Not Your Ex's Hexes

Not Your Ex's Hexes

By April Asher 

Narrated by Zura Johnson

Listening length 12 hours, 31 minutes 

Published February 28, 2023

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

For her entire life, Rose Maxwell trained to become the next Prima on the Supernatural Council. Now that she’s stepped down, it’s time for this witch to focus on herself—and not think about her impulsive one-night stand with Damian Adams, a half-demon veterinarian who she can’t get out of her head, since neither of them is looking for a relationship.

But when Rose is sentenced to community service at Damian’s animal sanctuary, it becomes impossible for them to ignore their sparking attraction. A friends-with-benefits, no feelings, no-strings-arrangement works perfectly for them both. After a sequence of dead-end jobs, it’s not until Rose tangos with two snarly demons that she thinks she’s finally found her path. However, this puts Damian back on the periphery of a world he thought he left behind. He doesn’t approve of Rose becoming a Hunter, but if there's one thing he's learned about the stubborn witch, it's that telling her not to do something is a sure-fire way to make sure she does.

Working—and sleeping—together awakens feelings Damian never knew he had...and shouldn't have—because thanks to his ex's hex, if he falls in love, he'll not only lose his heart but also his humanity.

Though I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own.

 
This is the second book in the "supernatural singles" series, but you wouldn't know it by starting out with this one. I wasn't lost at all just jumping in with book number two. 

I loved how Damian and Rose keep getting shoved together by circumstances seemingly beyond their control. Throw in the supernatural aspect and all the magic along with a vet who runs an animal rescue, this book was right up my alley. If the other books all follow the other Maxwell sisters, I will totally be picking those up. This family seems like a great one to follow!

Arch Conspirator

Arch-Conspirator

By Veronica Roth
Narrated by Dion Graham, January LaVoy
Listening length 3 hours, 20 minutes
Published date February 21, 2023

My review 3.5 out of 5 stars

In this gripping and atmospheric reimagining of Antigone, #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth reaches back to the root of legend and delivers a world of tomorrow both timeless and unexpected.
“I’m cursed, haven’t you heard?”

Outside the last city on Earth, the planet is a wasteland. Without the Archive, where the genes of the dead are stored, humanity will end.

Antigone’s parents―Oedipus and Jocasta―are dead. Passing into the Archive should be cause for celebration, but with her militant uncle Kreon rising to claim her father's vacant throne, all Antigone feels is rage.

When he welcomes her and her siblings into his mansion, Antigone sees it for what it really is: a gilded cage, where she is a captive as well as a guest.

But her uncle will soon learn that no cage is unbreakable. And neither is he.

“Roth is a masterful conjurer, summoning both classic myth and visceral dystopia to weave a breathtaking tale of love, avarice, and the timeless desire for revenge.” ― Ryka Aoki, bestselling author of Light From Uncommon Stars

While I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own.

 
I requested this book because I loved Veronica Roth's divergent series and this one just sounded amazing. Lets just say, I hope this one is part of series as well because it left me on a cliffhanger. I hate books that do this. Each novel in a series (regardless of their status in the series) should be able to stand alone as a story. 

When I finished this book, it felt unfinished to me, like I was still waiting for something to happen. Left me with some disappointment. Don't get me wrong, the part of the story that I did get, it was amazing. I loved it, I want more, but I wanted it to be more complete.

Hold Still

Hold Still 

by Nina LaCour

Narrated by Emma Galvin 

Published October 20, 2009

Listening time: 6 hours and 16 minutes

My review 4 stars out of 5 

The award-winning first novel from the best-selling author of We Are Okay. For fans of 13 Reasons Why.

In the wake of her best friend Ingrid's suicide, Caitlin is left alone, struggling to find hope and answers. When she finds the journal Ingrid left behind for her, she begins a journey of understanding and broadening her horizons that leads her to new friendships and first love. Nina LaCour brings the changing seasons of Caitlin's first year without Ingrid to life with emotion, honesty, and captivating writing.

When Caitlin's best friend dies by suicide, she is left with all the usual questions and feelings. This book is about how she struggles through the next year. Figuring out how to go on without Ingrid. This book just tugged at my heart strings. I remember vividly loosing a friend in high school, it was not suicide and we had more answers then Caitlin. 

This was a difficult book to listen to, but I think it is important. Suicide is the second leading cause of death of teenagers. This book felt real to me, like I was reading the real account of a girl trying to cope with the loss of her friend. Her feelings trying to work through what she was going through. This would be an excellent book for anyone to read, especially someone who is dealing with a teenager who might be in this kind of situation, allow yourself to see the world as they might be seeing it right now. And as always, know that there are ears to listen, anytime you need to talk. 988 is always available weather you are in a mental health crisis or not.

The Night Circus

 

The Night Circus 

by Erin Morgenstern 

Narratated by: Jim Dale

Published September 13, 2011

Listening length: 13 hours, 11 minutes

My review 4.5 out of 5 stars

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

This book is just magical. I love the details and the world building. The Night Circus is something I wish I could see. Morgenstern paints such a vivid picture with her words that at times it really felt like I was walking through the tents of black and white, smelling the delectable concessions, hearing the sounds of this incredible circus around me. 

Characters became so real that I felt invested in what happened to them. You literally see babies become adults through the lifetime of this circus. It really is just an imaginative, beautiful story. And the way she weaves each character's story together, even the side characters who don't seem to be a part of the circus, drawing them ever more closely into it. Just amazing. 

I will keep re-reading this as long as it keeps painting this story so vividly in my mind.

Nocturne

Nocturne

Author: Alyssa Wees

Publication Date: February 21, 2023

My review: 4 of 5 stars

In this haunting, lyrical fantasy set in 1930s Chicago, a talented ballerina finds herself torn between her dreams and her desires when she's pursued by a secretive patron who may be more than he seems.

Growing up in Chicago’s Little Sicily in the years following the Great War, Grace Dragotta has always wanted to be a ballerina, ever since she first peered through the windows of the Near North Ballet Company. So when Grace is orphaned, she chooses the ballet as her home, imagining herself forever ensconced in a transcendent world of light and beauty so different from her poor, immigrant upbringing.

Years later, with the Great Depression in full swing, Grace has become the company's new prima ballerina—though achieving her long-held dream is not the triumph she once envisioned. Time and familiarity have tarnished that shining vision, and her new position means the loss of her best friend in the world. Then she attracts the attention of the enigmatic Master La Rosa as her personal patron, and realizes the world is not as small or constricted as she had come to fear.

Who is her mysterious patron, and what does he want from her? As Grace begins to unlock the Master's secrets, she discovers that there is beauty in darkness as well as light, finds that true friendship cannot be broken by time or distance, and realizes there may be another way entirely to achieve the transcendence she has always sought.

While I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for my review, all opinions remain my own. This was a difficult read for me. It was dark and a little confusing. What I was expecting to be a historical novel, was something much more. I loved how the author weaved this tale about the Master and who he really is. How Grace finds herself in the ballet but also loses herself in it. This book is just a complex story and really you need to read it. I loved the writing and the world that Wees build for these characters.

I loved watching Grace's relationships grow with her. She learns to see people as more than what they allow her to see, more than just the surface level of friendship.

Oh, and the ending. JUST LOVE!

This book is to be published 2/21 - get yourself a copy (plus, isn't the cover just BEAUTIFUL!) you won't regret reading this one <3

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

Written and narrated by: Felicia Day

Listening length: 6 hours, 48 minutes

Published August 11, 2015

My review 4 out of 5 stars

The instant New York Times bestseller from “queen of the geeks” Felicia Day, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is a “relentlessly funny and surprisingly inspirational” (Forbes) memoir about her unusual upbringing, her rise to internet stardom, and embracing her weirdness to find her place in the world. When Felicia Day was a girl, all she wanted was to connect with other kids (desperately). Growing up in the Deep South, where she was “home-schooled for hippie reasons,” she looked online to find her tribe. The Internet was in its infancy and she became an early adopter at every stage of its growth—finding joy and unlikely friendships in the emerging digital world. Her relative isolation meant that she could pursue passions like gaming, calculus, and 1930’s detective novels without shame. Because she had no idea how “uncool” she really was.

But if it hadn’t been for her strange background—the awkwardness continued when she started college at sixteen, with Mom driving her to campus every day—she might never have had the naïve confidence to forge her own path. Like when she graduated as valedictorian with a math degree and then headed to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting despite having zero contacts. Or when she tired of being typecast as the crazy cat-lady secretary and decided to create her own web series before people in show business understood that online video could be more than just cats chasing laser pointers.

Felicia’s rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influen­tial creators in new media. Ever candid, she opens up about the rough patches along the way, recounting battles with writer’s block, a full-blown gaming addiction, severe anxiety, and depression—and how she reinvented herself when overachieving became overwhelming.

Showcasing Felicia’s “engaging and often hilarious voice” (USA TODAY), You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should celebrate what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a digital misfit.

Another celebrity memoir read by themselves. I can't seem to get enough of these. This one is by the queen of geeks herself, Felicia Day. I just love her. This book delves into her life before acting and what brought her to the west as well as her start in "the business." I loved hearing how she kind of paved her own way with a web series and how that made a way for a new form of entertainment. Before her show, there wasn't really anything like that. Then to come onto netflix and become so much more then it was. I really just loved hearing how it evolved. One thing about this book I wasn't expecting was the chapter about the book tour. I'm assuming she added it later but it was really interesting to hear about her thoughts about it.

The Possibility Dogs: What a Handful of "Unadoptables" Taught Me about Service, Hope, and Healing

The Possibility Dogs: What a Handful of "Unadoptables" Taught Me about Service, Hope, and Healing

Written and Narrated by: Susannah Charleson

Listening length: 11 hours, 18 minutes 

Published June 4, 2013

My review 4 out of 5 stars 

From the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller, Scent of the Missing, comes a heartwarming and inspiring story that shows how dogs can be rescued and can rescue in return.

For her first book, Susannah Charleson was praised for her unique insight into the kinship between humans and dogs, as revealed through canine search and rescue. In The Possibility Dogs Charleson chronicles her journey into the world of psychiatric-service and therapy dogs trained to serve the human mind, a journey that began as a personal one. After a particularly grisly search led to a struggle with PTSD, Charleson credits healing to her partnership with search dog Puzzle. Inspired by that experience and having met dogs formally trained to assist in such crises, Charleson learns to identify abandoned dogs with service potential, often plucking them from shelters at the last minute, and how to train them for work beside hurting partners, to whom these second-chance dogs bring intelligence, comfort, and hope.

From black Lab puppy Merlin, once cast away in a garbage bag, who stabilizes his partner's panic attacks to Ollie, the blind and deaf terrier who soothes anxious children, to Jake Piper, the starving pit bull mix who goes from abandoned to irreplaceable, The Possibility Dogs illuminates a whole new world of canine potential.


This is such an interesting book. Susannah spends most of her life working with dogs in search and rescue for years. In this book she speaks of the possibility of using dogs, specifically those rescued, to be trained to help as psychiatric service and therapy dogs. Susannah shares not only her work with many of her personal dogs but also a very special puppy she has. In this book are also the stories of several other psychiatric-service dogs who do an invaluable service to their owner-trainers and help them live a richer and fulfilled life. This book shines a light on a service that dogs can do that isn't very often talked about. Too often the "working dog" is questioned, when what we should really be doing is helping to make sure that these dogs are given the respect they deserve. It is unbelievable what some of these once abandoned dogs learn to do in their new lives. As the back of the book says, "dogs can be rescued and can rescue in return." I can say from personal experience, even dogs not trained to be in service, are emotional support animals. <3