Welcome to my personal page.

I suppose this is where I’m supposed to tell you a little more about me, who I am, and what this site is all about. And I guess the best place to start would be with a little confession that will probably surprise you, considering it’s coming from someone who now has an entire website dedicated to books.

I HATED reading.

No, seriously. I absolutely hated it. I was never the girl who had her nose buried in books or stayed up all night reading under the covers with a flashlight. Reading always felt like a chore to me. It was something teachers made us do for school, usually followed by questions, reports, and somebody wanting to know what the author really meant by making the curtains blue. I don’t know, maybe she just liked blue curtains. 🙄😂 I never understood why anyone would voluntarily choose to read for fun.

It wasn’t because I couldn’t read or because I struggled in school. I just had zero interest in sitting there reading a book unless somebody was making me do it. I tried the classics. 💤 Historical fiction? No thank you. Romance wasn’t for me either. I once tried a Harlequin romance, and let’s just say I wasn’t interested in reading what I referred to at the time as my mother’s “porn.” Sorry, Mom. 😂 Autobiographies and self-help books? Not happening. Sitting still long enough to do anything was already a challenge, much less sit quietly and read an entire book. Although I’ve since learned I’ll make an exception if the author can make me laugh. Laura Clery managed it, so apparently there are exceptions to my rules.

Then that changed.

It all started with my daughter and a special edition of To Tame a Shifter by A.K. Koonce that I had gifted her for her birthday. She started telling me about what she was reading, and normally a conversation about a book would’ve gotten a polite Uh-huh… oh really? out of me while my brain quietly wandered off anywhere else. Except this time, I was actually listening. The more she told me, the more interested I got. Shifters? Supernatural stuff? Okay… wait. What happens next? Well, crap. Now I needed to know. So I read it.

Soon after, my daughter-in-law suggested I read Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti’s Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac. When I finished that, she directed me to Zodiac Academy and then straight into Darkmore Penitentiary. Apparently, one series wasn’t enough—she introduced me to the whole freakin’ Zodiac universe. 😂 Suddenly, I’d discovered this huge interconnected world filled with Fae, magic, vampires, shifters, dragons, romance, danger, and enough chaos to keep me completely entertained.

I was obsessed.

After that, I would read anything involving shifters, vampires, or dragons. Apparently, once I finally found books I liked, moderation flew right out the window. Suddenly, I had insomnia and I’d binge-read for hours, sometimes finishing an entire book before realizing the sun was coming up. The rest of the house was starting its day while I hadn’t even gone to sleep yet.

Somewhere in the middle of all those late-night reading binges, I finally figured something out: Turns out, I really didn’t hate reading after all. I just hated being bored.

Which really explains a lot. 😂 Considering I have ADHD and the attention span of a hyperactive squirrel on its third espresso, suddenly my entire history with books made a whole lot more sense. 🐿️☕😂 Once I found stories that could actually keep said squirrel occupied, I’d forget what time it was, what day it was, and that human beings actually need sleep.

Somehow, the woman who spent most of her life convinced she hated reading now writes stories, reviews books, supports authors, runs a book community, and owns an entire website dedicated to them.

When I Joined the Dark Side

Well, I blame my daughter. She corrupted me.

A little while later, she started talking about another book she was into. She was telling me about Josh and some of the storyline of Lights Out by Navessa Allen, and somewhere during that conversation I went from What the heck are you reading? to Okay… I need to read this.

That was pretty much the moment the door to the dark side didn’t just swing open—it got ripped completely off its freakin’ hinges. 😂🖤

Apparently, I liked it over there too. Suddenly, my dragons, vampires, and shifters had some very questionable new neighbors. I discovered demons, the criminal underworld, stalkers, killers, and fictional men whose moral compasses range from dark gray to so freakin’ black I’m pretty sure somebody buried the compass with the body.

Now, let’s be clear: I have very different standards for fictional men than I do for real ones. If some man starts stalking me in real life and then starts breaking into my house, he may meet my besties Smith & Wesson before I even get around to calling the police. 😂 I am definitely not standing there thinking, Awww, look how protective he is.

Put that same level of insanity inside a book with the right character and storyline, though, and suddenly I’m thinking, Well… perhaps we should hear the gentleman out before we judge him. 👀🚩😂 Dark-romance readers, don’t look at me like that. You know exactly what I’m talking about.

These days, I mostly gravitate toward paranormal romance, romantasy, dark romance, and mafia romance, with a healthy dose of why choose and reverse harem. But genre and tropes only get a book through the door. I still need characters to care about and a story that keeps me invested. Make me laugh, shock me, make me mad, or emotionally wreck me—apparently I keep paying people to do that anyway. 😂 Give me the emotional roller coaster that has me laughing one minute and ugly crying the next because the author just had the audacity to kill off my favorite character.

I’ve also learned that sometimes it’s less about the genre and more about the author telling the story. There are certain authors whose writing styles just work for me, and once I find one I really enjoy, I’ll usually try their other books even when they fall outside my normal reading lane. And most of the time, I end up loving those too.

For example, I’ve never really been interested in sports romance, but I recently bought a hockey romance from one of my favorite authors. I haven’t read it yet, but when I do, you’ll see the review. We’ll find out together whether she can make me care about hockey. 😂

So yes, genre might catch my attention, but the story is what makes me stay. Because the quickest way to lose me is still to bore me—and that squirrel has absolutely no loyalty. 🐿️😂

From Escape to Obsession

Books eventually became more than just entertainment for me. They became my escape.

I live with chronic pain from spinal issues and fibromyalgia, and there are days when the pain is bad enough that getting out of bed just isn’t happening. Living with that kind of pain day after day can take a toll mentally too, and depression is part of that reality for me. So when I say books are my therapy, it’s not in jest. It’s reality.

On the hard days, reading gives my mind an escape when my body has decided it’s on lockdown. I can disappear into somebody else’s world for a few hours, laugh when I feel like crying, and get out of my own head for a while. The pain is still there when I close the book, but for those hours, it doesn’t get to have all of my attention.

Funny how life works, huh? The woman who wanted absolutely nothing to do with books eventually found that one of her favorite places to escape is inside them.

When Reading Became Something I Had to Talk About

There is just one problem with being a reader: apparently, I am not capable of quietly finishing a book and moving on with my life. 😂

When my daughter and I read Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series together, we had full-blown conversations about everything—recommendations, theories, character debates, rage rants, and the occasional family support meeting when said author decided our emotional stability needed testing.

Then there was Liam. If you know, you know. My daughter and I shared that particular brokenhearted moment, and I’m still giving a certain author some serious side-eye for it. Apparently ripping our hearts out was necessary for the story or whatever. And that’s fine, but I’m still salty. 👀😂

I loved having those conversations, though. I loved talking about the books we read, hearing what she thought, discussing the characters, comparing theories, and making predictions about what might happen in the next chapter or book. Before long, I was also chatting with some of the authors whose books I was reading, and instead of simply telling them whether I liked something or asking questions, I started sharing actual feedback.

If I loved something, I told them why. If something didn’t work for me, I shared that too. If I noticed a typo, missing word, little error, or something that didn’t make sense while reading an ebook, I’d mention it. Eventually, some of those authors started asking me to read their ARCs and give them feedback before publication.

Well, crap. Now I had another obsession. 😂

What hooked me wasn’t just getting to read a book early. I loved feeling like my feedback might actually be useful. If something wasn’t quite a five-star read for me, I could explain what might have gotten it there for me. Not because I’m trying to tell an author how to write their book—it’s their story, not mine—but because I can offer the perspective of one reader and hopefully give them something useful to take from it.

Honest Doesn’t Have to Mean Cruel

Working with authors also showed me a side of the book community I really don’t like. I’ve seen criticism of a book turn into vicious attacks against the person who wrote it, and I’ve watched talented authors become discouraged enough to stop writing altogether—sometimes right in the middle of a series I was already invested in. Which, aside from breaking my heart for them, also left me sitting there like, Excuse me, but what am I supposed to do with all these unresolved feelings now? 😂

There is a real person behind every book, and people seem to forget that. Readers absolutely have the right to dislike a story and say so. Authors shouldn’t expect every review to glow like they personally hung the moon. But there’s a pretty big difference between critiquing someone’s work and tearing apart the human being who created it.

Being a writer myself has only deepened my respect for what authors do. I know what goes into taking something that exists inside your head and turning it into a story—the research, rewrites, frustration, second-guessing, sleepless nights, and then the terrifying part where you hand it to complete strangers and basically say, Here you go. Judge away. Yeah… that takes guts.

I also know what those stories have given me. Someone wrote the character who made me laugh when I felt more like crying. Someone created the world I disappeared into when pain had me stuck in bed. That means something to me.

Now, don’t confuse respect with me handing out five stars like participation trophies, because that’s definitely not happening. 😂 If the pacing dragged, a character drove me nuts, something confused me, or the story simply didn’t work for me, I’m going to say so. I just don’t need to treat the author like they personally offended my ancestors while I’m doing it.

Honesty and cruelty are not the same thing. Whether someone has written twenty bestsellers or nervously published their very first book, I believe we can be honest about their work without forgetting there’s a human being behind it. That’s the kind of reviewer I want to be—the kind who helps an author grow, not destroys them.

And Then Came Sassy Reviews

Apparently, all those thoughts and opinions bouncing around inside my head needed somewhere permanent to live. I wanted to share them with more than just the authors. I wanted to share them with people who might be looking for their next reading obsession.

So, Sassy Reviews was born. 😂

Here, you’ll find my honest reviews—and not just ARC reads, but already-published books too. You’ll also find recommendations and my thoughts on the stories that consumed me, with plenty of sass, sarcasm, dark humor, and absolutely no pretending that every book is a five-star masterpiece.

My reviews are spoiler-conscious and include star and spice ratings, characters and tropes, what I loved, what didn’t work for me, and what might have pushed a book higher for this particular reader.

Because for me, reading is personal. My three-star read might become your five-star obsession, and something I completely lose my mind over might leave you wondering whether we even read the same freakin’ book. 😂 I’m not here to tell you what you should think. I’m here to tell you what I thought and hopefully help you decide whether that book deserves a spot on your already dangerously overcrowded TBR.

More than anything, I hope you discover stories and authors here that you might never have found otherwise. Maybe it’ll be your next five-star obsession. Maybe it’ll be another fictional world you don’t want to leave. Or maybe it’ll be another walking red flag to add to the collection of book boyfriends who would have us dialing 911 in real life.

Either way, I’ve done my job. 😂🖤

And Because Apparently a Website Isn’t Enough… Sassy’s Nook!

There are also some things we just cannot properly discuss in a spoiler-free review. Sometimes I want to talk about the ending. I want to discuss theories, predictions, and that plot twist that made you stare at your Kindle like it had personally betrayed you. Sometimes I’m the one who needs something new to read and wants suggestions too.

So, I created Sassy’s Nook, my Facebook reading group and our own little corner of bookish chaos.

The Nook is where we can share recommendations, discuss what we’re reading, swap theories, talk characters and endings, play games, join buddy reads, share book hauls and shelfies, and occasionally enable each other’s already questionable book-buying habits. 😂 Unlike my reviews here, spoilers are welcome over there—with proper warnings, of course—because sometimes “OMG, you need to read this” simply isn’t enough. Sometimes we just need to discuss exactly what that author did to us or how they made us feel.

More than anything, I want Sassy’s Nook to become a place where readers become friends and fictional characters become family. We can fangirl, disagree, debate, laugh, rant, and have completely different opinions without forgetting there’s another human being on the other side of the screen.

Basically, there’s only one real rule: hate the book if you want—just don’t hate each other.

So… Who Is Sassy When She Isn’t Talking About Books?

Outside of all things books, I’m Sassy—sarcastic, slightly chaotic, and always down for a good laugh, usually at the most inappropriate time. 😂 I have a slightly dark sense of humor, a big heart, and absolutely no problem laughing at myself. Honestly, I think life is way too short to take everything—or yourself—too seriously.

I’m in my early fifties, have two grown children, and one grandson who has me completely wrapped around his little finger. You’d think reaching the empty-nest stage of life would mean my house would finally be quiet and peaceful, but apparently empty nesting is a scam because my house is still a freakin’ circus. 😂 At this point, I’m pretty sure chaos just lives here rent-free.

I love connecting with people who can match my weird—the ones who understand the sarcasm, laugh at the dark joke they probably shouldn’t have laughed at, and don’t require everyone around them to pretend life is serious twenty-four hours a day. Give me good people, good conversation, and someone willing to laugh with me when everything gets a little ridiculous, and I’m happy.

And when life gets too loud, stressful, painful, or just plain annoying? Nothing beats disappearing into a good book for a while. Give me some caffeine, a fictional world to escape into, and a morally gray man waving enough red flags to start his own parade, and I’m perfectly content. 🖤📚☕

So grab your coffee, get comfortable, and have a look around. We’ve got books to talk about. And if I accidentally convince you to add seventeen more books to the TBR you already don’t have time to finish, I accept absolutely no responsibility.

Blame my daughter. She started this. 😂🖤

— Mz. Sassy K