March 2025 Wrap-Up

Personal Highlights from this month:

  • Daylight Savings is on March 9th. I am not looking forward to it (I like my sleep).
  • My dryer repair is being stretched out. I am still waiting on parts for it. It looks like the beginning of April before someone can come out.
  • BK and I bought a new car. It is a 2018 Nissan Leaf (yes, electric). I was/still am a little hesitant about going electric. But not having to pay for gas is a plus. I am also curious to see how much my electric bill goes up.

Blog/Reading Highlights from this month:

  • I am slowly working my way through The Donovan Family series. I have read and reviewed Catch Me. For my reading challenges, I read Cover Me and Protect Me. I downloaded Watch Me after realizing it was free on Kindle. That leaves me with 5 books left to read in the series (thankfully, reading these books out of order will not drop spoilers or confuse you). I will be waiting for them to be free or go on KU.
  • I started and finished the Pucked series by Helena Hunting. This series had been on my radar for a while and when I found out that all the main books (2-6, book 1 was free when I downloaded it) were on KU, I jumped at the chance to read them. I loved the series. But, I do want to warn you that the series starts off light, almost rom-commy. But it gradually gets darker. Books 5 and 6 deal with some serious subjects (childhood physical, emotional, and psychological abuse and child neglect). I need to read the extras (books 0.5, 1.1, 4.1, 5.5, 5.6, and 6.5) and will watch to see if they show up on KU.
  • I read two books (book 1 and 6) of the Blind Sleuth Mysteries. I enjoyed the two books I read. I am waiting for books 2-5 and 7-17 to become free or go on KU.
  • I started the Adrift series near the end of March and plan to finish it in the first half of April.

Books I Read:


Books I bought (unless otherwise stated, books were free at the time of purchase):

Orchid Obsession by Fiona Grace (from BookBub)

The Honeymoon Prize by Melissa McClone (from BookBub)

Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition by Julia Kaye. Was bought to fill an empty reading challenge. I paid $2.99 on Amazon (the price will go up).

Watch Me by Margaret Watson (from my TBR)

The Lady’s Last Mistake by Cara Devlin (from BookBub)

Demon’s Blood by Shari Sakurai (from Ilovebooksandstuffblog)

The Storming by Glynnis Campbell (from BookBub)

Heart of Dreams by Caroline Fyffe (from BookBub)

The Uninvited by Nadija Mujagic (from BookBub)

A Killer Strikes by Georgia Rose (from BookBub)

Moonshadow by Thea Harrison (from Red-Haired Ash Reads)

Golden Blood: A Vampire Story by Tim Vee (from Gina Rae Mitchell)

A Very Terrible Text by Elana Johnson (from BookBub)

Forging Glory by Lainey Davis (from BookBub)

Boss Daddies by Lisa Cullen (from BookBub)

Lace & Lassos by Cheyenne McCray (from BookBub)

Stay by Tia Louise (from BookBub)

Pierced by Sydney Landon (from BookBub)

Hard to Fake by Piper Lawson (from BookBub)

The Duke is Wicked by Tracy Sumner (from BookBub)

Mine, All Mine by Dayna Quince (from BookBub)

Vicious by Vi Carter (from BookBub)

Fallen Prince by Julia Sykes (from BookBub)

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (from The Wee Writing Lassie)

A Change of Heart by Randa Knight (from Book Reviews by Reluctant Retiree)

Beat the Backlist 2025—March

Prompts I finished in March


Can’t be trusted—The narrator can’t be trusted by the reader, a character can’t be trusted by their peers, there’s really no trust here.


Silhouette on the cover —you can see the outline of something or someone but can’t make out what it is.


Not first, nor last—a book that’s in the middle of a series (not the first book or the last)

Book two in the Welcome to Otter Tail series

Something upside down on the cover—an object or a person is upside down from their usual state


Break the rules—characters are breaking the rules (whether or not they get in trouble is another matter)


On your TBR for over a year—as of the time you’re starting it, you’ve had this book on your TBR for at least a year.


Family Business—a story following members of a single family


A wild exploration—a book about exploring the wild/nature


Weird is the word—Interpret however you like but make sure its weird

Clear Your TBR 2025—March

Prompts I finished in March


Written by multiple authors

Two authors: Dima Zaires, Anna Zaires

Related to sports

Hockey—Main male character is the captain of an NHL team

Oxymoron in Title


A cosy book


Related to a recent issue—race, health, religion, war, etc

Present American issues (trade wars, corruption…etc)

Has one a prize—Booker? Goodreads? It’s up to you


Related to nature

WWW Wednesday: March 5th, 2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme Sam hosts at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Here is what I am currently reading, recently finished, and plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday.

Let me know if you have read or are planning on reading any of these books!!

Happy Reading!


What I am currently reading:

When Tessa Porter returns home from work one evening to find her apartment has been broken into, the Chicago nurse is shocked when the detective who responds to her call is her sexy neighbor – the one she’s been fantasizing about. She’d caught a naughty glimpse of him through her window one morning, but Quinn Donovan is even hotter in the flesh.

Quinn had spotted Tessa through his window, as well, and when he meets her in person, his reaction is hard to conceal – or control. Their passion and desire are overwhelming, but what will happen when Quinn wants more – and Tessa is hiding a secret?


What I recently finished reading:

Police officer Mia Donovan is studying for the detective’s exam when her captain offers her an assignment – be Finn O’Rourke’s personal bodyguard for the next three weeks. He’s in town to film a movie, he has a stalker, and the threats are escalating.

Mia isn’t interested – she’s focused on the looming exam. But her captain convinces her that successfully protecting Finn will look very good on her record when promotion decisions are made. So, reluctantly, she takes the assignment.

Finn isn’t the arrogant, egotistical actor Mia expected. There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the ‘most hated man in America’, Finn’s nickname since he cheated on his girlfriend, a beloved pop star.

But his stalker is lurking and the threat is escalating. Although Mia’s feelings for Finn are growing, her job is to protect Finn, not fall in love with him.


What I plan on reading next:

My name is Theo, and I’m a resident of Oasis, the last habitable area on Earth. It’s meant to be a paradise, a place where we are all content. Vulgarity, violence, insanity, and other ills are but a distant memory, and even death no longer plagues us.

I was once content too, but now I’m different. Now I hear a voice in my head, and she tells me things no imaginary friend should know. Her name is Phoe, and she is my delusion.

Or is she?

Note: This book contains some strong language. We felt it was important for the censorship theme of the novel. If such words offend you, you might not enjoy this book.

With a famous NHL player for a stepbrother, Violet Hall is well acquainted with the playboy reputation of many a hockey star. So of course she isn’t interested in legendary team captain Alex Waters or his pretty, beat-up face and rock-hard six-pack abs. But when Alex inadvertently obliterates Violet’s misapprehension regarding the inferior intellect of hockey players, he becomes much more than just a hot body with the face to match. Suffering from a complete lapse in judgment, Violet discovers just how good Alex is with the hockey stick in his pants.

Violet believes her night of orgasmic magic with Alex is just that: one night. But Alex starts to call. And text. And email and send extravagant – and quirky – gifts. Suddenly he’s too difficult to ignore and nearly impossible not to like. The problem is, the media portrays Alex as a total player, and Violet doesn’t want to be part of the game.

Miller “Buck” Butterson has been banging his way through life ever since a puck to the face fixed his messed up front teeth, and he was drafted into the NHL during his first year of college. After five years of deflecting goals on the ice and scoring them with puck bunnies across the Continental US and parts of Canada, Miller is ready for a girlfriend. A real girlfriend of the non-bunny variety. One he takes on dates and doesn’t jump into bed with after five seconds of conversation.

Miller thinks he’s found that woman in his teammate’s sister. Except, unlike Alex Waters, center, team captain and all round nice guy—who happens to be dating his step-sister—Miller’s manwhore reputation is well earned, and not blown out of proportion by the media. Beyond that minor detail, Miller doesn’t know the first thing about having a girlfriend. But he’s determined to make it happen.

What he doesn’t take into account is the amount of time and effort relationships require, or that constantly letting bunnies take selfies with him to post all over social media isn’t going to win him any points in the boyfriend department. Miller learns—not so quickly—that if he wants to make Sunshine “Sunny” Waters fall for him, he going to have to do a whole lot more than show her his stick skills in the bedroom.

Lily LeBlanc isn’t versed in the art of casual sex, but after seven years in an on-again, off-again relationship, she’s definitely willing to give it a shot. And who better to try it with than her best friend’s boyfriend’s best friend? What could possibly go wrong? Nothing at all.

NHL player, Randy Ballistic, lives up to his last name on the ice and in the bedroom. His best friend and teammate has recently given up the puck bunnies and traded them in for a real girlfriend. And she just happens to have a seriously feisty, extra-hot best friend on the rebound. Randy’s more than happy to be Lily’s spring board back into the dating scene.

Casual sex is only casual until those pesky things called emotions get involved. Once that happens, someone’s bound to gets pucked over.

It’s Monday: What Are You Reading?—March 3rd, 2025

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet and share what you have been and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-lit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.


Personal

  • My 2-year-old dryer developed a hole in the drum. I was beyond upset about this because, hello, it’s 2. I got in touch with GE, and they are sending a tech out next week to look at it and install a new drum. GE is covering the cost of the tech visit and the part. All we have to pay is for the labor. Keeping my fingers crossed that the labor isn’t super expensive.
  • Miss R’s barn is slowly adding more students to its riding program. It also adds more rideable horses (aka boarders that are being used as lesson horses).
  • Mr. Z got a hair cut this past weekend. We went to Great Clips and they did a horrible job on the front. The stylist did not cut it even and gave him bangs. Saying he was upset is an understatement.
  • Miss B is loving her job. Last week, she went to Knoxville.
  • I do have some news that I have been sitting on, and this news was a huge factor into why I decided to stop posting reviews (well, add in burn out to that reason). BK has stage 1 prostate cancer. We found out the beginning of February, but BK had a feeling before that. The good is that the cancer is completely contained to the prostate and the surgeon feels that taking the prostate out will get rid of the cancer.

Blog/Reading/Gaming

  • Nothing new is happening on the blog. I am getting new followers (hi all). I am also still debating about posting a couple of reviews a week.
  • In Planet Zoo, I added Giant Burrowing Cockroaches (exhibit), Giant Pandas (habitat), and Grey Seals (habitat). Giant Pandas and Grey Seals (in game) keep their young between 5-6 years. In real life time, that is about 2-3 days of playing. So, I am hoping to get a break when I get to the Flamingos….lol.
  • I did win a giveaway last. I got Our Last Wild Days and I am actually pretty excited to read it.

What I am Reading Now

Chicago cop Brendan Donovan loves the adrenaline rush of his role on a tactical team. So when he’s assigned to an undercover job to ferret out the supplier of a new and deadly sex drug, he’s thrilled. His partner is Cilla Marini, a detective he’d met recently during a traffic stop. He’s intrigued by Cilla, but his sister told him that Cilla doesn’t date cops. Which is exactly what they have to pretend to do. Brendan loves a challenge.

Cilla is shocked to find out that Brendan is her mystery partner. After an incident that forced her to transfer from her district and isolated her from her fellow cops, Cilla knows relationships with cops are off the table. But she’s spent far too much time thinking about Brendan since he pulled her over for speeding. Now, not only are they working together, they have to pose as a couple to find the source of the sex drug that’s already killed several men.

As the action heats up, Cilla and Brendan don’t have to pretend they want each other. But when secrets put them both in danger, will they have each other’s back? Or will their quarry divide and conquer them before they can find their way to happily ever after?


What I plan to read this week

Police officer Mia Donovan is studying for the detective’s exam when her captain offers her an assignment – be Finn O’Rourke’s personal bodyguard for the next three weeks. He’s in town to film a movie, he has a stalker, and the threats are escalating.

Mia isn’t interested – she’s focused on the looming exam. But her captain convinces her that successfully protecting Finn will look very good on her record when promotion decisions are made. So, reluctantly, she takes the assignment.

Finn isn’t the arrogant, egotistical actor Mia expected. There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the ‘most hated man in America’, Finn’s nickname since he cheated on his girlfriend, a beloved pop star.

But his stalker is lurking and the threat is escalating. Although Mia’s feelings for Finn are growing, her job is to protect Finn, not fall in love with him.

My name is Theo, and I’m a resident of Oasis, the last habitable area on Earth. It’s meant to be a paradise, a place where we are all content. Vulgarity, violence, insanity, and other ills are but a distant memory, and even death no longer plagues us.

I was once content too, but now I’m different. Now I hear a voice in my head, and she tells me things no imaginary friend should know. Her name is Phoe, and she is my delusion.

Or is she?