Light and Fluffy Romance Listening for a Spring Afternoon

I downloaded this book for a listen because I have been following the author Rebekah Weatherspoon on Twitter for quite some time, so when she tweeted about this book, I had to give it a listen.  It's a real bummer how Twitter is falling apart because it was a great place to follow authors easily, esp. since my email boxes are so full of emails all the time that author newsletters get lost by me. 
 

This is a novella, a short and charming read, a very nice listen for a day when you are feeling down and want a pick-me-up, or when are in a slump and aren't ready to dive into a novel. Rebekah Weatherspoon gives Andre and Janelle a super cute and creative Meet Cute. I'm not even going to tell you about it because it is such a fun idea, now if you go to GoodReads, you'll see it in the book description, so there you go. 

This book has all the comfort tropes, two good people whose hearts are on the mend after a breakup. A super cute shelter dog, a chaotic twin sister, and the open-door sex scene is full of consent and good vibes. Andre and Janelle communicate well and there aren't any contrived miscommunications.  It gets even better in my opinion, they don't resemble fashion models, and there is no third-act breakup! 

The only thing I wanted at the end of this book was more Andre and Janelle content--oh I forgot to mention the narrators are fabulous! 

5 Stars!!

Writer and Narrator of his own Book- A mix of cozy mystery and fantasy: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree was a February selection by Ben's Cozy Book Club. Alas, my library hold came up in March.  I listened to the audio version of this book, which is voiced by Travis Baldree, who in addition to being a writer is also an audiobook narrator!  

For your information, I checked on whether this is the first book in a series.  According to Mr. Baldree, there will be at least one other book in this world, but he is writing the books so that they stand alone, which is nice. Legend & Lattes is the story of Viv, an Orc, who retires from fighting to pursue her dream of opening a coffee shop. Now, the thing is that no one in this city or country has ever had coffee before or visited a coffee shop. Coffee/Lattes/Scones don't exist here until Viv arrives. So that aspect adds to the story. Viv is also a stranger in a strange land and she has years of walls built up from her mercenary days. Hence, we are along for this new adventure as she begins a relationship with Tandi who is a succubus and an excellent barista. It's a lovely light Sapphic romance that grows alongside the main story about new beginnings and friendships. Of course, there is some trouble from Viv's past, what is a book without conflict, right? 

Overall this book is fun, light fantasy that is a joy to experience and ends very satisfactorily. 

4.5 stars

 

#TheNewTownLibrarian Thanks #NetGalley !

As an avid reader, some of my best childhood memories involve trips to the library and long summer days spent reading in my backyard. So it's no surprise that I am drawn to books featuring libraries and librarians.  I saw this book on Net Galley and couldn't click the request button fast enough.  This isn't my usual genre, and our MC isn't a typical heroine. Nan is a 50-year-old who has been stuck in her life for at least two decades, she is a low-level library at a Philadelphia library branch and has had a string of short-term girlfriends.  Nan likes to spend some of her spare time drinking wine and applying for amazing librarian jobs she knows she will never get, until one day when she applies to work in a small rural New Jersey library and gets the job!

Finally, Nan's life is getting unstuck! Will she make a difference in this small town?  Will she build friendships and will she make better life choices? You will have to read to find out. I found this book to be delightful and so interesting to read about the interworking of a public library. This book is truly cozy--but without any murder mystery.

5 stars! 

 

#TheAccidental Alchemist Paranormal Cozy 1st in A Series

A while back I saw that The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian was free on audible, so I gave it a listen.  I've been meaning to start this series for quite some time, but for whatever reason, other books kept jumping the line. Lucky for me I got around to this book. I found it to be delightful. As you know if you read this blog I enjoy cozy mysteries with supernatural elements. In this book, Gigi Pandian does an excellent mixing of mythology as well as actual history around alchemy. She also has some mouthwatering culinary talk around vegan cooking.  Side note, sometimes vegan people can be a little judgy about us carnivores, but in this book, the vegan talk is very organic and made me want to try Zoe and Dorian's cooking. Especially Dorian's!  

The setting lends itself to the paranormal vibes, the characters are unique but not kooky, and the mystery was compelling. In the end, there is enough resolution to make me happy and enough plot threads that are still unresolved to have me reaching for book two. 

Five Stars from me! 

It's almost September so I'm getting ready for fall. I wanted to try my hand at some Halloween-y cookies and I think these turned out pretty cute. I used a Tastefully Simple Cookie Mix (Peanut Butter Bliss) as my base and then I turned Peanut Butter Blossom cookies into Spider Blossom Cookies! I think Spiders have quite a few eyes, but I thought I keep it cute and not an accurate representation!