pickAs a fan of Alexis Hall's work I was curious about his Sci-Fi debut. Hell's Heart is a typical Alexis Hall novel (funny, sarcastic, surprisingly deep when you least expect it), but it is also closer to his Steampunk novels than his contemporary or historical romances. Also, it is not a romance.
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#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC
so-soPurrfect Pop Star is a K-drama in book form; a funny, low stakes, magical realism romance story that sets up the Spotlight&Stars series by Arisa May.
Yuna adopts a stray cat that is actually K-pop star Min-ho who's been cursed by a fan. Subsequently the two of them need to spend a lot of time together to work out how to break the curse before Min-ho turns into a cat for good.
A quick and easy read that will leave you with a smile on your face.
panThis had a strong start. After a breakup Rae wants to explore the kinky side of life and joins a dom/sub club. She has an interesting experience on her first night there, only to be confronted with her Dom, a company consultant named Grant, when she gets to the office on Monday. What follows is a dom/sub spiced The Hating Game with predictable plot, including the third act break-up.
#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC
so-soI liked the dual timeline/flashbacks, but I didn't like the characters. They didn't read like in their late twenties or early thirties. The plot, in my opinion, was predictable.
Old #ARC off #MountARC
#NetGalley
#KnittersOfLitsy #LitsyCrafters
Finished my cardigan yesterday, washed and power-blocked it (blocked it, used lots of towels to wick up the moisture and pressed carefully with a hot iron), because I wanted to wear it today.
Pattern is Seaglass Cardigan by Wool&Pine.
Tagged the book peeking out from my shelves.
More wrap-up graphics. 🎉
Since I've used Goodreads mainly for ARC reviews only, the reasonably accurate account of my tracked reading happened with StoryGraph (I didn't always pick the right edition though).
26 books I rated 5 stars
Guess I won't finish another book in the next three hours, so here's how my reading of 2025 went.
434 book finished
Finished 2025 challenges:
📙Buzzword Reading Challenge
📗Buzzword Cover Challenge
📕52 Book Club Challenge
📘52 Book Club's December Challenge
📖 Christmas Crime Challenge
pickImagine you were on an Austen-Escape journey. You are trying to do the walk of no-shame after your ONS with the dashing lord of the manor, but you forgot your car keys. You go looking for them, but you're mind is foggy, and somehow you remember weird snippets of a crime that happened last night. And then the shooting begins - well, not exactly, but there's no escape and a murderer on the loose...
#audiobook with dual narration
pickNerdy, wholesome, sweet and exactly what this nerd needed Betwixtmas.
Extra fun: bonus scene and Alexis' commentary on some scenes.
EBook is on sale at Amazon today - £1.99/€2.13. (might be today only)
#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern
Gothic story. Haunted house. Terrible relatives. Second chance at love (M/M). Neurodivergent MC.
pickTesla and Shal are on their honeymoon, accompanied by Tesla's service dog Gimlet. A luxury cruise to Mars. The couple is travelling incognito, because Tesla is a famous heiress and her husband a famous detective. When they find a murder victim, Shal becomes the main suspect and is treated as such. Tesla has to get him out of there and they need to find the real murderer.
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#ChrismasCrimeChallenge - Sleigh
pickChristmas tradition: read the St Mary's short story when it drops at midnight, listen to it while preparing food.
Max and Leon are visiting Devon in 1924 to enjoy a quiet few days in the run up to Christmas, only for Leon to end up being the prime suspect when one of the guests is found murdered. An Agatha Christie-esque, only slightly St Mary's and Time Police related, time travel short story where Max gets the chance to be at the centre of ⬇️
Is it really so difficult to look up the pronunciation of a word/name, dear #audiobook narrator?
It's not "Chai-Chester"!
?
I'm not tagging the book, because I'm actually enjoying it. This mispronunciation though was like nails on a chalkboard.
Today's #audiobaking - sourdough discard crackers and another sourdough bread (this one is only half done, I took a pic after removing the lid of the cast iron pot).
London Charismatic book 3
#SeriesLove
#audiobaking
No.2 is done too and I have to sit on my hands now, I want to cut both of them already.
Went to the bookshop while waiting for my daughter to finish her theatre project.
In the English books section was a shelf labeled "Romantasy" but the top shelves contained Sci-fi novels in German. ? I only noticed when Three Body Problem, Mickey 7, and 1984 caught my eye (sorry bad photo quality).
I must have looked lost or very baffled, because one of the staff came over asking how she might help and I pointed it out to her.
pickI liked the illustrations - and by that the second part of the book, with the compendium of animal-human-hybrids - far more than the biography part/story of the book.
Low pick.
Current read. Wonderful illustrations and an interesting mix of genres.
Only took me three years after buying it to actually read it. 😬
https://reactormag.com/new-kindle-feature-ai-answer-questions-books-authors/
Ugh!!! Why?! Who asked for this?
pickQuite liked this. Yes, there are some issues and I'm not talking about the stalking, because that's literally in the title of the novel. I was more frustrated with Izzy being a doormat in her relationship with Evan. Girl, everyone and your grandmother is telling you he's an idiot and you still don't dump him? After three years of his douchebaggery™️?
Contemporary #Romance, duet narration #audiobook, 🌶️🌶️🌶️
pickSorry for the cropped pic from the author's IG.
Loved being back on the set of Bake Expectations! I enjoyed all the swearing, of course.
#audiobook
Going in!
Happy Book Birthday to Alexis Hall's latest book baby!
#OokBOokClub
Just a friendly reminder that we'll be reading #Snuff next! Dig out your books, put in your library holds, or place your orders! The next Discworld adventure continues on January 8th! Woohoo!
If anyone wants to be tagged/untagged for future posts please let me know! Happy to oblige!
#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead
#OokBOokClub-ers, our Discworld adventure continues TODAY with #WheresMyCow #TheWorldOfPoo #MinutesOfTheMeeting to Form the Proposed Ankh-Morpork Federation of Scouts (in Blink of the Screen)!
Looking forward to our discussion next month!
#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead
Happy reading!
Just one??? Okay. But actually it's not okay. I have to tag a few more in the comments.
#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern
Hello friends! Open discussion is in the FOLLOWING POST marked as a spoiler. Find the #Thud post & tap "show me" on the spoiler tag to join in the discussion. Join in whenever you can! Today. Tomorrow. Next month! The post will always be up so just tag each other & we'll jump in to discuss with you. Feel free to chat about anything!
#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead
Welcome to the #OokBOokClub open discussion for #Thud feel free to discuss anything! Don't forget to tag each other in the comments so your friends can see your reply. Have fun!
#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead
panIt must be me. 😬🤷🏻♀️
This is very predictable. I was hoping it's just red herrings and the big twists were still coming, but nope.
#ChrismasCrimeChallenge - Grinch/Scrooge
@Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead
Thank you for this interesting list, @DebinHawaii! I've read a few already and some, like the four on the right, you might have plucked from my TBR.
I'm looking forward to getting to them in January (and probably throughout next year).
#AuldLangSpine @monalyisha
pickJust like in Nosy Neighbours the cast of characters is made up of quirky people who like to stick their noses into other people's business. Fortunately, they've read their fair share of Miss Marple novels.
Cosy mystery
#ChrismasCrimeChallenge - Rudolph 🔴 cover
November wrap up.
pickRead for a #52bookclub25 challenge prompt.
I actually really liked it. Guess I'm old enough to enjoy memoirs. 😉
#audiobook read by the author.
pickAll Laura wanted was to measure the flat she'd move into in January. All Callum wanted was to avoid trekking home to Scotland for the holidays with his girlfriend. That was before their "meet nude" turned into meet the parents and fake dating.
It's just for a week and Laura has always wanted to see Scotland, it's going to be fun.
#RomCom #NetGalley #ARC #MountARC
Already published.
#BookMail - well, I didn't get the special edition of Katabasis I had pre-ordered, but I got this one twice. 🤷🏻♀️
#SeriesLove
Today's #BookMail and the sleeve of the cardigan I'm working on.
#LitsyCrafters #KnittersOfLitsy
pickSkye's Inn in a small town near St Andrews isn't doing well. The last thing she needs right now is a rock star hiding from a scandal, especially when this rock star is the man who broke her heart 15 years ago.
Fortunately, the Book-Bitches know exactly how to handle the situation and give Noah and Skye opportunities to spend time together. There might be a second chance for love, the inn, and the music career.
#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC
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pickIt's the 1930s, Georgie has solved three murders that happened in the small village in the Cotswolds. Quite a lot of murders for this small village. When another member of the community dies a seemingly natural death, Georgie writes to a famous London detective for his help. But the detective sends his young rather handsome and very flirtatious associate instead.
A cosy mystery with a #romance subplot, or a romance with a mystery subplot. 😁
pick#audiobook
#ChrismasCrimeChallenge - Star
@Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead
Decent Sherlock Holmes story, good narration by Derek Jacobi.
pickSeventh book in the Kate Daniels series.
After several attempts at this series it finally clicked and I listened to at least two of the books in the series while finishing the jigsaw.
#SeriesLove
pick#ChrismasCrimeChallenge @RaeLovesToRead @Ruthiella
Chimney - locked room mystery
True crime podcaster Liza and her corporate financier wife Hanna want to spend Easter in a luxury hotel in the Scottish Highlands. Hanna planned it to rescue their marriage. It soon turns into a Murder Mystery Weekend with real victims.
Very Christie-esque, with chapter headings reminiscent of Cluedo.
#Discworld puzzles from Discworld Emporium
Worryingly, there's no note from the Thieves Guild in the box. 🤔🦧 Maybe they remembered that I got two notes in one package last time I ordered.
panSix down on their luck mystery adjacent people are invited to the small village of Midwinter to compete in a fictional murder mystery game organised by the Midwinter Trust. Then two actual murders happen.
I read an excerpt late last year which made this sound like a locked room murder mystery homage to the Golden Age Mysteries where the reader is encouraged to guess the clues together with the amateur sleuths.
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#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC
pickNix has left her past in the past and moved on with her life in the military, or so she thought. Then Kessandra, her former lover and the people's favourite 'royal', hires Nix as her bodyguard on a covert operation. On the way to the mission, on board a Titanic-like submersible, Kess briefs Nix about what is really at stake; and not a minute too soon,... ⬇️
#NetGalley #ARC #MountARC
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}
Lots of "sperm" jokes.
Not as boring as Moby Dick, but those 400+pp are filled with tangents and self-deprecation and horniness and Q talking in Latin.
It's very Alexis Hall by way of Melville. 3m