I haven‘t been around much on here lately. A lot is going on in my personal life. But I wanted to take a minute & share my family. My cousin, Jamie, & her husband Chris (a Lutheran Pastor), their daughter, Rebekah, have been doubling down on their advocacy for #LetKidsPlay & fighting Anti-Trans bills all over the country. Today, they spoke before the steps of the Capitol, defending trans kids. I am so proud of them. #Transrightsarehumanrights

@AprilMae Your package will be delivered on 2/25! 🫶🏻📚#LLS

This book is Gossip Girl meets The Skulls meets any dark romance story you might‘ve read. Sure, it‘s about High School kids—but is in NO WAY, SHAPE, or FORM an appropriate book for a YA audience. Booktok has a good point that publishers need to be diligent in labeling content appropriately. I am NOT prudish about sex in any way—but this content isn‘t for kids aged 13-18 (which is usually YA grouping). Any thoughts, Littens?

#LittensLoveRomance folks!!! I binged the series over the last week, and let me just say that if we thought O‘Connell was 🔥just wait. O‘Connell, Kieran, Tommy, & Liam are written so well, their stories & partners cared for so well that I felt it all: I laughed, cried, rolled my eyes, and curled my toes 😉 And the women are not annoying! What a plus! I need some of you all to read these so I have folks to talk to about them 🤣🤣😂 #SeriesRead2023

Oh my goodness! 🤩 @sblbooks I just love everything! The mug (which hasn‘t photographed the best to show the beautiful coloring) is perfect! I just adore Door County Coffee—one of my favorite companies! Excellent choice. And the hot cocoa (not pictured) is delicious. Can‘t wait to dive into this book. Thank you so much! Many thanks to our hosts for putting this together. 💕 #MugLove23

4.5⭐️ I am a sucker for MCs with issues that are not perfect, that are romantic in realistic ways, adorable, and couples that work their problems out. I finished early for #LittensLoveRomance and I am halfway through the next book. Stellar choice this month, Littens! 🫶🏻😍🥰🥊

#InQuotes #February5th #Relationships

This goes beyond dating & romantic relationships. It‘s true about friendships as well. My Ex was raised on survival, and I was lucky enough to be raised on love. It‘s a long, tough road when you come from such different places. 😔

#GoldenAgeCrimeClub #AuthorAMonth #PemberLittens #SheSaid #TBRTarot #LittensLoveRomance #SeriesRead #Loveathon2023 ♥️📖♥️📖♥️📖

What a wonderful & generous idea, @monalyisha 🥰 I really want to read a bunch of these, but the tagged book is my best pick! Thank you! #AuldLangSpine #Giveway #bestof22

I only got to finish one book for #AuldLangSpine this year (The Heartbreak Bakery) BUT I‘m halfway through this one from @Clare-Dragonfly list & I love it. I originally chose it bc it was the #LGBTbookclub January read & it satisfied #TarorTBR prompt. Three birds with one stone, as the saying goes.

@monalyisha thank you for once again doing this event! As Clare posted earlier, we are bookish soulmates! Thanks for connecting us. 📖🫶🏻☺️

WOW! What a month! While I didn‘t accomplish all the reading I planned, I did great! And I even added a cookbook to my list (obsessed!!!). #SheSaid #AuthorAMonth #PemberLittens #AuldLangSpine

PS: #LittensLoveRomance don‘t waste your time with the next Covens of Eaton Falls. It has the same issues we complained about, which is a shame bc the premise is good! Very disappointing.

Imbolc Blessings💜🌱🕯️
We are nearing the end of Winter, and the natural world is showing it‘s first signs of awakening. How are you celebrating today? #ImbolcBlessings #WitchyLittens #TheWheelisturning

#travelingstars mail, #valentinecardswap & #muglove23 were all put into the mail today! After a crazy January, I finally caught up!

Modern Mrs. Darcy strikes again! Such a great list complied and plenty I will add to my #tbr. Black History needs to be celebrated 365 days a year! Not just (the shortest month of the year) February.

https://modernmrsdarcy.com/books-celebrate-black-history-month/?fbclid=IwAR1eHMk...

#blackhistorymonth #everydayisblackhistorymonth #modernmrsdarcy

#WondrousWednesday Thanks for the tag, @TheSpineView

1) Worrying about my Mom‘s health/stress, and feeling overwhelmed by my future. I‘m working on not stressing about things I cannot control.

2) Snowmobiling! It is fantastic & I have never felt more alive.

Who wants to play that hasn‘t played already, you are tagged!

#Two4Tuesday

1) A break from the humidity, how beautiful the snow looks (if we get any), and the restful quiet.

2) The tagged classic! Quintessential Winter!

Who wants to play? @Zuhkeeyah @Blerdgal_Fenix @Librarybelle @TieDyeDude @hannah-leeloo

#JoyousJanuary round-up! I am all caught up with my reading for my busy January. I decided to give up Peach Blossom Spring for this month because I am on the verge of being #overbooked and think I‘d rather read it later, not rush.

This week: Love Medicine, The Once & Future Witches, & Middlemarch

⚠️Attention Littens who participated in #LMPBC in early 2021! Due to a deep depression, a break-up, and just a dark hole of time…I never read these or mailed them back. Now, I don‘t remember who to send them to 🤷🏻‍♀️ If these are yours, please let me know so I can send them home to you! I am so very sorry (depression is a soul sucker…) and want you to get your books back. 📖♥️📖

I was a bit disappointed in this read. Maybe it is too soon for me to read #PandemicFiction or maybe this one is just not my style. I will read her other works and see how they are, but I just couldn‘t connect to the story very much. But I do enjoy the author‘s writing style. #AuthorAMonth #LouiseErdrich #January

Thanks for the tag, Lisa!

📖 Snow-covered Forrest cabin in the mountains.

📖Books that remind me of the tagged book & winter!

❄️Anyone can play. It is late in the day, so everyone is tagged, plus @Sleepswithbooks @Zuhkeeyah @TieDyeDude

☑️#LittensLoveRomance
☑️#SheSaid

❌#SundayBuddyRead is not happening this month. But the book is on my #tbr for sure!

📖 Catching up on #pemberlittens #AuthorAMonth #AuldLangSpine #LGBTbookclub #TBRtarot

#JoyousJanuary

Thanks @jenniferw88 for creating this! #MugLove

☕️Mugs & Travel Mugs
💙❤️💜💚
No pets
Coffee 🤩 hazelnut, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, chocolate, burbon, Irish cream, kahlula, etc! I love it all.

#Bookmail from the last couple of weeks!

📖Lydia‘s book was from my Mom for Christmas 😍
📖 The Once & Future Witches is for #AuldLangSpine & #LGBTbookclub January read
📖 Spare is “Just Because” and also DUH! It‘s H! 😉
📖The tagged book is from @Bookgoil for contributing to the #LitsyLove fund in November! Great choice, thank you so much! 😘

2023 is shaping up to be a year of good reading (and cooking!)

@Clare-Dragonfly I am so glad you put this on your #AuldLangSpine list! I really enjoyed it and it was adorable.

Syd accidentally infuses Magic into her “break-up” brownies, causing nearly all Queer couples in Austin to break up! A very sweet, coming of age romance featuring lots of Queer characters.

#HeartbreakBakery #LoveWins #QueerRomance #They #Them #LitsyLoveReads

4/5⭐️
To say I enjoyed this book feels wrong. But I did feel validated and seen. As a woman who removed herself from an abusive partner, I saw some of my own experiences mirrored in this book. It was frightening, captivating, brutally honest in a way that needs to be understood. Intimate partner abuse of any kind is not talked about enough. Bravo to the author for her bravery & tenacity. #SheSaid #January #LitsyLoveReads

Modern Mrs. Darcy (re)shared a list of 30 Jane-inspired retellings! Perfect for #PemberLittens future reads.

https://modernmrsdarcy.com/jane-austen-inspired-books-janeites-all-ages/?fbclid=...

#JaneAusten #ModernMrsDarcy

#JoyousJanuary Readathon is upon us!

📖My goals are simply to catch up on my monthly group reads such as #pemberlittens #auldlangspine etc etc AND refrain from being distracted when my #bookmail arrives with a certain blue-eyed, ginger-haired Prince‘s memoir 🤷🏻‍♀️😂🤣😂🤣😂 HRH will have to wait until next month. I‘m all booked! 😉

#Two4Tuesday

1: Tie between Hermoine Granger AND Diana Bishop.

2: Stephen Lawhead‘s Fantasy trilogy “Song of Albion”. Modern historians fall through a cairn and end up in a magical Celtic realm. To save their own time, they must save Albion—or both will cease to exist. Hermoine & Diana would do well in these novels.

✨Anyone can play; how about it, @Blerdgal_Fenix @Branwen @swishandflick

My sister is moving in May. She intends on taking my—I mean her—cat with her. Until then, you will find me & my reading buddy, snuggling each night on the couch, with my blanket. Carly…you turned me into a cat person ♥️ #thecatnanny #carly #carlita #fluff #thepastrypuff #ourloaf

#LittensLoveRomance first read of 2023 was “Meh”. Great bones & potential. Characters need development, lots of hard to follow action, and the sex scenes (while spicy) were lacking something. I‘m going to read the next one & see how it is. #Vampires #Witches #SeriesRead2023 #Meh #LitsyLoveReads

Thanks for the tag, Lisa! #Two4Tuesday

🎄Decorations come down around January 2 or 3rd. Tree stays up for a week or so after that.

❄️Snowy weather is so peaceful & tranquil. Best reading weather!

✨Who wants to play? @Blerdgal_Fenix @Sleepswithbooks @monalyisha @TieDyeDude

My very boring #Nook version of #Middlemarch. I went to several places looking for a copy & could not get one, so I settled for an Ebook. If I like it, I may invest in an illustrated copy. So many #PemberLittens have posted theirs, and they are gorgeous!

I love this series so much & want to finish it this year for #SeriesLove2023 challenge. #HappyNewYear #Endings #Beginnings #Change

✨MAGIC✨ is my word of the year for 2023.

“Regeneration. Hope. Gratitude” were my words for 2020, 2021, and 2022. These words sustained me, and were essential to my survival & healing. But now, it is time to LIVE and remember the MAGIC in living. So this year, I will make Magic a priority. Making magic, living magically, and seeking out the magic in every day living.

✨What is your #WordoftheYear for #2023 ? #Magic

Alas, I only made it through two books this #December. So the other four go back on the shelves (Kindle & physical) until next year rolls around. I know the #WinterReadathon isn‘t over for 6 more days, but I can‘t read Christmas novels in January. But, I enjoyed both books immensely.

In addition, I‘m planning to read ALL of these! 😱🤩🤣🥳
Starting off 2023 by challenging myself. Nothing to do in the cold grey of January anyway. #pemberlittens #SundayBuddyRead #LittensLoveRomance #SheSaid #LiteraryCrew #AuthorAMonth #LGBTbookclub

My choices for #AuldLangSpine from the most excellent list that @Clare-Dragonfly made for me!

All of your choices, Clare, sound great! I will be reading many of them in the coming year.

I finished! In the Nick of Time! I am proud of myself for getting back to reading daily. Next year, the challenge will be greater: I‘m going for 50! But for now, I‘ll enjoy reaching this goal. #GoodreadsChallenge #IDidIt #30booksin2022

📖Did you set a Goodreads challenge? Did you make it? Exceed it? Tell me!

📖Also…give me a follow on Goodreads & I‘ll follow you back (Danielle Leigh Rose) 💙📖

#NationalChocolateCandiesDay requires a picture of the #YuleLog that my brother & I baked for Christmas. We had chocolate peppermint candies crushed on top, but I didn‘t take a photo of the log with them actually ON the log. It was delicious!

#WinterReadathon

#WondrousWednesday

1) Taken at Longwood Gardens during their Christmas event. This beautiful lantern of light is simply stunning and I‘m glad I got a picture (somehow) without people in it.
2) Possibly going to a dinner party at a friend‘s house on NYE & then NOTHING on NYD except setting intentions for 2023.

🎇Wanna play: @Clare-Dragonfly @mrp27 @Ruthiella @TheNeverendingTBR

Christmas was fun, and I adored getting together with my Dad‘s side of the family on Christmas Eve. Lots of kids & drinks & chaos & laughter. BUT today, we are all sick. My poor Mom has an upper GI bug, my siblings nasty chest colds, and **fingers crossed** so far just a migraine for me. So I put my #KitchenWitchery skills to the test and made soup. Loads of herbs, broth, beans, veggies & a bit of leftover pasta & chicken. #GetBetterSoup #yummy

At last, we have come to the end. 🎄📖🕯️ #ACarolADay #AChristmasCarol #Stave5 #CarryChristmaswithYou

Thanks @Linsy for hosting! #MerryChristmas

Merry Christmas to all my Littens celebrating today! May your day be filled with peace, comfort, and warmth. #MerryChristmas #HolidayFriends 🎄♥️🎄♥️

Thank you so much @Christine for my #jolabokaflod 🤩 I love Tab, and can‘t wait to dive into this one.

Merry Christmas! 🎄📖🎄📖 Special thanks to @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting one of the best swaps on Litsy!

#SantaClaus was a big deal for me (I‘m in the vest, circa 1995) This was #MySanta growing up; Mr. Amato was a family friend who played him every year. My Dad (with the cheesy grin in the middle) explained that Santa was the magic & spirit of Christmas; many folks around the world dressed in his suit so you can see that magic with your own eyes. As long as you believe, he is real. ♥️ I have always loved that explanation. #WinterReadathon

Next Up: one of my favorite romance authors! I have had this one for a couple years, so it‘s time to move it off my #tbr. 🎄♥️🎄♥️🎄#christmasromance #sarahmorgan #WinterReadathon

Fun Fact: the NJ ornament is made of sand from Long Beach Island! It‘s a new one for our family tree.

Christmas is about the people around your table, not what is on it or under the tree. This section of #Stave3 is a good reminder to appreciate what you have. 🎄❄️✨

#ACarolADay #AChristmasCarol

#Stave2 #aCarolaDay #AChristmasCarol

The way Dickens writes is so lush and illustrative. No wonder this work has stood the test of time. This is my first official reading, and I think it needs to be a tradition for me now.

#WondrousWednesday Thanks @IndoorDame for the tag!

♥️ Yes, I usually set a challenge total on Goodreads.

💜 I am 4 books away from finishing my goal of 30 books this year.

💙 Cooking, Reading, Christmas Get-Togethers with Family

🎄Anyone who hasn‘t played: please do!