Week of September 8, 2025

This is always a somber week for me. Everyone remembers where they were on 9/11/01, right? It was a beautiful Tuesday morning in Pennsylvania, Maddie was in just her 3rd week of kindergarten, and Tori was home with me. We invited my friend Jenn to come over with her son Jonathan and we popped the 2 kiddos in their strollers, hooked them up with their snacks, and we took a walk. Nothing was out of the ordinary. We came back from our walk and the kids ran over to the swings in the back yard, and my neighbor popped her head over the fence and asked if we had heard the news about a plane hitting one of the twin towers. We were shocked and went inside to turn on the news. Just as we turned on the TV, we saw the 2nd plane hit and my brain was struggling to comprehend what we were watching. Was it a rerun of the first hit? But the other tower was smoldering, so it couldn’t be. Another one hit? There’s no way this was an accident. We set the kids up in the playroom with a Disney movie on and we were glued to the TV while I tried to call my brother in Boston. We heard on the news that Flight 11 that struck the North Tower was from Boston, and my brother routinely flew from there to the west coast for business. All lines were busy and it took a long time to get through, but I finally did. He said that’s the flight he often took, but this particular week, he didn’t need to be out west, thankfully. And then, as we’re watching and trying to process all of this, we see the south tower collapse. The surreal nature of that moment will never leave my brain. That life as you’ve always known it can change in a matter of seconds. That nothing is ever promised to anyone. That humans can be both incredibly good and incredibly evil. That it’s possible to shed tears for thousands of souls that you never knew but who suffered an unthinkable end at the hands of pure hate. And that one entire country can stand up together against hatred when challenged.

I’m praying that last sentence can, in fact, still hold true in light of the other major event of this week, the murder of Charlie Kirk. I’m not a politically minded person, but I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that this event shook me this week on top of the 9/11 anniversary. I was aware of who he was and had always thought, wow, he’s really brave to stand on his convictions so solidly and publicly, and for that alone I have to give him respect. I feel like his murder was the ultimate expression of “cancel culture” and the ripples of this event will be very far reaching, I’m afraid. But at the risk of sounding like an old lady, I’m frightened for this generation that thinks that this is a solution to their differences. I think this event was a tragedy of humanity that honestly hurts my soul. It’s possible to disagree with someone on every single point they make and still respect them for doing what they do. And when we as a civilized society can’t see that and accept it, how do we come back from that? I’ll leave it at that.

So on that note, I’ll end this week’s ruminations. Again, as I said, this week of the year is always a little introspective for me, and, as such, I tried to keep my reading a little lighter as a result. I had trouble sinking into some of these books and I was easily distracted, honestly. But I did need the escape from the sad reality of life this week, and books tend to provide that, as always. So with that in mind, go birds!

• As always, here’s my rating scale for your information:

  ⭐️ Did not like this book, would not recommend. Lots of errors, plot holes, not worth the effort to read, most likely didn’t finish. But I’m giving this author a single star for making the effort to publish a book. Not everyone’s even gotten that far, so yay for you.

  ⭐️⭐️ Didn’t really like it, multiple issues with style, plot, syntax or characters. Most likely forced myself to finish it. Would consider other books by the same author but I might have to be convinced.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyed the book. Perhaps there were issues with plot or style but it was an enjoyable read. I could see recommending it if it were of a specific genre or trope or series. Most of what I read could easily fall into this category and I’d be a happy camper.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a good book. Like a really good book. I will think about this book when I’m finished, and there’s a really good chance I’ll buy it for my personal library if it was a KU read. I’d recommend it to other readers of the same genre or trope. I’ll definitely search out other books by this author, probably as soon as I’m finished reading.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow. Just wow. Amazing book, amazing story. If there were flaws in the book I’m completely overlooking them because in my mind the book was sheer perfection. I didn’t want the book to end and I’m immediately adding it to my favorites and my re-read pile. And if there’s an audio version I might have to buy that, too. I have a book hangover, I miss the characters, and I feel actual, physical loss in my life when this book is finished.

Thanks for joining me this week! Let’s dive in!

1. Something Reckless, by Cassie-Ann L. Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 466 pages.

   Genre/tropes: Contemporary romance, friends to lovers, sports romance, found family.

   This author was new to me and I didn’t really have high expectations of this book, and perhaps that’s unfair, but I was pleasantly surprised. The ‘sports superstar falling for the small town girl’ trope can be played to death, but if done well, it can really be cute. And Easton Raines, the hockey superstar in this book, who moves back to his hometown to rehab from an injury during the off-season, is really a dreamy character. He’s almost too good. He says all the right things, he’s tall and handsome and basically perfect in every way. He’s an easy character to fall for as a romance reader, despite the crazy situations that get thrown his way throughout the book. Of course he handles all of it with ease and the patience of a saint, and yes, he makes the book. Alba, Easton’s love interest in the book, doesn’t quite match him in my estimation but their story works. The fact that Alba is so wholesome and family oriented is probably why they work so well, and I liked that for them. It was a nice story about creating a true family despite the lack of blood bonds, and it worked.

2. Life and Other Inconveniences, by Kristan Higgins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Edition, $6.99, 445 pages.

   Genre/tropes: Contemporary fiction, family, romance

   This was complex from start to finish but in the best way. So many POVs throughout this book, but it never got convoluted, and the multiple perspectives were necessary and welcome and made the story so well-rounded. This was a joy to read from every angle. Matriarch Genevieve London is stiff and cruel but also so soft and lonely and frightened and the contrast evolves so beautifully. Granddaughter Emma is both the broken and abandoned daughter and the strong and resilient mother to Riley and is a wonderful character. Oh, I just can’t say enough about these characters. There are so many full, robust personalities in this book and they all shine, especially together. This book is chock full of triggering topics like suicide, abandonment, loss of a child, loss of a spouse, divorce, cancer, lingering sickness, you name it, this book has it. And yet this book isn’t the least bit sad or depressing in some absolutely crazy way. The spirit and love that almost every character exhibits in some way or another is just beautiful. Highly recommend.

3. Want Me, Neve Wilder ⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 304 pages.

   Genre/tropes: MM romance, friends to lovers

   As far as I could tell, there was no actual plot to this book. Lots of sex, yes, but no plot. It’s two college guys, living in a house with other college guys, and they start hooking up. That’s it, just sex. If that’s what you want, this book won’t disappoint. If you want a little meat on the bones, this isn’t it.

4. Only Temporary, by Nicole Dykes ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 249 pages

   Genre/tropes: MM romance, addiction, found family, gay for you

   Kellan keeping his siblings out of foster care and together as a family was his only goal. That and keeping himself sober, of course. I think the author did a good job of depicting the struggle that the kids faced at allowing themself to trust Kellan after he left the family four years earlier to get himself clean and then show up again now, after their mother’s untimely death, to try and keep the family together. Enter idealistic social worker Phillip who is crushing on Kellan, and perhaps taking too keen an interest in the success of this placement, and this does make a cute story. Kellan had been so focused on his own recovery and then struggling to get his family back together that it never occurred to him to date or have a social life. So the fact that he started noticing that Phillip was attractive or nice to him or going out of his way to help him went a long way towards his attraction. It was very sweet the way they eventually came together and I liked that part of the story.

5. Wild Card, by Elsie Silver ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 464 pages

   Genre/tropes: Romance, small town, forced proximity

   This is book 4 in the Rose Hill series, and we finally see what’s in store for Sebastian. Gwen proves to be just what he needed. She’s strong and witty and introspective, and they balance each other really well. Bash’s emotional damage and Gwen’s daddy issues seem to cancel each other out when they finally manage to get past their own self-imposed walls and let each other in. And when they finally do, it’s great. I didn’t love the dynamic of Tripp and Gwen being together at all, but it provided some necessary conflict for the two MCs to overcome, if nothing else. And I would have loved to see Bash light into his ex for bad-mouthing him to Tripp for his entire life, but I guess that will remain unresolved. I didn’t like this one as much as some of the others in the series, but I did think Bash and Gwen were a good match.

That’s it for this week! As always, you can keep up with all of my reading on my Goodreads if you want to. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12921106-karen

Love, Karen