and escort three people from the hostile territory becomes a lot more complicated when Murderbot is forced to agree to locate and rescue an additional group of people, some of whom are juveniles (I love how Murderbot refers to children) as well. As you can imagine, Murderbot, who is deeply uncomfortable with most people, is especially discomforted by children. 

I don't really want to go into further details about the plot of this one, because it's much better if you don't know too many specifics. As is often the case with new instalments of The Murderbot Diaries, this book starts very abruptly, and it takes a few chapters to understand what is really going on. And that's part of the joy of it. I won't reveal who Murderbot has been sent to rescue, and it would be a major plot spoiler to reveal who is in the second group.

It's been years since System Collapse was released, and to say that I was excited when I discovered I had been granted an ARC for this is an understatement. High-pitched squeals of excitement may have been heard by the rest of my family, and there may have been some bouncing up and down on the sofa. However, I also knew that if I read it immediately, I would forget a lot by the time I needed to review it, so I saved it until just before release, so everything would be fresh in my memory. 

Murderbot's voice (which is not for everyone, I have come to realise) is so clear from the very first page, and even when you're not exactly sure what is happening, it's just so comforting to be back in Murderbot's presence and let the story wash over you. I loved Murderbot's new Emotion checks (it has been through some stuff in the past few books) and how it is begrudingly forced to admit to itself (and us, the readers) that it has people it cares about now. That being a rogue and lonely SecUnit isn't exactly the best way to be.

This book is very funny, but also emotional and action-packed and as always, deeply anti-capitalist. I laughed a lot while reading it, and while Murderbot would clearly hate it, it is still my favourite snarky artificial intelligence. 

Judging a book by its cover: For the entire series, the covers have been Murderbot, in its distinctive suit, clearly in the middle of some action. Sometimes, the location is in space; sometimes, it's obviously on a planet. On some, Murderbot has company; on others, it is alone. On this cover, Murderbot appears to be in a shaft of some sort, with a ladder. It gives the reader a hint of what's going on in the story, without spoiling anything. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 23: "Margo's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe

Page count: 320 pages

Audio book length: 10 hrs 21 min

Rating: 4 stars

Nowhere Book Bingo 26: Adapted into movie or TV show (on Apple+ now)

19-year-old Margo Millet has an ill-advised affair with her English professor at college and gets pregnant. Against the advice of absolutely everyone, including her mother (a former Hooters waitress), she decides to keep it. Unfortunately, being pregnant and then a young single mother isn't especially attractive on the job market, and before she knows it, two of her roommates have also moved out, because they just can't handle the noise and the whole baby being there now of it all. She's at her wits' end, and while she loves her son, Bodie, she's also pretty sure she's made a huge mistake.

Then her estranged father, Jinx, a retired pro-wrestler, shows up on her doorstep and asks her if he can stay at hers, after yet another round in rehab. Since she needs both rent money and help with child care, she agrees to let him stay. She also decides to try making money through OnlyFans, where she uses advice from Jinx to craft her online persona. Soon she's making enough money to keep her head above water, but her English professor is threatening to sue her for sole custody of Bodie and her mother, who is getting married to a Christian pastor, threatens to disown her if she doesn't shut down her OnlyFans account immediately.

This book came highly recommended from many of my online friends, so when I saw it in an audiobook sale, I picked it up, despite being a bit dubious about the pastel-coloured cover and the unusual plot synopsis. Contemporary fiction with serious real-world problems?  Ill-advised affairs with your lecturer? Desperate young single mother? OnlyFans? Was this really a book I was going to enjoy? As so often happens, I then forgot I owned the book for quite a long time, until I read the announcement that the book was being turned into a TV series on Apple+, starring Elle Fanning, who also narrates the audiobook.

Apple+ has proven itself to be very good at adapting books I like in the past (I promise I am not being paid for this; I wish I were so lucky), and since I prefer reading the source material before seeing the adaptation, reading this in March seemed like a good idea. Since I listened to it in audio, it took me about a week to get through it, but I suspect that if I'd been reading it with my eyes, I would have got through it a lot faster. Despite its many serious issues, it is ultimately a very uplifting book. Margo may be young (and discovers fast that having a baby is for life, not just for Christmas), but she's very clever, and because of her unusual family situation (Jinx wasn't exactly a stable feature in her life growing up), she's learned to be independent and resourceful. She does the very best she can for her baby, even if that means coming up with creative ways to make people pay her for nudes on the internet. 

While two of Margo's roommates leave, one of them stays behind and even starts helping Margo in her new "working from home" career. Suzie is into fantasy cosplay and is able to lend Margo outfits and advise her on makeup and video ideas. She gets along well with Jinx, as well, which helps. Margo eventually meets and makes friends with other OnlyFans creators, and starts having actual fun when she comes up with a storyline involving a strange and horny space alien to attract more followers.

I wouldn't say that female empowerment is one of the main themes of the story, but it is absolutely a factor. Margo refuses to be dismissed by her baby daddy and his rich and condescending family just because she is young and does online sex work. She proves herself a fit and capable mother both to the custody lawyers and eventually to the CPS (who have had an anonymous tip that Margo's home life may not be safe for Bodie). 

Since I had seen the trailer for the show before I got around to reading the book, it was pretty difficult to create my own mental images for the characters. With Elle Fanning already voicing Margo in the audio, it would have been harder to picture her as someone else. Michelle Pfeiffer as her mother and Nick Offerman as her father also seem like spot-on casting, so I didn't mind them being my mental images for Shyanne and Jinx, either. Ironically, now that I have finally read the book, I'm too busy with correction work to actually watch the show until later this year. I'm glad I listened to the book when I did, though. 

Judging a book by its cover: Before I read the book, I always thought this was a really strange image to choose for the cover of the book. Now that I have read the book, I see how perfect it is, and how well it captures poor Margo's utter exhaustion.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 22: "Rules for Ruin" by Mimi Matthews

Page count: 400 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Monthly Keyword 26: Ruin

Official plot summary (because I read this in February):

On the outskirts of London sits a seemingly innocuous institution with a secretive aim—train young women to distract, disrupt, and discredit the patriarchy. Outraged by a powerful politician’s systematic attack on women’s rights, the Academy summons its brightest—and most bitter—pupil to infiltrate the odious man’s inner circle. A deal is bring down the viscount, and Miss Euphemia Flite will finally earn her freedom.

But betting shop owner Gabriel Royce has other plans. The viscount is the perfect pawn to insulate Gabriel’s underworld empire from government interference. He’s not about to let some crinoline-clad miss destroy his carefully constructed enterprise—no matter how captivating he finds her threats.

From the rookeries of St. Giles to the ballrooms of Mayfair, Euphemia and Gabriel engage in a battle of wits and wills that’s complicated by a blossoming desire. Soon Euphemia realizes it’s not the broken promises to her Academy sisters she should fear. . . . It’s the danger to her heart.

Euphemia "Effie" Flite doesn't have any grand plans for her life, but she wants her independence and enough money to settle down in the country, away from the intrigues and stresses of London. Yet Miss Corvus, the headmistress of the unorthodox school where Effie was raised, has one last mission for her before she will allow Effie her freedom. Miss Corvus needs Effie to pose as a debutante and befriend the daughter of a prominent viscount, so she can find incriminating evidence against him and ruin his reputation. 

However, Effie has to contend with the imposing Gabriel Royce, a betting shop owner from London's East End, who needs the viscount's wealth and contacts to help him source money to make improvements to the slums of St. Giles. He quickly realises that Miss Flite isn't the innocent miss she pretends to be, especially after she keeps shaking off the people he sends to tail her. However, he can't figure out what her motives are, and he can't let her meddling interfere with his plans.

Both Effie and Gabriel are stubborn and very independent, characters who believe they are perfectly content to be alone. Which, of course, makes it so much more satisfying when they fall for each other and discover that they may, in fact, want and need someone to share their life. 

I wish I could remember more specifics of the plot right now, but I've read 24 books (at least one of them, more than once) since finishing this, and my memory is getting a bit hazy. I remember enjoying the banter between the protagonists, and especially how Effie keeps frustrating Gabriel with her refusal to be easily spied on. I liked Effie's friendship with one of the other Crinoline Academy students, now a teacher there. I remember Effie being terrified of heights, and the rather heartbreaking reason for it, which is revealed towards the end of the novel. The villain is suitably dastardly, and it feels satisfying when they take him down. 

I already own the next book in the series (about Effie's friend) and am looking forward to getting to it, later this year. 

Judging a book by its cover: This cover is lovely, and I love that I see new things in it every time I look at it. I especially like that it is obviously an intricate garden gate, but also suggests the crinoline skirts of a lady's gown. The fact that the dominating colour is teal doesn't hurt either. I love teal. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR18 Book 21: "Black Sun" by Rebecca Roanhorse

Page count: 453 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Dark Corner selection - February 26

Defeat the Goblin - The pebble book - a book that was gifted to you

Monthly Keyword 26: Sun

Nowhere Book Bingo 26: A book with multiple POVs

Read the Rainbow: Black

This is a book with a number of different POV characters. There is Serapio, a blind young man whom we first encounter as a child, being horribly mutilated by his mother (who subsequently throws herself off a building). All this horrific violence is to make him a suitable vessel for the Crow God. He is trained by three mysterious individuals who continue his grooming to fulfil his mother's twisted goals. There is also Xiala, who is a Teek sea captain, tasked with taking Serapio via ship to Tova, the capital city of the empire. The other sailors on the ship seem sceptical about Xiala, but all Teek have a special connection to the sea, and because of this, she can get the ship through storms and other dangers, and they are forced to accept her as their captain. Our third major player is Narampa, who was the unlikely candidate to succeed the previous Sun Priest, and who now wants the priests to make a difference in society. Some of her fellow priests can only be said to be rather hostile to her ideas of reform, and plot behind her back to get rid of her. Our final protagonist is Okoa, son of the Crow clan matriarch. He's called back to Tova from his warrior training after his mother dies, and he has to take his place as his sister's chief bodyguard, basically. 

I finished this book in mid-February, so my memory of all the intricacies of the plot is now rather vague. The opening chapter was almost a deal-breaker for me (I just cannot with children in peril), but because several people I trust had assured me that this book is worth reading (I was gifted my paperback copy of it by the lovely Rochelle), I persevered. The first third or so was rather slow, and I found Narampa's chapters, especially, to be hard going. I liked Xiala from the start, and she is one of the reasons why I will probably continue with the series, even after there were bits that I wasn't wild about.

We had an interesting book club discussion about the book, and while the majority of the people who came in February liked it, I don't think any of us loved it. We appreciated the unusual setting; it's always nice to read something a bit different from the Eurocentric medieval fantasy worlds we often find in the genre. Since I am literally one of only two members in the group who has a child, none of the others was as bothered by the brutal mutilation of a young boy as I was. There was general agreement that Narampa was the dullest character, and that both Serapio and Xiala might technically be adults, but they have both had such weird lives that it's no wonder they make some truly inadvisable choices. While I liked Xiala, she seems rather self-destructive and Okoa and his giant crow (who he can ride on) may be my favourites of the lot.

I probably will continue the series (I own all three books, after all), but I'm not in a hurry to read the sequels. Some of the others in the book club continued, and seemed to think book two was a bit slower, but that the series ends well in book three. So we'll see.

Judging a book by its cover: I don't like this cover, I think it looks bad, and the UK publishers have chosen to go with exactly the same ugly image, so I don't even have the option to get an alternate one.  The Broken Binding special editions are absolutely gorgeous, but they also cost an arm and a leg, so that's not a suitable option, either. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 20: "Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter" by Heather Fawcett

Page count: 368 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

Nowhere Book Bingo 26: A book involving animals

Monthly Keyword Challenge 26: Cat

Official plot summary, because I finished this back in February, and my perimenopausal brain isn't exactly helping here:

Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.

Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.

Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.

Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .

This book takes some of the central elements of the Miyazaki adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle (the opinionated young woman determined to tidy up everything and everyone, especially the utter chaos that is the handsome, eccentric and possibly a bit socially awkward magician she shares a living space with) and adds cats! What's not to like? 

I would say that the official plot summary may mislead readers into thinking that romance is going to play more of a role in proceedings than it actually does. There is absolutely an attraction between Agnes and Havelock, but it is so slow-burning that it never really has time to become much of a blaze before the book is over. If Fawcett intends to write a sequel (which I sort of hope she doesn't, because the book works on its own, and standalones are so rare these days), I suspect the romance will be much more central. 

In my book club, we have a running joke that far too many books have exciting covers (and occasionally plot summaries) that promise the presence of cats, only for us to discover that it is all lies. Sometimes, the cover has a cat, and there isn't a single cat to be found anywhere in the story (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, to name one). Sometimes, the book summary promises us cats, and they literally only feature in two scenes in the entire book (Chilling Effect, I'm looking at you). This book, on the other hand, has so many cats. Tiny cats, shy cats, cuddly cats, eerie cats and absolutely dastardly tyrant cats. Several of them play important roles in the story, more so than some of the supporting human characters, frankly.

Agnes is wonderful. I would love to be her friend, especially because I suspect she'd come to my house and, after being gently disappointed in the absolute chaos that surrounds me and my family at any given time, she would roll up her sleeves and tidy and organise this place with military precision. I would bake her things to show my gratitude. 

Havelock (I am dying to find out if this is a clever Pratchett reference) is so incredibly Howl-coded. He is handsome, scatter-brained, antisocial, and lives for his magical experiments. He's basically a mad scientist, but with magic, who seems to have learned how to people from reading books (so not always that successfully). Both his living space and his personality are complete messes, and this is obviously irresistible to Agnes. She cannot rest until she has tidied and organised his multiple sub-levels of hoarded magical artefacts. 

There are some great supporting characters in this, as well. Both Agnes' and Havelock's sisters come to mind, and there is Yannick, Havelock's harried apprentice, and Mina, the hard-working volunteer helping Agnes get the cats relocated to good homes. This was one of my most anticipated books to come out this winter, and it didn't disappoint for a second. It is cosy and entertaining, and I highly recommend it. 

Judging a book by its cover: This cover is an utter delight. Look at all the different kitties, lounging and prowling and playing and generally being adorable and whimsical. I love that the artist has included so many of the cat characters from the book, very recognisably, on the cover. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR18 Book 19: "Marry Me by Midnight" by Felicia Grossman

Page count: 352 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Nowhere Book Bingo 26: A book that takes place outside of the US

Monthly Keyword Challenge 26: Midnight

Defeat the Goblin TBR 26: The Locket Book - a romance or a book with a lot of yearning

Reading Rainbow - Blue cover

Isabelle Lira wants to take charge of her deceased father's business, but is hindered from doing so both because she is a woman and because the Jewish community she lives in finds it unacceptable. So she must find a husband who will not object to her controlling her family's interests, and who won't be cruel, abusive or who will take advantage of her and her wealth. In order to find a suitable match, she is arranging three festival events, where all eligible Jewish men are invited. 

Aaron Ellenberg is certainly not one of these eligible suitors. He works as a custodian for the synagogue, having failed to learn anything useful in a number of apprenticeships. He is about as lowly a member of the Jewish community in London as you can get, but he's handsome, polite, and unfailingly kind to the elderly, children and animals, down to even the rats and mice. He is known to everyone, yet not really noticed much. Isabelle offers to pay him to be her spy at the festivals; she needs him to observe her various matrimonial candidates and report back to her whether they might be men she could consider as suitors. 

Of course, every time they meet to talk, sparks fly. Their chemistry is undeniable, and while he may be far too lowly for Isabelle to consider him as a possible candidate, she feels safe and comfortable around him, as well as tingly in all the right places. Aaron, meanwhile, is baffled that such a beautiful, wealthy woman is even giving him the time of day, and with the money he will make helping her, he might be able to emigrate to America to make a new life for himself.

Marry Me by Midnight is the first of Felicia Grossman's fairy tale retellings, set in the Jewish community in London's East End. This book is a Cinderella retelling, with Isabelle being the prince to be wooed at a series of balls, while Aaron is our lowly scullery boy (of sorts). This story has adorable animal friends, an unexpected fairy godmother, and various fancy outfits to allow our hero to go to the ball. 

While I have read a lot of historical novels, I am not really familiar with the Jewish enclave of London during the Victorian era, so this book gave me some new and interesting insight, while also putting a spin on a familiar tale. Isabelle and Aaron are a lovely pairing who banter and yearn for each other, and eventually decide to act on their attraction (in some cases, in locations that seem somewhat exposed). The course of true love needs some obstacles in its way, and in this case, there is someone who seems determined to stop Aaron from finding his happy ending with Isabelle, using violence if necessary. 

There are three books so far in this series, and I know that the next one features one of the men who might have ended up as one of Isabelle's suitors, had she not pretty much had eyes only for Aaron from the start. The third one appears to be about Isabelle's friend, who is medically trained and works as a midwife, and both these books also really appeal to me, so this will certainly not be the only of Ms. Grossman's books that I read. 

Judging a book by its cover: While the exact scene depicted on the cover doesn't take place (because, really, why would they be dancing on the stairs?), it captures some of the book's magical atmosphere. The many shades of blue are lovely, and the couple on the cover seem to be really besotted with one another. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.