Started spring off with a robbery of a cashless bank, my first-ever fanfic, Magesmiths, a Telmarine prince, finding a serial killer, astrophage, and finding ANOTHER serial killer...

I'm a Southern California-based writer on the Lifestyle team who likes to try and rank viral foods and read and recommend awesome books.

Not going to lie, this was my reading goal last year, but I didn't make it. Like, I was waaaaay far off (22 books) because, well, I was busy, which is why I'm trying again this year — and am even more determined to reach it.

When a group of people is taken hostage by a failed bank robber while at an open house for an apartment on New Year's Eve, things don't unfold as one would typically imagine a hostage situation would. For starters, the bank robber had abandoned the robbery after realizing the bank they were trying to rob was cashless, stumbled into the apartment without realizing there was an open house, and took the hostages by accident.

And the hostages? Well, they seem to have other priorities on their minds. Each of them carries their own quiet burdens, secrets, hopes, and fears, and as they spend more time together, the absurdity of the situation blurs the line between captor and captive. As the hostages and the failed bank robber spend more time together, they realize that human connection might just be what carries us all through life's toughest moments — and that no one is ever truly alone.

There's a whole lot to unpack here, but basically, in this alternate universe, the Harry Potter timeline is the same until Harry's fifth year, when Dumbledore dies at the hand of Draco Malfoy — before he's able to tell Harry about the horcruxes. Without that knowledge, the war takes a devastating turn, Voldemort wins, and the wizarding world falls under the control of the Death Eaters.Years later, Hermione Granger is one of the last surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix and finds herself imprisoned by Umbridge (who, to no one's surprise, works for the Dark Lord). However, she finds that she doesn't remember anything about the war. In an effort to gain secrets about the Order, Voldemort places Hermione in the High Reeve's care, who is powerful at Legilimency. When she finds out that the High Reeve is Draco Malfoy, fragments of her past slowly begin resurfacing, revealing what really happened during the war: the sacrifices, the bloodshed, and the dark secrets.

This is the last book in the Forging Silver into Stars trilogy, which is a spin-off of the Cursebreakers trilogy, so let me set the scene: Magic has returned to the kingdom of Syhl Shallow after being forbidden for years, but not everyone is happy about it (like nobody, actually). Because of that, the division between those who fear magic and those who wield it grows. As tensions continue to rise, several familiar characters find themselves caught in the middle of political conflict, dangerous alliances, and looming war.

In Sparking Fire out of Fate, everything that's been building throughout both series finally comes to a head as loyalties are tested, and impossible choices have to be made. There are power struggles, reunions, heartbreak, and a whole lot of secrets waiting to unravel in the conclusion of the Forging Silver into Stars trilogy.

Susan, Edmund, Peter, and Lucy are summoned back to Narnia after Prince Caspian calls for their help via Susan's old magic horn. It's been ages since the Pevensies returned, and the Narnia they once ruled is almost completely different. Many of the animals no longer talk, the trees have lost their whimsy, Aslan hasn't been seen in who knows how long, and the Telmarines have come into power.

But when Prince Caspian escapes an attempted assassination by his uncle, he seeks the aid of the remaining Old Narnians and the Pevensie kings and queens to overturn the tyrannical Telmarine king (Caspian's uncle) and restore Narnia to its rightful state.

Cassie Hobbes is very good at profiling people — so much so that the FBI invited her to join the Naturals, a secret, specialized program of teenagers with special gifts to help solve cold cases. Cassie and Dean are natural profilers; Michael is an expert at reading emotions; Lia can detect almost any lie; and Sloane can memorize, solve, and recognize patterns and statistics within seconds.

But before Cassie can get comfortable in her new home in Quantico and learn the ropes of her role in the program, a serial killer makes themselves known — and their victims all resemble Cassie's mom. Now forced to relive the unsolved murder of her mother, Cassie and the rest of the Naturals use their skills to try to discover the killer's identity before they choose another victim.

Earth's sun is dying, and scientist Ryland Grace knows why. But when he wakes up on a spaceship after being in a medically induced coma and finds he's the only person on his crew who survived, he doesn't remember how he got there, where exactly he is, or what his mission is supposed to be.

But as pieces of his memory slowly fall back into place, he realizes he's on a one-way mission to save Earth. But when a spacecraft with one lone alien in it makes contact with Grace's ship, everything he thought he knew about the universe shifts. As the two communicate, Grace learns that his new alien friend — whom he names Rocky — is facing the same threat to its planet. Now working alongside each other, Grace and Rocky form an unexpected friendship that makes them forget they were ever alone to begin with.

The second book in the Naturals series, this book directly follows the events of the first book, meaning there's no significant time jump. As the group continues to deal with some of the lingering tensions and conflicts from the last case, another serial killer hits the FBI's radar, but this time, they want an audience.

The serial killer appears to be a copycat of the infamous Daniel Redding, a murderer who just so happens to be Dean's father. To try and get into the mind of the copycat, though, the FBI wants to go straight to the inspiration himself — and Daniel Redding will only talk to his son. To protect Dean, Cassie and the other Naturals attempt to solve the case themselves, but not everything seems to be adding up. The Naturals find themselves in hot water, and they must use their talents before more blood is spilled.

Here are all the books I read in March and April:

• Anxious People by Fredrick Backman (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

• Sparking Fire Out of Fate by Brigid Kemmerer (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

• The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

• Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

What book genre should I read in the remainder of May?• 👻 Horror• 💖 Rom-Com• 🛸 Sci-Fi• ⚔️ MORE fantasy• 📚 Historical Fiction• 🦁 Girl, go read Prince Caspian