Amber's (scaifea) Thread #5

Hey, everybody!

I'm Amber, a one-time Classics professor, turned stay-at-home parent/lady of leisure, turned part-time library assistant, turned once again Classics professor, and turned librarian again. I spend my free time sewing, writing, knitting, baking, and, of course, reading.

My reading life is happily governed by lists, which means that I read a healthy variety of things across various genres.

I'm 48 going on 12 and live in Ohio with my husband, Tomm; our son, Charlie; Mario, the Golden Retriever; and Agent Fitzsimmons, the Border Collie.

Favorite Books from 2023
A Court of Silver Flames
Radio Silence
Given
The Cat Who Saved Books
Bad Feminist
Snow, Glass, Apples
Greywaren
The Lost Library
Shakespeare for Squirrels

What I'm Reading Now:
-The Kaiju Preservation Society (Alex Award)
-Peach Clobbered (mystery)
-Hot Head (romance)
-My Hero Academia vol 22 (manga)
-The Library of Broken Worlds (wishlist book)
-The Land of Laughs (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books)
-The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires (audiobook)
-The Librarian Always Rings Twice (from the library displays)
-Death on the Nile (Christie bibliography)
-Happyhead (Read Soon! Shelves)

The books I have going at once and the On Deck books nearly all come from the following categories and lists:

-The yearly winners of a handful of the YALSA awards (Newbery, Caldecott, Schneider, Stonewall, Printz, Alex)

-A mystery

-A romance novel

-Manga

-A book from my wishlist (it's *so* long)

-A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List

-A Beauty and the Beast retelling

-An audiobook, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/clean/drive/pack and unpack cargo at work

-A book from my Read Soon! shelves

-A book from my library's monthly displays (two of my colleagues are in charge of the adult displays and I like supporting them)

-Agatha Christie's bibliography

-Stephen Fry's bibliography

-John Boyne bibliography

-Neil Gaiman's bibliography

-Christopher Moore's bibliography

-Maggie Stiefvater's bibliography

-The NEH Timeless Classics list

-The National Book Award list

-The Pulitzer list

-An unread book from my shelves

-Book-a-year challenge: A few years ago I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've since been trying to fill in the gap years.

Books Read

JANUARY
1. Fangirl (audiobook) - 9/10
2. $2.00 a Day (audiobook) - 7/10
3. By Your Side (audiobook) - 8/10
4. Light from Uncommon Stars (Alex Award) - 10/10
5. My Hero Academia vol 14 (manga) - 9/10
6. Anna and the Swallow Man (audiobook) - 9/10
7. The Last Mapmaker (audiobook/Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10
8. Maizy Chen's Last Chance (audiobook/Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10
9. Linger (Stiefvater bibliography) - 9/10
10. The Ten Thousand Doors of January (audiobook) - 8/10
11. N or M? (mystery) - 9/10
12. The Prince and the Dressmaker (from my Read Soon! shelves) - 9/10
13. The Words We Keep (audiobook) - 7/10
14. Practical Magic (wishlist) - 9/10
15. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (audiobook) - 6/10
16. Snow (library display book) - 8/10

FEBRUARY
17. Breathe and Count Back from Ten (audiobook) - 9/10
18. Honestly Elliott (audiobook) - 7/10
19. When the Angels Left the Old Country (audiobook) - 6/10
20. Katherine (romance) - 7/10
21. Iveliz Explains It All (Newbery Honor Book) - 7/10
22. Galileo's Middle Finger (audiobook) - 7/10
23. Carry On (series read) - 10/10
24. I Kissed Shara Wheeler (audiobook) - 9/10
25. Camp Damascus (audiobook) - 6/10
26. Unwind (because Charlie just finished it and told me I *had* to read it) - 9/10
27. Black Butler vol 2 (manga) - 9/10
28. Life with Father (NEH list) - 4/10
29. Attachments (audiobook) - 9/10
30. A Stroke of the Pen (audiobook) - 8/10
31. Forever (Steifvater bibliography) - 9/10
32. And Then There Were None (Christie Bibliography) - 9/10
33. All My Rage (Printz Award winner) - 9/10
34. The Moth Keeper (from my Read Soon! Shelves) - 9/10

MARCH
35. Billy Budd (audiobook) - 8/10
36. Icebreaker (Printz Honor Book) - 9/10
37. Cruel Beauty (Beauty and the Beast Retelling) - 8/10
38. A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting (Alex Award) - 8/10
39. The Seven Year Slip (Library Display Book) - 8/10
40. My Hero Academia vol 15 (manga) - 9/10
41. Cross My Heart and Never Lie (Stonewall Medal) - 8/10
42. Stars in Their Eyes (Stonewall Honor Book) - 7/10
43. The Eyes and the Impossible (Newbery Medal) - 6/10
44. The Three-Body Problem (audiobook) - 8/10
45. How to Be a Girl in the World (a favorite of one of my Tuesday Teens) - 10/10
46. Friends for Life (a favorite of one of my Tuesday Teens) - 9/10
47. Babel (Alex Award) - 9/10
48. Library of the Dead (Alex Award) - 8/10
49. A True Princess (a favorite of one of my Tuesday Teens) - 8/10
50. True Biz (Alex Award) - 8/10
51. Check & Mate (Charlie's school book club selection) - 9/10

April
52. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot (Alex Award) - 9/10
53. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (mystery) - 8/10
54. Black Butler vol 3 (manga) - 9/10
55. Mistress of Mellyn (romance) - 9/10
56. Daughter of the Moon Goddess (Alex Award) - 8/10
57. Fatal First Edition (mystery) - 8/10
58. The Men Who United the States (Books from my Wishlist) - 7/10
59. Beastly (Beauty and the Beast retelling) - 6/10
60. Dark Matter (audiobook) - 7/10
61. The Farthest-Away Mountain (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 8/10
62. Unwholly (Books from my Read Soon! shelves) - 9/10
63. Fourth Wing (Alex Award) - 10/10
64. How Lucky (Alex Award) - 9/10
65. Wayward Son (Read Soon! shelves) - 10/10
66. Ghost Wall (wishlist) - 8/10
67. Sinner (Stiefvater bibliography) - 9/10
68. Lightlark (audiobook) - 9/10

MAY
69. Year Million (wishlist) - 8/10
70. Now Entering Addamsville (wishlist) - 9/10
71. In the Key of Us (Stonewall Honor Book) - 8/10
72. My Hero Academia vol 16 (manga) - 9/10
73. A Little Village Blend (romance) - 9/10
74. The Postman Always Rings Twice (mystery) - 4/10
75. The Princess Saves Herself in This One (B&B Retellings) - 4/10
76. Gnomes (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 6/10
77. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (rereading a favorite) - 10/10
78. The Witch's Heart (Alex Award) - 10/10
79. Uzumaki (Read Soon! shelves) - 8/10
80. How to Survive History (library display book) - 9/10
81. The Rose Code (Alex Award) - 9/10
82. Black Butler vol 4 (manga) - 9/10
83. Winter's Orbit (Alex Award) - 9/10
84. Nightbane (audiobook) - 9/10
85. The Thursday Murder Club (mystery) - 8/10
86. Only This Beautiful Moment (Stonewall Award) - 8/10

JUNE
87. Crown of Midnight (Read Soon! Shelves) - 9/10
88. My Hero Academia vol 17 (manga) - 9/10
89. Solito (Alex Award) - 9/10
90. Simon Sort of Says (Newbery Honor Book & Schneider Honor Book) - 8/10
91. A Knight in Shining Armor (romance) - 4/10
92. Me: Elton John Autobiography (wishlist) - 8/10
93. Mousse and Murder (library display) - 6/10
94. Open Season (audiobook) - 7/10
95. Prince Caspian (Read Soon! shelves) - 8/10
96. Malice (Alex Award) - 7/10
97. Icarus (Read Soon! shelves) - 10/10
98. Black Butler Vol. 5 (manga) - 9/10
99. The Hazel Wood (wishlist) - 8/10
100. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (mystery) - 8/10

JULY
101. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (Stonewall Honor Book) - 8/10
102. The 39 Steps (NEH list) - 7/10
103. Never Tell a Lie (wishlist) - 7/10
104. Heartstopper vol 5 (Read Soon shelves) - 9/10
105. Imogen, Obviously (Stonewall Honor Book) - 8/10
106. Bad Cree (Alex Award) - 9/10
107. The Uncommon Reader (audiobook) - 8/10
108. Firelight (Beauty and the Beast retelling) - 8/10
109. My Hero Academia vol 18 (manga) - 9/10
110. My Summer of You vol 1 (wishlist) - 9/10
111. Fire from the Sky (Printz Honor Book) - 8/10
112. Powerless (audiobook) - 8/10
113. Scout's Honor (Printz Honor Book) - 8/10
114. Black Butler vol 6 (manga) - 9/10
115. My Summer of You vol 2 (manga) - 10/10
116. My Summer of You vol 3 (manga) - 10/10
117. My Hero Academia vol 19 (manga) - 9/10
118. Love Olympus vol 1 (Alex Award) - 8/10
119. Chlorine (Alex Award) - 7/10
120. How Do You Live? (Read Soon! Shelves) - 9/10
121. Scorched Grace (mystery) - 6/10
122. Seducing the Sorcerer (audiobook) - 7/10

AUGUST
123. Eagle Drums (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10
124. The Lost City of Z (library display book) - 8/10
125. Whalefall (Alex Award) - 8/10
126. Vinegar Girl (wishlist) - 8/10
127. Naked in Death (romance) - 8/10
128. America for Americans (wishlist) - 8/10
129. Black Rabbit Hall (wishlist) - 8/10
130. The God Delusion (wishlist) - 9/10
131. Rose Daughter (Beauty & the Beast retelling) - 8/10
132. God Is Not Great (wishlist) - 8/10
133. The Collectors (Printz Award) - 8/10
134. Starter Villain (Alex Award) - 9/10
135. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (wishlist) - 6/10
136. Unsouled (Read Soon Shelves) - 9/10
137. Mexikid (Newbery Honor Book) - 9/10
138. This Is Our Story (wishlist) - 8/10
139. My Hero Academia vol 20 (manga) - 9/10

SEPTEMBER
140. Reckless (audiobook) - 8/10
141. The Serpent King (audiobook) - 8/10
142. The Changeling (wishlist) - 8/10
143. The Bear and the Nightingale (wishlist) - 8/10
144. The Winter People (wishlist) - 8/10
145. Any Way the Wind Blows (Read Soon! shelves) - 9/10
146. Under This Red Rock (audiobook) - 7/10
147. The Silent Sister (library display book) - 8/10
148. Excellent Women (wishlist) - 9/10
149. The Almost Sisters (wishlist) - 9/10
150. The Miniaturist (wishlist) - 8/10
151. Black Butler vol 7 (manga) - 9/10
152. Chef's Kiss (Alex Award) - 7/10
153. The Silence of the Girls (wishlist) - 9/10

OCTOBER
154. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (mystery) - 8/10
155. The Invisible Library (wishlist) - 8/10
156. My Epic Spring Break(up) (library display book) - 6/10
157. The Death of Mrs. Westaway (wishlist) - 8/10
158. Tin Man (wishlist) - 6/10
159. Solitaire (Read Soon! shelves) - 9/10
160. The Light Between Worlds (wishlist) - 7/10
161. Dark Cities Underground (wishlist) - 7/10
162. Not Even Bones (Charlie's book club) - 8/10
163. Self-Made Boys (wishlist) - 9/10
164. A Spell for Trouble (mystery) - 8/10
165. Evvie Drake Starts Over (wishlist) - 8/10
166. Warrior Girl Unearthed (audiobook) - 9/10
167. The Flatshare (wishlist) - 8/10

NOVEMBER
168. When All Is Said (wishlist) - 9/10
169. Iron Flame (Read Soon! Shelves) - 10/10
170. Wordslut (wishlist) - 9/10
171. Women Talking (wishlist) - 6/10
172. A Merry Little Murder Plot (mystery) - 8/10
173. Divine Rivals (wishlist) - 8/10
174. The Five (wishlist) - 7/10
175. Your Shadow Half Remains (library display book) - 9/10
176. The Dead Secret (Book-A-Year Challenge) - 6/10
177. My Hero Academia vol 21 (manga) - 9/10
178. Lies My Teacher Told Me (audiobook) - 8/10
179. Up to No Gouda (mystery) - 7/10
180. The High Desert (Alex Award) - 9/10
181. Skyshade (audiobook) - 6/10
182. The Drawing of the Dark (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 9/10

DECEMBER
183. Severance (wishlist) - 7/10
184. The Drowning Tree (wishlist) - 7/10
185. I Have Some Questions for You (wishlist) - 8/10
186. The Christmas Bookshop (library display) - 9/10
187. The Chain (wishlist) - 7/10
188. A Child's Christmas in Wales (yearly reread) - 10/10
189. A Christmas Memory (yearly reread) - 10/10
190. A Christmas Carol (yearly reread) - 10/10
191. The Order of Time (wishlist) - 8/10
192. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (wishlist) - 9/10
193. The Starless Sea (wishlist) - 10/10
194. The Kingdom of Back (wishlist) - 8/10
195. Possible Happiness (Read Soon! shelf) - 8/10
196. Black Butler Vol 8 (manga) - 9/10
197. The Red Lotus (wishlist) - 8/10
198. Angels' Blood (romance) - 8/10

Mario getting ready for one of our Brain Trust Meetings:



Agent Fitzsimmons enjoying her birthday haul:

Happy new thread, Amber! How is summer reading at the library going?

Happy new one!

>7 bell7: Thanks, Mary!
It's nearly over, thank goodness. It's been chaotic and, honestly, more than a little exhausting. So many homeschool parents who just let their over-large broods of kiddos loose in the library and assume that they need no supervision. The stuff of nightmares. One. More. Week.

>8 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

Happy new thread Amber!

>10 quondame: Thanks!

107. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (audiobook) - 8/10
A story about the Queen taking up reading as a hobby. A little heavy-handed in places, but in general it’s cute.



108. Firelight by Kristen Callihan (Beauty and the Beast retelling) - 8/10
A Beauty and the Beast retelling in which the Beauty has secret fire-making powers and the Beast has Jekyll/Hyde vibes. It’s a fun-enough bit of fluffy smut reading, but nothing extraordinary.



109. My Hero Academia vol 18 by Kohei Horikoshi (manga) - 9/10
Another fun entry to the series. Has one of my favorite scenes in both the manga and anime so far involving two of my favorite characters (both villains, of course) facing off.



110. My Summer of You vol 1 by Nagisa Furuya (wishlist) - 9/10
A lovely Boy Love manga about two high schoolers negotiating their potential feelings for each other.

Happy new one, Amber!

>13 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

Happy New Thread, Amber. I hope all is well at the Scaife Manor. Sure miss seeing you around. I should revisit The Uncommon Reader. I remember having a good time with that one.

>15 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Good to see you!

111. Fire from the Sky by Moa Backe Åstot (Printz Honor Book) - 8/10
Ante loves the reindeer herding traditions of his Samí village in Sweden and is happy in the knowledge that he will take over his father’s herd. But some parts of traditional indigenous life are causing him to worry that he may not fit in as a member of the culture, as he’s beginning to have feelings for his best friend, Erik, that go beyond simple friendship.

A sweet story of first love, mixed with the hurdles of negotiating past generations’ traditions with new and progressive ways of thinking. Mostly enjoyable, although the angst was a little much based on the payoff.

Happy new thread, Amber.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Uncommon reader, the ending especially.

112. Powerless by Lauren Roberts (audiobook) - 8/10
After a sickness tore its way through the kingdom, the remaining inhabitants of Ilya were either left with special abilities or remained Ordinary, and the Elites (the gifted ones) have exiled those Ordinaries under the false pretense that their lack of abilities threatens those who do have supernatural powers. Enter Paedyn Gray, a young woman Ordinary whose father was murdered by the king when she was just a girl, and who escaped notice and now lives the life of a thief. If she’s caught by the king’s Enforcer (who is also his son), she will be killed. And through a twist of fate, she sort of accidentally saves the prince, finds herself famous in the slums, which then gets her nominated as a contestant in the Purging Trials.

There are, essentially, no new elements to the post-apocalyptic YA romance trope list here: an outsider girl with secrets is forced to participate in a deadly competition, gets ensnared in a love triangle, is spunky and has surprising talents. There’s even a hedge maze that magically moves as part of the trials. I mean. But despite the lack of originality, it’s a fun story; much like a lot of romance sub-genres, if you don’t go into it expecting to be surprised by new plot twists, and instead just relax into a familiar story, you’ll enjoy yourself.

Happy New Thread, Amber!

>20 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks, Angela!

113. Scout's Honor by Lily Anderson (Printz Honor Book) - 8/10
Think Jujutsu Kaisen but with Pink Punk Girl Scouts. It’s just as fun as it sounds.



114. Black Butler vol 6 by Yana Toboso (manga) - 9/10
Another cool and fun volume in this manga series.




115. My Summer of You vol 2 by Nagisa Furuya (manga) - 10/10
116. My Summer of You vol 3 by Nagisa Furuya (manga) - 10/10
Adorable warm hug of a Boy Love story. Highly recommend this manga trilogy.



117. My Hero Academia vol 19 by Kohei Horikoshi (manga) - 9/10
Still love this manga series so much.



118. Lore Olympus vol 1 by Rachel Smythe (Alex Award) - 8/10
Meh. I’d heard the buzz about this series and was mildly excited to try it. It was…okay, but not enough for me to continue, I think.



119. Chlorine by Jade Song (Alex Award) - 7/10
Ooof. Dark and graphic story of a high school swim team member who endures sexism and all levels of sexual abuse throughout her high school career, all while dreaming of becoming a mermaid and scheming to make that dream a reality. Not for the faint-hearted.



120. How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino (Read Soon! Shelves) - 9/10
The middle grade-level book that is Miyazaki’s boyhood favorite and the basis for his latest film (although you may have to tilt your head, squeeze your eyes nearly shut, and then do a healthy amount of recreational drugs before making the connection). It was absolutely adorable and lovely and wholesome. Definitely recommended, whether you love Miyazaki or not.

Happy new thread, Amber!

I haven't read many of your recent reads, but I felt the same about Lore Olympus.

>23 curioussquared: Hi, Natalie! I'm sorry LO didn't work better for you, either.

121. Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (mystery) - 6/10
I really need to learn my lesson that I don’t like noir fiction.



122. Seducing the Sorcerer by Lee Welch (audiobook) - 7/10
A m/m fantasy romance that I think I would have liked better had I read it in print instead of listened to the audio – the narrator was not great.



123. Eagle Drums by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10
A sweet middle grade retelling of the origin story of the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast.

124. The Lost City of Z by David Grann (library display book) - 8/10
A journalist goes in search of answers to the disappearance of Percy Fawcett, who was lost in the South American jungles looking for an ancient city he believed existed but had never been found.

One of the more interesting narrative nonfictions I’ve read in a good long while.



125. Whalefall by Daniel Kraus (Alex Award) - 8/10
Anestranged teen goes diving for his father’s remains after he (the father) committed suicide off the coast of Monterey. And then he (the teen) gets swallowed by a whale.

I thought I was getting a quirky survival thriller, and it’s about 40% that, but it’s also 60% a story of a shitty father’s abuse and a son working through his guilt at not reconciling while said shitty father was still alive. It’s well-written and an interesting story, but just not exactly what I was looking for, I guess.

126. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (wishlist) - 8/10
A modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, in which Kate is the daughter of an eccentric researcher at Johns Hopkins and resists her father’s request that she marry his brilliant assistant so that said assistant can keep his green card.

Meh. It’s…okay. The writing is fine and I enjoyed Kate’s character, but the story feels overly simple and borderline misogynistic. *shrug*

I gave it 4 stars, which I suppose is equivalent to 8/10. I do think I liked it better than you though. I think my favorite retelling was on an episode of Moonlighting back when that was on TV.

Happy birthday, Amber

Happy birthday! Hope celebrations are planned!

Happy happy birthday, Amber!

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Amber!

Happy birthday, Amber!!

Hope you're enjoying your birthday!

Just stopping in to wish you a Happy Birthday, Amber!

Happy Birthday, Amber!

(It's unusual to not see you post for a day or two)

Thanks for the birthday wishes, all! I had a lovely day.

127. Naked in Death by J.D. Robb (romance) - 8/10
A futuristic police procedural/romance is not at all what I had assumed this In Death series was about, but I enjoyed it, for the most part. I didn’t love some of the dynamics between the love interests, but in general it was an nicely-written and entertaining read.

128. America for Americans by Erika Lee (wishlist) - 8/10
A timely and smart look at the history of xenophobia in the US and how that history has led us to where we are, politically, today.

Hi Amber,
Just to say I finished The Oresteian Trilogy. The treatment of Electra is very different from that in Euripides, which is why you suggested I read it. I also found the chorus goes on and on and on in some of these. In the first in the sequence it seems that Clytemnestra is treated with at least some sympathy (even if her beacon news system is entirely disregarded), in that her grievance with Agamemnon for the killing of her daughter is at least acknowledged, whereas in the later plays she becomes just her husband's murderer. I was less keen on the finding in the final play that killing a mother is a lesser crime than a father, although I suppose I can see Athena's logic that she doesn't have a mother.

What were the Furies? I mean apart from a bit creepy!

Think I prefer Euripides.

>41 Helenliz: Most everyone prefers Euripides because he's much closer to our own sensibilities. And yep, the ending verdict is pretty problematic for us now because it's incredibly sexist.

The Furies were avenging spirits who would come after you if you murdered a family member or if you failed to seek revenge on someone who murdered a member of your family, which puts Orestes in a bit of a tight spot. (For you MCU fans, note that the organizer of the Avengers is Nick...Fury. Nice, right?)

>42 scaifea: Thanks. So you're dammed if you do, dammed if you don't? They didn't seem terribly nice!
Logical extension of that implies that they also on the heels of someone else for not taking revenge on Orestes for killing his mother. Or, I'm assuming, Electra doesn't count in this space either.

>43 Helenliz: Oh no, women don't count. And when they make themselves count (Clytemnestra, the Furies were portrays as women, too, of course), they are portrayed as monsters.

Another fun fact about the Furies: The Greeks tended to call them the Eumenides (hence the title of the last play), which translates as the kindly ones, in an attempt not to provoke them.

129. Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase (wishlist) - 8/10
A gothic novel that follows the events around an old English manor house in the 1960s and in the present day, and in which the mystery of how those two time periods and the people within them are linked is slowly revealed. Nice writing with an excellent buildup to a satisfying end.

130. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (wishlist) - 9/10
Welp, this is one of my new favorite books. Dawkins didn’t garner a new recruit in me, but only because he was – and forgive me for this – preaching to an already-converted choir member. What it did do for me, though, was become an instant comfort read, especially for someone who lives in an area of the country steeped in conservative christian attitudes. Highly recommended.



131. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley (Beauty & the Beast retelling) - 8/10
As Beauty and the Beast retellings go, this one is pretty good; it stays fairly traditional but adds a few little twists to make it inventive. And the writing’s good (It’s McKinley, so of course), but I did feel that it got sloggy in the middle and that the ending could have been edited some. Overall, though, a solid effort.

>46 scaifea: Hey Amber :)

Everytime I see Robin McKinley's name I chuckle. I grew up in the era of Fanfiction dot net and she was one of the authors listed as not available for Fanfiction. Heh.

>46 scaifea: I found the Dawkins book really thought-provoking, Amber. I have always considered myself a Christian (but not in the way that word is used today), and even so I thought he made some very interesting arguments.

Hope all is well at Scaife Manor!

>47 Ravenwoodwitch: Does that mean that she didn't want people to write fanfic based on her stuff? Because if so, ugh.

>48 lauralkeet: I'm glad you found it valuable/interesting, Laura. He seems like a sharp dude.

>49 scaifea: Ooooh, I *especially* get up a tree when people who are writing RETELLINGS get shirty about someone writing fanfic about their stuff. *stares into the camera*

I also thought the Dawkins book was excellent, despite already being of the "choir."

>49 scaifea: I wanted to be sure I remembered correctly so I looked it up, but yes. She was opposed to Fanfiction of her work so many sites didn't allow her universes. I remember her and Ann Rice specifically.

And yeah, the irony of someone getting agitated about Fanfiction when they do fantasy retellings isn't lost on me, lol. It's like the lady forgot about the divine comedy, arthurian lore, etc...

>50 lycomayflower: Right?! Yeesh.

>51 katiekrug: It's so nice to read logical thoughts from an intelligent person these days, no?

>52 Ravenwoodwitch: Oh, FFS. Okay, I think I'm done with her, then. Ridiculous.

132. God Is Not Great by Chistopher Hitchens (wishlist) - 8/10
Another along the lines of The God Delusion, but this one doesn’t so much argue the point of nonexistence and focus on all the actual harm religion can do and has done throughout history. It suffered a bit in comparison, but is still an excellent read.

133. The Collectors edited by A. S. King (Printz Award) - 8/10
A curation of short stories, all by YA authors and all set within the parameters set by the editor: make it about a collection of some sort, and make it weird. Most hold up to both requirements, some more than others. I generally don’t enjoy short story collections, but this one wasn’t bad, and there are a couple of real gems in here.

134. Starter Villain by John Scalzi (Alex Award) - 9/10
A down-on-his-luck, divorced, former-journalist-now-substitute teacher learns that his estranged, super-rich uncle has died. And then he learns that he has inherited said uncle’s businesses (sort of), which include a parking garage empire and also an evil empire, complete with volcano secret lair. This means, then, that a whole host of other villains now want him dead. Oh, and his cat can type.

This one was an absolute hoot. It feels like Dave Barry with Douglas Adams vibes and I loved it.

>56 scaifea: Oh lord I love the sound of this one so much.

>57 Ravenwoodwitch: Me too!

>57 Ravenwoodwitch: >58 laytonwoman3rd: It's so much fun, and I highly recommend listening to it because Wil Wheaton is wonderful as the narrator.

135. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (wishlist) - 6/10
Rosemary Cooke was, until she was 5, a very chatty child, and also a twin. And then something happened in her family that resulted in her sister, Fern, disappearing and Rosemary gradually losing her voice. She tells her story in bits and pieces, starting in the middle and working her way slowly round to some big reveals.

I’m not at all sure why I, at some point, thought I wanted to read this book (which is how it must have made it onto my wishlist). It’s not in any way my usual thing, and, true to form, it didn’t work for me. It’s way too sad – there’s animal cruelty in spades – and there’s now real trade-off for the suffering it inflicts on the reader (as far as I’m concerned). Blech.

>61 lauralkeet: Hi Amber! This book sounded familiar, and sure enough I read it. This was back in 2014 and, believe it or not, it was on the Booker Prize shortlist. My review mentions a lot of LT buzz so you may have succumbed to that. Like you was underwhelmed and I remember nothing about it.

>61 lauralkeet: Oh, I'm certain I got the recommendation somewhere on here, Laura, and I suspect the fact that it's partially set in Bloomington had something to do with it, too. I'm sorry you didn't much like it, either.

Oops, I've missed this entire thread so far, but now I'm caught up! Happy (new? new-to-me!) thread!

Thanks, foggi.

136. Unsouled by Neal Shusterman (Read Soon Shelves) - 9/10
Not as many crazy twists in this one, but it’s still a solid entry in the series.

Hi Amber my dear, a very, very belated Happy New Thread and a belated Happy Birthday my dear friend. I am so far behind on here and with my reading this year.

I missed your birthday due to being in Madeira but other than that, my time just seems to escape me, i seem to only have small time slots but they get used up with other things.

I hope all is well with you, Tomm, Charlie, Mario and Agent Fitsimmons, we are both well and currently have Elliot on his Wednesday overnight stays. It is always a joy to have him from early Wednesday morning until mid Thursday afternoon. Sending love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

>66 johnsimpson: Hi, John! It's good to see you here. I'm also insanely busy these days and my LT time has dropped into near nonexistence. Enjoy your Elliot days!!

137. Mexikid by Pedro Martín (Newbery Honor Book) - 9/10
A middle grade graphic novel/memoir about Martín’s childhood RV road trip with his large family to bring his grandfather from Mexico to live with them in California. Funny and touching and interesting in turns, this one is definitely worth a read.



138. This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston (wishlist) - 8/10
A group of rich privileged white teen boys go out hunting one morning and one of them gets fatally shot. None of them are confessing and they’re all sticking together. Kate, a high school senior who’s interning in the prosecutor’s office where her mom works as an assistant, finds herself with a ringside ticket to the investigation, which is made more complicated by the fact that she was secretly seeing the victim on the side. Sort of. And then when she finds out what was really going on between the two of them, things get even more complicated.

A fun murder mystery with some interesting twists.

139. My Hero Academia vol 20 by Kohei Horikoshi (manga) - 9/10
This entry in the manga series introduces one of my favorite characters, so it gets a definite thumbs up from me.

140. Reckless by Lauren Roberts (audiobook) - 8/10
A fun entry in this particular romantasy series with a nice little twist at the end.

141. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (audiobook) - 8/10
Three high school friends all deal with their own issues in a small Tennessee town: Lydia has a fashion blog that she hopes will be her ticket out of a town in which she has never felt she belonged; Travis escapes into a fantasy series fandom to get away from his abusive father; but Dill struggles to find a way out from under the stigma of a disgraced and imprisoned evangelical preacher of a father, a mother who can’t hear anything over her own bible thumping, and a family history of violence and self-harm that he fears he can’t escape. When tragedy hits their friendship, will they find a way to help each other leave their pasts behind and start fresh away from it all?

This one packs a punch, folks. The writing is good, the characters’ voices all ring fairly true, and the story does the emotional rollercoaster trick well without dipping into the melodramatic. Definitely recommended.

142. The Changeling by Victor Lavalle (wishlist) - 8/10
Apollo is a seller of rare books, and as a person of color, he’s a bit of a rare find in the field himself. But he’s carved out a nice little life for himself and his wife, Emma, in NYC, and they’re just settling into the exhausting joy of new parenthood when things start falling apart. Emma starts acting strangely toward their infant boy. And when tragedy strikes, Apollo sets out to find the family he’s lost, discovering along the way that the supernatural lurks just below the surface of their everyday New York lives.

A dark treatment of the changeling trope (although, of course, it’s a dark kind of story to begin with), well told and with an interesting twist on the relevant mythology. I was worried that it would be too grim, but it turned out to be an excellent yarn.

>72 scaifea: The Changeling is one of the few horror novels that I'd recommend.

>72 scaifea: yoink. To my TBR list you GO!

>73 quondame: It's certainly horror-lite.

>74 Ravenwoodwitch: Woot! I hope you love it.

143. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (wishlist) - 8/10
Vasilisa has grown up with the ability to see all sorts of spirits and creatures that others can’t, although most people in her small Russian village still believe and leave offerings. When her mother dies, her father eventually remarries to a woman from the city who is devoted to the christian god and who, along with the new priest in town, insists that folks stop worshipping the old spirits. And then things start going wrong. But Vasilisa has a sort of bond with Frost, the old god of the dead, and together they may set things right.

A nice story influenced by Russian folktales and with some new interesting adjustments.



144. The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon (wishlist) - 8/10
Pet Sematary meets…something else that I can’t figure out but doesn’t matter because it’s mostly Pet Sematary without bothering with the pet first. Still, an interesting story, and good and creepy, with some good twists as the separate threads come together.

145. Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell (Read Soon! shelves) - 9/10
The finale of the Simon/Baz trilogy, and it absolutely delivers. For those who don’t know, this series is, essentially, a fake fanfic of a fake HP-like fantasy series that Rowell made up for her novel, Fangirl. And it is *better* than Rowling on her best day. So, so good.

>76 scaifea: I've seen a couple of reviews of The bear and the Nightingale that have appealed. That might be another nudge in the right direction.
Hope things are going well at Scaife manor, or as well as can be expected.

>78 Helenliz: Thanks, Helen, and I hope you enjoy the book if you get to it.

146. Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis (audiobook) - 7/10
Neely is still mourning her brother’s suicide while trying to hide her mental illness (she hears and sees people who aren’t actually there) from the grandparents who are raising her. The only place she seems able to escape her demons is in the caverns at the local tourist trap, so when she has a chance at a summer job there, she jumps to accept. Things seem to be going well at first – she’s even starting to make friends with the other summer help – but when one of those new friends is murdered in the caves and Neely’s hallucinations increase, she’s caught trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not, and if she has any culpability in what has happened.

This one is really dark, and I don’t recommend it for those who may find talk of mental illness or suicide triggering. It’s an okay mystery with some good twists, but honestly, a little too grim for me.

147. The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlaine (library display book) - 8/10
Riley grew up in a house full of grief caused by her older sister’s suicide, and while Riley doesn’t remember Lisa (she was only two at the time of her sister’s death), she witnessed the consequences of the loss every day in her mother’s depression, her father’s withdrawn demeanor, and her brother’s aloofness and anger issues. With her father’s death (and her mother gone years earlier), Riley is left to clean out her childhood home and prep her father’s estate for selling. But as she sorts through her father’s things, secrets start coming out of the woodwork and everything she’s ever known about her family is about to change.

A decent mystery with inventive twists, but nothing earthshattering. Good for when you need something slightly mindless and nicely entertaining.

148. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (wishlist) - 9/10
Mildred, at 30-something, is considered a spinster in her 1950s London, and she moves through life fairly contentedly, working for the Impoverished Gentlewomen’s Group, helping out at her local parish, and living on her own in a small apartment. Her life gets slightly shaken up when a fashionable couple move in downstairs and Mildred finds herself swept up in their mildly dazzling world.

This one was a surprising delight. Think Cranford for slightly more modern era. I loved it.

>82 scaifea: One of my favorite Pyms. She, in fact, is one of my favorite comfort-read authors.

>83 laytonwoman3rd: I second Linda's comment! Excellent Women was my first Pym and I went on to read all of her novels (there are about 12).

>83 laytonwoman3rd: >84 lauralkeet: I can definitely see Pym as a go-to comfort read, and I definitely think I'll be back for more of her stuff.

149. The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson (wishlist) - 9/10
Leia, a graphic novel author/artist with a substantial cult following, gets cozy with a Batman-becostumed fan at a comic con and now finds herself pregnant. But she decides to keep it to herself, at least for now, because her grandmother’s health – physical and mental – is failing, and she needs to focus on trying to convince Grandma Birchie and her lifelong best friend, Wattie, to move into assisted living. And then she – and the rest of the town – catch the two elderly friends trying to sneak a trunk with human bones in it out of the house, and all heck breaks loose.

There’s quite a bit more to this one than I have the energy just now to summarize, with more side stories (Leia has her own almost-sister, who in turn is having *her* own problems, the mysterious Batman Daddy plays a significant role, and even Leia’s graphic novel is a side plot, too), and it’s all excellently interwoven into an entertaining and deeply felt tale. Every character is nicely crafted, and there are some fun twists that may not be terribly shocking but are well turned out just the same. Definitely recommended.

Hi Amber! You are just reading at an astonishing pace! I am mostly sticking to audio becuase I don't have time for reading just now. You got me a few times - notably America for Americans and Black Rabbit Hall made it onto my list. Happy Tuesday!

>87 AMQS: Well, I *do* listen to my audiobooks at 2x speed, so I tend to get through those pretty quickly. My paper reading is significantly slower...

>88 scaifea: that's impressive - I am not able to do that (exception being Les Miserables through the war, sewer, and other diversions from the main story:)

No read any Pym, that sounds like it would be enjoyable. Must add her to the list.

Happy Wednesday, Amber. Just checking in. I hope all is well at the Scaife Manor. We miss seeing you around. I also really enjoyed, Mexikid, The Bear and the Nightingale & Winter People.

>91 msf59: Hi, Mark. Good to see you! I'm glad we both enjoyed those reads.

150. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (wishlist) - 8/10
Set in the late 1600’s in Amsterdam, this story follows 18-year-old Nella as she moves to the city from her small country village to become the wife of a rich merchant. But married life isn’t at all what she thought it would be, with a grim and unfriendly sister-in-law, a too-familiar housemaid, and a husband who, for reasons she can’t guess, shows no interest in touching her at all. He does, however, buy her an extravagant wedding present: a dollhouse version of her new home, which she decides to fill with commissions from a local miniaturist. But as the tiny versions of the elements of the house and those living in it keep appearing at her door, each more uncannily accurate than the last, Nella worries about how the craftsperson knows all they seem to know about her and her new life, even as secrets she didn’t know herself are slowly revealed.

This one is difficult to categorize. Historical fiction, sure, but maybe also sort of magical realism? Or not? And there’s sort of romance, but also not? It’s not exactly a happy story, but it’s also a fascinating one, and it’s nicely told.

Howdy Amber, hope you're having a good week.
Our Library has been crazy busy with the school season back up again. Yours seeing more patrons?

>93 scaifea: Ooh, The Miniaturist looks pretty interesting. I often find that those books that aren’t so easy to “pigeonhole” are the ones that stay with me a little more strongly. So, thanks for the reccie.

Karen O

>95 klobrien2: You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it!

>94 Ravenwoodwitch: Sorry, I didn't see you up there earlier!

We're pretty steadily busy, but we always see a slight drop off after SLP. I'm keeping crazy busy with Teen Tuesday stuff, though.

151. Black Butler vol 7 by Yana Toboso
Another good entry in the Black Butler manga series. We’re starting to see more of the demon side of Sebastian, which is excellent.



152. Chef's Kiss by Jarrett Melendez (Alex Award) - 710
This graphic novel about a recent English major grad who finds temporary employment in a restaurant that turns into a job he actually loves won an Alex Award, but I found it a little lacking. The story was cute and the illustrations are okay, but the writing/dialogue was a bit clunky.

Hi Amber, you're racing through books as usual!

I have The Miniaturist on my shelves (I think it was a Christmas Present some years ago) but haven't got around to reading it yet. Nice to see you enjoyed it.

153. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker (wishlist) - 9/10
A retelling of the Iliad through the eyes of Briseis, Achilles’ war prize, this novel highlights the women of war and their forgotten lives.

Excellently written and lovingly true to the original. I adored it.

>99 PawsforThought: I hope you enjoy it when you get to it.

154. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun (mystery) - 8/10
Jim Qwilleran, a veteran newspaper reporter, becomes a fish out of water when he’s assigned a new beat he knows nothing about: the local art scene. But when an art gallery manager is murdered and the reporter’s eccentric art critic and cat lover landlord seems somehow to be involved, Qwilleran adds investigative reporter back onto his resume.

The first in a classic and long-running cozy mystery series. It was significantly less of a drag than I honestly thought it would be – I assumed it hadn’t aged well, but I was more or less happily surprised. I didn’t love it enough to continue with the series, but I certainly didn’t hate it, either.

>102 scaifea: The series gets stronger a few books in, then completely jumps the shark somewhere around book 20. The middle portion of the series makes it one of my favorite comfort reads, but she did take a little while to warm up (and, unfortunately, I think cognitive decline took effect in the later books).

>102 scaifea: Wow...I haven't seen anyone mention the Qwilleran books around here in many years. I agree with Foggi...some of them were an absolute delight, and others ranged from meh to muck. I got my fill with half a dozen or so, I think.

>103 foggidawn: >104 laytonwoman3rd: I'll take your word for it that they get better. Too many other books to explore for me to go on with the series. A first book must be absolutely amazing for me to want to continue these days.

155. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (wishlist) - 8/10
Irene has lived all her life in service for the Library, a sort of multiverse hub where books from all worlds are stored. She’s a legacy employee: both of her parents are Librarians as well. She’s still working her way up the ranks, though, when her superior gives her a new student assistant and a dangerous new assignment all in the same day, and Irene is feeling slightly underqualified. She holds her own, however, when things go very sideways while she and Kai – the student who is clearly hiding stuff from her – are trying to collect a dangerous book from an alternate London.

A fun bookish fantasy with steampunk vibes. I can’t decide, though, if I liked it well enough to continue with the series. The characters felt a little flat and there were elements of the story that could have been fleshed out better. Plus, I have a feeling that the Big Overarching Storyline Secret is kind of obvious, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I guess? But I think I needed a little more from the story to keep going with it.

156. My Epic Spring Break(Up) by Kristin Rockaway (library display book) - 6/10
Ashley is an overachieving high schooler whose ambition is to become a successful coder, and she’s certain she’ll get into the Silicon Valley summer internship she’s applied for that will help her toward that goal. Nevermind that her best friend, Jason, teases her about taking everything too seriously and never making time to have fun. But then she gets rejected for the internship on the day her crush starts making eyes at her, and she throws all common sense out the window and starts chasing after the boy and making really stupid decisions.

Like, really, really stupid decisions. This is one of those YA books that adults will have a hard time reading. It’s all about Dumb Teen Hormones Makes Teen Do Dumb Things and so very cringey. Also very predictable. Not that that’s a bad thing in a romance book, far from it, but if you know the outcome at the beginning, then the story needs to be about the journey, and this one doesn’t have a very entertaining journey.

>107 scaifea: Thanks for taking one for the team -- I'll know to give that one a miss, if I ever run across it.

157. The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware (wishlist) - 8/10
Harriet (Hal) is just about at the nadir of her young life so far (she’s behind on her rent, her tarot reading booth at the Brighton pier isn’t pulling in enough customers, the money she owes to the loan shark is very, very due, and since her mother’s death she feels completely alone in the world). And then she receives a letter from a solicitor telling her that her rich grandmother has died and she is named as an heir in the will. The only trouble is that her grandparents have been long dead, so there must be some mistake. But she needs the money. So she decides to take a chance that her skills of deception in the tarot booth will transfer to this situation, and she sets off on a trip to the funeral and the will reading, set to fool the old woman’s real family. Of course, she finds that she’s stepped into a way more interesting and dangerous situation than she could ever have guessed.

A fun mystery/thriller with a good cast of characters. Certainly kept me turning the pages to see if my hunches were right.



158. Tin Man by Sarah Winman (wishlist) - 6/10
Ugh. Nope. Not for me. This one was all character study and virtually no plot, and I find those kinds of novels way too tedious.



159. Solitaire by Alice Oseman (Read Soon! shelves) - 9/10
Follows Tori Spring (Charlie Spring’s sister, of Heartstopper fame) as she struggles with depression and feelings of isolation while trying to figure out how to accept the offer of friendship from the strange and strangely lovely new boy in school, while also trying to figure out why the anonymous anarchist terrorizing the school (to the delight of most students) seems to be focusing their attention on her.

Tori is my favorite Heartstopper character by far, so of course I loved this novel devoted to her. Oseman is a master of YA lives and stories.

160. The Light Between Worlds by Laura Weymouth (wishlist) - 7/10
Three siblings (two girls and a boy) were whisked away into a magical barely-not-Narnia during a London air raid, spent five years there, then were returned to the exact moment they left. The novel follows the lives of sisters 5 years after their return, and how they are trying to cope with life in the ‘real’ world.

Cool premise, but the pacing was off, I think, or maybe the sisters were just not very likable characters. I dunno, but it didn’t fully work for me.



161. Dark Cities Underground by Lisa Goldstein (wishlist) - 7/10
The premise of this one is that all those children’s stories that we’ve been told were written by parents for their kids were actually true stories told by the children to their parents, who then exploited what they thought were just the vivid imaginations of their offspring. But the kiddos all went to the same underground world (because children can travel between worlds more easily than adults), and it’s the Underworld inhabited by Isis and Osiris and, most disturbingly, Set. Set’s trying to recover his old power and has manipulated the building of city subway systems around the world to build, essentially, a big power circle, or something, that will somehow do…something…? But one of the children who visited the realm is now all grown and wants to try to stop him.

Yeah, again, a cool idea but the execution didn’t live up to the potential and it really seemed to fall apart toward the end.



162. Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer (Charlie's book club) - 8/10
There are Unnaturals – humans with extraordinary abilities – all over the world, and some of them are dangerous. There’s also a huge black market system in which those Unnaturals are hunted down and sold, either alive or in pieces, to people interested in exotic consumables. Nita works with her mother in that system, dissecting the bodies of the Unnaturals her mom brings home from the hunt. Until one day Nita – an Unnatural herself – is kidnapped and put up for sale, and she fights to find a way to escape.

Wow, this one is pretty intense and there’s quite of bit of graphic physical violence/bodily harm. But the story is interesting and the writing is good.

163. Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore (wishlist) - 9/10
A retelling of The Great Gatsby with Nick and Jay as trans men. Wonderfully done. I loved it.

164. A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addison (mystery) - 8/10
When Alex’s mother died when she (Alex) was a kid, her father avoided taking her on visits to her mother’s family. And so far years now, she has been out of touch with her aunt and her cousins. But now that her father has also passed on, she decides to take them up on the offer to stay with them in their small coastal town of Bellamy Bay for a little while. Alex’s aunt runs an old-fashioned apothecary, and many in town seem to think her teas and tonics are particularly good at what they claim to do on the tin. As it turns out, much to Alex’s surprise, it’s all true because her mother’s side of the family are all water witches, which means she is, too. She helps out at the store while learning to control her newly-discovered magic, and then a local real estate mogul is murdered and Alex’s aunt is the top suspect. So she sets out to prove the cops wrong and solve the case herself, all while flirting with one of the detectives *and* one of her own main suspects (two separate hotties).

An okay first entry in a cozy series, but not enough of interest to convince me to continue. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t *love* it.

165. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (wishlist) - 8/10
Evvie’s husband died in a car accident two years ago. Her family and her friends have been great at supporting her and trying to help her through the grief, but what none of them know is that she was in her packed car ready to pull out of the driveway and leave her husband when she got the call from the hospital. Dean Tenney is a (now former) MLB pitcher who suddenly came down with the yips and is now looking for a place to stay in Evvie’s small Maine town where he can lay low for a big and try to figure out what’s next. When their mutual friend suggests that Dean rent out the empty apartment attached to Evvie’s house, their two worlds collide, and although they quickly make a pact that both her dead husband and his dead baseball career are off limits, their growing (possibly more than) friendship repeated pushes those limits.

A fun – and sometimes actually pretty funny – little romance. Nothing too high stakes and nothing too spicy. Just warm and cozy.

>113 scaifea: I loved that one!

>114 foggidawn: Woot!

166. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (audiobook) - 9/10
The sequel to Firekeeper’s Daughter, this novel follows Daunis’s younger cousin, Perry, who, at 16, just wants a lazy summer, but ends up in an intern position helping various tribal members to try to recover long-ago stolen artifacts that are now in the possession of the local university. There’s also a murder mystery and a heist – this one has a bit of everything, along with more history of the Ojibwe people and how they’ve been mistreated in so many ways by colonizers. Just like the first book, this one is masterfully written, the story and the histories wonderfully told. Highly recommended.

167. The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary (wishlist) - 8/10
Tiffy is trying to extricate herself from a bad relationship and looking for a cheap place to live in London, but finding something affordable without mold or rats is nearly impossible. Leon is looking for some extra cash to help fund his brother’s court appeal process and advertises his place as a flatshare for someone who works a regular 9-5 job (he works nights and so it would be a case of flat mates who are never there at the same time). And so starts a post-it notes-only flat-mate-ship, which turns into notes-all-over-the-flat friendship, which turns into…something more.
Absolutely adorable and very fun. I’m a sucker for an epistolary novel anyway, but this one was extra good.

>117 scaifea: I adored that one, too! You're reading all of my hits from summer 2019!

>117 scaifea: This one has become a comfort read for me :) Unfortunately I thought the TV adaptation was pretty bad. But the book is still excellent!

>117 scaifea: Ooh, you hit me with a BB for The Flatshare! Sounds charming. Thanks!

Karen O

>117 scaifea: That's you & Katie both rating this one. One of you I can ignore (sort of), both of you is too much to resist. It's on borrowbox, so I'll listen to it.

>118 foggidawn: Ha! That's probably when it hit my wishlist, then.

>119 curioussquared: I could definitely see this as a comfort read. There's something so cozy about epistolary novels, and then there's just a lot of feel-good stuff in here, too.

>120 klobrien2: Woot! I hope you love it! And charming is exactly the right word for it.

>121 Helenliz: Oh, interesting! Katie and I don't cross reading paths too often, I think, but when we do, it's definitely a good one!

If you like epistolary novels, I just finished Yours from the Tower, and it was sweet and delightful.

>122 scaifea: There are several people I follow around here whose taste I trust, When more than one of then agrees about a book I was humming & hawing about, I treat it as a sign to Just Get It.

>123 foggidawn: I think that one's already on the wishlist.

>124 Helenliz: Wise. Very wise.

168. When All Is Said by Anne Griffin (wishlist) - 9/10
Maurice Hannigan sits alone at the bar of the local hotel and makes 5 toasts to the 5 most important people in his life, all while monologuing in his head the story of these people and his life to his grown son, who has moved from Ireland to the States years ago.
Wonderfully written and beautifully told. I adored it.

169. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Read Soon! Shelves) - 10/10
The second in the Fourth Wing series, and hoo, is it good. So, so good. Too many spoilers for the first book to actually talk about the plot at all, but I am loving this series.



170. Wordslut by Amanda Montell (wishlist) - 9/10
An analysis of how the English language is inherently patriarchal and some suggestions on how to start tipping it more toward equality. Fun and interesting.

171. Women Talking by Miriam Toews (wishlist) - 6/10
Based on actual events in which a group of Mennonite women were repeatedly drugged and raped in the middle of the night then told that they were being visited by demons as some sort of punishment, this story is about a similar group of women after the truth has been revealed as they meet secretly to decide what they should do: leave the colony, stay and do nothing, or stay and fight for themselves.

The novel is 10% plot and 90% Socratic dialogue (sort of. Not really. But sort of.) and I loathe Socratic dialogue. I get what the author is doing here (at least I think I do: shining a light on horrific deeds that tend to go unnoticed, trying to give the women in these situations a voice,…), but I was irritated that the she still filtered those voices through a male protagonist, who’s job in the book is literally to translate the speech of the women into his own words. Maybe that frustration with a male presence that doesn’t seem at all necessary is also part of Toews’ point; if so, brava, because she nailed it. I was super frustrated.

172. A Merry Little Murder Plot by Jenn McKinlay (mystery) - 8/10
The Briar Creek Library has a new Writer in Residence program, and their first resident is the famous author of a police procedural mystery series. Lindsey, library director and dabbler in local crime solving, is determined to make friends with the stand-offish writer, but things get complicated when Helen (the WiR) has to deal with both a stalker and the new director of the Friends of the Library, who is determined to get all of Helen’s books banned. And then there’s a murder, of course.

McKinlay is 15 volumes deep in this series and I’m impressed that things haven’t gone pear shaped yet. I’m still enjoying the stories and the characters, even if this one did get a little repetitive in a couple of places.

Hi Amber, I usually get all the good ideas from you, but reading over your recent reads I have found many that I have read recently. It makes be feel perhaps not so hopelessly behind! I enjoyed The Flatshare, When All is Said, Evvie Drake Starts Over, and agree with you about The Light Between Worlds. I didn't enjoy The Miniaturist as much as you did. You did hit me with The Silence of the Girls (or more accurately, you hit my gift list for Marina), and Tin Man. Though it wasn't for you it does sound like it might be for me, and if it isn't, I consider myself warned:)

>130 AMQS: Hi, Anne!

Well, I'm working my way through my wishlist and these are all waaaay back on the list (added years ago), so I'm not surprised that you've already read most of them. I'm glad I still managed to give you some new ones to read/gift, and best of luck with Tin Man...

Hi Amber. It's fun seeing you on Duolingo. What language are you learning?

>132 EBT1002: Hi, Ellen!

I'm learning Spanish because we have a regular patron at the library who only speaks Spanish and I want her to know that there's someone there who can communicate with her. She's so sweet and has been very encouraging about me learning the language. We have slow, hilarious conversations every time she comes in. And I'm having a blast learning a living language; it's been a *long* time since I've tried learning one that hasn't been long dead!

173. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (wishlist) - 8/10
After her brother goes off to join the war being waged between two gods, Iris becomes a journalist for a local newspaper, and fights her own battle with a rival writer for a permanent job as a columnist. Her brother is MIA and her rival is driving her mad, so she finds comfort in typing up letters to her missing brother and just leaving them in her closet. But then the letters start disappearing and are replaced with responses, although they’re not from her brother. A man named Carver is somehow magically receiving her letters, and the two strike up a friendship. When Iris gets a chance to work near the front as a war correspondent, she takes it, but she also takes her magic typewriter with her so that she won’t lose the connection with Carver that has become so important to her. And when her rival follows her to the front, her feelings for him – and for Carver – become complicated. All the while, the conflict of the gods comes closer and closer to disrupting Iris’ world.

It was…okay. A fair-to-middling YA romance-in-a-fantasy-setting (I don’t think I’d call this a full-on romantasy, but I can’t exactly explain why). I’ve read worse, but I’ve certainly also read better, and I don’t think I’ll bother continuing with the series.

174. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold (wishlist) - 7/10
Nonfiction account of the Jack the Ripper murders that focuses on the lives of the women he killed, along with setting the socio-economic scene in which they lived as well.

I made it halfway through this one before calling it quits, so I’m counting it. It wasn’t awful; it just didn’t hold my attention at all.

>135 scaifea: I thought that it should have been better than it was. I described it as being hit over the head with a thesis.

175. Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine (library display book) - 9/10
Riley lives in a house on a lake, remote from the rest of the world. She moved there after whatever it is that’s infecting the world through the eyes (make eye contact and you go murderously insane) claimed her mother’s life. And she’s lived utterly alone ever since, which has been a handful of years. And then Ellis moves in down the road and decides to visit, opening Riley’s world up to all sorts of dangers, which she moved away from civilization to avoid. Are Ellis’ intentions malicious? Or is Riley just paranoid? Imagining things? Or is she going crazy? Is she already infected and doesn’t even know it?

Hoo boy, this one’s a doozie. Short, but jam-packed with creepy goodness. It kept me guessing up to the end and beyond.

>136 Helenliz: I'm sorry it didn't work for you either, Helen.

Hey Amber!
Great reads on here. That last one looks like it might be up my alley.
I hope the boys and you are still doing well. And, as a fellow crafter, good luck this holiday season!

>139 Ravenwoodwitch: Hey, Angela! I think you would *love* YSHR. And thanks for the holiday crafting luck - I'm gonna need it!

176. The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins (Book-A-Year Challenge) - 6/10
Classic gothic mystery fully equipped with a creepy old manor house, suspicious-acting servants, and a sweet, unsuspecting young mistress. It dragged in parts, and I wasn’t ever really invested in the characters. So overall this one was pretty meh.



177. My Hero Academia vol 21 by Kohei Horikoshi (manga) - 9/10
UA High classes A and B are pitted against each other in some training matches, plus there’s a new student hoping to join the hero class.
Another fun volume in the series.



178. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen (audiobook) - 8/10
I’ve been meaning to read this one for ages, so when Charlie’s history teacher assigned some of it for class reading, I decided now was the time. Interesting, but nothing new or earth-shattering to me. I do love that his teacher is assigning it, though, and I hope the kiddos take it to heart and learn to look critically at their textbooks in all subjects.

179. Up to No Gouda by Linda Reilly (mystery) - 7/10
After the unexpected death of her husband, Carly moves back to her small Vermont hometown to open a grill cheese diner. And then someone is murdered behind her restaurant. Naturally, she becomes an amateur sleuth, and equally naturally, there’s a Handsome Hometown Love Interest as well.

An okayish cozy mystery. I enjoyed it just fine, but I won’t be continuing with the series.

180. The High Desert by James Spooner (Alex Award) - 9/10
An excellent graphic novel memoir about a multiracial young man growing up in the early nineties and learning about the punk movement. An interesting memoir and also a great source of beginning info on how the punk movement has always been about so much more than mohawks and anarchy symbols. Definitely recommended.

181. Skyshade by Alex Aster (audiobook) - 6/10
The third in the Lightlark series. The plot is all over the place in this one; it feels so convoluted that, at the end, when several events were revealed that I assume were meant to be twists, I couldn’t be arsed to try to remember just who these characters were or how they fit into the story. And the love triangle became extra-tedious. It moved from angst-ridden indecision to straight-up flighty unfaithful-fantasy dalliance. There’s just no nuance in the writing at all here.

Have a lovely long weekend, Amber. Best wishes always to you and Tomm and Charlie.

182. The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 9/10
Set in 1529 in the months leading up to the during the Turkish siege of Vienna, this novel follows Irishman Brian Duffy as he is hired by a strange old man to be a bouncer for the inn that houses Herzwesten brewery. As it turns out, Duffy is in for a lot more than he may have bargained for, because everyone is more than he seems – including Brian himself – and there’s more at stake in the upcoming invasion than he could imagine.

This is the second Powers novel I’ve read, and I suspect it won’t be the last. He’s a master at drawing fun and fascinating characters, plopping them down into equally interesting plots, and scattering unique twists on various mythologies into the mix. Definitely recommended.

Hi, Amber. I liked that High Desert graphic memoir, too. What an unusual (to me) slice of life.

You tempt me with Drawing of the Dark. I’ve read and heard positives about Powers, but haven’t read him. The best fantasies I’ve read in recent times are those Travis Baldree ones.

>147 jnwelch: I've been recommending High Desert to all sorts of folks because I love the intro to what the punk movement has always been about. And I definitely recommend Powers. The other one of his I've read and loved was The Stress of Her Regard. Legends and Lattes is on my list and has been since before it came out. I need to pump it up the pile.

Happy Saturday, Amber. How is everything at the Scaife Manor? I sure miss seeing you around. I hope you had a nice holiday with the family. I am also a fan of The High Desert.

Powers is one of my faves! Don’t know which other you read, but The Stress of Her Regard, The Anubis Gates, On Stranger Tides are all good ones.

>149 msf59: Hi, Mark! We're all doing okay, although this has been a year and a half for us. We had a health scare with Charlie in the summer, and I've spent most of the year dealing with both of my parents falling into dementia and neither of them having named anyone PoA. So my brother and I are in the process of guardianship hearings and nursing home negotiations. It's been rough.

>150 drneutron: Hi, Jim! The Stress of Her Regard is the other one I've read and loved. At this point, I think I'll likely try to read all his stuff.

>151 scaifea: We went through that with my mother-in-law, over the covid lockdown, no less. It’s rough and exhausting. I understand.

>153 drneutron: Thanks, Jim. I can't imagine trying to do all this during covid! Being 4 hours away is bad enough.

>151 scaifea: (((Hugs))) The aging parent situation---so inevitable, and yet unique to everyone who faces it. I'm sorry you're getting double whammied, and that your parents hadn't put their trust in someone into a legal document to ease the plain old practicalities of it all. The emotional stuff is hard and there's really no preparation anyone can do to ease you along that path.

>155 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda. The good news is that Tomm and I know what we need to do to make things much easier on Charlie when the time comes.

The worst part is that my dad has the angry kind of dementia; he now says the most hateful things to us, and on an intellectual level I know it's not really him, but it's still pretty hard to take.

>146 scaifea: >152 scaifea: I've been a Tim Powers fan for decades, though not until the early 1990s when The Stress of Her Regard came out. Initially I was somewhat disappointed in tSoHR, as I'm not much of a Byron/Shelley fan, but I did later appreciate the introduction to François Villon as that led me to pick up the delightful The Brief Hour of François Villon, off the shelf near where Dorothy Dunnet rested at a local library.
The Anubis Gate remains my favorite by him, out of 24 so far. I've had the pleasure of arguing about Los Angeles freeway entrances with him, specifically which one would be used by his protagonist from where he started in West Los Angeles. Granted, Tim resides rather further east than I do, significantly on the far side of the downtown area and really does grok Los Angeles, even though his travel times are very much into wishful thinking for plot-pacing purposes.

Amber I am so sorry to hear about the struggles with your parents. Stelios and I are at the beginning of that journey with my dad, and probably honestly is mom. I'll be thinking about you.

Amber, I had a hunch there might be "stuff" going on in your life other than just run-of-the-mill busy-ness. It sounds like the health scare is behind you now thank goodness, but like others here I know how hard it is to deal with parents who have dementia. They're the same person you've always loved inside, but so different day-to-day, and staying on top of their care needs is a real challenge.

As Linda said, "The emotional stuff is hard and there's really no preparation anyone can do to ease you along that path." A support network helps, and we're all here for that. Sending hugs.

Morning, Amber. I am so sorry to hear about all the major issues you are going through. No wonder you haven't been around. Good luck, my friend with all of this. Gentle ((hugs))...🙏

Thanks so much, everyone. It's definitely been a nadir kind of year at Scaife Manor, and I appreciate all the kind words.

I had a hunch something serious had hit, and I'm so sorry you got hit with all that this year.
It sounds like things are slowly shifting back to manageable at least, so I hope that pattern continues and that you and your boys have a happy holiday season :)
Also sorry about the situation with your folks. That sounds unbearably hard.

>162 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks for that, Angela. Fingers crossed that things do settle down soon.

183. Severance by Ling Ma (wishlist) - 7/10
Post-apocalyptic novel set after a pandemic leaves most of the population “fevered,” which seems to mean they’re essentially harmless zombies. Candace is one of the handful of survivors coming out of NYC, and she joins a group of people making their way to a complex owned by one of members outside of Chicago. But the leader of their group seems a little off, and Candace has her own secrets as well.

Meh. An okay end-of-the-world story, although the ending was pretty anticlimactic, and the message of actually being cut off from the world vs. being metaphorically so is a little heavy handed.

184. The Drowning Tree by Carol Goodman (wishlist) - 7/10
Juno returns to her small private college years later to support her bestie, who is giving a lecture on a stained-glass window in the school library that was created by one of the founders of the school. Juno herself is preparing to restore the window to its original glory, along with her father and the glass company they run together. And then her bestie turns up death, drowned in the same river in which Juno’s husband (now institutionalized) tried to kill her and their then-infant daughter. So she works to solve the murder while putting the window back together, revisiting her relationship with her returning-to-normal-life-with-the-help-of-therapy-and-drugs husband, all while diving into the mysterious history of the man and wife team who originally created the window and founded the college.

Goodman tries to do *a lot* here, and it gets ponderous fairly quickly. The allusions to classical myth and its representations in art are way too heavy handed; she needs to leave some things up to the imagination of the reader and stop hitting us over the head with all her cleverness. The story’s not bad, but the writing is too self-consciously artsy, I think. Just a bit too fussy overall.

Hi Amber, I haven't been as active on the threads I like. I vow to visit some threads that I haven't in awhile.

Congratualions on reading 184 books thus far!

>166 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda!

185. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai (wishlist) - 8/10
A dark academia mystery in which a prep school alumna goes back to teach podcasting years after graduating there and becomes obsessed all over again with the unsolved murder of her school roommate their senior year.

A pretty good mystery with some solid twists. Recommended if you like that sort of thing.

>137 scaifea: Wow, Amber - what a cover!!! Not sure I want to read it, but it sure is eye-catching.

Just catching up and sending hugs for all the things you're dealing with right now.

Sorry to hear about your struggles with your parents. Hope that you're being able to make some time and space for you in amidst it all.

>169 Fourpawz2: I love the colors!

>170 MickyFine: >171 Helenliz: Thanks, folks.

186. The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan (library display) - 9/10
A lovely and cozy story about a woman who, after losing her dead-end shopgirl job, is gently pushed by her parents and her annoyingly successful sister into taking a position in a dusty, failing bookshop in Edinburgh. Her job: to help the shop – and the eccentric and sweet old shopkeeper – into turning a profit before Christmas. Enter Handsome But Shallow and Generally Horrible Famous Author to turn her head, and also Sweet and Shy and, Um, Quaker Also-Handsome Academic Dude to make it a triangle.

I loved it. The characters are all fantastic, the story is fun and sweet (without ever being saccharine) and at times even hilarious, and the setting is so lovingly described that the city becomes one of the most beloved characters in the book. My only tiny little miniscule quibble is how Colgan switches narrators mid-paragraph and does so frequently. It’s a bit jarring and, I think, unnecessary.



187. The Chain by Adrian McKinty (wishlist) - 7/10
A woman’s tween daughter is kidnapped and the phone call she gets introduces her to The Chain: in order to get her child back, she needs to pay a ransom and then kidnap someone else in turn to keep The Chain going.

Well, I mean, it does what it says on the tin: it’s definitely a thriller. And it’s fun enough, but it’s 92% thrill and 6% substance (the other 2% is the barely-developed-really-only-sketched love interest stuff, I guess). But sometimes that’s exactly what you want in a book.

I felt pretty much the exact same way about both those books. I just read (listened) to the Colgan last month, and it was the perfect read to get me in the holiday spirit.

>174 katiekrug: The only thing about the Colgan book is that I really want to be in Scotland for xmas and I am doomed to be disappointed on that point.

188. A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (yearly reread) - 10/10
189. A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote (yearly reread) - 10/10
Yearly re-read of these two favorites. Just wonderful, the both of them.

>176 scaifea: Oh, what a treat you had! And I love how you make it an annual thing!

Karen O

>173 scaifea: I am delighted you enjoyed the holiday Colgan. I read it a few years ago and agree with all your comments. I have a feeling you'd also enjoy her latest novel, Close Knit. Be warned, it will also make you want to go to Scotland.

190. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (yearly reread) - 10/10
Another yearly reread of a favorite.



191. The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli (wishlist) - 8/10
An interesting, if only marginally intelligible for me, explanation of where we are in our understanding of just how time works.



192. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (wishlist) - 9/10
I don’t always love hardcore scifi novels, but this one was an absolute delight. It felt like a cross between Firefly and Farscape (based on the handful of episodes I’ve watched of that one) in book form. Definitely recommended.



193. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (wishlist) - 10/10
One of the best books I’ve read this year, hands down. Beautifully imagined and just as skillfully told. It felt like a Miyazaki reimagining of a Gaiman fantasy story. Highly, highly recommended.

>177 klobrien2: I look forward to them every year.

>178 MickyFine: I'm glad you like Colgan, too!

Solstice cheer, Amber!

>179 scaifea: Oh I'm so glad that you liked the Becky Chambers book. I loved that one so much that I took my time picking up the other books in the series as I knew the subsequent novels are about other characters (mostly) and didn't want to resent book two for not being about these characters I adored. The rest of the series is also great and I think you'd enjoy them as well.

>182 MickyFine: Good to know - thanks!

194. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu (wishlist) - 8/10
In an interesting take on the lives of Mozart and his equally talented sister, this novel posits that they were actually children linked to a fairy realm and that Nannerl must choose between a life of musical fame and her brother’s health, a choice given to her by a fairy boy from the Kingdom of Back.

The story is certainly a fun and interesting premise. I think the writing could have been a little more…something. Engaging? I can’t quite put my finger on what felt lacking, and honestly it could have been the narrator of the audiobook and not the writing at all. Regardless, the story is worth the read.

>179 scaifea: I didn't get on with The Night Circus, but really enjoyed The Starless Sea.
The library has books 1, 2 & 4 of the Becky Chambers series. Which is annoying, bit not offputting enough to not try the first one.
I read Rovelli's Helgoland but can't recommend it. I couldn't see who it was aimed at, it was too complex for the general reader and too basic for the specialist. That seemed to me to be a small market segment. And suffered from an overuse of ellipsis.

>176 scaifea: Read A Child's Christmas in Wales for the first time. I can see why you return to it annually.

Hoping things are going as well as can be for you and all at Scaife manor.

>185 Helenliz: I have The Night Circus on my shelves but haven't read it yet.

I say go ahead and give the Chambers a read; I loved but, but I still don't really have any plans to continue with the series. I'm not sure what my requirements are for reading past the first book in a series, since I really did enjoy this first one. Sometimes I do, but often I just move on. At any rate, I think the first one is still worth a go.

And yay for the Thomas! So lovely.

Merry Christmas, Amber. I know it has been a very difficult year but I hope you can enjoy the holidays with the "boys". You are in our thoughts.

Hi Amber! I'm so sorry I've been absent from your thread for song long. Apparently, I haven't visited since your August birthday. Yikes!
You've stepped into the sandwich generation, the stressful time with parents and children grabbing your attention. I actually got chills when I read your dad has angry dementia. It's gotta be tough keeping it together.
I hope all will be settled soon and you and your brother will find a safe and caring facility for your parents.
Hope Charlie's better too.

>187 msf59: >188 Carmenere: Thanks, friends. We lost my Dad on December 13 and I was in Indiana for the arrangements all last week. My mom is having a very rough time with it, of course, but we're hopeful that soon we'll be able to get her into the extremely nice assisted living place we toured last week. It's a shit ending to the worst year I think I've ever had, but hopefully things will start looking up soon.

>189 scaifea: (((HUGS)))

I'm so sorry, Amber. I lost my mom close to Christmas and it sucks any time but seems particularly rough this time of year. Sending you strength and good wishes.

>189 scaifea:. I'm so sorry to hear that. In the middle of sorting everyone else out, remember you need to take time for you.
2025 better be an improvement; or else, universe, we'll be having words!

So sorry - I’m hoping 2025 is better

>189 scaifea: Sorry to hear the news about your Dad. Best wishes with sorting things out with your Mum.

*hugs*, Amber.

>189 scaifea: I am so sorry to read of your dad’s passing, Amber. Hugs
Cheers to a better 2025!

I'm so sorry to hear of these difficult losses. I hope your mother finds comfort in new living arrangements and you can spend the best time with your guys.

Sending hugs for you and your family. Thinking of you during this difficult time.

So sorry to hear about your dad, Amber. I hope things trend upward in 2025.

I'm so very sorry, Amber. Sending hugs and hopes for better times ahead.

I am very sorry to hear about your Dad, Amber. Hoping for a much better 2025 for you. 🙏

Thanks so much, all. Fingers crossed that those 2025 well wishes stick!

I'm sure this will be a difficult Christmas for you Amber but hoping for a better 2025.

195. Possible Happiness by David Ebenbach (Read Soon! shelf) - 8/10
Follows a teen boy in 1989 NYC through a few months of high school as he finds a friend group, battles with depression, and works to figure out who he is.

Maybe not the happiest of reads, but I think it could be an important one in the right hands. I’ll be recommending this one to my teen librarians, for certain.



196. Black Butler Vol 8 by Yana Toboso (manga) - 9/10
Another fun entry in this manga series, with a somewhat shocking reveal about some of the regular characters. Still loving it.

Amber, I am so sorry to hear that you lost your dad. That's such a tough way to end what was already a difficult year. I will be thinking about you.

Winslow and all of us wish you a very happy holidays.

Sorry to hear about your Dad, Amber. It sounds like you've found a good situation for your Mom, and I know that can be a hard transition too. Thinking of you & family.

Amber, I am so sorry your lost your father! I know this can be particularly difficult at this time of year. I send all good wishes and lots of love!

Thanks, all. I appreciate the kind words.

>189 scaifea: So sorry to hear about your Dad, Amber. Will keep you and your family in our prayers at this difficult time.

197. The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian (wishlist) - 8/10
When her boyfriend disappears on their biking trip to Vietnam, Alexis quickly begins to discover that he wasn’t at all the person he seemed to be, and when she returns to her job in a NYC ER, she decides to hire a PI to help her figure out just what he was doing in the lost hours before his death, which she’s convinced was more than an accident. Turns out she’s right, and she must hurry to uncover the truth before the people who killed him unleash a deadly plague on the world.

Does pretty much what it says on the tin: book candy for those who like thrillers that don’t require a lot of attention or thought. It was just what I needed at the moment.



198. Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh (romance) - 8/10
Elena’s world is ruled by a handful of deadly angels, who each have small armies of vampires that do their bidding. Elena is a vampire hunter, making a living off collecting the bounty for vampires who try to break the contracts with their angel overlords. And she’s good enough at her job that the archangel Raphael wants her to carry out a top-secret mission for him, but she won’t be hunting her usual prey, but something much deadlier.

Super powerful and equally hot angels who use humans as playthings, sexy and dangerous vampires, and a sassy, mouthy human protagonist equals an absolute hoot of a paranormal romance. Steamy and fun, with an interesting plot as a bonus.

I'm kinda lonely over here....

https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24622/75-Books-Challenge-for-2025

>212 drneutron: when you do set up a new home, can you let us know where to find you - I find the 75 group rather intimidating!

>213 Helenliz: (Are you talking to me or to Jim here?)

That should be you, Amber. I like following what you're reading, and hope you don't mind me tagging along.

>215 Helenliz: Well, I think I'll probably only have one LT thread next year and it'll be in the Category Challenge group, so please feel free to visit me over there:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/366772#n8706711

I'd like to try to be a little more active this next year, so I've still joined the '25 75er group and I'll try to actually visit other 75er threads, but keeping two threads going for myself is a little onerous these days and I like the setup over there.

>216 scaifea: Thanks for the link, Amber. I would hate to lose track of you!

>217 lauralkeet: I'm hoping to get caught back up with you in the new year, too, Laura!