The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Title: The Roommate (Shameless #1)

Author: Rosie Danan

Publisher: Berkley 2020

Genre: Romance

Pages: 325

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Starstruck Sweets (Celebrity); Cover Love - Need of a redesign

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 5

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too tempting to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet...
 
Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.

Overall a cute romcom style romance featuring some great conversations about sex work. The set-up/meet cute is very contrived and silly, but once I got over that, I really fell into he story and the characters. Josh is a great male lead who really stays true to himself the entire story. I loved seeing Clara grow and change throughout the book. The steamy scenes were definitely steamy and fun. The third act break-up/conflict felt believable and sufficiently full of drama without being too cliched. I also loved seeing a male lead actually make amends for his actions. The ending was rushed and a bit too cliched for my tastes keeping the book from being a 5 star book. But in the end, I still really enjoyed this one.

Shameless

• #1 The Roommate

• #2 The Intimacy Experiment

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

Title: A Song for a New Day

Author: Sarah Pinsker

Publisher: Penguin 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER; Quarter of a Century - 2019

Where I Got It: Amazon Kindle

In the Before, when the government didn't prohibit large public gatherings, Luce Cannon was on top of the world. One of her songs had just taken off and she was on her way to becoming a star. Now, in the After, terror attacks and deadly viruses have led the government to ban concerts, and Luce's connection to the world--her music, her purpose—is closed off forever. She does what she has to do: she performs in illegal concerts to a small but passionate community, always evading the law.

Rosemary Laws barely remembers the Before times. She spends her days in Hoodspace, helping customers order all of their goods online for drone delivery—no physical contact with humans needed. By lucky chance, she finds a new job and a new calling: discover amazing musicians and bring their concerts to everyone via virtual reality. The only catch is that she'll have to do something she's never done before and go out in public. Find the illegal concerts and bring musicians into the limelight they deserve. But when she sees how the world could actually be, that won’t be enough.

Nerdy Bookish Friends’ first selection of the year and it was a bit of a dud for me. I don’t actually think that this is a bad book at all. I just started reading it, got about halfway through, and realized that it put me in a terrible melancholy mood. I deeply felt the loneliness of both of the main characters as they navigated an isolated world. At times, I was very intrigued by how the world has changed since the pandemic. But… the story meandered and seemed to get stuck in places. More importantly, I was having a lot of trouble really connecting to Rosemary. She was so incredibly naive that I couldn’t even root for her. While I didn’t love the book, I am excited to discuss it with my online book friends.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Alice in Borderland Vol. 2-3

Title: Alice in Borderland Vol. 2

Author: Haro Aso

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 2021

Genre: Comics

Pages: 344

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

Life in Borderland can be grim, but after completing two games Arisu feels like he might be getting a handle on how his new world works. Chota’s and Shibuki’s visas are expiring soon, however, so the group doesn’t have time to be picky about their next match. And the arena they stumble upon is a lesson in just how treacherous the rules in Borderland can be.

Diving back into this series and it just doesn’t let up. This particular volume really hit me in the feels. I did not see the events coming at all. The game depicted was absolutely brutal. I was completely slack jawed by the end. I am obsessed with this series.

Title: Alice in Borderland Vol. 3

Author: Haro Aso

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 2022

Genre: Comics

Pages: 344

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Where I Got It: Library

Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.

Aguni now has control of the Beach, and one of his first actions as king is to lock Ryohei in a room on one of the empty floors of the hotel to die of an expired visa. But Ryohei gets an unexpected stay of execution when the Beach becomes the arena for a brutal game of Hearts! Can he survive a witch hunt and get his visa extended, or has he just traded one terrible death for another?

And on to the next volume… with a change of venue and new characters. I wasn’t sold on the beach resort plot line, but it grew on me. The volume got even better when a game began at the beach. I cannot wait to see what happens next and how this particular game concludes.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Academic Co-op is back on track and moving along into the spring semester. I’m very excited about helping the kids with their writing.

• I think that our terrible January might just be turning a corner. We’re healthy and school is going well.

• Yesterday’s visit to Joslyn Art Museum was delightful. We met a new friend and saw some great art. The museum is such a gem for our city.

• We finished a ton of shows this week and started a few new ones. Such great media available right now.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Small Angels by Lauren Owen

Title: Small Angels

Author: Lauren Owen

Publisher: Random House 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 400

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf; Cover Lover - Silhouette or Shadow

Where I Got It: Book of the Month

The woods are stirring again. . . . 

Lucia and her sisters grew up on the edge of Mockbeggar Woods. They knew it well—its danger, but also its beauty. As a lonely teenager, Kate was drawn to these sisters, who were unlike anyone she’d ever met. But when they brought her into the woods, something dark was awakened, and Kate has never been able to escape the terrible truth of what happened there. 

Chloe has been planning her dream wedding for months. She has the dress, the flowers, and the perfect venue: Small Angels, a charming old church set alongside dense, green woods in the village that her fiancé, Sam, and his sister, Kate, grew up in. But days before the ceremony, Chloe starts to learn of unsettling stories about Small Angels and Mockbeggar Woods. And worse, she begins to see, smell, and hear things that couldn’t possibly be real. 

Now, Kate is returning home for the first time in years—for Sam and Chloe’s wedding. But the woods are stirring again, and Kate must reconnect with Lucia, her first love, to protect Chloe, the village, and herself. An unforgettable novel about the memories that hold us back and those that show us the way forward, this is storytelling at its most magical. Enter Small Angels, if you dare.

Based on the summary, I really thought that I would love this book. I’m all about gothic fantasies on the darker side. And the first 50 pages were very intriguing and sucked me in. But then the book and story really started to drag. I had the hardest trouble wanting to pick it back up. Chloe was such a hard character to connect to. I was interested into Kate’s backstory, but even that couldn’t keep my attention. I just didn’t care about the characters at all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Partials by Dan Wells

Title: Partials (Partials Sequence #1)

Author: Dan Wells

Publisher: Balzar + Bray 2013

Genre: YA Scifi

Pages: 528

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Quarter of a Century - 2013

Where I Got It: Book Outlet April 2020

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. But sixteen-year-old Kira is determined to find a solution. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that that the survival of both humans and Partials rests in her attempts to answer questions about the war's origin that she never knew to ask.

Playing on our curiosity of and fascination with the complete collapse of civilization, Partials is, at its heart, a story of survival, one that explores the individual narratives and complex relationships of those left behind, both humans and Partials alike—and of the way in which the concept of what is right and wrong in this world is greatly dependent on one's own point of view.

This book has been sitting on my shelves for almost five years now. I was searching for something fairly breezy with lots of action and grabbed onto this one. Thankfully, it delivered on the promise. We get a very fast paced scifi post-apolyptic novel featuring lots of action and surprisingly, lots of science. As this is young adult, the main characters were annoying at times, but that’s to be expected. I also thought that Wells’s writing was fairly simplistic and immature at times. But the only part that I really disliked was the teenage romance angle. Truly it served no purpose whatsoever. By the end of the book, I was invested in the series. I want to find out what happens between the humans and the Partials after the revelations in this volume.

Partials Sequence:

• #1 Partials

• #2 Fragments

• #3 Ruins

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W18: Back to a Normal Week

What We Studied

We got over the sickness and went back to our usual schedule. We had some school days, I had a dentist appointment, and we restarted co-op.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. We finished our current read aloud. I’m not sure that I really enjoyed it and may just skip this book in a few years when Quentin enters the 5th grade. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

• The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. We finished one classic and started another classic. I must say that I’m always so surprised how bad of a writer I think C.S. Lewis is when compared to J.R.R. Tolkien.

• Poetry: Alphabestiary selected by Jane Yolen

• The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. Arthur started the second book of the course, diving back into algebraic equations. I am really am liking how Singapore spends a lot of time on what the equations are actually telling us vs just jumping into solving.

• Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons.

• Singapore Primary 3A

• Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. Even though we covered two sections, these two sections were mostly a review focusing on North America and the American Revolution.

• Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

• A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent, by Anne Rockwell

• Anna Strong: A Spy During the American Revolution by Sarah Glenn Marsh Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, by Margaret McNamara

• George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer

• Who Was Daniel Boone? by Sydelle Kramer

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. This week we covered a chapter about the Kingdom of Mali. Lots of fun connections to other chapters in this one.

• History Quest Middle Times

• DK When on Earth?

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

• Kingfisher Atlas of the Medieval World

• DK Explorers

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall and spring semester courses, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. Co-op restarted and the first week was focused on vocabulary and introducing the ideas of ecology and evolution. We did read some chapters from our Story of Science to keep up.

• RSO Biology 1

• Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. We started into our large space unit using RSO Astronomy as our backbone. We are also still watching the PBS Eons videos here and there.

• RSO Earth and Environment

• DK First Earth Encyclopedia

• Boy, Were We Wrong About the Solar System by Kathleen V. Kudlinski

• RSO Asttonomy 1

• The Big Beyond: The Story of Space Travel by James Carter

• DK Eyewitness Astronomy

• The Big Beyond: The Story of Space Travel by James Carter

• Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey

• Galaxies, Galaies! by Gail Gibbons

• The Book of Big Science Ideas by Freya Hardy

• DK Space

• Once Upon a Starry Night by Jacqueline Mitton

• What Miss Mitchell Saw in the Stars by Hayley Barrett

Academic Co-op

We restarted co-op this week with some big changes. The changes created a lot of stress for me, but the remaining members managed to pull together and successfully have a normal day. This semester we are learning 2D Design and Art History, Biology (focusing on ecology and evolution), and Writing Workshop. Because of some scheduling, I ended up teaching Homeroom and Closing along with my actual class of Writing Workshop. We focused on neurotransmitters and ways to push our brain into releasing those chemicals.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. We moved onto the next artist: The Clash! Arthur has decided that he likes them better than The Ramones while Quentin prefers The Ramones.

• Music Lab: We Rock!

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

None this week

High

It was so nice to get back into a normal schedule for us. Hopefully next week we can re-introduce activities to our weekly schedule.

Low

I had a dentist appointment. Those are always a schedule disruption. The lingering pain impacted my ability to read with the kids and teach.

Next Week

• Attempting to read around my dental issues

• Moving forward with math lessons

• Traveling to Australia (A) and Indian (Q) for history

• Exploring the solar system for Q’s science

• Listening to The Replacements and Patti Smith

• Appreciating the art museum

• Going on a nature hike

• Playing some board games with friends

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Anberlin "High Stakes"

A new singer and slightly new sound for Anberlin. Another early 2000s band coming back!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #1

On my bedside table: I’ve got a stack of library books to prioritize. Not quite sure which one I want to read first.

On my tv this week: We finished up SAS Rogue Heroes S2. I finished Star Struck S3, Monarch S1, and Love Life S2.

Listening to: Nothing too interesting. I have had Dead Poets Society on repeat lately.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Kofta Patty Pitas

• Tuesday - Black Bean Soup

• Wednesday - Texas Cheese Fries

• Thursday - Snack Dinner

• Friday - Caribbean Salmon Quinoa Bowls

• Saturday - Burritos

• Sunday - Prosciutto and Fig Pizzas

On my to do list: The only thing I’m thinking about right now is getting my tooth issue taken care of. I got a temporary crown last week while they make my permanent one, but now my temp one has come off. Hopefully tomorrow the dentist can fit me in to fix the temp in the between time. I’m so very annoyed by this situation and it’s ramped up my anxiety to the highest levels.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Hopefully a dentist appointment

• Tuesday - Home day

• Wednesday - Joslyn Art Museum

• Thursday - Academic Co-op; Co-op Happy Hour

• Friday -Fontenelle Forest Hike; Board Game Club

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Nerdy Bookish Friends Book Club

What I am creating: Nothing much. I have been working on some trip plans, but something too creative.

My simple pleasures: Iced tea, cheesecake, propulsive reads

Looking around the house: After so much sickness, the house was a bit messy and cluttered. I spent a lot of time yesterday cleaning things up and putting things away. I feel so much better.

From the camera: A entire week with no pictures…

Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Title: Apprentice to the Villain (Assistant and the Villain #2)

Author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Publisher: Entangled 2024

Genre: Romance (lite)

Pages: 368

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Full Moon Adventure; Cover Lover - No People

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 3

Evie Sage has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome (shhh, bad for his brand) evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still, the business of being bad is demanding, the forces of good are annoyingly persistent, and said forbidding boss is somewhat…er, out-of-evil-office.

But Rennedawn is in grave trouble, and all signs—Kingsley’s included—point to catastrophe. Something peculiar is happening with the kingdom’s magic, and it’s made The Villain’s manor vulnerable to their enemies...including their nemesis, the king.

Now it’s time for Evie to face her greatest challenge: protecting The Villain’s lair, all of his nefarious works, and maybe (provided no one finds out) the entire kingdom. No pressure, Evie.

It’s time to step out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Like treason. Dagger work. Conspiring with the enemy. It’s all so…so…delightfully fun.

But what happens when the assistant to The Villain is ready to become his apprentice?

While I absolutely adored the first book in this series, this particular one really suffered from middle of the series syndrome. It felt like the story alternately rushed the plot forward and stagnated the key relationship between Trystan and Evie. Mainly I was super frustrated about the stagnation section. I love Trystan and Evie and of course we are supposed to be rooting for them as a couple. But… I’m not at all convinced that they should be together. Their complete inability to speak to each other was extra annoying. I wasn’t expecting the second book to see them get a HEA, but I would have liked to see real growth in their relationship. The plot and larger storyline was interesting, but I did get a bit annoyed by the amount of coincidences in the book. I’ll be continuing the series, but I’m not quite as desperate to get the next volume when it publishes in August.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe

Title: The Never King (Vicious Lost Boys #1)

Author: Nikki St. Crowe

Publisher: Blackwell House 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 192

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - Dark; Fairytale Retellings - Peter Pan

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 8

For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken.

Now, on the afternoon of my 18th birthday, my mother is running around the house making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked.

But it’s pointless.

Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go.

Finally picked up this series after my interest in darker romance. I am a bit disappointed, but not enough to stop reading the series. Really this is very focused on the steamy scenes as opposed to plot or really characterization. We dive immediately into the world and have to very quickly understand what is happening without a lot of explanation. As the book progresses, we get some little bits, but then we focus on the physical aspect again. Winnie is not my favorite, but I am very interested in all the men involved. I really want to get more backstories and world building in the next book.

Vicious Lost Boys:

• #1 The Never King

• #2 The Dark One

• #3 Their Vicious Darling

• #4 The Fae Princes

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Gathering by CJ Tudor

Title: The Gathering

Author: CJ Tudor

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2024

Genre: Mystery, Horror

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Read Horror - Vampires; Read Around the USA - Alaska

Where I Got It: Library

In a small Alaska town, a boy is found with his throat ripped out and all the blood drained from his body. The inhabitants of Deadhart haven’t seen a killing like this in twenty-five years. But they know who’s responsible: a member of the Colony, an ostracized community of vampyrs living in an old mine settlement deep in the woods.

Detective Barbara Atkins, a specialist in vampyr killings, is called in to officially determine if this is a Colony killing—and authorize a cull. Old suspicions die hard in a town like Deadhart, but Barbara isn’t so sure. Determined to find the truth, she enlists the help of a former Deadhart sheriff, Jenson Tucker, whose investigation into the previous murder almost cost him his life. Since then, Tucker has become a recluse. But he knows the Colony better than almost anyone.

As the pair delve into the town’s history, they uncover secrets darker than they could have imagined. And then another body is found. While the snow thickens and the nights grow longer, a killer stalks Deadhart, and two disparate communities circle each other for blood. Time is running out for Atkins and Tucker to find the truth: Are they hunting a bloodthirsty monster . . . or a twisted psychopath? And which is more dangerous?

It’s become a tradition to read a snow setting book in January. This was a great choice to dive into on these cold days. I’m not always a fan of thrillers, but this one hit the spot. Right away, we understand that vampires are real is this world and they live on the fringes of society in the cold and the dark, i.e. Alaska. A detective is sent to solve the mystery of a gruesome murder of a teenage boy. As she investigates, all the town’s secrets start to get revealed and the case becomes more and more complicated. I loved following the twists and turns of the case, making my own conclusions along the way. My biggest complaint about the book has to do with a part of the storyline dealing with sexual assault. I really could have done without that section. And while it explains part of the motivations of the Colony and Athelinda specifically, I think that the plot could have been reworked to delete that aspect. Overall, it was a very propulsive thriller full of gore and suspense.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova

Title: Kiss the Girl (Meant to Be #2)

Author: Zoraida Córdova

Publisher: Hyperion Avenue 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Romanceopoly - Crystal Lake (Fairytale retelling)

Spice Meter: 3

A modern tale of unexpectedly falling in love, and finding your voice—the highly anticipated third installment of in the acclaimed and best-selling Meant to Be collection. Ariel del Mar is one of the most famous singers in the world. She and her sisters—together, known as the band Siren Seven—have been a pop culture phenomenon since they were kids. On stage, wearing her iconic red wig and sequined costumes, staring out at a sea of fans, is where she shines. Anyone would think she's the girl who has everything. But lately, she wants more. Siren Seven is wrapping up their farewell tour, and Ariel can't wait to spend the summer just living a normal life—part of a world she's only ever seen from the outside. But her father, the head of Atlantica Records, has other plans: begin her breakout solo career immediately, starting with a splashy announcement on a morning talk show. The night before, Ariel and her sisters sneak out of their Manhattan penthouse for a night of incognito fun at a rock concert in Brooklyn. It's there that Ariel crosses paths with Eric Reyes, dreamy lead singer of an up-and-coming band. Unaware of her true identity, Eric spontaneously invites her on the road for the summer. And for the first time in her life, Ariel disobeys her father—and goes with him. Caught between the world she longs for and the one she's left behind, can Ariel follow her dreams, fall in love, and, somehow, find her own voice?

I finally got around this Little Mermaid retelling. I was going to read it last fall, but of course, I had too many library books checked out and had to make some tough choices. I got it back and sped through this very lite retelling. I found that I really dig the rock star trope in my romance. In this one, we get a Disney-esque pop star going undercover to rediscover herself and find her path in music and a up-and-coming lead singer out to get a record deal. I’m not a super fan of intentional lying in romances, but I will forgive Ariel as she is trying to escape her controlling father. We breeze through this book with some very cute encounters and lite sexual tension. Overall, it was a good romance even if it was very closed door. Cute retelling.

Meant to Be:

• #1 If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

• #2 By the Book by Jasmine Guillory

• #3 Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova

• #4 Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren

• #5 Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Next up on the TBR pile:

Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen

Title: Above the Bay of Angels

Author: Rhys Bowen

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing 2020

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 348

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER; Cover Lover - Mode of Transportation

Where I Got It: Kindle

Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella’s hand. It’s an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger’s stead, Bella can spread her wings.

Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself. Best of all, she’s been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune! Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the queen’s retinue falls ill and dies.

Having prepared the royal guest’s last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing down—if it doesn’t send her to the gallows.

Our book club selection for January and amazingly, I had this sitting on my Kindle from years past. I was interested in reading a stand alone mystery from Bowen after reading her Her Lady Spyness series. Unfortunately, this book couldn’t figure out what it was. According to tags and the summary, it’s a mystery of a woman assuming an identity to move ahead career-wise and solve a murder. And yet, the murder doesn’t even happen until about the 80% mark. Seriously I kept waiting for someone to die. Moving past that discrepancy, I was thoroughly bored with the rest of the story. Isabella is too naive and yet too lucky to be real. Everything that potentially can harm her comes to naught. Seriously how lucky can one character be. Even the sections detailing food were boring and lagged on. I just couldn’t make myself like any part of this book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W17: Sickness Changed All Our Plans

What We Studied

The entire family came down with that norovirus that’s been going around the country. And let me tell, it was horrible. We had plans for activities and meetings with friends that all had to be cancelled. This did open up the week for more school work and we powered through a ton. Ultimately, we all lost steam on Friday and just took it easy.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur is primarily using Hearth and Story G5 for his language arts this year. We started our next read aloud, a classic that has been on my list for awhile. We’re about halfway through it and I still don’t know what I think about the book. We also covered more grammar and extra language arts assignments.

• The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Quentin is primarily using Blossom & Root G1 for his language arts this year. We will pull some elements from Build Your Library Level 2 and random books that we have around the house. We started another classic. Q isn’t the biggest fan of C.S. Lewis, but we’re going to proceed through The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe before we move on.

• Poetry: Alphabestiary selected by Jane Yolen

• The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Math

Arthur is using Singapore’s Math in Focus Course 1. Effectively this is Singapore’s 6th grade math text. Arthur started the second book of the course, diving back into algebraic equations. We’re starting close so he can catch up on some back-work.

• Math in Focus Course 1 Book A

Quentin is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics Common Core edition 2B and 3A. We moved onto 3A starting slow to easy back into our lessons.

• Singapore Primary 3A

• Primarily Logic

Social Studies

Arthur is using Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 this year. We dove into Volume 2 and managed to cover two sections this week because of sickness. We covered Russia under Catherine the Great and Captain Cook’s exploration of the South Pacific and Hawai’i.

• Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Vol. 1

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

• Catherine the Great by Elizabeth Raum

• A Royal Ride: Catherine the Great's Great Invention by Kristen Fulton

• You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Vaccinations!, by Anne Rooney

• Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster: The Discovery of the Smallpox Vaccine, by Albert Marrin

• The Adventures of Tupaia, by Courtney Sina Meredith

• The Shark King, by R. Kikuo Johnson

• Famous Lives: Captain Cook, by Rebecca Levene

• DK Explorers - James Cook

• Butterfly for a King: Saving Hawaii’s Kamehameha Butterflies, by Cindy Trumbore and Susan L. Roth

• A True Book: My United States: Hawai’i, by Joanne Mattern

• Kamehameha: The Boy Who Became a Warrior King, by Ellie Crowe

Quentin is using History Quest Middle Times with Build Your Library Level 2 as his main history curriculum. This week we covered a chapter about the settlement of Polynesia. Oddly, Q’s history connected with Arthur’s history chapters.

• History Quest Middle Times

• DK When on Earth?

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• DK A Child Through Time

• Kingfisher Atlas of the Medieval World

• DK Explorers

• Oceania by Martha London

Science

Arthur is using RSO Biology 1 this year has the main science text. Our academic coop will also be using RSO Biology 1 as a basis for the fall and spring semester courses, so we will be just supplementing at home. We will also be doing some of Blossom & Root’s Book Seeds and various other small units in between. Co-op restarts next week, so no biology lesson this week. We did read some chapters from our Story of Science to keep up.

• RSO Biology 1

• Story of Science Vol. 3 by Joy Hakim

Quentin is using RSO Earth & Environment and RSO Astronomy 1 as a base. Of course, we have a ton of extra science resources laying around the house. And I will be hosting some one-off science exploration days that align with the units. We switched gears slightly to tackle Blossom and Root’s Prehistory Unit. We officially finished the Prehistory unit this week; although we still have a ton of Eons episodes to watch here and there through the winter.

• RSO Earth and Environment

• DK First Earth Encyclopedia

• DK Dinosaur

• DK Where on Earth? Dinosaurs

• DK Eyewitness Dinosaur

• The Story of Life: Evolution by Katie Scott

• Life: The First Four Billions Years by Martin Jenkins

• Stones and Bones: Fossils and the Stories They Tell by Rob Wilshaw

• When the Whales Walked by Dougal Dixon

• Everything Awesome About Dinosaurs an Other Prehistoric Beasts! by Mike Lowery

• Dinosaurs: Fact and Fable by Seymour Simon

• Prehistoric by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

• Nat Geo Kids Dinosaur Atlas

• Dinosaurium by Chris Wormell and Lily Murray

• The Colorful World of Dinosaurs by Matt Sewell

• Dragon Bones: The Fantastic Fossil Discoveries of Mary Anning by Sarah Glenn Marsh

• My Mastodon by Barbara Lowell and Antonio Marinoni

• Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Hunt: The True Story of the Quest for America's Biggest Bones by Carrie Clickard

• I Used to be a Fish by Tom Sullivan

• Sapiens: Our Human Evolution by J.R. Becker and Max Rambaldi

• Amazing Evolution: The Journey of Life by Anna Claybourne Pg. 40-43

• Mary Leakey: Archaeologist Who Really Dug her Work by Mike Venezia

Academic Co-op

We restart co-op next week.

Art and Music

Art will be very sporadic this year, but we do have some fun excursions planned. And I will incorporate art projects into a lot of other subjects and unit studies. We covered a Harbor + Sprout module about textile art.

For music, we are using Music Lab: We Rock! as our spine. Each week we will be learning about a different rock musician and focus on a particular song. I have also created Spotify playlists so we can listen on the go. We moved onto the next chapter focusing on Punk Rock. We started with my favorite, The Ramones!

• Music Lab: We Rock!

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

Field Trip/Activities

None… We quarantined to limit the spread of infection.

High

All the Eons episodes! We just hunkered down and watched a ton of documentaries while sick to relax and still learn.

Low

Sickness. Enough said.

Next Week

• Restarting academic co-op for spring

• Finishing our read alouds and starting new ones

• Moving forward with math lessons

• Covering the American Revolution (A) and African Empires (Q) for history

• Diving into RSO Astronomy for Q’s science

• Listening to The Clash

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Coheed and Cambria "Searching for Tomorrow"

Looking forward to the new album dropping in March from Coheed and Cambria.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Title: Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse #2)

Author: H.D. Carlton

Publisher: 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 651

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Romanceopoly - Butterfly Garden

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 8

Warning: This book contains graphic depictions of sexual assault. Please review the content warnings before proceeding.

“If she were to die… the world would die with her.”
The worst Adeline Reilly expected for her life were a few unholy ghosts haunting the hallways of Parsons Manor, not falling in love with her stalker and ending up in the clutches of a trafficking ring.
Trapped in a house used to groom women for the elite, she faces the biggest fight of her life—survive the Culling and escape. But that’s not so easy when watchful eyes are determined to see her fail. However, Adeline may have an unlikely ally, who just might be the key to her getting out alive.
But trusting them is a risk that could cost her everything.
Meanwhile, Zade will stop at nothing until Adeline is safe in his arms again, even if he must burn the world to find her. Hunting his little mouse is what he’s best at, but who she’ll be when he finds her is a battle that he doesn’t know he can win.
It won’t be the test of time they must survive, but the memories of who they once were.

I really enjoyed the first book detailing a morally grey main character and his actions towards a woman. I really wanted to explore the topic of consent and fantasies. It was a fascinating book. But then there was a terrible cliffhanger at the end of the book. I had to see how the story ends, but I’m not sure that I actually enjoyed reading it. We spend almost half of the book with Addie in captivity being brutalized constantly. I fully admit that skimmed through huge chunks of this section not wanting to read about the abuse. I did find the second half more interesting, detailing how someone can deal with and heal from trauma. We get a HEA here, but it’s a long and disturbing journey. Be forewarned.

Cat and Mouse

• #1 Haunting Adeline

• #2 Hunting Adeline

Next up on the TBR pile:

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow

Title: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Author: Cory Doctorow

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2003

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 208

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Quarter of a Century

Where I Got It: Prospero’s in Kansas City, October 2021

Jules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.

Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the care of a network of volunteer "ad-hocs" who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches.

Now, though, it seems the "ad hocs" are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself.

Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It's only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war: war for the soul of the Magic Kingdom, a war of ever-shifting reputations, technical wizardry, and entirely unpredictable outcomes.

Another absolute dud. This felt like Doctorow’s attempt to create a story a la Snowcrash, but it falls extremely flat. This future full of terrible fucking men is not a place that I’m interested in reading about. And yes, I understand that this is supposed to be future that we don’t want, but I still don’t want to read about it. Jules is a terrible narrator and main character. I couldn’t find reasons to root for him to feel anger at his “death.” Why do the female characters have to be wet blankets or villains? I think this book may just have turned me off to Doctorow’s writing.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Blame the Mistletoe by Dani Collins

Title: Blame the Mistletoe (Love in Montana #2)

Author: Dani Collins

Publisher: 2014

Genre: Romance

Pages: 205

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER; Romanceopoly - Alpine Cottage

Where I Got It: Kindle

Spice Rating: 4

Liz Flowers has never enjoyed Christmas, but this one is shaping up to be the worst by far. She let her ex take her daughter to Mexico while she stays behind in a strange town, sitting her former mother-in-law’s high strung little dog. It’s an opportunity to meet new people, but this California girl doesn’t have much in common with the ranchers in small town Marietta. Blake Canon perks up with male interest when he sees a new face at his friend’s Christmas cocktail party. His son is away and a light affair would take his mind off his financial troubles. Then he realizes he knows Liz. She was once married to the brother of his ex-wife. Their children might be cousins, but Blake and Liz do the kissing—under the mistletoe. It’s the beginning of a new view of Christmas for Liz, but when their children arrive home unexpectedly, and family secrets are revealed, Liz isn’t sure she’ll stay in Marietta for Christmas after all.

One last holiday romance read and it was a bit of a dud. I wanted a fun romance. Instead, I got an overly wrought emotional mess full of lost adults and some bad decisions. The casual misogyny and patriarchal attitudes from various characters really got to me in the end. I didn’t really enjoy either of our main characters or the plot. The setting was another negative. The concept that these two connect in this small town where so many bad memories and enemies live is laughable. I just couldn’t get over it. And the secrets were just contrived and painful. I was not a fan. (Not a great start to my reading year, but I’m sure that I’ll hit on a great book soon.)

Love in Montana

• #1 Hometown Hero

• #2 Blame the Mistletoe

• #3 The Bachelor’s Baby

• #4 His Blushing Bride

• #5 His Christmas Miracle

Next up on the TBR pile:

2025 Reading Challenges

2025 Reading Challenges

• Goodreads Challenge

• UnRead Shelf Project

• Kid Read Aloud

• Finishing the Series

• Nonfiction Reader

• Quarter of a Century

• Retreat Recommendations

• Read Around the USA

• Romanceopoly

• She Reads Romance

• COYER

• Fairytale Retelling

• Cover Lover

• Books to Movies

GoodReads Challenge (200) - I’m sticking with my usual 200 books for this overall goal. .

UnRead Shelf (50) - My seventh(?) year participating in this particular challenge. Last year I did decently and want to keep up that momentum. You can find more information about this challenge at The Unread Shelf.

Kid Read Alouds (50) - Continuing with this challenge again this year. We have some great read aloud choices for the spring semester. And I’m sure that I’ll pick some great titles for the fall semester.

Finishing the Series (20) - I’m hoping to finish 20 series this year. I have a long, long list of series that I’ve already started and haven’t finished yet. I want to prioritize those in my reading this year.

Nonfiction Reader (12) - I definitely need to get more nonfiction back into my reading. I’m hoping to get to at least one nonfiction a month. More information at Book’d Out..

Quarter of a Century (25) - As we move into the second quarter of the century, I want to go back and read at least one book from each of the preceding years. I went through my Goodreads and highlighted some interesting books to put on the potential list.

Retreat Recommendations (12) - Over the past few years, I’ve received some great recommendations from a variety of friends. And yet, so many of those recommendations are still sitting unread. I need to prioritize those.

1. The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

2. Off with Her Head by Eleanor Herman

3. Pandora by Susan Stokes Chapman

4. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Huang (I chose for February’s book club selection)

5. Empress for All Seasons by Emiko Jean

6. The High Cost of Free Parking by Donald Shoup

7. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Story by James McBride

8. James by Percieval Everett

9. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

10. The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson

11. Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes

12. There There by Tommy Orange

13. The Governess by Anne Serre

14. The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

15. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

16. Divinity 36 by Gail Carriger

17. Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

18. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

19. The Adventures of Amina al-Sarafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Read Around the USA (50) - Such a stretch goal, but I’m going to try and read one book from every state this year. More information at The Book Girl’s Guide..

Romanceopoly (37) - I somehow missed this one last year, but I’m back this year. I read a ton of romance and am excited to get back into this challenge. More information at Romanceopoly.

She Reads Romance (12) - Another romance reading challenge for this year. More information at She Reads Romance.

COYER (Clean Out Your E-Reader) (20) - Goodness knows that I have too many books on my Kindle app. It’s time to start attempting to reduce that number. More information at Because Reading.

Cover Lover (50) - I love the idea of a challenge focusing on cover designs. I definitely judge a book by its cover. More information at Bloggin’ ‘bout Books..

Fairytale Retelling (12) - I always love fairy tale retellings and this challenge is perfect for me. More information at Charity Rau.

Books to Movies (12) - I thought I would resurrect a favorite challenge for me. I love reading the books before seeing the movie version.

I Read Horror (12) - I happened upon this challenge and immediately had to add it to my round up of challenges. I can’t wait to dive into some great horror this year.

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I also decided to create my own spice meter for romance books. A 1-5 scale seemed too limiting for the types of books I read. So I expanded it to 8 levels with corresponding explanations. I will be rating all of my romance books on this new scale.

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My rating system:

• 5 stars - loved it, will tell everyone (or almost everyone) to read it

• 4 stars - liked it, would recommend to certain people

• 3 stars - okay book, but maybe not something i would recommend, maybe not a book for me, but I see merit

• 2 stars - disliked it

• 1 star - finished the book, but hated it! will rant to anyone about why I hated this one