June 2024 Wrap-up

June TBR Pile (17/20):

1. Bookworms BC: The Morningside by Téa Obreht ✓

2. Friend BC: The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Annie Bot by Sierra Greer ✓

4. Nerdy Bookish Friends (Buddy Read): The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud (Arthur’s rec to me): Loot by Jude Watson

7. Kid Book Club: Malamander by Thomas Taylor

8. Fantasy: Poison by Sarah Pinborough ✓

9. Romance: Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez ✓

10. Romance: Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver ✓

11. Romance: The Do-Over by TL Swan ✓

12. Nonfiction: Blood by Jen Gunter ✓

13. Nonfiction: Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson ✓

14. Horror: Kaiju Battlefield Surgeon by Matt Dinniman ✓

15. Horror: Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren ✓

16. Horror: Ghost Station by SA Barnes ✓

17. Horror: Cursed Cruise by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren ✓

18. Science Fiction: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff ✓

19. Science Fiction: The Book of M by Peng Shepard ✓

20. Historical Fiction: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6656 pages
Pages Remaining: 230,259 pages

Current Read - The Book of Scandal by Julia London; The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

Books I Gave Up On (13): I grabbed a historical romance from my shelves, started it, and absolutely hated it within 50 pages. From there I went to Goodreads to see if the series would get better. Doesn’t look like it. So I DNFed it and removed the rest of the series that I had from my shelves. That was 10 books. I did the same thing with another historical romance series. This time it was three books. So there’s 13 books that I removed from my shelves. In case you are wondering it was Christina Dodd’s Governess Brides series and Paula Quinn’s Children of the Mist series.

Books Bought/Received (9): I skipped Book of the Month for June; I wasn’t really interested in any of the selections. But then, I went on the retreat. I always buy a book from the indie bookstores we visit during our day out. We went to three different bookstores and did our book exchange. I came home with seven books!

From Afterword - The Book of M by Peng Shepherd and Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz

From Bliss Wine and Books - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

From Under the Cover - Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson and Assistant to the Villian by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

From the exchange - The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Drinking with Wizards, Warriors and Dragons by Thea James

At the end of the month, we traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa, and we popped into their indie book store The Nook. I ended up buying two books: The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries by Donald R. Prothero and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske.

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 327

• Books Read: 7

• Books Acquired: 8

• Books Unshelved: 13

• Finishing Number: 315

July TBR Pile: I’m not going to overload my TBR for July. I would like to focus on book club selections and my own shelves this month.

1. Bookworms BC: The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

2. Friend BC: The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

4. Kid Book Club: Endling by Katherine Applegate

5. Fantasy: The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

6. Fantasy: Witch King by Martha Wells

7. Romance: The Book of Scandal by Julia London

8. Romance: Leather and Lark by Brynne Weaver

9. Science Fiction: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Movies Watched

• Hit Man

• Inside Out 2

• Rising Sun

• IF

TV Shows Watched

• Welcome to Wrexham S3

• Clarkson’s Farm S3

• Twisted Metal S1

• Loot S2

• The Boys S4

• Dinner with the Parents S1

• Barry S1

Comments - My reading took a slight dip, as I assumed that it would this month. Life just got very busy and we were out and about a lot. Less time to sit and read. But I did have a very successful bookish retreat and mini road trip with the kids. Plus, I unshelved a ton of duds and read many others from my shelves. It helped balance out all the books I bought during the retreat.

Next up on the TBR pile:

2024 Reading Challenges Update #2

I’m back to employing reading challenges to help direct my reading this year. Let’s check in with my progress of all the challenges I am attempting this year.

• Goodreads 137/200 69%

• Unread Shelf 25/50 50%

• Kid Read Alouds 26/50 52%

• 52 Book Club 37/52 71.2%**

• She Reads Romance 22/36 61.1%

• COYER 7/20 35%*

• Decades 6/12 50%

• Lifetime 6/12 50%

• In Case You Missed It 7/12 58%

• Nonfiction Reader 8/12 66.7%**

• Library Love 41/60 68%

• Clock Numbers 3/12 25%*

• Fairytales 5/12 41%*

Total Challenges 0/13 0%

Total Reading Slots 330/540 61.1%

* - Needs Work
** - Doing a Great Job

Comments: Of course I need to focus on reading the books on my shelf and on my Kindle app. This is a perennial problem for me. I also want to get back to the Clock and Fairytale Challenges. I’m really trucking along with Nonfiction and Romance.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Cursed Cruise by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

Title: Cursed Cruise (Horror Hotel #2)

Author: Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

Publisher: Underlined 2024

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 288

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

After their fateful stay at the Hearst Hotel, the Ghost Gang is back with more spooks and more subscribers. They’ve been invited to record onboard the RMS Queen Anne, a transatlantic luxury ocean liner with a colorful past of violent deaths of hundreds of passengers—souls that bought a one-way ticket to the afterlife (and never disembarked).

When Chrissy, Chase, Kiki, and Emma board the ship, they have a funny feeling they’ve been sucked into a ghostly time warp—a theory that takes a frightening turn when Chrissy goes missing on the first night.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Chrissy has been sucked into another time by a passenger who wants the Ghost Gang to know her untimely death was not an accident and the perpetrator is still alive—and on board this ship.

Well, that was decently fun. After two duds of books, I was really hoping for something fun and exciting that wouldn’t make me think too hard. This was just the ticket. We jump back into the Ghost Gang months after their adventures in the Horror Hotel. This time they are going on a haunted cruise ship (nothing can go wrong, right?) and meeting some TV rivals. I liked this book incorporated a ton of high seas urban myths as well as some classic ghost stories. I liked that we shifted focus from Chrissy to the rest of the Ghost Gang. Seriously, I didn’t realize how tiresome Chrissy was in the first book until I read the second. I also liked seeing Kiki and her mom reconnect over trauma. I sped through this book in two days attempting to cleanse my reading palette and it totally worked. There’s nothing deep here, but great ghostly fun.

Horror Hotel

• #1 Horror Hotel

• #2 Cursed Cruise

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Do-Over by TL Swan

Title: The Do-Over (Miles High Club #4)

Author: TL Swan

Publisher: Montlake 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 527

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

Spice Rating: 5

I’m wealthy, powerful, and able to get any woman I want.

So why do I feel so empty inside?

In search of a deeper me, I take a sabbatical from my privileged life. One year of backpacking around Europe: a new identity, no contacts, and no money. Not a bad plan, I think.

Until I get there.

A crowded hostel room, body odor, and beer bongs—there are no words for the fresh hell I’ve landed in.

But amid the chaos, I meet my new roommate, Hayden Whitmore. She sleeps in the bed opposite me, and I openly admit to staring at her more than I sleep. Beautiful, innocent, and smart. Not my usual type but perhaps the perfect woman.

There’s just one small problem with the divine Miss Hayden. She’s totally unaffected by my charm. Nothing is working, and now, I’ve been friend zoned.

What?

But the good thing about me is that I’m an incredible problem solver, and I’ve come up with a diabolical plan. I’m going to slide right in under her friend zone. Be the best damn friend she ever had, hold her hand, make her laugh, and spoon with her in bed.

But now there’s another problem.

Hayden is the one who is sliding under my skin, and maybe friendship isn’t enough.

Another complete dud for me. Overall, this series has not been my cup of tea. But after loving the second one, I thought that I would power through and complete the series. I am a completionism after all. Now I’m regretting that I did. This is just some jealous alpha bullshit masquerading as romance. Christopher is not a good person. He lies, obscures, demands, and stalks Hayden throughout this book. The “advice” that his brothers give him borders on assault. I don’t always have to love the characters in a romance novel, but I do have to connect with them on some level. Christopher just repulsed me. Hayden should have just booted him off the plane. I am seriously so mad at this book in its portrayal of women. We’re supposed to fall in love with Christopher while he constantly refers to women has “hobags” and demeans them at every turn. Also, his repeated exclamations of “needing sex” just turned me all the way off. At every turn, Christopher acted like a little child who didn’t his his way. No thank you!

Miles High Club

• #1 The Stopover

• #2 The Takeover

• #3 The Casanova

• #4 The Do-Over

• #5 Miles Ever After

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Next up on the TBR pile:

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Title: Annie Bot

Author: Sierra Greer

Publisher: Mariner Books 2024

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 231

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; 52 Book Club - Plot similar to another book

Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard.

She’s learning, too.

Doug says he loves that Annie’s AI makes her seem more like a real woman, so Annie explores human traits such as curiosity, secrecy, and longing. But becoming more human also means becoming less perfect, and as Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder: Does Doug really desire what he says he wants? And in such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

CW: Sexual assault

My Nerdy Bookish Friends pick for the month and I am thoroughly disappointed. This slim book attempts to take on the question, are sentient robots human? But it fails to actually examine the question too deeply. Annie was a difficult character to root for, but I really wanted to. I wanted to see a story more like Bicentennial Man or AI or even Alex + Ada. I wanted to get in any of the threads in this book, from Doug’s responsibilities to Irving’s job. But we stay in a very slim space and just constantly repeat how much Annie tries to please Doug. I usually don’t get too upset over trigger warnings and such, but this book has so many sexual assault scenes that I couldn’t really enjoy it. I’m going to miss the book discussion due to travel, but that’s okay. I don’t really want to pick apart why I dislike this book. Overall, I felt very icky reading Annie’s story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

Title: Book of M

Author: Peng Shepherd

Publisher: William Morrow 2018

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 489

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Book Club - Told in Non-chronological Order

Set in a dangerous near future world, The Book of M tells the captivating story of a group of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary catastrophe who risk everything to save the ones they love. It is a sweeping debut that illuminates the power that memories have not only on the heart, but on the world itself.

One afternoon at an outdoor market in India, a man’s shadow disappears—an occurrence science cannot explain. He is only the first. The phenomenon spreads like a plague, and while those afflicted gain a strange new power, it comes at a horrible price: the loss of all their memories.

Ory and his wife Max have escaped the Forgetting so far by hiding in an abandoned hotel deep in the woods. Their new life feels almost normal, until one day Max’s shadow disappears too.

Knowing that the more she forgets, the more dangerous she will become to Ory, Max runs away. But Ory refuses to give up the time they have left together. Desperate to find Max before her memory disappears completely, he follows her trail across a perilous, unrecognizable world, braving the threat of roaming bandits, the call to a new war being waged on the ruins of the capital, and the rise of a sinister cult that worships the shadowless.

As they journey, each searches for answers: for Ory, about love, about survival, about hope; and for Max, about a new force growing in the south that may hold the cure.

After reading Shepherd’s later book, The Cartographers, I wasn’t sure that I would like this one. But a ton of people thought I might, and they were right. This is a very thought provoking and moody tale. It reminds me of The Road and The Walking Dead but without the absolute bleakness of those stories. The story starts out pretty straight forward, but becomes weirder and weirder as we go along. At some point, the reader just has to accept the weirdness and keep moving forward. Many aspects of the shadowless are not explained, but that’s not really the point here. The point is an examination of how memories make us, how memories create our identities and allow us to live in the world. I found myself wondering about all the things that make up me. A much more thought provoking book than her later works.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Slipknot "Snuff"

A very old song and yet I pull out old Slipknot and Stone Sour at the most random times.

Adding the acoustic version for you!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #16

As I look outside my window: Very blue skies with no clouds. It’s going to be another scorching hot day.

Right now I am: Making a Target list. We leave for a mini road trip tomorrow and there’s always a few last minute things I need. Right now my list has beach towel, sleep mask, and iced coffee cup (mine got destroyed).

On my bedside table: The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

On my tv this week: We mostly watched our currently airing shows (The Boys, Loot).

Listening to: I jumped back into S9 of the Revolutions podcast. We’re about halfway through the Mexican Revolutions, or should I say revolutions.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Gone

• Tuesday - Gone

• Wednesday - Gone

• Thursday - Crab Curry

• Friday - Tater Tot Casserole

• Saturday - Chickpea Curry

• Sunday - Sweet Potato Nachoes

On my to do list: I started to do another brain dump list. So many random projects that have multiple steps to complete! We’ll see how the list shapes out this week.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Des Moines Road Trip

• Tuesday - Waterloo Road Trip

• Wednesday - Waterloo Road Trip

• Thursday - Coop and Ice Cream Meetup

• Friday - Home Day

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: Nothing much although I did fix my photos for my May and June memory planner. I don’t think I’ll have time to actually print and do anything with them this week.

My simple pleasures: AC, unshelving books that I will never read, reconnecting with friends

Looking around the house: I did a whirlwind clean yesterday so I could come home to a decently clean house. Feeling much better.

From the camera: Very steamy walk on Friday morning, but we did it!

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Title: Rules of Civility

Author: Amor Towles

Publisher: Viking 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 335

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Decades - 1930s

On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

This has been on my shelf for years and yet I kept putting it off. I’ve even read other Towles books before this one. I finally picked it up during my reading retreat and it just didn’t land for me. I was very interested in the time period and entire set up of the book. Unfortunately the best character in this book is the setting. The glimpses we get of NYC in 1937 were dazzling. But there’s where my real enjoyment of this book ended. I couldn’t care about any of the actual characters. I never truly felt like I understood Katey. I really didn’t get her motivations and background. Things that I thought Towles would focus on ended up bing a line here or there. We never really got into the meat of the character. While A Gentleman in Moscow is destined to be one of my favorite books of all time, this one will be quickly forgotten.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Title: Just for the Summer (Part of Your World #3)

Author: Abby Jimenez

Publisher: Forever 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Romantic Comedy

Spice Rating: 4

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work. 

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Another satisfying contemporary romance. Abby Jimenez is one of my go-tos for the simple fact that she writes real people. I feel like I could go and get coffee with any of her characters and it would feel real. I thoroughly enjoyed the romance between Emma and Justin. They are an effortless couple when together. I loved seeing them connect and then work through the hard parts. I loved Sloane’s friendship with Maddy and seeing them grow as friends. I absolutely hated the way that Emm’a mother treated her throughout her life. Truly not a good person at all. I had to take off a point for the absolutely bonkers twist/connection to other books. I thought it was very clunky. Still, I’ll try another Jimenez publishes.

Part of Your World

• #1 Part of Your World

• #2 Yours Truly

• #3 Just for the Summer

Next up on the TBR pile:

Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

Title: Butcher and Blackbird (Ruinous Love #1)

Author: Brynne Weaver

Publisher: Slowburn 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 360

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; She Reads Romance - Romantic Suspense

Spice Rating: 5 1/2 (due to all the murder)

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, they find something elusive—the friendship of two like-minded, pitch-black souls who just happen to enjoy killing otherserial killers.

From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, and from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.

But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love.

Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves?
Or have they finally met their match?

A friend chatted with me about this book thinking that I had recommended it to her. In fact, she just recommended it to me! This book is not for everyone. It is a blend of spicy romance and murder on the page. Read the summary above; that’s what you get. Rowan and Sloane hunt and kill serial killers. They are killers. They find fulfillment and success in life from taking out the worst people they can find. Along the way, they fall in love. I absolutely loved this one. We get great banter and sexual tension. We get a guy who falls first and has to convince the girl he’s worth it. We get a strong independent woman who is only with the guy because she wants him around. And oh boy, we get glimpses into the lives of Rowan’s brothers. I finished this one and immediately went and bought it and the sequel.

Ruinous Love

• #1 Butcher and Blackbird

• #2 Leather and Lark

• #3 Scythe and Sparrow

Next up on the TBR pile:

Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson

Title: Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

Author: Erik Larson

Publisher: Vintage Books 2000

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 323

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Nonfiction Reader

September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people—and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy.

Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude.

In my reading of all of Larson’s books, I somehow his first big book. A reader can tell that this is one of his earlier books. We don’t have quite as robust of a story weaving together plot lines and bringing everything together. As to the story itself, this is a fascinating look at a natural disaster. I loved finding out more about the 1900 Galveston hurricane. Apparently, I have a thing for natural disaster books. I do wish that we had got a bit more insight in Isaac, but I was with all the people of Galveston as they dealt with a horrific tragedy.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #10

Reading: I’m almost finished with the current Nerdy Bookish Friends pick Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. I can’t say that I’m enjoying it, but it is interesting.

Watching: We needed some light viewing and are making our way through S2 of Loot.

Listening: I haven’t started another audiobook and I haven’t listened to many podcasts. So nothing really right now.

Making: We’re putting grilled cheese on the menu this week per a request from the kids.

Feeling: My bookish retreat was last weekend and really recharged me. I’m feeling fairly relaxed right now.

Planning: Next Monday to Wednesday I’m taking the boys to Waterloo, IA for a mini road trip. We’re going to stop in Des Moines on the way. The boys are super excited about the waterpark we are visiting.

Loving: Between the retreat and a lighter activity week, I’m fully invested in lots of reading time.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - While She Sleeps "To the Flowers"

A YouTube discovery for me. Loving the sound.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Title: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Publisher: Knopf Books 2025

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 608

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Books - Secret in Title (totally fudging this one)

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
      The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.
     But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

I remember when this book came out and I was very intrigued, but so busy with other things that I forgot about it. Years later, I picked it up at a used book store and finally started reading it. And I read it in 2 1/2 days. Yep! 600 pages in 2 1/2/ days. I could not put this one down. I had to see what was going to happen. I had to see if Kady and Ezra ever got back together in person. I had to see if the AIDAN just decided to kill everyone. I had to know the outcome of the story. More than anything, this is a space action adventure story. We are dumped right into the action and it never really lets up. Even at the end, we hare hurtling toward the unknown. I loved the mixed media/document style of the book. My favorite parts were the sections of AIDAN’s internal logs. Those were fascinating. This fast paced adventure was exactly what I needed this week to get me out of a bad head space.

The Illuminae Files

• #0.5 Memento

• #1 Illuminae

• #2 Gemina

• #3 Obsidio

Next up on the TBR pile:

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes

Title: Ghost Station

Author: S.A. Barnes

Publisher: Tor Nightfire 2024

Genre: SciFi Horror

Pages: 377

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

An abandoned plant. A hidden past. A deadly danger.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of Eckhart-Reiser syndrome (ERS)—the most famous case of which resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. It's personal to her, and when she's assigned to a small exploration crew who recently suffered the tragic death of a colleague, she wants to help. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that the crew is hiding something.

Ophelia's crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizers' hasty departure than opening up to her.

That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia’s worst nightmare starting—a wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something even more sinister?

Terrified that history will repeat itself, Ophelia and the crew must work together to figure out what’s happening. But trust is hard to come by…and the crew isn’t the only one keeping secrets.

Another proper space horror adventure! I really enjoyed Barnes’s previous book Dead Silence and was hoping with would be another good horror adventure. Thankfully it completely delivers on the promise! Right away we’re introduced to our main characters and have to decide whether or not to trust them. As the plot slowly unravels, we learn more about the characters, their motivations, and their secrets. I really fell for Ophelia and found myself really hoping that she would be a truthful main character. And obviously Severin was positioned as a mysterious and yet intriguing counterpoint. I loved seeing the characters respond to the events on the station. The last 60 pages or so were a wild ride. I was very much there for it until the end. Really enjoyed this adventure.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• And I’m off to the retreat! Right now, I’m prepping to take the boys to swim lessons and then coop before heading out of town. It’s going to be a crazy busy day, but so worth it!

• Speaking of retreat, I had planned on taking 5 physical books with me. I finished my last book abut four days ago and picked one of the 5 to start reading. I finished it in two days and then another in two days. Ooops! At least I’m reading from my shelves!

• Cannot wait to visit some new indie bookstores on Friday. One is a romance book store and I’m very much here for it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Morningside by Téa Obreht

Title: The Morningside

Author: Téa Obreht

Publisher: Random House 2024

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 304

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.

After being expelled from their ancestral home in a not-so-distant future, Silvia and her mother finally settle at the Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower in a place called Island City where Silvia’s aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family’s past, and because the once-vibrant city where she lives is now half-underwater. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place where she was born and spent her early years, nor does she fully understand why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an opening: a person willing to give the young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia’s lonely and impoverished reality.

Enchanted by Ena’s stories, Silvia begins seeing the world with magical possibilities and becomes obsessed with the mysterious older woman who lives in the penthouse of the Morningside. Bezi Duras is an enigma to everyone in the building: She has her own elevator entrance and leaves only to go out at night and walk her three massive hounds, often not returning until the early morning. Silvia’s mission to unravel the truth about this woman’s life, and her own haunted past, may end up costing her everything.

This was my other pick for the retreat book club discussion. I was very intrigued by the summary but feel like this one left me a little flat. I couldn’t quite decide what this book was really about. On the surface, we shoved into a world ravaged by climate change. We follow a family of refugees as they try to find a place on the new island. We touch on the effects of climate change, social upheaval, and economic downturn. At times, the author really hammers home the realities of a breakdown in society. All of that was very interesting and kept me reading. But the characters were so hard to root for! The entire time, Silvia’s mother keeps everything so close that we never really get to know her. I struggled to connect with any of the main characters. They seemed to lack depth and substance. And finally we throw in a dash of magical realism. I was not a fan of that portion of the book. It seemed out of place and not well-fleshed out a theme. I wanted more from this book. Looking forward to discussing at the retreat this weekend.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Blood by Jen Gunter

Title: Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation

Author: Jen Gunter

Publisher: Citadel 2024

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 480

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Reader; 52 Book Club - Nonfiction Recommended by a Friend

Most women can expect to have hundreds of periods in a lifetime. So why is real information so hard to find? Despite its significance, most education about menstruation focuses either on increasing the chances of pregnancy or preventing it. And while both are crucial, women deserve to know more about their bodies than just what happens in service to reproduction. At a time when charlatans, politicians, and even some doctors are succeeding in propagating damaging misinformation and disempowering women, Dr. Jen provides the antidote with science, myth busting, and no-nonsense facts.

Not knowing how your body works makes it challenging to advocate for yourself. Consequently, many suffer in silence thinking their bodies are uniquely broken, or they turn to disreputable sources. Blood is a practical, empowering guide to what’s typical, what’s concerning, and when to seek care—recounted with expertise and frank, fearless wit that have made Dr. Jen today’s most trusted voice in women’s health.

Dr. Jen answers all your period-related questions, including: What exactly happens during menstruation? How heavy is too heavy? How much should periods hurt? and provides essential information. Blood is about much more than biology. It’s an all-in-one, revolutionary guide that will change the way we think about, talk about—and don’t talk about—our bodies and our well-being.

Another amazingly informative yet very readable science text from Jen Gunter. I had previous read her older book, The Vagina Bible, and recommended it every single person I knew. I picked this later book up and remember why I enjoy her weighty tomes so much. Gunter writes with clarity and conciseness with a bit of a humor. Even in the most complicated medical sections, the reader can easily follow the explanations. I learned so much from this book. I can’t wait to pick up her other book about menopause next month.

Next up on the TBR pile: