February's bookish art...

 

Claude Buck -- Woman Reading

"I think books are like people in the sense that they'll turn up in your life when you most need them."

--Emma Thompson

Inside Man by John McMahon

 

The team:  Gardner Camden, Joanne "Shooter" Harris, Cassie Pardo, and Richie Brancato, the rookie.

"(We) work for an FBI unit called PAR, which stands for Patterns and Recognition....Our job is to identify peculiarities in cases that have stalled or gone cold. To uncover details that others have missed, then hand the case off, either back to the field office that sent it to us--or to a team in Quantico. When people speak well of us, they call us puzzle-solvers. When they don't, we are thought of as oddballs. Freaks with a bent toward data. Often, they call us 'head cases.'"

Gardner Camden is the leader of this eccentric team, the oddest...and the smartest. He sees and calculates patterns others can't. He also has to remind himself to make small talk, and to smile, and try to show concern for others. Though never with his young daughter, Camila. With her, "I try not to be me."

He and his team are working a fraud case in Florida that quickly becomes complicated with a dead C.I., a missing shipment of ghost guns, the threat of domestic terrorism, and a possible serial killer.

My thoughts:  This book is as propulsive and gripping as McMahon's first Gardner Camden mystery, Head Cases, which was one of my favorite reads last year. Gardner is one of those characters that you can't help but like. And he's dealing with a lot in this novel. I love his interactions with his daughter, and how he figures out the intricacies of this cases. I couldn't put this one down. This novel is well-written, intense, compelling and entertaining. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading! 

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

 

The plot:  Anna Horn's life is not easy -- she's bullied and tormented at school, she doesn't seem to fit on the rez either, and she's haunted by a ravenous, mythological entity her uncle told her about when she was seven. The tribal stories she once knew are being forgotten, her parents are arguing, her 15-year-od sister, Grace, is sneaking out at night, and there's something mysterious going on in suite 808 at the casino/hotel where she works. And young women from the reservation are disappearing. As Anna struggles to put all the pieces together, Grace goes missing, too. Now it's a race against time if Anna is going to save her sister.

My thoughts:  This novel is both a coming of age story and a mystery with hints of Native American lore and a touch of supernatural horror. The chapters alternate between the days leading up to Grace's disappearance, and the hours afterwards. It was a little confusing at first, but once I got used to the switches in time, I found the narrative to be very compelling. And I really liked Anna and sympathized with all her struggles. And I liked the Native American myths and stories she remembers and tells. But it's also a dark story at times. The plight of young Native American women who go missing or are murdered every year is a heartbreaking one, and Medina does a good job of highlighting this crisis. This novel is propulsive, suspenseful and very well-written.  

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading! 

Top Ten Tuesday...

 Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  LOVE/VALENTINE'S FREEBIE.

So I decided to go with 10 Romance Books on my TBR List that I'm hoping to read this year. 

Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan

Lost and Found by Tarah DeWitt

Bookmarked For Love by Sarah Monzon

Happy Ending by Chloe Liese

The Summer Share by Jenn McKinlay

The Shippers by Katherine Center

The Great Outdoors by Kayla Olson

Only On Gameday by Kristen Callihan

Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf by Isabelle Taylor

I have about 20 other romance titles on my Goodreads Want To Read List, so I could easily keep going and going with this post, but I'll try to make myself stop at just 10 titles this time. 😉 Have you read any of these? 

Happy Romantic Reading! 

My Year in Books (2025) ...a Meme

 

I got this from Cindy's blog, Cindy's Book Corner, and she got it from Anne's blog, My Head is Full of Books. And I thought it looked like fun, so I'm doing it, too. 

The rules? Answer the following questions with titles from books you read in 2025. Some may be silly, some serious. But the idea is to have fun. 

Participate by copying the questions below, erasing my answers, and filling in your own. Then you're supposed to link it back to Anne's post, but I think I missed the deadline for that. Anyway, here's my list of titles to answer these questions.

Questions:

In high school I was: Once Smitten, Twice Shy (Chloe Liese)

People might be surprised: You Are Here (David Nicholls)

I will never be: World's Greatest Sleuth! (Steve Hockensmith)

My fantasy job is: The Third Gilmore Girl (Kelly Bishop)

At the end of a long day I need: The Grump Whisperer (Katy James)

I hate: Dungeons and Drama (Kristy Boyce) 

Wish I had: The Geographer's Map to Romance (India Holton) 

My family reunions are: Chaos (Constance Fay)

At a party you’d find me: Flipping the Birdie (S.L. Woeppel)

I’ve never been (on a): Blind Date With a Werewolf (Patricia Briggs)

A happy day includes: The Best of Friends (Sarah Eden)

Motto I live by: Look on the Bright Side (Kristan Higgins)

On my bucket list is: [a] Summer Romance (Annabel Monaghan)

In my next life, I want to have: A Quantum Love Story (Mike Chen)

Be sure to check out Cindy's and Anne's lists...then do your own. 

Happy Reading!

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin

 

From the blurb: 

"Eddie Winston is 90 years old. He has lived and loved, but he has never been kissed.

"A true gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop, where he sorts through the donations of the living and the dead, preserving letters and tokens of love. It is here that he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who, at 24 years old, has just lost the love of her life.

"When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help Eddie Winston finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie Winston to the moment he has waited for all his life."

My thoughts:  What a charming story! Eddie and Bella are such engaging characters; I loved both of them. And Eddie's flashbacks with his first love, Bridie, were poignant and bittersweet. But this isn't a sad book. There's a lot of humor in it. Especially with Eddie's forays into online dating. And Eddie's friendship with Bella was so cute. I liked how he helped her through her own grief. They make a fun pair. Cronin has written a captivating novel of love and loss, kindness, laughter, found family, and hope. I really enjoyed it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Randomness....

•  Went to my first NHL game two weeks ago. And it was a lot of fun. The Utah Mammoth (the team I was rooting for) defeated the Seattle Kraken 6-3. I wouldn't mind going again...if only I could afford the tickets. But even the cheap seats are expensive. 
• I just finished reading Harlow Giles Unger's excellent biography John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patriot. It's a well-researched book, as all his books are, but what I love most about his writing is how accessible and compelling his prose is. I came away with newfound respect for John Hancock and all he did to contribute to the founding or our nation. For me, this was a fascinating 5-star read.
• I've been missing my mom a lot this last month. Even little things have been making me sad. Grief is the gift that keeps on giving. But I'm trying to count my blessings. 
• Lots of recent family get-togethers and outings have helped bring some joy into the mix...from my niece's birthday dinner to Dino Fest to a Q-tip painting art day to laughing with my sisters at our monthly game night. I'm SO grateful for my family.
• My co-workers have been super caring, too, always checking in to see how I'm doing and offering their friendship and support. Makes me better understand and appreciate that scripture in Mosiah about bearing one another's burdens that they may be light, mourning with those that mourn, and comforting those that stand in need of comfort. 
• And I'm very excited for the Winter Olympics this month. Can't wait to watch some curling along with short track, freestyle skiing, half pipe snowboarding, and all the figure skating. Go U.S.A.!

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

 

The plot:  When her estranged grandfather dies, Sam is surprised to learn that he left her their family's valuable lakefront property in his will. The catch: she has to stay at her family's old summer cottage for one month. The same cottage they were staying at when, as a child, she saw her father burying a dead boy's body. That was the summer that changed everything for Samantha Payne and her family. And the only reason she agrees to go back is because she desperately needs the money from the sale of the land to pay for her mother's dementia care.

But back in Paynes Hollow, the very place that supposedly inspired The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Sam is haunted by her own childhood memories of that long ago summer. Then her aunt goes missing. And Sam starts hearing phantom hoofbeats at night, and she thinks she sees the shadowy shapes of the drowned dead crawling from the lake. Is she losing her mind? Or is something more sinister going on? 

My thoughts:  Atmospheric. Suspenseful. And deliciously eerie. Armstrong has written a very fun supernatural horror story. I loved how she tied in aspects of the headless horseman with legends of the nykur. And I found Sam to be a very sympathetic character. I was rooting for her as she tried to parse the truth from the lies and figure out her own family's dark secrets. And they are dark. This is a fast-paced thriller that does not disappoint.  4.5/5 stars.

Happy Reading!

Haiku reviews...

 

Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie

Three weeks: England, Wales,

Scotland. Alice, seven old ladies,

and one sexy Scot.

Contemporary romance....369 pages....4/5 stars.

(Travel, banter, humor and sparks. I liked it. Though I thought tour guide, Robbie Brodie, was inexcusably rude to Alice at the beginning, which is why I couldn't give this one 5 stars.)

Give Me A Shot by Gia De Cadenet

Single dad, neurodiverse, 

Mo is fine alone. Until he

meets Jess...who gets him!

Contemporary romance.... 297 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(This sweet, swoony, and a little spicy romance deals with loss, grief, and being a Highly Sensitive Person with poignant honesty. I loved Mo and Jess together!)

Hearts in Circulation by Sarah Monzon

Rockslide strands sunny

bookmobile librarian with grumpy

taciturn mechanic.

Contemporary romance .... 279 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Swoony kisses and sweet romance between Hayley and Levi. Humor and books, too.) 

Happy Reading!

Everything's Coming Up Rosie by Courtney Walsh

 "Well, shoot. This isn't how my life is supposed to go."

The plot: Rosie Waterman has always dreamed of acting, which is why she moved to New York after college. But now, seven years later, the play she's in just closed after only two performances, her roommate is kicking her out for not paying her rent, and her dream feels like a distant memory. To add salt to her wounds, her three best friends from high school seem to have found success and love in their lives, making her feel even worse. She can't tell them the truth:  that she's a failure. So when she's offered a job directing a production of Cinderella at a regional theatre in Wisconsin, she jumps at the chance. It's not until she arrives and a very cute physical therapist named Booker Hayes is showing her around that she realizes the regional theatre is actually a retirement community, and all her actors are senior citizens. What's Rosie to do now? 

Favorite quote:  "Dreams shift and change and grow, and changing along with them isn't failing. Pivoting isn't quitting. Happiness isn't linear, and seeking it isn't selfish."

My thoughts:  This delightful novel is about finding and following your dreams, embracing all the big emotions, finding community, and not being afraid to open up and connect with others. After all, "People, it turns out, really are life's greatest adventure." There's also a lot of humor and heart. Rosie is an engaging character--relatable and funny. And I loved her cute romance with Booker, and her interactions with the Sunset Players. (My only complaint is Walsh's overuse of the word smirk--one of my least favorite words!) Other than that, this book is an entertaining 4-star read. 

Happy Reading!

January's Bookish Art...

 

Henri Matisse -- Woman Reading in Garden, 1902

"Stories take us out of ourselves and deeper into ourselves at the exact same time. They are specific and universal. Big and small. Something and everything."

-- Katherine Center

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu

How it begins:  "You really had to hand it to Mr. Lehrer. While dying at work is never ideal, he had the decency to do it during his off period. And not only that, but at the start of it, too, giving the clerks in the main office plenty of time to find someone else to cover Ms. De La Rosa's Spanish II classes, even as they scrambled to figure out who should be telephoned when an eighty-two-year-old substitute teacher lies down on a ratty couch in a high school faculty lounge and dies."

So begins the school year for several teachers, old and new, the principal, his vice principal, the janitor, and others at Texas's Baldwin High School. This book explores the lives of these teachers, their frustrations, disappointments, griefs, humorous mishaps...and their love of teaching. It also highlights the current state of public education and the idiocy that often occurs within it. There's a scandal or two, snarky emails, clashes with parents, and even an unexpected romance.

The Faculty Lounge is a novel of friendship and found family. And it's very entertaining. My dad taught junior high school for over 30 years, and I work at an elementary school, so I found this book both funny and realistic. There are moments in it that made me laugh out loud, and other moments that made me want to weep and shake my head in sympathy. I liked all the characters and how Mathieu weaves their individual stories together. Each chapter is told from a different POV, but it comes together so well! For me, this was a 4.5/5 star read. 

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS RELEASING IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2026.

December releases that haven't come to my library yet:

In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams

Chasing Creed by Alex Kava

January releases:

No One Knew by Kendra Elliot

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

Inside Man by John McMahon

February releases:

Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

March releases:

The Dark Time by Nick Petrie

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez

April releases:

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

The Antiquarian's Object of Desire by India Holton

The Name Game by Beth O'Leary

May releases:

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman

The Shippers by Katherine Center

I know there are probably a lot of other books coming out in the next 5-6 months that I've missed that I'll want to read, so I look forward to checking out everyone else's lists this week...and adding to my own. 😉

Happy Reading!

The Car Share by Zoe Brisby

 A ninety-year-old woman with Alzheimer's and a depressed young man end up sharing a car ride from France to Brussels that changes both their lives forever.

The plot:  Alex and Max (short for Maxine) could not be more different. Alex is an introvert, quiet, and lacking in self-confidence. Max is loud, stubbornly determined, impulsive and a bit wacky. When she first meets Alex, she thinks he must be a drug addict because he's so thin and pale. But he's just depressed. And floundering. And Max decides to 'save' him and get him to have fun and love life again before she goes to Brussels to die. And when Alex learns of Max's plan to be euthanized before her Alzheimer's gets worse, he decides to do everything he can to convince her to change her mind and keep living. Together, this mismatched pair forms an unexpected bond of love and friendship. 

My thoughts:   I was looking for a light-hearted, quirky kind of book when I stumbled upon this one at my library. And it's so humorous and fun! Talk about bookish serendipity. I love how Max draws Alex out of his shell and helps him deal with his depression and his panic attacks. Their arguments and their banter made me smile. And I loved all the crazy mishaps they get into on their road trip to Brussels. And Alex's concern for Max is very touching. Best of all, it has a happy ending. Which is exactly what I needed.  

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier

 

I have a few favorite series that I religiously keep up with--reading the latest book as soon as it comes out--and Paula Munier's Mercy Carr series is one of them. I love Mercy and her Belgian Malinois, Elvis, and her husband, Vermont Game Warden Troy Warner and his Newfoundland, Suzie Bear. In this one, their daughter, Felicity, is nine months old and about to celebrate her very first Christmas. Too bad Mercy's "Uncle" Lazlo just got murdered. 

Christmas abounds in this book from yule log traditions to a ceremonial Winter Solstice bonfire (complete with Druids), a town sing-along, Christmas Eve dinner, and "more is more" decorations. The author even works in that Russian fairy tale, The Snow Maiden. There are a lot of characters to juggle, too, with Mercy's extended family and all her friends, which Munier handles well. But I felt like the mystery itself got a bit overshadowed by it all. And their murder investigation didn't feel as tautly plotted or as compelling as in her earlier novels. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this one, because I did. Mercy and Troy and their dogs are engaging characters and I like the quirks and charms of their small Vermont community. I just didn't love the mystery as much as I usually do. (Though I'd still give it 4 stars.) And if you want that Christmas-in-Vermont setting, this is the book! 

Happy Reading!

  

Other Munier books I've reviewed:

A Borrowing of Bones (#1) 

Blind Search (#2) 

The Hiding Place (#3) 

The Wedding Plot (#4) 

Home At Night (#5) 

The Night Woods (#6) 

A bookish goal...

Over Christmas break I was contemplating what, if any, bookish goals I might want to set or reading challenges I might want to do in 2026. I've seen some bookish bingos that look like fun. And Deb@Readerbuzz has come up with her own Back to the Classics Challenge for 2026 with 12 great categories; I'm still considering that one. And since I have a list of at least 10 historical fiction books I'm hoping to read this year, Marg@The Intrepid Reader's Historical Fiction Reading Challenge is also a possibility. 

But in the end, I decided what I really want to do this year is honor/celebrate America's 250th by reading at least 10 books about the Founding Fathers, the Revolutionary War, and the courageous men and women who helped build this country. It's an idea I got from my sister and is my own personal reading challenge for 2026. And I already have a great list of books I'm excited to read:

➧Those Turbulent Sons of Freedom by Christopher Wren

➧John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patriot by Harlow Unger

➧Bunker Hill by Nathan Philbrick

➧American Rebels by Nina Sankovitch

➧American Spring: Lexington, Concord, and the Road to Revolution by Walter R. Borneman

➧Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by Jospeh J. Ellis

➧Henry Knox's Noble Train by William Elliott Hazelgrove

➧Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution by Eric Jay Dolin

➧Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence by Jack Kelly

➧God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's Most Hated Man by Jack Kelly

I also own a bunch of Little Maid books that my parents purchased from various used library sales when I was growing up that I'd like to reread. Alice Turner Curtis does an excellent job of capturing colonial life and portraying small but important moments in the Revolutionary War in her classic series of historical fiction books for children. Plus, they're fun reads. I've already reread Little Maid at Valley Forge and am looking forward to reading the rest this year. 

What are some of your bookish goals and reading challenges for 2026? 

Whatever they may be....

Happy Reading!

Welcome to 2026!

 

For the past couple of years, instead of making resolutions, I've been coming up with a word...kind of a theme for myself to focus on for the upcoming year. I always write down several words and then choose the one that 'speaks' the most to me. 

This year I considered Mindful and Intentional, because those are two words I have already been focusing on in my life. I also want to continue to put Gladness and Gratitude in my everydays. I even thought about going with a fun word like Sparkle or Whimsy. But in the end, the word that resonated most was

LEAP!

I tend to overanalyze decisions, hesitate, and put things off; and I end up feeling frozen, and stuck. And I don't want to do that any more. I don't want to procrastinate life or get paralyzed by 'what ifs'. And I don't want to regret not doing the things I really want to do. So this year, I'm going to take that leap, embrace the adventure, risk failing, try new things, and not be afraid to live out loud. Even in very small ways. 

What are you hoping for in 2026? 

My wish is that it's a good year for all of us!

 

Happy New Year!