kat 🐈‍⬛

Here for the books! 📚📚📚 Reviews in English. | Buchbesprechungen auf deutsch. The Storygraph: @streberkatze Bluesky: @bookstakat 📝 Multilingual word nerd, educator, history PhD, homeschooling Mama 🌱 Vegan 🚑 EMT 🟡⚪️🟣⚫️ they/them

[bookstakat]

Hummelhirn (2026) von Judith Holofernes

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/3NKEMG

✍️ Autobiographie 🎆 ADHS 🎶 Musik 

Ich habe mich so gesehen gefühlt in diesem Buch!

Wenn mein Mann mich heute fragt: “Sag mal, siehst du das nicht?” (“Das”, zum Beispiel, ein Pullover auf dem Badezimmerfußboden), dann kann ich erleichtert zugeben: “Nein. Nein, ich sehe das nicht.” Wenn ich aufräume, sehe ich Pullover, wenn ich denke, sehe ich Gedanken. Andererseits, manchmal denke ich auch spreche gleichzeitig und dann sehe ich Eichhörnchen und ……… (Seite 213)

Das hätte hundertprozentig ich sein können, und viele der Schulerfahrungen kenn ich so auch. Diese ADHS-Beschreibungen sind alle so unglaublich auf den Punkt gebracht…

Ich wohne schon seit über einem Jahrzehnt nicht mehr in Deutschland und bekomme deswegen einige Dinge nur so am Rande mit. Aber als ich gehört habe, dass die Frau, die quasi den Soundtrack für meine Oberstufenjahre geliefert hat, jetzt ein Buch rausgebracht hat, in dem sie u.a. ihr Leben mit ADHS thematisiert, war ich sofort dabei. Ich liebe das Format, das Hin- und Herbringen zwischen ihren Kinder- und jungen Erwachsenenjahren, das Spiel mit Schriftarten und Schriftgrößen, die eingeschoben Songtextpassagen, die ich immer sofort vor mich hingesungen habe. Ich bin etwas jünger als Judith Holofernes und aus dem Osten, weswegen diese Buch eine unglaublich nette Mischung aus Bekanntem und Neuem war. Und wie gesagt, ich bekomme manches nicht so gleich mit und hatte keine Ahnung, wie gut sie auch Bücher schreibt! Einen halben Stern Abzug nur für diese seitenweise Teenager-Jungsgeschichten. Da hätte das Lektorat noch etwas dran werkeln können, hat sich dann doch alles irgendwann arg wiederholt. Aber trotzdem, im Großen und Ganzen ein wunderbares Buch!

Das Cover des Buches Hummelhirn von Judith Holofernes zeigt das Porträt eines Mädchens mit geschlossenen Augen, umgeben von bunten, fließenden Formen und Bildern von Insekten und einer Blume. Das Mädchen hat braune Haare und einen Pony. Auf seinem Kopf sitzt ein schwarzer Vogel. Der Hintergrund ist in orange-rot gehalten Der Titel des Buches und der Name der Autorin ist in weißen Großbuchstaben quer über das Buchcover gedruckt.

[bookstakat]

The Fine Art of Lying (2026) by Alexandra Andrews

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/ruuUEV

🫆 Thriller 💰 Rich people behaving badly 🏙️ NYC    The art world setting and centering of a (fictional) artist and one of his most famous work is maybe the only characteristic of this story that sets it apart somewhat from similar psychological thrillers set in the world of the 1%. Overall, this book is pretty mainstream in its themes, but a super fun read nonetheless! I read the audiobook version and really enjoyed it, but I think it would make for a great summer/beach read in any format. Rich families in NYC doing outrageous shit is one of my major wheelhouse items, so I think I might have cared a bit more about the lack of inventiveness otherwise, but hey. The pacing of the book was excellent. And while the “good” protagonists are actually more insufferable than the villains, I enjoyed following all of their stories. I’m not sure how predictable the ending is because I never try to figure it out as I’m reading, so readers who tend to do that will have to be the judge of that. One thing I really enjoyed, as someone who experienced the struggle first-hand, is Claire’s seemingly never-ending struggle with her dissertation. This part was excellently portrayed. (And I won't spoil how it ends.) Overall, a fun summer read! 

[mannys-library]

Squad by Maggie Tokudo-Hall and Lisa Sterle

Dates read: July 14 2026 – July 15 2026

Length: 218 pages

Squad is a young-adult coming-of-age graphic novel with a bit of a supernatural twist. Becca is the new girl in school. She's always struggled to fit in, but finds a spot with the popular girls after one of their group takes interest in her. The popular girls at school have a secret, though; they're actually a pack of werewolves who hunt down and kill misbehaving boys.

The conflict mirrors usual high-school drama, but they're werewolves. They disagree about who they're allowed to kill and eat. They fight over who should be the leader of the pack. Becca questions if she should even be part of the pack. And, what's going to happen when they graduate and head off to different colleges?

My only complaint is that this book moves really fast. It's a graphic novel, so it's expected to be shorter than most novels, but I felt that there was so much missing from the story. Most of the characters were left without a proper ending. I would love a sequel that expands on the characters and their setting.

[bookstakat]

Trash! A Garbageman's Story (2026) by Simon Paré-Poupart (Translated from French by Pablo Strauss)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/3NKEMG

✍️ Memoir  🚮 Garbage collection 🇨🇦 Canada 

This has easily been one of my favorite books of the year so far! As an academic working in both a white-collar and a blue-collar job, I found the author’s approach to life incredibly relatable. And it is also this mix of perspectives that makes the author’s account so interesting. He has been in garbage collection for decades and knows everything about the industry and the people in it. But at the same time, he is an academic who is able to contextualize his experiences drawing on theory. Unsurprisingly, David Graeber’s work shows up in the book at some point, and many others’ as well. I definitely took notes. This book is truly the best of both worlds: a personal account with an academic framing. Combine this with the author’s very accessible writing style and the excellent narrator of the audiobook, and you end up with a pretty unputdownable book. I also truly hope that this book will increase readers’ appreciation of the work of garbage collection. As someone who makes more money doing inconsequential work behind a desk than work that literally involves people’s lives, I found his point about the complete lack of a correlation between a job’s usefulness and its pay so well-taken. Overall, highly recommended!

[bookstakat]

The Lost Bookshop (2023) by Evie Woods

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/GWTb7J

📜 Historical 🪄 Magical Realism 🇮🇪 Ireland 

Before this one, I had just finished a book that did a lot of things and did all of them well. Unfortunately, this book did not. The protagonists were well-written, and I really cared about them, and the dual timeline worked well. However, there were just too many subplots, many of them never really finished, squeezed into each of them, which took away from the larger story: Why the tattoo? What happened to Madame Bowden? And I get it, the Magdalen Laundries and similar facilities were a thing, but this story could have lived without tagging on that issue as well. All it did was create yet another barely resolved thread, and there were already enough of those before. It’s one of those books that would have been more engaging, had it been a little more focused and thus shorter. As so often in these cases, more an editing than a writing issue. At the same time, while there were many aspects of the story that seemed superfluous, there were a few plot twists that just seemed to convenient, especially whenever Opaline’s brother managed to get a hold of her again. The way those moments played out was so predictable, they definitely could have used some more work. It still enjoyed it as an audiobook because I could just speed up the passages that dragged, but I’m not sure if I would have made it through the physical book. The reason I didn’t read this book lower than I did is that it was still a really atmospheric read, and as someone who reads for vibes a lot, I really appreciated that part. So if that is you as well, you may still enjoy this book.

[bookstakat]

Parallel (2021) by Matthias Lehmann

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/GWTb7J

📜 Historical  🏳️‍🌈 Queer 🇩🇪 Germany 

This graphic novel had been on my TBR for a while because I really wanted to read the German original. (But there is an English translation!) I finally got my hands on a copy while visiting my hometown (also the author’s hometown) this year, and it did not disappoint! I think part of the reason this story struck a chord with me is that the author and I were born in the same year, and he engages with German history and society in ways that are very relatable to me. This story of a gay man who is forced to hide his sexuality for almost his entire life is firmly rooted in the context of the postwar years in Germany and the existence of two Germanys post-1949. Every new chapter in the protagonist’s life is marked by a move from one Germany to the other one. And each time we are reminded that there was no safe place for gay men in the Germanys, even after the horrors of the Third Reich. The author does an amazing job of exploring what this looked like in reality, for human being living under those circumstances. And some of the scenes are incredibly hard to stomach. I also really loved the artwork. Sometimes sparse, black-and-white drawing can make the story hard to follow. But this was not the case here. On the contrary, the art perfectly matched the overall mood of the book. Highly recommend!

[bookstakat]

Haus der Geister (2025) by Frank Goldammer [German]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/pJrHTc

📜 Historical  🔎 Mystery  🇩🇪 Germany 

I should have read the content warnings for this one. This book is not some cozy historical mystery, this book turns dark in the second half. I usually stay away from anything involving torture and child abuse, and there are a few graphic descriptions of both in this book. What made it more bearable was that it felt like the author kept them to a minimum, never provided gory details just for shock value and only when the story required them. So I got over it. And the rest of the book was absolutely riveting. I know Frank Goldammer is a prolific writer of historical mysteries, set in different time periods, but this was my first book by him, and I ended up enjoying it a lot overall. As someone who was born and raised in Dresden, I appreciated his attention to detail when describing the setting. To think that parts of the city that are now solidly part of it were on its outskirts just 150 years ago continues to fascinate me. I’m not sure if I found any of the characters particularly likable, but the protagonists were certainly relatable. And the Holmes/Watson dynamic between Heller and his assistant worked really well. Even though the story’s pace of the story picked up considerable in the second half of the book, but it never felt slow in the first half either, which something I sometimes struggle with in historical mysteries. The resolution was unexpected, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I’m really curious if it was based purely on the author’s imagination, or if there are any documented cases from the late nineteenth century. I’ll definitely read the first and third book in the series as well. (As in, this is the kind of series you can definitely read out of order.)

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Palestinian Books for Pride Month

[bookstakat]

Pflegers Diary (2023) by Metin Dogru [German]

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/g6nP6T

🏥 Healthcare  🇩🇪 Germany  ✍️ Memoir 

I really enjoy Metin Dogru’s social media content, both on TikTok and Instagram, and I really, really wanted to love this book. But it would have needed so much more editing and definitely a proofreader. Metin Dogru has a unique social media voice and is incredibly good at creating both funny and insightful content. But video and writing are two very different kinds of media, and translating one’s voice from one to the other isn’t necessarily easy. That’s why publishing houses have editors, and this publishing house either cut corners to save a buck or had someone embarrassingly incompetent work on this book. Either way, super disrespectful of both author and readers. There would have been ways to translate the author's strong online presence onto the page. Instead, we got endless repetition, lots of cliché figures of speech, and countless punchlines that just don’t work the same way in writing. And because all of those things weren’t terrible enough, seemingly zero proofreading on top of it: missing and duplicate words galore and lots and lots of irritating sentence fragments. Seriously, do better, publishers! This was painful to read.

Based on the craft, the book would have been one star. As an editor, I just can’t ignore issues like these. HOWEVER, the content was great. A lot more serious than Metin Dogru’s online content, but just as poignant. Metin Dogru walks the fine line between memoir, comedic interludes, and well-founded critiques of the German healthcare system and especially the roots of the so-called "Pflegenotstand." It’s high time German citizens start pressuring their elected officials to stop selling out the healthcare system. However — and Meting Dogru is also very clear about that aspect — respect (or the lack thereof) happens on the individual level as well. The glorification of doctors and often poor treatment of nurses (and even poorer treatment of nursing aides) by both patients and family members says terrible things about who we are as a society. Lots of food for thought here. 

[bookstakat]

The Astral Library (2026) by Kate Quinn

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/U6WWgu

📚 Library Setting ☕ Cozy Fantasy 🐉 Dragons

I have not read any of Kate Quinn’s historical fiction, so I have nothing to compare this book to, but I absolutely loved it. As someone who did not grow up in an anglophone country, and thus has not read most of the classics mentioned in this book, I did not think you needed to be familiar with them to understand their role in the context of this story. Also, and this one is huge for me, while I usually stay away from didactical storytelling that hits you over the head with its message, I did not find this to be much of an issue here. I disagree with reviews saying the book’s strong stance on book bans may antagonize some readers. Because good, it should. Literature and libraries are under attack, and we expect authors not to address this in their work? This is the kind of attitude that has made some of the worst atrocities in human history possible. And I’m saying this as both a reader and a historian. 

But even beyond its clear stance on book bans, I really, really enjoyed this book! The world building was not the most solid, but as someone who reads mostly for vibes, I didn’t find this to be a huge issue. The book is incredibly atmospheric, and that alone makes me curious about the author’s historical fiction. The story drew me in from the first page. I appreciated how the author explored how your origins determine your opportunities in U.S. society in the first few chapters and then seamlessly transitioned to — Dragons. Another aspect of this book I really enjoyed was the romantic subplot. Closed door romance that is not the center of the story is my favorite kind of romance. And that is exactly what I found in this book.

[bookstakat]

Dragon Fires Everywhere (2025) by Hazel Beck

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/gFZp1D

💕 Romance 🧙 Witches 🏘️ Midwestern Small Town

This was the fourth and final part in the Witchlore series, and the book was kind of a mixed bag for me. This was the only part I did on audio, and I thought the narrator was great. And the book did get me out of an audiobook slump. But overall, it was not as strong of a read as the previous parts. I love the first two parts (the second one being my favorite), and the final two parts were just okay. Part of this is likely to be expected. It’s hard to keep the moment going across four books whose content is very closely linked: same protagonists, same atmospheric setting, same overall storyline. But part of the issues was also a few specific tropes I don’t love. Each of the books is told from the perspective of one of the female members of the Riverwood Coven, and as a love story with one of the male members of the coven. Georgina (Georgie) Pendelton, the coven’s historian, was the narrator of this book. And while I have enjoyed getting to know better one particular coven member in each book, the trope of the insecure girl, constantly playing up her “diztziness” was getting on my nerves. And because a cliché female protagonist is not enough, this issue gets addressed by introducing a patronizing, boundary-ignoring male love interest, who essentially saves Georgie from herself and her self-doubts. Just, no.

What redeemed this book somewhat for me was the shifting of the focus toward the entire dragon and their friendship, and away from Georgie and Asrael, in the second half. I loved how it again required all of them working together to defeat the Joywood one last, definitive time, although things got a bit cheesy at times. Overall, I think I would have DNFed the book, had I not already been so invested in the series. But since I was, I’m glad I stuck around to find out how it all plays out.

[bookstakat]

The Factory Witches of Lowell by C.S. Malerich (2020)

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/GIMMxh

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Fiction 🧙 Witches ✊ 19th-Century Labor Organizing

The Storygraph recommended this novella to me, and my first thought was: Radical queer witch protagonists in a historical fantasy novel? Sign me up. That was also my second thought, except, and I'm not the first one to say this: The way the author referred to the lives of enslaved people was — confusing. I think I know what she was trying to get at, i.e., what it means for a human being to be treated like an object. But there was just too little room to elaborate, and so it ended up reading like an afterthought, which, ironically, ended up contributing to exactly that racist dynamic. The book did not need that reference. Or, if this was a point the author felt strongly about, it would have likely been a whole different book. As for my interest in the intersection of queer witches and organizing, I keep reading about The Once and Future Witches. I may have to check that one out next.

[bookstakat]

That's What Friends Are For by Wade Rouse (2026)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/gYDqkb

🏳️‍🌈 Queer Fiction 🫂 Found Family ☀️ Atmospheric Southern California Setting

I absolutely adored this book! The audiobook version, read by a different character for each of the four protagonists’ perspectives, brought the characters to life. The author does an incredibly job bridging humor and serious topics, including childhood sexual abuse, transphobic violence, and the struggles of now-older gay men across their lifespans. I loved the ida of having the four protagonists perform in their own show, "The Golden Gays," based on the 1980s sitcom "The Golden Girls," and I truly wish and hope that this show does exist somewhere in the real life. This book was more character-driven than my usual fare, but the characters were so complex and well-written, I loved diving into their experiences. Another thing the author did really well was bringing together biological and found family. In my experience, getting this right, without it ending up feeling cliché is hard, but the dynamic worked great in this book. As did the incredibly sweet and thoughtful romantic subplot between Sid and Leo. And finally, Palm Springs felt like it was its own character, and the book gave me an entirely new appreciation of the city. I’d love to visit again! 

[bookstakat]

Breadcrumbs: Coming of Age in Post-Soviet Poland by Kasia Babis (2025)

⭐️⭐️.5/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/DJgVme

🎨 Graphic Novel ✍️ Memoir 🇵🇱 Poland

This book was okay. I was born in East Germany and six years old when the Wall fell, so I’m pretty familiar with the post-socialist frenzy the states of the so-called Eastern Bloc experienced over the next two decades. The exploration of the author’s life in this historical context may be more interesting for readers less familiar with it, but I found it overall underwhelming. I also found the exploration of gender dynamics and gender-based violence to be kind of superficial and cliché. Overall, this book clearly seemed to be written for a Western audience, and I’m kind of over it. Case in point, there is no such thing as a "Post-Soviet Poland." I’m a historian, but you don’t have to be one to understand that a country that was never part of the Soviet Union cannot be post-Soviet. To imply the experience of those of us in the Soviet sphere of influence was comparable to that of folks in countries like Belarus or Georgia is straight-up ridiculous and yet another example of that "woe is me" attitude prevalent in so much post-socialist writing for Western audiences. (Which, to be fair, is encouraged by publishers because it sells. So I would not be surprised if the title choice was the publisher’s, not the author’s.) One aspect I found interesting was the exploration of the power of the Catholic Church in the immediate aftermath of post socialism. And I did enjoy the grayscale artwork with the splashes of red, although I agree with other reviewers that parts of it were hard to follow. 

[bookstakat]

A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau (2025)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Synopsis: https://anon.to/qD5ln4

🔍 Historical Mystery 👩🏻‍❤️‍👩🏼 Sapphic Romance 🏙️ Early-20th-Century NYC

I devoured this book. I can definitely see why it’s been compared to Lev AC Rosen’s Evander Mills series, although the Harriman & Mancini series, of which this is the first book, has a much cozier vibe and overall centers the queerness of the protagonists less. But this is just based on my reading of the first book, and I’m curious to see where the author takes the series. As someone who reads a lot for vibes and setting, I really appreciated how atmospheric this story was. I felt like I was right there in 1912 New York with the characters. (Granted, that I live in the NYC metro area probably helps.) I was a huge fan of the fierce queer female protagonists, including Shiloh and CeeCee. I’m really hoping they will continue to appear in future books. A few gripes I had with the book were related to the editing. And I’ve seen this frequently enough in books published by major publishing houses to get kind of tired of the cutting of corners to save a buck. A solid editor would have caught that a woman in 1912 would not have understood her oppression as based on her "gender," an concept that gained traction only decades later, and identifying someone as a "second-generation Italian American" is just as anachronistic. And then there were the copy editing oversights such as missing words. Just, no. It’s really not fair to writers or readers, especially when the imprint has a massive publishing house like, in this case, Macmillan behind it. However, my enjoyment of the book far outweighed my criticisms, and I will definitely be back for more when the next book in the series comes out later this year.

[midnightinshadow]

[bookstakat]

The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman (2026)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Summary: https://anon.to/2SHbCm

👥 Multiple POVs 🍽️ Restaurant Setting 🤝 Relationship-Focused

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. I checked out the audiobook on Libby on a whim, not really sure what I was in the mood for. And even though I don’t particularly care about John Grisham or ribeye steaks, the premise sounded compelling enough. What I did not expect was reasonably well developed characters I actually empathized with, a few fun plot twists, and how well the different POVs worked together. Each chapter is told from the POV of a different person associated with the restaurant. Some characters just disappear into the background after we hear from them, others reappear in the narratives of other characters. Surprisingly, the relatively large set of characters and constantly changing POVs do not make the book confusing, which is quite a feat. And just as surprisingly, several of the characters have an unexpected depth, as has the author’s exploration of their relationships. I particularly liked the character of Glen, the lead line cook, even though his was one of the sadder storylines in the book. Overall a quick, very entertaining read!