Celeste, Author at A Literary Escape

The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood

Published on December 22, 2025December 18, 2025 by Celeste4 Comments

Today’s review is about THE THORNS REMAIN by JJA Harwood. It’s a historical fantasy set right after World War I. During a night of dancing around a fire, Moira Jean’s friends are spirited away by the fae. So she enters into bargains with The Dreamer to bring her friends back earthside.

Author: JJA Harwood
Series: None
Age Category: New Adult/Adult
Publisher: Magpie
Publish Date: May 02, 2023
Print Length: 416

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of The Thorns Remain on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

Published on December 16, 2025December 15, 2025 by Celeste14 Comments

Today’s review is about WATER MOON by Samantha Sotto Yambao. It’s a standalone fantasy novel in which a young woman’s father goes missing on the first day she takes over running their pawn shop. She embarks on a quest with a young stranger and uncovers more than she expected.

Author: Samantha Sotto Yambao
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Del Rey
Publish Date: January 14, 2025
Print Length: 384

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of Water Moon on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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WWW Wednesday: December 10, 2025

Published on December 10, 2025December 9, 2025 by Celeste17 Comments

I meant to post a WWW Wednesday last week, but I just ran out of time between Thanksgiving and personal things going on. So it’s been a couple weeks since one of these updates. But I haven’t read a ton, so this week’s isn’t terribly long even including 2-3 weeks’ worth of books.

WWW Wednesday was revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

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The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert

Published on December 8, 2025November 30, 2025 by Celeste6 Comments

Today’s review is about THE ROOMMATE RISK by Talia Hibbert. This is a standalone contemporary romance with years of pining packed into a few short weeks of close proximity. Hibbert delivers in this romance full of tension and unpacking various family trauma and complexes.

Author: Talia Hibbert
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Nixon House
Publish Date: May 05, 2021
Print Length: 286

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of The Roommate Risk on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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December 2025 TBR

Published on December 2, 2025November 29, 2025 by Celeste19 Comments

My December 2025 TBR is purely all hopeful reads. The holiday season is busy and I don’t want to pressure myself to a bunch of ARC commitments (even though I’m behind). Most of the books on my December 2025 TBR are books I’ve owned for a while. So if I get to them it’ll be nice to cross off even more from my unread physical book pile. Anyway, these are all fantasy books except for one historical fiction.

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