Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite “Aww” Moments in Books

Greetings you guys! Time for Top Ten Tuesday! Are we the only ones who don’t get to very much more but TTT lately? I LOVE weekly memes, but I struggle to keep up at the moment. End of the year tiredness is hitting us hard this year. Anyone else feeling the same? This week’s prompt for TTT, is favorite “aww” moments in books. And for a chance, we are sticking to the theme 100%. No quirky headings, no pet-themed books, just following the prompt. I already had to wreck my brain for this one. I guess if I wrecked it a bit more, I might have been able to find 10 “aww” pets or books that are completely “aww”. While browsing through my Goodreads shelves, I just realized that I don’t read a lot of “aww” books…. So some of my choices might rather make you go “huh” than “aww”. “Aww” animals who are simply “aww” and I can’t think of any specific scene: Marcellus from Remarkably Bright Creatures Olivia from The Last House on Needless Street Three-Sixty from Lessons in Chemistry War can have “aww” moments (if you haven’t read any of these, don’t read my “aww” moments, they are spoilers): […]

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Posted November 15, 2022
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The Brilliance of Stars by J’nell Ciesielski

The Brilliance of Stars by J’nell Ciesielski Series: Jack & Ivy #1 Published by Thomas Nelson on November 1st, 2022 Genres: Historical Fiction Pages: 400 Format: ARC Source: Author’s Copy, Netgalley Buy on Amazon Goodreads Amid the chaos of the Great War, two master assassins risk it all for love. Washington DC, 1914. Ivy Olwen knows how to survive on the streets without two coins to rub together. But when she finds herself whisked into a secret society that seeks to maintain the balance of good and evil in the world, she can’t believe there’s more to life than just surviving. In the hallowed and historied halls of Talon, she learns European languages and ballroom dancing, as well as demolitions and sharpshooting—in short, everything a spy and assassin will need to survive in the field. The first day Jack Vale meets Ivy, he knows she is not to be underestimated. The second day, he knows his heart will belong to no one else. Between sparring bouts and constellation gazing, Jack takes Ivy under his wing, and the two form a bond that soon turns to love. While the rest of the world tumbles into war, the two embark on an […]

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Posted November 12, 2022
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Top Ten Tuesday – Serious Series I need to read Seriously

Greetings you guys! It’s Tuesday and time to get serious about reading series’ with Top Ten Tuesday. TTT is hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Remember to pay her a visit and to add your linky and to visit your fellow bloggers. Seriously, you need to start reading that series you’ve been putting off ever since Eskom first introduced load shedding. Personally, I don’t read that many series. The problem with a series is you need to read them ALL, for if you take one out, none of the other bulbs will light up and you will be sitting in the dark. Seriously, you need to start reading that series you’ve been putting off ever since Eskom first introduced load shedding. The ones we have read the first one in the series: Maisie Dobbs Flavia de Luce Phryne Fisher The ones we haven’t even started yet. Do we still want to read the Meg Cabot one? Hmmmm…. Need to go dig a bit. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy The Dark Tower The Mediator The ones we’ve read more than one in the series, but still not them all. The […]

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Posted November 8, 2022
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Operation Mom by Reenita Malhorta Hora

Operation Mom: My plan to get my Mom a life and a new man by Reenita Malhotra Hora on August 22nd, 2022 Genres: Young Adult Pages: 220 Format: ARC Buy on Amazon Goodreads Ila, a Mumbai-based teenager, is going nuts with Veena, her controlling, single mother who prevents her from stalking her pop idol, Ali Zafar. Veena wants her daughter to date real guys in the lead-up to finding a husband. But Ila decides that the only way to get her mom off her back is by finding her a boyfriend instead. With the help of her best friend Deepali, her crush Dev and her mother’s best friend Maleeka, they will come up with a plan to make it happen by setting up a profile in dating apps. Hi there you guys! What a fun Young Adult book we have to share with you today. My Mommy hasn’t been a teenager in many, many years. But reading this teenage novel about a quirky and hilarious Indian girl in Mumbai, made her giggle like a teenager herself. One of the easiest ways to spot a teenager in any country across the world, is watch for signs of obsession about very random things. Especially […]

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Posted November 7, 2022
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Six Degrees of Separation – What’s Cooking?

Greetings you guys! It’s the first Saturday of November and for a change, I’m not going to moan about how quickly this year flew by. It’s time to come to an end – so let’s just celebrate the happy month of November. What better way to celebrate than with good food and some wine. Luckily, our startup book for this month, helps us to do exactly that. But wait, first more on this fun, monthly meme: This monthly fun meme is hosted by Books are my Favorite and Best: On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Books can be linked in obvious ways, for example: same authors, same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or you might choose to link them in more personal ways: books you read in the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend or books that remind you of a particular time in your life. The choices are endless here! This month, we are starting off with a cookbook. Ha, what fun this was! We have one or two Jamie Oliver Cookbooks in […]

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Posted November 6, 2022
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The Nine Lives of Montezuma by Michael Morpurgo

The Nine Lives of Montezuma by Michael Morpurgo on January 1st, 2013 Genres: Childrens Pages: 170 Format: Paperback Source: VCS Buy on Amazon Goodreads His ears were pointed sharply and were long enough to be those of a wild cat. The farmyard was his kingdom – he had made it so. This is the story of the nine loves of a very special cat, from impetuous young kitten to the king of the farmyard. Wherever Montezuma goes, adventure and excitement are sure to follow! An enchanting take of feline charm from War Horse author Michael Morpurgo. Greetings you guys! We’ve been a bit quiet on the review side for school. Not that the kids don’t still write the most lovely reviews, it’s just a matter of getting the time to post them! We will try to update as many as we can within the last couple of weeks of school. Michael Morpurgo is by far one of the most popular authors amongst the VCS students. My Mommy is very happy about that and I am ecstatic to see that all his cat books are at the top of the list. His books are not only for children, but can be […]

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Posted November 4, 2022
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Top Ten Unlikable Pets you might Come to Love

Greetings you guys! It’s Tuesday and time for Top Ten Tuesday. This week’s prompt is Unlikeable Characters you can’t help but love. It had my Mommy scratching her head a bit. Luckily, I was around to safe the day and once again, come up with a great twist. As you all hopefully know by now, I am a gorgeous feline and rather self entitled towards myself and my species. So it’s no surprise that I can once again swing the prompt to suit me. Cats aren’t known to befriend other creatures easily. Except for horses and Labradors. Somehow, that combination usually work. Labradors get along with everyone and everything and horses tend to have slightly more issues than cats. Probably why we can tolerate them. Here’s a lists of ten animals I believe rather unlikely to ever befriend a cat. Or vice versa: A Giant Pacific Octopus. Water and tentacles, not going to work. A novel tracing a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus. After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old […]

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Posted November 1, 2022
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Blog Tour & Review: The Ghost and the Stolen Tears by Cleo Coyle

The Ghost and the Stolen Tears by Cleo Coyle Series: Haunted Bookshop Mystery #8 Published by Berkley Books on October 4th, 2022 Genres: Cozy Mystery Pages: 336 Format: ARC Source: Great Escapes Tours Buy on Amazon Goodreads With the help of her gumshoe ghost, bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure sets out to clear an innocent woman of a shocking crime in this all-new entry in the “utterly charming” (Mystery Scene) Haunted Bookshop Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle. Norma is a modern-day nomad. Living out of her van and teardrop trailer, she revels in self-reliance, solitude, and reading in the glorious peace of nature. Jovial, wise, and scrupulously honest, she’s become an uplifting presence in the little town of Quindicott, Rhode Island, where bookseller Pen is thankful to have her part-time help. But it’s Norma’s other job, working as a housekeeper at the Finch Inn, that gets her into terrible trouble. Norma is accused of stealing jewels from a guest’s room: the legendary Valentino Teardrops, an antique necklace and earring set, inherited by a young socialite. Pen doesn’t believe Norma is guilty of the crime—though the evidence is distressingly strong. And when the spirited Norma vanishes before her […]

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Posted October 31, 2022
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The Classics Club Spin #31 – Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Greetings you guys! I am ever so proud of my Mommy. She just managed to finish her Classics Club Spin #31 book. Luckily it was a quick read, but by no means a light or an easy read. I’m sure we are in the minority of Classics Lovers who haven’t read this one yet: To review this book, will be no easy task either. If you look on Goodreads, there are over 43 000 reviews on this book, some of our favorite readers and bloggers amongst them. It does appear as if we are going to be in the minority with our 3.5 Star review as well. Yes, this book was beautifully written – wow. You can get lost in the prose and forget about the content as a whole. But then again, reading is a holistic experience. So why only 3.5 stars? The world has changed. Hasn’t it? Somehow, it became lighter. Somehow, it became heavier to carry a friend. Somehow, having a piece of the land isn’t the dream anymore. And somehow, we live in that world and adapts to it. As humans do. We become isolated to the story of George and Lennie. Animal cruelty will not […]

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Posted October 30, 2022
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Giblet & Belle, The Case of The One Still Too Many by Robert S. Lay

The Case of the One Still Too Many by Robert Lay Series: Giblet & Belle #2 on September 13th, 2022 Genres: Cozy Mystery Pages: 248 Format: ARC Source: Reedsy Discovery Buy on Amazon Goodreads Giblet & Belle are back, and this time the crime is personal… The family is taking a working vacation to the beautiful little mountain town of Busby, West Virginia. But this town holds dark secrets that some will kill to keep. Soon Belle, Giblet, and the rest of the animals are up to their whiskers in murder, moonshine, and a decade-old secret that involves one of their own. However, Belle and her mentor, Mittens, are no ordinary cats; they are highly trained Protectors, an ancient secret society helping humanity for thousands of years, always working from the shadows, with only a handful of humans who know about them. Will Giblet & Belle sort out the clues in time to prevent another murder and bring justice? “Wherever there are humans and cats, there are Protectors. Protectors, the ancient secret order of cats that have watched over and defended humans and their settlements for thousands of years, mostly without people realizing. In One Still Too Many, Giblet & […]

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Posted October 29, 2022
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