The witch looked surprised to see me, her eyes blinking furiously at me through murky waters. I don‘t know why she was so astonished. It was my lake she‘d been thrown into; she should have expected I‘d come and see if there was anyone worth eating.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Managed one bingo in January

#ISpyBingo @thearomaofbooks

3/5

The War is over and Jon is home from the French prison he's been in to find that he is now a duke, and his sister's governess, Tory, is the daughter of his dead mentor. Jon is committed to finding Tory a husband, even if he finds himself drawn to her.

I've never read a book about detenus. There was a lot going on with the history, as well as Tory's backstory, so sometimes the characters and their romance felt a little flat.
#netgalley

#bookspin: Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill
#doublebookspin: Will's Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

4.5/5

On the interstellar ship, the Fairweather, death is temporary when a new body can be created and your memories restored from a copy in the library, But when detective Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn't hers and to news that there's just been a murder, it's clear that someone's figured out how to make a murder stick, and this new body might have something to do with it.

#netgalley

Managed 2 bingos in January.

#bookspin #doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

audiobook: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
ebook: Hazardous to a Duke's Heart by Sabrina Jeffries

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

February #bookspin

#doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

5/5

Lydia has decided that best way to save her long time pen pal, the Earl of Strathrannoch, from his financial woes is to offer him a marriage of convenience. However, when she shows up at his castle, she quickly realizes that her pen pal is Davis, the brother of Arthur, the actual Earl, and Davis is missing. Lydia and Arthur embark on a quest to find Davis and prevent him from committing a crime before it's too late.

#netgalley

4.5/5

This was a fantastic book about different techniques parents (and anyone who works with kids) can pull into play time to create more connection with your kids as well as help them work on understanding their emotions and co-regulation. It's full of examples and illustrations on how to put the techniques into use. I was able to immediately use a couple of the ideas in playtime with my kids.

#netgalley

4.5/5

When Clem is kidnapped by Captain Mariel and her crew of Merry Men, she assumes it's because reputation as a healer who is experimenting with more effective treatments, instead it's to make sure her guardian understands that consequences of healing anyone associated with the Sheriff of Nottingham.

I thought this was a fun re-imagining of Robin Hood focused on his granddaughter.

4/5

Martin explores the way orphans are portrayed in popular media and the many ways that portrayal differs from what children actually experienced in orphanages all the way to foster care. I found it very interesting to learn how some of the issues that existed in the past continued to survive into the present and how pop culture can blind us to these facts.

#netgalley

4.5/5

Sachielle is the latest of the dragon god's consorts as part of a pact with the mortal king to protect the land. But the mortal king has a plan to rid himself of the pact and the dragon, even if it means sacrificing Sachi and her handmaid Zanya. But the dragon is nothing like Sachi or Zanya expected, and they are nothing like what he expected.

ebook: The Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow by Kristen Martin
audiobook: Not For the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher
non-fiction: The Way of Play by Tina Payne Bryson and Georgie Wisen-Vincent

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

ebook: The Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow by Kristen Martin
audiobook: Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha
non-fiction: The Way of Play by Tina Payne Bryson and Georgie Wisen-Vincent

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

5/5

Lucas is pulled from his comforting isolation when his apartment board drags him into an investigation into who left a frying pan on the ground outside. It's a quick read with Backman's humor, emotion, and strong voice. I enjoyed it as much as the longer works of his I've read.

#netgalley

“It's a frying pan that ruins Lucas's life. We'll get to that“

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

5/5

Tao is a traveling fortune teller who only tells small fortunes to avoid the mage guild's notice. She meets a thief, an ex-mercenary looking for his daughter, Leah, and a baker as they travel across Eshtera reading fortunes and looking for Leah.

This was a really wonderful book that did a great job including low stakes adventures, found family, and loneliness while feeling like a fresh cozy fantasy story.

#auldlangspine

3.5

Scout is chasing down the archives left by a long dead alien civilization that may have found the answer to what kills every civilization that makes it to space in a race against time with Verity Co who turn every piece of information into an opportunity for profit.

It's a book about grief and the connection between the living. I thought the corporate greed message was a little heavy handed, but a good read overall.

5/5

An incredible second book in this series with so many twists that I did not see coming. I really enjoyed both the sci-fi and political elements of the book as Wu Zetian has to manage the politics of reviving Qin Zheng and overthrowing the old regime.

I was once again fooled by what I thought was a duology actually being a trilogy, but I'm very excited to see where the story goes next.

e-book: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
audiobook: The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

4/5

Vitrine is a demon with a city. Until that city is burned to ground by angels. Vitrine must grieve and eventually rebuild her city, while dealing with the presence of the angel she cursed.

It's a book about grieving and rebuilding. It's beautiful and strange, but I really enjoyed it.

I thought the narrator did a wonderful job bringing Vitrine's voice to life.

#netgalley

5/5

This is a really fascinating memoir about Ina's life from her childhood and meeting Jeffrey to opening her store and eventually working on her cookbooks and TV show. It's an interesting book about someone who has lived an interesting life, and I thought it had a really good message about being prepared for when good luck finds you.

4/5

Lady's maid Armstrong and Lady Hardcastle are ready to retire to the country and leave their adventures behind. Instead they themselves involved in the investigation of two murders.

This was a lovely cozy mystery set in the early 1900s and a great first read of the year. #auldlangspine @julesG @monalyisha

ebook: Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
audiobook: A Quiet Life in the Country by T. E. Kinsey

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Completed by 2024 reading bracket, and Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland was my top read of 2024.

#bookspin: Way of Play by Tina Payne Bryson and Georgie Wisen-Vincent
#doublebookspin: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

@TheAromaofBooks

Ready for another year of bookspin

#bookspin #doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

4.5/5

This was an incredibly interesting book about the history of Christmas monsters and ghosts from how they came to become folklore to their ongoing evolution and popularity. This wasn't something I had thought about much before, but I found it so interesting to find out what we know about these stories origins and what the can tell us about how Christmas, and midwinter in general, was celebrated historically in Europe.

#netgalley

This was my favorite edition of The Night Before Christmas and after my son was born I wanted to share it with him. It took us well over a year of searching my parents house to find it (after having no luck finding it online because I thought it was illustrations of muce instead of rabbits), but now we have it, and my son loves it just as much as I did. He asked me it read it twice last night.

#wintergames

I finally had time to look through all the books on my #auldlangspine list from @julesG. I've read and loved Ne'er Duke Well and Earls' Trip, and Lock In has been on my TBR for too long. I've decided to focus on reading these 5 in January:

Lock In by John Scalzi
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir
A Quiet Life in the Country by T E Kinsey
The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

@monalyisha

My second year in a row finishing the #52bookclub reading challenge

4/5

Liz, Birdie, and Rafi are all returning to their famous mother's home for the holidays. Liz is trying to pitch a new season of her hit show, and avoid her feelings for the star of the show. Birdie is struggling with her stand-up career, her relationships, and her drinking when she meets a local artist. Rafi is turned down after a public proposal and returns home to spend time with his best friend.

#netgalley

4/5

Patrick and Quinn's new marriage is already struggling with the pressures of owning a fixer upper and both working demanding jobs, but when they accidentally attack Santa Clause and have to take over his job, they're forced to take a break from their life and their problems. But even in someplace as magical as the North Pole, they have to figure out how to fix their relationship.

#netgalley

#GuesstheBook24 #WinterGames2024

#GuesstheBook24 #WinterGames2024

4/5

Evie is a comic book illustrator on a deadline, but she still has time to appreciate the mysterious ornaments left on her door, and to crush on her cute neighbor. A quick, fun romance.

#netgalley #wintergames2024 #christmaschapterchasers

2.5/5

Everleigh keeps running into holiday trouble, but that's fine, since cute fireman Griffin Brantley keeps rescuing her. I felt like this one didn't have much plot, but it was still fun.

#netgalley #wintergames2024 #christmaschapterchasers

3.5/5

Nina and her crush, William, are both working a seasonal job advertising mincemeat on a repurposed weinermobile. When they get stuck in a snow storm, they reveal their feelings for one another. A fun, short romance. I appreciated all the mincemeat puns.

#netgalley #wintergames2024 #christmaschapterchasers

3/5

Single mom, Evie, is working at a thrift shop where local farmer Luke keeps trying and failing to find clothes that fit. It was a quick, fun romance, but the holiday setting felt pretty unnecessary to the story.

#netgalley #wintergames2024 #christmaschapterchasers

#GuesstheBook24

3.5/5

Jamie and Marc reconnect during a snow storm a not long after a disastrous date. Childhood crush into love isn't my favorite trope, but I thought that this was a fun, light wintery romance.

#netgalley #wintergames2024 #christmaschapterchasers

5/5

Isaac bought the mansion in Christmas Notch in the hopes of finding inspiration to write a Christmas album to meet his contractual obligations and live out the rest of his life in peaceful isolation. Instead he find's Sunny, his best friend's wife's best friend, in a terrible motel with her cat trying to write a holiday screenplay for the Hope channel and invites her to be his roommate instead. They quickly become more than roommates.

5/5

Sir Horley is a gay man who feels that he must marry to satisfy his family, even if it is a miserable match, but on the eve of his wedding Arabella Tarleton, his aromantic friend, convinces him to elope with her instead. I loved the platonic relationship between Sir Horley and Belle. It was unlike any other romance novel I've read, and I would have happily read so much more about them building a life together that suits them both.

My December #bookspin/ #wintergames2024 TBR. It's hard to pick a most anticipated but I think it's got to be A Jingle Bell Mingle.

#ChristmasChapterChasers @StayCurious #doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

Eggnog
Open Presents on Christmas
Star tree topper
Turkey
Stay at Home

#WinterGames2024 #ChristmasChapterChasers @StayCurious

print: Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumon
audiobook: Lifeform by Jenny Slate

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

5/5

I enjoyed this set of fantasy short stories. My favorites were Sucker for Pain where the servant of a witch becomes a vampire and gains her own power, The Animation Games where two betrothed take advantage of their resurrected afterlife to hunt one another now, and Chaos Theory, the longest story in the collection, where the actions of two individuals in one universe have ripple effects across their lives in four other alternative universes.

print book: Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond
audiobook: Januaries by Olivie Blake

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

4.5/5

Theodosia might be the wicked stepsister to Princess Beatrice, but when her mother tries to marry her off to an ancient duke, she knows she has to save herself. She finds Beatrice's notes for summoning a fairy, and make her own deal to escape her upcoming marriage. Of course nothing is easy when you're wicked, so Theo is tasked with completing three selfless tasks to prove that's she's worth of fairy magic.

#netgalley