Offbeat Offline: May 2026 (Plus Introducing the Third Hiatus of the Year)

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? Same old same old but at least the perm took! Seriously, May was quite unremarkable, except for the perm thing. I finished my work on the spare room just in time for an early summer to arrive (...too bad I have to proceed to deep-clean the rest of the house now...I mean, the heat is still tolerable at this juncture, but give it a couple of weeks 😬...and anyhow, my calf muscles hurt and I'm feeling cranky ALREADY)...I made progress with my ARCs...oh, and I watched Good Omens 3 😄.

📚 ROADBLOCKS. I didn't read much because my one and only full review of the month (scheduled for September) refused to cooperate and took ages to get written, but oh well. Procrastinating would only have resulted in my losing the plot...literally, so I gritted my teeth and trudged on. (To be honest, at least one of my mini reviews gave me a small headache as well...). I didn't reread any book either this month, oops (see above - I was too wrapped up in ARCs, though I managed to squeeze one backlist book in!). Anyhow, I hope to make amends for it during my June hiatus...

Approvals (1):

• The Whisper by Chelsea Iversen (Adult, supernatural/mystery)

Rule 1: When the trees whisper, listen. 

Rule 2: Don't go into the woods alone. 

In the small mountain town of Whisper Ridge, the girls were inseparable. Joey, Quinn, Sophie, and Elena. Together, they channeled magic in the woods, living by six simple rules. The first being: when the trees whisper, listen. 

But all rules are forgotten, all bonds broken, when Quinn is found dead in the trees. 

In the aftermath, the friends scattered. All except Joey, who still can't move on. Until now, over a decade later, she again hears the trees whisper. 

Those woods remember some of Quinn's last words, and for the first time, Joey realizes she may learn the truth of what happened to her best friend. And so, the friends return to Whisper Ridge, to the woods that once held their magic and their secrets. But unearthing the truth about Quinn puts them all in danger, and in order to survive they'll need to channel their power for the first time in fifteen years to finally put the past to rest.

Note: remember my "summer books I'm looking forward to reading" TMST post last week? My request for this one was still in limbo when I wrote it, but lo and behold, three days later my ARC approval email came!

Reads (4):

• Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert (YA supernatural/contemporary/mystery)

This time the author blends dark magic (complete with animal sacrifices), "other places", impossible choices, consequences, betrayal, revenge, messed-up family dynamics, strong female friendship, female rage, female empowerment (literally), girls with sharp edges and a vulnerable center, and a pinch of romance. The main characters are raw and flawed, and I liked that Albert didn't magically (!!!) smooth things out between them (and the other family members) in the end, though she closed the story on a hopeful note.

• A (Dead) Thing Like Me by E.G. Young (YA, afterlife)

A simple, yet ultimately poignant tale of grief, guilt, found family (not all of the people variety 😂), friendship (both human and messy, and selfless and capable of transcending planes of existence), longing to be seen/need to belong, and art. Bonus points for the writing style, that manages to be lyrical in its simplicity.

• The Burn Line by Jonathan Sims (Adult, urban fantasy/mystery)

In equal parts gore fest, psychological horror, creature feature and social commentary, The Burn Line puts a spin on the latter two by weaving them together in a creative - if a bit on the nose - way. Frankly, the only thing that gave me pause was how the author spelled out the message and the metaphor behind the story (more than once, too), instead of trusting his readers to understand the point on their own. Then again, the book has a lot going for it. Bonus points for the badass trans female character.

• Of Sorcery and Science by Mike Chen (YA, portal fantasy/contemporary)

I decided to list it in my reads, but I haven't finished it yet, so no review excerpt for you! 😳 It's good though.

Reviews (4):

• Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert (see above)

Mini review to come (on GR for now).

• Solace House by Will Maclean (Adult, multiverse)

Review to come closer to pub date (spoiler: it blew my socks off!).

• A (Dead) Thing Like Me by E.G. Young (see above)

Mini review to come closer to pub date.

• The Burn Line by Jonathan Sims (see above)

Mini review to come closer to pub date.

Normally at this point I would list the reviews I plan on posting and the TMST prompts I plan on answering in June, but as I said above, I'm taking the month off. In the meantime, here's the TMST prompt list for the month of June, in case you want to join in:

• June 2nd: What are your favorite beach reads?
• June 9th: What’s your favourite board/card game? (a question I submitted)
• June 16th: Have you ever been surprised by a book that you didn't expect to enjoy? (a question I submitted)
• June 23th: Do you have any summer plans? If not, what would you like to do?
• June 30th: Mid-year check-in: What books have you loved so far in 2026?

💇‍♀️ CURLY COMEBACK. I went to get my yearly perm done, and it finally took! 😅 though I had to cut my hair really short to get rid of the old, super-saturated lengths and wipe the slate clean. It's a veritable afro now 😂. Next year I plan on trimming the lengths but keeping a few centimeters of this year’s once-permed hair, in hope that they accept a new perm…so I can have both tight curls and a longer haircut, which I like more/suits me better IMO. I'll be honest - the roots are still (and always will be) a lot more relaxed than they used to be (some of them are straight, even), which means the “perfect version of myself” is going to last less, but I guess I can live with that. At least I can touch up the bangs when needed...but I'll NEVER mess with the lengths again until it's time to cut and start anew! Lesson learned the hard way 😬. And now...

😈😇 INEFFABLE ENDING. As I mentioned above, I managed to watch the final, extended episode of Good Omens. It wasn't perfect for obvious reasons, since the Neil Gaiman controversy resulted in Amazon deciding to squeeze what should have been six episodes into a TV movie, but I'm pleased with where the creative team went with it (not to mention, they used Queen music AGAIN, especially one of my very favourite songs, Don't Stop Me Now, in a scene that was the perfect fit for it!). Also, David Tennant and Michael Sheen never fail to be a total blast together. Did anyone watch it?

PUBLISHING NEWS/TIPS

None this month.

THINK-PIECES, DISCUSSIONS, ORIGINAL FICTION

• The Orangutan Librarian explains how you can't just profit off AI.
• Lissa shares her melancholic, yet heartwarming story The Friends Market.

REVIEWS/RECOMMENDATIONS

• Mary reviews The Nightmare Keeper by Vienna James.
• Ethan reviews Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel.
• ElunedHermitCrab reviews Shapes of Love by L.V. Peñalba.
• Barb reviews Teddy Bears Never Die by Yeeun Cho.
• Jen reviews A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau.
• Blodeuedd reviews I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman.
• Shannon reviews Sanctuary by James Cleary and other books.
• Both Sam and Tammy recommend favourite books from their favourite authors (linking with their reviews).

OTHER

• Tammy (again) launches Summer of Horror 2026.
• Quinley showcases some of her drawings.
• Kit reviews the game Palia.
• Michael lists superhero movies & shows so good he had to read the comics.
• The Orangutan Librarian (again) celebrates, and reflects on, 11 years of blogging!
• Michael (again) celebrates, and reflects on, 10 years of blogging!

That's it for now. My next post will be up on July 3rd, and it will be another Offbeat Offline installment. In the meantime, I'm going dormant for a while! but you can still find me on the usual SM, if sporadically (I usually check in once a day).

So, what were your highs/lows in the past month?