August 01, 2026

Offbeat Offline: July 2026 (A Big PHEEEEEW)


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? Unforgiving, relentless heat, but on the other hand, a clean bill of health. I spent the month glued to my fan, didn't read much in terms of new books but did a lot of rereading...what else? Uh, nothing. No going out (except for grocery shopping and one dye job) and no housekeeping (except for the bare minimum), because again...THE HEAT 🥵. Anyhow, let's start with the bookish stuff as usual...


📚 MEMORY LANE. I only read/reviewed three new-to-me books this month, but packed in a number of rereads. One of the reasons was that I wanted to refresh my memory about a series before I read (and reviewed) its long-awaited last installment, but I also decided to reread a couple of books I had reviewed at the start of my blogging journey (in 2012 and 2014) and hadn't revisited ever since. I also took a look at their reviews, and well, I write better ones now...😅

Approvals (3):
In April 1995, Zahara watched her twin sister, Annica, get hustled into a stranger’s car and disappear―only to return to a world where no one has heard of Annica. Not her mother. Not the police. No one.
Four years later, as the world braces for the looming Y2K crisis, Zahara finds evidence proving her sister was real and hires a private investigator to dig into her family’s shadowed past. When the investigation leads to two charismatic men who once served with her father in Vietnam, Zahara realizes she and her sister may be pawns in a dangerous power struggle with unthinkable consequences.
To find Annica, Zahara must face the truth about her family, her memories, and the power lurking within her. But the sisters’ reunion comes at a price―one that could bring about the end of the world.
Ten years ago, five children were lured into the dark machinations of a twisted, whimsical toymaker, forced to compete for a grand prize -- all the toys they could ever dream of -- and, as happened, their lives.
Today, four of those kids -- now morally ambiguous young adults -- seek revenge on the insane man who terrorized them, and once again find themselves trapped inside his factory of horrors, all while attempting to save the fifth member of their group, who "won" the contest...but was left behind.
Twenty-five years ago, the Ripley Memorial High School senior class entered the luxurious Kaleidoscope Key resort deep in the remote Florida Keys. Despite international intrigue and years of investigation, no one truly knows how the 183 students died. And they never will, since the five survivors of the massacre have never spoken a word about what happened to them that night.
Paige Keller, daughter of one of the Kaleidoscope Key Massacre’s infamous survivors, has grown up determined to steer her life away from the resort and the unsolved mysteries her ex-best friend, KJ, can’t leave alone. But when she’s called home on the 25th anniversary of the massacre, she finds that KJ has gone missing.
Paige knows there’s only one place KJ could her obsession, the now-abandoned resort. When Paige and the remaining Survivors’ Kids go in after her, they’re forced to confront their—and their parents—pasts once and for all.
Kaleidoscope Key is waiting, and it's starving. Once they find their way inside, there may not be a way out. And one way or another, the truth of the massacre will come to light.


Reads (8 - though four of them are actually two books in one now, so, in a way, 6? See below):
An open homage to Stephen King's It (but more diverse and thankfully devoid of orgies), ASPD is a dual-timeline, multiple-POV story blending supernatural and all too human horror, social/religious commentary, a pinch of '90s nostalgia, and the kind of unlikely, yet surprisingly deep friendship that arises when a group of teens from all walks of life must have each other's back in a life-or-death situation.
  • The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass by Leslye Penelope (see above)
The plot deftly incorporates the Y2K (Millennium Bug) scare, when half the world was afraid technology would stop working (or at least mess up big time) as soon as the computer clocks hit 00:00 on January 1st 2000. While - based on the synopsis - I was anticipating your typical multiverse scenario, the story went in a direction I didn't expect, weaving Caribbean folklore/magic and technology, sisterly love (of course) and family secrets, past, present and future, in a very satisfying way. Too bad for a couple of foreseeable twists and a masturbation scene 😯...
In Baltimore for her senior year, Bea finds herself drawn to Jonah, the school loner, and bonds with him over their shared love for late-night talk-radio. If Bea's home environment is not the standard of perfection to say the least, Jonah's situation is tough to start with, and it gets worse through the novel. A quirky, more than slightly unhealthy friendship between too outsiders ensues, one that will change both of them in the end. I had some issues with this one, but enjoyed it overall. Here's my old review.
  • Sweethearts by Sara Zarr (YA, contemporary - reread [pub. 2008])
Social outcast Jennifer and Cameron meet as kids and strike up a deep friendship...till one day, when they are nine, Cameron is gone without a word, and Jennifer's classmates perform a cruel joke on her, stating that Cameron is actually dead. Having lost her only friend and anchor, Jennifer feels like her real self - the Jennifer version that only Cameron loved - died with him, and painfully decides to "bury" it along with her allegedly dead friend and start anew. Eight years after, Jennifer is slim, popular, apparently confident, with a social circle and even an equally popular boyfriend. That's precisely when Cameron comes back from the dead, calling her whole world into question. In a similar vein as Robot above, yet a much better book, though there are analogies between Cameron and Jonah (except Cameron is sweet). This is NOT a romance though, be warned (I mean, you know I don't read romance, but the cover and title might be misleading). Here's my old review.

An imaginative, fond yet subversive take on superheroes, in which children with powers (and their adult counterparts, if they make it that far) are corporation property, groomed to sell merchandising and to be exploited in multiple other ways. Toy animator Velveteen walked out on the corporation at 18 (she's 24 now) and left the whole superhero gig behind, but when the powers-that-be try to wreck her life (and get her back) one time too many, chaos ensues. No link to my old review, because I'm going to repost it soon (along with the rest of the series' reviews) in a revised version for the reissued and finally complete omnibus edition.
  • Velveteen vs. The Multiverse (Velveteen vs. #2) by Seanan McGuire (Adult, urban fantasy - reread [pub. 2013]) – Book 2 in the Velveteen vs. series, reissued in Velveteen vs. The Early Adventures (2024 - see link above)
Velveteen finds herself visiting a number of alternate realities or been visited by a number of their inhabitants, all while trying to maintain a love life, save an old friend, and break the corporate entity that owns superheroes once and for all. If you enjoy twisted seasons, rebranded fairytales, mirror mazes that offer you a glimpse into parallel worlds, parallel worlds themselves, silly yet endearing superpowers, women having one another's back, and justice coming at a price, this one is a riot! Again, no link to my old review, because I'm going to repost it soon (along with the rest of the series' reviews) in a revised version for the reissued and finally complete omnibus edition.
Still reeling from her fight with The Super Patriots, Inc., Velveteen fulfills her promise to serve Winter, Spring and Autumn for a trial period, and is forced to give up on her humanity in more than one sense while doing so. I expected Velveteen's adventures as the Seasons' servant to be more exciting and meaningful, not to mention fleshed out. As a matter of fact, the real excitement, for me, started when she got home after her trials, found a world both gone sour and retconned, and banded with her friends to try and make things right again. As it was the case for the two previous installments, no link to my old review, because I'm going to repost it soon (along with the rest of the series' reviews) in a revised version for the rebranded and finally complete omnibus edition.
  • Velveteen vs. Life (Velveteen vs. #4) by Seanan McGuire (Adult, urban fantasy) – Book 4 in the Velveteen vs. series (end of series to be precise), first published in Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions (2026 - see link above)
Having barely recovered from her experiences in the Seasonal Lands, Velveteen has her hands full with old and new enemies/frenemies; but the final story arc of the series mostly centers around her coming to terms with her past and finally daring to imagine a future that fits her - or you might say, accepting that she's entitled to have one. McGuire deftly puts the "human" in "superhuman" by having both Velveteen and her friends experience growing pains that, while being unique to these magical individuals, strongly resonate with the reader. All the loose threads from the previous stories get addressed and tied up satisfactorily, and we even get a glimpse of the aforementioned future (or, a possible one) for all our players, even the secondary ones.

Covers for the original Velveteen vs. series: Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots, Velveteen vs. The Multiverse, Velveteen vs. The Seasons

Reviews (3):
  • A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian (see above)
Mini review on GR for now.
  • The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass by Leslye Penelope (see above)
Review to come in a few days.
  • Velveteen vs. Life (Velveteen vs. #4) by Seanan McGuire (see above)
Mini review on GR for now, posted under Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions (along with my review for Book 3 in the original series, Velveteen vs. The Seasons).

Recapitulating: Velveteen vs. The Early Adventures contains the old volumes Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots and Velveteen vs. The Multiverse; Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions contains the old volume Velveteen vs. The Seasons and 16 new stories under the title Velveteen vs. Life. I originally reviewed the first three volumes in 2022, when the fourth one was just a pipe dream...

Here are my scheduled reviews for this month:


Speaking of posts that aren't reviews, a reminder...the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme is on hiatus for the summer - it will return on the first week of September. Speaking of which, here's the TMST prompt list for the month of September, in case you want to join in:

  • September 1st: Which books are you looking forward to reading this Fall? (September-November)
  • September 8th: Do you ever go to class reunions? (a question I submitted)
  • September 15th: What’s one thing that’s always in your fridge? (a question I submitted)
  • September 22nd: Tell us about your current (or past) job (a question I submitted)
  • September 29th: Sweet or salty snacks - which do you prefer?


😅 RELIEF AT LAST. My left breast biopsy results came (after three weeks...), and they were negative! The lump was, indeed, a benign fibroadenoma. I expected more frequent check-ups in the future, but the doctor told me that my next mammogram would be in two years, as per my age range standards. I hope they know what they're doing...Anyhow, it was a long and stressful month in between the recall, the exams and the results, but at least I can BREATHE now!


🥵 HOLED UP. The weather drama continues. We've had a handful of less-stifling days toward the end of the month...followed by another heatwave - not that I can really tell where one ends and another one starts...even the less brutal days are poison to me, and I won't be fine (and able to function) until the heat is over. Apart from the sweating and general discomfort, my calves ache, along with the usual body parts that don't care about the season, and I have trouble sleeping because of that, too. I spend my days in the living room, in front of my computer, fan at my side, waiting for the season to change. Can you imagine, three months a year in absolute limbo? Not like I have what you would call a life, but this is next level...



PUBLISHING NEWS/TIPS
  • Short-story author Carlie St. George (whom I love - here's my review for her first anthology) just sold her debut novel, to be published in fall 2027! Not to be missed if you love horror, family messes and (it seems) unreliable narrators.

THINK-PIECES, DISCUSSIONS, ORIGINAL FICTION

REVIEWS/RECOMMENDATIONS

OTHER
That's it for now. My next post will be up on August 9th, and it will be the review for The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass I mentioned above.

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