the_castle_library's reviews
85 reviews

This is not a one and done book. It makes you look at yourself, your current parenting style, and the parenting styles of your parents and grandparents. I have found myself yelling more as my kids get older and household dynamics change as a result of being a blended family with children who come from a very different household structure with their other parent. Yelling makes everyone feel worse so if I can start to heal myself and recognize my triggers, then I can start approaching these challenges calmer and more beneficially. There are a lot of exercises and techniques to help regulate and in turn, be calmer.

It is set in 1941, leading up to Hitler's reign of terror. Dr. Ernst Viktor is a psychiatrist and in 1918, treated Adolf Hitler for psychological madness following his time in the German Revolution. He has a medical journal proving Hitler is unstable and wants it transcribed and published. He hires Fräulein Katja Heinz to help him do so after they meet at an interview and he finds out that they are on the same side of the war line. When a French friend of Viktor's tells them he may have connections to get the notes published, they meet in Paris to show the first 3 chapters of the transcript. Katja catches her eye on a man she feels a deep pull to that will unknowingly end up in her path again sooner than she realizes. Trouble ensues when Hitler comes to their little German town for a big battleship reveal and keeping the notebook and transcripts hidden and a secret becomes a life or death task that Katja isn't sure she can handle when pressure starts to come down on her, her job, and her family. My rating for romance is 💖💖💖

In 2002, Julie Powell writes a blog inspired by Julia Child and her cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" to fill the void she feels being trapped in a job she hates because her dream of being a writer hasn't taken off, she's childless struggling with PCOS, and is coming up on her 30th birthday.

It was also later in life that Julia Child's life fell into place. She got married in her mid 30s and learned to cook when she was 37. She wrote "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" because her and her husband, Paul, were stationed in Paris in the late 1940s and none of the cookbooks were translated for Americans. When she realized that she wanted to cook, she started off in an Advanced class of all G.I. men. She caught on quickly and at the end of the class, she earned a diploma that certified her as a chef. From there, she started the cookbook and even started a cooking program broadcast on television.

Rest In Peace Julia Child 8/15/1912-8/13/2004
Rest In Peace Julie Powell 4/20/73-10/26/22

The author, Brenda Biddix, has Parkinson's and has always wanted to write a book. Some of her proceeds go towards Parkinson's research.

This is a cozy mystery about a toxic pond behind two houses in a small community. The contamination results are very high and exposure causes very odd side effects. It ends on a cliffhanger that hints at a sequel!

This was such a great read!!!! So much history and inspiration!! These women deserve to never be forgotten! They were trailblazers and record setters and the first of the first that paved the way for women in the U.S. Air Force.

My girl, Ikenna, is savage and full of absolute bad-assery!! She is on a mission to eradicate bigotry, racism, and overall hate from her world, Iludu, starting with the government. This series has some extreme highs and extreme lows. It touches on grief and loss and coping with it while also dealing with other struggles in every day life. My rating for spice is 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This is a modern Aice in Wonderland series, which I also didn't know until I started listening to it 😂🤦‍♀️ I was hooked almost immediately! 

Alice is a Dreamwalker who slays Nightmares, Fiends, and a crap ton of other dark monsters! There is a lot of talk of loss and grief in this book, but it works as a really good foundation as well as to believe in yourself. That is our biggest strength to overcoming anything that is thrown at us. My rating for romance is 💖💖