Here's my randomness for the week:
My reading has slowed down a bit… probably for the best.
The fake spring is lulling me into false sense of security.
Nic Cage Quarterly is moving slowly. We’ve hit a string of very serious movies and just cannot watch them back to back.
We really need to head to the library and grocery this afternoon.
I’m doing much better with reading my own books along with the library selections.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: A Fragile Enchantment
Author: Allison Saft
Publisher: Wednesday Books 2024
Genre: YA Romantasy
Pages: 373
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - New Adult Romance; Library Love
Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.
But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous gossip columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible..
I’m not exactly sure why I picked this one up to read. I had previously read another of Saft’s books and was pretty disappointed in it. In fact, my biggest complaint was that “We get a YA fantasy set in a fictional world but with parallels to the religious divides in our own world. All through the book I was confused as to why were were coding the different groups with fictionalized words and practices instead of just making a direct comparison.” This one isn’t about religious divides but instead nationalistic divides. Niamh is clearly from British controlled Ireland with Kit being of the British royal family. Infanta Rosa is clearly from Spain and a rival power to England. Instead of setting this in an alternate Europe, Saft “creates” a fictional magical world. But why? I was very disappointed in the unnecessary complications. Further more, I really disliked the romance. I wasn’t swoon, it was downright cringy. Everyone claims that Kit hates everyone but Niamh, but in my mind, he still really dislikes Niamh. We don’t ever really see a probably softer side of Kit. I wanted more for Niamh, but she is completely enamored with his terrible attitude and behavior. I really need to put Saft on my “no” list.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known(Wayward Children #9)
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tordotcom 2024
Genre: Fantasy
Pages:146
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - No People on the Cover; Library Love
Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.
When the school’s (literally irresistible) mean girl realizes that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, Antsy is forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.
Along the way, they will travel from a world which hides painful memories that cut as sharply as its beauty, to a land that time wasn’t yet old enough to forget―and more than one student's life will change forever.
“People who’ve been hurt often think they have some sort of right tot go around hurting other people,” said Sumi. “They think trauma’s a toy to keep handing down forever. Bu the fact that someone hurt you and tied you up in knots doesn’t give you the right to it to anybody else.” Pg. 94
That quote right there sums up the entire series and literally had me in tears. Beautiful story about a collection of characters struggling to find their places in the world (or multiple worlds). This volume is most definitely directly continues the story in the previous volume. We get a concise story of Antsy finding her way back and helping other characters on the way. I felt something akin to catharsis when I reached the final page. One of the best feelings.
Wayward Children
Next up on the TBR pile:
So excited that Green Day is back making music. Still love them 30 years after discovering them.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Right now I am: Taking a break from a very busy day.
Thinking and pondering: How do I word a few things? Working on documentation for coop…
On my bedside table: Sellout by Dan Ozzi; Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty
On my tv this week: We’re continuing our Nic Cage Quarterly this month. So far, we’ve watched 8 movies this month getting us to the late 1990s.
Listening to: I finished my audiobook and decided to take a break. I moved back to music especially various punk bands mentioned in Sellout.
On the menu for this week:
Monday - Tacos
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Sloppy Joes
Thursday - Peanut Sauce Chicken and Broccoli Bowls
Friday - Coffee Rubbed Pork Loin
Saturday - Cajun Stuffed Chicken
Sunday - Maafe
On my to do list: Probably a ton of things, but right now I’m working on a few tasks for coop. Doing a brain dump for big ideas and narrowing down some details.
Happening this week:
Monday - Home Day
Tuesday - Nature Hike
Wednesday - Chalco Park Playdate
Thursday - Coop
Friday - Nature Hike
Saturday - Home Day
Sunday - Nerdy Bookish Friends Meeting
What I am creating: I finished my 2023 December Daily, so I’ve moved onto my 2024 Memory Planner.
My simple pleasures: Chats with my big kids, going to the library, making decisions that give me calm
Looking around the house: Meh. It’s good, not great, but good. Seems to be where I live.
From the camera Finally made it to the Luminarium and I did this fun tracing. We are going to have so much fun exploring that space.
Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Dawn of the Dreadfuls #1)
Author: Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Quirk Books 2009
Genre: Classics; Horror
Pages: 359
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf
Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an audacious retelling of English literature's most enduring novel. This expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem begins when a mysterious plague falls upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. It's the perfect read for literature lovers, zombie fans, and anyone who loves a reanimated Austen.
Technically this is a reread for me, but it was chosen as a Nerdy Bookish Friends selection. After we picked it, we realized that there are two different versions: the original and a reissue with 30% more zombies. Apparently I read the original, but own the new deluxe edition. So this was basically a new read for me. To be clear, this is not high literature. Sure it’s Jane Austen’s writing for 90%. But then we thrown in random zombie phrases and scenes. It create a mishmash of genres. But I enjoyed every page of it. I love Austen and zombies, and this was the perfect read for me. I suspect that this won’t be a favorite amongst my Nerdy Bookish Friends, but I still really loved it.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Hunt on Dark Waters (Crimson Sails #1)
Author: Katee Robert
Publisher: Berkley 2023
Genre: Romance
Pages: 320
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - Witch Romance; Library Love
Evelyn is a witch with a perfect storm of impulses: terrible taste in bed partners, sticky fingers, and a lust for danger. After she steals from her vampire ex and falls through a portal to another realm, she’s fished out of the waters by a band of seafarers and their telekinetic captain. She’s immediately given a choice—join their ship’s crew or die.
Bowen has no memory of his life before he became one of the Cŵn Annwn. He and his band of pirates are bound by vow to patrol through Threshold, the magical sea in between realms, keeping the portals to other worlds safe. When he rescues Evelyn, he doesn’t expect to be attracted to the unflappably brassy pickpocket. The longer he spends in her presence, the more he begins to question if his heart is the next thing she’ll steal.
But as tension heats up between Bowen and Evelyn, the danger at sea escalates as well. Because Evelyn has no intention of keeping her vows to the Cŵn Annwn, and if she betrays the crew, both she and Bowen will pay the ultimate price....
I finally picked up another one of Katee Robert’s series. And it wasn’t quite as good as the Dark Olympus series, but I did enjoy it. We get a portal jumping witch who finds herself involved in the Wild Hunt. But things are not quite as they seem and she becomes an agent of change as well as finding romance. Bowen and Evelyn aren’t my favorite couple but they grew on me as the book progressed. I was very intrigued by all the other characters and the background storyline. I do enjoy Robert’s storytelling and romance, so I imagine that I will be reading the rest of this series.
Crimson Sails
#1 Hunt on Dark Waters
#2 Blood on the Tide
#3 Pirates
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: The Butcher’s Masquerade (Dungeon Crawler Carl #5)
Author: Matt Dinniman
Publisher: Dandy House 2022
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 726
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Apostrophe in the Title
Attention. Attention. The gates are down. The hunters are loose.
Run, Run, Run.
A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”
The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.
As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible threat looms. Outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are here and ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.
But their prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.
I finally made it through this giant chunker of a book. And holy cow was it a ride! I cannot believe every thing that happened in these pages. Carl and Donut are put in more impossible situations that they then have to concoct ridiculous plans to get out of. I don’t want to spoil the events, but I will say that there are some real emotional moments in this one. I am going to take a short break before diving into the next book. As much as I love Carl and Donut, I need to process this one for awhile.
Dungeon Crawler Carl
#5 The Butcher’s Masquerade
#6 The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband (Daughters of the Glen #1)
Author: Melissa Mayhue
Publisher: Pocket Books 2007
Genre: Romance
Pages: 356
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Books - Hybrid Genre
Scotland, 1272. Connor MacKiernan, a descendant of the Fae Prince, is a warrior who lives only for honor and duty. Though he’s vowed never to marry, that’s exactly what he must do to save his sister. Enter a little Faerie magic, and the search for a bride is on.
Denver, 2007. Caitlyn Coryell is having a really bad day—she just discovered that her fiancé is cheating on her, marrying her only for her family’s money and influence. Imagine her surprise when she puts on an antique pendant and Connor suddenly appears in her bedroom, begging for her help. He offers an outrageous adventure: travel to his time, marry him for a short time, and return home.
But nothing goes as planned. Cate’s trapped in the 13th century, the wedding’s delayed, and someone’s trying to kill her. And in the middle of all this, she realizes that she’s falling in love with a man who can only be her husband for thirty nights. It will take more than the magic of the Fae to help them now. It will require the most powerful magic of all—the magic of true love.
This book has been sitting on my Unread Shelf for years so I finally picked it up. The book should probably have been left on the shelf. This is a poor imitation of Outlander with a weird time travel bent to the romance. I didn’t quite buy the whole time travel and Fey angle to the story. It' seemed a little too hooky. The romance itself was also pretty lackluster. I didn’t love Cate and Connor and didn’t really buy their relationship. My biggest complaint has to do with the gender dynamics. Connor plays the alpha crap and Cate decides that the way tot play the relationship is to use her feminine wiles. It’s cliched and super annoying. Not a fan. I perused the rest of the series and it looks like we are going to get the same types of relationships. I think I will not be continuing to read this series.
Daughters of the Glen
#1 Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband
#2 Highland Guardian
#3 Soul of a Highlander
#4 A Highlander of Her Own
#5 A Highlander’s Destiny
#6 A Highlander’s Homecoming
#7 Healing the Highlander
#8 Highlander’s Curse
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Malamander (Legends of Eerie-on-Sea #1)
Author: Thomas Taylor
Publisher: Walker Books 2019
Genre: MG Horror
Pages: 304
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; 52 Book Club - Features an Ocean
It’s winter in the town of Eerie-on-Sea, where the mist is thick and the salt spray is rattling the windows of the Grand Nautilus Hotel. Inside, young Herbert Lemon, Lost and Founder for the hotel, has an unexpected visitor. It seems that Violet Parma, a fearless girl around his age, lost her parents at the hotel when she was a baby, and she’s sure that the nervous Herbert is the only person who can help her find them. The trouble is, Violet is being pursued at that moment by a strange hook-handed man. And the town legend of the Malamander — a part-fish, part-human monster whose egg is said to make dreams come true — is rearing its scaly head. As various townspeople, some good-hearted, some nefarious, reveal themselves to be monster hunters on the sly, can Herbert and Violet elude them and discover what happened to Violet’s kin? This lighthearted, fantastical mystery, featuring black-and-white spot illustrations, kicks off a trilogy of fantasies set in the seaside town.
Oh this was utterly delightful! I love a good setting and this series set in Eerie-on-the-Sea is perfect. We get some fun spooky town in winter full of wonderfully quirky characters. From there we are flung into a mystery of the Malamander and Violet’s parentage. Herbert is the perfect narrator for the story. We get to see the town through his encounters and rambles. I especially loved Mrs. Fossil and her shop of oddities. Once the action begins, it truly doesn’t stop until the end. It was perfect and so much fun. I will have to read the rest of the series.
Legends of Eerie-on-Sea
#1 Malamander
#2 Gargantis
#3 Shadowghast
#4 Festergrimm
#5 Mermedusa
Next up on the TBR pile:
Reading: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft. I picked up this fantasy Regency-inspired young adult novel. I’m only a few chapters in, but it is entertaining so far.
Watching: We’re back into another month of Nic Cage Quarterly. In fact, we’ve made it to the late 1990s and peak Nic Cage action movies.
Listening: I’m still making my way through the fifth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. So close to finishing this volume… And then I will one more volume that’s been published.
Making: I’m really into baking this week. I’ve made some ham and cheddar scones and blackberry coffee cake. Tomorrow or Thursday I’m going to make some banana bread (maybe chocolate chip or coconut banana bread) and maybe an orange breakfast cake.
Feeling: I have been exhausted all week. Testing negative for COVID. Just completely exhausted I guess.
Planning: We have one big weekend trip on the calendar for late April. It’s in connection with a coop field trip, but of course I added on some activities. I really want to nail down our accommodations, but need to get some more information from other families. A few of us might go in on a larger AirBNB.
Loving: I’ve really been craving quiet time lately.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Coop Origami Project
My example project
We had a great two weeks of easy school and limited activities. I didn’t want to push it too much or over-schedule us. Thankfully coop events were few and far between these few weeks.
A’s ELA, Math, and History
Q’s ELA and Math
Arthur finished two read alouds these two weeks. We wrapped a book about censorship and then finished a book mentioned in the previous. Also, we dove into the topic of death. It was a heavy read, but a good one for this age. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills. We continued the first Reading Explorer book which focuses on reading comprehension. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.
Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
My America poem collection
Reading Explorer 1
Quentin dove into a collection of stories from the Odyssey. We are pushing our Blossom and Root lessons out another week. He also worked on some basic grammar.
Sing a Song of Seasons
Tales from the Odyssey Part One and Part Two by Mary Pope Osborne
Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow by Sharon Gibson Palermo (Quentin read)
If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur by Linda Bailey & Colin Jack (Quentin read)
Lettuce Introduce You: Poems About Food by Laura Purdie Salas
Q’s History
Q’s History
Arthur dove into 5B with a unit on Decimals. Most of it was review, but it was a good review for him. We’re flying through the lessons.
Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic
Quentin continued Singapore 2A with a big review of numbers to 1000. We also continued our logic book.
Lollipop Logic Book 3
Singapore Common Core 2A
A’s History
A’s ELA, Math, and Science
Arthur finished our study of World War I and moved onto the Harlem Renaissance. We even found a way to include a few documentaries.
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
Come On I, America: The United Staes in World War I by Linda Barrett Osborne
Knit Your Bit by Deborah Hopkinson
Military Aircraft of WWI by Ole Steen Hansen
DK Find Out World War I
Unraveling Freedom: The Battle for Democracy on the Home Front During World War I by Ann Bausum
DK Eyewitness World War I
Fearless Flyers
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
Quentin dove back into the chapters on Ancient Greece. We found a good balance of videos, textbooks, and small readings.
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
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Blast Back! Ancient Greece by Nancy Ohlin Pg. 1-31
Ancient Worlds
Ancient Greece by Sandra Newman
DK Eyewitness Ancient Greece
The First Olympics by Lisa M. Bolt Simons
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
Q’s Science
A’s History, Math, ELA, and Science
We were back at Chemistry class this week. They talked and explored states of matter. The kids had fun exploring the changes by making ice cream and root beer floats. Plus we read another chapter in our Story of Science book.
RSO Chemistry
DK Super Simple Chemistry
Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim
DK The Elements
Quentin got back into the RSO Life curriculum moving into the unit on Human Anatomy. We did a big overview and then covered the skeletal and muscular system.
RSO Life
DK Oversimple Biology
DK Human Body
Know and Glow Human Body
DK Eyewitness: Human Body
iDiscover The Body by Carolyn Scrace Pg. 6-7, 14-15
How to Build a Human Body: Set Up the Skeleton by Kirsty Holmes
The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws and Other Weird Bits by Rachel Poliquin Pg. 54-58
Q’s ELA and Math
Q’s Science
Arthur covered geometry and art with two lessons featuring tessellation and Islamic geometric art. He got to play with compasses and rulers. Quentin’s class was all about World Cultures. Each week the class covered three different countries with some information, art, and taste testing.
Q’s ELA, Math, and History
A’s ELA and Math
We didn’t actually cover any art or music this week. But we did manage to watch a few documentaries. Arthur started and finished a long American Experience episode about Zora Neale Hurston. It was mostly about her travels and anthropology work, but also covered the Harlem Renaissance. Quentin watched two docs on Ancient Greece. One was about the Parthenon featuring the engineering aspects. The second one was all about the antikythera device, an ancient computer.
DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
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
13 Art Movements Children Should Know
13 Artists Children Should Know
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge
We didn’t have a field trip this week.
Fun at Heron Haven
We have started to set up a social gathering for after coop at a variety of locations. The weather was decent so we made two park playdates. It was very lovely to be out and allow the kids to run around. W also had a lovely nature walk at Heron Haven. It was the perfect weather for a little walk in the woods.
I was so tired. This really took a bit of wind out of my sails.
Beautiful day at the pond
Finishing one read aloud and starting a new one
Moving onto the 1920s for history
Continuing new our math units
Exploring some new concepts about the periodic table
Wrapping up Greece with some myths and stories and Alexander the Great
Taking a break for science
Hopefully heading outside for a nature walk
Next up on the TBR pile:
Another amazing collaboration!
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: The Paleontologist
Author: Luke Dumas
Publisher: Atria Books 2023
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 356
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; 52 Book Club - Grieving Character
Curator of paleontology Dr. Simon Nealy never expected to return to his Pennsylvania hometown, let alone the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History. He was just a boy when his six-year-old sister, Morgan, was abducted from the museum under his watch, and the guilt has haunted Simon ever since. After a recent breakup and the death of the aunt who raised him, Simon feels drawn back to the place where Morgan vanished, in search of the bones they never found.
But from the moment he arrives, things aren’t what he expected. The Hawthorne is a crumbling ruin, still closed amid the ongoing pandemic, and plummeting toward financial catastrophe. Worse, Simon begins seeing and hearing things he can’t explain. Strange animal sounds. Bloody footprints that no living creature could have left. A prehistoric killer looming in the shadows of the museum. Terrified he’s losing his grasp on reality, Simon turns to the handwritten research diaries of his predecessor and uncovers a blood-soaked mystery 150 million years in the making that could be the answer to everything.
A complete impulse buy around Christmastime. I thought it might be a fun thriller with a focus on dinosaurs. And it mostly is. We get a potentially unreliable narrator who decides that his next step in life is to revisit a place that holds the beginning of his trauma. Seems like a bad idea to me, but Simon does it. From there, the paranormal elements start to occur and we are left to piece out the mystery of just what is happening the museum. My biggest complaints are focused on the side characters. The various employees of the museum are pretty terrible. The board members are extra terrible. Every time I picked up the book, I really did it pretty begrudgingly. By the end of the book I really as pretty tired of every one and the story. A bit of a disappointment, but it was fine.
Next up on the TBR pile:
As I look outside my window:
Right now I am:
Thinking and pondering:
On my bedside table: Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert; Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison
On my tv this week: I watched some random television shows, but did watch much at night. I was so incredibly exhausted most nights that I went to bed early.
Listening to: Dungeon Crawler Carl #5… This audiobook is over 24 hours long and I’m only listening an hour day or so. Hopefully I can finish it sometime this next week.
On the menu for this week:
Monday - Chicken Schwarma Fries
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Roast Pork Cubano
Thursday - Teriyaki Chicken
Friday - Maafe
Saturday - Pot Roast
Sunday - Garlic Shrimp Pasta
On my to do list:
Happening this week:
Monday - Chemistry Class
Tuesday - Black Violin Performance @ Steelhouse
Wednesday - Home Day
Thursday - Coop; Luninarium
Friday - Home Day
Saturday - Home Day
Sunday - Galentine’s Brunch
What I am creating: I finally got photo paper deliver, so I’m hoping to make some progress on my Memory Planner and/or December Daily.
My simple pleasures: My bed (seriously I missed it when I was away), triple chocolate cookies
Looking around the house: It’s laundry day, including all the sheets. So there are clothes everywhere…
From the camera: My birthday present from J came early! (Usually the presents are months to years late.) I’m definitely a Donut Hole.
Title: Dead Voices (Small Spaces #2)
Author: Katherine Arden
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2019
Genre: MG Horror
Pages: 256
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Library Love; 52 Book Club - Timeframe of a Week or Less
Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort. But when a snowstorm sets in, causing the power to flicker out and the cold to creep closer and closer, the three are forced to settle for hot chocolate and board games by the fire.
Ollie, Coco, and Brian are determined to make the best of being snowed in, but odd things keep happening. Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie's watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: BEWARE.
With Mr. Voland's help, Ollie, Coco, and Brian reach out to the dead voices at Mount Hemlock. Maybe the ghosts need their help--or maybe not all ghosts can or should be trusted.
After reading the first book in this series, I was completely hooked. I love a good spooky series and this one has a great premise. This one picks up soon after the first book. I loved the change of scenery and new situation that our kids find themselves in. The hotel in the middle of the snowstorm gave awesome Overlook Hotel in The Shining vibes. From there, we very quickly dive into the main conflict. I love how the mystery unravels. The scary parts are truly terrifying and I loved very single page of it. I’ll definitely be continuing this series soon.
Small Spaces
#2 Dead Voices
#3 Dark Waters
#4 Empty Smiles
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Haunted Holiday (The Sinister Summer #5)
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: Delacorte Press 2024
Genre: Middle Grade Horror
Pages: 272
Rating: 5/5 stars
Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Revenge Story; Lifetime - Child Protagonist
Trapped in Aunt Saffronia’s spectral house, Theo and Alexander must work together to escape, stop their newfound nemesis Essa and her henchman Edgaren’t, save Wil and their friends, find their parents, and maybe, just maybe, get things back to normal.
Following the clues left behind, the twins find themselves at Siren’s Song Seaside Amusement Park. Old faces and new surprises await them in a park that was built to lure in visitors…and their secrets.
As they get closer to answers, the twins are left with the biggest question of all: Who is Essa really, and why is she so determined to find their parents?
And we come to the end of the Sinister Summer series! And it was utterly delightful! I loved this play on A Series of Unfortunate Events with references to classic horror stories. In this volume, everything and everybody finally comes together for a happy ending. We get to see the family reunited as they solve the last mystery of the summer. I especially loved the setting of the amusement park in this one. The kraken and robot battle at the end was the cherry on top of the sundae. Definitely a recommendation for most of my friends.
The Sinister Summer
#5 Haunted Holiday
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: Untouchable (Ravenswood #2)
Author: Talia Hibbert
Publisher: Nixon House 2018
Genre: Romance
Pages: 344
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Library Love; She Reads Romance - Forbidden Romance
Spice Meter: 5
Sleeping with the staff wasn’t part of the plan.
Sensible, capable, and ruthlessly efficient, Hannah Kabbah is the perfect nanny… until a colossal mistake destroys her career and shatters her reputation. These days, no-one in town will hire her—except Nathaniel Davis, a brooding widower with a smile like sin and two kids he can’t handle.
Prim and proper Hannah is supposed to make Nate’s life easier, but the more time he spends around his live-in nanny, the more she makes things… hard. He can’t take advantage of her vulnerable position, but he can’t deny the truth, either: with every look, every smile, every midnight meeting, Nate’s untouchable employee is stealing his heart.
The trouble is, she doesn’t want to keep it. Forbidden love isn’t high on Hannah’s to-do list, and trust isn’t one of her strengths. When dark secrets threaten to destroy their bond, Nate’s forced to start playing dirty. Because this reformed bad boy will break every rule to finally claim his woman.
I’ll admit that I was skeptical of this book going in. The nanny trope is not one that I enjoy. Usually it involved a pretty big age gap and most definitely a power imbalance. Thankfully this book does not fall into those traps. Hannah is a fun character to follow through from the first book, but it’s Nate that really pulled me into this story. I totally felt for him. The sob story with his wife, the current sob story with this mom, and the beautiful relationship with his kids coupled with the whole vibe (hello tattoos) and I was completely smitten. There were a few decisions that I wasn’t excited about, but it all ended up okay by them last page.
Ravenswood
#2 Untouchable
Next up on the TBR pile:
Here's my randomness for the week:
Last weekend’s reading weekend was the best idea that I have had in a long while. I completed two books and almost completed two other books.
Nic Cage Quarterly is back this month! Hoping to watch at least 15 movies this month.
The weather is holding out this week for more park time after coop.
It’s looking like February is going to be another big month for reading.
Next up on the TBR pile:
Title: A Holly Jolly Ever After (Christmas Notch #2)
Author: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Publisher: Avon 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 432
Rating: 2/5 stars
Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - Pregnancy
Spice Rating: 5
Kallum Liebermanis the funny one™. As the arguably lesser of the three former members of the boy band INK, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then moved home where he opened a regional pizza chain called Slice, Slice, Baby! He’s living his best dad bod life, hooking up with bridesmaids at all his friends’ weddings. But after an old one-off sex tape is leaked and quickly goes viral, Kallum decides he’s ready to step into the spotlight again, starring in a sexy Santa biopic for the Hope Channel.
Winnie Baker did everything right. She married her childhood sweetheart, avoided the downfalls of adolescent stardom, and transitioned into a stable adult acting career. Hell, she even waited until marriage to have sex. But after her perfect life falls apart, Winnie is ready to redefine herself—and what better way than a steamier-than-a-steaming-hot-mug-of-cider Christmas movie?
With decade old Hollywood history between them, Winnie and Kallum are both feeling hesitant about their new situation as costars…especially Winnie who can’t seem to fake on screen pleasure she’s never experienced in real life. She’s willing to do the pleasure research—for science and artistic authenticity, of course. And there’s no better research partner than her bridesmaid sex tape hall of fame costar, Kallum. But suddenly, Kallum’s teenage crush on Winnie is bubbling to the surface and Winnie might be catching feelings herself.
They say opposites attract, but is this holly jolly ever after really ready for its close-up?
Spoilers Below!
Oh this was such a disappointment… After the first book in the series, I was very exacted to read the next book featuring Kallum. And the first half of the book was great. I fell for Winnie and Kallum. I really enjoyed the discussion about purity culture and the after-effects of bad relationships and marriages. I was excited to see Winnie making strides in her own sexual growth and independence. I loved seeing the two main characters begin to open up to each others and their friends and families. It was delightful. And then we get tot he second half of the book and absolutely everything gets destroyed. Instead of continuing Winnie’s journey of growth, she becomes pregnant and everything goes off the rails. She tells everyone but Kallum. She doesn’t communicate or handle anything well. But my biggest complaint is that instead of continuing the journey, Winnie immediately becomes pregnant. In many ways, purity culture warns that having sex leads to degradation and immediate pregnancy. In this case, at least the second part becomes true. And it annoys me so much! This is not a good message.
Christmas Notch
#1.5 Snow Place Like LA
#2 A Holly Jolly Ever After
Next up on the TBR pile: