Absolutely Not in Love by Jenny Proctor

 

First line:  Hockey has a very distinct smell.

The players:  Gracie Mitchell, cellist and music teacher; Felix Jameson, hockey goalie.

The plot:  Gracie has one rule: she doesn't date hockey players. Especially not her sexy neighbor, Felix. But Felix doesn't just live and breathe hockey. He loves classical music (especially when Gracie practices her cello), and books, and he's falling fast for Gracie. When an unexpected flood in Gracie's apartment has her moving into Felix's guest room for a few weeks, being in such close quarters with him has Gracie rethinking her no-hockey-players rule. 

My thoughts:  Jenny Proctor's romances sparkle. She knows how to create very likable characters, and she always inserts fun banter into her stories. Gracie is smart and spunky and a talented musician; Felix is thoughtful and kind, a bit of an introvert, and very good at hockey. And the two of them together? So cute! I loved their text exchanges, and I thought Felix's romantic gestures were so sweet. The hockey parts were fun, too. This book just made me happy. And for that, I gave it 5 stars.

 Happy Reading!

Haiku reviews...

 

The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby

Tired of faking life,

Mari quits all social media

to hike the John Muir trail.

YA fiction .... 307 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(I loved Mari's journey of self-healing as much as her hiking adventure

The Grumpy Side of Paradise by Brittany Larsen 

Eve's in Paradise to

rehab a house, not find love.

Then she meets Adam.

Sweet romantic comedy .... 306 pates .... 4/5 stars.

(Fun small town, grumpy vs. sunshine romance.)

Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

Seven old cowboys.

One Texas Ranger. And fair

Penelope Snow.

Historical romance .... 345 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Cute retelling of Snow White set in Texas, 1892.)

Happy Reading!

Sinister Graves by Marcie R. Rendon

The plot:  Minnesota, 1970s. When the body of a young Ojibwe woman is found in the flood waters of the Red River Valley, Sheriff Wheaton calls in his young protege, Renee "Cash" Blackbear to help identify her. Cash's investigation leads her to the White Earth Reservation, the place where she was born, and where she should have grown up except that she was put into foster care when she was young instead. When another young Ojibwe woman is found dead, the only connection Cash can find between them is Pastor Steene and his wife, Lillian, and their unconventional church. And when she visits the church, she sees a dark ghostly shadow outside, something the Ojibwe call a Jiibay. And she knows that there's something not quite right about the place. 

My thoughts:  What makes you want to keep reading a particular series? I look for interesting settings and time periods, intriguing plots, but most of all, I look for real, personable, flawed, layered and likable characters that I can root for. Cash Blackbear is one of those characters. At just 19, she's tough and smart. She's in college but she mostly chooses classes where attendance isn't mandatory because she knows she can not show up and still ace the papers and tests. She earns her money driving farm trucks and playing pool. She's very guarded and struggles to connect with people. And she has a sixth sense when it comes to helping Sheriff Wheaton--an ability to see things that others don't. 

In this book, she's starting to open up with other people, even though it leaves her feeling vulnerable and scared. I liked that she's growing as a person. And I like her toughness and independence, though she does have one reckless TSTL moment in her investigation into Pastor Steene's church that made me shake my head. She does redeem herself a little by being resourceful enough to extricate herself though. I liked her for that, too. I think this third Cash Blackbear mystery just might be my favorite. And as a bonus, I'm now all caught up with this series. 

Happy Reading!

January's bookish art...

 

The Bookworm, 1920
Mary Evans Picture Library

"I guess there are never enough books."

--John Steinbeck

An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka

 

5 reasons to read this book:

1. It's a unique urban fantasy novel set in London...

2. ...with an instantly likable and magically talented main character.

"My name is Stephen Oakwood, and I'm twenty years old. I was raised by my dad, grew up and went to school here in Plaistow, and...I used to have a pretty normal life. That all changed a few months before my eighteenth birthday, when my dad disappeared."

3. There's cool magic, known as drucraft, and sigls, and wells of power. 

"Drucraft didn't make me money, and it definitely didn't make me look like a better employee. If my career was what I cared about, I might as well give it up. But I didn't want to. Ever since I'd first pestered my dad into teaching me drucraft, it had been the one big secret I'd shared with him, the one thing we'd always done together." 

4. Lots of family secrets, intrigue, humor, suspense, and action. 

5. And an endearing gray and black tabby named Hobbes. 

While this well-written and entertaining fantasy novel is entirely different from Jacka's bestselling Alex Verus series, I think I'm going to like it just as much. And that's saying a lot, because I love his Alex Verus books. But I already like Stephen Oakwood and am rooting for him and his cat, Hobbes; and the magic system Jacka's created in this book is interesting and different and fun. The only problem with it is having to wait for the next book to be released...which I hope happens sometime this year. 

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 is BOOKISH GOALS FOR 2024...which I've already posted about. But, one of my bookish goals this year is to read more nonfiction. So here are 10 Nonfiction Books I Hope to Read in 2024 instead:

Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco

The Next Everest by Jim Davidson

Operation Pineapple Express by Lt. Col. Scott Mann

Outlandish by Nick Hunt

Hearts of Darkness by Jana Monroe

The War Magician by David Fisher

Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara

My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

Tap Code by Carlyle S. Harris

I Know Who You Are by Barbara Rae-Venter

The Last Season by Eric Blehm

Have you read any of these? Are there other awesome nonfiction books you've read that I should add to my list? Let me know! I'm always looking for good nonfiction reads. 

Happy Reading!

Mud, Rocks, Blazes by Heather "Anish" Anderson

 "I would attempt to hike the 2,189-mile-long Appalachian Trail faster than anyone else had. I would do it alone and not to prove anything to anyone this time except myself. ... There was something  I needed to learn out there on the rocky, rooty, trail."

This was the perfect book for my first nonfiction read of 2024. I've always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail--not to try and set any kind or record, but just to see if I could do it. That kind of wilderness adventure has always appealed to me. Though it's something I probably should have attempted in my 20s. (I doubt my knees could take it now.) But I still love reading books about people who do achieve their AT dream. And this well-written memoir gives you a real taste of hiking the AT, as well as some great words of wisdom. (Anderson has also hiked the Pacific Coast Trail with the fastest known time and written a book about that adventure, too.) Here are some of my favorite quotes from this excellent memoir: 

"I had to always remind myself that everything that happened along the way was out of my control, that I could only change my reactions, and dedicate myself to putting one foot in front of the other, even when I wanted to stop."

"Pain and hardship are integral to any thru-hike, as they are to life in general. It is suffering that is a mindset. ...I decided in that moment--even if it was going to take a thousand conscious choices every day--that I would choose not to suffer. There would be no drudgery on my hike. I would move forward with passion for adventure. Just as I always had." 

"I smiled at the changes in myself. I'd learned courage. And from that courage had come confidence. And from that confidence had grown acceptance of all circumstances."

Happy Reading!

A few of my other favorite Appalachian Trail reads:

A Woman's Journey on the Appalachian Trail by Cindy Ross

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis

A Journey North by Adrienne Hall

And if you know of any other books about hiking the Appalachian Trail that you think I'd like, please let me know!  😎