Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig

Title: Two Wars and a Wedding

Author: Lauren Willig

Publisher: William Morrow 2023

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 435

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Clock; Decades - 1880s-1990s

September 1896: An aspiring archaeologist, Smith College graduate Betsy Hayes travels to Athens, desperate to break into the male-dominated field of excavation. In the midst of the heat and dust of Greece she finds an unlikely ally in Charles, Baron de Robecourt, one of the few men who takes her academic passion seriously. But when a simmering conflict between Greece and Turkey erupts into open warfare, Betsy throws herself into the conflict as a nurse, not knowing that the decision will change her life forever—and cause a deep and painful rift with her oldest friend, Ava.

June 1898: Betsy has sworn off war nursing—but when she gets the word that her estranged friend Ava is headed to Cuba with Clara Barton and the Red Cross to patch up the wounded in the Spanish-American War, Betsy determines to stop her the only way she knows how: by joining in her place. Battling heat, disease, and her own demons, Betsy follows Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders straight to the heart of the fighting, where she is forced to confront her greatest fears to save both old friends and new….

Set during an electrifying era of nation-building, idealism, and upheaval, Two Wars and a Wedding is the tale of two remarkable women striving to make their place in a man’s world—an unforgettable saga of friendship, love, and fighting for what is right. 

I needed a book with the word “two” in the title. I went to Goodreads and did a simple search and this book came up. I really enjoyed Willig’s Pink Carnation series and The English Wife, so I thought I would give this one a chance. Overall, this was an enjoyable story of a one woman’s journey through life, two wars, and heartache. After reading the historical note, I was more interested in the true history behind the story. The historical fiction sections detailed a time period and conflict that not many books focus on. I enjoyed the information about the archaeological digs and the nursing training. I ended up really enjoying following Betsy’s journey. And amazingly, I really came to love Holt as a leading man worthy of Betsy. A very enjoyable historical fiction novel.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Title: Bride

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Publisher: Berkley 2024

Genre: Romantasy

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Includes a Wedding; She Reads Romance - Arranged Marriage

Spice Rating: 5

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

I picked up another Ali Hazelwood romance. Every time I have finished one of her previous books, I have enjoyed, but it’s hasn’t been something I recommend to all friends. Enjoyable, but nothing groundbreaking. I think I feel the same way about this one. I liked it. The plot and characters kept me interested and turning the pages, but I wasn’t raving about it at the end. I will admit that Hazelwood is great at writing sexual tension. All of her books contain a lot of tension. But, I’m not as excited about the after. Misery has a snarky side that I did really enjoy. And I eventually did buy a relationship between her and Lowe. It just took awhile for me to get there. So overall an enjoyable romantasy for my week.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W24-25: Still trucking along...

What We Studied

We ended up taking a bit of a break for W24. All three of us were a bit burned out and needed to scale back our school work to reenergize. For W25, we were back to normal. All throughout, we focused on reading our read alouds and enjoying our activities.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur dove into another read aloud and enjoyed the time. We have just a little bit left to finish this week and then move into a new book. 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.

• My America poem collection

• Reading Explorer 1

• Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

Quentin started and finished another read aloud. And then we started our newest read aloud. He is very excited to read another Roald Dahl book. He also worked on some basic grammar with some fun books.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Math

Arthur moved onto a few lessons about finding volume of rectangles. We’re flying through the lessons. We also continued the Grade 4 Financial Literacy book. We have one more lesson to finish in there.

• Singapore Common Core 5B

• Orbiting with Logic

• Evan Moor Financial Literacy G4

Quentin continued Singapore 2A with a unit on measurements. We also finished our logic book!

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Singapore Common Core 2A

A’s ELA, Math, and Science

Social Studies

Arthur covered the beginning of World War II. We discussed the political and economic situations of various countries in the 1930s and talked about the beginnings of the war. The week ended with Pearl Harbor.

• 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

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK History

• The Great Depression and World War II by Susan E. Hamen

• Dorothy the Brave by Meghan P. Browne

Quentin continued with Rome moving into the Empire. 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

• Ancient Worlds

• A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen

• Ancient Rome by Peter Chrisp

• The Ancient Romans Cohn

• DK Eyewitness: Ancient Rome

• Stephen Biesty's Ancient World

• The Genius of the Romans

• Cleopatra by Diane Stanley

• Pompeii: Lost and Found by Mary Pope Osborne

• Pompeii... Buried Alive! by Edith Kunhardt

Q’s ELA and Math

Science

We covered the next few lessons in chemistry. This week is a break and then we will move onto acids and bases. We made sure to read more chapters 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 covered the nervous system this week.

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

• DK Human Body

• Know and Glow Human Body

• DK Eyewitness: Human Body

• iDiscover The Body by Carolyn Scrace

• The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws and Other Weird Bits by Rachel Poliquin

• Click: The Inner You

• Build a Brain by Kirsty Holmes

• The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses by Joanna Cole

Q’s Rome Unit

STEAM Coop

Arthur continued his unit on spring growth. Their big project this week was creating a mini biome in a plastic bottle. Quentin learned about deserts and then about Emily Roebling, architect of the Brooklyn Bridge.

A’s World War II Unit

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We managed to fit in a few documentaries to complement our book work. Arthur watched one about the mystery of the Hindenburg. Quentin watched one about the mystery of Roman catacombs and one about the eruption of Vesuvius.

• 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

Q’s Math and ELA

Field Trip

For my birthday day, we ventured to the zoo. I really wanted to see the new baby elephant, but he was still sequestered in the back. We did get to the see the other four babies. And we enjoyed the jungle, aquarium, giraffes, and butterfly and insect building.

A’s Math and ELA

High

We managed to fit in a few nature hikes. Getting outside and enjoying the signs of spring was exactly what I needed to uplift my spirits.

Q’s Anatomy Unit

Low

The weather took some wild swings these last two weeks. I am not a fan.

A’s ELA and Math

Next Week

• Finishing our current read aloud and starting some new ones

• Moving through World War II

• Continuing our math units

• Exploring some new concepts about the periodic table

• Learning more about Ancient Rome

• Wrapping up human anatomy for science

• Traveling to Des Moines for a group field trip and visit to the arcade

Lovely walk on the prairie

Next up on the TBR pile:

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Title: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde #2)

Author: Heather Fawcett

Publisher: Del Rey 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 342

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Published in 2024; Library Love

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.
 
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.
 
And she also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
 
But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

Another amazing story featuring the adventures of Emily and Wendell. We get to change the setting and explore new worlds and new creatures. I loved seeing how Emily’s story progresses as she learns to trust her instincts and stand up for herself. And we get to see her interact with new characters in Wendell’s search for his door. I absolutely adored the reappearance of Poe and the introduction of Snowbell. At times this is a quiet story. We get small moments between the characters. And then the plot really amps up and barrels ahead. I cannot wait until the next book in this series.

Emily Wilde

• #1 Encyclopaedia of Faeries

• #2 Map of the Otherlands

• #3 Compendium of Lost Tales

Next up on the TBR pile:

So Not Meant to Be by Meghan Quinn

Title: So Not Meant to Be (Cane Brothers #2)

Author: Meghan Quinn

Publisher: Bloom Books 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 480

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; She Reads Romance - Enemies to Lovers

Spice Meter:  5

Am I friends with JP Cane?
Ha! That's laughable.
Besides the fact that he’s adopted some far-fetched notion from the movie When Harry Met Sally that says men and women can't be friends and work together, it’s safe to say we're not friends. He's annoyingly loud, obnoxiously handsome, and has made an art out of poking all my hot buttons . . . multiple times a day.
So you can imagine how disgruntled I am when I not only have to fly to San Francisco with him for work, but stay in the same penthouse. Yup, we're sharing the same air, twenty-four-seven. We're talking full-fledged working roommates.
The man doesn't know what it means to wear a shirt, thrives off protein bars, and you guessed it, moans loud enough for people to believe he's Meg Ryan in a restaurant.
Spoiler Alert: I WON'T be having what he's having.
Tack on his continuous flirting and his polished good looks, and I'm caught staring down the barrel of a seductive temptation that makes it hard for me to sleep at night.
But guess who can control herself? This girl.
Because if there is one thing I know for certain, it's that JP Cane and I are so not meant to be.

Enemies to lovers is my favorite romance trope, so of course, I picked up this series. I was into the first book and hoped I would love the second. Unfortunately, I really disliked JP and that fact really turned me of to the entire book. We start out strong with a fun slightly antagonistic relationship between Kelsey and JP. We get some good banter and ridiculous situations. But then, JP’s entire demeanor and personality really started to bother me. At a certain point in the book, JP tells the readers that he is completely in love with Kelsey and is going to attempt to get her to see that. But all of his actions are so hot and cold. She does one thing, such as go on a date with another man, and he completely shuts her out. Mind you, she has no idea that JP supposedly loves her. He just completely shuts down and then gets mad at Kelsey when she questions him. His inability to communicate or at least modulate his moods raised some serious red flags for me. I doubt that them declaring their love is going to eliminate his mood swings. Very scary behavior from the male lead. I just couldn’t root for them at all.

Cane Brothers

• #1 A Not So Meet Cute

• #2 So Not Meant to Be

• #3 A Long Time Coming

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Title: The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1)

Author: Jonathan Stroud

Publisher: Doubleday 2013

Genre:YA Horror

Pages: 440

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf;

A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and specters are appearing throughout the city, and they aren't exactly friendly. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see and eradicate these supernatural foes. Many different Psychic Detection Agencies have cropped up to handle the dangerous work, and they are in fierce competition for business.

In The Screaming Staircase, the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England. Will Lockwood & Co. survive the Hall's legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day?

My mother had me watch the one and only season of the television over Christmas. I realized that I had the first book just sitting on my Unread Shelf. So I decided to read it. The television show covers this first book in the first few episodes. And while it speeds up the timeline, most of it is accurately depicted. Turning to the book itself, I wasn’t that enamored with the characters of the story. Anthony is a bright spot among the characters. Unfortunately Lucy is a little too naive and occasionally annoying. And George is just too prickly and occasionally very mean to the other characters. The three of them do not work well together, keeping way too many secrets from each other, while also stumbling about doing their jobs. The larger mystery is interesting, It’s what really kept me reading and ultimately gave this book 4 stars. I loved seeing how the clues fell into places and pointed to the murderer. I doubt that I’m going to continue reading this series, but I did enjoy this first book.

Lockwood & Co.

• #1 The Screaming Staircase

• #1.5 The Dagger in the Desk

• #2 The Whispering Skull

• #3 The Hollow Boy

• #4 The Creeping Shadow

• #4.5 A Portland Row Christmas

• #5 The Empty Grave

Next up on the TBR pile:

What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell

Title: What Stalks Among Us

Author: Sarah Hollowell

Publisher: Clarion Books 2023

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Neurodivergent Author; Library Love

Best friends and high school seniors Sadie and Logan make their first mistake when they ditch their end-of-year field trip to the amusement park in favor of exploring some old, forgotten backroads. The last thing they expect to come across is a giant, abandoned corn maze.

But with a whole day of playing hooking unspooling before them, they make their second mistake. Or perhaps their third? Maybe even their fourth. Because Sadie and Logan have definitely entered this maze before. And again before that.

When they stumble on the corpses in the maze, identical to them in every way (if you can ignore the stab and gunshot wounds)--from their clothes to their hidden scars to their dyed hair, to that one missing tooth--they quickly realize they’ve not only entered this maze before, they’ve died in it too. A lot. And no matter what they try, they can’t figure out what—or who—is hunting them.

I cannot remember exactly who recommended this book to me, but I was immediately intrigued but he premise. I fell into this book just like Sadie and Logan fall into the corn maze. The entire premise really spoke to my horror loving heart. But then the novel started to evolve and grew more and more complex. This is not just a simple horror novel. This is a book focused on two people finding the courage to become their true authentic selves. We see Sadie and Logan slowly open up to each other and expose their insecurities and fears. So many times I really felt for Sadie and Logan. I don’t possess many of their insecurities and fears, but I can completely related to a few of them. At the end of the book, there was a hopeful feeling that I absolutely loved.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #5

Reading: I grabbed the new Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett and I am so in love with it! There’s an element of cozy fantasy in this series that I’m really drawn to.

Watching: J and I started the new Shogun series. It is very well researched and extremely cinematic. We are hooked.

Listening: I’ve pushed off audiobooks in favor of podcasts lately. But I haven’t actually listened to many episodes lately. I’m just enjoying the quiet lately.

Making: I’m moving into the next phase of retreat planning. I’m taking a long look at the budget and category breakdowns. Plus I’ve sent the next email so I can start working on the grocery list.

Feeling: After my birthday day out, I’m feeling a lot better. I needed just a bit of time away to recenter myself.

Planning: I’m looking to summer and redoing our bucket list. Last year didn’t go as planned. Hopefully this year we can do some travel (locally) and visit some interesting places.

Loving: Spring is not my favorite season, but I am really enjoying spotting signs of the season while out and about. Little green shoots are catching my eye.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Title: Crimson Bound

Author: Rosamund Hodge

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 2015

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 441

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fairy Tales; In Case You Missed It - 2015

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless—straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in a vain effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her hunt for the legendary sword that might save their world. Together, they navigate the opulent world of the courtly elite, where beauty and power reign and no one can be trusted. And as the two become unexpected allies, they discover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic . . . and a love that may be their undoing. Within a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Oof this one really did not work for me at all. I picked it up as a Red Riding Hood retelling and was hoping for a good fantasy novel. The world building was interesting if confusing. At times I got very into the weeds trying to figure out if the references were straight out of French lore or if the author made it up. Parts of the story got really convoluted. But my biggest complaint are directly about the romance. Why do we have to have another silly love triangle? I really dislike the female protagonist following her destiny only to find two men standing in her way. The biggest issue was that Armand was a complete nothing burger of a character. I could not imagine why Rachelle would ever fall for him. Really the same goes for Erec. This book may have been saved if the stupid love triangle was dropped.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Worst Best Man by Lucy Score

Title: The Worst Best Man

Author: Lucy Score

Publisher: Bloom Books 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; She Reads Romance - Contemporary Romance

Spice Rating: 5

The bride is a doll. The groom is the perfect gentleman. But the rest of the wedding party? They're the stuff of nightmares. Rich? Check. Vapid? Double Check. Entitled? Not enough checks in the world. And the Best Man? More like the Worst Man.

But Maid of Honor Franchesca takes her duties seriously. Kidnapped groom? She's got this. Rude attendees? You just watch her handle them. So a Best Man with a big attitude and an even bigger...checkbook? Yeah, there's no way she's going to let that pretentious, judgmental jackhole ruin her best friend's wedding. No matter how sexy he is. (Well, that's the plan anyway...)

Aiden Kilbourn doesn't do long-term relationships. He's busy ruling the business world, and has yet to find a woman he can tolerate for longer than a month, two at the outside, anyway. Conquering the unconquerable is basically his bread and butter. And he hasn't met a challenge that he can't win. But Franchesca Baranski? This smart-mouthed girl from Brooklyn may just be his downfall.

Another contemporary romance for me. I think I might need to lay off these for awhile. But before I do, I did end up enjoying this enemies to lovers story. The banter in the first half of the book was amazing. I loved Aiden and Francesca’s adventures in attempting to get the groom back. The book went downhill a bit after they started dating. It just wasn’t quite the same spark. My favorite parts were when Aiden interacted with Francesca’s family especially her brothers. It was fun and silly. The steamy scenes were pretty steamy, but not quite my favorite. There was a little too much aggression in those scenes for me to love them. But overall, it was a decent romance.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Two more weeks indoor for coop. I think we are all over being inside. Here’s hoping that the weather cooperates.

• Still celebrating my birthday week with random free offers and discounts.

• Diving into planning homeschool curriculum for next year.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

Title: Beautyland

Author: Marie-Helene Bertino

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2024

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno is tiny and jaundiced, but she reaches for warmth and light. As a child, she recognizes that she is different: She possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives, beings who have sent her to report on the oddities of Earthlings.

For years, as she moves through the world and makes a life for herself among humans, she dispatches transmissions on the terrors and surprising joys of their existence. Then, at a precarious moment, a beloved friend urges Adina to share her messages with the world. Is there a chance she is not alone?

Such a bait and switch book! I was very intrigued by the science fiction aspect in the summary. I wanted to read an interesting story about an alien being who “lives” as a human and attempts to teach the other aliens about us. I was hoping for The Mountain in the Sea vibes with discussions about humanity and nature of life. Instead we get a very standard coming of age story. Even worse, we are meant to think that Adina is an alien when she’s heavily coded at autistic. Portraying an autistic person as an alien really left an icky taste in my mouth. Beyond that, the story just goes nowhere. I was at times enraged but mostly bored.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Love Everlasting Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

Title: Love Everlasting Vol. 1

Author: Tom King, Elsa Charretier

Publisher: Image Comics 2023

Genre: Comics

Pages: 136

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

From multiple Eisner Award winning writer Tom King and up-and-coming artist Elsa Charretier comes the first volume of a thrilling, genre-bending romance/horror mashup. Joan Peterson discovers that she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of “romance”—a problem to be solved, a man to marry—and every time she falls in love she’s torn from her world and thrust into another tear-soaked tale. Her bloody, time-looping journey to freedom and revelation begins in this breathtaking, groundbreaking debut volume. Collects Love Everlasting #1-5. 

Absolutely trippy. It took me multiple pages to get a handle on what exactly was happening in this story. The reader is thrust into confusion just like Joan as she begins to live multiple realities. This volume is weird and trippy and exactly what I want in my horror comics.

Title: Love Everlasting Vol. 2

Author: Tom King, Elsa Charretier

Publisher: Image Comics

Genre: Comics

Pages: 136

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges

The mind-bending story of Joan Peterson's journey through love and horror continues in the second epic and heartbreaking arc of this critically acclaimed, Harvey-nominated series. After traveling from romance to romance, Joan finds herself trapped inside just one story, growing older with the love of her life instead of escaping again and again. And as she becomes a wife, a mother, a grandmother, she is on a bloody quest to discover if everyone in this new world is insane, or if she alone is broken.

Collects Love Everlasting #6 - #10

And we get to the conclusion of this story. It ended up not being my favorite, but I did enjoy the story. There was a bit too much meandering in the storyline.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W23: Ready for a Break!

What We Studied

Our week went well and we accomplished a lot of school work. But, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we needed a bit of a break. Makes sense in the we haven’t had a real break since Christmas. We made sure to knock out some lessons so next week can be a bit of a break.

A’s ELA and Math

Literature and Poetry

This week Arthur read one of my favorite childhood books, The Witches by Roald Dahl. I don’t think he enjoyed it as much as me, but thanks okay. We did get to watch the movie version for family movie night as an extra treat. 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.

• My America poem collection

• Reading Explorer 1

• The Witches by Roald Dahl

Quentin finished another in his favorite series. We covered a few different lessons from the Blossom and Root curriculum. He also worked on some basic grammar with some fun books.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Zoey and Sassafras: Grumplets and Pests by Asia Citro

• If You were an Interjection by Nancy Loewen

• If You were a Conjunction by Nancy Loewen

• If You were an Antonym by Nancy Loewen

• If You were a Preposition by Nancy Loewen

• If You were Homonym or a Homphone by Nancy Loewen

• The Little Mermaid by Jerry Pinkney

• The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Other Side of the Story

• The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen

• Grandmother Winter by Phyllis Root

• The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolf

• Good Night Wind by Linda Elovitz Marshal

• Rumpelstitlskin by Paul Galdone

• The Elves and the Shoemaker

• Rumpelstiltskin

• The Elves and the Shoemaker by Paul Galdone

• The Elves and the Shoemaker by Jim Lamarche

• Frankly I'd Rather Spin Myself a New Name by Jessica Gunderson

• Rumplestitlskin by John Cech

• Rumplestiltskin's Daughter by Diane Stanley

• Rattlestiltskin by Eric A. Kimmel

• The Girl Who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton

• Beaver Steals Fire by Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

• The Water Dragon by Li JIan

Q’s ELA and Math

Math

Arthur finished a unit on Decimals. Most of it was review, but it was a good review for him. We’re flying through the lessons. We also dove into the Grade 4 Financial Literacy book and covered another units.

• Singapore Common Core 5B

• Orbiting with Logic

• Evan Moor Financial Literacy G4

Quentin continued Singapore 2A with a unit on measurements. We also continued our logic book; almost finished with this one!

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Singapore Common Core 2A

Q’s ELA and Math

Social Studies

Arthur covered more about the Great Depression with a focus on the American Dust Bowl. I found some great resources and we even started watching Ken Burns’ The Dust Bowl documentary.

• 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

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK History

• The Great American Dust Bowl

• The Dust Bowl Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Helped Remedy a National Disaster by Martin W. Sandler

• A Day that Changed America: The Black Sunday Dust Blizzard by Bruce Berglund

• Voices of the Dust Bowl by Sherry Garland

• This is the Rope: A Story from The Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson

Q’s Rome Unit

Quentin began the chapters of Ancient Rome with the founding and the Republic. 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

• Ancient Worlds

• A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen

• Ancient Rome by Peter Chrisp

• The Ancient Romans Cohn

• DK Eyewitness: Ancient Rome

• Stephen Biesty's Ancient World

• The Genius of the Romans

A’s Dust Bowl Unit

Science

We’re back at Chemistry class. This week they talked about the relationship between Hydrogen and Oxygen. We made sure to 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 covered the digestive system this week.

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

• DK Human Body

• Know and Glow Human Body

• DK Eyewitness: Human Body

• iDiscover The Body by Carolyn Scrace

• The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws and Other Weird Bits by Rachel Poliquin

• Click: The Inner You

• Click: Tastes Good

• Shape of a Stomach by Kirsty Holmes

• Blueprint for a Bladder by Kirsty Holmes

Q’s Anatomy Unit

STEAM Coop

Arthur started his unit on spring growth. This week they talked abut soil composition and basic planting techniques. Quentin learned about deserts and had fun making a sand painting.

A’s ELA and Math

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We covered a bit of art and music and managed to start watching a documentary. We covered frescos and etching/printmaking/woodcuts for art and Verdi and Gershwin for music.

• 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

Q’s ELA and Math

Field Trip

We didn’t have any field trips these week. But we did accomplish two nature hikes and two park playdates with friends. The weather was beautiful this past week and we took advantage of it!

Q’s ELA

High

We finally bought a membership and made it down to the Luminarium, the new local hands-on science museum. We spent a few hour after coop exploring with some friends. Even being there for a few hours, we didn’t actually get to see everything! We will definitely be back soon.

Learning about deserts at coop

Low

Nothing. We had a great two weeks!

Next Week

• Continuing our current read alouds

• Hopefully starting and finishing the coop book club selection

• Moving through the 1930s for history, focusing on the Dust Bowl

• Continuing our math units

• Exploring some new concepts about the periodic table

• Diving into Ancient Rome for science

• Hopefully heading outside for a nature walk

Art and Music

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Saint Asonia feat. John Cooper "Wolf"

A collaboration that I didn’t think I needed, but apparently I did. I love Adam’s voice and it is really well matched to John’s voice.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #7

As I look outside my window: It’s super clear outside and supposed to be almost 70 degrees, but windy. We’re having book club outdoors instead of stuck in a house.

Right now I am: Trying to decide what to make for brunch. Maybe lemon poppy seed scones, bacon, and eggs.

Thinking and pondering: What changes do we need to make for coop? We are shifting some things around and changing the ways that families can interact with the coop. I keep second guessing myself on a few things…

On my bedside table: The Worst Best Man by Lucy Score; Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

On my tv this week: We mostly stuck to random television shows this week. I finally finished S2 of Our Flag Means Death and switched back to Wonderland.

Listening to: I’m still taking a break from audiobooks so I listened to some episodes of Hello from the Magic Tavern.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Out for book club

• Tuesday - Italian Beef Sandwiches

• Wednesday - Crab and Asparagus Soup

• Thursday - BBQ Chicken, Apple, and Bacon Quesadillas

• Friday - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quinoa Bowls

• Saturday - Chicken Tikka Masala

• Sunday - Birthday Dinner (not my actual birthday, but when we’re celebrating)

On my to do list: I made eye appointments, so I guess I should move on to doctor appointments for the kids and me.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Chemistry Class; Book Club

• Tuesday - Bregant House Tour

• Wednesday - Eye Appointments; Book Discussion

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - OPPD Arboretum Hike

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Birthday Day Out

What I am creating: Nothing much. I finished January’s Memory Planner pages, but have yet to start on February’s pages.

My simple pleasures: Target runs by myself, coffee

Looking around the house: The kitchen is about due for a massive cleanout both in terms of equipment and food. I think the rest of this month is going to be eat the food in the house (or buy the one ingredient that can turn the food in the house into a meal).

From the camera: Yesterday we had a lovely baby shower for a friend making her a ton of freezer meals. A lovely afternoon.

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Title: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (D.O.D.O. #1)

Author: Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Publisher: William Morrow 2017

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 752

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Book Club - Chapters have date headings

When Melisande Stokes, an expert in linguistics and languages, accidently meets military intelligence operator Tristan Lyons in a hallway at Harvard University, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will alter their lives and human history itself. The young man from a shadowy government entity approaches Mel, a low-level faculty member, with an incredible offer. The only condition: she must sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for the rather large sum of money.

Tristan needs Mel to translate some very old documents, which, if authentic, are earth-shattering. They prove that magic actually existed and was practiced for centuries. But the arrival of the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment weakened its power and endangered its practitioners. Magic stopped working altogether in 1851, at the time of the Great Exhibition at London’s Crystal Palace—the world’s fair celebrating the rise of industrial technology and commerce. Something about the modern world "jams" the "frequencies" used by magic, and it’s up to Tristan to find out why.

And so the Department of Diachronic Operations—D.O.D.O. —gets cracking on its real mission: to develop a device that can bring magic back, and send Diachronic Operatives back in time to keep it alive . . . and meddle with a little history at the same time. But while Tristan and his expanding operation master the science and build the technology, they overlook the mercurial—and treacherous—nature of the human heart.

I was so incredibly excited about this book that I picked up last year. First off, the dodo bird completely sucked me in. And then the summary really intrigued me. I love a good time travel novel and was hoping this one was it. Unfortunately, this book was way too long full of dry passages that seem to go on forever. Clearly those passages were written by Stephenson. He definitely has a way of stretching out the technical conversations and padding them with initialisms and acronyms. I found my mind wandering throughout many sections of this book. The only thing that kept me going was the overall mystery of how Mel got stuck back in 1851. Seriously, Mel and Tristan saves his novel for me. And now I’m debating about whether I actually want to read the sequel and get the conclusion of the story.

D.O.D.O.

• #1 The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

• #2 Master of the Revels

Next up on the TBR pile:

March 2024 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Relax During My Reading Weekend ✓

• Finalize Guest List for the Bookish Retreat - Still working on this one

• Start the Homeschool Supplies Cleanout

March Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Finalize Guest List for the Bookish Retreat - Still working on this one

• Start the Homeschool Supplies Cleanout

• Get New Glasses - Me and Arthur

• Finalize Spring Travel Plans

Next up on the TBR pile:

February 2024 Wrap-up

February TBR Pile (26/28):

1. Bookworms BC: That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert (reread)

2. Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: Guards! Guards! by Terry Prachett ✓

5. Kid Read Aloud: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson ✓

7. Kid Read Aloud: Tales from the Odyssey Part One by Mary Pope Osborne ✓

8. Kid Read Aloud: Tales from the Odyssey Part Two by Mary Pope Osborne ✓

9. Kid Read Aloud: The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith ✓

10. Fantasy: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman ✓

11. Fantasy: Malamander by Thomas Taylor ✓

12. Fantasy: Haunted Holiday by Kiersten White ✓

13. Fantasy: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft ✓

14. Fantasy: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire ✓

15. Science Fiction: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells ✓

16. Science Fiction: System Collapse by Martha Wells ✓

17. Romance: Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert ✓

18. Romance: Untouchable by Talia Hibbert ✓

19. Romance: A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone ✓

20. Romance; Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Mayhue ✓

21. Romance: Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert ✓

22. Thriller/Mystery: The Last One by Will Dean ✓

23. Thriller/Mystery: The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas ✓

24. Thriller/Mystery: Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty ✓

25. Comics: Confetti Realms ✓

26. Horror: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden ✓

27. Horror: Mimi’s Tales of Terror by Junji Ito ✓

28. Nonfiction: Sellout by Dan Ozzi ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7812 pages
Pages Remaining: 257,870 pages

Current Read - The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (6):

During a trip to Half Price Books, I grabbed a few clearance books off the shelves.

• The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

From BOTM, I grabbed The Mayer of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham.

And I put in a Thriftbooks order for some homeschool stuff, but also two books for me.

• To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt

• To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 330

• Books Read: 4

• Books Acquired: 6

• Books Unshelved: 7

• Finishing Number: 325

March TBR Pile:

1. Bookworms BC: NONE

2. Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

4. Kid Read Aloud: The Witches by Roald Dahl

5. Kid Book Club: The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf

6. Fantasy: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

7. Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

8. Science Fiction: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

9. Historical Fiction: Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig

10. Romance: Ruthless by Anne Stuart

11. Horror: The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland

12. Horror: What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell

13. Nonfiction: The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart

14. Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 1

15. Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 2

Movies Watched - It’s another Nic Cage Quarterly for the month! We ended up watching 13 Nicolas Cage movies.

• It Could Happen to You

• Trapped in Paradise

• Kiss of Death

• Leaving Las Vegas

• The Rock

• Con Air

• Face/Off

• City of Angels

• Snake Eyes

• 8MM

• Bringing Out the Dead

• The Family Man

• Gone in 60 Seconds

And one non-Nic Cage Movie

• Anyone But You

TV Shows Watched

• Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist S1

• The Bachelorette S28

• The Buccaneers

• Below Deck

Comments - Another huge reading month for me! I managed almost a book a day throughout the month. This was helped by my early month reading weekend and some late nights. We also did a decent job at watching Nic Cage movies for our big year project.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty

Title: Chaos Terminal (The Midsolar Murders #2)

Author: Mur Lafferty

Publisher: Ace 2023

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 369

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Locked Room Mystery; Library Love

Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, thank you very much. But no matter what she does, people persist in dying around her—and only she seems to be able to solve the crime. After fleeing to an alien space station in hopes that the lack of humans would stop the murders, a serial killer had the nerve to follow her to Station Eternity. (Mallory deduced who the true culprit was that time, too.)

Now the law enforcement agent who hounded Mallory on Earth has come to Station Eternity, along with her teenage crush and his sister, Mallory’s best friend from high school. Mallory doesn’t believe in coincidences, and so she’s not at all surprised when someone in the latest shuttle from Earth is murdered. It’s the story of her life, after all.

Only this time she has more than a killer to deal with. Between her fugitive friends, a new threat arising from the Sundry hivemind, and the alarmingly peculiar behavior of the sentient space station they all call home, even Mallory’s deductive abilities are strained. If she can’t find out what’s going on (and fast), a disaster of intergalactic proportions may occur.…

.Finally grabbed the second book in the Midsolar Murders series and enjoyed it. I must say that for a portion of this book, I was very annoyed by the lack of information. Mallory’s inability to understand what was happening around her was frustrating. But once the mystery really started unraveling, I understand and my annoyance faded. In this one, we get some familiar characters and the reintroduction of a few storylines teased in the first book. Thankfully the book focuses on the murder mystery and leaves the romance mostly out of the story. I was afraid that the book was going to shove Mallory and Xan together romantically. It does not. Instead, another character enters the scene. I loved the interactions between the residents on the space station. Those chapters were my favorite. Overall, I fun murder mystery on a space station.

The Midsolar Murders

• #1 Station Eternity

• #2 Chaos Terminal

Next up on the TBR pile: