Very interesting was reading about space since I watched the Apollo movie so I will be reading a lot of books about it this summer

Absolutely devoured this read. Made driving to the grocery store so much easier! Definitely will recommend this listen to a fellow book nerd

Dorian's mother died in torment in a 19th century asylum -- per his grandfather's orders. Okay, maybe the old earl didn't actual order the torment, but he probably approved of it. Because he did not approve of Dorian's mother. Or of Dorian, for that matter. Dorian seems afflicted with the same wasting brain disease that lead to said torment and death. And with the old earl and most of the rest of the family now dead, it's up to Dorian to marry and ensure an heir. Fortunately Gwen is interested in medicine even she can't be a doctor. If she marries Dorian she'll have access to his wealth to build her own hospital and her very own dying madman patient to study. The Mad Earl's Bride is fun, fast-paced, and silly.

People traveled in the 12th-15t centuries. Merchants sought new markets, diplomats finagled treaties, and anyone who could get the necessary funding and permissions took religious pilgrimages. Bale explores the most common holy and trade routes based on what the travelers wrote in journals and guidebooks. It is very interesting, but too limited. Bale points out several times that Christians (Roman and Eastern/Greek), Muslims, and Jewish pilgrims visited many of the same places in Constantinople and Jerusalem. We only have the Christian, and almost exclusively Western European Christian, stories. One small chapter near the end follows Asian travelers’ adventures in the west. Ma Huan (Chinese Muslim), Het’um (Armenian Christian), and Rabban Bar Sauma (Christian Mongol) don’t represent the majority of nonEuropeans. A broader range of viewpoints and less personal commentary from the author would improve the book.

I love reading classics from my childhood!

Second book in the Shady Hollow Mysteries. Imagine animal characters like those of The Wind in the Willows in a cozy mystery series. Reporter Vera Vixen is on the case when the rabbits dig up a skeleton along with a dead apple tree. To her skunk of a boss old bones equals old news. Her beau, constable Orville Bruin, orders her off of the investigation. A slinky new mink in town seems to have Orville’s attention while the gossip columnist vents her professional jealousy.

Love the book great storyline

Dowager Queen Ravenna has ruled through subtle and not-so-subtle manipulation of her late husband and now her son. King Roland hated his father and fears his mother. Queen Falaise, alternately bullied and ignored by men, might be a lot than more than anyone realizes. Denzel is Roland’s cousin and closest friend, but where do his loyalties really lie? Kade Carrion, Queen of Air and Darkness and Roland’s illegitimate older sister, returns to court. Is she part of the plot to kill the royals and use the fae to start a war with the neighboring kingdom? Years of distrust separates the family. They might survive if they work together.

This is always an ongoing read for me. I bought the special edition from b&n years ago and read it with my teen and tween

An intimate charity auction on a secluded estate. A storm. A murder. It’s straight out of a Christie novel — or the multiplayer game, Murderscape, designed by Addie. Addie is her grandmother’s plus one to the party. There’s something odd with her grandmother, beyond the murder, but Addie is living her Nancy Drew dream chasing clues and interviewing suspects. This Is Not a Game is fun fluff at times, annoying fluff at others. I’m pretty sure the author has never lost electricity due to a storm. She definitely overestimates how much one candle can light up a large room in a blackout.