Reading – World of Bai

Book Review: “The Correspondent” By Virginia Evans

I have really been letting Hyped books take over my TBR this year. I honestly had a plan to not let Booksta influence me this time around, yet I have fallen prey once again. I remember seeing this on the GoodReads Choice Awards last year and not really being interested at the time, but as time went on, more and more people ended up reading this book and loved it, so I knew it was only a matter of time till I finally caved.

“knowing you has been like coming in from the cold, lonely road to find a warm fire and a table laid,”
Virginia Evans, The Correspondent

About The Book

Author: Virginia Evans

Publisher: Crown Publishing

Published Date: April 29th, 2025

Page Count: 285 Pages

Main Genre: Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4.42

Format: Audio

“Grief shared, I think, can produce two outcomes. Either you bind yourselves together and hold on for dear life, or you let go and up goes a wall too high to be crossed.”
Virginia Evans, The Correspondent

Synopsis

Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Synopsis From GoodReads

Rating

Review

I originally started this book on my KOBO, which ended up being a mistake. I just couldn’t get into the writing style. I normally don’t mind mixed media in books, but when the book is all mixed media, I found myself just struggling to keep turning the page. As soon as I picked up the audiobook I was flying through the text. I loved the narration as it added much-needed inflection to the emails and letters.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much of Sybil’s life we actually obtained through letters and emails. I was really worried we would miss a lot of important details, but Sybil really did use writing as the only way to communicate anything regarding her life, which to me sounds quite exhausting. My hand cramps just writing a single journal entry, so this really made me question my handwriting capabilities.

At times the writing did feel a bit repetitive, but when you look at the big picture, it all makes sense. Sybil is writing to all of her family, friends, acquaintances, and pretty much anyone she can find an address for, so of course she is going to repeat herself. The author also kept this repetitiveness fresh by adding small morsels of new information to each new letter sent.

This girl has not one, but two men falling head over heels for her throughout the years this story spans. She rarely leaves her house, so this really surprised me. I really enjoyed seeing her love stories unfold even though she didn’t seem too amused herself.

While we got to explore the many relationships Sybil has, my favorite was with the young high school boy. She really became a grandmother figure to him. Her letters and, at some point, also her home became a refuge for this young boy as life continued to throw curveballs at him. Seeing Sybil drop her usual coldness to become a safe place for him was a much-needed character development. I was truly invested in this boy’s life and was craving a new correspondence from him to pop up with every new letter we received. I don’t think there was another relationship that I craved more information about sadly.

Sybil’s life was anything but boring. While she had a lot of interesting things happen to her in life, the one that really stood out to me was the tragic story of her losing her son. This was a plot line that was harrowing to watch unfold, but was integral to how Sybil became the woman she is today. The ending of this book really closed this plot line up nicely, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“I know you know this, but I want to repeat that when someone(s) treats you poorly, it is a reflection of him or herself and the misery within the heart of them. It doesn’t help a bit to hear that when you’re young, but later it will.”
Virginia Evans, The Correspondent

QOTD: Do you like Mixed Media in books?

Book Review: “Fruit Fly” By Josh Silver

This book instantly grabbed my attention purely due to the cover. The bright Green and Orange really popped in my mind and wouldn’t leave until I read this for myself. Naturally, I went into this book not knowing anything and that really served me well this time around.

“To be happy means to be free and to be free means to be brave.”
Josh Silver, Fruit Fly

About The Book

Author: Josh Siliver

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Published Date: August 4th, 2026

Page Count: 384 Pages

Main Genre: Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4.16

Format: Audio

“Go gay. Gay sells.”
Josh Silver, Fruit Fly

Synopsis

Mallory Maddox is buried under seven years of writer’s block. With her status as a literary sensation fizzling, she’ll do anything she can to resurrect her career. Inspiration needs to strike—and fast.

Enter Leo. He’s a struggling addict sleeping under bridges and trading sex for survival. He’s vulnerable. He’s enigmatic. He’s exactly what Mallory has been looking for.

Mallory needs Leo if she wants another bestseller. The world needs Leo’s story right now, and Mallory believes she deserves to tell it. Really, it’s her story—she’s the one who wrote it, after all.

But as secrets threaten to unravel more than just her career, Mallory must decide how far she will go to pen the perfect story.

Synopsis from GoodReads

Rating

Review

When this audiobook first started, I wasn’t sure this would be my thing. I am very particular about my audiobook narrators and I wasn’t vibing at first, but I pushed through and I am so glad I did! The narrators really grew on me.

I am an Airbnb owner, so I primarily listen to my audiobooks while I clean before each guest, so it is very important to me that the book grips me and makes the time fly by. This plot really had me on the edge of my seat, dying to know what was going to come next.

This book was twisted and consistently made me sick. The topics were difficult to digest but were ultimately important to hear about.

There were two main topics here that really hit me hard. The first was the narcissistic and controlling husband. While this plot was more of a minor overall detail, I personally felt like it played a big role in the trajectory of the plot. If Mal was in a better relationship, would she have ended up doing the things she did throughout the book? Probably not. While Mal was not a great person, I do think she had potential to be better if her life had been placed on a different path.

The second main Topic that stood out to me was how addiction can affect your life but also the lives of the ones around you. Both characters have a history with addiction, but their journeys were very different. Mal had a chance to go to recovery and have people rally around her to try and assist her through her addictions; this is really showing her privilege. While Leo’s addiction really derailed his life, he is homeless and just trying to survive any way he can, but because of his situation, it shows how hard it is to get clean. He doesn’t have all of the same security that Mal had going through her addiction.

Leo’s character was so heartbreaking to follow even though he is not a very likeable character. He seems to never make a choice that you are hoping he would make that could actually turn his life around. You watch him suffer so much in this short period of time that we are following him, so it really hurts to see Mal take advantage of his life story without giving him a say. She literally could have given his life story some credit or even given him a portion of money from the book sales, but of course Leo gets shafted.

I thought this plot was really intriguing but also scary due to the fact that I can see similar things happening like this in everyday life, maybe not quite to this extreme though. Mal felt like she could easily slip into the LGBTQ community and gain experiences by becoming one of them. Her use of Slay and other queer terms was rarely ever met without skepticism because she wasn’t very compelling in her dialogue. The audacity of this woman was wild to me. There were so many other options to get firsthand experience in this genre of writing that would have been more ethical, so it astounds me that this was her first choice.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this book. It was something I don’t read about often, which kept me entertained in a weird and twisted way. I would definitely pick up another book by this author.

“Those who can think, but cannot express what they think, place themselves at the level of those who cannot think –”
Josh Silver, Fruit Fly

QOTD: What are some of your favorite “weird girl” fiction books

Book Review: “Half City” By Kate Golden

I Picked this book as my September book club pick for Bai’s Reading Corner on Fable with high hopes that my club and I would be raving about this book by the end of it. We had all heard such great things regarding this book, it even has a pretty high rating on GoodReads and Fable. So imagine our disappointment when no one enjoyed it in the club. I hope to highlight our experience for you in this review and I hope you are willing to share your opinions good or bad in the comments below.

“Don’t confuse courage with recklessness”
Kate Golden, Half City

About The Book

Author: Kate Golden

Publisher: Ace

Published Date: February 17th, 2026

Page Count: 496 Pages

Main Genre: Romantasy

GoodReads Rating: 4.05

Format: Physical

“Life’s too short for multiple-choice questions.”
Kate Golden, Half City

Synopsis

Welcome to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. Keep your daggers sharp, and your wits even sharper.

Viv Abbot is an average twenty-one-year-old girl. She lives in an expensive city where the rent is too high, works long hours at a thankless job, and is dating a guy she doesn’t even like in the hopes of winning her prickly mother’s approval.

She also happens to be a demon hunter.

Ever since her father’s murder, she’s been forced to hunt deviants alone, meaning everyone, including her family, sees her as an outsider . . . until the day she crosses paths with a dangerously alluring demon, Reid Graveheart. The reformed deviant tells her of a school for people just like her: Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. If she enrolls, she’ll learn to hone her craft, work with other hunters, and never be alone again.

But Viv has a deadly secret. One that not even her new friends at Harker can know about, not if the school might hold the answers to untangling the mystery surrounding Viv’s father’s death. When strange occurrences begin to plague the students, Viv will have to figure out who she can trust, all while trying to ace her classes, avoid falling for a demon, and make it through her first year at Harker in one piece. How hard could that be?

Synopsis From GoodReads

Rating

Review

I picked this book as my first book club pick because I have only heard good things and I wanted to start my book club off with a BANG! Man of man do I have regrets.

Some of my favorite booktubers rave about this book and I really trust their opinions so I felt a little betrayed by them if I am being honest with you. I completely understand that people are entitled to their own opinions but I just don’t see what they see.

This is your warning, I will have major spoilers written in my review below this line so Please do not read any further if you have not read the book. Thank you!

I desperately want to start this review with a few positive things I took away from this book but I am struggling to come up with much of anything. Let’s see here, I liked our MMC for the most part Reid was probably the most interesting character in the book. The twist with her Sister in-law at the end of the book was the one and only thing that surprised me. Hmmm… Yep, I think that is all I liked about this book.

I feel like a kid on Halloween, filling my bag with all the goodies only to get home and realize all the candy has been replaced by my mom with “healthy” treats. So where do I even begin on my long winded rant?

Our FMC (whom I struggle to remember the name of because she was that forgettable) Oh right, Viv, She was insufferable. She felt like she knew everything because she has been hunting since she was a child. Even though she went to this school for hunters I don’t think she learned a damn thing. By the end of the book she still didn’t think things through before jumping into danger. A good hunter, Aeon Blood or not, would have at least a little self awareness. She consistently put herself and her friends in danger despite everyone telling her not to go at it alone.

Great, so she probably has a character arc that shows some growth, right? Wrong! While we were left on a cliff hanger at the end of the book there could be hope that she might have some character growth in book two, but there was not enough growth in the first book to make me care at all about her. I didn’t even feel like she cared about her friends, family or boyfriend all that much. I was really hoping that by the end of the book I would care to find out how all these stories ended but I found that I wasn’t caring about a single character due to being in Viv’s POV. She was very one note and that just made the book drag on and on and on.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand that characters can’t always be likeable and I am not saying that I hate all unlikable characters. I just expect to understand the motivation behind these characters so I can grasp their personality. Viv watched her father die when she was young and felt like her mother hated her. Great, I get her back story but it didn’t seem like she once tried to overcome her grief or let anyone in to her true core. She became Ice and this is why her character was one note. Even her best friend whom she lived with didn’t know her. MAKE ME CARE!

Okay lets move on just a tad to the relationships in this book. We slightly discussed her friendships (if we can even call them that) so lets discuss the romantic plot line with Reid.

I LOVE a professor – student story line, when done well. This one did not hit the mark at all for me. Reid didn’t really feel like a professor in my eyes. Sure he taught them a class in the school but he acted more like one of the students to Viv in my opinion. They each felt an Immediate connection to one another that frankly made their relationship dull. Sure it took till chapter 30 something for anything to happen but it felt forced to me as I never once felt like they would actually make a good couple.

I really like a protective male character but the way this book presented that side of him didn’t quite work because Viv is just so head strong. Their relationship didn’t really have the most convincing storyline and ultimately fell flat. Maybe book two will expand upon this flimsy foundation? Only time will tell.

I found this book to be highly predictable. Within the first few chapters I knew the Dean was suspicious and ultimately that ruined my reading experience for me. If you are going to have someone be a plot twist charcter you can not make them so obvious or else the pay off when the main character comes to the realization will just fall flat.

Viv is constantly talking about how much her friends and family mean to her, despite having a rocky relationship with some. Yet she hardly spent any time with them in the book and consistantly made choices that contridicted her intentions. I wish that we got to see Viv interact more with her roomate and family members.

I could honestly discuss my hatred for this book for hours but I really don’t want to bore you much further. If you also have strong opinions please share them with me. I am dying to discuss this with anyone who will listen.

“People don’t like people who make them question their own biases. They don’t like looking their own judgments in the eye.”
Kate Golden, Half City

QOTD: Please share an overhyped book that you think people should skip.

Book Review: “Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous” By Autumn K. England

I recently received a Kobo Libra Color from my husband for my birthday and this book was one of the first things I saved. The colors on the cover just really popped out to me but once I read that this book gives off Stardew Valley vibes I knew I couldn’t pass it up. Lucky for me and my really awful reading slump, this book did not disappoint.

“Well, did being in a cult really count as socializing?”
“Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous” By Autumn K. England

About The Book

Author: Autumn K. England

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Published Date: May 26th, 2026

Page Count: 368 Pages

Main Genre: Fantasy

GoodReads Rating: 3.82

Format: E-Reader

“Sometimes it was nice to be wrong about people.”
“Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous” By Autumn K. England

Synopsis

When Oaklin Nettlewood accidentally joined an evil world-ending cult, mind control magic forced them to do unspeakable things. Years later, the realm’s heroes have finally saved the day, defeated the villain, and shattered the last remnants of the spell…leaving destruction in their wake. And so, with a spell-damaged memory and whole bushel of trauma, Oaklin escapes to a small farm on the edge of Mossley’s Rest and swears an oath: After all the things they were forced to do with their magic, they will never use it again. Ever.

The no-nonsense ghost granny who lives in Oaklin’s house has other ideas. As she coaxes Oaklin out of their shell and back into the world, they find companionship (a grumpy horse and a very good dog), friendship (a local bard and magical baker who should just kiss already), and tentative romance (a paladin-librarian who makes Oaklin’s heart come alive for the first time in ages.) Magic even seems possible again―though strictly for foraging magical mushrooms and protecting the farm from bugs.

Healing comes in gentle waves, and Oaklin doesn’t have to do it alone. So what does it mean when an inquisitor comes to town to hunt former cultists just as Oaklin begins to think that maybe, just maybe, they deserve a happy ending after all?

Synopsis From GoodReads

“What’d they just done…was good. Oaklin was good.”
“Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous” By Autumn K. England

Rating

Review

This book sold me with the synopsis immediately. The instant cozy vibes were exactly what I needed for my reading slump. This book may have taken me about three weeks to finish but everytime I picked it up I had a great time which is all that really matters, especially when you are in a reading slump.

The book didn’t seem to have too crazy of high stakes which I appreciated. Our main character has a pretty harrowing backstory that haunts their daily life, making them their own worst enemy. Despite them struggling to accept themselves they had new friends who rallied around them and we all know how big of a sucker I am for a found family plot line.

I really loved the use of a non binary character for our main character. When I think of Stardew Valley I think of the character customization. Having the Non Binary character almost felt like that character customization screen got to come to life, so anyone who is reading this book could feel like they are this character feeling their emotions and experiencing this story right along side Oaklin. Along those same lines I loved how the town accepted Oaklin as they were and respected their pronouns without question. This all felt like such a breath of fresh air.

I know that this is going to be at least a two book series. I am really hoping that the second book follows the town baker Ryn and their potential love story. The bakery in this book left me enchanted, dying to know more. I could see myself getting sucked into that book just as quickly as I did with this one. Ryn is one of the most hardworking characters in this town and he truly has his hands full.

This is not me saying that Oaklin doesn’t deserve love or that I don’t like Oaklin and Lior together cause that’s not entirely true. I just feel like this book didn’t have to have the romance to make me enjoy this book. I would have been perfectly content to see Oaklin struggling the way they were while taking care of the farm and working on themselves while having support from just friends. If you can take a romance out of a story and still have a really solid plot line then why not let that main plot line shine a bit more and save the romance for a later book?

Overall I really enjoyed my reading experience and I can not wait for the second book to come out. I am hopefully that I will absolutely devour the next one.

“Why do you think cults work so well? They are literally designed to entrap people. They lure you in under false pretenses and wait to reveal their truth until it’s too late.”
“Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous” By Autumn K. England

QOTD: What video game do you think would make a compelling book?

Book Review: “The Clinic” By Cate Quinn

I purchased this book almost a year ago. I remember reading the synopsis in my local Barnes and Noble and thinking it sounded unlike anything else I had yet to read. It turns out that I was correct, I hadn’t read anything quite like this book in my reading journey but it didn’t meet my expectations unfortunately.

“We’re all trying to block out feelings. Doesn’t matter if we use heroin, prescription pills, food, work, whatever,”
Cate Quinn, The Clinic

About The Book

Author: Cate Quinn

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Published Date: January 23rd, 2024

Page Count: 448 Pages

Main Genre: Thriller

GoodReads Rating: 3.51

Format: E-Book

Synopsis

Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.

There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can’t believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself – to investigate what really happened from the inside.

Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family – and anyone who could help her.

Synopsis From GoodReads

Rating

Review

The beginning of this book gave me a lot of hope. I was really intrigued by the plot that was being set up. I enjoyed having the two different POV’s which I was a bit surprised about. I also didn’t dislike our FMC even though she was meant to be a bit unlikable so that was a pleasant surprise. But the book quickly started to fall short for me.

By the time i got about 40% into the book I was struggling to want to pick it up to read. I was using it as my before bed read due to the short chapters, which I loved, but the book wasn’t holding my attention long enough for me to want to read more than a chapter a night which was not ideal.

I found the book extremely predictable. I knew who our villain was straight out the gate which was disappointing. I had really hoped I was incorrect but it was painfully obvious. The big reveal at the end was anticlimactic as well, I was hoping to be shocked but their was plenty of bread crumbs along the way that made this twist fall flat in my eyes.

While reading this book I was really interested in the addiction recovery aspects of the book. I found myself wishing that the genre had been literary fiction rather than a thriller. I would have loved to see our FMC struggle with her addiction, learn to accept recovery and ultimately fight her way out of addiction while uncovering her past that she has forgotten. I think this would have made a much more compelling story. While we did get snippets of those aspects in our plot they were quickly over shadowed by our mystery and that just did not interest me in the slightest.

I wanted to learn more about our whole cast of characters in rehab and I think we could have gotten that in a literary fiction style book. It could have added depth to the plot that felt like it was lacking. I think each character was important to this story but they didn’t get enough attention for us to really grasp who they were and why we think they could be suspects. Sure we got bits and pieces dropped into our lap but a lot of those observations were pretty obvious and surface level.

Over all I guess I was expecting a completely different book than what I got. I am not sure this is a book that everyone needs to read so in my opinion you can skip reading this book.

“The good thing about recovery is you get your feelings back. The bad thing is you get your feelings back.”
Cate Quinn, The Clinic

QOTD: WHat is a book that you think could have been better as a different genre?

Book Review: “Pucking Strong” By Emily Rath

The Jacksonville Rays series have been my favorite hockey romance books by a long shot. Each one has made me kick my feet and giggle more than the last. The audio books have also all been really great too so before you even get to my review for this book do yourself a favor and pick up Pucking Around, you will not be disappointed.

This particular book in the series really struck a chord with me and that’s due to the topic of Demisexuality. I will get into this more in my review below but just know Emily Rath can do no wrong in my eyes with her books.

I have somehow missed all the reviews for the previous books in this series so that’s my bad… Maybe upon a re read I will write my official thoughts.

“Lord knows he’s done enough for me already. Whatever my husband wants, he gets.”
Emily Rath, Pucking Strong

About The Book

Author: Emily Rath

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Published Date: August 26th, 2025

Page Count: 544 Pages

Main Genre: Sports Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.28

Format: Physical Book

Synopsis

The Jacksonville Rays go international when their Swedish star forward and the team’s physical therapist have to stage a very real fake marriage in this delicious slow burn, spicy MM, workplace hockey romance from viral sensation Emily Rath!

My name is Teddy O’Connor, and I just made a terrible mistake. It’s been six years since I was an intern for the Jacksonville Rays NHL team. Six years since I wrapped ice packs on knees and played Mario Kart on chartered planes. And six long years since I first met him. Henrik Karlsson, star forward of the Rays . . . and king of my heart.

Oh god, I’ve got to get over this crush! I’m a doctor now, a respected professional. And Henrik doesn’t even know I exist. So you tell me why I’m risking everything to follow this man halfway around the world!

After receiving news of his sister’s tragic death, Henrik must fly to Sweden to retrieve his injured, grieving young niece. But with a new hockey season about to start, Henrik can’t possibly care for her alone. In fact, the Swedish government won’t let him. He needs me. They both do. I’d be heartless not to help—right?

Well, that’s what I told myself last week as I signed our Swedish marriage license. It’s what I told myself yesterday as I moved into his apartment. And it’s what I’m telling myself now as the Rays PR Director stares us down. They want this marriage to look real. The team’s public image, our jobs, and Henrik’s custody agreement all depend on it.

But my problem isn’t that I don’t love my fake husband. God help me, my problem is that I do.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“My emotions come from the deepest part of me”
Emily Rath, Pucking Strong

Rating

Review

This series has meant a lot to me over the years. It was one of the first hockey romances that I ever picked up. I loved Pucking Around so much that it led to my current obsession with hockey. I am so glad this series came into my life. Each and every character will stick with me for a long time to come.

I have had this book sitting on my shelves since it’s release date last year just begging for me to pick it up. I hate that it took so long to finally dive into but I think I read it at the perfect time.

This may not have been my most favorite book in this series but I think its the one that meant the most to me personally. Karlsson learns a lot about himself and his sexuality throughout the book and it was really refreshing to see, what I feel was, an accurate description to what it felt like being Demisexual before even knowing what that term meant. You see Karlsson feeling like he is broken for not finding people sexually attractive or not craving a sexual relationship like all of his Hockey teammates. Teddy making him aware of the term and Karlsson doing his own research of Demisexuallity really helped him discover himself and feel comfortable with who he has been his whole life. I really loved the representation this book had as I don’t read about many characters who I can relate to on this topic.

The only part that I struggled with during my reading was that I occasionally found Teddy to be a tad bit annoying. The reason why I didn’t let this drag my rating too low was because it was a good representation to how someone with anxiety might be reacting to the strange situation that he found himself in. If it was up to me there wouldn’t be any conflict that felt unnesesary but then we wouldn’t have a book now would we? I just felt like he would spiral at the drop of a hat and sometimes it felt excessive.

With that being said, I still really loved Teddy’s character. The way he loves everyone so fiercely just made me swoon! He didn’t think twice before he offered to throw his whole self into the unknown for a little girl he has never met before. I adored his tender soul with all my heart.

Henrik Karlsson will have my whole heart for years to come. The “touch him and die” vibes were everything I needed from his character. He may have been reserved and quiet for most of the book but his quiet love was so enduring next to Teddy’s Fierce love. They really made a great pair and you could see it come to life on the page from the moment you first met them.

These characters becoming full time live in uncles over night was such a fun plot. They both showed little Karo love and support in their own way. Teddy became the fun uncle who knew how to bring the laughs out of Karo and Karlsson was the uncle she could turn to when she need a shoulder to cry on. They gave this little girl the most supportive family she could have asked for with the circumstances given.

Fake Marriage has yet to let me down as a trope. I am actively looking for book recommendations so if you have any please send them my way!

“You just be you, and I’ll be me, and we’ll just be weird and awkward together.”
Emily Rath, Pucking Strong

QOTD: What was your first Sports Romance?