I just finished book three of the Halfling Saga and I’m about to start the fourth book, and I went down the rabbit hole of reading reviews. A lot of people are upset about the direction of the male lead, saying that in the last book he basically becomes a “lap dog” for the main character and loses his edge.

And TBH… I’m confused by that criticism.

To me, Riven/Killian never felt like a traditional shadow daddy character in the first place. Yes, he’s powerful and mysterious at times, but once you really get to know him he feels much more like a soft but strong type of character. Loyal, protective, a little emotionally vulnerable, and very centered around the main character.

So seeing people complain that he isn’t dominating the story or acting like the classic morally gray alpha male is interesting to me. I feel like some readers expected one archetype and got another.

And i got me to thinking about my own reading preferences.

I actually like two very different types of male leads:

Soft & steady – the loyal, emotionally grounded characters who support the heroine and let her shine. They’re strong but not performative about it.

Think:

• Peeta from Hunger Games

• David from Uglies

• River from the Halfling series

Shadow daddies – the dark, morally gray, intimidating characters who carry power and danger with them.

Think:

• Xaden from Fourth Wing

• Caz from Vicious Bonds

Both can be great, but I don’t necessarily think every fantasy series needs the second one.

Now I’m curious where everyone else falls.

When you’re reading fantasy or romantasy, which type of male character do you prefer?

The soft and steady ones…
or the shadow daddies?

So I know that a lot of you from TikTok joined my Bindery hoping for Deep Reading Tips, and I am finally delivering.

I started a reading journal and I am loving the journey. It allows me to slow down and rate books at my own pace. I also really enjoy the process of decorating and journaling, using different colors and textures in my notebook, and figuring out a layout that feels like me. It's not super aesthetic but it's mine and I feel pride in creating something.

I used to use Goodreads for my reviews and I still will, but having my own catalog of books I’ve read, with my own handwritten thoughts that I can flip through at any time, is just really appealing.

Especially since I’ve also decided that doom scrolling is my new enemy.

Like actually.

I also started verbally annotating in my notes app. Nothing fancy, just my thoughts. Sometimes it is literally, “This book is so boring.” But even that tells me something. Maybe the pacing is slow. Maybe I am not in the mood for this genre. Maybe I just do not connect with the writing.

Other times it is me noticing something small. A repeated image. A line that feels too specific to be random. A moment that feels like it is setting something up. I love catching foreshadowing before it fully happens. It makes me feel like I am actually in conversation with the story instead of just watching it unfold.

The biggest change though is that I let myself pause.

How I deep read and think about books is a little unique to me because of my lived experiences. The connections I make come from that. And the connections you make will be unique to you because of yours. That’s why book clubs are fun. You get to talk about the different things you felt or experienced while reading.

So one last tip for deep reading is to join a book club.

So yeah, this may not be a typical “how to deep read” post. But I hope it helps someone get started and stop worrying about doing things the right way or not feeling smart enough to deep read.

Start with writing down your thoughts.

And make it fun for you.

I finished two books this week, and they could not have been more different for me.

Just Our Luck started off as this cozy, feel-good vibe… but somewhere around the middle, I lost steam. By the last 20% I was more like “just get me through this” and ended up skimming the end. 😭😭

What didn’t land for me: the MMC came off as lowkey mean at times, and the FMC felt a little too innocent for the energy of the story. And the Whole Lottery Thing… she wins a life-changing amount of money and then basically keeps living like nothing happened??

I was here mentally booking Paris, Seoul, spa days, big moves with her money, but she’s at a donut shop trying to be near her crush. I just could not suspend disbelief lol.

Funny Story was much more my vibe. The FMC’s issues with her father actually hit me, HARD. She’s emotionally grown, but sometimes parents have a funny way of hitting our soft spots. That added a level of depth that I didn’t expect.

The MMC was such a soft teddy bear, supportive, earnest, calming, and yet the bedroom dynamic surprised me in the best way. Like when we say talk her through it, that's exactly what he did. No notes. I don’t usually crave spicy scenes, but here it felt earned and natural. If intimacy jumps in too fast I get bored, and this one paced itself perfectly for me.

Overall, pacing was smooth, emotional arcs felt believable, and I walked away satisfied.

Week verdict:
Just Our Luck - fell flat
Funny Story - cozy, meaningful, well paced

I was in a reading slump.

Like, genuinely not interested in picking up a book. And instead of accepting that, my brain said, “How can we make this more fun?”

And somehow the answer was… make it more complicated. LOL.

So I started annotating more intentionally, and then I thought, if people on TikTok can make these whole reading journals, I can too. So I made one.

Nothing fancy. I decorated the cover with a few stickers. The first page explains why I started it and what my reading goals are this year. Then I listed out my TBR, which is long because I own about 40 unread books. We’re working through it.

For each book I read, I answer three questions:

• What was my initial reaction?

• What was the craft and emotional depth like?

• What themes and lingering thoughts stayed with me?

That’s it. Simple structure.

I like that I can flip through it and see a catalog of what I’ve read and what I thought about it. Is it the prettiest journal in the world? Absolutely not. But it’s mine, and I know it’ll evolve as I keep going.

In between reviews, I also added some journaling prompts for myself. Things like:

• Why did I buy the books on my shelves?

• What themes keep finding me?

• What kind of Black love feels safe to me?

• What does being a Black woman reader mean to me?

• What am I outgrowing in my reading taste?

These aren’t assignments. They’re just ways to think more intentionally.

If I’m being honest, part of this whole thing is about stopping the brain rot. I needed something tactile. Something slower. Something that gets me off social media and back into my body.

Annotating, journaling, crafting these pages, even just sitting with a prompt, has helped with that. It feels grounding. It feels regulating.

You definitely don’t have to do all this. I know I’m creating a project for myself. But if you’ve been in a reading slump or you want to dig deeper into your hobby, this might actually make it more fun.

Sometimes making it “extra” is exactly what makes it click.

At the beginning of the year, my only goal was to get through my physical TBR. That’s still part of the plan. I really do want these books read and off my shelves. But as February went on, I realized something. I genuinely love Black romance, and I want to read more of it on purpose, not just whenever it happens to land in my lap.

So I’m tweaking my reading challenge.

Instead of focusing on how many books I can get through, I’m going to read three intentional books per month. I know three doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’m deeply annotating at least two of them, maybe all three, depending on what I choose. This year I want depth, not speed.

The structure is simple.

• One nonfiction book, because I want to think more critically and learn something new.

• One Black fiction book, because I’m really interested in exploring love, softness, embodiment, and Black femininity through story.

• One curiosity or popular read, just because sometimes I want to see what everyone’s talking about.

While I’m reading, I’ll be annotating directly in the book with pen and tabs. If you need annotation supplies, they’re in my Amazon storefront. I’ll also keep bigger thematic notes in my phone when my thoughts are too long for the margins.

When I finish a book, I’ll share my notes and takeaways here. There’s no timeline and no pressure. This isn’t a formal book club. It’s just us reading with a little more intention and actually talking about what the books are doing to us.

If you’ve already read something I’m reading, comment your thoughts. If you want to read one with me, do it. And please revive the Discord because it’s way too quiet in there.

Three books a month. Deep reading. More intention. That’s the tweak.

Also, I added my current reads for the month of February so check them out! I will be discussing them later this month!

I love a good Black romance book. The kind that makes you melt a little and side-eye your own life like… okay but where is my magical man?

And fantasy has always been my favorite genre. Give me powers, chosen ones, ancient prophecies, all of it. I want drama. I want tension. I want magic in the air.

But over time I started noticing something. The books that really stuck with me were the ones where Black women were at the center of the magic and still allowed to be loved inside it. Not pushed to the sidelines. Not written as “strong” in a way that secretly means emotionally exhausted and alone. Just fully in the story. Fully desired. Fully chosen.

I don’t even think I had language for that at first. I just knew those were the books I couldn’t shut up about.

So I put together a list on the blog of 6 romantasy books by Black authors where Black women are central, magical, desired, and complicated in ways that feel real. Some are darker. Some are softer. A couple of them took over my entire personality for a solid week. A few are still on my TBR because I’m a chaotic mood reader and refuse to be managed.

If you want the full breakdown, it’s here:

Romantasy by Black Authors: Stories Where Black Women Are Magical and Loved

But I’m curious. When was the first time you read fantasy and actually felt seen? And if you haven’t yet, what kind of magical Black heroine are you still waiting for?

I’ve been sitting with my thoughts on Brimstone because I did enjoy it, and I also have some honest thoughts. This isn’t a hate post.

The Quicksilver series is good. I’m continuing the series for a reason. I just think it could’ve been stronger if it trusted itself more instead of rushing.

The banter works. The chemistry works, especially at the beginning. The found family feels real, not forced. I liked the political drama, and I honestly think the audiobook helps a lot. The voices and timing made things feel smoother and easier to enjoy.

The romance pulled me in even with the uneven pacing, but once the couple got comfortable and secure, the story didn’t really shift. Once the tension was gone, it felt like the book didn’t replace it with something else. Like I expected a different POV where we could get another couple coming to life to keep to the romantasy and tension/yearning alive. Instead we got a calm, healthy relationship, which is nice, but it can’t carry the whole story by itself.

My biggest issue was pacing. There are a lot of big ideas here, gods, rot, vampires, alchemy, politics, and they come one after another very fast. The tone gives, it wants us as readers to take this book very serious but the pacing gives, this is for a good time not a long time. It wants to feel like a big, serious fantasy story, but it moves too quickly for that. Big moments happen before we really get time to sit with the characters or fully feel what’s happening.

I liked the FMC. She’s strong, powerful, and always growing, even when she annoyed me. Where I struggled more was with some side characters, especially Dania. I get what the author might have been trying to do, but without enough background, her anger often felt random instead of understandable. Her character fell into the misogynic trope of a woman who is overly emotional and not a good decision maker. In a story that usually handles emotions well, that part felt off to me, why have a badass FMC and foil her with a woman who isn't fleshed out. Like I know Dania is the way she is because of her trauma that isn't explored in a way that would make her a understandable or likeable character (Think Johanna from Hunger Game).

The whole time, I kept thinking: what if this book had slowed down? What if the romance took longer? What if the story spread things out instead of piling them on so fast?

Even with all of that, I’m still interested. The world is cool, the story has potential, and I’ll keep reading with more realistic expectations. This book reminded me that you can enjoy something and still wish it had been handled differently.

Both can be true.

Hi babes 💕

I’m officially in my holiday romance delulu era and honestly?

The books are eating harder than the Thanksgiving plates I just survived.

So I made y’all a list because I’m generous like that 😭🎄

✨ 5 Holiday Romance Books to Read This Christmas
(and yes… they’re all free on Kindle Unlimited, because we’re saving coins)

If you’re in the mood for:

• small town chaos

• holiday spice

• men written by women (important)

• something fast and cute

• AND you’re trying to stop Amazon from taking your entire paycheck…

Go read this post, please.
Your winter TBR needs it → 5 Holiday Romance Books to Read This Christmas

Comment if you’ve read any of these so I know who to scream with.