I haven't posted in over a year! I had a really bad mental health year in 2025, and I'm finally working on getting help this year. I'm more outgoing and willing to do things that'll make me happy. I'm mostly listening to audiobooks, and I haven't gotten back to my "usual" reading, but I'm much more excited about books than I was last year. I've always said this blog is like my bookish diary for myself, so I decided to get back into documenting what I'm reading. With that out of the way, let's talk books!
A YA Fantasy with an interesting premise, but a persistent misunderstanding between two former lovers that was glaringly obvious made me less than starry-eyed. Esmeralda was hard for me to like, but I'm questioning that thinking now. Was she a little too single-minded? Or was she just goal-oriented? What's wrong with a girl going after what she wants, especially when she's trying to get out of going to jail or war? I liked her strength of character in the end, but boy, how could she not have realized that Ignacio would never hurt her?
Ignacio is a former soldier who learned only to follow orders from a very young age. Once he found out that his father, the commander of the King's army, was killing others in the name of some mysterious substance, he changed his tune. I always like the honorable, heroic protagonists. I prefer protective love interests as long as they don't try to change the female protagonist. He was very likable and always tried to help everyone around him. Although there were times he would say that Esmeralda was too hardheaded... he needed to look in the mirror.
So much drama that led to nowhere... Berry is navigating life with a mom who might be getting married and moving all the way to England! She sees her for a few weeks out of the year, so what would happen if they were away from each other for longer? Berry assumed she'd be able to convince her mom to live in her small town with her dad again. Basically, she was hoping to Parent Trap her parents. Meanwhile, her close friend Lia's true colors are being revealed, and they low-key reminded me of Berry's mom. Both seemed flaky at first, but whereas Berry and her mom's relationship worked (I still don't understand not seeing your child for such short periods of time), her friend straight-up needed a reality check.
You will love to hate on Lia. I know she's young, but she would constantly stir things up and bring up Berry's business. I thought when Berry said in the beginning, "If you didn't want to be friends, you could have told me so," we would explore the loss of friendship, but no such luck. Missed opportunity in my opinion. I enjoyed the exploration of family changes and friends who didn't really have your back. I was also looking forward to a potential cute little romance, but nothing happened there. Honestly, the ending was lackluster. I don't think anything was really resolved friendship-wise. I'm unsure why all the friendship issues were brought up in the first place, to be honest. Otherwise, I loved Berry's voice and reading her POV. Her personality and story made up for the lackluster ending. And I mean this sincerely. If there had been a better ending, this would have been a five-star read!
A slow-paced, cozy Japanese story based around a candy store was exactly what I didn't know I needed. In a roundabout way, this reminded me of
A Psalm for the Wild-Built based on the slow-paced nature of the story as well as the intentionality. Each story is engaging and reflects real emotions that the customers of the candy store need to face. The proprietor of the store even has his candy store origins revealed in the last story.
There are lessons to be had in each story as one customer basically eats a truth serum, which makes it easier to speak her mind, but along the way, that open communication could lead to growth within her friend group. There are more examples I can get into; however, basically, a lesson is learned in each chapter, but not in a pushy way. A great read that was as charming as it was magical.
I keep track of the books I read outside of Storytime (although I might keep track of any new picture books I'm reading. I used to always read the same books each season. I didn't read the same book within a year's span so don't worry, but now I am venturing into fun new territory. All this to say, I might add my new-to-me Storytime reads and tell you if I liked them for my program.) and these are the two I read.
I Want to Go to the Moon is visually stunning and it's worth reading for the artwork alone. It's a cute, charming read.
I had mixed feelings about The Interpreter. I appreciate that the main character's parents realized she was exhausted by having her interpreter job, but it seemed like there was no solution for the parents to learn English. It was more of giving the child time to relax and have others help interpret sometimes. I found that annoying, but I'm a "no sabo" so it's a different perspective that interpreter kids might enjoy. I'm actually curious to see what my parents would have thought of this book. I'm sure their generation would have no problem being the interpreters, but I don't know if they did this much interpreting at appointments, with the bank, taxes, etc. At least it got me thinking!
Last week I took a crochet class. I learned so much! Now, to only finish my Felix the Fox pastel crochet kit, then I can work on various projects I've had my eye on. I also went to a local bookstore - Steamy Lit, which I've been trying to support this year. I got 2 books - The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa and Safety Net by Deanna Grey - along with an "I'm in my Hockey Era" bookmark and a More Amor Por Favor t-shirt.
This week, I'm looking forward to taking a weaving class and watching You, Me, and Tuscany in theatres. After I heard a black female director has to wait to see how this movie goes before her romance is greenlighted, I knew I had to get a ticket. I know how rare it is to see even Latinos in romance movies, so I'm sure it's the same for Black movie lovers, and it's been a while since I've seen a cheesy film, so I'm excited. I'm also trying to go to the movie theaters more this year, and I loved watching Hoppers a week or so back. And I almost forgot! I made Passionfruit bars as a test for a kids' baking program. Could use more flavor. I'll have to test it out again in a couple of weeks.
I'm currently reading Eliza, from Scratch, and I'm planning to continue reading the physical copy of All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue, which I started just before my trip to Ireland in March. Here's hoping for a great week!
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