Knitting, Sci-fi and other stuff...

5★ 3🌶 I finished Reign of Stars and Fire by LJ Andrews last night.  Wow!  I think this has been the best book in the series so far.  It was intense.  The pacing was amazing.  The MMC Ari had been put into a fae sleep at the conclusion of the previous book and the FMC Saga had flown away to the Western Kingdom in search of Calista.  All of LJs books are duel POV which I think is probably my personal favorite setup.  Ari had to go on a journey essentially while he was in his fae sleep.  He traveled through the past and figured out how a bunch of the overarching plot points fell together.  It connected all the stories from the previous seven books.  Each of the chapters ended in peril and then switched back to the other POV.  It felt more like a thriller almost, but I loved it.  I had a hard time putting the book down, because I needed to know what happened next.  So much happened in this book.  I'm not sure how or if t...

  5★ 3🌶 I finished Den of Blades and Briars by LJ Andrews.  This is book seven in the nine book series The Broken Kingdoms.  This book is fabulous.  This whole series is fabulous.  There are four kingdoms North, East, South and West.  There are Fae, humans and all other sort of creatures.  The magic system is very complex but is explained and compounded upon with each subsequent book.  The complex and detailed world that Andrews has built is really like no other fantasy world I've read about.  The Viking influence is very strong and apparent.  The fairy tale re-tellings take a back seat to the complex plots in each of these.  This book in particular follows Ari to the Southern Kingdom where he has been charged to oversee the preparation of vows between Gunnar and Eryka.  Gunnar is the son of Valen's sister and Malin's brother.  Eryka is from the Southern Kingdom.  All of these people and their stories are very intert...

4.5★ 2🌶      I finished Guarded Treasure by Mae Lovette.  It was good but it didn't blow me away.  I enjoyed it overall.  I think the plot was decent.  It slowed the book down a little when the two MCs went back to Cairo to look for more information on the tomb.  I expected all the action to take place at the tomb and surrounding area, but why should it have, that assumption was on me.  The whole story came together nicely I think.  The only part I didn't quite care for was the jealously factor from Ben when he finds out Edith has an "engagement of convenience".  She shouldn't have needed to explain to him that being a woman in the 30s necessitated some sort of relationship with a man so that she could move about in social circles freely, but whatever.  They communicated with each other about it so it didn't become a huge sticking point for too long. One of my most hated tropes is miscommunication.  I did like that a good...

      I actually have a crafting update this week.  I started a pair of fingerless mitts last Sunday.  I have made some progress on them and took a picture. Pattern is  Timeline Mitts  and its free.  I'm using more Malabrigo Sock leftovers.  These are the five colors I used in both my Get a Shift On! shawls, so they'll match both.  Although I haven't decided yet if I'm keeping the second one for myself.  There isn't really enough contrast with the Abril, Anniversario and the Eggplant main color.  The other two colors; Solis and Indiecita contrast well.  I'm still really liking how these are coming out.  Because its all sock weight these are going to take me a while but that's okay.       I've been posting book reviews as I finish the books.  I finished A Soul to Keep and I'm nearly finished with Guarded Treasure.  My review of A Soul to Keep is here .  I'm not sure what I'll start ne...

  5 ★ 3🌶 I finished A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne last night.  This was my first foray into Monster Romance, so I don't really have anything else to compare it to.  It was pretty spicey.  I waffled between giving it another pepper.  The scenes are quite descriptive, long and there is a good amount of it.  Overall the book was good.  The story was interesting, there was a ton of world building.  The FMC is an outcast in her village, so when it's time to choose the next sacrifice for the Duskwalker who comes to collect once every decade she's the obvious choice.  Her choices are go with this Duskwalker willingly or spend the rest of her life in the underground cell in the village.  She chooses the Duskwalker.  Duskwalkers are a type of demon, but who can be out in daylight.  They are attracted to the smell of fear; it makes them go into a frenzy and they eat humans.  Luckily for Reia, she fears very little.  The Duskwal...

      I finished Stitches and Witches by Nancy Warren last evening.  This was book two in the Vampire Knitting Club series.  It was another quick and cozy installment, perfect for spooky season.  Lucy and the crew work to solve a murder mystery.  It was good.  It has a serial feel to it just like the first one and it was fast paced.  I noticed that the author repeated key information and events from the first book.  I personally found this a bit annoying since I had just finished the first book, however I could see this would be handy if there had been a good amount of time between reads.  I do plan to read more of these serials eventually.  But I'm going back to heavier reads and I'll come back to these when I need a palate cleanser.          I started A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne last evening.  This one is about a young lady who is given to a Duskwalker, a type of demon essentially as a sacr...

      I finished City of Snakes by Mariet Kay.  It was a 5 star read for me.  There will be another book in the series, so it ended with plot points still needing to be resolved.  It was fabulous though.  This book and Born of Starlight are comfort style reads for me.  They have just what I personally like.  Fairy tale re-telling, engaging and witty characters.  Good banter between the love interests, friendships, found family, magic/fantasy elements, world building and a nice amount of spice that doesn't detract from the story.  I'm excited for the third book to come out.  I got the feeling as I was reading CoS that the next one will be a sleeping beauty re-telling.   As soon as I finished City of Snakes, I started the book I got in the Favorite Things swap; The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren.   This was a cozy paranormal episodic read.  It was quick and fun and another 5 star read for me. ...

     I did some crafting this past week!  I sewed two bags for the Halloween Swap I was in.  So if you're my swap partner stop reading this right now, unless you've already gotten your package.  She likes purple and sugar skulls so I tried to lean toward that vibe with my fabric selections. outside inside I used some Singer fabric bundles I had picked up at Joann last fall.  I'm impressed with the quality of the fabric.  I did look to see if I can get Singer fabric anywhere else and I found it on Amazon, so that's a nice plus.  I'm really pleased with how this bag came out. She also likes The Nightmare Before Christmas, so I picked up some Jack Skellington fabric from Walmart and made a decent sized notions bag.  It's about 10x10 (inches) so I think it could also be used for really small projects or for circular needle storage.  In hindsight, I wish I would have added a loop tab on one of the sides to help with zipper closure, but I...

    Another week of reading and zero crafting here.  I wrote a review post earlier in the week for The Garnet Daughter and Where the Tide Meets the Sand.  That post is  here .  I followed up those two reads with a req I found on Instagram.  I wish I could remember which account that req came from.  I finished Born of Starlight by Mariet Kay last evening.   This was a loose Rapunzel retelling and the debut novel from this author.  It was really really good; I enjoyed it.  The FMC Asterie is an immortal enchantress and oracle who lives a secluded life in a tower in the Central Corridor.  There are 5 corridors total and each kingdom is advised by its corresponding immortal enchantress.  Asterie has never ventured out of her tower before but when she sees a prophesy foretelling the attack on her kingdom she decides she must act.  She corresponds with her queen who sends her most trusted Constable, Emmerick, to escort...

       Alright, book reviews ahead, that will contain spoilers so read on with caution.   First up; The Garnet Daughter by Katrina Calandra.  This is book three in the Viridian Priestess series.   I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Reader Copy.  It will be published on September 26th (tomorrow).  This is part of a series and the first two books need to be read first.   This book follows Calliape and August.  Since this isn't out yet I won't do a play by play quite yet.  I gave this book 5⭐s and a 3 on the spice scale.  The author describes the worlds of these books to be Star Wars meets The Witcher.  I can definitely see that as a good basic description but they are soo much deeper than that.  It's science-fiction romance.  The main tropes in this book in particular are friends-to-lovers, forced proximity (so so much forced proximity) and found-family.  The pace is, I would say, medium....

     I started and finished Broken by Daylight by Elizabeth Helen this week.  This is book four in the Beast of the Briar series.  It's a fantasy why choose; very loosely based on Beauty and the Beast.  It's also a multi POV which makes it interesting.  This series is probably one of the more spicy that I've read.  It can get fairly repetitive in places but the authors do a pretty good job of giving each prince a unique personality.  There are quite a bit of in world politics and dynamics at play.  In the previous books quite a bit of action happened in the last 50 to 100 pages and then ended on a cliffhanger.  This one was no different.  I finished the book last evening an am still rolling over all the implications.  I'm truly worried about several of these characters.  I'm really hoping the authors don't kill off a couple of these main characters. I read this book while I waited for The Garnet Daughter by Katrina Ca...

    I didn't do any crafting what so ever this past week.  We had my parents and brother over for lunch on Sunday.  I cooked up some of the green beans from my garden that I had frozen.  They were very good.  We had a nice meal and it got one of the two turkeys out of the freezer.  When I was going to work Friday morning I noticed one of our neighbors had put a fridge or stand-up freezer out by the road with a free sign on it.  I called my husband immediately and told him where I had seen it.  He grabbed it right away.  It's an upright freezer from probably the 60s or 70s so it's solid.  We put it in the garage and moved the few things that were left in the "middle" chest to that one so the chest freezer could be defrosted and cleaned.  We're still waiting for the new one we ordered from Lowe's.  They know its been shipped but have no idea where it is.  At one point they thought it was in Pennsylvania; then they thoug...

     I didn't get any crafting done this week.  I did receive my swap package from the My Favorite Things swap.  Here's what I received: An ample stack of fabric squares.  Most are knitting related, the rest coordinate well.  A book that looks interesting, The Vampire Knitting Club, one of my favorite candies, a skein of Alpaca yarn in a glorious color and cat chair feet.  My daughter commandeered a couple of them already.  I'm going to put a set on the clothes chair in the bedroom.  All in all it was a fun swap.  I also signed up for the Halloween Mini and got my partner assignment.  I've got some ideas brewing for that one.      Since my knitting mojo still hasn't returned despite the change in weather, I picked up a book (kindle) series instead.  About two years ago I read an excellent science fiction romance; The Viridian Priestess.  I know I talked about it.  It was my favorite boo...

    Not much to report this week.  I didn't do much crafting.  I finished the swap, got it packaged up and mailed out.  It should have arrived to my recipient yesterday.  I'll share what I made.  The theme was Favorite Things.  She likes the colors pale yellow and deep dark red and dragons, so I went all out with the dragons.  I chose  Dragon Scale Mitts  for the handmade item.  I used Madeline Tosh Sport in the Tart colorway.   My camera doesn't really do this colorway justice.  It has more depth in real life.  I think they came out nicely though. I was able to find dragon fabric at The Quilt Shop.  I made a reversible project bag. I paired each dragon fabric with one of her favorite colors.  Liara really liked the dragon fabric as well.  I'm probably going to get some more when I go again.  I also sent some stationary items and a bunch of Swedish Fish, which were also things she had req...

     I did some crafting this week, but it was all for the swap.  I was nearly out of interfacing so I ran over to The Quilt Shop in Watertown.  I'd been there once a couple of years ago and thought their prices were very good considering they are independent and Joanne and Hobby Lobby were both in Watertown at the time.  They have really expanded and have a tremendous selection.  They have more novelty type fabrics now, which is what I prefer for my bags, so I will be going there much more often.... probably too much.  I got interfacing and I found two prints that were perfect for my swapee.  I really wasn't expecting to find what I did.  I sewed a bag with those two prints and two of the fabrics I picked up from Walmart.  The Walmart fabric was acceptable.  Not groundbreaking, but decent enough that if I find cute prints I'll probably grab them.  I finished the handknit earlier today.  I want to steam block it yet, ...

    I didn't do a whole lot of crafting this past week.  Its been very busy at work and very hot outside, so I've had little motivation.  I'm working on a project for the current swap I'm in so I can't show pictures yet of that project.  I did sew up a project bag for my "work daughter" whose last day with us was Friday. She's a knitter with cats so I went with cat prints and her favorite color green for the fabrics and stitch markers.     I pulled quite a haul from my garden yesterday.  I've been blanching and freezing green beans every couple of days and this is what I picked yesterday: The peas are really coming to an end.  The beans are out of control at this point.  We've gotten a few cucumbers, they tend to be odd shaped but taste good according to my husband.  Pictured is my one and only eggplant.  I'm going to make eggplant parm tomorrow.  The cherry tomato plant in the topsy turvey is nearly done now and pictured ...

    We spent a week in Virginia.  My closest cousin lives down there with her husband and their two girls.  Their youngest has a medical condition that makes traveling difficult so its been several years since they've been home for a visit.  We decided to go to them.  While we visiting we took in a few local attractions and just spent time together and caught up.  It was a very nice trip.  We visited the Luray Caverns. The formations were spectacular.  The kids even enjoyed it and it was nice and cool inside the cavern.  We also toured the Heritage Village, Car and Carriage Museum and the Toy Museum.  The Car and Carriage Museum had a steam powered fire engine that was built for the Watertown NY fire department.   We had to travel all the way to Virginia to see something that had previously been in "our own back yard."  I had read about the steam fire engine before our trip but had no idea it had come from Watertown t...