History

 Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds

This was history light in the sense that it touched on a lot of history but did not go deep into any of it. Yes, there were some dates (if you study history you know that history loves dates) but that was not the main focus, instead the dates were there to give you the context. This was more about understanding how and why the United States looks and acts the way it does. It focuses on the systems that have been built and who they benefit. It encourages you to look at how you personally benefit from and participate in said systems. It was an interesting and accessible read.

Witch and Witch Hunter Finale

 Gods & Monsters  by Shelby Mahurin 

Reid you brave idiot. This picks up right where the previous book left off. Everyone knows something is wrong with Lou but they just think it's Ansel's death not that she is possessed. Anyway, they are trying to stop Morgane and Josephine and Lou is both helping and not helping. They end up at an abandoned church and Father Achille feeds them and lets them stay the night and he tells them about the monster that's at the lighthouse. Then Celie shows up and tells them she followed them, but took a wrong turn in her carriage. So they go to warn the monster and get her carriage back. But, her carriage is missing a wheel. And the monster turns out to not be a monster, it's actually one of their friends and he points to Lou who is trying to run away. But Reid catches her. Coco feeds her some of her blood and that's how they figure out she's being possessed. So they go to the waters because that's the only way to save her, is by purging Nicholina from her. But at the waters, if you drink you cannot lie. So, Reid, Coco, and Lou drink and tell their truths. Reid struggles but finally faces the truth. Lou struggles against Nicholina, but is able to purge her. Then Morgane and Josephine show up. But so does Angelina, who is Coco's mother who is confined to the waters. There is a battle and Reid pulls on one of the threads which removes Lou from his memory, but also removes her from Morgane's memory. They win, temporarily. He wakes up surrounded by witches and Celie. He runs to the nearest town. Goes to the church. Demands they call the Chaussers. Jean Luc shows up and rescues him, takes him back to Lou, and joins their team. There is a bit where they spend some time "underwater" but not (the mermaids can drain the area and walk) and they get Isla's help and Lou discovers that the triple goddess has removed her blessing from her mother and given it to her instead. Lou is working on trying to help Reid remember, but nothing is working. But, the stops wanting to kill her and just starts wanting her. They devise a plan that is going to have Jean Luc "capture" her, Reid, and Beau so they can free Reid's mom and then she can break them all out of prison. But, the king strips Jean Luc of his captaincy and puts her and Reid in a special cage so the break out plan goes awry. She protects Reid. He starts seeing the patterns, but not enough to use them. They get put on the stake. The rescue happens then. She gets Reid off and takes his pain. That's when all of his memories come back. He pulls the thread. They rescue her. Fighting breaks out. Nicholina ends up helping take down Josephine. Celie stabs Morgane with hemlock which allows Lou the time to slit her throat. one of Beau's twin sisters dies in the fight; no matter how many times he and Reid locked them both up in safe places they kept escaping to fight. The king died at the stake. Beau becomes king. Lou and Coco both become queens of their respective covens and work together. The book ends with Lou and Reid getting married for real and the wedding being told from the perspective of Ansel's ghost. That was bittersweet. Oh, and Father Achille becomes the new head of the Chaussers and girls can join and it becomes what it should have been all along, protection against evil, not against witches. This was a really good ending. It had action, adventure, love, and loss. I adored it.

(Not Quite) Hate Listen part 4

 Kate  by Tate James 

I still maintain that this is not how teenagers act and this would have been more believable if everyone had been aged up a few years. Still, this was a good ending to the story. Everyone survives. Steele is still my favorite. He survives his gunshot to the chest. The plan is to draw out the hit by staging a very public wedding, which they do. Except first, Madison Kate gets proof that her father isn't actually her father and that's why he's been such a horrible parent. Then, at the intimate family dinner instead of the rehearsal dinner, she interrogates him and then kills him. Now, the wedding. The wedding happens and the hit never happens. Until the end when the church explodes. There was some stuff before hand, like realizing that the guards weren't trustworthy and stuff like that, but I'm just hitting the highlights. So, after the church explodes Cody gets her to one of Hades' clubs for the reception and we meet Seph, aka Persephone. And then we retire to the hotel. Oh, her real father, is James, he is the former marine turned gardener who dated her mom for like 2 weeks and then got deployed, and he is very loyal to Arch and now his daughter. Cas calls and says he has the address of the guy who put out the hit, it's her uncle through marriage or something like that, and he wants her dead because she owns a diamond mine that he has been running since his wife's accident, and he wants the money. So Cody and Steele go to meet Cas and then the fire alarm goes off. Archer gives her a necklace and turns out it's a real fire. They start heading down the stairs and are met with firemen who tranq them because it's actually Zane who has decided to try to double cross Arch. Zane takes her to the uncle and there is enough monologueing for the guys to show up and for Steele to kill the uncle and then for Archer to kill his brother. So now Cas is the head of the Reapers. They go home and rest then a few days later her stalked shows up. He gasses the place. She makes it down to panic room but he attacks Arch and says if she doesn't come out he will kill him, so she does. She puts up a good fight so that everyone can converge on her. Turns out her stalker, the person who was stalking her mom, who raped her mom, was Declan, her mom's twin brother who everyone thought was dead. Nope, not dead. Nobody knows how he survived the assassination attempt when he was 17, but he changed his name and then started stalking his sister and raped and impregnated her. Then started stalking his niece. Also, he was the older man that Bri was dating last year. But, Bri followed him home after she found out she was pregnant and was going to tell his wife. She tells MK and Cody all of this in the hospital when they come to visit her. They don't tell her that he was the stalker, just that he was one of the security guards and he died and could she give them the address so they could let his wife know. She does and they go over there, except the pictures aren't of him and his wife they are a completely different couple; he had killed the man and taken the woman hostage and was living in the house. He had set up the basement as a torture chamber. But a "gas leak" took care of that.  Dallas was able to get out of the other gang and join the Timberwolves and Hades isn't being horrible to him so he and Bri can live in peace and raise their child together. Archer and the guys buy her a house and is secluded, in the mountains, with a lake; it's perfect. Fast forward to Halloween. We have come full circle. We are back at the same place the first book started, except now it's a sanctioned fight in a club Hades owns and nobody gets killed. The book ends with her being officially introduced to Hades but Seph says she already knows him and that's where it ends, with us left on a cliffhanger of about Hades identity. So now I'm going to have to listen to this spin off series to find out who Hades is and I had very mixed feelings about this series.

Cozy Fantasy

 Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne 

This was so cute. Cozy fantasy is quickly becoming one of my favorite genres. So we have the Queen's assassin and the Arcandor aka the best mage in the entire world. And they are dating in secret. And the Queen is the literal worst. So assassin (Reyna) has had enough and finally agrees to run off and open a tea and book shop with the mage (Kianthe). Kianthe still has her magic and still has to do Arcandor stuff, like protecting the town where they settle from dragons when they attack. Reyna is still an assassin, so she is dealing with the bandit problem by giving them jobs to help clean up their town and the neighboring towns, but also protecting their new home. They accidentally adopt an orphaned teenage boy when he tries to join a bandit crew by giving him a job, and setting him up with the town blacksmith who is married to the only midwife and he is learning those skills as well. So, the dragons are attacking the town because three of their eggs have been stolen and they are looking for them. Kianthe promises to help find them. Reyna gets found by other assassins and has devised a plan that is a huge lie, but will stroke the Queen's ego and it works. So she gets away with treason and gets to live happily ever after. Also, Kainthe is bonded to a griffin. Visk, said griffin, mates and they have four eggs. His mate doesn't like humans but stops attacking and gives permission for Reyna to take one of the eggs, which Visk picks out. So now Reyna is also bonded to a griffin and it's adorable. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. I picked this up because the title was cute and the sprayed edges were pretty and I'm so glad I did. I'm obsessed.

Made for TV cont. (again x6)

 206 Bones  by Kathy Reichs 

I. KNEW. IT. As soon as she was introduced I knew that we couldn't trust Brielle; that she was trouble and was going to be behind some of the issues in the book. When the finger bones went missing, I knew she had stolen them. They mysterious gunshot that a seasoned pathologist couldn't find but the new kid could. No way. I definitely expected her to be doing all of the sabotaging because she was the serial killer and she was covering her tracks, so I was wrong about that. But I was correct that she was sabotaging her colleagues to make herself look better. I hope the coroner, who is elected and a lawyer, loses his job and gets disgraced as a lawyer as well for this. I was surprised at how well the killer hid his identity, and only targeted old ladies. It was a clever case. This time Tempe being in trouble wasn't because she ran head first into danger without telling anyone, it was because she thought her new neighbor was messing with her and she went to confront him, but really it was her lab assistant who was tricked by Brielle into hating Tempe and he kidnapped her. This one was really good; it was mystery and crime and high stakes without being depressing.

(Not Quite) Hate Listen part 3

 Fake by Tate James 

This is still not how teenagers act and if she had just aged Madison Kate up a bit I would not be having this much of an issue with this, because this book was much better, plot wise. Like the ending has me on the edge of my seat. I am in such a state over this ending that I can't even. This picks up where the last one left off, and then does a bit of a time jump. She spends winter break in Aspen with Bri and meets Scott who is fun and cute but that's it. But he decides to transfer schools because of her. So that's not creepy at all. And then he continually takes things too far and doesn't listen to or respect her wishes at all. And I cannot stand him. She is living in an apartment owned by Zane who is helping her. She has a meeting with a divorce attorney but until they can find out if there is a prenup and what it says they can't go any further. She makes up with Cody first; he is my least favorite. Steele is unavailable because they catch the hit-man. Archer takes her to a photo shoot for a friend. Then to where Steele is with the hit-man; he got all of the info out of him hours ago and has just been waiting for her. Well, the guy starts taunting her while the guys argue so she shoots him. Steele takes her home. They make up. More story. She ends up at a cabin with Archer for the weekend. They come home. Back to school. At some point she punches Scott in the face. She and Bri leave campus for lunch with Cody following. A hummer deliberately runs a red light and hits them. Cody kills 8 people in broad daylight. She had some bad bruising and a concussion but otherwise is alright. Bri is in bad shape. She, the guys, and Dallas spend forever at the hospital. She makes it. So does the baby. Everyone but Dallas leaves. At some point Archer had a charity fight, he won. They surprised her with giant billboards of the photo shoot. She doesn't like it. The cabin goes up in flames. Pretty sure that happened before the car accident. Anyway, she gets a text from Dallas saying he was on his way over and would be there soon. She tells the guys. They go back to working out. Music is loud. Doorbell rings. She answers. It's not Dallas. It's Scott. He grabs her. He's the stalker. They got proof at the hospital and have been looking for him. So he shows up. She cuts him with the knife Archer gave her. But, it's not deep. She moves to where she knows a gun is hidden. Takes aim. He taunts her. She kills him. Guys hear the gunshot. They clean up and take the body to a pig farm. Then take the plastic wrap to a recycling plant. She sees a blinking red dot. They all get out of the car. Archer gets a text. For her. It's a video of her killing Scott. And it says she got the wrong person and that they don't miss. And than she hits the ground and it sounds like Steele has been shot. While Archer with his dark hair and blue eyes may be my type, Steele is my favorite. HE CANNOT BE DEAD!!! This is stressing me out.

1st in a New Series

 An Artful Seduction by Tina Gabrielle 

This was an interesting premise. He is not only an Earl, but also a well respected art critic. She is the eldest daughter of a notorious art forger. And she just so happens to be a lovely widow too.  This was so predictable. I enjoyed every minute of it. It was obvious she was only a fake widow; that she made up a husband so she could live by herself and have control over her two younger sisters without a scandal. Their chemistry was great. His former lover being highly jealous was so obvious. Her own insecurities being triggered by said former lover, on the nose. The best part was his younger sister being delightful and the voice of reason at 13! His he man routine when her scoundrel of a father showed up and then their honest conversation about why she turned down his first proposal, her father showing up, was wonderful. Them finally getting married and her moving her sisters in with them and all of the girls getting on like a house on fire was great.  I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Made for TV cont (again x5)

 Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs 

This case was SO MUCH BETTER than the previous book. I can handle different religions any day. I was so upset when Eddie was killed. I really liked his calm quiet presence. he was a nice foil to Skinny. And it was sad that the witch was killed when he was not the real bad guy. I understood why he was killed, but unfortunately the father killed the wrong man and it was too little too late to reconcile with his dead son. In her personal life Tempe reconnects with an old high school friend and one time hook up, then in the wake of Eddie's death falls off the wagon and the one time hook up turns into a new hook up. Andrew shows up for the funeral. She gets fired. He tells her that things didn't work out with him and Lily's mother and they are back to living separately. She doesn't know what she wants because she can't keep being his whenever it's convenient girl. New/Old friend tells her he can wait. Skinny gets a new partner. And the killer was a male hooker who the personal assistant to the local representative, who got killed by the hooker, used to pick up. So the representative, who was all fire and brimstone and morals is no more. Everything about this book, from the case to the personal relationships was so much better. I hope the rest of the series continues in this manner! 

Hate Listen part 2

 Liar by Tate James 

While I maintain that this is still NOT how teenagers or college freshmen act, this was better than book 1. It picks up right were book 1 left off, after the attack. Madison Kate wakes up in the hospital. She learns that Archer is not the one who attacked her, but she's not convinced. She is using Bri's credit card and staying in a hotel. But, that doesn't last long as Archer finds her and brings her home. Her father is there and he's being horrible but Archer tells him to go on a world cruise and he does. So, why does Archer have so much power over him? She and Steele make up first. Then she makes up with Cody. Exams are cancelled for a while because of snow. Jace, the guys manager is horrible. She goes to Zane for help, for answers. Archer takes her to meet his grandmother for thanksgiving. Archer has a fight and he wins. At the after party both his uncle and his brother are there. They leave Cody in charge of her but a bang comes from the back room so Cody leaves her with Dallas. But Bri sees Dallas being flirty and she runs to the bathroom. Drew, Cody's ex, makes a bet with Madison, which MK loses, but she doesn't take the offered drink, she takes Drew's. But Drew's drink was spiked with fentanyl. She is picked up, given a dose of narcan, and put in the trunk of Steele's car. Then Archer finds her and she refuses to leave him so he goes in the ambulance with her. She wakes up in the hospital and finds out that Drew was killed, most likely by her stalker, and that she had drugs on her. So Drew was going to roofie her but she took the other spiked drink instead and her stalker killed Drew for trying to hurt her. She has a nightmare and Archer goes to her bed and they fool around. She finally wakes up and hears talking outside. Zane and the boys are out there, and Zane finally spills the beans; her dad sold her to Archer. She and Archer are married. That's why her dad listens to him. Also, she Steele and Cody had a threesome before the fight. But the book ends with the revelation of her and Archer being married.  This was a much better ending than the previous book. And explains so much.

Witches and Witch Hunters

 Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin 

WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. That ending! I cannot!. So Lou is getting stronger in her magic and losing part of herself in the process. Reid is struggling with his love for Lou and his hatred of witches, which means he is repressing his own magic. Coco convinces her Aunt, the head of the Blood Witches, to help. Reid gets some of the werewolves to help, despite the fact that Lou hurt the alpha's son, and caused an ice storm. Reid and Lou fight and she gives him back the ring. Then, he comes to his senses and they talk and make up, but he never gets the chance to give her back the ring. They are being hunted by Morgane. They watch the Archbishop's funeral. Beau tries to get his father, the king, to help but that doesn't work. They realize that Celie has been taken and search for her. Lou saves her but can't save Ansel. Morgane kills him and Lou only cares about vengeance. Then, the head Blood Witch does some weird blood magic and takes control of Lou's brain turning her into a puppet. And that's how the book ends. With Lou and Reid kissing, but Reid doesn't know that Lou isn't really Lou. ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME.  I am obsessed with this series. I cannot wait to read the next one!

Magic, War, and Family part 2

 The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri 

I had the same issue with this that I had with the first book in the series, the random characters getting a chapter or two from the POV changes. Otherwise, this was amazing! We seen Malani in her roll as Empress, fighting a war. We see her followers with varying degrees of faith in her, particularly her main general. I loved how she handled him and his disgrace. I was devastated when Editia sacrificed himself. He and Rao were obviously in love and deserved a long, happy life together. And then we have Priya and Bumica. The Yaxia return and they learn just who their gods really were, and are. Ashok returns from the dead, but he's not really himself; he's a Yaxia who doesn't have complete control yet. That lack of control allows Ashok to come through occasionally, and he uses him time to help Bumica. Priya is instrumental in Malini's success in battle, but it comes at a cost. The Yaxia wants all of her. With the help of the priests Malani is kills her brother, after she lets herself be captured and the priests turn on him. She locks him in a cell and leaves him poison which he decides to drink. And now, she really is the rightful ruler. And the only sibling left. Priya gets called by the Yaxia who tells her she requires her heart so she stabs Malani. It takes Malani literal weeks to recover and when she does Rao is there, telling her that Editia burned and made mother's fire. And Priya is on her way back home, not realizing that Bumica is only a shell of herself now, because Ashok gave her the knowledge of how to kill the Yaxia, but in doing so it erased her completely.  So much happened in this book and I was captivated by all of it. I need a break before I jump into the third and final book because despite the fact that I cannot wait to read it, I need to separate myself from these characters to fully appreciate how engaging this story was.

Educational

 Blueprinting An Inquiry-Based Curriculum by Kathy Swan, S.G. Grant, John Lee

I got this a few years ago from my curriculum lead and just now got around to it. This is the third book in this process, they have been writing more books as they get feedback from teachers. However, it also built on what they developed in the first book. Because of that this book was a little hard to grasp as I did not have the background knowledge to have an in depth understanding. Additionally, I think it would have a better understanding if I worked with the blueprint and created one for my own use. I'm not certain that I want to attempt the blueprint model, but it was an interesting concept.