Top Ten Tuesday: 26 May 2026

I have wanted to join in with that artsy reader girl for Top Ten Tuesday for so long. I'm finally taking a swing at it for this week's 'favorite books by favorite authors.' Be sure to visit her site to see others' picks too!

I'm purposely sharing mine before I go visiting, as I'm sure ya'll will show me more I forgot!

In no particular order:

When Women were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

God on a Harley by Joan Brady

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Calico by Lee Goldberg

Death of a Messenger by Robert McCaw

Law and Addiction by Mike Papantonio

The Ghostwing's Lie by Rebecca Mix

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

I reserve the right to change this list as needed - weekly, daily, even hourly. Going back into Goodreads for the links reminded me of different books/authors I may have wanted to include, but the graphic is made, and that's the hard part for me.

With that said, happy to chat more about any of these books - any time!

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - May 24, 2026: Rushing in to Summer

WOW! I feel like I've spent my first full week not on vacation, trying desperately to organize the rest of our summer. But it's okay, since I think I've almost been successful. LOL Things I've added to my calendar for my family for this summer (most added this week): band concert, 8th grade ceremony & celebration, two business trips, Freaky Friday performances, Pride and Prejudice auditions, no-PTO allowed days (per management), a mini bookcase craft class, Blue Lake performing arts camp, almost tickets to Jagged Little Pill (to be finalized this afternoon), leaving to return to college, graduation parties, theatre booster meeting, and payment schedules for so much of the above. Hahahaha.... The mental load is real.

While I'm getting a later start than usual, posting to the Sunday loop today was near the top of my priority list. I'm joining in with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Reviewer, and Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz. I would encourage you as well to poke your head into a few of the other blogs participating in these great linkups.

What I'm reading this week:

Honestly really excited that I got The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler back on Libby. I'm like 70% through the audio book, but my loan ran out months ago. Now I have 14 days to actually finish it. I'm also probably finishing my print copy of The Roaring Ridleys by K.M. Colley and have started Portrait of a Witch Undone by K.S. Shay on my kindle.

(Yes, I am still working through the other two audiobooks from last week, but I don't want this section to be a page on its own.)

Three Good Things:

1. I got another great Stitch Fix box! I ordered one last month for summery stuff to wear on the Maui trip with my husband. This month I asked for a little more business-y stuff so I can have something to wear besides fun graphic tees in case I get an interview or do something remotely professional at some point. I received six items and only returned one pair of slacks. I'm keeping two blouses, another pair of slacks, and two jackets.
2. Hubby is home for a couple weeks! Not gonna lie, there are pros and cons since he travels so much, but when I'm working 40 - 50 hours/week, an extra hand can be nice with all the end-of-middle-school activities this year. Luckily, my college-aged daughter helps out now since she's home, but I'd prefer she not have to schedule things that really are not her responsibility. (She is truly a saint who willingly helps.)
3. I've implemented a new plan to help out with running the house. I suspect I'm in the minority, but I greatly prefer cleaning up to coo
   king. I'm not a big eater (anxiety toys with my digestion a lot), and handling raw food makes me even less hungry. So I've asked everyone else living here to pick a night and what they want to make for dinner, and I'll get the ingredients and then clean up. This week hubs will make schnitzel, and my son is making breakfast for dinner (pancakes). They're also home earlier than me usually, so not having to come home and immediately start making dinner is a huge win for me.

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. I've been encouraged to set up an 'individual development plan' at work. It is intended to focus on one's personal and professional goals, that may not be part of our performance evaluation about company goals. I would like to focus on my writing. Doing more of it, improving it, and potentially finding some sort of market (contests? side gigs?). 
2. I installed a step counter on my phone, to try and focus on my health a bit more. I'm pretty sure menopause is kicking my ass. While I don't usually check my weight, when I got on a scale last week, it read a full 10 pounds heavier than the last time I remember looking. Eek!
3. Now that I've got my new computer up and kicking, I need to get caught up on some book reviews, and hopefully post more here on my blog. Also, more Yelp! reviews. 

Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - May 17, 2026: New Computer, Who Dis?

I'm not sure if I'd mentioned it before, but my computer was a lil finicky and old. I had continued paying the bills as needed, and trying to squeeze out a few blog posts, but after a steady decline, we reached the point where it was doing n o t h i n g. So I came home from work one day just before I had set aside extra spending money for my April and May vacations and said, "Nope! I deserve more peace in my life than this. Time for a new computer." After dinner, hubby and I went to Microcenter, and I bought the new computer. Whooooo doggie. What took me so long? Well, I anticipated the expense being way more than it was. But after just a few hundred dollars, I'm back among the online living.

And one of the first things I'm doing (after only a few book reviews, Yelp! reviews, and paying some bills) is joining Readerbuzz for the Sunday Salon, and Caffeinated Reviewer for the Sunday Post. I've missed ya'll SO MUCH!!

What I'm reading this week:

In the meantime, I've developed the questionable habit of reading at least four books at a time. LOL Besides my regularly scheduled print book for review (The Roaring Ridley's by K.M. Colley) and my kindle book for review (All the Mothers by Domenica Ruta), I've now added some books solely chosen at my whim. I listen to a non-fiction/motivational/memoir on my morning drive (currently Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten) and a fiction book on my way home (about half-way through Weyward by Emilia Hart right now).

Since I listen to music all day anyway, I think it's working out. I'm starting the day on a bit more of a positive note usually, and I'm getting to pick books just for the fun of it, instead of always plugging away at my endless review list. Unfortunately, I just got notification that like three more audio books from my hold list are ready (I'm playing an ostrich and sticking my head in the sand), and I only got three quarters of the way through Parable of the Sower and have to wait MONTHS for my turn to come around again...

Three Good Things:

1. In all honesty, I should write a few separate posts for my vacations. In April, first I spent three days in Chicago taking my son to the Hatsune Miku Expo, then my best friend flew in from New Jersey and we went to Northern Michigan University (NMU) to watch my daughter perform in 9 to 5. A couple weeks later, I drove back to NMU to pick up my daughter and bring her home, then hubs and I flew to Maui for a week to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary (our anniversary was in February, but we waited til our 'adult' daughter could be at home with our son). I now have 1.66 hours of PTO left. LOL
2. My kids are already cast in their next shows! My son is part of the teen ensemble in the Freaky Friday musical in Oxford at the end of June, and my daughter is Beulah in Come from Away at NMU in the fall.
3. Oh! I got new glasses finally too! In addition to updating my lenses for the first time in a couple years, I got a Pair base, with switchable magnetic 'tops' including sunglasses so I don't have to carry a big ole glasses case in a purse. So I'll be getting a new purse, since the tops take up so little room :)

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. Review more of my trip stuff on Yelp! I've got tons of reviews up, but most are from years ago. I want to be more consistently reviewing, and all my recent travels give me lots of places to review. 
2. Complete more book reviews! I've got another half dozen or so books that I've finished reading, but need to complete my reviews and send them to Books I Think You Should Read. And then sort of the subset on this goal is to review all my emails from her and pick more books to review. Too much reading - my favorite kind of problem!
3. Order our new door wall!! For the last few years, we haven't had a screen door onto our deck (the old one got lost while hubs and his buddy tore off the old deck, and then the 'universal' replacement didn't fit). For 'just' a few grand, I can get the new fancy door with the blinds inside it, and a screen door, installed! They came and did the measurement part while hubs and I were gone, so I can order the new door and probably have it installed in a month or so as a surprise while hubs travels for work - Happy Father's Day!

The Gallery Assistant - Book Review

The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli
Publication: October 14, 2025
Pages: 288 pages
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆
Sweet Spark: Chloe is trying to ignore the traumatic events of September 11, but working near the dark side of the New York art world may not let her.

Chloe knew people were saying she drank too much, but they weren't there, and no one - literally no one - knew about what she had been through on September 11. She was fine, and she was getting through it. At least this was what she thought, til she woke up at home the morning after a party she had to attend at the home of an artist being represented by the gallery where she worked., with no memory of getting there. Afraid it's her own fault for drinking too much, Chloe decides to keep quiet.

While she's felt off kilter since the fall of the twin towers, it takes Chloe a little time to recognize that the suspicious events in her personal life are escalating, and she isn't sure who she can trust. This topsy-turvy thriller eventually does reveal Chloe's personal 9/11 story, and it is not as involved in the current mystery as the reader is led to believe.

Overall, the book earned 3 out of 5 stars. For as emotionally evocative as September 11 is for everyone who was an adult or close to it at that time, it's really not as big a deal to the plot as the blurb may lead readers to believe. The somewhat surface treatment of the intricacies of fine art crime in the plot left a few questions unanswered, but the story's time period and interesting characters kept the book an enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free electronic copy of this book. Receiving the book for free did not influence this review.

The Fox and the Devil - Book Review

The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White
Publication: March 10, 2026
Pages: 350 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆☆
Sweet Spark: These characters were so engaging - in a good and evil way.

Anneke has made it her life's mission to avenge her father's death. He was a vampire hunter, and she saw Diavola leaving the scene of her father's death.

Through her investigations, she has become a valuable resource for the police, as she sees things others don't notice. But even most of her co-workers don't know why she continues working these complicated and suspicious deaths. Although many victims appear to be dead by their own hands, Anneke knows there's more to it, and she is determined to find the devil behind it all, and stop her. 

The discoveries and adventure she finds with those who also choose to join in her cause make for a very compelling book. The setting is gorgeous, and the descriptions of the world fair as told by Anneke, her friends, and the devil are amazing.

This stunning tale earns 4 out of stars, and may even be worth a re-read to pick up on even more detail in the characters, the plot, and the beautiful scenes.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of the electronic release of this great book. Receiving it for free did not influence my review. 

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - January 25, 2026: Another Cold One

Wow. I'm spending an extra few minutes staring at a blank screen this morning. There's a lot. Especially murders of American citizens in the streets, kidnapping of children, and considering relations with beloved family members who voted for this. 

But then, the 'every day.' Is 'rage' becoming my new personality, even while I do nothing but work, take care of my family, follow the news, and share the angry knowledge I see?

How long can this go on? Will we see the end, or will I breakdown completely long before that? How do we all keep going??

I try to keep on keeping on. I've been advised to have a better attitude at work, and I know my immediate family deserves a better version of me. So I attempt to compartmentalize. Set it aside for a spell, write a blog post, do the laundry, maybe some LEGO and read a book, make dinner, and sleep to do it all again?

So much for my 100 percent participation! Hahaha... Today, I'll be joining some great bloggers on our weekend reviews for Sunday Post with Caffeinated Reviewer, and Sunday Salon with Readerbuzz. 

What I'm reading this week:

I'm currently reading Just by Looking at Him by Ryan O'Connell in print. Probably not going to be on my favorite book list, but it passes the time. I don't relate to any of the characters, really, and this is a book of characters more than specific plot. I'll finish it; it's interesting. But it has an audience that probably was never meant to be me. On my kindle, I'm on to the second book of the Ryan Tapia series by Thomas E. Ricks. I finished Everyone Knows but You last weekend, and I'm now reading We Can't Save You. I'll probably go right into Big Money, Small Town after this one. I enjoy them and they're quick reads. Once I'm done and have reviewed all three, there will be a giveaway (I think for the third book) on Books I Think You Should Read.

Three Good Things:

1. Josh & Jase! If you haven't seen these British influencers in your timeline, go find them. ESPECIALLY if you're in Michigan or any cold climate. They're learning the hard way in the Upper Peninsula this weekend. Since my girls' weekend in April will be to Marquette, it was super fun to see them visiting places I'll be to (or have been to) soon-ish!!
2. Since my last post, our son got a role in a local theatre's musical production of Legally Blonde Jr! He's enjoying meeting the rest of the cast and crew, and the production is in March. He's Winthrop, one of the Harvard Admissions dudes.
3. While it's bitterly cold and we're under another winter storm watch today and into tomorrow, daylight is at least getting longer since it's past the solstice. I messaged hubs my dinner grocery list so I can hopefully stay home today (he's already out for brunch with friends). Fingers crossed that he sees it in time so I can stay here and hunker down again.

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. If I do get to hunker down, it would be a great time to do a bigger goals list/vision board for 2026, right?
2. I have one LEGO set from the holidays that I haven't done yet. My daughter got me the Orchid botanical set that I have yet to assemble.
3. Once I get paid this weekend, I get to book the room for my bestie and I to take our girls' weekend in April!!! Not like I'll forget, but I'm really excited, so it's on the list.

The Bewitching - Book Review

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Publication: July 15, 2026
Pages: 359 pages
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆☆☆
Sweet Spark: Minerva learned everything she could from Nana Alba and the fate of Beatrice Tremblay. Will it be enough to save her?

The three timelines linked by an eventually common evil were so intriguing. Minerva grew up caring for her Nana Alba in Mexico. Her love of reading and literature leads her to graduate school in Massachusetts, where she is studying Beatrice Tremblay, a little known author of macabre tales who met with a mysterious end. As one of the scholarship students at the fancy private college, not much effort was put in to finding if she ran off with one of the young men doing maintenance at the school, returned to her family across the country, or met with a tragic end. Minerva feels that finding out is an important part of her thesis about Beatrice Tremblay as an author.

Through her solitary research during the summer term, Minerva finds that another student may have previously been looking at the same books and stories as Beatrice. Oddly enough, no one knows where he moved on to when he unexpectedly dropped out. 

Minerva is sure that the key is a rich old woman nearby who was in school with Beatrice. Luckily her grandson is in school with Minerva and arranges an introduction. Can the old woman's suggestions help Minerva find what happened to Beatrice, and more about the writing and drawing she produced before she disappeared??

While one part of Nana Alba's story of her youth gave big ick vibes, pushing through that was worth it to connect the stories of the characters. The book earned 5 out of 5 stars and would be recommended to those who enjoy gothic and historical fiction, and strong female characters. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my electronic copy of this book. Receiving the book for free did not influence my review.