This is one that I‘ve been meaning to get to for awhile. Bannen has created a very unique world here with excellent world building. I found myself rooting for Hart & Mercy, but also for Mercy‘s family as well.

My only issue is that I do think this would have benefited from being slightly shorter. There were areas where the story lagged, especially when the MCs were separated. That being said, I did really enjoy it & will probably read book 2. 4⭐️

Attended a fantastic author talk this evening with a friend. It featured William Kent Krueger talking about his tagged book which was selected for the local One Book One Community read this year.

I haven‘t had a chance to read this book yet, but his talk was wonderful. He also discussed his writing process and the power of stories. If you like his books and have the opportunity to see him speak in person I highly recommend it.

This was a delightful middle grade adventure! It‘s been on my son‘s shelf for a long time. I finally picked it up to read for a winter book review article I have to write soon.

Full of adventure in the coldest Icelands set in a fantasy world with sweet friendships and a lot of humor. Stella and her new friends run into all kinds of magical and unique creatures as they got to know one another. I‘ll definitely be picking up book 2. 5⭐️

This was delightfully fun cover to cover! A locked room Christmas mystery romance featuring two author MCs. Maggie is a bestselling cozy mystery writer. Ethan writes spy thrillers and always calls Maggie by the wrong name. They are both invited to spend Christmas at the house of Eleanor Ashley: the reigning queen of mystery (ala Agatha Christie). But when Eleanor disappears from a locked room the first night it‘s up to them to solve the mystery.⬇️

I finally got around to this #auldlangspine pick from @Karisimo and it was well worth it! I‘m actually glad I waited to read this one until the weather was cooler since I didn‘t get to it at the beginning of the year. I very much felt like the chilly mornings added to the atmosphere of the book.

The way the alternating current and past stories began to weave together with the little fairy tale stories in between had me captivated. ⬇️

It might be a “it‘s not you it‘s me” thing but I didn‘t really like this one. Based on the premise, I thought I was getting a western with doomed lovers set in the Montana winter 1891. What I got technically followed the description but I never really felt like I was reading any of those things. Lovely lyrical writing but surface level with no sense of place. I never truly felt like I understood the characters & they could have been anywhere. ⬇️

I get a couple of uninterrupted reading hours this morning at my favorite coffee shop while my son is at jazz camp. It‘s a beautiful day outside, the coffee is delicious and this book is starting off wonderfully.

I don‘t read a ton of nonfiction, but thanks to Litsy I have found amazing reads I probably wouldn‘t have picked up otherwise. @monalyisha and @xicanti have inspired me to share my three favorites (for today anyways):

1. Sigh, Gone by Phuc Tran (tagged)
2. Fly Girl: a memoir by Ann Hood
3. Good Talk: a memoir in conversations by Mira Jacob

#tlt #threelistthursday

Here‘s my finished stack for February.

16 total books read
Favorites are
📚 We are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride
📚 Lady Tan‘s Circle of Women by Lisa See
📚 In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn :: (tagged)
The book follows the aftermath of a traumatic car accident from the perspective of a teenage girl killed instantly in the accident. Each character deals with what happened in a different way. I couldn‘t put it down!

Absolutely gorgeous cover that captures the story within.

This is a novel in verse. It‘s about clinical depression and grief, told through the lens of fairytales and ultimately ending in hope. I found the story captivating; the lyrical prose beautiful and thought provoking. I loved the way McBride‘s words propelled the reader with Whimsy in her journey through sorrow while also asking them to dig deeper into the metaphorical nature of the story.

I forgot to take a picture of this one before bringing it back to the library so instead you get a picture of my reading journal.

This one started off slow and I had a hard time staying interested for the first half. But the second half I couldn‘t put down and I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. I did predict most of the twists in advance but it was still a fun ride once it got going. 4⭐️ in the end for the second half.

January reading update:

Finished 13 books
7 #auldlangspine titles. Many thanks to @Karisimo for such an awesome list!

⭐️ Favorites were:
The Eyes & the Impossible
The Reading List
The Frozen River (I knew I would like this one and it did not disappoint!)
Much Ado About Nada
Book Lovers

I also gave 5 stars to Black Bird Blue Road.

I‘ve changed how I record books read in my reading journal this year to add this book spine artwork for each title.

#auldlangspine book 5

I really need to be more intentional about including MG books in my regular reading. Because I love them but no longer actively keep up now that my son is older.

All that to say I loved this book also! What a unique story that is both educational and heartbreaking. It might be too much for sensitive kids, but for others it‘s an excellent read with enough action to keep them interested while still learning about the culture.

Fourth #auldlangspine title which I finished the end of last week.

This book was so good! I was crying and laughing and generally feeling all the feels with the characters through this one. It is about the power of reading to bring people together and to help heal. I loved all the characters here and the friendships they formed along the way. I think anyone who loves to read will love this book.
💙💙💙💙💙

Another fantastic #auldlangspine title from @Karisimo

This is a middle grade novel that felt like a modern classic. It‘s about Johannes, a dog who lives in the park by the sea. He is the Eyes, sees everything going on and reports to the ancient bison who then decide what to do about it. There are also other animals in the park who are his assistants and friends, who each have their own well fleshed out personalities I found delightful. 👇🏻

Finished my second #auldlangspine book from @Karisimo ‘s list!

This was a delightful Muslim focused second chance romance based loosely on Austen‘s Persuasion. Jalaluddin‘s novels have been on my TBR for a long time and I‘m so happy I finally picked one up because I loved it! Nada and Baz have a long history which we find out about in bits and pieces between the present day storyline. I loved the way their big secret is slowly revealed. 👇🏻

First #auldlangspine title finished from @Karisimo ‘s list & I loved it.

Maia is thrown into court life when he is crowned emperor after the unexpected death of his father & half-brothers. Having grown up in exile with only an abusive caretaker, he knows nothing of life at court or how to rule. I very much enjoyed watching him find his way, create friends & learn to deal with bullies & enemies. This one felt cozy-adjacent to me.

4.5 ⭐️

Started my first #auldlangspine read this afternoon. 84 pages in already and I can tell this is going to be a good one!

Maia‘s youthful naïveté is so far endearing as he is thrown into court politics and formality. I‘m very curious to see how he handles it, the friends he continues to make and where it all goes.

So far, it reminds me a little of The Queen of the Tearling which I loved.

@Karisimo your picks are off to a great start!

#auldlangspine update. @Karisimo has such a great list I basically want to read everything! It was so hard to decide where to start & I‘ve been debating all week. These five titles were available at my library right away so I picked them up yesterday.

I also put holds on The Frozen River, The Wishing Game and Ink Blood Sister Scribe for when they become available.

Bonus: my hold on Wildfire finally came in, plus I picked up the new Book Page.

Ok friends, here are my 23 favorite books from 2023 in no particular order, except that the five along the bottom row are my top 5.

All are 5 ⭐️ For me, a 5⭐️ read is one I enjoyed reading so much I didn‘t want to put it down, I would recommend to others, that made me think or gave me all the feelings, and oftentimes some of them are ones I simply had a lot of fun reading.

Most of these ended up on #auldlangspine list.

StoryGraph‘s stats are always so fun to review and I love the shareable graphic they added this year.

Read 135 books + DNF 2 books
It‘s no surprise that Romance was my top genre as I needed some light, hopeful reads.
I don‘t actively rate every book on StoryGraph so the average star rating is skewed here. I do rate them all on Goodreads which shows an average rating of 4.2 stars.

The tagged book was my last book finished this year 👇🏻

@Karisimo I am very excited about your excellent #auldlangspine list!

I haven‘t read any of these yet, but several are already on my TBR and several are completely new to me. I‘m excited to dig into this list a bit more after the Christmas holiday.

The tagged book is one I‘m definitely planning to read. It‘s been on my TBR for a long time and I never quite manage to get ahold of a copy so I‘m taking this as a sign that I need to read it now.

“I am part proud and part heartbroken, which may be the defining emotional condition of parenting young adults.”

Currently reading and this quote hit home for me as the mother of a 14-year-old.

“We watch as those who were our children come to see the world — from which we have spent over a decade and a half vainly sheltering them — for what it is. Including, of course, us.”

Littens,
I‘m looking for a book to gift my mom for Christmas and who better to ask than you?
She likes to read:
📖 Nora Roberts
📖 Sandra Brown
📖 Clive Cussler
📖 Diana Gabaldon
📖 Erin Morgenstern
Books with a little mystery, a little romance, sometimes a little fantasy or magical realism thrown in. Historical fiction is also good.

Preferably a series or author with a long backlist.
I‘m thinking a cozy mystery might be a good option?

All signed up for my favorite reading event of the year! #auldlangspine2024

Cozying up with books off my match‘s list always makes January seem a bit brighter. Visit @monalyisha for the sign up link if you want to join in.

Things I noticed when curating my list this year:
⭐️ I gave 5 stars to a LOT of titles this year.
⭐️ I read a variety of genres, but had more historical & literary fiction titles on my favorites than I expected.

@Marmie7 Driving home on an autumn night, your car breaks down. The only light comes from a nearby house. As you walk up, the front door creaks open. You call out as you walk inside. No one answers, but the door slams shut behind you. You franticly try to open it but it won‘t budge. You‘re #trappedinaspookyhouse ! As you follow the light deeper inside the house, you find a cozy room with a fireplace, squishy chair and a stack of books on a table.

Here‘s my #castthedie list @PuddleJumper

Choosing Southern Sass & Killer Cravings as my lucky book since it is also a #roll100 pick for October. 🍀

#weekendreads

Grim and Bear It — finished yesterday and this is my favorite book from this series! 5⭐️

Currently reading
The Front Runner — romance, 3rd in series, just started

Emily of New Moon — my first time reading this one! Loved Anne growing up but never got to read any of her other books

Windfall — nonfiction. Bit slow to start, but interesting so far.

I‘ve been reading a lot, but avoiding social media over the summer. Back to it now

Another food + family title I loved in May! This takes place in northern Minnesota where Mariel runs the Lakeside Supper Club, the restaurant passed down through her family. Her husband, Ned, also grew up with the family restaurant, now grown into a large franchise. The legacy of the Lakeside is told in various timelines following Mariel, her mother Florence, and her grandmother Betty, while modern day Mariel and Ned deal with their own issues. ⬇️

On the theme of family and food, this was another title I loved. It‘s about the Palladino family, but the title is a little deceiving - the book is not just about Varina & has multiple POVs from the rest of the family including her mother & adult children. What I most loved about this was the focus on two older women (Varina & her mother) making the most of their lives, something that is usually more common with a younger woman protagonist. ⬇️

This has been patiently waiting on my shelf since January when I bought it for #auldlangspine …
I picked it up this morning and have spent the entire day reading, swept up in Sarah‘s (pronounced SAH-reh) story of food, family and finding her cultural identity. I‘ve stumbled across a few books recently that dealt with themes of family and food, how love is expressed through food and also culture. This was the perfect fit to continue those themes.⬇️

March #bookspinbingo update. I finished 11 titles.

Favorites were Spinning Silver, Songs in Ursa Major and MEM (tagged, also a March #roll100 pick) all 5 ⭐️ reads.

#bookspin was R‘Jaal‘s Resonance - Ruby Dixon is always a great read. I loved being back on the Ice Planet.

#doublespin was The Lightkeeper‘s Daughters which was in my stack from mom category.

Icebreaker was a #booktokmademedoit read for #nsr23 ⬇️

Another February #roll100 title finished in March.

In anticipation of watching Amazon Prime‘s Daisy Jones & the Six series when it released, I wanted something to get me in the mood without expressly rereading Daisy. This was just the ticket! Some similar themes here of rock ‘n roll, dealing with fame and music and art. There‘s also drugs and addiction, along with mental health all rolled into various ways these things influence people. ⬇️

This was a February #roll100 title I finished in March and had been languishing on my TBR shelf for a few years now.

I enjoyed Uprooted: I freakin‘ LOVED Spinning Silver! I loved the strong female characters here who refused to allow their circumstances to dictate who they can be. Novik masterfully creates such unique voices that I instantly knew which POV I was reading and those threads are slowly spun together into something very special.

April #bookspinbingo board is all ready to go. 🎉📚

#bookspin is The Audrey Hepburn Estate which is an ARC I won through the StoryGraph. Looks very interesting.

#doublespin is our #littensloveromance April read, By a Thread. @StayCurious

I have a few titles I have to get through this month for my next book reviews article so hopefully after those I‘ll have time for some of these other categories.

First book of March!

Released the end of February, this is technically book 1 of a new series: Ice Planet Clones. However, really this is a continuation of Dixon‘s other Ice Planet books and I do not think it would work very well as a standalone for readers who haven‘t first read at the very least the last few Icehome books. That being said, as a continuation this worked very well and I really loved R‘jaal‘s redemption in this book. ⬇️

This was my last catchup review from February I didn‘t get posted earlier this week.

An informative and interesting graphic novel about Cook‘s experience living with Borderline Personality Disorder. I enjoyed the alternating chapters of more graphic content then more text heavy descriptive content. I think that gave the reader more insight into her feelings and experiences than a regular graphic heavy version might have. ⬇️

February catchup review 4:
Spent some time with Ruby Dixon‘s Fireblood series this month. I‘ve been meaning to read these since reading “Veronica‘s Dragon” in the Icehome series.

Dixon does steamy and “alien man treats her better” really well. I always get caught up in the romance. I also love how her series give us more world building in each book so it‘s not a big dump of info in the first book, but gives you enough to stay interested.

February catchup review 3/
Henry writes great rom-coms! A fun read especially as we are still stuck in the midst of winter (hello 15” of snow yesterday). It felt lovely to escape with Poppy and Alex on their various vacations while outside it was cold, snowy and icy.

Poppy and Alex were a fun duo and I really liked how Henry weaves the threads of their past vacations through what was happening now to bring the story together at the end. 4⭐️

February catchup review 2:
This one was been on my shelf for a few years now and I‘m so glad I finally got around to it. It ended being one of my favorites this month and might even make it on the year end list I loved it so much.

It takes place during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and follows the Bright family as the lose loved ones, take in an orphaned baby, and learn to navigate the aftermath of the pandemic. It‘s harrowing and hopeful… ⬇️

February catchup review 1:
Came across this on KU when looking for health/wellness related books for an article I write for a local women‘s magazine.

I had never heard of this author before but apparently she is quite popular in the UK. Here she opens up about her own life, her battles with self-esteem, body consciousness, health and her toxic relationship with food. I found her writing to be full of sincerity and candor. ⬇️

February #bookspinbingo
2 bingos 🎉🎉🎉

Finished both my #bookspin (The Hurricane) and #doublespin which was a book off my stack from Mom: People We Meet on Vacation.

16 book read and 1 bail.

Favorites were As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow and As Bright As Heaven.

I have reviews to post yet for a few of these.

Chapter 1 #HeartstoneBuddyRead is off to a good start.

We meet some creatures & characters — mainly Aliza and Daired.

The hobgoblins throwing mud at Daired cracked me up! 😂

Also got a chuckle out of Moira (aka Mrs. Bennet) possibly having a little banshee blood in her ancestry.

We already have a few references to P&P sprinkled in which is a lot of fun. I think this author is already showing her own voice & I‘m excited to see where she goes.

Starting chapter 1 for the #Heartstonebuddyread and look 👀 there‘s a map!! More books should include maps. They are one of my favorite things 😍

My goal is to post more “as I read” observations with this one. I usually think of things on these buddy reads but then never actually create a post about them and then I forget what I wanted to say to begin with. Probably not every day… but shooting for every few days?! 🤷‍♀️🤞🏻😬

Another book I finished this week. I had a hard time rating this one because for the first half of the book I felt sort of blah about Ava‘s story. But the second half I enjoyed much more.

I liked Ava‘s thoughts on grammar and some of her pointed conversations. And her relationship with Edith seemed more interesting than her one with Julian… which makes sense once we got a bit more of Ava‘s backstory towards the end. Liked it, didn‘t love it. ⬇️

A gut wrenching, important, beautifully told story rich with so much humanity.

I absolutely loved this book! Finished it earlier this week and I‘m still thinking about it often while not really sure I have the words to fully express everything I felt and thought while reading. I will be buying my own copy eventually as I checked this one out from the library. And will be passing that copy to everyone. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Catching up on some reviews from this week‘s reading.

Finished this #littensloveromance read earlier and I really liked this one. Seems most of the group agrees from a few other reviews I‘ve seen posted so far. I will probably pick up the second book at some point.

Also, the light hitting those defined abs matches #graylilac #pantone2023 @Clwojick

#bookspinbingo board for February is ready & I updated my habit tracker bookmark with pages read each day. 🎉

#bookspin is The Hurricane for our #littensloveromance read this month. That works out nicely!

#doublespin is my Books from Mom category. She‘s borrowed me a wide variety so I‘ll see what I‘m in the mood for after finishing some library books I currently have.

Finished a mood read on KU this morning (tagged) which was fun & quick.

#auldlangspine wrap-up! I read 6 of the 20 books on @xicanti ‘s list. Of those, my absolute 5 ⭐️ cannot live without favorites were:
❤️The Charm Offensive
❤️Felix Ever After

I also gave 5 ⭐️‘s to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and loved it, but the other two were my favorites.

4⭐️‘s each go to the other three books: Battle Royal and All the Feels were fun romances I enjoyed getting swept up in. Underground Railroad I really liked also.
⬇️

Finished this one last night. One of my #roll100 picks and also my January #bookspin 🎉

This was sweet romance set in Italy. After losing her Grandmother, Natalie leaves everything and goes to Italy to restore a Villa just like they always talked about doing together. Pietro is an Italian architect and restorationist who is also part of the restoration council. He starts helping Natalie with her villa and they fall in love. ⬇️