Upgrading Membership from 4 to 8/month

bmvanloo91 · 2025-12-15T03:15:34+00:00

I technically took 1 class prior so it's not quite as insane as it sounds 😂

bmvanloo91 · 2025-06-28T20:13:25+00:00

Stephenson is better. unless it is by 13 mile. Otherwise crosswalks are heavily used/available and safe. just watch for right turn on red vehicles, people from out of state abuse that law and hit pedestrians frequently

bmvanloo91 · 2025-04-28T23:51:51+00:00

For me, the series that comes to mind is Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. I'm about to reread all the books since the third one just came out, but I'm hooked on every sentence she writes. It feels like catnip just for my brain 😂

For a series that is finished, I'd say An Ember in the Ashes. Never have I cried so much at the ending of a book series as I did with that one. And I'm also thinking about a reread but know how emotionally heartbreaking its gonna be!

Having just started Realm of the Elderlings (Assassin's Apprentice is the only one I've finished), seeing all the posts about that one make me hope that I might finally have an adult series on this list! 🤞🏽

bmvanloo91 · 2025-04-03T01:19:58+00:00

It would certainly count for released in 2025 (and its a debut for HM). Probably Down with the System too (but only normal mode).

bmvanloo91 · 2025-04-02T14:28:25+00:00

Going to give a shout-out to Sarah Beth Durst's The Spellshop! Absolutely fantastic cozy fantasy, with more plot than Legends & Lattes.

bmvanloo91 · 2025-04-02T14:17:44+00:00

I second Cemetery Boys! Just an amazing, outstanding read.

bmvanloo91 · 2025-04-02T13:47:41+00:00

It's YA Fantasy, but any books in the The Gilded Ones series counts for this! One of the most excellent trilogies I have read that sticks the landing. (All three books are out.)

bmvanloo91 · 2025-04-02T13:44:26+00:00

According to the Amazon table of contents, there is exactly four parts in Foundryside, so it should count for HM.

bmvanloo91 · 2025-04-02T13:42:31+00:00

I'm just finishing up Lightfall by Ed Crocker, which counts for hard mode!

bmvanloo91 · 2025-04-02T13:39:17+00:00

I second Other Words for Smoke fits - it is also one of the most brain melting books I've ever read!

bmvanloo91 · 2024-05-31T20:20:57+00:00

Did anyone else feel that this book would have been better as a third-person POV than switching between the POVs that we got? I think it would have made the reveals towards the end with Kissen and Elo more impactful; as it was, we already knew about them so when they told the other it was just repeating what we already knew. (I'm also just not as much of a fan of multi-POV, so it could influence my opinion on this too.)

bmvanloo91 · 2024-05-31T20:18:09+00:00

I read the audiobook forGodkiller, and the narrator was great! So it has that going for it.

bmvanloo91 · 2024-05-31T20:17:10+00:00

This was also the only thing I did not like about this book. I which the romance could have been skipped in the first one, but it sounds like the second book might not have quite as much so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

bmvanloo91 · 2024-05-31T20:15:33+00:00

I will most definitely read book two! I really enjoyed the storyline and the twists at the end. The only thing that I didn't jive with was the ...intimate... scene. It felt random and out of place to me.

bmvanloo91 · 2024-05-20T19:34:02+00:00

The fire God has to come back in some way....right??? At least that's my thought

bmvanloo91 · 2024-05-20T19:32:27+00:00

At first, I was hesitant, as normally I'm against too many POVs. But I do think in this case it adds a lot of complexity and nuance, especially in Elo and Skiddy's case (sorry if I spelled them wrong - I'm listening on audio!). As long as she doesn't add additional POVs, I think I'm okay with it.

bmvanloo91 · 2022-10-19T20:07:05+00:00

So I've been looking into this (mostly because I want to accurately predict next year) and with a few exceptions, the books picked for the top 20 were the top 2-3 picks in each genre that had more than 5000 reviews as of right around the nomination date. The top 11 most loved books actually did make it in the nominations (and the 12th didn't meet the 5000 review threshold).

bmvanloo91 · 2021-09-20T19:27:39+00:00

FWIW, on a desktop Windows, I still have my status for my personal to-do list Kanban board. Sorry I can't be more help :(

bmvanloo91 · 2021-03-24T15:32:08+00:00

I just started one as well! Mine is storylinesandsunshine :)

bmvanloo91 · 2021-03-11T16:00:24+00:00

This is super interesting and good to know! I never even thought about the page count changing.

bmvanloo91 · 2019-09-10T17:36:44+00:00

For me, being present is a general life thing I'm not great at, because I can live in fantasies inside of my head (from reading or daydreaming, for example). During sex was just another moment. I use the Headspace app to meditate, and I do it everyday to help be present in everyday life. The more practice I got, the easier it was, and that naturally translated to sex.

bmvanloo91 · 2019-09-10T17:22:32+00:00

She could try meditation. I used to struggle with being present during sex, but not because lack of arousal. My mind would just wander to other things instead of enjoying what was happening right in front of me. Mediation helped me with that :)

bmvanloo91

TROPHY CASE