Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

Title: Is a River Alive?

Author: Robert Macfarlane

Publisher: WW Norton & Company 2025

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Reader

Where I Got It: Library

Hailed in the New York Times as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler,” Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law.

Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada―imperiled respectively by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane’s house, a stream who flows through his own years and days.

The second Macfarlane book I’ve read, and while it’s not quite as good as Underland, it’s still an engaging piece of nonfiction science writing. This one is about rivers (of course given the title). He visits three river systems to try to understand the importance of rivers and their place in our world. I enjoyed the sections where he dive into the science behind the different rivers. The three chosen are vastly different and it was nice to dive into those differences scientifically. I loved learning about water systems and how they recycle and reuse the material around them. I enjoyed the history of each river system and learning how humans have altered those systems. Where the book started to fall apart were the longer sections at each section’s beginning where he spends more time telling you the history of a specific person. I’m sure they are all lovely people, but I wanted to get to the science and the nature. Overall, it’s a good read connecting humans and nature. I do want to keep picking up books by Macfarlane to sprinkle into my reading.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

Title: The Nightmare Before Kissmas (Royals and Romance #1)

Author: Sara Raasch

Publisher: Bramble 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 357

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Romanceopoly - The Holiday Spectacle (Holiday Theme)

Where I Got It: Library

Nicholas “Coal” Claus used to love Christmas. Until his father, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR façade. Coal will do anything to escape the spectacle, including getting tangled in a drunken, supremely hot make-out session with a beautiful man behind a seedy bar one night.

But the heir to Christmas is soon commanded to do his duty: he will marry his best friend, Iris, the Easter Princess and his brother’s not-so-secret crush. A situation that has disaster written all over it.

Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess’s hand…and Coal comes face-to-face with his mysterious behind-the-bar hottie: Hex, the Prince of Halloween.

It’s a fake competition between two holiday princes who can’t keep their hands off each other over a marriage of convenience that no one wants. And it all leads to one of the sweetest, sexiest, messiest, most delightfully unforgettable love stories of the year.

A random library find to bridge Spooky Season and Holiday Reads. Thank goodness it worked out. We get an alternate reality where all the holidays are embodied by ruling families. We meet the Princes of Christmas and Halloween and the Princess of Easter. From there we get some great situational romance opportunities and an underlying conspiracy. I loved the romance aspect. Seeing Coal and Hex get together was oh so cute and delightful. My issue came from the underlying conspiracy. Things just didn’t get revealed or come to a head until the last 20 pages. And then the book left off at a bit of a cliffhanger. I am interested in continuing to read the series with the sequel. Hopefully some of that plot line gets resolved in the next book.

Royals and Romance

• #1 The Night Before Kissmas

• #2 Go Luck Yourself

Next up on the TBR pile:

For We are Many by Dennis E. Taylor

Title: For We are Many (We are Bob) (Bobiverse #2)

Author: Dennis E. Taylor

Publisher: Worldbuilder Press 2017

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 311

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

Where I Got It: Our server

Bob Johansson didn't believe in an afterlife, so waking up after being killed in a car accident was a shock. To add to the surprise, he is now a sentient computer and the controlling intelligence for a Von Neumann probe. Bob and his copies have been spreading out from Earth for 40 years now, looking for habitable planets. But that's the only part of the plan that's still in one piece. A system-wide war has killed off 99.9% of the human race; nuclear winter is slowly making the Earth uninhabitable; a radical group wants to finish the job on the remnants of humanity; the Brazilian space probes are still out there, still trying to blow up the competition; And the Bobs have discovered a spacefaring species that sees all other life as food. Bob left Earth anticipating a life of exploration and blissful solitude. Instead he's become a sky god to a primitive native species, the only hope for getting humanity to a new home, and possibly the only thing that can prevent every living thing in the local sphere from ending up as dinner.

I finally dove into the second book in the series. We jump right in with no hesitation. Immediately I was right back in each of the storylines from the various Bobs. We get to see what happens to the Deltans, people on Earth, and even encounter a newly discovered sentient life on another planet. These books are definitely a high-paced ride. A little less philosophy in this one and more action, but still highly enjoyable.

Bobiverse

• #1 We are Legion (We are Bob)

• #2 For We are Many

• #3 All These Worlds

• #4 Heaven’s River

• #5 Not Till We are Lost

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig

Title: A Land So Wide

Author: Erin A. Craig

Publisher: Pantheon 2025

Genre: Horror

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; I Read Horror - Cryptid

Where I Got It: Library

Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious lumber merchant, the village is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks’ pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever.

Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Determined to rescue Ellis, she figures out a way to defy Mistaken’s curse and begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But there, Greer is hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding and her own origins.

I went into this book completely blind and was so grateful for that fact. I didn’t even read the summary on the back past the first paragraph. Something told me to just wait and dive in! Ultimately, I really enjoyed this creepy adventure tale. We get a strange village in a strange land (it’s never revealed exactly where although I have some suspicions). where “things” lurk outside of the Wandering Stone. What happens outside of those stone? And what does it have to do with Greer? I really enjoyed following the slow reveals of the mysteries of Mistaken. I called a few of the twists, but not all of them. I do enjoy when a book pleasantly surprises me. Be advised that this book does involve death, some gory moments, and body horror aspects.

Next up on the TBR pile:

This House is Haunted by John Boyne

Title: This House is Haunted

Author: John Boyne

Publisher: Other Press 2013

Genre: Horror

Pages: 291

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Library

This House Is Haunted is a striking homage to the classic nineteenth-century ghost story. Set in Norfolk in 1867, Eliza Caine responds to an ad for a governess position at Gaudlin Hall. When she arrives at the hall, shaken by an unsettling disturbance that occurred during her travels, she is greeted by the two children now in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There is no adult present to represent her mysterious employer, and the children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, another terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong.
 
From the moment Eliza rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence that lives within Gaudlin’s walls. Eliza realizes that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall’s long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past. Clever, captivating, and witty, This House Is Haunted is pure entertainment with a catch.

Another random pick from the library shelves. I’m always up for a good ghost story and this one certainly delivered. We get a first person narration a la an 19th century work. I definitely got shades of Dickens and Poe in this volume. We follow Eliza as she deals with her grief and changes in life, but of course things are not quite as they seem. I loved how the story slowly unfolded with little incidences here and there ramping up the tension and suspense. There are not many creepy scenes, but we get a lot of fun scenes and circumstances. The story finally comes to a head in the last 25 pages. And it’s a doozy.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Heartless by H.G. Parry

Title: Heartless

Author: H.G. Parry

Publisher: Subterranean Press 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 141

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fairytale Retellings - Villain

Where I Got It: Library

At the age of seven, in a London workhouse, newly-orphaned James meets ten-year-old Peter. Mysterious, mercurial, thoughtless to the point of cruelty, Peter nonetheless takes a liking to James. The two forge a strange friendship, bound together by theirshared love of stories...But one fateful night, Peter vanishes from his bed, and in the morning James is found lying alone and broken in the courtyard outside...Over twenty years later, on the deck of a whaling ship in the frozen wastes of the Arctic...James's obsession with finding his childhood friend will lead him to mutiny and murder, beyond the edges of the world, and finally to an island that shouldn't exist.

I always enjoy a villain retelling usually because the villains of fairy tales are much more interesting than the heroes. In this slim novella, we get the story of Peter Pan told from the point of view of James who becomes Hook. We see the creation of Neverland and the birth of the story we know while understanding the sacrifices James made to survive. I really enjoyed this one. The overall tone of this book is very emotional and sad but it was a good fit for my mood this week.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Carrow Hunt by Darcy Coates

Title: The Carrow Hunt

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Poisoned Press 2018

Genre: Horror

Pages: 379

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Quarter of a Century - 2018

Where I Got It: Library

Some houses are merely haunted. Carrow House is something else entirely.

Dark corridors. Whispering walls. A history soaked in blood. In The Carrow Haunt, USA Today bestseller Darcy Coates delivers a pulse-pounding tale of isolation, terror, and the secrets we invite when we chase the dead.

Remy, a tour guide for the notoriously haunted Carrow House, hasn't seen any proof of the paranormal―yet. But when she's offered a week-long residency alongside a handful of guests and a professional medium to investigate the home's disturbing reputation, curiosity wins. Finally, a chance to prove―or debunk―the chilling legends she's been sharing as truth.

At first, it's everything they dreamed of. Mysterious sounds. Cold spots. Doors that creak open on their own. But when a storm cuts them off from the outside world and one of the guests dies under bizarre circumstances, fascination gives way to dread.

As panic spreads, Remy can no longer ignore the chilling thought that something once human is still here… and it remembers how to kill.

I’m always up for a quick spooky Darcy Coates story in the fall. She writes fast-paced thrillers always with lots of creepy scenes. I really enjoyed this whole locked room style ghost horror story. I care less about the characters and more about the plot with these ones. We start strong with a tour of the haunted house and then dive right into the actual plot. My favorite scenes were the ones including the seances. Perfectly creepy and suspenseful. Coates’s books aren’t high literature. But they sure are fun to read!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 5

Title: The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 5

Author: Kyouka Izumi

Publisher: Seven Seas 2022

Genre: Manga Romance

Pages: 192

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Despite being sent to another world as a Savior, Tsukina has managed to stay out of the spotlight and run her book cafe. With her marriage to her fiance Il on the horizon, Tsukina is looking forward to their peaceful life together. But one of the regulars at the cafe seems to have other plans for Tsukina, and for all the Kingdom of Othel! Will Tsukina get her fairy-tale ending?!

We get to the end of the story and thankfully it ends on a happy note. I figured that this series wasn’ going to be too serious or angsty. It manages to wrap up the main storyline with little conflict, but lots of good feelings. Overall, I really enjoyed my reading of this quick series.

The Book Savior’s...

• Volume 1

• Volume 2

• Volume 3

• Volume 4

• Volume 5

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 4

Title: The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 4

Author: Kyouka Izumi

Publisher: Seven Seas2021

Genre: Manga Romance

Pages: 162

Rating: /45 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Tsukina has been keeping her great magical powers under wraps, content to spend her time with her book cafe and her fiancee, Il. And now that a new Savior, Youta, has arrived, she figures she can leave all the heroics to him. But when Youta develops a crush on Tsukina, it throws everything off balance! When monsters attack, Youta sees it as his chance to shine.. but is he up to the challenge?

So much happened in this one. I cannot wait to see how the story ends. I’m hoping Tsukina gets her happy ending, Youta finds his place, and Othel is protected against monsters and enemies. But I am concerned about Bran and the strange occurrences.

The Book Savior’s...

• Volume 1

• Volume 2

• Volume 3

• Volume 4

• Volume 5

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 3

Title: The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 3

Author: Kyouka Izumi

Publisher: Seven Seas 2021

Genre: Manga Romance

Pages: 168

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

After being transported to another world by an orb that calls itself "God," Tsukina used her newfound magical powers to open up a cozy book cafe. Now that she's settled in, she's started dating Il, a handsome soldier. However, Tsukina can't relax just yet. Othel's powerful neighboring countries are making some suspicious moves, and as tensions rise, a new savior arrives at the castle. Is he there to help the kingdom, or is he a new enemy for Tsukina to worry about?

This middle volume really does shift the story a bit. We get a new savior in Othel, a mysterious visitor to the cafe, and threats from a neighboring country. I really enjoy how much plot we get this in part. I’m really interested in seeing how Youta and Tsukina interact in the rest of the story.

The Book Savior’s...

• Volume 1

• Volume 2

• Volume 3

• Volume 4

• Volume 5

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 2

Title: The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 2

Author: Kyouka Izumi

Publisher: Seven Seas

Genre: Manga Romance

Pages: 160

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Since being transported to a new world Tsukina has made a cozy life for herself, doing magic and running a book cafe. She's even grown closer to Il, a handsome soldier who also loves reading. But Tsukina is keeping a huge secret from him: she is a Savior, sent to this world to help protect it. By hiding away in her book cafe, is she neglecting her duties? And will Il hate her for it when he finds out?

Such big developments in this volume! We get to see Tsukina and Il grow closely (even if most of it occurs off the page) and she grows in her own powers and confidence. I think that there might have been too much throw into this volume. I would have liked to see the story drawn out a bit more. But I still enjoyed this section of the story. The volume redeems itself with a great ending.

The Book Savior’s...

• Volume 1

• Volume 2

• Volume 3

• Volume 4

• Volume 5

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 1

Title: The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World Vol. 1

Author: Kyouka Izumi

Publisher: Seven Seas 2019

Genre: Manga Romance

Pages: 160

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Tsukina is a single, thirty-something office worker who's favorite thing is curling up with a good book. When a god tells her that she must go to another world to become its magical savior, Tsukina isn't interested. She has zero desire to go on some grand hero's journey. So when she arrives in this strange new land, she decides to use her magical powers to create a cozy little book café instead. Her first customer is a handsome soldier who loves reading almost as much as she does. But when a fellow "savior" starts causing trouble, Tsukina might have to play the hero after all!

Another completely random pick from the library shelves. I love this meta-story about a woman traveling to another world but rejecting her savior status in favor of a quiet life. Of course, that life is not going to be as quiet as Tsukina wants. I sped through this story and loved the break from angsty stories I’ve been reading lately.

The Book Savior’s...

• Volume 1

• Volume 2

• Volume 3

• Volume 4

• Volume 5

Next up on the TBR pile:

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Title: Heartless Hunter (Crimson Moth #1)

Author: Kristen Ciccarelli

Publisher: Wednesday Books 2024

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 406

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Retreat Recommendation

Where I Got It: Library

On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.

Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

Multiple people at the retreat in June told me that I needed to read this book and the sequel that came out this year. I finally picked this up and flew through it quickly. It’s a very fast paced story with lots of action scenes and suspense. I enjoyed the plot even if the few “twists” were telegraphed very early on. I mean this is a young adult novel. I was expecting a fast moving plot. I was very interested in the magic system and wished that we could have learned a bit more about it. But my biggest issue with this book I the love triangle and romance. It just doesn’t land like a swoony romance. Alex is too much of a wet blanket. Gideon is too full o hate. And then Rune is just a girl who doesn’t quite inspire the great romantic feelings from two brothers. But I did enjoy story and world enough to want to read the sequel.

Crimson Moth

• #1 Heartless Hunter

• #2 Rebel Witch

Next up on the TBR pile:

Rosen Blood Vol. 5

Title: Rosen Blood Vol. 5

Author: Kachiru Ishizue

Publisher: VIZ Media 2022

Genre: Manga

Pages: 192

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

After a horrific carriage accident, Stella Violetta awakens in a Gothic mansion to find that her saviors are gorgeous young men. The manor’s residents let her stay as a maid, but Stella soon realizes that their allure hides a savage thirst.

Claude and Friedrich take desperate measures as they vie for Stella’s affection, but she only has eyes for Levi. This frantic battle for her heart leads to further bloodshed and forces Stella to make a big decision. Can her love for Levi last in the face of unrelenting obstacles?

Oh goodness! That was one wild ride of a conclusion. We get to see Yoel serve his purpose, Friedrich attempt to change his colors, and Gilbert’s steady protection all while Levi attempts to save Stella and her heart. I would have liked to see a bit more of conclusion, there are so many unanswered questions, but I am glad that they have become a family again. Overall, a fun little series.

Rosen Blood

• Volume 1

• Volume 2

• Volume 3

• Volume 4

• Volume 5

Next up on the TBR pile:

Rosen Blood Vol. 2

Title: Rosen Blood Vol. 2

Author: Kachiru Ishizue

Publisher: VIZ Media 2019

Genre: Manga

Pages: 162

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

After a horrific carriage accident, Stella Violetta awakens in a Gothic mansion to find that her saviors are gorgeous young men. The manor’s residents let her stay as a maid, but Stella soon realizes that their allure hides a savage thirst.

Yearning leads to danger when mansion resident Levi starves himself for Stella’s sake. To save him, Stella must journey into his soul while he’s unconscious and confront the nun Luchia’s grasp on his past. Then, even wakefulness may bring no reprieve from nightmares when another nonhuman, Friedrich, reveals a horrifying secret…

We finally get some answers about the “statues” and those strange crystals. Most of this volume is taken up by an entire dream sequence which does at least move the plot forward, These volumes are a fun respite from much heavier and longer reads.

Rosen Blood

• Volume 1

• Volume 2

• Volume 3

• Volume 4

• Volume 5

Next up on the TBR pile:

Rosen Blood Vol. 1

Title: Rosen Blood Vol. 1

Author: Kachiru Ishizue

Publisher: VIZ Media 2018

Genre: Manga

Pages: 160

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

After a horrific carriage accident, Stella Violetta awakens in a Gothic mansion to find that her saviors are gorgeous young men. The manor’s residents let her stay as a maid, but Stella soon realizes that their allure hides a savage thirst.

Levi-Ruin and the mysterious men who took Stella in have a bare kitchen…and a moaning box in the storehouse. After discovering mansion dweller Gilbert’s lifelike sculptures, the new maid faces a sinister reality. Can she survive the bloodlust? Stella must distinguish danger from passion as fear begins to feed on her!

Another random library pick. I saw it on the comic shelves and immediately grabbed the entire series. It’s a fun little series about a girl who stumbles into a house full of handsome by mysterious and potentially dangerous men. Of course she immediately falls for one of them, but then the horror begins. I loved the reveal of the “statues” in the closet. Cannot wait to see where the story goes next.

Rosen Blood

• Volume 1

• Volume 2

• Volume 3

• Volume 4

• Volume 5

Next up on the TBR pile:

Zomromcom by Olivia Dade

Title: Zomromcom

Author: Olivia Dade

Publisher: Berkley 2025

Genre: Horror/Romance

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Romanceopoly — Spooky Reads

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 4

When Edie Brandstrup attempts to save her sweet, seemingly harmless human neighbor from the first major zombie breach in two decades, she’s stunned to be saved by him—and his ridiculously large sword—instead. As it turns out, he's actually a super-old, super-surly vampire. But for all her neighbor's newly revealed cynicism and lethality, Gaston "Max" Boucher (yes, Gaston) is unexpectedly protective. He wants her to stay in his safety bunker until the breach is resolved. Edie can’t risk more innocent people getting killed, though—and Max won’t let her save them alone.

As they unravel a sinister conspiracy to set zombies loose on the world (again), the duo meet a host of lovable allies and discover they're not the only ones willing to fight for the future of humanity. Despite the awful timing, Edie finds herself falling for the vampire who’s helping her save the world . . . but all their dangerous plans could end their future before it even begins. As she and Max battle side by side, Edie must decide whether having a love worth living for also means having a love you'd die for—and, in a world that grows deadlier by the minute, whether that’s a risk she’s willing to take.

Another random pick from the library New Reads shelf. I had no idea what I was going to read, but have enjoyed some of Dade’s previous books. I started this one and couldn’t put it down. It was such. fun wild ride. We jump right away into a world that has already experienced a zombie apocalupse and now we have a potential containment issue. Edie and Max are a great duo full of banter and spunk as their attempt to understand what exactly is happening and how to stop the zombies. There is a good blend of horror and romance in this one. But be forewarned that this volume ends on a cliffhanger. Guess I will have to wait until the next one to see how this story plays out.

Next up on the TBR pile:

We are Legion by Dennis E. Taylor

Title: We are Legion (We are Bob) (Bobiverse #1)

Author: Dennis E. Taylor

Publisher: Ethan Ellenberg 2016

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 299

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

Where I Got It: Our server

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty. The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.

I finally (after years of J encouraging me) read the first of the Bobiverse books. it took me a few chapters to really get into the story, mostly until Bob dies. Once we enter into the world of the Bobiverse, I got sucked into the story. I really enjoyed following along to see all the different iterations of Bob. The narration gives them just enough distinct personalities to keep everyone straight. Ryker and Homer are my favorites hands-down. I love their enemies to friends relationship. I sped through the book during a few slow weekend days. There were so many interesting developments that I’m definitely going be continuing the series.

Bobiverse

• #1 We are Legion (We are Bob)

• #2 For We are Many

• #3 All These Worlds

• #4 Heaven’s River

• #5 Not Till We are Lost

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dr. Mutter's Marvels by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

Title: Dr. Mütter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine

Author: Cristin O’Keefe Aptoqicz

Publisher: Avery 2014

Genre: Nonfiction - History, Medicine

Pages: 371

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Nonfiction Reader; Cover Lover - Depiction of a Famous Person

Where I Got It: Library

A mesmerizing biography of the brilliant and eccentric medical innovator who revolutionized American surgery and founded the country’s most famous museum of medical oddities
 
Imagine undergoing an operation without anesthesia, performed by a surgeon who refuses to sterilize his tools—or even wash his hands. This was the world of medicine when Thomas Dent Mütter began his trailblazing career as a plastic surgeon in Philadelphia during the mid-nineteenth century.

Although he died at just forty-eight, Mütter was an audacious medical innovator who pioneered the use of ether as anesthesia, the sterilization of surgical tools, and a compassion-based vision for helping the severely deformed, which clashed spectacularly with the sentiments of his time. Brilliant, outspoken, and brazenly handsome, Mütter was flamboyant in every aspect of his life. He wore pink silk suits to perform surgery, added an umlaut to his last name just because he could, and amassed an immense collection of medical oddities that would later form the basis of Philadelphia’s renowned Mütter Museum.

I’m always interested in micro-history books and this one did not disappoint. We dive into the life of Thomas Mütter, exploring the world of medicine in the early 1800s along the way. I loved how the author tried to explain some of the choices of Mutter by pointing to other events and trends of the day. We get a comprehensive look of the time. We get an in-depth and oftentimes gory look at medicine. Do not pick it up if you are squeamish at all. But for the rest of us, it was a fascinating journey. My only issues are that the overall story meanders some times dragging my reading speed down. If I ever go back to Philadelphia, I definitely want to visit the Mütter Museum. Unfortunately, I was last there when the twins were 10 and they were definitely a bit young for that museum. Still, the book was a very interesting biography in context.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Irresistible Devil by Jenny Nordbak

Title: Irresistible Devil (Black Rose Auction #4)

Author: Jenny Nordbak

Publisher: Trinkets and Tales 2025

Genre: Romance

Pages: 271

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Preordered

Spice Rating: 6

For three days, the doors to this luxe New York estate are thrown wide for anyone with a taste for the obscenely rich, the ultra-exclusive, and the once in a lifetime thrill of the forbidden: where nothing is off the table and everything—and everyone—can be had for the bargaining.

In IRRESISTIBLE DEVIL by Jenny Nordbak, a Rumpelstiltskin remix, a society darling is willing to make any bargain to benefit her family, but each deal draws her deeper into a dark and decadent world ruled by the dangerous man who's been pulling her strings from the start...

I enjoyed the Katee Robert story in this series. I did not enjoy the RM Virtues story in this collection. I was hoping that this one was going to be a hit and it was. I am always drawn to the villains in stories as they are much more complex and interesting. In this one, we finally get to explore Reaper (Rumplestiltskin) and learn more about his own wants and desires. I knew he was going to be a great character. I was just concerned that he wouldn’t find his partner. Thankfully Juliet shows a spark right away and continues to grow and strength throughout the story. I was glad that she didn’t immediately submit to Reaper, but ended up finding her own path even if it was difficult. We get to see her come into her own identity and eventually take what she wants. I sped through this book in two days not wanting to put it down for even a minute.

Black Rose Auction

• #1 Wicked Pursuit

• #2 Divine Intervention

• #3 Stolen Vows

• #4 Irresistible Devil

• #5 Shattered Innocence

• #6 Royal Heart

Next up on the TBR pile: