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Verity
Great Circle | Maggie Shipstead
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Pickpick

It has taken me actual months (six of them I think) but I have finally finished this. And despite the time it‘s taken me, it‘s a pick. I‘ve done about half of it over the last few days - because once the war gets going it really picks up. I cared more about Marian‘s story than Hadley‘s, but most of it is Marian so that is fine!

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Verity
The Roughest Draft | Austin Siegemund-Broka, Emily Wibberley
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Hoping this will clear my post Funny You Should Ask book hangover…

14 likes1 stack add
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Verity
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Pickpick

I loved this so much and it has given me a terrible book hangover. I‘ve read two books with similar tropes since I finished this earlier this week and neither of them have come remotely close to how much I enjoyed this. Yes the early part of their relationship has a lot of alcohol involved, also some unprofessional behaviour- but she knows she‘s doing it and there are Consequences. But the Now section balances it all out. So good. So so good.

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Verity
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Next romance read…

16 likes1 stack add
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Verity
The Cricket Term | Antonia Forest
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Pickpick

Honestly this is one of the best school stories I have read in ages. It had me from the casual Peter Wimsey reference and it kept me all the way through to the end. It‘s really quite something and it deserves to be better known.

TrishB @LeahBergen definitely looks like something from your shelves! 12mo
LeahBergen @TrishB And I DO have it on my shelves. 😆 12mo
Verity @LeahBergen I love that! And it‘s so good isn‘t it? 12mo
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Verity @TrishB 😂 12mo
batsy A lovely edition! I would love to own all of the Antonia Forest books. I've read the one that was reissued and loved it 12mo
Verity @batsy it‘s so pretty isn‘t it. I‘ve read three of them now - and they‘re all in very different editions, which makes my brain hurt 😂 12mo
22 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Verity
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Oooooh. I really hope I like this more than I liked the sequel to Dial A…

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The Cereal Murders | Diane Mott Davidson
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I‘m meant to be reducing the to-read pile, not adding to it… Oopsie daisy!

17 likes1 stack add
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BOOKSHOPS | Jorge Carrion
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Book nerd heaven!

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Daisy Jones & The Six | Taylor Jenkins Reid
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The music is here - and in an hour or two so will the adaptation be

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No Life for a Lady | Hannah Dolby
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Current read! It‘s out tomorrow here…

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Exes and O's | Amy Lea
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Next up on the romance pile!

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Verity
A High-End Finish | Kate Carlisle
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Pickpick

Finished it already! A little disappointed with the motivation of the culprit and that Shannon didn‘t do any figuring out for herself, but there were reasons for than. I have number two lined up ready to you already!

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A High-End Finish | Kate Carlisle
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Fresh bedtime reading

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Quiet Gentleman | Georgette Heyer
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I can‘t help myself: I own the paperback and the audiobook and yet I bought the kindle version because it was 99p. 😂

22 likes1 stack add
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Book Lovers | Emily Henry
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A study in contrasts!

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New Year Resolutions | Kath Beattie
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New Year, new challenge!

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My plans for New Year‘s Eve involve a roaring fire and a good book. Sorry not sorry!

Andrea313 Gorgeous! Best way to ring in the year. ❤️ 1y
RaeLovesToRead Wow... wish I had a fire right now 🥰 1y
22 likes2 comments
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Verity
Carrie Soto Is Back | Taylor Jenkins Reid
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Pickpick

Finally finished this - hardbacks really don‘t fit into my reading life that well! Anyway, this is really good, even if I think I spotted a few Wimbledon inaccuracies! Carrie is a great character and it‘s wonderful watching her evolve and grow. I‘m sad that this is the last book in this universe though.

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Killers of a Certain Age | Deanna Raybourn
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Pickpick

This is a charmingly murderous adventure caper, that I was definitely expecting to be more nerve wracking than it ended up being. It took me a while to read - but only because the Queen died and then I had shingles! Once I got round to settling down to it I was through it in a flash. I like Raybourn‘s historicals more, but this is still pretty good.

38 likes3 stack adds
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Drumsticks | Charlotte Carter
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Wednesday evening reading!

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Verity
My Evil Mother | Margaret Atwood
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Pickpick

One last Halloween-y read and this is a fun short story from Atwood. Free in KU so worth a half hour of your time.

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Fence: Striking Distance | Sarah Rees Brennan
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Bedtime reading!

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Killers of a Certain Age | Deanna Raybourn
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Current read…

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Verity
The Dead Romantics | Ashley Poston
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Pickpick

Need a romance with a ghost for your Halloween reading bingo? I‘ve got you covered. And it‘s got a satisfying ending as well as a lovely cast of characters including a quirky family who run a funeral home. It has got some death in it - it made me cry - but it‘s worth it.

ShyBookOwl I'm halfway through this now! Really enjoying it 1y
Verity @ShyBookOwl i think I read it in 24 hours flat. And I had a busy day today too. It was worth prioritising! 1y
ShyBookOwl @Verity Awesome. It's currently my bedtime read so I'm doing a couple chapters a night. My daytime read is How to Hang a Witch. I'm fully in October lol 1y
24 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Verity
Love on the Brain | Ali Hazelwood
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Pickpick

Where have I been? Well work got insane, the Queen died and then I got shingles. So it‘s been a real doozy. But I‘m going to try and be back here a bit more

Love on the brain wasn‘t as good as The Love hypothesis, but it was exactly what my addled brain needed at the time!

LeahBergen Shingles! Poor you. It‘s good to see you back. 😊 1y
Verity @LeahBergen and it was on my head Leah. On. My. Head. It was horrid. But I‘m doing better now. x 1y
29 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Piglettes | Clmentine Beauvais
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Oopsie daisy did I buy two books today just because I happened to be walking past Foyles? Bad me.

JamieArc I loved Piglettes. Super cute. I‘m also a total Francophile and love everything French 😆 2y
29 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Verity
My Italian Bulldozer: A Novel | Alexander McCall Smith
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Bedtime reading!

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Verity
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Pickpick

Murder must advertise is 99p this month so I have added the kindle version to the paperback, the audiobook and the radio play version! Now if only they could update the cover of gaudy night so it matches - it does on the Amazon site…

And yes, this is one of my favourites- Peter is undercover at an advertising agency, solving a murder and cracking a drugs ring.

shanaqui Murder Must Advertise is just sooo fun. Makes the best of Peter's piffle. 2y
CogsOfEncouragement I read this five years ago and adored the minimalist cover with a monocle as part of the design. I can‘t add a photo here, but if you click on the book and scroll just a bit you‘ll see my post from back then with it. I ended up reading all the books that had Harriet Vane in them because I liked her so much. 2y
Verity @CogsOfEncouragement I love the Peter and Harriet books. And I love the little reference to Harriet that‘s in this one which was written between Have His Carcase and Gaudy Night. I have them all on audiobook and I listen to them fairly regularly 2y
Verity @shanaqui it really does doesn‘t it. “Anything you want if you whiffle” 2y
33 likes4 comments
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Verity
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Pickpick

Ok so I absolutely loved this. It‘s got romance and family problems and grief and also how much work it is to be good at something. I really enjoyed it.

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Verity
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Pickpick

A murder mystery set in the 1980s, written by an actual vicar and former pop star. This is a lot of fun - and if you‘ve ever been involved in parish life or parish committees there are some lovely touches for you.

MrsK I‘ve never even heard of this one! Added to my stack immediately. Thanks for the great review 😊. 2y
23 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
Verity
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Pickpick

I loved this so much. Yes there is a Big Sad Thing early on - but you suspect it‘s coming from the blurb so you‘re prepared. And then it‘s just a delight. An interesting read at the moment though given what is going on in the US

GondorGirl I loved this book so much! And this cover fits it so much better than the standard US cover... it made the book look like a chick lit romcom. 😳 2y
Verity @GondorGirl it is a lovely cover. And it‘s definitely not a chick lit rom com, although I think it is still a little more serious than this is iykwim. 2y
33 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Bedtime book!

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Book post! Out today! Selma Blair‘s Mean Baby and the sixth Vinyl Detective novel - Attack and Decay!

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Verity
Lone Wolf | Linwood Barclay
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Pickpick

It‘s been a while, but I‘m back! This was a very readable Murder mystery that‘s 15 years old but has themes that feel scarily relevant to what you seen going on in modern America which makes it somewhat worrying as well.

DaveGreen7777 Welcome back! 😀 2y
LeahBergen Hello again! 👋🏻 2y
CarolynM Nice to see you back 👋🙂 2y
21 likes3 comments
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Island of the Mad | Laurie R. King
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Saturday night reading!

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Verity
The Mirror Dance | Catriona McPherson
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Pickpick

I do like this series - and this one is a good one. I‘m interested to see where this goes next with Dandy and Alec because I really can‘t work it out. Oh and the mystery is good!

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Verity
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Mehso-so

Oh my gosh this is brutal. It‘s bleak. It‘s filled with child abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual abuse, neglect. But it‘s also not that well written and it doesn‘t actually really get you anywhere or give you a takeaway at the end. So it‘s definitely a mixed picture.

Chelsea.Poole I agree. 2y
Verity @Chelsea.Poole oh I‘m glad I‘m not the only one! It‘s just such a slog isn‘t it - on all fronts. 2y
Megabooks Very good points here. 2y
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Verity @Megabooks I keep thinking about it and how it is different to say Educated. And while that doesn‘t have the sexual abuse side, which makes it less bleak on that front, I do feel like she has grappled more with what her family did to her, how it affected her and how she moves forward & you can see that even when she is writing about her childhood. With this you feel for long periods that Jones still doesn‘t get that what happened to her was wrong 2y
Megabooks I think she knew it was wrong (now), but possibly she was too conflicted about forgiveness to write a book. I got the feeling she hadn‘t fully processed what happened to her yet as well. Not enough distance. 2y
Verity @Megabooks I agree. 2y
25 likes6 comments
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The Masqueraders | Georgette Heyer
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Debating another reread of this…

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Playing for Love | Jeevani Charika
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More romance reading going on here!

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Well Matched | Jen DeLuca
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Next romance read!

27 likes1 stack add
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Verity
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Praise be! Libby is delivering to my kindle again, so not only can I read this, but little sis can too (her kindle is on my account) and then we can talk about it together.

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Pumpkin Spice Peril | Jenn McKinlay
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Latest arrivals here! I have no willpower.

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After the sh!tstorm of the ladies event, delighted to be able to be unconditionally happy for @Cinfhen ‘s niece who has made it into the free programs tomorrow!

squirrelbrain Yay! 🎉🎉🎉 2y
marleed Oh I‘m so happy for this! 2y
Cinfhen Awwwww, thanks so much, @Verity ❤️❤️❤️ Her personal goal was to skate clean and make it into the top 15 and that‘s just what she did!!! Really a joy to see her excitement @squirrelbrain @marleed 2y
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Cinfhen OMG….yesterday was SO SAD! NO WORDS 😶 2y
BkClubCare Exciting!!! 2y
CarolynM Wonderful!👏🎉 @Cinfhen 2y
Cinfhen Thanks so much @CarolynM @BkClubCare We‘re SO PROUD of her achievements 💓💓💓💓💓 2y
Verity @Cinfhen I hope you‘re even more proud today. She had a tough one, but she got through it and they did so well. And what a competition to be a part of. That final group 😍 2y
Verity @Cinfhen and as for the Women‘s. I have no words. I‘m just glad that the pairs was so good that it helped wash away the awful taste of child exploitation. 2y
Cinfhen Thanks so much!! Yesterday wasn‘t her best skate, I‘m sure she‘s disappointed since she‘s done that routine flawlessly hundreds of times but that‘s how it goes. She definitely had a positive, amazing experience overall and can be so proud of what she/they achieved in 8 months!!!! The Chinese have been skating together for 15 YEARS!!!! It just irked me to see Eteri down there in the coaches arena. She needs to be banned. 2y
Verity @Cinfhen you don‘t know how the nerves are going to hit you til you do it though. No matter how much you tell yourself it‘s just like any other skate, it must be really hard to actually skate like it is. Are they going to worlds? I‘m so cross that Eteri is involved with Tarasova and Morosov - especially as my boy Trankov is their main coach… 2y
Cinfhen Her partner is debating retiring/ he‘s 33 - I don‘t see him sticking around for another Olympic cycle. I think if he retires she‘ll probably stop competing at this level. As much as she loves skating I think she‘s ready for “normal” 2y
Verity @Cinfhen I can understand that. And the Olympics is a helluva way to go out. But it‘ll be a weaker field at worlds so they could do well… 2y
Verity @Cinfhen I‘ve just realised that I saw her partner skate back in the day - I went to 2012 Euros with my sister and he was skating with one of his previous partners - no wonder he‘s nearly done! 2y
Cinfhen can you believe all that‘s going on??? My niece is going to Worlds with her partner. Will be interesting to see how it plays out without any Russian teams. My heart is so heavy though. I feel like the ISU should have canceled the event in light of what‘s happening in Ukraine 💔💔 (edited) 2y
Verity @Cinfhen I mean it‘s all just so… yeah. I‘m thrilled for your niece getting to go to worlds. And I‘m glad that they aren‘t cancelled - because there are a lot of people who are going to retire after worlds. But it will be weird without the Russians and I‘m sad that we may have seen the last of some of them without realising it. Does that make sense? 2y
Cinfhen Yeah, it‘s such a mess. 2y
Verity @Cinfhen coming back to this to tell you that I‘m just watching the pairs free back with the bbc commentary (rather that Eurosport) and Robin Cousins says that Hayley is the best partner that Evgeny has had - and it‘s a shame that she wasn‘t around earlier in his career because they would have had a good career together. I know it‘s what ifs, but I thought you (and she?) might like to hear nice things being said about her! 2y
Cinfhen That‘s so nice to hear!! I‘ll share it with her. Worlds was a bit of a disappointment for them but they were both nursing injuries. At this point in the season it‘s inevitable. And what happened to Ashley Cain?? She looked sooo wobbly during warm-ups!! Hailey was at Jr Worlds when she had that terrible fall / it was like deja vu. Skating can be so dangerous. It was a good Worlds event though. Nice for some other teams to finally get to the podium 2y
36 likes19 comments
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Verity
Rivers of London Volume 9: Monday, Monday | Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel
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Twins are here!

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Verity
PRIZE RACKET | Isabel Rogers
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Pickpick

Can confirm: this is excellent. The Stockwell orchestra is scouted for a tv talent show. There are appearances from some familiar faces and a whole new set of issues. It‘s fun and it‘s funny. I loved it.

EvieBee So I went to check the series out and “accidentally” purchased the whole series on Kindle. Thank you! 💕 2y
Verity @EvieBee you are very welcome. They are so much fun. Especially if you‘ve ever played in a band/orchestra! 2y
25 likes2 comments
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Death Goes on Skis | Nancy Spain
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Pickpick

It‘s so good! Think Evelyn Waugh meets murder mystery but where the detective isn‘t really very interested in turning the culprit over the the police!

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Elizabeth I | Helen Castor
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Also on the London trip yesterday: the Elizabeth I and Mary queen of Scots exhibition at the British Library. Can confirm: lots of very cool nearly 500 year old documents written by the women themselves. Like this one with Elizabeth‘s famous signature on it!

TheBookHippie ♥️♥️♥️♥️ 2y
LeahBergen Amazing! 😍 2y
Cathythoughts Great signature 💫 2y
24 likes3 comments
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Matilda | Roald Dahl
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Guess where I was last night!

GondorGirl So cool! How was it? 2y
Verity @GondorGirl it was wonderful. So lovely. Still have the songs stuck in my head! 2y
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Spinning | Lou Aronica
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Busy trying to work out if any of these are @Cinfhen niece - as that‘s her skating partner holding the flag at the opening ceremony!

Cinfhen Yup!!!! You got her!!!! 2y
Cinfhen And the US commentators gave her a HUGE shoutout!!! It was SO EXCITING 2y
Verity @Cinfhen I‘m so excited for you! And the five degrees of separation effect is that I‘m super excited for them too! 2y
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Cinfhen Hahaha 🥰🥰 2y
LeahBergen @Verity @Cinfhen OMG! How exciting! ❤️❤️ 2y
CarolynM @Cinfhen So exciting! Hope I will get to see them skate (our Olympic coverage tends to be pretty biased) 2y
Cinfhen So this is so INFURIATING @CarolynM I am watching coverage through my cable service - Eurosport and they cut to a freakin commercial in middle of opening ceremonies and I missed seeing my niece😩😩😩😩SO PISSED!! Of course all the family around the world was watching so they taped it and posted on our family chat group (edited) 2y
Cinfhen She skates Friday February 18 and hopefully Saturday Feb 19 @CarolynM @LeahBergen - she needs to place top 16 to compete on Saturday and that‘s her personal goal. 🤞🏼🤞🏼 2y
Cinfhen What did you think of the team event so far @Verity ??!! 2y
CarolynM Oh no! How frustrating for you in the moment! I'm glad you got to see her later anyway. 2y
Verity @Cinfhen I‘m so annoyed for you that you had to wait for the WhatsApp version. I‘m really enjoying the team event so far, fascinating to see who has skated what so far. I literally watched all of it so far back to back to back today because I was working Friday and on a day trip to London yesterday! 2y
Cinfhen Valieva is AMAZING as was Shomo. I haven‘t seen Day 3 yet but I already saw who won gold. I agree, fascinating who the coaches chose to represent. 2y
Verity @Cinfhen i haven‘t seen the end of the team or the mens short yet - but I know what happened. It‘s all getting very messy though isn‘t it. 2y
34 likes13 comments
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Verity
Black Drop | LEONORA. NATTRASS
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Did I buy some more books: absolutely yes.

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