Hungry Hungry Wyrm's Book Club: February's Discussion and March's Theme

A Gentle Spoiler Bell

Welcome back to the Hearth of the Hungry Hungry Wyrm.

A small note before we stir the tea and begin.

This is, after all, a book club gathering around the fire. And when readers gather, we tend to talk about everything… including the endings, the twists, the dragons at the edge of vision, and the apples we may or may not have eaten.

So yes. There are spoilers ahead for the books discussed below.

If you haven’t finished them yet and would prefer to keep your mysteries neatly wrapped, you may wish to skip ahead to the section where we begin discussing March’s theme and upcoming reads.

We would still love to have you join us next month under the Pink Moon.

Now then. Settle in. The kettle is on.

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The Blood Moon

Earlier this month, I set an alarm for an unreasonable hour and stumbled outside at 5am in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Blood Moon. The sky, however, had other plans.

I found one brave star… and a thick ceiling of clouds.

There was something almost poetic about it. The moon was there, doing what moons do, shifting and shadowed and luminous beyond my sight. And I was below it, wrapped in early morning chill (and my dad's jacket that I borrowed from beside the door when I remembered it's still winter), squinting upward with hopeful eyes.

Even without the view, it felt like a threshold moment. Winter loosening its grip. Spring waiting just behind the curtain.

I would love to know if anyone else managed a clear look at it. Did you see the red glow? Did it feel like anything to you? A shift in energy? A quiet nudge? Or simply a beautiful celestial event?

As we turn toward spring, it feels fitting to look up now and then… even if we only find a single star shining back. Shifting seasons. Shifting light.

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February Book Club Reflections

Baking Bad by Kim M. Watt

This month I curled up with Baking Bad by Kim M. Watt, and I’m happy to report that it delivered exactly what I was craving. Cozy mystery? Yes. Village charm? Absolutely. Dragons with personality? Even better.

After several reads that didn’t quite scratch the itch, this one finally did.

Warm kitchens. Village intrigue. Tea, gossip, and dragons.

It felt like stepping into a small English village where everyone knows everyone, the tea is always brewing, and the mysteries are just dangerous enough to be interesting without stealing your sleep.

The tone was light without being flimsy, humorous without losing heart. Exactly the sort of story that pairs well with a warm mug and a quiet evening.

And perhaps the most delightful discovery of all: there are nine books already waiting with Beaufort and Mortimer, and another on the way this year. There is something deeply comforting about realizing you’ve made new fictional friends and won’t have to leave them anytime soon.

A cozy mystery is good. Ten cozy mysteries are a treasure.

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Characters Who Felt Real (Even the Scaled Ones)

I also deeply resonated with the writing style and with several of the main characters, especially Alice of the Toot Hansell Women’s Institute and Detective Inspector Adams.

Alice, a former RAF Wing Commander, carries herself with a strength that is both commanding and deeply rooted in service. As someone who, until recently, served in the US Navy, I felt a quiet kinship with her. There is a particular way strong women with military pasts are sometimes perceived. Too direct. Too firm. Too much. Watching Alice navigate that perception while never shrinking was satisfying in a very personal way.

DI Adams, on the other hand, reminded me of something else entirely.

“…it always seemed to her that there was too much to know to waste time sleeping.”

And yet, even she found herself growing drowsy in the sleepy village of Toot Hansell, with bees hovering over flowers, dragons flickering at the edge of her vision, and casseroles appearing from well meaning little old ladies at every turn.

Her arc felt like a quiet nudge.

Slow down. And… see the dragons.

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A Village That Felt Like Home (Or At Least a Return Ticket)

I recently returned from a lengthy visit to the UK, and many of the descriptions of the weather, the countryside, and the rhythm of village life made it dangerously tempting to price out another plane ticket. The damp air, the low gray skies, the steady comfort of tea and stone cottages. It all felt close enough to touch.

I do hope to return soon. Not quite this soon. But books like this certainly shorten the distance.

This novel also gave me strong The Thursday Murder Club vibes, which I loved. I still need to read the novel by Richard Osman, but I thoroughly enjoyed the film adaptation. While reading, I couldn’t help casting my own version in my head:

Pierce Brosnan as Beaufort.

Ben Kingsley as Mortimer.

Helen Mirren as Alice.

Celia Imrie as Miriam.

Now I very much look forward to reading The Thursday Murder Club to see how my imagined comparisons hold up on the page.

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Reflections from Our February Discussion Questions

What kinds of love are most present in this story?

Friendship. Loyalty. Community. Tradition. All of it.

The friendship and loyalty between the four main investigators, as they sought answers after the death of their vicar, was ever present. They stood up for one another. They acted bravely out of character. They took risks.

Beaufort said it best:

“If we don’t take risks for our friends, how can we call them friends? Friendship isn’t a casual thing, Mortimer. Not true friendship. True friendship is the sort of thing that can save you. But it can also hurt you…”

Even Mortimer, the more timid dragon, rose fiercely when Alice was threatened. Love can make even the most timid creature bite a big man’s leg if necessary.

And Miriam realized that sometimes love is not grand or dramatic. Sometimes it is simply presence.

“There are many, many kinds of magic in the world, and… friendship may just be the best of them.”

Community and tradition also shone through the Women’s Institute’s response to their vicar’s death. Food appeared. Help was offered. Meetings continued. They showed up, again and again, for one another.

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How does the book portray care through actions rather than words?

Food. So much food.

No one was going hungry in Toot Hansell. Not investigators. Not anxious dragons with shedding scales. Not anyone.

Beyond that, the small gestures spoke volumes. Offering tea. Keeping favorite snacks on hand. Using connections quietly to help. Removing shoes and helping wipe up a friend’s floor out of respect for their pride in their home.

The love here was baked in.

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Did any relationship feel especially comforting?

Mortimer and Alice.

He, timid and scholarly. She, formidable and more than capable of protecting herself. And yet when she was in danger, his courage sharpened instantly.

There was something deeply touching in watching him grow teeth when it mattered most.

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How does the village shape the relationships?

The quaint seclusion of Toot Hansell strengthens its people. They rely on one another. They know one another. The slower pace leaves room for tea time, meetings, gossip, and shared routines.

I miss that pace. I hope to find my way back to it soon.

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In what ways does the Women’s Institute function as a found family?

The WI feels like a sisterhood gathered around Alice. She leads firmly but sees each woman’s strengths and uses them wisely. Even when she nudges Miriam out of her comfort zone, it feels less like pressure and more like belief.

They protect one another. They support one another. They bake for one another.

That is family.

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How did the cozy tone affect your experience?

It made the story quick, easy, and deeply enjoyable. The banter between Alice, Miriam, Beaufort, and Mortimer sparkled. It felt like listening in on clever friends rather than simply reading about them.

This book was comfort. A place to settle into a chair by a fire and let the world soften at the edges.

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Did reading this make you crave anything?

Yes.

A slower pace. Village life. And being back in Scotland… even though I know perfectly well this story was not set there. The longing remains.

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Love, In All Its Forms

For February’s theme, this book was a perfect fit.

Not romantic love, though there were hints of it. But friendship love. Community love. Loyal love. The kind that shows up with a casserole. The kind that stays for the stakeout. The kind that risks something and sometimes everything.

February often dresses love in roses and candlelight. This book reminded me that love also looks like shared routines, fierce protection, and someone quietly keeping your favorite biscuits stocked.

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Bonus Read: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Alongside dragons and village mysteries, I also spent time in a very different sort of magic this month.

I picked up Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen from our local library, and I had almost forgotten how much comfort lives in the simple weight and scent of a library book. There is something grounding about it. Even if someone has dog-eared a page or two or spilt their coffee before you. Perhaps especially then.

This story carried every form of love February promised us. Sisterly love. Found family. Lost love. Friendship. Mother to child. Love of home. The kind of love that lingers long after people leave.

“Coming home was a good thing. Home was home.”

And of course, there was magic. Sometimes subtle. Rooted. Blooming quietly through the soil of ordinary life. After reading both of this month’s selections, I’m not entirely sure how one gardens at all without believing in at least a little magic.

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On Old Souls & Wildness

I found myself identifying deeply with Claire, especially in her quiet wondering about “being young once” and not quite knowing what that meant. When you are labeled the old soul early on, there can be a strange sense that you skipped something. That perhaps you never fully stepped into the wildness other children seemed to inhabit so easily. Responsibility can root you early.

And yet, Sydney offered reminders that felt worth tucking away:

“Just because no one expects you to do it doesn’t mean you can’t. Don’t you ever want to prove people wrong?”

“You are who you are, whether you like it or not, so why not like it?”

“Love always hurts… but it’s worth it.”

There is something freeing in that. In choosing yourself. In leaning toward love anyway, knowing the cost.

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The Apple Tree

There is an apple tree in the story that reveals your most important moment. Not a vague fortune. Not a general feeling. One singular, defining moment. I found myself thinking about that long after I closed the book.

Would we want to know what moment would matter most in our lives? Would we recognize it when it arrived? Would it change how we live between now and then? Or is part of the magic simply living attentively enough that we do not miss it?

Would you eat an apple??

Or perhaps the better magic is not knowing at all. Living attentively. Loving fully. Trusting that when the moment arrives, you will recognize it not because an apple told you, but because your heart will.

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Between dragons flickering at the edge of vision and apples heavy with quiet prophecy, February’s reading felt threaded with the same gentle truth: Magic exists. Love takes many shapes. And sometimes coming home, whether to a village, a sister, or yourself, is the bravest thing you can do.

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And Now… March

As we step out of February’s hearth glow and toward the lengthening light of March, I keep thinking about the way the world begins again this time of year. Not loudly. Not all at once. But in small insistences. A crocus pushing up through cold soil. Windows cracked open for the first time in months. The sense that something is ready to shift.

And so, as we prepare to gather under the Pink Moon on 1 April, I’m proposing a theme that feels just right for the turning season:

New Beginnings & Second Chances

Stories of fresh starts. Reinvention. Healing. The brave decision to pivot. The quiet choice to stay and grow.

Some new beginnings arrive like a moving truck and a new set of keys. Others arrive as forgiveness. Or courage. Or the slow realization that you are allowed to change.

Spring does not ask permission to begin again. It simply does.

If you’re looking for a place to start, here are a few possible paths:

Classic & Comfort

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Contemporary & Hopeful

• Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Cozy & Whimsical

• The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

• Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Literary & Reflective

• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

• The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

Speculative & Bold

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Because sometimes a second chance looks like surviving the end of the world. Sometimes it looks like planting a garden.

I threw in my bonus read from this month in case it sounded like something you'd like to read. It fits in with second chances and new beginnings just as well as our previous theme.

I will be reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, as I just found it on a birthday bookshop adventure to Morgenstern Books in Bloomington, IN a few days ago (highly recommend)! The Secret Garden is a favorite, as well, so I will likely take the opportunity to read that one again!

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If you’re still deciding, here are a few questions to sit with:

• Do you want a literal new beginning, like a move, a new job, or a new town?

• Or an internal one, like forgiveness, identity, or self discovery?

• Are you craving something cozy and comforting, or something that will gently challenge you?

• Do you want your new beginning wrapped in magic, romance, realism, or adventure?

And as always, please use the comments as our little village square.

If you know exactly what you’re in the mood for but can’t find the right title, tell us. Looking for slow burn romance with a second chance? A fantasy about rebuilding after loss? A memoir about starting over at forty? Drop it below.

If you have a favorite “new beginnings” read that isn’t listed here, share it. And if someone comments what they’re searching for, feel free to jump in with suggestions. Half the joy of a theme month is watching our TBR piles cross pollinate.

By the time we gather under the Pink Moon on 1 April, I cannot wait to hear what began for each of you. New chapter. New season. Same hearth.

Until next time,

The Wyrm