Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ I hope everyone who celebrated had a good Mother’s Day last weekend – I totally forgot to do a post for that day! 🤦🏻‍♀️ I’ve just been so consumed with my trips – right now I’m in Palo Alto, California to see BTS perform at Stanford Stadium tonight! But my Philippines trip is right after and I’ve been stressed trying to figure out packing, etc….also not knowing what to expect because my parents have planned this trip. I’m excited to see so many family I haven’t seen in decades, plus my grandmother who is 103 years old. It will be nice to see her and have her meet my kids!

+ So this week I’ll just be packing and probably not get a lot of reading done. I guess this means I’ll be gone from this blog for 2 weeks. I’ll have things pre-posted like reviews and Top Ten Tuesdays, I think. But essentially won’t be answering comments. I’ll do that when I get back.

Blog Posts:

• Hart’s Landing by. Melanie Harlow | ARC Review – 4 stars
• May Flowers | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 5/12/26
• New Book Releases This Week | 5/12/26
• WWW Wednesday | 5/13/26
• When the Light Returns by. Joanna Ruth Meyer | ARC Review – 3 stars
• The Summer of Lost Things by. Jenn Bennett | ARC Review – 4 stars

Books I Finished

• White Lights by. Lauren Kate
• Prince of Swords by. Elise Kova
• Hart’s Landing by. Melanie Harlow
• When the Light Returns by. Joanna Ruth Meyer

Currently Reading:

• The False Vow by. Lydia Gregovi
• Nobody’s Quest by. Alyssa Day
• Their Will Undone by. R.J. Valldeperas
• Fury Bound by. Sable Sorensen

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Off Campus (Prime) – I read the books 10 years ago when they came out so all I remember is Hannah and Garrett because he was the hotshot, popular hockey guy. Also remember Dean because he was the naughty one always sleeping around. Other than that I’m glad I don’t remember everyone and everything so I wasn’t comparing details to the books! Overall I enjoyed it – but I did find myself drawn to John Logan’s character and I love Dean and Allie’s chemistry.

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:

+ Happy May everyone! It’s the first Sunday in May and nothing special happened this past week. We are just trying to get to the end of this month and get everything done with kids and their last month of school which will be cut short since we are leaving on a trip to the Philippines during their last week of school.

Blog Posts:

• The Shadows That Listen by. Louisa Carmody | Book Review 4 stars
• Change of Plans by. Sarah Dessen | ARC Review 3.5 stars
• New Book Releases This Week | 4/28/26
• Coming of Age Books  | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 4/28/26
• The Summer of Second Chances by. K.L. Walther | ARC Review 3.5 stars
• Verity Guild by. Mai Corland | ARC Review 3.5 stars
• The Beckett Effect by. Nashae Jones | ARC Review 4 stars
• Monthly Wrap Up | April 2026
• Birthstone Book Covers: May – Emerald | 2026
• Between Tides & Thunder by. Leena Kazak | Book Review 3.5 stars

Books I Finished

• The Becket Effect by. Nashae Jones
• Between Tides & Thunder by. Leena Kazak
• Verity Guild by. Mai Corland
• My Dreadful Darling by. H.D. Carlton
• Soon by You by. Dahlia Adler

Currently Reading:

• The False Vow by. Lydia Gregovi
• Curses, Keys and Secret Societies by. Breanna Randall
• When the Light Returns by. Joanna Ruth Meyer
• Shadow Reaper by. Lynette Noni
• This Book Made Me Think of You by. Libby Page

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Running Point (Netflix) – Season 2 – this show makes me laugh so much! Love 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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Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ We have been back in the school routine. I thought I was going to do a jury summons on Monday, but the case was settled so yay, I didn’t have to drive into morning traffic for that.

+ It is back to being HOT in Hawaii, we are hovering in the high 80’s so it feels like summer again.

+ My sister, my daughter and I are going to Stanford, California for the BTS concert in 3 weeks, and then a week after that I’m going to the Philippines with my parents and my kids…so I am traveling in the next few weeks. It’s going to be…a lot! I’m excited but also like…a little overwhelmed? Most of the Philippines trip my parents are planning and they have their way of traveling and I have my way…SO…I am giving up control to them I suppose? 😅 I’m kinda scared BUT…I have learned in my travels the past 3 years…just have to go with the flow.

Blog Posts:

• Heart of the Wolf Queen by. Sarah Gallego | Book Review 3 stars
• Student Union: The Undergrads by. Julie Murphy | ARC Review 4 stars
• New Book Releases This Week | 4/21/26
• April Showers  | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 4/21/26
• Weavingshaw by. Heba Al-Wasity | Book Review 4.5 stars
• WWW Wednesday | 4/22/26
• The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox by. Katrina Kwan | Audiobook 4 stars
• Storm Breaker by. Nisha J. Tuli | ARC Review 3.5 stars
• Us Dark Few by. Alexis Patton | ARC Review 3.5 stars
• Stacking the Shelves | 4/24/26
• Crown Me Dead & Crown Me Yours by. Liz Zander | Mini Book Reviews 4 & 5 stars

Books I Finished

• The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox by. Katrina Kwan
• Change of Plans by. Sarah Dessen
• Weavingshaw by. Heba Al-Wasity
• Double Happiness by. Heather Eng
• The Last Page by. Katie Holt

Currently Reading:

• Heir of Twisted Lies by. L.J. Andrews
• Verity Guild by. Mai Corland
• Soon By You by. Dahlia Adler
• Rites of the Starling by. Devney Perry

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

MUSIC:

+ Drop Dead by Olivia Rodrigo – obsessed with it, love the regular and acoustic version!

+ BTS Arirang album so I can know the lyrics for the concert.

+ Still rocking Bruno Mars The Romantic because I am still on the concert high from his show.

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:

+ My kids and I went to Las Vegas to see Bruno Mars in concert on April 11, 2026. Let me just tell you what a crazy weekend it was. First, the weather called for HEAVY rain – thank you God it didn’t affect us. And I was worried about TSA lines, but that went smoothly and quick. 🙏🏽. Through security I run into someone I went to college with in California…and she’s my ex-high school boyfriend’s wife now. 😅. She’s a great girl, and we keep in touch – but it’s always kind of been awkward between my ex and me, if I saw him in public he never said hi to me. WELL…with me and my kids there and his wife calling out my name, he had no choice but to finally say hi to me. 😂 We even hugged! Anyway, they were going to the same Bruno Mars show as we were but they were on a different flight that was delayed.

Our flight was stopping over on Maui to switch planes, which we did on time…then the pilot comes on and says they need more fuel to make the trip to Vegas. SAY WHAT? And that they were trying to get clearance to fuel up in Maui…well they were denied, so we had to fly to the Big Island next door, to refuel there. So now we were delayed for 2 hours…kids were hungry. Good thing I loaded up on snacks but we reached Vegas at almost 9:30pm, checked into the Excalibur and got to our room by 10pm. They have a 24/7 food court, thank goodness…but yeah it was a LONG, tiring, day.

Since it was my kids’ first time in Vegas I did want them to see it in the day time, so we slept in, got breakfast, then decided to walk to Park Mgm and take the free tram to the Bellagio so I could show them the flower garden.

The hotels are so big you don’t know you’ve walked 8,000 steps until you’ve felt it! After checking out Caesar’s Palace my daughter said her feet hurt and it was time to rest before the concert. We spied the line for the Hello Kitty/Bruno Mars merch which I wanted so badly but my kids didn’t want to stand in line (I don’t blame them – it was a long line). We were supposed to check out the arcade at the hotel but I needed to nap and the kids wanted to go back to the room. So I napped, kids were on their ipads and we got at least 4 hours of resting our feet before taking the free tram from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay and walking it over the bridge to Allegiant Stadium. It wasn’t bad at all! The weather was nice too.

The stadium was nice, entry was easy – if you are ever going there for a concert, make sure you read the bag policy – clear bags only of a certain size!!! I’m glad I read it beforehand. Overall, we had such an amazing time! My daughter was a bit tired from all day walking (next time I’ll book one more day to rest), but once Bruno came on, both my kids were so hype. My son is a teen and always so self-conscious about singing…oh boy did he sing his heart out! Bruno was fantastic, such a showman, such a performer and that voice…I’m so glad my kids got to see him with me! ♥️. It’s my 4th time seeing him in concert and each time has been so amazing.

After the concert, we walked back with the massive crowd back over the bridge and to our hotel. When I looked at my steps counted it was 23,000 for the day! I felt it! We got back to our room at 11:45pm and I told the kids to go to sleep because we had to wake up in 4 hours to catch a 7am flight! UGH. I could do these quick trips when I was younger or just traveling with a friend but with kids, it’s a little hard, so next time I know to book one more day. Flight was on time, and who was on my flight? My ex and his wife again LOL….good times! What a weekend.

+ After our concert weekend it was back to our regular schedule but also I am planning my son’s bar mitzvah which is in July. He’s not having a major party because he said he didn’t want one. But I’m trying to at least make it a little special for people attending the ceremony. So now I’m stressed with that. 😅. At least I’ll be better at planning my daughter’s bat mitzvah in 4 years.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

• The Summer of Second Chances by. K.L. Walther
• Us Dark Few by. Alexis Patton
• A Merry Life by. Sarah Branson
• Miracles in Mercy by. Briony J. Shutt
• The Verdant Cage by. Jess Lourey
• Heart of the Wolf Queen by. Sarah Gallego

Currently Reading:

• For Whom the Belle Tolls by. Jaysea Lynn
• The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox by. Katrina Kwan
• Change of Plans by. Sarah Dessen
• Heir of Twisted Lies by. L.J. Andrews
• Weavingshaw by. Heba Al-Wasity

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

MUSIC:

+ I cannot wait for Olivia Rodrigo’s album and by the way I promised my kids I’d take them to her concert. 😩 Mama is broke! But I’m going…someway, somehow. I love her new single Drop Dead!

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:

+ It was a stressful weekend. My hubby’s car broke down on Friday which left us stressed out all weekend, it was broken Friday, but drivable but Goodyear said they couldn’t fix it, it was the transmission, then he chanced it and took it to Lexus which is in town (I told him to tow it) but they said the same the transmission is shot, so he attempted to drive it home and got stuck on the freeway. 🤦🏻‍♀️ So he had to tow it home and now we gotta figure out money to get a new car. Lovely. I feel like 2026 is the year where it’s a “lose money” kind of year. I feel like concerts tickets were so damn expensive this year (and I’m trying to sell 5 of them, thank BTS for not opening up Ticketmaster resale – it’s frustrating). Prices went up for gas, groceries, EVERYTHING. And now we might have to cancel our Philippines trip next month because we don’t want to be there while there is an energy crisis and resources are low (and we might have to pay a cancellation fee for that). So because of prices – I’m also back on my book buying ban! 😅.

+ My kids and I are going to Las Vegas on Friday – we are seeing Bruno Mar’s on Saturday! It’s very exciting. A friend of mine from college and her hubby will be joining us. But I’m bummed my friend who was supposed to fly with us from Hawaii to Vegas, might have to cancel because of her mom’s health problems. So this will be my first time flying with my two kids alone, and their first time in Vegas. It’s going to be a very short trip though, we are in and out of there.

+ Why do we have another weather alert for this week? I am tired of heavy rain and flooding in our state. I hope it passes quickly over our islands. 😩

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

• Japanese Gothic by. Kylie Lee Baker
• Bloody Black by. Rhiannon Hargadon
• Your Soulmail is Attached by. Joan F. Smith
• Blood & Roses by. Callie Hart
• Runebreaker by. Mila Finch

Currently Reading:

• The Summer of Second Chances by. K.L. Walther
• Starside by. Alex Aster
• For Whom the Belle Tolls by. Jaysea Lynn

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

MUSIC:

+ RAYE – This Music May Contain Joy – what a creative album! It’s such a mix of different genres but the theme of being uplifting and staying strong, is heard throughout the whole album.

TV SHOWS & MOVIES:

+ Super Mario Galaxy Movie – had to watch this one because my kids were asking. We enjoyed it! I love the Super Mario music, the graphics, and all the surprise cameos of characters like my kids LOVE Pikmin. So they had a blast watching it and again, like the first movie, it tugged my nostalgia strings!

+ XO, Kitty (Season 3, Netflix) – so much dating drama! I was watching to see if Min Ho and Kitty end up together. Do you think there will be a season 4 to properly conclude this show?

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:

+ The weather got better, it stopped raining but the sun barely came out all week. But at least it gave me a chance to do some activities with my daughter like take her to the arcade one day and then the movies the next. We watched GOAT and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would!

+ Then the weather got bad again, for round two of rain 2 days ago. I’m glad there were no high winds, but the rain was pounding and with the ground still so saturated (I haven’t turned on our sprinklers in 2 weeks!), the North Shore has lots of flooding in that area and other places around the island. It’s awful to see the damage of the homes. ☹️ People have lost their homes but from what I know – no lives lost, which is good. But recovery is going to be awhile – for one, we need the rain to stop – we need that sun to come out and dry up all this moisture in the ground.

+ Spring break is over today, it’s been mostly a rainy and boring one for me and my daughter. My hubby and son have been enjoying Osaka and Kyoto – lots of walking! But they come home today, yay, we’ve missed them!

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

• Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan
• The Thorn Queen by. Sasha Peyton Smith
• Web of Vows and Vengeance by. Aria Ashbrook
• The Lies that Summon the Night by. Tessonja Odette

Currently Reading:

• The Summer of Second Chances by. K.L. Walther
• Japanese Gothic by. Kylie Lee Baker
• Storm Breaker by. Nisha J. Tuli

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Bruno Mars, The Romantic, is on repeat!

+ BTS, Arirang – I have to learn these songs before the concert! I also watched the Netflix concert, but not at 1am in the morning when it aired in Hawaii. I was too tired to wake up but glad the replay was there, so I watched it when I woke up.

My daughter and I were bored and indoors because of the rain so we watched Spirited Away on my laptop when we had the power outage last week. And it was kind of the perfect thing to watch in the dark. ❤️ The following night my daughter wanted to watch another Ghibli movie but I only had Spirited Away on my laptop so I caved and signed up for HBO MAX (again – I don’t remember how many times I’ve cancelled already LOL). And we watched My Neighbor Totoro (we love that movie also), and then we had more time so we watched a My Little Pony movie. Then the next night we watched Ponyo. Ghibli films are really amazing! I’m glad my kids love them as much as I do. 🥹

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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