#LittensLoveRomance Ch.9-10: Noah is slipping - from Surly Guy to Kissing Guy back to Surly Guy…giving mixed signals but Amelia is there for it. Well maybe not the kissing because Susan wouldn‘t approve. Susan seems like the core cause of Amelia‘s problems - I worry Susan wasn‘t truthful about her mom and she may have caused the rift there. Maybe she wanted to control Amelia and wanted her mom out of the way.

#InDeathLongReadalong #IDLR Book 17: Ch.6-10: this book is very much about mothers. We‘re coming off the revelations about Roarke‘s mother (and he‘s still very much dealing with that); Eve has a dream about her mother; Eve goes to Mira‘s family BBQ and gets to know her even better through the eyes of her daughter - who is feeling out Eve. And the killer this time around is killing mother figures.⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.7-8: Mabel is an interfering lady but she clearly has Noah‘s best interests at heart. It was funny how he was so mad at her for refusing a room to Amelia but he knew he couldn‘t do anything - he was outmatched. Poor Amelia - Susan seems like a pill. I‘m sad that they have both lost their joy in music and got sucked into the drawbacks of the industry.⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.5-6: oh boy, Mr Surly Pose strikes and it‘s a bit mean. There they were, bonding over pancakes, and then he realizes what he‘s doing and pushes Amelia away. Poor girl. She‘s attracted and he‘s looking for the escape hatch. Here‘s hoping the townsfolk work together to keep bringing these two together. At least to give them a bit of a chance.⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.3-4: first of all, Amelia is pretty cute in her dealings with the surly Noah. It will be nice to see him warm up to her - though we did catch glimpses of amusement from him at her antics. Secondly, this town sounds like Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls - everyone is up in your business. Some people love that - and then there‘s Noah. ⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.1-2: Good start so far; I like Noah, but seems as though he‘s been put through the wringer by a woman or women in the past. Enough that he‘s a bit jaded. Amelia is lost emotionally and needs to find her way. I think she definitely needs self care and R&R. But in her life, it seems like there will be consequences for taking time off. ⬇️

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG Queen of Shadows Ch.51-60: wow! That fight scene was epic! Seeing our two girls come to blows was everything we needed. And then seeing Aelin save Manon so unexpectedly- our queen is full of surprises. Those two need to become allies and take out Manon‘s horrible grandmother and the awful king. I‘m shipping them as besties for sure. 💕⬇️

#IDLR #InDeathLongReadalong Book 17:Ch.1-5: A very gruesome murder this time where the killer, smug and arrogant, leaves a note for Eve. She‘s the best and he wants a worthy adversary in what he sees as his game. He imitates the most famous serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper, who was never caught. So far, all Eve has to go on is expensive stationery he used for the note.⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Our November pick has been selected, winning with nearly half the votes. We‘ll be starting next week - sorry for the quick turn around time, the book has 37 chapters so I want to make sure we can finish this month. Please let me know if you‘d like to join and be tagged in my daily recap posts. 😊 @LitsyEvents

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG QueenofShadows Ch.41-50: wow! I can‘t quite believe what happened to Arobynne-When he slipped the ring on Aelin‘s finger, my heart nearly stopped. Dorian under Valg control is bad enough. His chapters are hard to read -but to think of the Queen being a puppet - nope. Not having it. And neither is she apparently 🙌 I think she‘s going to need to keep Aedion in the loop though for future plans. He‘s going to get pissy otherwise

Hello friends! It‘s time to vote for the #LittensLoveRomance November 2025 read: here is the link to vote: https://forms.gle/eeuLfajMZYoKnToG8

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG Queen of Shadows Ch.31-40: Never thought I‘d feel bad for the yellowlegs - but there you go. I can‘t even begin to imagine the horrors they‘ve suffered- I‘m sure Elide only saw the surface in that brief glimpse. Manon needs to step up and take care of business. And protect those under her jurisdiction. ⬇️

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG Queen of Shadows Ch.21-30: oh, things are getting good! Manon has taken Elide as a witchling under her wing - but what will her grandmother say? Manon is showing too much softness, too much caring - at least in the eyes of that old bat. Aedion meets Rowan and it‘s all about the Alphas. Poor Aedion realizes he‘s been beaten by Rowan to the blood oath. This is a big deal - this was Aedion‘s calling. I felt bad for him. ⬇️

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG Queen of Shadows Ch.11-20: A lot to unpack in our chapters. First, when your suspicious and smelly “allies” wants to experiment on you with demons from another world - you say no. Hands down, claws out. Manon needs to find a way out of this mess or all the witches will pay. Her grandmother sending threats through the mail is annoying. Down with grandma! ⬇️

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG #QueenofShadows Ch.1-10: wow what a great first few chapters - I‘m hooked! I like seeing Aelin try to cope with all the recurring characters of her past (Arobynne, Chaol, Lysandra - and memories of Sam - and of course Aedion). Coming back to Rifthold is a lot for her. I feel terrible for Dorian. Will he be able to break free of his father and the Valg? And I still dislike Chaol. A lot. ⬇️

Hello friends, we are taking the month of October off due to having a busy schedule. I wanted to give you a heads up that we will be discussing this book starting November 9. Enjoy the break or feel free to read ahead! See you all soon! #IDLR #InDeathLongReadalong

Hello friends, just taking a little pause as I have a busy October coming up. Will post the voting link for November‘s book closer to end of month. Enjoy your fall! #LittensLoveRomance

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG book 4 We‘re back with the main story and it‘s a long one with 89 chapters, over 600 pages. I decided in order to take some of the pressure off the buddy read, I would “assign” 10 chapters a week and we would check in once a week, on Mondays. This will take us to end of November but of course you can read at your own pace, as always. Please let me know if you want to join in - tagging our usual lot, but all are welcome!

#IDLR #InDeathLongReadalong Book 16: Ch.16-end: Roarke going to see his mom‘s sister was emotional. He was welcomed as family by people he never knew. When Eve went to Ireland, it sure made Roarke‘s day - He now has a Family that he can share with his new family 🥺 he should have brought Eve with him in the first place. They need each other. I enjoyed the case as well but I was often more interested in Roarke and what he was going through.

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG Novella 5: the assassin and the empire: Well, we did it. We read it and got through it. We knew the ending and we were…sort of…prepared. And honestly, I‘m glad I read these novellas after getting to know Celaena a bit. A lot of people find her unlikeable. I think that yea, she can be difficult at times, but man-she could win an Olympic gold medal in trauma. This girl has been through it. ⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.23-end and review: well, Simon succeeded in doing the grand gesture and winning Emily back. It was very romantic - a hand-fasting that melds both their worlds - Faire and real life - together. And then the epilogue with the proposal exactly 1 year and 1 day later - be still my heart. It‘s literally all coming up roses. Emily feels like she is important and seen and Simon is moving on from his grief in a healthy way. ⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance ch.21-22: Well, Emily did ask the right questions- and while things finally got sorted out with Chris and the bookstore (at least until Spring) the talk with Simon did not go to plan. He is definitely attached to Faire and worried about letting down his brother - but it is weighing him down as well. Emily is right in standing up for herself - even though I think they could have tried to talk it out. ⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.19-20: once again, we‘re suffering from not communicating properly. Emily is insecure - and she has plenty of reason to have learned her behaviour - but she‘s jumping to a lot of conclusions without talking to Simon, Chris and even April. She‘s allowing her future to fall through the cracks based on misplaced assumptions. She needs to talk things out - especially with Simon. We‘ll all feel better if she does.

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.17-18: naturally the doubts creep in. She really needs to take her own advice and give the guy a chance. But she also deserves to be romanced. She‘s never had that and it will feel nice. But will Simon woo her as himself or will he be more confident in his pirate persona?

#LittensLoveRomance Emily is given a well-needed nudge by a fortune cookie and Mitch (of all people!) and she goes to straighten things out with Simon. Thank goodness for that. See what talking to each other gets you, folks? But I worry that they both still have a lot of insecurities which may weigh them down in the chapters to come.

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.13-14: it seems as though Emily is finally ready to talk - with her sister, but maybe with Simon too. That is the only way she‘ll get things sorted with Simon. Because he is definitely not helping. Boy‘s got issues - totally understandable ones - but issues nonetheless with Mitch and his brother. I think Emily needs to be brave and take charge and go after what she wants, in both love and life. ⬇️

#IDLR #InDeathLongReadalong Book 16: Ch.11-15: It‘s so strange to see Roarke lose control. I don‘t know - have we seen him drunk before? Maybe tipsy but I don‘t think drunk. Poor guy. His past always hits him like a ton of bricks. Eve is used to him taking care of her - we see a role reversal in this book. I‘m less interested in the case than in the personal aspects this time. But despite being distracted Eve is still coming closer to the killer.

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG Novella 4: The assassin and the underworld: Celaena is back in Rifthold and after all the talk of Arobynne we get to meet him in the flesh. I think he‘s such a piece of work. Poor Celaena and poor Sam, growing up in that world. And now Celaena has seen that there could be something better for her and Sam. ⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.11-12: boy it sure would be nice to get some of Simon‘s POV. He is giving off mixed signals. He is obviously going through stuff with his brother‘s passing and maybe he feels conflicted about his feelings for Emily. But being confusing is doing nothing good for Emily‘s self esteem and state of mind. Once again: my advice is Talk to each other 😝

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.9-10: Ren Faire means flirting with pirates - Simon is definitely throwing off confusing vibes. He‘s so different in his costumed persona. No wonder Emily is getting whiplash. She is making progress with Chris and her cafe idea. She‘s starting to put down roots in this town. But will she let herself make a life there? Or insist she doesn‘t belong?

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.7-8: Wow, Ren Faire is intense. I doubt many would give up so much of their time and energy when they weren‘t getting paid. But is it that busy all 6 weeks? Maybe people come from other areas to keep up the momentum. By the last weekend Emily will be drained I think. Or filled with the contagious enthusiasm of her fellow performers ⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.5-6: some pretty emotional chapters early on in the book. Poor Sean and poor Simon. No wonder Simon‘s been a grump. Running the Faire must be so hard, about as hard as it would be to shut it down. Interesting that Simon seems to have left town and returned to help his sibling, similar to Emily. I hope Emily realizes she‘s allowed to stay in that town if she enjoys the life she is making there.

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.3-4: I like a bit of back and forth but I think Emily has Simon pegged wrong. For one, I‘m definitely getting the vibe that his brother passed away and didn‘t just move. People are being too close lipped about Sean for it to have been simple. I wonder how Emily will bring Simon out of his shell. Does she even want to?

#IDLR #InDeathLongReadalong Book 16 Ch.6-10: Poor Roarke. He never handles his past well (and can you blame him?) but he should not shut Eve out. She won‘t stand for that. I‘m glad she‘s planning to get to the bottom of what‘s bothering him or kick his ass trying. The case is interesting and there are a lot of interesting characters Eve comes across. ⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.1-2: good start so far: we‘re introduced to the down-on-her-luck Emily, fresh off of a nasty breakup. She‘s wrangled into volunteering for a Renaissance Faire by people who take the event very seriously. Emily just wants to help out her niece. One of the show runners is Simon who, let‘s be honest, has a stick up his bum. What is his problem with Emily? Be nice to your volunteers! We‘ll see how that back and forth turns out😆

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG The Assassin and the desert: Celaena is sent to train with the master of the Silent Assassins in the desert as punishment for defying Arobynne - after he beat the crap out of her and did god knows what to Sam. Celaena meets a girl named Ansel who has had a difficult traumatic life, just like Celaena - and she makes a friend.⬇️

This was the next instalment of the London Steampunk series that I started with #LittensLoveRomance. It‘s Rip and Esme‘s story and I loved it - this series is dark and gritty but full of great characters that you root for and fall for. I can‘t wait for the next one.

#IDLR #InDeathLongReadalong Book 16: Ch.1-5: Eve starts off the book in a happy mood b/c Summerset, her nemesis, is heading away for vacation. Unfortunately his plans get derailed by a broken leg and Roarke is faced with Summerset‘s fragility in a way. Eve gets tipped to a murder by Nadine and finds a young college student as the victim. ⬇️

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG The Assassin and the Healer: this was a great story and another example of Celaena finding a way to help someone and do something for the greater good. She meets Yrene, a wannabe healer who is adrift and feeling lost in the wake of Adarlan‘s conquest. She teaches Yrene some valuable lessons and gives her the means to become what she is destined to be. I have a feeling we will be seeing Yrene again. ⬇️

Our September read for #LittensLoveRomance has been selected and we‘re going to the fairgrounds. Has anyone ever been to a renaissance fair? I‘ve always wanted to go but there aren‘t any good ones in my area that I know of. But they sound like a lot of fun and a great setting for our next book. We‘ll be reading 2 chapters a day starting Sept 15. Let me know if you want to join in on my daily posts! @LitsyEvents

#IDLR #InDeathLongReadalong Book 16 - Our next read is set to start this week (sorry for the quick turnaround). We‘ll check in on Sunday Sept 7. As we get deeper into the series we‘re getting to know and love these characters- including her fun cast of side characters. I always want to know more about what‘s happening with everyone in this universe.

‘‘Tis the season of freshly sharpened pencils, lunchboxes, and back to school routines. My little one is starting JK this year (I‘m definitely 😢) and this got me thinking of teacher romances (where one or both MCs are teachers). Not Teacher/Student which is a whole trope in itself. Here is the link to vote: https://forms.gle/512c5FRpoGckjcLi7

#IDLR #InDeathLongReadalong Book 15 Ch.16-22/review: Eve faces a lot of ethical and emotional questions in this book. She feels disillusioned with people who she thought were working with her on one side of the law. But when the justice system fails, is it right to take the law into your own hands? What if in doing so, you hurt people who get in the way? Eve faces threats to members of her own team - Trueheart, Mcnab, and Peabody. ⬇️

#LittensLoveSJM The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: What a wild swashbuckling ride this was! We get to see 16-year-old Celaena, brash and reckless, sent with Sam on a mission by Arobynn. They are supposed to make a deal with Rolfe, the Pirate Lord, but Arobynn wasn‘t completely forthcoming in the reason for their mission. We see elements of Arobynn‘s corruption and Celaena starts to lose trust in her Master. She also grows closer to her rival Sam⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch. 25-26/review: in a whirlwind couple of chapters Phoebe musters up her courage and tells Ren how she feels, only to cut and run in the morning. WTF Pheebs? Way not cool. At least everyone calls her out on it, including Ren, and they establish that there aren‘t so many obstacles standing between them as she keeps insisting upon. I was a bit annoyed at Pheobe towards the end. ⬇️

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.23-24: Anybody watching the scene in the garden is wincing right now. I can understand why Ren is upset. He thinks Pheobe was toying with him when he has real feelings for her. She‘s got some explaining to do. At least Bel stepped aside without drama. Although that would have made for some entertainment at the party. Do we think Myrna was who bought Ren‘s grandpa‘s house? How can she have any money left after that party?

#LittensLoveRomance Ch.21-22: Myrna gives some great tough love. That woman can sure give a speech. Here‘s hoping Pheobe takes her advice to heart. I‘m looking forward to seeing it all happen at this party. Bring on the drama! Already Pheobe is contacted by her ex‘s fiancée. Poor thing- hope she doesn‘t marry him.

#littensLoveRomance Ch.19-20: Man, we all need a sister like Suzanne. She‘s great. She‘s going through her own thing and still very much wants to take care of Pheobe - I mean she brings her to Disney! I love that they are closer now and being honest. Pheobe just needs to admit to what she‘s feeling for Ren. I think everything will come out at the big party. Maybe that‘s Myrna‘s plan.

#LittensLoveRomance Ch 17-18: ahh, the ol‘ kiss cam. Bringing people together (and tearing them apart to Coldplay tunes). I‘m sure Bel saw the Kiss and that is why she is MIA now. Or she read the letter and saw that Pheobe put Ren‘s name in a heart or something. I‘m glad Suzanne clued in right away to what her sister was feeling. Everyone needs a big sister who can cut through the BS. Now Myrna wants to meet Ren. Let‘s see what her take will be.

#LittensLoveSJM #ToG Next in our journey is to go back to the beginning with the prequel novellas. B/c they‘re broken up by book, we‘ll read one per week and I‘ll post on each Saturday: Aug 30, Sept 6, 13, 20, finishing on Sept 27. I‘ve been told reading these novellas gives information that is valuable for the rest of the series. If you‘re not able to join, let me know and I can remove you from my main SJM tag list or save you for the next book.