January #BookspinBingo board with #Bookspin and #Doublespin marked! Jazzed!
@TheAromaofBooks

@TheAromaofBooks
I meant to go back and make sure all my reviews were posted and that they were tagged, but babies and holidays! I did go back and double-check, and the only month I didn't get my #BookSpin and #Doublespin finished was August. Not bad! Maybe in 2022, I'll finally get a Bookspin Bingo!

Spent my last few hours of 2021 finishing up one last book, making my total 87 for the year. Mystery was definitely my genre for December. At least some of them were seasonal!
#DecemberWrapUp

Up next, my Bookspin Wrap-up!

While I didn't find as much of Roach's trademark humor in this one, it did contain a number of cool facts about various species that I was unaware of, and considerations about humans and wildlife conflict that I didn't know. I found the middle chapters a little less engaging than some of the earlier and later ones, but that may also have been my own interests at work. Looking forward to seeing what Roach tackles next.

I found this book captivating. While I'm not overly familiar w/Cuba's history, the foreboding built early in this book is enough to stress the danger that the Alvarez family must escape. The author does a great job of contrasting these fears w/the normal day-to-day worries Lucia experiences as a teen. I found the whole story so engaging as well as moving. It brought me to tears several times, and I wish it had been around when I was a kid.

I found this an interesting installment in this series because it's the first time I really felt a bit surprised at the solution to the mystery. It was a bit dark and sad for a Christmas-themed book, but there was still enough of the cozy vibe to make it work. There was also a bit more romance and humor in this one, which balanced out the rest nicely.

The poetry included a number of powerful lines that I really enjoyed. I found it to be a little hard to engage with all the characters equally and was most connected to Cecilia, but it was still an interesting and thought-provoking read.

This mystery touches on a lot of interesting ideas, which could have been placed against the archetype characters in interesting ways. It's such a medley of interesting concepts, which never really got their due. Everything felt like it was left just short of completely realized.

It's been a while since I read anywhere outside my house or at lunch but just got my Covid booster and proved that Nette still can read anywhere. And does.
#NetteReadsinOddPlaces
#NetteReadsOddly

Like the other Sefton books I've read, this one is fairly obvious early on, but I enjoyed the characters and found Kelly's investigations amusing and relaxing to follow.

The investigation is entertaining in the funny mismatch between Poirot and his village landlords. The mystery itself was less engaging for me, but I thought the solution was clever - though I would have found it more so if it hadn't been hinted at so heavily.

It was a really interesting premise, but I felt like I was lacking a lot of development in the background details that would have helped me connect more with the characters and their conflict.

Exploring the stories behind each character's reason for being at this resort was interesting, and I enjoyed seeing how those stories each played out at the end. But I found the suspense a lot of build-up leading to twists that were kind of weak. I like Moriarty's characters though, and would read more from her.

Just like the first, this was a hilarious cozy mystery with charming characters, perfect for the fall. I'm definitely picking up the next one for winter!

This book had a bit more of the creepy than the first and a bit less of the travel love. While I didn't like it quite as much as the first, I couldn't help but appreciate Cass's determination and the warmth of her friendship with Jacob. Looking forward to the third.

It was a fun, if predictable, investigation full of encouraging girlfriends, helpful community members, and lots of descriptions of yarn. A relaxing kind of book.

I don't know what it is about Alice in Wonderland, but I find retellings of it to be such fun. This one in particular includes a butt-kicking Alice, which made me happy. The pacing was off for me, though, especially when it came to balancing action-filled fight scenes and story development, but I liked it well enough to want to check out the second one.

This was a moving book, and the first in a long time to really draw me in and make me not want to put it down. A great, if sad, story.

It was interesting reading these at the same time as Green's essay collection, in that I found some similar flaws (I wonder if they are flaws in essay in general). Overall, I enjoyed some of them, especially the tragically unfinished Dirk Gently book. Others interested me less or disappointed me. Mostly glad I read it though.

This book is so very slow and takes its time getting anywhere, and the solution is pretty obvious from at least the halfway point. At the same time, I really like the camaraderie between the characters, and I find the slow pace comforting when I'm anxious. Not my favorite mystery series, but worth visiting from time to time.

I found many of the essays interesting, though I can't say I always agreed with his ratings! Regardless, I actually learned many new things and found other things that I'm interested in learning more about. Other essays didn't land as well, and I've got to admit, I found it stressful to read about the pandemic while we're still in the pandemic, but it wasn't a bad collection overall.

Aliche outlines ten basic areas of finance along w/a step-by-step to improve those areas. She presents this information in a manner that's clear & simple to understand. While some of these concepts & plans might be logical (at least, I thought they were), I found it reassuring to know I'm on the right track. I also found it helpful to read about the areas that I'm less familiar with, and I plan to revisit them again. A helpful & worthwhile read.

This book builds so well off the first one, with Tarisai both growing and also confronting her mistakes and shortcomings. It's fast-paced, thought-provoking, and incredibly satisfying.

This was a really fun cozy mystery with some great humor in it. Was it a bit silly and convoluted at times? Yup. Was that exactly what I needed? Yup! Very enjoyable beginning to this series.

It felt a bit like most of the book was more getting people into places than advancing stories, but that meant spending time w/new characters that I enjoyed (like Elide & Lorcan) and revisiting returning characters like Aedion & Lysandra (side note: Aedion delivered my fave line in this book). Even Rowan was less annoying this time. The stakes didn't seem stressful, but I didn't mind, and the ending was excellent. I'm looking forward to the next.

This was another collection of fun and chuckle-inducing stories by Wodehouse. While none of these were really memorable stand-outs, I enjoyed them and found many of them pretty amusing. It was a nice return to these characters and I am going to try not to wait too long before doing it again.

This was a hard story for me to get through, as it hits every button in terms of things I have a hard time reading about. I probably wouldn't have made it through at all if French hadn't set up such an intriguing story. It's complex, wrapped w/secrets & misunderstandings and of course amnesia. I struggled w/the pacing a few times, Ryan is an immature (& icky) jerk, and I did want a SLIGHTLY neater ending. For the most part though, interesting.

My #BookSpinBingo with #BookSpin and #Doublespin marked! I'm going to start catching up on reviews again this weekend and double-checking to make sure @TheAromaofBooks is tagged! Trying to get my reading life organized again!

While I didn't love the writing in this mystery and the pacing ebbed and flowed, I really enjoyed the focus on friendships and finding community. Some of it was really charming and funny, and some of it was a little slow as the series set its foundation (for example, the true murderer was obvious from the moment he appeared on the page). Still, a sweet little mystery.

While this poetry collection had a number of interesting lines and ideas, overall it was not my jam.

I know I haven't been around much, but I'm finally climbing out of my reading slump, thanks in part to some really fun October reads. I'm still struggling a bit, but I'll get there. What did you enjoy this month?

Here's my #BookSpinBingo board, though I forgot to mark my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin. Life has been a bit crazy lately, guys. I miss my book people.
@TheAromaofBooks

September Remember! Thanks to audio rereads I got through the first four books of Narnia - forever faves - and I also did John Green's essay collection by audio (I treated it like podcasts and that worked!). I really liked both Ifueko's and Aliche's books, so overall it was a great month of books! I'm still not reading much in print which has me very stressed, but Narnia's making me feel better about it. #SeptemberWrapUp

My #BookSpinBingo card with #Bookspin and #DoubleSpin marked! My current read is also my Book Spin, so that's a good sign. Wish me luck!
@TheAromaofBooks

This is probably my worst reading month in recent memory. And it's not that I'm not reading fun books because I am. It's just a lot right now. With work & family, I'm getting no time to myself. I have no time to just breathe by myself, much less read, and when I do, my attention is shattered.

I'm still here though! Missing you Littens!

#AugustWrapUp

This was even more funny than I remembered, and I think I understood the end better this time, though it still gets a bit frantic. Revisiting Adams made me happy.

I continue to enjoy Stiefvater\'s writing and I like the characters and want to know where they\'re headed. At the same time, the pacing was super slow and I got very frustrated. I want to read the next one, but at the same time I\'m not ready to rush into it.

While I really loved reading about Antonia, the pace of this story ebbed and flowed for me and I wanted more about Antonia herself. I liked where it eventually went, though I don\'t know that I\'d be excited to read more Cather.

A sudden blackout hits all of New York City on a summer evening. These six interconnecting stories tell of six different romances in different stages happening across the city. As with any collection, I preferred some stories to others, but overall I\'d say it was worth the read.

#BookspinBingo card ready, with #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin marked!
@TheAromaofBooks

My list for #BookSpin and #BookspinBingo... Again, a lot of free spaces to allow for series and book clubs.
@TheAromaofBooks

June and July threw me off my game again, but here we go:
📖 6 books
🏋‍♀️ Start and follow my new workout schedule 6 days a week
Wish me luck!
@wanderinglynn #BFC21

I'm having book attention issues again (lack of sleep and recharge time will do that). So July was not a great month in that I didn't read a ton and I DNFed at least one book. But I did read a couple of things I had fun with, and I'm going into the new month with 3+ books started, so who knows what will happen? #JulyWrapUp

It took me a while to really connect with Sasha and Thomas, but once I did, this was a fun read. Jarzab does a great job of creating a character who is just curious and stubborn enough to root for and not enough to be foolish or annoying. The romance also built really well. The twists and reveals aren't anything life-changing, but I enjoyed it.

This was a sweet and moving story that I probably would have really enjoyed as a kid. I didn't completely engage with the characters, but I loved their friendship.

This book was so atmospheric and fun to read. I read this in June in Florida & still felt the cold isolation Ware built into the story. It wasn't exactly a difficult mystery to figure out, but I liked following the trail to the end. A little paranoid, a little silly - this hit my mystery/thriller itch just right.

It all seems par for the course, then Kemmerer starts mixing it up & that's when I really engaged. It's when the characters dig into themselves & each other for the truth that this series is at its best, b/c they are better than sitting around sulking at their mistakes & fears. They dive into (sometimes ill-advised) action, ask hard questions & it all leads to a really satisfying, if a bit obvious, conclusion. Really enjoyed this book & series.

Sweetie & Ashish are just the most charming characters (and the Patels are the most delightful matchmakers). Each hurdle they take, both together & apart, just builds a sweeter connection between the two of them, while making valid points about loving who you are. And of course, like Menon's other books, there's just enough comedy & poignancy sprinkled throughout to really engage the reader. This is now my fave of all the Menon books I've read.

There were a couple of things that stood out to me, specifically Sertillanges's focus on women and the way he spoke about the Apostles. Most of it wasn't exactly a new perspective though, which is what I'd hoped for, and I didn't love the style. Still, it was a really interesting series of reflections and would probably be really well suited to a Lenten series of reading.

Prim has a fun adventure through Vauxhall Gardens in this book, though her birthday scheme inevitably goes awry. As she explores the infamous venue & learns that society & its so-called delights are not as anticipated, she also contemplates her upbringing, what she does & doesn't know. Of course, she also meets the mysterious Jacob who both annoys & intrigues her. The characters were flawed but also sweet & fun, making for a charming romance.