Goodbye, January

January was...great and good and bad and horrible. It was a rollercoaster (so was the weather). It was just crazy, but in both good and bad ways, so I guess it evens all out to good (class half full person over here).

  

2023 Resolutions:
     (1) Write [almost] every day...or at least think about it
     (2) Don't stop reading
     (3) Make something (e.g. a manuscript)
     (4) Share love of books/writing
     (5) Be kinder to myself

(1) Yeah, not a good start to this one. No writing at al.

(2) Books read this month: 16 (might get one more in there before midnight though). 

(3) Again, no. I had plans, but got sick, got lazy, got sick again, and got lazy again. Here's to another try next month. 

(4) Posts this month (including this one): 16.

(5) This month was a rollercoaster. I got the stomach/gi-bug again, lost a few pounds after not eating for a few days. Got a nasty cold. But I ate a whole bunch of salads and used my elliptical bike a bunch of times. Trying not to go too hard-core or cut/do anything cold-turkey, so that I don't go all crazy and quit too soon; trying to start good habits instead. A few not-so-great mental days. But over all, pretty good so far!

Anyone still holding onto their resolutions?

Any exciting February reads?
Anything I should check out?

#newyearsresolutions #goodbyejanuary #hellofebruary #hello2023 #keeplearning #writeeveryday #dontstopreading #makesomething #shareloveofbooks #bekindertoself #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Future Baby series

I recently bought this book series for the kiddos in my classroom. This Future Baby series was written by Lori Alexander and illustrated by Allison Black. 

It. Is. Fabulous! They were so fun and cute and colorful, and my toddlers looooooved them! Loved them!! 

We read "Future Astronaut," "Future Doctor," "Future President," and "Future Engineer," and then I had to start them over again. And again. They were a hit! 

The books compared these careers to different activities that toddlers/babies already to, proving that anything is possible, and they can be whatever they set their heart to. Each book ended with about half a dozen career-focused facts (that went over their heads, but I thought they were interesting).

#futureastronaut #futuredoctor #futurepresident #futureengineer #lorialexander #allisonblack #futurebaby #futurebabyseries #childrensbooks #picturebooks #boardbooks #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

POS: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Another not-super-book-or-reading-or-literary-related-post, but here we are. 

Over the weekend, my friends and I went into town to see the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. They preformed all of the music from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" alongside the movie itself. 

It was glorious! It was beautiful!! It was a collective fan experience!!!

I would totally and completely recommend this to anyone (no matter the movie). 

They're doing "The Little Mermaid" in June, and you better bet I'm taking my mama!

#hogwarts #harrypotter #philosophersstone #chamberofsecrets #prisonerofazkaban #gobletoffire #orderofthephoenix #halfbloodprince #deathlyhallows #jkrowling #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks 

Triple Rainbow

Here's a rainbow from the other day. It had snowed, then rained, then snowed, then rainbow-ed. Then showed again. Welcome to Pittsburgh, y'all. ;)

It was a triple rainbow, in parts, but my phone refused to capture it. There's a metaphor for life in there somewhere.

#rainbow #doublerainbow #triplerainbow #rain #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Their Vicious Darling (Vicious Lost Boys #3)

Whelp, we sped-read thru another one of Nikki St. Crowe's Vicious Lost Boys books. The third one is titled “Their Vicious Darling.”

[“The Dark One has finally accepted me…just in time for everything to change. Because Vane’s brother, The Crocodile, has just arrived on Neverland soil and he’s not alone. He’s brought with him members of the royal Darkland family and they want Vane’s Death Shadow back at any cost. 

Of course, Peter Pan, Vane, Kas and Bash, they’re all familiar with war. But war isn’t easy when love is on the line. 

I know those vicious Lost Boys would do anything to protect me. But what if I’m not the one that needs saving?

As power shifts on the island and shadows are claimed, all five of us have to let go of who we were, if we have any chance of becoming who we are destined to be.“]

A lot happened; a lot didn’t happen. 

I think one of my favorite things about this series is (well besides how psychopath-y Pan is) how Hook is portrayed. He’s a little ocd and very neurodivergent. He paces and he cleans when he’s anxious. He has higher dreams than Neverland. He likes fancy clothes just for the hell of it, and he’s a little queer. He’s fiercely loyal and protective of those he cares about. And he’s hot as fuck. This Jas Hook is so much like the one I imagined in my head too. 

And the interpretation of The Crocodile. Like, yes yes yes. Might steal this idea. 

Now we just need the forth and final book to come out…

#theneverking #thedarkone #theirviciousdarling #thefaeprinces #nikkistcrowe #viciouslostboys #viciouslostboysseries #books #queerbooks #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Dark One (Vicious Lost Boys #2)

Gotta be honest, I wasn't going to actually finish this series until maybe (maybe) the fourth and final book came out. But I caved. The second book in Nikki St. Crowe's Vicious Lost Boys series is titled "The Dark One."

["I spent most of my life feeling dead inside -- until I met Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

It wasn't until Pan and Neverland that I finally felt alive.
But things are not all full of magic and sunlight on the island. There's something darker and more sinister haunting the forest.
And worse, the fae queen and Captain Hook are ready to fight for control of Neverland and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Including using the one thing Pan never thought he wanted or needed -- me. I'm a descendant of the Darling family and now I belong to him and the Lost Boys.
War is brewing -- can the Never King get his shadow back and assume his rightful throne? And if he does, where will I fit?
Or will all of Neverland be in jeopardy right along with my dark, twisted heart?"]

With this book, I'm starting to understand more and more what the reviewers on GoodReads meant about it just being.... The plot is fun and interesting (dark and twisty), and the pacing is fast, and the book overall is an easy read. The kink isn't what gets me (you do you, boo).
It's just...cringy and overly cheesy at points. And Winnie isn't really...she doesn't have a purpose besides the sexual aspect (which she is fine with and she very much consents to--but its a little too...anti-feminist of having a female character only be there for sexual acts and not plot structure--maybe the next installation will be different).

Like I said, I really enjoy the plot and the different dark and twisty and dark aspects of the novel. The reimagined aspects from the original book are fascinating and something I can't say I would have come up with myself. The shadows and the territories and the expansive fae culture? Captain Hook? The twins?!? Yes, all of that yes.

Will I finish the series anyway? Probably. Stay tuned. ;)

#theneverking #thedarkone #theirviciousdarling #thefaeprinces #nikkistcrowe #viciouslostboys #viciouslostboysseries #books #queerbooks #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Never King (Vicious Lost Boys #1)

There's a loooot of books out there on BookTok that gush about straight-erotica books. Some pull at me, but let's be real, my true weakness is queer erotica. However, another one of my weaknesses is Peter Pan and the Lost Boys and Neverland, and this dark retelling of Peter and Wendy sounded lovely (if you like things like enemies-to-lovers romance and ruthless, morally-gray love interests). Here's Nikki St. Crowe's "The Never King" (the first book in her Vicious Lost Boys series).

["The stories were all wrong — Hook was never the villain.

For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken.

Now, on the afternoon of my 18th birthday, my mother is running around the house making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked.

But it’s pointless.

Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go."]

GoodReads had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. It was like the one season of "Once Upton A Time" when they all went to Neverland, and Peter Pan was a psychopath (which, he is--did my undergrad thesis on it). I thought it was pretty damn good. It was darker than I'm used to (being a dark romance) and heavy leaning into the fantasy side of things. However, I'll be adding this series to my TBR list for sure.

#theneverking #thedarkone #theirviciousdarling #thefaeprinces #nikkistcrowe #viciouslostboys #viciouslostboysseries #books #queerbooks #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks