tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71562265109843842312024-03-05T05:22:26.338+00:00A Fool's IngenuityBecky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comBlogger922125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-35182159695393747212024-02-25T11:30:00.001+00:002024-02-25T11:30:38.261+00:00Five Star Reads - February 2024<p>We may almost be through February but it's never too late to look back at last month. January was a good start of the year for me reading-wise as I read a lot of five-star reads. Was I too generous with my rating? Maybe, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? Sometimes you just get lucky and find lots of books you enjoy. I was going to write lots of individual reviews but I fell behind and I figured it would be way easier to just combine them together, and more fun for me.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mkszkqfnuvTwRpt9U44SfWOHSZ6cdAKAkyujCCJtyVjE40A5CETrrh4Jw83OyfkYPAHl2AZHaSKuZfuDz6lE6Vrsk0Et8XcMq0co0w2IsWfgHxxeNELGLCrdwZrSkJdL-f4iL7Uvtc-kEOX7YnKP-2oLyCeSQREf_fKWgcg1XblGGV_gbTI51qYewxo/s675/Winter's%20Orbit.jpg" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="429" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mkszkqfnuvTwRpt9U44SfWOHSZ6cdAKAkyujCCJtyVjE40A5CETrrh4Jw83OyfkYPAHl2AZHaSKuZfuDz6lE6Vrsk0Et8XcMq0co0w2IsWfgHxxeNELGLCrdwZrSkJdL-f4iL7Uvtc-kEOX7YnKP-2oLyCeSQREf_fKWgcg1XblGGV_gbTI51qYewxo/s320/Winter's%20Orbit.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54811115-winter-s-orbit" target="_blank">Winter’s Orbit (Winter's Orbit #1) - Everina Maxwell</a></h3><div>I’m lucky that the second book I finished in January was a 5 star read. I picked it up a while ago as a queer sci-if romance appealed to me and this book did not disappoint.</div>
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<p>Winter’s Orbit centres around an arranged marriage. Jainan and Kiem don’t know each other before they’re forced to marry to satisfy some kind of space covenant. Prince Kiem gets asked to marry the representative of another planet who is recently widowed and spends a lot of the book comparing himself to his cousin Taam who Jainan was married to before Taam died in an accident. It’s later discovered that it wasn’t as much of an accident as first expected and that becomes a whole mystery to explore. It was obvious from the start Jainan and Taam’s marriage hadn’t been all it appeared and although Kiem believes Jainan to be still grieving a lost love and being forced into marriage too soon a lot comes out as the book progresses.</p>
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<p>If you’re looking to explore a lot of space this isn’t as space heavy as some sci-fi books but I really wanted to read for the romance so I wasn’t too disappointed by that. It was a great book, maybe a little slower than some books but I was hooked trying to figure out who killed Taam and why. I’ve not read the next book in this series yet but I think they’re all standalone anyway so that’s alright.</p><p><br /></p><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt8YSPbUZqAnlaWCSWponL8a9xbxtILbn42iMCoGGOi6RNUXfv8oQ7T5mP-w_E8glC1LQToGN8PA5YHnDUe7DJLBB1tBSw3h9DXC7fYWj8WhFCWrvYHXnJQOD5a59osEeMsoe9C1oWE5DiZDNwTHDy93Ta-R-jGtwnzeuUxpYqScGj4Slix75HwAf0Wc/s2560/A%20Deadly%20Education.jpg" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1664" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt8YSPbUZqAnlaWCSWponL8a9xbxtILbn42iMCoGGOi6RNUXfv8oQ7T5mP-w_E8glC1LQToGN8PA5YHnDUe7DJLBB1tBSw3h9DXC7fYWj8WhFCWrvYHXnJQOD5a59osEeMsoe9C1oWE5DiZDNwTHDy93Ta-R-jGtwnzeuUxpYqScGj4Slix75HwAf0Wc/s320/A%20Deadly%20Education.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51111847-a-deadly-education" target="_blank">A Deadly Education (The Scholomance #1) - Naomi Novik</a></h3><p></p>
<p>I picked this up for one of my challenges and I’d been putting off reading it for awhile. I can see why reviews were mixed for A Deadly Education, the writing style was different. It was very slow to develop when it came to plot and it was worldbuilding heavy so I imagine that put people off but that was what made me love it. The world of the Scholomance and the school itself was complex so it needed to spend time explaining things and the way it was written it never felt like an info dump. </p><p><br /></p><p>Galadriel was an outcast in her junior year with no allies in a school that had a thousand things trying to kill her until Orion Lake saved her (although she would debate if the rescue was required). That single incident led to the events of the book and it was brilliant. I didn’t want to put it down and was invested in the story. I didn’t even know what the story would be until the very end when El found herself working with Orion and others in the school to try and save everyone. It just worked, and there was enough of a cliffhanger at the end that I immediately started the second book.</p><p><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKWNWuncPpc6WPrneyderHqc7QVBnp_hVi4f5gpxV5K5MVcekE0_wxjsKjWjqWjCGMuSLgNeAl9am3qVgfyyRyceuzDskuPQENPPWiLLorpJFN_TXEwWHbVhhFE_OODYV9kO1YJAb2sJUiWQ4IUsX5X4XjDn77D6AVFB0PAYzlQsY5Iz3u79nwS0DotU/s2560/The%20Last%20Graduate.jpg" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1663" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKWNWuncPpc6WPrneyderHqc7QVBnp_hVi4f5gpxV5K5MVcekE0_wxjsKjWjqWjCGMuSLgNeAl9am3qVgfyyRyceuzDskuPQENPPWiLLorpJFN_TXEwWHbVhhFE_OODYV9kO1YJAb2sJUiWQ4IUsX5X4XjDn77D6AVFB0PAYzlQsY5Iz3u79nwS0DotU/s320/The%20Last%20Graduate.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56058300-the-last-graduate" target="_blank">The Last Graduate (The Scholomance #2) - Naomi Novik</a></h3><p><br /></p>
<p>This book was less heavy with the world-building compared to the first. You were familiar with the Scholomance at this point it wasn’t necessary and so it was all about building to graduation except it didn’t go as expected. I was a little surprised at the turn this book took but it made sense. </p><p><br /></p><p>I liked seeing El battle a lot more and also building up a larger group of connections. She didn’t like people yet found herself forced to spend time with them and even help them at times. I like to view this as growth as she learnt she didn’t have to like everyone she helped, and even reluctantly liked some of them without realising she’d let it happen. We got to see El realise that she was strong and see others recognise that too. It was interesting to see how different people reacted. Some accepted her as she was and liked her. Some didn’t care either. And obviously, some wanted to use it to their advantage. </p><p><br /></p><p>I struggle to say too much about this book without spoiling things but it definitely took turns I wasn’t expecting and I will say if you enjoy this series then make sure you have the final book when you’re almost finished with this one as the cliffhanger is brutal.</p><p><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwO0RGU8cY4o7Xo8xhwbQQchXIl1ta6fHPtqEMBPJnqg30QliBBug8Wh5QRG7bOBJudCnFIplmLR0TkIgSNrte4ef6TGbwtDmgtoxMi0voglBCrGhOKRWJEQFqFRb6FRGrMhkB9151J1vxtolSwWc-FkLKG1bM6X2kXFiFHkPatp754rIdpdFUh2sots/s2560/The%20Golden%20Enclaves.jpg" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1666" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwO0RGU8cY4o7Xo8xhwbQQchXIl1ta6fHPtqEMBPJnqg30QliBBug8Wh5QRG7bOBJudCnFIplmLR0TkIgSNrte4ef6TGbwtDmgtoxMi0voglBCrGhOKRWJEQFqFRb6FRGrMhkB9151J1vxtolSwWc-FkLKG1bM6X2kXFiFHkPatp754rIdpdFUh2sots/s320/The%20Golden%20Enclaves.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Special Mention 4.5 rating</h4><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60180219-the-golden-enclaves" target="_blank">The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance #3) - Naomi Novik</a></h3><p><br /></p><p>After the brutal ending of the last book I immediately picked up the final book in the series the next morning. I slew through the book in a single day, an impressive feat for me considering I seem to have developed the attention span of a gnat. Social media has definitely destroyed my attention span.</p><p><br /></p><p>The final book didn’t quite reach 5 stars for me. It was an excellent ending to a brilliant series. It was interesting to see El and her classmates outside of the Scholomance and see what magic was like out in the real world. Considering the events of the last book, a lot was going on and it was really quite emotional at times. I liked seeing how classmates behaved in the real world as they were no longer in the bubble the school created and they once more had the privileges they experienced in their normal lives. I found some of the alliances really interesting and it was nice to know El was as clueless outside of the school as in it. She seemed to have a brain for magic but then real people and real life were beyond her. </p><p><br /></p><p>I liked getting answers to some questions that had lingered since the first book and I was impressed that even in this book it managed to surprise me. I won’t spoil anything, there were some frustrations on how the story got wrapped up and I’m not sure I liked the answer to some of the questions. But whatever, it worked and it really explored morality and the extent people will go to for their own comfort.</p><p><br /></p><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUkieGDFQLEJeQrfJ8xshyphenhyphenUS0lbZ4_1wzHlUEHYvL5JoqxSw129HREEy-D34soz7SiXHb5v3rYV4y1m8ox8pfTwnL2ZKJ-0V5RNuai16u14vW238GDedlIPC9chq4gaE2CMWbgV3D_mDhrv53bK55hUyvNwaESfgBtlBPhUeIHAyXaPbqdW6LMhjWXSo/s1863/The%20Chemistry%20of%20Familiar%20Objects.jpg" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1863" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUkieGDFQLEJeQrfJ8xshyphenhyphenUS0lbZ4_1wzHlUEHYvL5JoqxSw129HREEy-D34soz7SiXHb5v3rYV4y1m8ox8pfTwnL2ZKJ-0V5RNuai16u14vW238GDedlIPC9chq4gaE2CMWbgV3D_mDhrv53bK55hUyvNwaESfgBtlBPhUeIHAyXaPbqdW6LMhjWXSo/s320/The%20Chemistry%20of%20Familiar%20Objects.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Favourite</h4><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205334510-the-chemistry-of-familiar-objects" target="_blank">The Chemistry of Familiar Objects - Alexandra Vasti</a></h3><p></p><p>Alexandra Vasti became a favourite author of mine from just her novellas so I instantly downloaded when she had a new one out and she really is an amazing historical romance writer. It helped that I’d just finished a book I’d thought I’d love and ended up hating because it was such a chore to read so I was happy to read this and realise I wasn’t in a reading slump that was just a bad book.</p><p><br /></p><p>Emmeline and Robert were just brilliant. They were total opposites and the spark between them was obvious. I wasn’t certain how it was going to go given how dismissive and almost cruel Emmeline had been at the start telling Robert she was evicting him but as soon as you got to know her it was clear there was no malice (not truly) she simply enjoyed getting a reaction from him and didn’t understand him completely. She truly didn’t consider how a sudden eviction might be difficult and she did regret it. And then they had more important things to think about than a silly eviction as someone had broken in and stolen from her and there was a whole conspiracy cracking off to investigate.</p><p><br /></p><p>I wish this had been longer yet I am also thrilled with how fully developed the plot and the characters were considering this was a novella. I didn’t want to stop reading and I am happy to say I am not in fact ina reading slump so I’m glad I downloaded this when I did.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip65vQB9krWR33rSzBFj_xJ9VoI-WYirOtnaRjpNeHc-ml8TvJKjUUZENZ-zEqy7L1Lxop8IZurm4YT_fh6XXm3xIpyzTfvOxflD6uXhLJY1IscqalH5vqMdcWXh4KGO311Ep0lAVdY5KRxWcVl6J0jepbCxg1Ww05A_RA4rrlPCg-ICH9l1rcssgc7_Y/s500/Next%20Year%20in%20Havana.jpg" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip65vQB9krWR33rSzBFj_xJ9VoI-WYirOtnaRjpNeHc-ml8TvJKjUUZENZ-zEqy7L1Lxop8IZurm4YT_fh6XXm3xIpyzTfvOxflD6uXhLJY1IscqalH5vqMdcWXh4KGO311Ep0lAVdY5KRxWcVl6J0jepbCxg1Ww05A_RA4rrlPCg-ICH9l1rcssgc7_Y/s320/Next%20Year%20in%20Havana.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Reread</h4><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34374628-next-year-in-havana" target="_blank">Next Year in Havana (The Perez Family #1) - Chanel Cleeton</a></h3><p></p>
<p>I went into this book loving it and I finished it loving it just as much the second time around. I’ve already spoken of my love for this one so not sure I should repeat myself. Please see <a href="https://afoolsingenuity.blogspot.com/2019/01/next-year-in-havana-utterly-stunning-i.html" target="_blank">my previous review</a> for what made this book so amazing.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>And that was my reading month of January. It was nice to read so many books that I loved. Sadly, there were some disappointments but I don't want to think of those. What were your favourite reads of January? And did you read any of the ones I loved last month?</b></p>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-82774047644372449652024-02-06T12:30:00.013+00:002024-02-06T12:30:00.138+00:00Top Ten Tuesday: Quick Reads/Books to Read When Time is Short<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPlpPVIjYdcXjoiIURRxqwETCGLgN9TMy9TFQERNcU06ED7ZBbvxPUXkrl-_dSUC-4ll10WO3pPmCaESmqmM7tw5-doZpGL1fcfz2rykH17YbGNgZWI5K0KdeEkKhsd4oD8-IchcdH6wJx0Fw-vsKbXGYO77T8JrEtuwwClK0PCHUoxwh2n5enrzynds/s800/IMG_0986.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPlpPVIjYdcXjoiIURRxqwETCGLgN9TMy9TFQERNcU06ED7ZBbvxPUXkrl-_dSUC-4ll10WO3pPmCaESmqmM7tw5-doZpGL1fcfz2rykH17YbGNgZWI5K0KdeEkKhsd4oD8-IchcdH6wJx0Fw-vsKbXGYO77T8JrEtuwwClK0PCHUoxwh2n5enrzynds/s16000/IMG_0986.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I don't often write posts for <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/">Top Ten Tuesday</a> but when I browsed the list of prompts at the start of the year this one caught my eye. I read quite a few shorter reads last year and I just knew I had some books I wanted to talk about. When I began browsing my read list by number of pages I realised I actually had a large collection of shorter books to recommend.</p><p>I was originally going to limit it to under 150 pages but I have read some spectacular novellas which are a bit longer than that. These are all books which can be read in a single sitting though and I really think that’s enough when it comes to choosing books for when time is short. The books are listed in page length when any series is grouped together.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49763053-taste?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=ZLFnwMhWqs&rank=1" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik_Jz1P0hxJjEk7BSXr6sZncYIxeOX3dB1Le7w2q5odGJxpdqX-FjzuN9dN0x9sE76i1svMdPhzIPOFLHlZUQPKe2tZXZR0FauDoSspA_NTvVI7LMrVQSQqGbq8MZOfmcR2R06alRu7r0u0k-pgsV64fPQEcBxjce0g3aWy3E4LAz1SrbRpD_zlXBlSHA/w125-h200/Taste.jpg" width="125" /></a><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53667221-lick" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1546" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-SribHW0edCkqn0GSsxfJKxN3HGo1tVISNo3Aw5tLv7N0Rv2AtnMQLNYLJ_GPRaIZGJ1l1MUGKPWX-cTe5wNRkrXfy1Kas8nMzDByhM4XAnLVKjutkcz_dt6Na7x4OOo53D4B-_CdXAbq5FVOsP89X5HRuf1NOosRN5D9RbyimKZj7TTnIBhYLnpQAs/w121-h200/Lick.jpg" width="121" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49763053-taste?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=ZLFnwMhWqs&rank=1">Taste</a> (82 pages) & <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53667221-lick">Lick</a> (58 pages) </h3><p>This weird little vampire romance duology wasn’t ever on my radar. I couldn’t find an interesting vampire romance to read for the Romanceopoly prompt last year and went down a google deep dive for something interesting and Taste popped up onto my radar. It was short, so I was guaranteed to be able to finish and complete that pesky reading prompt and it was on Kindle Unlimited so no need to buy anything new. It was perfect and now I’m annoyed practically no one has read this.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201595894-in-which-margo-halifax-earns-her-shocking-reputation?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_22" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1038" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoQND-wnO_ZQ0fGRN61IIfF4zJRKcYr2C6SyNu6PTfSkgjSCsm2QyGpva4-niHJYdh_XYvuqmSf2n3CjOWroBnntxIux3qgz_xiNslOqdeKs1SRyxRSPJEjp77ThVqpKJ-q6w_eGUHrJ8SP5APINSe6FKK4dm1mr_RvayCHyRH-7p3S4lxYEoeWVbrnA/w138-h200/In%20Which%20Margo%20Halifax%20Earns%20her%20Shocking%20Reputation.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201595894-in-which-margo-halifax-earns-her-shocking-reputation?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_22">In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation</a> (90 pages) (and the rest of the Halifax Hellions series)</h3><p>This series was spectacular but this very first book in the little novella series was perfect. It was shorter than the next two but it wasn’t any less brilliant. I think I read all 3 books in a single weekend and this firmly placed Alexandra Vasti on my favourites author list. I still haven’t read a full length book from her.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59841333-the-wedding-bait" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXx1Z8xygd1-gUPKRhsR5WCAUNINrLpkOF7plUfvgjkqxcO7AZRJsFjv0aAutbYEyYhhSZun4FkVPr-jEsOLfobvGV82nvDsP87M7CsKFMFu8yzoGqKKNbLB79PR6R7O1vIsZcQndIkECTGZrzHR33xac6qG12xHAuXzLVPNkZ-Cd0NbnDuZ37R9EzEY/w125-h200/The%20Wedding%20Bait.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59841333-the-wedding-bait">The Wedding Bait</a> (105 pages)</h3><p>Not only was this a great romance novella but it features to older characters. Characters in romance novels are frequently mid twenties or early thirties like if you haven’t fallen in love with the one by thirty five you might as well give up hope. I seriously need to read more from Adele Buck but I simply forgot about her as an author.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39214062-loving-the-secret-billionaire?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_17" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1713" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PW7F60HDcJgCZQDOMb0wmBt2hAfTB9w-G0JWqqxrriE_tWS2vsJMkTWv5uDXBvtrIN82nZEwNPtE607VIZGIrPHksPg038wkCmWSacprz6jBOK6IgeydRwW7KsfTsIYND2BpWjwvTym_ITVsZV3AyLZWnwMwrRtaTrIoNukXLoz5LasNvq8ZLdUMzXo/w134-h200/Loving%20the%20Secret%20Billionaire.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39214062-loving-the-secret-billionaire?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_17">Loving the Secret Billionaire</a> (125 pages)</h3><p>This might be the weakest read on this list but I decided to include because I did enjoy it. The two things which drew me to it were virgin hero and he was blind. I was intrigued by the concept and how it would be handled and it delivered a surprisingly sweet read. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29522514-let-it-shine?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_12" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhod_OzXHDdXVxWX351pGRJppoYZQFCYTwl-0tIoUF7ssiikIZoT7pjaRWmOHj3Cl1z-Ro5ce2coABzMQWz20n8FADA0d2tTJFZuQsiUyFV2nZfKMCslBtAnkHSX8YUHYCrl81cxeRnqrsKl_ThoDtal2QJNXoCwxcoWhDKZ2ktJFtn4YFUQH3H9xt3e9k/w133-h200/Let%20It%20Shine.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29522514-let-it-shine?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_12">Let It Shine</a> (134 Pages)</h3><p>Another historical romance on the list (why are there so many historical romance novellas?). This time it’s an Alyssa Cole book and there are actually 2 novellas from the author I love and both are set during more recent history. I rated this one five stars and I remember it being a powerful read. It dealt with some difficult topics and considering the short length of the novella still managed to make you feel the force of the story and not feel like you hadn’t explored things well.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45998750-desire-and-the-deep-blue-sea?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_28" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHAz91QG2-79KPpvg5_l2h1Ova_tXUSWP3mmzJEPTEkeN_1ngIPDOHv7BcL0hi4KtPfgdJi_pWYANQ3HHmLYNxH7M9LIDpQoyu1c8AqgEJGHUx7YKsKJIi3Xx9dsCMH3fJ2VQpD7WwVfmvPxCkyHBtKuiTxBeoxoA_YGsFrurHUKhwweBat7JekpYW4o/w125-h200/Desire%20and%20the%20Deep%20Blue%20Sea.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45998750-desire-and-the-deep-blue-sea?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_28">Desire and the Deep Blue Sea</a> (142 pages)</h3><p>Olivia Dade is another author I adore, I’ll read anything and everything she writes. This was one of the earlier books I read from her before she got big and got amazing new covers and got herself fancy Afterlight editions of some of her books. It was a wonderful read. A fake relationship and hate to love? Honestly, it was like it was made for me!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_15" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktszwVNmrRZWFqxYcQPGM1nbJtTBTADBnmjhByRgByF3YCEluH95FbcW7nDIrVsR4fSX0L_3a-fm1uRPnhodFWa5APU1L1wL_LUZoSch2XIha0Et-w5KcJRFiV0P6CGofFO08rnye-oT2TXe-R_qPXvdTqnQpfgDG4EBjqHUVvj7M98MTJAW9lWZuosw/w200-h200/All%20Systems%20Red.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_15">All Systems Red</a> (144 pages)</h3><p>I think everyone is familiar with The Murderbot series at this point but I was late to the game reading. I’m not featuring all the books from the series as they aren’t all short and really the first book will tell you if you’re interested in investing in it all. It’s a strange little series, a robot designed for combat expect it developed self awareness and decided it would hack itself and do it’s own thing. I need to reread this whole series, I’ve only ever listened to the audiobooks so think I need to invest an read them second time around and then catch up on reading the rest.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50621079-one-night-with-the-sexiest-man-alive?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_36" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="298" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjteuehcg93JGdEzu5-OeFcAo5TNn4JsKI1VGqdBwMOeO9MmsFnVAV1TY2rHbl4Obg7bB3Tqx141_1Du_Ds8qgvAoRLMCxXjeYWHGE4clha4jXjzyecet0-zLP8NdUOv9CI1QDwhyA7tGbMqFddyzKxL7Ut-ftTNhMv4iQDgg0aSqiVv7ALFaCVlJjtC4/w126-h200/One%20Night%20With%20The%20Sexiest%20Man%20Alive.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50621079-one-night-with-the-sexiest-man-alive?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_36" target="_blank">One Night With the Sexiest Man Alive</a> (158 pages)</h3><p>This is now approaching the longer end of the books but I wanted to feature an Ainslie Paton book because she’s brilliant. I put off reading this for ages and I honestly couldn’t tell you why. It had the usual writing style I’ve grown to love from the author and it had strong characters who had excellent banter and it just worked ok. I have yet to finish the series (oops) but I know I’ll get to it soon(ish).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34913546-snowspelled?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_11" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_znnFvzOSWXz62fUEgBzCK0g_74hrEV8eWEWIhnULggTfhWjIRCDgqQBr7sd0UzHWFDALaXDu0MNDbWTfY4NvlUjeVoO3EwEks-xdBzQXCQ4NM6Re1ll3zOzAj5m7hRfZvJlygnb2utrgP0V_mGN-F3E4FJ3mZJOV-3g7rIQqjB7APjp4C6OvE5o9dbg/w133-h200/Snowspelled.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34913546-snowspelled?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_11">Snowspelled</a> (170 pages)</h3><p>This book was mostly the reason I didn’t want to restrict myself to less than 150 pages because I immediately thought of this book for this week’s theme but it wasn’t short enough! I decided to say sod it and have it a little longer. This is a perfect historical fantasy romance (yes, 3 genres in one here folks). It has a good mystery and an interesting plot. You honestly care about the characters and the magic system was interesting. I loved everything about it and kick myself I’m yet to finish the series.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205334510-the-chemistry-of-familiar-objects?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_33" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1863" data-original-width="1170" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqT0T5JLe2_J5OYqB0EsrQc9Qz9Ib44NIO3KhMcEh3A7q76RqiqcpNKJiF5Z4wdL1xWS75BemniYUuep2a4wWmOV5Ts8m_UF9LvNwJr5h105ZzpfKHqECnp72_o-_FxS7vmEG_1gXYEy2Ty0-EPKVFLxv6Sw_9dYsPHkxe1uHy8Hijwi61alIAA1w0otQ/w126-h200/The%20Chemistry%20of%20Familiar%20Objects.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205334510-the-chemistry-of-familiar-objects?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_33">The Chemistry of Familiar Objects</a> (172 pages)</h3><p>It feels wrong to feature multiple books from the same author, especially when these are the only books she has out right now. This is a new novella released this year and I loved it, it was actually my favourite read of January so how could I not include it? It may not be long but it made quite an impact.</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Honourable Mention: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/135414148">A Night at the Tropicana</a> (41 pages)</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/135414148" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizke1HthoFs0cdiYO1Lmmy2spnPyobLTJaPzIQEMRfp5gmgBES_QZsipRPegdlHUWPhnz3bjWPoEfv-o8RnHXWR39fqnf6Su_qmWG6_IT8_Z6TZKiJQUMBbuLHHCpX99M3Yn-Vd7QP5jFKIc_34szArznPQmOPnFLEOCVek2iaEoh9bYgVA5bTZxZvp5w/w133-h200/IMG_0987.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div><p>This little novella gets an honourable mention. It may have had a place within my top ten but I only finished it last night and couldn’t bring myself to evict one of my picks so instead it gets a bonus position. This really is a short read and it may not be enough of a read for some but for a quick escape it really is perfect. If you like Chanel Cleeton’s Cuba series then this is definitely one for you if you have a bit of time to spare and can’t decide on your next book.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>What shorter books have you enjoyed in the past? Have you read any on my list or will you know you’ve heard a little about them?</b></p>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-61861333412559344002024-01-13T17:00:00.001+00:002024-01-13T17:00:00.250+00:00Looking back at 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6dX-lgj1vKyOhevPg85_5euZOg9wTLy5reC03O1CyAq4CVCDvobSblLITb3SCkhb5Lt-STffbNZhlD_M4Y5aEuWTuwup_-xac7GppvtB_K0FqmGKXkwMFUEgPzXZo6r9rvSi7BlR6h8A2STpVhstNdVrJmOJRzvbSh74He91-aTmfBPsF1FCFUwbNP0/s16000/IMG_0981.png" /></div><p>I suppose it makes sense that I should return to blogging and look back on the past year. I may not have blogged but I have actually been reading reasonably well. Sure, I went through slumps at various points through the year but with the pressure off of me to read because I was no longer blogging and it actually helped me rediscover my love of reading. I did worry at one point last year that I would have to stop thinking of myself as a bookworm as I was only readying 4 or 5 books in a month and I was really forcing myself to get there. Thankfully, the passion returned and I am reading a lot more. I figured it was best to look back at last year and tell you about the highs and lows. Storygraph makes this incredibly easy as it gives you a yearly wrap up and gives you loads of stats. I thought I was going to have to go through my book tracker spreadsheet to get all this info so this should be fun.</p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"> I read 115 books.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8d7R1GUMA4O6C2dLAfkkfE5yfDHfwPhLk9j7oKJ5ghR4EiHpU_4JA3FnJ9YPWzryI-vhVnbGxrpfEXYMh0c_bOnchQBf2dma2cTCxg0zbloc-PH8Qg7RibOuzMTVJb2s_U7o-J_ZQpir2Qm4n48DUXE8H502i_fBgEKb5h08Ty-DVRtE0xnZ-S0jLV5w/s16000/Books%20&%20Pages%20Read.png" /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Look at the pretty graph representation of the books I finished, this was fun to see when my reading slumps hit. <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">I DNFed 6 books. I admit, this figure was probably far higher but I didn't mark every book I started and read about a chapter of before abanding as DNF which I will change for 2024.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQ9ecMot4mK7vs8GWFrfP-JnnNfUjvz88B346RZ3rieo2wIzl36dBvowWGClXySqkBq4F3EvrheSOHzTEGFuHNIGOxYfR95IehFOO0voQR9YdeMhz_l1ShrGgAWUKej_QdswzwyqXBYyuP6Ze_X-BEOHAW4Va4IGJF6lB6gJBbGumJqeuhgzKStiFTrM/s16000/Most%20read%20author.png" /></div><p style="text-align: center;">My most read author was Sarina Bowen as I read the whole of the True North series along with a few spin off books and developed a full obsession with Vermont. Also Bill Willingham as I began reading the Fables series of comics again but I don't know if I really count that as most read author.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0BE_GsKL5phE7_y7afyrDDWjMwj5s3a63qUkM6Mwkmq2nO_dNBBFwAICbcUXhCnRPY0fEm2U6ZFR1zoVXJEMI9hhJtDbYZbc9wAa4tQ62VbFvnp_wB3pEtA4kwkQdDW0UofIeY2PL3Bg1UHr5_NiSVQzEIsaerIJHuzy5PbtOjkEv8YugppVzQZ4b_lI/s16000/star%20rating.png" /></div><p style="text-align: center;">My average star rating was 4.04 which isn't surprising considering I will probably DNF any book that I would rate under 3 stars but is interesting to see.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;">I read 26 5 star books. There were a few rereads in there but still a bit of a surprise to see. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="681" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEtJQK3auXPzyYaFOyDyqZUsnNJbJX3bPQrapeAR2ThTbWQwnKCc3doHyERAr1pbri3FhyphenhyphenEd4QFI28DviAgOtxSpKJj_d1KJkhGuNo_RSe8mkqwe1fB4OJ_-ZzsBG9wECJ19-Qvp-AgAFbrekjtgSq3LaQSj7Gm0ByuiLA9JBi3xONFHJQcnV8VukBP4/s16000/Reading%20Mood.png" /></div><p style="text-align: center;">I leant towards light-hearted reads with a slight dip at the end of the year when I raced through some books by Karen Rose, not sure what else caused the dip. </p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBWuGufCDh3rl7Y0S9TWgT8cjh9etEBApPFvHwlFv9VYIP_1nhMzZUrVTbpWFFeHtBbtD9_gsAW-eFL6A3SHFjLaxfC8AWkjLuPxfBNHxNo3r8dd2pvXX6gGyundVLxNc95cm1ohcmGvwbdp38UMkXA_goEdksODbet1GzbObmJ2MZqc3bb2AWJ_9bc4/s16000/Genres.png" /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">I read mostly romance, this isn't really a surprise but I did dip into a few other genres as I forced myself to read books I owned and tried to cut down on my book spending.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;">Looking at my books read I forgot I even read some of these last year! They obviously made an impact on me. I wanted to highlight my favourites, this won't be all of my 5 star reads and I'm choosing to exclude rereads from my list because I've probably spoken about them before but below are the books which I enjoyed and am glad I read in 2023.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53406541-beautiful-dirty" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfyf7R4zTIVkAeitUGz3602xf443FL07xBRa019vRLLJoyD0B-t9KJqiH-8FWWEN-dy9hagwIB_y7Vrs3tD-FJVBct7E3V4kbGaQxX3LlMdTp9Tn1ytY9FrmOIWDrsS32_ZlrhyphenhyphenuxASE9dJcYKhKm1d619LHmL5GImAjqeZx8usY2Pan3KYfCTYUbPcw/w125-h200/Beautiful%20&%20Dirty.jpg" width="125" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54469356-the-hitman" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7YIq_u3PQi7wjlZHV4U8HgQd7zy_Nf6vSRQL98lU_Obg9MUQ6mn99Rka1UdyTjbXsdpkSLQ-GtxrYjaMM7IcwiGmjCQ83f9C3cO3-Cas-RpJwwUOomJRObiDKQJ6mN1_rY2g0kfbTUje8nV33wepWgv6mQ4gB6-MI-Z0ovIGu7GIDQLuEg8kOxvzNLo/w126-h200/The%20hitman.jpg" width="126" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59066449-the-enforcer" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JrVChbB3jBwpFL534zSn7IYZkGF9SNEx5IciqtCOxcl00GeESViYmEvzHRKPnFHzGecKCupNp-5N8C4e5TOuL8XvAhFumB2oobQXF0tRoocNrX0Uqk2hO3jYMIODIgs0cXqsiSmaFR9aKOqPgDTUaDNdqe6i-TdmJuh1bSfvtC9KDg_2A-o7V-KKJWo/w126-h200/The%20Enforcer.jpg" width="126" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59113178-dolci" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXcKeOWTJDjNwdYN10zJk_UzbDP9BcyAMx56KW6x4uEfFoTJzQBoYumezUjAgpvWY5nxURG6DND_idBVBAGQCGl0tYH6vmZr0RjRh-72Vh5DzPscq7FmDJFX382B80__5414JxXPnj8ObG52to1RaFlgJ38Fh3bCiSAFSwSLePpmhQ0y8UkDZRuh5eA8/w126-h200/Dolci.jpg" width="126" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60557973-the-don" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1LjTNgaWRvK1xON5oqLqUUhtOVbaNtDukBvWskf8rVIoF1E6aVRxlQmQdvuANEOUdMki1EqOgHYrKuXaFgeo_CIFtfy6FDwGIJk9f37UMqtb4DNs4uR_Zn3_rURkaQj1wc6L5lY07zcWTYk6lrqlk1U9Jxsn6xWt4Iuq5F-trLVlXkmN9I-_RSGs-jk/w126-h200/The%20Don.jpg" width="126" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49763053-taste" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfXxuUyUN7VIgkbg-J2DMwktF1znSq9WFSm2ZzT_e2APhSMwprTnM0XRgT8n751xf0DOojteO2Vh4XmzLZyJTRCl3ap8Xqf1uBXKTxfNTyyzVVrXpdY1W7kk46_qS7VPsk98k0XQeUmNzNRtRXTi6PhjT_FTKtUgLTmwZRVWNWGkVBfG6AgmYeA0MrvA/w125-h200/Taste.jpg" width="125" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53667221-lick" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1546" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrlgiStOLCOYf0aB3XAru2rpLBI2PY9DtV1Bye8tNf1Rc8ZAQ5c_dOT1ZgrqMStH3o3c3RXm2ClgcRhB8ymH1DrS2PQ9tHTvj_63uKG2SVHJAWBS7OBGFoVdpjvNGTFZrYMkqF7Smxc_SKFdrAx4biKh3ceOO5m0XlcDupHoGLxwJ7WQNaF-HEDn8Xe0/w121-h200/Lick.jpg" width="121" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61397287-the-undertaking-of-hart-and-mercy" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdgagkG6FBQiAhJ-xSCPOrYzrMYrRG6Rb0uT3V2zrP5kfltPADHBSIysPXQS3qD4oD6Qu64R_oCJp4gsEFFmE8WNB02YqB5D1SR3kRBup4oSjbakrllOJ5NQ3f6kxbKZU3IW9lS2NAH7uY_ndUc9dPf7XAHGg-v5Rmoy6hrl3BnDAqliVYFqCUzV5mXc/w133-h200/The%20Undertaking%20of%20Hart%20and%20Mercy.jpg" width="133" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58293924-book-of-night" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1520" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQKDGZEGs6avrZjacBU4GNSBt_saPRTu3InW562rWomiKSWeR5TkFgNw-HPuaPR2zOVUeNLdhrtM3_M6BcZT1wOWFS9C_YqEkDkg51mF5tVUip2RDbJqo9aQiS-Wu6FOl80ALLRZoxYPmMoZxBHaHrDLRP6qrl9iJNlNIPj8NdpaDqoN6FxyHX6hE3DI/w132-h200/58293924.jpg" width="132" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61247627-the-dead-romantics" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCdSiXiY1W9fo-rQsEk91XF7SDPYaa6ZuWTMrdif3J_zMyCbGwKARajSNkCrhayz_dW2qFyaImqjUqcykdRIyokXBJ85MhJ5hHo6pI3DiNhTqVGhjOUGngpY-G5xWs37Ur9KkuxOM6Y2IDo9UlMZ-WuB9aBVkhNUTYXjjjaPL37nZNQguIqsTOMgvNVc/w134-h200/The%20Dead%20Romantics.jpg" width="134" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61640333-the-very-secret-society-of-irregular-witches" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOrjI1pYqTuz6jW-y1FKsmCfxHBVRYfTq_dAcIk6qvGXrqCbqo0RhCLCn0g9AX96SeOY-8IWgz_kZtokpZZTaNZRQi1t8aeGCr5WJylCcRuU8EnJcxZVuNGbLUS788MBoN88B-Mlb7AAMmMZMcVPqkgaj0ULl8wvqaQW_JGlFG8WPwq4HA2jdos_uTk9A/w133-h200/The%20Very%20Secret%20Society%20of%20Irregular%20Witches.jpg" width="133" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28161530-bittersweet" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-lNtEwJ9MOpZk52oTrT8gmsojW9rWe-88K5v5iizjtF4Z6nNtC_9iXnbl2zinadRMvWJ5Mnwdb0nMfXWP6h5TZxgrTEJBt1ht7DkY9wFUpDPPn596zOomA2E_uYDAYmjoJLv7vuaItifACOwAqOsgn43PGRUWDpeI_E-Um9vXtmnOUW0OAWDRbj9XPE/w133-h200/Bittersweet.jpg" width="133" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29087455-steadfast" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1645" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOaPq0Ww3iDBlO68pOVcD8UrEyPqrBd1UI8_w3GUTiAzfhy9hOdXK4etv6zALGA0bKFza0ExD99y_qGRlIz7xk4i0pOq_pRR1GNlV5eWfJGlllouK36VmHopsjqhRP2G9w1KSVWo1G5wkSnMf-uPmqVynMK8HoH4al_HD831YGmCrsNyUorDif2bW3ig/w132-h200/Steadfast.jpg" width="132" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29087466-keepsake" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1668" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGQOa1_8UCYYOf5flaiVLPfI_Q9dpufncmfVpnyd9C_Aeotl-BqyjeWuPUhc26UDXLSE2_OwJliTVxoc-RTNkCVAtcygR0wL6MRjZwVxROWA9WSbUTLSBdCftwKw4VsZGp9OEdMeQvvPiDcSBuztqDcyOLLUKmx0xks2VTOIJkX7o0TRGJkrdLkRsDEQ/w134-h200/Keepsake.jpg" width="134" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34099086-bountiful" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1667" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPxewTVlmz0i_uvkVLLX6q8_eIu0k2DtjS-NUzAidMoO8spuwR3hkFYk3YSpCNaYc-3U1FSRFQLAgqEApU8RlOvMDz06JK1z-iZ16k7N1PswicNLT_k6Z9WjGhOGWyRieiaOgCtcV8FvIJJAJB9mxtk5WYeQ-ijXkDjWi-iti6yOcjj9au56b_eqZhqo/w133-h200/Bountiful.jpg" width="133" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39900826-speakeasy" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgBKCFFT_ZBYuzFXB6iaPnxwwp8uVOdPhOPsr-VeeYAk-j8lRlQsoyfMFkC_nnB6Te_0dU7XhWXkcBX-3bMK9A-iXMWelPHCurCKHqA_ZvBuZFGUEk7r2ni5fTMigMvmeCV4E22mRtU-KzDtU8ryMnn5v4ozYYet4FlHL62fxYKWO4fuujm5H4HlnSiA/w134-h200/Speakeasy.jpg" width="134" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41644909-fireworks" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1377" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxlWejT8_fM5pJVPhi44QLWhSf0lk6-UU5BGA7a_vcDa4kVPOMSFfaNojWEW5W33OrCAT4DESAWpCHrqcU5RntJ8srQnAN6CQpjenlCOobHLnPE0kwoktf5-W3d_NU_oj80pkiMw9kCp1b02JkxNK9LU7vCMNEkw-ud21mTFstHXhOqqeLgrHNjWbnuI/w138-h200/Fireworks.jpg" width="138" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49110367-heartland" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1676" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVwj21X7jm7iDt7O2liQqqague8fHw1BnhkYzmmdyxbEv1a0gYaBw2HPfjoroIaAMyoee0caLrSZhQo7kzym_MHsWqBynaga-vMBpNUCui3HYjNy8BcGRhFysGcVtB39ww3zHA3O-S6JwRhgxV29q9JPe-9ypgftXSahI5mBZy-prETVFxGwkGtsSBBQ/w134-h200/Heartland.jpg" width="134" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58214962-waylaid" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1665" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztB4CI1ekpBz8TSPa4p9y0nCl5HHFvcRAw_Z2Qjzd41DrY22MZ41Pi28sGZY6bgpJnnDnJv95Ils9vbgMp8GjTPw7bspZFuqhUXzIf5Cs-RSVYOFIohO37Nly8hXC7s3RzuyWAu2m-UOuLc-qyQSCjTPOIkY9cdFVX0xlMLF3V0IdvCcAHyFEbaLSGJo/w133-h200/Waylaid.jpg" width="133" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57605091-all-rhodes-lead-here" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1591" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6yq17ohLChQqWzWCHTONKh4s5TYnfo_-Hgw53FTUZgvrYIA6Mqe6kM6q0QQDrf0ejUdjR7rRH-MpC4vyRzMmo4RJSTsxGVwXE1kgTEIDBsrAvYOyyy1BACqNRJR51mSHL-7p-tl8YLFcK3F4Pk5-J1KnHtOuJfKYll10WirNJDPc4iLxiHeVr6Y6lg8/w124-h200/All%20Rhodes%20Lead%20Here.jpg" width="124" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54804167-dear-emmie-blue" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1667" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ZQd898MOXgRBu4mv_1KK33JSxN5szF4wnwodK2oAWlxzhGYa4Yh2rtz_PTjYn92cynJ_uPQeTs6RZ8vnZJ3y1Qdm4tBZ9SgJc-mhH_PXmn7HXOS5weounWqk35YWMUyVXa3jGDIiT7rS0Zmv-yBvDamKafm5iEs7fZIffRmHGdVhzwAgkKCd8zVqNHc/w130-h200/Dear%20Emmie%20Blue.jpg" width="130" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54017982-float-plan" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIV2XN91VFyXCBKJSHvOpE7cw0xVqrN5PzP3jerN4VwLXxvaOj_8oLRItGn_N2bAsybYvPfmT-8a2BkjGbSkk0Z5IrbcADFck0dS3uGhT_uIyREyGiQiUYf9VT8EkeScKmfSFwUX8Epb3Cpg_QHugsQOZ525CHhqlpQokvo1IOUPc-3p_9juHc-wq7Og/w129-h200/Float%20plan.jpg" width="129" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60739557-funny-feelings" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1546" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EQfCi-ripE-ihEg0wmGQbhJARJMFFjF15VfyWTmJDKRpHycL4cKeONJQJKiu73XY3amsDAov9fDWoDiADvrcufeJx9jf4jWR5hptt5h8WiWlN5yno9svTWOjKfMcyoLWiOltNsL5CW6KMMo06a7SeCzhaax2Fu8U3CrjV72P5O6i2_itgrF3VV-RBhE/w121-h200/Funny%20Feelings.jpg" width="121" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53847575-written-in-red" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2CeoCQLOWzai8O0LuK1voLMeskJkwp0aViqo8Jlj9-TcbeXWniVfp7TidRrMrZubBCX6X5QcOOWpGHXwWYdzbce40y_FwtPQNXy0XA1GyK80VKFEhDXHXXYgkOy0AW2zDk9NmpVGVo7PSkaJk6rBgWrxoXXWHlUikW_0Pa-TRC2gnVY5EcLv6Jsa-63w/w124-h200/Written%20in%20Blood.jpg" width="124" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17563080-murder-of-crows" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2Yw7GEuQ3cL446EWR18GRc7bCOctN7-bZWf8VPuIwT3Jf3j5jeYroSJ0ucwDuJWQY_KOOisG6gUw5zhte6hcuBjQdmWJXWK-I-zDAjw10NBlFfNG8N7ZOnMckg5Z4douJapA3m6PWY5MuUdFtCHlQShLYM-SSVP4GLPmtsYfbkpRntK8FTBK_RRaWLE/w133-h200/Murder%20of%20Crows.jpg" width="133" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22456990-vision-in-silver" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4xDP1UoQIGSlTa6k93ZJS5R0DE4edUULczpRfv6jRtTNoQbGUu_XYTfNvrNVg5hs-ORFKvzi5Ij-MtJHgACkDPfmxleV-X3sRHiW-zltl2eMCKppZumDxdYCBnMN3r7saK4wfWNDNs7AizIRwFRpDMKzR-7dS7XNmitB8AfANniihQARQsEllcs6YVU/w132-h200/Vision%20in%20Silver.jpg" width="132" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58614258-king-of-battle-and-blood" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1707" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbUqq54_2Ve_xwPS9PuA4tSJVoMH8EYGgVC3DM2zgev_CUSiWmaWgBPZPLYrg03rTYV5INGfJxRKHYEeRR1QnS6seju92XPUI9sgCiVRuy0g3auvKnBLfjNxYvez7Ur8aIhwxAc1hv-Ca1ByEEoP2kmrwi9L8yCmHbfqJmbVBaNFTXWgmbCz5X1n7T3E/w133-h200/King%20of%20Battle%20and%20Blood.jpg" width="133" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I know this seems like a lot of books to say they were my favourites but they were all really memorable and I really enjoyed them. They weren't all 5 stars but I would happily read them again.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>What were your favourite reads of 2023?</b> <br /></div>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-54396868298056136642024-01-07T16:30:00.001+00:002024-01-07T16:30:00.243+00:00Reading Goals & Challenges 2024<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57XLe08Nlyn9lggUIEtXhoXmnHTLspNxps1OX7H7OeFyDLWJL83MWLApkH8ojqoDsJlPSXhafQW9YdObqi9n747BA9ysFNBGYnHiAh5yNeHZ1A8mEwjgw7ni-uIY8mkn5uq7-QNbpQpvGAIbKhuzyfdzclTkyaSaWm74M01cMN6xH1OUZuam2r-oCkQY/s750/IMG_0978.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57XLe08Nlyn9lggUIEtXhoXmnHTLspNxps1OX7H7OeFyDLWJL83MWLApkH8ojqoDsJlPSXhafQW9YdObqi9n747BA9ysFNBGYnHiAh5yNeHZ1A8mEwjgw7ni-uIY8mkn5uq7-QNbpQpvGAIbKhuzyfdzclTkyaSaWm74M01cMN6xH1OUZuam2r-oCkQY/s16000/IMG_0978.png" /></a></div>My 2024 reading goals and challenges are pretty simple. I recognise I don't always do the best at difficult challenges or ones with specific reading prompts like read a specific genre or translated works, but ones with slightly less specific prompts I can use to shop my shelves work much better as they often inspire me to read what I own and get me out of my reading funks. <br /><p></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">Goals</h2><p><b>Read 100 books -</b> I had been keeping my reading number pretty low for the past few years to take the pressure off but I really enjoy trying to stretch myself to read more because I am terrible at falling into a reading funk and reading nothing for weeks. I want to try and read more, I won't force myself to finish books I don't like but I will count DNFs if I hit 20% in a book and hate it. I usually read 100 books so this shouldn't be too much of a stretch if I keep out of any major reading slumps.<br /><br /><b>Reduce my TBR -</b> this may be vague, I should really pick a specific number but after compiling all of my unread books and discovering I had 227 books to read proposing I reduce the TBR down to 50 or something seems incredibly daunting. I’ll be happy if, by the end of the year, my TBR is at under 100 including any new purchases. I’m not sure if that is achievable though. My book buying has gone down so it could happen but only time will tell. <br /><br /><b>Return to blogging -</b> this one is a challenge I'm a little nervous about. I've tried to return to blogging a few times now and I'm nervous I have just outgrown it. I know that it should really adapt to me. I think I need to return and figure out exactly what I want from my blog because currently I don't know what is. Maybe I'll figure it out maybe I won't. I just want to give myself another chance with blogging and see where it takes me.<br /><b><br />Review every book I finish -</b> I tried to do this but often fail so I think it's time I try. A paragraph of my thoughts is all I want, it doesn't need to be an essay, but I know there are plenty of books I've read in the past and didn't review and I haven#t the foggiest what they're about anymore.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">Reading challenges</h2><p>I have 3 reading challenges I am joining for 2024 as well as a bonus one just for January. <br /><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/74bfb681-452c-475c-9cf2-d0b38b56afb0" target="_blank">Taylor Swift Reading Challenge</a></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMBIY3ZQ9pMkEoYkpMU3vAvYvzkWJfO3qa7rrN1ZdpAXr2Bo_zzlphAFgDkr8A7bVRMAj-V9_bCP8Ajv4vbfmKeFwsAQ_PbrNwSd-kxC8ow9dXeefoq0O4G7EiwNsL3lxydS0QIQK-yrspgrB3RSMKALer1uJHA_NVrzGCA0zq6WciP40ita0pYiV2v8/w640-h640/IMG_0980.png" width="640" /></div><div>This one I'm excited about, I am a shameless Swiftie so having reading prompts from her songs will be fun but with just 25 prompts it should also be achievable me reading something for all of them by the end of the year</div><h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/a51429f7-e493-4333-9335-9553a4158344" target="_blank">Monthly Key Word Challenge</a></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66qO9qU_COzf96qqtmJgjfXkuzYWTIdtU8zlu9c6jFzaVlNIQWcskbaSwpn0clb9_JJPwd5SPIjNrXHTTiTg7_W0-phrBBBvrXrsmI8mZKltnmBRz08zoQLRT_LSWUMv3fKo8JguG-CCP61eqBEnxqMixQ2qSq028d7xzk6T6wzaSGnSWmla6mal6z-I/s850/2024keywordreadingchallenge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="850" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66qO9qU_COzf96qqtmJgjfXkuzYWTIdtU8zlu9c6jFzaVlNIQWcskbaSwpn0clb9_JJPwd5SPIjNrXHTTiTg7_W0-phrBBBvrXrsmI8mZKltnmBRz08zoQLRT_LSWUMv3fKo8JguG-CCP61eqBEnxqMixQ2qSq028d7xzk6T6wzaSGnSWmla6mal6z-I/w640-h640/2024keywordreadingchallenge.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></h3><p>This challenge is hosted by Kim & Tanya on their new blog <a href="https://www.chapteradventure.com/reading-challenges/2024-key-word-reading-challenge/" target="_blank">Chapter Adventure</a>. I've tried this one for the past couple of years and each year I fall into a slump at some pojnt and fall behind. Will 2024 be the year I break this cycle? Maybe, but it always prompts me to read something from my shelves which is why I'm continuing to try it. I like it's broad enough that I'm not limited to very specific books but not so broad I'm left guessing how to interpret a prompt.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/4bca0d8c-1cd6-4657-911e-6d16f82c5c69" target="_blank">Reading Randomiser</a></h3><p>I am so psyched for this one as this is something I have actually being doing with my Kindle already in that I use a random number generator to help pick my reads. The only difference here is it's more specific with different prompts for each month and a bonus each month too. Hopefully it mixes up my reading a little, I just need to sort a shelf with all my owned books to get this one to work.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: center;">Bonus: <a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/january_pages_challenges/8f8c8f43-fc1e-4a94-ba39-6de4b80df452" target="_blank">January Pages Challenge</a></h3><p>I'm also participating in Storygraph’s pages challenge because I think it would good to try and get myself to read at least a page a day, or a chapter of audiobook. I often use the excuse I'm exhausted from work for not reading but I also know I could listen to a chapter of audiobook a day and easily manage to get more reading in but I don't. I think a challenge like this will help motivate me to read more. Hopefully, this way I start as I mean to go on for the year and fly through my 100 books and clear my shelves. This is more to force me into a routine so we’ll see how it goes.<br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>What are your goals and challenges for 2024? Are you even doing any or are you just going with the flow when it comes to reading?<br /></b></p>afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-46792956692958541802024-01-04T14:00:00.001+00:002024-01-04T14:00:00.134+00:00Hello strangers... welcome back?<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Header image with desk and laptop to one side under a pink arch with the text ‘Hello Strangers’ and ‘welcome back?’" border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJtKqtZcCSr9N_kU1_0YAMXwUOXBX-ELchFp0dDwndQhV6dyVxgQ5a1qh5NjT1jtiMSruGu0Dqhy_Kf0LW3D0N5rKyWUL1kJGUIcS1AijDUTbwYngClLDxGWvDSBaMz5tiDabZCv-AEXVVJem47znFisU4N7dfKxQxIr_vaKnhkoDkqjmg_8qlsydlB0/s16000/IMG_0977.png" title="Hello strangers…welcome back?" /></div><p>Well hello there, it'll be interesting to see if anyone is still about after a year. What have I missed?<br /><br /><br />I took a well-deserved break from blogging last year. I felt lost with it, my passion for reading wasn't there and I honestly didn't know if I wanted to come back to this blog. I actually didn't miss blogging, or not as much as I expected. I missed the community and the fun parts of talking about books but I also fell a little out of love with reading so didn’t feel like I had anything to contribute when it came to books and I certainly didn’t want to hear about what everyone was reading when I still had 250+ unread books to deal with. Over the last couple of months of 2023 I began thinking about my little old blog more and began to miss the community. I'm not sure the blogging community is still what it was, I don't think I was alone in drifting away a little last year, but I'm willing to give it one final shot given how long blogging has been a part of my life it feels wrong to just disappear.</p><p> </p><h3 style="text-align: center;">What inspired my return?</h3><br /><p>Honestly, a big reason I wanted to come back was BookTok. That is a sentence I never thought I’d write. It’s not exactly BookTok itself, as I only see glimpses of it on my TikTok feed but more the passion for reading which I keep seeing. BookTok itself seems a little out of touch, they are far too in love with Colleen Hoover and ‘spice’ in books. I guess it shows the age of a lot of people on TikTok as I know I certainly went through a similar phase about 6 years ago so I don’t really feel like I fit there. I suppose I am very much the Steve Buscemi gif of how do you do, fellow kids because I feel too old for all that. But I have seen a lot of journals start popping up on my feed, more specifically reading journals and that is what actually inspired me. These BookTok readers have the most amazing reading journals with such creative spreads and I have been inspired by the creativity they have shown. Last year’s attempt at a reading journal was shocking in comparison (I gave up after 2 months) but now I have a journal filler with my challenges and a plan to track my reading and TBR list on there.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxdty7Eyl80srKWNqu4EeoE7iU851jh4UCtRxi6RMi4jfd4zzCgv8GrKbr8CNPUYf18jaFuaXWmLU6soZcBtC34yX0VW9LWq997TXRpjmPbJKUV1pznNqB9UPwkJuAppOaXo1r_Cm1JfuGRZZrZ_BIPPbov3Yx6q651b3bmxIvbF3oOieUp9kO29XsEg/s500/fellow%20kids.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Gif of Steve Buscemi holding a skateboard attempting to be a teenager saying 'How do you do, fellow kids'." border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxdty7Eyl80srKWNqu4EeoE7iU851jh4UCtRxi6RMi4jfd4zzCgv8GrKbr8CNPUYf18jaFuaXWmLU6soZcBtC34yX0VW9LWq997TXRpjmPbJKUV1pznNqB9UPwkJuAppOaXo1r_Cm1JfuGRZZrZ_BIPPbov3Yx6q651b3bmxIvbF3oOieUp9kO29XsEg/s16000/fellow%20kids.gif" /></a></div><p>In the process of creating my 2024 reading journal I was sad I didn’t have anyone to share it with and I began thinking more and more about my blog. I want to be able to talk books again and I know there are people who feel the same. I want that sense of community back because I’ve been missing it. I’m not sure my reading journal or my return to blogging will be consistent but I’m willing to give it a try. I’ve even made it a New Year’s resolution.</p><p><br />One thing I do know is I will not be on social media as much. I actually think the slow implosion of Twitter helped me care less about blogging as I wasn’t seeing what everyone was reading and doing. I haven’t deleted my twitter yet but I think it will happen. I rarely log on anymore and I just don’t miss the toxicity of that place. I am trying to use Threads but I’m not in love with it yet. It has improved a lot of late so I’m liking it a bit more, we’ll see if I can be consistent about going on there though.</p><br /><h3 style="text-align: center;">What will I blog about?</h3><br /><p>It's still going to be books here, and a little of my book journal (maybe) but I think I might get a little less personal. I like talking about my life, but also as I get older I prefer to keep some more of myself back. Is that a sign I’m getting old? Possibly, but I also saw a documentary advertised the other day about trains I thought looked interesting and I then realised I was turning into my nan so really this doesn’t surprise me.</p><br /><p>One thing I want from my blog is to keep it low pressure, I’ve found my reading picked up last year when I just spent my time trying to enjoy reading. I need to keep the blog the same because I can’t handle the stress and hardly have the mental energy some days to spend hours making sure I have 5 posts up a week or something crazy. We’ll see how it goes but it should be fun.</p><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>What have you been doing since I was gone? Anyone else found themselves struggling with blogging and being online in general?</b></div>
afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-89252147469174717532023-03-10T12:00:00.001+00:002023-03-10T12:00:00.187+00:00Monthly Wrap Up // February 2023<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0eszrbmA4lq_vkzYqh2fy4sZettiEctdnrk_kNqtO9IvcuMwX03pmFZYCOukKTPo-lk-7xsm42mHQ5N6fUwS0nS6IGVvS5rQo-_jBgrhI3sSI1kuQ8toda1xiGCtmwmQ2vTZfoItD7xdbwBWYc1qIQO3q699GpkeDqHhtOrYl5wNjYtFcRbzpT5l/s919/tRWejCHcSwCSyc9ZSUxZiw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="919" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0eszrbmA4lq_vkzYqh2fy4sZettiEctdnrk_kNqtO9IvcuMwX03pmFZYCOukKTPo-lk-7xsm42mHQ5N6fUwS0nS6IGVvS5rQo-_jBgrhI3sSI1kuQ8toda1xiGCtmwmQ2vTZfoItD7xdbwBWYc1qIQO3q699GpkeDqHhtOrYl5wNjYtFcRbzpT5l/w640-h640/tRWejCHcSwCSyc9ZSUxZiw.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Sorry for the disappearing act at the end of the month, it's been so busy at work! Let's review the month and I'll catch you up on anything you might have missed.<br /><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Can't Stop Listening</h2>
<p align="center"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DlOl9LOUQ0g" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Let's begin with the song I've had on repeat lately. It came up on one of those Spotify created lists one day and it just caught something in my brain and I found myself going back to listen to it often last month. Not sure why, but it reminded me that I do really enjoy Rogue Wave's music. I used to lsiten to their song Eyes all the time, anyone else think of Heroes when they hear that song as well?<br /><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Life<br /></h2>
<p><br />My February has been very work focused. Way back in January I offered to help out with a culture group which had been formed to try and focus on improving our team's culture as it's grown rapidly and managers are concerned good work culture has been lost in the rapid growth. I agree culture has been less than great so I agreed to assist from an employee perspective. It was proposed it would just be about discussing future changes and ideas for change from the team perspective rather than management. It turned into a presentation role all about presenting things to the managers and inspiring change and after speaking to a key communications person within our company she's changed the whole concept of the group to be team members pushing culture change and being a comms committee who will relay team communications and help keep everyone informed. It actually sounds like a really positive role and I am happy to do it with some of the people I work with… but if I had known the amount of work involved I would have planned things very differently and not let us plan the day so late because it was stressful having only a vague agenda and there was lots of miscommunication along the way which I really didn’t need. It was very full on and I was glad to have a couple of days off of work at the end of February just to relax. I also should mention that within that whole culture project there ended up being some push back from managers on what we were doing that created a whole heap of drama and basically meant we had to go over their heads to get action to happen. It was an uncomfortable month for me, I won't lie. But it's over now and there's still loads more work to come but I'll worry about that later.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHeXam-tQREHkVf5C-Ud5OGGSfFS5VTsmy0Lob1_LW4riOjy50XvYTKrbTd_puZoXEYbnoW635IFUc8I2iOBGiQfn4gidnjMDTGAI6-GEHI9ikMUK6XRXKCkanyyXU_b07e6jZlSzFDa6SLHWjpVGR3spu0GKS3822vj8_53kr3NxTEGb5nR9M_j8/s918/Birthday%20cake.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="689" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHeXam-tQREHkVf5C-Ud5OGGSfFS5VTsmy0Lob1_LW4riOjy50XvYTKrbTd_puZoXEYbnoW635IFUc8I2iOBGiQfn4gidnjMDTGAI6-GEHI9ikMUK6XRXKCkanyyXU_b07e6jZlSzFDa6SLHWjpVGR3spu0GKS3822vj8_53kr3NxTEGb5nR9M_j8/w480-h640/Birthday%20cake.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>Apart from work I’ve not done too much. It was my birthday at the end of February so it was all about me relaxing and doing as little as possible. I watched a lot of Netflix, ate a lot of cake. One of my friends made a red velvet cake for me and it was delicious but so much cake! Mostly because my mom also bought a cake so there was cake for everyone for a few days. Apart from my birthday, though, February was fairly low key. Just lots of time at home with Artemis (who is now fully vaccinated) and mostly trying to teach Artemis I am not a chew toy and she should definitely use the toys I’ve bought for her. <br /><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Reading</h2>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51975973-only-when-it-s-us" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjscjZLImHsE0grgqVLF_VJipkXwDetMlDb1ZUiX2dD77v4W9ujMRx7KMk6ClkRdReCFDdS-LGhif5qBI_f2UpQZvKTCvQ9MTVlhGSlVlOLjLvtV6AqZ7RxDdl7pgTtgR_9D-AwSNKO5ht1YNuViMpG3bCcN9CjFkynfsAQgClKtIMo-m6jeSWFpcsu/s320/Only%20When%20It's%20Us.jpg" width="159" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58293924-book-of-night" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1520" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXuQv9_wgOwo_-1qTncDZhW17TIFh9oPdjdPamOHhgN3w38gLz2pRiowoLZ7uhFBF9oZYqd9MxL6QuGNXUufEMPID-eEy4gUxt1_oJnduPuDVPmeT2flR4deXG086hoOVFe-bOELvy4druJlLXvBozke560EBO_0qyWwfQ9OKCNpEOkGAwDzSiP5i/s320/Book%20of%20Night.jpg" width="158" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61397287-the-undertaking-of-hart-and-mercy" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img alt="The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy - Megan Bannen" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCpVZuL983rPSpXOcaTD9rh13j83MFn2RY03ivMN3KzWuJwbupM284VyNKqNsYgIUAJ9gmFHctzxc-05XWK32M7qw4xbhrSlPnXxKco0CclJigoGPoLFJ5vRum9hJLbCUQ7vI_dTPBOun0FCtBP7TQZBNwBZDsqpIhPEkZ-7NDrsPDqthoczeIbaQH/s320/The%20Undertaking%20of%20Hart%20and%20Mercy.jpg" title="The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy - Megan Bannen" width="160" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51912692-girl-gone-viral" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img alt="Girl Gone Viral - Alisha Rai" border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="221" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxTptCQx56dr8lsF4AuLanaI7U7m1pNxa0gJWhYn-0o_ajXjPCxHVbQRyHcT2_SMqQDCLIsMsO1FH75Mqgbs4IB4nEunihzYnLCnWEWoaVSUURz0ii6kxiy_nUS7yURzMJ00LCzSSXt0zH7d2S9b1I0NDZtutTTtUu9p6pB7lsyRwd5h0cO1HHq3eZ/s320/Girl%20Gone%20Viral.jpg" title="Girl Gone Viral - Alisha Rai" width="153" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61843625-her-orc-king"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3Hph6HbTw7lsZ0bf3_-ojde2edc1LDeduQeZ1SlpPn7-LxFz27q9LjiRhhJcTmfc2Y38Fs1EEmcwGpMOCSrNp-thwS4tsDtfpEOJDBjBLJaRT2naqt1F8dMLxJcH0VV9RWe6-3E0H9nBRQ7U-hsu9dAGV-GQAYhTDFQtdM4PnZHbkFGge_7YBcsg/s320/Her%20Orc%20King.jpg" width="150" /></a><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44777687-house-of-earth-and-blood" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbKRVvqqNox8KAceayVuaYQlwpTn5aM0TV9z2BjzdbxrVY9QxLeMVt4wSxiZ_FhSy2F756-V7ONZHfhrsMuU4C3oiagG_ZJrW0YWN0bv4xL5Mr5x4xrz-kgUMNYI_oUS6spH-0rk5-s_G2OQ-O5iPvpLqbj2C8WsSfSQXO5oKvqMy1pRYuD3uNA9M/s320/House%20of%20Earth%20and%20Blood.jpg" width="158" /></a>
<br /></p><p>I entered a bit of a reading slump in February. It wasn’t a slump exactly, my mood reading was just been strong so I spent a lot of time uncertain what I felt like reading. This led to a lot of half hearted attempts to read things and spending longer reading books I would usually fly through. It all came to a head when I started House of Blood and Earth and it was bad! I struggled to get into the book because it was so info dumpy at the start and eventually I hit 50% and decided to abandon all hope of it getting better. I have seen other bloggers rating it 5 stars and I decided they were deluded because I didn’t care how much of a twist there was at the end, it simply wasn’t worth me entering a genuine reading slump to find out. I was annoyed as I actually own the second book but if a publisher won’t edit down an unnecessarily long book then I won’t waste my time reading it. Especially when the romance itself wasn’t good. I won’t complain anymore because, thankfully, I did manage to fit in a few decent reads in February. My reading numbers weren’t as high as January but I did find I read a few amazing books. My first 4 reads of the month, Only When It's Us, Book of Night, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, and Girl Gone Viral were all really good reads for me. And I did start Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry right at the end of February but I finished it in March so I'll talk about it next month instead. So I suppose I started the month strong with my reading so that's better than nothing. <br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">Challenges</h2><h3 style="text-align: center;">Romanceopoly</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-26P-SVg51X7eQcd6e011s8BWky2mdOlxOb3woHsvX8IIPDFdevoKGOwNVuP-Mu4mPy9Tdn3pnp4BX-_MQeDWl4rs8dYYcUWRoJjbOO15FELJGhh2Gz1J9QmQf1kMrWpxvyCWp_uxKzi5Yat_HTOi3-Z3KiEOuuaiJ5XIB72i0fUoA-AaKVJun1m/s919/Fk4OMyHvRcuj-hJ9VzYESQ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="919" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-26P-SVg51X7eQcd6e011s8BWky2mdOlxOb3woHsvX8IIPDFdevoKGOwNVuP-Mu4mPy9Tdn3pnp4BX-_MQeDWl4rs8dYYcUWRoJjbOO15FELJGhh2Gz1J9QmQf1kMrWpxvyCWp_uxKzi5Yat_HTOi3-Z3KiEOuuaiJ5XIB72i0fUoA-AaKVJun1m/w640-h640/Fk4OMyHvRcuj-hJ9VzYESQ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>It was a pretty strong month with Romanceopoly. I've kind of been letting the board guide my reading as I've not been sure what I've been in the mood to read. I finished 5 prompts, although I do feel like I didn't trule finish the gym prompt as I never finished that book but oh well. <br /></p><h3 style="text-align: center;"><br />Monthly Key Word</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-68HakwrSKlGprt9XLG00KGRxDz3_EO4XoGbMFq0x3FG7pKor8PFoE_4mdN3U3HBfrVC_8qEAtsIso39K97ql1fSAVnjl9iYGmrV4jPY1U74L0q1w9XDHR6WbAi6qQ0SqO9sFab3gR1IxDvBaiulxtZsZRXCF5jYaGDgaoK_0gawNnztSkx2LjORq/s919/Val4OdLfTnOPQNdC9VFoSg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="919" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-68HakwrSKlGprt9XLG00KGRxDz3_EO4XoGbMFq0x3FG7pKor8PFoE_4mdN3U3HBfrVC_8qEAtsIso39K97ql1fSAVnjl9iYGmrV4jPY1U74L0q1w9XDHR6WbAi6qQ0SqO9sFab3gR1IxDvBaiulxtZsZRXCF5jYaGDgaoK_0gawNnztSkx2LjORq/w640-h640/Val4OdLfTnOPQNdC9VFoSg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I absolutely loved the book I decided to read for February. I always enjoy Holly Black books but I didn'y expect to enjoy her first forray into adult books as much as I did. <br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Watching</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgQYHjyMC3qBnJkUXDv8UB_Y-9lGHCS-0BBXKR9BWmiEBbmLkA7nZfBwIXJF5-e7qoQiUBuHsjaS-9jxFHhjxCnBujuqwTr5VJUJJEUPF5ogGSSnlWC7QchxOCmnrcTocR0ZqEO0nVolH7fZM2PszC_kMIuWQn5JzMDIdg56LTdOL2CLPDbTAz6SR/s1200/DTS.jpg" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgQYHjyMC3qBnJkUXDv8UB_Y-9lGHCS-0BBXKR9BWmiEBbmLkA7nZfBwIXJF5-e7qoQiUBuHsjaS-9jxFHhjxCnBujuqwTr5VJUJJEUPF5ogGSSnlWC7QchxOCmnrcTocR0ZqEO0nVolH7fZM2PszC_kMIuWQn5JzMDIdg56LTdOL2CLPDbTAz6SR/s320/DTS.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QHNyq2wpNvP-uoJCfp09S4ozKm1QbE91N6pOcpJpijbFZiyN15mL8Am9sdVhmpvnBHQHGtiSCFi_nVJgl4tt3jLTO_KwORe7XjRn2hrovEVWCWMBAFlvibsTV5CsVggvOMQM9rEJa0kfhTVuPUFJYm5ZPBfufz-MZiH0RNViJxrHKTSmu7Y1epMj/s1251/Love%20to%20Hate%20You.jpg" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QHNyq2wpNvP-uoJCfp09S4ozKm1QbE91N6pOcpJpijbFZiyN15mL8Am9sdVhmpvnBHQHGtiSCFi_nVJgl4tt3jLTO_KwORe7XjRn2hrovEVWCWMBAFlvibsTV5CsVggvOMQM9rEJa0kfhTVuPUFJYm5ZPBfufz-MZiH0RNViJxrHKTSmu7Y1epMj/s320/Love%20to%20Hate%20You.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><p>This time I wanted to include what I've watched lately too. It's a weird mix of stuff, I've hopped back onto the k-drama bandwagon full steam ahead. I flew through the series Love To Hate You in just a couple of days and definitely recommend if you want a fast but brilliant romance watch. It was short enough it didn’t get bogged down in some of the unnecessary drama that occasionally creeps into K-dramas.<br /><br />But I also indulged my F1 obsession and binge watched all of Season 5 of Drive to Survive when it came out. To say I'm pissed off the show missed out major events in the F1 season from last year is an understatement. There was genuienly a lot of drama last season without Netflix needing to manufacture some and yet they glossed over it to try and create the narrative they wanted. They could have actually made a statement about some of the situations in F1 right now, like the bombing near the Saudi track or the safety issues following the tractor on track during the Japanese grand prix but instead they focused on pointless things and overdid the crash at Silverstone. I am angry about it but at least F1 is back with a new season with hopefully new drama. I can't wait, even If my favourite drivers aren't in it this year. <br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>What were your highlights in February? Can you recommend any good shows? And what was your favourite book of the month?</b><br /></p>afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-91335114551647360342023-02-19T22:00:00.001+00:002023-02-19T22:00:00.187+00:00Sunday Summary // 19.02.2023<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIn6CJQX_TrMxJvcTYywTeLMd2LcH5NEqi747ejINwwTaxjEh8eGJZBhnJIvU_c5RcuyO4TpRx2Roa-gwLO4kK0ol7JOI_HRq7yC4oYcT9YiKVntqJjPCE11zzyfjnaK_VkwmFQl5BD4r_qr7-_r3Y8emxCb8m9S90zohablIw9Poc6Sm_sU7fhbW/s640/F32E9EE9-D5E8-497C-A2A0-BEC794597CD6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIn6CJQX_TrMxJvcTYywTeLMd2LcH5NEqi747ejINwwTaxjEh8eGJZBhnJIvU_c5RcuyO4TpRx2Roa-gwLO4kK0ol7JOI_HRq7yC4oYcT9YiKVntqJjPCE11zzyfjnaK_VkwmFQl5BD4r_qr7-_r3Y8emxCb8m9S90zohablIw9Poc6Sm_sU7fhbW/w640-h640/F32E9EE9-D5E8-497C-A2A0-BEC794597CD6.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">What a week! This month is really being so full on when it comes to work I’m exhausted. I'd quite appreciate a quiet couple of weeks now but I don't think that will happen until I get through this coming week. <br /><br />I'll start this post my saying I'll be taking a week off and I'll be back at the start of March. This is partially because I'm exhausted, but also it's my birthday next weekend so I want to relax and enjoy that so I'm treating myself to some time off from the blog to come back fresh the start of March. I know I won't have the time to focus on blogging as much as I want so I'm being honest and taking a step back instead.<br /><br />As far as work goes let's just say never join a group that's meant to work on culture without checking first what exactly it will entail. I wasted so many hours in meetings this week for it that I am amazed that I got any work done. Between that and meetings to do with a project I'm on I seriously have had no time to just relax. I miss the days when people forgot about me at work and I could keep my head down and do my own things. I even used to be able to work and listen to audiobooks. Those were the days. Add in the fact the culture group has had a serious amount of drama around it it’s safe to say I’m exhausted when it comes to work. I won’t get into it because I don’t want to be a gossip, even though you don’t know anyone I’m talking about I’ll still feel bad, but work needs to slow it down with the drama. I do think I’ve made another work friend though so let’s look at the positives.<br /><br />My life just revolves around work now so the only other things I’ve been doing are reading, hanging with Artemis, and playing PlayStation. I seriously need to get a life again. My friends are all coupled up so I’m having to book them weeks in advance to have a chance to meet them. Unfortunately, that’s meant a quiet February for me but it’s fine I’m meeting a friend for tea tomorrow (potentially today with how late I’m writing this post). <br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">What I’ve Been Reading</h2><h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61843625-her-orc-king"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3Hph6HbTw7lsZ0bf3_-ojde2edc1LDeduQeZ1SlpPn7-LxFz27q9LjiRhhJcTmfc2Y38Fs1EEmcwGpMOCSrNp-thwS4tsDtfpEOJDBjBLJaRT2naqt1F8dMLxJcH0VV9RWe6-3E0H9nBRQ7U-hsu9dAGV-GQAYhTDFQtdM4PnZHbkFGge_7YBcsg/s320/Her%20Orc%20King.jpg" width="150" /></a><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44777687-house-of-earth-and-blood" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbKRVvqqNox8KAceayVuaYQlwpTn5aM0TV9z2BjzdbxrVY9QxLeMVt4wSxiZ_FhSy2F756-V7ONZHfhrsMuU4C3oiagG_ZJrW0YWN0bv4xL5Mr5x4xrz-kgUMNYI_oUS6spH-0rk5-s_G2OQ-O5iPvpLqbj2C8WsSfSQXO5oKvqMy1pRYuD3uNA9M/s320/House%20of%20Earth%20and%20Blood.jpg" width="158" /></a></h2><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">Honestly, I regret picking up the Crescent City series by Sarah J Maas as it’s not hooking me in. I picked up the first book as I rolled the prompt of reading the longest book on my shelf and that’s it but it’s too long and just plain bad. Why do I keep reading Sarah J Maas when she doesn’t let her books be edited down? It’s just tedious and definitely could have been edited better. All these 5 star ratings say im the odd one out but im 51% of the way in and im hating it. I don’t want to DNF but I might have to come back to it. <br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">New To Me</h2><p><br />No new books because I've been dragging myself through trying to finish the stupid book I didn’t think I deserved any new reads. Honestly, need to find a new book to read as my current read it bringing me down. <br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>How was your week? Any good books I should check out since I'm not enjoying mine? Tell me all so I can catch up when I'm back in a week.<br /></b></p>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-21936718283182970352023-02-15T11:00:00.001+00:002023-02-15T11:00:00.187+00:00Review // The Charm Offensive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="314" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvwF5uN6BfuSRPRFY7dg8-A-tHlg6DoyJL0-D_O6DZJUX6QHllq0KkkBR5A1kRw_kDIULWrVmv04IYaJcm7CEAiDz0fkNH8eWXjX0KDKdcwDZm-a9n-qtXhWqdes5aqcDy4qoopdcYcJ4XhipwSwEKEg0smranytv35NoqpbeNCuwq6-U4LJ2UwGH/w402-h640/The%20Charm%20Offensive.jpg" width="402" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun </h3></div><p><b>Published: </b>7th September 2021<br /><b><br />Source: </b>Purchased<br /><b><br />Genre: </b>Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ+<br /><b><br />My Rating: <i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star-half fa-1x starcolor"></i></b></p><p></p><blockquote><span class="Formatted"><b>In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of <i>Red, White & Royal Blue </i>and <i>One to Watch</i>—an awkward tech </b><b>wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.</b><br /><br />Dev
Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then
that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality
dating show <i>Ever After</i>. As the most successful producer in the
franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his
contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the
show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.<br /> <br />Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming <i>Ever After</i>
expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show
as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the
cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty
women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and
emotionally closed-off.<br /> <br />As Dev fights to get Charlie to open up
to the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open
up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev
than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script,
and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider
whose love story gets told.</span><b> <br /></b></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p>I had been excited about reading The Charm Offensive ever since I saw the first blog review about it. It sounded right up my street as an interesting LGBTQ+ contemporary romance read. I was so excited I actually found myself putting off reading because that is what I do every time I get excited about a new book. Put off reading until I forget why I wanted to read.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I ended up reading it when I wasn’t in the mood for it. I was hoping once I started I would find myself growing into the right mood for it as that does happen sometimes. That didn’t end up being the case and I dragged myself through reading it. As such, my rating doesn’t truly reflect the book but instead reflects my mood when reading it as I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped. I want to acknowledge that although I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped I adored it for so many of the important conversations it had and the complexities of these characters and the journey they went through. Part of my rating reflects that, because even though I wasn’t in the right mood for this book I can recognise it was good and it might have been an amazing book on another day.<br /><br />The star of this book, for me, was Charlie. He was an adorable guy who hadn’t had the right people around him in the past to help him realise he was not the problem. He decided to go on a dating show for all of the wrong reasons, he had hoped it would help show he wasn’t crazy or difficult to be around. It was a chance to boost his profile and show himself as real person. He wasn’t looking for love but he ended up finding it anyway, just not with any of the women he was meant to be dating for the show. It was great to see the struggle he faced with his OCD and anxiety and how that he could be perceived as difficult but only because people didn’t understand. He was sweet and honestly never expected to find love as he had never felt sexual attraction before. Until Dev. In some ways it seemed like the mental and emotional struggles of this book would centre on him but Charlie had been through therapy and recognised the importance of his mental health and was trying to build healthy coping strategies into his life. He had good people in his corner so you worried for him but not too excessively. Charlie’s book was about him discovering his sexuality and being brave enough to accept and tell people about it. He had backed himself into a corner signing the contract to star in the show which meant he had to date these women despite the fact he had no interest in any of them, and most of them had no interest in him either. Dev was the one who went through an emotional journey and discovered his faults and acknowledged the mental health journey he needed to go on.<br /><br />Dev was a sweetheart who believed in love and had rose coloured glasses about the show he worked on. He never meant to develop feelings for Charlie but he did. But really this book was about him accepting his mental health struggles and acknowledging he had depression and then learning how best to live with this. He very much ignored it and tried to push those who cared for him away when he was in a depressive episode as he didn’t seem to want them to associate that side of himself with who he was. That was obviously a terribly unhealthy coping strategy but Dev seemed unwilling to accept help from others and was a touch too independent and isolated despite viewing himself as a romantic and a man who was looking for love and a relationship. It was great seeing him at the end getting help and developing healthier strategies in his life to cope. And most importantly allowing others close to him and help him when he needed it. It was about him acknowledging fairy tales aren’t true and that love is not easy. It doesn’t follow a set narrative and you cannot control it. <br /><br />Honestly, this book did so much well and I wish I’d DNFed and tried to read it again another day as I would have loved it if I’d been in the right mood for it. Instead, I struggled through and acknowledge the potential there without truly connecting with it which was sad.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Have you read The Charm Offensive, if so what did you think? And if you're a mood reader what was the last book you read and you knew you should like but just weren't in the right mood for it?</b><br /></p>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-66323048986898848032023-02-12T11:00:00.001+00:002023-02-12T11:00:00.176+00:00Sunday Summary // 12.02.2023<p style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIn6CJQX_TrMxJvcTYywTeLMd2LcH5NEqi747ejINwwTaxjEh8eGJZBhnJIvU_c5RcuyO4TpRx2Roa-gwLO4kK0ol7JOI_HRq7yC4oYcT9YiKVntqJjPCE11zzyfjnaK_VkwmFQl5BD4r_qr7-_r3Y8emxCb8m9S90zohablIw9Poc6Sm_sU7fhbW/w640-h640/F32E9EE9-D5E8-497C-A2A0-BEC794597CD6.jpeg" width="640" /><br /></p>
<p>What a week! Again, the blog fell to the wayside as I got stuck working and just feeling utterly exhausted when the end of the day hit.
<br /><br />
Work has been manic this week and I don’t even know why. It just felt never ending. It got to Friday and I was exhausted and my assistant manager called me right at the end of the day and she even said I just sounded fed up and I kind of was. I don't know what it was about this week but it has taken it out of me. It probably didn't help I was in the office Monday and Tuesday, who goes into the office on a Monday? I mean, I had to for trainignbbut still it was a bit much. But it was the first time I’d seen my manager in several months so that made a nice change for me as he’s usually based in London. I don’t think it helps I’m part of a culture working group and that stuff is just demotivating with all the complaints sometimes.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0xfu2MjoshQ7TsNne4rIIskgHRr2dzJBfcJEDXNhvQgVTfJWlmhKPv9AffTA9U3gZuTYtNJWAYxXRfG71C0OtRmlfIay6w_GoYL2DrJ9X5Bgx_8ebXWN3Ng1vkXlWYGGXas6j6bbWEIvgCiw_peUVJ-8YV6KDQSxazF1rubrEQgckmAL_eDBYf6H/s3674/Artemis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3674" data-original-width="2756" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0xfu2MjoshQ7TsNne4rIIskgHRr2dzJBfcJEDXNhvQgVTfJWlmhKPv9AffTA9U3gZuTYtNJWAYxXRfG71C0OtRmlfIay6w_GoYL2DrJ9X5Bgx_8ebXWN3Ng1vkXlWYGGXas6j6bbWEIvgCiw_peUVJ-8YV6KDQSxazF1rubrEQgckmAL_eDBYf6H/w480-h640/Artemis.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br />
Add into that Artemis, precious angel flower that she is, is also a menace. I swear she must be nocturnal as she’ll play during the day but as soon as it’s bed time she is ready to jump, climb, attack feet. Do everything but sleep. And she’s still wriggling under the duvet as I sleep, although I am encouraging her to climb under the throw I have on the bed instead and it’s working some of the time. She has also taken to trying to scale the spindles of the bannister. My stairs open onto the living room and so she usually walks over the back of the sofa through the bannister and onto the stairs. Problem is she now realises she can get through higher up as well so she’s been giving me a heart attack hanging through the bannister higher up and just attacking the bannister. She’s a menace, a very cute one.<br /><br />Apart from that I’ve just been watching TV, trying to read, and sleeping. And playing Final Fantasy on PlayStation as I am so close finishing the remake. I keep saying that and find there’s another plot point to cover. I just need them to announce the date for the next part of the remake. I might even replay the original but that is a big time commitment. <br /><br /><p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">What I’ve Been Reading</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61397287-the-undertaking-of-hart-and-mercy" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img alt="The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy - Megan Bannen" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCpVZuL983rPSpXOcaTD9rh13j83MFn2RY03ivMN3KzWuJwbupM284VyNKqNsYgIUAJ9gmFHctzxc-05XWK32M7qw4xbhrSlPnXxKco0CclJigoGPoLFJ5vRum9hJLbCUQ7vI_dTPBOun0FCtBP7TQZBNwBZDsqpIhPEkZ-7NDrsPDqthoczeIbaQH/s320/The%20Undertaking%20of%20Hart%20and%20Mercy.jpg" title="The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy - Megan Bannen" width="160" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51912692-girl-gone-viral" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img alt="Girl Gone Viral - Alisha Rai" border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="221" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxTptCQx56dr8lsF4AuLanaI7U7m1pNxa0gJWhYn-0o_ajXjPCxHVbQRyHcT2_SMqQDCLIsMsO1FH75Mqgbs4IB4nEunihzYnLCnWEWoaVSUURz0ii6kxiy_nUS7yURzMJ00LCzSSXt0zH7d2S9b1I0NDZtutTTtUu9p6pB7lsyRwd5h0cO1HHq3eZ/s320/Girl%20Gone%20Viral.jpg" title="Girl Gone Viral - Alisha Rai" width="153" /></a>
</div><p>I really have been slow reading this week. I started The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy after Sam recommended it to me and I am so glad she did! I was slow starting, but I was in the office and of course every time I was in the office there were train problems which meant we were packed in like sardines with no space for me to sit and read. But I managed to stay awake long enough to read a few nights and finally finished Saturday morning. I then flew through Girl Gone Viral Saturday evening and finished a book in an evening. <br /></p><p><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">New To Me</h2>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61397287-the-undertaking-of-hart-and-mercy" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img alt="The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy - Megan Bannen" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCpVZuL983rPSpXOcaTD9rh13j83MFn2RY03ivMN3KzWuJwbupM284VyNKqNsYgIUAJ9gmFHctzxc-05XWK32M7qw4xbhrSlPnXxKco0CclJigoGPoLFJ5vRum9hJLbCUQ7vI_dTPBOun0FCtBP7TQZBNwBZDsqpIhPEkZ-7NDrsPDqthoczeIbaQH/s320/The%20Undertaking%20of%20Hart%20and%20Mercy.jpg" title="The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy - Megan Bannen" width="160" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65148734-for-her-consideration" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img alt="For Her Consideration - Amy Spalding" border="0" data-original-height="2281" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwvu476YhlQul27CLukN3BPfe4v6wh5G1owek2NA5gWKvBSd0KiAYe9QjJDCCwTO2UKL7gyhI2cFAAW4Ao_KwX55SC0RfT83M4HyqeuRfN5ffzqXxvez3b92s4H9y9PIjI4XdCSM_gR4ujpDApK8s6RY_wqWwYxKRhvPBFQXzD8OboxdqX9yH3i3g/s240/For%20Her%20Consideration.jpg" title="For Her Consideration - Amy Spalding" width="158" /></a></p><p></p><p>I didn’t own Hart and Mercy when it was recommended to me so I had to purchase that. I also treated myself to For Your Consideration as it was 99p and it really did sound like an interesting story. I've had Amy Spalding's YA books on my maybe buy list for a long while but as I've drifted from the YA reading world I've never bought them. I hope I enjoy her first adult romance instead.</p><p> </p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>How has your week been? Anyone else finding the working week to be longer than it was last year? </b><br /></p>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-64707774870152841792023-02-06T10:00:00.001+00:002023-02-06T10:00:00.221+00:00Monthly Wrap Up // February<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQF9GrozZVa9pkjbWsFhj4HqJruffuUgfSOAeBcyzjjKMl-hzwE7XabNMFMTNH7o7V9vKYOKVgxwCEhD7YNxatRmGy3BYKL4tZHDnDQ09hV8AbIVLIL5hmi_yM75UYn5_YogKhV_JfGmjEm9jHnePa5zyTSMJZqDrBaYTIGvblJ0pJiq4lIUMhq6D9/w640-h640/C9B185A6-E0ED-4CCE-9C35-23235263C31D.jpeg" width="640" /></div><p></p><p>What a month! Sorry I was a bit quiet there at the end of January but life really got in the way. But it’s cool I’ll catch you up on things and we can talk books! I think occasional 2 weeks absences on the blog are totally fair and part of my 2023 philosophy of enjoying myself with blogging. <br /><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">On Repeat</h2><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GFumHG4Wt1g" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Let's start off with a song to keep you entertained whilst reading. I discovered the artist Lizzy McAlpine this month and Doomsday has been on repeat for a good long while.
I just cannot get enough of it.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">
Life
</h2><p><br />
What can I say about life? I think I mentioned my neighbour started having their extension built so I've had that noise to contend with when I work from home. But they also fixed my front light and have been so nice the whole time they've had the work done so I'm not too bothered. Or not too bothered until you hear some loud banging in the middle of a Teams call and have to hastily mute yourself. But in all honestly, it's fine, the worst of the noise has passed and it's nice being nosy watching the progress. I mostly miss having the blinds open in the conservatory and being able to get down the side of the house.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrY5Zyag62TKdnJlmJgyJQx9giPsKb8tx6Y3jwBP6rzAD5QNzCgtdU005VdUNohdg2bZWRTamGZqYDVULL_P_j8DJTxfmPFGeQDz-hBYmPDQ3bgLJcdpvW_6wT6qy4Et0B1WDBo0MpSiKtdN-qL_K4KwteiyZmoa-_wkzQ5-Jc8sY-CS2ErB9b6iXb/w300-h400/A56ED0EF-02D8-4871-ACFF-A681071AF023.jpeg" width="300" /></div>
I also got myself a kitten this month! Little Artemis has settled in beautifully, she is now almost 10 weeks old and such a cool cat. She is so curious about everything, she gets a bit jittery when she's uncertain but she is so unbothered by new people and places and I respect her for that, we should all be more like Artemis. She's had her first lot of vaccinations and everyone at the vets loved her, she is definitely my baby. My mom even called her her first grandchild and I think she acknowledges that there will not be any human grandchildren from me and she can look forward to lots of pets instead.
Her first intriduction to Milo though and she was less chill and rather growly, but I suppose it might come with time and Milo isn't round every day.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3fIRIoHpP165sDb_Ze77ydzV9_trBBI6Asx8tC9tpCbTZcoAg_K_84mxVD5BPVRtAOkWUNB--X0wOJLJop0JhFwveEnhCoF-E4FCU2l7LFLEuO9O5GHu6bRlvSAoyCtMzIAOiLOQcPYI8mhipP4CfLdYQkGhSBgEphHip4D8y_goiWge3bRrU8T_/w300-h400/E71A60EC-26FF-47AE-8236-D25E8265A3C5.jpeg" width="300" /></div><p></p><p>The only other interesting thing in my life in January was the bottomless brunch I went to with friends at a bar with a ball pit in it. I very much felt like Sheldon swimming about in it and it's safe to say kids are athletic playing in these things as it was hard work. It was a fun afternoon/evening out and I was definitely feeling a little tender the next day. Bottomless brunches are lethal every time.<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">
Books
</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59758061-the-spanish-love-deception" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2133" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3o9gEvucBDTE5ytvY-TL0zhzz1ah8gZizLAkiQ_Hjn7P5ABU5v0A9D5VtmdTn7L7G2vKAwouj_ghYnM0TM4ukeRmBZDYw5x02N-KnCfjCmhQrVtgM3oex_l_0D4C9BvW2BBtu3NMSLaUL82riE5kuao-Ou3hK-vRJO8Walpv0Rjv49wT55-yME30r/w131-h200/The%20Spanish%20love%20Deception.jpg" width="131" /></a>
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<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26185583-barbarian-lover" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3liLMaLH0zn-xX82orxUbnv2QMcM3zgCRcEm0SOM0xB31wAihoONAs3y0B2jhPlB6jVEt9WUVGr40dFJI4d_m-KvzfBwaZnPZ5bYdzXBTlP4mf0SxudWZNlyOBf0Z4H6vXpg22OWvChmgcD6ZwX5VgmXeRLQKqC-eJGOdehG1iuQV6-Is4myHnGYP/w135-h200/Barbarian%20Lover.jpg" width="135" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51236946-crazy-stupid-bromance" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi--0CDtUvYgkG2138kJ4RAvC0mVxulQqDs-bvg2ILy1KGhHf61hF2rs4dczgsIGdGzxBSLbRjxQVSVqrlklwWhzUHbxmpPmblrasUCg8wH7yHldFg1DXwcSI-yucejsTW_raWPCHHVLNMRiXF6Y2KR6r92sv_a1onaVPnQG1w81KwpNd88cLtvq1ia/w131-h200/Crazy%20Stupid%20Bromance.jpg" width="131" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61296590-how-to-fake-it-in-hollywood" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="652" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkx1iow2PaQgvqtbtLHJAbH8I2nk0qAe4_YiOaRaavyncYGJUQuiY5tMrdJ1owCfoz9vfGNKDfOGfVXsK-ut10DZmDcKaoV07KAb5wmn0kxX9wtwTCw72o3Zp8GIOFEfq9OLjIkDH4wbxqdFT3J_-z3-mHW3-a1UXV3uflMKbckyRjtvBjJo_OyWj/w131-h200/How%20to%20Fake%20it%20in%20Hollywood.jpg" width="131" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49763053-taste" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7NSPyEHO2NVfyDG_nFAqkcnxYR0vm3oXBXtvNkmJt0nEvSghCdgcqp9DFFifXgIH3_8VNcIVwybGdoaj76MAAfdpEONfWN_jSX9Wrcva0gP171zDf3JxEL6IBPpn8Xc0e4oBrgwtQajvnxS74pOVtPtb-fGm5utlJ43Qtk-W-2ymPKagJF3--XFQ/w125-h200/Taste.jpg" width="125" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53667221-lick" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1546" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1POjyMXF8r3fVK2G1xoMSfjarEpihrnp2_nc-suzemETnP0thRmNQUHX6PyulwlkcBkEn86ZiaQcf2F2ZFmIiTCai8eFqsvhLXQZpVeekYslaL2AJqTO0wGGUGC-1NIJqGkMsdEhAEZOnTEihJKDeE2erVhhaEwogI3-aaZPpwpYITKALQIgVIgt/w121-h200/Lick.jpg" width="121" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58076499-the-charm-offensive" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDaEq90Pb9UcMY7yzXixzw4VXTCejNcShFk8qaeNex-47g2ppw8LkACnd6rZCjUH9Fy98Y5Z8sAhP-ODRywgzT1hKxk2x5U6ojhKpFldXvuVDYqKZpPT6mmwJwOAMVSnQ9eVGtW4J2gAz6q3oCYziKoxee7Mr2toykS9OAi0vq-oVp9iOwpA6LjGdX/w126-h200/The%20Charm%20Offensive.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>
18 Read<br />
6 unhauled<br />
5 purchased<br />
Favourites: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61296590-how-to-fake-it-in-hollywood">How to Fake it In Hollywood</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49763053-taste">Taste</a><br />
Least Favourite: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56554626-the-ex-hex">The Ex Hex</a></b><br /></p><p><br />
I cannot believe the number of books I read in January! I know so many were shorter reads, there were a lot of novellas and short stories in my life last month, but even taking those out of consideration I hit double figures and that is an achievement. It was a strong reading month with Romanceopoly helping to guide my reading
<br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">
Challenges
</h2><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: center;">
Romanceopoly
</h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXIvE9UBDHmxdvpmAy_zF5kiexiV65P6x3M_KC8G2e5heJ4vbakKbFe5Vo1HtarVABequsHkpuchFY70OW4DzwbZVlkNXUE-7KuHha1epcctKAWid7Vyt1FHU_VhyXlxifJbbn_xZBIn-kyPbrn1yTLhNagxlVZiQxnZaSGM58diPVdFwS1WeGG0_/s2560/794A8E53-9048-450A-A28A-29DDC6CA5998.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2560" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXIvE9UBDHmxdvpmAy_zF5kiexiV65P6x3M_KC8G2e5heJ4vbakKbFe5Vo1HtarVABequsHkpuchFY70OW4DzwbZVlkNXUE-7KuHha1epcctKAWid7Vyt1FHU_VhyXlxifJbbn_xZBIn-kyPbrn1yTLhNagxlVZiQxnZaSGM58diPVdFwS1WeGG0_/w640-h640/794A8E53-9048-450A-A28A-29DDC6CA5998.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
I finished 10 prompts in the month of January so I would say I am totally smashing it so far. I did actually land on Coffee Shop today and now need to read a book recommendation so if anyone wants to offer me a rec that would be great. I have a potential one from my mom for a book which has been on my shelf for a while so all else fails I will check that out. But look at the board so far! I think this is really helping me read a little wider trying to fit a challenge and I am trying to reduce my spending so I think I'm doing ok. I might have to start doing more bookish bingo prompts in future, but they have to be romance specific to match my main genre of reading.
<br /><br /><p></p><h3 style="text-align: center;">
Monthly Key Word
</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvKvotI8Wd0SALoavAFOKPgbmbOFBnRv4lzBIjfxrmXQHEoT-Nqd78EqrDw_1NGkqVz0inGdJNzpyWLzv6NskX5gXMXROUJFr-lYvW1Ljb_5E5Fb-IOqDQFxCzhfLiuOFAIGf3lYWrlPvTPmv-umvKsPnhGG9Jln62_GKEXcSF-Z3Beft4_-YegSB/w640-h640/DED15C09-A726-4302-B165-57B099FCF22E.jpeg" width="640" /></div><p>
I read my first book for January and it was a physical book. Funnily enough, the next prompt I've also picked upa physical book, guess who is possibly going to try and do physical books only for this challenge.
<br /><br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <b>I think that covers my month, I can't remember if there's anything I'm missing. It's been so long since I've done one of these posts! How was your January? What were your favourite reads or favourite moments of the month?</b><br /></p>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-28549403146985756882023-02-05T09:30:00.000+00:002023-02-05T09:30:00.160+00:00Sunday Summary // 05.02.2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIn6CJQX_TrMxJvcTYywTeLMd2LcH5NEqi747ejINwwTaxjEh8eGJZBhnJIvU_c5RcuyO4TpRx2Roa-gwLO4kK0ol7JOI_HRq7yC4oYcT9YiKVntqJjPCE11zzyfjnaK_VkwmFQl5BD4r_qr7-_r3Y8emxCb8m9S90zohablIw9Poc6Sm_sU7fhbW/s2048/F32E9EE9-D5E8-497C-A2A0-BEC794597CD6.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIn6CJQX_TrMxJvcTYywTeLMd2LcH5NEqi747ejINwwTaxjEh8eGJZBhnJIvU_c5RcuyO4TpRx2Roa-gwLO4kK0ol7JOI_HRq7yC4oYcT9YiKVntqJjPCE11zzyfjnaK_VkwmFQl5BD4r_qr7-_r3Y8emxCb8m9S90zohablIw9Poc6Sm_sU7fhbW/w640-h640/F32E9EE9-D5E8-497C-A2A0-BEC794597CD6.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p>It's been a minute. Sorry about that, life has got a little busy so the blog fell to the backburner for a little while. I don't even really have posts drafted for you right now but I'm working on it. It doesn't help little Artemis takes up a lot of my free time. After I finish work I'm trying to entertain her as she's left a little to her own devices otherwise. She is very popular on all of my Teams calls, though. But we move, I'll figure it out. </p><p>
Artemis went for her first visit to the vets this week to begin her vaccinations and she is such a curious cat. There was no real hesitation on her part, she just wanted to explore and was calm in her cat carrier which was good. All the staff at the vets loved her and she'll be back in 3 weeks for the next course of vaccinations and to see if she's big enough to microchip yet. She's getting a little clawier and seems to want to chew on everything, but turns out kittens teeth so I imagine that's part of the problem if she's beginning to get adult teeth in. She is such a babe though I don't mind. She's been left alone for one day in the office this week and she seems to handle it well, which is a relief, just full of beans when I get home and tried to get me to stay up late playing. She seems to have developed a fascination with getting under the bed covers which is less than ideal for me, I found her down by my feet when I woke up last night and that was rather confusing for me half awake at 3am. <br /><br />
I treated myself to a PS5 last week. I had been planning on waiting as there aren't really any exclusive games to the console I absolutely need to play but I know the next Final Fantasy game is due in June so I wanted one by then. Once I found out I could play PS4 games and transfer my data it was a no brainer, though. I got an end of year bonus with work and I thought I should put it towards something impractical as well as something practical, so I'm looking at blinds for the living room and need to get the garden sorted once I can actually access it through the side gate again, but then I have my nice impractical PS5 that I didn't need but wanted anyway. I suppose I'm trying not to buy all of the books under the sun so I need to put that money elsewhere and not just on bills.<br /><br />Last week was just pure chaos, as was this week to be fair. Work has been so busy and I hardly had a moment to myself. I was covering for my replacement as he rudely took annual leave and I honestly forgot how much work my old role was, it meant I couldn't really do any of my usual work, not the standard I usually would anyway. Add in that I picked up a major error they had made at the beginning of this week and it's safe to say I'm exhausted work wise. I cannot wait for some time off at the end of the month, I think I need to book more time in as well whilst I can and just spend a few days relaxing.
<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3fIRIoHpP165sDb_Ze77ydzV9_trBBI6Asx8tC9tpCbTZcoAg_K_84mxVD5BPVRtAOkWUNB--X0wOJLJop0JhFwveEnhCoF-E4FCU2l7LFLEuO9O5GHu6bRlvSAoyCtMzIAOiLOQcPYI8mhipP4CfLdYQkGhSBgEphHip4D8y_goiWge3bRrU8T_/w480-h640/E71A60EC-26FF-47AE-8236-D25E8265A3C5.jpeg" width="480" /></div><p>
Outside of work I've also been busy, I went to a bottomless brunch with friends and what was meant to be an evening out which turned into a night out last Saturday. I then lost most of Sunday to feeling fairly delicate. But I can now say I've been to an adult ball pit and it was fabulous. I hate the photo pf myself (but I hate every photo of myself) but I think you can tell by my face I'm enjoying myself. Highly recommend if you're ever in Birmingham, which I know makes it quite a niche suggestion but I imagine they have similar bars in a few places. Bars in the UK seem to be leaning towards experiences as well as good drinks and I am not complaining.
<br /><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">What I've Been Reading</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49763053-taste" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcvbGygYRUQppbDos2fY6KE7beFD034EuFdvkL9zUbWaE9Z3srUkQQSrLsfacuQKsSDOXo1xtsVG7NDTR3F9YLor2Ey6HxvTC3ELiVMuy19zHfivRZ6efPNP1A8TOK9zv3BKzAtCh6i2Je_D1FBtqQ_0EArzJHKpSQRycNPKysRbXGe1WjEVv6TNF/s320/Taste.jpg" width="150" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53667221-lick" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1546" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYQ33W3fOIrsQQhXYv9A3VhNW9uSzhfMxYb2V9fsUWQi6HO9uD_Kgfwol7FaB01oeMt0yqzOzmEhjqnSTcQlaadKo9vrV-7rxan7wL-yiZw3MQ1qIaTu9VLsNztMInR0y7Oz7ND_f_7Aj2cwKXPffdfWeVe62wt8Z2mx0u8nGWz1MMf57RyaMZLBu/s320/Lick.jpg" width="151" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58076499-the-charm-offensive" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="314" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHY_c6U7E5PSRRFzy2qWyCsOEeOw-gVGY3UBwAxatHy8Hlb6Q3jiJX-sgwFhi_pMPl6McPuFXvXrGA7YLAPbpK1L9ocWSDyckkXnCjCV45J0BueyNLWYkBqZbuw1lGsiqWqrdjIMfzb_cekHSYuB_IIErDlMK3Fi5C77iu5e404PiBBJfQxGeoNCOM/s320/The%20Charm%20Offensive.jpg" width="151" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51975973-only-when-it-s-us" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjscjZLImHsE0grgqVLF_VJipkXwDetMlDb1ZUiX2dD77v4W9ujMRx7KMk6ClkRdReCFDdS-LGhif5qBI_f2UpQZvKTCvQ9MTVlhGSlVlOLjLvtV6AqZ7RxDdl7pgTtgR_9D-AwSNKO5ht1YNuViMpG3bCcN9CjFkynfsAQgClKtIMo-m6jeSWFpcsu/s320/Only%20When%20It's%20Us.jpg" width="159" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58293924-book-of-night" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1520" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXuQv9_wgOwo_-1qTncDZhW17TIFh9oPdjdPamOHhgN3w38gLz2pRiowoLZ7uhFBF9oZYqd9MxL6QuGNXUufEMPID-eEy4gUxt1_oJnduPuDVPmeT2flR4deXG086hoOVFe-bOELvy4druJlLXvBozke560EBO_0qyWwfQ9OKCNpEOkGAwDzSiP5i/s320/Book%20of%20Night.jpg" width="158" /></a>
</div>Because of my hectic couple of weeks it's safe to say reading has not been a priority, I have read a bit though. I sort of felt slumpy last week, I don't think it helped I was forcing myself to read books to fit into the squares I'd landed on in Romanceopoly. I actually wish I hadn't forced myself to read The Charm Offensive as I ended up not liking it as much as I hoped, it was good but I wasn't in the mood for the story at all. Only When It's Us was a total winner though and I couldn't put it down. Book of Night was also better than I expected, I'd seen mixed reviews and I admit I was disappointed at the romance side of things, but the story was so interesting that I didn't mind a slightly quieter romance, I imagine the next book will focus more on that saide as that was a brutal cliffhanger. I'm currently stuck on the prompt read a book recommended to you so if you guys have any recommendations feel free to throw them my way.
<br /><p><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">New To Me<br /></h2>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49763053-taste" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcvbGygYRUQppbDos2fY6KE7beFD034EuFdvkL9zUbWaE9Z3srUkQQSrLsfacuQKsSDOXo1xtsVG7NDTR3F9YLor2Ey6HxvTC3ELiVMuy19zHfivRZ6efPNP1A8TOK9zv3BKzAtCh6i2Je_D1FBtqQ_0EArzJHKpSQRycNPKysRbXGe1WjEVv6TNF/s320/Taste.jpg" width="150" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53667221-lick" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1546" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYQ33W3fOIrsQQhXYv9A3VhNW9uSzhfMxYb2V9fsUWQi6HO9uD_Kgfwol7FaB01oeMt0yqzOzmEhjqnSTcQlaadKo9vrV-7rxan7wL-yiZw3MQ1qIaTu9VLsNztMInR0y7Oz7ND_f_7Aj2cwKXPffdfWeVe62wt8Z2mx0u8nGWz1MMf57RyaMZLBu/s320/Lick.jpg" width="151" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52697196-lies-lullabies?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=VxewZd0Tfd&rank=1" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEBxIN4Nurw2H4re-H2YTlOiB-e7hrrtbrdbtfbaIy7o6Q9Pa8wG5iI0j3FwY0KI9A9KAW6SZbhz59b3pUdGw-YT_pUrJGHb3Dk2gteCWKKwkmCNXNlWRmxIMg0yN-lj37_o4qaGc1YWItHjEZN1WRSKbvcmhO5eVsQWeV2qqsqJhCTtBuRXW17NA/s320/Lies%20&%20Lullabies.jpg" width="160" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40554141-daisy-jones-and-the-six" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="255" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEwgo2cr2HkJhRP6-lrv7U5C_ElS1lwCYO_Ap1jqE3TD82xLbjnoDNy8GGFTEtTnEFXB5_SUog99pc0fkz9XNQwvmWDIEr9VT4Tby7KUKd1RFmurqmXG0B5dGBaritsKC-4A6j-pDJdrklTPr1p1gHExIOLN7kR5ohz3F35sDqk3ogEY4Fa67vitM/s320/Daisy%20Jones%20and%20the%20Six.jpg" width="148" /></a></p><p></p><p>I borrowed Taste and Lick from Kindle Unlimited when I was hunting for a book to vit the vampire paranormal prompt. It's safe to say I am not a massive vampire reader, I almost used a reread to fill that prompt but I want my reading challenges to be exclusively books I've not read before. Lies & Lullabies was then a freebie on Amazon which I dithered over getting but couldn't help myself. And finally I borrowed Daisy Jones and the Six from the library when I went in to sort registering my card again. </p><p> </p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Again, I ask for any and all book recs to help me on my next Romanceopoly square. And please tell me how your week has been while I catch up on more blog posts.</b><br /></p>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-34766317464326157602023-01-27T11:00:00.001+00:002023-01-27T11:00:00.171+00:00Review // In The Middle of Somewhere<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzsOXTM_hqJw9DHTetMaCtN1maJOHHhIfVlXEYMHBHwM1Q0_B6phBUKYfcDPnmFpJk1MZyWWkQmnHmU24EdvlnhUpDRj7W3mvzXjkOaINmYFTzGJVlTsD1YBb_2Bo5_fvwfJLDp9Z0FcrvDLBzB-as54tYewqGWrUhzBSsclDR0c7qnME2HTl4CCfF/s500/In%20the%20Middle%20of%20Somewhere.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzsOXTM_hqJw9DHTetMaCtN1maJOHHhIfVlXEYMHBHwM1Q0_B6phBUKYfcDPnmFpJk1MZyWWkQmnHmU24EdvlnhUpDRj7W3mvzXjkOaINmYFTzGJVlTsD1YBb_2Bo5_fvwfJLDp9Z0FcrvDLBzB-as54tYewqGWrUhzBSsclDR0c7qnME2HTl4CCfF/s16000/In%20the%20Middle%20of%20Somewhere.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49756162-in-the-middle-of-somewhere" target="_blank"><b>In the Middle of Somewhere (Middle of Somewhere #1) - Roan Parrish</b></a></h2>
<b>Published: </b>10th July 2015<br />
<b><br />Source: </b>Purchased<br />
<b><br />Genre: </b>Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ+<br />
<b><br />My Rating: </b><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><br /> </div><div><span class="Formatted"><blockquote>Daniel Mulligan is tough, snarky, and tattooed,
hiding his self-consciousness behind sarcasm. Daniel has never fit
in—not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and
brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down
on him. Now, Daniel’s relieved to have a job at a small college in
Holiday, Northern Michigan, but he’s a city boy through and through, and
it’s clear that this small town is one more place he won’t fit in. <br /> <br />Rex
Vale clings to routine to keep loneliness at bay: honing his muscular
body, perfecting his recipes, and making custom furniture. Rex has lived
in Holiday for years, but his shyness and imposing size have kept him
from connecting with people. <br /> <br />When the two men meet, their
chemistry is explosive, but Rex fears Daniel will be another in a long
line of people to leave him, and Daniel has learned that letting anyone
in can be a fatal weakness. Just as they begin to break down the walls
keeping them apart, Daniel is called home to Philadelphia, where he
discovers a secret that changes the way he understands everything. </blockquote></span><br />
In the Middle of Somewhere was a book I think I added to my TBR because it appeared on a romance recommendation list or something. It has been on my Kindle for so long so when I rolled the Romanceopoly prompt to read a romance with an M/M romance I chose it to give it a shot. I actually kind of thought I might DNF at first because it had been unread for so long, there surely had to be a reason for that right?
<br /><br />I found the start a little slow as we began with Daniel leaving a job interview in Michigan driving through the woods and getting into an accident where he subsequently met Rex for the first time. It then seemed to hop in time to him being back home in Philadelphia. It hopped again to him starting the job he interviewed for in Michigan. He meets Rex again and their instantly getting it on by a tree. The start just seemed to hop from place to place with little context for the change in time. I found it confusing and it really took my our of the book as I had to flick back and see if I missed something when i was reading. I liked the characters of Daniel and Rex though. Daniel was this intense guy who was an English professor and he's had it rough. He wass on edge a lot ready to fight and very untrusting of people and what they said and did. He was like that stray cat ready to scratch you at any sudden movements (can you tell I've recently got a cat and need to now reference cats in every day conversation?). And the most we really learnt about Rex at first was that he was this really large, strong guy who had quite an intimidating presence. He was a sweet cinnamon roll really but that comes later. He was quiet and reserved but he disn't play games, he was very open with most things. In a lot of ways they were opposites but you could instantly tell there was a spark between them and that interested me to see how Daniel would let his guard down and how Rex would speak a little more and help Daniel and himself move forward.
<br /><br />I think I got to the 50% mark and it was going to go either way in terms of me DNFing but at that point I'd gotten so far and I was interested but it seemed like it was going nowhere. They were having sex and occasionally discussing their relationship, I'm all for a low angst romance that doesn't put the characters through the ringer but I needed some kind of plot direction. Thankfully, the last half of the book had Daniel and Rex exploring their relationship more and they were discussing their feelings and revealing their vulnerabiilities. It became less about their physical connection and more the emotional side, which I was much more interested in. Rex revealed his dyslexia which had led to certain misunderstandings at the start of the relationship and Daniel fully recognised his own emotional constipation and inability to ask for help or demonstrate his feelings articulately which is funny considering he was an English professor.
<br /><br />I think Rex revealing his past and his dyslexia was the start of this book getting interesting as the characters became more human and real. Daniel then received shocking news from his family which led to him returning home for a few days with Rex and that exploration of his past and the environment he had grown up in helped again move their relationship forward. The great part was what I expected to be the third act break up for them, Daniel potentially moving away when he was told about a job back in Philadelphia, instead this brought the two of them together and led to them discussing what they wanted in the future as a couple and it was lovely.
<br /><br />I think I've read too many angsty romances as I expected far more conflict in this book and that just wasn't the case here. Instead, whilst there were stumbling blocks to get past their relationship itself was always solid. In fact, I finished the book contemplating reading the next book which centres around Daniel's brother, Colin, which is a big change from potentially DNFing. I just worry there will be higher angst in the next one as Colin has a lot of internalised homophobia to overcome.<br /><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Have you read this book, do you agree with my own thoughts? And have you ever found yourself contemplating DNFing a book at 50% and only then discovering what the hype was about with it?</b><br /></div>Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-42151156180274959202023-01-22T10:00:00.001+00:002023-01-22T10:00:00.162+00:00Sunday Summary // 22.01.2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_3MxKRTpAP2gWqoqKfQS8c7DfbIsiEJF2dzDSPvev4LsPTGJszoWOGz88X_Fit8nSIU5NBoICFdQ4dhH7qPTicuRbO5m4S1p-ZX_ehoVMrbikwwM7B4HbcyEeCXTYX2tjwRv6MxiyAIDTUR1gdw87wxktViCY4pul_2LJyFQvZcCrrfDZ27kZeGG/s640/791C9E09-84ED-4D72-9633-49917FAA2D49.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_3MxKRTpAP2gWqoqKfQS8c7DfbIsiEJF2dzDSPvev4LsPTGJszoWOGz88X_Fit8nSIU5NBoICFdQ4dhH7qPTicuRbO5m4S1p-ZX_ehoVMrbikwwM7B4HbcyEeCXTYX2tjwRv6MxiyAIDTUR1gdw87wxktViCY4pul_2LJyFQvZcCrrfDZ27kZeGG/w640-h640/791C9E09-84ED-4D72-9633-49917FAA2D49.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="border-width: 100%; direction: ltr;">
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<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I feel like I'm
getting old because I immediately want to say how crazy it is that the end of
January is fast approaching. I don't know where the month is going but I'm
pleased that I've managed to make it through another week of blogging and I'm
still enjoying it.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">This week has felt a
little chaotic. I started it with a clear plan of how things would go, from
going into the office Tuesday to Thursday, to making sure I got some things
sorted at home over the weekend and enjoyed myself as I have plans next
weekend. Instead, I went into the office on just Tuesday, my original plan for
sorting things around the house this weekend flew out the window as my coat zip
broke, and I have been doing lots of things last minute instead.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">The week began
according to plan, I worked from home Monday, went into the office Tuesday, and
met a friend for lunch as we both work in Birmingham now and it was nice seeing
people and getting out to the office, even though the weather has taken a
decidedly frosty turn with mornings being in the minus figures. Things began to
veer of course when my mom text me Tuesday afternoon asking if I wanted a
kitten. It was a very out of the blue message and it all began because my
stepsister was trying to get a kitten for her sister and the friend she found
who had some available had 2 left and didn't really want another cat if she
could help it so was trying to find someone she knew to have one. I had been
saying I needed to get myself a pet as living alone is great, but it does get a
little quiet some nights. I've been trying a new thing this year where I say
yes to more things with friends and family and push myself to be a little more
social, which is why I'm going to a Harry Styles themed thing at an adult ball
pit venue next week (honestly, it'll be interesting if nothing else). Anyway, I said
yes, and so Wednesday evening I was off to get a small kitten from a friend of
a friend. I was rushing around Tuesday night getting things sorted so I had
food, litter, toys in for her. It helped that it snowed Wednesday morning so I
didn't really push myself to go out to the office, even though the snow melted
by the afternoon. I spent Wednesday night settling her in and Thursday worked
from home with her to make sure she was ok.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2E0_a8_hR5fo-lwIp0ltjjrmNfrJPbZNF818sai5k5LovojvG4kf5g6ehQaC7_BdsarmX3OyPRz13gmvc0tuAiUx9wbWQbuIY8gYvZMtc5mqanYJC5MJMM5acYY0TQPGPB6GaGMiy4QaszIyZ_veStrpLDBKsKzQmYAUJ_6oftRtyhBrV9ra0GXa/s918/Artemis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="689" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2E0_a8_hR5fo-lwIp0ltjjrmNfrJPbZNF818sai5k5LovojvG4kf5g6ehQaC7_BdsarmX3OyPRz13gmvc0tuAiUx9wbWQbuIY8gYvZMtc5mqanYJC5MJMM5acYY0TQPGPB6GaGMiy4QaszIyZ_veStrpLDBKsKzQmYAUJ_6oftRtyhBrV9ra0GXa/w480-h640/Artemis.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I've named my little
kitten Artemis, she is obviously my cat as she found her way onto the bookshelf
and went to sleep on the books for a while. She did chew on a few of those
books so she doesn't have the most respect for books but it's fine. One of the
books she chose to chew on was Artemis and I took that as a hint from her she
wanted a nice name. I'd been calling her Mini and Tiny Cat until that point and
Tiny Cat does get used more than her name but I'm not the best at using names
to be fair. It's better than my brother's suggestion of Dave anyway.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I ended up going
shopping Saturday, leaving her alone for a few hours, and she was fine. I
discovered Friday night that my coat zip had broken and it would no longer zip
up, not ideal when the temperature keeps dipping below 0. I bought myself a new
coat, treated myself to a couple of books and probably spent a little more than
necessary considering it's not pay day until next week. It was worth it though to make sure Artemis has herself more toys to keep her busy and to be certain she can handle being home alone without any accidents and without causing chaos at home. </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<h2 style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I've Been
Reading</span></h2>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22852997-diary-of-an-accidental-wallflower" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="294" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQ2vyj3I1bOyGgajQIO5wW_1fMape1hU0hrd75qfK_9D9g2iUxHL_hwzJEBfAScbbspi46A_Kr0gIVMxMP62tKJtek9tKQrSc_rdp0_qODXKs4LtmrKcJMueoswJfDL9uMEpbyM23kw4W6B3wgoMWe2ev0KKSroUAT4_V537ER-vECulkoeJQ-YoN/s320/Diary%20of%20an%20Accidental%20Wallflower.jpg" title="Diary of an Accidental Wallflower - Jennifer McQuiston" width="149" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26185583-barbarian-lover" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNtk3HubAb3MiSfXRZBdWMd4wHabEvhp7_5Bdbduxzkmcp-zQxQY-lPuZRJ7txp2beieU8lq8BRh550nZSm1zpPjocgCK-e1birAB9s-d4F8sP6usGc8ZPDKockaLx_0J5lioI0J26SPs0n5H2JN9GVaaE0MPKMIWDraJem0Zih0o6HgcaccHJDib/s320/Barbarian%20Lover.jpg" title="Barbarian Lover - Ruby Dixon" width="162" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51236946-crazy-stupid-bromance" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLRokxxqw9DE-CjY1cYD7_kZwFNMb37D9FNzwK5Ut1m0jkMOuBXAEpBol2PbWxNnsdxYvZJIOSeU--oOYu1NwGBnwSwXimqqLXqAppvYwuCCfWKWLPMnG462aFTUjJGYBEme2Z7NOZePg7UysQrR1JdDZxh3TUzNZSZdFWsO5bY2jcw8Xleqv6LKD/s320/Crazy%20Stupid%20Bromance.jpg" title="Crazy Stupid Bromance - Lyssa Kay Adams" width="156" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61296590-how-to-fake-it-in-hollywood" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="652" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vLrCo_CI7_-E3_Vsf-RfIk8xxJJefGLotOiUNsGHgnf0C1au5lF_pS4DOHzn2kDcCLhgAWHLn9NP2VN45F0Y_8zIw3-3tuELb_bmbRPczWtuD0nKoOjHAO1L8APZHo53zbKi2Hgf-XCaRVMvA2RfPYuQaH6ESsP9G6JXT5fre2OKC21eRtQxd_q5/s320/How%20to%20Fake%20it%20in%20Hollywood.jpg" title="How to Fake it in Hollywood - Ava Wilder" width="156" /></a>
</div><br /><p></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> It's been a pretty
decent reading week. I've been letting my Romanceopoly rolls determine what I
pick up next as I've not really known what I've been in the mood to read. I'm
currently stuck on that though as I've landed on Fang Alley which requires a paranormal
romance where one of the MCs is a vampire and I don't seem to have any vampire
books on my shelves right now. Any suggestions for a good romance with
vampires? It was nice to continue the Ice planet Barbarian books and I admit
they're ridiculous but I always enjoy them. I also feel proud as I’ve started one of the books I bought already so at least I’m getting better at reading what I buy.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<h2 style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">New To Me</span></h2>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26185583-barbarian-lover" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNtk3HubAb3MiSfXRZBdWMd4wHabEvhp7_5Bdbduxzkmcp-zQxQY-lPuZRJ7txp2beieU8lq8BRh550nZSm1zpPjocgCK-e1birAB9s-d4F8sP6usGc8ZPDKockaLx_0J5lioI0J26SPs0n5H2JN9GVaaE0MPKMIWDraJem0Zih0o6HgcaccHJDib/s320/Barbarian%20Lover.jpg" title="Barbarian Lover - Ruby Dixon" width="162" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24473763-radiance?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=oFlph8w4m8&rank=2" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="318" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ct9IUxaNz-TkKeVXpxewjWDs7X9eb5LX5YSCj4aROhyL_O459L7KgI_-_3KP_UNpRaiA6lKLUQYpHOIQzo0UlKcdoiWehvj14ZCOS0fCu7wJIq7zWMYt0Rk0ajhs5cQinCWGYO0WO48Cp9gzHiZXTjIdlmRlEL81xwi2GxNXPgGSZ7f3puDID7qY/s320/Radiance.jpg" title="Radiance - Grace Draven" width="173" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61296590-how-to-fake-it-in-hollywood" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="652" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vLrCo_CI7_-E3_Vsf-RfIk8xxJJefGLotOiUNsGHgnf0C1au5lF_pS4DOHzn2kDcCLhgAWHLn9NP2VN45F0Y_8zIw3-3tuELb_bmbRPczWtuD0nKoOjHAO1L8APZHo53zbKi2Hgf-XCaRVMvA2RfPYuQaH6ESsP9G6JXT5fre2OKC21eRtQxd_q5/s320/How%20to%20Fake%20it%20in%20Hollywood.jpg" title="How to Fake it in Hollywood - Ava Wilder" width="156" /></a>
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61814546-cemetery-boys" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="350" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRFZc0JTrbPtGHyyW4CKEPVUAj-uuCxwZvdzf4Lp3u1ba0b9tNFHL13EahTckcNPwamGwE693PrQ-pwe45_TfB4ILrmduzvCuGyUJ4SlNSMNQwph6cPl5ivyPRRLHrSIlp29-ow7yvRP1FejzatYGn63fP97Woru4vBbzekcjCRKeD5pD1SO2aXYq/s320/Cemetry%20Boys.jpg" title="Cemetry Boys - Aidan Thomas" width="158" /></a></span></div><p></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I borrowed Barbarian Lover from kindle Unlimited both to get my money's worth from my subscriptuon, but also to help complete another Romanceopoly prompt. I finally gave in
with some book purchases, one was a 99p deal and how could I not and I have
actually read Radiance before so it doesn't actually increase my TBR but just
means I will reread at some point and possibly even finish the series. The
other two books snuck themselves into my bag when I went shopping yesterday,
but in my defense I'd been wanting to buy Cemetry Boys for a while and a
paperback for £5 is a bargain. How to Fake it in Hollywood was more of an
impulse buy but it's a fake relationship romance, which we all know is my
catnip so I couldn't resist.</p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b>How was your week? Have you read any good books I need to know about? And please give me all your vampire paranormal romance recs as I'm desparate.</b> <br /></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-43854462049614137342023-01-20T11:00:00.001+00:002023-01-20T11:00:00.176+00:00The Books I Missed in 2022<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgOvKLRlfkEAMSY6b9IAvvt4ahuYjRzCYSZevyF_kxgPEwl7jGifFqiPe30bd8B4XKO_V37rUF7bJuo77VW6AxlEinCH_eBtEj37hdONdqJgXTFbvyh7xIaln2KW7z0JS3VowZ7aTJerkK3Ag-9A-GzfaAI9kgYGIjeQYi2yFf8Z9BV6rq610aW3d/s1080/31F8D458-F1FD-4CDE-9862-E3D4B43F718D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgOvKLRlfkEAMSY6b9IAvvt4ahuYjRzCYSZevyF_kxgPEwl7jGifFqiPe30bd8B4XKO_V37rUF7bJuo77VW6AxlEinCH_eBtEj37hdONdqJgXTFbvyh7xIaln2KW7z0JS3VowZ7aTJerkK3Ag-9A-GzfaAI9kgYGIjeQYi2yFf8Z9BV6rq610aW3d/w640-h640/31F8D458-F1FD-4CDE-9862-E3D4B43F718D.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">With pretty much a 7
month absence from blogging it's safe to say I missed a lot. I missed out what
was going on in your lives and I missed out on all of the books you were raving
about last year. Add in a major twitter absence and I am amazed I heard about
any new releases in 2022 because how did I expect to discover them? I think my
attitude to new releases last year was much like my attitude to dating. I
refused to seek them out and expected that fate would intervene if I were
destined to discover them. Honestly, that philosophy isn't really working so
well in the dating world but I did still manage to discover a few new releases
in 2022 so maybe it's a better bookish philosophy? It's not like I can do speed
dating for books.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">… or could I? </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Honestly, I might
see if I can make a post out of that because it sounds like fun doesn't it?</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Each of these books
fell on my radar one way or another, these were the destined few that fate made
me eager to buy. Some appeared on Instagram or in my emails, some I caught in
the early months of 2022 before I disappeared from the blogging world. Others
are simply part of a series I enjoyed and I had to get the next instalment. </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58885776-the-dead-romantics?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Dead Romantics - Ashley Poston" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfWNa08SMDTyc6f_CWGL6wa1Qe8wlA4gsorR3nsLPoCwO3v89FkMxyzh58pJyTVFmSV5COEou7gmmq3yC3ix31Kc-nfdz1EISvUV1298T5jYJKBAcihaxwkhDOhsONJcU8lRoM_LcuyL48m2DhCqhUjZh-TosLBcbOP-i5SQdsTBXlK0arjrdZ9r5/s320/The%20Dead%20Romantics.jpg" width="160" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58293924-book-of-night?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Book of Night - Holly Black" border="0" data-original-height="1520" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-1D9PpJh6ALLReDFkJ2sYf3T7yQ_XKPjpNHLSaFo4WWucXh06MBrSl07pcnAq9RcXjN07_sdYkN9pCBl0Znt8P7_bBhSrSeV2dHgZ_TK7y-gNjeUIXzMEFV3pnwFvD8p1FtcYBt4RJEhgHJ-PguUf0zj1rzd_bKUB8dgyN6LdyzOA3EhUEckVe2P/s320/Book%20of%20Night.jpg" width="158" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57352258-never-been-kissed?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_17" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Never Been Kissed - Timothy Javnovsky" border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="302" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwn2K2UXotfb6iACqOINMehEzcpIZWkmT881kBE2LjPDgYYOpE-DfFBBgjiO_L6MOV8jzBfnr2BW1gY9WrS_91epU2-3FHhTxjumLHq0qgl_hOop9-TNdc1qyKA1u-1VsEDEbPzds19yLI7Ntw1wuXU3FgQh-wBX5ERsq1tcZ5iHtO9yOCZXb5unJc/s320/Never%20Been%20Kissed.jpg" width="160" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54756850-delilah-green-doesn-t-care?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_19" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Delilah Green Doesn't Care - Ashley Herring Blake" border="0" data-original-height="2471" data-original-width="1647" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvGZuJ5nzy8hIUP9WLl52yD9zcYPsn72rjEEhhSQIdTL5OgSGMoMa3xIkGUdZz6D2-qHVkNGIiJRzUrHmQBIW0WZuqvKZ8lnJAjSemTjXZ28dwsgzh_kNU1NZkU0SIwGmXZR3WqjH7OFaJVykCPGypJYC0kxIcSuYSc0oUVTQI6NmSUSThiQ6StYk/s320/Delilah%20Green%20Doesn't%20Care.jpg" width="160" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39909230-ruby-fever?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_10" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Ruby Fever - Ilona Andrews" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="316" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxh7GIcH1AQH8SuAK6phXQa4GrE4DPCnDWAM6bp90qPo4-i20s2EInB4nz5kIpk7n0B7yGAn-YaVDHSpy93VnzkEWn6YXoWLIwppUU0rXoSzYy1PTx6yfAPV2opYIafKAqhxc3piNi7ccVp1n807qMt9T4o-2QFu3-EPhZvzwziw25E4DR-AOySqc/s320/Ruby%20Fever.jpg" width="152" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58377135-something-fabulous?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img alt="Something Fabulous - Alexis Hall" border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="1650" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNEGVfljh9Jq646t23iMyclyTRZqrP4aqDdYUwZBwGYpFVV6T2N5SIB7Pt4Ow0QQjsfxiCl5iFgtMioRPho5UVDPu6I9Zp2E6-qwT5MgZ-aFRFK6UFfEcyINjwv4aLenTmMkpP6AaGc-7IcMaxT26FOIw7Q6fhgjkEEv-gd9L9JpXpHHDF2XggNW5/s320/Something%20Fabulous.jpg" width="160" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60525908-ship-wrecked?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Xxu3hYBHms&rank=1" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Ship Wrecked - Olivia Dade" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOn7PHXsO2XCjCcrze_4xq6tXn6OS9KWkv7rIbmkYIcr7Y-PoJh2Ohpy9D6mbEBqh-v4uZfBRKQqeKklb-jZnPoEdXzQc_s8lNiO-R6B4qT-p7-RluZeTvzI0zhrJdiE7iAbPmTzPejFX2VhN8Wm4RuuHoShZc7ewQMEf1wiHOr2IjbZn89Tqh7mH8/s320/Ship%20Wrecked.jpg" width="160" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59807966-a-restless-truth?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_16" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="A Restless Truth - Freya Marske" border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="1100" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNz3vN4k_CQircpDMfaBU9WhAZCtu1KOpL9qoHQ46FtdE5X8ix-xwqBgO88IeP0eoqUkUirZLhHQY8DOAGPfrbD2j0OVa9rFPzjBMjindObQ31TG46pBEXKOQ8llgpPXeQjP2BIlYj3gS0qXof06A6LVIvKUoPPJ3pFgd95UdmAfx3EcBU-Dz_3M4/s320/A%20Restless%20Truth.jpg" width="156" /></a>
</div>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">This first set of books are all ones I own. I did almost include Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail but since I was including the first book I thought it might not be necessary. I am excited about all of them which is why I bought a copy but I just haven't had the time to read them. Or been in the mood for them. or something.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59808252-built-to-last?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=O7EygnMOFs&rank=2" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Built to Last - Erin Hahn" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2kTfC8pY3EfnpAGwTgyE0ehyfz629rbPAF6zByo6jQnMo3-kHJjuie4JUYgM3lQ-jhIllHiHc9HsURGq6rNmTsZ--JDSIwdKBf5NNpcNa1UHiWoUyW_tSm0FikFrUhVYv37kw7yknSzhQOws1iOjiBBDEO3eBFUh_73Y9eSRXMbvno6jUnefBDH0/s320/Built%20to%20Last.jpg" width="157" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59851676-lease-on-love" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Lease on Love - Falon Ballard" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="477" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPWlMg8rt1rjmOoRTu0uh13SX8ZwWoSdiXoa2ynmHeKPoYmiZd3nc78oq5N5ycTrEoNpFalOYjvTvO5cBBwehhFBuix7U-Uyx9MJcI4srvYrxS238cRKshJoiPPqBIa7oXLRecu3Ei4J9KrT9i0Mc4LRSspkTKKru0l2V43EqOUB3G-rssuXxZVQ2/s320/Lease%20on%20Love.webp" width="156" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59959743-witcha-gonna-do?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_11" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Witcha Gonna Do - Avery Flynn" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLj6C4zSVnLgMCXJsGDKGzsGZ_6eNRZ_AMPVpWgWXSk_6e6hO-eUf8yTbcRgBNJheHT8G960FPsE0kLJXlfZcuJyCeXJdJrp1d_DHQO1eunTLAxfyHURbM-Bzutp817YmoSUDyCpAzHNe7tvMwc_0oFKwZ2XMKd8Npv-O6C_QDVllNOFKT-0rKy9D1/s320/Witcha%20Gonna%20Do.jpg" width="155" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57007967-a-lady-for-a-duke?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=GPZeGeySh9&rank=1" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="A Lady for a Duke - Alexis Hall" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1344" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLvVW4Sv8-NTI9S0sNpG6VOW5xenPYPRW3qoxMXLmrKVmWiCqCRVpefHzfwGgYomuTAQ_YNzQGZUU0jnLuPkzm-HG1UH9-0LvbzC_etBQO0VNYBr989KboWGlnhj2tjJDyapnyCzMaOO8b4UPiJOxa6T_y-DaVfYHijLwSh5JiyYLmwPrPxqIoti9/s320/A%20Lady%20for%20the%20Duke.jpg" width="158" /></a>
</div><br /><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">And these are the 2022 book I was excited about but haven't hit the purchase button on yet. I will buy them and I will read them but considering the amount of unread books I have currently I just don't think I can buy them. </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I'm pretty proud I've bought most of the books I was excited about last year. This shows I only really looked at books I definitely wanted to buy. No adding all of the books and buying them because I saw someone review them once. I'm hoping to keep that attitude this year but I am so easily swayed.</p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b>Which books did you not manage to read last year? And have you read any on my list that I really need to get to reading?</b><br /></p>
Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-63409148453978189732023-01-17T11:00:00.003+00:002023-01-17T11:00:00.195+00:00Review // The Girl He Used To Know<p>
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<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvd7rEHT7wLJ4ME235QFU6TcIQe_RODg6NNtSVobH8xygl34sDhAHqE63PYQDX6ARvQT-cZ34VqzrLjXQbcLrOMTsJoFAC_P2yE096Y1n0YEh8Jg9Ip22tPpAJG8qHuk9cFiaiOHMlslrmsSTvIJYyq5aaXeRkfSDNUIb3nzIf0ENKoe0fxiqSo_a/s1500/The%20Girl%20He%20Used%20To%20Know.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="981" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvd7rEHT7wLJ4ME235QFU6TcIQe_RODg6NNtSVobH8xygl34sDhAHqE63PYQDX6ARvQT-cZ34VqzrLjXQbcLrOMTsJoFAC_P2yE096Y1n0YEh8Jg9Ip22tPpAJG8qHuk9cFiaiOHMlslrmsSTvIJYyq5aaXeRkfSDNUIb3nzIf0ENKoe0fxiqSo_a/w418-h640/The%20Girl%20He%20Used%20To%20Know.jpg" width="418" /></a></p><p></p><h2 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36117813-the-girl-he-used-to-know" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Girl He Used to Know - Tracey Garvis Graves</span></a></h2><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Published:</span></b><span style="font-size: small;"> 8th August 2019<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Source: </span></b><span style="font-size: small;">Purchased</span></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Genre: </span></b><span style="font-size: small;">Contemporary Romance</span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />My Rating: </span></b> <i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star-half fa-1x starcolor"></i><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><blockquote><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="a-text-bold">What if you had a second chance at first love?</span><span><br /><br />Annika Rose likes being alone. <br />She
feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the
wrong way. She just can't read people. She prefers the quiet solitude of
books or playing chess to being around others. Apart from Jonathan. She
liked being around him, but she hasn't seen him for ten years. Until
now that is. And she's not sure he'll want to see her again after what
happened all those years ago.<br /><br />Annika Rose likes being alone. <br />Except that, actually, she doesn't like being alone at all.<br /><br /></span><span class="a-text-bold a-text-italic">The Girl He Used to Know</span><span class="a-text-bold"> is an uplifting novel full of surprising revelations that keep you turning the page. </span><span class="a-text-bold">Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Gail Honeyman, Jill Santopolo and </span><span class="a-text-bold a-text-italic">Sliding Doors.</span><span></span><br /></p></blockquote><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I'm attempting to
review on the blog all of the books I've read for my reading challenges this
year. It's a work in progress as I actually read this after The Family series
but I'm trying to figure out how to review that series so I'll see. I might
have to post a mini review collection for the series or something. I read The
Girl He Used To Know for the Monthly Key Word challenge from girlxoxo and I
actually found that Girl was the only real word I had appearing in titles for a
lot of books from the January list of words as the other books I had which fit
I had already read:</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Crown, Girl, Whisper, Black, Heart, Guide, All, Ever</span></p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I did have a lot of
options for girl though and I just plucked The Girl He Used To know one from my
physical reading shelf as I thought it looked small and I was too lazy to walk
to the living room on my lunch break to get my Kindle. I'm glad I finally read
it, I remember seeing good things being said when it came out and being happy
it got a UK release and then, like so many books, it got forgotten on my shelf.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I will start by
saying that this book is set way back in 2001 as our present day and, as with a
lot of second chance romances, it's told through a past and present storyline
to explain why Annika and Jonathan fell in love and also how they eventually
fell apart. I liked that as it was lovely seeing Annika take her tentative
steps out of her comfort zone as she fell for Jonathan and the events of the
past explained her behaviour in the present with Jonathan. </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">As soon as we met
Annika it was immediately obvious to me she was on the autism spectrum and
although this wasn't addressed until much later in the book, what I found
interesting is we could see the ways in which the world was confusing to her
and the different coping mechanisms she had in place to help her navigate it. I
found it fascinating and it was very well written so you understood that is
what she was doing. Jonathan I was a little uncertain of, mostly the present
day Jonathan, past Jonathan was charming and sweet. I didn't like how involved
in his job present day Jonathan was, the man needed life perspective but the
present is set in 2001 so I suppose there's a very different attitude to the
corporate machine today compared to 20 years ago. The man needed to take a
break, I understand working late sometimes but an all-nighter is never
necessary and his boss was toxic. </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I admit I would have
rated this book higher if it hasn't been for the ending. It's not that it ended
without a HEA or HFN, which is a deal breaker in a book which is presented as a
romance. It was the fact it used a real life event for shock effect and I
didn't feel comfortable with it. I felt like their romantic history was enough
angst for this book and that ending was not necessary. I don't want to spoil
things by mention everything but the events which led to their break up and
everything Annika went through in the past was more than enough, I didn't like
that we were then going through trauma in the present day and it was horrible.
That being said this was a beautifully written book and the characters were
very compelling.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Honestly, it was an
addictive read because I was desperate to know what Annika kept alluding to
about their past and what broke them up. I sped through the book and it's not
often I don't get distracted by my phone and TikTok when I'm reading at the
moment it made a nice change. It was just the shock value of that ending I
didn't like. There was enough angst in Jonathan and Annika's past that it was
unnecessary to give them more and it took me out of the book. I did enjoy it
though, and would read more from the author because it was beautifully written.
</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Have you read this, and if so do you agree with me
that the end was unnecessary?</span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-43346790016805899712023-01-15T12:00:00.010+00:002023-01-15T12:00:00.167+00:00Sunday Summary // 15.01.2023<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_3MxKRTpAP2gWqoqKfQS8c7DfbIsiEJF2dzDSPvev4LsPTGJszoWOGz88X_Fit8nSIU5NBoICFdQ4dhH7qPTicuRbO5m4S1p-ZX_ehoVMrbikwwM7B4HbcyEeCXTYX2tjwRv6MxiyAIDTUR1gdw87wxktViCY4pul_2LJyFQvZcCrrfDZ27kZeGG/s640/791C9E09-84ED-4D72-9633-49917FAA2D49.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_3MxKRTpAP2gWqoqKfQS8c7DfbIsiEJF2dzDSPvev4LsPTGJszoWOGz88X_Fit8nSIU5NBoICFdQ4dhH7qPTicuRbO5m4S1p-ZX_ehoVMrbikwwM7B4HbcyEeCXTYX2tjwRv6MxiyAIDTUR1gdw87wxktViCY4pul_2LJyFQvZcCrrfDZ27kZeGG/w640-h640/791C9E09-84ED-4D72-9633-49917FAA2D49.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /><p></p><p>
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<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">My first full
working week and it's safe to say my blog/life balance was put to the test. I
didn't blog hop quite as much as I managed the week before and I definitely
didn't sit down and draft posts as much but I always knew I'd struggle figuring
things out at first so unsurprising it's a quiet week of blogging but I can say
my reading hasn't slowed too much at least. When I first returned to going to
the office reading went right out of the window. To be fair, reading went out
the window a lot last year as it was a year of slumps, but I'm glad this year
hasn't started the same.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I ended up only
doing 2 days in the office after intending to do 3. I woke up Tuesday and it
was cold, dark, and raining. It just wasn't a combination which motivated me to
leave the house and I figured builders probably won't show when it's raining.
They did, but they couldn't do a lot of the louder work because of the rain
which was good. I'm lucky I have the flexibility of going in when I want, I
hadn't mentioned to anyone I was planning to be in so at least I didn't have to
explain myself. I did Wednesday and Thursday fine and it was nice to see
people. I didn't get a lot of work done last week on Wednesday in the office, I
felt like it was all questions all day. Probably, because people hadn't seen me
in person in a month and it's far easier to just pop on over and ask questions
in the office isn't it? Thankfully, it was a one day only thing but it meant I
stayed late working Wednesday so I was exhausted once I got home. </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I'm
trying to stick with having one day of no blog related things a week. I want to
try and make it Sunday so it's a rest day but that's not really worked out this
week. I am going to keep trying as last week I used my Sunday to finish Our
Flag Means Death (I think it was last Sunday anyway… or maybe it was Saturday)
and to play a little Pokemon and Sims. I liked having no pressure to do
anything and to chill so I'm hoping to keep that up. Definitely recommend a
weekly blog break.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<h2 style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I've Been
Reading</span></h2>
<h2 style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11470394-the-madness-of-lord-ian-mackenzie" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie - Jennifer Ashley" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="294" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSgcTv0vyLk3rczVj_3sD9ZXo2CAEoxuKsc24uNDXAFDCtmRwZe5QTEsX8Uy9gU_jUzof29B4UoaydM5auh1Re8ufwGgG3WDsRzkoRTbmv0XwRDO97ZEdVI5DKgDm98mfN9AMMcCTUHUKdlJ5N_fepvFtesV6iwGIZfV4D3q41ZAimrQSiLZAeRM4/s320/The%20Madness%20of%20Lord%20Ian%20Mackenzie.jpg" title="The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie - Jennifer Ashley" width="149" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8703012-lady-isabella-s-scandalous-marriage" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="295" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnEs2MnXc7GQBKHpnBpkjYnBioeK2unM0RWvzjK-yjoT5Ym5BnWK2PuGx1o787AtcqXbXscf_uLXo7nROsgllNwDtRzFq4TSe7wg66ET84hz6d9dUSH05K0HktO5LvYPdeeCdI8a_n3qlVA7Kp67Jojfms3Ep9iCmjwCQX-Qf_TLHouZTnx1F60Tw/s320/Lady%20Isabella's%20Scandalous%20Marriage.jpg" title="Lasy Isabella's Scandalous Marriage - Jennifer Ashley" width="149" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56554626-the-ex-hex" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="332" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Di34dVu89G3reR11I1mqRe090pspOUQ-i2j8s6YCQOSgP6M6PdXT-RDEuEFsRc2ElsA9XnDcIwfy_bn4Qz85omcYaMzMqaQLpMStQQCf2TQtb6KHLPQYIWWTTZ_DfNj30YBni56AWErVxOIQyDwPHJQihhYxbCvUypaYwmDW8123UQVeNSRW-Fjo/s320/The%20Ex%20Hex.jpg" title="The Ex Hex - Erin Sterling" width="159" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49756162-in-the-middle-of-somewhere" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJOmrUYlx3x1UOmXmp2MijkYvhYTPzm0UkgNXTTl1WNGqkhZblhejs2EiMozYS4LuUtzseoDwoJgoTtiUygzt-EfdLaAYjYNK-R5QgsRxANYLJpfMGfD-vKu3C7oLGaxLnj14DZ0Aotq0kZr0ZSxwUylsXngr36gZFjWT88T4ar8W0e_LuVkP51ij/s320/In%20the%20Middle%20of%20Somewhere.jpg" title="Ine the Middle of Somewhere - Roan Parrish" width="160" /></a></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></h2>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I didn't read as
many books this week as I might have done. I read a lot of Our Flag means Death
fanfiction instead, but I still got a decent amount of reading in. I started with a reread of The Madness of Lord ian mackenzie and it was just as good second time around and then I continued to Lady Isabella's Scandalous marriage as it perfectly fir a Romanceopoly prompt and I am all about trying to continue series I have read. I did almost buy the next book in the series but I'm 2 weeks in with no new purchases and I just can't do it. I'll be returning to that at some point though if I can get my unread Kindle books down. The Ex Hex was quite a meh read for me, another Romaneceopoly book but I was close to DNFing as it just wasn't for me. I almost DNFed In The Middle of Somewhere as well as the tiem seemed to hop all over but once I was 50% of the way in I was wrapped up in the characters. It's definitely one which hits you in the feels sometimes. I might not continue the series (although I might as it is on KU) but it has been on my shelf for a while I'm glad to remove a book off. </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<h2 style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">New To Me</span></h2>
<h2 style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61252214-a-taste-of-gold-and-iron" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1664" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuS6CQiI3t8-xdb8398BGHw09qXIe_cCQwGk4AWcZdbwSeXL7e6FRsw3CCDkE6SwfNuEHk7V_JP4ZA6jYjN9A_RueM4EGgFOLUrXXeqGZXHfsOhxN18GaxXywMKRC6wAJyGP9WI8eFdfGiatd0NtVWGYaGrOkodPDgNDeNXlDiSQUCtbPUN5jJUyW1/s320/A%20Taste%20of%20Gold%20and%20Iron.jpg" title="A Taste of Gold and Iron - Alexandra Rowland" width="156" /></a></div><br /></span></h2>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Like I said, no new
purchases for me yet. I have borrowed A Taste of Gold and Iron from my library
but that's about it. I also really need to go into my library and reregister my
card as it's due to expire soon. Honestly, hate my library wants to see me in
person. But currently I can only read it on my iPad which isn't ideal but that's what I get for being in the UK. One day mmaybe I can send to my Kindle. </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b>What have you been reading this week? Am I alone in sucessfully avoiding any new purchases so far this year?</b><br /></p>
</div>
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Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-16290477873939687872023-01-09T11:00:00.002+00:002023-01-16T17:28:33.697+00:00Review // The Spanish Love Deception<h2 style="text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqDbbTdv8M_3AIQtO1ToC2OlIZDVcmc7CJ7Li7FbNdsoqxdFn7ktPav91sBp--Cw_Vl1PirBFqhW0WZ3rw81_KegUTqvfoxUL2K8WuPJeOOWMn2nQJqTJ428BaNlTuwTt6ANSy6eNuojFdt8YPA0stW61hwnSq3UOs5FfJp5H7Y5fEzrMyiM-bzmX/s2133/The%20Spanish%20love%20Deception.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2133" data-original-width="1400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqDbbTdv8M_3AIQtO1ToC2OlIZDVcmc7CJ7Li7FbNdsoqxdFn7ktPav91sBp--Cw_Vl1PirBFqhW0WZ3rw81_KegUTqvfoxUL2K8WuPJeOOWMn2nQJqTJ428BaNlTuwTt6ANSy6eNuojFdt8YPA0stW61hwnSq3UOs5FfJp5H7Y5fEzrMyiM-bzmX/w420-h640/The%20Spanish%20love%20Deception.jpg" width="420" /></a><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59758061-the-spanish-love-deception" target="_blank">The Spanish Love Deception - Elena Armas</a></h2>
<p><b>Published:</b> 23rd February 2021</p>
<p><b>Source: </b>Purchased</p>
<p><b>Genre:</b> Contemporary Romance</p>
<p><b>My Rating: </b> <i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i></p>
<p>The first book I read in 2023 is to be my first review of the year and also my first review in who knows how long. Thank god my first read was such a winner because I’d hate to be posting with negativity when I’ve only just come back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I admit I did start The Spanish Love Deception expecting to DNF so I suppose I started my year with a bit of a negative mindset but I was wrong. I’m always happy when that happens. I’d bought it a while back after it had appeared in my Twitter timeline and I’m sure I saw Nick raving about it. I mean, it’s fake dating so it was obviously an insta-buy for me in that way but the first time I attempted to read it last year I’d put it down as that first chapter did nothing for me. I figured it was a mood reading thing as I did buy it during the slump season of 2022. But, again, when I started it this year those first few chapters were rough and I had my doubts. Once things got going though I soon got what the hype was about. So I guess you could say there were a few pacing issues but honestly once you get invested in Lina and Aaron’s romance you won’t notice it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As a romance novel told from a single POV, I did find I struggled a little with the character of Aaron. I loved him and it was obvious from the start he had feelings for Lina, she was one oblivious woman when it came to men, but I did feel he could have been developed slightly more from the beginning as he only became a fully fleshed human within the second part of the book. Until then he was a cardboard cutout of a romance hero. Maybe this was deliberate to show Lina also began to see him as a real person and not some fictional antagonist in her life but it meant I struggled to feel fully invested in this book until later on. That could have been a me issue, it just made me feel a little less invested in their romance and is probably why I struggled to get into the book. I did really enjoy the slow burn of this romance. Lina was always going to take a while to realise Aaron’s feelings for her were anything but pretend so it was fun seeing the ways she twisted things in her head to fit the narrative until she finally realised she was an idiot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>One thing which made me want to keep reading, despite the rough couple of chapters, was the casual sexism Lina had to suffer through at work. I’ve worked in an office for a while now and seen situations like this play out, not to the level seen in the book but those casual moments of sexism which make your blood boil. Like female members of staff being asked to make coffee for a group of managers when there were men in the room too and the manager's office was nearer to the kitchen and they could have done it then damn selves. It was infuriating seeing Alina go through that at the start and it definitely helped endear her to me because I wanted to see her do well. I admit I did want to see a bit more of her work situation than we got but since a lot of the book takes place in Spain I could see why that wouldn’t exactly fit well with the rest of the story.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This was a new to me, but this certainly won’t be the last book I read from her. Luckily for me, it took me so long to get to reading this release she has another book out already so that’s going on the shopping list. First, I need to try and get through a few more books but I can’t wait to read The American Roommate Experiment, fingers crossed it works just as well for me.</p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Have you read The Spanish Love Deception? I'm sure I'm the last one to get to it, what did you think? And what are your favourite fake relationship romances?</b> <br /></p>
Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-3725262950772198682023-01-08T11:00:00.001+00:002023-01-08T11:00:00.179+00:00Sunday Summary // 08.01.2023<p style="text-align: center;"> <a style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_3MxKRTpAP2gWqoqKfQS8c7DfbIsiEJF2dzDSPvev4LsPTGJszoWOGz88X_Fit8nSIU5NBoICFdQ4dhH7qPTicuRbO5m4S1p-ZX_ehoVMrbikwwM7B4HbcyEeCXTYX2tjwRv6MxiyAIDTUR1gdw87wxktViCY4pul_2LJyFQvZcCrrfDZ27kZeGG/w640-h640/791C9E09-84ED-4D72-9633-49917FAA2D49.jpeg" title="Sunday Summary" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><p>
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<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I wasn’t sure I was
doing a Sunday post this week, it's going to be more of a when I have time post
as some weeks you just don't need to hear what I've been up to as it will be
very boring but I thought why not have a catch up since I've been gone for so
long? My last post was May 2022 so a lot has changed since then. Or not so much
actually, but whatever.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">It was a return to
work for me this week, I was in over the holiday period but only a couple of
days and we know how quiet those weeks are. I admit, I found it difficult to
get back into the writing mindset, especially as I've changed position slightly
recently and I think they're still trying to figure out what that role will
look like. Add in that I've been assisting my old team for the past month and
you can see why I've found it difficult to get back into the working mindset.
Hopefully, next week will be better and I can go back into the office for a
couple of days! With the numerous train strikes I've not been able to go in for
around a month and I quite like getting out of the house. It doesn't help my
neighbour is having some building work done now as they have an extension so
it's a little less peaceful working from home. I don't mind, I knew the work
was happening eventually just a little annoying so I'll make the most of being
able to go into the office but I'm a little wary of what that means for the
blog.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Apart from work I've
done the usual post Christmas clean of the house, taken decorations down and
just tried to get organised. I've sent some books and clothes to charity but I
still need a better deep clean if things but it's actually been quite cathartic
to get things organised. I'll see how long it lasts.</p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><h2 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I've Been Reading </span><br /></h2>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"> </p><p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a border="0" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59758061-the-spanish-love-deception" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2133" data-original-width="1400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa62dLrvnx_gKMmHKcOv3ZBQuk6dWK4hPfjwDrzjQh3aS5wfFGs18zYw0SfaPBCGWx6WTCGyJBaPlEkycK-TD-NkWDzeJpoeNJo98Zagjl8WXIfRW8qYc_e_T-WSy7qmpN61S1dyidb-5BCgTDb7wbkDMDkewqDrv7kIosVH_yXadV-sl9GvZoqlB/s320/The%20Spanish%20love%20Deception.jpg" title="The Spanish Love Deception" width="158" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53406541-beautiful-dirty" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHzYF-g112KJbQAZtiQ5sR0wcf6ONZZmoJQ9_z2rK8QDANB4mBs9T3ikVAsWj0Di5wDAUL1nzwagDTcvW52z2mnoqjHhMrQSCjbMzLlA4IChoYtSlekwF3tOXhrqUjQxLBrq0eL2rhnii22khBbwkxwJWfL7zV5CZZUp9FtT_-ugKjNxhNo2DjjXA/s320/Beautiful%20&%20Dirty.jpg" title="Beautiful & Dirty" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54469356-the-hitman" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizgY-_mOichAghDjhZxc_mv1fWfU-waHxYHkFYSz9kgztINt9AjupaRfsik96YgA539yDfPU1kdDBwvBnVLBo430AjaenOzvg3RXOPhUhLlRlm0tdFNU3jbe3HyXmjhyTXUXmbBW-FjE_g9MMRCfatF9MyfW4N2xRG9bY6z2I49zLQR__cCtmppkq/s320/The%20hitman.jpg" title="The Hitman" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59066449-the-enforcer" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tGqvwHnaYawmds5U-xLlo4jcwBHHHGC6tlsm0rqGGttDvoJN71p5Jr0zd9bAosuFuGnlwg9a5t38tJ1hLJUUvW8OBwD1E_f73WIBCy6a6TCYxD_M17VIvl-QhtQKo9F7Rer1KwVvPYfcn8kQUjO4La6_62RCG6rAqZ7eXLQmRvu8OiHrlGRoDnhF/s320/The%20Enforcer.jpg" title="The Enforcer" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59113178-dolci" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7NNI76OycUVeNfNbu1RyUPNYUdVHMs-ty-n5o0EjwBDCLhzld_hinr6aIL7DLgRo2G3xRMn6oAg_VOErjYwP--HGm-ZNmFkudGDkRbxkDtK-ObyOJuR-CC3qra7Y8dXWeutBdYW0q7o7Rcfi0ixFearpeB5oXE2GY7KxUVnOj6NKSe8BviSE0L7Y/s320/Dolci.jpg" title="Dolci" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60557973-the-don" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzdfNxyOncRJDIRB7aYb9pDVkAPmI14TmbPcaqxUtvuvhR94qu7OpKPcWd_55P5qaEacJ-HvAtUB6B5D-5VKn5Y7R5N8K-e85kdx4xiJBbGK6EZdmU6dlij4Xsr0rERWfhSngmAXkI6_ZmF3cgot-5pe2_TfLSdNmDOQjA_q-OQWd-fWq1wreeQtO/s320/The%20Don.jpg" title="The Don" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36117813-the-girl-he-used-to-know" sstyle="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="981" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRcA6cY2jCf8QG_SkOgJj3JCLlWUn5_z4Qjqs_-QVYfeSwGRibfYbYEABnw1TBmovAOmfhj8BuB39tgvOB8XuM9JQCiFdrLcXqInAFF5l0_RWR_SGGozlGVuuYhH5f8SlHKMTjDA37CCV4tVEA9hNitqTMNBnN3WfzRV1G6IHQLPMKP8HcKWR1daB/s320/The%20Girl%20He%20Used%20To%20Know.jpg" title="The Girl He Used To Know" width="157" /></a></div>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">I've read a lot of
books this first week of the year, it helps so many were short novellas but
even so it's more than I usually get through. I attribute it to the New Year
and once I'm out to the office that will change as I'll be sleeping far
earlier. I didn't expect to enjoy The Family series as much as I did but I
think it was definitely a reading mood thing because by the time I was at The
Don I was rolling my eyes and just felt like it was a bit repetitive. The
Spanish Love Deception was a great fake relationship book and </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><h2 style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">New To Me </span><br /></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53406541-beautiful-dirty" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHzYF-g112KJbQAZtiQ5sR0wcf6ONZZmoJQ9_z2rK8QDANB4mBs9T3ikVAsWj0Di5wDAUL1nzwagDTcvW52z2mnoqjHhMrQSCjbMzLlA4IChoYtSlekwF3tOXhrqUjQxLBrq0eL2rhnii22khBbwkxwJWfL7zV5CZZUp9FtT_-ugKjNxhNo2DjjXA/s320/Beautiful%20&%20Dirty.jpg" title="Beautiful & Dirty" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54469356-the-hitman" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizgY-_mOichAghDjhZxc_mv1fWfU-waHxYHkFYSz9kgztINt9AjupaRfsik96YgA539yDfPU1kdDBwvBnVLBo430AjaenOzvg3RXOPhUhLlRlm0tdFNU3jbe3HyXmjhyTXUXmbBW-FjE_g9MMRCfatF9MyfW4N2xRG9bY6z2I49zLQR__cCtmppkq/s320/The%20hitman.jpg" title="The Hitman" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59066449-the-enforcer" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tGqvwHnaYawmds5U-xLlo4jcwBHHHGC6tlsm0rqGGttDvoJN71p5Jr0zd9bAosuFuGnlwg9a5t38tJ1hLJUUvW8OBwD1E_f73WIBCy6a6TCYxD_M17VIvl-QhtQKo9F7Rer1KwVvPYfcn8kQUjO4La6_62RCG6rAqZ7eXLQmRvu8OiHrlGRoDnhF/s320/The%20Enforcer.jpg" title="The Enforcer" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59113178-dolci" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7NNI76OycUVeNfNbu1RyUPNYUdVHMs-ty-n5o0EjwBDCLhzld_hinr6aIL7DLgRo2G3xRMn6oAg_VOErjYwP--HGm-ZNmFkudGDkRbxkDtK-ObyOJuR-CC3qra7Y8dXWeutBdYW0q7o7Rcfi0ixFearpeB5oXE2GY7KxUVnOj6NKSe8BviSE0L7Y/s320/Dolci.jpg" title="Dolci" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60557973-the-don" style="background-image: none; border: 0px none; display: inline; margin: 2px;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzdfNxyOncRJDIRB7aYb9pDVkAPmI14TmbPcaqxUtvuvhR94qu7OpKPcWd_55P5qaEacJ-HvAtUB6B5D-5VKn5Y7R5N8K-e85kdx4xiJBbGK6EZdmU6dlij4Xsr0rERWfhSngmAXkI6_ZmF3cgot-5pe2_TfLSdNmDOQjA_q-OQWd-fWq1wreeQtO/s320/The%20Don.jpg" title="The Don" width="150" /></a></div>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">The Family series of
books I did borrow from Kindle Unlimited but I've not purchased any books yet
this year. Hopefully, I can keep my purchases down. I'm trying to employ with
books the same logic I use with buying new clothes and waiting a few days before
purchasing to be certain it's not an impulse buy.</p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">How has your week been? Anyone else riding the wave of
the New Year motivation? And what have you been reading this week, anything I
should check out?</span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-66217941960036712512023-01-04T11:00:00.001+00:002023-01-04T11:00:00.192+00:00Happy New Year // My Plans For 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72b1YSosbcoxvn8uuxggzTjszrMm-cvMUfnxfnjJpp5paV8rbI_2Cv7FtxY2NUf8vhwtFQtTpBXACX9_kllEMpaZb2ZsHLDyyVaPTuYQhGAX3yb-78cwA1sk0aDqdtCFeR_xrIkYE228iCBHr04YK8oXiAtqmffEgd1yFFkwXAHDYWrEGGGNJ4qq4/s1080/B59A3FFA-BAC2-4FD6-82BA-7D41EAB77F2B.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image with text saying Happy New Year above a photo and my plans for 2023 beneath. Photo is an image of a laptop open with a cup of coffee next to it and a notepad and pen in front." border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72b1YSosbcoxvn8uuxggzTjszrMm-cvMUfnxfnjJpp5paV8rbI_2Cv7FtxY2NUf8vhwtFQtTpBXACX9_kllEMpaZb2ZsHLDyyVaPTuYQhGAX3yb-78cwA1sk0aDqdtCFeR_xrIkYE228iCBHr04YK8oXiAtqmffEgd1yFFkwXAHDYWrEGGGNJ4qq4/w640-h640/B59A3FFA-BAC2-4FD6-82BA-7D41EAB77F2B.jpeg" title="Happy New Year - My plans for 2023" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p>I felt it best to begin the New Year with a fresh post about my plans for the New Year. I'm still not sure if I'll be wrapping up 2022 for you guys considering my massive blogging absence but we'll see. A New Year means new reading challenges and plans for the year.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I always feel a little sad at the start of a New Year, usually because I've not achieved everything I'd hoped for the previous year. And also because I usually start the year broke from Christmas and with a long wait for January payday. This year I'm trying to stay positive and keep it low-pressure. I'm doing just 2 reading challenges, one I tried in 2022 (and sort of succeeded at) and the other just looked like the perfect challenge for me. We'll get onto those soon. </p>
<h2 align="center">Plans for 2023</h2>
<p>This year I want to make sure my blog is low-pressure and hopefully, I won't take month long breaks from it. I admit I have fallen a little out of love with blogging over the past few years. I know that the past few years have been high stress and full of change but I still don't know if that means I've grown out of being a blogger, especially when I still love reading so much.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This means my general plan for 2023 is to blog regularly. That doesn't mean I stick to a strict schedule or anything like that, but I want to try and post regularly and actually be present commenting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I also want to keep a reading journal this year, I started one at the start of this year but I just got fed up with keeping it. I want to try and write a small paragraph about every book I read so I can actually remember what I read and my basic thoughts on the books I read, something I'm very bad at doing.</p><p> </p><p>I have the tried and true goal of trying to clear my shelves of unread books. In particular, I hope to reduce my unread Kindle books to below 100. I'm currently at 260 so I admit that's a lofty goal but I'm determined to try. I won't be too sad if I don't manage to reduce it down to that but I at least want to try. My kindle shelf is probably my biggest embarassment. I don't mind having unread physical books but those Kindle shelves are very much out of sight out of mind and I don't like that. <br /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>My only other plan for 2023 is to figure out what I want to be doing. I know I don't really enjoy being on Twitter and most social media (please see me on Tumblr where I will be blogging obsessively about formula 1 from March to November).</p>
<p> </p>
<h2 align="center">Reading Challenges</h2><h2 align="center"> </h2>
<h3 align="center">2023 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge</h3>
<p>First up, we have the Monthly Key Word challenge which is hosted by Kim & Tanya of girlxoxo.com. I did participate in this last year but I kind of missed a few prompts as various reading slumps hit and I was motivated to pick a book to read using a random number generator so trying to fit that into a prompt felt like too much pressure. It was fun, though. I like only being required to read one book a month and I can pick anything as long as it fits the words. Also, I can track this on Storygraph and I love when reading challenges can be tracked on an app.</p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p></p><blockquote><p>JAN – Crown, Girl, Whisper, Black, Heart, Guide, All, Ever</p>
<p>FEB – Please, Might, Return, Shy, Vanish, Book, Ash, Come</p>
<p>MAR – Crimson, Beyond, Friend, Cry, Wait, Six, Run, Woods</p>
<p>APR – Vicious, Ask, Wind, Found, Circle, Broken, Beneath, Drown</p>
<p>MAY – Dragon, Day, Chain, Another, Thousand, Begin, Stolen, And</p>
<p>JUN -Bridge, Everything, Blue, Why, First, Wild, Luck, Tomorrow</p>
<p>JUL – Final, Clock, This, Way, Poison, Summer, Future, Kiss</p>
<p>AUG – Dangerous, Again, Best, Chase, How, Flower, Date, Together</p>
<p>SEP – Sign, With, Just, Lies, Grace, Enough, Sleep, Name</p>
<p>OCT – Old, After, Take, Shadow, Monster, Haunt, Darkness, Of</p>
<p>NOV – Paris, Hidden, Sparrow, Realm, Two, Fair, Street, Say</p>
<p>DEC – Silver, Wish, Forgotten, Dance, Also, My, Fate, Dream</p></blockquote><p></p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p>As you can see, it's going to be fun and different. There are lots of words to work with each month as well. I'll try and do regular check-ins.</p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<h3 align="center">Romanceopoly</h3>
<p>This challenge is hosted by Francesca and Suzanne at Under The Covers. I actually initially thought this one was too much, Monopoly based reading challenge with so many prompts would surely be too much for me…. But then I kept going back to it. It seemed like a slightly more specific version of the random number generator I was using to pick my books the past few months and if I don't do a prompt so what. I just thought this sounded fun and considering most of the unread books I have are romance books of one shape or form this was kind of a no-brainer. I might just stick to the genre prompts rather than the specific challenges on this one but either way I'm going to have fun playing.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DJvQHqz_LDxBKxQ8iLaY_MrT2pvUwLD_0-IowTbDSky30c_LAwfBwnqpxgLrpni1axZcTraUKybZF-4vBIH2HNi8NsE0vY5ZMf07FN3cD47VS-_RrMY2pW4vQ6WOySME3fsIY244PYk6-QKF0R5y2TFYxHRspSTP2_tXgnafqyLTP7JC36E34Zya/s2560/Romanceopoly-2023-Board-Light-Skin-Brown-Hair-scaled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Romanceopoly board image with the squares which form part of the challenge" border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2560" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DJvQHqz_LDxBKxQ8iLaY_MrT2pvUwLD_0-IowTbDSky30c_LAwfBwnqpxgLrpni1axZcTraUKybZF-4vBIH2HNi8NsE0vY5ZMf07FN3cD47VS-_RrMY2pW4vQ6WOySME3fsIY244PYk6-QKF0R5y2TFYxHRspSTP2_tXgnafqyLTP7JC36E34Zya/w640-h640/Romanceopoly-2023-Board-Light-Skin-Brown-Hair-scaled.jpg" title="Romanceopoly Board" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p align="center"><i> </i></p>
<p>As you can see, this one is going to be a lot but I hope it's fun.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And those are my 2023 plans. As you can tell, I really am keeping this low-key. Two reading challenges and a commitment to blog hopefully once a month. The other stuff is whatever, I won't be too sad if I don't stick to things it's just an idea. My biggest commitments are Romanceopoly and my plan to write a reading journal. I'm undecided if that will be a handwritten or digital journal but either way, it's happening.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b>What plans do you have for 2023? Are there any reading challenges which have caught your eye? Or do you have specific plans for your blog for the coming year? Tell me all in the comments.</b></p>
Becky Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14938602345709426466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-25311394671673035712022-05-15T12:30:00.000+01:002022-05-15T12:30:00.168+01:00Sunday Summary // 15th May 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyD-pGb8CMBIL5_osrFXkApEppaZfYfAeIxtAq1YfaBrzfhO11-_5GMWoYfLFNzT8fxssrdHzGcPeHrrOqVBiK-34RH9lWFtoQ15wYRvnnJ7Vs98CuO-TiUCGWPaxXaspJMYkiYohbnwrhSGwkV-yPn3XBtRdt0rcUuvQyBs-u7f5xfUQc40gL09I0/s650/Sunday_Summary_15th_May.jpg" width="650" /><br /></p>
<p>After doing lots last week I feel like this week has been very quiet and boring. I haven't done anything really. I had plans to meet a friend Saturday but he cancelled on me last minute. It was a little annoying but I found something else to do instead. Now we're meeting next week but it'll only be a couple of hours because I'm dog sitting next weekend and don't really want to leave Milo home alone for hours.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My week was mostly work focused otherwise. I've had lots to do and there looks to be a meeting I might have to go to in a couple of weeks in person. We'll see what comes of it anyway but that really has been all I've done outside of watching TV and even then I've just had it on in the background while I scroll on social media. I probably need to get out more or find a new book to read. I'm in a weird rut I just don't know what I want to be doing. I think that's probably why I made my impulse purchase, but that comes into my Saturday adventures.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As my Saturday plans got cancelled, I ended up going shopping for a few bits that I needed to buy and while I was at it, I ended up buying Ring Fit Adventure. It was a bit of an impulse buy as I'd seen a TikTok which made it look really fun that morning and I'd seen it second hand for a decent price. It was in the original box, and I won't lie, it's been fun but it's a genuine workout. Nintendo has definitely progressed in its fitness games to make it feel like hard work. I probably won't be able to play in long stretches because I am far too unfit for that but I'm enjoying it so far. Hopefully, it's not one of those things I play for a couple of weeks and get bored with. The exercises are tough! I am someone who likes to have a game to keep me motivated with arbitrary trophies and goals. There's a reason I've got such a long streak on Duolingo although I wouldn't claim to have achieved any kind of language fluency. I've done 2 days so far and I'm doing it on the easiest setting and it makes me sweat! I didn't expect it but why not hop onto the workout everyone seemed to be doing in the pandemic? Also, the money I spent on this is far cheaper than joining a gym and I'm much more likely to use it. With that logic, I'm basically saving myself money.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I then watched Eurovision Saturday night. I always love Eurovision, it's the best for the total mix of music. I loved Moldova; they deserved their high audience vote numbers. It was tense with the voting as the UK hasn't done so well in forever! We didn't win but we came second, that's a far cry from our usual bottom of the table finish. I was glad to have beaten Spain because I thought their song was terrible, no shade if you liked it but it's 100% not my taste in music. I suppose I can see it had pop appeal at least. I'm pleased for Ukraine, though. It's good that it shows support is with them, I know they were the favourites going in. I just hope the UK can do even half as well next year, we might learn our lessons from this year's show and actually choose a good act and a catchy song and everyone reacts to that. </p>
<p> </p>
<h2 align="center">What I've been reading</h2>
<p align="center"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55776439-the-intimacy-experiment"><img alt="The Intimacy Expirement - Rosie Danan" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8zw-NkY-sse7roAgsV48RLJfPD84i4-i99jqPZhWnLql4RtETvqs5i7qaN9T8eQqNue2fydyOg_XTvdP3ZBKKa7yE6WlYCLKtATx77iMIhGqE5D5DL7C6R_IYCwSJgSjxJdOSew3bTUfieHLmMecTWJL8b5PUSuZfzqLtaRgf7FCae1Bs2vievt-O=s240" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="The Intimacy Experiment - Rosie Danan" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45176104-the-right-swipe"><img alt="The Right Swipe - Alisha Rai" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37CmY-6Ehy8t88VFq1K2qSvEFl_gLQ_0ME89Zp5qsxFia-VjvOmivCzF3d-FIg7UbL-5bRtL5aKava_JLZGl5-8JR8bdM6fbofAs534dQTtVXcwVOz27lgHJz3iXJQ3C-qMBWohqzcJp6Z-u5tB-ld2239_wfRPPudHf4CUtA63E33pGmGQOzXHAK/s475/The%20Right%20Swipe.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="The Right Swipe - Alisha Rai" width="159" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52255365-the-a-i-who-loved-me"><img alt="The AI Who Loved Me - Alyssa Cole" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkwuZ0aRDFwoME03-Bnv8QsNDMiBqKHdQPtr4rgfbjKSEGI4kj2pJ4n_TKQ4Ue2pEat9GmhNmUQMYckRbJbz3XvM6hkiJC73AXZwDBybfi4iWAzpiIbo7V54Pu-iVmRbNdKEK88j8dv6ZTky8FQDcnu8yvsBGSq_5L1BCGrD7qn3UtyrwxIhKhb8a/w240-h240/The%20A.I.%20Who%20Loved%20Me.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px; text-align: left;" title="The AI Who Loved Me - Alyssa Cole" width="240" /></a></p>
<p>I'm in a weird mood at the moment and don't really fancy reading much. I've finished a few books and have enjoyed them, but I just don't feel like I'm in the right mood for reading right now. The Intimacy Experiment and The Right Swipe were both really good, I enjoyed them and I loved the stories, but once I finished I've not been in the right mood for any book I've started. I also listened to The AI Who Loved Me finally and that was great too but again, no idea what I want to read next. I hope I'll figure it out soon but I think I might be in a gaming mood. I'll see how it goes.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2 align="center">New To Me</h2>
<p> </p>
<p>I've not figured out what I'm spending my gift card on yet so no new purchases, not even when I went shopping (but that was a close thing). I've got it narrowed down to 7 books. Why are decisions so hard? </p>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><strong>How was your week? Has anyone else played Ring Fit Adventures? Hopefully, it doesn’t kill me off with exercise. And what do you do when you’re just not in a reading mood?</strong></p>afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-42782313688290220962022-05-12T17:30:00.001+01:002022-05-12T17:30:00.169+01:00Romance tropes I don't like and books I liked which feature them<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0eWAqppOneSj8vVETtQRCVGKwlkjgZ5mg-mCDyKRLnJWGi_PkTiMc3bxmXg-plOCENX1BhNvt0lsBXxrBqadVdxFHkGif4FOG4Z5kWfxJotipGXf3H8h8Dfozqd9kY3GqVkJ0c1NXebEBgdtLoLYGfFnrhomDuJY-SpsHBkKOdvA6IMfv2AMdGSz/s1080/Romance_Tropes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0eWAqppOneSj8vVETtQRCVGKwlkjgZ5mg-mCDyKRLnJWGi_PkTiMc3bxmXg-plOCENX1BhNvt0lsBXxrBqadVdxFHkGif4FOG4Z5kWfxJotipGXf3H8h8Dfozqd9kY3GqVkJ0c1NXebEBgdtLoLYGfFnrhomDuJY-SpsHBkKOdvA6IMfv2AMdGSz/s650/Romance_Tropes.jpg" width="650" /></a></div>
<br />
<p></p> <p>I know there are certain things which put me off a romance book. There are certain tropes or elements to a book which I see and instantly think I won’t enjoy a book. A switch just goes in my brain and I fully nope out. Even with amazing reviews, it takes a lot to convince me to read and I really do have to talk myself into reading. It can be something big or just a minor detail but it’s amazing how quickly I can change my mind when I see it’s part of the story. I realised it was time to look at the stupid things which put me off books and remind myself of the brilliant books I’ve read which feature them. It’s time to prove to myself I shouldn’t be so judged and that I am frequently an idiot and should know better by now.</p> <p> </p>
<h2 align="center">Friends to lovers</h2>
<p align="center"> </p> <p>Look, I know plenty of people will love this trope but I just find it a little dull. I don’t know what it is about it because I appreciate some secret pining in a book as much as the next person but I think maybe I hate that the other person doesn’t see what’s right in front of them, you know? Or both of them don’t realise they’re in love and then I just want to bang their heads together. Whatever it is, it’s one of the romance tropes I think I actively avoid picking up and I know I frequently mention in comments to people that this isn’t one of my favourite tropes. </p>
<p align="center"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33288638-wait-for-it?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=U06GwcJJ7f&rank=1"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wSuB1kemrMY/WcYk14xje-I/AAAAAAAAONU/uWtRpcJqitQL5sIhQ6tIak5R9lJtB4howCHMYCw/Wait%2Bfor%2BIt%255B3%255D?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49976087-take-a-hint-dani-brown?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=egrvQh5Ly0&rank=1"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdCJoReJVnFkQwD7r8ReP4o3mVoNclogL8GzkMeufNx6B9p_RqJQaNpEeDky_3-p97yY2SjmnBCIc6NjnJx8BYTEqYJ10vZ3GvCuFeZyjX_AOYDrvmMvqOwHMUgKqfPx3HewV6PHqH3U/" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="153" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54290559-go-deep?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XPtBCmemAa&rank=1"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHXovoxQhfqYVEGSQv_-YYa_AG75iHbmPnOSwr4bZ9WyBILb5Armos0yYxgO4qkIBm_70yRUuoCAC0hbt95zE6aaqxlK1zBc_P-F_tlcznEVfy4m07Me6pG-il8F1JS2ZdjdayfR1IuUM9geLVph2murSU8Dcs0d_PA8HeCRavMq05nqwCpw2EcLo/s475/Go%20Deep.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="160" /></a></p>
<p>All three of these books featured people who were friends who then developed something more. I admit, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33288638-wait-for-it?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=U06GwcJJ7f&rank=1">Wait for It</a> is neighbours to acquaintances to friends to lovers but you get what I mean. I’ve actually read that book a couple of times and really enjoyed it both times I’ve read it. Then there’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49976087-take-a-hint-dani-brown?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=egrvQh5Ly0&rank=1">Take a Hint, Dani Brown</a> where Dani and Zafir had been friends and then Zaf gets Dani to pretend to be in a relationship and the book snowballs from there. I suppose I may have enjoyed that romance so much because a fake relationship really is my ultimate romance trope but the book wouldn’t have worked if Dani and Zaf hadn’t been friends first. And finally, there is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54290559-go-deep?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XPtBCmemAa&rank=1">Go Deep by Rilzy Adams</a>. I remember putting off reading that book because it was a friends to lovers romance but it was so good! It’s not very long but it totally hooked me and I never expected it to. </p> <p> </p>
<h2 align="center">Celebrity romances</h2>
<p align="center"> </p> <p>My issue with romance books which involve celebrities is not that they're bad. It's that they give me flashbacks to the cringe fics that were written about celebrities which were usually reader insert fics. I’m talking about those ridiculous fics written on Quizilla that I absolutely devoured during my teen years. They were terrible and it was always some girl who didn’t realise she was pretty and then a total insta-love romance. I don’t know what I was thinking but I know they have migrated to being on Wattpad and Tumblr and various sites since then. So when I see a celebrity romance book I always take that minute to question if I’m going to be relieving the fiction of my youth. </p>
<p align="center"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18873617-lick"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqB4QChfRi3Hd3dya8RG39ONybMJ2AMD6J213ID8M4b_9lrDDhqv9zvklbaoRSPxFNFfrLl7vJCow5iNwPi0vG_ttnznTcnf90Yf9d4hYoq2uUbWiMWj3JzVnGgsbwK84yCYMFicrdp4HTZiZBIQ-RXuF1MFYoIEUGyzdKYZLbvUhgfRTxzEwYZol/s320/Lick.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="159" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50621079-one-night-with-the-sexiest-man-alive?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Gnf0ZM6l3U&rank=2"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6j_r4neOIsCLaUh26I_LHkecDWpX9kHSZyaUZzI60yekP11majg2m7rn60FUfA4nbH4pMxWsnRsCDrr2i-810bwUo4kjZnL8Bx-DHz8GyHAoG9WVG-jGXHaRK1s0re9h4Xpc-izhfLQ/s16000/One+Night+Stand+With+the+Sexiest+Man+Alive.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="151" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50496918-spoiler-alert?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=2Pk70TEsZG&rank=1"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj673DvYSPfi-NQWtM_xa6QGIcy1DDV96PqMPWmxiGxBC3LqwVcvWnJWiZ24KNzD1EjUKypjh4BnFyzAWFCMWFvmoqU-0TofSO6UaH5OD9uMX3Z4_jVLcljz_KTEHE_SQGsg6n_4MqbA7U3yda3U-_1nG4POXuTzcEqlSvyZV7Xz3YympIVftHtvsxC=s475" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="153" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59682216-all-the-feels"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0DgVxdg_OtjfL7Q1Jlq7aEP9n3Fnuvy9gtbY2a6rpxM663Wue9gb_5DBFj4D6UvWSqz-L3vss4KOEe8BuobFtIJ71e124A_2ZQr0XIPCH0gJ-wnib1D-D8OwcvAI-C913fer9AROUt6vUSVfOfSXKsy0UZ7AQLMMsud-9VA6VrKBmOn52eduDplFZ=s475" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="153" /></a></p>
<p>I can actually think of a whole list of books I could mention to fit this theme. I’ve read a surprising amount of celebrity romance… maybe I’ve not moved so far past my cringe teen reading after all? My obvious choice was the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18873617-lick">Stage Dive</a> series since I have literally just finished it where each of the guys from the band gets their own book. But why stop at just guys in bands? Let’s not forget the brilliant romance that was <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50621079-one-night-with-the-sexiest-man-alive?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Gnf0ZM6l3U&rank=2">One Night With the Sexiest Man Alive by Ainslie Paton</a>. I absolutely loved that romance (and haven’t finished the rest of the series). I was there for the romance between the Hollywood star and the manager of an event he attended. It was brilliant, loved every second of it and would happily read it again. Then there’s Olivia Dade’s books <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50496918-spoiler-alert?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=2Pk70TEsZG&rank=1">Spoiler Alert</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59682216-all-the-feels">All The Feels</a>, both feature actors from a Game of Thrones-esque show and I was totally hooked on them. And these are just a handful of celebrity books I’ve read. So what I need to remind myself is I secretly love this in romance and I need to get over myself and start reading more instead of talking myself out of buying for no apparent reason. </p> <p> </p>
<h2 align="center">Royal romance</h2>
<p align="center"> </p> <p>Maybe it’s because I’m British so don’t have the same fascination with the royal family that US readers do? Maybe it’s simply something about me that means I don’t get drawn into royalty and secretly want to be a princess or something. Whatever the reason, I am not drawn to royal romances. In fact, if I see mention of royalty in a book summary I am probably going to be put off because I just don’t care for it. Unless I’m reading a fantasy then I honestly couldn’t care less what’s happening with royalty. Even in historical romances, I’d much rather read a romance featuring the gentry rather than one which featured royalty. I know the gentry are in a similar situation of a title acquired by birthright rather than an earned title but I think because there are more of them I just accept it? Who knows, whatever it is royalty puts me off. I guess I’d rather read about people who have earnt their position instead of people who are simply born into their life… although I might descend down a whole topic of privilege if you let me so maybe I should stop?</p>
<p align="center"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41150487-red-white-royal-blue?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=aV713ancwp&rank=1"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCUJTftAVf3q249HwmlG_ReTpl6UlY0hCGDGsMeeSzwQ2dsYSS26x0W-fnBjih5Dty8N0pbHHxYEmceIKc3GeGnLFpeVxJGJG56cnEdPVeLd_uN9QhG2KlwAzJJJzEYHGBVDsgIuGNtA/s1600/Red+White+%2526+Royal+Blue.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="157" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35271238-a-princess-in-theory?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ZNocng6kQT&rank=2"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hC8WF2kmU_Y/WqQPBD0PRFI/AAAAAAAAOyk/vKqMvribzQ0iNUv7Go_spUdnrkkzVXtIACHMYCw/A%2BPrincess%2Bin%2BTheory%255B3%255D?imgmax=800" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" /></a></p>
<p>Who hasn’t read and enjoyed <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41150487-red-white-royal-blue?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=aV713ancwp&rank=1">Red, White and Royal Blue</a>? I remember buying myself a copy when I was in New York and I seriously almost didn’t buy but I’d seen people saying good things and I had FOMO. Also, I have to treat myself to romance books in the US as it’s only been in the past few months UK publishers acknowledge there’s a big market for them. Anyway, I totally loved the book and wanted to force it on everyone I knew even though there was royalty in it. It was just fun and easy to read. Let’s not forget about Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series as well. I don’t think there was a bad book in the whole series and I would happily recommend any one of them to others. I should probably get over my dislike of royalty and read more books featuring them. I probably won’t but at least I know there are good books out there. </p> <p> </p> <p>What have I learnt after looking over things I avoid in romance books? I avoid things for no good reason and need to get over myself. After all, I know there are romantic tropes I love (I’m looking at you fake relationship tropes) which I always buy and yet there are plenty of bad books which feature that trope as well. It’s all about the writing and I should trust the reviews more and not just assume I won’t like it straight off the bat. I know myself and what I like reading… but I also know I am way too quick to jump to conclusions sometimes as well.</p> <p> </p>
<p align="center"><strong>Are there certain tropes and themes in books which can put you off reading or which you actively avoid? And can you think of any books I’ve not mentioned that fit the above that I should check out? I might have read them but it’s time to get over myself.</strong></p>afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-58841220009770976892022-05-10T17:00:00.002+01:002022-05-10T17:08:25.552+01:00I Kissed Shara Wheeler // This wasn’t a favourite but Casey McQuiston knows how to write interesting characters<p> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRufHM9LjUaz-QaRaxQjqrgiKF2L_iJW5VTdkULNeBonH7uLIjRG2VAH_xxUTz8pXgTzs7Qpq7AueUhNyOauDWyiS7rlT2CCkzcCi2MI6AG8THBGZg07k3CyHOCsJ0DlSSoRIS4uD5IgF2THwJRglTGSLxjLQGKVlYuJWaTr4Vav3u6vV5I9nlz3Fz/s475/I%20Kissed%20Shara%20Wheeler.jpg" /></p>
<h3><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60233944-i-kissed-shara-wheeler">I Kissed Shara Wheeler – Casey McQuiston</a></h3>
<p><strong>Published: </strong>12th May 2022</p> <strong></strong>
<p><strong>Source: </strong>Netgalley</p> <strong></strong>
<p><strong>Genre: </strong>Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ+</p> <strong></strong>
<p><strong>My Rating: </strong><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star fa-1x starcolor"></i><i class="fa fa-star-half fa-1x starcolor"></i></p>
<blockquote> <p><b>From the bestselling <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Red, White and Royal Blue</i> and <i>One Last Stop</i> comes a debut YA romantic comedy about chasing down what you want, only to find what you need . . .</b></p> <strong></strong> <p> <br />'[A] razor-sharp, intensely compassionate, subversive, sweet, electrifyingly romantic knockout of a book.' Becky Albertalli, author of <i>Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda</i></p> <p> <br />A month before graduating from Willowgrove Christian Academy, the principal’s perfect daughter, prom queen Shara Wheeler, kisses Chloe Green and vanishes.</p> <p> <br />On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s long-time sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad-boy neighbour with a crush. Thrown into an unlikely alliance, Chloe, Smith and Rory follow Shara’s trail of annoyingly cryptic clues, and Chloe starts to suspect that there might be more to this small town – and to Shara – than she thought.</p> <p> <br />Fierce, funny, and frank, Casey McQuiston’s <i>I Kissed Shara Wheeler</i> is about breaking the rules, getting messy, and finding love in unexpected places.</p> </blockquote>
<p align="center"><strong>I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</strong></p> <p align="center"><strong></strong></p>
<p>I hadn't seen anything about Casey McQuiston releasing a YA book but when I saw I Kissed Shara Wheeler up on Netgalley I couldn't help but submit a request for it. I'm glad I did but I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. This one was definitely a mood reading issue because I forced myself to read it ready to review in May.</p> <p> </p> <p>As I said, mood reading definitely meant that it took me far longer to feel invested in this book. I did want to know more about Shara Wheeler's Gone Girl style disappearing act and find out what happened but it also felt a little tedious and made me completely dislike her by the time she came back. Although, I wasn't Chloe's biggest fan either so maybe it was right they ended up together as they definitely deserved each other. But the fact I didn't like the two by the end did mean I felt totally uninvested in their romance. I do believe it was deliberate making them both so difficult to like as Chloe herself said she liked unlikable characters and the romantic interest being someone awful in the books she read. There was definite intent there and it was good to see characters who weren't 100% likable being the main characters but it's not particularly what I like to read about.</p> <p> </p> <p>There were plenty of things which were done well in this book though. The main one was the brilliant and diverse cast of characters. McQuiston is excellent when it comes to writing her characters, which is why I was surprised I didn't end up liking the MCs in this one. I'd felt more invested in Rory and Smith's relationship than anything else. I also felt horrible for Chloe's friends who she began to completely ignore in her obsessive quest to find out where Shara went. But the characters were all definitely complex, even the MCs. I do think the ending where they were all brought together at graduation did work and I liked how they all inhabited different social groups within school and Shara did manage to bring them together even though that wasn't completely the intent behind it all (or not the main one). </p> <p> </p> <p>The other thing I was impressed by was how she wrote two characters who should be unlikeable, Chloe and Shara, and still made me feel invested in their stories. Shara was the most popular girl in school, she should have been a total mean girl (and she could be viewed in that way to some degree) but I still could see why Chloe was obsessed with her (the both of them went way too far in being invested in the others life. They were basically made for each other). And Chloe could often be a bad friend, she became totally focused on Shara to the let her friendships fall to one side as she pursued the mystery of Shara. I liked that it wasn’t ignored she behaved badly but instead her friends called her out on it and they overcame it all because they realised there were more important things happening. What I’m saying is McQuiston perfectly delivered complex characters who were dicks but also who were kind and caring and how often can you say an author does that without making you hate the character?</p> <p> </p> <p>This, sadly, won’t be a favourite read for me. But I did enjoy myself once I finally got into the story. Sadly mood reading has a lot to answer for and I do wonder if I might have rated it a touch higher if I’d read it at the right time. but if you want a YA LGBTQ+ novel which has a diverse cast of characters then you should check this out.</p> <p align="center"> </p>
<p align="center"><strong>Have you read this book, do you agree with my thoughts?</strong></p>afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-30288675247547485752022-05-08T13:30:00.002+01:002022-05-08T13:30:00.171+01:00Sunday Summary // 8th May 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukQ52eKkULGZW1xHxtLtfcVx4dNxcRGRd1vE8mj6rSIHupfbd-deobekhnsntHDj8ENmcN3EtA1gKT8PjRLJDWL3Phy4GwTNMU4BHto7xE7xvaJcYcaJ9E7gn9o7N3C5EjwW9WlL4eKHDYk39Zb5lyxotTsnaho9WfLxUboFZtbrXnlqRqY1yAtQs/s1080/Sunday_Summary_8th_May.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukQ52eKkULGZW1xHxtLtfcVx4dNxcRGRd1vE8mj6rSIHupfbd-deobekhnsntHDj8ENmcN3EtA1gKT8PjRLJDWL3Phy4GwTNMU4BHto7xE7xvaJcYcaJ9E7gn9o7N3C5EjwW9WlL4eKHDYk39Zb5lyxotTsnaho9WfLxUboFZtbrXnlqRqY1yAtQs/w650-h650/Sunday_Summary_8th_May.jpg" width="650" /></a></p><p>Another last-minute Sunday post from me. I'm usually drafting these posts on a Friday night or on Saturday but it's been a busy week and I've not had the time or motivation at the right time so you get me half asleep on a Sunday morning instead, isn't that exciting for you?</p> <p> </p> <p>As I said, it's been a bit of a busy week this week. Monday was a bank holiday so I spent the day watching TV, reading, and doing a few boring chores. Nothing exciting but stuff which needed to be done. I'm glad it was a more relaxed day as I ended up working late Tuesday for month end and was absolutely exhausted and that was really how my working week proceeded: busy. I did get some good work news, or two pieces actually. I am on contract and we were advised of our contract extensions this week and I got told that I'm being made a permanent member of staff so more job security for me! There's no difference to my contract or anything like that I just don't have to go through the regular contract renewal meetings which will be nice. I've been trying to be made permanent ever since I started and came close to getting it a couple of times but internal politics meant it didn't happen. Every single one of my managers (of which I've had many at the new place) has fought for me with HR and with senior management to have more permanent roles approved so I'm happy it all finally worked out. After getting that news we were then told the company will be offering an additional payment to all staff because of the current financial climate. Apparently, it’s because they couldn’t have accounted for the rapid rise in the cost of living in January when we get our usual incremental pay rise so they’re doing a one-off payment instead. The taxman will get most of it but it was still a wonderful piece of news and I’m already mentally spending that money. </p> <p> </p> <p>Not only did I have positive work news but I also won a competition! I want to preface this with the fact I never win anything. I am just not lucky like that, I think the last time I won a book competition was about 5 years ago or something crazy so I am insanely excited. It was Nick's competition for reaching 10k and I currently have my book choices narrowed down to 14 so hopefully, in another few days, I'll actually buy some. </p> <p> </p> <p>Outside of work I've also been busy seeing friends. I went to see The Lost City on Wednesday after work with a friend and it was brilliant. It was far funnier than expected. I didn't totally believe the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum but I believed it enough for the film to work. Then Friday I went to a friend's house for drinks, takeaway, and board games. Sadly, it ended up only being a couple of us as a couple of my other friends pulled out last minute but we still had fun playing Treasure of the Pharaohs and a couple of card games. I'm glad I went as Treasure of the Pharaohs was my favourite game as a kid, I don't know anyone else who owns this board game but it was one my nan had probably owned since my uncle and dad were kids. It's stupidly fun and in surprisingly good condition. It would have been better with more of us playing, though. I won the card game we played as well. I stayed out far later than intended and was very tired yesterday.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before anyone asks, I didn't spend Saturday hungover, I only got 5 hours sleep but forced myself to go shopping. I'd done a click & collect order at Waterstones for their edition of the new Holly Black book so I knew I had to go out otherwise I'd miss out on that book as it's sold out online. I actually placed the order Saturday morning when I woke up stupidly early with the sun as I knew if I did that I’d have no choice but to go out. I can never motivate myself to go to the shopping centre when I could just do to the supermarket instead so it was a form of reward for not being lazy. I’m glad I did as I got a few things I’d been meaning to buy forever for the house but more importantly, it meant I looked around a couple of home shops looking for a sofa for the conservatory. I was actually getting ready to go home when I went into Marks and Spencer to look at their home section. </p> <p><img height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGskWlBkcXk7mm-580ozoJ9jL8Z5SKweTxo58AApA45bxS5mAKbqruh3G3_puIr6_wmyXsrD9UOJXN4IujOAAMYt0Jnxvv5X6CA98FQdKI0F4CCxNHLiPm5pHSgJzg48sJ4qizwtEb7xvMYa80hzfymQ6URrWlwxcA75KBLK6sPxWlMLyLdJLCJ7Ve/s2550/Pink%20sofa.jpg" width="700" /></p> <p><img height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIercXyf8VuSE1Mj-P5yQswrse7erqZ4sNy465OgSYtj67QCHqGJyyQjLkCPD5yK_NfeX8O2kcX1O1W7ZaI2JS1eK7X4PtHwrh2xWcalmkKiJSHHcx46yu6bCgZuTGNx_96KSK5WK5Wq3KIBPqKyNwB8Az2Dp020r2yQsHLMNYXZC-_nhGg3EsvRf/s2550/grey%20sofa.jpg" width="700" /></p> <p><img height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57l_c__se20GfzNF3j594XmWzc-7GT8iNuDwX7uJqjErd9shBCziW773T0SFcY9WdH-v1bOz3Grk8PKKFHptNXdnZuuHHFY7-r8XYEcIb8i0AGz9kLt1isLp2Yy-zw61FuhpyCdev6c36i7_mKi1T3Kt55Kx_arZjcprVLdZX6xzGdBsn2mPxorio/s2550/blue%20sofa.jpg" width="700" /></p> <p>I don’t know what motivated me to go in as I never usually shop in M&S but I’m so glad I did as found two sofas in there which were comfortable. I’d been drawn to a two-seater pink sofa which ended up not being that comfortable but I decided to test out the two next to it as all three were available in 7 days, insanely fast for a sofa. Those two sofas next to it were far more comfortable. I’m leaning towards one over the other but I’m awaiting fabric swatches to arrive in the post so I can see them in my conservatory lightning. I’d vowed I wouldn’t get another grey sofa since it’s rather boring but I might end up with a grey sofa and have to throw a lot of colourful stuff on it to mask that. </p> <p> </p> <h2 align="center">What I've Been Reading</h2> <p align="center"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26504382-dirty"><img alt="Dirty - Kylie Scott" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kBHj0ZNdM_hyM1CZpJil-JtwpUMnRcmaIgoxjbV1gIAVOAfy243JgAMQy3ZXqJL6br4XVWULFY1KUKaD6NXE-7Rc5haKA90Jn7GhtEBBytCwiXHbKCJOUkROSEcO9rd4LYDenDZWK_gNy9LmRvhk9YwNwMvMSA8lc7a4HDVFRGksiBjj7N8sL77E/s320/Dirty.jp" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="Dirty - Kylie Scott" width="160" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40916679-a-good-girl-s-guide-to-murder"><img alt="A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvVkV5U3gUMHlqv4qH0oKMABbn6xORRW0wdqBwV_P8QtBMgXen5h4lGCU8NnvPv5nbU5XrvsJ86TClxBG6NqOcsBwXR9L9vMUfMWudHxSBsJUID3FIIozqF_8g5CtgKe1gv_HhAQ7oqvKT5xYRhgz1wRTBV-8qh7xfTTNKfGmpC28jXUwRbsaV1HR/s475/A%20Good%20Girl's%20Guide%20to%20Murder.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson" width="158" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51335759-good-girl-bad-blood"><img alt="Good Girl, Bad Blood - Holly Jackson" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-ZkOdhJdYceCw6mPyjAUh3BfTIjUxJI9IykXREQ1QTyIS0AMqrQZC4LpAjEoEIkLkijdzHf_p2q4BIgdmixUCqMk5GKHUUKgipkAVhm55ETh13o4KSXDmq2aO9GyUGJA2vcsIPrVA7S-_2OpRla7YQsIbBoX8syvYvhxLsjtyrST2gVH5rb-H8oz/s475/Good%20Girl,%20Bad%20Blood.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="Good Girl, Bad Blood - Holly Jackson" width="156" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52814139-as-good-as-dead"><img alt="As Good As Dead - Holly Jackson" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-50HI7MpA65bLSulnYB7_vlO2fEN9jI4CslqzGntT8vKc9bufIcl_KxgI7KwkMqceF9VyKGQn1nrqqMGq54Y-Q-09PZGfPtSCkuJ3Q3fpnYDFLHddPhjfnbYIlhSV4CXuJFNsWqnL7JoldFxuSdDjn_cf5mI_3RfAVjLvHaTDwc_QbGHyeSbP3uvd/s320/As%20Good%20as%20Dead.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="As Good As Dead - Holly Jackson" width="157" /></a></p> <p>It's not been a great reading week, probably because I've been so busy. I finally DNFed Dirty this week. I accepted I wasn’t feeling it and it was time to move on. I only bought that one because I wanted to read the second book anyway so here’s hoping that one works better when I finally read it. I finished A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and really enjoyed it second time around, though. I started Good Girl, Bad Blood pretty much straight after. It definitely was a much darker second book but I was hooked but now I've been reading a couple of pages a day of As Good as Dead and I'm finding it harder to get hooked on this third book. I think it's partially because Pip is in a very different place than in the first two books and the tone is much darker. I'm hoping to spend some time reading today so I can move on to a lighter book next. </p> <p> </p>
<h2 align="center">New To Me </h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58293924-book-of-night?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=kdZo1jwIpn&rank=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Book of Night - Holly Black" border="0" data-original-height="1520" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK20zGmXNleuIls8h3Pb4EBHxN4_QILpH7TXSO8yWoOYGfgDSJVUkN9Ybtw_4-Ai51qnVCedWSPegU9136BLxAbBb4NxoTyEVwBEJ7pK9N_oDRdO06pjneP9I0eZMzzDfJukYcWuxeblg1MCGx1XDWFpGSIiS-ta62RF20_SrxNs0YZAhDwB9QrPBd/s240/58293924.jpg" title="The Book of Night - Holly Black" width="158" /></a></div><p>So far, I've only bought one book and that is Book of Night by Holly Black. As I said, I saw this book available for click and collect on the Waterstones website Saturday morning and decided to treat myself, but also it worked as motivation for me to go to the shopping centre near me. It's not that far away but it's still a long bus ride and it's just easier to go to the supermarket instead so I have to use a reward system as motivation. I'm glad I did as the Waterstones edition is so pretty so hopefully, the book is good as well.</p> <p> </p> <p align="center"><strong>How has your week been? Am I the only one who has been rushed off of their feet? And do you have to reward yourself to motivate yourself to do certain things you don't want to do or are you normal?</strong></p>afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-1308296674020721932022-05-04T17:00:00.001+01:002022-05-04T17:00:00.177+01:00Monthly Wrap Up // April 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2TlJYXrgUmU_VU_lQaGGwOdkzRycXB02n03RZC_VhSKlMcO4y5sIczCiCpFCiDQsIDdYttzrCxAFkEwHemgcg1eyv1OL_9e_8xJ-Nb6V0kBvnyunyIjF4LRT0laXcDx_ZjcbMcjdvDEJiHkpU5AQ8LFZBQS0RSC5PZctAj3bNeossOFs4kSuAJFp/s1080/April_2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2TlJYXrgUmU_VU_lQaGGwOdkzRycXB02n03RZC_VhSKlMcO4y5sIczCiCpFCiDQsIDdYttzrCxAFkEwHemgcg1eyv1OL_9e_8xJ-Nb6V0kBvnyunyIjF4LRT0laXcDx_ZjcbMcjdvDEJiHkpU5AQ8LFZBQS0RSC5PZctAj3bNeossOFs4kSuAJFp/s650/April_2022.jpg" width="650" /></a></div><br /><p></p> <p>Where the hell did April go? It felt like it start two seconds ago and then it was May. 2022 is flying by and it's crazy. I don't think I like it. It's the first year in a while things have started to feel normal (to some degree anyway) and I think it's going to pass me by before I know it. </p> <p> </p> <p>When I think back on it April seems to have been busy. I started the month on a hen do and with friends. I then got covid and spent a copious amount of time at home and working and blogging and generally just doing stuff so I didn't go crazy at home. And then it closed with me being social, seeing friends and family, and going to the office. It really was a month that was very much about seeing people and doing things. I suppose that means I shouldn't complain too much as I was doing things which made me happy… apart from getting covid. That sucked, but at least it aligned perfectly with when I didn't have a lot of plans so I didn't feel like I missed at on too much stuff. The highlights was definitely going to Liverpool and just having a laugh. We did our ridiculous Britney dance class and ate food and had drinks and just enjoyed ourselves. We went to a comedy club and did get picked on a little by some of the comedians, but it was just fun. I missed doing stuff like that and so, even though Liverpool is most definitely where I got sick, it was totally worth it.</p> <p> </p> <h2 align="center">Music of the Month</h2> <p align="center"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wKXQhFXlFs4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p> <p align="left">I actually discovered this song watching the season finale of Peaky Blinders and I listened to it on repeat for a while. I don’t know what it is that’s caught my attention with it but something did. </p> <p align="left"> </p> <h2 align="center">What I Read</h2> <h3 align="center">4 stars</h3> <p align="center"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdNfsTDJFW2SJe3i0hr-u12hVf0iHbzkw3FoQXlbku0F789bR0bjcbB4tl_E98YLo4wSxKIVxH_3GGQp1nC5xCHKHv9JRXRBMdOhEnxkXl4qO2nk1FD3mV-c5frYKKXAgW6JG1TvGDFqPcOQ9-0dI71ISZftQZyRS4S5Pcpn7rsxNSIdTmqaCKC8G/s475/Mine%20Till%20Midnight.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="139" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ybffRUjf1gbxP5qw6ffZeD-5N5GjtKU7ca3e-S4unrILcTILq1kh0Hls_5UDXooOXr1pucKTxXEbQkBeKnLpNyZCUrC2PvVMvy6Ewlo8ZBUYR2AzHANu44S8FuUIThgxiHPNrDpE1iYlw_0F0gtwh0hlE8ATEXkp5DOLOb9QRpj2UclI9zfV4ua_/s320/The%20Un-Arranged%20marriage.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="160" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJWl0SPa9_IEM_HHf7ntv4Kki-A7HXBl_DmdzXnlm5lKlA0blf1YPFsy8ryUFCuhN778Oq_hNn4cb9w7GZmXxhyOaFYkRId26BUNLYYOTWEApkUpmS0Fqu6umqePoFLHUvw4x6BF23CSln-x8WAr7MPtB1UR6vPET8JGw8o4ioQnRKbcLUqxIYz9a/s475/The%20little%20shop%20of%20happy%20ever%20after.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="153" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOgR0rTe6NHijSSWQKZyXrJzOVw2sTruzLQUbtXkRfr2LqozgOo6qffzouhJivhnnOrqBfBL7i2dVaMnJUNORD-d3aHQsTkTdcmQ4JyyxuVu97yIXqFR4NIcOaDSpfOsGd4iOQmWbPbMe9ytRTL1EPciL8mJsMYBzqKr4pCAB2dlvcuhoognyDit8/s320/The%20Ex%20Talk.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="160" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZkyVrKh6eL02CWlL1ELgifbOe7qFHTA1SnhtnpT2LBvYcluwe6gV-SsSwb7toen5dGEtYc-hREUwqrMU-1sL8UIas1TtH-PYmha5wBAaW_-OpID9EDVT1SIMyyHNqK2fbMeff4FB5qo10ZWHucUqXoDgc72cU385oXX2jja6_CAEGLUqDlaiNZGD/s475/Snowspelled.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="160" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioycxWxyOGA3Q6bsr8gTtlrMpZpHf0lEBxYQq1EH1Mt8YWLUospZdaQv166WrFKd2go6bUVzAWR8yBhXy1nTsftjianjEpm-lVoSMaBfn6CLsRAHwwR6g0qkNY5zWlw8el2pJxdBjVcccwKqKndcFKqV65OylpY2lDld82m6zSARvupM9v4ZUdpF9x/s320/Lead.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="160" /></p> <h3 align="center">3-3.75 stars</h3> <p align="center"><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5X9sdDRQmUvwwh_MjKGOswQa6vnnhiXsH-lPzeRTiLajgNiuAl7wnDUNFYoHJDryaacgV3nNaerCCRFDs04oqkFCvtQPLxvbI24liVN8y_L0X0JlzCHqENHy67sCa_bh4jn_2h8Q2GgAiPL522UHP1l40c__RXBc1xbw0FFZZpOrnPqhqQ4X471xt/s475/Seduce%20me%20at%20Sunrise.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="148" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoX8IIHnxLiOCxpwLF_tSBM9m_zcObN46Q90HhM9yyqQMa8_0_gGar27b_RoQo60lIuyTmtG2HH_-tfMdfrIvEJvDk7kqVtpXBU96Avbiuibx8_oYWDch5VgT-c3lbjbUj7U_LVhFkpE3ZregDuGbpJW8c-7w4NxNus5ikXfFbHfkQy5QqTp270tE/s320/One%20Last%20Stop.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="157" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqYTo6tJ5RShsML4AjaDyr_-_fHmFDa0P98YJd7BvIHw04Ldb4od1idnhxgQL2mQZr-7GW6ZmiSZ4neXU1Rw8jqRC1maQTlTVQgZHOUh_dkjRL9Jr6gl4frAiLqnJJ7fJAf3wYKynJJP1VANX9Xrua4a_0QKwvwetZp52Q7vUGQNYBTMMLc9lxrf6/s320/The%20Tyrant%20Alpha's%20Rejected%20Mate.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="158" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjvYgp3fSLBIB25jZrocrhoF3NW5awmLfyG9GfbbtzXOOvm1qo1WcucEEPZTFtt0HdN8k7kUTvG9yyEXz_XAau3ZIurRZReDId2ayiRIg7QiuLY3_oqipWp8l7b9isv4pVyQaIwwNsSaITMVpSnY1GYWdSVuu7PaGFiNnidNDrOd84PpvyiRwCDOu/s320/Ice%20Planet%20Barbarians.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="163" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGMQZHTl3xqdcal-Q0WfJHuT-C6VY92xiFHA2xoSaZ2ffb1Ko20k4yUc1MYWLX3kRIrA5JNLlxJgRA7dShzxigSFOkkMImIr2xVJ3SnMn4IbBCaai2Or9XtuNUXNJ1KzI5SX3eti_4rcCT8GaioKElSo_sr-XIaSwiTWIsXoxi4TPhD3Pt6wgtVOb/s320/Barbarian%20Alien.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="163" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEDaluiYWaonM4pu1XopUxMbQArFpaSczy88MVfShlxRPriKYsulNkEOzpiXJ087I3N7ACXcbgP0fy_NiPWfYWAQUB1pH48DzmAS4iSiaMHtq7x0amTQkbftQKtUAgk4C_VyUcNlXav70GEfW27ejmtFckWpS0SdU8_pRwe117ZtaSf70XX71jj6k/s320/Deep.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="159" /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRufHM9LjUaz-QaRaxQjqrgiKF2L_iJW5VTdkULNeBonH7uLIjRG2VAH_xxUTz8pXgTzs7Qpq7AueUhNyOauDWyiS7rlT2CCkzcCi2MI6AG8THBGZg07k3CyHOCsJ0DlSSoRIS4uD5IgF2THwJRglTGSLxjLQGKVlYuJWaTr4Vav3u6vV5I9nlz3Fz/s475/I%20Kissed%20Shara%20Wheeler.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="149" /></p> <p align="left">I only read 13 books in April. my reading is obviously flagging. But it’s cool because I still read a lot of books I enjoyed. There weren’t any 5 star reads either. I obviously never managed to settle on exactly where my mood lay when it comes to reading. </p> <p align="left"> </p> <h2 align="center">Reading Challenges</h2> <h4></h4> <h3 align="center">2022 Monthly Key Word Challenge</h3> <p align="center"> </p> <h4>April - Race, Now, Chose, While, Stop, Burn, Red, One</h4> <p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoX8IIHnxLiOCxpwLF_tSBM9m_zcObN46Q90HhM9yyqQMa8_0_gGar27b_RoQo60lIuyTmtG2HH_-tfMdfrIvEJvDk7kqVtpXBU96Avbiuibx8_oYWDch5VgT-c3lbjbUj7U_LVhFkpE3ZregDuGbpJW8c-7w4NxNus5ikXfFbHfkQy5QqTp270tE/s320/One%20Last%20Stop.jpg" /></p> <p>I really love challenges like this for making me look at the books I won and think which ones might fit the theme. For April it forced me to finally read One Last Stop and I am not mad about it. I think I'd have read it eventually but it's been on my shelf since last year and it was time to read a physical book.</p> <h4></h4> <h3 align="center">Buzzword Reading Challenge</h3> <p align="center"> </p> <h4>April - A book with LITTLE or BIG in the title </h4> <p><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJWl0SPa9_IEM_HHf7ntv4Kki-A7HXBl_DmdzXnlm5lKlA0blf1YPFsy8ryUFCuhN778Oq_hNn4cb9w7GZmXxhyOaFYkRId26BUNLYYOTWEApkUpmS0Fqu6umqePoFLHUvw4x6BF23CSln-x8WAr7MPtB1UR6vPET8JGw8o4ioQnRKbcLUqxIYz9a/s475/The%20little%20shop%20of%20happy%20ever%20after.jpg" width="203" /></p> <p>I once more turned to my physical books and my unread bookshelf to choose a book for this challenge as none of the books on my kindle inspired me and I saw The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan just waiting to be read. It's been on my shelf so long I couldn't even tell you when I bought it but I am so glad I did read it because it was such a charming story. Jenny Colgan delivers charming stories set throughout the UK which always have me ready to move to wherever they're set. I don't know why I haven't read more books from her as they really are charming. I probably would have never got around to reading this book if it wasn't for the reading challenge so I think I will take up more of these in the future where I force myself to read books I own.</p> <h4></h4> <h3 align="center">Beat the Backlist</h3> <p>I'm flagging in conquering the prompts on this one. I am halfway through, I've now completed 26 prompts but I think the ones left are the difficult ones. I am proud the majority of my reads qualify for this challenge though. I've only read 5 books which were published in 2022 out of 69 I've finished at the end of April. That's pretty impressive, right?</p> <h2 align="center">What I Blogged</h2> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://afoolsingenuity.blogspot.com/2022/04/sunday-summary-10th-april.html">Sunday Summary // 10th April 2022</a></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://afoolsingenuity.blogspot.com/2022/04/march-2022-wrap-up.html">March 2022 Wrap Up</a></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://afoolsingenuity.blogspot.com/2022/04/sunday-summary-17th-april-2022.html">Sunday Summary // 17th April 2022</a></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://afoolsingenuity.blogspot.com/2022/04/why-dont-i-read-what-i-buy.html">Why don’t I read what I buy?</a></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://afoolsingenuity.blogspot.com/2022/04/what-i-loved-about-penelope-blue-trilogy.html">What I loved about the Penelope Blue trilogy</a></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://afoolsingenuity.blogspot.com/2022/04/sunday-summary-24th-april-2022.html">Sunday Summary // 24th April 2022</a></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://afoolsingenuity.blogspot.com/2022/04/battle-royal-i-loved-it-but-i-wanted.html">Battle Royal // I Loved It But I Wanted More Romance</a></p> <p align="center"> </p> <h2 align="center">TV/Film Highlights</h2> <p align="center"><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6fXa5OaWwGqwNN3yMURYu2ClUpuu_zQE9ByBsQXzuHPs_icwnd25H9fxRmm7w28z4RE0WhK2hjsgWDma4z7pFgyfwZdQBhXg01GJcQo_x8_nYDlMhbnQQsgE06WemCnJHEzukUQ08teoiyK-XzDfEJT8gygMSJfId9rWqE1g2_0B7Ud4zit9xxks/s1920/peaky%20blinders.png" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="569" /><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVgcmsp4n5qjuSF8CyGKdsJC5zbJPlT-dAhufvPBo8bOoUlJHpAKI3kDPO2Ed2rXD6NAz9Y5PZqhuMJ3ICcfQEKizfTcjVXTzHK0x2GKc_pVTMZFVwI_tSwjApbOf3s2N97dyFAEbT9_4MT9tNCY0z4SuWYXdUuXjO4OCEu8qON6gHWbS_hz3etio/s1481/Ted%20Lasso.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="216" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQzv1o4zFQO29JAUTgMkeaEgOEIAFEPv4xjF5PiiyVQf63POvCNQN083ObjC-ULf2ttTHVF20w6kuh_l39QICU5He-F_d8E8cV8py_xQt-7XK_-8zb4jMMV85RxcF7f2Vn47gcusKESP4IBBbpOOOJXNu3-qSRsQtreCfHSUZvvWq1RIs8hstY_Y1/s320/business%20proposal.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" /></p> <p>There are three shows which stand out as highlights for me in April. I watched a lot of TV because I had covid but two of the shows I actually finished at the very start of April and those were Peaky Blinders and Ted Lasso. My song of the month was actually in the Peaky Blinders finale. I have to say, I expected a little more from the final season of Peaky Blinders, those characters had so much more story left but I understand wanting to finish a series without dragging it out. I know I'll still see plenty of Peaky Blinders themed stuff around Birmingham anyway, the city has fully embraced having a show based there. I swear, some people have made the show their personality. The other show I finished right at the start of the month was Ted Lasso and I am obsessed. I am ready to rewatch the first two seasons all over again because that's how good it was. I can't wait for more and it might have convinced me to carry on my AppleTV+ subscription longer than originally planned. And the final show of April is obviously going to be Business Proposal. I watched it in the space of a week and loved it. </p> <p align="center"><img height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe5zzA-bXcQjzcGgpPnWXsW7bxMl23bRbfIpyUw_SCePJMRA9NuHeS4e2cWAbkJj2y5ULJQNYabvml-Z22R_Ay1eYP2YH68pr4xiMzruHO_jf6I39fTacaIYkDLbVDS3v2IU8tPN-85LshMUH9eyQ-4G9CLh_TDmbXf0HDVgiTPV2Xe9cDKBLRUDy/s650/CODA.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" width="568" /></p> <p>I have just one film for the month and that is CODA. It weirdly felt like a YA book when I was watching, which is probably a really weird thing to say but it had a strong family element, a romance, and a teenagers quest to achieve her dream. It has all the stuff you'd usually see in a YA book so there you go. It was really good, I watched while I had covid which may have been an error as it was at the stage where I was really congested and struggling to breath and it then made me cry which made everything worse, especially as I watched it just before going to bed. Definite error on my part.</p> <p> </p> <p align="center"><strong>How was your April? Anyone else feel like the time is flying by this year? maybe it’s just because we’re out doing things a bit more compared to the past couple of years?</strong></p>afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7156226510984384231.post-31442758381825717752022-05-01T12:00:00.001+01:002022-05-01T12:00:00.250+01:00Sunday Summary // 1st May 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5N6O-TuGsejtrrRxhCfKIAxkbYiMIKKRP7SRncbTzw8o3ydIVsIKt4LiwVfzMSv6Zifwmx9vthCeG-gi_raAu0pTyYlK0e8_6wRP0OJq39zKa03l1T8iS3pVjrHg1hqfHlcKjH5CzCadwHhSriB6g8lTsN8veWp8D1QCYHYHViBU3oUR3-T8caAb/s1080/Sunday_Summary_1st_May.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Header image with script text which says Sunday Summary and serif text below says 1st May 2022. Photo of a black and white dog lay on a sofa in the centre with his front leg over a ragged one legged grey teddy looking as if he's cuddling it." border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5N6O-TuGsejtrrRxhCfKIAxkbYiMIKKRP7SRncbTzw8o3ydIVsIKt4LiwVfzMSv6Zifwmx9vthCeG-gi_raAu0pTyYlK0e8_6wRP0OJq39zKa03l1T8iS3pVjrHg1hqfHlcKjH5CzCadwHhSriB6g8lTsN8veWp8D1QCYHYHViBU3oUR3-T8caAb/s650/Sunday_Summary_1st_May.jpg" title="Sunday Summary // 1st May 2022" width="650" /></a></div><br /><p></p> <p>I can’t believe it’s May already! I don’t know where April went, it absolutely flew by and I think May might do the same. I have a busy few weeks in May so I imagine it’ll feel like I’ve blinked and missed it. I do have some exciting things to look forward to though. I’m seeing friends and one of my friends is getting married at the end of the month so that’s going to be amazing! I think I’m just hoping to have some fun and hopefully take lots of photos.</p> <p> </p> <p>This week felt like it was over so fast. I was rushed off of my feet with work, I’ve worked over far more than I’m comfortable with and I felt like I could have worked even longer but I’m firm that when I’m WFH I shouldn’t stay on longer than hour and that’s only if I’m trying to wrap up what I’m working on. I know it’ll quiet down next week and I’ll be back to working my hours. I think I also felt rushed because we have another bank holiday in the UK so I’m not working Monday. It means another short week of work, though, hopefully it’s quieter although I have meetings booked in again. I feel like a proper grown up saying I have meetings but I often don’t even need to talk in them.</p> <p> </p> <p>Apart from work I saw one of my friends and we caught up on life. I don’t think we’d seen each other in person since before I caught covid so it was so nice to chat. It was one of those evenings where you only have a couple of drinks but somehow you’ve found yourself chatting for 4 hours and then you realise you need to get home because you have work in the morning. It was great, I miss evenings like that. I feel like I’ve not really had the chance to do that as much the past 2 years, even when restrictions eased it’s felt like we’ve got to have definite plans to do something rather than just generally catch up.</p> <p> </p> <p>Apart from work and seeing friends it’s mostly just been home stuff. I’ve got a friend who will finally be collecting the washing machine I’ve been using as a side table in my conservatory. I also spent Saturday being isnanely productive and clearing things from my to do list I’ve been putting off for a while. The only things I didn’t do were unpacking that final box in the spare room, washing the bed sheets, and cleaning the bathroom. I was in one of those moods, I think. I’d woken up and felt in the mood to decorate my living room finally except I’d done none of the things I need to in there and I don’t have the paint or brushes to do that task. I still need to remove wall plugs, fill holes and take down the stupid curtain rail but I think I channelled the energy that wanted to decorate into doing the other chores instead. I did all of my laundry (apart from the bed sheets as there wasn’t room on the washing line). I tidied the conservatory and scrubbed the floor which has needed cleaning for at least a month. I cleaned the hob and sorted the kitchen so I don’t have random carrier bags everywhere. I finally put up the cheap Ikea blinds I’d bought months ago in my bedroom in the hopes I’ll stop waking up with the sunrise. I weeded the garden to try and make it nice to sit in until I sort the gravel. I even planned by May bullet journal spread so I can carry on being organised. And I cleaned the vacuum filter which is always really disgusting and something I should do far more often. As you can see it was a very productive day and I don’t know where all of the energy came from. I still need to remove the wall plugs and stuff in the living room but I know I need to go shopping for supplied before any decorating commences. </p> <p> </p> <p>God, I’ve realised how boring and grown up I sound being happy I do the household chores. I’ll be sure to balance this out next week by being lazy or getting drunk with my friends or something.</p> <p> </p> <h2 align="center">What I’ve Been Reading</h2> <p align="center"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24535188-deep"><img alt="Deep - Kylie Scott" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEDaluiYWaonM4pu1XopUxMbQArFpaSczy88MVfShlxRPriKYsulNkEOzpiXJ087I3N7ACXcbgP0fy_NiPWfYWAQUB1pH48DzmAS4iSiaMHtq7x0amTQkbftQKtUAgk4C_VyUcNlXav70GEfW27ejmtFckWpS0SdU8_pRwe117ZtaSf70XX71jj6k/s320/Deep.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="Deep - Kylie Scott" width="159" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60233944-i-kissed-shara-wheeler"><img alt="I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRufHM9LjUaz-QaRaxQjqrgiKF2L_iJW5VTdkULNeBonH7uLIjRG2VAH_xxUTz8pXgTzs7Qpq7AueUhNyOauDWyiS7rlT2CCkzcCi2MI6AG8THBGZg07k3CyHOCsJ0DlSSoRIS4uD5IgF2THwJRglTGSLxjLQGKVlYuJWaTr4Vav3u6vV5I9nlz3Fz/s475/I%20Kissed%20Shara%20Wheeler.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston" width="149" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26504382-dirty"><img alt="Dirty - Kylie Scott" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kBHj0ZNdM_hyM1CZpJil-JtwpUMnRcmaIgoxjbV1gIAVOAfy243JgAMQy3ZXqJL6br4XVWULFY1KUKaD6NXE-7Rc5haKA90Jn7GhtEBBytCwiXHbKCJOUkROSEcO9rd4LYDenDZWK_gNy9LmRvhk9YwNwMvMSA8lc7a4HDVFRGksiBjj7N8sL77E/s320/Dirty.jp" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="Dirty - Kylie Scott" width="160" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40916679-a-good-girl-s-guide-to-murder"><img alt="A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvVkV5U3gUMHlqv4qH0oKMABbn6xORRW0wdqBwV_P8QtBMgXen5h4lGCU8NnvPv5nbU5XrvsJ86TClxBG6NqOcsBwXR9L9vMUfMWudHxSBsJUID3FIIozqF_8g5CtgKe1gv_HhAQ7oqvKT5xYRhgz1wRTBV-8qh7xfTTNKfGmpC28jXUwRbsaV1HR/s475/A%20Good%20Girl's%20Guide%20to%20Murder.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson" width="158" /></a></p> <p>I admit it’s been a slow reading week. I finished the Stage Dive series and I Deep wasn’t my favourite of the series so that felt a little draggy but I enjoyed it. I then started reading I Kissed Shara Wheeler but I realised after a couple of chapters I wasn’t quite in the mood for it so I also picked up Dirty, the first in the Dive Bar series that’s a follow up to Stage Dive. Sadly, Dirty has in no way gripped me. I like the characters well enough but I don’t really get the chemistry between the MCs or really care about the romance so I might DNF. I can’t decide if it’s me and my mood reading or the book so if you read and enjoyed Dirty let me know and I’ll place to one side and try again another day. I did finally finish I Kissed Shara Wheeler, I got into the story in the end but I think I cared for the secondary characters more than the MC and her romance. I’ll have a review for it up in the next week or so I’m sure. I then started my reread of A |Good Girl’s Guide to Murder as I decided that’s the kind of book I’m in the mood for. Here’s hoping I enjoy it as much second time around.</p> <p> </p> <h2 align="center">New To Me</h2> <p align="center"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24535188-deep"><img alt="Deep - Kylie Scott" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEDaluiYWaonM4pu1XopUxMbQArFpaSczy88MVfShlxRPriKYsulNkEOzpiXJ087I3N7ACXcbgP0fy_NiPWfYWAQUB1pH48DzmAS4iSiaMHtq7x0amTQkbftQKtUAgk4C_VyUcNlXav70GEfW27ejmtFckWpS0SdU8_pRwe117ZtaSf70XX71jj6k/s320/Deep.jpg" style="display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="Deep - Kylie Scott" width="159" /></a></p> <p>I only bought the final Stage Dive book, Deep. Otherwise no new purchases for me. There are some new KU borrows but I still might return them without reading so I don’t really want to mention them. I’m trying to stay strong about purchases but I am seriously debating preordering a couple of books, I’m having a think over the weekend as I also want to buy some new clothes in case I go to the office a little more so I might channel the book funds to clothes instead.</p> <p> </p> <p align="center"><strong>What have you been reading this week? Anyone else sometimes get these random bursts of productive energy and power through their entire to do list in one day?</strong></p>afoolsingenuityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458682805845463777noreply@blogger.com