My June #TBR is ambitious with readalongs for #CampLitsy2023 (loving Bandit Queens so far!) #PemberLittens #SundayBuddyRead #DiverseCozy & #TitlesandTunes (the first 6 books). The bottom 4 are work reads for the 3 leadership classes I teach that are read in weekly sections. Finally the middle 6 are books I hope to read for SeriesLove2023 & other book clubs/challenges & just because. As usual I remain a moody reader & we‘ll see where I end up!😉

#VolumesAndVocals

My book tour blog review of this book was 9 years ago but I still remember quoting some of the lyrics to #EveryBreathYouTake in it. Definitely a stalker song. 😱

“Imagine that every breath you take, every move you, every step you take, someone is watching you. Not just part of the lyrics in the classic song by The Police, this is the reality for one in six women in the U.S. who have been stalked by someone…”

May was actually a great reading month for me! I managed to finish 12 books total & keep up with/complete challenges for #PemberLittens & #SundayBuddyReads & #TitlesAndTunes as well as my work book sections (1 is finished, 2 are in progress carrying over to June.) I finished my virtual foodie book club read & managed to get 2 new books in series read for #SeriesLove2023 My favorites were the top row, all of which will likely make my year‘s best.

Read in May for my virtual foodie book club & I was afraid it wouldn‘t hold up to the hype but I truly lived this book & it will be on my favorites for the year. Witty & humorous but with darker themes of misogyny, sexual assault, death & grief. I loved Elizabeth Zott as a character-a strong & intelligent woman who knows her mind. The supporting characters of her found family were great, especially Six-Thirty. ❤️🐕 I took a spinach casserole ⬇️

I had never read this book in my youth for some reason & I threw it into my May mix for a Kindle reading challenge prompt. It was just OK for me—I found the story convoluted, the dialogue wooden & there was a bit too much of a push on religion for my taste & Meg got on my nerves. Will I someday read the next book(s)? Maybe. On the plus side, it was a quick read & I am happy to have ticked it off my list.🤷🏻‍♀️

#VolumesAndVocals

Granted it was a mocking jay & not a white-winged dove as the symbol, but Katniss was on the #EdgeofSeventeen in the first two books of the series.

I went round & round with my #TitlesandTunes #GuiltyPleasure pick for June, but ended up with a reread decades in the making of this one. This was the book to read in 1979 & I was on the edge of 14 & passing it around with my friends.

When I went to a list of the top songs of 1979, the Kiss classic “I Was Made for Loving You” stood out as a good (& okay maybe a bit creepy when you relate the words to the book) match! 😱😆

Overall a pick for the entertainment value. I was raised on 80‘s slasher flicks & their tropes & I have a fondness for horror parodies, so this book is kind of up my alley. The MC Lynette drove me a bit crazy, as did her fellow final girls but I ended up rooting for them. I liked the twists, some I guessed, others I didn‘t & the ending scene rocked, but it was a bit tough to keep everyone straight. Lots of trigger warnings & gore & a crazy ride!

My third Stacey Lee book read for #SundayBuddyRead & another great story from this Historical YA author. Set around the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, it features 15-year-old Mercy Wong who is trying to get herself & her family out of the poverty of Chinatown by using ideas from a women‘s business book to get into an elite boarding school. Mercy is a great character & I loved her bravery & wit. Lee makes history come to life for both YA & adult ⬇️

Made a little field trip yesterday to the indie book store that‘s about 40 minutes away from me & decided to grab this one for #CampLitsy23 June. (I already have Bandit Queens on Kindle.) They had one copy so it was kismet & I picked up a cute tote bag & bookmarks.

I listened to my current audiobook on the drive & stopped at a few other places including my favorite natural food store for their vegetarian hot food bar for lunch, so a great day!🌺

Turns out my Director & my Corporate Trainer at my new job are fairly big readers which is always nice. One of them recommended this start of a mystery series which I had seen but didn‘t know much about & my library hold came in so I snuck it in this month. Delightful! Fun & intriguing characters at a retirement community in the U.K. have a club to solve murders & work with the (somewhat reluctant) local police. Lots of good twists & turns that ⬇️

Joining in the #20in4 #readathon hosted by @Andrew65
I don‘t know that I can do 20 hours starting tomorrow night but I should be able to get a good chunk of time in & finish the books I have started, my homework sections for work & possibly start the two books on the bottom right. Then again, I may get moody & read something not shown.🤷🏻‍♀️📚

#SundayBuddyRead #CampLitsy23

Read as part of the leadership series I‘m leading at work & I don‘t know that I would have picked it up otherwise because I had no idea who Tunde Oyeneyin is (the answer is a motivational speaker & Peloton Instructor). But this book turned out to be a pleasant surprise & very relatable. Tunde talks about her journey to find her voice with tips on surrender, power, empathy, authenticity & knowledge (SPEAK) & is very inspirational. I both read & ⬇️

For #SundayBuddyRead peeps who are like me & enjoy a cheap Kindle option, our sultry August pick is $1.99 on Kindle.

I liked this one for a quick, easy read with #IslandVibes for #TitlesandTunes It‘s by no means perfect & I thought the twists were pretty easy to guess, but the tension was built up nicely & it kept me turning the pages. I liked the atmospheric remote island setting, beautiful but creepy & menacing. Overall a decent summer thriller & I am happy to have it off my #BOTM TBR stack at last! 🌺📚

Finally got around to reading this one prompted by my #AuldLangSpine list from @Laughterhp & while The House in the Cerulean Sea edges out as my favorite, this is a close second. I love the ability Klune has to make me both laugh & cry to & grow & redeem his characters. I have been staying away from “sad books” for a while now as it doesn‘t help my depression, but the sad moments of grief & loneliness are served with a big side of humor & hope.💙

Finished last weekend but no time for reviews during the week. I enjoyed this spin-off to the Sam Quinn series, almost as much as Sam‘s story. Arwyn is a great character & I like her love interest Declan & her sea creature friends that live below her art gallery/restored cannery. Sam & Clive appear which is a plus. My only complaint was it could have been longer & the abruptness of the ending-it just kind of stopped which leads to the next book ⬇️

Finished last week with the #Pemberlittens I quite enjoyed Cranford, a quick & amusing read. Cranford‘s small town vignettes highlight its quirky residents, including Bessie the cow. I especially liked Gaskell‘s sly humor in quotes like “I'll not listen to reason...Reason always means what someone else has got to say.” And her astute observations such as “Many a one has been comforted in their sorrow by seeing a good dish come upon the table.”

I started this one last night. It‘s a spin off of the Sam Quinn series, a favorite not-so-cozy, paranormal mystery series of mine. Although you don‘t have to, I recommend you start with that series first (book 1 tagged in comments). It‘s a good quick fun read palate cleanser & this one is turning out the same so far!
#SeriesLove2023

#MagnificentMay #readathon update. Less crazy, still busy workweek but I managed to finish one book, catch up to Cranford with #PemberLittens + complete my work chapters for the week & keep up with #SundayBuddyRead

I also started 2 books (I popped in Bewicched because it published recently & is a spin off of a favorite series) #serieslove2023

I need to start Reckless Girls for #TitlesandTunes this weekend & yes, that‘s 8 books in play!🤦🏻‍♀️

I enjoyed this 6th book in the series which brought trouble to Nora from her past. As usual, the Secret, Book, & Scone Society was on the case. I liked the addition of a neurodivergent boy & continue to love the main characters with all of their flaws. The book quotes that start chapters & the lists of books that bibliotherapist Nora finds for people are always a treat.📚❤️

Read for #SeriesLove2023 & finished during the #MagnificentMay #readathon

Not for anyone with a fear of puppets, dolls, clowns etc., but I enjoyed this story of single mom Louise, who returns home to Charleston after her parents die in an accident & works with her estranged brother Mark to ready the family home for sale. There are lots of family dysfunctions & secrets that are well above the normal family issues, including Pupkin, the nightmare puppet the siblings grew up with. Sometimes over the top & probably more ⬇️

Joining in the #MagnificentMay #readathon
My goals are to finish Paper Cuts, catch up with Cranford with the #Pemberlittens & read the sections I need for the 3 leadership class discussions I have Tuesday for work. Otherwise, I‘ll start Outrun the Moon tonight for #SundayBuddyRead & start Reckless Girls for #TitlesAndTunes #IslandVibe & maybe start Under the Whispering Door as well & anything else that strikes my mood. 📚🤷🏻‍♀️📚

A little late posting my May #TBR because of work& life. Ambitious with a few readalongs, challenges & bookclub + 3 books for work in the 3rd row for the 3 leadership sessions I am facilitating. We‘ll see what ends up getting read! 📚📚📚🤷🏻‍♀️📚📚📚 ( I did finish How to Sell a Haunted House on my overnight work trip already & got a start on Paper Cuts.)

April was a crazy month for me! I started a new job @ have been utterly swamped transitioning with the outgoing person which includes kicking off a leadership 101 session Wed in Hilo & taking over the in-progress 201 & 301 sessions & onboarding a new corporate trainer. It WILL get calmer!

That being said, while I had planned to read 12 books, I‘m happy I made it through 8. I enjoyed them all. All women authors. Crazy Brave (the audiobook) & ⬇️

My picks for May‘s #TitlesAndTunes

I chose Reckless Girls to finally get it off my #BOTM #TBR & because it looks quick & entertaining & the cover screams #IslandVibe 🌺

My song pick is Island from Miley Cyrus because the lyrics ask “Am I stranded on an island? Or have I landed in paradise?” which seems fitting for a thriller on an isolated island. 🏝️

Listening to Harjo read her memoir, heck, listening to Harjo read anything is an immersive experience. I put this one on my #TBR after reading/listening to An American Sunrise last year. Beautiful prose & mystical storytelling about the hard points as well as the highlights of her life. Beautiful & inspiring. 💜

I am giving this book a very soft pick. The subject, Poet Adrienne Rich, is fascinating & someone I knew little about before going in. Learning about her, her power & impact & the great discussions through #SundayBuddyRead are what make it a pick. I was not impressed with the author, feeling she didn‘t live up to the potential she had to tell AR‘s story. I did love the historical glimpses & how AR both influenced & was influenced by the changing⬇️

Read for #diversecozy I really enjoyed this mystery, first of the series & set in 1920s Bombay. Perveen Mistry is a wonderful character, one of the first female lawyers in India & I enjoyed her family & friends. The mystery surrounding 3 widows of a client of Mistry Law has some good twists & I learned a lot about culture & customs. I will continue with this series as I want more of Parveen & have the second book downloaded.
#SeriesLove2023

My first time through this Bronte book. I think the #chapteraday format with the #Pemberlittens works well for it, as I like Agnes but her timidity at times drove me crazy. I definitely would not have wanted to be a governess! 😱 slow to get there, even for a short book, but the ending made me happy. 🐶❤️

Thanks to @BarkingMadRead for the great hosting & fabulous hashtags! 😆

I feel about the same as when I read this 3 years ago, I really enjoyed this Pride and Prejudice retelling. Back then I said, “Loved the characters & the glimpse into a modern-day suburban Toronto Muslim community setting. Keeps to the spirit of the original but has its own clear voice.” (And I‘ll take the 🥑 🍞 too!) 😋

Fun to reread it at a #chapteraday pace with the #Pemberlittens. Thanks to @StayCurious for hosting! 💜

Finished earlier this week. I‘m still more of a fan of her Rockton series & its characters & new spin-off, the Haven‘s Rock series, but this standalone mystery/suspense/thriller from Armstrong had some entertaining twists & turns. It had me guessing & second-guessing myself with where it was all going & it kept me turning the pages, so overall a pick.

It was a long work week getting settled in a new job (so much peopling!) so I treated myself to brunch delivery this morning. My favorite Mexican Street Avocado Toast & an Iced Dirty Chai Oatmilk Latte. 😋

About 60 pages into this one for #diversecozy & really enjoying it so far! Also #SeriesLove2023

Still settling into my new job with some big goals for the next few weeks so I will be ducking in as I can.

This was recommended to me a couple of Mo tha ago by my favorite librarian. It‘s a fast (

I finally discovered (it‘s apparently been up for a year) 🤦🏻‍♀️ a little free library in my neighborhood & just about a mile away from my house. I left 2 books & a few book stickers & took the tagged book, which I have been wanting to read. 📚💚

Finished this week & a soft pick for me. I like Lisa zinger & enjoyed the twists & turns of this one even if the reveals seemed a bit obvious to me. Loved the atmosphere of the secluded luxury cabin, but lots of characters (several unlikable) & side characters to keep track of & some didn‘t seem necessary to the plot and/or were red herrings. Still twisty & good tension building kept me picking it up when I could in a busy week with a new job.

My April TBR: top row = buddy reads for #Pemberlittens #SundayBuddyRead & #DiverseCozy Next, Joy Harjo‘s memoir on audio for #PoetryMonth & an #ARC for the new Ice Crean Shop Mystery for #SeriesLove2023 & True Biz from @Laughterhp ‘s #AuldLangSpine list. The rest are library books & some I‘ve been meaning to get to.
As always, it‘s subject to change based on my mood #proudmoodreader I start my new job Thursday-so hoping for more reading time.🙏🏼

It was a crazy month between finalizing my transition to a new job (I start Thursday) & getting COVID, but I managed to read 12 books. I enjoyed most of what I read but favorites were Adult Assembly Required, Foul Lady Fortune, Murder at Haven‘s Rock & Death By Dumpling. Overall a good reading month.

I have been saving this one (part of my #RecipeSwap package from @BookNAround last year) for my virtual foodie book club. Sweet WWII historical fiction about 4 very different British women in a wartime cooking contest with the first prize of being a radio host on The Kitchen Front radio show, helping housewives & home cooks creat good meals from their rations & learn how to stretch them. A bit predictable , but an endearing story of friendship.

Posting my final March reviews. This was my audiobook for work commutes & it kept me creeped out (& grossed out at times) throughout the story, especially the ending. Am I sure I know exactly what happened? No, but it was a heck of a scary ride to get there! If you don‘t like horror & scare easily, this isn‘t your book, but if you are a fan of horror movies, this is the audio version of one. Great narration & I loved strong & brave Charlotte!😱

I loved Chloe Gong‘s These Violent Delights/Our Violent Ends duology (read it 1st if you haven‘t) & I was equally caught up in this 1st in a new duology that the author calls calls “a speculative historical thriller inspired by Shakespeare‘s As You Like It.” Familiar characters are back & we get to see them in new lights & the twists & turns had me stressing & guessing (mostly incorrectly) throughout the book. Mahalo to @TheBookHippie for both ⬇️

I wanted to try to get at least one book read in support of the #TransRightsReadathon & this was on my #TBR & available on Libby. YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi with the main character Jam, a black trans girl. Short, powerful & moving, about how when we tell ourselves monsters don‘t exist anymore we forget to look for them/stop seeing them. I loved this quote:”…forgetting is dangerous. Forgetting is how the monsters come back.” So relatable to current times.⬇️

Read for the #HeartstoneBuddyRead with the #PemberLittens it was a little hard to read a chapter-a-day especially at the end when the action picked up. Overall, I enjoyed this Pride and Prejudice-inspired fantasy story. The world the author built is intricate & at times the number of characters & creatures/monsters was a bit confusing but I liked the main characters & loved Akarra the dragon. Still some plot threads undone-what‘s up with Gwen‘s ⬇️

I can‘t tell you how much I needed a light & fun book this month & this one delivered. Another great #SundayBuddyRead pick. It‘s a follow up to The Bookish Life of Nina Hill & just as enjoyable (I‘d read Nina first if you haven‘t as many of the characters have big roles or just pop up here.) I am a sucker for found family stories & the one that Laura finds when she moves from NYC to Los Angeles for grad school is a quirky & lovable one. All the ⬇️

Sobering book about our right to privacy about our bodies, relationships, gender, health information etc. Lots of stories, many horrific, about when those rights are violated. Definitely made me think about my online information & risks. There are tips about protecting yourself & your children—including the very simple one about covering your computer camera even while not using the computer. A bit dry at times but overall interesting & helpful.

Had this loaded on my Kindle for ages, so thanks for #diversecozy for getting me to finally read it. I enjoyed this foodie cozy; Lana, her best friend Megan, pug Kikko (short for Kikkoman as in soy sauce), family & their restaurant. The whodunnit of the murder of a business plaza owner is a bit predictable but it‘s a cozy & a fun look at the Asian community around Cleveland. I will definitely keep reading this series.

#SeriesLove2023 #20in4

So while madly transitioning work things to start my new job on 4/6, I started feeling crappy on Wed & took a COVID test Thursday morning & of course I have it for the 2nd time! 😷😞 Since I‘m home isolating until Monday, I‘m going to be reading & joining in the #20in4 #readathon

It looks like a lot of books but most are finishing up from buddyreads & such. I do need to start & finish The Kitchen Front by 3/31 for my virtual foodie bookclub ⬇️

My library bookstore #bookhaul from yesterday. The stack was $9.50 & is mostly books from my TBR. I thought the tagged book would be fun for learning more about astrology for #TravelingStars

The book🐔🐔approve of the choices, although they reminded me how gigantic my TBR stack is & how I didn‘t *need* more books added…spoilsports! 😉

New job offer accepted & now the drug test. In my car in the parking lot reading the tagged book for #diversecozy & sucking down my Starbucks & bottle of water & trying to find the sweet spot between “OMG I have to go enough to fill this cup!” & “Line, I don‘t care about any line, you let me go NOW or it‘s gonna be too late!” #bladderpressures 😬😳😱🤣

A spin-off series from one of my favorites, the author‘s Rockton series. Pre-ordering the audiobook got me an ebook of Dead Letter Days, a transitional novella not in the Litsy database yet.
The novella was good with a short mystery & a big event & the tagged book was a solid start for the new hidden in the Yukon sanctuary town of Haven‘s Rock where Casey & Dalton arrive early when two people on the construction team go missing.

#SeriesLove2023