A Wednesday list

1. I finished Buried Heart, by Kate Elliott this week. It's the third in her Court of Fives trilogy (I wrote a review of the first one here). I very much enjoyed Buried Heart, both as a story in its own right, but also as the conclusion of the trilogy. I was a little worried at one point that Jessamy (the main character) was about to do some things completely out of character, but in the end she was true to herself and the ending was very satisfying. Overall, I thought Elliott did a fantastic job of creating a rich and vibrant world for this trilogy, characters that were compelling enough that I cared what happened to them even if I wanted to smack them upside the head more than a few times, and a plot that never dragged or felt forced.

2. Kiddos start Mother's Day Out this week (we're calling it pre-school because it's easier to say and close enough). Should be a fun adventure!

3. We had cool front move through today and it feels FANTASTIC outside! We played at the park this morning and couldn't have asked for better weather. Probably should have taken advantage of the good weather for a run...but there's always tomorrow!

4. I'm reading a ghost-busting middle grade novel right now -- it's for a review web site that I'm going to start contracting with on occasion. $15 to write a short paragraph review and post it on Amazon and Goodreads. It's my first one, and part of me feels a little weird. There can be a stigma that paid consumer reviews (those posted on sites like Goodreads and Amazon) aren't "real," because there's a temptation to be falsely positive, but I've been instructed to be honest, and as long as that's the case I can't think of anything unethical about it. Plus, it'll be good experience to be able to add to my freelance writing resume.

5. Once I finish the paid-for review I've got a couple of library books to dig into -- Exit West by Mohsin Hamid and Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman, a sequel that I keep forgetting I haven't read yet. We'll see if I can read them before they disappear!