The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women- 4.75 ⭐️

"The Radium Girls" moved me profoundly. The inclusion of the women's own words makes their suffering palpable. It's a stark reminder of the systemic exploitation faced by women in the early 20th century, and the crucial role their sacrifices played in securing worker's rights.

Realmathon- I DNFed "Consider This" fairly quickly. The writing style was not for me. I know originally the subject matter was posted on Instagram and works well for that format, but as a book it just didn't work for me. I'll decide on Monday if my next audiobook will be a fiction or nonfiction.

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Sunbringer- 3.25 ⭐️

"Sunbringer" is a strong bridge to the final book. Enjoyed seeing familiar faces from "Godkiller." Inara's growth is noticeable, despite some early frustrations. Ready for "Faithbreaker" at month's end.

Realmathon- I originally started listening to "White Horse Black Knights" today, but after getting to 30% decided the book wasn't really for me so I DNFed. "Radium Girls" came in, so I'll listen to that one over the weekend.

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My Feral Romance- 4.25 ⭐️
Spice - 🌶 🌶 🌶

"My Feral Romance" was the perfect light read. Predictable plot, yes, but a welcome escape. I loved seeing Daphne and Herc's story unfold after "A Rivalry of Hearts." Daphne's social anxiety and need for solitude resonated deeply. A solid palette cleanser.

Readathon- I was planning on wrapping up "Sunbringer" tonight, but I got sucked into this one instead. I should have time tomorrow to get through the last 25% of "Sunbringer".

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Godkiller- 4.25 ⭐️
Spice- 🌶

The first book of this trilogy grabs you fairly quickly. There are multiple points of view which can become confusing as you progress through the book because they tend to blend together.

We follow four main characters: Kissen, a Godkiller; Elo, a knight-turned-baker; Inara, a noble girl; and Skedi, a god without a shrine. Inara is particularly mysterious—she doesn't know who her father is, and her mother keeps so many secrets that even the people under her care are unaware she has a daughter. I have my theories about her father's identity and which side her mother took during the rebellion, and I can't wait to discover if I'm correct.

This is a great start to the series, and I'm eager to jump into the second book. I'll probably read "Sunbringer" before moving on to "A Curse for True Love." It seems this month is about wrapping up series I've loved and hopefully starting new ones to cherish.

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For the month of March, I'm participating in Realmathon put together by Covers with Cassidy over on YouTube. I chose to join the Stag family because of the agricultural and fae vibes.

I put together a TBR for possible books. I'm sticking to the first in series, and if I like the series, I'll continue reading it. I'm for sure reading Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, Godkiller, A Curse for True Love, and The Power of Being Different.

Except for Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, my books are being used to defend the family unless I add books that are better for attacking. To decide which family I'll attack, I'll role a dice with 1-2 being the Monarchs, 3-4 Ravens, 5-6 Stingers.

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A Love Song for Ricki Wilde- 5⭐️
Spice - 🌶 🌶

A Love Song For Ricki Wilde appears to be a standard contemporary romance with two different timelines until about halfway through when everything comes together to tell a love story that spans lifetimes. I would have loved a deeper dive into Tuesday, Miss Della, and Ezra's stories and how they tied together. The connection between everyone's story sometimes feels rushed, especially at the climax. The twist seems to occur simply because it was needed for an emotional punch and a happy ending for the main characters, so a deeper exploration of the motivations would have been appreciated.

The moment that hit the hardest for me was when Miss Della saw a picture of the mother she never knew. Seeing the vulnerability hidden underneath her hard exterior finally allowed Miss Della to understand that her mother used the only power she had access to in order to get ahead and survive. This is the person she fought so hard to protect from rumors and from being cast in the same light. She also realizes that Ezra had fought to protect her mother even though he didn't—and never would—love her.

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Last of the Breed - 4 ⭐️

Revisiting this book from my childhood, I found Joe's tense journey across Siberia toward freedom captivating. The people he encounters along the way are richly complex characters.

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@BookishBrooding I absolutely adore Blue Sword, which started my teenage craze of reading all Robin McKinley books. I must have blocked out her love for being overly descriptive in her later works.

Spindle's End - 2 ⭐️

This was a reread. I listened to it this time around, and I'm amazed I managed to finish the physical book as a teenager. The level of description is exhausting—every feeling and object gets multiple paragraphs of detail.

This Sleeping Beauty retelling runs over 12 hours as an audiobook, taking 6 hours even at double speed.

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The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity - 4 ⭐️

This book gave very practical and balanced suggestions for how to be more productive in work and life. While the term “extraordinary” may make you think that the authors want to turn you into an overworked cog, they actually use a different definition. Their definition is ending each day feeling accomplished and having moved in a meaningful way towards the life you envision. I did listen to this on audio book, but I will probably buy the physical copy because there are exercises that would be meaningful to work through.

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Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain - 4⭐️

This book goes well with Brain Rules since it covers how exercise affects the brain. This book is heavily technical in the beginning, and it can be hard to track the different chemicals, neurotransmitters, how they work, and what they do. I found the later chapters far more interesting since they covered practical application for different mental illnesses while still acknowledging that exercise should be used with medication unless approved by a doctor. This balance approach and the thoughtful process on how to get started while avoiding an all or nothing mindset really gave me great ways and reasons to add mindful exercise into my routine.

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Deep End: 3.5⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶 There are a lot of power exchange scenes, so if that is not something you want to read, beware.

This brought a lot of memories from college back. The trying to keep the same level of achievement in this new environment since you have so much potential, being sure you failed every test because you can't accurately judge your own achievements, and the difficulty of knowing if people actually like you. I enjoyed the processing of these things more than I enjoyed the romance. Since this does take place at Stanford, we get to see a bit of Adam and Olive from the Love Hypothesis. As is common with Ali Hazelwood books, Lukas falls first and hard.

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I still think about this book whenever I put out a camp or bonfire. I think it's the only Goosebumps that stayed with me.

The Art of Choosing- 4⭐️

The Art of Choosing gives very interesting information about why we hold so tightly to choice, how choices can be manipulated, and the limits to our willingness to choose. I found the discussions on voting and how gender, culture, and ethnicity can cause the same choice to create different outcomes and feelings.

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The Cursed - 3.5 ⭐️
Spice - 🌶🌶🌶

I liked this book more than I liked The Coven. My biggest issue was that the meat of the main conflict started at like 86% through the book. While portions were hinted at, the main big bad that will go onto the next book doesn't show up until that late. I tend to give far more grace to second books in a trilogy just because I know they are bridges leading to the finale. I will probably read the third book, but it won't be a rush on the release date.

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Brain Rules: 3.5 ⭐️

This was a really interesting book about how the brain works. I do wish that it focused a little on ideas for individuals instead of just organizations.

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Throne of Secrets 4.25 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶

It took me a while to get into this book, which could be because I skipped Throne of the Fallen, so Prince Gluttony's character was only developed through Kingdom of the Feared for me. Once everything got going, I really liked the book and plan on reading Throne of the Fallen once it's available at the library.