Hello, friends! My kids and I just got home from walking to the nearest Nash & Smash(ed) for dinner, as has become a bit of a tradition lately (with or without the occasional bus ride to save their feet.) I am legit obsessed with N&S’ hot wings and corn bread, and also enjoy their smash burgers and fries. Highly recommend visiting if you have one near you. Plus, it’s all halal food, which is a nice bonus if that’s important to you!
It’s been nice having extra time with the kids recently, especially when it means we can try some of the games that keep coming to the house. I was super lucky to get a copy of League Of The Lexicon: US Edition ahead of its publication earlier this week. As I mention in the linked review, it’s a lot like Trivial Pursuit for word nerds, only with a smaller tabletop footprint. Jms and I had a lot of fun playing several rounds of this easily adjustable game:
If you’re more into tabletop roleplaying games than board/card games, there’s an amazing physical bundle available for Magpie Games’ Avatar Legends right now! Humble Bundle is presenting the terrific deal, with proceeds benefiting Extra Life/Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. For a minimum of USD49, you get the Avatar Legends starter set, dice pack and bag, cloth map, token, GM screen and journals. This is truly one of the best deals I’ve seen in years, so grab it before it’s gone.
In other game news, I was tickled to place 7th (of 381) in Learned League’s recent Sapphic Fantasy One Day Special! As a huge genre fan, working book critic and Hugo voter, it felt really nice to do so well in a topic that’s squarely in my wheelhouse. I also placed in the top 5% for the “L”iterature 1D, which makes up for my dismal results in the quizzes that require far better geography knowledge than I’m currently in command of. I’m also a bit surprised at how well I’m doing at answering the questions in the Reality TV Mini League, given how relatively little of it I’ve ever viewed. Cultural osmosis is real (and spectacular, lol.) As part of my prep for the upcoming 2010s Music ML that I’ve also signed up for, I’m currently mainlining music from that decade: studying is such a hardship, I know!
Before I get into the terrific books I’ve read this week, let me point you to an excerpt I recently had the privilege of publishing. Heather Ogden’s debut novel The Betrayal is the first in The Lies We Fear series. This dystopian series revolves around Angelette, the teenaged daughter of the revered leader of Libertis, a futuristic nation-state where magic battles with technology. As she slowly discovers that her father isn’t the savior he appears to be, she’ll have to learn how to stand up for herself and fight for what’s right.
I also read some really terrific books this week. Clare Mackintosh returns to form after the uneven A Game Of Lies, with the latest terrific installment of the Ffion Morgan mystery series. Other People’s Houses finds the Welsh DC investigating the drowning death of a real estate agent. Meanwhile, across the English border, her boyfriend (and my newest book boyfriend) DS Leo Brady is investigating a rash of burglaries in a tony neighborhood. As their cases intersect with each other’s and with a cold case recently brought back into public awareness by a successful podcast, they’ll have to figure out how to solve the mysteries while also navigating their bumpy personal lives. I’m writing the full review for CriminalElement.com now but ooh, how I loved this book!
Another book I adored is the Middle Grade mystery Benny On The Case by Wesley King. Benny is an 11 year-old with Mosaic Down’s Syndrome who’s about to be mainstreamed at his Newfoundland school. His form of Down’s mostly manifests in appearance, so he’s apprehensive about how the other kids will treat him. Fortunately, he makes a good friend quickly in athletic Salma, a new kid from Seattle. She also faces bullying due to her appearance, as she more closely resembles the Tunisian side of her family. But, like Benny, she’s smart, funny and kind. Together, they team up not only to make school life more bearable but to solve the rash of burglaries threatening to close down the retirement home Benny’s mom owns. This novel is both hilarious and moving, with so much compassion and wisdom regarding some really tough issues faced by millions every day. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Alright, that’s all for this week, I think. Next week, I’ll (hopefully) talk about Halloween planning, so see you in seven, friends!
Currently Playing (Music): Beethoven’s Symphony #2 in D Major; my Declan Rice and 2025 Energy playlists; Stela Cole’s I Die Where You Begin; Jessie Murph’s Sex Hysteria; Megan Moroney’s Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine); Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend; sombr’s I Barely Know Her; Hot Hot Heat’s Make Up The Breakdown
Currently Playing (Games): The Light In The Mist puzzletale, The Wild Beyond The Witchlight, Metazooa by Trainwreck Labs, Learned League trivia, NYT Connections, Your Friend In Witchcraft by Kay Marlow Allen; The Wolves Of Langston by Obvious Mimic; My Late Father’s Correspondence by Storybrewers Roleplaying; League Of The Lexicon by Two Brothers Games.
Currently Reading/Writing (Games): Ghosts Of Saltmarsh.
Currently Reading or Just Read (Books): Murder On The Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood; Snap! Crunch! Munch! by Diana Castillo; Other People’s Houses by Clare Mackintosh; Benny On The Case by Wesley King; Universal Monsters: Frankenstein by Michael Walsh & Toni-Marie Griffin; The Luna Sisters Battle For The Moon by Dan Yaccarino.