That is the question.
I’m not sure when this blog became a quarterly. Because how am I only updating this for the first time in over three months?
Sorry that I’m asking you. I had to ask someone.
Photo Credit: Kaboompics, Pexels.
Now that we’ve gotten the apology of my inconsistency out of the way (🙈), let’s celebrate!
I’m 24!
Woohoo!
In the voice of Liesl from The Sound of Music, ‘I am twenty-four going on twenty-five!’ Yes, I’ve been twenty-four for a few years now, but let us concentrate on important things.
In slightly less incredible news, I set a goal to read 25 books this year. Thus far, I’ve read 24. It’s not because I’m disciplined, or that I’ve got so much time on my hands. It’s just proof of how much traffic I have to sit through to and from work. People have got to learn to stop buying cars and just…walk! The air would be so much cleaner.
As is my habit, when I read a good book, I’ve got to talk about it, give the mandem something to add to their TBR. All of these recommendations are low to no spice, meaning they have no explicit sexual content.
Repaying the Wrongs, by Nellie Peters
(Fantasy, Romance)
Ooh, this was so good!
It’s a retelling of the fairytale Rumpelstiltskin. Don’t remember it? I’ve got you. A woman’s forced to spin straw into gold (mad!). A strange little man appears and offers to help her (ooh, glad!). But he wants her to pay him back by giving him her firstborn son (sad!). The only way he won’t claim her child is if she correctly guesses his name (clue: it’s not Ethan, Kwesi, or Brad 😔 ).
This one’s a little different, and how wonderfully different! It introduces an unlikely romance between royal Liesel, and scarred, partially visually-impaired soldier Kaspar, pitting them against Liesel’s greedy, grieving relative and king. It’s funny. It’s moving. It’s sweet. I giggled as Liesel and Kaspar’s affection blossomed despite their stubborn resistance. There’s magic. There’s a sassy dragon. There’s a glorious third act. And the number of times I said ‘Aww’ in the last two chapters alone! It’s so wonderfully written, unafraid to discuss painful themes of mistreatment and grief, yet with a lot of grace. Genuinely made my heart happy. This book is like a hug.
Noteworthy: It mentions the death of a child. That might be hard to read.
Smoochin’ the wrong twin, by Madison Love
(Christian, Romantic-Comedy)
A stalker situation causes singer Connie Jo to devise a fake relationship with her longtime crush Hunter, in hopes that this would get him to see her like she sees him. It would be kind of okay if Hunter’s twin, Hayden, had not been in love with her pretty much all his life.
It was really good. I feared I’d get the twins mixed up, because their names start with the same letter, but these guys have individual quirks that distinguish them enough. Everyone in the book does, in fact. There are loads of characters, and each has personality. Even the town has personality.
It’s part of a series. You do not have to read them in order. I’ve read 2 of the 4 currently available (and I have the other 2, hehe), and they’re both really good, so go read them all if you can.
Noteworthy: It’s a Christian book. The people face problems, and their answer is to go to God for an answer, so there’s much mention made of God’s opinion.
Comedy can be Deadly, by Ryan Rivers
(Cozy Mystery, Comedy)
This book is funny from beginning to end!
I mean, yeah, there’s murder in the middle, but all of the characters are so much fun! They say such funny things that I can’t really break away from laughing long enough to sympathize with the victim. (Although, to be fair, the author does a good job building such a despicable victim that it would ordinarily be difficult to sympathize with them at all.)
This is the second book I remember recently reading of a health professional battling mental health issues, and I’m finding I really enjoy those. (The books, not the health issues. I’m not a sadist. 😒) . The struggles with drug abuse and anxiety really humanize the main male character Sho, give his character depth, and provide some seriousness to what would otherwise have been just another funny story.
If you love cozy mysteries, with fun, sometimes over-the-top characters, great pacing and lots of humour, then give this one a chance.
Noteworthy: It touches on anxiety, drug abuse and addiction. It also mentions homosexuality between some minor characters.
Prophetess of Arden, by L. A. Thornhill
(Christian, Fantasy, Romance)
This is it. Favourite book of the year so far. And it’s so annoying because it’s part of a series and they haven’t released book 3 yet! 😫
Let’s see if I can give you a blurb that does it justice. Beckah, a Bible school student in modern Earth, gets pulled into a fantasy realm (Renatus) which she discovers is a place much like Earth was before the flood. Yeshua (Jesus) calls her to be His mouthpiece in the land of Arden, but she and Seth, the prince of Arden, get off to the rockiest start.
It’s crazy how some authors can create characters you know while reading are going to stick with you long after you’ve flipped the last page. Loved Beckah. She was so correctly weird, if that’s a thing. I loved that while there’s much mention made of her scars, and different coloured hair, and the skin that identifies her as the enemy, what endears her to those who love her is her willingness to serve God, and the uncanny abilities that came with it. (I gather it’s also going to be the thing that makes some hate her.) It was great getting into Seth’s mind. At first I genuinely disliked him; he seemed eager to shed blood, but a number of chapters and some character development later, I got him (and loved him!). He struggled. He’d been through stuff. The book doesn’t revel in pain, but it doesn’t hide from it either, and that’s one of its many great elements.
Totally adore the development of the relationship between Beckah and Seth. Among other things, the story’s an epic exercise in slooooow burn, enemies to lovers romance. Their arguments? Great. Their mistrust? Understandable. Their slow acceptance of what they could be feeling for each other? Kind of funny and cute. Their alone moments? Healing for areas I didn’t even know needed healing.
And the descriptions!
Read this. It’s great.
Noteworthy: Again, this is a Christian book. The main character Beckah’s a prophet, so she’s basically Jesus’s mouthpiece (except for when she’s arguing with Seth hehe).
The Book of Genesis
Well well well. Look what sneaked onto the list.
I'm doing that thing where you read the Bible in a year. I’ve done it before. It doesn’t mean the Bible gets any easier to read. The people are still there, doing the things they were doing earlier. And they’re still hitting you with the same intensity. And reading through Genesis is such a mad adventure, and not always a fun one. I won’t try to talk about it all (Genesis easily deserves its own post), but what a trip.
Adam and Eve, a mess.
Cain and Abel, at least fifty percent a mess.
Noah, the one delivered in the flood, also a mess.
Abraham. Look at the number of times he had Sarah conveniently forget to mention that she was his wife.
Look at Isaac. Did he or did he not do the same thing with Rebekah?
Do I mention Jacob? And Esau? Should I really?
The sons of Jacob. My days. What an unruly bunch.
I could easily go on. I remember reading this and thinking, why are these the people we have to read about in the Bible? And then pretty much immediately, the answer came to me:
‘They’re the ones you most relate to.’
Like. No sugar-coating. None of that stuff with God. Just straight up, ‘Oh, you’re just as messed up as them. I figured it would do you good to see that I can tell my story through everyone.’
Hmm.
All the books are available on Amazon, or on the author’s websites (if they’re on the latter buy direct from there and help an author 😊 ). The Bible dierr it’s everywhere, so get it.
We should probably discuss the elephant in the room.
Photo Credit: Ira, Pexels.
I don’t know if I should move to Medium, or WordPress, or stay on Blogger. (I just created a WordPress account, and I’ll probably simul-post on both sites till I find which works best.) I find it difficult to edit on Blogger now, because the formatting just goes awry. But oh well. Let’s see. If you have any advice please give it 🥹.
Okay bye! See you in sooner than three months 😇.
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