I feel like I just posted my March wrap-up so how is it already time to post my April wrap-up!? 🫣 I honestly don’t have much to say about how April was because I really didn’t do anything. Coming back from Japan was rough and of course, getting back to work was diving straight into the deep end with no time to slowly sink back in (I’m pretty sure my office doesn’t know how to do that, lol)! It was tough but we managed. From my trip to Japan, I think I’ve developed a minor obsession with Pop Mart—the toy company that makes the popular Labubu dolls. I didn’t think I’d be into Labubu but after getting one in Japan, I’m finding them oddly adorable and hard to resist, lol. I’ve also developed a fascination with Hirono figurines! Please indulge me as I share photos of my small toy collection. 🥹
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
Two years ago, she pushed him away. Now, he’s back… and he’s not giving up.
Michelle Benning has no time for distractions—not when she’s juggling school, two jobs, and a past she refuses to look back on. Love? It’s never been part of her plan. So when Brooks Madsen, the rising baseball star she once almost let in, walks back into her life, she’s determined to keep him at arm’s length.
Brooks never understood why Michelle ran, but he’s never forgotten her. Their connection was real—fiery, intense, and impossible to ignore. And now that he’s back in town, he wants answers. But for every step closer he gets, Michelle puts up another wall.
She thinks she’s protecting herself. He knows she’s running. And when the past she’s been hiding from comes crashing back, Michelle has to decide: keep running… or finally let Brooks be the one person she trusts to stay.
⚠️CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Child abuse (recounted, minor detail), substance abuse/addiction (secondary character, mentioned), extortion/black mail, stalking, parent with dementia (on page, detailed)
TL;DR: Sliding Home is a great second-chance romance featuring two tough MCs who are easy to like and whom you almost immediately want to root for! Michelle and Brooks were great characters individually but together, their romance gave angst and a whole lot of (delightful) tension! I loved their “will-they-won’t-they” dance and found myself fully invested in their HEA. While this is very character driven, there was also a mini-suspenseful plot that made sense to the story, but I found the reasoning behind the third-act to be a bit frustrating, even if I did understand how it fit into their story. Overall, this had the character depth I feel I have been missing in a lot of the (indie) romances I read these days, and I loved it! If you’re looking for a non-sports heavy “sports romance”, a second-chance romance where the characters work to reach a good place, and plenty of open communicative moments, then I would recommend checking this out.
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today.
I’ll be spending my Sunday night in bed with A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee. I’m a bit behind on starting this but it’s the next Owlcrate buddy read book for our little group! I actually have no idea what this is about other than it’s a dark academia? Might be a little outside of my comfort zone? I don’t know. Let’s see! 😂
Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m shining a spotlight on a new YA queer contemporary: Right Beside You by Tucker Shaw.
Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!
Right Beside You Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) Publication Date: 29 April 2025 Genre: YA Queer Contemporary Rep: Queer, LGBTQIA+, Chronic illness
📖SYNOPSIS
In this fresh, speculative blend of queer romance and coming-of-age, Eddie meets Theo in present-day New York and Francis in a New York of the past… torn between eras and his heart, he must make a decision that will change his life forever.
High school has just ended and Eddie is at a loss for what’s next. He had a falling out with his best friend, and he never really related to the rest of his peers in the sleepy Colorado town he calls home. The future is bleak.
Until his ancient and eccentric great aunt Cookie asks him to care for her in New York City as she recuperates from an illness. Eddie leaps at the opportunity. Soon after he arrives at her tiny Greenwich Village apartment, homebound Cookie asks Eddie to use her vintage polaroid camera to snap pictures of her favorite places she can no longer visit. But something’s unusual about this camera. When he takes a photo, he’s launched back in time to an entirely different New York of the early 20th century.
As Eddie explores the underground queer life of the Roaring 20, he discovers new undercurrents of his own identity. Not to mention a dangerously handsome boy in scuffed boots and tattered stovepipe trousers who keeps popping up in his visions of the past.
But when Eddie begins to develop a crush on the mercurial Francis, a cute baker named Theo enters the picture—and he’s in the present. Caught between timelines and feelings, Eddie must make a decision about what he’s willing to his romantic fantasies of the past or a reality that might just be what he’s wanted all along.
Tucker Shaw’s novel, WHEN YOU CALL MY NAME, follows two gay teenagers during the height of the AIDS crisis in New York City in 1990. In hard times, nothing is more powerful than friendship.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.
This week’s topic is:
Bookish Fandoms
Prompts:There are very popular bookish fandoms out there, especially in the romance fantasy genre (Maas, Yarros, LOTR, etc.). Are you part of a bookish fandom? If you are, what do you love about it? If not, do you think you’d ever want to be part of one? Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?
Hi friends, I’m back for another blog tour today! I’m excited to share my thoughts as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours for Saint Catherine by Anna Meyer.
Thanks to Labyrinth Road for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!
Saint Catherine Publisher: 23rd St. Publication Date: 29 April 2025 Genre: Adult Contemporary Graphic Novel
Rating: (5 pandas)
📖SYNOPSIS
A relatable adult graphic novel about a woman who skips Sunday mass for the first time in her life only to discover she’s possibly being possessed by a demon.
As a recovering Irish American Catholic, she has mostly traded the world of communion and confessionals for the “city-girl” struggle of work-life balance, family, and her relationships. The only thing she has not been able to shake is her fear that something bad will happen if she misses Sunday mass.
But her fears become a reality when she skips mass for the first time and discovers she is now being possessed by a demon claiming to be the prince of hell. As she takes matters into her own hands and attempts to exorcise these demons (both the paranormal and emotional kind), Catherine must face her buried guilt and what it truly means to be good.
A cathartic and engaging view into the messy life of an urban women in her early twenties, Anna Meyer’s Saint Catherine is truly a story of letting go of guilt and taking responsibilities for your desires, hopes, and mistakes.
This was a great graphic novel that I think will appeal to readers of all ages, especially the adults but perhaps even some older YA readers. I think it will also appeal to those who have a non-linear relationship with religion. I didn’t think that a story about a young woman who believes she’s possessed by dozens of evil spirits because she missed church one time could be so entertaining. However, the author did a fantastic job bringing Catherine’s story to life. I didn’t expect to feel a slew of emotions from frustration and shock to heartbreak and overwhelming sadness to healing contentment, but Meyers made me feel it all!
dinipandareads 