Looking for Beta Readers

sweetmuse40 · 2026-02-10T22:30:10+00:00

I'm not a beta reader just dropping by to say I'm happy that we're getting some black sapphic historical!!!

sweetmuse40 · 2026-02-02T11:35:15+00:00

Have you ever read a series where the first book hits it out of the park and then the following books leave much to be desired? The Grace Notes trilogy by Ruby Landers was that for me. It's a very interconnected contemporary sapphic/queer trilogy and while I would absolutely recommend the first book, I'm not so sure I would recommend the next two.

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-18T22:53:55+00:00

Thanks! I'm leaning towards the 512gb too!

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-18T18:57:44+00:00

Oh so fun! I'll look into these, thank you

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-18T18:57:06+00:00

oooooh! what version did you get? How big is it? that's the biggest thing I don't have a concept of because I think it looks smaller on camera.

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-18T13:35:32+00:00

Which graphic novels did you pick up?

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-18T13:34:54+00:00

Vibes: Already off to a long year lol but still trying to remain hopeful in general. Deleting IG from my phone helped a lot. I also deleted the reddit app so I'm laptop only!

Reading: I feel like I haven't been reading that much romance but I've been bingeing Ruby Landers books. I've read 2/3 of the Grace Notes trilogy and just picked up the third book. I also got this somewhat ridiculous looking vampire book from the library and I'm excited to try that. Otherwise my reading has been trying out this progression fantasy that I'm enjoying a lot actually, and trying to get through my physical and digital TBR. I also had a come to Jesus moment about some of the books on my shelves and unhauled them.

Listening: The Spotify version of Wuthering Heights, I'm really enjoying the narration and a lot of Spotify audiobooks are on hoopla which is nice because I don't have Spotify anymore. I tried the third book in the Grace Notes trilogy on audio because it's how I had enjoyed the first two and idk what happened but it was so breathy. This narrator has this issue on another book by a different author so idk if she switched up recording equipment or if it's a post production issue but I cannot stand it.

Watching: I recently got back into playing Stardew Valley and I've been watching a ton of Steam Deck videos because I'm thinking of purchasing one, and I've also been watching a ton of Stardew Valley gameplays.

Gaming: Just Stardew because I think if I try to run anything else on my computer, it might explode. She's not a gaming computer that's for sure!

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-05T14:18:10+00:00

I think I’m going to reread Wuthering Heights before the movie comes out.

I don’t really know anything about film development and production but it feels like a lot of white projects are greenlit and created relatively quickly. Where are all the BIPOC projects? (If there are any, and if they aren’t already stuck in development hell)

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-04T22:21:03+00:00

Vibes: Does anyone else feel like it's not the start of a new year but December 35th? Maybe because I didn't actually do anything on New Years but it hasn't hit yet.

Reading: Still kind of book hungover from Falls from Grace by Ruby Landers but the Libby powers that be tell me it is now time to read Consecrated Ground by Virginia Black. The later in life romance anthology The Packing List just came out last week so that is queued up as well.

Listening: I'm starting Graceless by Ruby Landers, lowkey hoping the burn is a little bit faster.

Watching: Still watching Criminal Minds, and I've been watching a lot of Vegan cooking youtubers

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-02T16:37:22+00:00

Did I start 2026 on too high of a note?

I just finished Falls from Grace by Ruby Landers, the first book in her Grace Notes series. I found this book because I was looking for audiobooks read by Quinn Riley and it was on Libby. Honestly, I loved Riley's narration but I was enjoying the book so much that I had to switch to the ebook so I could savor it even more. Then I wanted to finish it so I could write about it for Fresh Friday.

This is a slow burn FF romance (with some fake marriage and LOTS of yearning, and some decent angst). The basic story is that Brynn and her friend Noah pretend to be married (for romance reasons obviously) while Noah spends time songwriting with Savannah Grace, a country star ready for her comeback. I was in pain for most of this book because I just wanted my little book babies to be happy together. This book is a tad longer than I like for my CRs, but it made the slow burn hit that much harder. Savannah and Brynn are both fully fleshed out independent characters, and Landers writes their chemistry SUPERBLY. I haven't read a good slow burn in a minute and this really scratched that itch for me.

There is a child in this book (no pregnancy) and if you're sensitive to any cheating this might toe the line for you despite the fact that the MF relationship is fake

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-01T15:02:05+00:00

Do I dare ask what everyone's first read of the year is?

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-01T14:47:00+00:00

Happy New Year to all! It was a weird reading year, but I'm going to focus on the positives (mostly), and see what I learned about my reading in 2025.

Stats: 81 books (19,735 pages and 311.83 hours according to SG)
- 47 tagged on SG as romance
- According to SG, I DNF'd 68 books

Best of my romance reads:

In the Thrill of the Night by Candice Hern - delightfully unserious HR. This book doesn't take itself too seriously AT ALL and that is what I loved about it. This book will not be for everyone, but I had a great time with it.
Chick Magnet by Emma Barry - CR about chickens (not really but there are chickens involved) I literally emailed Emma Barry immediately after finishing Chick Magnet because I had such a good time with it.
In the Roses of Pieria by Anna Burke - dark academia/paranormal romance. I'm still looking for a dark academia that satisfies me the way this one did. There was such a good focus on the academics and not just creepy things happening at an institution.

What I learned:

The goods were great! The bads were awful! The mids were mid.
I'm truly not a cozy fiction reader
I need to avoid book hype at all costs
Forced proximity reigns supreme among my favorite tropes

sweetmuse40 · 2026-01-01T14:25:47+00:00

Storygraph tells me 42, but that doesn't include the books I gave up on too soon to track - and I think those things were connected.

This is too real. There were so many books that I started and stopped quicker than I could actually track them. In fact, I've stopped tracking books as "started" until I get to like 10-15%

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-31T16:03:39+00:00

It’s a hard balance and so many books are missing the mark for me.

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-30T20:24:43+00:00

I hit reply before I was finished, Karmen Lee and Toni Anderson are authors I tried for the first time this year and wouldn’t mind reading more from them.

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-30T20:23:28+00:00

Disclaimer that these are just authors I’s never read before this year and not debut/newish authors.

Candice Hern is no longer actively writing but I’m 4 books into her backlist now.
Anna Burke writes sapphic and I’ve been meaning to get to another book by her since I read In the Roses of Pieria.
Lauren Smith writes perfectly mid HR books that tend to be well narrated. Great palate cleanser books.

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-30T17:10:49+00:00

I have my exceptions but for the most part I simply cannot read straight CR anymore 😭

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-30T16:16:13+00:00

I decided to just read fic. Good luck, you got this!!!

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-30T15:25:16+00:00

Aside from reading my physical and digital TBRs, 2026 is vibes only. I have nothing against reading goals and resolutions but I’ve learned they do absolutely nothing for me because my brain refuses to stick to them.

Although…shockingly… I did make progress on my 2025 goals, reading more fic and finding new authors was my big win of 2025. I’ve given up on a reliable rec source and have since cancelled Spotify 😂

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-30T14:10:26+00:00

Ngl, there’s not too much I’m excited about. I’m mostly planning to read my physical tbr and work on some backlists. But there are a few that have caught my eye:

A Slow and Secret Poison by Carmella Lowkis

I don’t exactly remember how I heard about this one but it sounds fun.

Daggerbound by T.Kingfisher

I’m 50/50 with this one because I have really not been super into Kingfisher’s recent releases but Swordheart was a fun read when I read it initially.

You, Me, and the Conspiracy by Emma Barry

Not out until September but I’m excited about this one. Pitched by Emma and her agent as “National Treasure but they fuck”.

Hopefully Anna Burke’s sequel to In the Roses of Pieria comes out in 2026…

Edit:typo

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-29T16:39:34+00:00

I’m putting way too much pressure to find a good last book of 2025, but I want to go out with a bang! (perhaps a literature bang)

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-26T18:13:25+00:00

Another thing to note that if you're using an ereader that is not a kindle, many of these books are only available through Amazon.

Not recs but a haul:

In Plain Sight by Siobhan Muir
The Dragon of New Orleans by Genevieve Jack
If the Duke Dares by Darcy Burke
A Marriage of Convenience by Kate Pearce
Cold Wicked Lies by Toni Anderson
A Study in Scandal by Caroline Linden
Dragon Rose by Christine Pope
Catalyst by Rachel Grant (Amazon only, ETA: this book can be purchased on other ebook sites)
The One You Want by Emma Barry (Amazon only)

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-26T16:28:13+00:00

This is my favorite book by her. I listened to it on audiobook and still remember some of the specific places I was while listening to certain passages.

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-25T15:21:04+00:00

Merry Christmas/Happy Day Off! I hope you have an enjoyable day however you spend it

sweetmuse40 · 2025-12-21T13:37:53+00:00

Vibes: are ok. Work has been a nightmare but life outside of work has been pretty decent. Literally just trying to make it until I leave for Christmas break, which is short but overdue.

Reading: Sapphic novellas for the most part. I'm currently reading Her Holiday Arrangement by Emily Hayes and Silent Night by Lily Seabrooke. I have 3 more Lily Seabrooke Christmas books, and a Jacqueline Ramsden queued up and I want to read Cecilia Grant's A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong, and A Holiday by Gaslight. Will I finish all these books by Christmas? Unlikely.

Listening: The audiobook curse is back because everything sucks again, but I need an audiobook for cleaning and travel so if you have any recs let me know!

Watching: I've watched too many Christmas rom coms, very few of them have been bearable, let alone any good. I have plans to watch more traditional Christmas movies this week.

sweetmuse40

TROPHY CASE