Daniel’s Reviews > Why the Star Stands Still > Status Update
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Daniel
is 83% done
Rafael's eyes were on me. All it takes is a look from him and I feel like a dumb, helpless, enamored idiot, like a kid all over again. That can't be anything but love. I reached for his hand, twined my fingers with his. I like to feel him, to know he's there.
A knock sounded and Mickey stepped inside. "You shouldn't'a done that," Rafael said gruffly. "How do you know we weren't thanking each other?"
"Huh?"
— Aug 15, 2025 11:34AM
A knock sounded and Mickey stepped inside. "You shouldn't'a done that," Rafael said gruffly. "How do you know we weren't thanking each other?"
"Huh?"
Daniel
is 78% done
"She's kind of like you. She's smart."
"I don't know whether I'd call myself smart. She's more like you... cranky."
"I'm not cranky. I'm differently tempered."
"I can't believe you just said that."
"Yeah, me neither."
"Do you know anything about bras?"
"Maybe she doesn't need a bra when she gets older. She can just toss 'em over her shoulders."
"Have you ever known anyone who did that?"
"My grandma."
— Aug 15, 2025 09:23AM
"I don't know whether I'd call myself smart. She's more like you... cranky."
"I'm not cranky. I'm differently tempered."
"I can't believe you just said that."
"Yeah, me neither."
"Do you know anything about bras?"
"Maybe she doesn't need a bra when she gets older. She can just toss 'em over her shoulders."
"Have you ever known anyone who did that?"
"My grandma."
Daniel
is 71% done
"Two men raising a little girl..." Annie was referring to Rafael and me.
"You're not afraid we'll turn her into a trucker, are you?"
"I've seen your little girl. She's already a trucker. What are you going to do when she starts needing bras and sanitary napkins?"
Distant terror started sinking in. "Bras. That's still a thing?"
"Did you think it was a passing trend?"
"Why don't you just let them fly free?"
— Aug 15, 2025 08:17AM
"You're not afraid we'll turn her into a trucker, are you?"
"I've seen your little girl. She's already a trucker. What are you going to do when she starts needing bras and sanitary napkins?"
Distant terror started sinking in. "Bras. That's still a thing?"
"Did you think it was a passing trend?"
"Why don't you just let them fly free?"
Daniel
is 67% done
It was hardly the most appropriate place to start--you know--"thanking" each other. But there he was: The best thing I'd ever seen. It didn't matter that his hair looked like he'd brushed it with a cow's tongue or that he smelled like fresh grass and stale hay. What did matter was his arms locked around me felt familiar, his chest familiar against mine through the fabric of his damp shirt. My second heartbeat.
— Aug 13, 2025 09:52AM
Daniel
is 54% done
"When's the last time I thanked you?"
"You don't have to thank me for anything."
"No, when's the last time I thanked you?"
"Oh! You should thank me now."
"I'll thank you upstairs."
"Yeah. Bad etiquette to go thanking people in the living room..."
"Do you remember that time Racine was over, and she walked in on you thanking me in the kitchen?"
"You're kidding, right? I still can't look her in the eye."
— Aug 13, 2025 08:34AM
"You don't have to thank me for anything."
"No, when's the last time I thanked you?"
"Oh! You should thank me now."
"I'll thank you upstairs."
"Yeah. Bad etiquette to go thanking people in the living room..."
"Do you remember that time Racine was over, and she walked in on you thanking me in the kitchen?"
"You're kidding, right? I still can't look her in the eye."
Daniel
is 33% done
He was the same as when I'd first met him. His jaw square; his nose flat. Hair long and lank and badly knotted. Kindness behind his smoldering eyes. Everything I loved about him was unchanging. Unchanging in spite of the new lines on his face, on his forehead and around his cheeks. A beautiful, unchanging boy in a changing body.
I am old and stupid and in love.
— Aug 09, 2025 09:37AM
I am old and stupid and in love.
Daniel
is 8% done
Seventeen years. That's how long I've known him. That's how long I've loved him. Seventeen years later and he still makes my heart feel giddy and weightless. Seventeen years later and my favorite place in the world is still the safety of his arms. Seventeen years later and I'm still a sappy idiot. Go figure.
— Aug 07, 2025 07:55AM
Daniel
is starting
Re-read
I sat next to Rafael on the sofa. He looked at me, his face contorting into about a thousand different expressions. I love that about him. I love everything about him, but his facial expressions are the best. Smoldering is his default. Bewildered is his backup.
He broke into a grin--radiant, boyish, beautiful. A grin that scattered light into his dark blue eyes. "You're an ass," he said.
— Aug 06, 2025 08:48PM
I sat next to Rafael on the sofa. He looked at me, his face contorting into about a thousand different expressions. I love that about him. I love everything about him, but his facial expressions are the best. Smoldering is his default. Bewildered is his backup.
He broke into a grin--radiant, boyish, beautiful. A grin that scattered light into his dark blue eyes. "You're an ass," he said.
Comments Showing 1-21 of 21 (21 new)
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Kristina
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Apr 12, 2023 09:09PM
You and me are in our western phase rn. Twinsies!
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Kristina wrote: "You and me are in our western phase rn. Twinsies!"I've never read a series set on a Native American reservation. It's fascinating ... so well written ... and I feel like all these people are my "found family". I have fallen in love with all of them and new characters keep showing up in each book. In this one, our two MCs ... Skylar and Rafael ... have taken in a 10 year old Latino foster kid. ❤️💕🥰💕❤️
I thought I was your found family, Daniel! 😉 you mean other than me, ok that works. 🤭 Sounds good, I’ve been eyeing it whenever you post an update.
Kristina wrote: "I thought I was your found family, Daniel! 😉 you mean other than me, ok that works. 🤭 Sounds good, I’ve been eyeing it whenever you post an update."
You are the Queen Bee of my GoodReads family for sure! 😉
This is the fourth of the series (there's one more) that starts when Sky and Rafael meet as teens when Sky has to come to live with his Grandmother on the reservation. In this one, they're now 33 years old. I just love all the culture and getting to know all the people and their stories. It's sorta like a 21st Century "Little House on the Prairie" series ... with more suspense and drama.
I’m narcissistic enough to accept that pander, also I’ve always thought of myself as the Beyoncé of reviewers so it fits. 😆 Ok I’m going to investigate this book further…
Kristina wrote: "I’m narcissistic enough to accept that pander, also I’ve always thought of myself as the Beyoncé of reviewers so it fits. 😆 Ok I’m going to investigate this book further…"
Awesome ... and they are appropriate for teens. There's no on page sex and even when they're trying to "figure it out" as teens, it's quite cute but nothing happens on page and it's a very minor blip in the overall saga ... so would be appropriate for your teen kids (I think you mentioned a teen daughter?). Anyway, they're not stand-alones so, if you decide to give it a try, start with #1 ... of course! 😝 Forgive me ... it's past my bedtime and I'm punchy! 🥴
(OOPS! I just discovered there's TWO more in the series after this one! Now I'm too excited to sleep! 😂)
Tween boo, don’t age me. I have two months left before I’m a mother of a teen. 😂. If I could get her to read a book I’d be so happy, but I can try and hope. You must now read the entire series before you can sleep. I hope you don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow.
Kristina wrote: "Tween boo, don’t age me. I have two months left before I’m a mother of a teen. 😂. If I could get her to read a book I’d be so happy, but I can try and hope. You must now read the entire series be..."
TickTock 😏! Nope ... nowhere to be but I never read series straight through ... too ADD with the attention span of a 3 year old! I'll mix in a few others before #5 and #6. Make the series last a little longer. 😉
Gabi wrote: "Sleep well Daniel…"😊
You NEVER read a series straight through? Like in on sitting, back to back or ever at all? The first two I get because you need to mix it up, but never is crazy.
Kristina wrote: "You NEVER read a series straight through? Like in on sitting, back to back or ever at all? The first two I get because you need to mix it up, but never is crazy."Oh, no! I mean not back-to-back! I have no idea how many series I'm in the middle of atm. 😅 I seriously need to take the time to make a list and focus on finishing series this year. 😏 I can just rotate series books and leave out the stand-alones until I finish some of them.
You know you can list your tbr in order of reading. You can change the numbers beside them to reflect your actual desired reading order. If that helps. Or you could just read what you feel like when you feel like and pretend it’s for pleasure. 😆
Kristina wrote: "You know you can list your tbr in order of reading. You can change the numbers beside them to reflect your actual desired reading order. If that helps. Or you could just read what you feel like whe..."I didn't know that 😮 ... and, yeah ... the second one! 😂 I do need to make better use of the "shelves" kink. I'll make a "Series" shelf and put them on there. I only add the next book in a series to my "Want to Read" after reading one, rather than adding the entire series. I will occasionally grow tired of a series before it actually ends.
I do the same thing, I only add the next one and only after I finished the previous. Some series you need to finish because of overarching storylines, others seem to go on forever because the author just writes in that world and you can pick and choose. I’ve abandoned a few series where the writer just is never going to leave it and the books are just rinse and repeats. I only got into shelving last year and I’ll warn you, it’s addictive. Kink is a good word for it 😆 it’s organization porn. You have to come up with funny names for your shelves and then spend hours just sorting your reads instead of reading them. I wish you could sort by more than one shelf at a time, like in levels like google sheets or Microsoft excel. That would make me so happy.
See, I’m definitely kinky about shelves.
Kristina wrote: "I do the same thing, I only add the next one and only after I finished the previous. Some series you need to finish because of overarching storylines, others seem to go on forever because the autho..."Precisely! Some series just peter out so I don't know if I'll continue a series until I finish a book and decide if I'm still interested enough to read the next one.
Organization porn! 😂😆🤣 I thought I was an organization/neat freak but you just may have me beat! 😲
My space is either organized to the nth degree or a disaster. I have no in between.
Kristina wrote: "My space is either organized to the nth degree or a disaster. I have no in between."I resemble that remark! 😆
Kristina wrote: "I blame my house trolls."😳
