Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ What is happening in this country (USA) is not okay. My heart hurts, I feel sick, angry, anxious, worried. This is NOT okay.

+ The other thing that took up half the week for me? Is the BTS Concert Tour ticket sales. I knew it would be rough, I’m a new fan (my sister is the bigger fan) but I really wanted to get tickets for her because unlike me – she hardly goes to concerts and said this was the one she wanted to go to. So I locked in (I’m always the one buying tickets anyway), did my research, but a membership for presale (yes I paid $22 so I can do presale!😅). Checked out all the dates and when Thursday came – tried my luck. Now I knew it was going to be impossible for one, the tickets for cities I wanted went on sale during my drive time dropping off the kids to school and picking them up! But I barely got into LA ticket sales after waiting a whole hour – only nose bleeds were left so I got 2 tickets. It’s in the 500’s section – nose bleeds…like up by the roof nosebleeds! My sister felt nervous about how high we would be – and I had the same concerns because I had anxiety during Lady Gaga and that was in an arena – imagine a stadium?!

So I locked in again and knew I had to do general sale yesterday. Started at 7am going from ticket queue to ticket queue. I thought 30k in line on Thursday was bad….nope, yesterday I was 104k in line or 70k…but there was one city people kept saying had tickets on twitter – Foxborough. I am in Hawaii…it’s a long flight that would cost a lot. But I got 13K in line and snagged pretty good tickets in the 100 section, lower bowl, back row so I can stand and not bother anyone. I felt relieved but worried about plane fare then a friend messaged me saying her friend had Stanford tickets, in the 100 section for sale. My Foxborough tix were affordable – only $500 for 2 tickets total! These new tickets…$800 each! I was like oh no way…but my sister said, with the cheaper airfare, it would be equivalent to a trip to Foxborough so she told me to get them.

By the time I paid for the tix, got them transferred, and finally ate something – I was weary, my body hurt, so exhausted from being tense all day (for three days). And then the news in Minneapolis made me want to cry. So yes I’m happy we got tickets to BTS and it’s 2 days after my sister’s 50th bday, so I’m happy for her…but my heart hurts.

+ I type all this and today said wow I can’t believe it’s still January! I feel like I’ve been traumatized with highs and lows this month alone. Not how I expected 2026 to start! I’m praying there is something that turns this ship around. RIP to Alex Pretti.

Blog Posts:

• Night Terror by. Vincent Ralph | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• Silk & Iron by. Alexis Calder | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Goals for 2026 | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 1/20/26
• New Book Releases This Week | 1/20/26
• WWW Wednesday | 1/21/25
• Dragon Cursed by. Elise Kova | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by. Elizabeth May | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• Let’s Talk Bookish:  Underrated Books | 1/23/26
• Bound to the Broken Crown by. Astoria Hope | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Books I Finished

• Heart of Mischief by. Emma Noyes
• Maybe This Once by. Sophie Sullivan
• Masquerade of Mirrors by. Samantha Hartwood
• Second Chance Romance by. Olivia Dade
• A Queen of Crowned in Flames by. Hazel McBride

Currently Reading:

• A Promise of Lies by. Claire Sager
• A Curse of Crimson Tears by. Julie J. Morris
• Dawn of the North by. Demi Winters
• Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson
• Goodbye and Everything After by. Mae Coyiuto
• A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

• Heated Rivalry (HBO Max) – episode 1-2 – want to see what the hype is about!

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

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Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ What a week! Most of it was worrying about getting concert tickets. After giving up, and 2 hours of trying, I got tickets to the second show! My kids, a college friend and her hubby, and one of my other good friends are coming along, it will be the first concert for my kiddos – they love Bruno Mars.

+ But that’s not all…this week is BTS presale week. Now, I’m not BTS Army, but I am obsessed with Jung Kook, more so after going to South Korea with my sister. I think it’s funny that it was my family trip to Philly/New York that started my sister listening to K-Pop because she drove me car when she house sat for me and the station that popped up in my car was the K-Pop station! 😅 She’s been obsessed ever since. But it’s actually on our trip to South Korea last year that I learned how much of a BTS fan she was – I was shocked! So I’m the one usually going to concerts and she’s not, so she kind of designated me as the ticket buyer. I told her it’s going to be IMPOSSIBLE…but you never know. If we can’t get any for this year, we will try for 2027 dates. I would prefer 2027 because honestly, I did expect a BTS tour but I thought an announcement would come in March?

+ It actually got COLD here in Hawaii…and I mean 65 degrees in the morning and 75 by noon. 😅. I know, that isn’t cold to everyone else, but to us tropical islanders, it’s freezing! 😂

Blog Posts:

• Oxford Blood by. Rachael Davis-Featherstone | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026 | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 1/13/26
• New Book Releases This Week | 1/13/26
• WWW Wednesday | 1/14/25
• Fallen Stars by. Imani Erriu | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• King of Ravens by. Clare Sager | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• Let’s Talk Bookish:  Book Blogging Slumps | 1/16/26
• The Night Ship by. Alex Woodroe | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Dead Fake by. Vincent Ralph | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Books I Finished

• Crown of War and Shadow by J.R. Ward
• The Cure by. Perdro Urvi
• Wicked Onyx by. Debbie Cassidy
• Silk & Iron by. Alexis Calder
• Dragon Cursed by. Elise Kova

Currently Reading:

• A Promise of Lies by. Claire Sager
• A Curse of Crimson Tears by. Julie J. Morris
• Dawn of the North by. Demi Winters
• Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson
• Goodbye and Everything After by. Mae Coyiuto

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

• Football

• People We Meet on Vacation (Netflix) – I read this book a few years ago but watching it definitely brought me back to the book. I thought it was cute, it’s a good adaptation and I was reminded me of Poppy’s self-journey. I gave the book 4 stars – and I think the actors did a great job showing how different their personalities were, but how much they were also best friends – I love their friends to lovers/second chance romance. I also love that they had one of my favorite Robyn songs (Hang with Me) in the movie.

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

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Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ You know, last year I really jumped into book because after the election I was feeling sick, worried about all the things that would happen to our country. I mean I read 230+ books in 2025, that’s a record for me. I was trying to escape all the bad feelings inside of me and it helped alleviate stress and anxiety, a little. And now it’s January 11th and I feel sick again – anxious – helpless when I see what’s happening in the news. What happened to Renee Good and seeing ICE do what they do …it’s sickening. What I see happening to this country and how our leaders are acting makes me feel physically ill. And this week the books couldn’t help me escape my feelings this week. 😒

+ But because life is weird and with this bad stuff going on, you still have to keep living and try to stay positive…one thing that made me super happy is Bruno Mars dropped a new song. And yes he is probably my favorite artist and not only because he is from Hawaii, and he’s half Filipino, but his music/his voice makes me feel something and this new song makes me feel happy. It pulls me out of the darkness going on in the world today. 🙏🏽

The song made me dance right away – another thing that heals us, singing and dancing! And this song was definitely needed. His tour tickets go on sale this week, and my son wants to go, a friend of college wants to go, another friend wants to go – I’ve seen him twice for his solo tours and then once at his Silk Sonic residency. All his shows were so amazing – I think he’s the artist I will definitely want to see in concert until he retires, if ever. I’m excited that my kids love him, he is also on my husband’s bucket list but he is waiting for Japan tour dates because my hubby wants to see him in the Osaka Dome. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Anyway, let’s hope I get tickets – but this also means I am going back on my book buying ban (I have some on pre-order though 🤭 but outside of that I’m on a ban lol)…because concert tickets are expensive.

Blog Posts:

• The Sins of Silas by. Kylie Snow | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Drive Me Crazy by. Lizzy Dent | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• Best Books I Read in 2025 | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 1/6/26
• New Book Releases This Week | 1/6/26
• A War of Wyverns by. S.F. Williamson | ALC Review | Audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• WWW Wednesday | 1/7/25
• We’ve Hit Turbulence by. Jessica L. Cozzi | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• The Book of Blood & Roses by. Annie Summerlee | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• Let’s Talk Bookish:  Bookish Trends of 2025 | 1/9/26
• Graceless Heart by. Isabel Ibañez | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Birthstone Book Covers: January – Garnet | 2026
• Shadows and Secrets by. Arcadia Rayne | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Books I Finished

• A War of Wyverns by. S.F. Williamson
• Stolen Midnights by. Katherine Quinn
• Love and Other Brain Experiments by. Hannah Brohm
• Fallen Stars by. Imani Erriu

Currently Reading:

• A Promise of Lies by. Claire Sager
• A Curse of Crimson Tears by. Julie J. Morris
• The Cure by. Pedro Urvi
• Dawn of the North by. Demi Winters
• Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson
• Goodbye and Everything After by. Mae Coyiuto

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

• Football

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Instagram | Tiktok

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ We kind of had a few days of rest before New Year’s Eve. Hawaii loves to celebrate NYE with a lot of illegal fireworks, some legal too but mostly illegal. But last NYE there was a deadly accident, 3 people died, and like 10 or so people had burn injuries – it was horrendous. This year, there were stricter laws, so instead of people popping fireworks every night from November on….mostly everyone waited until NYE night (from 6pm-midnight) this time around. My dog struggles with it so I’m glad this year he only had to really struggle for one night instead of a whole 2 months of firework bombs going off.

+ My daughter’s birthday was yesterday so on Friday we took her to the Kroc Center Pool, they have a mini lazy river, and a kids play structure. She went there for swim lessons but because we aren’t members we always left the pool after lessons. So this was a nice way for her to have fun at the pool finally! It wasn’t crowded and we went a day before her birthday because the weather app was saying it was going to be cloudy during her birthday. And I hate to be in the pool with no sun – I can’t stand the cold. 😅

+ Today we are going to the Cheesecake Factory with my parents, my sister’s family and my family to celebrate my daughter and my nephew’s January birthdays! It’s supposed to rain hard today but I hope it doesn’t hit us until after we have lunch.

Blog Posts:

• The End of the Year Book Tag – 2025 Edition
• Heavenly Bodies by. Imani Erriu | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• New Book Releases This Week | 12/30/25
• Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 12/30/25
• Top 5 Books of 2025 | Top 5 Tuesday | 12/30/25
• WWW Wednesday | 12/31/25
• Goodreads Year in Books | 2025
• The Swan’s Daughter by. Roshani Chokshi | ALC Review | Audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Looking Back on 2025: Books on the Backlist
• Let’s Talk Bookish:  Top Reads in Five Words/Sentences | 1/2/26
• A Language of Dragons by. S.F. Williamson | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• The Lies of Lena by. Kylie Snow | ALC Review | Audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
• Monthly Wrap Up | December 2025

Books I Finished

• A Language of Dragons by. S. F. Williamson
• Heart’s Gambit by. J.D. Myall (audiobook)
• The Night Ship by. Alex Woodroe
• The Wicked and the Damned by. Rebecca Robinson
• Shadows and Secrets by. Arcadia Rayne
• Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by. Emma Summerman

Currently Reading:

A War of Wyverns by. S.F. Williamson

Stolen Midnights by. Katherine Quinn

Love and Other Brain Experiments by. Hannah Brohm

The Cure by. Pedro Urvi

Fallen Stars by. Imani Erriu

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

• Football
• Stranger Things Season 5 Finale (Netflix) – What a series, what a show, people will either hate or love the ending but I found it bittersweet! What I love about the show is how it reminded me of my childhood in the 80’s – what a time to be alive SIGH…I miss it!

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

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