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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hi, I'm Elle. I'm based in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm the mother of two young adults, the wife of an entrepreneurial gamer and the Queen of Unfinished Projects. This blog will contain poems, short stories, possibly photos and book reviews if you're lucky, and my thoughts on a variety of topics. Hope you enjoy it. |
| It’s been a couple of years since I did this quiz, so I thought it would be fun to do again. Just to be clear, I’ve excluded all re-reads. So this only covers books read for the first time in 2023. Best book you’ve read so far in 2023? Brute by Kim Fielding. Set in an alternative world that has magic but no technology, this is a story about a man who doesn’t fit in because he’s ‘seven and a half feet of ugly’. He has no friends, and is treated very poorly by the people who live in the village with him. They call him Brute. One day Brute saves a prince but is nearly killed in doing so. The prince is so grateful that Brute saved his life, nearly at the cost of his own, so he takes Brute away from the village for medical treatment and tries to give him a better life. Brute is assigned to guard a prisoner in the dungeon. It’s a cushy job because the prisoner is behind bars and Brute is only required to give him food and water. However, Brute, being the kind of gentle giant he is, befriends the prisoner. And from there unfolds a wonderful story of adventure, heroics, friendship and romance. This is an MM romance. Best sequel of 2023 so far? I’m going to have to go with Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop. I read the first book in this series, Written in Red, in 2018 and loved it. Easy five star read. However, it was an immersive read, the kind of book it’s easy to get lost in, and while I enjoyed it a lot, I was in the mood for something lighter and fluffier. And then I never went back to it. I’ve done the same thing with TJ Klune’s Green Creek series. Such fantastic books, but I want to be able to devote time and emotion to them. Anyway, my husband very kindly gifted me Murder of Crows and the remaining six other books in this series for Christmas, so over the Christmas break, while I was on holiday, I read them. Soooooo good. This is not a romance. There is a slowly developing MF relationship between the two main characters in the first five books, but it is the slowest of slow burns and is not the focus of the books. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there is zero heat to these books. Gore and violence, yes, but no steam. The series, set in an alternative world that has shifters, vampires and other non-humans (collectively known as the Others), follows Meg who is a blood prophet. She escapes from the facility where she was kept, and ended up in an area run by the Others. The Others dislike humans and vice versa, but there is a level of necessary interaction between humans and Others for business and survival, and Meg manages to find a role in that halfway margin between both groups. As the series progresses, we see greater conflict between the humans and Others, but also greater cooperation, burgeoning friendship and trust. It is an amazing series. I highly recommend it. I rated the first five books in the series five stars each. I haven’t yet read Lake Silence, Wild Country or Crowbones, which I think move away from Meg and Simon and focus on other characters in the same world, but I will definitely read them. Anne Bishop has an amazing talent for storytelling. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to read? These are some of the 2023 releases that I haven’t bought yet but are near the top of my wishlist: Everything I Didn’t Know by Nicky James He’s The One by Barbara Elsborg Dragon’s Magic by Nora Phoenix Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall Blaze by RM Neill This Will Hurt I and This Will Hurt II by Cara Dee Most anticipated release of the second half of 2023? Okay, I’m going to cheat and do two here… Tisak by Michelle Frost and Michele Notaro. This is the second book in the Kingdoms of Pelas series. I read the first book in 2021 and I have been waiting impatiently for the sequel! Set in an alternative world, it is an MMMM romance with a lot of gore and violence. The second book follows the same characters as in the first book. There is a human, a half-orc, a tiger shifter, and a gargoyle. In the first book they’re imprisoned and forced to fight for their lives in an arena. This is the blurb for the second book: The mage magic that saved them could also be their undoing. Theon and his men escaped House Natas, only to face suspicion and unrest from the Shifter Resistance. Shifters don’t trust mages, even ones who freed an entire House from their bonds. As tensions rise, Theon’s tenuous control on his magic slips further, until one outburst leads to an amount of damage Theon can’t bear. He must learn to control his magic before someone else he loves is harmed or the fire growing inside him burns him alive. Luckily, Florin knows where to go. Unfortunately, going to learn control means leaving some of his men behind. They may survive the battle of Tisak, but can their love survive mage fire and the difficult choices in their path? The horrors of House Natas may be behind them, but the fight of their lives still lies ahead. Tisak is due to be released at the end of August. I believe it ends in a HFN, so presumably there’s another book yet to come after that one. And then there’s also the next book in the Magi Accounts series by Michele Notaro. I’m actually re-reading one of Michele Notaro’s other series right now – she’s such a fantastic author. So the Magi Accounts is set in an alternative world with magi, humans and shifters. In that world, humans are top of the heirarchy, then shifters, then magi are basically treated like garbage. The series follows Mads (a magi) and Cos (a shifter) (so the first book is an MM romance and then we follow the characters through the series). The book coming out at the end of August is A Ruse To Unchain Us, which is the fourth full-length novel in the series. There have also been five novellas as well, some of which have focused on friends and family of Mads and Cos. Mads and Cos, and most of their family, are soldiers. They fight a kind of alien dragon, but also evil humans who use magic (but are not magi if I remember rightly). At the beginning, none of the magi have ever experienced anything good or any form of positive relationship (friendship or otherwise) except amongst themselves and even those have been few and far between due to the circumstances under which they were kept. As the series progresses, the magi learn to like and trust some of the shifters and human they come to know, and the humans and shifters learn the truth about the treatment of magi and start to fight for magi rights. It sounds complicated, but it’s an easy read. Lots of action, lots of gore, lots of feels. Every book ends on a HFN. Here’s the blurb: It’s time to fight back, and by the goddess, I will help free my people. The Cloaked Freeway is finally in a position to effect real change, and I want so badly to be a part of it. Since I was a little kid, it’s been my dream to free my people from under the human’s rule. And now I have the chance to make that dream a reality. But helping them means giving up so much. I have a family now—a pride—and I don’t want to put them at risk. Luckily for me, my mate wants to be a part of the revolution, too, but that still leaves everyone else. The world is turning into chaos around us and our family is being pulled in different directions, but I know one thing for sure. The Ono-Nais are fighters, and we’ll do everything in our power to keep each other safe and help those around us. Biggest disappointment? To be honest, my biggest disappointments were when I started reading books and then found out they were either incomplete or short stories. The incomplete one, My Alpha’s Secret by Rosa Swann, really pissed me off. Who the fuck releases books in ‘episodes’? It seems like such a money grab. Like, instead of buying a whole book for $5 or whatever, you buy eight ‘episodes’ which add up to more than $20. The first installment in this particular bunch was only 69 pages. The final one is 72 pages, but there’s no way I’m buying any more. What a rort. The first installment was definitely not good enough to make me want to pay more than $20 for the whole story. I suppose it’s my fault for not reading the fine print and realising it was the first installment in an episodic, but I hadn’t come across such a thing before. A series with novels, novellas or even short stories, yes, but not a series where each purchase was just a chapter. So annoyed. Biggest surprise? Although I enjoyed the other books in the Hit and Run series by E M Lindsey, I was wary of this book. Hervé is pretty much the bad guy from the series and I didn’t like him at all going into this book. I was surprised, therefore, when I finished Double Play to rate it four stars. A real redemption book. Favourite new author (debut or new to you)? Tavia Lark. While it looks like Tavia has been publishing books since 2016, I only discovered her this year. I thoroughly enjoyed her Perilous Courts series and will definitely be getting the rest in the series as they’re released. I’ll have to check out her other series too. Newest fictional crush? Daromir from Prince and Bodyguard by Tavia Lark Newest favourite character? Whisper from Prince and Assassin by Tavia Lark. Book that made you cry? The Sound of Us by Jen Samson is a heartbreaking read (with a happy ending). Axel is trapped in an abusive marriage, a fact known only to two other people. When Eli comes to town, he and Axel meet and fall in love. But Axel is married. And leaving his husband isn’t an option. As a reader we are in the same boat as Eli – desperately wanting Axel to find a way to leave his abusive husband and find his happily ever after with Eli, but unable to take that step for him. This is not an easy read, but compelling. And yes, it does have a happy ending. Book that made you happy? An Embrace to Hearten Me by Michele Notaro. This is a novella (404 pages) in the Magi Accounts series. It is very definitely a feel-good story where Jude (who we adore from earlier books) finds love with River and Kulani. This book has some decent representation in it because Jude is demisexual and River is non-binary. Because of Jude’s demisexual nature, the relationship between these three has actually been building up over the course of the series, so this isn’t really a standalone. Favourite book to movie adaption you’ve seen this year None yet, but I’m really looking forward to the release of the Red, White and Royal Blue adaptation. That was a great book. Favourite review you’ve written this year? To be honest, I haven’t written any reviews this year. I know, such a slacker.  Most beautiful book you bought or received so far this year? Hmm, maybe this one:  I haven’t read it yet. What books do you need to read by the end of the year? There’s no ‘need to’, but here are some of the ones I want to finish (that I’ve already started): Taking Charge of Adult ADHD by Dr Russell A. Barkley A Gentle Way to Love by Abrianna Deanae How Much For The Whole Night by R J Scott Finn’s Fantasy by KC Wells |
| We've had an interesting development in our family recently. My son was officially diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) the day after his 22nd birthday. My son and nephew are both now dual-diagnosed with ASD and ADHD. Myself and my daughter are diagnosed with ADHD, and my sister is in the process of being diagnosed. We're definitely a neurodivergent family! Jayden seems pleased with the diagnosis. He asked to be assessed for it because he thought it fit him, and to have that confirmed gave him validation I think. I was both surprised and not. I am not well educated on ASD and I guess I felt like his 'quirks' were explained by his ADHD diagnosis, and weren't 'severe' enough to warrant an ASD diagnosis. He didn't fit my mental image of a person with ASD. But that's my own ignorance talking, I know. As we went through the process of having him assessed, it became more and more clear what the answer was going to be. What does this mean for him? I don't know. If he was still in school, it probably would enable access to greater support and resources, but he's 22. He is doing the last paper in his course this semester (it's a course that allows him entry to uni even though he didn't finish high school) so we've advised the uni of his diagnosis and asked my sister-in-law (who works at the uni) if it enables him to access any additional support, and that's the best we can do in that regard, I think. He's currently on the unemployment benefit, and he has advised the agency who oversees the benefit of his diagnosis in case that makes any difference. While he can get and hold down a job, he does find most jobs exceedingly stressful, far more than a neurotypical person would, and not always for any identifiable reason. His stress often manifests physically as an upset stomach. He's had multiple jobs and so far only managed to keep one for any length of time. Unfortunately he had to leave that one when he moved back home as it wasn't commutable from our house. Any advice, resources, etc., feel free to share. My sister recommended a book called Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Dr Anthony Attwood that she has posted to me, so when that arrives, I'll read that. |
These are the books I read in June 2023, and the ratings I gave them. The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic (re-read) The Raven King by Nora Sakavic (re-read) The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic (re-read)  Death of the Moon by S A Pavlik Prince and Bodyguard by Tavia Lark Take Shelter With Me by R M Neill Wed to the Omega by Ashe Moon Wobble by Becca Seymour The Foreman and the Drifter by Jackie North The Omega Shift by Tamsin Baker Note: When I re-read a book, I retain the original rating I gave it after the first read. |
An update for those of you who were wondering how I'm doing with my ADHD meds. I know it's a weird milestone, a week and a half, but I forgot to do it at the end of the first week, so I'm doing it while I remember.  Before going on the meds, my priorities I wanted help with were work, followed by binge eating and finances. My concern was losing my creative spark. Things that have improved: Work - I'm still late every morning, and I'm still distracted by non-work things (like giving you an update when I should be working!) but my productivity has increased significantly. My boss said "I'm noticing a very different person. It's huge. Huge." So he's really pleased. I notice that even though I'm distracted by non-work things, when I go back to my work I'm more focused and also focused for longer. My 'task avoidance' with certain tasks seems to have disappeared. Woohoo! I'm using a to-do list (note the word USING instead of MAKING. I've made to-do lists before but never actually used them productively to help me get stuff done or prevent me forgetting tasks). This is a huge win, and I'm really happy with it. Interestingly, I seem to be more productive in the afternoons and evenings (last night I worked until 7pm). Food - No binge eating since I started the meds, which makes me SO HAPPY. My eating is not 'good' (I bought a king size chocolate bar yesterday and ate three rows over the course of the afternoon, as an example) but I haven't had any binges. If you're not familiar with binge eating (and I hope you're not, because it sucks) that means no eating until (or beyond) I feel sick. Yes, it sounds crazy to eat until you feel like throwing up. It is. I've been binge eating at least once a week, often multiple times a week, since my hormones went nuts at the beginning of this year, so this is a huge improvement for me. Housework - This is a smaller improvement, but still worth noting. I am not putting off housework tasks such as putting away my clean clothes, doing a load of laundry, etc. There's still a lot of room for improvement in this area, but any improvement is gratefully accepted. Things that have got worse: Mornings - I am having more trouble than ever getting out of bed in the morning and getting to work on time. I was often late before, now I am ALWAYS late (literally every day since taking the meds) and I feel like I am leaving the house later every day. I am definitely getting out of bed later than pre-meds. Personal care - Things like my skin routine, showering, brushing my teeth, having breakfast, drinking water, etc. This was never a great area for me, but it has definitely got worse since starting the meds. Bedtime - It's not that I can't fall asleep when I try, it's that I can't put my phone down. I'm not reading at night, I'm scrolling through TradeMe, Facebook, Instagram or whatever. This has definitely got worse. Previously I was going to sleep about 10:30-11pm, now I'm often up past midnight, sometimes till 1am. Even when my eyes are burning and I can barely keep them open, I'm still scrolling. It's not because I'm not tired. I hate it. And obviously it contributes to my struggles to get out of bed in the morning (but I don't think it's the sole reason as the morning thing started before the evening thing). Things that don't seem to have changed: Finances (aka impulse control) - I haven't noticed an improvement in this area, sadly. I don't think it's got worse though. Creativity - Maybe worrying about this was silly, but I'm pleased that I'm still having ideas for my projects, my WDC groups, etc. I haven't implemented any of them yet, but that's normal for me! lol Forgetfulness - I debated putting this into 'things that have got worse' because I haven't remembered to wear my reading glasses at work since taking the meds. Shit, wait, let me put them on now while I remember. Previously I was remembering them about half the time. I've only forgotten to take the meds before leaving the house once though (and had to take them when I got to work because I remembered in the car). I forgot about a birthday party we were invited to on Friday, but that's normal for me if I don't immediately put it in my Google calendar. Yesterday I started working on my admin manual at work because I wanted to document a specific task. Later, I realised I'd spent two hours on the manual and forgotten to document the specific task. Again, normal for me. Hyperfocusing - My current hyperfocus is fashion/clothes. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. I don't get to choose the subject of the hyperfocus! I have definitely not noticed this lessening. If anything, actually, this might have got more intense, but it's so hard to quantify. Currently I'm taking the meds Monday-Friday. I didn't notice anything much on Saturday when I didn't take them, but Sunday I was very headachy (like a caffeine withdrawal headache) and SO unmotivated to do anything. I had big plans for the weekend and got very little done. This coming Sunday I have a 10km walk in the morning and I hope the exercise helps because otherwise I will be seriously plodding for 10km! So there you go. That's your update after a week and a half. Feel free to ask questions. I know I'm not the only person who is dealing with their own or a family member's ADHD and like with everything else, having open discussions helps all of us. |
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