In My Mom Era

FORTY BOOKS. Four installments. And somehow, we’ve reached the final ten! When I decided to celebrate turning 40 by choosing 40 books I wanted to read sooner rather than later, I knew the list would wander through every corner of my reading tastes. And BOY, does this last batch prove it. 🤣📚

Catch up on Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

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31. Raven Ledger Duet — Paige Dearth

Boy-girl twins. Sound familiar? As the mother of a set myself, that was enough to catch my attention. But this story takes a seriously dark turn.

The brother commits a school shooting, and his twin sister is forced to run because everyone believes she was involved. Can you imagine being blamed for something so horrific because of what your sibling did?

I want to know what happens to her. Where does she go? How does she prove she wasn’t involved? And how do you even begin to rebuild your life after something like that?

Content warning: Goodreads includes an 18+ graphic-content warning for this duet, so please check the trigger warnings before picking it up. This is definitely not a light read.

Find Book One of the Raven Ledger Duet on Amazon

Find Book Two of the Raven Ledger Duet on Amazon

32. The Robinswood Story — Jean Grainger

Ireland. 1939. A grand estate whose money is running out and a family that absolutely refuses to change its ways.

Do I really need another reason to read this series?!

I love historical fiction, especially when it’s set somewhere I’ve actually visited, and Ireland already has a special place in my heart. Throw in the beginning of World War II, an old estate, family drama, and people desperately clinging to a way of life that’s slipping through their fingers, and I’m SOLD.

I want to see what happens when reality finally catches up with this family. Do they adapt? Does everything fall apart? And what secrets are hiding behind those grand estate walls?

All of it. I want ALL of it.

33. Fourth Wing — Rebecca Yarros

Dragons. A deadly war college. Romance. And a book that seemingly EVERYONE has been talking about.

Obviously, I need to know what all the fuss is about!

But here’s the thing: I’m already a Rebecca Yarros fan. I devoured her entire Flight & Glory series in about a day and a half. Her writing just pulls me in, and she has this incredible ability to create attraction between her main characters that you can practically FEEL coming off the pages.

I love that kind of chemistry. The tension, the anticipation, the moments when you’re practically yelling at the characters to JUST KISS ALREADY.

Now she’s throwing dragons and a dangerous fantasy world into the mix?

Yeah. I’m in.

34. KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps — Nikolaus Wachsmann

I’ve read countless books about World War II and the Holocaust. The Nazis themselves, the survivors, the battles, D-Day, submarine warfare, the various fronts. You name it, and I’ve probably read something about it.

I’ve also read individual accounts of the concentration camps. And almost everyone recognizes the infamous words Arbeit macht frei — “Work sets you free” — displayed above the entrance to Auschwitz I.

But here’s something I haven’t really explored: the concentration camp system as a whole.

How did it develop? How did the camps operate in relation to one another? How did the system expand, change, and become what it ultimately was?

I’ve encountered pieces of that history in so many different books, but never a comprehensive examination that brings the entire system together.

And THAT is exactly the kind of historical rabbit hole I love falling into.

It’s a difficult subject, certainly. But understanding how something of this magnitude was constructed and maintained is just as important as learning the individual stories of those who experienced it.

35. The Risk — S. T. Abby

For a while, I swear I couldn’t open Facebook without seeing someone talking about this series. Every book group I belonged to seemed to be discussing it. Ten different groups, ten different conversations, and there I was, wondering what on earth had everyone so obsessed.

And then I found out what it was about.

The main character is a serial killer. A FEMALE serial killer. And she falls in love with the FBI profiler investigating the murders.

EXCUSE ME?!

Seriously. Tell me that doesn’t have Dexter vibes written all over it.

I loved Dexter, and the idea of a killer becoming romantically involved with the very person who might catch her? That’s the kind of premise that makes me immediately want to know how the author is going to pull it off.

Does he figure it out? Does she get caught? Does falling in love change anything?

I have SO MANY QUESTIONS.

And apparently, an entire Facebook book community that already knows the answers. 🤣

36. Finding Me — Viola Davis

I’ve always been drawn to people’s personal stories. There’s something fascinating about learning who someone is beyond what the rest of the world sees, and memoirs are one of my favorite ways to do that.

Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to read and share the stories of people like Lisa Crites (read her story here!) and Connie Jones (whose story is coming soon!). These experiences have reminded me just how much I love getting to the heart of someone’s life through their own words.

And then there’s Viola Davis.

I’ve watched her on screen, but I want to know the woman behind the performances. Her childhood, her struggles, the experiences that shaped her, and the road that brought her to where she is today.

Now, realistically, I don’t think anyone is going to show up in my inbox offering me Viola Davis’s memoir to review. LOL.

So I’m going to have to do this one the old-fashioned way.

I’m going to read it because I WANT to. 🤣❤️

37. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents — Isabel Wilkerson

I don’t even know where to begin with this one.

The concept of a caste system is fascinating to me. The idea that societies can organize themselves into hierarchies, assigning people different levels of status, opportunity, and privilege based on where they fall within those systems.

But linking that concept to modern America?

That’s even more fascinating. And honestly, troubling.

We talk about upper, middle, and lower classes all the time. We categorize people by income, education, occupation, and social standing. But how often do we stop to think about what those divisions actually mean?

Are we really as far removed from a caste system as we’d like to believe?

I realize economic class and caste aren’t exactly the same thing, but the parallels are difficult to ignore. And the idea that these hierarchies might influence our lives in ways we don’t even recognize is something I want to understand better.

I don’t expect this to be a comfortable read. In fact, I suspect it will challenge some of the ways I think about society.

But that’s one of the reasons I read in the first place.

I don’t just want books that entertain me. I want books that make me THINK.

38. Crown Me Dead — Liv Zander

“Wed me. Bed me. Slit my throat.”

EXCUSE ME?!

That is literally how the Goodreads description starts.

And honestly, what am I supposed to do with THAT?!

Apparently, the main character is a gravedigger’s daughter. There’s dark romance, danger, and what sounds like an absolutely ridiculous amount of drama packed into the description alone.

I don’t even know where to begin.

Who’s marrying whom? Why is someone’s throat getting slit? And what does being the gravedigger’s daughter have to do with ANY OF THIS?!

There is so much going on before I’ve even opened the book that I feel like I HAVE to read it just to figure out what on earth is happening.

Sometimes I choose books because I love the author. Sometimes it’s the historical setting or the subject matter.

And sometimes?

Sometimes the description is so completely unhinged that I simply cannot walk away. 🤣

39. Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice — Virginia Roberts Giuffre

Content warning: Discussion of sexual abuse and trafficking.

I’ve followed the headlines. I’ve watched pieces of this story unfold in the news, seen the names, the accusations, the investigations, and the revelations that seemed to shake the entire world.

But there’s a difference between hearing about someone’s life through news reports and hearing their story in their own words.

And that’s what I want from this book.

I want to hear Virginia’s account. Not just the parts that made international headlines, but her experiences, her perspective, and what it meant to live through everything she described.

Especially now that she’s no longer with us.

Virginia died in April 2025, and knowing that makes the prospect of reading her memoir even more heartbreaking.

I don’t expect this to be an easy book. In fact, I imagine it will be one of the most emotionally difficult on this entire list.

But I think it’s important to remember that behind every headline, every investigation, and every public controversy, there are human beings whose lives have been profoundly affected.

I want to hear Virginia’s story from Virginia.

40. God of Malice — Rina Kent

Well, we’re certainly not ending this list with something light and fluffy. LOL.

The description of God of Malice immediately reminded me of the Cat and Mouse Duet — Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton.

And BOY, those books were something else.

PHEW.

If you’ve read them, you probably know exactly what I mean.

Based on the description and the reviews I’ve seen, I’m expecting God of Malice to venture into some similarly dark territory. There will probably be situations, characters, and decisions that make me question what on earth I’m reading.

But here’s the thing: I don’t shy away from difficult books.

Reading about something doesn’t mean I approve of it, and I don’t need every character to be likable or morally upright to find a story compelling.

Sometimes I’m interested in seeing just how far an author is willing to take a story, and whether they can make me care about characters whose choices I would never defend in real life.

So, yes. I’m intrigued.

UPDATE: I couldn’t even wait for this article to be published! While sitting in Burger King with the kids acting like dinosaurs, I borrowed God of Malice on Kindle Unlimited and decided to start reading it right then and there. Book #40 is officially underway. 🤣🖤

Seems about right. 🤣🖤

Content warning: This book contains mature and potentially disturbing themes. Please review the author’s content warnings before reading.

Forty Books, and So Many Stories Still Ahead

And there it is. Forty books I want to read, from Irish estates and dragons to memoirs, history, thrillers, and some seriously dark fiction. I haven’t read them all yet — that’s the point. This is a list of stories I’m excited to discover, not another checklist I’m racing to finish.

Turning 40 isn’t about finishing 40 books. It’s about remembering that there are still so many stories I haven’t discovered yet. And I fully intend to keep finding them. ❤️📚

Have you read any of these? Which one should I pick up first? Tell me in the comments!