My #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin reads for March 2025 😄
@TheAromaofBooks

A short story to start the day ☺️

It's well established in the book that Mrs Bennett was a beauty "in her youth" so this illustration made me laugh. At the time of the novel she'd likely be 45 at most (probably closer to 40) yet this artist chose to make her look a great deal older. ?
#JaneAustenThenAndNow @Crinoline_Laphroaig

February was a pretty good reading month. My favorite is tagged.

A book and a cuppa and a headache 🤕💊
I'm so glad it's the weekend!

1- pinterest knows me well 😂
2- I quite agree with this list 💜

Book... rentals?? Ugh!

#WhereAreYouMonday
I'm in Waikiki, where Maya is struggling with her move back home and is caught up in a murder investigation.
And in London, where single Lauren came home to a husband she doesn't remember and has proceeded to have the weirdest couple of weeks.
Really enjoying both of these.
@Cupcake12

All over the place but leaning towards Anne. I'll take that.
🌿🪻🌷 Also, I'm dreaming of spring. 🌷🪻🌿

A book, a cuppa, and a quiet house (for a while). Ahhh Sunday, you're the best. 💜

This was bleak. I struggled a little because horror is not one of my favorite genres but this was interesting & well-written. Plus the frigid temps we've had this week added to the experience! It's 3 locked room mysteries in 1, tied together from the beginning by talk of the world wide virus and the Retreat. But slowly another thread takes shape that kept me quickly turning pages. It was good but I need to read something completely different now!

It took me forever to finish this because I was DREADING all of Iris' secrets coming to light and I just didn't get her decision making. Sure, it would have been embarrassing to admit to her lie about her ex but most people would have gotten over that quickly. The thing I least understood was the whole thing about the recipe. And I actually really liked Iris! I loved Gio and the entire Belotti family and that Iris

The various mysteries- and there were a lot of them!- were good yet disturbing. I liked the way everything was resolved. But I found myself repeatedly getting annoyed with Rachel. Her refusal to fly back home once a soon- to- be- released prison inmate appeared to fixate on her didn't come off as "tough as nails" it came of as stupid. Her attempts to avoid staying in a fancy hotel and to distance herself from the social media influencer con she

I mostly loved this: Bethan's conscious positivity, Lachie's determination to be a good friend (to his own detriment) & his sense of humor (as evidenced by the thoughts he credits to his pets 😆), to the signs they used to get to know each other. I loved Bethan's coworkers at the garden center (except one 😠) I that the well- intentioned lies Lachlan told in his professional life had consequences. Loved how they resolved their miscommunication. ⬇️

Reading/working at my messy little desk 🤫

This afternoon I introduced my grandson to the dot game 🥰 & read Willoughby's Crossroads by Joana Starnes from this anthology for #JaneAustenThenAndNow
Ending just after he meets the Dashwood ladies it offers some possibilities about his experiences & state of mind in the months prior to S&S. It was good. I'm eager to read the other stories but I'll wait to read each story until I reread the original each one goes with. @Crinoline_Laphroaig

#WhereAreYouMonday
I'm in Yorkshire where Bethan (who works at a garden center) and Lachlan are getting to know each other in an unusual way. And NYC where Iris is trying to help Gio save his family's gelateria while keeping some very big secrets from him. I'm bracing myself for the fallout.
@Cupcake12

I saw this trend going around and decided to join in! Looks like pinterest knows me pretty well! 😏

#literallymycharacter @TheBookHippie

Cooper and his daughter Finch live an isolated life in an Appalachian cabin. We slowly discover the reasons behind Cooper's determination to stay in hiding. His secrets- and Finch's curiosity- begin to threaten their safety. When Finch is 8, 2 new people enter their orbit and the dominoes begin to fall. The outside world can no longer be kept away.

This was beautiful and I loved it.

That's a little outside my price range.

I started this but I'm not loving it. Nora is a bit hot-tempered & impulsive, so far not much like Elinor. In fact I was wondering if we were getting this from the perspective of the Marianne character but Nora is the elder & Yanne's actual name is Maryanne so apparently Nora is Elinor. So far Yanne seems a bit bland. I expect a retelling to need to change things to make sense for modern times but I demand the sisters embody sense & sensibility.

I finished just in time for the #NancyDrewBR 😄
There was a LOT going on in this one, in a fun way. I took tap lessons as a child and remember being delighted that Nancy could also tap. But I did find the entire storyline about the cats a bit much.

🌹❤️🌹 Happy Valentine's Day y'all! 🌹❤️🌹
I was happy to be able to read for a little bit before work today 😊

#WhereAreYouMonday

I'm at a destination wedding in Cabo, finding out who killed a bride and groom before they could make it down the aisle.
@Cupcake12 .

Excuse me but I had all 3 eras. 🏛 👑 🏺Still do, despite no longer being in my youth! 😄

A smidge of snow (looks like we're getting a break from False Spring 😀) and some quiet time to start a fresh book. Ahhh Sunday, I ❤️ you
#CurrentRead

This made me laugh. I wonder if that's been there since 1963 or if it's been added to new editions to help the post-internet generations. 🤔😁
#EBBR

I thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of the Steele sisters from S & S.Their circumstances were well imagined & it was clear why making a good marriage was important to them, as they were entirely dependent on indifferent relatives otherwise. I expected that I'd be sympathetic to Anne but I didn't expect to be so touched by her at times. She is a bit silly but is actually quite kind & she deserves so much better than Lucy! #JaneAustenThenAndNow

The shhh part is key!

My blue box arrived! I haven't been thrilled with #BOTM recently but I'm excited about these. 😊

This was soooo long. Too long. The history was interesting but the story became overly complicated. I had a really hard time keeping track of all the characters; partly due to how many characters there were but also partly because I listened to this. I think it would have been easier for me if I had been able to see all the names. A soft pick but I cannot imagine reading the next two books.

#WhereAreYouMonday
I'm in the Languedoc region of southern France
@Cupcake12

#JaneAustenThenAndNow
These are the companion books I hope to read this month. My priorities are The Steele Sisters (I literally cannot wait to be in Anne's head for a whole book 😆) & Suit And Suitability. Sex, Lies, and Sensibility is a library book so I want to try to get it read also. I'll try to get to Jane of Austin around my other reading. Lastly, Incense And Sensibility sounds really good but seems like the series should be read in order.

These are my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin reads for February 2025. Both sound really good to me ☺️
@TheAromaofBooks

Eh. This one didn't do much for me. I was bored by most of the characters, was unsurprised by The Big Reveal, and was annoyed by the ambiguity of the ending. Even if the end isn't what I hoped for or expected, I still want it to provide solid answers. This was unsatisfying for me. #audiostitching

That's a wrap on January, finally. I can't believe how long this month was. 😣

I'm having trouble choosing a favorite. Sense and Sensibility is truly the best book I read all month but I've read it so many times I don't feel I should count it. Maybe Assistant To The Villain. 🤔😊

#JaneAustenThenAndNow
1- Reread. At least 10 times, maybe more.
2- Character: Elinor, I'm so impressed by her. But I also truly appreciate Mrs Jennings once they get to London.
3- Scene: Elinor giving way to emotion when she learns Edward isn't married
4- Quote: I can't narrow it down
5- Hair gift: HARD PASS
6- Secret vs flirty love: I don't like either choice but I might prefer the flirty one to being kept a secret
7- ⬇️

I've heard such good things about this from fellow Littens; I'm excited to get to it. #bookmail

Happy 212th birthday to Lizzy, Darcy et al 🎉

There's quite a bit of food for thought in this small book. I struggled to get through it but that was a me- thing and not reflective of the book. When I could focus I did enjoy it.

#WhereAreYouMonday

I'm in a seaside English village after WWI and Washington DC (there isn't a strong sense of place in this one but Dupont Circle has been mentioned repeatedly)
@Cupcake12

Ooooh all are good but I'm going with 4 👏🏻💜

#audiostitching this morning and hoping the rest of the family doesn't get up for a while 🪡💜🤞🏻

This was well researched and very interesting.

#CurrentRead
When I can focus, I'm enjoying the social commentary in this. I am having a hard time keeping the names straight and remembering which people belong to which families. Some of that is due to my lack of experience with South Korean names, but some is also due to the stress of current events. My brain is spinning and even reading- my typical sanctuary - is difficult right now.

This was a lovely and imaginative retelling of Snow White and Rose Red

What I hope retirement will look like. Someday. 🤞🏻🙏🏻

Holly & Ivy (yes 😆) have been besties for years. When Holly's fiance calls off their wedding she convinces Ivy to do the honeymoon while Holly takes Ivy's planned solo trip to an eco-cabin. Both come to understand some things about themselves &, of course, both find true love. But the real star of this show is their enduring friendship. And the descriptions of the scenery in Kauai & the Hudson Valley. I'm dreaming of visiting both places now.

#WhereAreYouMonday
One of my current books is set in Seoul; the other is split between Kauai and the Hudson Valley.
@Cupcake12

It's an even 0° at my house so I'm keeping warm and starting a new book.