Book Review: Beachside Beginnings

Another week of quarantine is done and this week I can say I've gotten a decent amount of reading done so I'm going to consider it a win.

Beachside Beginnings - Sheila Roberts

Moira Wellman has always loved makeovers—helping women find their most beautiful selves. Funny how it’s taken her five years with her abusive boyfriend, Lang, to realize she needs a life makeover. When Moira finally gets the courage to leave Lang, the beachside town of Moonlight Harbor is the perfect place to start over.

Soon Moira is right at home, working at Waves Salon, making new friends and helping her clients find new confidence. When she meets a handsome police officer, she’s more than willing to give him a free haircut. Maybe even her heart. But is she really ready for romance after Lang? And what if her new friend is in hot pursuit of that same cop? This is worse than a bad perm.

With all the heart and humor readers have come to expect from a Sheila Roberts novel, Beachside Beginnings is the story of one woman finding the courage to live her best life. And where better to live it than at the beach?

I always jump at the chance for any kind of book by Sheila Roberts because she always come through with a solid read, light and easy, a perfect book for a global pandemic. Sure, we can't go to the beach right now but we can pretend by reading this one.

One of the requirements I have for a fun read is quirky characters and this book didn't disappoint. Literally every one of these people would be featured on a Kasey Musgraves album or even an episode of Schitt's Creek and I'm totally here for it. Moira working in a small town salon is the perfect setting, even more perfect than the small town of Moonlight Harbor and I loved it. This book is funny and charming, I loved every second of it. Between her move there, making new friends, empowering each other and themselves, and the men in the story being fully ready for them.

I absolutely love Sheila Roberts' books because I get sucked in immediately and I'm always a little sad when they end but always ready for the next one of hers. If you're looking for a lighthearted read with some humor throughout it and you want to escape into a totally different little town you can't help but enjoy, you absolutely need to pick up Beachside Beginnings.

   

Thank you to MIRA Books and Pump Up Your Book for having me on this tour! I received a copy in exchange for an honest review; all thoughts are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Excerpt

“Don’t look now, Harry, but I think we found the end of the world,” Moira said as she drove through the monolithic stone gateway that guarded the entrance to the town of Moonlight Harbor.
Harry, hunkered miserably in his cat carrier, let out a pitiful mewl. There had been a lot of twists and turns in the road the last part of their journey and even though the highway had eventually straightened back out he still hadn’t forgiven her. She didn’t blame him. She felt awful over having added to his misery. The poor little guy had yakked up and she’d had to pull over to clean the mess and reassure him.
But who was going to reassure her? This wasn’t her scene. She was a city girl, always had been. She’d grown up in apartments and she liked being able to go to clubs and dance, to go downtown or run out to the mall and spend some of her tip money on clothes. Lang criticized a lot of what she spent her money on (not that she had much to spend once she kicked in for her share of the rent and bought groceries), but he never complained when she came home with something from Victoria’s Secret.
There was sure no Victoria’s Secret here.
And so what if there wasn’t? She didn’t have anybody to look hot for any more. She sure didn’t want the somebody she’d had.
Lang had texted her six times before she’d finally shut off her phone. At first the texts had been contrite – Baby, you know I’m sorry, followed by, Why aren’t you answering? Then he got a little more anxious. Where are you? Then he got pissed. Damn, M, where the hell are you? The last two texts had been so full of cursing and F bombs and threats of what he was going to do if she didn’t quit ignoring him that she finally took Michael’s advice and traded in her phone for a new one in a T-Mobile store in Olympia, going with the cheapest phone and plan she could find.
There was no turning back now. Even if they made up, even if he said he was sorry he’d been mean to Harry, there would come another time when his temper would flare. Maybe she could have risked getting her jaw broken but she wasn’t about to risk any more of poor Harry’s ribs.
A bruised rib the vet she’d found in town had said. He’d given Harry something right there and provided her with pain killer meds for him.
If only there was something she could take to make herself feel better. She sure could have used some chocolate right then. What a mess her life was.
“It’s not how you start,” her high school English teacher, Mrs. Dickens, had once told her, “It’s how you finish. Remember that, Moira.”
Yes, she needed to remember that. She was going to finish well.
Here at the end of the world.
Okay, it wasn’t so bad. “Look at those cute little shops,” she said to Harry. Hard for Harry to do any looking from his cat carrier, so she went on to describe them. “They’re all different colors. Green, not dark green like Christmas but green, like an Easter egg, and orange like sherbet, and yellow like a sunny day. Oh, wow, and a go-cart track. I always wanted to drive one of those things. And there’s an ice cream place. It’s so cute. Pink, like a balloon at a baby shower. No, actually, darker than that. Like a sunset maybe. It’s got a big, old cement ice cream cone in front of it.”
Ice cream, sherbet. She parked in front of the Good Times Ice Cream Parlor. She still had a little cash left and she was hungry. Not simply for food but for hope. If a woman couldn’t find hope in a cute place like this where could she find it?
The lunch hour had passed and there weren’t many customers inside– only two old women seated at a tiny, wrought iron table painted white, enjoying milkshakes. The woman behind the counter looked almost old enough to be Moira’s mother.
The old ladies were staring at her like she had three boobs. Okay, so she had a nose ring and a tattoo of a butterfly flitting up her neck. Hadn’t they seen anyone with a nose ring or tat? Maybe it was her hair that had them gawking. (Although the strange lollipop red of the one woman’s hair was just as stare worthy, and not in a good way.)
Moira’s hair, on the other hand, was a work of art. A color that Michael had created, it was a gorgeous mix of pastels, silver and gold that he’d dubbed holographic opal because of the way it shimmered. Lang had thought it was hot.
What Lang thought didn’t matter anymore.
The woman behind the counter smiled at Moira and said, “Welcome. What would you like?”
A new life. “What’s your specialty?” She could have asked, “What’s good?” but anybody could say that. She liked the word specialty. It made her think of fancy French restaurants and TV celebrity chefs.
“How about some Deer Poop?”
Moira blinked. “Deer Poop?”
“In honor of all the deer we have around here – chocolate ice cream loaded with chocolate covered raisins.”
“Deer?” Just wandering around? The only deer she’d ever seen had been on TV or in pictures.
“Oh, yes. They’re everywhere.”
Wow. Now, that was cool. “Sure,” Moira said.
“Sugar or waffle cone?”
“Waffle.” Live it up, she thought.
“One scoop or two.”
“One,” Moira said, deciding to limit the living it up. Who knew if things would work out here? Who knew how long that paycheck Michael was sending would last? With what she had in her bank account even one scoop was a splurge.
“You’re new to town.” the woman observed.
“I am.” Moira glanced over her shoulder to find the two older women still checking her out. The freak show had arrived.
“I just got here,” she said. “I’m hoping to find a job. Your town looks adorable.” For the end of the world. Where were the people her age? Were there any?
Moira dug out a bill, but the woman waved it away. “On the house.”
“Really?” Wow. The woman handed over the cone and Moira took a bite. “This is …” Anyone could say good. “Tasty.”
The woman smiled. “All our ice cream is. What do you do?”
“I’m a hair stylist. My old boss sent me down here to meet a Pearl Edwards.” Moira was suddenly aware of the two older women whispering behind her. She could almost feel their stares.
“Pearl, she’s the best. She owns Waves,” said the woman. “Everybody in town goes there. Well, everybody my age and older.”
Old ladies and tight perms. This wasn’t the end of the world. This was hair stylist hell.
You’re here now. May as well check it out.
Now one of the women behind her spoke. “I have an appointment there. You can follow me if you like.”
Moira could have found her own way there, but she thanked the woman and agreed to follow her. People at the end of the world were nice to you, even if they did stare.
“I’ll see you later, Alma,” the good Samaritan said to her friend, and pushed away from the table. Standing up she wasn’t much taller than she’d been sitting down. Moira was five feet five but she stood a good six inches above this woman. There wasn’t much to her, either. She looked like she needed to go on a diet of daily milkshakes. Her sweatshirt was pink and it clashed with her hair and lipstick. I Got Moonstruck at Moonlight Harbor, it informed Moira.
“I’m Edie Patterson,” said the old woman. “Everyone calls me Edie and you can, too. I own the Driftwood Inn.”
The Driftwood Inn. Moira had a sudden vision of a cute little place with driftwood at its entrance. “That sounds charming.”
“Oh, it is. It was one of the first motels here in Moonlight Harbor. My great niece Jenna manages it and she’s fixed it all up and brought it back to its former glory. It’s one of the sweetest places in the whole town. Isn’t it, Nora?”
“It sure is,” agreed the woman behind the counter.
“If you need a place to stay while you’re getting settled I’m sure we can give you a room,” Edie said as she led Moira out of the ice cream parlor.
No way could Moira afford to stay at a motel indefinitely. No way could she afford to stay anywhere. She murmured her thanks and tried not to panic.
“Jenna doesn’t like me to drive,” Edie confided. “She’s always worried I’ll get in an accident. But she was busy giving someone a massage – she’s a massage therapist, you know – so I just went ahead and took my car out when she wasn’t looking,” said Edie conspiratorially, pointing to an ancient car that maybe got fifteen miles to the gallon on a good day. “That’s my car. You follow me.”
It wasn’t hard to follow Edie Patterson. A kid on a tricycle could go faster. They crept out onto the street and inched on down the main road.
It gave Moira time to finish her ice cream and check out the place. The buildings looked like they belonged in a movie from the sixties. And what was that? Some kind of store shaped like a giant shark. It looked like you entered through its gaping mouth, complete with long shark teeth. Now, there was something you didn’t see every day.
And wow! Deer. There were two of them, grazing on the grass in the median. There was something you didn’t see in Seattle.
Seattle. Lang. How many times had he tried to call her by now? He had to be really pissed.
Let him be. He didn’t deserve her. And Harry sure didn’t deserve the way Lang had treated him. She was glad she’d left. Glad.
Except she was sad, too. And she ached a little for what she’d had with Lang when they were first together and everything was good. And she half wished she could have that back.
She was a mess.

Book Review: Unicorn Untamed

You're so lucky to be getting two book reviews from me today and I'm not ashamed to tell you I picked this one solely for the cover.

Obviously.

Unicorn Untamed - Lin Reynolds

We’ve all done things we’re not proud of.

We all struggle with emotions we’re ashamed of.

We all have darkness we try to hide.

What if you could learn the tools to take the bad shit...and turn it into a beautiful sparkle?

Unicorn Untamed takes you on a journey of messy, uncomfortable self-discovery with some hard truths to help you become a better version of yourself...your true unicorn self.

I've had a hard time with non-fiction as of late because I don't really enjoy someone telling me what I should do or give me lift lessons just because it worked for them. I'm not really a self-help gal, and while this book kind of fits into this category, I looked at it more like a memoir and that helped me enjoy it a little more.

In this book Lin Reynolds talks about her life and some of the hardships she's gone through, some self inflicted and some not, and talks about going through them but also giving reflection in hindsight. A lot of this had me reflecting on my own life because as she mentions, so many of us in our 20s were probably the worst version of ourselves, and I have to agree that was true for me as well. I struggle with a lot of the things that, even on this blog, I've talked about that are maybe not flattering to me, and certainly not things I feel or would say now. Do I delete all of that in embarrassment, or do I leave it there as proof of how far I have come? I think about that a lot.

I did enjoy this because Lin writes in a way that we can all identify why, probably because of her self professed ability to include others. Its clear from the beginning of the book that this is a nothing-held-back memoir and she isn't afraid to air the ugly if it can help put something in perspective for someone else, and I really enjoyed that.

Overall I would give this a 3.5 star, rounded to 4. It's funny, it reminds you of a good night out with some girlfriends that we all really need right now. We can't go out because we are all quarantined, but we can read this book and feel like we're sitting with a friend, but also learn something about ourselves along the way too.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

   

Thank you to Social Butterfly PR and Lin Reynolds for having me on this tour and sending me a copy for review! All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this post contains affiliate links.

Book Review: Crave

If you've been a follower for long you know that I was a pretty big Twilight fan. A Twi-hard, if you will. I am, and will forever will be, Team Edward. You know why? Because werewolves like their own butt and I can't get down with that. It has been a few years since I've been able to get that fix. Sure, I've read a few vampire books and they just haven't given me that feeling that I got when I read Twilight.

You guys? I found it. I found our new Twilight.

Crave - Tracy Wolff

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

I don't want to compare this to Twilight because the only thing I really felt were comparable were the personalities of some of the characters, Grace's choice between Jaxon (vampire) and Flint (dragon), and a few other ideas were borrowed but absolutely, undoubtedly improved upon. While Twilight had Bella fairly helpless and dependent on everyone else, this story gives us Grace who knows life is short and wants to help herself. She's determined to use logic and doesn't fly off of the emotional handle. She's cool, calm, and collected and is the heroine we all deserve.

With all of that said, I absolutely loved CRAVE, and I cannot wait for more. I hope with everything in me I can be on the next tours because there will be more. CRAVE is set to be a trilogy and I am more than excited to read this and have it sit all pretty on my shelf!

OK. In this book we have Grace, forced to move to Alaska because her parents have died and she has no options. Her uncle Finn is the headmaster at Katemere Academy, which at first glance looks like a weird, elite boarding school in the middle of a frozen nowhere. Once you start really looking around it is quickly obvious that the students here aren't your run in the mill high schoolers. Grace is rooming with her cousin Macy who is being evasive when Grace tries to ask her questions. It turns out to be a terrible idea because Grace finds herself in danger at every turn. She assumes her accidents are all coincidences but Jaxon, the terrifying classmate that Grace is wildly attracted to, is trying to tell her that someone(s) is out to kill her. 

Of course, she refuses to believe this so she isn't using her brains at all. She refuses to believe that anyone would have any reason to kill her so she continues to learn about her classmates (once learning that monsters are real and they are all around her) and "making friends".

I absolutely LOVED Jaxon and all of his dangerous angst because its clear he really cares for Grace and eventually comes to love her. Jaxon is a born vampire from the reigning King and Queen of vampires, so he runs The Order (of vampires) at school. (Imagine the Vulturi from Twilight and how they walk around together... Jaxon and his friends walk through school like that, and command the attention of others.) I liked Macy, Grace's cousin, though I can't understand why she was so reluctant to tell Grace about school and the people there. I kept screaming throughout the book that someone needed to explain to Grace what the hell was happening, and why, because I felt like so many of her "accidents" and the end could have been different if they gave her a little more credit at being able to handle information.

I cannot go into all of the reasons I loved this book because it might ruin certain parts of the book for you and believe me when I tell you this book is worth your time. And money. If I had to give you anything that I would change, it would maybe be a little more at the end. Of course there is a big scene at the end and just when I thought we would ease into a cliffhanger, I'm left with a major character being... unavailable? I mean, I guess that's what I'd call it. Ha! I wanted to know how that kind of thing happened, first of all. But also, it made me think about all of the similar things like this that were in the library and it makes me excited to think of them maybe coming to life? Which would be amazing and bananas at the same time!

Of course, none of that makes sense but it will once you read the book. PLEASE read this book so we can talk about this because I have so many thoughts and I need someone to talk to about it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

   

I have to give a HUGE thank you to EntagledTeen and MB Communications for having me on this tour and sending me easily the best book mailing I have ever received in exchanged for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Book Review: Reborn Yesterday

I've been reading off and on when I've got time and I'm behind in my reviews. Which is terrible. I know. I'm starting to get back on track though, so I'm bringing this to you today because you HAVE to read this one if you like romance. Seriously.

Reborn Yesterday - Tessa Bailey

A timeless love story with bite.

It was a night like any other for funeral home director Ginny Lynn, until the exceptionally handsome—and unfortunately deceased—young man on her embalming table sat up, opened his emerald eyes and changed the course of her life forever, making her feel quite fluttery while he was at it.

Humans aren't supposed to know Jonas Cantrell, or any vampire, exists. It's kind of a major rule. Despite his instantaneous bond with perfectly peculiar Ginny, he has no choice but to erase her memories of their one and only meeting.

That was the plan. Before a reluctant Jonas can wipe Ginny's mind clean, she reveals a secret that brings their worlds crashing together. Human and vampire. Past and present. Darkness and light. And while their love is strictly forbidden, it might be the only thing that can save them…

I jumped onto this tour because I am a huge Tessa Bailey fan anyways and I had no idea that this was going to be a romantic comedic suspense with a paranormal twist.

She's literally going for every genre and she NAILED IT.

I absolutely loved Ginny and her quirkiness. She's an awkward dork in all of the best ways. Then we have Jonas, a vampire who shouldn't fraternize with humans who suddenly finds himself obsessed with little oddball Ginny. I want so badly to explain how much I loved this, how often I found myself laughing out loud during this but it ruins it all. It would ruin the entire thing and you just need to go in knowing you are going to love this from page one to done.

The overview of this Ginny, a  mortician, has a body to deal with in her morgue but she can't quite bring herself to start because something isn't quite right. She's right because he pops up and instead of freaking out she seems oddly relieved. Jonas knows he needs to get out of there quickly but he can't really decide why, and knowing this, Ginny decides to stall to buy a little more time with him. It quickly becomes apparent that it isn't going to be enough and soon they find themselves inseparable.

Quite unfortunate really, because there are three real rules in vampire world and Jonas finds himself breaking all three with Ginny. Just when he is about to really say goodbye and erase her memory of him, he realizes she's in actual danger. Her life has almost ended a few times and nobody really knows why someone has it out for her, he knows if she died it would gut him.

He just doesn't know why. Yet.

I was absolutely glued to this book and could not put it down. I found myself laughing throughout while at the same time at the edge of my seat wanting to know who was trying to kill Ginny. I wanted Jonas and Ginny to make it and I got SO WORRIED that I would be left with a cliffhanger considering this is book on in the Phenomenal Fate series but rest assured, this is a stand alone. Not that you'll want to stop there, because Tessa Bailey gives us a fantastic cast of characters that we want to know more about and I can't wait to read their stories!

   

An incredibly HUGE thanks to Social Butterfly PR and Tessa Bailey

Moving + Pandemic = Anxiety

I know this probably feels like the longest move you've ever heard of and I would agree with that but technically we've only REALLY been at it for two weeks. You think I'm nuts but no, aside from random boxes here and there, this has only been happening for two weeks and it has been the longest two weeks of my life.

In fact, March is the month that never ends and I just really need it to end right now.

So, updates. Well, we are officially in the new house. The only stuff at the old house is the entire basement, the garage, and then the yard stuff which is still frozen to the ground. We have no real game plan because we have no room in our current basement for our old basement's stuff but we also can't put it in the garage because we have garage stuff, and so we are left with a really unclear plan on what to do. I told Matt maybe we should just rent a storage space and be freaking done with it and he's not super excited about that. Apparently, he would rather live with crap everywhere and climbing over boxes to go pee, which is the current state of things.

In other news, our bedroom is is like 90% done. We have to trim out the window, door, and closet still. We have closet doors that need to be trimmed a little and then those go in. We have yet to purchase something to hang clothes on for in the closet. But other than that, totally done!

It isn't huge but it's actually really nice and Matt did a great job on it. Now if only he'd get my office/craft room/library done we can bring so much stuff down there that is currently spread all around the house. 

Since we are doing this while in quarantine, I've been home to watch TV. We only get local channels so I'm pretty much stuck between PBS, The View, Hot Bench, Dr. Phil, and Judge Judy. That rounds out my day mostly.

It is obviously very exciting.

The fun thing is on The View they often have the "View Your Deal" and I saw they had the Happy Wax things so I bought them because it was on my Christmas and Birthday wish lists and I did  not get them. Treat yo'self and all that.

Oh, and Wisconsin schools are closed until April 6 or 7 (so far) but the rumor is we'll be out for the rest of the year. Who knows if that will happen, I hope not because that would suck. We are supposed to be doing virtual learning and while Olivia and Jackson can handle it themselves with very little help from me, Penelope and Lucy need me to basically be the teacher.

THANKFULLY, Lucy's teacher from Head Start brought this bag FULL of lessons and activities, the supplies to do it with, pajamas, a book, a new toothbrush, and a new stuffed animal. Seriously, it was amazing. 

She was so stinking excited about it and we start her lessons this week. I have to sit down and get everything organized so we can make some kind of sense of it. 

Penelope's is online but I have to have Matt help me with the printer because I just can't comprehend things on a screen so much anymore, I really work best with it on paper so hopefully we can get that organized tonight. 

In the middle of this I had to finish packing up the last of my books and we moved big stuff out of the house, thankfully we had Matt's dad, brother, and sister to help since I can't do anything. It was kind of sad seeing my lovely candles in a box next to my Linda Howard books which are my favorite. Linda got her own box, obviously. 

Oh!! And I found a random cat hanging around the house. I still don't know if it belongs to someone or if it needs a home. Of course I throw all common sense and caution to the wind and snuggle a possible stray cat like its a baby, and Matt says its a miracle I've made it to 38. Which is probably true. 

I posted on Facebook how I was kind of sad when I saw Penelope and Lucy's room empty and fully cleaned out. I remembered how excited I was when I was pregnant with Penelope and I just thought it was sad that what I thought would be the start of an amazing chapter in my life ended up being the beginning of the worst. I obviously don't regret Penelope or Lucy, its just interesting to realize that is maybe the only time in years I had been able to reflect on previous events and see the last few years as a whole piece of my timeline. Which probably makes no sense but most of what I say doesn't anymore so I remain consistent.

Also sad? It was this weekend when Lucy really realized that we live in THIS house now and we won't be going back to the old house. The entire concept really upset her and even though we've reassured her all of her things are here, all of us are here, and talked about the things that are nicer here, she really was upset. I was reminded of what a gentle little soul she is. 

Pandemic continues, though. Wisconsin is now under an essential business closure on top of what we already had. I did have to go to Target on Sunday and it was so completely eerie driving around and nobody at all being around. Aside from my doctor appointment today, that's the only outing I've had (outside of driving back and forth between houses). I have another appointment on Thursday but I might just skip it because meh. 

Like I said, we start kind of home schooling. Yesterday I tried to get the girls to work quietly and it lasted a solid 15 minutes. 

But weren't they cute doing it? Look at that concentration! Perfect pencil grip! 

It all quickly turned into a who-can-do-it-faster thing even though they were doing two totally different activities. I have no idea how I'm supposed to do both kids at the same time. Oy vey.

Book Review: Little Wonders

In between the nightmare that is my life right now, I've been reading every chance I get because its one of the things that kind of helps keep my anxiety down. THANKFULLY, this was the next book on my review pile because this was a gem.

Little Wonders - Kate Rorick

Her mommy meltdown is seen around the world!

When Quinn Barrett’s son refuses to wear his hand-crafted costume to the Little Wonders Preschool Happy Halloween Parade and Dance Party she loses it -- complete with stomping, screaming, and costume-destruction galore. Not her best day. And caught on viral video.   Yep, “Halloween Mom” is now internet famous.

The posting culprit: tattooed, blue-haired, west-coast transplant Daisy McGulch, out of place in the posh New England town and unable to blend with the other perfect mommies of Little Wonders Preschool.

While she couldn’t care less about organic snacks (paleo-preferred) or the winter quarters of the Little Wonders chickens, she’s not about to admit she’s the one who accidentally brought Quinn’s worst moment to the entire world—she’d be kicked out of town!

But when Quinn and Daisy find themselves unlikely cohorts in the fight for Little Wonders Parents Association supremacy, they also discover they have more in common than they expected…but the internet is forever.  Can Quinn live down her new reputation?  And how far will Daisy go to keep the truth from coming to light?

So I'll start by telling you that this was compared to a few other books with similar ideas but I didn't find this to be like them at all. And that's OK! I think if you go into this thinking it is going to be similar and that's what you're looking for, you will likely be pretty disappointed. I feel like this is all on its very own and that's the way it should be. 

I felt like the book was funny, and this is honestly what I picture the preschools of elite suburbia to be like and I am forever thankful that it isn't like this where I live. To be frank, I would never make it. I liked the characters but there were a couple of characters I would have liked to see a POV chapter (or a couple) from, and that would be Shanna. She's painted as a pretty awful and sketch person but I kept waiting for the moment when we'd all find out what a great person she was all along. Except as I was reading it, I totally understood what she was doing and why and it was frustrating for me as a reader that the other characters weren't really seeing it. (Yes, I'm talking as if this is all real life.) 

The only other meh part of the book for me is it felt like it was taking on too many topics instead of mastering one or two. It's kind of been a trend in quite a few books lately where the author wants to start with all of these strings and then realizes you only have so many pages to put them together and some kind of drop because it doesn't matter and then others are rushed and that happened a little in this one. 

I will tell you, I thought it was funny. I found myself laughing at the absurdity of the situation quite a few times and it was a fun, light read. If you are looking for something to forget the evening news and the fact your own little wonders are tearing up the house, pick this one up. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yesterday was this book's official release day (birthday) and you can find this on the HarperCollins website where you can shop for a million other goodies!

   

A big thank you to HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours for having me on this tour and sending me a copy for review. All thoughts are my own and this post contains affiliate links. 

We're still moving. It's hard.

Despite a coronavirus pandemic, we are still moving. Matt is building our bedroom and my future office in the basement while the kids and I are trying to move as much as we can that doesn't require his muscles and can fit in my vehicle. We had been counting on asking for people to help us and that's quickly becoming not an option.

Unfortunate because I can't lift at all and Matt most likely needs surgery on his elbow and everything is just working against us, but honestly? What else can we POSSIBLY expect? I told Matt we should just expect the worst from now on because that's what it just is.

Another such scenario is our current couches would not fit in new house. Inconvenient? Yes. Crisis? No. I had some money saved up because we intended to buy couches soon but all of this kind of derailed that. Until it didn't.

So we got new ones which I bought online in a bargain bin basically and they were delivered.

Thankfully they aren't super ugly and awful, they are quite nice but are quite a bit smaller than we have become accustomed to. Not a crisis. 

We also had to downsize our kid book collection, which was quite extensive, and was almost two shelves, each 84 inches long. You can see I did a damn good job slimming us down. 

While Matt has been busy in the basement the big kids and I have been unpacking as soon as we can so we can reuse our boxes and hopefully return our unused ones and get some money back. Late nights make Jackson punchy. 

Thankfully I had the forethought to purchase Easter basket goodies ahead of time because I really didn't think I'd have the time or money to do it closer to April. That's actually turning out to be true because I've spent so much money on groceries and things we might need in the event we are all quarantined for awhile. Buying that kind of supply for SIX PEOPLE is really freaking expensive. 

Guess what else is tricky? Trying to get two rambunctious little girls to take naps on the couch while stuff is going on because I don't have beds for them here yet. That's fun. 

I managed to make that happen on Monday and I was so freaking grateful because they even went to bed at a decent time later on.

We've had to bring Twinky with us to the new house because we are spending basically all day there and he has to be taken out to pee and such. 

By the time we get home he finds his lady friend (stuffed dog that looks like hell) and he humps her for a long time. So that's fun to watch. 

A lot of the big furniture is moved out and its starting to look so bare in here. Which is bittersweet. I'm going to miss this house and all of the plans we had, but it also feels like I'm closing the last chapter of a really awful book, if that makes sense. Its time for someone else to make happy memories here. 

And because of my napping-on-the-couch abilities, I took a picture because it happened again today and Penelope and Twinky look super cute.

So I'm stressed to the max. We have no idea if our DC/NYC trip is being rescheduled. I have no idea if our dance season is done. I have no idea if we are even going back to school this year. I really have no idea what is coming up for us and I'm terrified but trying to get myself to calm the hell down. One day at a time. If anything, this just shows us how unprepared we all are and how much we take our everyday conveniences for granted. If nothing else, I really hope my family and I come out of this far more appreciative for little things, like being able to go get milk when we need it. Or go to the movies for fun.

Until then, I'm going to eat the last of my Sweet Tart jellybeans because I'm stressed out.