Best deals on books and reading accessories on Amazon Prime Days 2025!

 It's officially time for me to expand on my book haul - so many popular and trending books are discounted right now with the Amazon Prime Days Sale! (To be fair, any sale is a valid excuse to stock up but let's be discreet about it ;) )

The "trending" must-haves:

1. Dan Brown's latest - The Secret of Secrets! This was on my TBR anyway and OBVIOUSLY if it's 40% off, I HAVE to get it. It's another around-the-world fast-paced thriller, diving deep into symbolism and Robert Langdon's life (probably the first time showing an actual love interest, huh). Plus, the words "mythology" and "human consciousness" along with murder is reason enough. Hopefully we'll have a review here soon-soon. 

2. King of Wrath by Ana Huang: Okay, this one is not 'me' in the strictest sense. I mean, "arranged marriage billionaire romance" is enough to keep me away BUT it's the next read for my local book club which I'm committed to stay in, so I'm *kinda* forced into reading this one. BUT ALSO, it's a New York times recent bestseller and has rave reviews so gotta try it out. 

3. The Intruder by Frieda McFadden: The latest by Frieda McFadden, the top trending and popular psychological thriller author. Her Housemaid series became hugely popular and has also been turned into a movie coming out in Dec 2025! This was another book-club pick, most likely a review coming soon. :D AND it's 30% off right now!

Some recent books I have read and recommend you buy (especially if you love mysteries)

1. The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware: A follow-up on The Woman in Cabin 10 which I read ages ago, this one is just as thrilling, fast-paced, giving creepy vibes, and an ending one can actually understand. Writing style gets A+, storyline maybe a B, BUT a recommended read for thrills and fun nonetheless. Plus, it's 42% off, yikes.

2. Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson: A heart-warming, heart-wrenching coming-of-age story with themes of grief, loss, friendship, relationships and society. Very well written, and an ending you did NOT expect. This was a book-club pick as well. Detailed review to be up very soon! Micro review says, buy it and read it!

Now this might be new, but because I have a kid now, I'm also into children's books (:D). Below are some I have read over and over to my toddler - they're so fun and engaging and we just love them! Also some activity books that have been game-changers for a busy mom life.

Top Children's Books to get on Prime Day at Amazon:

1. Llama Llama Red Pajama: If the title doesn't sell it to you, let me! It's so fun, adorable, and an absolute experience to read. I don't know about my kid but I love reading this one out, lol.   

2. Little Blue Truck: An adorable, well-written, rhythmic experience sending messages of friendship and kindness. I've memorized this one and so has my little one. We both love it and highly recommend it! There's also a sequel called Little Blue Truck's Halloween that I'm getting for us to read this month and so looking forward to it!

3. Goodnight Moon: This was our most-read and longest-read book in our reading journey (which started when my kid was a newborn). It's age-old and wildly, so enjoyable for a literal 2 year old. Scratch that, I have videos of my baby turning its pages and staring at the unique illustrations even before she turned 1. I highly recommend this as one of the first books for kids - get a hardcover, board-book version and it's gonna last years!

4. The Leaf Thief: This is on our TBR and we're getting it now. Fall season = fall themed stories and squirrels are my toddler's current favourite, win-win! Also this book is trending currently and is a New York Times bestseller, which is literally all the motivation I need to add to cart. :D

5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Funny, I bought this book like 10 years ago before I even dreamed of having a child, just because I knew it's an amazing, very popular, highly regarded children's book. The tears and satisfaction I had once I read it to my kid and she enjoyed it - priceless!

6. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? Another top favourite that I haven't been able to bring myself to put in the "outgrown books" box, because even I love it, and enjoy taking it out time to time to read it. We have a board book version with little sliding flaps which makes it more interactive (could not find a link for that one), and it's one book your child can "learn" because it has repetition, EASY to understand, brings colours and animal recognition all at once, and SO simple. I love the simplicity of children's books - it seems at first glance to be a no-brainer but the way children interact with books and stories is worth another post altogether. HIGHLY recommended.

7. Paint by Sticker, Halloween: Another recommended and popular activity book we're looking forward to using in the following month. Keeps kids engaged, and great for keeping them occupied for car rides (those stickers aren't gonna harm your car seat). Love this one.

LASTLY, some adorable reading accessories I came across that scream: GET ME NOW.

1. This reading night-light: I've been using this the past few months - perfect amount of light without disturbing anyone else, AND comes in different light settings (warm, cool, neutral). I can attest to its longevity. Personally, I think it's a steal.

But, if you want something more fancy (like I'm now eyeing this one): Amber light, apparently emits a strain-free blue light-blocking light and much more flexible. Lots of good reviews on this one too. 

2. These leather bookmarks: Outside of magnetic bookmarks, these are my current favourites. They look SO cute and I love the minimalism, the ease of use and their soft colours.

3. The Ember-Mug: This mug became popular about a couple years ago when I bought one for my partner to use while he was working, because this amazing mug keeps your tea/coffee/whatever at a certain temperature for about an hour or even longer, depending on the settings. I was SO in awe of this that I basically started using it myself and have been ever since! (Yes, it does need to be charged so that's a bit of pain, but still. No pain, no gain, right). It's 20% off on Prime Day so if you're not interested in having meh coffee anymore, I suggest you get this.

*sigh* I've spent the better half of today browsing the store and there's a whole lot more than I can fit into this post. Do your research, and let me know if there's anything fun I may have missed! We have until Saturday to get 'em. :D

Book Review: The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith

My current-favourite investigator Cormoran Strike is back this season in the newest installment of the Strike series by J.K. Rowling (Robert Galbraith). Like the top-fan I am, obviously I HAD to read it as soon as it came out. (More apologies for my lateness and being awol later!) After many stolen hours and furious turning of the pages later, I can say that I'm satisfied in having finished it (feels like I've done my duty and re-starting the wait for another 2 years to get the next one), but did I absolutely love it or was it mostly devotion giving me the satisfaction? I had to introspect that for 2 days straight before realizing, the Strike series has had better books than The Hallmarked Man. Trust me, once you're a hardcore fan, it is hurtful to think you may not have enjoyed something as much as you expected (total betrayal!). 

Title: The Hallmarked Man (Strike series #8)

Author: Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling

Find it on Amazon here

Pages: 1440 (about 950 for regular print)

Publisher: Mulholland Books / Little, Brown and Company

My Rating: 4/5

For context, here's the blurb from the book's cover: 

A dismembered corpse is discovered in the vault of a silver shop. The police initially believe it to be that of a convicted armed robber – but not everyone agrees with that theory. One of them is Decima Mullins, who calls on the help of private detective Cormoran Strike as she’s certain the body in the silver vault was that of her boyfriend – the father of her newborn baby – who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. 

The more Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott delve into the case, the more labyrinthine it gets. The silver shop is no ordinary one: it’s located beside Freemasons’ Hall and specialises in Masonic silverware. And in addition to the armed robber and Decima’s boyfriend, it becomes clear that there are other missing men who could fit the profile of the body in the vault.

As the case becomes ever more complicated and dangerous, Strike faces another quandary. Robin seems increasingly committed to her boyfriend, policeman Ryan Murphy, but the impulse to declare his own feelings for her is becoming stronger than ever.

Overall, it has all the hallmarks (tee-hee) of JKR's amazing writing and storytelling, especially characterization. We revisit Strike and Robin's past as it is entwined with the present situations, and stay with the core characters as they (slowly) evolve and make decisions to move forward in their own lives. The mystery is complex, many-layered, gradually revealing, NOT predictable, and had decent explanations once solved (which is a big miss in a lot of mysteries in general). It was a fairly long book (900 pages approx.) so I appreciated the intertwining of many stories and angles - it did feel like Strike and Robin solved 4 cases at once instead of just the one they set out for (or maybe that was the point, lol).

Having said that, it felt a bit forced and drawn for the same reason. Was it necessary to have so many "mini-mysteries" running simultaneously that needed solving to solve the bigger crime? But again, I doubt the main crime could have been solved in as many pages, which is what is characteristic of this series, so perhaps it was needed. There were a couple of side-characters that were very annoying (Kim and Murphy, for instance), and did not feel super original (Murphy was drawn as an almost-equivalent of Matthew). Moreover, we did not get much insight into their other cases, and for the one that did drag over most of the book, it seemed to have been dragged extremely longer than necessary. I thought the problem was not focusing on main sub-characters and introducing too many new ones all at once. If I picked up the book and came across a name I couldn't recall, I had to go back trying to understand what their significance was! ALSO, I have been a strong shipper of Robin and Strike throughout the series and FINALLY they're getting somewhere but could it have not been dragged SO MUCH? ALL throughout the book Strike's trying to find the right time and place to express himself, and we literally get no closure even by the end of this book. That's just cruel! C'mon - a bit of romance won't harm the vibe. 

Despite everything, this series still remains one of the best I've ever read, mostly because of how memorable the characters have become to me. I recently also binge-watched the TV shows - SOOO good! (C.B. Strike Series on HBO). Plus, I read that JKR's planned a total of 10 books for this series, so yay! We have 2 more to look forward to. 

Side note: The other, recent Strike series that I enjoyed VERY much include Troubled Blood (so unique), and The Running Grave (excellent story-telling and unputdownable read!).