August Wrap Up

 I read   books across pages pages listened to  hours. I started the month with 55 unread owned books Bought 1  . DNF  1 owned books    Read  owned books  .  Ended the month with Owned TBR . Started with 41 unfinished series. Finished   series   DNF   series, and added  unfinished series. unfinished series.   DNF  books total  40 before 40 started the month with 36 read  3 though one was a DNF ended with 22

1. Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman 

2. Bookmarked for Love by Sarah Monzon 

3. Laura Kinney Wolverine Vol 1 One-Mutant Army by Erica Schultz 

4. Laura Kinney Wolverine Vol 2 My So-Called Perfect Life by Erica Schultz 

5. X-23, Vol 2: X-Assassian by Mariko Tamaki 

6. The Troublemaker by Piper Rayne (auido) 

7. X-23: Deadly Regenesis by Erica Shultz 

8. Rise of the Pittsburgh Penguins by Rick Buker 

9. Rebel Season by Katie Bailey and Leah Brunner 

One Wild Chance by Grace Worthington review

 

One Wild Chance by Grace Worthington is the first book in the Chance Brothers Ranch series. I love fictional hockey players I didn’t realize I loved fictional hockey players turned cowboy until Jaxon Chance it also doesn’t hurt that he’s a Kentucky boy. I loved Summer’s stubbornness it’s a Kentucky girl trait. Loved that she challenged Jaxon and doesn’t back down. 

There was plenty of times Jaxon irked me just like he did Summer the stealing flowers scene for one till I found out what he did with the flowers. The loss of a parent is never easy either real or fictional. 

The brother’s relationship pretty much sums up most sibling relationships and I was there for it. 

My favorite scenes for the book involved the old barn when Jaxon was describing it as an old relic. But old relic still standing and representing the farm. Old Kentucky barns were built to last. And the other (slight spoiler)when he gives it to Summer. 

And even though Golden Springs is a fictional Kentucky it felt like a character all its own as well as the people that make the town home. It reminded me of the small Kentucky town my family’s from.  One Wild Chance was an awesome romance and great start to a new series. 

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Rebel Season by Katie Bailey and Leah Brunner review

 I have to say Rebel Season by Leah Brunner and Katie Bailey may just be my favorite of the boys of loft 3B. Fisher and Lila’s story is my favorite and not just because marriage of convenience is my favorite trope but because I love watching Fisher’s growth. And learning that there’s more than meets the eye to Fisher. 

I loved Lila and the fact that she challenged Fisher’s view of life. Though I’m not an artist I found Lila easy to relate to. Especially her grief of the loss  of her mom. How hard and raw it can be some days. I’m ten years old from the loss of my own mom and there’s still some days that the grief fills fresh and new.

I still have to say that just like the first two books in the series I love the found family aspect. Those guys are just more than teammates their brothers. 

For my followers this one’s fade to black scenes have more moderate details than the previous two books. Though I have to say Katie and Leah handled the grief storyline and the dysfunctional and toxic family relationship tactfully and beautifully especially the grief storyline. Rebel Season was a great story for Fisher and Lila and a great ending to the series.

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

July 2026 Reading Wrap Up

 I read 6   books across 1,813 pages pages listened to 13.52  hours. I started the month with 54 unread owned books Bought 2      . DNF 1  owned books    Read 1 owned books  .  Ended the month with  54Owned TBR . Started with 41 unfinished series. Finished   series   DNF 1  series, and added  1  unfinished series. 41 unfinished series.   DNF 6  books total  40 before 40 started the month with 40 read 4 ended with 36

1. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (audio) (ebook) I liked this one more than I thought I would.  

2. Shortbread in the Highlands by Robin Jones Gunn (audio)(ebook)(review)(favorite of the month) 40 before 40

3. Marilyn and Her books: The Literary life of Marilyn Monroe (40 before 40 

4. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton  40 before 40 

5. Chase me if you can by Heather Frances 

6. A Date with Death by Kelly Creagh (second favorite of the month) (review) (owned booked) 40 before 40

Shortbread in the Highlands and A Date with Death were my two favorites of the month. I enjoyed Dungeon Crawler carl more than I thought would. I learned quite a bit from Marilyn and her books. Jurassic park is scarier than the movie

40 books before 40

 Since I turn 40 in less than a year I decided to make a list of 40 books I want to read before I turn 40.

1. Shortbread in the Highlands by Robin Jones Gunn

2. A Date with Death by Kelly Creagh 

3. Rebel Season by Katie Bailey 

4. The Saint and the Spy by Laura Frantz 

5. Our Strange Duet by Erin Criag 

6. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 

7. Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman 

8. Jewel of the Nile by Tessa Afshar 

9. Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar 

10. Revelle Lyssa Mia Smith 

11. Kilted Lovers by Megan Clawson 

12. Samantha: The Next Chapter by Fiona Davis 

13. Marilyn and Her Books: The Literary Life of Marilyn Monroe by Gail Crowther 

14. Rise of the Pittsburgh Penguins 2009-2018 by Rick Buker 

15. Sidney Crosby: The Rookie Year by Sidney Crosby 

16. Gino the Fighting Spirit of Gino Odjick 

17. The Cruelest miles by Gay Salisbury 

18. God, Family, Country by Craig Morgan 

19. Why are All my boyfriends fictional? By Jessica Kate 

20. The Gales of November by John U Bacon 

21. Ghosts of Sicily by Mark Harmon 

22. Catching sight by Deni Elliott

23. By the Fire we carry by Rebecca Nagle 

24. Carrying War by Tanya Allatt Bellehumeur 

25.  Grandma Joy and  Me by Brad  Ryan 

26. Rebel Following Jesus when the world walks the other way by Anne Wilson 

27. The Radium Girls by Kate Moore 

28. Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham 

29. Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Recca Romney 

30. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer 

31. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

32. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 

33. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo 

34. From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming 

35. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich maria Remarque 

36. Common Sense, The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine 

37. The Old Man and the sea by Ernst Hemingway 

38. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 

39. Travel’s with Charley by John Steinbeck 

40. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

June Wrap Up

 I read  11 books across  3,036 pages  listened to 23.1  hours. I started the month with 58 unread owned books .DNF 1  owned books    Read 3 owned books  .  Ended the month with  54 Owned TBR . Started with 41 unfinished series. Finished  2 series   DNF 1  series, and added  1  unfinished series.  39unfinished series.   DNF  9 books total  

1. The Winter Witch by Katherine Arden (owned) (completed series)

2. Love Catch by Laura Langa (ebook) (review)

3. Love Between Innings by Laura Langa (ebook) (review) 

4. The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer 

5. Bad Boy Era by Amy Daws (audio) (completed series) 

6. (audio) 

7. Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune (owned) 

8. (audio) 

9. What So Proudly We Hail by Marion De Re (review) (ebook) (series started) 

10. The Shippers by Katherine Center (owned)

What So Proudly We Hail by Marion De Re reveiw

 

Not going to lie as an NHL fan and reader of hockey romances and rom coms it took me a bit to get used to the name Baptiste Marchand as the hero. An no it wasn't the first name that gave me pause, it was the last name. But after learning more about the hero on and off the ice I grew the love the hero.  And I'm a sucker for the whole black cat golden retriever. I also loved Harper, especially her relationship with her grandmother. I loved watching him chip away at her walls. And the sharp banter between the two was on fire.  I loved discovering a slight mystery aspect to this one, I'm a sucker for rom com that gives me a mystery.  That to mention this one had a lot of my favorite troupes Golden Retriever vs Black cat. Sharp banter.  A Mystery but most importantly found family. I love it when a hockey rom com gives me found family it makes the story so much sweeter. 

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Love Between Innings by Laura Langa

 

Baseball rom coms haven’t been something I’ve picked up before. I love the sport not a huge fan of real life baseball players. But after reading the authors first baseball romance after meeting Tenny as a secondary character and loving him I knew I needed to read Love Between Innings.  

I loved the banter between Tenny and Alex as well as watching them both fall in love though I think Tenny falls harder. Alex being a woman doing a job in a male dominated field was refreshing to see.  

I loved watching Tenny’s layers get peeled back, because I knew there was more than meets the eye. His outward performance is hiding a heart of gold and painful past. However, Mags was my favorite character I just loved her and the bond her and Alex share. And of course the found family of baseball players. 

I loved how the enemies to lovers and fake dating bended together to give the reader a beautiful romance. Complete with plenty of rom com moments.

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

May Reading Wrap Up

. I started the month with 71 unread owned books  bought 6 one of which I’d already read  which made 77   . DNF 17 owned books    Read  2 owned books  .  Ended the month with 58  Owned TBR . Started with 40 unfinished series. Finished  series 1 DNF  series, and added    1 unfinished series. 41 unfinished series.   DNF  20  books total  

1. The Mountain We Call Home by Kim Michele Richardson (review book) 

2. One & Only by Maurene Goo (owned) 

3. Perfectly Pretend by Grace Worthington (review book) 

4. Rival Season by Katie Bailey and Leah Brunner (review book) 

5. Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen (audio) 

6. The Girl in the tower by Katherine Arden (owned) 

7. Glove to Hate you by Marion De Re (ebook) (review) 

8. The Rulebreaker by Piper Rayne (audio)

Glove to Hate you by Marion De Re review

What I loved most about Glove to Hate You and all the London Regents FC is the found family aspect. They are more than a Football Club soccer to my fellow Americans. 

I loved the banter between Archie and Kat as well as their growth from neighbors who sort of hate each other to more.  There romance was a slow burn over hurdles but it was worth it. But my favorite part is the true to character ending we get for Kat it was perfect and believable. Because some times that’s the love story plays out. 

 I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Rival Season by Katie Bailey and Leah Brunner reivew

 

What can I say I’m a sucker for a reformed bad boy turned cinnamon roll hero for her. Throw in he falls first with hockey and I’m hooked. I think Penn may be my favorite hero in the Hockey boys of loft 3B. Yes he’s got a past, but who doesn’t. Him Noah and Fisher aren’t just friends and teammates they are also brothers in their own little found family.  Another troupe I’m a sucker for. 

 

Now Hazel’s a bit of a spitfire and I love it. And as an oldest daughter myself I related so much to Hazel. Being oldest daughter shapes our whole lives the good and the bad. It’s something we have to come to terms with. Even though I was only writing a bachelor’s degree thesis and not a doctoral thesis I do remember how stressful that time was. 

 

I loved the banter between Hazel and Penn and quite frankly I thought she was the perfect one for him because she pushed back. And called him on his bull.  I loved watching Penn fall first. And enjoying watching found family get bigger.

 I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Perfectly Pretend by Grace Wortington review

I don’t know how she does it but every time I read one of the Perfect Crush hockey romance but I love every single one. Even the ones with a troupe that’s not a favorite especially if it’s not a favorite something about Grace’s writing and characters that makes love the troupe. And Perfectly Pretend is no different I think it may be my favorite second romance. I’m also a sucker for he falls first. 

 

I loved the banter between Brendan and Scarlett. I also loved watching them both be idiots and I think Brendan may be my favorite hero of Graces. I mean what’s not to love about a Marine turned hockey coach. 

 

 Seeing characters from previous books in the series is always nice. It continues to add to the whole found family aspect of the series. And I hope we get more in the series. 

 

 I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

April Wrap Up

 I read 11 books across 3,014 pages pages listened to19.95 hours  hours. I started the month with 76 unread owned books  bought  which made 76  . DNF  4 owned books    Read 1 owned books  .  Ended the month with 71  Owned TBR . Started with 37 unfinished series. Finished  series  DNF  series, and added   3 unfinished series.  unfinished series.   DNF    18 books total  

1. The Wild Card by Piper Rayne (audio) 

2. A Season with Mom by Katie Russell Newland (memoir) 

3. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (Classic) 

4. Harbor Pointe by Irene Hannon (review) 

5. Flawless by Elsie Silver (audio) 

6. The Setup Man by Kate Watson (review) 

7. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden 

8. Scarlet Witch Vol 5: Amaranth Rising by Steve Orlando 

9. The Long Game by Rachel Reid (owned) 

10. Heartless by Elsie Silver 

11. The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak 

Love You Later by Julie Christianson review

I'm a sucker for a marriage of convenience troupe which isn't common in contemporary romances and rom coms so when I see it I snap it up to read it. With Love you later I couldn't put it down. I just had to know how Loren's and Bridger's story was going to end. After reading Hate you maybe and Loren and Bridger being secondary characters in that I knew I already knew I loved them as characters.  And it was nice to visit Harvest Hollow again. 

Watching Loren learning to ask for help and not doing everything herself.  And watching Bridger learn to stand up to his family.  Loren was an easy character to relate to.  As someone who also only has one living parent my dad and as the oldest I understood her stress, her fear and her grief. It's something I deal with.  So in that regard the book was hard to read but I still enjoyed the book.  And it may be my favorite of the series.  

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Setup Men by Kate Watson review

 

I’m not going to lie The Setup man started a little on the slow for me. But it quickly picked up pace by chapter three. Lucas’s chapters ended being my favorite. I love a cinnamon roll hero who falls first. I loved Lucas and Scottie together though I went from wanted to smack Scottie to wanting to hug her sometimes in the same chapter. But she quickly grew on me. I loved watching Lucas fall first and Scottie not knowing what she wanted to do. 

 

I loved everything about this book and I loved seeing the family aspect of the Mudflpas. I hope this isn’t the last book in the series though at least to me it’s going to take a lot for Jake to redeem himself to be a hero. 

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone

March Wrap Up

 I started the month with 87 read owned books 1 bought  which made 88  . DNF 10  Read 2 owned books  .  Ended the month with 76 Owned TBR . Started with 37 unfinished series. Finished 2 series  DNF 1 series, and added  3 unfinished series. 37  unfinished series.   DNF  30 books total   I read a total of 13 books across 3,366 pages and 31.28 hours of audio 

1. Be your own Bestie: A No Nonsense Guide to Changing the way you treat yourself by Misha Brown (audio) 

2. Stripped Down: Unfiltered: and Unapologetic: A Modern-Day Memoir from the trailer parks of Vegas to Nashville and Podcast Stardom by Bunnie Xo (audio) 

3. A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L Cullen 

4. A Ghostly Secret by Tonya Kappes (audio) 

5. Last to Fall by Lynn H. Blackburn (ebook) (review book) 

6. The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

7. 1984 George Orwell 

8. Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday 

9. Could’ve Fooled me by Jenny Proctor (ebook) (review book) 

10. The Hotshot by Piper Rayne (audio) 

11. The Revolutionist: The Story of the Extremists who Hijacked the 1970s by Jason Burke 

12. Salvacion by Sandra Produman (owned) (owlcrate) 

13. How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh (owned)

Faking Fore-ever by Abby Greyson review

 Not going to lie I mostly picked up Faking Fore-Ever because of the husky. As a husky owner Bogey did not disappoint. I love the chaotic the husky bought to the story. I know nothing about golf but I still enjoyed that part of the story. I enjoyed Luke and Genevieve banter. As well as seeing the healing in this second chance romances. Though to me Bogey stole the book.

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone

Mists over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin Review

 

I've not read many books set on one of the Channel Island before, in fact before this one I've read one other.  Both of which were set during WWII and that makes sense because the Channel Islands during the war have multiple stories that just need to be told.  And I'm glad that Sarah Sundin choose to set her final book in the companion series about three Dutch cousins on the Island of Jersey as well as giving a woman doctor in a time when it was still rare to have one.  Even though Sundin only writes WWII fiction the books never get old because she always finds a new setting that seems to have never been done before to tell a new story and a new bit of real life history from the war. 

 

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Could've Fooled Me by Jenny Proctor

 

One of my favorite romance troupes is marriage-of-convenience which isn't super common in contemporary romance but throw in hockey and a former Apies player as the hero I'm hooked. I also wondered what had, had happened to Carter and his twin.  Could've fooled Me answers that one.   Carter's such a sweetheart and Sarah just loves her family, though I have to say I can't believe her brother did what he did.  Though one of my micro troupes is when the heroine doesn't like hockey and ends up dating a hockey player or in Sarah's case married.  And I'm also here for the brother bond the hockey players have on and off the ice. And hockey fan me loved the reference to my real life favorite player.

I liked that this one was one of Jenny's more serious books but her trade mark humor was still there. I also found myself relating to Sarah with the mom aspect. When you and the heroine belong to the same club no wants to belong to it’s hard not to relate and love her. Carter might be a tough hockey player on the ice but he's really a cinnamon roll. My favorite hockey rom com hero tough on the ice and a cinnamon roll with her. 

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone