Musings of a Literary Wanderer: February 2025

Friday, February 28, 2025

Romance Mini Reviews

The Jewel of the Isle by Kerry Rea (2024)

Another hit from Kerry Rea! Grieving her father but determined to complete his bucket list, Emily travels to Isle Royale National Park and hires Ryder to be her tour guide. He's also grieving and isn't really an expert on the outdoors. The two get caught up in a dangerous plot of archaeologists looking for a famous jewel and willing to do anything to get it. I just loved this story. Rea's writing style immediately enveloped me in the story; there's just something about it that made me feel so comforted. She perfectly balances humor, adventure, romance, and grief, creating an almost campy feel in some parts (but in the best way) while truly making the characters come to life in such realistic ways. 5 stars

Puck & Prejudice by Lia Riley (2024)

Pro hockey player Tucker accidentally travels back to Regency Era England, where he is greeted by Lizzy, an aspiring writer. The two decide that the best way to manage the situation is to enter into a marriage of convenience, and once Tucker is able to return to his time, Lizzy will be afforded a life of freedom as a "widow." I thought this book was really fun. I love time travel and seeing how the characters explain the past and present to each other. Tucker was just kind of a meh character for me - he never really leapt off the page. The true star was Lizzy, a woman who definitely doesn't conform to the social norms of her time. Jane Austen herself makes a few fun appearances, and while I initially thought the story would be sweet and chaste, it definitely gets spicy. I loved the ending and how Tucker and Lizzy embrace their situation, after falling in love. 4 stars

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Monday, February 24, 2025

Michele's Monday Picks #64

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my little series, Michele’s Monday Picks! I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you. Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

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When the Moon Hits Your Eye

By John Scalzi

Expected Publication: March 25, 2025

From Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Starter Villain comes an entirely serious take on a distinctly unserious subject: what would really happen if suddenly the moon were replaced by a giant wheel of cheese.

It's a whole new moooooon.

One day soon, suddenly and without explanation, the moon as we know it is replaced with an orb of cheese with the exact same mass. Through the length of an entire lunar cycle, from new moon to a spectacular and possibly final solar eclipse, we follow multiple characters -- schoolkids and scientists, billionaires and workers, preachers and politicians -- as they confront the strange new world they live in, and the absurd, impossible moon that now hangs above all their lives.

John Scalzi is an author that me and my husband both eagerly await new releases from. Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

Friday, February 21, 2025

Guest Blogger: My Favorite Audiobooks #3

Michele is back today to talk about more audiobooks!

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Up until a few years ago, I had never even considered audiobooks as a way to increase my reading – but then my husband started working for a major audiobook publisher and I got hooked! Now I listen to them all the time – getting ready in the morning, in the car, exercising, at my daughter’s swim lessons, you name it. Audiobooks are fantastic for when you can’t physically hold a book and I have listened to some really fantastic performances. Here are some of my recent faves:

Invisible Women

This book was so interesting – it had never occurred to me that everyday topics such as traffic patterns, medical studies and even work uniforms have unintentional bias in them. By not including women equally when performing these studies, a world has been created where the entire population doesn’t benefit similarly from various processes.

The Favorites

If you are a sports fan and loved Daisy Jones and the Six, this book is for you. This audiobook was fantastic – it was documentary style and performed by a full cast. Fun fact – Olympian Johnny Weir voices the character that the author has said she completely based on him.

All in Her Head

A truly fascinating look at women’s health throughout history and how even today we are feeling the effects of the lack of importance placed on it.

Nuclear War

Not my usual kind of listen, but a very thought-provoking timeline of a fictionalized nuclear attack, based on interviews with government officials and other experts.

The Indifferent Stars Above

Anyone else play The Oregon Trail in their elementary school’s computer lab? That game itself was pretty scary when you considered all that could go wrong for Americans trying to settle the West. This book followed one such group that was affiliated with the Donnors, with all of the heartbreak that went along with it.

Do you listen to audiobooks? Do you have any favorites?

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Sunrise on the Reaping

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

Sunrise on the Reaping

Suzanne Collins

Expected publication date: March 18, 2025

When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.

As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena. - from Goodreads

Friday, February 14, 2025

Sports Romance Quick Reviews

The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson (2024)

After Daphne heckles Chris, a baseball player, causing him to cry during a game, she reaches out to him on social media, but neglects to identify herself as the heckler, only referring to herself as Duckie. They become rather close while chatting, but then Daphne starts working for the team, bringing her in close contact with Chris in real life. When Chris finds out who Daphne really is, what will he think? Unfortunately, I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. Chris has some real, heartbreaking issues going on, and I hated that Daphne was keeping this secret from him, especially as they started a physical relationship. It all just got a little too convoluted for me, and Daphne came across really immature. I should have written this review far sooner after finishing the book, as it might be a little more coherent and detailed, but alas, here we are! Kind of forgettable. 3 stars

Heavy Hitter by Katie Cotugno (2024)

Lacey Logan is a world-famous pop star, but coming off the heels of a bad breakup, she's looking for something else. In walks Jimmy Hodges, a baseball player at the end of his career. The two are complete opposites, but could that be the secret to a successful relationship? The idea of a fictionalized Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift romance (although baseball instead of football) appealed to me, but this one missed the mark. Although there is an obvious attraction between Lacey and Jimmy, I never felt a strong connection between them. They speak so nastily to each other, with near-constant F-bombs; it was really kind of off-putting and hard to root for them. The story is so short that there's not enough time to develop a proper relationship; it moved so quickly from one event to the next that when they declared their love for each other at the end, I was so confused. I did enjoy the insider peek at Lacey's life and how heavily controlled it is, how she has to think about every move she makes because she's constantly being scrutinized - what a tough way to live! 3 stars

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Monday, February 10, 2025

Michele's Monday Picks #63

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The Big We

By Hali Lee

Expected Publication: March 4, 2025

From Goodreads:

Drawing from the experiences of real-life giving circles, influential philanthropist Hali Lee challenges our traditional understanding of philanthropy and makes her case for the power of giving and the radically simple idea that when we work together, we have the power to make the world a better place.

When you think of philanthropy, what do you envision? Uber wealthy donors? Extravagant galas? In recent decades, philanthropy has come to be seen as something exclusive to those with an abundance of resources. But giving doesn’t have to mean donating millions of dollars. It can be as simple as a group of people who come together to make an impact on their community. In The Big We, Hali Lee argues that the future of philanthropy belongs to community action, specifically giving circles—a group of people who come together to pool their resources to do something good in their community. Born of traditions of generosity rooted in many of our ancestral cultures, giving circles provide a way for us to overcome our sense of overwhelm at the many problems we face.

Through stories of real giving circles around the country, including her own experience starting the Asian Women Giving Circle, Lee shows us a more expansive vision for the future of philanthropy. One led by people who are refocusing on community, who care about rebuilding the civic space, and who are yearning for connection, purpose, and shared vision. Through these giving circles do we see not only the immense impact we can have in our own backyards, but also the tremendous scope of change we can achieve through the power of collective action.

One of my 2025 goals is to read more nonfiction and this one sounded so interesting. Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

Friday, February 7, 2025

Fiction/Nonfiction Quick Reviews: The Heiress Edition

Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka (2024)

After Olivia's dad divorces her mom and kicks them out of the family house, Olivia plans to get revenge by stealing his money during his upcoming wedding. Well, I finally made it through a book by this duo, but I'm not sure I'll be reading them again. I liked the idea of this novel, but the execution lacked for me. I'm always a little leery of teenagers being able to pull off really complicated plans - Olivia didn't have the most sophisticated plan, but it did hinge on another team member being extremely computer savvy. So much felt overwritten, and the pacing was glacial. Also, the idea that a former teacher of Olivia's would help a bunch of kids steal millions of dollars seems highly unlikely, and the way the ending set up a sequel felt so heavy-handed. The relationship between Olivia and her dad was painful and raw, and that at least added some depth, but the character of Kevin really saved this one for me, as he was a bit of a wild card - unexpected and I never really knew what to make of him! 3 stars

The Imposter Heiress: Cassie Chadwick, The Greatest Grifter of the Gilded Age by Annie Reed (2024)

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, con artist Cassie Chadwick (just one of many names she used) managed to amass a fortune by convincing people she was the illegitimate daughter of wealthy businessman Andrew Carnegie. Using faked documents, she borrowed millions of dollars and spent money like it was going out of style, eventually causing the downfall of many men and banks and landing herself in jail. This story was almost truly unbelievable in how Cassie was able to firstly, come up with such a scheme, and secondly, have people believe it for long. Literally all it took was some rumors that she started and a piece of paper she claimed was signed by Andrew Carnegie to begin her con. I liked that Reed included some short chapters from the point of view of Andrew Carnegie, how at first he had no idea that this woman was claiming to be his daughter and then later as he's made aware, but I wish there was more, maybe even some information about how his wife felt about it. But, Reed's research is amazing, and the story was covered pretty extensively in newspapers at the time. The narrative did feel a bit repetitive at times, in that it was a lot of Cassie borrowing from one person to pay another, but overall, a pretty fascinating story! 4 stars

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Monday, February 3, 2025

Month in Review: January 2025

And here we are, one month down in 2025! January is typically pretty quiet around here. Henry's music classes started again, and that's been a fun activity to do on Saturday mornings. We spent a Sunday at one of my brother's houses, ostensibly to watch football, but none of the kids or wives paid attention! We had quite a bit of snow and cold this month. I took my niece Luna out for her 9th birthday, and she again chose Panera and Barnes & Noble - I wholly approve! We had fun perusing the shelves with my sister, and she picked out some cool-sounding books.

The Books