amber 🐉🌸 | bookstagram 📖✨

26 recs for 2026 💞📖 This started as a 12 recs from 12 friends and quickly spiralled into 26 😅 it was hard to pick 26, let alone just 12! As I’m unemployed and trying not to spend more money on books, I prioritised picking recs that I already had on my shelves, or books that I could get through Libby. I’ve been reading a lot of Romantasy, and although a few of these recs are still Romantasy/Fantasy, I tried to pick some books from different genres as well. Thank you to everyone who sent me book recs! 🫶🏽 If you missed out on sending some through, then please go ahead and comment some of your favourites down below! I’ll be coming back to this post regularly, when I’m on the hunt for my next read 🩷 I couldn’t tag more than 20 people, so I left out 6 people I reckon will see this post even without a tag 🤪 love you all! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! 💖

Had to be done 😌 obsessed with this shoot 😍❤️‍🔥

I thought it was time for a quick reintroduction 👋🏽 In my last “meet the bookstagrammer” post I was introducing myself to 300 of you. Now about a year and a half since I made this account, there’s over 4,000 of you lovely people 😱 Here’s some facts about me: 💖 my name is Amber, I’m a brown bi booklover based in Brisbane 🐨 🌸 I studied Digital Media and majored in Graphic Design at university 💖 I have Cold Urticaria meaning I have trouble eating/drinking/holding cold things and get hives in cooler weather orrr even hot weather when I sweat & my body cools down 😅 (my bag always has a jacket, a stubby holder, my epi pen and a dream) 🌸 I love games, one of my favourites is the vampire dating sim: Baldur’s Gate 3 🫶🏽 - I also love ACNH, Stardew Valley & board game nights 🎲 💖 I play d&d very irregularly yet have gone full goblin mode and own an unreasonable amount of dice 🌸 My favourite form of consuming a book is via audio, and I absolutely cherish my Libby app 🙌🏽 💖 I collect special edition books and it’s really gotten out of hand, but gawd does my bookshelf look ✨stunning✨ 🌸 I also collect trinkets and am addicted to blind boxes 🙂‍↕️ Please introduce yourselves in the comments! I’m looking forward to meeting a bunch of you today at the picnic! 🧺🌸💖

Yesterday was the April/May meet up for @secondhand.book.bookclub ! 🧡☕️ We are given a prompt, then go on a hunt to find a secondhand book that fits. This time our prompt was “something that ✨lights✨ up”. My book was Immortal Longings, which I bought from @bentbooks 🫶🏽 I really enjoyed this book. I was surprised by the range of ratings on Goodreads. I did end up listening to most of it as an audiobook rather than reading my paperback copy, so maybe that changed things, but I was totally glued to this plot. The book was a mix of fantasy and dystopia, with inspiration from The Running Man and Anton and Cleopatra. Similarly to The Running Man, across the twin cities, poor people kill each other in televised games, with the incentive of unfathomable riches for the winner. The winner will also have the chance to meet the reclusive king. The story follows two main characters. The first one is Princess Calla who has plans to kill the king (her uncle). Her only chance to do so is to win the games and see him in person. Then there’s Anton Makusa. He is also competing in the games, as his childhood love is in a coma and he’s in deep debt trying to keep her alive. The two compete in the games and form a reluctant alliance, but there can only be one winner 👀 Adding more to the fantasy side of things, there’s also “body jumping”. People can jump into other people’s bodies and take over. It’s described like a person “jumps” then there’s a sudden flash of light and they’re in another body (which made for some really fun chase scenes). Once you’ve jumped into another person, your original body/vessel slumps to the floor and is left vulnerable. It can also be detrimental to your health if you body jump too much. This book had romance, deception, political intrigue, violence, and a magic system that I really enjoyed. I’d definitely recommend it, especially if you enjoyed reading/watching The Running Man. Thank you @booked.this.week for this book rec, I’m keen to continue this series soon! 🥰

Three proofs I’m very excited to have in my hands! Can’t wait to share my thoughts with you soon!! 🩷📚

This week was packed full of author events and book launches! 😍 Over the last 7 days, I managed to attend 3 different events. Last Thursday I got to finally meet the lovely @em_lighezzolo in person, as she and @salwilsonwords discussed her incredible debut Life Drawing! 🩷 On Saturday I popped down to @tellmehowitends_books for @rubycanread ’s book launch. She was in conversation with @laurenjacksonauthorr and I got to catch up with so many wonderful booksta besties! The “hear me out” brownies were also so much fun! 🍫🔥 Aaaand on Tuesday, we were at the powerhouse to see @kuangrf in conversation with @whoviangirl77 ! This event was through @briswritersfest and I loved hearing more about Katabasis. I brought my Fairyloot edition to get signed and I’m so excited to read it soon! 🧡 Next on my bookish event list, is @nikita_gill ’s event with @avidreader ! 🖤 I’m currently reading Hekate and I’m so excited to hear Nikita in conversation with @shastradeo next week!! Let me know if I’ll see you there! 👀

Last night I was at @briswritersfest ’s @kuangrf in conversation with @whoviangirl77 event! 🫶🏽 I haven’t read Katabasis yet, but I’m even more excited to jump into it now! It was so interesting to hear about Rebecca’s experiences and writing inspiration. I loved Yellowface and I’m really looking forward to reading more of her work in other genres.

SO excited for @kuangrf ’s event tonight at @briswritersfest ! 🩶

How to Find a Guy in Five Weddings comes out tomorrow & here’s what to expect! 🌹🥂 The book starts off with Kimiko (local cynic & hater of rom-coms) going on a series of truly awful dates. Her late grandmother’s will specified that she needs to settle down with a partner before she can inherit her yarn store. If she doesn’t lock down a man in time, the store will be sold and she won’t be able to continue her grandparent’s legacy. Scouring the dating apps for a non-disappointing man hasn’t been very successful, and Kim is running out of time. During one particularly bad date, Kim is saved by Rob, a perpetual groomsman and self-proclaimed proponent of happily-ever-afters. After hearing about Kim’s situation, he convinces her that he can find her a soulmate if she’s willing to come along to a whole list of weddings he has to attend this year. One cynic. One matchmaker. Five chances to win her heart 👀 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 Look if you’re like me, and you’ve watched/read your fair share of rom-coms, then you’ll probably suspect how this story will end. Nevertheless, there’s just so much joy in picking up a Romance book or movie and knowing there will be a happy ending. Some parts of the dialogue didn’t work for me, but this was a quick easy read with a familiar rom-com vibe 💗 Cynthia’s FMC’s always have a bit of bite and banter, and Kim was definitely not settling for any mediocre man. Kim and Rob’s romance was a slowwwwburn, that had me internally screaming at them to just date each other already 😩. Cynthia also doesn’t shy away from family drama, and I love the way she writes about complicated family dynamics in both her books. If you’re in the mood for a book with a 90’s rom-com feel and a bit of wedding shenanigans and matchmaking, How to Find a Guy in Five Weddings will officially be out in the world tomorrow! Thank you @cynthiatimoti for sending me a copy ❤️

Happy Mother’s Day 🌷💕 I know Mother’s Day isn’t an easy day for everyone. Some people may have complicated relationships with their mother or children, some may be grieving a loss or never even knew their mother. Some may live thousands of kilometres from their families or be struggling as a new parent - today can be hard for a variety of reasons and I hope you treat yourself with kindness today 🩷 I am so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful women. My own mother Ophelia is the strongest person I know and a woman I really look up to. My partner’s mother Roz is also such an incredible woman and has welcomed me into her family from the very first day we met. If either of you are reading this, happy Mother’s Day!! I’m glad I could spend the weekend with both of you 🫶🏽 To all the mothers, the women who helped shape our lives, the single parents who had to fill both roles, the older siblings who had to be the parent, the aunts, the grandmothers, the step mums and all the friend’s mothers who have treated us like one of their own - I see you. Thank you for everything you’ve done 🩷

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any reviews, so here’s a mini review dump of my last few audiobooks 🎧💛

Happy Friday! A bit of a shorter post today. Here’s some more bookish events happening in Queensland this month! 📚 I could only find Brisbane-based events this time round, but if you know of any other literary events in your area, let me know in the comments below! I know we have a lot coming up next month as well, so feel free to send me a DM if you have an event in June and I can start putting together my next monthly post 🩷