Weekly Wrap Up | 4/5/26

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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Monthly Wrap Up | March 2026

March was so wild – especially because Hawaii has two storms that knocked out power, flooded communities and after those two weeks (during Spring Break), now the sun is out like nothing happened. I did get to read a lot but I felt like the month went by too fast. Let’s take a look at how many books I read and what I posted on my blog.

I read 26 books and posted 23 book reviews in March.

Books I Read – 26 books

  1. Eternal is the Night by. Alayna Ravenwood (arc)
  2. Life: A Love Story by. Elizabeth Berg (arc)
  3. Half City by. Kate Golden
  4. The Shippers by. Katherine Center (alc)
  5. Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan
  6. The Poison Daughter by. Sheila Masterson
  7. The Thorn Queen by. Sasha Peyton Smith (arc)
  8. Seek the Traitor’s Son by. Veronica Roth (alc)
  9. Cruel Angel by. Rebecca Kenney (arc)
  10. While You Were Seething by. Charlotte Stein (alc)
  11. The Serpent’s Bride by. Kathryn Ann Kingsley
  12. The Serpent’s Sin by. Kathryn Ann Kingsley
  13. Tethered by. Elayna R. Gallea
  14. The Lies that Summon the Night by. Tessonja Odette
  15. The Wings That Bind by. Briar Boleyn
  16. Web of Vows and Vengeance by. Aria Ashbrook
  17. Storm Breaker by. Nisha J. Tuli (arc)
  18. Student Union: The Undergrads by. Julie Murphy (arc)
  19. Shadow Trials by. Evelyn Hart (arc)
  20. Mayhem and the Mortal by. Shanora Williams
  21. Souls in Ruin by. Jacqueline White
  22. Runebreaker by. Mila Finch
  23. Japanese Gothic by. Kylie Lee Baker (alc & arc)
  24. To Break Such a Bond by. Mallory Wilde
  25. Your Soulmail is Attached by. Joan F. Smith (arc)
  26. Blood & Roses by. Callie Hart


Reviews I Posted On My Blog: 23 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

Book Tags:

Birthstone Book Covers: March – Aquamarine |2026

Blog Tours:

Other:

Spotlight | Dawn in Ruins by. Magda Mizzi

How was your month?

Find me hereInstagram (bookstagram) | TikTok | Etsy

Weekly Wrap Up | 3/22/26

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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Weekly Wrap Up | 3/15/26

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ So we had warnings of severe weather, this week starting on Tuesday, and though it did rain hard during the night, the days were okay with scattered showers here and there, from Tuesday-Thursday. Then they called off school for Friday. Kids were excited for an early Spring Break…but Friday came and it was like a Category 1 Hurricane outside! but it wasn’t…it was just a storm with severe weather. The wind was whipping, the rain was going sideways, it was all day from evening to evening. We lost power at 11:30am and as I’m typing this on Saturday at 2:14pm, we still don’t have power so it has been now…27 hours. The food in my fridge is all bad by now. I’ve been throwing out things here and there. But I’m bummed because food is so expensive right now, not to mention gas…sigh…so it was QUITE a weekend. (Update on 3/15/26: power came back on at 11:30pm last night! Thank god!)

+ But my hubby and my son got to escape our power outage yesterday because they hopped on a plane to Osaka, Japan for Spring Break. I’m hoping the sun comes back out sometime this week so we can salvage my daughter’s Spring Break.

+ The power outage left me with just one thing I could really do because scrolling on social media ate up my phone battery. So I read a lot at least! Ebooks and physical books!

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

  • The Serpent’s Bride by. Kathryn Ann Kingsley
  • The Serpent’s Sin by. Kathryn Ann Kingsley
  • While You Were Seething by. Charlotte Stein
  • Seek the Traitor’s Son by. Veronica Roth
  • Tethered by. Elayna R. Gallea

Currently Reading:

  • Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan
  • The Thorn Queen by. Sasha Peyton Smith
  • The Summer of Second Chances by. K.L. Walther
  • Japanese Gothic by. Kylie Lee Baker

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Bruno Mars, The Romantic, is on repeat!

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

Weekly Wrap Up | 3/8/26

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ It’s wild times in the news these days and I’m losing myself in books because of it. 😞

+ I got caught in a lock down at my daughter’s school on Thursday. It was 5 minutes to the final ringing, I heard police sirens around the area, but that isn’t new. The school opened the side gate for parents to come in and then the bell started ringing, but 5 times. Teachers then were telling us parents to get inside a room because there was a lock down happening. I think my first thought was why are they doing a lock down drill 5 minutes prior to the end of school? No…the teacher or staff who had her walkie talkie said police were in pursuit of some guy and he climbed the fence at the front of the school. It barely lasted 10 minutes, but I had to text my son I’d be late to pick him up at his school (he was freaking out), and all I could think about was how I was so close to my daughter who was a building away yet still so far from her and I wanted to protect her. I did NOT like those thoughts…the police said they got him (I heard on the walkie), it was all clear but we had to wait for the all clear bell. Us parents went to our kids classrooms, and when my daughter’s teacher opened the door some of the boys ran out laughing but saying “whoa that was scary!”, and the girls…two girls were bawling their eyes out. Other girls had tear streaks and I just was anxious to see my daughter, saw her and she was okay and I gave her the biggest hug. As we walked through campus I saw girls with tears on their faces, I heard parents and grandparents explaining to kids how the school kept them inside to keep them safe. I heard a mom tell her daughter she almost cried (the mom).

My daughter seemed “fine” but I thought maybe it didn’t hit her yet? Because watching your classmates cry – I know it scared her – but she was trying to keep everything normal. In the car ride home, she said some of the kids grabbed their scissors, in case someone came through their barricaded door. These are 3rd graders! 😞. The were hiding under their desks trying to stay very quiet. 💔 At dinner time my daughter’s emotions spilled out – she was frustrated with something and then burst into tears. So we talked about it, I told her I was in the next building waiting to get to her and that I know how scary that was. I told her they did such a good job and the drills helped them prepare for a moment like this. This is their world…and it’s a scary one! I will say though, the school was very prepared and worked fast when that 5 bell system rang – especially because it was almost final bell, they got all of us parents into rooms and locked that door fast. I will say as parents in the room (4 of us and 2 staff) we failed at barricading the door. We didn’t do that at all. A parent even joked if we need to get under the table and we just did the nervous laugh thing.

Also, I gotta give it up to teachers and school staff. Their lives are on the line teaching in this day and age. I’m just glad everyone was safe and it wasn’t a worse situation! But it reminded me things can happen in the blink of an eye.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

  • Deathly Fates by. Tesia Tsai
  • The Shippers by. Katherine Center
  • Life: A Love Story by. Elizabeth Berg
  • Half City by. Kate Golden
  • Eternal in the Night by. Alayna Ravenwood

Currently Reading:

  • The Poison Daughter by. Sheila Masterson
  • Burn the Kingdom Down by. Annie Thorley
  • Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan
  • The Thorn Queen by. Sasha Peyton Smith

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Bruno Mars is on repeat – I gotta learn all the songs before the concert in 5 weeks! So excited!

+ Also Olivia Rodrigo made a cover of the song called The Book of Love – for the HELP (2) album created by War Child UK. War Child works in 14 countries – from Gaza to Ukraine, Lebanon to Sudan – to protect, educate, and stand up for the rights of children living through war. All proceeds and donations from HELP(2) support the War Child Alliance’s work around the world.

Check out the song below, it’s such a beautiful song 🥹 and don’t forget to give the album a listen!

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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Monthly Wrap Up | February 2026

Where January was a slow month, February went by in the blink of an eye! We had some wild weather this month, but we survived. Anyway, here’s what I read and posted in February.

I read 20 books and posted 24 book reviews in February.

Books I Read – 19 books

  1. She Drinks the Light by. Yasmin Angoe (arc)
  2. Mate by. Ali Hazelwood (audiobook)
  3. In Time With You by. Kristin Dwyer (arc)
  4. Lonely Hearts Day by. Kasie West (alc)
  5. The Sun and the Starmaker by. Rachel Griffin (alc)
  6. Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson
  7. The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson (audiobook)
  8. Toe to Toe by. Falon Ballard (arc)
  9. I, Medusa by. Ayana Gray
  10. In Your Dreams by. Sarah Adams (audiobook)
  11. Midnight on the Celestial by. Julia Alexandra (arc)
  12. The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao
  13. Caged by Fallen Crows: Part One by. Ava Larksen
  14. A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez
  15. First-Time Caller by. B.K. Borison (audiobook)
  16. The Library of Amorlin by. Kalyn Josephson (arc)
  17. Blood & Betrayals by. Jeanette Rose by. Alexis Rune
  18. The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by. Takuya Asakura
  19. Burn the Kingdom Down by. Addie Thorley (arc)
  20. Deathly Fates by. Tesia Tsai (arc & alc)


Reviews I Posted On My Blog: 24 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

Book Tags:

Birthstone Book Covers: February – Amethyst | 2026

Blog Tours:

Other:

Book Cover Reveal | Turncloak by. L.K. Steven

How was your month?

Weekly Wrap Up | 3/1/26

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ And like that February is gone and we are in March. Wow! My kids go on spring break in 2 weeks, which means my hubby and son will be going to stay at the house in Osaka, Japan.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

  • Blood & Betrayals by. Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune
  • The Library of Amorlin by. Jaclyn Josephson
  • Burn the Kingdom Down by. Addie Thorley
  • Caged by Fallen Crows by. Ava Larksen
  • A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez
  • The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by. Takuya Asakura

Currently Reading:

  • Deathly Fates by. Tesia Tsai
  • The Poison Daughter by. Sheila Masterson
  • Life: A Love Story by. Elizabeth Berg
  • Eternal in the Night by. Alayna Ravenwood

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Bridgerton Season 4:Part 2 – this part made me emotional and cry so much….oh my goodness. 😭. And it was so unexpected because Benedict is such a playful character and I love his fun relationship with Sophie so oh my…the emotional punch these episodes gave me…whew…I haven’t cried that much in a long, long, LONG time. The storyline is emotional interwoven with family, friendship and love. Season 2 was always my favorite because I love Jonathan Bailey and enemies to lovers but as far as story….season 4 is my favorite right now because of all the emotions. Also, it’s Cinderella vibes but EVER AFTER (one of my favorite movies) Cinderella vibes!! I love it.

+ Bruno Mars: The Romantic – another reason that made me emotional on the SAME DAY I watched Bridgerton…Bruno Mars’ new album dropped and that first song, “Risk it All”…made me cry AGAIN 😅…Thursday was an emotional day! It’s Mercury Retrograde isn’t it?! lol…Anyway I can’t wait to see and hear all these songs performed live in April – it will the first concert for both my kids also (ages 9 and 13).

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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Weekly Wrap Up | 2/15/26

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ We had a high wind event this past weekend, wind and rain which caused schools to close on Monday, but my kids already had that day off so their schools chose another day off, which was Friday – so lucky them they have a 4 day weekend. I’m glad because they are both trying to heal from being sick and I think this 4-day weekend will help a lot.

+ I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine’s Day if you celebrate. I get my kids Valentine’s now instead of my hubby because honestly? That man has everything 😅.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

  • I, Medusa by. Ayana Gray
  • The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson (audiobook)
  • The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao
  • In Your Dreams by. Sarah Adams

Currently Reading:

  • A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez
  • She Drinks the Light by. Yasmin Angoe (audiobook & ebook)
  • Caged by Fallen Crows by. Ava Larksen
  • First-Time Caller by. B.K. Borison
  • Midnight on the Celestial by. Julia Alexandra

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

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

Weekly Wrap Up | 2/8/26

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ Just getting through life while our country is in a dumpster fire! What else is new this year? 😒

+ Well my daughter started off the week with sniffles and then a cough, but no fever. Just figure it was allergies from our crazy weather of wind and vog (volcanic smoke), hot, cold, rain! So just had her start her Flonase – she’s still coughing but she’s much better now. My son had an itchy throat on Thursday and he had no school that day because it was a waiver day off. Friday I took him to urgent care because it was still itchy and uncomfortable – he had no fever, tested negative for strep and flu…so they said keep an eye on it and prescribed Tylenol and a cough expectorant. But he woke up yesterday with a 103 fever so his body is definitely something viral – I did a covid test on him and it’s negative also. 🤷🏻‍♀️. Both my kids have a three day weekend – lucky them, no school after the Super Bowl! But they are spending it trying to get better.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

  • Mate by. Ali Hazelwood (audiobook)
  • In Time with You by. Kristin Dwyer
  • Lonely Hearts Day by. Kasie West (audiobook)
  • The Sun and the Starmaker by. Rachel Griffin (audiobook)
  • Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson
  • Toe to Toe by. Falon Ballard

Currently Reading:

  • A Promise of Lies by. Claire Sager
  • A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez
  • She Drinks the Light by. Yasmin Angoe (audiobook)
  • I, Medusa by. Ayana Gray
  • The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson (audiobook)

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Today is the Superbowl – don’t really care who wins, I’m just there to watch Bad Bunny’s performance!

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

Monthly Wrap Up | January 2026

Why does January always feel like 90 days long? January started off nice with my daughter’s 9th birthday and then I don’t know what happened. The world going crazy, our government acting horribly – I had highs and lows all of January and I’m so tired of it.

My highs were my daughter’s birthday, and getting concert tickets for Bruno Mars and BTS. My lows? Everything else happening in this country – our country being run by crooks and offenders committing some heinous acts. This all happening in the first month of the New Year tells me what kind of year this is going to be. I am anxious.

As for books, I escaped into books. I worked through February arcs – I have more to complete. I took on reading some books by indie authors who have been finding me through this blog and tiktok.

I read 24 books and posted 26 book reviews in January.

Books I Read – 24 books

  1. A War of Wyverns by. S.F. Williamson (ALC)
  2. The Wicked and the Damned by. Rebecca Robinson (ARC)
  3. Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by. Emma Simmerman (ARC)
  4. Shadows & Secrets by. Arcadia Rayne (kindle unlimited)
  5. Stolen Midnights by. Katherine Quinn (ARC)
  6. Fallen Stars by. Imani Erriu (ARC)
  7. Songbird of the Sorrows by. Braidee Otto (ARC)
  8. The Cure by. Pedro Urvi (ARC)
  9. Love and Other Brain Experiments by. Hannah Brohm (ARC)
  10. Goodbye and Everything After by. Mae Coyiuto (ARC)
  11. Crown of War and Shadow by. J.R. Ward (ARC)
  12. Wicked Onyx by. Debbie Cassidy (ARC)
  13. Dragon Cursed by. Elise Kova
  14. Silk & Iron by. Alexis Calder (ARC)
  15. A Queen Crowned in Flames by. Hazel McBride (ARC)
  16. Second Chance Romance by. Olivia Dade
  17. Masquerade of Mirrors by. Samantha Hartwood (ARC)
  18. A Curse of Crimson Tears by. Julie J. Morris (kindle unlimited)
  19. Maybe This Once by. Sophie Sullivan (ARC)
  20. Heart of Mischief by. Emma Noyes (ALC)
  21. Fated Skates by. Victoria Schade (ALC)
  22. The Summer of Lost Things by. Jenn Bennett (ARC)
  23. Still Fighting by. Syianne Horne (ARC)
  24. Alchemy & Ashes by. Amy Yorke (kindle unlimited)


Reviews I Posted On My Blog: 26 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

Book Tags:

Birthstone Book Covers: January – Garnet | 2026

Blog Tours:

Other:

How was your month?