This was a delightful random pick from Libby. Mrs. Mandelbaum is a fascinating character and I appreciated not just her history, but the early history of criminal networks and law enforcement in 1800s New York. It‘s a short, easy listen, with a good narrator.

This is impossible for me to fairly rate, as I know I‘m the problem. It‘s definitely one of the more believable episodes, so I‘ll give it points for that, but I fell asleep twice. There was a lot of conveniently timed Ned intervention, and plenty of danger for all of the girls. Carson finds himself in trouble, too. George is exceptionally mean to Bess re: food at the very beginning, and I think that soured me on the whole thing. #nancydrewbr

I don‘t know which goddess Ava Morgyn struck a bargain with, but she has A Gift. This is dark and delicious, filled with magic, secrets, generational curses, and primordial goddesses. Morgyn‘s prose is sleek and sinuous, wrapping itself around you and dragging you into the depths of the story. In a dumpster fire of a world, it‘s almost a relief to be so absorbed in a book that reality ceases to exist, even if that world is dark and scary.

September‘s #bookspin bingo board. Creating these really is a bright spot in my month. Thank you Sarah!

Excited for both my #bookspin and #doublespin titles this month. I‘ve been trying to get to Poetry as Spellcasting for months and now have an excuse to make it a priority. The Ravenmaster is a book from @Mollyanna #auldlangspine2025 list and counts for my local indie‘s reading challenge prompt of nonfiction I know little about.

I only managed to finish 11 books this month. I bailed on 5, paused 2, and have 3 active current reads. On the bright side, I cleared 5 books of my NetGalley queue. The books that were good were really good, but that ones that were bad, were awful. 😭

If you‘re looking for an ego-filled memoir of an FBI agent‘s 25 year law enforcement career, along with his discovery of the usefulness of psychics and tuning into his own guides and intuition, you may enjoy this. I wanted and expected a book on the hunt for a serial killer, psychics included, not bits of that interspersed with other cases, like Michael Vick. Now I can‘t get The Lost Dogs book out of my head. Skip chapter 23 here. I skimmed it.

I cannot believe it‘s already time for a new #bookspin list. I‘m considering this a tentative list as there are a couple of titles I‘d like to get to this weekend. If I read anything from the list, I‘ll replace it with a category, either “libro fm challenge” or “feels like fall”. I‘m in the mood for a good autumnal read and I‘m open to suggestions/recommendations.
(Edited to replace book I started yesterday.)

This was a disappointing friends-to-lovers adventure. It has a The Lost City vibe, with cinematic prose, but it was predictable (and not in a good way), filled with profanity that felt forced and awkward, with characters that made irrational decisions. The MMC was also a jerk, who belittled the FMC when she called him out, so she doubts herself and excuses his behavior. The book isn‘t terrible, but it didn‘t work for me. #netgalley

Today has been a #terribletuesday (it‘s totally an Alexander Day and I‘m ready to move to Australia-IYKYK). To get me through the rest of this day, I‘m turning to a much beloved author and a favorite audiobook narrator (Simon Vance). My favorite thing about this one is all the time we get with “Mother Russia” Connie Sachs. I love Connie so much. So. Much.

With a 40% Litsy rating, I‘m clearly in the minority here but GAH! I adored this book and the characters, both the primary couple and their friends. The only people I didn‘t like are the ones I‘m not supposed to like. I laughed (so much so that I got side eye from Tash) and I cried. I identified with a lot of Eva‘s insecurities and I loved watching her and Rylie work towards their HEA. *happy sigh*

A cute cozy fantasy about a witch who works in a bookshop and who must undergo a month of heavy training to retake trials to retain her magic. It‘s got fun characters, some you love, some you love to hate. While not written with quite the same skill, if you like Sangu Mandanna‘s books, it‘s worth trying this one. Loved the audiobook narrator.

I can‘t believe I‘m saying this, but this is borderline so-so for me and I expected it to blow away the #CampLitsy competition. I‘m giving Cosby some grace to compensate for my mental state, but I‘m disappointed. It‘s dark, violent, and gritty, but unlike Blacktop Wasteland, ALL of the characters just annoy me endlessly. I wasn‘t surprised by any of the elements of the ending. They were all inevitable, not just predictable.

This was fun, even though I am clearly no good as a 10 year old detective. I solved 3 of the 10 cases. Sobol has some creative descriptions of characters, particularly the Tigers, and I found myself laughing a lot while reading.

#EBBR and my August #bookspin

We do not care that we have nothing witty to post. We are posting anyway because we have FOMO. #WDNCW

Also shout out to @TheBookHippie for her inspiring post. Burn the patriarchy down. It‘s long past time for community care and matriarchy.

This is a fun mystery with delightfully quirky characters and found family. I love the format with short chapters from each character‘s POV. The short chapters make for a quicker read, and the multiple POVs bring the characters closer to the reader. The solution was fun, too. Out today (8/19). Just a day late for the #NGG #readathon.

Lots of action in this installment of Nancy Drew's adventures! Multiple noggin‘ knockouts for more than just Nancy, a missing dancer, a crumbling “castle”, secret formulas, boat crashes, and more kidnappings than you can shake a stick at. This one was pretty fun. #nancydrewbr

I love it when an author understands the brief. This is a classic Romance novel that hits all of the genre norms, right down to the timing of the spicy scenes and the third act break up. Secrets are one of my least favorite things (JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!) but Daria actually makes it make sense. It‘s not just thrown in for the sake of tension. I enjoyed this workplace Romance, even with its insta-lust turned almost insta-love. It was fun.

I am heartbroken. I LOVED Songbird and have been looking forward to part two of Mische and Asar‘s story for MONTHS. This was tedious and hundreds of pages longer than it needed to be. It feels like someone else wrote this book. This cannot possibly be the same author that wrote the previous Crowns of Nyaxia books. So disappointing, but based on StoryGraph/Goodreads ratings, mine is an unpopular opinion, so YMMV. I‘m just glad it‘s over.

I didn‘t make it out to a bookstore for Bookstore Romance Day, but my Aardvark box arrived with the tagged book, so I‘m counting it as my Romance day purchase. 😎

Finally remembered to start this on a Sunday. 🤭

I don‘t want to say much about this because discussion for #CampLitsy25 continues, but I went into this knowing NOTHING about it. I took one look at the cover and groaned, knowing it was going to be tedious Lit Fic that I‘d have to force my way through. Campers, you have my sincerest apologies for my attitude and doubt. This pulled me in from the second the earthquake hit and I couldn‘t put it down. It‘s raw and real, heartbreaking and brilliant.

August‘s #bookspin bingo board. Five of these books didn‘t make it onto my official TBR and there are five books on my official TBR that aren‘t on here. I didn‘t plan that well. 😂🤦🏻‍♀️😂

The #bookspin gods were kind this month, picking books that were already on my TBR for this month, one of which will take me less than an hour to read. Tea on Sunday is a birthday gift from @Mitch - she sent Yorkshire tea as well, so I have been waiting to start it on a Sunday. I‘ve forgotten for 2 months of Sundays! 🤦🏻‍♀️😂
(Pretty board to come later)

I finished 18 books in July, which is about max-capacity for me, and while my average rating for the month is, well, average for me, and there were some books I really enjoyed, July feels like it was mostly disappointing. Here‘s hoping I end August feeling better about what I‘ve read.

Oops.

I‘m clearly in a mood because this was a rare miss for me in a series that is usually impeccable. Set in Paris as Napoleon escapes Elba, it brings closure to an ongoing storyline, while having fun with some historical figures like Vidocq. The issue I have here is that there‘s a lot of angst (understandable if you‘ve read the previous books),and Harris harps on it so much that it becomes repetitive & irritating. A low pick as it‘s still a St Cyr.

“Guillam had fixed his on Smiley; and just then would have gone anywhere with him, turned any corner, in order to remain beside him and hear the story out.”

Same, Peter. Same. 💖

I am bailing on Beasts of Carnaval. I wanted to love it, switched to audio to try to force myself to love it, and am now actively avoiding reading because I don‘t want to pick it back up. So, with that, I have best #bookspin bingo board to date. 5 bingos and both my bookspin and double spin completed. At least I accomplished one thing this month. 😭

Finally have my list together for August‘s #bookspin. Not totally happy with it, but my brain is not braining and I had to throw a couple things on there when I realized that my original list duplicated titles. 🤦🏻‍♀️ There are five NetGalley titles that publish in August, a sequel I‘ve been dying to get my hands on for six months, #CampLitsy, and books I really want to read. We‘ll see how the month goes.

Once again, I would never have picked this up without #CampLitsy. The “friendship” between Erica and Abigail was deeply disturbing to me, and I came so close to bailing. It still gives me the ick. However, watching all of the characters evolve on their respective journeys was incredible. St. James writes beautifully, with depth and compassion. This feels like a big, important book that everyone should read. ⬇️

Finished with an hour to spare. This was a good Romantasy with an interesting magic system and world. I liked the characters and enjoyed the development of the romance. As with nearly every Romantasy I‘ve read, it‘s a planned duology, so it ends in a cliffhanger. I‘m getting really sick of cliffhangers, especially when there‘s no release date for book two. 🤬

#WDNCW We do not care about to do lists. Care of self is not selfish and we are going to care for ourselves by watching cartoons and snuggling on the couch with our puppy.

So mad at myself for not cracking this open the day it arrived from Aardvark. I loved this so much. It‘s just as wonderful as The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - lovely, cozy writing, lovable characters, including a zombie rooster named Roo Roo, and a story that draws you in and blocks out the real world. It‘s a warm book hug, with subtle socio-political commentary, if you pay attention.

Sorry @dabbe ! Apparently, I am incapable of following directions for this #threelistthursday #tlt I am addicted to movie scores: Pacific Rim, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and X-Men First Class are some of the best, but I had to throw in Jane Eyre, in case someone needed something a little more soothing. 😂 Cats was the first musical I fell in love with, Hamilton is amazing, and Hadestown is my latest Broadway obsession.

John le Carre is a comfort read for me and Dreamscape Audio has been releasing new recordings over the last year or two. I thought Simon Vance narrated them all, but apparently he‘s just doing the Smileys. My brain is not braining right now, so I‘m opting to ignore publication order for now (and therefore other narrators) in favor of George and Simon. 💖

Work is very work-y…
#wdncw #wedonotcare

I probably shouldn‘t mark this reread as a review, but consider this a review of the audio narrated by Simon Vance. Vance is perfect for le Carre‘s novels. This one is not as adventurous or glamorous as his more well known novels, but the author himself notes that this is closer to reality than Spy or Tinker Tailor. It‘s petty, sad, and filled with egos that desperately want to be relevant but aren‘t. Le Carre‘s writing is brilliant, as always.

Not in the database, but the special short story made available after the Apple TV season of Murderbot wrapped up is delightful. It‘s just too short. It‘s a teeny taste of the world I‘ve come to love through these books and I‘m greedy for more.

Billed as Dexter meets Richard Scarry‘s Busy Town, this is…disturbing. I‘ll leave it at that.

We didn‘t get nearly enough of the old gang - minimal Bess, George Hannah, and Carson, although more Papa Drew than normal. Instead, we get Effie, but sadly she‘s an obnoxious scaredy cat. I actually found this one slow and rather tedious, and I don‘t think there was a single side character, villain or victim, that I liked. I think I‘m just in a mood, though. More grumbling under the spoiler tag. 😬 #nancydrewbr

Oh, Nancy. Will you never learn? 😮‍💨

#nancydrewbr

I liked that this one had less overt racism than other entries in the series and it didn‘t include any mention of the creepy tooth collection. However, the solutions seem to stretch logic - the solutions could be right, but there are other explanations that are overlooked/ignored. Good for the target audience, though. #ebbr

My first romance from Adriana Herrera. It‘s steamy, with wonderful characters. I love a good enemies to lovers tale, and the tension between Apollo and Aurora is fiery. I also can‘t resist an independent FMC who is loved and supported fiercely without being asked to compromise herself for that love.

This is a book that requires patience and commitment to really unpack. I have neither. It‘s beautifully written, with complex characters and dual narratives. On the surface - an author dealing with both her disability and a family that was less than supportive of her, but also deeper themes - modern politics, AI, space tourism, climate destruction and more. Now that I finished, I kind of want to reread and dig into it. Another #camplitsy25 winner!

We do not care that we are drowning at work and have more books on our “must read this month” list than we can possibly read this month. We are going to start this early copy of Hamburg Noir that was delivered an hour ago. We are done with the real world. #WDNCW

Out 7/29, this Persuasion retelling is one of the worst books I‘ve read this year. It is painfully repetitive. Most of it is just Anne or Frederick moaning about how they aren‘t worthy or agonizing about still loving the other person but knowing it‘s too late and the feelings aren‘t mutual (of course they are, idiots). It‘s so tedious I literally fell asleep 3 times. How dare they treat my favorite Austen novel this way. It‘s an abomination.

I enjoyed this cozy fantasy romance. The characters were fun, even the ones that weren‘t well-developed (Yael‘s parents are practically mustache-twirling villain caricatures) and the fantasy elements (magic) seemed almost unimportant, as though the authors couldn‘t be bothered to really craft a fantasy world. Still, it was a good story, even if I‘m not sold on the idea of a sequel.

This was the most predictable, unbelievable, and ridiculous thing I have read in years. Purportedly a psychological thriller, it is just a poorly conceived gothic novel. I knew how large parts of this would play out less than 1/4 of the way in and even the finer details were absurd. Don‘t even get me started on the italicized Aws, Args, and Ouches scattered throughout. Scheduled publication 7/15. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

Out 7/15 I loved most of this. The writing pulled me in and kept my attention, which is no small feat these days. The characters were complex, and I loved that this had Sirens and a dark Little Mermaid vibe (the Hans Christian Andersen version 🖤). My only quibble was that it had more angst than I prefer. Be honest with each other, you idiots! That said, I will keep my eye out for the sequel, because I need to know how this story ends.