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monkeygirlsmama

monkeygirlsmama

Joined August 2016

Home is where the books are. 😉❤️📚
review
monkeygirlsmama
That's Not My Name | Megan Lally
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⭐⭐⭐⭐

Picked this #audiobook for two reasons- it was available to borrow immediately and the cover was eye-catching. Was a great decision too because this fast paced story pulled me in from the start and kept me invested til the last word was read.

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monkeygirlsmama
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Inspired by people and events of history, The Sunflower House was not in and of itself a piece of non-fiction. Despite reading as such, it was infact just a really good novel. I highly recommend the #audiobook.

4.5 ⭐

22 likes1 stack add
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monkeygirlsmama
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Mehso-so

I picked this #audiobook based solely on the title. Unfortunately, I never really connected to the story. It didn't help matters that it was so short. Meaning, by the time I started feeling like I was a tiny bit invested in the characters it was already time to say goodbye to them.

⭐⭐⭐

The_Book_Ninja This book was not for you 1w
18 likes2 comments
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monkeygirlsmama
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monkeygirlsmama
Untitled | Unknown
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blurb
monkeygirlsmama
Demon Copperhead: A Novel | Barbara Kingsolver
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#sundayfunday @BookmarkTavern

Demon Copperhead was my first completed read of 2025, and would most definitely recommend it. The #audiobook, in particular, was really good.

Brooke_H Mine was Ronja the Robber‘s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren, a kind of dark children‘s fantasy/adventure novel. Yes, would recommend. 2w
SilversReviews My first book of the year was FABULOUS: The Secret History of Audrey James by Heather Marshall 2w
BookmarkTavern I‘ve heard great things about this one! Thanks for sharing! 2w
GingerAntics Knight‘s Fire by SJ Himes and absolutely would recommend (if you like dragons and a little 🌶️🌶️🌶️) 2w
23 likes4 comments
blurb
monkeygirlsmama
Second Glance | Jodi Picoult
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My friend and I decided to do a book exchange where we both select and wrap twelve books for the other. Then each month we get to open and read our predetermined blind date book. 😁

This was the one she gave me for January. I've read Picoult before, but it's been many years. Seems this particular title has had some very mixed reviews, so here's hoping I end up falling in with those on the positive side. 😊🤞

wanderinglynn What a fun book exchange! 2w
monkeygirlsmama @wanderinglynn It really was/is! I mean there's the excitement of seeing what she selected for me, but it was also stupid fun figuring out what books to give her. 2w
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I loved this one! 2w
Tamra So fun! 2w
23 likes4 comments
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monkeygirlsmama
Home Is Not a Country | Safia Elhillo
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Written in prose, home is not a country is a poignant & moving book about finding yourself & loving yourself. It's about making your life, despite the imperfections, 100% your own. And therein living it without dismay over what could have been & instead simply being proud of who you are & grateful for what is.

Can NOT recommend this book highly enough! (Even the acknowledgement section at the end made me cry. This book was just THAT good.)

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monkeygirlsmama
Nevermore Bookstore: Townsend Harbor Book 1 | Kerrigan Byrne, Cynthia St. Aubin
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Mehso-so

I requested this #audiobook from the library based on the title and cover alone, but quickly began feeling like it was going to be my first DNF title of the year. I didn't love the male narrator and I went back and forth for a while on whether to continue with the book or not. The story turned out to be mildly cute; however, I would not necessarily recommend it. ⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
Darkly | Marisha Pessl
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This was a fun little #audiobook mystery. Never felt incredibly invested in any of the characters, but I thought the story was kind of clever.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
Home Is Not a Country | Safia Elhillo
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Wow; again, I relate.

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monkeygirlsmama
Home Is Not a Country | Safia Elhillo
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This got me in the feels because my name is not Aisha and it doesn't mean "she who lives", but the rest sums me up to a tee since I lost my Jon 18 months and 2 weeks ago. ???

BkClubCare {{hugs}} 3w
17 likes1 comment
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monkeygirlsmama
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⭐⭐⭐⭐ #audiobook #libby

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monkeygirlsmama
Demon Copperhead: A Novel | Barbara Kingsolver
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⭐⭐⭐⭐

Didn't have any idea what to expect with this book, but am glad I finally picked it up. I opted for the #audiobook which I think helped when the storyline got a little slow in a couple of places. Otherwise I might have been inclined to set it down in lieu of something more fast paced or action packed. Which, to be honest, would have been a loss on my part because this was a really good story. It's long, but definitely worth sticking with.

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monkeygirlsmama
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⭐⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
The Plot | Jean Hanff Korelitz
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Mehso-so

⭐⭐⭐

The premise of this #audiobook caught my attention, bringing it onto my radar. However, the story itself bordered on boring for me. I did enjoy the twist and found myself more engaged in the later portion, but overall this was just a bit meh for me.

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monkeygirlsmama
Sometimes I Lie | Alice Feeney
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3.5-4 ⭐

This wasn't my favorite book by this Feeney, yet it drew me in and kept me guessing. Infact, I've finished it and I'm still trying to work some things out. Truly though, the unreliable narrator made for a lot of unanswered questions, which is, I believe, exactly what the author wanted. So, in that regard, bravo and, actually, all the stars! #audiobook

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monkeygirlsmama
The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood
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Mehso-so

⭐⭐⭐

Here's an example of a book that gets lots of hype and seems to be very much at the top of the recommendation lists, but was just meh for me. I found the parallels between Atwood's distopian future and our current times rather terrifying in many ways; however, as far as the storyline goes I guess I was expecting more. Not sure what that would be exactly, just that as a whole it fell a little flat. Still glad I read it though. #audiobook

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monkeygirlsmama
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3.5-4 ⭐ This was a fun little #arc read from #NetGalley that will be releasing in May 2025. If you or someone you know is a dog lover, and an art lover, be sure to check it out! 🐕📖

20 likes1 stack add
review
monkeygirlsmama
Maybe in Another Life: A Novel | Taylor Jenkins Reid
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Loved this book and the idea of the two parallel realities. Having lost the love of my life, my better half, my soul mate last year the final line of this book left me bawling at my desk at work. So so good. All the stars for this author, this book, and this #audiobook narrator!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

TheBookHippie I‘m so very sorry for your loss. 3w
22 likes1 stack add1 comment
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monkeygirlsmama
Maybe in Another Life: A Novel | Taylor Jenkins Reid

"Sometimes I think my mom's anecdotes should come with Cliff notes because they're quite good once someone explains them to you." ???

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monkeygirlsmama
The Book of Doors | Gareth Brown
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Loved it! Action, adventure, magic, and heart - this book had all of these in spades. And the narrator for this #audiobook has quickly become a favorite of mine. Highly recommended!

4.5 ⭐

23 likes1 stack add
review
monkeygirlsmama
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Fun book that kept me guessing for awhile, and then still had some good surprises to drop in my lap. #audiobook

⭐⭐⭐⭐

britt_brooke I enjoyed this one a lot! 2mo
23 likes1 comment
blurb
monkeygirlsmama
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Rereading this Christmas favorite. I love how you can read a single chapter each day for the month of December and still be finished on Christmas Eve. I was thinking I'd read all three books again this month, but since I decided to read it this way this time around I won't get to the other two books before Christmas. Maybe after Christmas I'll read them, or perhaps I'll just reread them next December. Only time will tell I guess. 😆

britt_brooke Thanks for reminding me of this! I‘ve loved several of Guinn‘s other books, but have never read this one. (edited) 2mo
monkeygirlsmama @britt_brooke This trilogy is excellent. 2mo
21 likes3 stack adds2 comments
review
monkeygirlsmama
When We Flew Away | Alice Hoffman
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⭐⭐⭐⭐

This quick read is a fictionalized story based on Hoffman's research and knowledge of the Holocaust. Specifically what life may have been like for Anne and her family as they fought to live a "normal" life during the Nazi occupation before they went into hiding. A very well written, beautiful, and heartbreaking novel. #audiobook

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monkeygirlsmama
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Hendrix does it again! Weird story, but very good #audiobook.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
Saga Volume 1 | Brian K Vaughan
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Rereading this series so I can read the most recent issues that came out. Still one of my favorite graphic novel series!

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monkeygirlsmama
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💙 this!

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monkeygirlsmama
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My Goodwill finds from this evening. $5 for the pair. 📚 💚

review
monkeygirlsmama
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If you liked Brynne Weaver's Butcher & Blackbird and Lark & Leather then you will most likely enjoy this book with its mile long list of trigger warnings at the start. Humour, heart, kink! It's got all of these and more in spades. Can't wait for the next book!

Sidebar: The voice actors/narrators for this #audiobook were perfect.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

18 likes1 stack add
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monkeygirlsmama
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A friend recommended this #audiobook to me and I'm so happy she did because it was fantastic. Great characters with a sweet story to tell.

4.5 ⭐

SilversReviews I always wanted to read this!! 2w
19 likes1 comment
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monkeygirlsmama
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This should be a must read! So good. #audiobook ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
Sleep Tight: A Novel | J. H. Markert
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Mehso-so

I'd say this #audiobook was between a 3.5 and 4 stars read for me. I enjoyed the story, but found myself easily distracted with life around me. This doesn't usually happen to me unless I'm not fully invested which, I guess, means that it wasn't. I think some of the explanation of how and why things were happening the way they did felt a little convoluted. Still a decent book though that I'm glad I read. #audiobook

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monkeygirlsmama
The Mothers | Genevieve Gannon
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This was a really good book. It was heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama

I have been reading this one off and on for months. I managed not to lose it when I moved, and yet somehow since then I've managed to misplace it. 🤦‍♀️ I would love to finish it if I could just figure out where I last set it down. 🤣

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monkeygirlsmama
Sandwich: A Novel | Catherine Newman
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A short and sweet #audiobook worth checking out.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
Grave Talk | NICK. SPALDING
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#kindlereads

CatLass007 I lost my best friend/love of my life/the bane of my existence just over four years ago. 💔 I will never stop loving or missing him but healing does happen. Thank you for this book recommendation. You are in my heart. 3mo
Suet624 Your post really touched me. I‘m so sorry for your loss. 3mo
monkeygirlsmama @CatLass007 ((hugs)) I hope you will enjoy this one as much as I did. Here's to healing. 🥂 2mo
CatLass007 🩷 2mo
22 likes5 comments
review
monkeygirlsmama
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Mehso-so

I think it's really cool that Michael Crichton started this book before his death and that James Patterson was able to come in afterwards to pick up and complete the story. Was it my favorite book? No, it wasn't. But I enjoyed the #audiobook reading experience all the same.

⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
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Mehso-so

I almost always find McFadden's books to be well developed with a complete out of left field twist at the end. This time around I came away somewhat disappointed. The story stressed me out something fierce, which isn't neceoa bad thing, but I want it to all come together in the end. And with this #audiobook, I didn't even like the ending. Some of the twist I was down for; however, the actual ending itself seemed contrived and irritating. 3.5 ⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
What Does It Feel Like? | Sophie Kinsella
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Fiction mimicing real life! I loved this fictionalized version of Kinsella's own personal story about her life and experience dealing with a cancer diagnosis and recovery. A moving look behind the curtain, so to speak. #audiobook

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

review
monkeygirlsmama
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Mehso-so

I went back and forth on my opinion if this book. There were times I was quite enjoying it, and then other times that felt just meh to me. Overall I guess I'd give 3.5 stars because it was a decent story. I didn't care for the narration on this #audiobook though. I found some of the accents and voices to be irritating/annoying. It's possible I'd have ranked the book higher had I read it in print instead.

3.5 ⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
Funny Story | Emily Henry
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Cute read! #audiobook

23 likes1 stack add
blurb
monkeygirlsmama
Untitled | Untitled

Anyone else get a kick out of crazy descriptors? A couple that stood out to me from recent reads are below.

"Skin the color of old mushrooms" and "hair the color of raw meat".

These were from different books and different authors, but both made me sit up and go "huh?!" ? I mean, they're very specific ways to get your mental image across, but they're so weird! ?

BarbaraJean 😂I had a writing professor who called these “inorganic metaphors”—they don‘t arise organically from the context and pull the reader out of the story by calling attention to themselves instead of what they‘re describing. Sometimes this kind of thing works for me, but mostly I agree with him: it‘s jarring and distracting! Also: is the raw meat one from Starling House?! I‘m reading it right now & think I came across that same description last night! (edited) 3mo
JudeCC 🤣😂🙌 Yes. While reading Uglies. The first sentence says “…the summer sky was the color of cat vomit.” 😳🤢 I still can‘t picture it. 3mo
monkeygirlsmama @BarbaraJean Huh. I've never heard that terminology before, but you're not wrong. I appreciated the quirky and less common verbage, but it definitely did distract me from what was being said in the book. The narrator was still reading and I was stuck still going over the strangeness of the author's choice of words. LoL And, yes, I think it might have been from that one! 3mo
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monkeygirlsmama @WJCintron Whoa, whaaaaat?! 😂 I picture a summer sky as beautiful, but cat vomit? Not so much!!!! 😜 3mo
BarbaraJean @monkeygirlsmama I have since finished reading Starling House and found BOTH the raw meat description and the old mushrooms one there! She uses the raw meat one multiple times and it was distracting the first time, then annoying after that 😂 3mo
monkeygirlsmama @BarbaraJean Glad I wasn't the only one to think this 3mo
16 likes6 comments
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monkeygirlsmama
Hello Stranger: A Novel | Katherine Center
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This was my first experience reading this author, and I can't say enough how much I enjoyed it! I loved the characters and the story. It was cute, clean, and fun. Highly recommend the #audiobook too as the narrator did a great job.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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monkeygirlsmama
Starling House | Alix Harrow
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Mehso-so

Alix E Harrow is a new to me author who lured me in with their cover and kept me in with their writing. It wasn't the best thing I ever read, but I liked it well enough. The modern day gothic vibe added to the book's appeal though I'm only giving this 3 out of 5 stars because it was still rather lackluster.

Sidebar,The narrator for the #audiobook gets my thumbs up.

CloakNQuill Glad it wasn‘t just me. Feels over hyped 3mo
monkeygirlsmama @CloakNQuill I went into it blind, not having heard anything about it, but it definitely didn't have much punch 3mo
25 likes2 comments
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monkeygirlsmama
One Perfect Couple | Ruth Ware
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⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ware's books are always super easy to slip into, and you're always guaranteed a thrilling mystery. My copy might have been an #audiobook; however, that didn't make it any less of a pageturner! Side note: I didn't love the way she started to wrap this one up, so I spent quite a while ranting at the narrator. Thankfully the author did bring it all around in the end though.

19 likes1 stack add
blurb
monkeygirlsmama
Grave Talk | NICK. SPALDING

Went to the movies w/my daughter today. One of us was seeing Terrifier 3; the other was seeing Wild Robot. Okay, *I* was seeing Wild Robot. When it came time to enter the theatre I didn't think about the fact that my soon to be 19 y/o can pass for a middle schooler and handed her her ticket and I held on to mine. Naturally they wanted to see her id, which she doesn't have one, and w/o it or me going w/her she couldn't see her horrifying movie.⤵️

monkeygirlsmama ⤴️ So I, the one picking animated fun over gore and mayhem had to go into the basically sold out theatre with my daughter so she could watch her disgusting slasher film. I had no seat and had to sit on the wall riser, but I had my Kindle app. Thank you God for modern wonders and a slew of books at my fingertips, because that is how I managed to make it through the following 2+hrs without losing my sanity. 😂🫣 Now if only I'd had earplugs. 3mo
MonicaLoves2Read Thank Goodness for the Kindle App😂 3mo
Librarybelle Wow! Thank goodness indeed! 3mo
See All 7 Comments
rwmg But did you get to see “Wild Robot“ as well? If you sat through her film, it's only fair she sits through yours.

And aren't seats assigned in your cinema?
3mo
tpixie @monkeygirlsmama such a good mom! Yes! Thank goodness for the Kindle app. 3mo
Bklover Definitely a Great Mama Award! 3mo
monkeygirlsmama @rwmg I haven't yet, but will this week. 😝 I have a membership so can go again at no extra cost. And, yes, you choose your seats at the time of purchase, but since I didn't technically have a ticket for that movie that's why I didn't end up being able to find a seat. 3mo
16 likes7 comments
review
monkeygirlsmama
Apprentice to the Villain | Hannah Nicole Maehrer
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3.5 ⭐ The first book was better, but this sequel was still worth the wait. I'm pretty sure Evie is my spirit animal. LoL She talks without thinking first, she's klutzy, she's amazing! Loads of laugh out loud moments with this book and a decent story to boot. #audiobook

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monkeygirlsmama
Apprentice to the Villain | Hannah Nicole Maehrer

"I do not lack equilibrium," she argued, " the ground merely lacks the courtesy of letting me know when it's coming closer." -Evie

You and me, girl! You and me! ???

Suet624 😂😂😂 4mo
14 likes1 comment
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monkeygirlsmama
Apprentice to the Villain | Hannah Nicole Maehrer

The Villain: "Does your mind live in the gutter?"

Evie: "No, but it rents there on occasion." ???

Oh, Evie, I can so relate! ?