Bogormen

Title: Love & Other Scams
Author: P.J. Ellis
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~9hours
Date read: March 2024

Cat has a dangerously dwindling bank balance. She also has:
· a month before her landlord kicks her out.
· a surprise wedding invitation from rich mean girl, Louisa.
· a secret talent for con artistry.

A priceless jewel the size of a cocktail olive is glinting on Louisa’s finger. And when Cat meets her ideal plus one, Jake – who’s gifted at hustling and posing as the perfect boyfriend – this wedding becomes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, How hard can a diamond heist be?


I love heist movies, so I was eager to see if a heist book could live up to my expectations. In the end (and as the rating reflects), I'd say it came close, but couldn't quite deliver. It's a chick-lit that just happens to include a heist, rather than a heist novel that just happened to include a fake romance, meaning that more page time was spent on the fake romance than on the heist.

Fortunately I liked the fake romance, and thought they had great chemistry, and I quite liked reading all about the wedding preparations as well - even if I WISH just for ONCE the "poor friend" would have enough backbone to just come out and say, "Sorry, I can't afford that" - but I guess there wouldn't have been much of a plotline if she had :-P Anyways, I loved Harper and was thrilled to see just one person who didn't give 2 *cough* cents about all the posh nonsense.

I got very tired of the third-act breakup and wish authors would just stop thinking such a thing was necessary! The plot didn't need it, and could easily have worked without it. I guess it did help Cat grow up a bit, but I'm sure that could have been handled in other ways as well. So that brought it down from 4 stars to 3.5.

Title: The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
Author: Sonora Reyes
Genre: YA, LGBTQ+
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~9hrs
Date read: March, 2024

Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she's gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way.

After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don't fall in love. Granted, she's never been great at any of those things, but that's a problem for Future Yami.

The thing is, it's hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn't going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she'll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do?


Very sweet and poignant book. I found myself literally "awww!!"'ing on multiple occasions - mostly due to Bo's parents!

The characters were believably YA - including making stupid decisions and failing to communicate for far too long. But it was an understandable lack of communication, and therefore didn't bother me as much as it usually does in such books. There were one or two instances where I found myself cringing with second-hand embarrassment, but fortunately they were quickly resolved, rather than dwelled on.

I loved pretty much all the characters. They felt real to me, and I enjoyed seeing their relationships grow. I wanted to cheer when Yamilet's mother turned out to be more of an ally than anybody would have guessed. THAT is how you support your children regardless of everything!

The audiobook was narrated by Karla Serrato who did a brilliant job. She either speaks Spanish herself, or did a really good job of convincing this non-Spanish-speaker that she does. The Spanish interjections flowed naturally.

The book (or the audiobook version at least) comes with a CW. Heed this, if bigotry/the consequences of bigotry is a trigger for you.

Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: 5+/5
# pages: 384, Audiobook ~11hrs
Date read: January 2015, January 2019, August 2020, March 2024

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first men to walk on the surface of Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first man to die there.

It started with the dust storm that holed his suit and nearly killed him, and that forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was already dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his food would be gone years before a rescue mission could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to get him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills--and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit--he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?


It doesn't happen often that I find a book that leaves me speechless. But when I do, that book automatically becomes an instant favourite.

"The Martian" had me hooked from the very beginning. I couldn't put it down, and stayed up far too late last night to finish it. I was instantly drawn to Mark's plight and was fascinated to read how he solved the various obstacles and kept himself sane under the circumstances.

I don't know how scientifically accurate it is, but there were no glaring holes big enough for me to see. Besides, it kept true to its own universe, and to me that's more important.

The plot had me at the edge of my seat, and though I could almost guess the outcome from the start, the end still brought a lump to my throat - that's how emotionally attached I got. Very, very few books bring me to tears, and even fewer bring me to happy tears. Amazing writing all around!

Title: Witches on Parole (WitchLight Trilogy #1)
Author: Debora Geary
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 421, Audiobook ~8hrs
Date read: July 2013, July 2014, February 2015, August 2016, July 2018, December 2019, December 2021, March 2024

World-famous (and now retired) photographer Jenvieve Adams has a debt to repay, and a soft spot for witches who have lost their way. Or so she thinks, until they actually show up.

Join some of the cast of characters from the very successful A Modern Witch series as they take on a new kind of journey as guides for WitchLight. What happens when an obsessive psychologist and a wordsmithing delinquent get dropped into Witch Central?


First book in this spin-off series to "A Modern Witch" and every bit as charming :) I didn't care much for Elsie (except when she started knitting! That got my fingers twitching as well :) ), but I simply adored Lizard. I also really liked seeing more of Lauren and Nat's lives outside WitchCentral. Lauren's especially. Her work as a realtor - especially once she realized she was a mind witch - fascinates me :)

Of course I'll jump straight on to the next book in the series - I could hardly do anything else :)