The Joy of Art – August 28, 2023 at 03:37PM

Watercoloring: not my favorite one but some go like that.

#art #watercolorlandscape #watercolorjournal #watercolor #watercolors #watercolorseascape

The Joy of Art – August 28, 2023 at 03:35PM

Sketching: a small scene.

#art #sketching #learningtodraw #houses #urban #urbansketching #drawing #sketchbook #learningtosketch

The Joy of Art – August 28, 2023 at 03:33PM

Lettering: I had seen parts of this quote but never the whole thing. I love it.

#art #loveyourimperfectletters #lettering #letteringart #emerson #ralphwaldoemerson #quotes #watercolor #watercolorjournal #artjournal

Review: Come and Get It

Come and Get It
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book.

I liked Reid’s previous book and was looking forward to reading this despite the mixed reviews. I will say that the first 75% of the book is just character studies. It introduces each character and sort of pulls back to give you a snippet of their life and how they ended up here. It’s interesting but it reads a bit like a character study. Nothing major happens until around the end of the book where things crescendo and there’s some good food for thought. But it requires that you have a lot of patience with this book that I think is too long for that type of buildup.

I still enjoyed my time with it and i like her writing and will definitely read her next book but this wasn’t one of my favorites.

with gratitude to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Senator’s Wife

The Senator's Wife
The Senator’s Wife by Liv Constantine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

fast moving, forgettable palette cleanser. not sorry i read it but it was nothing to write home about.

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Review: Meet Me at the Lake

Meet Me at the Lake
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I saw this book everywhere, EVERYWHERE, so i felt like I had to read it. It was sweet and I am glad I read it but it also wasn’t amazing. I am not sure why it’s on every single list.

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Review: The Quiet Tenant

The Quiet Tenant
The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

wow. this book was unlike anything i’ve read. it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and it was disturbing and frustrating and a really creepy book. I enjoyed it.

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Review: Only If You’re Lucky

Only If You're Lucky
Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an excellent, excellent storyteller Stacy Willingham is. She can weave these chilling and yet so real characters and situations that truly give you the creeps. I love reading her novels even as they stress me out.

This one was no exception. The female friendship in this book is so raw, so real, and so disturbing all at once. The frats, too. So real and so disturbing.

I didn’t see the twists coming and I just truly got lost in this book. I will think about this book for a long time.

with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Second Chance Year

The Second Chance Year
The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love second chance stories and I love reliving and time travel too so this one was meant for me and it did not disappoint. I woke up this morning and I was at only 2% and read it all the way through before getting out of bed. I loved the characters and I loved the romance.

I loved the women standing up for themselves and each other. I loved the slow-burn romance even as you know it’s coming. Can’t wait to read of Wiesner’s novels.

with gratitude to netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Radiant Rebellion: Reclaim Aging, Practice Joy, and Raise a Little Hell

Radiant Rebellion: Reclaim Aging, Practice Joy, and Raise a Little Hell
Radiant Rebellion: Reclaim Aging, Practice Joy, and Raise a Little Hell by Karen Walrond
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Radiant Rebellion is around reclaiming aging. I am not a worrier over aging so I wasn’t sure I should request this book but I have read books by and taken classes from Karen before and I knew there would be wisdom here I’d appreciate. And I was right.

This book is full of stories, wisdom, insight, and practical steps you can take. But what I appreciate the most is how much Karen encourages you to go within and to be intentional with your life. She had great journaling questions to help the reader do her own exploration.

Loved this one.

with gratitude to edelweiss and Broadleaf Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Connellys of County Down

The Connellys of County Down
The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I love Lange’s writing and I love this character-driven story of a family trying to make things work as each of them hides fears and secrets and are battling their own daemons as they look out for each other. Loved it.

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Review: Beautiful Shining People: The extraordinary, EPIC speculative masterpiece…

Beautiful Shining People: The extraordinary, EPIC speculative masterpiece…
Beautiful Shining People: The extraordinary, EPIC speculative masterpiece… by Michael Grothaus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow what an unusual book this was. I don’t really even know what to say about it without spoiling anything. Let’s just say John meets a woman in a cafe who turns out to be more enigmatic than he originally thought. There’s a retired sumo wrestler and a peculiar dog.

There’s a future where deep fakes are so common that it’s causing regular disruptions in the world economy. There’s quantum coding. There’s so much in this unusual, interesting book that you’ll have to pick it up and check it out yourself.

with gratitude to Orenda Books and edelweiss for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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