Happy Sunday everyone! Today, I'm featuring my wrap up and mini reviews of Orilium's Spring Equinox 2026 for the Magical Readathon, hosted by G. @ Book Roast. For the Spring Equinox I picked a new Calling for myself. My new goal is going to become a Moon Warden. This semester my five courses five courses: Elemental Studies, Astronomy, Art of Illusion, Restoration, and Spells & Incantations. If you would like to check out my original tbr, you can do that here. Keep reading to see my thoughts on what I read for this challenge:
Elemental Studies - Course Focus: Temperature Controls - Temperature word in the title
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The Burn Zone (Haan #1) by James K. Decker is a sci-fi dystopian thriller I've had on my shelf for several years. I'm glad I finally decided to try it and it was fine, but overall it was a little underwhelming given how much potential the summary had. I appreciated that it was quite fast-paced and featured a gritty dystopian atmosphere. That said, I was definitely more interested in the setting and style than I was the characters. Sam Shao should have been more interesting overall. I don't think I'll be continuing this series.
My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.
Astronomy - Course Focus: Galactic Outskirts - Top shelf (physically or top of your tbr)
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Okay, yes, so Vicious Circle (Persephone Alcmedi #1) by Linda Robertson doesn't make a whole lot of sense and doesn't quite stand out against other urban fantasy stories but I still had a fun time. Mainly because it's set in Ohio (the author is from Ohio too) and it even references Polaris Parkway. Specifically the Best Buy and I know exactly where that is, so in my book that gives it bonus points.
My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.
Art of Illusion - Course Focus: Alternate Illusions - Unusual formatting
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It's been a very long time since I last read a Choose Your Own Adventure book, but I loved them when I was a kid and I like Stranger Things so I thought I'd give Stranger Things: Heroes & Monsters by Rana Tahir a try. It was good to see some of my favorite characters again, but this book was not good. The characters all felt flat as a board, the endings that I came across which I think were most if not all of them were negative, and some of the choices/ outcomes it gives the reader are awful. It could have also used quite a bit more editing to tighten things up and make it make more sense. I can't imagine trying to read this if you haven't seen season 4 of the tv show. I don't know, but I think this should have been from the pov of an already existing character or more than one character from the series rather than how the CYOA angle is handled here.
My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.
Restoration - Course Focus: Restorative Adoration - Ask for 5 (5 star) titles, pick one
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I really appreciated just how hopeful All That's Left in the World (All That's Left in the World #1) by Erik J. Brown, an apocalyptic pandemic story, is overall. It warmed my heart to see in the author's note "have hope, be safe, and help keep others safe." That said I don't know if I would have been able to read this in 2022 when it was new with COVID, but I'm glad I took a chance on it now. Finally, in the acknowledgements, who is Jon Keller who got "absolutely zero thanks" because "YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID"?
My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.
Spells & Incantations - Course Focus: In-Fashion Spells & Incantations - Currently on a best seller list
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Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet was one of my anticipated releases of January 2026. It's been awhile since I've read the original Little Women by Louisa May Alcott or seen any of its adaptations, but absolutely loved this retelling. I was hooked by Bernet's style and the modern twist on the story. I appreciated that it the chapters alternate between the sisters and in time between the past and the present. The author does a great job of capturing the feel of each character regardless of the way the story has been updated. I practically sped through this to see where the mystery at the heart of the story was going. I wouldn't mind reading more retellings of classics like this in the future, whether they are as well known or more obscure. I can't wait to see whatever Katie Bernet does next.
My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.
Did you participate in this readathon? Have you read any of these books? As always, thanks for visiting and perhaps even commenting down below!
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