Category: books

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The Kiss Quotient

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Somehow I had read the third book in this series back in 2022, so I decided I should read the first two as well.

These books are sexy romances that feature autistic women at the center of the stories, and I really appreciate the representation of autism in fiction.  It’s important to show that autism presents differently in women than in men and to provide an understanding of the challenges we face. Hoang does a good job of this, especially as she was going through her own journey of being diagnosed with autism at the time.

As for the plot, it was pretty standard fare for a sexy romance.  The main character Stella wants to learn how to enjoy sex and decides to hire a professional to teach her, and that’s how we meet Michael, an escort with his own story to tell. From there, it’s basically a reverse Pretty Woman scenario.

In the end, my take is that it was a fun romance with some good insight into autistic women.

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What I’m Reading – April 2025

What I’m Reading Now

I am currently reading Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman. It was published in 1998 and was the first in his Petra Connor series which ended up only having two installments. I am really enjoying it.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick (Contemporary Fiction)
  • Pick Me Up by Cecelia Joyce (Romance)
  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Fantasy)
  • Pages to Fill by Travis Baldree (Fantasy Short Story)
  • The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (Romance)
  • Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg (Contemporary Short Stories)
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Young Adult)
  • Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison (Chick Lit)

Nonfiction

  • Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark? The Bible and Modern Science and the Trouble of Making It All Fit by Janet Kellogg Ray

What I Added to my TBR

In March, I added 27 novels and 2 short stories to my TBR.

TBR Stats/Goal Updates

  • I currently have 171 books on my TBR (yes, it keeps growing!)
  • Of those, 17 are nonfiction and 154 are fiction
  • I finished 7 more of my 25 in 2025 list, bringing that total to 13
  • I have finished 28 books so far this year, so I am well on my way to my goal of 75
  • One of my goals was to read 2 nonfiction books each month. So far this year I have read 1 per month. I’m not mad about that; I have a hard time making myself read nonfiction even when I am interested in the topic.

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

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Catching Up – March 2025

March has been one of my busiest months in a while, and I am ready for things to slow down.

One of the things that has been keeping me quite busy is being on the planning committee for the 10th Autism Mother to Mother Luncheon that is taking place this Saturday. I am in charge of registration, which also includes getting everything ready that we are going to hand out in the folders for each mom. I am glad to be working on that and not more people-intensive things like fundraising or recruiting volunteers, but it has still been stressful at times.

I haven’t been able to do much puzzling because of the luncheon planning. I completed two puzzles on my own and two puzzles with friends at the church brunch & craft event. Even with that, one of the puzzles I did on my own was only 99 pieces!

Here is how far I am on my current puzzle:

I did reach a milestone on my puzzle Instagram – I hit 1000 followers! I am quite pleased by that. I only have 150 followers on my Bookstagram, although probably half of those are people I know IRL and I usually average only 10 likes per post on there. I’m not really sure if it will grow much because most of the accounts I look at to consider following are into romance, romantasy, fantasy, or thrillers. On the other end are more literary accounts, which I prefer but don’t feel I can compare myself to. It is harder to find people similar to myself on there, whereas with puzzles it is quite easy to find common ground and even if their tastes are different from mine, I don’t usually mind too much.

I have also started posting my puzzles and book reviews on my Facebook feed. There are a few people who like them and since they aren’t on Instagram, I do it mainly for them. I get nervous posting books that relate to my faith journey because I have a number of conservative friends on there, but no one has said anything mean or argumentative so far. I don’t really want to spark debates; I just want to share what is going on with me and hope maybe it will make someone think a bit.

Michael is still job hunting, but he has had some success in his health journey. He has been climbing stairs during the winter while it has been too cold to go on walks and can really tell a difference in his stamina. He also weighed in at 199 lbs a few days ago when we saw the weight management doctor, which was very exciting! I am very happy for him to be taking care of himself so well. I wish I could say the same about myself.

Here is a screenshot of my puzzle Instagram when it hit 1000 followers:

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Legends & Lattes

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree started out as a self-published novel and was so successful that it was picked up by a traditional publisher and is currently being translated into 9 languages.  I’m not sure how it got on my radar, but I’m so glad it did!

📜Summary📜

Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.

💬My Thoughts💬

I absolutely loved this book!  Everything was on point – the characters, the setting, the friendships that develop, the slow burn romance, the twists and turns of the plot.  I enjoyed following Viv as she left the life of an adventurer and began a new life as an entrepreneur, and I especially liked how she was able to create a community for herself and develop strong relationships with a trusted few.

Reading this book took me back to my teens and twenties when I lived for fantasy and science fiction. If you like cozy or slice-of-life fantasy, I highly recommend giving Legends & Lattes a read.

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The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper was Phaedra Patrick’s debut novel, published in 2016. I have read several of her more recent books and was interested to go back and read the ones I had missed. I’m glad I started with this one because it was quite enjoyable.

Arthur Pepper’s wife passed away a year ago, and he has continued living with the same mundane routines he always had. On the anniversary of her death, however, he finds a mysterious gold charm bracelet among her things and embarks on a quest to find out where each of these charms came from.

As he follows the clues he uncovers, he learns a lot about the woman his wife was before they met and is himself taken on a journey of hope, healing, and self-discovery.

I found this to be a sweet and engaging story. I sympathized with Arthur as he stepped way out of his comfort zone, and I enjoyed meeting all of the quirky characters along the way. Some of them were quite ridiculous, but Patrick somehow makes them work. I also liked how Arthur’s relationship with his children changed and grew throughout the book. 

I highly recommend this book, and this author. I still have a few books of hers to catch up on, and I am very much looking forward to them.

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The Color of Compromise

The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby

This was an intense and compelling read. Tisby takes us through the history of racism in America and highlights the ways that the church has participated in and contributed to the problem during each period. 

Each time progress has been made, there has been a corresponding backlash either outright opposing the forward movement or simply failing to be supportive. After slavery was abolished, we saw the introduction of the KKK and Jim Crow laws. After the Civil Rights Act was passed, we saw segregation academies established and white communities resisting residential desegregation. 

Tisby goes on to discuss the organizing of the religious right at the end of the twentieth century and the rise of law-and-order politics. He also delves into the more recent responses to the black lives matter movement and the 2016 presidential election. 

In the last chapter, titled “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” Tisby offers practical ways to address racial injustice in America. He presents solutions that go beyond the conventional advice to focus on the relational aspects of race and instead combat the structures and institutions of racial inequality in our country.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The combination of historical overview with practical strategies for implementing racial justice in our churches and communities is incredibly powerful.

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Bonded in Death

Is anyone else in love with the In Death series by J.D. Robb?  No matter what else I am reading, I always jump on these books the moment my Libby hold becomes available.  I can hardly believe Bonded in Death is book #60 and they are still SO good!

I love the diverse cast of characters, the futuristic New York City setting, and the crime solving storylines.  If you haven’t read any of these books, maybe this summary will entice you to give one a try:

“His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes…”

Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She’s got an elderly victim who’d just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he’d left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon; and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset—fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, major-domo and the man who’d rescued her husband from the Dublin streets—may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then.

When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear—because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must—not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain—and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished…

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Amazon First Reads – March 2025

Amazon First Reads this month included one book chosen from a small selection of different genres and a bonus short story.

My Book Pick

If Tomorrow Never Comes by Allison Ashley – Fate connects two people in life-changing ways in a deeply romantic and emotional novel about hope and second chances by the author of Would You Rather and The Roommate Pact.

Bonus Short Story

The Sublet: A Short Story by Greer Hendricks – A chilling story about the hidden cost of perfection.

Both look good, and I’m excited to read them!

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The Banned Books Club

The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak

Summary:

Despite their strained relationship, when Gia Rossi’s sister, Margot, begs her to come home to Wakefield, Iowa, to help with their ailing mother, Gia knows she has no choice. After her rebellious and at-times-tumultuous teen years, Gia left town with little reason to look back. But she knows Margot’s borne the brunt of their mother’s care and now it’s Gia’s turn to help, even if it means opening old wounds.

As expected, Gia’s homecoming is far from welcome. There’s the Banned Books Club she started after the PTA overzealously slashed the high school reading list, which is right where she left it. But there is also Mr. Hart, her former favorite teacher. The one who was fired after Gia publicly and painfully accused him of sexual misconduct. The one who prompted Gia to leave behind a very conflicted town the minute she turned eighteen. The one person she hoped never to see again.

When Margot leaves town without explanation, Gia sees the cracks in her sister’s “perfect” life for the first time and plans to offer support. But as the town, including members of the book club, takes sides between Gia and Mr. Hart, everything gets harder. Fortunately, she learns that there are people she can depend on. And by standing up for the truth, she finds love and a future in the town she thought had rejected her.

My Thoughts:

I have to admit I picked up this book primarily because of the title and didn’t read too much about it ahead of time.  I love books about books and assumed that’s what this was.  As I was reading the book, I kept waiting for more about the banned books or the book club, but those didn’t show up very much at all.

The themes of this book actually include some topics I usually avoid when picking something to read, namely sexual assault and domestic verbal abuse. I did feel that the story was building for a long time before much happened to move things along, but I liked the main character enough to want to know how things would work out for her.

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What I’m Reading – March 2025

What I’m Reading Now

I am currently reading The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. This was published in 2016 and is part of my 25 in 2025 challenge to read some of the backlist books on my TBR. It was also her debut novel. I just started it but I like it so far.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Lawyers and Lattes: Happily Ever After in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi – I found this author during a stuff your Kindle day a year or so ago and liked the free book enough to want to get this one. This book was entertaining enough that I have added book three to my TBR.
  • The London Flat: Second Chances by Juliet Gauvin – I had enjoyed the first book in this series, which I got during a stuff your Kindle day a while back, but this one fell flat for me. I didn’t find the plot believable.
  • Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison – Fun read! The action flips between the present day and the characters’ time in junior high and high school. I actually liked the chapters from the past better than the present; the author does a good job writing the younger characters. The present-day plot felt a bit childish to me, like the characters hadn’t really grown up since high school, which perhaps was the point.
  • What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg – I didn’t love it, even though Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers. It started out good, but I just lost interest partway through.
  • Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb – I have been a longtime fan of the In Death series, and this book delivered on all fronts. I loved it!
  • Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman – I am a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, so I had high hopes for this collaboration with his son Jesse. I thought it was alright, but it didn’t pull me in like the Delaware books do. I couldn’t really relate to the main character, or any of the characters, very much, and I didn’t find the storyline very compelling.
  • The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak – I am still mulling over this one and plan to write a review soon. I gave it three stars for now.
  • Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman – I usually love the books in the Alex Delaware series, but this one didn’t hold my interest very well. The main draw of the series is that Delaware is a psychologist, and the crimes usually involve some psychological twists and turns. This one felt like more straightforward police work to me.

Nonfiction

  • The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby – This book was so intense. I am still processing it and plan to write a full review soon.

What I Added to my TBR

  • Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher – my Amazon First Reads pick for February
  • The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez – bonus short story from Amazon First Reads
  • A Good Indian Girl by Mansi Shah – a recent release from this author I discovered last year
  • More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa – a sequel that I want to read
  • Feeling the Fireworks: Starting Over in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi – #3 in the South West series
  • Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman – #2 in the Petra Connor series, I have #1 on my 25 in 2025 list

TBR Stats

  • I currently have 152 books on my TBR
  • Of those, 20 are nonfiction and 132 are fiction
  • I have finished 6 of my 25 in 2025 challenge

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!