In My Mailbox #712

Another week gone by :) Still no summer here. Hahaha. Sobs. So very rude. Hmph. It was supposed to be warm this weekend. But this did not happen. Sigh. Still. We got two days with sun, so I sat outside for some hours in the sun, at least :) But freezing cold wind on the sides of the house. Brrr. It's been a busy week. I'm still hurting everywhere. But doing okay, somewhat :) Grilled with the family this week. <3 Gone on daily walks, as always. Played lots of Animal Crossing New Horizons and still play Pocket Camp daily too. Played more of Mario Kart World, though been a few days without now. Rude :) So excited to see the new Jurassic movie next week, eeeee. I read two picture books this week :D Okay, they only took me 15 minutes each. Oops. But I wrote long enough reviews :) And I finally read something. And they count for my goodreads goal, hahaha :) And starting an eARC in a few days. Busy this weekend with Pokemon Go. Played for hours today. Ahh. I feel dead, ha. Exhausted. I am still waking up early all week, waiting for a restock of one more labubu. Sigh. Still nothing. So rude. Fingers crossed for next week :D I got a bunch of mail this week, ahh. So many pop figures, haha. All precious. <3 Also. Hmmm. My Mailchimp stopped working this week. Not enough credits. Didn't know that could happen. I have the free version. And there is no way I'm starting to pay for it monthly, ack. Does anyone know of something similar that is free that I can use to auto-send my newest blog posts? :) Thank you. <3 Would love to get it fixed again :) Posted some new blog posts this week :) Shared my review of Dreams to Ashes :) This week I'm waiting on The House Saphir :D And I shared my review of Nainai's Mountain. <3 Hope you are doing well these days :D

Wake the Wild Creatures. Read books by Nova years ago :) This new one sounds great. Hope to love it.
Fuggler. Finally got my plush of Smeagol as well from The Lord of the Rings :D And he is precious. <3
Pop Mart. More items from popmart, haha. Got a Cola as well, for my niece. No secret. Sigh. Carebears is so cute, but I don't really like red. Still; lovely. Wanted the pink Skullpanda, but Pond is precious too :)
Funko Europe. First order :) Missing one item, but they have resent. I love that shark. Love Toothless so. And a smelling pineapple Stitch :D Too cute and smells great. I got the chase of the dog. Which was not one I really wanted as a flocked chase, hahaha. This happens often. I only get the chase figures of ones I don't want. Rude :) I tried a Horror mystery mini. Got one from a movie I have yet to see. Oops. One day.

Funko Europe. Whoops. And a big order, haha. But I could not resist. Three "regular" ones, got diamond Aurora. Cute. And some pretty One Piece ones that I wanted, haha. Then the rest is all Jurassic, ahhh :D And it is all perfect. Siiigh. I could not help myself. I had to buy everything, haha :D I got 12 mystery minis, but this time they did not send me the whole box. How very rude. I was so disappointed. And yet. I got 8 of 12 different ones :) And one that was 1 of 72. Ha! So I am happy again, haha. <3 Love them all lots :D

More Instagram photos here. <3

Review: Nainai's Mountain by Livia Blackburne & Joey Chou

Another picture book by Livia that I just had to read. Different than the other one, this is more for younger kids. It's about a little girl going on a small mountain adventure with her Nainai. It is a story inspired by Livia's grandparents and how they grew up. And I loved that very much.

This book is illustrated by Joey Chou. And I found it all to be beautiful. Though I must be honest and say that I felt like it all could have been a little prettier, as this art style was not something that I'm used to. Beautiful, but also boring. Still. I loved the look of the characters.

Like with the other picture book by Livia, my one complaint is that I wish it had been longer. I felt like much was missing from this story. I'm giving it four stars. This picture book was such a cute and quick read. And I'm glad that I read it. This story was sweet and beautiful. Full of family love. Just wish there had been more text. Would have loved to see a little more interaction from the characters. But even so. The story was cute. I so loved reading about the girl and her grandma exploring Taiwan in just a day. I wish the girl had a name, though. But I am guessing it was Livia. Which is too cute.

Nainai's Mountain was a cute picture book about a girl and her grandma, her Nainai. It is the first time she is visiting the home country of her Nainai. As the little girl is from California, and Nainai was from Taiwan. I loved the small looks at this country. It seemed awesome. Wish it had been a little better illustrated, but it was still lovely to look at. And it was written well too. Just, yes. I wanted it all to be a little more. But I am guessing a whole lot of kids will adore having it read to them. It was such a lovely little story. Do read this.

Goodreads - Blackwells - Amazon US - Amazon UK

Waiting on Wednesday #714

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

THE HOUSE SAPHIR BY MARISSA MEYER

Goodreads Description:

Mallory Fontaine is a fraud. Though she comes from a long line of witches, the only magic she possesses is the ability to see ghosts, which is rarely as useful as one would think. She and her sister have maintained the family business, eking out a paltry living by selling fraudulent spells to gullible buyers and conducting tours of the infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place.

Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir - otherwise known as Monsieur Le Bleu - who brutally killed three of his wives more than a century ago. But she never expected to meet Bastien's great-grandson and heir to the Saphir estate. Armand is handsome, wealthy, and convinced that the Fontaine Sisters are as talented as they claim. The perfect mark. When he offers Mallory a large sum of money to rid his ancestral home of Le Bleu's ghost, she can’t resist. A paid vacation at Armand’s country manor? It’s practically a dream come true, never mind the ghosts of murdered wives and the monsters that are as common as household pests.

But when murder again comes to the House Saphir, Mallory finds herself at the center of the investigation—and she is almost certain the killer is mortal. If she has any hope of cashing in on the payment she was promised, she’ll have to solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while upholding the illusion of witchcraft.

But that all sounds relatively easy compared to her biggest learning to trust her heart. Especially when the person her heart wants the most might be a murderer himself.

Format: 432 pages, Hardcover
Expected Publication: November 4, 2025 by Feiwel & Friends
Pre-Order: Blackwells and Amazon US and Amazon UK

EEEEE. I am SO very excited about this one :D New Marissa Meyer. <3 New fairytale retelling :D Ahh! It sounds perfect. Of course I got declined on Edelweiss weeks ago. Ugh. I hate waiting, haha. Would have loved to read this precious book right now. Sigh. It sounds dark and exciting and just perfect. I can't wait :)
What are you waiting for on this murderous Wednesday?

Review: Dreams to Ashes by Livia Blackburne & Nicole Xu

I don't usually read a lot of picture books. But this one I had to read, as I adore Livia. And it sounded like such an important story and looked gorgeous as well. It was such a fast and easy read. I'm giving this four stars, as I really liked it, but I do wish it had been a little longer. 

As I wanted more details and more history. But I really enjoyed this picture book. It was beautifully illustrated. It's written by Livia Blackburne and illustrated by Nicole Xu. I think they did an excellent job. And the book was beautiful and sad, telling an important piece of history.

This picture book is about what happened during the 1871 Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre. A story about what happened and how 18 Chinese men were killed. It was such a sad tale. New to me, but so interesting to read about. These men came to America with a dream of finding gold to take home to their families in China. They wanted all their lives to get better. Instead there were no gold. And they had to find other jobs to survive in this new country. These immigrants were not treated nicely. And then many of them were killed. I do wish there had been more about it all. But I liked what was included. The punishments at the end bothered me. Typical American, of course. But so evil.

It took me less than fifteen minutes to read this book. Which is why I wish it had been longer. I would not have minded even more details about everything. But even so. Dreams to Ashes was a stunning picture book that told an important story. I had not heard of this massacre before. Heartbreaking to learn about. And it is still heartbreaking, how immigrants are treated in America. I'm still waiting for things to get better. I think everyone should read this picture book and learn about the history of this massacre. It's important.

Goodreads - Blackwells - Amazon US - Amazon UK

In My Mailbox #711

Ugh. We still do not have any summer heat. It has been less than 10c outside for days now. Brrrr. Next weekend might get better. But still forever until then. It's the rudest. I miss summer. I want some heat and being able to sit outside in the sun. Fingers crossed all of July and August will be warm. I have been a bit exhausted this week. I have so many psoriasis cuts on my fingers and toes. It should all be better in the summer. But it's too cold so far. So yeah. I'm in pain. And my shoulder started hurting again too, months after last time. Ahh. I'm so exhausted. But doing my best :) I finally managed to finish reading the graphic novel. <3 And will be reading two picture books this coming week :) And starting an eARC next weekend, hopefully. Ack. So yes. Going to try reading more this coming week :) Also played a bunch of Mario Kart World with my nephew. <3 Love it so. But now we have a break, re-watching the Jurassic Park and World movies, to get ready for cinema in less than two weeks :D I am so excited. Oh. And I was at the cinema again this week. Oops. I saw How to Train Your Dragon, and oh, I loved it very much. <3 My favorite live action so far. It was stunning. And just like the animated movie. Some changes, but not many. And it was just beautiful. Aanyway. I may have gotten too many books this week. Sobs. Got all the June new books, ack. I love them, though, haha :D Still spending all week waiting on popmart labubu restocks. Missing just a few things now. <3 Fingers crossed for this coming week :) I'm a little bit tired from all this waiting and hoping, though. Anyway. I am hoping for summer weather soon. And better health. Sigh. This week I'm waiting on This Monster of Mine :) And I shared my review of Coven. <3 Hope you are all doing well :D

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. New Victoria book :D A little unsure about it, but hoping to love it.
Ordinary Love. This is not usually a book for me. But I love Marie. So I bought both editions for one day.
The Listeners. US and UK hardcovers :D I really enjoyed this precious book. <3 And it looks so stunning.
We Could Be Magic. Very excited for a new Marissa book, eee :D Looks like such a cute graphic novel.
The Forgotten Five: Masters of Disguise. Book six. Ahh! I still haven't read these. But I will one day. <3
Daughter of Mine. I simply had to get the paperback of this one :) As it is my favorite adult Megan book.
There is a Door in This Darkness. Paperback edition :) I still haven't read this one, but oh, I adore Kristin.
The Wild Robot. I could not resist getting this art book. As I loved this movie so much. It looks gorgeous.

Stranger Things puzzle. I could not resist buying this puzzle when I saw it. It has Max. It looks awesome.
Funko. Got a new Loungefly set on sale, ahh :D I could not resist this Minnie set. It is just so gorgeous. Hoping to one day wear it in Disneyland Paris. <3 Such pretty colors. Tried a new set of Jurassic World mystery minis, to get the three I was missing. I got none of them. Ugh. So rude. Couldn't resist trying, ha.
Tubbz. Look at these tiny cute ducks :D New The Lord of the Rings ones. <3 I just had to get them. Love.

More Instagram photos here. <3