We’re back! Actually back this time. Probably. 👀

After what can only be described as a full seasonal migration, we’re finally behind the microphones again—and we have several months’ worth of book opinions, reading slumps, five-star surprises, and grievances to catch up on.

Stace somehow managed 18 books while we were gone, Rebecca read two and a half (and may have straight-up forgotten she was 70% through one of them), and we’re beginning to have a serious problem: why can’t we find a horror book that actually scares us?!

We’re catching up on everything from The Song of Achilles and The Love Hypothesis to Nicholas Sparks, disappointing horror, the miscommunication trope, and a librarian’s mildly horrifying suggestion that maybe… we need to try nonfiction.

Then we’re heading to New Avalon for our September Featured Read: The Unknown by Riley Sager—a creepy island, five missing women, a century-old mystery, and one plot twist that had us questioning EVERYTHING.

We start spoiler-free before giving you a warning and diving into the full story, because trust us: this is one you do not want spoiled.

☕ Grab your coffee, your current read, and maybe leave a light on.

My Sister’s TBR is officially back.

Again. 📚

April Mid-Month Check-In: Respectfully Wandering Near Our TBR

If you’ve ever opened a book… read two chapters… and then immediately picked up something else—welcome. You are among friends.

We’re back with our April mid-month check-in, and this one is very much a “we’re just vibing” episode. Because somehow it’s already mid-April (time is fake, we’ve decided), and our reading habits are… questionable at best.

This episode is less of a structured update and more of a where are we at, what are we doing, and why is nothing sticking kind of situation.

A Quick Reality Check

We started April with intentions. (Good intentions. Strong intentions.)

And then… nothing grabbed us.

Between reading slumps, lack of focus, and just life doing its thing, we’ve both found ourselves in that weird space where you’re technically reading… but not really reading.

Or, as we so eloquently put it:

we are currently “attempting to read”

Release Radar (aka How We Ruin Our Own TBR)

This part of the episode remains undefeated.

Every single time we sit down to talk about new releases, we:

* Add books to our TBR

* Get excited about them

* …and then never read them

As is tradition.

April gave us a mix of:

* Romance with all the tropes we love (friends to lovers, slow burn, fake relationships 👀)

* Spooky thrillers that might finally give us the “crawl out of your skin” feeling we’re chasing

* Sci-fi/fantasy picks that we want to be into (we’re trying, okay)

* And a few covers so pretty we didn’t even need the synopsis

And yes… we absolutely added multiple books while recording.

The Ones We’re Actually Excited About

Without giving too much away (because that’s what the episode is for 👀), a few stood out:

* A fake dating, friends-to-lovers situation that checks way too many boxes

* A creepy caretaker job thriller that gave immediate heebie-jeebies

* A short dystopian romance about the literal end of the world (casual)

* And a dark Wizard of Oz retelling that we will, without question, eat up

Because if it’s a retelling and a little unhinged… we’re in.

The Bookish Grapevine

Since we accidentally skipped March (life happens, okay), this episode turned into a bit of a news catch-up moment.

Some highlights:

* More book-to-screen adaptations are coming (we have thoughts)

* Some are already out… and we are debating whether to watch or reread first

* A few upcoming releases and casting announcements that have us 👀

* And one or two things that made us go, “okay wait… I need that immediately”

“we’re just casually reshaping our entire TBR again”

What’s On Our Nightstands

This is where things get a little chaotic.

Between the two of us, we currently have:

* Multiple books started

* Multiple books paused

* Multiple books we want to read

* And at least one book actively ruining us emotionally

It’s very much a “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” situation.

One of us is juggling:

* fantasy

* audiobooks

* book club reads

* and pure desperation to get out of a slump

The other is:

* battling a nonfiction read

* starting and stopping multiple books

* and emotionally spiraling over a certain The Last Letter (which… yeah, that tracks)

The Plan (If Everything Goes According to Plan…)

We are hoping (key word: hoping) to:

* Watch and talk about Reminders of Him

* Possibly do a book vs movie comparison

* And get back into our regularly scheduled chaos

No promises, but the intention is there.

Final Thoughts

This episode is exactly what a mid-month check-in should be, a little messy but a whole lot of honest. Not every reading month is productive. Not every book hits. And sometimes you’re just… respectfully wandering near your TBR.

🎧 Listen to the full episode for all the chaotic adds, real-time reactions, and the books that somehow ended up on our TBR against our will. 💚📖

We told ourselves we were going to react calmly. We told ourselves this would be a chill, normal, emotionally stable mini episode. It took approximately seven seconds for that to fall apart.

Welcome to this chaotic little bonus episode of My Sister’s TBR, where we finally sat down to watch the new HBO Harry Potter trailer! (and immediately realized we were not prepared for the emotional damage.)

First Reactions: Immediate Emotional Instability

Before even hitting play, we knew this was dangerous territory.

This isn’t just another adaptation, this is our childhood. The kind of story that shaped how we read, how we imagined, and who we are as book people.

So yes, the stakes were high.

Within seconds we were tearing up.We were overwhelmed.We were already spiraling.

Because somehow, impossibly, this didn’t feel like just another reboot, it felt like coming home.

The Big Question: Does It Feel Like the Books?

Short answer: yes. Immediately.

One of the biggest takeaways from the trailer is that this adaptation feels much closer to the source material than the original films ever could.

We’re getting more of Harry before Hogwarts, more of the magic, and more of the darker reality of his childhood.

And… we have thoughts about that. You’ll want to hear them.

The Tone: Darker, Heavier, More Honest

One thing that stood out immediately is how dark this version feels. Harry’s childhood isn’t quirky or comedic. It’s not “haha, cupboard under the stairs.”

It’s neglect, isolation and cruelty.

This trailer has shifted the entire tone of the series in a way that feels more mature, emotionally grounded and actually more respectful to the story.

Hagrid: The Emotional Breaking Point

Let’s talk about the moment. Yesss, that moment.

When Hagrid appears and we’re done for.

Immediate tears.

We talk about why that moment hits so hard, and also the one tiny detail that has us just a little bit 👀.

Cautiously Optimistic (But Still Nervous)

There are things we’re excited about.There are things we’re side-eyeing.

And yes… we do talk about Snape.

Final Thoughts: Before We Spiral Again

The biggest takeaway is that this adaptation doesn’t feel like it’s trying to replace the movies.

It feels like it’s trying to complete the story.

To give us the details we missed.The depth we wanted.The version we imagined while reading.

🎧 Listen to the full episode for all of our unfiltered reactions, hot takes, and chaotic emotional breakdowns.

Trust us… this is one you don’t want to miss.