The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score

Title: The Christmas Fix (Fixer #2)

Author: Lucy Score

Publisher: Bloom Books 2017

Genre: Romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Spice Rating: 5

She'll save Christmas just to spite him…

There's only one thing standing in the way of Cat King saving Merry, Connecticut's Christmas festival: Grumpy town manager Noah Yates.

Single dad Noah takes his responsibilities seriously. When a late season hurricane turns his town into a disaster, he's left scrambling to pick up the pieces of the town he loves.

At least, until home renovation expert and reality TV star Catalina King arrives with a camera crew and a budget big enough to put the town back together again. But Noah doesn't want a celebrity diva capitalizing on their tragedy or filling his young daughter's head with visions of glitz and glam.

Blonde bombshell Cat is used to being underestimated, but Noah has an uncanny knack for getting under her skin. They can't be in a room together without rubbing each other the wrong way…except that time in the dark alley where the rubbing was just right. Can these enemies work together to pull off a Christmas miracle or will their fighting leave them both on the naughty list?

What do we get if we mix a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, HGTV, and a lot of steamy scenes? A rocking good time! I really really loved this one for my holiday reading. Cat is a take-no-nonsense driven career woman who butts up against a stick-in-the-mud small town leader. I loved seeing Noah and Cat go from hating each other’s guts to making out everywhere in the small town of Merry. A great romance full of amazing banter with a heartwarming story running underneath. I might just have to go and read the first one in this duology. Love the fun writing and steamy scenes!

Fixer

#1 Mr. Fixer Upper
#2 The Christmas Fix

Next up on the TBR pile:

Bad Bachelor by Stefanie London

Title: Bad Bachelor (Bad Bachelors #1)

Author: Stefanie London

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Spice Meter : 5

He says…

If one more person mentions Bad Bachelors to me, someone's gonna get hurt. Who thought this app would be a good idea? Like dating isn't hard enough without being critiqued for every little misstep. My name is Reed McMahon and I'm supposedly a PR whiz and "image fixer," but now I need some help cleaning up my own image.

She says…

When Reed strolls into my workplace offering to help save the struggling library, I'm not buying his story. I'm Darcy Greer, a no-nonsense Brooklynite who knows Reed is exactly the kind of guy to be avoided. I've seen the app, and Bad Bachelor #1 has no place in my life. However, the library doesneed his help, and this guy needs to make some serious amends, so who am I to stop him? If only he didn't work so hard to find redemption…

A probably ultimately forgetful romance, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. Enemies to lovers is my top favorite romance trope and this book really leaned into that. We also get a bit of opposites attract and forced proximity throughout the book. Darcy and Reed are a fun couple to watch argue and make up. The sexy scenes are appropriately steamy while seeming very natural to their relationship. This one was a good read for the week, but sadly, not a good choice for February’s Dirty Book Club Month selection.

Bad Bachelors

#1 Bad Bachelor
#2 Bad Reputation
#3 Bad Influence

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews

Title: A Holiday by Gaslight

Author: Mimi Matthews

Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press 2018

Genre: Holiday Romance

Pages: 175

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Spice Meter: 1

A Courtship of Convenience

Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He's grim and silent. A man of little emotion--or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she's ready to put an end to things.

A Last Chance for Love

But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn't as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there's Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What's a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one last chance to win her? Only this time there'll be no false formality. This time they'll get to know each other for who they really are.

Cute little Christmas romance story. I enjoyed the setting and a slightly different time than the usual Regency romances I read. But mostly, I really enjoyed the communication between Ned and Sophie. It’s refreshing to see two main characters talk to each other instead of relying on miscommunication.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

So so busy… I feel like we haven’t been home for school very much this week.
The new season of Slow Horses is absolutely amazing! It’s so hard to wait each week for the next episode.
I really need to drop off two bags of library books today. We need to slowly turn all our library books back in before we leave for Indiana.
Couldn’t resist the holiday treats at Aldis this week. Oh so good.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Title: Whalefall

Author: Daniel Kraus

Publisher: MTV Books 2023

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 327

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.

The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.

Another mediocre read for me this week. I picked this up on th suggestion of a couple of lists with new horror style books for 2023. Ultimately, I wasn’t a huge fan. This read more like a thriller with long chapters of flashbacks and introspection. We didn’t get a sense of building dread that I really love in my horror novels. Instead, the whale swallows Jay pretty quickly and then we slowly have to follow his stream of consciousness and struggle to survive. There are a few parts that turned extremely gory, like even I was a bit grossed out. Overall, I just don’t think I really connected to this story and ended up with a “Meh” reaction at the end.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar

Title: Counting the Cost

Author: Jill Duggar

Publisher: Gallery Books 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 288

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Jill and Derick knew a normal life wasn’t possible for them. As a star on the popular TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, Jill grew up in front of viewers who were fascinated by her family’s way of life. She was the responsible, second daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle’s nineteen kids; always with a baby on her hip and happy to wear the modest ankle-length dresses with throat-high necklines. She didn’t protest the strict model of patriarchy that her family followed, which declares that men are superior, that women are expected to be wives and mothers and are discouraged from attaining a higher education, and that parental authority over their children continues well into adulthood, even once they are married.

But as Jill got older, married Derick, and they embarked on their own lives, the red flags became too obvious to ignore.

For as long as they could, Jill and Derick tried to be obedient family members—they weren’t willing to rock the boat. But now they’re raising a family of their own, and they’re done with the secrets. Thanks to time, tears, therapy, and blessings from God, they have the strength to share their journey. Theirs is a remarkable story of the power of the truth and is a moving example of how to find healing through honesty.

I succumbed to publishing peer pressure and grabbed this one from the library shelves. I ended up pretty disappointed in this read, but wasn’t sure exactly why. Of course, I don’t believe in an higher power, but I don’t think that was my problem. The more I examined my thoughts, I can down to a few aspects that I did not like. The biggest of these is that it feels like Jill has not done enough reflection to see her upbringing clearly. She maintains that her childhood was overall very good. It’s only in the last sections of the book that she questions the authority model for her entire family. But the examination is cursory. I’m not asking her to turn her back on her entire family or faith, but clearly there were a lot of concerning situations and models that she just glosses over. I don’t need details of the abuse she suffered, but she seems to dismiss it throughout most of the book and only brings it up when discussing the financial compensation. Perhaps this book would have more reflection and nuance if it had been written five years in the future. It seems that she is too close to the situation to see clearly right now.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W14-15: Thanksgiving Break was Needed

What We Studied

Two weeks of activities and school. Overall, I’m amazed at how much school we actually accomplished. Only a few more weeks until Christmas break. Getting those last lessons.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur started and finished his next read aloud. He enjoyed it, but I did forget about how many weird God references are in that book. I really gloss over those things. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

Poetry for Young People: American Poetry
Reading Explorer: Intro
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Quentin got back into the Blossom & Root curriculum with two tales and their variations. I’m really enjoying the format for this year. He also worked on some basic grammar.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Pumpkin Butterfly: Poems from the Other Side of Nature by Heidi Mordhorst
Fairy Tales Collection
The Other Side of the Story
Little Red Riding Hood by Paul Galdone
Lon Po Po by Ed Young
Red by Jed Alexander
Little Red Ruthie by Gloria Koster
Little Red Riding Sheep by Linda Ravin Lodding
The Girl and the Wolf by Katherena Vermette
The Wolf's Story by Toby Forward
Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alec T. Smith
Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz
Werewolf? There Wolf! by Kyle Sullivan
Tango Red Riding Hood by Rachel S. Hobbs
Little Red Riding Hood and the Misread Wolf by Troy Wilson
Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon by Ying Chang Compestine
Very Little Red Riding Hood by Heapy & Heap
The Other Side of the Story: Little Red Riding Hood
Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins
Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood by Mike Artell
Yummy by Lucy Cousins
Henny Penny by Paul Galdone
The Sky is Falling by Mark Teague
Henny Penny by Vivian French
The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night by Peter Spier
Flossie and the Fox by Patricia McKissack
Basho and the River Stones by Tim J Myers
Fox: A Circle of Life Story by Isabel Thomas
Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike by Cynthia Rylant
The Great Gran Plan by Elli Woollard
Watch Out for Wolf! by Anica Mrose Rissi
Redlocks and the Three Bears by Claudia Rueda
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
The Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney
The Little Red Hen by Jerry Pinkney
The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier
The Grasshopper's Song by Nikki Giovanni and Chris Raschka
The Little Red Hen by Margot Zemach
Rapunzel by Barbara Rogasky
Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox
Petrosinella: A Neapolitan Rapunzel by Diane Stanley
Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel by Patricia Storace
Rapunzel by Bethan Woollvin
Really Rapunzel Needed a Haircut by Jessica Gunderson
Rapunzel Let Down Your Zip Wire by Jasmine Brooke

Math

Arthur continued to dive into Singapore 5A. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. We’ve moved onto new skills dealing with multiplying and dividing fractions. Time for me to relearn some math! We also continued our next logic book.

Singapore Common Core 5A
Orbiting with Logic

Quentin’s all about review right now. I don’t anticipate starting Singapore 2A until January. We also continued our logic book.

Lollipop Logic Book 3
Tinkeractive Math Grade 1

Social Studies

Arthur covered more about immigration, specifically Japanese immigration. We also covered the inventions and presidents of the late 1800s. We did a specific lesson on the Statue of Liberty.

DK American History
We were There Too! Young People in US History
Words that Build a Nation
Heart and Soul
Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
A Different Mirror for Young People
This is Our Land: A History of American Immigration
Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers
Let Liberty Rise! How America's Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty by Chana Stiefel
Liberty Arrives! How America's Grandest Statue Found Her Home by Robert Byrd

Quentin learned about the ancient Meosamerican cultures including the Maya.

History Quest Early Times
DK When on Earth?
Human Wold
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK A Child Through Time
A History of Western Art
DK Science Year by Year
DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories
The Ancient World: Ancient Maya by Barbara A. Somervill
The Ancient Maya by Jackie Maloy
The Genius of the Maya by Izzi Howell
The Mystery of the Maya: Uncovering the Lost City of Palenque by Peter Lourie

Science

Arthur started covering the first couple of elements on the Periodic Table. We’ll be doing this for the next couple of weeks for Chemistry. We also caught back up with our Story of Science chapters.

RSO Chemistry
DK Super Simple Chemistry
Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim
DK The Elements

Quentin moved to invertebrates and covered fish and amphibians.

RSO Life
DK Oversimple Biology
Fish by Isabel Martin
DK Eyewitness Fish
Fish by Christine Taylor-Butler
Do You Know About Amphibians by Buffy Silverman
Amphibians by Christine Taylor-Butler

STEAM Coop

Arthur continued his exploration of board games. By the end of the six weeks, the kids will have created their own board games. We started our board game construction. Quentin’s class finished their exploration of Native Americans.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We got back into it covering three artists (Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Vincent Van Gogh) and three composers (Johann Sebastian Bach, Mozart, and Brahms). I’m working these subjects in as we can, but proud of our progress so far. They are always the first on the chopping block if we run out of time during the week.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw
13 American Artists Children Should Know
A Child's Introduction to Art
Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky
Iconic Composers by Nicholas Csicsko & Emi Ferguson
Johann Sebastian Bach by Mike Venezia
The Piano by Marika Maijala and Juha Virta
Becoming Bach by Tom Leonard
13 Art Movements Children Should Know
13 Artists Children Should Know
Monet Paints a Day by Julie Danneberg
Claude Monet by Mike Venezia
Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Impressionism: 13 Artists Children Should Know
Johannes Brahms by Mike Venezia
Vincent Van Gogh by Mike Venezia
The Yellow House by Susan Goldman Rubin
Vincent’s Colors by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Katie's Starry Night
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Mike Venezia
Mozart: Great Lives in Graphics
Play, Mozart, Play by Peter Sis
Mary Cassatt: Extraordinary Impressionist Painter by Barbara Herkert
Mary Cassatt by Mike Venezia
Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

Field Trip

Not a field trip, we did have a fun playdate at Backyard Playworld with some friends.

High

We took a cold, but lovely walk at Heron Haven on Black Friday. It was the perfect choice for the day after Thanksgiving. Bonus, there was no one else there.

Low

We actually didn’t really have a low point this two weeks. Taking a few days off for the Thanksgiving break really helped.

Next Week

Starting a new read aloud
Covering more classic tales
Learning about area and perimeter for math (A)
Lots of math review (Q)
Covering specific elements on the Periodic table
Engaging in a few fun field trips

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Beartooth "Might Love Myself"

Another good one from Beartooth!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #35

As I look outside my window: It’s pretty gray and dreary today. And I think the temps are going to hover in the 30s. It’s definitely an inside day.

Right now I am: Getting ready to dive into a new book. I love it when I finish a book at bedtime. It’s lovely to start the morning with a new book.

On my bedside table: All those holiday romances… I’ve got a physical stack and a Kindle stack.

On my tv this week: We wrapped up our first Nic Cage Quarterly with 18 movies watched! With the start of December, we started with the new Doctor Who specials and S3 of Slow Horses.

Listening to: All the usual podcasts. Nothing too new or exciting.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Me out
Tuesday - BBQ Cheddar Meatloaf
Wednesday - Our
Thursday - Firecracker Chicken
Friday - Black Bean Soup and Ranch Chicken Tacos
Saturday - Me Out
Sunday - Chicken n Dumplings

On my to do list: A lot of prep work for spring semester of coop; Christmas prep; random cleaning projects…

Happening this week:

Monday - Coffee with potential coop families; Chemistry Class; Book Club
Tuesday - State Capitol Tour; Lost in Fun
Wednesday - Medieval Putt; Santa Rock n Lights
Thursday - Coop; Lit Society
Friday - Rudolph Performance; Fontenelle Forest Hike
Saturday - Book and Bottle Exchange for book club
Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: Working on November’s Memory Planner pages. I also want to gather materials for this year’s December Daily album.

My simple pleasures: Hot chocolate (without cow’s milk!); breezy and fun books

Looking around the house: We need to do a quick pick-up before coop book club this afternoon. And I would really like to do a deep clean of the kitchen, but that’s probably not going to happen today.

From the camera: Q insisted on doing art and music with his pandas.

Snowed In for Christmas by Jaqueline Snowe

Title: Snowed in for Christmas

Author: Jaqueline Snowe

Publisher: Forever 2023

Genre: Holiday Romance

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - The Gym (cheating a bit as I don’t have long romance books, but the MMC is a football coach, so I’m counting it)

Spice Rating: 5

Sorority mom Becca Fairfield is used to guys not taking her seriously. She’s too blond, too quirky, or Just. Too. Much.So she’s ditched dating to focus on her job and a house filled with drama and plenty of tea. Now with the holidays and a major blizzard on her doorstep, Becca has everything she needs to survive the next two weeks on her own. Hot cocoa, plenty of books . . . and the memory of a steamy kiss with a certain sexy, grumposaurus next-door neighbor to keep her warm.

Only Becca’s seriously underestimated this Snowpocalypse. So when the power goes out and Harrison Cooper—football coach, master crank, and the guy who acted mega-awkward after said steamy kiss—offers her shelter, it only makes sense to accept. They’ll just be Blizzard Buddies. Hang out, stay safe, and maybe indulge in a little R-rated cuddling. Becca knows that Harrison isn’t the dating kind, and what happens during the storm lasts only as long as the storm. But are they keeping warm . . . or playing with fire?

Very sweet and a little spicy Christmas romance. I usually hate the miscommunication trope, but this one did not bother me as much. It wasn’t so much miscommunication as no communication. But the main characters fairly quickly sort that out. Plus we get forced proximity and one bed! I do enjoy those tropes a lot. Overall this was a breezy and fun Christmas themed romance for my week.