Wednesdays are for books

Welcome back to Wednesday’s are for books, a weekly post where I talk about what I've been reading this week.

A couple of weeks ago, a blogger I was reading mentioned that the book she was reviewing was an advance reader copy from Netgalley. I’ve heard of Netgalley around the place, so I checked it out and joined up. I figured that, due to regional restrictions and other factors, I would not get approved for many books. So I clicked “request now” on four books. Three of which I was accepted for. Clearly because I am a tastemaker! Now I have to read and review those books. Lesson learned, in future I will request books one at a time. Although who knows, maybe no one will send me books free books, ever again, so I’m definitely going to enjoy these.

The first book I read was a romance by Aria Hawthorne Closer.

And I guess, if I’m going to read ‘Billionaire Romance Novels” I won’t tear apart the entire genre. I really wanted there to be a “four stars if you like this kind of thing and two and a half if you don’t”. Awkward, and another lesson to me to choose carefully in the future.

This was my review:

This was a pleasant enough read, and well quite written. The main female character Inez was wonderfully sassy and vibrant. I found Sven, the lead male character, rather one dimensional. I think I’m feeling a little bit cynical today, so their love at first sight felt a little shallow to me.
I think this book would benefit from setting aside cynicism, particularly in relation to the idea of psychologically induced sight impairment.
This is a good, solid romance novel. It has some sexual content, but I wouldn’t say enough to have it in the category of “erotic romance”. Nothing against the book, it just seems slightly miscategorised.

Let me know in the comments if you are reading anything good this week!

Comments

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises.

Linky Wednesday - the one with the drama

The drama about the Stephen West MKAL continues, and I can't be bothered with it. It's meant to be a fun, interesting, communal knit and and that's not what this year has turned in to. Stephen has done his best in a difficult situation, but I'm just not feeling it. Meanwhile, Israel is at war, and we (as a country) are going to vote "no" on a referendum that asks for basic consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders. So yeah, lots of turmoil here. It's very tiring. I'm knitting a sock and considering what happens next. Luckily the reading was dramatic in a good way. I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of Last Summer at the Lake House and it's great. Super dramatic family drama about three sisters who loose their father unexpectedly and then find out that the family has secrets. I 've nearly finished it and I don't know what I'm going to read next. I've got a bit of a break between review books, so maybe Sta

Mussleburgh musings

I made a Mussleburgh hat earlier in the year, and even though I thought I was following the directions exactly it did not come out quite right. It was a little bit loose. My head is 51 cm, my gauge was 7 stitches, so according to the pattern I knit the right size. It's also a little bit shorter than I would like it. Too long for a beanie, too short for a good turn-up. I couldn't work out why. I still wore it, but it was not quite right. When I decided to knit one for Elise I knew I wanted to make it longer, and tighter. After I finished Elise's (with 24 fewer stitches) I realised something about mine: Now, this is a knit tube. I know how to knit tubes. When I make sleeves or socks, they don't balloon out in the middle. So I decided to reblock it. The instructions actually specifically say to fold it inside each other after blocking, but I probably folded it and dried it on my head, because that's how I block my hats. Not this time: Now it's longer and thinner

What I made, by Sharon

Search This Blog