I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers with the start of another pair of socks and some rainbow scarf swatching.
I cast on for another pair of shortie socks for Jess in inverse colors and I've knit the heel flap, turned the heel, picked up the gusset stitches, and decreased all the gusset stitches. Now it's just plain round and round knitting on the foot until the toe and I'll have a finished sock.
I finally just asked Ryan what he thought about the previous rainbow scarf swatch and it's a good thing I did.
He was okay with the colors but didn't like the idea of a double-sided scarf. I was knitting a tube mainly so I didn't have to worry about the scarf curling but he would prefer a single thickness.
I decided to see what the stripes and colors looked like in a cartridge belt rib as it makes a squishy, double-sided, non-curling scarf. I'm not personally thrilled with it but I'll ask Ryan what he thinks when I see him later this week. If he's not impressed with this attempt, I may try a simple stockinette with a seed stitch selvedges on both sides. I will probably also ask him to draw exactly what he had in mind so then I can try to make that happen. I ordered some yarn in saturated rainbow colors that I may end up using. That will work for wider, more distinctive stripes which I think is what he may have in mind and I won't be constrained by the self-striping yarn.
While I was fiddling around with rainbows this week, I finished three books, two ARCs and one dependable Chief Bruno.
Emily R. Austin has a gift for writing characters who feel both flawed and endearing, and Is This A Cry for Help? is no exception. Darcy, a librarian returning to work after a mental
breakdown, is the kind of narrator who draws you in with her mix of
vulnerability, wry humor, and hard-earned resilience. I appreciated how
Austin balances the personal—Darcy’s grief over an ex, her loving but
imperfect marriage, her struggles with guilt and mental health—with the
broader, very timely issue of book-banning and the fight for
intellectual freedom.
The novel does a lovely job of highlighting
the quiet power of libraries as community spaces, while also showing
how messy and complicated personal healing can be. Darcy’s
relationships, especially with her wife and her colleagues, felt
authentic and sometimes a little raw in the best way.
That said,
the pacing meandered for me at times, and a few sections dipped into
repetition, but overall the warmth of Austin’s writing carried me
through. I closed the book feeling hopeful, grateful for the messy
humanity on display, and reminded of why libraries (and stories like
this one) matter so much.
If you enjoyed Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, you’ll find the same darkly funny, tender voice here—tempered with even more growth and heart.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on January 13, 2026.
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Good Intentions had a strong setup:
grief, sisterhood, and the unsettling pull between strangers who meet in
a hospital waiting room. The writing was immersive at times, and the
premise promised a layered exploration of loss and obsession.
But
for me, the execution didn’t quite deliver. Cady’s spiral felt more
repetitive than tense, and instead of building suspense, it often
circled the same ground. Her delusional fixation could have been
compelling, but I found myself more frustrated than intrigued. By the
time the predictable twist showed up in the last chapter, I was mostly
just ready to finish so I could look away.
There is an
interesting voice here, and Walz does create an atmosphere that captures
the messiness of grief, obsession, and mental health. It just didn’t
grip me as much as I’d hoped. Two and a half stars rounded up because it
does have an intriguing cover.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press
and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be
published on February 3, 2026.
====
This third entry in the Bruno, Chief of Police
series continues to build on everything that makes the books so
enjoyable—lush descriptions of the Dordogne, the blending of food, wine,
and community life, and the balance between small-town policing and
wider political intrigues.
The mystery this time centers around
truffles, smuggling, and old intelligence connections, and while the
premise occasionally veers into the unlikely, Walker keeps it engaging
with his evocative sense of place and careful pacing. The story broadens
St. Denis’s horizons, weaving in international ties and darker
undercurrents, yet never losing the warmth of Bruno’s kitchen or his
devotion to his neighbors.
What stands out most, though, is Bruno
himself. Even in just three books, he’s evolving from the contented
small-town policeman of the first novel into a character with increasing
depth and responsibility. His personal relationships and his sense of
justice are becoming more nuanced, and Walker shows how Bruno adapts as
his cases grow more complicated. That growth makes him a compelling
anchor for the series.
A little heavier on politics and intrigue than the earlier installments, Black Diamond still offers the perfect mix of mystery, atmosphere, and character development. Fans of Bruno will find plenty here to savor.
What are you making and reading this week?
