Tag: reading

WWW Wednesday | 2/18/26

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

My kiddos had a 4 day weekend so it felt like a mini-break which was much needed since my kids were getting over an illness. I can’t believe we are in the 3rd week of February!

What are you currently reading?

She Drinks The Light by. Yasmin Angoe – arc – 5%

Midnight on the Celestial by. Julia Alexandra – 35%

First-Time Caller by. B.K. Borison – audiobook – 76%

A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez – chapter 3

What have you just finished reading?

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 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Caged by Fallen Crows: Part One by. Ava Larksen – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

A Whisper of Winds and Leaves by. M.B. Reese

The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by. Takuya Asakura

Life: A Love Story by. Elizabeth Berg

Half City by. Kate Golden

What are YOU reading right now?

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!

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Let’s Talk Bookish:  Romance Books | 2/13/26

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.

This week’s topic is:

February 13: Romance Novels

Prompts: It’s almost Valentine’s Day, which means that the most popular book genre is bigger than ever! Do you like to read romance novels? Who are your favourite fictional couples? Which characters from different books or series do you think would be perfect for each other?

**********

Do you like to read romance novels?

I love romance novels – it’s the genre that got me started reading when I was in my teen years. Most of the books I read are romance – whether it’s romantasy, fantasy with romance, contemporary romance, historical romance….yes, I love romance!

Who are your favourite fictional couples?

Yikes…this is a hard one and I don’t know which type of romance we are talking about here so it’s going to be RANDOM choices because there are so many I love but I can’t remember them all, so here are some that just are kinda memorable to me as I scroll through my blog posts😅:

  • Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, of course…Pride and Prejudice by. Jane Austen
  • Daphne and Miles – Funny Story by. Emily Henry
  • Vanka and Emeric – Little Thieves by. Margaret Owen
  • Guinevere and Oskar – Tusk Love by. Thea Guanzon

Which characters from different books or series do you think would be perfect for each other?

This is an even harder question and I have no brain capacity for this 😅.

February 2026 Topics:

February 6: Reading with Friends

Prompts: Do you enjoy buddy reading or participating in group reads? If you do, what do you like most about them? Do you prefer reading 1-1 or in a big group? For those who might not have access to in-person group reads, do you have a recommendation about where to join online reading groups?

February 13: Romance Novels

Prompts: It’s almost Valentine’s Day, which means that the most popular book genre is bigger than ever! Do you like to read romance novels? Who are your favourite fictional couples? Which characters from different books or series do you think would be perfect for each other?

February 20: What do you collect besides books? (Suggested by Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: Do you own a lot of books? Do you think of yourself as a book collector? Outside of reading, do you have any other hobbies that involve collecting things? What would you love to have a collection of?

February 27: Reading Star Ratings

Prompts: This topic is inspired by Krysta @ Pages Unbound, who posted about it earlier this year. How do you read star ratings from other bloggers/readers? Do you consider star ratings seen on a book blog, Bookstagram, or BookTok differently from ratings on sites like Goodreads? How much does a star rating affect your decision to purchase/borrow/read a book, and does it depend on who/where the star rating comes from?

WWW Wednesday | 2/11/26

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

My kids were sick over the weekend and then we had a stormy weekend. It actually got COLD in Hawaii and when I say cold it was 59-62 degrees on Saturday. I was freezing 🥶. I did get some reading done, all my audiobooks on hold on Libby came through 🤦🏻‍♀️….so yes I’ve been trying to finish them so I can work on March arcs.

Also did you watch the Superbowl? The game wasn’t very exciting – I kind of tuned out, and the commercials were awful – what happened to fun and funny commercials of the past? 😩 So not even the commercials kept me entertained. The Bad Bunny halftime show was so good though 10/10 no notes! I was dancing! I loved how his set showed community – I loved the people who were the bushes and I loved seeing the elderly people during the show also. It was so good!

What are you currently reading?

I, Medusa by. Ayana Gray – chapter 16

Dawn in Ruins by. Magda Mizzi – Chapter 1 – no progress – I don’t think I can read this one only because I believe it’s a spin-off from a series I never read. So I’m just going to do a spotlight of the book.

She Drinks The Light by. Yasmin Angoe – audiobook – 1% – the alc copy I have has the audio cutting out or just not working for certain chapters so I will have to switch to the ebook.

The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson – 89% – audiobook

The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao – 34%

Midnight on the Celestial by. Julia Alexandra – 5%

What have you just finished reading?

Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (arc)

Mate by. Ali Hazelwood – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (audiobook)

The Sun and the Starmaker by. Rachel Griffin – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (alc)

Toe to Toe by. Falon Ballard – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (arc)

What are you going to read next?

A Whisper of Winds and Leaves by. M.B. Reese

The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao

A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez

First-Time Caller by. B.K. Borison

What are YOU reading right now?

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!

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WWW Wednesday | 2/4/26

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

What are you currently reading?

Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson – 30%

I, Medusa by. Ayana Gray – chapter 2 – no progress

Dawn in Ruins by. Magda Mizzi – Chapter 1 – no progress

Mate by. Ali Hazelwood – audiobook – 43%

She Drinks The Light by. Yasmin Angoe – audiobook – 1%

What have you just finished reading?

In Time With You by. Kristin Dwyer – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (arc)

Alchemy & Ashes by. Amy Yorke – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Summer of Lost Things by. Jenn Bennett – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (arc)

Lonely Hearts Day by. Kasie West – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (alc)

Dawn of the North by. Demi Winter – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (arc)

What are you going to read next?

A Whisper of Winds and Leaves by. M.B. Reese

The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao

A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez

What are YOU reading right now?

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 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

  • Version 1.0.0

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?

Weekly Wrap Up | 2/1/26

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ Another week down and it’s now – FEBRUARY. Why does January always feel like the slowest and yet fastest month ever? January was torture. Today I have to take my kiddos to Sunday school since my hubby was called into work – during a govt shutdown of course. What else is new?! 🤦🏻‍♀️

+ My goal this week was to catch up on blog posts, reviews, and finishing my February arcs. I have one more arc to finish for February! But yes, just trying to get back on schedule.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

  • A Curse of Crimson Tears by. Julie J. Morris
  • Dawn of the North by. Demi Winters
  • Goodbye and Everything After by. Mae Coyiuto
  • Fated Skates by. Victoria Schade (audiobook)
  • Alchemy & Ashes by. Amy Yorke
  • Still Fighting by. Syianne Horne
  • The Summer of Lost Things by. Jenn Bennett

Currently Reading:

  • A Promise of Lies by. Claire Sager
  • Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson
  • A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez
  • She Drinks the Light by. Yasmin Angoe (audiobook)
  • I, Medusa by. Ayana Gray
  • Mate by. Ali Hazelwood (audiobook)
  • In Time with You by. Kristin Dwyer

*what is with these dark book covers? Such a somber palette! I’m excited that I got to read some books with some orange in the cover. I

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Heated Rivalry (HBO Max) – episode 3-5 – I loved Hunter and Kip’s episode! 🥺
  • The Wrecking Crew (Amazon Prime Video) – I don’t usually watch action movies these days but my cousin is in this movie as an extra so I had to watch it! It has Jason Momoa in it. It was fun to see my cousin in like 3 quick scenes.
  • Bridgerton Season 4 (part 1 – Netflix) – the Cinderella of it all?! I read the books so long ago I don’t remember much of them but remember all the historical romance tropes. But this season has so much romance?! I am loving it. I love Benedict and Sophie but also…hello Violet? (his mom – loved her story too!). And the villain Lady Penwood – UGH she’s so evil and good at 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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WWW Wednesday | 1/28/26

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

I am working on arcs from NetGalley but also arcs from indie authors! Glad to be supporting the indie authors and I wish I can read everyone’s book, but I can’t. 😅. But I’m trying to fit them into my reading schedule by requesting less from NetGalley. Now if only I can fit my physical TBR into my schedule lol – reader problems!!

What are you currently reading?

Dawn of the North by. Demi Winter – 33% – this one has such heavy world-building, I had to try to remember this big cast of characters but it is finally flowing for me!

Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson – 12%

I, Medusa by. Ayana Gray – chapter 2

The Summer of Lost Things by. Jenn Bennett – 31%

Dawn in Ruins by. Magda Mizzi – Chapter 1 – let’s try this one again, and see if I can finish it this time. I wasn’t in the mood for it during the holidays.

What have you just finished reading?

A Curse of Crimson Tears by. Julie J. Morris– ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Masquerade of Mirrors by. Samantha Hartwood – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (arc)

Goodbye and Everything After by. Mae Coyiuto – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (arc)

Maybe This Once by. Sophie Sullivan – ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (arc)

Second Chance Romance by. Olivia Dade – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Still Fighting by. Syianne Horne – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (arc)

Fated Skates by. Victoria Schade – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (alc – audiobook)

What are you going to read next?

A Whisper of Winds and Leaves by. M.B. Reese

The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao

A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez

Mate by. Ali Hazelwood

What are YOU reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 1/25/26

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:

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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