Humouress's Monsoon Madness - third quarter 2026

Welcome to my third thread of 2026!

I'm Nina, currently living in Singapore with my husband, my two boys and - the star of the show - Jasper their/ our dog. My sons are @superboy - but, sadly, he's given up reading though he used to be keen - and @firelion; for Christmas 2021 they got Kindles in my desperate hope to use their love of technology to 'rekindle' their love of reading but ...



I met the 75 book challenge in 2020, for the first time since joining the Challenge in 2010 and exceeded it, finally reading 89 books in the year. In 2021 I made it again and read 92 books. But I started a new hobby during the pandemic; I bought a die machine and started making birthday cards for family and friends as a hobby (about 50 in a year); it takes a lot longer than it looks like it does to put them together so it cuts into my reading time (I really should try more audio books) but I'm enjoying the creative process. I did actually manage to read (exactly) 75 books in 2025 - the first time I've met the challenge in a non-pandemic year. This year (2026) I seem to be struggling - well, we'll see how it goes.

My preferred reading genres are fantasy and sci-fi with a touch of golden age humour, mysteries and the occasional school story though I'll venture further afield (very) occasionally; after the pandemic, I'm giving romance a bit more leeway, though it's been hit and miss.

I also have a heap of cookbooks which, really, I ought to crack open and experiment with and I am starting to. We renovated our kitchen in 2023 and I do manage to try out a few recipes at Christmas time; generally I'm more of a baker so cakes and biscuits. I've finally been allowed off the carnivore diet for my skin issues though I think I might still follow it somewhat (I want to sample my experiments, after all) because I did lose weight on it (no carbs).

With superboy moving overseas I've done some travelling in the last few years and had some LT meetups. It's been lovely to meet people face to face that I've been talking to online for so long. In February this year I caught up with Paul (Cranswick) in Kuala Lumpur.



So here's to more LT meet-ups and another 75 (at least) books this year! 🥂

>2 humouress: ticker & covers (this thread)

>3 humouress: books (this thread; 3rd quarter) September
>4 humouress: August
>5 humouress: July
>6 humouress: books (2nd quarter) April - June
>7 humouress: books (1st quarter) January - March

>8 humouress: constellation
>9 humouress: icons

>10 humouress: series to continue
>11 humouress: bookmarks & book bullets
>12 humouress: reviews outstanding

>13 humouress: Alphabetical roots
>14 humouress: Acquisitions for the year

>16 humouress: welcome in!

2025 threads
1️⃣ 75 Challenge Humouress hops Down Undah in 2025 - first thread
4️⃣ 75 Challenge Humouress at home for the holidays - fourth thread

🌳 ROOTs humouress ROOTing (and re-ROOTing) in 2025
🐉 Green Dragon Humouress popping in and out of the pub in 2025

I haven't been very active on the LT forums this year so I haven't set up threads in the Green Dragon or for my ROOTs.

2 - ticker & covers (this thread)


Books read; target 75


Days in 2026



July

3 - Books (second 2026 thread) 2nd quarter April - June

review posted/ rated/ written/ read/ (released)
✔ /  / (#) / Title

September

4 - Books (second 2026 thread) 2nd quarter April - June

review posted/ rated/ written/ read/ (released)
✔ /  / (#) / Title

August

5 - Books (second 2026 thread) 2nd quarter April - June

review posted/ rated/ written/ read/ (released)
✔ /  / (#) / Title

July

 26) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 by Beth Brower (2025)
 25) Just Make Believe by Maggie Robinson
 24) This City Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (2026)

6 - Books (second 2026 thread) 2nd quarter April - June

review posted/ rated/ written/ read/ (released)
✔ /  / (#) / Title

June
 
 23) The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown (2024)
 22) 16 Forever by Lance Rubin
 21) Shadow of the Moon by M.M. Kaye (1957)

May

 20) On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers (1988)
 19) Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart (1991)

April

 18) The Midwatch by Judith Rossell (2024)
 17) Murder at Wedgefield Manor by Erica Ruth Neubauer (2021)
 16) The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen (2020)
 15) The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman (2026)
 14) The Unlikely Life of Maisie Meadows by Jenni Keer (2019)
 13) Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (2020)

7 - Books (first 2026 thread) 1st quarter January - March

review posted/ rated/ written/ read/ (released)
✔ /  / (#) / Title

March

 12) First Class Murder by Robin Stevens
 11) Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
 10) Innocence Lost by Patty Jensen
 9) The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig (2025)
 8) Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

February

 7) Spring Tides at Swallowtail Bay by Katie Ginger (2020)
6) Plum Duff by Victoria Goddard
✔        5) Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran (2022)
 4) Love in a Mist by Victoria Goddard
January

 3) Sinister Stranger at St Brides by Debbie Young
 2) Honor Among Thieves by James A. Corey
 1) Blackcurrant Fool by Victoria Goddard

8 - The constellation:

  You have got to read this one!                           
  Really good; worth reading                                 
     Good, but without that special 'something' for me   
      Very nice, but a few issues                                    
         An enjoyable book                                                   
         Um, okay. Has some redeeming qualities                   
              Writing is hard. I appreciate the work the author did    
             (haven't met one - yet)                                              
                  Dire                                                                            
                  Rated only as a warning. Run away. Don't stop.              

Purple stars, from Robin's thread:

5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5

Robin has made coloured stars for me (happy dance) and the codes are now enshrined in my profile.

(Unfortunately I'm having trouble with this and will have to sort out the addresses.)

9- icons/ library holds



Reading at home :

Kindle :

Downtime : Skulduggery Pleasant

Sometimes I make notes on Litsy (also as humouress) as I'm reading so I tuck them in after my reviews.

school parents' Book club (on holiday)(it seems to have faltered)

SF/F Book club Six of Crows (we haven't had a chance to meet & discuss for a while)(this was pre-pre covid; doesn't look like it's gonna happen)

online story

LT Early Reviewers

e-book

audio book

own book/ ROOTs (Read Our Own Tomes)

Overdrive start line & bookmarks:

 
The Tiger's Daughter
The Game of Kings


Holds
Singapore Sapphire
Pride and Prejudice in Space
The Wizards of Once
A Letter to the Luminous Deep
The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love
This Way Up
Unnatural Magic
The Wanderer - Cherry Wilder

Holds released:
(The Storyteller’s Death
Psalm for the Wild-built
Lost Tribe of the Sith
Things in Jars
Dune)

 

Holds

Holds released:
(The Librarian of Crooked Lane)



Holds
{none}

Holds released:
(Daughter of the Moon Goddess)

Litsy Notes
The Husbands
Call of the Sword

Libraries:

       

(Hornsby, Kuringai)

10 - series to continue

11 - bookmarks & book bullets

12 - reviews outstanding



March 2026
7, 8, 9, 10

February 2026
4, 6

January 2026
1, 2, 3

13 - Alphabetical roots

14 - Acquisitions for the year

15

Welcome in!

 

I sort of watched the Cabo Verde - Argentina World Cup match this morning. Wow!

Cabo Verde is the third smallest nation to every qualify for a World Cup (Curaçao (this year) and Iceland are smaller) and is made up of 10 islands off the West African coast. This is their first year playing.

Argentina is a three time runner up and three time title holder and, in fact, the current champions.

Cabo Verde held them to a 1 - 1 draw at full time, which led to extra time (two 15 minute halves) and then held them to a 2 - 2 draw until the 111th minute (of 120) when Argentina scored and, though Cabo Verde attacked, kept their lead. But, as it deflected off a Cabo Verde defender, it's classified as an own goal so they have been credited with more goals than the world champions in this match.

Happy new thread neighbour.

>1 humouress: I did enjoy our meet up and hopefully I will be getting to Singapore fairly soon.

>17 humouress: What a great performance from Cape Verde. I was really rooting for them and the African nations add a great deal to the flavour of the tournament. England have their work cut out having to travel and play Mexico on their home turf in the smog filled altitude of the Azteca stadium.

>18 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul!

The home crowd and the altitude may cause difficulties but I think we'll be okay.

I was rooting for Cabo Verde too. (To be honest, ever since Maradona's handball knocked us out of the 1986 World Cup, Argentina hasn't been my favourite team - though I'm not quite as anti as I used to be.)

I think Africa will have ever stronger showings in future World Cups.

Happy new thread!

Thanks foggi!

Happy new thread, Nina!

You made it! Happy new thread, Nina!

Happy new thread, Nina!

>22 quondame: Thanks Susan!

>23 Familyhistorian: Woo woo! Thanks for the help Meg!

>24 atozgrl: Thank you Irene!

Huh; two of my Overdrive libraries have put holds on my cards for overdue fines.

One is because I returned a physical book late when I borrowed it on holiday but their Overdrive selection isn't the best so I'm not too worried for now.

The other is the Singapore library which I'm puzzled about because their physical libraries annoy me - they lump all the authors (fiction) with the same first letter of their surnames in the same section regardless of alphabetical order - and I haven't borrowed a physical book in years. Their Overdrive selection has been the best source of books I want to read, though, especially since the covid lockdown. My husband reminds me that I did borrow something from a Star Wars pop-up at the airport but that was months ago and I'm sure I've returned it. Well, I sent an e-mail so I'll find out after the weekend, I suppose.

Happy New Thread! Good luck figuring out the puzzling fines.

>29 elorin: Thanks Robyn!

The London radio station I listen to has just mentioned a rumour that Justin Bieber is going to do a half time show at the World Cup final.

Really? A half-time show? Two disasters wrapped up in one, as far as I'm concerned. (I'm not a Bieber fan.) The teams usually use that time to run drills and do warm-ups.

Phew! For any England or Mexico supporters that was a nail-biter of a match.

>32 humouress: Yay!!!

Your post was #32 and we won 3-2!

Real character shown by our lads. Pickford stood up when he needed to but Jude Bellingham was immense. I will spare some sympathy for the Mexican players who also gave their all, even if some of their tackling (which they mostly got away with) was agricultural.

With Brazil gone we now face Norway in Miami.

>33 PaulCranswick: I hadn’t spotted that!

I’m happy that the altitude didn’t get the better of us - I was worried if it had gone to extra time. Told you that we’d be okay.

I heard that the Mexican fans kept the Ecuadorean team up all night with mariachi music and tried the same with our boys, but they kept the location of the hotel secret.

Now all we have to do is keep the Vikings out of our half and away from our box, especially Haaland. Our deep defending at the end of the second half made me very nervous, especially since we were down to 10 men.

I hope the rumoured half-time show doesn’t materialise; they’ll all end up with cramps if they have to sit around for that long without the half-time drills.

Hmm; I seem to have missed reviewing the Greenwing and Dart books. I may have to read them again.

>34 humouress: Absolutely brilliant atmosphere though wasn't it?!

>36 PaulCranswick: Yes. The commentators kept saying that TV doesn't do justice to the volume of the crowd in the Azteca and the England supporters were rather drowned out by the Mexicans'. But, to be honest, I was more focused on the football and the ten men holding on until the end of full time/ stoppage time.

Happy new thread, Nina!

>38 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

>31 humouress: lol. I don't mind half-time shows, but isn't Bieber a bit washed out at this point? Not that I ever liked him. Maybe they should have New Kids on the Block join him. Lol

>28 humouress: Best of luck getting your library fines straightened out, Nina. We don't have fines for overdue books in our library system anymore.

>40 The_Hibernator: Are New Kids one of those groups making a come back? (In which case they might be more current than Bieber. ;0) )

>41 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. I contacted them and I'd forgotten, I did borrow a physical book - back at the end of last year. It was my second book read this year but I'm sure I returned it. Now I've got to rack my memory for what I did six months ago. The only reason I remember what I had for breakfast yesterday is because I always have the same thing.

>42 humouress: They did, but their comeback was about a decade ago.

>44 The_Hibernator: There are so many groups making a comeback - Take That, Spice Girls, maybe One Direction ... and sometimes another comeback.

24) This City Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

{first of ? in Maggie the Undying series; fantasy, portal fantasy}(2026)

Ten years ago, Maggie read 'The Thieves of the North' and followed it with 'The Lords of the East' about the political infighting of the eight Great Families of the country of Rellas - but the author never finished the series so Maggie and other fans have been left wondering how the story continued.

One afternoon, as I lay on my bed, wallowing in self-pity, my mom handed me a thick fantasy book, and when I turned my nose up at it, she told me, “Maggie, you need to live in someone else’s head for a bit.”
I’d thought I would read a few pages. When I came up for air, five hours later, my breakup was an afterthought. Some seriously messed-up stuff happened on the first page, and I had to find out how it turned out. Somehow by the end of those five hours, the book had wrung me dry. I could deal with life again.

Fan forums speculated on things like recipes and land areas but the reclusive, enigmatic author, Adrian Latour, seemed to have disappeared after the second book.

Three days ago, Maggie went to bed in her apartment in Austin and woke up naked and freezing in a ditch in a foreign city that she recognises from her obsessive reading and re-reading of the unfinished fantasy series. She quickly discovers that she has arrived there at what she recognises as the beginning of the first book and uses her knowledge of the layout of the city of Kair Toren (maybe an echo of Caer Paravel of Narnia?) and events from the books to get hold of some money and find shelter.

She also quickly discovers that she cannot be killed - or, rather, that she revives a short while after dying although the whole process can be rather painful. She decides to use her knowledge as a source of income, selling secrets for a price although she has to be careful not to alter the course of the history she has read or her knowledge will become redundant. Pretty soon Maggie finds herself redressing injustices, especially those done to her favourite minor characters. But in doing so she attracts the attention of powerful - and dangerous - players.

I really enjoyed this story - which felt like the kind of sword-and-sorcery adventure stories I devoured in my youth - and couldn't wait to get back to it when I had to put it down. There is a spark of attraction/ possible romance - but this is not a ‘romantasy’ (thank goodness).

There are one or two gory scenes (I don't like gore), such as when Maggie dies, but they are glossed over so the book wasn't too hard to read. Ironically, though there's a passage in the first chapter where Maggie - filthy, freezing and wrapped in a discarded, stinking blanket - claims not to fulfil any of the standard fantasy tropes

I knew exactly how things were supposed to go. I was meant to appear in this new world as a woman of prophecy with magic holy powers so I could assist the kingdom with their blight or curse problem. I would be met by a prince or some high-ranking and stunning noble, and upon heroically demonstrating my abilities, I would become the centre of attention, while a gaggle of ridiculously handsome men followed me around, pledged their swords to me, and pleaded with me not to overexert myself.

that is exactly how she ends up.

I've enjoyed Ilona Andrews's Innkeeper Chronicles and this was a lot of fun too. Now just to wait for the next book (this one was published this year) ... and hope that they finish the series!

(July 2026)
4.5****

So, despite our Cleanerbot adventures six years ago, we have now acquired a new robot vacuum cleaner. My eldest son recommended it after seeing the version 1 in action at his cousin's house but we have version 2. He's spent a couple of days playing with it; first he had to let it map the house, which also involves carrying it up and down stairs and steps. Then he did a test run with cleaning, though he has programmed it to do two runs of the kitchen - it sweeps and mops simultaneously but he wants to deep clean that area. Then he ran it again later that evening - in spite of the fact that the house had been swept and mopped before he unboxed his new toy. And he's experimenting with it again today ... (This, by the way, is the son who is anti-AI and who leans into conspiracy theories. The vacuum cleaner has LIDAR, a camera and a super-bright light.) It also releases a scent as it goes about its business and he's thrilled by its 'farts'.

I have never seen him so fascinated by enthusiastic about cleaning before. He even ran the dishwasher last night - and the night before - though I wish he hadn't because there were only about 3 mugs, 3 glasses and 1 plate in there each time.

Hmm - maybe I can get him to make his bed?

ETA: If I ever mention our new 'pet' called Steve, now you know what I'm referring to. He's paying more attention to Steve than to Jasper at the moment.

The boys took Jasper to the groomer's this week and they sent a photo once they'd finished, so I've changed my topper for this thread.



(Somehow - maybe the angle they take the photo from? - his head looks bigger in their photos.)

>47 humouress: That's a difficult one, Nina. You don't want to discourage cleaning but it's hard when they think different things are important than you do.

>50 SandDune: we have now acquired a new robot vacuum cleaner I’d love a robot vacuum cleaner, but I’ve read that they are not great on carpet. We have a mixture of carpet and tiles in our house.

>49 Familyhistorian: I know Meg; he and I often butt heads on the relative importance of things *sigh* I'll just let him enjoy his cleaning and hope he gets more interested in it.

>50 SandDune: Hi Rhian!

We have tiles/ stone and parquet with a few rugs. This one (Eufy) has a function that lifts it so it can climb onto the rug (or you can program it to avoid rugs) and it's supposed to be decent on carpets. It seems to be dealing with Jasper's shed fur well enough (though I'm leaving it to my son and haven't done a proper inspection yet).

25) Just Make Believe by Maggie Robinson

{third of 4 in Lady Adelaide Mysteries; murder, mystery, detective, 1920s, English countryside, Gloucestershire, ghost}

It's the summer of 1925 and Lady Adelaide has an invitation from her neighbours to a country house party with people whom she has grown up with. However, her dead husband Rupert shows up - they had both hoped that he had done enough to help Addie to atone for his sins in life so he could move on. He tells her that someone is about to be murdered but he doesn't know anything more than that.

When the murder is discovered, Addie decides to request her friend, Detective Inspector Devanand Hunter of Scotland Yard, in spite of that kiss that they shared.

When he arrives, he has his work cut out especially as two more bodies turn up and he's trying to avoid Lady Adelaide, in spite of that kiss that they shared.

This was light-hearted and fun, despite it being a murder-mystery. I feel that the mystery took a back seat to Addie's and Dev's investigations and the motive, in the end, wasn't the strongest but I wasn't really reading it for the mystery. Rupert pops in and out but doesn't add as much to this story as he had to the first two. It ends with Addie's sister, Cee, running in to tell them that their mum has been arrested - and so we're straight into the next book.

There were some Americanisms and some Englishisms in odd places (I can't imagine an upper crust gentleman of between the Wars saying 'Go on with you now' but I could be wrong) but what really irritated me was that this book seems to be allergic to using the pluperfect tense. I hadn't noticed this in either of the previous two entries in this series (and it's one of those things that I wouldn't be able to forget). There were three egregious instances within the first three pages and I didn't look for more but they do tend to snag your attention. It is - at best - confusing.

Addie drove over early this morning with Beckett and her overpacked suitcases

should have been ‘Addie had driven over early this morning …’ since it was afternoon at this point and they were about to go for a horse ride.

As a little girl, she’d dreamed of being married in the family chapel, and had been. That June day was a stunner too. She wore her mother’s trailing Brussels lace veil and carried masses of white peonies from the gardens, just as she imagined when she played dress-up with discarded curtains and dandelions

I am still planning to borrow the next book in this entertaining series which, going by the title and cover illustration, should be the last.

(July 2026)
3***

Litsy notes

This book seems to be allergic to using the pluperfect tense, which I hadn‘t noticed in either of the previous two entries in this series (and it‘s one of those things that I wouldn‘t be able to forget). There were 3 egregious instances within the first 3 pages and I‘m not looking for more but they do tend to snag your attention. I‘m on ch 4 (of 39) and it‘s starting to annoy me.

>53 humouress: Just Make Believe sounded like a book I would like and then I checked and I've already read it. No wonder it seemed like something I would like but the library I borrowed it from only has the first three books and doesn't have the fourth.

>51 humouress: I know, you just have to bite your tongue until they figure it out for themselves. They won't take your word for it because you're just their mum (insert rolling eyes here).

>54 Familyhistorian: So nearly a book bullet ...

Yes; and I also have to try really hard not to roll my eyes when they can see (I've got into trouble with them before) :0)

26) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 by Beth Brower

{first of 8? in Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion series; historical fantasy, London, parallel universe, audio book}(2025)
Narrated by Genevieve Gaunt

It feels as though everyone on LibraryThing has already read this series and raved about it and it is finally available at my Overdrive libraries - though I had to borrow it as an audiobook or wait another few months for the e-book.

It's in a similar vein to the Lemony Snicket A Series of Unfortunate Events books (though I admit that I haven't read them or watched more than the trailers of the film) written in the first person by Emma as she journals her life and experiences. We meet her as she's arriving back in Victorian London about ten months shy of achieving her majority at which point she expects to inherit Lapis Lazuli. However, she is treated shabbily by her guardian and we discover that this has been a pattern since she was orphaned at the age of thirteen. But Emma is a feisty young lady and it never occurs to her to give up.

As she writes we learn about the neighbourhood of St Crispian's, in which Lapis Lazuli House is situated on Whereabouts Lane. St Crispian's lies within the neigbourhood of Primrose Hill and has some odd characteristics, such as 'the Roman' - the benign ghost of a Roman soldier - or the Read and Write where people go to collect items of theirs which have gone for a wander (though not stolen by anyone). We also meet her friends and remaining relatives.

This novella (the audiobook was 3 hours 15 minutes at normal speed) was fun to listen to. It serves as an introduction the Emma's life and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. The narrator did a good job, with distinct voices for each character so it was easy to keep track of who was who.

(July 2026)
3.5-4 ****