That Dangerous Energy Thank You #Netgalley!

 

This is the first time I have read anything by Aya de Leon, but it won't be the last. I really enjoyed this book, it has a very satisfying ending. This book is a romantic thriller that focuses on fossil fuels, energy consumption, and climate change.  Aya de Leon does a great job of balancing information and action, especially when it came to the textile arts. Yes I know this book is a corporate climate change thriller but a nice chunk of it describes what Morgan does as an artist.  Morgan designs her own clothes and went to fashion school, but her passion is quilting. The scenes describing how she created a quilt to enter a contest is very interesting for someone who knows almost nothing about quilting. I love how quilting is a form of art and a practical way to not only tell stories but also a way to reuse fabric instead of discarding it. Quilting fits in well with the theme of the book that time is running out to affect climate change. 

The pacing of the book is wonderful, and I appreciated that the characters are nuanced and have depth, there is no knight in shining armor or a perfect badass hero--which makes everyone in the story more relatable. 

And as an aside, the color scheme on the cover and the artwork of it is gorgeous! 

Five Stars for this romantic thriller it was a great ride! 

Thank you,

NetGalley for the ARC!

*** Kensington Books has a little reading challenge for the first quarter of 2023 and  I am counting this book for a book by an Author of Color category. 

#ReadignRefreshChallenge

We *are* all related. A Brief HIstory of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford

 

Here is the blurb for this book from Goodreads: 

This is a story about you. It is the history of who you are and how you came to be. It is unique to you, as it is to each of the 100 billion modern humans who have ever drawn breath. But it is also our collective story because in every one of our genomes we each carry the history of our species births, deaths, disease, war, famine, migration, and a lot of sex.

Since scientists first read the human genome in 2001, it has been subject to all sorts of claims, counterclaims, and myths. In fact, as Adam Rutherford explains, our genomes should be read not as instruction manuals, but as epic poems. DNA determines far less than we have been led to believe about us as individuals, but vastly more about us as a species.

In this captivating journey through the expanding landscape of genetics, Adam Rutherford reveals what our genes now tell us about history, and what history tells us about our genes. From Neanderthals to murder, from redheads to race, dead kings to plague, evolution to epigenetics, this is a demystifying and illuminating new portrait of who we are and how we came to be."

I'm working on reading more non-fiction in 2023, so I saw this book on Audible.com and since I had a bad BRCA2 gene, it appealed to me because it talks about genetics and DNA. I have found that I am much more likely to finish a non-fiction read if I do the audioversion and listen during my runs and general housework. Easier for me to focus.  I listen at 2.0 speed and that helps as well---less mind wandering.

This book is a brief overview of the evolution of humans. I know that we humans are all related at some level, but this book put that idea back front and center.  We all share a common ancestor and as humans have multiplied groups of us can be traced back to various historical individuals, which is pretty neat.  We aren't like cars off an assembly line, a near copy of our parents or our parents' parents, all of our genes and our DNA changes enough in each version of a person that we really are our own person; and our genes do not determine our outcomes.  They may influence some things but there isn't a doomed-gene, an amazing-person- gene, or a you-are-going-to-live-to-a-100-gene. 

What I took away from the book was the important reminder that we are all related and at the same time we are truly one of a kind.

4 stars

Shades of Wicked #SIAM Book One of 3!

 

Happy #SIAM review day!  Today I'm sharing my thoughts on Shades of Wicked  by Jeaniene Frost --along with other participants in Anne's Read Along

Here is the schedule of the review posts where you can read everyone's review of this book. There is always a wide range of opinions! 

Jan 8:    Shades of Wicked              –  Review from Carole @ Carol’s Random Life in Books

Jan 22:    Wicked Bite                        –  Review from Robin @ Books of My Heart

Feb 5:       Wicked All Night             –   Review from Anne @ Books of My Heart

**************Spoilers**********************

Shades of Wicked is the first book in Jeaniene Frost's Night Rebel series and it's a spin-off from her very popular Night Huntress series.  If you have read the Night Huntress you'll appreciate some of the cameos and side characters in the book and you'll have more general knowledge of events prior to this book, but it's a stand-alone. 

The beginning of the book has lots of Veritas, our MC, talking to herself, We are in her head and along for the ride. For me, it was too much exposition. Give me the action. I enjoyed the action portions of this book--and the demon dog Silver. Ian is in the Night Huntress books and I am sure many readers pick up this book to read his story. His personality is based on a persona of a vampire is loyal to friends and likes sex and violence, which is pretty typical for a vampire. 

Veritas is a half-vampire half-demigod that is usually in a glamour around others to hide her actual appearance--so she looks unassuming but of course very attractive and slim. Veritas works as a law guardian but for this book, she is basically on leave to try and kill a Demon she's been trying to kill for thousands of years. 

Ian and Veritas start as enemies, and then there is a fake marriage and then they are lovers. All good stuff, all stuff I enjoy.  Here is the thing though.  Veritas is a demi-god, she's been around for 4,000 years. She should be more interesting and both she and Ian should have worked through their issues by now--guilt over people they lost, how to communicate effectively, etc. They have the maturity of humans in their early 20s. It's like the old man on the porch in It's a Wonderful Life said: (and I'm paraphrasing) "Ah, eternal youth is wasted on the wrong people."

3.0 Stars  It's alright. 

Back to Work Tomorrow: #TheSundayPost

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

Tomorrow I go back to work. I don't mind, it will be nice to see the kids and hear about their Winter Breaks. Since I am a support person, and only work 2.5 hours per day at the school, I really can't complain. It's the best part-time job. I only work when school is in session, I don't have to get up particularly early and I'm home by 1:10pm. Bonus: I can walk to work.

I got a Blue Apron delivery this past Thursday and that was a nice way to try a couple different meals during my break. How was your week?  

This week I'll be posting about these books: 

Blitzed by Norman Ohler

 No there isn't anything wrong with your eyes, the cover of this book is blurry. When this book came out in 2017 it was a huge bestseller and there are many fantastic reviews of the book on Goodreads. This is a non-fiction book that read like fiction.  I listened to the audioversion so it's not correct to say that I couldn't put this book down, but I can say I was riveted from start to finish. 

The book starts with the history of drug creation in Germany. Did you know that crystal meth was created by German pharma? Yep. Wild, the Nazi Regime was riddled with meth heads. From the head monster himself Hitler down through the rank and file. At the same time pills were given like candy to everyone in the military and government, the Nazis were publically very anti-drug with strict punishments for those caught using. This is to say, no surprise Hitler et al., were a huge bunch of hypocrites. 

Much of the book focuses on the relationship between Hilter and his Doctor, and you learn that Hilter had all sorts of physical and mental ailments which probably help increase his dependency on all the drugs. It's good to know that Hilter suffered while alive, a small consellation for all the lives he took and people he destroyed.  Too bad he didn't die of an overdose earlier in the war. 

5 stars for this haunting read. 

Time for a Series in a Month!

 In keeping with my renewed effort to read and write, I'm participating in Because Reading's  Series in a Month (#SIAM) challenge. This time around Michelle and Berls are offering a twist. You can read the Night Rebel series as the #SIAM and participate in Anne of Books are my Heart's Realdalong of the Night Huntress World at the same time. 

I do love a two-for so, I'm in for the #SIAM read of the Night Rebel books!

Here are the books:

*Shades of Wicked (to be reviewed Jan 9)

*Wicked Bite (to be reviewed Jan 23) 

*Wicked All Night (to be reviewed Jan 30) 

And speaking of series, I recently finished reading most of the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher.  Here is a quick review. Overall if you like Fantasy of any sort, you should do yourself a favor and start this series. The book  I just finished is called Skin Game and it is book number fifteen. 

As I have mentioned before, I prefer the books that are set in Chicago and involved humans over when the book is basically all Fae. This book was a 5-star book for me because it was basically a heist story, which was a fun departure and humans were central to the story -- esp. Murphy and Micheal. I would have liked more Molly. Now I only have two books left to read and I don't even know if they have a finality to them as I

think Jim Buther is still writing Harry's tale. 

If you like the True Crime genre, this is a facinating listen

Here is a blurb about the book from it's Goodreads's page:

"Violent. Provocative. Shocking. Call them what you will...but don't call them open and shut. Did Lizzie Borden murder her own father and stepmother? Was Jack the Ripper actually the Duke of Clarence? Who killed JonBenet Ramsey?

America's foremost expert on criminal profiling and twenty-five-year FBI veteran John Douglas, along with author and filmmaker Mark Olshaker, explores those tantalizing questions and more in this mesmerizing work of detection. With uniquely gripping analysis, the authors reexamine and reinterpret the accepted facts, evidence, and victimology of the most notorious murder cases in the history of crime, including the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, the Zodiac Killer, and the Whitechapel murders. Utilizing techniques developed by Douglas himself, they give detailed profiles and reveal chief suspects in pursuit of what really happened in each case.

The Cases That Haunt Us not only offers convincing and controversial conclusions, it deconstructs the evidence and widely held beliefs surrounding each case and rebuilds them -- with fascinating, surprising, and haunting results."
 

I listened to this book over the course of a few days. The content is compelling, especially since I am someone who reads and watches true crime and mysteries. I’ve listened to podcasts about some of these well know cases ( Lizzie Borden, the Zodiac killer, etc.) but this book written by an expert in profiling, gave me a better perspective. This book presents these high profile cases and debunks a lot of inaccuracies that have been reported over the years. 

If you are doing your own writing this book could be a good reference when you are creating your killer and the crime scene.

4 stars 

Happy New Year! #TheSundayPost

   

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

Hi! How are you? Happy New Year! I decided to try a new New Years' tradition for 2023. Have you ever heard of this? 

I'm looking forward to a year of peace, joy, and happiness! I plan to do my best to keep up with reading and then writing about my read here. I have a plan for January--so I'm off to a good start. 

If you are off work this upcoming week and are looking for things to watch. I highly recommend the Love, Lizzo documentary on HBOMAX.  

Thanks for visiting my blog! This week I'll be sharing my thoughts on these books: 

Long time no see--and Unf*uck Your Brain review

 Happy New Year's Eve Eve! I'm having a heck of a time trying to type because I'm wearing a wrist brace. Right before Christmas, I fell while running and injured my wrist. On the plus side it's not my writing hand but I definitely need it for typing. I have to keep the brace on until 1/9.

This has really crushed my plan to do lots of blogging while I'm on break from school. I go back to work the same day I have a follow up appt and should most likely get the OK to stop wearing the brace.

How are you? Did you get any new books for Christmas?

Recently I saw that this book was free with my Audible subscription, I downloaded it and listened to it in one afternoon.

This is written and told in a very casual and swear word filled style. Obviously the title of the book is your first clue on that. I didn't find the language off-putting and I found some beneficial information and advice.  Below are my key takeaways-

1.  Anger is a secondary emotion. 

2. Our brains have a story telling mode, which is great but can lead to trouble if you are  reliving a trauma. 

3. Grouding helps if you are having PTSD, anyone can have PTSD and it doesn't always last long term.

4. You don't have to keep going back over traumatic events. You can let it go.

5. Journaling is a very helpful way to work through your trauma.

I appreciated the broad definitely of trauma used by Faith Harper. What is a difficult time for one person  may not be for someone else.

I would recommend this book as a good starting point or a refresher for anyone that feels stuck or is looking to change their behaviors.

4 stars!

#COYER 10 Year Annivesary Challege

 

I can't believe 2013 is 10 years ago but here we are. I found the COYER challenge a couple of years ago. I love the idea of working  on reading books  already own, but I'm not the best at keeping up with posting on the challenge. I appreciate that the COYER Community is pretty forgiving when it comes to consistency.  

My goal this year is to set aside the time to follow through with the challenge. I'm glad for the first season/semester of 2023 we can count any book format because I really want to read some of the physical books on my shelf that are currently collecting dust.

I am also going to take part in a challenge within the challenge for Janaury-- Can you read a series in a month. I am going to make a separate post about that next!

You can find out more about COYER and join me by clicking this sentence. 

How about you? Do you participate in any reading  challenges?