Pawing Through my TBR
Welcome to my TBR Clear-Out Corner!
This is where I finally give some long-overdue love to the books that have been sitting (and stubbornly staying!) on my shelves for far too long. With Willow and Oakley curled up beside me—and a warm drink always within reach—I’m slowly digging into the pile, one page at a time.
Forgotten ARCs, backlist beauties, that book I swore I’d read last year… this is the spot where I finally fetch the stories that have waited oh-so-patiently for their turn. So sit, stay, and scroll through what’s finally getting its moment in the spotlight.
Now it’s your turn!
Is your TBR stack starting to look like a small mountain? Let’s tackle it together. Whether you’re clearing out long-ignored reads, rediscovering hidden gems, or cracking open that one book everyone swore you had to read, I want to know what’s on your pile. Drop your current pick in the comments or tag me in your TBR posts—let’s make space for new favorites, one pawprint at a time. 🐾
Book Review: The Ex-Mas Holidays Zoe Allison
🐾🐾🐾🐾 – Snow, second chances & sparks.
The Ex-Mas Holiday delivers exactly what you want from a festive second-chance romance: sparkling tension, snow-covered coziness, and two people who have been dancing around the truth for far too long. Zoe Allison takes a familiar setup — old flames reunited in the most awkward way possible — and spins it into something warm, funny, and emotionally honest.
Maya Bashir is at a crossroads when we meet her. She’s just walked away from a job that drained the life out of her and from a relationship that no longer felt like home. Heading back to her family for Christmas already feels heavy, so she makes a harmless detour to a friend’s holiday party… only to find Sam Holland, the boy who shattered her heart eight years ago, serving drinks in nothing but nerves and naked skin. Cue the chaos, the banter, and Maya’s entire emotional foundation tilting sideways.
What really works is how Allison lets Maya and Sam rebuild their dynamic slowly. They’re not just thrown into forced proximity on the ski slopes of the Scottish Highlands — they’re pushed into confronting the assumptions and misunderstandings that once left both of them hurting. Their shared past isn’t brushed aside; it’s unpacked gently, with the kind of vulnerability that makes you root for them even when they’re clumsy about it.
Sam’s earnestness balances beautifully with Maya’s guarded heart. Their chemistry feels lived-in, like they’ve been orbiting one another for years and are finally stepping back into the same gravitational pull. The snowy setting adds its own charm, creating a soft, wintry atmosphere that feels tailor-made for emotional resets and unexpected kisses.
If you love holiday romances with humor, blush-worthy mishaps, heartfelt growth, and characters who find the courage to ask for what they really want, The Ex-Mas Holiday will absolutely deliver. Sweet, slightly chaotic, and full of second-chance sparkle, it’s the kind of Christmas romance that pairs perfectly with a cozy blanket, twinkle lights, and something warm in your mug.
Book Review: Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
🐾🐾🐾🐾 – One family. Seven days. A holiday they’ll never forget.
Seven Days of Us is the kind of novel that sneaks up on you — messy, intimate, and deeply human in a way that feels like eavesdropping on a real family in real time. Bond places the Birch family in the ultimate pressure cooker: seven full days of quarantine together during the holidays. No escape, no distractions, no pretending. It’s the perfect setup for long-buried tensions to leak through the cracks, and Bond makes every unraveling moment feel both painfully awkward and strangely comforting.
What I loved most is how she balances humor with emotional honesty. Each Birch has their own secrets, regrets, and desires simmering beneath the surface. Some are selfish, some heartbreaking, some just disastrously timed. As each revelation drops, you feel the ripple effect that happens when one person’s truth bumps into someone else’s defenses. It’s not a “big drama for drama’s sake” type of book; it’s a slow, layered portrait of a family relearning who they are to each other.
Bond’s writing shines in those quiet, observational details — the awkward silences, the wry internal monologues, the holiday rituals that feel more obligatory than festive. She understands how family can be both suffocating and a soft place to land, sometimes in the very same breath.
While not every character is instantly likable, every one of them is compelling. By the end, I found myself rooting for the Birches not to be perfect, but to simply show up for one another in the messy, real-life way that counts.
Emotional, tender, and surprisingly hopeful, Seven Days of Us is a holiday story for anyone who wants something more layered than lights-and-mistletoe magic — a story about forgiveness, timing, and how love can survive even the most claustrophobic Christmas.
Book Review: Santa’s on His Way Christmas Anthology
🐾🐾🐾🐾 – Four stories. One snowy season. Endless Christmas magic.
There’s something deeply comforting about a Christmas romance anthology, and this collection delivers that cozy magic from the very first page. Bringing together four holiday love stories set against snowy backdrops and small-town settings, this book feels like a celebration of everything that makes seasonal romance so irresistible—connection, hope, and the promise of new beginnings.
What works especially well here is the variety. Each story offers a distinct emotional flavor while still fitting seamlessly into the overall festive tone. From unexpected responsibility arriving in the form of a baby, to best friends finally confronting feelings that have been quietly growing for years, to rivals discovering that a little forced proximity can spark more than frustration, and finally to a heartfelt second-chance romance rooted in returning home, the anthology never feels repetitive. Instead, it feels thoughtfully balanced.
The holiday setting isn’t just window dressing—it actively shapes the stories. Snowstorms, Christmas weddings, and quiet winter moments create space for honesty and vulnerability, allowing the characters to slow down and truly see what—and who—matters most. I especially loved how the small-town atmospheres added warmth and familiarity, making each romance feel grounded and emotionally satisfying despite the shorter format.
As a group, these stories are easy to sink into and hard to put down. Whether you read them all in one sitting or savor them over several cozy nights, the anthology offers a feel-good escape that captures the heart of the season. It’s a perfect pick for readers looking for festive romance, gentle emotional depth, and happily-ever-afters wrapped in Christmas charm.
Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh
Releasing 10 is the kind of book that slides straight under your skin and refuses to let go. Chloe Walsh doesn’t just write characters — she writes whole human hearts with all their bruises, brilliance, and contradictions. Lizzie and Hugh’s story is tender, volatile, painfully honest, and so deeply human that it leaves you breathless.
Lizzie Young is a heroine who demands empathy without ever asking for it. Walsh’s portrayal of bipolar disorder is raw and unflinching — not romanticized, not diluted, but layered with lived-in truth. Lizzie’s world is chaotic, bright, terrifying, hilarious, heartbreaking… and so full of yearning. There’s a bravery in her softness that makes her unforgettable.
And then there’s Hugh Biggs. Good, steady, observant Hugh — the boy who listens more than he speaks and feels more than he shows. He’s the kind of character who holds the pages together when the story threatens to burst apart. His devotion isn’t naive; it’s intentional, hard-won, and beautifully flawed.
Their connection? Soul-deep. A spark that turns into a fire that turns into a home — even when life is determined to blow the walls apart. Walsh writes chemistry that doesn’t rely on spice (though the heat is there), but on the feeling that two people are destined to collide. Their relationship is equal parts comfort and catastrophe, tenderness and terror.
This book is heavy. It’s emotionally demanding. It’s not afraid to sit in the dark places — trauma, self-harm, violence, the weight of mental illness — yet the writing is filled with such compassion that you never feel abandoned in the shadows. Walsh gives you hope even when her characters feel hopeless.
By the end, you don’t just read Lizzie and Hugh’s love story.
You carry it.
Releasing 10 is devastating and beautiful and impossibly real — a story that breaks you open and then teaches you how to breathe again.
Taming 7 by Chloe Walsh
Taming 7 feels like opening the curtains on a character you thought you already knew—and realizing you’d only ever seen the shadow. Gibsie has always been the comedic heartbeat of the Tommen series: loud, chaotic, larger-than-life, the boy who filled every room with sound. But Chloe Walsh finally lets us hear the silence beneath the jokes, and what fills that silence is vulnerability, grief, and years of carefully controlled deflection.
Claire, on the other hand, is pure golden-hour warmth. She’s hope with freckles, sweetness with a spine, the girl who never stopped believing that the boy next door was more than his bravado. Their bond has always felt unshakeable—childhood friends, family-adjacent, the kind of closeness built in backyards and long summers—but in this book, that bond sharpens into something fragile, dangerous, and breathtaking.
What makes Taming 7 so compelling is the way Walsh honors the emotional complexity of both characters. Claire’s sunshine isn’t naïve; it’s intentional, chosen, a soft armor she uses to protect the people she loves. And Gibsie’s humor isn’t immaturity; it’s a lifeline, a shield he uses to keep painful memories buried deep. Together, they navigate that thin line between comfort and desire, between loyalty and longing.
As the lines blur, their story becomes tender and tempestuous all at once. Gibsie’s slow unraveling, Claire’s steadfastness, the fear of ruining something that has shaped them since childhood—it’s all written with Walsh’s trademark mix of gut-punch emotion and authentic character growth. The angst hits hard, but so do the moments of absolute sweetness that feel like catching sunlight in cupped hands.
By the end, this book doesn’t just deepen your love for the Tommen universe; it widens it. Claire and Gibsie remind you that sometimes the most powerful love stories are the ones that begin in laughter, break in silence, and rebuild in honesty.
Redeeming 6 by Chloe Walsh
Where Saving 6 breaks you, Redeeming 6 begins the painstaking work of stitching you back together. Chloe Walsh lets Joey Lynch step fully into the light here — not because his pain disappears, but because he finally believes he deserves to fight for more.
This book is a masterclass in character healing. Joey’s journey isn’t easy or linear, and Walsh honors that reality with patience and grit. His progress feels fragile at times, like a breath you’re scared to release, but it’s also powerful — watching him choose himself, even shakily, is deeply moving.
Aoife shines even brighter in this installment. She’s not just Joey’s anchor; she’s a girl learning where to place her boundaries, how to love without losing herself, and how to stand with someone without carrying every one of their battles. Their relationship evolves from something tender and uncertain into something fierce and fiercely earned.
What elevates Redeeming 6 is its honesty. There are no magical cures, no easy apologies, no shortcuts. Healing takes work. Love takes courage. And redemption takes time. Walsh leans into all of that and delivers a finale that feels emotionally rich, grounded, and worthy of the pain it took to get there.
By the final chapters, the Lynch family, Aoife, and Joey feel like real people you’ve bled with. This book doesn’t just redeem Joey — it redeems every moment you spent aching for him.
Saving 6 by Chloe Walsh
Saving 6 is the kind of book that crawls under your skin and stays there. Chloe Walsh gives Joey Lynch a spotlight he’s long deserved, and the result is nothing short of devastating. This story is heavy — addiction, trauma, poverty, responsibility far beyond a teenager’s shoulders — but it’s also threaded with unexpected softness. Walsh writes Joey with so much nuance that you feel every high, every low, every breath he struggles to take.
Aoife Molloy becomes the quiet pulse of the novel. She’s gentle without being fragile, steady without being saintly. Her empathy isn’t performative — it’s instinctive — and watching her try to understand Joey, without intruding on his pain, gives the book its emotional balance. Their connection is slow, tentative, and absolutely electric in its vulnerability.
Saving 6 is less about romance and more about survival. It shows how love can be a lifeline but not a cure, how trauma can shape a person without defining the totality of who they are. Joey’s chapters are some of the rawest I’ve read in years — Walsh doesn’t shield us from the ugliness, but she also doesn’t strip him of hope.
This book ends on the edge of a cliff emotionally, but that tension is earned. By the final chapter, you’re not just invested — you’re rooted in their lives, desperate for their next step. Saving 6 doesn’t offer easy answers. It offers truth. And that’s what makes it unforgettable.
And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman’s And When She Was Good is a slow-burn psychological thriller wrapped around the bones of a complex character study. At its center is Heloise, a suburban single mom with a secret life—she’s a high-end madam who’s carefully compartmentalized her past, her present, and her business. But when another woman in her line of work turns up dead, and whispers of Heloise’s long-buried past start to surface, the safe little world she’s curated begins to crack.
Lippman crafts a morally gray protagonist who is not only surviving but thriving on her own terms. Heloise is calculated, flawed, and fiercely protective of her son, which makes her both relatable and dangerous. As the story unravels, we’re pulled deeper into her tightly wound psyche—why she chose this life, what she’s endured, and how far she’s willing to go to protect what she’s built.
This book doesn’t sprint—it simmers. The tension creeps in like a rising tide, and the real thrills come from character revelations rather than explosive plot twists. Readers who love smart, character-driven suspense with shades of noir will find themselves turning pages late into the night.
Take the Lead by Alexis Daria
Take the Lead glides across the page like a perfectly choreographed paso doble—sharp, seductive, and full of surprising depth. Alexis Daria delivers a sparkling romance that pirouettes between glitzy reality TV tension and heartfelt emotional vulnerability.
Gina Morales is a professional dancer on a Dancing with the Stars-style competition, used to spotlight pressure and performance politics. But this season, she’s paired with stone-faced wilderness survivalist Stone Nielson—a reality star with a quiet strength, a sculpted body, and a strict “no drama” rule. What begins as an uphill battle for chemistry turns into a slow-burn connection full of stolen glances, emotional unburdening, and a tug-of-war between ambition and authenticity.
What sets this book apart is its deft layering: the glitter and competition are fun, but Daria is just as interested in exploring what it means to take risks off the dance floor—how vulnerability, trust, and compromise are just as essential to love as attraction is. Gina’s drive and Stone’s quiet heart make for a deliciously well-matched pair, and their chemistry sizzles through every practice scene and behind-the-scenes moment.
Romantic, empowering, and unafraid to challenge gender norms and career expectations, Take the Lead is a showstopper in every sense.
Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh
🐾🐾🐾🐾 – Love may have started the fire, but trust is what keeps the flame alive in this fiercely emotional sequel.
Keeping 13 picks up right where the emotional wreckage of Binding 13 left off—and somehow manages to raise the stakes even higher. Chloe Walsh deepens the intensity, the heartbreak, and the tenderness in this follow-up that’s not just a continuation—it’s an emotional reckoning.
Shannon and Johnny are both trying to find solid ground after everything that’s been broken, bruised, or ripped apart. But healing doesn’t come easy, especially when old trauma resurfaces and new challenges threaten to undo the fragile progress they’ve made. Johnny is fighting his own battles off the rugby field, and Shannon is forced to confront truths she’s kept buried for far too long.
This book is heavier, rawer, and more emotionally volatile than the first—but it’s also more rewarding. Every chapter feels like a step toward survival, toward something real, and the payoff is deeply satisfying. Walsh does a remarkable job portraying mental health, abuse, trauma, and unconditional love without sugarcoating the journey.
If Binding 13 broke your heart, Keeping 13 will help glue it back together—piece by painfully beautiful piece.
Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh
🐾🐾🐾🐾 – A tender, slow-burning storm of first love, fierce loyalty, and emotional healing—you won’t just read it, you’ll feel it.
Binding 13 is a sprawling, slow-burn romance that doesn’t just tug at your heartstrings—it yanks them with the full emotional force of a rugby tackle. Set in Ireland, this coming-of-age romance is equal parts angsty, tender, and addictive.
At the center is Johnny Kavanagh, rugby star and school legend, and Shannon Lynch, a painfully shy and emotionally scarred new student who’s just trying to survive each day without drawing attention. When their paths cross, what begins as protectiveness and quiet understanding gradually blooms into something fierce, fragile, and soul-deep.
Chloe Walsh takes her time building the world, the characters, and the emotional stakes. The pacing may test your patience at times, but the payoff is rich. The characters feel lived in—raw, messy, and honest. Johnny is the ultimate protective hero, but it’s Shannon who truly steals the show with her quiet resilience. Their relationship is more than romantic; it’s about healing, trust, and learning to believe in the possibility of something better.
This is not a book that wraps things up in a tidy bow. It’s the kind of story that burrows under your skin and lingers. Expect emotional whiplash, cliffhangers, and characters you’ll want to protect at all costs. And yes, you’ll need to dive straight into Keeping 13 the moment you finish.
Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Pawprints – A Haunting, Clever Thriller with a Gut-Punch of a Twist
Gillian McAllister delivers yet again with Just Another Missing Person, a suspenseful and emotionally layered thriller that starts with a familiar premise—a missing teenage girl—and unravels into something much more intricate.
Detective Julia is assigned to the case of a young woman who disappears without a trace. But from the start, things feel off. Surveillance footage doesn’t add up, witnesses go quiet, and Julia’s own past starts clawing at her heels. As the case deepens, so does Julia’s moral dilemma—what would you do to protect your family, even if it meant compromising your integrity?
McAllister masterfully blends police procedural with deep emotional stakes, crafting a narrative where every choice feels weighty and personal. The pacing is steady but suspenseful, leading to a mid-book twist that completely redefines what you thought you were reading. That pivot is where the novel truly shines.
Some sections could have used a bit more urgency, but the emotional payoff and ethical gray areas make this a standout. This isn’t just a thriller—it’s a story about motherhood, sacrifice, and the cost of doing the “right” thing.
A quote that lingers:
“We all make decisions we think we can live with—until we have to.”
For fans of layered mysteries that ask big questions, Just Another Missing Person will leave you thinking long after you’ve turned the final page.