Hopefulpuffin > Recent Status Updates

Emma is still small. And she ran away. Wait for it. Just like her mother.

I dislike Justin too. It’s so haaaaard to take care of kids, work from home, and have a personal life. I know the kids are his siblings, but puh-lease. None of them are in diapers. And if I have to hear about Emma being “small” again, I might lose it.

I dislike Emma.

I’m not really loving this book. I’m not really liking it either. What started out as a light, rom-con has taken a more serious turn. I dislike Amelia and can’t understand why she is absolutely blind to her disaster of a mother. I can deal with Justin and his TikTok ready surveys and dates. I don’t like all the name dropping - it will quickly date this book.

Does the Indra-lust make this a romance? Because with all of the problems facing both main characters, it is reading more like women’s fiction, or, horrors, chick-lit.

Hopefully something will happen soon.

Another book club pick. We shall see.

So Hamilton rented her an enslaved person to help around the house. But don’t worry. She feels conflicted about it, and calls the person a servant. Gah. When will this book end.

Still dislike it. And there’s no colonial sexy times yet. Maybe when Hamilton starts his affair. I really don’t like completely fabricated conversations between genuine historical figures, not to mention the random name dropping like Molly Pitcher.

Still struggling with this one. Some observations - when is a servant a servant and when is a servant actually enslaved? Why go to the trouble of describing a, “Negro servant,” of Washington’s when that person was likely enslaved?

I’m trying, but it’s hard. I thought maybe I could just read it as straight up historical fiction and try to ignore the “biographical” elements, but it’s next to impossible. I wish the authors had renamed everyone and totally factionalized it. Maybe then I’d have more tolerance. As it is, I find Eliza a whiny, unsympathetic “woe is me, life’s *so* unfair” woman & I don’t care for her one bit.

The language rubs me the wrong way. One page mentions the “kerchiefed Negro slaves” and the next page is the “black lady’s maid.” Is the lady’s maid a free person? Also enslaved? Why do we need the “Negro” descriptive? Ugh.

“But, thankfully, fiction can go where historians rightly fear to tread.” That authors’ note explains a lot.

Coming hard on the heels of The Personal Librarian (damn book club) I’ve decided two things. 1) I don’t like historical biographical fiction and 2) It shouldn’t take two authors to write these books.

600 + Kindle pages. Heaven help me.

WTH?!?! I’m a social studies teacher. I’ve taught everything under the sun including Honors World History and US History. I’ve had years with a cart in lieu of a room. And my surname is….

I’m almost done. By almost, I’m at the 75% mark or so. But really, I don’t think this book will ever end. And that’s unfortunate. Because I really, really want it to be done. Review to follow.

DNF. I might try again. Then again, I might not.

So far this is well and truly awful. On page one we’re given a summary of other Wyoming Men and the women who love them. Jake, our current WY man, had the hots for Mina, a “famous author of romance novels, who actually went on commando missions with a bunch of mercenaries who’d taken her under their wing for research.” I see a DNF looming in the distance. Time will tell.

It's statutory rape. Duh.

FINALLY. Something happens to Noah. But I'm still uncomfortable reading about teenage sex. Not because it's M/M. That's fine. But because they're teens.

Oh my God. I just don't care. I wish I did. Jude's story is almost interesting. Noah's is not. I'm totally skimming his chapter. Because I don't care about him or his mother having an affair.

Somehow I'm struggling through this. It's gotten marginally better. However, I don't know any high school kid who talks like Jude or Noah. Perhaps because I don't teach art.

And I don't care about the LGBT content. It's the whole teen thing that's creeping me out.

Huh. I can't say I'm enjoying this book at all. I don't really like the writing style and reading about a 14 year old having sex makes me uncomfortable.

I also wonder if I'd feel as uncomfortable reading this if I was a teen. And would I feel uncomfortable rereading Judy Bloom's Forever now, as an adult. I definitely did not feel uncomfortable reading it as a preteen.

Aston Martin

This is the saddest Christmas story I think I've ever read. I have no doubt that I will need many Kleenex before I'm through.

This book is STILL freakin awesome. It's not just anyone who can set their footwear on fire.

I honestly wasn't sure what to make of this book but at the 30% mark, during the anniversary dinner I've decided this book is freakin awesome. "... all we want is that song that the cows like."

I usually don't like amnesia stories but this is pretty good. Mostly because she's not faking it.

Quite possibly one of the best descriptions ever. "He had a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other and a smile like death on his blackened face."

I'm not sure I'm going to finish this. Because of course Rafe is secretly rich.

I'm reading the kindle version and the typos are very distracting.