Romeo and Juliet (one of my least favorite plays) set in the forest community of Shady Hollow. He’s a hardworking otter, she’s a (former) beaver heiress. Their parents can’t agree on much, but do believe the couple need to split up. The otter patriarch dies during a very dramatic, very public fight at the top of Twilight Falls. Vera Vixen, reporter, is as horrified as everyone else, but she’s the only one who feels the whole scene was . . . wrong. All clues and an anonymous note point to the young beaver lass. But her beau insists they were together in the woods and surely he wouldn’t lie to protect his father’s killer.

Steve Smith is recently out of prison. He’s sworn he’s not going back to his old life, not going back to prison again. He has an adult son he’s never met. And Steve has memories of the book he found on a bus that led to a favorite teacher disappearing when he was 14. We follow Steve through transcripts of recorded notes he left on his phone. Because in trying to find out what happened to Miss Iles (or “missiles” per the transcription software) Steve falls down the vast Twyford Code conspiracy rabbit hole. Was Twyford just a children’s author? Or a spy who hid messages to other WWII spies in her books? Maybe she was a double agent? Did she help the Nazis steal Britain’s gold reserves? Or did she save the gold via bluffs and double bluffs? Her code (does it even exist?) leads to the stolen (or possibly saved) gold. Or to a supervirus and it’s vaccine. Or aliens. Or it’s the biggest internet conspiracy hoax ever. Who knows what? Who’s lying about what they know? And what did happen to Miss Iles in 1983?

I loved the movie and didn’t realize there was a book. I loved all the added detail in the book!!!!!

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.

If I could read this over again for a first time I would. Riveting and keeps you sucked in the whole time. Absolutely love this authors writing. I will be looking for more from her.

BBC radio asked C. S. Lewis to talk about Christianity and morality for the everyman after the worldwide destruction of WWII. Lewis describes himself as an amateur Christian unable to debate the finer points of higher theology. His focus is more being a good person and living an ethical, and what that means for Christians and non-Christians. Mere Christianity is the printed version of those radio chats.

A new (or old) sentient spaceship is bringing a murder mystery fan convention to Eternity. Mallory’s agent signed her up to give the keynote speech and participate in a murder LARP. But bringing that many humans into Mallory’s orbit guarantees there will be a real murder, one that only Mallory can solve. The untrustworthy space wasps are back in the third Midsolar Murders book. Also a toddler sentient ship, the birth of a Gneiss, human-alien fusion cuisine, and all (okay just 85%) of the internet downloaded, backed up, and made real(ish).

I loved the fact that tom umhanks was the voice of this book kept in this used ………………………………….,,………..

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.

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