Thursday, September 23, 2021

2021 Spooky Reads

 Alright! It is that time of the year! The best time of the year and the time for spooky reads!

Here are my goals for this spooky season. Or maybe not "goals," these are all audio books that I already own that are at least a bit spooky. I will just pick them as I feel like. I only really have time for audio books these days so those are the only ones I have included this year.


The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, of course, will be read. I actually am nearly finished with it already. I love it so much.

There will also be a spooky book coming in the September Owlcrate. I don't know what it is, but I want to read it! Last year's was pretty good so I have pretty high hopes. This is the only physical book I plan to read, but I do have a couple of others if I have time and the mood strikes me.

We have some Halloween decorations out. We might take it a bit easy this year since we are trying to finish up wedding planning.

Anyone else have spooky reads for this year? Any books to recommend to me? As long as it isn't very scary, I'm game!

Saturday, September 11, 2021

August 2021 Wrap Up

August went so fast. I was not at all prepared for this blog post. Which is why it is so late. Sorry about that.

The wedding is only two months away! We are trying to get everything squared away. I feel like there is so much to do, but I don't know what all those things are.

September has been exciting so far. I will tell about my bachelorette party and bridal shower in the September post! And we get to go to a friend's wedding this month. And maybe I will have a couple of good stories at the end of September.

This month I got to have tea with my lady scientist friends at work which is always lovely. We have done this a few times and its fun to get dressed up and hang out outside of work. And the tea and food is always delicious.

I took Poseidon to the vet for some skin issues he was having that seem to be doing better now. And Hephaestus was neutered this month. I hope that will help the new boys calm down. But I might need to have Eros neutered.

I actually got through quite a few books this month, so lets talk about those. Sorry for the not-so-great reviews. I decided to sacrifice some quality in order to get this post up sooner.

Title: Get a Life Chloe Brown
Author: Talia Hibbert
Narrator: Adoja Andoh
 
Synopsis: Chloe is chronically ill which makes having a life difficult. She decides to come up with a list of things she should do in order to feel as if she has really lived. And her apartment handyman, Red, gets enlisted to help her, though they seem to be complete opposites.
 
Thoughts: Chloe was my favorite of the Brown sisters and this book was my favorite of the three. I'm not big on reading the smut portions, but I really enjoyed everything else! It was sweet and cute and made me feel warm and fuzzy.
 
Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars 


Title: Act Your Age Eve Brown
Author: Talia Hibbert
Narrator: Ione Butler
 
Synopsis: Eve has had a difficult time finding her place in the world and her purpose in life. Faced with being disowned if she doesn't get her life together, she sets out to get a real job and decide what to do with herself. She ends up taking a job as a chef at a bed and breakfast owned by a prickly and finicky man named Jacob. But this job and place might just be the best fit.
 
Thoughts: I didn't love this one. I'm not entirely sure why. Again, the smut didn't appeal to me. But I was interested in the autism aspect of the story. It was alright overall, but this may have been my least favorite of the three books. But who doesn't love a happy ending?
 
Rating: 3 stars out of 5 stars 


Title: Celtic Mythology
Author: Philip Freeman
Narrator: Gerard Doyle
 
Synopsis: This is a collection of gods, myths, and heroes from Celtic mythology. But very little is actually known of their whole culture. This book pieces together some of the stories and characters from ancient Celtic times.
 
Thoughts: This book was just interesting and fun. I listened to it but I wish I had the physical book in front of me as the names were way beyond me. I wish I could have seen the spelling and the names as I listened. It was informative and neat to listen to. Definitely recommend if you are into mythology.
 
Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars


Title: The Friend Zone
Author: Abby Jimenez
Narrators: Teddy Hamilton, Erin Mallon
 
Synopsis: Kristen is her best friend's maid of honor in her upcoming wedding. And Kristen is determined to make it memorable. And then the best man, Josh, moves into town and the two start to fall for one another. But Kristen has a secret that is a deal-breaker for Josh. Can love overcome such differences?
 
Thoughts: I started this book and then stopped. It took a while for me to get into. Parts of it were good and interesting and sad. Other parts I guess I just didn't care for. Some things felt a bit forced maybe? Or maybe this just wasn't meant to be a winner for me. Overall it was still a decent read.
 
Rating: 3 stars out of 5 stars 


Title: Felix Ever After
Author: Kacen Callender
Narrator: Logan Rozos
 
Synopsis: There is one thing that Felix would like to experience more than just about anything: love. He wants to know what makes it so wonderful and so worth the risk of having your heart broken. But he has had a difficult time finding people to date. Being black, queer, and transgender makes the task seem impossible at times. Then a troll exposes his dead name and posts photos from before his transition. To make matters worse, the person starts sending hate messages on Instagram and Felix is obsessed with figuring out who it is. As he becomes more obsessed with finding the answer, he ends up falling in love with a couple of people. And he starts a quest to discover more about his own identity.
 
Thoughts: I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. But it was very charming and definitely won me over. I was a bit nervous for Felix at times, but the good won out! Also, I love his friendship with Ezra soooo much.
 
Rating: 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5 stars 


Title: 10 Things I Hate About Pinky
Author: Sandhya Menon
 
Synopsis: Pinky has always been a rebel with a cause. She is out to make the world a better place, no matter what anyone else (like her mom) thinks. But after being blamed for an accident that was not her fault, she makes up a story about having a boyfriend that even her mom would love. Enter Samir, whose summer internship tragically fell through. With nothing to look forward to, he plans to go home when Pinky texts him. If he will pretend to be her perfect boyfriend, Pinky can get him an internship with her mother's law firm. And Pinky's mother is a very prestigious lawyer. But he and Pinky can't stand one another, so how can this possibly work?
 
Thoughts: This book was a re-read. I wanted something easy and lighthearted to read because I am having problems getting through larger, heavier books at the moment. I adore this one. It is fun and sweet. And I love the fake dating and enemies to lovers tropes.
 
Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars
 
 
Favorite book read this month: 10 Things I Hate About Pinky
Least favorite book read this month: Either Act Your Age Eve Brown or The Friend Zone
 
I have read 31 books towards my goal of 50. I am still about two or three books behind, but I made good progress this month! I usually read a bunch at the end of September and through October because it is time for spooky reads, but I don't know if that will be the case this year. Oh well. If I can fit it in, I will try to get up a post about spooky reads for this year.
 
That is all for August. I will see you all in September! And I will try to be more on top of the September wrap up post. Thanks for your patience!