Another two months have gone by. I have a hard time keeping up with the baby to take care of. Being a parent is the hardest thing I have ever done. It feels worth it, but it is definitely challenging. And I miss sleep sooooo much.
Otherwise, Gabriel is doing well. We had to find him a new daycare when his last one got suddenly shut down because the owners sold the building. It was really sad because we loved it there. Hopefully we will start making more connections at the new place. Luckily a couple of the teachers and kids from our last daycare are at the new one so we get to see some familiar faces sometimes.
Work has been challenging still. I struggle so much because I love my work, but none of my supervisors like me and I don't think I will ever advance or have opportunities other people on my team will. It strikes me as odd because I am generally very well-liked and respected by most people in my department and definitely by people outside of my department. That makes me feel better anyway and those are the people that I enjoy and stay for.
In other news, we also lost Ruthven. We'd been battling respiratory issues since we adopted him and he just couldn't fight anymore. It has been sad, but I am trying to find some companions for Varney. I don't want him to be alone if we can help it.
In good news, spooky season is coming! That is the best time of year, obviously. I hope to make a little post with spooky TBR or something next month, but we know how that goes for me. I should at least get an Instagram post up.
On that note, here are the books I read in July and August.
Title: What the River Knows
by Isabel Ibanez
Synopsis/Thoughts: Inez's parents spend more of their lives in Egypt than in Buenos Aires with her. Upon their sudden demise, Inez runs away to Egypt where her uncle is to uncover the secrets about her parents' lives and deaths. This was an Owlcrate book that I was interested in but took a while to get around to. I really enjoyed it and I am really looking forward to the next book. There was a bit of a cliffhanger that I need answers to!
4 stars out of 5 stars
by Kacen Callender
Narrator: Qamar Yochanan
Synopsis/Thoughts: After loosing this job, Charlie is forced to move back in with his mom in the small town he hoped he'd never return to. He also has not been back since he transitioned and he is sure it will be uncomfortable. Reconnecting with Jackson was a pleasant surprise. This story was fine, but I just didn't love it. I think the lack of communication to build drama is maybe overdone in this one? The story itself was quite sweet though.
2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
Title: Get A Life, Chloe Brown
by Talia Hibbert
Narrator: Adjoa Andoh
Re-read
3 stars out of 5 stars
Titles: The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, and The Serpent's Shadow
by Rick Riordan
Narrators: Katherine Kellgren and Kevin R. Free
Re-reads
4 stars out of 5 stars
Title: Of Jade and Dragons
by Amber Chen
Synopsis/Thoughts: Aihui Ying dreams of becoming an engineer and attending the Engineer's Guild university that her father went to. When her father is suddenly murdered, she heads out to learn more about his past and uncover his assassin. Which means disguising herself as one of her brothers and traveling to the capital. On the way, she encounters Aogiya Ye-yang, the eighth prince to the High Command. Ye-yang helps by entering Ying into the competition to gain entry to the Engineer's Guild. This was the June Owlcrate book and I participated in the read-a-long. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I really liked Ying and Ye-yang's relationship and reading about the challenges to get into the Engineer's Guild. I will probably read the next book.
3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
Title: Ruthless Vows
by Rebecca Ross
Synopsis/Thoughts: Iris has returned home from the front with her brother, but without Roman. Meanwhile Roman wakes up in Dacre's clutches with little to no memory of who he is. He is fortunate enough to reconnect with Iris, though he does not remember her at first, and he has to choose between her and being loyal to Dacre, who saved his life. I read the first book a while back and enjoyed it. I had to see how it ended. Overall I really liked this duology.
4 stars out of 5 stars
Title: Slow Dance
by Rainbow Rowell
Narrator: Rebecca Lowman
Synopsis/Thoughts: Shiloh and Cary were (maybe) supposed to end up together. They were best friends throughout high school. But now they are into their 30s. Shiloh is a divorced mother of two living with her mother and Cary is traveling the world as a member of the Navy. When they reconnect at the wedding of another good friend, can they change their lives to what they maybe should have been? This was Rainbow Rowell's most recent adult novel (I think she has only written two others, Attachments, which I really like, and Landline, which is one of my all-time favorites ever). I was excited to read it. There is something about the way she writes her adult characters that is intriguing to me. I loved this book.
4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
by Tobly McSmith
Re-read
5 stars out of 5 stars
Titles: The Foxhole Court, The Raven King, and
The King's Men by Nora Sakavic
Narrator: Alexander Cendese
Re-reads
4 stars out of 5 stars
I have no excuse... I guess these are becoming comfort reads for me. I made a playlist that is longer than it needs to be... I found the following on Tumblr and it feels fairly accurate and is also funny.
Title: Sleep Like Death
by Kalynn Bayron
Synopsis/Thoughts: Eve has trained all her life to defeat the Knight one day. The Knight is an evil monster who grants wishes in the worst possible way. Eve and her mother, the queen, are desperate to stop him. But then the queen starts secluding herself in her room and Eve hears her speaking to someone, though she must be alone. There must be more going on than Eve knows. This was the July Owlcrate book and I participated in the read-a-long for it. It was easy to get ahead of the daily reading goals. I really enjoyed this spin on the Snow White tale.
4 stars out of 5 stars
Title: Scavenge the Stars
by Tara Sim
Synopsis/Thoughts: Amaya was sold to a debtors ship as a young girl and will soon be free. Until she rescues a man found in the sea. He offers her riches and revenge if she will help him restore his name. If it means she can help the other children on the ship, she is all in. But things get a little murky when she befriends Cayo, the son of her target. This was an old Owlcrate book that I finally picked up. It was pretty good and I really liked Amaya and Cayo's relationship. I don't know that I will read the next book though.
3 stars out of 5 stars
Favorite book read in July/August: Slow Dance or Stay Gold
Least favorite book read in July/August: Sunset Springs
I have now read 48 books towards my goal of 75. I am still a touch behind, but I hope I will catch up now that we are getting into spooky season!
