The Book Up with Verdell Walker | Book Reviews & Book Recs

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Geomagician" by Jennifer Mandula. When a Victorian fossil hunter discovers a baby pterodactyl, she vows to protect him with the help of a fellow scholar - her former fiance. This episode clocks in over my customary 15 minutes because there's so much going on in this book — and that's not always a good...

Welcome back for Season 4, Bookworms!

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "Kin" by Tayari Jones. It follows Vernice and Annie, two motherless "cradle friends" growing up as neighbors in 1950s Honeysuckle, Louisiana, whose paths dramatically diverge in adulthood. Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and the Civil Rights era, it is...

Hey Bookworms! I'm hard at work on the next season of The Book Up — and while you wait, I'm dusting off an episode from the archive. And this one is great for spooky season! Enjoy! 

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Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones.

A...

Hey Bookworms! I'm hard at work on the next season of The Book Up — and while you wait, I'm dusting off an episode from the archive. Enjoy! 

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Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. In this genre-bending sci-fi thriller, an unnamed civil servant...

Hey Bookworms! I'm hard at work on the next season of The Book Up — and while you wait, I'm dusting off an episode from the archive. Enjoy! 

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Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. In this fun, fast-paced thriller, a group of retiring assassins find out they are on...

I've been working on something quietly since January, and today I'm lifting the curtain on The Book Up Reading Journal. In this special bonus episode, I share more about the journal I've created for fellow book lovers — why I made it, what makes it different from every other book journal on the shelf, and the real story behind picking the cover. It wasn't all easy, and I get real about that in this one.

I also share a TBR update on the books I've been meaning to get to, including a couple I'm still deciding whether to DN...

It’s time for a TBR refresh! In this episode - the season 3 finale! - I’m sharing the books currently on my to-be-read list, along with a few upcoming releases that have caught my eye. Whether you're looking to add to your own stack or just want to hear about what’s on my radar, tune in for a mix of anticipated reads and spontaneous picks. Always Be Reading!

Episode Overview

In this To-Be-Read (TBR) refresh, I stack up a fresh selection of highly anticipated books. This episode dives into a rich m...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Everlasting" by Alix Harrow, a romantic fantasy about a legendary lady knight, a time-traveling historian who's obsessed with her story, and what happens when the myth and the real person finally meet. It's got time loops, epic romance, and a sharp takedown of how history gets written — and who gets to wri...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Wishing Game" by Meg Shaffer. This charming, whimsical novel follows Lucy Hart, a 26-year-old teacher's aide who grew up feeling unloved and found comfort in a beloved children's book series. When the reclusive author behind those books resurfaces with a brand-new title and an invitation to compete for the only copy...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "When the Cranes Fly South" by Lisa Ridzén, which tells the story of Bo, an elderly man who attempts to mend his relationship with his son before it's too late. Bo also fights to maintain his independence and to keep his beloved dog, Sixten, when his son insists on taking the d...

Some stories are too good to fit into just one book. In this Series Spotlight, I’m diving into the Between Earth and Sky Trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse — giving an overview of the series, what makes it stand out, and why I think it’s worth the commitment. Rebecca won the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Series for this trilogy, and it was so well deserved.

The trilogy is comprised of 3 books set in a fantasy world called Meridian, drawing inspiration from the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas:

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne" by Ron Currie, a gritty crime thriller about Babs Dionne, a proud Franco-American grandmother and iron-fisted drug matriarch ruling a small, battered neighborhood in Maine. When her youngest daughter goes missing and turns up dead, the whole town braces for what comes next. 

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Adventures of Mary Darling" by Pat Murphy. In this Victorian-era fantasy mash up of Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes, the brave Mary Darling must find and rescue her missing children, who have been taken to Neverland - all while outwitting Sherlock Holmes, who considers her the prime suspect in their disa...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Welcome to Season 3! Today’s book is "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" by VE Schwab. Set over five hundred years, the novel follows three female vampires, each bound by desire, power, and the cost of wanting more than the world will allow them. This is a story about hunger and rage—and about the wa...

Hey Bookworms! I'm creating ​t​he next season of The Book Up — and while you wait, I'm dusting off a recommendation worth revisiting. Thanks for being here!

Today’s featured book is Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest to find her parents with the help of a young physicist who wanders into the shop.

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon...

Hey Bookworms! While I gear up for a brand new season of The Book Up, I'm revisiting one of my favorite episodes. If you're new here, welcome — this is a great place to start. If you've been with me a while, I hope this one feels like catching up with an old friend.

Today’s featured book is Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. In this dark academic fantasy, the first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages and her janitor-turned-assistant unravel a secret conspiracy that could chan...

Hey Bookworms! While I gear up for a brand new season of The Book Up, I'm revisiting one of my favorite episodes. If you're new here, welcome — this is a great place to start. If you've been with me a while, I hope this one feels like catching up with an old friend.

Some stories are too good to fit into just one book. In this Series Spotlight, I’m diving into The Emily Wilde Series by Heather Fawcett — giving an overview of the series, what makes it stand out, and why I...

Hey Bookworms! While I gear up for a brand new season of The Book Up, I'm revisiting one of my favorite episodes. If you're new here, welcome — this is a great place to start. If you've been with me a while, I hope this one feels like catching up with an old friend.

Some stories are too good to fit into just one book. In this Series Spotlight, I’m diving into The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee — giving an overview of the series, what makes it stand out, and why I...

Hey Bookworms! I'm creating ​t​he next season of The Book Up — and while you wait, I'm dusting off a recommendation worth revisiting. Thanks for being here!

Today’s featured book is The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. In this literary thriller, the worlds of a privileged family and a blue collar town collide when a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp.

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

(Using Apple Podcasts on desktop an...

Escape the epic battles and world-ending peril—this bonus episode is all about cozy fantasy, the warm-hug corner of the genre where magic meets everyday life. From quaint villages to found-family friendships, these low-stakes, high-comfort reads are perfect for when you want magic with more charm than chaos.

I’ll share what defines cozy fantasy, why it’s become such a comfort for so many readers, and some of my favorite books in the subgenre. Whether you’re new to cozy fantasy or already stocking your TBR, you’ll leave with plenty of magical, heartwarming recommendations.

This epi...

It’s time for a TBR refresh! In this episode - the season 2 finale! - I’m sharing the books currently on my to-be-read list, along with a few upcoming releases that have caught my eye. Whether you're looking to add to your own stack or just want to hear about what’s on my radar, tune in for a mix of anticipated reads and spontaneous picks. Always Be Reading!

Here are the books I’ll be chatting about today: 

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones.

A diary written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told via transcribed interviews of a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shar...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "To Shape a Dragon's Breath" by Moniquill Blackgoose. After the first dragon to hatch in generations in her homeland bonds with her, a young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy—and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things.

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "Isola" by Allegra Goodman. A French noblewoman, deserted on an island, must rely on her faith and love to survive nature's harsh challenges. Based on a true story!

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

(Using Apple Podcasts on desktop...

Some stories are too good to fit into just one book. In this Series Spotlight, I’m diving into The Emily Wilde Series by Heather Fawcett — giving an overview of the series, what makes it stand out, and why I think it’s worth the commitment.

The magical, delightful series is comprised of 3 books: 

(Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? Copy/paste this link into your bro...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Dream Hotel" by Laila Lalami. This dystopian literary novel is about one woman's fight for freedom, set in a near future where even dreams are under surveillance - and can be used against you. 

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Am...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s book is "The Last One" by Rachel Howzell Hall. This romantasy follows Kai, who awakens in a dangerous land plagued by sickness and supernatural creatures, with no memory of her past.

This one was a doozy - and not in a good way.

If you’d like to read it, you can purcha...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is "The Hacienda" by Isabel Cañas. In this atmospheric horror-thriller, the daughter of a disgraced general and a priest with supernatural powers team up against a murderous haunted house.

I also share my ratings for the books featured in last season's TBR Top-Up - find out what I loved and what I did...

It’s time for a TBR refresh! In this episode - the season 1 finale! - I’m sharing the books currently on my to-be-read list, along with a few upcoming releases that have caught my eye. Whether you're looking to add to your own stack or just want to hear about what’s on my radar, tune in for a mix of anticipated reads and spontaneous picks. Always Be Reading!

Here are the books I’ll be chatting about today: 

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest to find her parents with the help of a young physicist who wanders into the shop.

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy f...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. In this genre-bending sci-fi thriller, an unnamed civil servant and an Arctic explorer pulled from the past fall in love and face a time-jumping government conspiracy.

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. In this fun, fast-paced thriller, a group of retiring assassins find out they are on their employer's hit list and have to fight back.

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

(U...

Some stories are too good to fit into just one book. In this Series Spotlight, I’m diving into The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee — giving an overview of the series, what makes it stand out, and why I think it’s worth the commitment.

The series is comprised of 3 books, a novella, and a short story collection: 

(Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn. In this academic fantasy, a young widow taps into a world-changing power and fights to discover herself.

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

(Using Apple Podcasts on desktop and can’t click? ...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. In this literary thriller, the worlds of a privileged family and a blue collar town collide when a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp.

If you’d like to read it, you can purchase a copy for your TBR pile: Bookshop.org | Amazon...

Love books? Looking for honest book reviews and book recs? Whether you're a lifelong reader, crawling out of a reading slump, or just need a trusted voice to help you find a great story — you're in the right place.

Today’s featured book is Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. In this dark academic fantasy, the first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages and her janitor-turned-assistant unravel a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic in her world forever.

If you’d like to read it, you can purcha...

Welcome to The Book Up! 📚🎙️

Hey bookworms! I’m Verdell Walker, and I’m so excited to introduce The Book Up, a weekly book review podcast where I share my honest, unfiltered thoughts on my latest reads—all in 15 minutes or less.

If you love books and want quick, insightful reviews to help you decide what to read next, this podcast is for you! Hit follow now so you don’t miss the first episode dropping on April 22, 2025.

🎧 Listen, subscribe, and get ready for your next great read!

This episode is hos...