A really interesting mystery with some fascinating worldbuilding. You figure out who the killer is fairly early on so it's more of howdunit/whydunit. It's a fantasy society where people are “birds“ and are different classes based on those birds. There is a second book, which I'm hoping has more explanation for the world because it's so cool!

And here's my #bookspin #bookspinbingo board for April!
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I was gone all last week so couldn't update Litsy with my #bookspin #bookspinbingo progress. One book shy of a bingo, alas. But I finished my bookspin book and DNF'ed my doublebookspin. April's board incoming.

@TheAromaofBooks

My entire #BOTM box.

My #BOTM came and I immediately started this one. It's about a sentient sexbot who starts to gain autonomy.

Here are the books I read in February. Tagged book was my favorite.

And here's my March #bookspinbingo board!

A little behind but here is my #bookspin for March! Just took off the ones I read or started and ran a RNG to fill in the spaces.

I didn't finish my doublespin for last month so that may be a free space this go round. Life's been crazy so not much reading time.

@TheAromaofBooks

I adored this cozy fantasy romance set in a baking contest! Plus, the author included RECIPES in the back!

This was my #bookspin for February and I slogged through it. Partly I had a lot going on, and partly I just want invested in the story. I didn't care about dog shows or bridge so 🤷🏻‍♀️. Also, I figured out the murderer and twist about 3/4 the way through so the big reveal was ho hum for me. This is a spin-off from the author's other mystery series, which was referenced several times. Hopefully she's better at plot in her other books.

Here is my February #bookspinbingo board! I'm really excited. Looks like there's an easy bingo with both bookspin titles in the same row.

#bookspin: Peg and Rose Solve a Murder
#doublebookspin: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

@TheAromaofBooks

My January reads! I also included the short stories I read if they had been published individually. Pretty good reading month. No outright duds. I marked my top three with hearts.

My February #bookspin list. Copied over the books I didn't read from January, and then ran a random number generator on my book collection to fill in the blanks (everything is catalogued on LibraryThing) to try and move through books I forgot I had (there are many). If I landed on a book in a series, I used the first unread book in that series.

@TheAromaofBooks

Also with finishing The Spare Man, I got #bookspinbingo!
@TheAromaofBooks

I was a beta reader for this book (I'm even in the acknowledgements!) so while this is the first time I've read the published book, it's not the first time I've read the book. It was so much fun! And it's been so long I actually forgot the the ending so that was great.

Highly recommended for a great science fiction mystery on a giant cruise ship. And lots of great representation.

Christina Sng is a master of packing in a lot of story and emotion into just a few words. These poems were so good! There's mostly speculative fiction, more on the horror and science fiction side than fantasy, though there are a few that are not genre. I'll have to pick up her other books too now!

The tagged book is the latest in a contemporary romance series based off of Greek myths and set in a modern-day publishing empire. The entire series is SO GOOD and I can't stop raving about them. These three finish a story arc, and the next one is about Cassandra (Cassie) and Menelaus (Manny) and it's out in June! I'm so excited!
(We first meet Manny in the prequel novelette Penelope Pops the Question which is staunchly feminist and amazing.)

I'd made mistakes, but I'd paid for them. I'd learned from them. Mostly. I'd continue to learn from them. But not if I kept punishing myself over something I couldn't change. I'd done a bad thing, but I wasn't a bad person. I wasn't beyond salvation. Wasn't beyond love.

I finished my #doublespin today! This was a cute romcom about a disgraced pop star, a former boy band member, a Broadway show, best friendship, a cat named Fish, and living the life you want instead of the life expected of you. I'll definitely have to read Funny You Should Ask now.

@TheAromaofBooks

I finished my January #bookspin! Welcome to Fae Cafe was a fun read, but also very problematic with a very controlling and aggressive male MC, and a female MC who was more cardboard cutout than character. Also weird plot inconsistencies (Kate was a student until she was not!) and pacing issues. Not sure if I'll continue onto book 2.

Also counting two free spaces which I haven't reviewed yet.

@TheAromaofBooks

A cute and fun novelette about a diverse group of NYC PR coworkers having a team retreat/vacation in upstate NY, and finding love and potential.

Humanity would be remembered for, if nothing else, it's TBR piles.

I finally played around with the #storygraph 2023 wrap-up, and I'm really digging the summary infographic. Also all the stats!

Here's my January #bookspinbingo board. Really excited!
#bookspin: Welcome to Fae Cafe
#doublebookspin: Once More With Feeling

@TheAromaofBooks

Here are my top 24 reads of 2023. Why 24? Because that's how many covers fit into the frame. 😁

I'm back on the #bookspin bandwagon for 2024! I need to get through my TBR!

@TheAromaofBooks

This book of short stories is VERY hard to find. I'd been looking for awhile before a copy popped up on eBay. But it was very much worth the wait. These science fiction stories showcase the ability of SF to explore humanity and human nature. They hit like a gut punch, and leave the reader reeling. Highly recommended!

Oh hey. Long time no post! It's been a super rough year which will be better in 2024 (major life changes afoot).

But I wanted to share that Smashwords is having their annual end of year sale! The website is kind of hard to navigate but lots of great reads on discount/free. I'll share some recs ⬇️

"Candidates are not truthful when asked why they‘re running for Congress, but I think the problem is the question itself. It almost demands a lie, which should ideally mention God blessing America, freedom, democracy, our Founding Fathers, that children are our future, and the bald eagle."

A fairly light reading month because it was Tour de Fleece. Tagged book was my favorite, with honorable mentions for Small Favors by Olivia Atwater and a reread of Howl's Moving Castle.

June books! Tagged book is my favorite.

I went in for one book for a coworker's birthday present. Whoops.

May reads! Favorites were:
The Comeback by Lily Chu
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming

Finished all the available volumes of a cute manga about a group of men who become idols in their mid-30s-to-early-40s. There is some body shaming and fatphobia, particularly earlier on. Later volumes either ignore or take more of a sympathetic view.

Last month wasn't a great reading month. It was a shit month at work. But I enjoyed House Perilous, the second book in the Sparks & Philtres series by Tansy Rayner Roberts.

Also a very solid start to yet another vampire knitting club spin-off from Nancy Warren with The Vampire Knitting Club: Cornwall.

By the way! I'm on Storygraph now and migrating away from Goodreads. Friend me!

First in-person book signing since pre-pandemic! Super excited for this book.

I realized I never posted a review of this, my favorite read of March! Ever wonder about the lives of the shopkeepers in fantasy adventure games? Love enemies to lovers? Need more queer fantasy? This is the book for you! I loved the two main characters, who are rival potioneers on the same street. Lots of found family vibes. Delightful and charming.

And if you feel like working erotica, write erotica. Make it dirty and obnoxious and queer and sweet and righteous, and build a fortress of horniness to protect you from this cold, ugly world.

Nita says books are boring; I should play with her instead.

I've been bingeing cozy manga and they are all so delightful!

This is the best dedication. The petty I live for.

From the story, “Some Cupids Kill with Arrows.“ I can totally relate to Cupid being distracted from a task because books.

A super cute middle grade contemporary fantasy about a family moving to a DC suburb and discovering an opossum who can control luck, known as the Impossumble. It's a bit dated (it was originally published in 1992) but still very readable.

Currently it seems to only be available from Book View Cafe directly, but should make it's way over to the usual places eventually.

Screenshot from Bookmory, which celebrates when you finish a book.

I sped through this last night in one sitting. It was a marvelous slow burn of a story set in a world much like our own, about a girl in a community along the Gulf who sends a message in a bottle, and the political prisoner imprisoned over a volcano who receives it. This was so so so good. Lots to digest here about colonialism, classism, justice, and community. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this sequel to Donut Fall in Love. So much intersectionality here. I love Lau's novels which explore deeper themes than her shorter works.

Finished Iron Widow last night and loved it! Can't wait to read the sequel!

Really nice seeing my name in the acknowledgements. Now to read the published book and see what has changed since the beta read.

This list looks great! https://bookriot.com/books-like-studio-ghibli/

Grabbed from Facebook. As if I needed an excuse to stockpile books...