Instagram story viewer> @kaschastern> Posts

📖Kascha Stern📖

@kaschastern

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

✨Meet the Bookstagrammer✨

Heyy there, I’m Kascha (Kay-sha) and I’m excited you’re here! I haven’t introduced myself in a while and wanted to share.

📍MN → MI → WI. You’ll find me on the porch swing, or by Lake Superior after a hike with my corgis, Willoughbee and Nakoa.

💻 I’m an application developer in Higher Ed. I have 12 degrees/certificates ranging from Animation to Sociology to Information Systems. In 2016, I won first in the Bare Bones International Film Festival for a short horror screenplay.

💀 I love gothic cottagecore, vintage pieces, moody autumn colors, and crows. I live in a 1901 house that’s haunted by the original owner, who was an undertaker.

💉A couple years ago, I got my first chronic illness diagnosis. As chronic illness girlies know, this is a long road to real answers. Being unable to always do my hobbies, I leaned more heavily into reading.

📚 I’ve always been a bookworm. Last fall, I renovated my home library so I can continue to hoard. I love collecting antique editions of classics. I’m obsessed with romantasy and horror, and am a sucker for enemies-to-lovers. I started Bookstagram 2.5yrs ago, and am a beta, ARC, street team member, and influencer for various indie authors and publishing houses.

📖 My Top 3 Reads (at this exact moment - you know what I mean):
- Kingdom of Embers and Ruin
- We Live Here Now
- House of Rayne

#MeetTheBookStagrammer #BookStagram #BookInfluencer #ARCReader #BookReviewer by @kaschastern

25

0

4 months ago

Here’s a link to the template! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XrnDNd_CPgcVRSo2-xSWW-I3o3pAsMeLZqi2DZ_FtAc/edit?usp=sharing #library #librarytiktok #librarytok #homelibrary #bookcollection #booktracker #librarycatalog #bookspreadsheet #datanerd #bookworm #booklover #bibliophile #bookstagram by @kaschastern

90

2

2 years ago

A deliciously disturbing start that loses some bite along the way.

Morsels wastes absolutely no time throwing you into the nightmare. It opens with a crazy first line, and within just a couple dozen pages, that unmistakable sense of wrongness begins to creep in. You’re thrust straight into the madness, and honestly, that was my favorite part of the book.

The doppelganger creatures’ existence feels mysterious and beyond our understanding, but the horrors they bring are all too tangible. Mimicking, kidnapping, torture, and feeding are only the beginning, with some scenes venturing into body horror.

Where the book lost me a little was in its shifting approach to horror. At times, it feels like full-blown monster horror; at others, it leans heavily into body horror or even takes on the unsettling atmosphere of a true-crime story. I appreciated the attempt to explore the creatures and understand what they are, but some of these more grounded passages made them feel a little too human. In trying to make the monsters understandable, the story occasionally dulled the very terror that made them so compelling in the first place.

The exploration of family trauma also became a bit of a double-edged sword. The dysfunctional family dynamics added another layer of horror, but at times, I found myself wondering which threat the characters were actually trying to overcome. The focus would shift away from the immediate monster threat and linger on the human horrors, sometimes leaving the story feeling less urgent than its opening promised.

#AbeMoss #Morsels #ZIP #BookReview #BookStagram by @kaschastern

2

0

2 days ago

✨Book Mail✨

Thank you @astrapublishinghouse and @astrakidsbooks for sending me a free final copy of Akarnae by @lynettenoni! It’s the 700th book in my library! This was such an addictive read, and an immediate five stars. It’s available now in the US, anywhere you buy books!

✨Blurb✨
Alex’s disastrous first day at a new school takes a strange turn when she steps through a doorway into Medora—a fantasy world filled with wonders beyond her imagination. With no way to return home, Alex enrolls at Akarnae, an academy for gifted students who welcome her as one of their own.

In her search for answers, Alex discovers far more than she expected to. And as a sinister threat looms over Medora, Alex starts to realize that not only does she belong there, but she may be the only one who can save it.

An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex bears the heavy responsibility of saving an entire race—but what if doing so means she can never go back home?

Will Alex risk her entire world—and perhaps her life—to save Medora?

#LynetteNoni #MedoranTeamUS #MedoranABFYR #BookMail #BookStagram by @kaschastern

7

0

3 days ago

🪾Currently Reading🪾

Thank you @orbitbooks_us and @runforitbooks_us for giving me an eARC of Quaint Folk by @bitterkarella! If you’re a fan of folk horrors like The Wicker Man or The Twisted Ones, pick-up your copy today!

🪾Blurb🪾
From the outside, it looks like Jessica has the perfect life. She’s a stay-at-home mom, married to a man with a respectable job, raising a son they adore. Her family is as wholesome as all-American pie. But deep down, Jessica knows there’s something wrong with her; she knows she can’t escape her past.

When her husband’s job has them move abroad, Jessica thinks this is her chance for a fresh start. On the remote island of Hasenhurst, the modern world can’t get in. The people there grow their own herbs, make their own jam, and mind their own business. They believe in folk tales and the power of dreams. They tell visitors, we’re a quaint, quiet people. The right sort of family would do well here.

Jessica is determined to be the right kind of person for a family—and a life—like this. But as she tries to befriend the townsfolk and learn their ways, she soon realizes that beneath the town’s cozy idyll, something sickly-sweet and rotten lays buried…

#BitterKarella #QuaintFolk #HorrorBooks #CurrentRead #BookStagram by @kaschastern

6

0

4 days ago

Tarot, deadly trials, and ruthless politics.

The Tarot Trials has one of the most unique fantasy worlds I’ve come across in a while. The entire world is built around the tarot deck in a way that feels deeply woven into the story rather than simply being an aesthetic backdrop. It’s such a fascinating concept, and I loved seeing how thoroughly the tarot system shaped the world.

It begins with the Culling, where anyone can step forward to become a god’s representative, but only one person can survive and succeed. From there, the twenty-two representatives are thrown into days of deadly trials throughout the city, fighting until only five remain. There’s plenty of action, danger, and high-stakes battles, but the physical fights are only part of what makes the Trials so interesting.

The politics are arguably even more dangerous. Kestrel quickly learns that surviving isn’t simply about being the strongest fighter. Knowing the city, understanding your opponents, choosing the right allies, and figuring out who you can trust are just as important. The courts also get involved, using their lavish party nights to manipulate and recruit participants because whichever court gains the most Cinque gains the most power for the next twenty-two years. And these courts are willing to do some genuinely shocking things to secure that power.

I really enjoyed following Kestrel. Coming from the poorest part of the city, she’s accustomed to fighting and stealing to survive, but the higher courts and political maneuvering are completely outside her experience. That makes her somewhat of an unreliable narrator, particularly when it comes to the upper levels of society.

The magic system was another highlight. Each participant receives abilities connected to their god - things like healing, growth, light, shadows, and more. These powers add another layer of unpredictability to the battles, since everyone has to constantly adapt as situations change.

I listened to the audiobook, which uses a single narrator. It made for an easy and engaging listen without needing a full cast.

#KateeRoberts #TheTarotTrials #ALC #BookReview #BookStagram by @kaschastern

7

3

4 days ago

A thrilling twist on the marriage competition with a delicious slow burn.

Rowan is sent undercover as one of the princesses with a much more dangerous mission: identify and unmask a potential assassin. All while knowing that her life, and her freedom, are on the line. I enjoyed how this premise kept Rowan from ever feeling completely comfortable in her new role.

The worldbuilding also offers an interesting twist on the typical fantasy setting. There’s a king, fae territories, and the looming threat of Otherworlders outside the kingdom’s walls, but magic itself has nearly disappeared. Only a handful of objects still possess the power of the old magic.

One of my favorite aspects was the group Rowan becomes involved with. As she spends more time with them, they begin to feel like something of a found family. Olette becomes a mother figure, while Bram provides a steady, dependable presence. And then there’s Neo.

Neo initially forces Rowan into this entire situation by buying out her contract, and understandably, their relationship gets off to a complicated start. But as they’re thrown together, the tension between them becomes impossible to ignore. With Rowan simultaneously expected to appear as though she’s courting the Prince, this creates a twist on the traditional love triangle. There’s no spice, but there is plenty of slow burn, forced proximity, and forbidden tension, making the romantic side of the story addictive.

I did find that some of the reveals were fairly easy to predict, but that didn’t detract much from my enjoyment. The story compensates with its pacing and escalating sense of danger. The action and threats began intensifying earlier than I expected, and shortly after the halfway point, I was completely on the edge of my seat. I kept waiting for the next attack, reveal, or surprise, and the later portion of the book throws a lot of new information and changes at you in a relatively short span.

#JulieHall #TheSecretsOfEverlight #AdultRomantasy #BookReview #BookStagram by @kaschastern

2

1

5 days ago

Fall Colors Tour - Pt 2

Finished off what I can manage this indie bookstore tour! Took at day trip out to Bayfield this weekend. Hiked, enjoyed the lake views, ate good food, and spent tons of time between the stacks.

Looking to participate? It runs through October 11th!

🍁Pick-up your passport at a participating store.
🍁Make a purchase at a store, receive a special offer, and get a stamp.
🍁Collect 5 stamps to receive a 25% one item coupon good through 2026.
🍁Collect 8 stamps to get a grand prize entry!

#IndieBookstore #IndependentBookstore #FallEvents #BookStagram taken in Bayfield, Wisconsin by @kaschastern

10

5

8 days ago

⚜️Book Mail⚜️

Thank you @booksforwardpr for hosting a swag box giveaway of The Quarter Queen by @ohkaylago! There’s so much stuffed into this box, including a @spoonycandleco candle, and I couldn’t be more excited to win! This horror/romantasy released in March through @ballantinebooks, and features two witches battling for New Orleans.

⚜️Blurb⚜️
All are welcome to see the Quarter Queen in her forbidden court… at your own peril.

In 1843 New Orleans, Voodoo queen Marie Laveau is feared by all. Her rebellious daughter Ree defies her mother at every turn, until she finds Marie comatose under a wicked curse cast by exiled Voodoo king Jon the Conjurer—Marie’s former teacher, lover, and greatest enemy.

As Ree uncovers dark secrets and faces dangerous enemies, including her childhood friend turned witch hunter, she must confront her mother’s past and her own destiny—or die trying.

Told in alternating timelines between Ree in the present and Marie’s rise to power twenty-five years earlier, The Quarter Queen is an intimate yet epic tale of love, family, power, and the deadly cost of correcting the sins of the past.

#KaylaHardy #TheQuarterQueen #PRBox #BookMail #BookStagram by @kaschastern

11

4

8 days ago

𝔻𝕆𝔹 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕒𝕪

Gearing up for a day along Lake Superior. Plus, I’ll be wrapping up my northern MN/WI indie bookstore fall colors tour!
☕️ Peach Tea
🧢Bookish & flannel hiking apparel
📖Thank you again @zandoprojects and @eviltwin.reads for sending me a free physical ARC of Morsels by @authorabemoss! Pre-Order now for October 6th.

𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕣𝕓
Meeting the family is scary. Surviving them is a nightmare.

Connie can’t deny she’s nervous about meeting her boyfriend’s family. Spending the weekend at their ritzy woodland summer home, Evan’s already given her fair warning: that his parents are cold, snobbish, and especially unpleasant toward those outside their usual social circles.

So when Evan’s mother warmly greets them with open arms, Connie is as confused as he is. Evan’s parents are nothing like he described. They’re so friendly, in fact, Evan himself can hardly believe they’re real.

Then, while helping Evan’s mother with dinner preparations Connie overhears strange noises coming from the basement—what almost sound like voices calling out for help.

Connie doesn’t realize that once the door is opened, it can’t be closed. Or that once she descends those rickety steps into the darkness below... she may never see the light of day again.

#DOB #AbeMoss #Morsels #ZIP #BookStagram by @kaschastern

5

2

9 days ago

🌘Currently Listening🌒

Thank you @macmillan.audio for letting me read the ALC of The Tarot Trials by @katee_robert! I love the stakes involved with a fantasy competition. Pre-order your deluxe hardcover for October 20th.

🌘Blurb🌒
The deck has always been stacked against her.

Kestrel has trained her whole life to compete in the Tarot Trials. Her mother won once, earning a place among the five ruling Cinque—then paid for it with her life, executed for alleged treason against the Minor Court.

But fortune favors the bold.

Now it falls to Kestrel to take up her mother’s mantle as Champion of the Moon, enter the Trials, and face her fate. If she can master her new powers of shadow and illusion, navigate the poisonous game of alliances and lies, and corner the fellow Champion who dealt the killing blow to her mother years ago, she may uncover the truth she’s seeking without losing her head… or her heart. But in the Trials, betrayal is a question of when, not if. And winning the game isn’t about what she must do to win, but who she needs to survive.

#KateeRobert #TheTarotTrials #ALC #CurrentRead #BookStagram by @kaschastern

4

1

9 days ago

September reading wrap-up: 10 books read, with a perfect 50/50 split between ARCs and audiobooks.

This month was all about easing into spooky season with the best combination of romance, atmosphere, and just enough darkness to get me excited for Halloween. From creepy settings to swoony moments, it was exactly the reading mood I wanted going into October.

#ReadingRecap #MonthlyReadingWrapUp #SeptemberReads2026 #MonthlyReads #BookStagram by @kaschastern

5

1

10 days ago