My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

Title: My Killer Vacation

Author: Tessa Bailey

Publisher: Avon 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 290

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Sleuth Street (Thriller/Mystery where main character is a detective or PI)

It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in sweet, sunny Cape Cod—just Taylor and her beloved brother—but discovering a corpse in their rental house has really thrown a wrench into their tanning schedule. Now a rude, crude bounty hunter has arrived on the back of his motorcycle to catch the killer and refuses to believe Taylor can be helpful, despite the countlesshours she's spent listening to true crime podcasts. Not to mention her fulfilling teaching career of wrangling second graders.

A brash bounty hunter and an energetic elementary school teacher: the murder-solving team no one asked for, but thanks to these pesky attempts on Taylor's life, they're stuck together, come hell or high tide.

Myles is just there to do a job, not babysit an amateur sleuth. Although…it is becoming less and less of a hardship to have Taylor around. Sure, she’s stubborn, distracting and can’t stay out of harm’s way. She’s also brave and beautiful and reminds him of the home he left behind three years ago. In other words, the insatiable hunger and protectiveness she is awakening is a threat to his peace of mind. Before Myles sinks any deeper into this dangerous attraction, he needs to solve this murder and get back on the road.

But will fate take her from him before Myles realize the road has been leading to her all along?

Another Tessa Bailey book that I actually enjoyed! Imagine that! This was breezy and light full of fun banter and interactions between the main character and crazy steamy scenes. There’s not much to this book, but it really helped me recover from reading multiple serious books in a row. I needed something that didn’t make me think a lot, but that I enjoyed reading and wanted to keep picking up This is the book. Taylor is a bit of a mess, but a non-annoying mess. I loved her interactions with her brother, but it was the madcap murder mystery that keep me with her character. And Myles is just so darn smoking hot with his surliness and sunglasses. I immediately fell for him! Nothing too ground-breaking, but a great little quick read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: The Beautiful and Damned

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publisher: 1922

Genre: Classics

Pages: 422

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; Unread Shelf - Enough; 52 Book Club - Set in Roaring Twenties

The Beautiful and Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, tells the story of Anthony Patch, a 1920s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune, the relationship with his wife Gloria, his service in the army, and alcoholism. Anthony and Gloria are young and gorgeous, rich and leisured and they dedicate their lives to the pursuit of happiness and we follow the intimate story of their marriage as it disintegrates under the weight of their expectations, fuelled by dissipation, jealousy and aimlessness.

This one was a slog! I absolutely adore The Great Gatsby, and was wanting to cover Fitzgerald’s other major works. Everything about this one feels so clunky. We are bogged down in lots of chapters detailing Anthony’s life before the meat of the story starts. Once he mets Gloria, things become marginally better. But Fitzgerald really takes too many tangents and asides. The core of the story gets much too muddled and confusing. He definitely became a much more concise writer later. I finished this one, but would not recommend to others.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W25: Mad Scramble Disrupted My Life

What We Studied

(See my Low later on to explain the title of this post.) In general, we flew through a ton of curriculum. In fact, I’m getting a little concern that we are going to run out of our current curriculum choices soon. I may need to pull some unit studies and extra stuff to throw in soon.

Literature and Poetry

We ended up only getting about 60% of the way through the coop book club selection before we gave up. It just did not work for us at all! In fact, it didn’t work for any of our book club families, so we were in good company. We picked up the next selection and thankfully it is so much better right away.

• Argos by Ralph Hardy

• The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

We finished with our read aloud. As next week is a Flex Week, we are actually going to take a break before tackling Shakespeare.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We started the next in the Pooh series and will be sprinkling in the stories when we don’t have a country specific book.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). Arthur finished 4B last week. We will be taking a break and doing a review course before moving onto 5A. Quentin is close to finishing 1A and we are planning on jumping right into 1B afterwards.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

• Singapore 1A

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• What the Eagle Sees

• A is for Abigail: F for First Ladies

• Smart About the First Ladies

• Race to Chimney Rock by Jesse Wiley

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We started Africa and covered North Africa.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Africa by Mel Friedman

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

• A Visit to Grandad: An African ABC by Sade Fadipe & Shedrach Ayalomeh

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales

• Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill: An African Mother Goose by Virginia Kroll

• The Storyteller by Evan Turk

• Follow Me Around Egypt by Wiley Blevins

• Living in Egypt by Chloe Perkins

• The Arabic Quilt by Aya Khalil

Straw Tower Time!

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. Our joint science class was cancelled due to sickness with the other family. We covered electromagnetism at home and watched a few episodes of Bill Nye: The Science Guy.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We continued watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• The Amazing African Alphabet by Kristina Jones

Arthur made a game

STEAM Coop

Both groups continued the Engineering Challenge. The big kids made straw towers. It was a heated competition right until the end. The oldest group will be doing a different challenge each week. The youngest kiddos made a marble run with toilet paper rolls.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy.

Field Trip

No field trip this week.

Can you find Quentin?

High

• We had our first Nature Explorers meeting at Hummel Park this week. It was super cold, but the kids had fun exploring with friends.

Low

• Construction began on our nearby main street and caused some massive issues. No big deal, but then random no parking signs appeared all up and down my street. No parking 24/7 until October 30th. Um what!?!?! I was supposed to host coop on Thursday, but people would have to park on street. I had to scramble and we switched to another’s house, but I was very upset. Thankfully by the end of this week, they clarified the signs. There is now no parking on the north side of my street, but we can still park on the south side. So coop is now back at our house for next week.

Next Week

• Flex Week! We are catching up on some units and adding more games, outings, and documentaries.

Arthur contemplating going down the slide…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Fall Out Boy "Love from the Other Side"

New music from Fall Out Boy! It feels like it’s 2007, but I’m totally here for it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #9

On my bedside table: My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey; Acid for the Children by Flea

On my tv this week: We started the new season of The Mandalorian and A History of the World Part II. I started S3 of Lego Masters and will be slowly working my way through the season over the next few weeks.

Listening to: Along with a mix of music and randomness, I’ve been focusing on very old episodes of 99PI. The earliest episodes are only about 6 minutes a piece. They’re easy to knock out while puzzling for a bit.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Baked Fish with Lemon Butter and Capers

• Tuesday - Chili and Cornbread

• Wednesday - Roast Pork Cubano

• Thursday - Monterrey Chicken Skillet

• Friday - Ham and Potato Soup

• Saturday - Leftovers

• Sunday - Teriyaki Chicken

On my to do list: Some medical appointments need to be made, plus I have a list of coop tasks to tackle this week.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Home Day

• Tuesday - Stinky Cheese Man @ The Rose; Drop Off Meals to a Friend

• Wednesday - Science Class

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - Neale Woods Winter Hike; Lit Society

• Saturday - Homeschool Seminar

• Sunday - Currently Reading Zoom Discussion for Station Eternity

What I am creating: Nothing at the moment, but I do need to start working on my February Memory Planner pages.

My simple pleasures: Time with friends, puzzle time, good podcasts

Looking around the house: The boys cleaned up the playroom, so things are better looking. I should do a deep clean of the kitchen counters, but meh activities today may push that task to Monday.

From the camera: Can you spot Quentin in the woods?

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Title: The Mountain in the Sea

Author: Ray Nayler

Publisher: MCD 2022

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 464

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Book “Everyone” has Read

Rumors begin to spread of a dangerous species of hyperintelligent octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. The marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them.

The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed off the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where the octopuses were discovered, from the rest of world. Dr. Nguyen travels to the islands to join DIANIMA’s team: a battle-scarred security agent and the world’s first android.

One of those books that the Currently Reading Podcast made me read. Sometimes their recommendations really miss the mark for me, but I was intrigued by the little summary that I heard and I’m always up for an interesting science fiction. It took me about 30 pages to get into the flow of this book and then I was hooked. I didn’t really love any of the characters, except maybe Evrim, but I really enjoyed the storyline and all the questions it sparked. This book is more focused on philosophy and science than character and plot. Think more of Arrival without the emotional story about the daughter. I was fascinated by the ways in which humanity’s actions have changed the course of life in the oceans. We get lots of discussions about evolution and the value of life. We get to talk a lot about how language and communication creates community and connection. I probably could have done without the storyline about the hacker, but understand why it was included. I really just wanted to spend more time with Ha and Evrim on Con Dao. Beautiful book heavy on the science.

Next up on the TBR pile:

About that Kiss by Jill Shalvis

Title: About that Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5)

Author: Jill Shalvis

Publisher: Avon 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 349

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

When love drives you crazy . . .

When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with unique finder-and-fixer skills that can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.

the best thing to do . . .

No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.

… is enjoy the ride.

As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.

I’m pretty meh about this volume. I wasn’t super excited about seeing Kylie and Joe’s romance. Kylie didn’t have a big personality in the previous books and I didn’t think she was going to be that interesting once we got her book. And I was right. Joe wasn’t really any more interesting. I just didn’t really buy their romance and attraction together. I want’ed more tension and build up to their romance. the big plot driving mystery didn’t quite do it for me. I didn’t really feel any suspense.

Heartbreaker Bay

• #1 Sweet Little Lies

• #2 The Trouble with Mistletoe

• #2.5 One Snowy Night

• #3 Accidentally on Purpose

• #4 Chasing Christmas Eve

• #4.5 Holiday Wishes

• #5 About That Kiss

• #6 Hot Winter Nights

• #6.5 Just Say When

• #7 Playing for Keeps

• #8 Wrapped Up in You

• #8.5 Twist of Fate

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Title: The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Author: Roshani Chokshi

Publisher: William Morrow & Company 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Featuring Mythology

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after—and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.

I had such high hopes for this book. I was very intrigued by the idea of a reverse Bluebeard story with lots of references to fairy tales and mythology. Unfortunately, this particular book really fell flat for me. Super disappointing as I have loved Chokshi’s Aru Shah series for middle grade. Back to this book… I enjoyed the descriptive prose for about 1/3 of the book. And then it got really repetitive and distracting. The prose seemed to mask the fact that there is no real plot and the characters are all terrible. I had to force myself to keep reading this book. Every time I put it down, I simultaneously felt relief (for not reading it anymore) and despair (after effects of reading the book). The summary really made this book sound like the perfect one for me, but it turns out that I was bored almost the entire time.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #4

Reading: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler - I’m so in deep into this science fiction adventure. It’s so good.

Watching: We’re finishing Brave New World and it’s just so dramatic.

Listening: I finally downloaded the Gorillaz new album. Definitely a masterpiece.

Making: Instead of scones, I’m making banana bread this week. I might end up making a chocolate chip version also.

Feeling: I had my birthday day out on Sunday and I’m feeling refreshed.

Planning: With the huge increase in attendees, I’m updating my games plan. We’re going to spread out the activities and maybe make some new games.

Loving: I did a bit of shopping on Sunday and bought some pieces to update my closet. I ended up with just some basic pieces, but they should be good replacements for some things that are being worn out.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W24: Quite a Normal Week

What We Studied

It was a simple normal week. Nothing too out of the ordinary or special. But sometimes, that’s exactly what we need. We need the routine and the ordinary.

Literature and Poetry

We finally started the coop book club selection. It’s not exactly a favorite, but we’ll keep plugging along.

• Argos by Ralph Hardy

We continued with our read aloud and will finish early next week. This has not been my favorite of our read aloud, but it has been an interesting read. I need to decide on our next one before we move on to Shakespeare.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• One World, Many Religions by Mary Pope Osborne

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• Emily Dickinson: Letters to the World by Jeanette Winter

• The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We started the next in the Pooh series and will be sprinkling in the stories when we don’t have a country specific book.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

• Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). Arthur finished 4B this week. We will be taking a break and doing a review course before moving onto 5A.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4B

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

• Singapore 1A

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We moved onto James Monroe and John Quincy Adams. We’ll be moving onto Andrew Jackson and Indian Removal.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• What the Eagle Sees

• A is for Abigail: F for First Ladies

• Smart About the First Ladies

• James Monroe by Mike Venezia

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We’re continuing with our Asian country study. We covered more of Asia and moved into the Middle East. We wrapped up Asia with this week.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Riding a Donkey Backwards: Wise and Foolish Tales of Mulla Nasruddin retold by Sean Taylor

• What About Me? by Ed Young

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. Continuing our physic study with lessons on atoms and sensors. We talked electrical circuits this week.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We started watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

STEAM Coop

Both groups started the Engineering Challenge. The big kids made houses out of various materials while the littles made bridges out of straws. The oldest group will be doing a different challenge each week.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy.

Field Trip

We had a zoo day with a few friends. We hit our favorite places and even got to see the baby elephants. The third elephant calf was born two days after our visit.

High

• Friday we had lovely 3 mile hike at Schramm with some friends. It was strenuous, but it felt nice to get outside for a few hours.

Low

• We attempted a mini golfing and things were very difficult. The boys were not interested in listening to my instructions or advance but kept getting frustrated by not making their shots. It was a trying afternoon.

Next Week

• Finishing a new read aloud (A)

• Starting a math review workbook (A)

• Covering our next unit for physics

• Moving to Jackson and Indian Removal for US History

• Maybe planning a random outing

• Joining the first Nature Explorers meeting

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Talk "Run Away to Mars"

There’s something about the voice that really draws me in. I could listen to this song on repeat.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #8

As I look outside my window: It’s bright and sunny and going to be in the low 60s today.

Right now I am: Grabbing my things to head out to my Birthday Day Out. First stop is Starbucks for my free birthday drink.

Thinking and pondering: Where exactly am I going to go today? I have a list of potentials and probables, but I try to just let the mood take me from place to place.

On my bedside table: The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald; VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

On my tv this week: We’re still making our way through Brave New World. There’s so much in each episode.

Listening to: I finally remembered to download the new Gorillaz album, Cracker Island. Oh so incredibly good. We listened to the entire album to and from our hike on Friday.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Spicy Shrimp Burrito Bowl

• Tuesday - Teriyaki Salmon

• Wednesday - Sesame Chicken

• Thursday - Sloppy Joes

• Friday - Leftovers

• Saturday - Chicken and Dumplings

• Sunday - Chicken Shawarma Fries

On my to do list: I’m taking the weekend off of to dos, but I imagine that I need to look at the list on Monday.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Grocery Run

• Tuesday - Home Day

• Wednesday - Science Class; Music Bingo

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - Nature Explorers; Coop Happy Hour

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Coop Book Club

What I am creating: I want to start on my February Memory Planner pages this week. I also want to start pulling paper for the retreat name tags

My simple pleasures: A day out by myself is exactly what I needed right now.

From the camera: Happy Birthday dinner to me. This was actually supposed to be tonight, but I totally forgot to start the Crock Pot yesterday, so last night it was.

The Stranded by Sarah Daniels

Title: The Stranded

Author: Sarah Daniels

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire 2022

Genre: YA Sci-fi

Pages: 450

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Dystopian Fiction

Welcome to the Arcadia.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States―a leftover piece of a fractured USA.

For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.

Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.

When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever...

Another Currently Reading made me pick it up, but unlike the last one, this book did not land for me at all. Red flag #1: this is a Young Adult thriller. Somehow I totally missed this fact and came into the book expecting something very different. YA Thrillers are not usually my cup of tea and this definitely fits into that. Red flag #2: the main female protagonist is incredibly annoying. I could not stand her at all. And she never really grew throughout the book. I could not at all. Red flag #3: I never could really understand the world and why the rebellion was happening. Things just didn’t make sense to me at all. Random red flag #4: I somehow got through most of the book before realizing that Hadley was a full adult, and not the same age as Esther and Nik as I thought. The end result was a bit of a mess and a massive cliffhanger on the last page. I really really disliked this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

Title: Station Eternity (The Midsolar Murders #1)

Author: Mur Lafferty

Publisher: Ace 2022

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 457

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Chapters Have Cliffhangers

Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes.

From idyllic small towns to claustrophobic urban landscapes, Mallory Viridian is constantly embroiled in murder cases that only she has the insight to solve. But outside of a classic mystery novel, being surrounded by death doesn’t make you a charming amateur detective, it makes you a suspect and a social pariah. So when Mallory gets the opportunity to take refuge on a sentient space station, she thinks she has the solution. Surely the murders will stop if her only company is alien beings. At first her new existence is peacefully quiet…and markedly devoid of homicide.
 
But when the station agrees to allow additional human guests, Mallory knows the break from her peculiar reality is over. After the first Earth shuttle arrives, and aliens and humans alike begin to die, the station is thrown into peril. Stuck smack-dab in the middle of an extraterrestrial whodunit, and wondering how in the world this keeps happening to her anyway, Mallory has to solve the crime—and fast—or the list of victims could grow to include everyone on board….

The Currently Reading Podcast and Schuler Books made me pick up this book! I was very intrigued by a murder mystery on a space station that only a few human (and lots of aliens) inhabit. We are thrown into Mallory’s life on Station Eternity without a life raft. We have to navigate the quickly changing situation all the while meeting new characters and even new alien species. We start to get a handle on her life when a murder occurs and a station disaster and some people from Mallory’s past all pop up in very unexpected places. From there, it is nonstop until the end. The pace alternates between quieter backstory chapters and frantic action-packed chapters in the present. We have to work with Mallory and Xan to solve a murder and understand all the connections that are present on this space station. My favorite parts of this book were the descriptions and depictions of the alien races, especially the concept of the sentient space station. It was a mix of Star Trek: DS9 and Farscape for me. I will definitely be putting the sequel on my future TBR.

The Midsolar Murders

• #1 Station Eternity

• #2 Chaos Terminal

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• it’s week one of the engineering challenge I’m teaching for the oldest group. We’re building houses out of a variety of materials this week.

• I really need to meal plan for the rest of the month.

• Getting very excited for this Sunday and my birthday day out. Still working out my itinerary…

Next up on the TBR pile:

March 2023 Life Goals

Let’s check in on February’s goals and my progress.

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Get Back into Our School/Social Routine ✓

• Plan Another Homeschool Seminar ✓

• Set Up Coop Events for February through March ✓

• Go on Four Winter Hikes - Not quite. The weather conspired against us.

March Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Make Progress on Planning the Retreat

• Make a Watch List for TV and Movies

• Preliminary Planning on a Family Weekend Trip

Next up on the TBR pile: