Walking: Mon., 23-Jan. > Tues., 24-Jan.
Here’s a screen shot of my Apple watch workouts that were recorded while walking. My goal is to read walk for at least one solid 30-minute stretch per day. I’ve started turning on a “workout” for additional walks instead of just doing them, so there might be more than one per day.
What I #AmReading…
Squirrel Circus by Holly Day
I love many of the books that I read, but few are elevated onto the list of books I will reread over and over, many times in years to come. This book has landed on that list.
It’s got a fun romance arc including one flawed but redeemable character and another who’s an adorable cross between super-competent and ditzy. The storyline the romance arc plays out in is gripping, full of intrigue and betrayal.
The story includes witty dialogue that’ll make you laugh out loud and a wonderful supporting cast of side characters. It’s well-written and simply fabulous.
The Snippets
The book alternates POVs between Jyran and Gideon, the two MCs. I selected five out of so many good options that jumped out at me for one reason or another. Usually because they made me laugh.
“Jyran is a red squirrel. A tree squirrel and tree squirrels don’t have cheek pouches.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s been six years, Gid. Don’t you think it’s time you learned something about your mate?”
“He’s not my mate.”
“Ah, back there, are we? Stupid fuck.” She slid off the bar stool. “I’m gonna go.”
If a squirrel could glare, it was what Jyran was doing. Cute. Gideon chuckled. Urgh, he had lost his mind.
Gideon gritted his teeth. “You’re a squirrel.”
“And you’re a wolf! Do you think, when I dreamed about my mate, I pictured a wolf?”
Gideon stilled. Wolves were great. It was only natural to fantasize about a wolf mate.
“Oh. My. God.” Jyran threw his hands in the air. “You think I did.” The laugh. It wasn’t so much a laugh as a sound of utter disbelief.
Jyran handled everything? Jyran handled her six million dollars. She trusted a squirrel with her life savings? What if he placed it somewhere and forgot where?
“What are you thinking, Gideon? I can almost hear the wheels turning.”
Gideon growled. “For the record, I’ve never had a squirrel sandwich, and when I eat you, it won’t be on a sandwich.”
Snorting, Jyran leaned against the door. “Promises, promises. You have to catch me first, and we both know you suck at it.”
“All I heard was suck, and I’m in favor.”
Squirrel Circus by Holly Day
GENRE: Gay Paranormal Erotic Romance
LENGTH: Novella / 36,035 Words / 133 Pages
HEAT RATING: 4 Flames
Can you forgive being rejected by your mate?
For as long as Jyran Pechman can remember, he’s dreamed about finding his soulmate. As a child, he lost his family, and he’s been moving around ever since. He hates it, and he wants nothing more than to have a home. A mate. A place to belong.
Gideon Everett might have dreamed about the day he’d find his mate, but his mate was never an unorganized, nut-hoarding squirrel shifter in those dreams. Wolves eat squirrels, so when Jyran walks into Gideon’s bar, he throws him out and tells him he wants nothing to do with him. He has a reputation to think about, and he will not be known as the wolf who mated a squirrel.
Being rejected hurts more than Jyran ever imagined, and he swears never to set foot in Gideon’s bar again. After the initial shock, Gideon is almost sure he made the right decision. Almost. What if he made the wrong decision? Now when he knows his mate is out there, can he live on as if they’ve never met, or does he have to … ugh … apologize?
About My Walking / #AmReading Posts
I started out with this being a Sunday thing, but sometimes I’d rather not mash multiple books into a single post, so now, you never know when you might see one of these posts.
Rather than give a true “review,” which I’m not entirely comfortable doing as an author myself, I share snippets from books I’ve read and enjoyed, letting the authors’ words speak for themselves.
As you’ve possibly noticed, if you’ve been following along, I highlight snippets for reasons of my own which might veer from what is often seen. Sometimes my highlights have more to do with a paragraph simply impressing the heck out of me for its fabulous writerly technique, other times it has to do with the lovely way it gives subtle insight into the story/characters. Still other times simply because it made me laugh.
Anyway, I sometimes add a little commentary, but not always, which is not in any way, shape, or form, to be taken as unwritten commentary. Most likely it just means I’m short on time and/or context isn’t needed to understand what’s happening, and/or my brain doesn’t feel like putting out the effort in that particular moment.
Happy reading!