Earth Hour | What to read when the lights are out

March 30, 2019 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ Leave a comment

30 March 2019 – 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. your time

It’s time! Or it might already be too late.

Back in 2007 Earth Hour started on the initiative of WWF in Sydney as a one-hour lights out event. It’s a symbolic action where people shut off their lights to show their support for taking action against climate change and it’s an opportunity for us to reflect on the impact our way of living has on the environment.

You might not know it – though it might be hard to miss – but I’m one of those crazy eco-warriors. I’ll preach about all things environment, I’ll turn into a crazy bitch telling you to get your shit together and rattle off facts I’ve heard in a pod, read in an article, seen in a documentary – I overconsume them so little snippets of just about everything gets stuck in my brain.

But, I thought I’d spare you the lecture and instead give you a few book recommendations so you know what to read when the lights are out, though you’ll have to go to the library and borrow a paperback since you should turn off your phone/tablet/kindle during those sixty minutes LOL.

Sockeye Love by Sarah Black is about Grey, a wildlife photographer, who clings to the memory of his lover, and Sal, a law student who fights for the environment and hugs salmons. It’s funny and heartbreaking at the same time.

books2read.com/SockeyeLove

Bear, Otter, and the Kid by T.J. Klune is a gripping story about two brothers who have to manage when their Mum ups and leaves them. It makes the list because the kid writes the best poems about why being a vegetarian is good. It’ll make you laugh and it’ll make you cry.

books2read.com/BearOtterandtheKid

The Boys and the Bees by Mari Donne is about Mark who’s stuck in life, at least until he runs into ecowarrior Jamie who turns it upside down. This is a cute love story between two guys who knew each other in high school and I love how Jamie refuses to use a cellphone.

books2read.com/TheBoysAndTheBees

And last we have Clear Water by Amy Lane. I love this so much I think I might have to make it my Earth Hour read. It’s been years since I read it last. Whiskey, a field biologist, saves Patrick from drowning and takes him to his houseboat. Together they study two-headed frogs and investigate the pollution in the water.

I absolutely love the Author’s Note Amy Lane wrote to this story. It’s been several years since I read it (though I did read it just now), but I remember that short little note.

books2read.com/ClearWater

Happy reading, and lights out!

* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Think of England

March 27, 2019March 13, 2019 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ Leave a comment

Why haven’t I read this before? Think of England by K.J. Charles is bloody brilliant! And, maybe, just maybe, I should stop saying I don’t like historical stories…awesome! LOL

Captain Archie Curtis was injured in a military accident – that’s usually when I stop reading, but not this time. He lost three fingers, banged up his knee, and perhaps more importantly, watched his fellow soldiers die.

He suspects foul play and his research takes him to a country house. He’s invited to a two-week stay and there he meets Daniel da Silva, a queer poet with a sharp tongue.

I loved Daniel! Not that I disliked Archie, but Daniel did it for me. Things aren’t always what they seem to be and it doesn’t take long before Archie and Daniel realise they have more in common than they thought and decide to work together to find out what’s going on behind the scenes…and the mirrors. And that is good because then Archie gets to think of England LOL.

I also have to say, I love caves. Not so much to be in, but to read about. I find them very frightening, the thought of being trapped underground is right up there with drowning on the list of ways of how I don’t want to leave this earth. And here we have caves…

If you haven’t read it, do! And when you have a hop over to K.J. Charles’s website and read Song for a Viking, it’s a free short story in Daniel’s POV.

books2read.com/ThinkofEngland *

Lie back and think of England…

England, 1904. Two years ago, Captain Archie Curtis lost his friends, fingers, and future to a terrible military accident. Alone, purposeless and angry, Curtis is determined to discover if he and his comrades were the victims of fate, or of sabotage.

Curtis’s search takes him to an isolated, ultra-modern country house, where he meets and instantly clashes with fellow guest Daniel da Silva. Effete, decadent, foreign, and all-too-obviously queer, the sophisticated poet is everything the straightforward British officer fears and distrusts.

As events unfold, Curtis realizes that Daniel has his own secret intentions. And there’s something else they share—a mounting sexual tension that leaves Curtis reeling.

As the house party’s elegant facade cracks to reveal treachery, blackmail and murder, Curtis finds himself needing clever, dark-eyed Daniel as he has never needed a man before…

* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Some Green Reads

March 17, 2019March 13, 2019 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 2 Comments

Shamrock So, it’s St. Patrick’s Day and as a Swede, I have no idea what it means LOL. I’ve read up on St. Patrick, but I still don’t get why everyone turns green (it’s from the Emerald Isle, but still). Did you know that originally the colour used on St Patrick’s Day was blue?

But, we’re sticking with green! I thought I’d give you my favourite books with a green (-ish) cover. They’re not in any particular order, but here goes:

Motel. Pool. by Kim Fielding.

This is one of my favourite ghost stories. It’s not horror creepy, it’s a love story. Two broken men, one who lived in the 50s and one in present day, finding what’s missing in their lives (though one is dead). Not your usual ghost story but I love it!

books2read.com/MotelPool *

Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala.

Simply adding the cover here has me thinking it’s time to re-read me some Liam and Odnry. I love this series so much but if I only where to read story tags I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. This is D/s, sci-fi, and a heap of hurt-comfort. I don’t read many BDSM stories, but this isn’t your leather-clad macho man waiting to hear a safeword kind, this is a calm and controlled purple alien. I love Ondry.

books2read.com/ClaimingTails *

I'll be you drill, soldier I’ll Be Your Drill, Soldier by Crystal Rose.

This story…I laughed, and I cried, and I laughed while still wiping away tears. I’m married to an army man, and I usually stay away from books with wars in them. I don’t mind me a soldier (obviously, ha!) but I prefer them when they’re former soldiers. This is as much of a love story as it is following four men through life, fighting battles.

And having been the one who’s been left behind when your partner goes to a faraway place on the other side of the globe, this story brought back some memories.

books2read.com/IllBeYourDrillSoldier *

Billy's Bones Billy’s Bones by Jamie Fessenden

This story is one you won’t forget easily, and it should come with a trigger warning. Kevin has suppressed memories from his childhood, he can’t stand to be touched, and he has tried to take his life. Tom is a therapist who becomes Kevin’s friend and then more, but the hidden memories want to come out and when they do the men has to face an ugly truth.

I couldn’t put this down. It’s…chilling.

books2read.com/BillysBones *

Sock it to Me, Santa! by Madison Parker

I know, I know, we’re far from Christmas but I wanted to go from the horrors of Billy’s Bones to something sweet, and this is sweet. I always say I don’t read YA, and if I can, I avoid it, but this is cute. Ryan is assigned to Jamie for his class’s secret gift exchange. Jamie is flamboyant and openly gay, and Ryan is not. But it’s Christmas, Ryan is a good kid, and he has a fab mum, so of course, there will be a gift exchange. Adorable, and if you haven’t read it you should…when we get a little closer to Christmas.

books2read.com/SockItToMeSanta *

So that was a little mix of green books to match your St Patrick’s Day suit!

* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.