I had a good week with just a couple of appointments. I went to the orthodontist to get prepped and scanned for starting Invisalign. The appointment was a lot longer than it was supposed to be because their scanners were acting up, which wasn’t helped by the fact that I have a very small mouth that is hard to maneuver the scanning wand in.
I also went to the optometrist. I was happy to be able to go to the one that I prefer due to an insurance change, and he updated my prescription and added prisms to make it easier for me to focus. I will go back in six months for the diabetic medical exam.
Michael did not work again this week. He was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but that morning they texted him that they were low on product and he did not need to come in. His job coach’s manager is going to contact them to see what their plans are for his employment, so hopefully we will find out more information this coming week.
I started doing Christmas puzzles this week and have completed three already. I have also finished five books so far this month, as well as a short story called Goblins & Greatcoats. The story is by Travis Baldree and is set in the world of the Legends & Lattes series. It is a fun story that features Zyll, a goblin who appears in the most recent book, Brigands & Breadknives.
I love the cozy fantasy world Travis Baldree has created in the Legends & Lattes series. This is considered Book 2 in the series, although it is actually the third book published. First we had Legends & Lattes, which was Book 1, and then we had Bookshops & Bonedust, which was Book 0. The settings were a coffee shop and bookshop, respectively.
This book starts out with Fern, the bookseller from Book 0, moving to Thune, where Viv from Book 1 has her coffee shop, to open a new bookshop. Things quickly take a turn as Fern finds herself far from home after a night of drinking and desperation. She ends up on an adventure with an elven warrior and a chaotic goblin captive.
I was surprised at first by the turn this book took–away from the cozy fantasy shop setting and towards an action-filled adventure plotline. It felt a lot like some of the D&D campaigns I have been a part of. That’s not a bad thing, just different and unexpected after the other two books. It had some good fights and some fun, quirky elements.
The parts I most enjoyed were seeing the evolving relationships between the characters and following Fern’s internal journey through her writing of letters to Viv back in Thune. I am hoping there will be more books in the series and that they will be more like the first two that were written.
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #2
📚Summary
Following the publication of her encyclopaedia of faeries, Emily Wilde is embarking on a new project, a map of the faerie realms. She is also considering the proposal of marriage made by Wendell Bambleby, a fellow scholar who is actually an exiled faerie king. After assassins show up in Cambridge to attack Bambleby, he and Emily, along with her niece and a fellow academic, travel to the Austrian Alps to look for the door to his homeland. While in the Alps, they are drawn into another mystery regarding another dryadologist who disappeared years ago.
📃My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this book. While it was a continuation of a series, it had a lot of new adventures and new information about the faerie world. They didn’t seem to get as involved with the locals as in the first book, but there was a lot more interaction with the fairy folk. Emily continued to develop, especially in her relationships – both platonic and romantic – but she still presented as a realistic autistic-coded character, which I appreciated.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. I used to read a lot of fantasy but have moved toward contemporary fiction over the last fifteen to twenty years, so I didn’t know whether I would like this book. However, I was pleasantly surprised and I enjoyed it very much.
The main character is Emily Wilde, a professor of faerie folklore at Cambridge. She makes a trip to a small town far north of where she lives to study the local faeries. She is surprised to be joined by a fellow academic, Wendell Bambleby, and the story continues with them working together on this project.
The thing I liked most about the book was Emily’s internal monologue as various events unfolded. She is an autistic-coded character, so I could relate a lot to her thoughts and feelings about things. Bambleby’s character was harder to relate to, although that got easier as I learned more about him.
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!
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.
The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg – I am almost done with this book, and it is really good!
UnClobber by Colby Martin – This book addresses the “clobber passages” from the Bible that are often used to condemn homosexuality and also tells Martin’s own story of how his views on the subject changed and how it has affected his life. It is very easy to read and I am enjoying it.
What I Recently Finished
The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey – This is #16 in the Elemental Masters series and was very enjoyable, as all of them have been.
Holiday Hideaway by Mary Kay Andrews – This was a Christmas-themed short story and was a cute romance.
Gryphon in Light by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon – This is #1 in Kelvren’s Saga and who knows what book in the entire Valdemar series. It took me a little while to get into the story, but I ended up liking it by the end.
The Christmas Inn by Pamela M. Kelley – This is a heartwarming holiday romance. I couldn’t put it down – very sweet!
Nantucket Summer House by Pamela M. Kelley – This is #9 in the Nantucket Beach Plum Cove series. It wasn’t my favorite in the series but I did still enjoy it.
Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions by Rachel Held Evans – I loved this book. I will share a more detailed review in a few days.
The Cookbook Club: A Novel of Food and Friendship by Beth Harbison – This was a fun book about three women who start a book club based on cookbooks. It was charming and I really enjoyed it.
Close Knit by Jenny Colgan – I have read a lot of Colgan’s books and I still like them, although not as much as I used to like her older books.
What I Added to my TBR
Nobody’s Perfect by Sally Kilpatrick
The Answer is No by Fredrick Backman
Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith by April Ajoy
Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison
Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison
TBR Stats
I currently have 111 books on my TBR
Of those, 17 are non-fiction and 94 are fiction
All but 1 of the books were added in 2024. I plan to read the last book added in 2023 this month
If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!
The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey – This is #16 in the Elemental Masters series. I added it to my TBR back in January 2022 and kept waiting for it to be added to the Libby app so I could borrow it. I recently decided to start investigating all the different ways I could access books (Hoopla, Kindle Unlimited – not a current member but could join if there were a lot of TBR books available there, and physical books from the library). I found several books from my list available as physical books, so I’m going to start from the oldest and work my way forward.
Gryphon in Light by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon – This is the 1st book in the Kelvren’s Saga series, but the 56th book in the overall Valdemar world. This is another one that has been on my list for a while, since July 2023, and I was able to get a physical copy from the library.
What I Recently Finished
Passions in Death by J. D. Robb – This is #59 from the In Death series about Eve Dallas, a police detective in futuristic New York City. Amazing, as always!
Open House by Elizabeth Berg – This novel is about a woman finding her way after divorce. Samantha’s husband has left her and, in order to keep the house she and her son Travis live in, she takes in roommates and begins working temp jobs. Along the way, she makes new friends and discovers the self she lost a long time ago. It seemed a bit slow at first, but as I relaxed into the pace of the story, I found myself drawn into it. The style of this book reminds me a bit of Jamie Langston Turner, who is one of my favorite writers.
The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson – The whole time I was reading this book, I had the feeling I had read it before. So much of it seemed very familiar. I didn’t remember the ending, but it is still possible I had previously read it. I really enjoyed it.
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams – I very much liked this debut novel about a teenager and a widower who bond over a reading list. The story weaves the books they are reading around the events happening in their lives in a compelling way.
Ambush at Sorato by John Flanagan – This is #7 in the Ranger’s Apprentice: The Royal Ranger series, which is a spinoff of the original Ranger’s Apprentice series. I have read all of Flanagan’s books and always look forward to a new one coming out. Even though they are written for kids, I find them very readable and fun.
Freckles by Ceclia Ahern – I wanted to like this book because I have enjoyed several others by Ahern, but I just couldn’t. Perhaps it is because I could acutely feel the main character’s confusion at the situations she gets herself into due to her lack of understanding of how the world works and of people and relationships. This is one of the more obviously autistic-coded characters I have read, and I can see so much of her in myself as well as other autistic people I know.
What I’ve Added to my TBR List
When We Were Widows by Annette Chavez Macias
Grave Talk by Nick Spalding
I’ll Be Seeing You: A Memoir by Elizabeth Berg
Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg
Joy School by Elizabeth Berg
True to Form by Elizabeth Berg
Ordinary Life: Stories by Elizabeth Berg
The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation by Elizabeth Berg
Lies and Other Love Languages by Sonali Dev
A Christmas Duet by Debbie Macomber
Did Not Finish
Her Gates Will Never Be Shut: Hope, Hell, and the New Jerusalem by Bradley Jersak – I have tried twice to read this book and have finally given up. The writing is very dry and I just can’t stay focused on it while reading. I am interested in the topic, but I think I’ll stick to listening to podcasts about it from now on.
If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!
Passions in Death by J.D. Robb – This is book #59 of her In Death series about Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in futuristic New York City. I always love these!
Freckles by Cecelia Ahern – I have enjoyed several books by this author. This one is middling for me so far.
Her Gates Will Never Be Shut: Hope, Hell, and the New Jerusalem by Bradley Jersak – I had put this book down a few months ago and recently picked it up again. I have read some other nonfiction in the meantime that I liked, so I’m hoping this will be easier for me to read this time.
What I Recently Finished
Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg – Berg never disappoints. I raced through this enjoyable novel about a woman who makes major changes in her life after the death of her best friend.
The Fifth Avenue Apartment by Pamela M. Kelley – This was a fun, lighthearted read about a woman who has been searching for what she wants to do with her life and how she finds a career that seems right for her. It was enjoyable. The author also released a bonus short story that set the stage for a possible second book.
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum – This book was recommended by someone on Instagram, and I am so glad I took a chance on it. It was very thoughtful and warm. I appreciated both the story and the lessons shared as the characters grow.
The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammon – Very well-written book that is part memoir and part informational discourse on the issues that arise for people who don’t fit or start to question the church. I really liked this book.
Natural Selection by Erin Hilderbrand – Nice short story about a woman in love who has things turned upside down on what is supposed to be a romantic trip to an exotic location.
Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins – A fake relationship romance with a twist. Cute book.
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio – Loved this magical realism novel about a woman whose life changes in an instant and how she copes with her new reality. I wrote a longer review of this a couple of weeks ago. Highly recommend!
What I’ve Added to my TBR List
I added a lot of books again this month. A lot of them are my standard fare, but I’m also trying to expand my horizons a bit:
The Anti-Heroes by Jen Lancaster
When We Were Friends by Jane Green (short story)
Smells Like Tween Spirit by Laurie Gelman
Nantucket Summer House by Pamela M. Kelley
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
More of Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick
The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Summer Island by Natalie Normann
The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake
The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman
Lethal Prey by John Sandford
Gryphon’s Valor by Mercedes Lackey
Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb
Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld
Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman
Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman
UnClobber by Colby Martin
If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!
In So Many Words 