You Don’t Have to Be Artistic to Keep a Beautiful Reading Journal 📚

    You are green with envy over the beautiful handmade reading journals you've seen on social media, but you don't feel artistic enough to create your own? Let me hold your hand while I say this — and not in a sarcastic way — you can do it. And I'm gonna help you!

What does your reading journal actually need?

That one is fairly easy, and it depends entirely on your own interests. The possibilities are endless, and Pinterest is full of inspirational spreads you can borrow ideas from. Don’t let all those options cause decision paralysis though, start with one or two and add them as you go.

Some of my favorite features include:

• A colorable reading log (very easy to draw! We can all draw rectangles 🙂‍↕️)
• Reading Challenges (Read the Rainbow, A to Z, Favorite Tropes, and so many more options!)
• Bookish Bingos (You don't even have to come up with your own ideas, there are premade ones available online, you can even get a free one from me when you subscribe to my newsletter)
• Yearly favorite book brackets (Once again, you only need to draw rectangle, and you can draw inspiration for layout on Pinterest)
• A DNF log 

But Tynga, what about the review page itself? 

You only need to ask yourself, "which information would I like to know — at a glance — when revisiting the books I've immortalized in my journal?"

I would say the basics are:

• Space for the book cover image if you want to print them
• Title and author name
• Series title and number
• Page count / listening time (for audiobooks)
• Format — Print? E-book? Audiobook?
• Dates read — I like to include both the start and finish dates.

As for the more interesting bits?

• Genre
• POV — Single? Duo? Multi?
• Favorite Character
• Tropes — This helps me soooo much when creating content! 
• Favorite moment
• Favorite Quote
• Ratings, of course! Stars is the go-to, but I also include tears and spice in mine 🤭
• Audiobook narration—solo, dual, or duet?

I have a confession for you... The task of hand-drawing a journal from a bullet journal seemed daunting to me. I'm good at graphic design, but not so good at free drawing. So I started looking at pre-made reading journals, but there was one feature I absolutely wanted and couldn’t find anywhere: a checkbox for audiobook narration type.

I have a very active lifestyle and I read a lot of audiobooks. To me, the narration style is super important, it influences my decision to read the sequel in audio or not, and it's important when I create content. I couldn't find a reading journal with that feature on the market though, so I created my own. 😅

But what if you have limited time on your hands?

Journal keeping doesn't need to consume your time and become your entire personality. You don't need to spend hours scrapbooking and decorating spreads to keep a record of your reading history. If you love art & crafts and it's your vibe, more power to you, but if you're a busy gremlin, a pre-made journal might be just the thing you need. 

A tip I can give you is to keep your reading journal near you while reading. You can fill in the basic book info when you start it and write down anything you want to remember while reading. I note things like tropes and micro-tropes as soon as I encounter them (otherwise I forget! 🤣), a quote that I need to keep, a moment that made me swoon... That way, when I finish reading my book, my review page is basically already filled in. 

Your Reading Journal Only Has to Work for You

Start small. Choose the information you genuinely want to remember, add one or two trackers that make you excited, and let your journal grow alongside your reading life. Your first pages do not need to look like the elaborate handmade spreads you see online — and they certainly do not need to be perfect.

If drawing, decorating, and scrapbooking are part of the fun for you, browse Pinterest shamelessly and make the ideas your own. If designing every page sounds like one more task your busy life does not need, a pre-made reading journal can give you the structure and aesthetic without all the setup.

The point is not to prove that you’re artistic. It is to preserve the books that made you laugh, cry, swoon, rage, or stare silently at the wall for several minutes after finishing them, and remember those feelings when you flip through the pages 5 years from now.

So grab a notebook, open a printable, or choose a journal that already feels like you — and begin with your next book.

Need a place to begin?

Browse my guided reading journals, or join the newsletter to get the free printables to get you started!

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by Tynga at Thursday, June 25, 2026

 For Beginners, Journaling Tips, Printables, Reading Challenges, Reading Journals, Reading Life  Leave your mark

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Review: Sinners Retreat (Slaycation #1) by Lauren Biel

Sinners Retreat (Slaycation #1) by Lauren Biel ★★★★☆ Read: April 19, 2026 366 pages

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I went into this knowing absolutely nothing except "serial killers on a tropical island" and honestly? That's the only context you need.

Sinner's Retreat is the most unhinged premise executed with complete, deadpan commitment — and that commitment is everything. This isn't a book that winks at the camera. The murder resort activities are treated with the same logistical seriousness as any luxury retreat itinerary, and somehow that makes it funnier and darker simultaneously. Lauren Biel built a world with its own internal logic and never once apologized for it.

Kendra is a protagonist I didn't know I needed — sharp, competent, perpetually exasperated, and carrying a grief she doesn't know is built on a lie. Her dynamic with Cat is worth the price of admission alone. Cat is an absolute disaster of a human being and I would die for her. The way these two women orbit each other — Kendra's eye-rolls audible from space, Cat blissfully unaware — is comedic gold that somehow also builds into something genuinely warm by the end.

Ezra though. Ezra. The Abattoir Adonis who has been obsessing over a serial killer he's never met, who ends up sitting next to her on a plane without knowing it's her, who falls completely apart the moment she enters his orbit — he's exactly the kind of morally grey MMC I will follow into any disaster. And this is a disaster of his own making, sustained over an entire island vacation, held together by stubbornness and oxytocin and increasingly poor decision-making. The dramatic irony is merciless in the best way.

The spice is filthy and earned. The banter is sharp. The tonal balance between dark comedy and genuine romantic tension holds remarkably well throughout. And the ending — I was not expecting to feel things at a pumpkin carving scene but here we are.

If you're looking for a perfectly normal romance novel, keep walking. If you want something that makes you laugh out loud at things you probably shouldn't be laughing at while also being genuinely invested in whether two serial killers will figure their situation out — this is your book.

If you loved the Ruinous Love trilogy by Brynne Weaver, you will love this one!

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers · secret identity (double) · obsessive MMC · he fell first · found family · kinky spice · accidental (and not-so-accidental) cannibalism · forced proximity · touch-her-and-die · morally grey everything · dark comedy

Side note: Audiobook is duet narration with a full cast!

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by Tynga at Sunday, June 21, 2026

 cannibalism, dark comedy, Dark Rom Com, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, found family, he fell first, kinky spice, Lauren Biel, morally grey, Review, secret identity, serial killer  Leave your mark

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Back to Where It All Began...

Well… hello again. 🖤

It's been a while, right?

Tynga’s Reviews began in 2009, back when book blogging was the center of my reading world. For years, this little corner of the internet was where I shared reviews, discovered new authors, talked endlessly about fictional characters, connected with readers who understood exactly why finishing a good book could ruin an entire day, and I hosted bookish events so big I still don't know how I managed it. 😅

Life and parenting got in the way (I now have two teenage daughters, can you believe it?!), the blog eventually grew quiet, but I never stopped reading.

The way I shared my reading life simply changed.

Over the last few years, I’ve been talking about books primarily through BookTok, with a side of Bookstagram. My reading tastes have also wandered deeper into romance, dark romance, romantasy, why-choose stories, morally grey characters, and the occasional book that leaves me emotionally compromised for several business days.

I'd like to honor my first love once again though...

What You’ll Find Here Now

The blog will once again feature regular book reviews, including reviews I wrote on Goodreads in the past months. 

Alongside those reviews, I’ll occasionally share other bookish content, including:

• Reading journal ideas and tips

• Book recommendations (Dark Rom Com, Dark Romance, Romantasy, and the occasional sports romance)

• Audiobook discussions

• Reading challenges and printables

• Thoughts about tropes, ratings, fictional obsessions, and the beautifully chaotic life of a reader

I’m not trying to turn this into a rigid posting machine. I honestly can't go back to the frenetic rhythm I used to maintain here, but I simply want Tynga’s Reviews to become a useful, welcoming place for readers again — a space to share longer thoughts that do not always fit into a TikTok caption.

From Book Reviews to Reading Journals

My reading life also led me somewhere I never expected: creating my own reading journals.

After decades of reviewing books, I knew exactly what I wanted to remember about them — and I couldn't find an existing journal that captured it all.

I wanted space for tropes, favorite moments, spice, romance and tears ratings, a checkbox for audiobook narration type (!!!), fictional crushes, and all the little details that make each bookish journey a unique one.

That eventually became Tynga Publishing, where I create guided reading journals designed especially for dark romance, romantasy, and my latest baby is for the cozy readers. 🤍

You’ll see the journals around the blog, but reviews will remain the main engine. This is still a place to talk honestly about books—what worked, what did not, and which fictional characters deserve permanent residency in my thoughts.

Whether You’re Returning or New Here…

Thank you for finding your way to this little corner of the bookish internet.

Perhaps you followed Tynga’s Reviews years ago. Perhaps you know me from TikTok or Instagram. Or perhaps you arrived here because you searched for a book review at two in the morning after finishing something devastating and needed someone else to understand.

However you got here, welcome.

Tynga’s Reviews is alive again.

And this time, it has quite a few more morally grey men, a great deal more spice, and three reading journals waiting nearby to document the damage.

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by Tynga at Saturday, June 20, 2026

 Blog Update, Pinned, Reading Journal  Leave your mark

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Review: X's and O's (Saint View Murder Squad, #1) by Elle Thorpe

X's and O's (Saint View Murder Squad, #1) by Elle Thorpe ★★★★★ Read: August 10, 2025 428 pages

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This book was pure Saint View chaos in all the best ways. It picks up right before that unforgettable epilogue in Three of Fall—you know, when X and my forever Saint View favorite, Scythe, take out a serial rapist while posing as pizza delivery. Only this time, we see it all from the perspective of Violet, the gorgeous, plus-size virgin who’s been fighting her own self-esteem battles and just happened to witness the whole bloody scene.

Violet never stood a chance once these three men locked on to her. Levi—aka Reaper—the ex–gang member she’s been writing love letters to during his six-year prison stint, 

now free and ready to make good on every word he wrote.  Wyatt—aka Whip—the silver fox with a filthy mind and Daddy energy so potent it should come with a warning label. And X…oh, X. My unhinged king. He’s wild, he’s hilarious, he’s dangerous, and his obsession with Violet is instant and absolute.

The banter? Perfection. The tension? Off the charts. I laughed out loud more times than I could count—mostly because of X’s insane antics—and I melted at the way these men each came at Violet with their own brand of intensity. And because this is Saint View, the whole crew from past series makes their appearance, which made my fangirl heart ridiculously happy.

Of course, Elle Thorpe doesn’t believe in mercy, so the ending is cruel enough to leave you staring at the wall, wondering how you’re supposed to function until the next book drops. This is obsession, danger, found family, and heat wrapped in one wickedly addictive package.

Thank you, Elle, for the audiobook review copy—and for ripping my heart out with that cliffhanger. Keep me on the roster for the second one yeah? lol

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by Tynga at Friday, June 19, 2026

 bi-awakening, dark comedy, Dark Rom Com, Elle Thorpe, MM, Plus Size FMC, psychopath, Review, Saint View Murder Squad, Silver Fox, Virgin FMC, why choose  Leave your mark

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Review: A Deal with the Shadow King (Curse of the Fae, #1) by Anya J. Cosgrove

A Deal with the Shadow King (Curse of the Fae, #1) by Anya J. Cosgrove ★★★★★ Read: May 10, 2026 358 pages

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I did not expect this book to grab me this hard, but here we are. I went in for a fae bargain, a shadow king, a princess promised to a dangerous court, and maybe a little morally grey nonsense. I got all of that. I also got a story that kept unfolding in ways I genuinely did not see coming, even when I was convinced I had figured things out.

Nell is exactly the kind of heroine I love in a dark romantasy—not because she walks in already powerful and untouchable, but because she keeps becoming. She starts as a princess raised in a world where women are meant to be obedient, covered, quiet, useful. And then she gets thrown into Faerie, where the rules are crueler but somehow the cage has more space. Watching her realize she wants strength, knowledge, choice, and freedom was so satisfying. She’s compassionate without being weak, brave without being reckless in that hollow “because plot” way, and when she loves, she loves with her whole chest.

And One. God. He is exactly the kind of complicated, dangerous, lonely MMC that ruins me. He is not soft, not safe, not easy. He makes terrible choices. He withholds too much. He tries to protect by controlling the board, and sometimes I wanted to shake him by the shoulders. But there is such a weight to him, such a sense of exhaustion and duty and hunger underneath the mask, that I couldn’t look away. The romance works because it isn’t clean. It’s tense and tangled and full of secrets, and every time Nell gets closer, the story makes you feel how much is being held back.

The world-building surprised me in the best way. There are dreams, nightmares, fantasies, mirror travel, shadow magic, fae courts, blood bargains, and enough layered mystery to keep me feral. I loved that the magic felt strange and dangerous rather than overly explained from the start. The book lets you be disoriented with Nell, and for me, that worked. I was theorizing constantly, and the best part is that some things clicked early while others still managed to slap me across the face later. That balance is so satisfying.

The spice and tension are also woven into the plot instead of feeling tacked on. Desire matters here. Power matters. Consent matters. Secrets matter. The intimacy is charged because it is never just physical—there is always something emotional, magical, or dangerous moving underneath it.

I listened to the audiobook thanks to Podium Audio, and I really enjoyed the narration. It is dual narration, though I admit I would have loved duet for this one because the dynamic practically begs for it. Lilly Drake brought Nell’s vulnerability and growing steel beautifully (and her male voice is truly good!), and Anthoni Palmini was such a good fit for the darker, controlled intensity of the male POV.

This was messy, addictive, twisty, romantic, and far more emotionally satisfying than I expected. I love when a book lets me be right about some things and still manages to surprise me where it counts.

I need the next book immediately.

Tropes: fae bargain · shadow king · promised bride · masked MMC · morally grey love interest · court intrigue · touch-her-and-die vibes · hidden identity · forced proximity · training scenes · dream/nightmare magic · protective sister bond · dark romantasy · “he’s dangerous but exhausted and I’m obsessed”

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by Tynga at Wednesday, June 17, 2026

 Anya J. Cosgrove, dark romantasy, fae, forced proximity, masked MMC, morally grey love interest, Review, Romantasy, shadow daddy, touch her and die  Leave your mark

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Review: Along for the Ride (Ride or Die Romances) by Lauren Biel

Along for the Ride (Ride or Die Romances) by Lauren Biel ★★★★☆ Read: June 12, 2026 286 pages

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I went into this one already trusting Lauren Biel after Hitched & Sinner's Retreat, and she didn't let me down — but she didn't wreck me either, and with this author, I know she's capable of it.

The setup is strong. Leana is running from a man who got her hooked on drugs at seventeen and kept her caged for seven years. She steals a car, picks up two hitchhiking brothers because she felt bad for them, and promptly gets kidnapped by a pair of contract killers who can't agree on whether to f*ck her or bury her. Gentry is the older brother — forty-six, controlled, dominant, soft underneath in ways he doesn't want to examine. Karson is the younger — unhinged, violent, the kind of man who threatens necr*philia over hotel room territory and means it. Between them sits six years of silence, a murdered wife, and a betrayal neither of them has processed.

Biel handles the brothers well. Gentry's dominance isn't performed — it's structural. He controls because that's how he protects, and the line between the two is so thin that even he can't always find it. Karson is consistent from page one to the last — a genuine psychopath who never softens, never becomes safe, but bends for Leana in ways that surprise even him. The moment he chooses not to kill for her is more powerful than any love confession he could have given, because it costs him the only thing he actually enjoys.

The darkness is real. This isn't dark rom-com territory — it's dark romance with teeth, the content warnings exist for a reason, and the list is long. Biel earns most of it. The characters don't betray their own logic, and Leana's survival instincts feels built from genuine trauma rather than plot convenience. The scene where both brothers hold space for her revenge against her abuser is the emotional core of the entire book, and it lands.

Where it lost me is structure. The book is episodic — kill, hotel, sex, road, kill, hotel, sex — and while the individual scenes work, there's no larger engine underneath pulling everything toward something inevitable. I never felt like the story was building to a destination. Things happened, and they were dark, and they were hot, and the characters stayed true to themselves, but when I got to the end I found myself asking what the actual plot was beyond survival and road trip chaos.

Still a solid read. Biel knows how to write morally bankrupt men you have no business rooting for and an FMC who can, mostly, hold her own between them. But it's a 3.5 — respected, not remembered.

Tropes: MFM · hitmen blood brothers · forced proximity · kidnapping · captor/captive · primal play · knife play · breeding kink · dark road trip · dubcon/noncon · SA · age gap · death play · blood play · knife play · touch her and die · drug abuse

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by Tynga at Friday, June 12, 2026

 Dark Romance, Lauren Biel, Review  Leave your mark

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