The BFF Role by Jaysee Jewel: A review

 Last year, I read a book I found delightful. I really enjoyed it but I forgot the name of the title and the author. I have spent months searching for it through my vast ebook library but couldn't find it. All I could remember was the book cover. I tried Googling it but some how got recommendations for Dark Mafia Romance. Yeah, not what I was looking for. Incredibly, I managed to find the book in my ebook library on Monday. So, without further ado, allow me to introduce The BFF Role by Jaysee Jewel.

'Not every girl wants to be the hero of her own story.

Zilla is an average high school senior aspiring to become a nurse. The only unique thing about her is that she adamantly believes she is living inside a poorly written romance novel and her best friend Cindy is the main female lead.

Taking her role as the best friend very seriously, Zilla dedicates her free time to protecting her best friend from the author’s drama-hungry fingers, preventing the writer from interfering with Cindy’s love life. However, just as things are starting to go well between Cindy and the sweet boy-next-door who just moved in, a rival appears who could screw up Zilla’s plans.

The school’s notorious playboy, Axel Burns, decides to ask Cindy out for prom, singlehandedly turning what was going to be a sweet love story into a love triangle. Zilla won’t stand for it! But when Zilla tries to draw Axel’s attention away from Cindy, she accidentally turns it toward herself and ends up in a romantic side plot she doesn’t want any part of.

Fans of Love, Rosie and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before will adore this trope-subverting, coming-of-age love story about friendship, relationships, and overcoming one’s flaws.'

I found the author's clever use of irony a fun and fresh take on tropes that can be dry and boring if not handled right. Zilla is a snarky and sarcastic bestie that anyone would want to have in their corner. As often as she labels herself a side character, she practically radiates with Main Character Energy, especially when paired with Axel. Zilla and Axel have incredible chemistry. Their banter practically sparking off the page. I also enjoyed the growth and character development that they all underwent. 

 I started rereading the book as soon as I found it. I hope you all can give this book a try. As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Memories of the Alhambra: Kdrama partial review

 Memories of the Alhambra is the series that my siblings and I are currently watching together. We have only got four episodes into the show so this is truly a partial review. All I can say is that we like what we have seen so far!

Super brief synopsis time: Brilliant Programmer Kid calls Rich Dude in the middle of the night to tell him that he wants to sell his game to him as the other potential buyer seemed like a "Bad Guy". Programmer Kid tells Rich Dude where to meet him in Granada, Spain then promptly disappears into the ether. Rich Dude arrives at Hostel Bonita, a very run down hostel run by Programmer Kid's Sister. Here's the trailer.

If I tell you more, I will probably give away the plot. The questions it raises about Augmented Reality (AR) and its potential impact on society are very subtle and intriguing. LB4 has recently discovered LitRPG and has found a fondness for it so this series is right up his alley. The other kids feel a similarity to W:Two Worlds, a show they have watched before.  All in all, Memories of the Alhambra has the makings of being a big hit with us all.

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

P.S. 12/11/24  The kids and I finished the show. We had mixed reviews on the end. No spoilers, though!

If the bag looks old, just say no.......

 On Monday, I reluctantly got up early to put a pot of beans on. The bag I grabbed looked like it had been around for a while but I just wanted to be done with it so I used it anyway. I now regret that.

You see, my mom later told me that she remembered buying that bag....... A year ago. It had looked old and beat up when she had bought it, leaving her to believe that it came out of some hidden corner from storage. Where it then proceeded to avoid getting cooked for A WHOLE FREAKING YEAR. I don't know how I kept missing it. But I wished I had continued to do so. 

The beans were cooked in a slow cooker for over 12 hours and still were too hard. I cooled them down, refridgerated them, and cook them for a few hours more on the stove top the next day. Still had a bit of a bite to them. I honestly don't think I can do anything else to these beans. Sidenote: it gave me the worst gas ever.

So, consider this a PSA. If you have a bag of dried beans and they look like they took a road trip so long ago that are now one with the dust they traveled with, maybe use those said beans to make a Collage. Don't cook them. All you will get is regrets, half-cooked beans and a bad case of gas.

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Squishmallows, Stove Burners, and 18-inch Lizards.....

 Last Friday, I bought a Squishmallow. I then spent the whole weekend trying to keep my Squishy to myself. My mom and Siblings are constantly trying to slip my Squishmallow away from me. I can't blame them though. Look at how cute it is!

Orin the Orange is its official name. I renamed it Sunshine Squishmallow aka Squishy. LB3 insists on calling it Plushy. He is also leading the charge in trying to take Squishy away. At least we are all on the same page when it comes to keeping it away from our dad. We know that if he sees it, it will become his and getting it back will be hard. We might as well just buy him his own. Maybe. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Also bought on Friday were two new stove burners that we needed. Only thing was, they were the wrong size and weren't for our stove. Undeterred, Mom bought another set on Sunday that match our stove and they came in on Monday while she returned the first set she bought. And they fit.......the burners that we aren't trying to replace. So, earlier today she searched and finally found the correct ones and proceeded to take four hours purchasing it online due to an incorrect zip code. She was about to give up when everything was finally sorted out. So, finger crossed everyone. I should give her some Squishy time so she can cheer up.

On Saturday evening, an 18-inch long lizard crawled out our upstairs bathroom sink and freaked my mother out. We'd taken the drain stopper out for some reason or another and forgotten to place it back. The lizard had a straight shot and took it. Mom was preparing to take a bath and got the fright of her life. She REALLY doesn't like lizards. Especially when they get cozy on her clean clothes that she placed on the counter. LB1 took care of said lizard.

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Audiobooks that cost nothing!?!?!

 No, I am not taking about Audible. I am talking about LibriVox. When I began my book worm life, I began with books in the public domain because I was a broke teenager who wanted books more than I wanted to shop at the mall (yes, I know that dates me). I never made a MySpace or Facebook account because I was too busy learning when the PD cutoff was and finding new and exciting old books online that I could download. 

Old books are fascinating to me. Contemporary fiction of that time is now considered Historical fiction. It's like getting a peek into the psyche of the time and getting a glimpse of a world that has ceased to exist. Growing up with a History Buff Dad rubbed off on me and my love of old books and history are intertwined. I burned so many CDs full of PD books (I have no idea where they are now). My parents let me be as there are much worse hobbies a teenager could have and the sites I ventured to were safe.

I learned about LibriVox then. At the time, I paid no mind to it as I had no way to really enjoy it. But all that changed when I received my first mp3 player. I filled it full of my favorite Jane Austen novels from LibriVox and the rest is history. As a lover of old books, it made exploring new authors easier and fun. 

LibriVox is a non-commercial, non-profit and ad-free project that is volunteer run. Their mission is to bring the books in the public domain to the world in the form of audio books for free. You can download any audio book there for free. No limits. You are always welcome to donate but you are not obliged. Volunteers read the books for free and post them online. They are always putting up something new in a wide range of genres. I hope that you all can check them out.

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Under the Mulberry Tree, We Grill......

 As I write, I am in front of our grill cooking sausages. I was told that I was grilling today as soon as I woke up. I don't think I ever stood a chance.I am covered in mosquito bites. 

Upside of grilling:

1. Get to enjoy the shade

2. Can lay in the grass later with LB7

3.FOOD, 'nough said

Downside of Grilling:

1. Mosquitoes

2. Smoke smell sticking to my body

3. Mosquitoes

As you can probably tell, I am having a tough time with the mosquitoes. I will be keeping this post brief as I am kind of busy right now. As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

I dragged my mom into Kpop......no, I don't feel sorry

 Do you all remember my post from August 7th? I mentioned that I was excited about a singer I was fond of releasing a solo album. Well, I found out that one of the songs was produced by "Babyface" Nelson and remember my mom used to have a CD of his when I was little. So, I showed her Jaehyun's album trailer. She surprised me by wanting a copy of his album too.

Now, Jaehyun's solo album "J" is on repeat. I hope she doesn't wear it out for the kids. They will definitely blame me for this one. I currently got his album on repeat as well so if they thought I would stop her, that's a no go.

For those who are curious, I'll put the album trailer below. My mom's favorite song is "Can't get you out", the song Babyface produced.It has a very jazzy vibe. I don't have a favorite. I like them all.

I hope you enjoyed that. As always, feel free to leave me a message below.