90:120 Tricks and Treats by Faye Larson

Will has been in a funk since breaking off his engagement when his best friend, Karloff, decides it's time to bring Will back into the land of the living with a pumpkin-spiced latte and the reminder that it's Will's favorite time of year, October.  Will and Karloff have been through so much together and people have long wondered about their relationship but tonight, Will is beginning to wonder himself. Karloff keeps looking at him in a strange way, well, really at his neck and their seems to be an off gleam in his eye.  Is it just Will's imagination or something else?

Not one of Ms. Larson's better offerings. The internal monologue was repetitive and overdone and didn't really add anything to the story and there really was nothing notable to either of the characters.  Usual disclaimer, I know the author and was given a copy of the story with no expectations.


Page count: 40p/17,615p ytd/288,744p lifetime

89:120 Heart of Straw by Seanan McGuire

The children are out in the costumes on a Halloween night, ready for the treats that have been promised but these three are full of doubts at the more grown-up choices they are having to make and wondering what to do when they find another child with his babysitter who comes along with them. Choices have consequences my dear children.

Delightfully spooky and eerie and nightmare fuel for all parents.


Page count: 8p/17,575p ytd/288,704p lifetime

88:120 From A to Z in the Book of Changes by Seanan McGuire

Ms. McGuire asked her Patreons for prompts for her Patreon stories. She decided she simply couldn't pick just one so picked one for each letter of the alphabet and came up with a paragraph or two (sometimes even more) of a little tale to go with that prompt.  It was cute and scary which seems just perfect for something coming from her.


Page count: 12p/17,567p ytd/288,699p lifetime

87:120 The Wedding Pact by Faye Larson

Keith and Preston had made the pact back in high school as one of those stupid things kids do but neither of them really thought it would come to pass that they would both still be single at 40. The fact that Keith is straight and Preston gay is not an issue. The whole point is tax write-offs and platonic companionship. Someone to make dinner if Keith is running late (or at least order the delivery if Preston is super involved in his writing that day). Someone to ask how the other's day was. Stuff like that.  Keith's last break-up confirmed that his work is just too demanding and Preston's last break-up left him feeling shy and vulnerable about getting close to anyone ever again so it seems like a perfect situation...until that first kiss.

A fairly typical romance with Preston's ex being an interesting twist thrown in. On the whole, sweetly romantic with plenty of humor and with more depth to Preston than I anticipated (although Keith is pretty much just perfect boyfriend and nothing else). Usual disclaimer, I know the author and was given a copy of the story with no expectations.

Page count: 84p/17,555p ytd/288,687p lifetime

86:120 With Honest Trifles by Seanan McGuire

Another short story set in the past of the October Daye universe focusing on Tybalt's backstory.  Tybalt has discovered why his niece, Cailin, can not change to her cat form and the discovery has shaken him as he understands just how much danger it can mean for her if she is not fully trained to use this power that she has. Unfortunately, he knows of only person he can trust who could teach her and September, the sister of Simon and Sylvester, likely won't be pleased to see him but for his niece he will brave anything.

While I generally recommend reading these Patreon only stories in order because they really are telling Tybalt's story in chronological order, you really need to have read Instruments of Darkness for this one to make sense.  It was definitely interesting seeing other names from October's world making actual appearances.  I wonder if we will learn more about Simon and Sylvester in future stories.


Page count: 20p/17,471p ytd/288,603p lifetime

85:120 ...But I'm Not Racist! Tools for Well-Meaning Whites by Kathy Obear

Dr. Obear has been working to be an agent for racial justice so it was quite the surprise when a person of color came up to her at a workshop and told her that something she said was racist. It hit home in a very personal way and she holed up, afraid to misspeak and be called out again. What happened then was a transformation in the way she approached her calling. Here, she teaches through personal examples how to open your heart and mind to being an agent for racial justice and how to approach it with more mindfulness. 

I admit, I have always been open about wanting racial justice but until the last couple of years I hadn't really thought about what that meant or how to go about affecting any change. Heck, it was only maybe two years ago that I did anything more than say I was color blind and raising my children that way.  I started waking up about that time to the suffering around me and the privilege to which I had and realized that I needed to do better, both as a person but also as a parent to educate my children to their own privilege and how we need to work to bring equality to all.  I'm still learning and I have so very much to learn but this was a helpful book and I appreciated it.  Much of it was geared towards how to facilitate racial justice in group environments which at the moment is not super relevant to me but is good to know.  A lot of it is techniques for how to engage, meaningfully and purposefully with those that are using racist language in the hopes of opening a dialogue for them to see the hurt they are causing. I found those things very helpful and plan to keep rereading some of those passages so I can learn to not be silent when it comes up.  I need to work harder to find my voice to say that these things are not right and I hope that the tools she has given here will help me to do so.


Page count: 118p/17,451p ytd/288,583p lifetime

84:120 Instruments of Darkness by Seanan McGuire

The year is 1711 and it's been two years since we checked in on Tybalt and his court. It hasn't grown much, which is fine by him, but his niece has still proven incapable of changing her shape to that of a cat which should be her birthright. It is time to get to the bottom of this and fix it once and for all and Tybalt is determined to do just that. Unfortunately, the answer is not the one that he seeks.

I love the Tybalt backstory we've been getting through the Patreon stories and this one may just be my favorite one yet. His caring and compassion are lovely especially when Cailin is trying to figure out why the other half of her family wants nothing to do with her and the hurt that causes her. 


Page count: 20p/17,333p ytd/288,465p lifetime

83:120 Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher

Summer has spent all of her 11yrs of life under the thumb of her mother's love. It's not easy being so loved and she tries not to be resentful of it but some days she just wants to break out and do something just a teeny bit dangerous just to prove that she won't die from it. Then one day a strange house walks into the neighborhood on chicken legs and she meets Baba Yaga who, in a generous mood that day, promises to grant her heart's desire. Having been so sheltered, Summer has no idea what that might be so Baba Yaga sends her through a door that leads to another world called Orcus, a world that has a darkness lying at its heart. Here Summer finds a tree that should produce frogs but can't, a talking bird that is a dandy but has a good heart, a wolf that turns into a house when the sun goes down, a Forester with the heart of a dragon, and so many others.  Some help, some trick, some try to stop her but still she does not know her heart's desire so keeps looking for her way which may just lead her to Queen in Chains whose darkness is corrupting Orcus.

A lovely version of a fairy tale that has all the elements of whimsy you could wish for with fun surprises scattered throughout. It's a tale of growing up but also of learning and most of all, how important it is to just stop and listen.  I hadn't heard of T. Kingfisher before but apparently one of my book club ladies loves her and based on that, Seanan McGuire's Wayward children series was recommended.  After reading this, I can absolutely see why and I look forward to reading more by her in the future.


Page count: 268p/17,313p ytd/288,445p lifetime

82:120 Bewitching Bedlam by Yasmine Galenorn

The first full novel in the Bewitching Bedlam series.  Maddie is working hard to get her B&B ready to open for business as she is also getting accustomed to her new life in Bedlam and her hot new vampire boyfriend, Aegis.  Unfortunately there are those that aren't so keen to see her succeed, the worst of which is Aegis's ex-girlfriend who can't stand the fact that he left her and moved on with his life. Then there is the owner of the other major B&B in town, Ralph Greyhoof.  The question is, who is behind the dead body found in her yard?

I have enjoyed all of Ms. Galenorn's work and this was no exception.  Her characters are lively and entertaining and believable. They have personal history, make mistakes, and sometimes have to learn the hardway.  I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series. I definitely think that going independent has been a very freeing move for Ms. Galenorn and while there are series I will miss her not being able to add to for a while, her new series seem like they will be very fun to follow.


Page count: 324p/17,045p ytd/288,177p lifetime

81:120 Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

Life was simple for Jay Berry growing up in rural Oklahoma back around the turn of the century. He helped with the farm and when he wasn't needed, he went exploring in the wilderness.  Some days he would go to the store his grandparents own in town. Those are special times between a boy and his grandpa and there are usually treats to bring home to share with his sister. One early summer day though as he is wondering around in the bottoms he finds an animal that he has never seen before and one that doesn't seem to belong in the area.  As he recounts the details to his grandfather later that day, he finds out that it is indeed a monkey as he had suspected. A troupe had escaped when the circus train had derailed and now there is a reward for their capture. $2/ea for the little monkeys like what Jay Berry had seen but $100 for the special one.  Jay Berry has had his heart set on a rifle and a pony and this seems like the answer to his dream. But capturing monkeys is so much harder than Jay Berry had ever imagined and his dream could fall away before it's ever realized.

A simple story about a more innocent time (cliche but true), a boy and his dream but also about his growing up and maturing a little bit as well.  Well written, humorous to keep it from being too heavy handed (although as an adult it was pretty easy to see how it was going to turn out) and poignant too. I will admit, I bought it for my now 16yr old who loved monkeys because I had seen it on many children's classics lists but really had no idea what it was all about but thought he would enjoy it.  He never read it and I don't think he would have really enjoyed it if he had because it was definitely not the book I thought it would have been, especially with the cover our copy has. 


Page count: 280p/16,721p ytd/287,853p lifetime

80:120 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

From when I read it five years ago with the now 16yr old:
Haven't read this one in a few years and am enjoying it as much as I always do.  I remember as a little girl wishing that I could find a magic wardrobe and be transported to a magical land and have those adventures.  What makes things special this time tho is again, sharing these stories with my 11yr old.  He has watched the movies but it's his first time reading the books and he's loving them as much as I do.  Definitely one of those books in one of those series where if you haven't read it....WHY NOT????  Stop looking at reviews and go read it already.  And if you have children, go read it to them as well.

Now I'm reading these again my new current 11yr old (and one of his friends) and it's still magical. They are fast, sweet reads but I pick up new little nuances each time and the current child points out different things and leads us into different discussions which makes each reading unique and special.  I still say if you haven't read them, you should, and if if you have kids you should definitely read it to them as well.


Page count: 189p/16,441p ytd/287,573p lifetime

79:120 Eight and a Half Lives by Faye Larson

Five years ago, Owen's fiance told him that it was ridiculous to get chemo for a cat. Today, Owen still has Gatsby and the fiance is history.  Owen has never regretted his decision. His days are filled with writing, petting Gatsby, zombie movie marathons (with Gatsby), eating (and feeding Gatsby).  He's feeling it's pretty perfect until the day when Gatsby gets out the window and causes Owen to meet his new neighbor, Jay. Jay and his fiance broke up when she got a job that required her to move to France. No hard feelings, just not the life that Jay wanted.  As they talk, it comes out that Jay loves zombie movies as well and now the zombie marathons are even more fun as Jay and Owen (with Gatsby's help) start going through all the zombie movies they can find and even start their own rating system for them.  Jay is smart, fun, loves Owen's books.  He is absolutely the perfect man, except he's straight.  Poor Owen.

This was a fun and cute tale of a growing friendship and how you never know what's around the corner (or who is moving next door to you).  Usual disclaimer, I know the author and was given a free copy of the book with no expectations.


Page count: 78p/16,252p ytd/287,384p lifetime

78:120 Buried Heart by Kate Elliott

The conclusion to the Court of Fives trilogy.  Jes and Kal are now fighting for their lives and the path that Effea will take going forward.  Jes still believes in Kal and her father but even if they can win and put Kal on the throne, what will that mean for Effeans going forward? Back to the way things have been, Commoners and Patrons?  It's looking more and more like Effea is ready to rise and if you are not with her, you are against her and there will be no mercy.

This was a fabulous conclusion to this tale although it did feel a bit too HEA with the ending but I am going to gloss over that.  I'm not a huge fan of tying everything up with a pretty bow at the end so it all works out for your main characters but at the same time, I'm also kind of in the mood for that at the moment.  The book was fast paced, the twists and turns fun and not always predictable, the characters relateable. In all, I definitely recommend the series.



Page count: 481p/16,174p ytd/287,306p lifetime

77:120 The Trouble with Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time by Brooke Gladstone

Brooke Gladstone, an award winning journalist, runs a weekly show on NPR called On the Media which highlights how the media shapes our perceptions on reality.  There was an interesting point made early on that facts are facts but everyone's reality is different because it is based on your perceptions, what facts you have accepted (and what you have not), your personal history, and so much more that makes each of us unique.  We can all observe the exact same thing but it will be incorporated into our unique realities differently. And our reality does not like to change, it does not like to accept new facts that show that something else we believe to be real is actually false.  And this is where the trouble with our current reality in our country comes from.  Now is a time when we must try to find the ties that bring us closer together, have dialogues, and learn how to reach out of our own reality bubble, to break through it, and figure out how our reality coincides with that of others to form a reality formed in facts that we can agree to.  In the past, the basic facts and reality were not seriously in question and now everything seems to be.  Until we can agree on basic facts, we cannot come together as a nation or a world.  She talks about how easy it has been to manipulate people and compares much of what we have been going through using the lens of many different authors (I cringed a lot at her thoughts on Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World since my thoughts mirrored hers in many ways when I first read those books several years ago).  This was a tract and not a full book so it took less than 2hrs to read although I think I may go back and read it again in a few months to keep some of these thoughts more fresh in my head. 


Page count: 97p/15,693p ytd/286,825p lifetime