Review: Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade

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This is the third book in the Fan Fiction series by Olivia Dade. I think it’s the last but I hope not. While fan fics didn’t play as big as part in the plot as the first two it was still enjoyable. Peter and Maria meet one day at sauna, have a one night stand only to find out the next day that they are both actors and auditioning for the same show. Of course they get plum roles for the hit series Gates of the Gods that Marcus and Alex are in but they characters spend the entire series on a deserted island away from everyone else. Which would be great but Maria left Peter without a note after their one night stand and Peter is quite salty. He has some issues. Don’t we all. The first two books follow Marcus and Alex dating “normal” people so already this one is different because both Peter and Maria are actors and become very famous thanks to their roles on this show. There is mention of the fandom and shippers. I wished they kinda went more into this because I found fandoms to be so interesting but I understand while it was not a focus. The story is about Maria and Peter and how for them to get together, they both have to overcome their own insecurities and professional obligations. This is also a story of found family. Maria is adopted and is afraid of being abandon. Even though her adopted family is awesome, the fear of being left behind again still stays with her. Peter is desperate for his dad’s approval and to prove he can make it as an artist that he often shuts people out so not to disappoint anyone else. Though each other, they not only find love but a family that cares and supports them. Isn’t that what we all need. To me, this wasn’t as good as the first two but it was still very much enjoyable.

What I’m Listening to: Consent by Jill Ciment

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I don’t remember where I saw this recommended, but I feel like it was mentioned on a podcast. I am interested to read and think about how time can affect our perspective on relationships. Plus, this is a relatively short book, only 4 hours on audio, and after the 20 hours or more of the Three Body Problem books, that seems like an oasis.

Vacay Haul Post

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As mentioned in my latest unhauling post, last month I visited Beth and we had a little vacay. Well, we couldn’t go on vacation without visiting a couple bookstores.

The first bookstore we went to was the Book Nook in Saranac Lake, New York. This is an independent bookshop that is tucked on the bend of a road and the first time we drove past it, I missed it. It is women-owned and has a nice selection of books for all ages. I stopped at their local interest table and found a copy of book by new-to-me author Genna Rose Nethercott, who had been to visit the store. So, I now have a signed copy of her book! Thistlefoot is the story of two estranged siblings who reunite following a death in the family. Hoping to have inherited something fun like land or money, they find out that what they’ve actually inherited is a sentient house on chicken legs. This looks to be a fun play on stories about Baba Yaga.

4 books laid out in a circle overlapping. The book on top is black and white with red text. It has the outlines of two people and a house on chicken legs. The text reads, "Thistlefoot" and "GlennaRose Nethercott". The second book is black with multi-colored text that reads, "The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff". There is an eye with an eyebrow visible in the top left corner of the cover. The third book, top right, is wrapped in wrapping her with purple, pink, and yellow water color splashes. The text reads, "Blind date with a book." The final book, top left, reads, "Cat Sebastian" "The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes" There is a couple embracing in front of a window below the text

The second bookstore we visited was The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn, New York. We’ve been to this one before, after it opened last year. This shop specializes in romance and it is a delight from it’s pink facade to the cool floor that is painted to look like a fancy tile design. (There are some neat reels about how they made that come together on their instagram.) Both times we’ve been there it was a little like being a kid in a candy store. I limited myself to three books. The one that I used as an excuse to get us to the book shop, the Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes, since I had just finished the first book in that series and loved it. Then I roamed the bookstore looking for titles that caught my eye. I settled on The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff. This book is about Geeta, a woman who is rumored to be a ‘self-made’ widow in her village and how she plays with that reputation. I’m really interested in themes of notoriety and freedom, so this one should be fun! The last book I bought on this trip… I don’t actually know what it is! The Ripped Bodice offers blind dates with a book, where you’re given a general description on the book and you have to decide to take a chance. This one is about someone seeking refuge in London from the French Occupation in Mexico. It’s set in a time period that interests me and promises an ‘unsuitable’ match, which is a fun trope. I’ve bought blind dates with books before. The Sisters Brothers in TBR one of these. I also picked one up the first time we visited the shop, too. I like the idea of a book surprise. So, I bought it thinking that the next time I need a pick-me-up, I can unwrap a present from my past self. One hopes to not have bad days, but it is nice to prepare fun surprises for yourself sometimes.

The Ripped Bodice also has loads of book swag. There are candles, totes, tees, pins, and stickers. Last year I picked up a tote that I’m now using as a project bag for a cardigan. This year I got a pin and a selection of stickers. We had a great time on vacation and I can’t wait to dig into these books! Do you like to hit bookstores on vacation? Which have been your favorite? What independent bookstores are on your list to find? Let us know in the comments!

Picture of 4 overlapping books. Top left book is blue with two people on it, facing each other, a man and a woman. They are embracing. The text reads, "Cat Sebastian" and "The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes". The top right book is wrapped in pink and purple slotched wrapping paper and says, "Blind date with a book!" on it.

Unhauling Update

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I had it in my head that I would do weekly updates every Friday and that this would be a pleasant little way to let go of some books I’ve been holding onto over the summer months. Welp, This is the first update in a month so that idea clearly didn’t work out like I was hoping it would.

This update isn’t even going to be about books. Wild, right? I went to see Beth (she lives on the other side of the country and, if you didn’t know, the USA is a very wide, very big country. We’re no Australia, but we’re also no Lichtenstein.) We had a lovely trip. I’m actually going to do a haul post next week because we visited two independent book stores on my visit and I picked up some books that will probably be jumping the queue because I’m pretty excited about them. Then, I got covid for the first time and I was actively sick for two weeks (I don’t even want to consider how sick I could have been if I wasn’t obsessed about being up-to-date on my vaccinations). Now I have some lingering fatigue and a baby cough, but I’m definitely better. And, I’ve got so much work to catch up on. Thank god for audiobooks because that have let me keep up on my reading. What a boon to the world, the audiobook. Anyway, enough digressions. Back to my Unhauling update.

I’ve found two interesting things in this process and they have both been unexpected. The first is that as I remove books from their shelves, I’ve been really thinking about the space in my humble abode. I’m positively itching to rearrange all my furniture. I also want to change up what I showcase. Sure, I have art on my walls, but most of my decor is pretty much just bookshelves. Shabby library chic, book goblin style, if you will. But I obviously have other hobbies, like knitting. As I decide which books to part with, I’ve found myself thinking about how I could use some of that recovered shelf space to display my yarn. Or my finished projects. Or both. I’ve made a zillion and nine shawls in my life and I can really only wear them one at a time (or zero at a time right now when we all live on the surface of the sun.) The others are in a basket in my closet. The doesn’t seem right.

The second thing I really should have expected. As I go through and say goodbye to books (and a little to the version of me that bought them), I find I want to do this process with other things. Like there’s probably yarn I own that I’ll never knit with. Other crafts I’ll never do. Clothes that I’m not going to wear again and other assorted junk that I’m hanging onto… for some reason. I didn’t expect to get the bug to Marie Kondo my whole life. But here we are.

So, that’s the scoop. Shelves still full of books (and mostly still will be when I’m done with the project). And on a separate note, please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. If you can do things that save you from getting sick, like masking, I’d recommend it. Getting sick is no fun.

Review: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb

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Y’allllll, this was so good! The characters were interesting, the romance was spicy! I didn’t want to put it down! And! I got to do something I don’t often get to do! And that is enjoy a book so much while I am visiting my sister that I finish it and then leave it with her!

Okay, so this is the story of Kit Webb, retired Highway man and current coffee shop owner/manager and Percy, Lord Holland. Percy has a secret that he’s decided he doesn’t want to keep, but first he needs Kit’s help with a robbery. Of course, Kit is not at all interested. So, Percy decides the only thing for it is to annoy Kit into helping him by turning up at his coffee shop over and over. There is word play. There is sword play. There are feels. There is adventure. I loved this so much. Can I gush about it some more? Okay, I will. The conclusion was so sweet, I made Beth go to a bookstore to pick up the second in the series because I couldn’t put it down.

So, if you like sassy word play, not-really-enemies to lovers, adventure, and sweet, sweet romance, I recommend this.

Review: Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby (read by the author)

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If you’re familiar with Hannah Gadsby’s body of work, in particular her show Nanette, then you have a good idea what the tone of this book is. This memoir is cleverly structured, taking your through Hannah Gadsby’s childhood, teen years, days at uni, her early career, and the big life changes that brought her to writing her shows Nanette and Douglas. If you’ve seen those shows, the material is familiar, but it’s written in such a touching and thoughtful way and with new details that even knowing they outline of the story, I couldn’t turn this off.

Additionally, the book spends a fair amount of time walking through what it was like growing up in Tasmania in the 90s, when homosexuality was illegal there. I can’t help but think how important this story is in a time when the lives of trans kids are constantly debated. Gadsby has given us the gift of her story and insight into the very personal consequences for the people under debate.

This was a really touching and wonderful memoir and I recommend it. But keep a box of tissues nearby. This book made me openly weep.