Adult Book Reviews in Brief

Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A fun cozy set in the library world. A children's librarian is suspected of murder! (And the author actually knows her library stuff, which I truly appreciated!)

Swift Justice by Laura DiSilverio

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this fast-paced mystery. Not exactly a cozy, but plenty of humor and enough twists to keep me guessing.




Semi-Sweet: A Novel of Love and Cupcakes by Roisin Meaney

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Like a Maeve Binchy -- small Irish town, multiple points of view -- with sex. And cupcakes.


*I was provided an egalley of this book by the publisher for review.


View all my Goodreads reviews

Loving My Top-Loader

So it's really hard for me to pinpoint my favorite feature of our new home. Pantry? Closet space? Did I mention Evan has his own bedroom? Definitely in the running is the washing machine, which is an old-school (though fairly new) top-loader. Not only does that mean shorter cycle times, it also means less rinses since it uses enough water in the first place to get the soap rinsed out of Evan's cloth diapers. Plus, it has a much larger capacity since it's not a space-saver.

At the condo, I had a front-loader. Shortest cycle (delicates): one hour and three minutes. And that didn't include extra rinses (another 21 minutes each); I did three or four for each load of diapers.

All this means I am spending waaaay less time doing laundry. Which, in turn, means I really should have time to start exercising regularly again.

I'll get back to you on that.

P.S. We'll be back to your regularly-scheduled book reviews soon.

We Moved!

We're moved in! It's hard for me to believe, but praise the Lord, we are now homeowners (well, times two since I can't sell the condo) and Evan has his own bedroom! Being approved for the mortgage was a harrowing process, and uncertainty prevailed until about a day before the closing, but I am so grateful to report that we now have breathing room as well as a yard -- and really, really nice neighbors (my parents live a mile away in the same sub).

We closed on Wednesday and spent the next few days moving in, then had houseguests (Mike's parents, sister, and two nieces) from Friday to Monday, so I'm not feeling very settled yet, but I cannot complain.

Just give me a few weeks, and then stop by. :o)