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Biking in the Sonoran desert north of Scottsdale. The ocotillo are all greened up from the recent rain. 🙂 Almost chilly, finally.

A somewhat entertaining, and a little bit annoying, 19th century Spanish play. ~3 stars. My brief thoughts (and spoilers): inspeculation.blogspot.com It's alright.🤷‍♂️ Jealousy and gossip are the villains.

Some of it was amazing. Some of it wore me down. Took forever to plow through it. So--3 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com It was pretty great, in a lot of ways, but I wanted to enjoy it more.

This book goes back in time to show Mitch Rapp's start, and it's pretty good--I gave it 3.75 stars--but a little slower than the other books because of the long training section. Still good. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Maybe start with a different book.

Looks like squash, but those are loofahs that took over our arbor. Some of them are getting pretty big. 🙂 They love when it rains in Arizona.

This is some great language in Ruocchio’s “Empire of Silence.”

Another enjoyable book in this series. I liked it quite a bit. 4 1/2 stars. You know what's gonna happen pretty much from page 1--not exactly, but you know--but it's told in a touching, entertaining way. Sweet, not cloying. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Recommended. 🙂

I found things to like here, but mostly in the background and setting. The story and mystery didn't win me over. Others tended to like it more than I did, though I gave it 3 stars for the Singapore information, etc. My thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Not quite my thing.

I'm not always the right person for Agatha Christie novels--sometimes--but this one worked for me. Good action, interesting investigation, creepy story... 4 stars. my brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Recommended. I liked Tommy and Tuppence--I'll look for another with them.

Lines from Agatha Christie’s “By the pricking of my thumbs,” where she uses “different from” in the American way. I thought British speakers always said “different to.” 🤔 Maybe the rules are more nuanced than that. I dunno.

I'm trying to branch out in my reading, which is leading me to books I don't love. But I finished it. 3 stars. (I was feeling two, and my comments lean that way.) My brief--kinda critical--thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Apparently it's not the best entry in the series. 🤷

We're giving away a SIGNED COPY of @trudieskies.readindiefantasy.com Thirteenth Hour!! 1 lucky winner will get this just in time for #IndieMission! To enter: 1. Like & Reshare 2. Tag friend (1 entry per tag) Open in the UK, US, Canada! Ends midnight CT September 20! (On insta too) #booksky #books

I just read Julius Caesar out of the No Fear edition, and found the improvement in comprehension well worth it. If you need to read it, this is the way. My brief (updated) thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Recommended.

Robert Louis Stevenson is real hit or miss for me. Treasure Island--hit! Prince Otto--Miss! I gave it 3 stars for the things it did well. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com I liked the book I thought it was gonna be. I didn't like the book it ended up being. Alas.

I seldom buy brand-new books at full price these days, but this is one of them. The first book was so good--and the second was, if anything, better. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com 5 stars. Highly recommended. Great mystery and fantasy in one.

I found this cozy fantasy to be quirky and clever and silly and good fun. Some people hate that, apparently. I gave it 4 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Recommended for people who aren't annoyed by childish things. For reals. Kinda Princess Bride vibes.

There's some good action in this novel--for which I gave it a 3--but a lot of politics that don't match mine, becoming increasingly annoying as I read. It also suffers from the curse of obnoxious banter, which I hate in any genre. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Not for me.

I liked the second half of this quite a bit. Freyja Bedwyn is angrier than most FMC's; Joshua Moore is closer to being an actual rogue than is really acceptable. But it works out. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com The murder mystery near the end helped seal the deal. 4 stars.

Think how fortunate you have to be to live while your favorite author is still writing books. And finding them in the wild. 😎

One of my favorite books by Sir Walter Scott. 5 stars. A young Scots nobleman in service of France's Louis XI has to help a young woman reach refuge in Liege while others are trying to capture her and marry her off. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Great fun. Recommended.

My second book in this series. These are really fun. 4.5 stars. (5 on GR.) The character and the stories are very engaging. I'm looking forward to the other ones I just picked up. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Recommended. (Advisory: Jason Bourne levels of violence.)

I haven't read Cyrano since high school. I liked it plenty then; loved it this time. 5 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Sometimes stories are as good as people say.

The third or fourth book in the series, depending on how you see it. I liked it. Anne goes to college. 4 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Anne is a bit of a happiness catalyst and has more than a little in common with Ted Lasso. That thought pleases me.

Did some math and realized I only need to sell ONE book (well, one novel or two copies of my short story collection) to hit my sales goal for July Sooooo if you like fantasy or horror, check out my books and help me get there? diannagunn.itch.io

This is the junior novelization; not what I thought I was getting when I ordered it. 😄 I liked it about 3-stars' worth. Most readers liked it more. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com My issue? The cutting and rounding off took out much of the tension and excitement. IMO. 🤷‍♂️

This week's Monday snippet comes from my fantasy rom-com Wooing the Witch Queen, which is out in ebook, paperback, and audiobook: stephanieburgis.com/books/wooing-the-witch-queen ...because what's sexier than a fountain pen? ;) #romancelandia

This is my second book by this mid-20th century author. I liked the first and loved this one. 5 stars. Blaise is a great hero, and Anne Russell makes a fantastic foil for him. Good spy adventure; excellent writing. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Highly recommended.

My first book by this Western author (and his son, I guess). I liked it pretty well. 4 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com I like the main character, and I hope the couple sequels are also well done.

Another good book in the Bedwyn series. I think the author bends but doesn't quite break the rules of the genre. I liked it. 5 stars. My brief thoughts: inspeculation.blogspot.com Mary Balogh makes excellent characters, all quite different, that the reader cares about. That's a pretty good skill.

I’m enjoying my second book by this author. Look at this description in his historical fiction novel set in 1500s France and Switzerland. Samuel Shellabarger—writing in 1950. How did I never encounter his novels until now?

This was interesting--and pretty entertaining, in a Elizabethan comedy sort of way. 3 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com I've got 4 more plays in a little volume of his works, and I'll give the others a look, eventually. Recommended for anyone who is curious about it.

Some beautiful writing and a touching story. Funny, too, now that I think about it. 4 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Nice to see Northern Michigan get some love. It's not all sweet, but it feels like it was once you're done. Recommended.

Ahhhh look at these gorgeous author copies that just arrived! 😍 I love the OwlCrate edition of Enchanting the Fae Queen even more than their edition of Wooing the Witch Queen - and that's saying a *lot*. ❤️ Preorder your own copy here: www.owlcrate.com/products/enc... #romancelandia

I first read this about 9 years ago. Loved it then and now, rereading it. Such a great series. Just added an edit to my original review. (And a few paragraph breaks. Not sure why I wrote it like an email...) 😄 My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Five stars. Recommended.

Did I vibe with this period mystery? No, I did not. Mostly, I thought the MC was a terrible spy. And the pacing is very much bad. IMO. My thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com I finished it, so I gave it a 3. I will not be looking for any sequels, though.

I liked this old German novel about a real man who protected Berlin during the war with Russia and Austria but wasn't protected when he needed help. Reminded me of Timon of Athens. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com 4 stars.

I've never read this series before and tried it on a whim. I enjoyed it. Well-written, tight, fast-paced--it's a good read. 5 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com This is #15 in the series. I may need to back up a bit and try the earlier books. Recommended.

This is the first of 11 middle grade novels made in the 1990s tied in to the cartoon series. I didn't know they existed until recently. I loved me some Jonny Quest back in the day. 4 stars. Here are my brief thoughts: inspeculation.blogspot.com I liked it. Wish they had gotten a better response.

I hoped to like it more than I did. 3 stars. It didn't feel much like an Indiana Jones story, and he didn't seem like Indy. This got better near the end, though. My brief thoughts: inspeculation.blogspot.com There are a bunch of these books, and I think maybe I'll try one or two more.

This book hovers around a 4 on GR, with the biggest group agreeing with me--a 5. But the ones who didn't like it disliked the very things I thought made it stand out. 🤔 My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com I loved the family story that ran in the background. Very touching.

My second play by Euripides. Kinda enjoyed it. 3 stars. The gods really ruin stuff for this family. Dang. My brief thoughts: inspeculation.blogspot.com I wonder what it was like to see this in real life back in the day?

Pretty fun short action novel. Mack Bolan is tracking down missing treasure (with important intelligence hidden with it) in the Congo, circa 1980. My brief thoughts: inspeculation.blogspot.com 4 pulp-fiction stars.

I dunno. I wanted to read all of it, not just bits. He's smarter than I thought. He makes his very unethical advice sound so reasonable. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com Three stars for mild interest in history and such. Zero stars for his humanity.

I really enjoyed this book by Bulwer-Lytton. It's a great novel, but I also have a lot clearer image of who is who during the Wars of the Roses. Elevated prose; tight plotting; great characters; lots of action. 5 stars. My thoughts: inspeculation.blogspot.com Recommended. 👍

This was a new-to-me series and author. I liked it. 4 stars. Lots of big science ideas in a retro-SF way, with a breezy and fast-paced story. My brief thoughts: inspeculation.blogspot.com I don't think we should build stuff that could break the sun by accident. Opened my eyes to that problem.

One of those "Shakespeare kinda wrote this" plays. I liked it a lot, actually. 5 stars. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com When his son was in a tight spot and needed rescuing, Edward said he had other kids. The prince survived, but I wonder if anyone told him what dad said...

People said this was good. People said it was funny. I don't trust people. Turns out... they were right. Very entertaining. My brief thoughts are here: inspeculation.blogspot.com I gave it 5 stars. Doy.