Welcome to Litsy!

Finally got to my November #TravelingThrills book 😂 I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's not super fast-paced - definitely more suspense than thriller - but I liked the MC so much that I didn't mind. The back and forth between past and present chapters felt balanced and even though there were some aspects of the grand reveal that left me scratching my head a bit (a side character's motivations/methods seemed like a bit of stretch), I'll still be ⬇

At first, I enjoyed Blair's sassy attitude, but after a while the flirting aka bickering between the two MCs began to get on my nerves. It could be because my husband and I are both super chill so I've never understood the “arguing as foreplay“ concept lol The mystery aspect didn't make a lot of sense either, which meant the entire plot began to drag around 2/3 through. It was an okay read, but one of those that I enjoyed less as I went along.

This one just wasn't for me. I've enjoyed some of Thompson's other writing - he can be brilliantly insightful and cutting, with an ability to call out hypocrisy and hold a mirror right up to your own face - but I struggled with this one, mostly just him and his attorney being out of their minds on drugs. Actually, it was great anti-drug propaganda 😂 I just kept thinking - do people do this for FUN?!😆 Anyway, it was worth the one-off read for me⬇

It's always a pleasure to return to Kate Burkholder's world, and while the 16th installment had some plot twists that stretched believability a bit, it was still enjoyable. Love the characters in this series. Kate is gritty and tough without being obnoxious (actually, she kind of reminds me of Eve Dallas of the In Death series) and Castillo always writes the Amish as real people. It's also always fun to read books set in Ohio and actually know ⬇

The husband & I have been off this week, and instead of going to FL as originally planned, we've hunkered down and had the most relaxing, chill week ever - and three days left to go!! I've been reading up a storm and have completed 6 books so far this year. None of them were mind-blowing, but since it's the beginning of the year, they check off so many challenge prompts 😂 So here's the skinny (sorry for the hosts getting tagged multiple times!):

Cannot BELIEVE I am working on a reading journal for ***2025*** That's not a real date!!!! @PuddleJumper is responsible for most of my challenges this year, although @lauredhel is also doing some work 😂 This year: #ISpyBingo #100YearsofBooks (and finishing @Librarybelle 's #192025 ), #Pantone2025 #Roll100 #GottaCatchEmAll and #BookChain

Not pictured - #ReadtheUSA #WickedWords @AsYouWish #FourFoursin25 @lauredhel #FictionalTraveler @julieclair ⬇

Four novellas in one by four different authors.
Making Spirits Bright - 1*, absolutely dreadful. Besides the story making 0% sense, the entire plot of a rich woman just deciding she wishes she had a kid or two and immediately just running out to try and rush through an adoption felt honestly icky, like kids were a commodity that she could just go out and buy on a whim like a puppy. It was weird. But maybe I'm sensitive to it because my youngest ⬇

This is what I'm looking for in holiday romance!! Cheesy, predictable, but still loads of fun with likable characters and storylines that actually make sense!! 😂 I'm a HUGE sucker for marriage of convenience stories, and this one played out pretty well. Super cute, and I'm planning to read the next book this week!!

#WinterGames #HolidayBookDragons @LiseWorks

If I had to choose one word for how I felt while reading this series of books, I think it would be “baffled.“ These characters constantly made decisions that made no sense. The narrative frequently made no sense. The motivations made pretty much no sense. A few samples: two grown adults have a “cheesecake fight“ in the kitchen ruining the desert and dinner party they're attending (after the FMC starts EATING IT WITH HER BARE HANDS?!); two people ⬇