We Are Gathered Here Today

We Are Gathered Here Today by Bobby Finger, 320 pages

Finlay, Elaine, and Jacque have attended zillions of weddings, and can only make it through the cringiest moments by saving them until their traditional Hour of Disrespect, in which the three friends gather to complain about the most obnoxious little elements of the day. But now, Fin is heading to Elaine's elaborate Texas wedding weekend, where he's been asked to serve as the officiant. When he arrives, he's newly engaged himself, though still unsure on the concept of marriage, and has NOTHING written for his speech. Thrown with Jacque into the "queer table" of guests and plenty of free drinks, Fin must navigate the increasingly unhinged weekend while also navigating his feelings and writing a speech.

I picked this one up hoping that it fall somewhere in the range of The People We Hate at the Wedding meets The Wedding People, with lots of quirky characters and dry humor. And it kind of is... but it also felt a bit clique-y. Like, I don't know that I would've continued hanging out with this assigned group if they annoyed me as much as they seemed to annoy Fin and Jacque. It was OK, but nothing fantastic.

Listen for the Lie

 Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera (2024), 336 pages

On the surface, it appeared that Lucy was living the dream. Handsome husband, nice house, beginning of a great career. All that came to a crashing halt when she was found bloodied on the side of the road with no memory of what happened and her best friend dead. She thought she escaped this nightmare after moving away, but it came crashing back as a podcaster comes to town and she is forced to return and confront what actually happened that night. 

This was a fun, twisty mystery that kept you guessing until the end. If you can, you must listen to the audiobook. The podcast portions were done perfectly and, at first, confused me as I thought my phone had actually switched to one of my podcasts. Were there a few holes and unbelievable bits? Yep, but it was entertaining and worth the listen. 

Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta

Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta by James Hannaham (2022), 352 pages 

After reading Sarah's review, I wanted to check this book out. It follows Carlotta on her brief parole stint as she rediscovers the world she was forced to leave behind twenty odd years ago. It is told through both first- and third-person narrative that can be a bit disjointing at first, but you will get into the swing of it. Overall, I enjoyed the book and Carlotta's surprisingly optimist look on life despite the unjust and horrifying things that have happened to her. My only quibble is sometimes I felt Carlotta was a just a bit to prescient about today's issues, especially for someone who has been locked away for such a long time. 

September Totals

 Jan: 4 books, 1315 pages

John: 1 book, 391 pages

Kara: 15 books, 5636 pages

Kevin: 3 books, 1224 pages

Margaret: 5 books, 1441 pages

Regan: 8 books, 2147 pages

Sarah: 3 books, 976 pages

Tracey: 8 books, 3163 pages

 Total: 47 books and 16,293 pages

Blood Over Bright Haven

 

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, 428 pages.

Sciona has never had the makings of a proper Tiranish lady, instead dedicating all of herself to becoming the first female mage admitted to the High Magistry. Unfortunately, all of her brilliance doesn't protect her from the slights and sexism of her colleagues, including being assigned a Kwen janitor instead of a proper assistant. But Thomil wasn't always a janitor, and his experiences with the world outside of Tiran combine with Sciona's once-in-a-generation talent have the potential to shake the very foundations of the city of Tiran, God's Bright Haven.

This was a great book, but I can't talk about most of the parts that hit me like a gut punch without lessening their impact. This is a fantastic and fantastical exploration of colonialism and exploitation that feels grounded and real enough to keep all of it's impact in a fantasy setting. Sciona is a great protagonist for the story, complicated and deeply flawed. I think this book is what I wanted Babel by R.F. Kuang to be. I can't wait to discuss this one with Orcs & Aliens next week!  

The Castle

 The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unraveling Men by Jon Ronson, 336 pgs. © 2026

This book was mysterious, hilarious and deeply disconcerting. One night, the author's son is invited to a party at a mysterious castle in New England owned by an eccentric millionaire, only to find the party is more of a dry run for a reality show. The evening is a bust but the author is intrigued by the eccentric millionaire and interviews him--but his questions only lead to more questions. What follows is Jonson's thoughtful critique on what has happened to men in our culture as he interviews other men who have become unmoored in society due to the changing times. Because of this, Jonson argues, men are increasingly trying to use social media to create fantasy worlds or present themselves in ways that are synchronous to ideas of traditional masculinity. But these worlds are built on sand, as Jonson displays throughout the book--divorce, public shamings, unfulfilled potential, lost friends and opportunities, federal investigations--the list goes on. Jonson recounts his now terminated friendship with TV writer Graham Linehan, who fell into adopting anti-trans rhetoric after a particular episode of his show, The IT Crowd, was deemed transphobic. Linehan, a man at the top of his field, hit the gas on those new found beliefs which consumed his life, resulting in losing his marriage and future work. Jonson's question is one we all ask ourselves everyday--why? I haven't really picked a favorite book for 2026 yet, but this is definitely a contender. 

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency

 The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J.D. Brinkworth (2026), 368 pages.

Please go read Kara's review here. She does an excellent job of summarizing the novel. I really wanted to like this novel. Who hasn't imagined becoming a detective and all the cool adventures it entails? For those who may have BritBox, I love Shakespeare & Hathaway, so I was hoping it would be like that. It really isn't. The mystery was twisty and turny (and I honestly feel like I have watched a show with a similar premise), but the main characters were just not that likeable and engaging. So, if you want a cozyish mystery, that is an easy read, this is for you. If you want a little more heft, I would choose something else. 

The Veiled Prophet

 

The Veiled Prophet: Secret Societies, White Supremacy, and the Struggle for St. Louis by Devin Thomas O'Shea. 472 pgs. © 2026

Finished! Wow, this book was a doozy. Heavily researched and consistently surprising, author O'Shea takes readers all the way back to the beginning of this secret, racist club of rich people that conspired to squash workers unions, maintain class hegemony and frighten minorities in the region. Founded in 1878 by Missouri-born Alonzo Slayback, whose education was steeped in Masonic symbology and who would eventually grow up to fight and lose for the Confederates in the Civil War, Slayback was inspired to create the group from a poem called Lalla Rookh by Byron, which features a "veiled prophet" who is also a ruthless tyrant. Coupled with a yearly city parade and a debutante ball where rich fathers offered up their daughters as tributes to the veiled prophet in hopes for future connections, the organization carried on for decades before the age of mass media started showing cracks in its facade. This is definitely not for the casual reader but rather students of history, activists and anyone interested in St. Louis lore. 

The Woman Who Wouldn't Die Quietly

 

The Woman Who Wouldn't Die Quietly by Katarina Bivald (2026)  344 pages

Berit Gardner, a Swedish novelist who usually stays in England, has decided to spend the fall and winter in a cottage her grandparents had owned on an island off Sweden. She ends up inviting police detective Ian Ahmed, whom she met during the course of the first book in this series, The Murders in Great Diddling, to join her. He's off duty and a bit stir-crazy because of a broken leg. He spends his time with binoculars, obsessed with a large home built on a nearby island. The woman who owns it is Margrethe Cullberg-Frantzen, a wealthy, opinionated, and abrasive owner of art galleries in three countries. 

Berit and Ian are invited to celebrate her 80th birthday. The atmosphere is tense as Margrethe belittles her adult children. Later, she falls off a cliff to her death, and it's not clear whether it was an accident or murder. The Swedish police would call it an accident except that Margrethe had told Ian that she feared for her life.

The weeks pass by, and as it gets colder and more desolate (yet beautiful), pieces of information come to light that help Berit finally piece together the mystery. But the novel is more than a mystery as it delves deeper into Berit and Ian's friendship, Berit's background, and the physical world around them on this Swedish archipelago. Highly recommended.

As You Wake, Break the Shell

As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers, 480 pages

Cora is a rorqual pilot, someone who works with and controls a vast space-native creature to haul goods and mines from far-off moons to supplement the sparse goods of Fortune, the planet where Cora and thousands of others live. Cora and her rorqual, Colibri, have an unusually close relationship, one that is beginning to be detrimental to Cora's health, as their mental connection is causing a condition called "mindbleed." When a pilot gets this, their career is pretty much over, and while it's possible for the rorqual to be reassigned, it generally doesn't work and leads to the death of the giant creature. In her hunt for an off-the-books solution to mindbleed, Cora ends up on the doorstep of botanist Signy, a woman who runs a quiet plant shop during the day, but bio-prints medicine for those in need in her "free" time. Creating these medicines means risking her license and freedom, but Signy can't not help if she's able.

Told in alternating chapters between their early days of meeting and their later, well-established domestic bliss together, this book tells the us the beginning and the end of a lovely story of trust, love, respect, and worthwhile risks. I can't wait for the second book of the duology, which I'm hoping helps bridge the gap between the beginning and the end. A lovely story, no matter what.

This book will be published Oct. 13, 2026.