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Randomizing my TBR #68 | Aug 3rd, '26 #bookblogger #booksky #booklr
Book Review: Great Divide Hello Angels, Demons, and Everything Between, How's your summer going? My boyfriend and I have been doing some small events, but we are definitely not summer people and Missouri is notoriously humid.... https://jonathanpongratz.com/2026/08/03/book-review-great-divide/
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Tendrils by Carrie Harris
Sometimes the most magical sequels aren't the ones that raise the stakes—they're the ones that let their characters grow up.
✶ PRE-READING ✶
It's been about a year since I read the first Lady Lovely Locks novel, so I would have appreciated a slightly stronger recap to help ease me back into the story. Thankfully, it didn't take long before everything clicked back into place.
One of my favourite things about the first book was how it captured the spirit of the original cartoon while giving it a little more emotional depth, so I was hoping Tendrils would continue that balancing act.
✶ POST-READING ✶
As I thought... Carrie Harris has a real talent for updating a classic cartoon without losing what made it charming in the first place. This still feels unmistakably like Lady Lovely Locks—full of magic, adventure and hope—but the characters are allowed to be a little more complicated than they could be in a Saturday morning cartoon.
It surprised me by... how much of the story rests on trust and forgiveness. Leigh's relationships, particularly with her best friend and the love interest who appears to have betrayed her before the story begins, are given room to breathe. Rather than rushing through the misunderstandings, the novel explores how difficult it can be to reconcile what you believe about someone with what they've done, and those emotional threads ended up being just as compelling as the fantasy adventure.
There are a couple of moments where characters are rather obviously shuffled out of the way so they can't solve the problem too quickly, but honestly, that almost felt true to the source material. It was easy enough to forgive because the story never loses the bright, adventurous energy that makes the setting so much fun to visit.
I'd happily spend more time in this version of Lovely Locks Kingdom. Although this has been advertised as a duology, I'd be delighted to see the series continue. If not, I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for whatever Carrie Harris writes next. (If she's looking for another 80s cartoon to revive, may I humbly nominate Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors?)
✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦
Book Recommendation: How to Find a Nameless Fae by A. J. Lancaster. Both stories take familiar fantasy ideas and explore identity, trust and belonging with warmth rather than cynicism.
TV or Movie Recommendation: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018). Like Tendrils, it honours the heart of an older cartoon while giving its characters richer emotional lives and more nuanced relationships.
✧ VIBE CHECK ✧
A colour palette: blossom pink, emerald green and warm gold.
A soundtrack: sweeping orchestral fantasy with gentle strings and moments of hopeful triumph.
A season: late spring, when everything is in bloom but summer's challenges are just over the horizon.
A mood: hopeful, forgiving and quietly courageous.
A scent: wildflowers, fresh leaves and sun-warmed woodland paths.
★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★
Temperance. More than anything, Tendrils is about balance. It blends nostalgia with fresh ideas, optimism with emotional complexity, and adventure with heartfelt relationships. Leigh's greatest challenge isn't defeating darkness through force, but learning how forgiveness, trust and compassion can become strengths in themselves. Like Temperance, the story suggests that real growth comes not from abandoning who you were, but from bringing different parts of yourself into harmony.
Tendrils publishes on the 11th of August. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK By Nikki Smith @penguinrandom @Mrssmithmunday #TheLastPlaceYouLook #BookReview #BookBlogger
Available now / paperback / ebook/ audiobook / SYNOPSIS LEO THOUGHT HE KNEW HIS WIFE. UNTIL SHE DISAPPEARED.Leo Kennedy has it all: money, looks, the perfect marriage and luxury homes in the UK and South Africa. But when his wife Addison goes missing, his immaculate life detonates.48 hours later, Leo arrives at their safari lodge to retrace her steps. Only there’s no sign of Addison. Instead,…
July ‘26 Wrap up #wrapup #bookblogger
#Blogtour Consider The Ravens by Cressida Downing
It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Consider the Ravens – A Gripping Medieval Mystery of Murder and Secrets on Lindisfarne,The Scribe of Lindisfarne by Cressida Downing. Published by No Exit Press, pub date 16 July 2026. Blogtour courtesy of Random Things Tours. About the Author Cressida Downing is a freelance editor, has worked in bookshops and for publishers, and owns a business…
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From Migraine to Muse: Writing as Therapy for Authors
When you think the manuscript is heading one way, then, BAM, everything surprises you. Finding yourself back at the beginning, making sure the new path your characters want flies. Writing is my therapy. My characters are a balm for my migraine, unless they become the source of it. Today is a mix of both. So, tattoo first. Afterward, I’ll figure out how to untangle this new path my characters…
