2020 Weekly Wrap-Up: The Fifteenth

Hey Bookworms,

How’s everyone holding up? Getting rest? Drinking water? Keeping the existential dread to a minimum? Good, good. This quarantine feels simultaneously like it’s just begun and also like it’s lasted forever. What is time, even? Somehow, despite toddler wrangling and trying to get my full time job done AND getting Easter things done, I managed to finish three books this week. I have no idea how it happened, but cool, right?

I finished reading A Crown of Wishes by the wonderful Roshani Chokshi this week, so let’s start there. Fantasy novels are a wonderful way to escape, don’t you agree? Guari is a princess of Bharata, imprisoned by her enemies at the behest of her super evil brother. Vikram is a cunning prince of a neighboring territory, but is underestimated constantly by his advisers by virtue of his “common” birth. Vikram and Guari form an unlikely yet unstoppable team as they enter the mysterious Tournament of Wishes. It’s held in a mythical city full of magic and peril. Come for the poisonous courtesans, stay for the story birds. It’s a wild ride, and it’s a heck of a good time. It’s not so much a sequel to The Star-Touched Queen as it is a companion novel, but it’s every bit as enjoyable. If we have to live in terrifying and uncertain times, at least we’re not being summoned to parallel dimensions to solve riddles and battle for our lives, so we’ve got that going for us.

Do you ever do that thing where you save a book you know you’re going to love so you’ll have one on hand when you really need it? After reading Get a Life, Chloe Brown (review), I knew I needed more Talia Hibbert in my life, so I snapped up a copy of A Girl Like Her to save for a rainy day. Or a pandemic. Whatever. It was a stay-up-too-late-reading addictive contemporary romance. A Girl Like Her is set in a teeny tiny English town where Ruth Kabbah has something of a reputation. She’s hardly the town darling, so when her new neighbor Evan starts showing an interest, she’s dubious at best. She has reasons, of course. But it’s awfully hard to resist a dude who keeps bringing you delicious home cooked meals who is also a super hot blacksmith with all the muscles. If you’re sensitive to abusive relationships, please be warned that one is prominent in the back story of a character. If that’s not a no-go for your reading tastes, I highly recommend this book. It’ll fog your glasses faster than your pandemic mask.

I managed to finish an audio book this week. What is even happening?! Luckily, we only had one day sans nap last week, and a new Christina Lauren was available on Scribd, which certainly helped my audio book cause. The Honey-Don’t List follows Carey, assistant to half of HGTV’s biggest power home renovation couple. While the Tripps’ image is all Chip and Joanna Gaines on the outside, underneath, they’re a hot mess. James is new to the Tripp’s entourage, but what he was hoping would be an engineering job has turned into that of assistant to the hapless male half of the troubled couple. Since the famous duo have gotten to the point where they can’t even keep it together during public appearances, Carey and James have been assigned to keep the trouble to a minimum. It’s not exactly an enemies to lovers scenario, but definitely an annoying co-workers to lovers situation. The Honey-Don’t List is a cute book, and a nice way to escape ::gestures wildly:: all of THIS.

I cannot believe I made it through so many books this week, plus all the Easter-ing. Thank heaven for books, AMIRIGHT? Heading into next week, I’m reading The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams with my eyeballs, which is already a treat. I’ve also just started Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore on audio, though audio books are a dicey prospect currently. Will I finish it in a week or a month? ‘Tis quarantine’s greatest mystery.

In non-book news, dressed my child up in two different formal outfits over the weekend even though we couldn’t visit family or go to church or any of the things we normally do on Easter. I didn’t want to waste the cute ensembles that he definitely won’t fit into in a few months, so we put them on and took some walks around the neighborhood. If any neighbors wondered why my toddler was wearing a bow tie while scooting in a cozy coupe, nobody asked directly. Here are pictures, because we need to take joy where we can find it:

It is easy to see why he gets away with all sorts of shenanigans, seeing as he is the most adorable creature to have ever graced the earth.

If you make a purchase through a link on this site, I will receive a small commission. Links within the above text direct to Amazon, but if you’re interested and able, please consider purchasing through a local independent bookstore by using one of the links listed below. And, as always, don’t forget to check out your local library’s digital offerings.
The Honey-Don’t List
A Crown of Wishes
A Girl Like Her
Oona Out of Order
The Bromance Book Club