• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Secondary Navigation Social Media Icons

    • Bluesky
    • Goodreads
    • Instagram
    • Threads
    • TikTok

becca's next chapter

book news, book reviews, and blogging

becca

04.07.26 | 1 Comment

Review: The Girl With a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Release Date: May 5, 2026

“In the ocean, no one can cry without drowning. Sorrow is silent beneath the waves.”

Mercy Chan woke up during WWII on the shores of Hong Kong with no memories. She has rebuilt her life in the ghost-infested Kowloon Walled City as a ghost-talker. But when an extraordinarily strong ghost infests Kowloon’s waterways, Mercy is confronted with her forgotten childhood.

The world Sunyi Dean created is incredible, an alternate reality ghost story set in Hong Kong during WWII and after. The story unfolds in layers, has just the right amount of horror, while portraying themes of grief and loss.

About halfway through this book, I was confused with the switch from third person, and it became a little difficult to keep up with or pay attention to. BUT, this changed quickly once things started to come to light.

The ending was beautiful but haunting.

And Bao was the best ghost kitty. 

Thank you Netgalley and Tor for the eARC!

04.04.26 | leave a comment

March 2026 Reads

I read 18 total books in March! I knocked out a lot of eARCs this month, kept up with my audiobook Libby holds, and continued my very long journey through the Outlander series.

It was a slower month for physical books, but I finished out the Beasts of Prey trilogy with Beasts of Ruin and Beasts of War. I rated all three books in this series 4 stars. I also picked up And Now, Back to You after loving First-Time Caller last month. Both were 5-star reads! I read the sixth book in the Outlander series, a solid four-star read (much, much better than the fifth book). And finally, I read Time-Tripping Over You, which was an enthusiastic five stars.

I wanted to read all of the Castle Knoll Files before reading the eARC of the third. This was an all-three-star series! I read Dungeons and Drama a couple of years ago, so I read Dating and Dragons before moving on to the third in the series, Rolls and Rivalry. Solid 4-star series. I also read the advanced copies of Obstetrix and Dolly All the Time.

People We Meet on Vacation on audiobook surprised me — 5 star rating for sure (and it’s far better than the movie, but that’s another post for another time). I listened to First Lie Wins for local book club. I’m in the process of listening to the Crescent City graphic audiobooks (as a re-read) to prep for ACOTAR 6. The Three Lives of Cate Kay was SO good! A little hard to keep up with, but so good.

03.31.26 | 1 Comment

Review: Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dolly Brick is a single mom who has moved back to her hometown for the summer to help her family. The wealthy, well-known Stewart Whitfield needs a fake girlfriend after his very public breakup, and strikes a deal with Dolly. Of course, this fake dating turns into something more.

Fake dating isn’t my most favorite trope of all, but it was cute in this story. Dolly had a lot of baggage, and that made her somewhat relatable. 

The story felt a little slow in parts, and I wasn’t invested by the third-act breakup. It didn’t feel very resolved in the end, and I wasn’t rooting for Stewart.

Overall, it’s a sweet, charming, and readable summer romance!

Thank you Putnam and Netgalley for the eARC! Dolly All the Time will be out May 26.

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 18
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

I'm just a mom, asking for five minutes alone to finish reading this chapter...

Becca (beccasnextchapter)'s bookshelf: currently-reading

Gideon the Ninth
it was amazing
Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir
tagged:
currently-reading

Haunting Adeline
Haunting Adeline
by H.D. Carlton
tagged:
romance and currently-reading

The Fires of Heaven
The Fires of Heaven
by Robert Jordan
tagged:
currently-reading

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
by Mary Beard
tagged:
currently-reading

Daisy Haites
Daisy Haites
by Jessa Hastings
tagged:
currently-reading




goodreads.com

Categories

Professional Reader 25 Book Reviews

Copyright © 2026 · Becca's Next Chapter

Isla Theme by Code + Coconut