I‘ve decided I‘m done with challenge reading for the year and am only mood reading until the New Year. Starting the tagged today while I get a bit of outside time with the dog.

I finished the first one and immediately borrowed this on Libby after. Still a dark humor serial killer romance but the tropes were different and there was a little mystery side plot for the characters (the readers know who dunnit from the outset). I like that the characters from the first book are still around but don‘t detract from the main story.

I enjoyed this for the dark humor but I definitely get why this won‘t be for some people. Lots of body horror and murder details as you would expect in a serial killer romance. I picked this up based on the cover and the premise.

This is so much fun. I loved almost everything about this. I will say having followed Mary Robinette Kowal‘s journey with her cat Elsie that Hera in this book is based on Hera doesn‘t quite have Elsie‘s same sass. But overall loved the talking cats and dolphins.

Started this today while taking my grandma to an eye doctor appointment. So far it‘s as fun as the authors dedication/content warnings implied.

I'm not usually one for short stories but these exceeded my expectations. Each story was its own little world with real feeling characters. I liked that the stories were so different from each other and yet similar in that each carried out a particular thought experiment to the end.

HAPPY #BOOKSPIN DAY TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE!

It is my favorite day of the month and I am excited at what the draw has picked for me. It's nice that this month there's fantasy and scifi rather than just one or the other. My selections are the tagged and Red Mars. We'll see how far I get with my backlog this month as well.

I can't believe I almost forgot to post my #BookSpin list before the end of the month! New to the list this month are the tagged and Touch. I'm nowhere near close to completing the challenge for the year but half the fun is the draw and making a plan to try and complete it all.

I went into this blind and I think that hurt my overall enjoyment. Reading what the author was playing with and emulating after the fact made me appreciate what he did but not while I was reading it. Also there are a lot of big vocab words that kind of took me out of the narrative. Abstruse anyone?

This was not what I expected and I enjoyed that. You are sort of thrown in and gradually shown the shape of the world. I also was really interested in the world that was created.

I enjoyed watching everything unfold as each pilgrim told their tale but I was left wanting more than what I ended up with. Despite being over400 pages this very much felt like a brief introduction rather than an entire installment. I also kind of want to look into reading the Canterbury Tales.

Doing some backyard reading with Rolo today. I‘m hoping to get through a big chunk of the tagged because I‘m almost to the end.

Making the most of the good weather and our new yard umbrella today. I did some math and I need to read 95 pages a day to hit my goals for the year. Idk why but I just read better outside.

Absolutely loved this series so far and this installment did not disappoint. There is more backstory for more of the lead characters and the cast is more cognizant that they are truly a found family. I will say this one had a fair bit of more serious beats to it but still some levity to balance it out.

I'm absolutely loving this series because the characters seem like old friends. This was a perfect escape when I needed it most. The plot was just as twisty as the first two and the side characters are just as great as the main four.

This was just as fun as the first one. I liked seeing more backstory on some of the characters. The side characters were just as great as the main four and gave the feeling of catching up with old friends.

HAPPY #BOOKSPIN DAY TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE!

I am hype about the picks every month and this is no exception. While I still have a bit of a backlog I'm hoping I can get to these in a timely fashion because I've heard great things about both.

Testing out our new yard umbrella with Rolo while reading. Seems to be working out perfectly so far.

I have a little downtime today at work so I decided to finally start this one.

I am in no way prepared for it to almost be the November #BookSpin draw but here we are. New to the list this month are the tagged and The Prey of Gods. Still slowly working on my backlist as well. I think next year I need to put more audio titles on my list so that I actually get through them in a timely fashion.

This was an interesting look at content production as well as a coming of age story. At times it was hard to remember that Margo is only 20 during the story. It also has this weird meta thread about authors, POV and messaging. But for the most part the characters were fun and humor was mixed with the dark.

This was absolutely delightful and just as much fun as the first one. Towards the end though it did seem to follow the outline of the first one a bit too close though.

I‘ve got a cat in the window next to me and a dog on my lap so it‘s time to go deeper into my book!

This was a humorous and sometimes poignant look at what it means to be human. Lots of discussion on mental health, love, and the beauty of humanity. I've never been one to enjoy most poetry but this made me want to seek out the complete work of Emily Dickinson.

I had a really good time with this because heists in space but also this has some flaws so it's not really perfect. Would I go on another adventure with the cast in this world yes but I'd hope for a little more depth than this provided.

Decided to take a reading break while at Disney. When I wasn‘t looking all the Halloween lights came on!

I was kind of leery going into this because in book one none of the characters were capable of making good decisions BUT this one there was actual growth! One character I absolutely hated in book one became a character I thought really well of by the end of this one.

Absolutely loved my time back in this world with these characters. But, I will say this book does have some flaws and one of them is that the conflict/villains are too cartoon-like. Sometimes though it's nice to just read something with found family and acceptance despite the flaws.

I was perfectly happy reading inside but Rolo demanded we sit in the yard.

HAPPY #BOOKSPIN DAY TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE!

Honestly the second of the month is my favorite day because I love finding out what the latest bookspin picks are. My picks this month are the tagged and Stranger in a Strange Land which should be interesting. I'm also working on the backlist for the year because I'm a little bit (a lot) behind lol. TOaFK really stalled me but I press on!

This was absolutely delightful. Honestly Cooper's Chase is retirement goals. I can only hope I end up with a group of similar friends at that age. I liked that there was a nice mix of both humor and seriousness

I think I did pretty well this month. I absolutely devoured The Protectorate Series. I also finished a book I've been working on since February lol. #SeptemberWrapUp

Decided to read at the beach for my birthday. The best part is that it was free because of the library‘s state park pass check out.

Decided to decompress from work today by reading in the backyard with Rolo.

I can't believe it's already time for October's #BookSpin list! I'm making progress on my backlist but I really need to get in gear. New to the list this month is the tagged and Stranger in a Strange Land. I'm starting to put more kindle books on the list which is hard to know how chonky they are.

This was an interesting take on a world where the supernatural exists and I liked the idea that someone‘s element could be the sun. My problem with this is that it felt like pieces were missing. Idk if it was just my copy but I felt like I was struggling to get the idea of some things through context.

Had a lot of fun with this and the entire trilogy in general. The twists and turns kind of reminded me of classic soap operas in the best way.

Fast paced sequel that didn't detract from the first installment. Definitely more of a found family vibe in this than the previous. Only flaw is it has a similarly upbrupt ending as the first.

I absolutely loved this and found it very hard to stop listening once I'd finished my daily commute. Sanda is very much a kickass heroine and I am very glad to have read the beginning of her epic journey. This also has lots of good, non gimmicky representation. I've immediately borrowed the second installment!

Arthur's story is very much not my thing and probably why it took me from February until now to finish. That being said, there are hints of humor and philosophical topics that lend it merit. Just be warned there is some pretty tough animal cruelty in the second segment.

I don't know what i was expecting but it wasn't this. But definitely in a good way! Evelyn was flawed but she owned her flaws and I couldn't help but love her for that.

Happy #BookSpin Day to all who celebrate! I know that the numbers were technically drawn yesterday but the second will always be the day to celebrate for me lol. My bookspin is the tagged and my doublespin is Nightwatch. I'm excited for both of these but definitely had to do a double take as they were both new to the list with that statistically crazy draw this month.

Considering I had a lot going on last month I'm proud of what I managed to read in August. I'm still getting most of my reading done using audio on my commute but reading is reading right? I think my favorite read of the month was the tagged.

I can't believe it's nearly time for the next #bookspin draw! Super excited to see what will be picked. New to the list this month are the tagged and Sunshine. I've been trying to list books that are on other challenges and I've hit the limit of physical books meeting both criteria so I've added my first ebook to the list this month. Should be interesting.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The worldbuilding is weird in a good way. But the ending was a mess and it could have used a little bit more editing. Recommend the audio as well.

This was fun. It's been ages since I've read The Goose Girl so I'm fuzzy on the bits of retelling other than the horse is named Falada lol. I wouldn't say it's her best work but it was a quick and entertaining read if you like horror tinged with a bit of regency romance.

This was interesting in that it wasn't something I was quite in the mood for but my Libby hold came in and I gave it a go. Definitely an interesting experience knowing the gothic formula and seeing how the author was playing with it.

I'd definitely say this was on the border between low pick and so-so mainly because none of the characters were able to make sound decisions. I got so much second hand embarrassment because everything they chose was not good. The only real character to root for is the stupid ship but even she had bad reasoning.

I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. This was a discussion of cognitive theory and sentience as it relates to the human condition disguised as a first contact novel with vampires?!

Happy #BookSpin Day to all who celebrate!

I'm excited about this month's picks. My bookspin is Terra Nullius and doublespin is the tagged. Still working on previous picks as well.