Welcome to the MOSL Book Challenge


Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Tim Reads--May

 Longshot into the West by Keith R. Baker (218 pages)

The sequel to Longshot this book sees the hero Rob pulling his rifle out of retirement and stopping a plan by the Confederates to take over the goldfields of the Dakotas.  A fast paced story that adds historical characters (Buffalo Bill, Allan Pinkerton, etc.) to make this story feel as though it is actual history.

Frozen Tears by J.B. King (320 pages)

An in depth look at the 70’s murders that occurred on Ft. Leonard Wood. Three teenagers were murdered, and one severely wounded by a military policeman who is later arrested, tried, and imprisoned. This book does a great job taking court documents and interviews with the investigators to fully flesh out the drama of this true crime story.

Glory Days by L. Jon Wertheim (336 pages)

Looking into the year of 1984 as a year that shook the sports world. The LA Olympics is the centerpiece that this book revolves around, but everything from the founding of ESPN to the death of the USFL this year had something that affected every sports fan.

American Demagogue by J.D. Dickey (400 pages)

The story of how the colonies in America are thrown into a religious conflict with the arrival of young George Whitefield. He helps spark the Great Awakening that led to the creation of multiple sects of Christianity. America is never quite the same following Whitefield’s departure to Europe.

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li (384 pages)

A gang of Chinese-American student’s work together to steal back, looted Chinese artifacts from museums. An interesting look at the world of fine art and the questions that need to be asked about who actually owns art and should looted or “discovered” pieces be returned to their home countries. A very interesting and quick read.

The Napoleon of Crime by Ben Macintyre (400 pages)

The real life thief who would be transformed into Moriarity, Sherlock Holmes’ most famous villain, is shown in all of his swagger, blustery, glory in this book. Adam Worth who fancied himself a “gentleman criminal,” due to never using weapons and attempting to not harm people or property he none the less left a great deal of theft in his wake all across Europe. From faking his death in the US Civil war, to stealing a valuable painting of an ancestor of Princess Diana, Worth keeps popping up in history on multiple continents.

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

Summary: "No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you're not breathing properly.

There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences.

Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it."

This book will have you noticing how everyone around you and on TV breathes. Proceed with caution! Just kidding, kinda. The anecdotes were interesting, the science a little bit light, and overall, a bit terrifying. 

280 pages

goodreads | MOBIUS


Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

Summary: "A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang'e, in which a young woman's quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm and sets her on a dangerous path--where choices come with deadly consequences, and she risks losing more than her heart."

SO.GOOD. 

Can I get this cover printed or what...

Looking forward to the sequel!!

@Christine, thank you!!!

512 pages 

goodreads | MOBIUS

Court by Tracy Wolff


I. love. this. series. Was I cackling and smirking through the majority of this....yes...I love it. The characters.
I just have so many memes and gifs (Avengers) that I could but I can't remember them because I read it over a weekend and didn't take notes.
I just desperately need the next book....
Hudson. I love him. We know this.
Anxiety rep. fantastic.
Anytime Cyrus says anything I just....am tempted to slap him
everyone is gonna need therapy, y'all. 
Everyone's talking about Harry Styles and his album, and I'm just WAITING for someone to please mention Taylor Swift, except the album was created because of quarantine, so does it exist in this world...I have no idea. 
720 Pages

TS Song: ....all of Reputation (I Did Something Bad, Don't Blame Me, and Look What You Made Me Do)... Plus a little bit of Mad Woman





What We Harvest by Ann Fraistat

fdskl;kf;sld the idea. just the whole concept. the rainbows.
Derek and Wren are adorable...ok well I think they're adorable
the zombie people.
We stan horses and cute doggos. 
336 Pages

TS Song: Mary's Song (and then there's like...all the Stranger Things/paranormal vibes but we're gonna ignore that for this song pick)

Devil in the Device by Lora Beth Johnson

All the AI tropes. Zhade is just doing his best.
I still love how the language is adapted because language is living so like...gah.
I wish we had seen more of Zhade's brother because like...I was intrigued. 
That ending tho...
432 Pages

TS Song: .....I got nothing... uhhh...

A Court of Mist and Fury

 

A Court of Mist and Fury

By Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 624

"Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre’s hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people: one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world in turmoil."

I know the relationship in the first book was too easy. The turmoil and 180 turn that this book took really stepped it up from the first book. I am beginning to see why so many people loved this series as things are now getting interesting and a wider plot is revealed after the threat in the first book is removed. The characters have gotten much more complex from the somewhat flat feel in the first one. I definitely recommend reading the first as it sets up everything in this next installment but I really enjoyed the sequel over the first book.

Friday, May 27, 2022

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D Li

the yellow car.
kgfjld'gjklfdl;jklgfds
My mind is slightly blown that people can sleep through a 14 hour flight....like...
the found family and the heists and the sneaking. The heists aren't necessarily the focus or the shinning moment of the story, but I suspend my belief for anything. 
The sibling relationships. sfjkld
Also the commentary on imperialism. Let's go. 
384 Pages

TS Song: New Romantics (it's for the lyrics and the young adult vibes), Getaway Car, Cowboy like Me....

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

The mystery. The intrigue. The Agatha Christie references. 
Me taking notes of all the details because I need to be smart:

Also, I see you potential set-up for sequel.
416 Pages

TS Song: The obvious choice is no body, no crime; but also: seven/tolerate it.



Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

All the Gatsby vibes, but make it queer.
the backstories are my favorite.
432 Pages

TS Song: ...Ivy...and Treacherous... (and any song that has a Gatsby reference)

Thursday, May 26, 2022

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

Tarin reminds me of Chaol (and Brigan (who was like...one of my first book crushes when I started reading YA... from Fire)
It's got all the witchy vibes.
I loved the characters so much, and the yearning..which is just like...perfect. I love sibling relationships. 
480 Pages

TS Song: Willow (I had a hard time picking a song because like...there were multiple characters and plot lines, so it's more for the witchy vibes)

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

*sees that the love interest is a carpenter...sign me up. 
It's the baby goat in pajamas and the roo-rooing dog for me....
The snark. Is just. My favorite.
Also the commentary on how communities that are rural and less-populated tend to have less access to affordable medical care and just suck it up and muddle through.
The statistics on domestic abuse and how the most dangerous time for a victim is when they leave.
ER doctors are just fantastic--cause like...they have to think on their feet and stuff and deal with people on their worst days. 
All the small town vibes, and the small business vibes and the handcrafted.
It's just fluff and rainbows and I love it. It's a Hallmark movie in a book, I knew what I was getting into. 
400 Pages

Taylor Swift song: Daylight (also King of My Heart)

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Covet by Tracy Wolff

Cyrus to Hudson and Grace:

Hudson, I know you're a vampire, but crud you're thirsty. 
All my babies gonna need so much therapy. Cause trauma...trauma everywhere. 
The entire prison section is just.. love it. 
Hey look, is that commentary on how the prison system is kind of messed up and unfair and broken.
I love the characters. I love the humor. I love the references. It's like Twilight, but better.
600 Pages

Taylor Swift song: I Know Places...there's a scene in NY so I'm like...tempted to put Welcome to New York.
                            

A Court of Thorns and Roses

 A Court of Thorns and Roses

By Sarah J. Maas

Pages: 433

"When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin and his world forever."

I started this series as I really loved Maas' Throne of Glass series, but to be honest, I was a little disappointed. The initial set up was great, but the slow pace in the middle was a weird contrast to the final few chapters where everything happened at once. Also the relationship between the main character and Tamlin felt too easy. I am hoping the series improves in the next two books as I have heard good things about the series that aren't meeting my expectations yet.

Friday, May 20, 2022

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

THE CAT IS NAMED FLANNERY O'CONNOR
I just like....I feel personally attacked because I also wanted to be a travel writer and meet people and make connections and tell their stories so I'm like... Emily Henry knows how to hit me emotionally. 
So I relate to both Poppy and Alex (and also yes I thought of going to UChicago, so really hitting where it hurts)
The requited unrequited love and the yearning and the angst. I loved how we saw the past trips and the current trip.  
I just wanna hug Alex all day because like...backstory. 
400 Pages

Taylor Swift Song: Lovers

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Sooooo I'm hoping there's cameos. 
just say they're wearing chacos, it'll make me feel seen. 
Such an oldest sibling..
"I'm fine"
He sneaky and I love it..
*remembers a "throwaway" line about a character, that probably isn't a throwaway line: well this isn't going to go well if it follows the tropes....*gets to end of book: ha I was wrong
The way that the mom is described just reminds me of how Kathleen described her mom in You've Got Mail. 
I love Nora so much...and Charlie...
400 Pages

Icebreakers by R. L. Graziadei

Insert the get-along shirt
They both love FMA Brotherhood
ALSO: the surviving on Iced Coffee
"Tom Holland and Zendaya: A bisexual's dream" I mean.
Ok but the dissociating when the depression is bad just hits. 
and the parents taking care of the kids but not knowing the kids....oof. 
ok but the fanfic.....smirk face. 
320 Pages

Taylor Swift Song: this is me trying (and Sparks Fly)

The Friend-Zone by Abby Jimenez

Just a heads-up, there is a character death, and head-trauma, and comas, and an accident involving a drunk driver
I'm gong to put all my feelings right here and then one day I'll die
Am I still confused why they send firemen to accidents, yes. Am I going to complain. Absolutely not. *looks up why...aha.
It's the little dog with the doggie stairs for me...because my dog is 16 pounds of zoom and leaping lizards
384 Pages

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R. M. Romero

I'm not crying, you're crying
It's the blue-eyed boy for me.
And it's also the Jewish folklore and the history for me. 
384 Pages

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

There's time travel and pandemics and space exploration (ok not really exploration, but people live on the moon) 
272 Pages

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Beach Read by Emily Henry

"January is a unique name...It's not like I'm a Christy or a Christine" ....rude. 
Maybe depressed writers can only write depressing books...laughs uncomfortably
"promise not to fall in love with me"
Alexa play basically every song from Folklore cause it could be relevant.
hey look that's trauma that's been normalized when it shouldn't have been.
It's the people watching and the bouncing ideas of each other and being neighbors at the lake for me. 
I will protect Gus with literally everything in me--and also I relate to him because he has EMOTIONS that he wants to understand.
384 Pages

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

The Book of Night by Holly Black

I just....love the characters so much, Charlie and Vince.hdfjksd;jfksdl
The plot-twist....like... I'm mad at myself.
I love that we're talking about trauma and shadows and I'm just... here for it. 
That last sentence....I'm like...hi can I have more content please. Because I don't do open-endings. This is why I hate standalones.  An epilogue....A twitter post...Googles: ok so it's not a confirmed standalone, so there might be redemption, but like....sfjiod
320 Pages

Monday, May 16, 2022

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

Yes my brain automatically went to "If the shoe fits, walk in it, till your high heels break"
Me: hi can I have a meet-cute on my plane ride, please.
It's Cinderella, and it's the Bachelor. And the mice are there in the form of triplets, and like.... fdjklsafjklds
I loved all the side characters, and how Henry had more depth than the original Prince Charming (but again, that wasn't really hard). :P
Did I love that it was a fashion designer and person who runs/owns a fashion company...yes...because yes it reminds me of my favorite ship in the world, Adrienette,
304 Pages

Squire

 Squire

By Sara Alfageeh

Pages: 336

"Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program. It's not how she imagined it, though. Aiza must navigate new friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the unyielding General Hende, all while hiding her Ornu background. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the "greater good" that Bayt-Sajji's military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in greater danger than she ever imagined."

I don't often read graphic novels, but my friend convinced me to buy this one and read it. It is such a cool story and reminds me of Tamora pierce woman knights, only in a middle-eastern inspired setting. The artwork was rich and full of movement and I loved the training montages. I was sad when the story ended as it left a very open ending that makes me hope for more installments in the future.

The Dictionary of Lost Words

 The Dictionary of Lost Words

By Pip Williams

Pages: 400

"Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the "Scriptorium," a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. One day a slip of paper containing the word "bondmaid" flutters to the floor. She rescues the slip, and when she learns that the word means slave-girl, she withholds it from the OED and begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men. As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women's and common folks' experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words. "

This was an interesting dive into how the dictionary was created and how historical events such as the woman's suffragist movement and WWII affected the creation and selection of words. Esme collects ones that are rejected from the formal dictionary, mostly written or said by women and minorities and turns them into her own dictionary and gives them a voice. I really enjoyed this book and I often do not read historical fiction, but the bookworm in me was intrigued by the title and I am glad I picked it up.

Friday, May 13, 2022

Ballad and Dagger by Daniel Jose Older

*thinks about another ship that also are foils to each other in terms of gods and stuff...Yes, it's LadyNoir... It's fine. Everything's fine. (Realizes that one of the characters in each of the ships plays piano and has absent-ish parents)
I loved all of the folklore and the set-up of the world, and I wanna know more.
Encanto has ruined me because I hear "Madrigal" and it's sung in my head.
Character: goes off about United Fruit and other corporations and entities that took advantage of the people in Central America and South America and did really shady things. Me: Giving them (the character, not the companies) a standing ovation. I also wonder if we're going to bring up the civil wars from the 1970s-80s, but they also might have done that and I missed it because of names.
Also the incorporation of Judaism. Like. !!
384 Pages

Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram

I love boyband/musician fiction. It's awesome. When we talk about going on tour and all of the things that are needed to put on one show (yes I'm talking about the 20 semis for one show, and having two/three sets of them so that the next show will be ready).
The 25 year-old who is calling all of the 17 year-olds children/babies is such a mood. Must protect. 
Also I keep thinking of Big Time Rush because friends who play hockey sing a song and get noticed.... like... It's awesome... Except the members are the band are slightly less white-passing.
Also all the Canada vibes. eh?
384 Pages

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary

Me trying to figure out what is happening
Me guessing what happens, but also being slightly wrong.
Also now I want to re-read all of it and like...notice everything.
And I'm dead. Like....It's so cute. I love it. I'm gonna go lay on the floor. I'm also going to cry.
352 Pages

The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano


Big brothers whyyyyyy
Someone hug Wil....
ALSO. When the story has trains, but the character never gets on one, so you're mildly upset. 
432 Pages



Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

fdskallfjlsakflja;;gsldfhjfjkdsafjklsfdjklfds
Insert that scene of Rita Skeeter talking to Harry: "boy of 12" "...14"
I just. Love all of this. The fanart/fanfic aspect, the art and the writing, the angst and the mental health issues, and like jfkldsajklsfs.
I love Wallace and I love Eliza and I just wanna protect them. 
Also baby brothers. fjkdls
432 Pages

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuinston

Figures out what the P.P.S means..
Ah so we're mentioning Emma...seems like a clue.
I literally called Smith. I fricking called it.
Also I knew it. Like..
"I want my love interest to be played by Saiorise Ronan" thinks about other period movies that aren't Little Women.
I loved how the book was like...self-aware of itself...when it mentioned being a John Green story...like..oof. 
I LOVE Rory. and Georgia. and Smith. like. sfjkldfjkldsa
368 Pages

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater

I love Maggie's writing style.
It was cool to see more of the triplets individual personalities, and more of Elinor's background.
Can we just protect the triplets
Feradach. just. Like... Can I follow them around please. 
I feel like Merida was ace-coded in this, and I love it. 
384 Pages

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

The Home Edit by Clea Shearer, Joanna Teplin

The Home Edit
I loved the way this book was organized in the sense that it started off with small areas that would be easier to tackle, and that it show various ways to organize everything, because every space is different. (Yes I'm looking at the Entryway section, because I literally just drop my backpack at my door and pray it doesn't get in the way)
256 Pages
The Home Edit Life
.....Did I notice how this book said that I didn't have to get rid of any of my books.....yes...my friend's weren't happy with the line. 
Storing yarn in file holders/magazine boxes...like... fjklds I love it.
The pictures are so fricking satisfying...like...it's goals but energy
256 Pages

The Hate U Give

 The Hate U Give

By Angie Thomas

Pages: 454

"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr."

Such an emotional roller coaster story of someone who has her foot in two different worlds. I highly recommend that it be read as words cannot express how much this book made me feel and think about the world we are living in.

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

The Life Below by Alexandra Monir

I felt like the end of this book should have been like...the middle of the book...but I also see how it would be hard to continue the story where it ends.
I'm here for Leo, and the nerd friends on Earth. 
320 Pages

Monday, May 9, 2022

Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan

Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan

Anne Boleyn has gone down in history as the scheming woman who bewitched Henry VIII into divorcing his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and breaking with the Catholic Church in his mad quest for an heir to the British throne. But was Anne really the cunning woman she was made out to be, or a passionate reformer who married the king, not for love and the crown, but as a way of furthering causes she held near and dear?

327 pages.

Friday, May 6, 2022

The Final Six by Alexandra Monir

It definitely has the vibes of Illuminae and teenagers trying to save a broken world
Did my nerd brain eye twitch when Beckett tried to say that the first man in space wasn't important....
Go Leo. 
368 Pages

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani

jhfdskjlsafhsjkdf
I love that we get to see more of Alyrra and Kestrin (do I wish I had a few scenes from their points of view.....yes..)
But also Rae is fantastic and strong and I love her. 
544 Pages