This was a cute Ali Hazelwood romance, meaning I knew what I was going to get and I enjoyed it. It has the classic Ali Hazelwood oblivious heroine and stoic, lovesick love interest who also just happens to be ridiculously tall. The video game developer / designer backdrop was a fun addition to the other STEM fields portrayed in her books. Short, sweet, and steamy.

(Tagging another Ali Hazelwood because this one isn't in the system yet.)

My #WeekendReads

Library haul

I hate when a hyped book I thought sounded really good turns out to be a bust. (Hate it even more when I was one of the ones hyping it-- oops.) I mean adults reteurning to Narnia? Come on! But juvenile writing elements and what could've been an incredible story not living up to its potential really knocked this one down for me. I was interested to see where it went, but it just wasn't written as well as it could've been.

In this dreamy cozy fantasy slightly reminiscent of Before the Coffee Gets Cold in its wide array of characters, a new employee is hired at a department store selling all manner of dreams. It's a truly lovely read, full of fun introspection about the world of dreams and dreamers in an imaginative new way. I'd love to visit the Dallergut Dream Department Store myself!

This is a tough little novella to get through because it follows the dire reality of content moderators who sort through the worst of the worst of online content for work. Kayleigh's devolving relationship with her girlfriend and coworker, Sigrid, paints a picture of how the employees mental health is upended by their job. Lots of TWs but the topics are rarely explored in more than passing detail.

A "cuddle bunny" sentient sex robot named Annie struggles to reconcile her growing desire to be a "real girl" with her programmed attachment to her emotionally abusive owner. I'm not sure there was anything groundbreaking here, but it was an enjoyable read.

5am flight essentials

Made these adorable, personalized picture books for my nephews! They're going to be Christmas gifts but I was so excited with how they turned out I just had to share. Made with Wonderbly and I See Me!

I already finished a couple of audiobooks this weekend so I need to figure out what audiobook to start next, but here are the ebook and physical book I've got going on at the moment #WeekendReads

Sorcery and Small Magics takes the top spot for July! #BookBracket2024 @CSeydel

My #bookspinbingo list for August @TheAromaofBooks

I got my #bookspin #doublespin and a bingo this month! I was *this close* to getting a second bingo but c'est la vie. Still pretty dang happy with this! Now I've gotta get my board set up for this month. @TheAromaofBooks

A cozy fantasy enemies to lovers story set in a magical zoo. Head phoenix keeper Aila understands animals. People, not so much. But when she is granted the chance to start a breeding program for a highly endangered species of phoenix, she realizes she can't do it all on her own.

I've loved so many of Jesse Q. Sutanto's mysteries-- Dial A For Aunties and Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, anyone?--so I was dissapointed when this one didn't live up to my expectations. Perfectly find YA thriller; it just didn't have the same fun writing and incredible, lovable characters I've come to enjoy in many of her books.

My YA thriller reads continue with this story about a sapphic teen detective agency and the girl determined to find out what happened to her ex-girlfriend after the police wrote off her older sister's disappearance last year. The resolution of the mysteries felt a bit convoluted if I'm being honest but I still enjoyed the story overall. Probably could've been more tightly plotted.

So many pretty covers #WeekendReads

Belle Price is tired of being defined by her missing mother. So when a woman claiming to be Rachel Price shows up in the middle of filming for a documentary about her disappearance, Belle is suspicious. Having Rachel back has only made everything weirder. But if Belle can figure out what secrets Rachel is hiding, maybe she can find some way to get rid of her again. Gosh, Holly Jackson knows how to write a mystery / thriller.

Rival sorcerers are forced to work together when one of them accidentally places an obedience curse on the other. If anyone discovers the curse, they'll be expelled or even imprisoned. With the effects of the curse growing ever worse, they'll have to venture into the dangerous woods and confront what exactly it is that makes them hate each other so much. 5 wonderfully gay stars for the enemies to lovers cozy fantasy of my dreams 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Reading with my little reading buddy 💚

Really enjoying my #WeekendReads

Book mail! I read an arc of TAZ The Suffering Game but I've been so excited to read The Lost Story, which sounds very much like a grown up queer Narnia!

I had trouble tracking the POV characters at the beginning of this book, but by the time they came together and their stories aligned, I was hooked. I do feel like this story was just the beginning of something longer, so I certainly hope it will be a series that can build on the syory and worldbuilding started here. A great sci-fi romp.

Really enjoying my two #WeekendReads so far

Check out Book Riot's Best Books of 2024 (so far), especially my personal pick: Running Close to the Wind

https://bookriot.com/best-books-of-2024-so-far/

Robin Hood's granddaughter and a kidnapped healer are thrown together in this retelling where the Merry Men have lost their way. Mariel has always tried to follow in her father's footsteps, heeding his every order as the leader of the Merry Men. Being kidnapped by the Mariel and her Merry Men only confirms what Clem's guardian has always told her-- the protectors of the forest have lost their way. But what will it take for them to find it again?

I didn't expect a sequel to The Girls Ive Been and wouldn't have know how Sharpe could go about writing one if I had. But with her abusive crime boss step dad aquited of his crimes, Nora, Iris, and Wes are in his crosshairs. And when things go wrong on a hiking trip, they'll have to face off with Nora's past again. Everything I could've wanted out of a sequel. I particularly enjoyed getting chapters from Iris and Wes's point of view.

You know you want some more swoony historical romance to keep the Bridgerton fun going.

https://bookriot.com/historical-romance-like-bridgerton/

I'm conflicted on this one. On the one hand, I enjoyed a lot of it and was hoping it would strike a similar cord to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. On the other hand, the ending really played into the problematic trope of depicting people with a mental illness as violent. I think the author could've accomplished something similar without falling into that trap so it's a real shame.

Here's what I'm reading this weekend! I think I'll finish Not for the Faint of Heart because I'm loving it, and my drive home tomorrow will probably give me a chance to make a big dent in Ocean's Godori #WeekendReads

A new #WeekendReads graphic for anyone who wants to play!

In this Kingfisher fairy tale retelling of The Goose Girl, the daughter of a sorceress and the spinster sister of a squire must team up to thwart the sorceress's violent machinations. I loved these characters and Hester's bold nature is a great foil to Cordelia who has been made unsure of herself from years of abuse.

TW: violence, child abuse, violence against animals (kind of-- it's actually a demon)

The Orient Express meets Annihilation in this great novel about a train traveling though are area that has experienced strange and uncanny changes, and may even be changing the train and passengers who travel through it. The workers and passengers all have different motivations for being there, but one things remains the same for them all: by the time they reach their destination, they'll never be the same.

A woman helps a demon take down a false goddess in this steamy fantasy romance novel with DnD vibes. If you're looking for something fun and relatively light despite the violence and stakes, the Mead Mishaps series is definitely it.

This is a book I think I'm going to need to need to revisit with some frequency to really let it sink in. Davis is a therapist who struggled with guilt over the state of her home after giving birth, suffering from post-partum depression, & living in lockdown. She gives a lot of great practical advice for neurodivergent readers, too, including talking about how to manage tasks when you have executive dysfunction & task avoidance.

I really thought I knew how my best books for the first half of the year were gonna go and it involved Alexandra Rowland going head to head but then The Stars Too Fondly came in and knocked everything else out of the park! I strongly suspect it will be my favorite book of the year. #topread2024 #readingbracket2024 @CSeydel

Ready for July! My bookspin is a Book by a BIPOC author and my double spin is Sorcery and Small Magics which I had already started reading. @TheAromaofBooks #bookspinbingo

My sister recommended How to Keep House While Drowning to me recently when we were talking about cleaning and dealing with perpetual disarray. It's been a great audiobook to listen to while I work on "resetting my space," as Davis would say. I do have to keep pausing it to jot down thoughts and notes though ? So far, I would say I highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with care tasks and keeping a tidy space.

This cute, cozy romantasy follows rival potion makers who have set up shop on the same street. Ambrose has always been reluctant to let others in, and he's steaming when an inexperienced, over-the-top potion maker named Eli opens a shop just doors away. As they're forced to work and socialize together, Eli slowly gets the stoic man to open up--and a sweet romance blossoms between them. But is this street really big enough for two potion makers?

Before Juliet there was Rosaline and before Rosaline there were others. In this reimagining of Romeo and Juliet from Rosaline's perspective, she is trying to fit as much life into her last few days of freedom before being cloistered in a nunnery. Romeo offers exactly the sort of fling--and possible escape--she's looking for. He's also a rake, something she realizes too late. But now she's trying to save her cousin from the same fate.

Pride Month isn't over yet and these trans historical fiction novels would make a great addition to your last week of June reading

If you're looking for some great new audiobooks, I have some recs for you 😉

https://bookriot.com/black-historical-audiobooks/

All the rival enemies-to-lovers magicians this weekend #WeekendReads

Determined to finish this book with the help of my reading buddy today

Oops, walked in a bookstore and walked away without my self-restraint and 4 new books

Momday morning reading with a horchata latte

Wow wow wow did I love this. A group of twenty-somethings accidentally steal a defunct spaceship when it takes off while they're exploring it. Fortunately the captain from the crew that dissapeared twenty years ago when the dark matter engine first started up uploaded her consciousness to the computer and her AI persona is there to help them. If she and Cleo can stop bickering for 5 seconds, that is. Queer found family space opera at its finest.

A fellow Rioter compared this book to Superstore, and it's an appropriate comp for this compelling read. A group of warehouse logistics employees (now referred to as "movement") scheme when they learn highers ups are interviewing them to potentially promote their incompetent manager. The insights into their circumstances and reasons for wanting to see her promoted are intricately untagled. Slice of life corporate capitalism, if that's a thing.

A 5 stars read from Veronica Roth? Who knew! In this urban fantasy novel full of supernatural creatures straight from Polish folklore a mysterious man on a quest to track down Baba Jaga teams up with a zmora and a strygzon. But what is he hiding? And what will they all sacrifice to find the peace they're searching for? This is one where you shouldn't read the synopsis first; just go straight into it. The reveals along the way are half the fun.

This cute cozy romantasy follows a woman who learns her perpetual strangeness is because she is a honey witch, a title inherited from her grandmother. She's all too eager to accept her role, but it comes with a price. Honey witches are cursed to never fall in love. When a skeptical woman shows up at her door though, Marigold is determined to convince her magic exists. Their growing feelings seem to defy the curse, but the consequences are severe.