Why why why

 

Not having a great day. Service manager quit with no notice. What an effing jerk. Gotta figure things out to take over again.

Sprints tonight. Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Thrilled to be here

Wednesday

I've decided to make the attempt to tackle the books specifically in my Harlequin bookshelves. I've got about 50 of them there. They can only be read online, hence I haven't jumped at them though many sound very interesting. First up, HOME FOR THE CHALLAH DAYS by Jennifer Wilck.

When big-city advocate Sarah Abrams returns home for the High Holy Days, she’s got a lot on her mind—especially whether to marry her perfect-on-paper boyfriend. The last person she wants to encounter is Aaron Isaacson, her first love and the one who broke her heart. But after Aaron and Sarah join forces to fight an act of hate, it’s clear that their deep connection never abated. If only they could forgive one another for the past…in time for a sweet new start!

Published 2023; 288 pages.

I'm enjoying so far THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY. The world building is amazing and top notch. It has the surreal feeling like Jodi Taylor's St. Mary's Chronicles or Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books. 

Steve's got the gun range tonight. I don't have sprints. I also don't have the yarn I need to start the next afghan - I think it's supposed to show up Friday. But I did see a YouTube video on how to maybe fix the first one I did that went a little wonky. Maybe I can do something on that. 

Otherwise, I could practice the crochet stitch I'm thinking of trying for this new one. Or I could just read which would also be lovely. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

This is going to be a long week

Tuesday. 

I finished the Devlin histmyst book. I gave it 4 stars. There's a small touch of woo-woo. 

I've got sprints tonight. Can't work on the next afghan until the yarn shows up. I could see if I can do some fixing on the first one. Or I could just read. Or I could just watch some YouTube vids. 

The first of the December scavenger hunt prompts comes up quickly -- this Sunday. The prompt is "library or book themed." I had many options but I think I may stick with THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY by Genevieve Cogman. 1st of 8 in series. 

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested—the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something—secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself. Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option—because it isn’t just Irene’s reputation at stake, it’s the nature of reality itself...

Published 2014; 351 pages.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

And we're back

Monday.

I finished the Nora Roberts book, INHERITANCE. I gave it 3 stars and one of those was for me for reading it. 

I read BONES AT THE MANOR HOUSE by Emma James. 2nd in Dr. Bones and Lady Juliet historical mystery series. 

Return to Birdswing, a tiny Cornish village, in the bitter winter of 1939 and revisit old friends as they embark on more amateur sleuthing. Lady Juliet is vexed by the return of her ne'er-do-well husband, Ethan Bolivar, while Ben's obsession with the Fenton House ghost deepens. When a bloodless, naked corpse is discovered in a great house in the nearby village of Barking, Ben and Juliet uncover lies, theft, illicit affairs, and a butler who just might have done it.

Published 2016; 376 pages. 4 stars. I love Lady Juliet.

Currently reading MURDER AT THE SEVEN DIALS by Cara Devlin. 1st of 7 in Bow Street Duchess historical mystery series. 

A murdered opera singer. A duke drenched in her blood. For Bow Street Officer Hugh Marsden, the brutal killing is a straightforward case. Ever since his exile from polite society, the chance to arrest a high and mighty peer of the realm has never presented itself. Hugh won’t snub the opportunity now. But Audrey Sinclair, the Duchess of Fournier, is certain her husband is wrongly accused, and she’s determined to prove it to the arrogant Bow Street officer, even if she must employ her most peculiar ability—or perhaps curse—to guide her investigation. After all, a duchess can do as she pleases. Exasperated with the meddling duchess, Hugh is convinced she is protecting her own secrets, and the duke’s. But when Audrey’s discoveries persuade him to believe the true killer is still at large, he has no choice but to join her in the hunt—if only to keep her from becoming the next victim.

Published 2023; 317 pages.

It was a good weekend. Walked Keo three times a day. Thanksgiving dinner turned out spectacularly. Made a vat of soup for the cold days. Read a bunch. Napped some. Watched the new Dr. Who special (disappointed). And just generally relaxed. 

No plans for tonight. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Four day weekend, baby!

Wednesday. Thanksgiving Eve. Four-day weekend ahead. 

We will be doing NOTHING. 

Thanksgiving is just going to be me and Steve. I'll just be making the basics.We'll eat around 1pm. I'll start sprints around 2:30-ish. 

This weekend I will read. I will crochet. I will diamond paint a little maybe. I will nap. I will walk Keo twice a day. I will cook turkey dinner tomorrow and big pots of soup another day. I will do sprints tomorrow and Saturday but no morning shows. I will watch some YouTube vids or whatever and see if I can find the new Doctor Who special episode without joining Disney. But we're not going anywhere. No Black Friday. No plans. 

Just resting and relaxing and recuperating. 

We look forward to this all year long. 

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

I can see it from here!

Tuesday. Day two of three. 

I've got sprints tonight. 

New release today that I think I'll be starting. INHERITANCE by Nora Roberts. 1st of The Lost Bride romance trilogy.

1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him…

Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light. Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya’s unease―and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted…but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as “the first lost bride.” It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it…

Published 2023; 448 pages. One of the many "read-athons" this month is Nora November. This is my one and only of hers for it. 

No plans really. I got groceries on the way to work this morning. I'll quickly walk Keo when I get home and make sure he has dinner. Steve will have leftovers of something. And I'll be crocheting and listening to something. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Coming off a weekend....

Monday

It was a good weekend. I crocheted. I started to play with the diamond painting. I read a fabulous romance book. I received my coffee and my tea Advent calendars. 

Read THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP by Ashley Poston. Romance. Stand alone.

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it. So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it. And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again. Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future. Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed. After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

Published 2023; 348 pages. 5 stars. Loved it.

Currently reading WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME by Gillian McAllister. Thriller. Stand alone.

Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened? It is midnight on the morning of Halloween, and Jen anxiously waits up for her 18-year-old son, Todd, to return home. But worries about his broken curfew transform into something much more dangerous when Todd finally emerges from the darkness. As Jen watches through the window, she sees her funny, seemingly happy teenage son stab a total stranger. She doesn’t know who the victim is, or why Todd has committed such a devastating act of violence. All she knows is that her life, and Todd’s, have been shattered. After her son is taken into custody, Jen falls asleep in despair. But when she wakes up… it is yesterday. The murder has not happened yet—and there may be a chance to stop it. Each morning, when Jen wakes, she is further back in the past, first weeks, then years, before the murder. And Jen realizes that somewhere in the past lies the trigger for Todd’s terrible crime…and it is her mission to find it, and prevent it from taking place.

Published 2022; 416 pages.

No sprints tonight. But I'll probably crochet and read. Per usual. 

Gotta start defrosting the turkey. I'm SO looking forward to the four-day weekend. We'll pay for it next Monday but I don't care. And we have a service manager to deal with all the headaches. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Ready to leisure

TGIF

I got notified of a hold this morning. I'm going to give Brandon Sanderson another try. 

SKYWARD by Brandon Sanderson. 1st of 4 in science fiction series.

Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.

Published 2018; 546 pages. It's the last line that me nervous of being something I'm not interested in.

No plans this weekend other than sprints and working on crochet. The diamond painting ornaments should arrive tomorrow so I could play with that a little. 

Napping some, reading some, walking Keo, etc. 

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster