Categories
Fantasy Romance

Read Snowed in with Shifters

Read Snowed in with Shifters (Rejected Wolf Pack) by Traci Lovelot

When an early winter storm leaves us stranded, there’s only one bed… And three sexy wolf shifters to share it with me.

I’ve always dreamed of mating an alpha, but when the pack run reveals a fellow beta as my mate, I’m overjoyed to have found my mate at last.

Things get complicated when I’m snowed in with him… and both of his equally hot brothers.

One of them is an alpha, but truthfully, I feel drawn toward all three. With my mate’s enthusiastic approval, we all explore our budding feelings while waiting for the storm to pass.

But wolves mate in pairs.

When the snow finally thaws, will any of our hearts survive?

Doesn’t mess around, gets straight into it and moves quickly. Clear consent and enthusiasm from all parties.

The stakes felt too light at the climax? It might have been more impactful if I’d read other books in the world before. It foreshadows that things will go wrong in a certain way, but that turns out to be setting up the next book. An enjoyable quick read with low stakes.

Categories
Romance

Read The Shots You Take

Read The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid

After moving back to his hometown ten years ago, Riley Tuck thought he had left his major league hockey career—and his broken heart—far behind. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, it brings ex-teammate and former best friend with benefits Adam Sheppard back into his life.

Coming to the small town of Avery River, Nova Scotia, might have been a mistake. Adam’s not sure he’ll ever win back Riley’s trust after the way they left things—and the attention he’s getting as a huge hockey star isn’t exactly helping. Yet the chemistry that crackles between them is undeniable, even now.

As Adam helps Riley navigate his grief, long-buried feelings start to resurface. But they’ll have to square off with their complicated past if they’re going to have a real shot at a new beginning.

I’m not convinced there was sufficient groveling, especially in the midst of dealing with a death in the family, but I suppose I can set aside my disbelief about forgiving someone this cruel to you a decade later. I think it would have been better if the timeline was longer, but the setup demanded pretty fast movement. This was told in alternating present day and flashbacks from both POV characters, which was helpful in showing how they both felt about critical moments in their history.

Categories
Featured Reflection

2025 in Review

Tracy in front of fancy garden and house with big yellow and red flower brooch
on a local garden tour over the summer

What I worked on

  • consulting: supported outreach for a construction and demolition waste policy through June, then they referred me to their colleague to develop outreach materials for their green building program
  • business development: I bid on an RFP in the spring and got an interview, but wasn’t selected; met with a potential client at City of Seattle in the fall but am still waiting to be added to their roster before I’m allowed to do work there
  • fiction writing: continued to revise the same draft I’ve been working on for-ev-er — logged 180+ hours (~3.5 hours / week)
  • blogging: I published 283 public posts overall
  • gardening: pruning my two niwaki project trees… got a taller ladder so I can get at the top of the pine
Categories
Featured Music

2025 in Music

5x5 grid of top played albums in 2025 - list in caption
Top albums of 2025 (links to Bandcamp) — Top row: DEMONS & NIGHTCORE by ALEX & TOKYO ROSE, Let’s! by Mecha Maiko (lol I was #1 album listener on last.fm), Deadbeat by Tame Impala, acts of rebellion by Ela Minus, Red Moon by Jessy Mach; Second Row: What Occurs by Islands, The Slow Rush by Tame Impala, Secondhand Rapture by MS MR, Polygon by Battle Tapes, Nadir by Sababa 5; Third Row: Valebol by Valebol (I’m surprised, didn’t feel like I listened to this much), Crisis by Dawnrazer, Hardware by Street Cleaner (a recurring favorite), Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy by Mindless Self Indulgence (sorry husband), Light & Magic by Ladytron; Fourth Row: Shooting Star by LukHash (cheating because only one song), Out of Love by Mister Heavenly, Django Django by Django Django, Thirst by SebastiAn, Gumshoe by Samantha Crain (also cheating because I only bought two songs but listened to them a TON); Bottom Row: Trilogy by Carpenter Brut (really?), The Moon & Antarctica by Modest Mouse, Pony by Orville Peck, White Bat IV by Karl Casey, Girl with No Face by Allie X (also only bought one track)

Release year for top albums:

00
02
11
12
13
15
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

What I listened to in 2025

I listened to about 16,863 songs — on average, 46 songs a day. Last.fm says this is 46 days of listening 👀

  • 2,665 unique tracks (down 7% from 2024)
  • 762 artists (up 10% from 2024)
  • 1,063 albums (up 12% from 2024)

Monthly listening roundups

Categories
Featured Meta Reflection

2025 Year-End Reading Review

What I Read in 2025

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis
I read this book 3 times this year ❤️

I finished reading 169* books in 2025, just around what I read in 2024.

Categories
Featured Meta Reflection

20 Favorite Books I Read in 2025

These are the books I liked best this year, not what I think are the best books (for those, check the “best” button I just added to my Read in 2025 page). Like last year, I’m going for silly categories that combine fiction and non-fiction by vibes. Arranged according to what covers look best next to each other 😉

Cozytown

  • Violet Thistlewaite is Not A Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz — plant magic, fresh starts, best intentions
  • Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis — read this three times this year — love the impetuous goth witch queen chemist falling for the gentle fountain-pen-loving academic as he gradually grows into himself given the space to breathe
  • A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna — charmingly odd found family including an animated rooster skeleton and talking fox, a believable baddie, a magical autistic kid sister (done well), and a not-looking-for-love magical antiquarian
  • Cooking As Though You Might Cook Again by Danny Licht — down to earth philosophy disguised as recipes, loved this
  • How to Find a Nameless Fae by A.J. Lancaster — heroine reminds me of a T. Kingfisher heroine — the ending confrontation with the villain was perfect
Categories
Art and Design

Read Astronaut II

Read Astronaut II by Scott Listfield

Astronaut II: Journeys in Time & Space by Scott Listfield invites readers on a captivating journey through the mind and work of the acclaimed artist, known for his iconic depictions of a lone astronaut navigating surreal, pop-culture-laden landscapes.

Spanning six transformative years of Listfield’s career after the release of his debut monograph Astronaut, this beautifully crafted sequel showcases over 300 new paintings that reflect not only on society’s challenges―political upheaval, environmental crises, and a global pandemic―but also on deeply personal themes of loss, nostalgia, and legacy.

As Listfield’s astronaut explores fractured worlds and shifting timelines, readers are invited to reflect on the intersection of past and present, reality and fantasy. Through immersive, vividly detailed artwork, Astronaut II chronicles a period of rapid change and introspection for the artist, offering a visual narrative that is both whimsical and profound. Whether confronting dystopian futures or revisiting memories from Listfield’s life, each painting is a window into his evolving perspective on the world and his place in it.

This book is a must-have for fans of contemporary art, surrealism, and pop culture, Astronaut II: Journeys in Time & Space is a captivating journey through the mind of one of today’s most unique visual storytellers.

Another great collection from Scott Listfield! It’s organized chronologically according to his shows over the past 5+ years, and includes the introductory text he wrote at the time of the show plus a lot of the paintings, many of them full page size. The shows each have a theme, and I liked seeing them together because while they all are distinctly his, each show has a little bit different style or vibe, whether that comes through in the subjects or the tone or the symbolic elements.

Categories
Fantasy Humor Romance

Read The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy

Read The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy (Dearly Beloathed)

The first in a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy duology featuring a scholarly healer and a gentleman assassin, set in an exquisite fantasy world, perfect for fans of The Love Hypothesis and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, is in dire need of healing. Naturally – such is the grim comedy of fate – the only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and member of an enemy Order.

Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick – so desperate that, when Osric bribes her to help him, she accepts, even if she detests him and everything he stands for.

A forced collaboration ensues: the brilliant Woman in STEM is coerced into working with the PhD in Murders, much to Aurienne’s disgust. As Osric and Aurienne work together to heal his illness and investigate the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction, which only fuels the heat between them.

I enjoyed this and will read the follow-up. The writing is distinctive but strikes a note that deftly balances erudition, character prejudice, and humor. I looked up a good number of words, but they didn’t feel out of place; there were quite a few that weren’t in the dictionary, so I’m guessing they’re British slang? The goofy place names stood out a bit, same kinda misfit as the ship names in Scalzi’s Collapsing Empire.

Categories
Science Fiction

Read Automatic Noodle

Read Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

While San Francisco rebuilds from the chaos of war, a group of food service bots in an abandoned ghost kitchen take over their own delivery app account. They rebrand as a neighborhood lunch spot and start producing some of the tastiest hand-pulled noodles in the city. But there’s just one problem. Someone―or something―is review bombing the restaurant’s feedback page with fake “bad service” reports. Can the bots find the culprit before their ratings plummet and destroy everything they created?

I enjoyed this. While I wouldn’t have minded it being slightly longer, I suspect the novella length is just right to keep the pace up. The cast of characters and their plight is sympathetic, and the world is interesting.

Categories
Fantasy Romance

Read The Cuddle Clause

Read The Cuddle Clause by Roxie Ray

Living with a werewolf is… complicated.

Maggie James is thirty-one, freshly dumped, and emotionally scorched.
Losing her relationship also cost her the apartment and the business she built with her ex. Now she’s broke, unmoored, and answering a roommate ad from a total stranger.

A stranger who turns out to be a neurodivergent werewolf with a detailed lease agreement… and a legally binding cuddle clause.

Roman Velasquez likes quiet, structure, and his Good Plate.
He’s used to living alone—until pack politics force his hand. To avoid being mated off for supernatural convenience, Roman needs to convince his Alpha that he’s already claimed. Maggie panics, blurts out a lie, and suddenly they’re fake-mated, cuddling after full moons, and trying very hard not to catch feelings.

It’s just a roommate agreement. Just magical paperwork. Just a fake relationship to stop a supernatural power grab.

They both know the rules.
Don’t touch the plate.
Respect the schedule.
No falling in love.

Too bad they’re already breaking all of them.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t as cute as I was hoping. Very little cuddling, the special plate comes up literally once, and there’s a ton of drama with their respective past “romantic” partners. I know that autism presents differently, but there were some sections where I bought it and some that I was pretty skeptical of.