Summer Reading Celebration

Better than the Shippers in my opinion but the lack of a trigger warning really really really bothers me. I think that's what really bothered me about the Shippers, the fact there is absolutely no warning before assault on the page. TW: body dysphoria, disordered eating, cyberbullying including death threats, body shaming etc. Honestly I think having it being such a big part of the book and her character, its really damaging to not advise the reader especially with how young and uninformed romance skews right now.

This was a somewhat disturbing book. Disturbing in that if you don't happen to be a person if color, you learn what it is like to live in their world. That it would be so bad you would want to "cross over" is telling of the world I do not know. The fictitious story is set in a small town of very light skinned blacks. They pride themselves on their lightness. Some even have red hair and could be mistaken as being white. But as the author notes, even the boy who looks white is not allowed the same privileges that an actual white person would have. The story follows 2twin sisters born in this town. Their daddy dies young and their mothers struggles to support the family. The girls have to chip in and life is very hard for all of them. One of the twins "crosses over" in order to get a job that pays better so she and her sister can afford to live in the city they have run away to. Eventually her white boss falls in love with her. Will she tell him? What happens to the other sister? There are some rough parts in this book, but I appreciated the over all message it told.

ARC read. I love Tarah DeWitt. Love the content warnings, Loved everything. How beautiful and sad and unexpectedly spicy.

Alien Rik and the Ingergalactic Waffle Protocol was pure and unadulterated chaos and hilarity. Rik, an alien, crash lands on Earth with his robot assistant Glubax. He befriends Debra, Bud and a goat named Clarity, forms a cult around breakfast and toasters, and reforms a Pentagon agent assigned to shut down his cult. Rik even manages to befriend DJT amd gain a nemesis in an evangelical pastor by the of Lyle Grindle. There are waffles, syrup, guru enlightenment and only a little chia seeds in this romp into one aliens journey to found family, pancakes and a world wholly different from anything he ever experienced on his home on Astralara. The first book in this book was funny, irreverent and entertaining if not equally confusing all at once. Here, Somehow was a little more straightforward but not without equal parts humor. Assistant to Nicola Tesla, Stefan Petrovic is accidentally transported through time from 1895 to current times in an experiment gone wrong. Stefan blindly stumbles through Times Square, New York City until NYC cops pick him up and introduce him to Mira, an NYC Civil outreach coordinator. Mira decideds he is mostly harmless amd takes him into her home until Stefan and Tesla can figure out how to get him home. Stefan meets a lot of people, finds out more than he ever cared to about Instagram while also falling in love. This book reminded me of the 1994 movie IQ where Albert Einstein, played by Walter Matthau, tries to set up Meg Ryan, his niece, with a mechanic played by Tim Robbins. IYKYK. I really enjoyed the relationship between Mira and Stefan and was glad that Stefan decided to stay in the future with Mira.

These novellas should be made into larger stories. Especially water and earth, they are my favorite.

A modern day twist on Same Time, Next Year (which is actually referred to frequently in the book). I found this book to be amazing. I listened to it while on a long distance trip, which is my usual way to pass the time on my trips. The characters were amazing, each one was well rounded and I could relate to each of them for different reasons. I've recently found out that there is a short story that accompanies this book and will be looking for that one. I highly recommend this book in whatever form you like!!

I love this series and I love this book!! Reread!

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Huang, an author on the Autism spectrum herself, is a very sweet book about Stella and Michael. Stella has Asperger’s and struggles with relationships. She hires Michael to help her in that dept, and their working relationship evolves into more. I really enjoyed this one. It’s definitely spicier than I ever expected going into it.

Good read with my grandson. A good introduction to learning about the Civil War.

I've put off reading this author for so long and I'm so disappointed that I did. I really enjoyed this book. Its not heavy, but its definitely more than a "beach read." I read 28 Summers by this same author, or rather I listened to them, and Hilderbrand is my new favorite author!