Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 4

Hello, long time friends! I hope you remember me! Life got really tough, and I stepped away from blogging. I have been reading, though. In a weird twist of universal balance, I had one of the best reading years ever quality-wise this past year. I also started a YouTube channel so I still had an outlet to share what I was reading.

Read Last Week

One Piece Volume 13 by Eiichiro Oda (⭐⭐⭐★★)

One Piece Volume 14 by Eiichiro Oda (⭐⭐⭐★★)

I'm re-reading the Baroque Works volumes of One Piece because it has been a while since I was reading One Piece, and I'm also getting ready for season 2 of One Piece on Netflix this Spring.

Currently Reading

Outlaw Planet by M.R. Carey - Set in the same universe as M.R. Carey's Pandominion duology, Outlaw Planet follows a gunslinger as she saves multiple worlds.

Ironclads by Adrian Tchaikovsky - So far this is a lot of war stuff, but I'm looking forward to discovering the real story of this novella.

BookTube

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | July 13

Hi, friends! I've been a way for a while. Mostly I was focusing on my career. I finally left my job of 16 years, and I'm in a much better place now! I've also been allowing myself to fall deeply in love with reading again. I can't wait to do some catching up and share my thoughts.

For now... here are some of my favorite 5⭐ books that I've read while I've been away:

Murder Road by Simone St. James

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

Read Last Week

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager ⭐⭐⭐💫★ - This was mostly a great time. I'm going to try to start reviewing again so I can post some full thoughts.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center [dnf] - Oh, no. This was my first Katherine Center and it was not for me. I'm bummed.

Currently Reading

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson - I'm trying to fill in the holes in my cosmere reading before the end of the year so I can read the fifth Stormlight Archive book with the rest of the Brando Sando reading world. Enjoying it so far!

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein - I found an amazing bookstore while I was out of town last week that was filled with works in translation. I was excited to find this, and I've already started it.

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Much love to you guys. I hope you are reading something special and have an amazing week.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | February 11

Hello, friends. I'm finally crawling back out of the deep pit of Dungeons & Dragons. I haven't done much reading over the past couple of weeks because I've been consuming so much D&D content. We are still playing and having a great time. I'm finally starting to feel like I have a handle on the rules and being a DM. It's freeing up the small amount of free space that I have in my mind to read again!

My kids were on winter break from school this past week. My husband and I took a few days off from work which was nice. We took a road trip and had some good food and did some shopping. It was fun.

It's super bowl Sunday. Will you be watching? We were planning to put the game on in the background for commercials and the half time show so I may get a lot of reading done tonight.

Posted over the last two weeks

New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023

On My Wishlist | Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa

On My Wishlist | In Ascension by Martin MacInnes

Finished Reading

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐💫★ - Book #9 of the Wayward Children series. I'll hopefully have some thoughts posted this week.

The Eleventh Metal by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐★★ - I'm hoping to be a Cosmere completionist by the end of the year. I don't get particularly excited about the shorts and novellas, but I'm trying to read them all.

Currently Reading

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson - I have a weird relationship with this book. This is my fourth time trying to read Elantris. It has been a struggle connecting with this one until now. I have my theories as to why, but I'm finally connecting to and loving Elantris.

Added to the TBR

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - I have such a fun friend group and we are about to do a buddy read of A Court of Thorns and Roses. I can't wait to finally be in the know about ACOTAR and have a great time with friends.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 28

Hello, friends! I missed posting an update last weekend because I got thoroughly sucked into the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Do you play? I'm not even sure how it happened, but my husband and three kids were suddenly wanting to play D&D with me, and none of us had ever played before. Before they could change their minds, I rushed out and bought a starter set. Even with the bare bones rules and small adventure, it was 80 pages of rules and story to learn! While this is certainly smaller than the three 300 page books you normally have to read to learn D&D (what!), it was a lot.

This was my Dungeon Master setup by Sunday morning:

I still have no idea what I'm doing, but we had a lot of fun and plan to play regularly.

All of this to say I didn't read anything at all this week that wasn't D&D related!

Posted over the last two weeks

Reviews:

I wound up dnf'ing The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 200 pages in, but maybe I'll come back to it some day. I did post some thoughts on The Priority of the Orange Tree.

Top Ten Tuesdays:

Bookish Goals for 2024

Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To

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On My Wishlist:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

Currently Reading

  

I'm planning to focus on finishing Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire this week and then we'll see where my mood takes me!

I hope you all have an excellent week!

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 14

Hello, friends. I'm still in the middle of a ton of books which is fine. So far this year I'm on top of my reviews which is wonderful.

This week was birthday week for my oldest. We get a long weekend this weekend, and we have a winter storm coming. Some area schools are already delaying/closing in preparation. Our average snow fall here is zero. It's not even supposed to snow - just freezing rain - but I'm hoping for a snow day or two.

Posted Last Week

I posted two reviews. Is this a new me? I hope so!

Review | Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon

Review | The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Quarter of 2024

On My Wishlist | The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

Finished Reading

Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon ⭐⭐⭐★★ - This series is a good escape (Review | Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon).

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The best written worst book I've ever read. Highly recommended. (Review | The Reformatory by Tananarive Due)

Currently Reading

My TBR jar has a lot of faith in me and gave me both Children of Ruin and The Priory of the Orange Tree for this month. Both are tomes in their genres.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire was released this past week. I'm slowly making my way through it. These books are so short in length, and I'm enjoying everything about it so far.

Added to the TBR

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire is the 9th book in the Wayward Children series. I love this series and all of their heartbreak.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 6

Happy new year! I hope you all have had a wonderful start to the year. I've been starting new books all week, but that's fine. I'm enjoying every single one of them.

Posted Last Week

I managed to post all week! I had time off for the holidays so I was able to get a bit ahead. You will not see another week like this one until next January lol

First Book of the Year 2024

Favorite Books of 2023

On My Wishlist | This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer

2023 Year-End Reading Survey

My 2023 Year-End Reading Survey

Review | And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Finished Reading

And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐⭐⭐💫★ - This is a portal fantasy, and I enjoyed it. I posted my review of And Put Away Childish Things yesterday.

Currently Reading

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due is the January readalong pick over on the Horror Spotlight discord. I'm easing into this one since the content is pretty heavy.

Yes, I'm already re-reading Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson! My local book club is reading this for January and the early buzz is so good. I love this book.

Nightmare King by Daka Hermon - Life is strange. I have no idea how Daka Hermon released a middle grade horror last year without me knowing. I downloaded it the minute I found out and started reading it. So far it's everything I want a middle grade horror to be.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is my first pull from my 2024 TBR jar! I'm really hoping to lean heavily on my jar this year. I love Steinbeck, but I've never read Of Mice and Men.

Barbarian Alien (Ice Planet Barbarians #2) by Ruby Dixon - I had an exhausting week and needed a complete escape from the heavy books I'm reading. I'm reading Tress with my husband so I couldn't reach for that one. I think Ice Planet Barbarians is a perfect choice in moments like these.

Currently Watching

I'm so happy to have a show that all 5 of us want to watch together. Two of my kids have read all of the Percy Jackson books, and I've read a few of them. We are enjoying it so far!

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | December 30

Happy New Year! I have no idea where this holiday went. I was able to read quite a bit this past week. We finally watched the Barbie movie, and my son and I have been playing the new Super Mario Bros Wonder game. It's quirky and it's fun. I hope you all have an amazing weekend.

What book will be your first of the year?

Finished Reading

I managed to read the books I said I wanted to read this week!

  

Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison [dnf] - I'm in my romance learning phase. Lovelight Farms is supposed to be a "fake dating" romance, but it's really more of a "friends to lovers" book. This didn't work for me, but I'm getting to know my tastes in romance.

The September House by Carissa Orlando ⭐⭐⭐★★- Aw, man. This book took a big turn in tone halfway through, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I did feel disappointed that it went from a really unique, cozy, humorous horror story to a trigger filled, quite typical horror story. I'm pretty bummed.

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ - I'm so glad I decided to reread this series this year. I knew this book would hit differently the second time around.

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson (⭐⭐⭐★★) is #2.5 in the Stormlight Archive series. I'm so glad I checked to see if there were any novellas between Words of Radiance and Oathbringer. This was an OK read for me. Sanderson says this novella gives some important backstory for Oathbringer. I'm glad to have read it since I plan on reading Oathbringer in 2024.

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ - This was the most heartbreaking of the series so far. I need a good ending for Antsy at some point in this series! I'm all caught up and ready for the new one in January!

Currently Reading

I'm hoping to finish reading Iron Flame before the end of the year. This book is too long, and I refuse to carry it over into 2024.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.