Randomness...

I won another book from Goodreads! Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson. Haven't read it yet, but it looks good, doesn't it? 

I've been learning to make wire jewelry with my niece; I'm not very good at it yet, but it's a lot of fun, and next week we're going to learn how to grow Bonsai trees! 

Two Saturdays ago I went with my sisters to see the funniest play: PETER PAN GOES WRONG! It's hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard since I saw their first play: THE PLAY GOES WRONG. If you ever get a chance to see either of these...GO! They're so entertaining. 

I have spring break coming up next week and I'm very much looking forward to having seven days free of work in which to hike, sleep in, read a slew of books, play some board games, catch a movie or two, craft, paint, and just have some needed fun. 

Other good things:  all the pink blossoms on the flowering plum trees in my neighborhood, the bright yellow forsythia bushes that are blooming, the morning songs of the robins in my backyard, warm sunshiny days, cool breezes at night, and the lovely light of spring. 

What I'm reading...

 

I actually just finished reading Gregg Hurwitz's latest Evan Smoak novel, Antihero. And I loved it. It's another action-packed book in this thrilling series. Evan's working with Joey and Candy in this one to make certain bad things right; Mia and Peter are back, too. I'm not going to say much else about it, only that for me this was another 5 star read. 

And I'm right in the middle of reading American Spring by Walter R. Borneman. It mostly focuses on the first six months of 1775 and the decisions and turning points that led to America's revolution. It's interesting and well-written and I'm enjoying it. I'm just not getting through it very fast. But I hope to finish it up soon, because I want to start reading Dolin's Rebels At Sea next month. 

And I just started reading Janice Hallett's The Killer Question. It's an epistolary mystery set in a pub in England and is told through texts, group messages, police interviews, and emails. It's pretty amusing so far, even though I have no idea where it's headed. I do know there will be a murder. The characters are pretty funny, especially how caught up they get in the pub's weekly Monday night quiz contest. If you want to read an excellent review of it, check out Helen's review. It's what made me want to check it out myself. 

So no reviews today. 

Just some good books and some happy reading. 

My Friends by Fredrik Backman

 "...his voice is both exultant and sad. Both happy and unhappy. Because it's that sort of story, with that sort of ending."

I was not planning on reading this book. It wasn't even on my TBR list. But then my co-worker, Leigh, raved about it, said I had to read it, even brought me her copy to borrow. So I very reluctantly took it home. But once I started it, I did not want it to end. It's the loveliest of books: poignant, heartbreaking at times, but heartwarming, too, lyrical, captivating, endearing, and utterly unforgettable. 

It's a book about four friends one very memorable summer, a painting that changes everyone, and a girl. And it's so much more! It's a coming of age book about friendship and love, art, life, desperation, hope, grief, beauty, laughter, daring to dream and finding family. 

It made me laugh.

And it made me cry.

There were parts so good I had to go back and read them a second time. I loved these characters and their profound friendships. I loved their triumphs and their struggles. Most of all, I loved the beautiful prose. There's truth and beauty in this book. And it will definitely be at the top of my favorites list this year.

"The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else's belief in them."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

 

From the blurb:  "A glamorous woman is murdered in her ultra-luxurious and highly secure London mansion, and her husband goes missing. But according to public records, neither of them exists. The only leads police have are several items arranged around the woman's body, including a set of keys and a book called How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees, an academic and forensic expert who does not work live cases. But the presence of her book at the scene draws her into this high-profile investigation working alongside DCI Tannahill Khan. As the dark objects found beside the body lead them closer to the victim's identity, a dangerous threat to Laughton and her daughter emerges." 

My thoughts:  Tantalizing and compelling. This mystery is a nice blend of police procedural and psychological thriller. And I really like DCI Tannahill Khan and Dr. Laughton Rees; it was fun seeing how they met and connected. Rees is a nicely complicated character who is still dealing with the traumatic death of her mother when she was younger. She's very smart and has some interesting quirks and OCD tendencies centering around the number three. And the mystery itself has some nice twists. I hope Toyne writes many more books with her and Khan. This is the first book in the series; I previously read the second book, The Clearing, last month, which is an equally good read.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

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

In honor of it being March 17th, today's theme is GREEN BOOK COVERS.

Here are 10 books from off my own shelves with lovely green covers: 

My Lucky Charm by Courtney Walsh

A Judgement of Powers by Benedict Jacka

The Geographer's Guide to Romance by India Holton

The Detective Wins the Witch by Kristen Painter

This Green Hell by Greig Beck

Kilt to Order by Susannah Nix

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Shadowland by Adam Wright

Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle

Have you read any of these?

🍀 Happy Reading! 🍀

Haiku Reviews...

 

Seeing Other People by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Two ghosts. Two hauntings.

Morgan wants hers gone; Sawyer doesn't.

What do the ghosts want?

Romance.... 322 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(So many poignant moments as Sawyer copes with tragic loss and grief, and finds new life, hope and love. He and Morgan are so good together.)

Hail Marry by Martha Keyes

He saves her life; she

saves his football dream by offering

a marriage of convenience.

Romance .... 337 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(A cute and clean rom-com with one of my favorite romance tropes.)

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

Hikers. Miners. Spies?

Two murders put Haven's Rock

on high alert.

Mystery .... 337 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Another excellent mystery; I really love Casey Duncan and her husband, Eric Dalton, and their cute Newfie, Storm. And Haven's Rock, hidden somewhere in the heart of the Yukon, is such a great setting.)

Happy Reading!

March's Bookish Art...

 

Ulisse Caputo -- Leisure Hours

"There's no better escape from life than into a book."

--Heather Webber, South of the Buttonwood Tree

The World Beneath by Rebecca Cantrell

 

The plot in brief: Joe Tesla is a successful multi-millionaire tech genius who helped develop some cutting-edge facial recognition software. 181 days ago, a severe case of agoraphobia drove him underground. Now he spends his days exploring the subterranean world beneath New York City with his psychiatric service dog, Edison. Then on one such exploration, in an abandoned tunnel, he discovers a walled-up train car, two long dead skeletons, a murdered soldier, and some long buried secrets that will put his own life in danger.

My thoughts:  I first heard about this series from Cath @ Read-Warbler, and I'm glad I was able to get a copy of this first Joe Tesla novel from my library because it's a very fun read. Joe Tesla is an intelligent and engaging character; I liked him a lot. I also loved the labyrinth of New York subway tunnels setting, the old Victorian manor built beneath Grand Central Station where he lives, and his cute dog, Edison. There's good tension and lots of action, and an entertaining plot. And the ending sets the stage for the next Joe Tesla book, The Tesla Legacy, which I can't wait to check out. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

 "Strange things happen in Fell, New York."

Growing up with two absent parents in a house haunted by shadows, bad dreams, and a ghostly presence none of them ever dared talk about did not leave the three Esmie children with many happy memories growing up. Except for their little brother, Ben, whom they all loved. Ben made everything better. Until the day he disappeared without a trace during a game of hide-and-seek when he was just six. It's the one moment from their past that haunts them all.

Now, two decades later, Violet, Vail and Dodie are headed back to Fell, New York, and their childhood home. It's time to find out what happened to Ben...and to lay all their ghosts. Especially the one they fear the most. If they can. 

My thoughts:  Eerie. Engrossing. And unsettling. I enjoyed this latest chilling ghost story from Simone St. James. The chapters alternate between the three siblings' POVs, which created nice layers to the mystery of what happened to Ben, because Violet, Vail, and Dodie each have their own memories and perceptions of what happened back then...and they all have their own unique encounters with what's haunting their childhood home now. I liked getting to know Violet, Vail, and Dodie, who are all flawed, but likable, and I enjoyed their sibling interactions...and their mutual adoration of their little brother. 

This is not the scariest ghost story I've ever read, but there's a nice building of suspense and the ending is intense...and satisfying. A fun read.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

P.S. The Sun Down Motel (one of St. James's previous novels) shares the same Fell, New York, setting and is mentioned in this one...which kind of made me want to go back and reread it. The link will take you to my review of that one. 😎

Top Ten Tuesday

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

This week's theme:  GENRE FREEBIE

I decided to go with one of my favorite genres: Twisty Thrillers. You know, those books that keep you in suspense all the way to the end and  make you say, "Wow! I did not see that coming."  

Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton 

Sister by Rosamund Lupton 

Good As Gone by Amy Gentry

The Never List by Koethi Zan

Find Me by Anne Frasier

Where Monsters Dwell by Jorgen Brekke

The Assignment by Mark Andrew Olsen

Chasers (Alone #1) by James Phelan

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf

Safe by S.K. Barnett

Lightning by Dean Koontz

Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan 

Oops! That's 12 books. Oh, well. It is one of my most favorite genres, so that makes it hard to narrow it down to just 10 books. And all of these are so good. At least, I loved them all.

Happy Reading!

Thirty Below by Cassidy Randall

 

WHO:  Grace Hoeman, Arlene Blum, Margaret Clark, Margaret Young, Faye Kerr, and Dana Isherwood...also known as 'the Denali Damsels'. 

WHAT:  "The harrowing and heroic story of the first all-women's ascent of Denali."

WHEN:  1970

WHY READ IT:  This is a compelling account of women who loved to climb at a time when mountaineering was a hyper-masculine, male-dominated sport sadly full of misogynistic men who did not believe that women belonged on any mountain. These six women were out to prove them wrong. And Randall does an excellent job of capturing their individual stories and personalities, portraying the time period they were living in, and relating their challenging ascent up Denali. It's as good as any mountaineering book I've read. I love reading these kinds of extreme adventures and was completely enthralled by this one. Denali is nearly as challenging to climb as Everest, especially back in the 70s, and these women's climb is full of drama, peril, suspense, and personal triumph. 

RATING:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

SIMILAR READS:

Touching the Void by Joe Simpson 

The Next Everest by Jim Davidson 

Left For Dead by Beck Weathers 

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer 

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

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

This week's theme:  QUOTES FROM or  ABOUT BOOKS.

I often jot down favorite quotes from books I'm reading, and I love quotes about books and reading, too. So this week's TTT was right up my alley. Here a few recent favs:

"No one likes third-act breakups."

--Sarah Monzen, Hearts in Circulation

"The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she's treated."

--George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion

"In the book of life, everyone has chapters they don't like reading out loud."

--Heather Webber, South of the Buttonwood Tree

"Devouring books came as naturally to us as breathing."

--Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart

"I consume romance novels for the same reason I watch birds--for the sparks of joy, because I prefer to be happy when the world gives us so many reasons to be sad."

--Sarah T. Dubbs, Birding With Benefits

"Adventures are measured in moments and memories, not minutes."

--Savannah Scott, Are We There Yet?

"It's all about writing the very best story of your life. Not just how you live it--but how you choose to tell it."

--Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers

Happy Reading!

The Clearing by Simon Toyne

 "Never go back into the woods.

That's what she and Maddie had vowed to each other after they had escaped.

Never go back and never look back.

Maddie had done both."

And now she was missing.

Midsummer's Eve. The Forest of Dean. A local legend known as the Cinderman--a local legend who supposedly haunts the woods and preys on young women. An off-grid commune in the forest called The Clearing. Two sisters (Adele and Maddie)...one missing, the other desperate to find her. An Earl and his son. And Dr. Laughton Rees, a criminologist who's been tracking cases of missing women. She heads to the insular community of Cinderfield to help investigate Maddie's disappearance, not knowing there are other dark secrets in play. 

My thoughts:  I think I've found a new favorite author. I really enjoyed this mystery. Toyne creates a real sense of urgency as the evil in Cinderfield starts to close in on Rees and Adele. The tension is palpable. Good writing and good suspense made this a very compelling read. And I really liked Laughton Rees. I very much want to read Toyne's previous mystery with her now. There is one major plot twist at the end of this one that had me questioning the feasibility of it in regards to the timeline. But then I decided to let it go and just enjoy the moment.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

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!