Sunday Post - 10/18/26

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

I can't believe that I've missed two Sunday Posts in a row. I don't think that has ever happened in the history of my blog. But October is our busiest family month of the year. So that makes sense. Going all the way back, I can't remember every day details. Tuesday the 29th of September, Big Girl had a doctor's appointment to check up on some increased asthma/breathing problems she's been having during activity. All the kids had ball games that night and the following Thursday as well. After school on Friday the 2nd, my parents came to get the kids to spend the weekend with them. Husband and I went out to eat for a rare date night. Saturday the 3rd was my dad's birthday. I worked on consigment tagging and prepping most of the day. I did get a good bit of reading and listening to an audiobook done during that time. Sunday we had fellowship meal at church and had more visitors than we usually do. Monday the 5th, the kids ended up having ball games. Monday wasn't the normal game day, but things got rearranged that week. Tuesday the 6th I had a hair appointment in the morning. The kids had ball games, but before games started they did a tent decorating contest and the kids playing ball got to trick or treat at all the different team tents. That was a lot of fun, but hectic. Thursday the 8th was a packed day. Big Boy had nature class. Little Boy hung out with my parents. Big Girl had band. Then we met up with friends after to eat lunch and play at the park. My sister and niece ended up evacuating the hurricane and came to my parent's to stay the weekend. We went to my parents' after the park and hung out until dinner. The kids ended up spending Thursday and Friday nights there. I did have to pick the boys up early Friday morning, the 9th, for haircuts. I hung out with them until dinner again. Saturday, we had a family birthday celebration for all of our October birthdays (Husband's birthday was also that day). We have 5 total birthdays in my side of the family during October. That was a great day of celebration since we don't all get together too often. Sunday, Little Boy went off on vacation to Tennessee with my parents. Tuesday the 13th after some school, Big Girl and I took her trumpet to the music store to get some work. (Her slides were stuck and a few other tweaks.) Husband went to pick it up on Wednesday for us. Thursday, we had band. Afterwards, we went to Kohls to do a return and then to Shoe Station to get shoes for the family for family pictures. Big Boy ended up having pitching practice late Thursday night. Friday the 16th was a mostly normal day. And then yesterday, I took consignment items to drop off.

THE PAST THREE WEEKS

Monday 9/28: Review of Trust Fall by Lynn Painter (3.5 Stars)
Thursday 10/1: All Things Halloween Review of Heartless Hunter (Crimson Moth, # 1) by Kristen Ciccarelli (4 Stars)
Friday 10/2: Homeschool Friday - Jax's Tail Twitches
Saturday 10/3: September 2026 EOM Wrap Up
Monday 10/5: All Things Halloween Review of Web of Vows and Vengeance (The Hirathaen Path, # 1) by Aria Ashbrook (3.5 Stars)
Thursday 10/8: All Things Halloween Review of Rebel Witch (Crimson Moth, # 2) by Kristen Ciccarelli (4 Stars)
Friday 10/9: Homeschool Friday - Gwen Tells Tales
Monday 10/12: All Things Halloween Review of Ruby Red (Ruby Red Trilogy, # 1) by Kerstin Gier (3 Stars)
Thursday 10/15: All Things Halloween Review of Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, # 1) by Rebecca Ross (4 Stars)
Friday 10/16: Homeschool Friday - Spider-Man The Amazing Story

My annual "All Things Halloween" event is happening. This is my month-long event where I feature reviews from Halloween-y genres (fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, sci-fi, horror, mystery, thriller, and suspense). Over the last few years I've had mostly fantasy books as I just haven't been in the mood for much horror, but still...these are books that can get you in the mood for Halloween.

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: All Things Halloween Review of Thorns and Fire (The Ashes of Thezmarr, #2) by Helen Scheuerer
Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday?
Wednesday: Can't Wait for Wednesday
Thursday: All Things Halloween Review of Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, # 0.5) by Suzanne Collins
Friday: Homeschool Friday - Zoe's Hiding Place

NEW BOOKS:

Threshing Day (The Empyrean, # 3.5)

By: Rebecca Yarros

Publication: September 29, 2026 by Entangled: Red Tower Books

224 pages

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Dragons, Romantasy

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing Day contains thirteen stories starring your favorite characters and their dragons. The deluxe first edition includes sixteen beautiful original full-color illustrations by artist Joe Requeza. This breathtaking collectible is available only in the US and Canada while supplies last. Full blurb to be revealed soon!

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

Homeschool Friday - Spider-Man the Amazing Story

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

Spider-Man the Amazing Story

By: Catherine Saunders

Publication: January 1, 2006 by Dk Pub

32 pages

Genre: Children's, Level-1 Reader, Early Reader, Superhero

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate link. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Describes how Peter Parker became Spider-Man and tells what his amazing secret powers are.

DK rates Spider-Man The Amazing Story as a Level-1 Beginning to Read book. My son when he was reading level-1 books was always intimidated by this book. It is the average length of a level-1 reader, but I will say that some of the words were bigger than I was expecting from level-1, so I let him wait until he was reading level-2 books to kind of force this one on him. (For example: ordinary, heights, radioactive, exhibition, poison, fantastic, skyscrapers, wrestling, television, burglar, identity, costume, building, strength, Scorpion). If it were one or two words, I wouldn't have questioned it, but there was a challenging word for a level-1 reader on every page. We don't want to discourage readers even while pushing them a little.

The book tells the basic story of Spider-Man/Peter Parker. There's no new revelations. It talks about who Peter Parker was before, how he became Spider-Man, and how he changed after becoming Spider-Man. I liked that he has a story that goes from being picked on by others at school to using his new skills to save people and catch bad guys. What I didn't love and don't see as necessary in a book designed for roughly six-year-olds was the hyper sexualization of Mary Jane. She's wearing a lace-up shirt that emphasizes her breasts and narrows down to a taper into her pants were you can see flesh at her hip. In the next picture, She is clinging to Spider-Man while wearing low-rise jeans and a shirt that shows about 5+ inches of her belly, hip and back, all while showing the V of her abdominal muscles/hip bone and emphasizing the round shape of her butt. I just don't think this was necessary for a young children's book. Also, Aunt May looks positively diabolical and scary. These are some odd choices for a level-1 reader if you ask me.

I don't mind challenging a child to push beyond what they might think they are capable of, and I don't know how DK chooses to rate their leveled readers. I thought some of the words included were a little more challenging for a level-1 book. But the biggest draw back to me was the odd illustrations which depicted Aunt May almost as evil and Mary Jane as hyper-sexualized. Spider-Man The Amazing Story gets 2.5 Stars. Have you or your child read Spider-Man The Amazing Story? What did you think? Let me know!

All Things Halloween Review - Divine Rivals

Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, # 1)

By: Rebecca Ross

Publication: April 4, 2023 by Wednesday Books

368 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Source: Borrowed from the e-library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again…

All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris’s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

But when Iris’s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands – that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper – an unlikely magical connection forms.

Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?

An epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

Divine Rivals is a YA fantasy where the world the characters live in is at war. This a war between two gods that were once asleep. We don't really understand the war yet, but we have gotten a little mythology surrounding the gods in the story, so I imagine we will learn more as the story progresses.

Iris's brother has gone to fight in the war. She dropped out of school and has joined a newspaper in hopes of becoming a columnist. But she's in competion for the role. And her mother has become an alcoholic. Iris has also been writing letters to her brother but he hasn't written her back.

Roman is in competition with Iris for the columnist role. And we learn pretty quickly that he's been receiving letters written by Iris to her brother magically. He decides to take a risk and write her back without telling her who he is. Roman's father is attempting to control his life. He is setting up an arranged marriage. And the columnist position is what his father wants for him.

Eventually both characters end up writing for a rival newspaper as war correspondents. As they grow closer together in both real life and through their magical letters, we begin to wonder how Iris will respond when she finds out the truth. And what has happened to Iris's brother that has kept him from responding to her letters.

Divine Rivals was a sweet book that hooked me so quickly. I listened to the audiobook and finished in in less than 24 hours. It helped that I was able to listen during a large stretch of a day we had off school. The dual narrators (Rebecca Norfolk & Alex Wingflield) did a great job. Rebecca Norfolk did get to narrating quickly at times that had me hearing "Raymon" instead of "Roman" at times. I wondered if I was hearing her incorrectly, or if she was messing up. Either way, I am giving Divine Rivals 4 Stars. Have you read or listened to Divine Rivals? What did you think? Let me know!

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.

All Things Halloween Review - Ruby Red

Ruby Red (Ruby Red Trilogy, # 1)

By: Kerstin Gier

Published: May 10th 2011 by Henry Holt (first published January 6th 2009)

330 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Source: Christmas gift from my friend Paula

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

My friend Paula actually gifted me Ruby Red more than ten years ago back before I was a mom and still worked at the same office as her. She read the series and enjoyed it. But to be honest, time travel books are ones that I often struggle with. As a matter of fact, I never seek them out. Even when some of my favorite authors go that route, I end up not reading those books. But Paula and I usually end up liking the same books, so I finally decided to see if the e-library had a copy of the audiobook, and they did.

Gweneth is a sixteen year old girl that has always known that the time traveling gene runs in her family, but it was supposed to come to her cousin Charlotte, not her. Yet Gweneth ends up with the gene and not Charlotte afterall. Charlotte has spent her entire life preparing for this, and Gweneth has not. It doesn't help that Gweneth is being paired up with Gideon who she has a little crush on, but he has some kind of relationship with Charlotte.

Gweneth's mother has kept her true date of birth a secret because she was hoping to spare Gweneth the time traveling world. Her mother seems to think that there's something to be afraid of. Not to mention that one of Gweneth's ancestors has defected from the group and stolen a major artifact needed in the time traveling process. Gweneth doesn't know the truth about any of it. Why did Lucy steal the cronograph? What does St. Germain really want? What happens with the cronograph is sealed with the blood of all twelve time travelors. What is being hidden from her? And who are the real bad guys?

Ruby Red is a book that I'm definitely glad I listened to on audio. The romance is slow burn and barely there at this point. You know it's building from what is hinted at, but if you're looking for action or a romance driven plot you will be disappointed. I know my friend, Paula, read the whole series, so I do plan to continue with the series, but at this point, I don't have any free holds with the elibrary, and I've got 6 weeks until my next hold is up. Plus I'd rather snag the 2nd book in the Divine Rivals series as my next hold. But I have been holding onto this series for over 10 years as it is. It isn't going anywhere. I'm giving Ruby Red 3 Stars. Have you read or listened to Ruby Red? What did you think? Let me know!

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.

Homeschool Friday - Gwen Tells Tales

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

Gwen Tells Tales (Good News for Little Hearts)

By: Edward T Welch

Illustrated By: Joe Hox

Publication: October 4, 2021 by New Growth Press

32 pages

Genre: Children's, Animals, Picture Books, Christian, Manners

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate link. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--This colorful, beautifully illustrated children’s book invites children ages four through seven into Gwen Raccoon’s world to learn alongside her how to have the courage to always tell the truth. Gwen Raccoon is embarrassed when she gets a failing grade on a math test. But that’s not the big problem: the big problem is that she is cultivating the habit of lying to do what she wants and cover up her mistakes. Gwen’s lies pile up. But when Mama confesses her own failure to tell the truth, Gwen gains the courage to confess and ask forgiveness of Jesus and of those she has lied to. Edited by Edward. T. Welch, Gwen Tells Tales helps young readers see how God always accepts us when we confess sin and repent; and further, how he gives us the humility to speak the truth when it’s hard. A special section at the end of the book guides parents in helping their children be truth-tellers. Also included is a tear-out page of Back Pocket Bible Verses to remind children and adults that God’s forgiveness is always available to cleanse us from sin; and the Holy Spirit always gives strength to speak the truth. Gwen Tells Tales is part of the Good News for Little Hearts series, bringing gospel help and biblical counsel to families. Based on CCEF’s model of hope and help, each story focuses on an animal family’s real-life issues, encouraging young readers toward a growing relationship with Jesus in the midst of challenging circumstances. Each individual story guides parents toward meaningful conversations with their kids, based on what Scripture has to say about living by faith in everyday life.

I absolutely love the Good News for Little Hearts series. There's always a Scripture where a book dedication usually stands. Gwen Tells Tales features Ephesians 4:25, "So you must stop telling lies. Tell each other the truth because we all belong to each other in the same body." Gwen Tells Tales is 32 pages long, but of course, it isn't an AR book so finding an exact book level for reading purposes would just have to be a guess, but I would put these books on par with the Berenstain Bears which ranges from a level-2 to a level-4. Either way, this is a book that I've read to my kids, not a book that my kids have grabbed for supplemental reading purposes (at least so far).

The book starts with Monday morning where Gwen is excited to go to school because she is the smartest 4th grader in Mukberry Meadow. Mama reminds Gwen and Gus that she and Papa have their cornhole game that night and wouldn't be home until 9 after Gwen and Gus are in bed. She also reminds Gwen of her math test tomorrow and that tonight is Gwen's last tie to study, so no screens allowed. Gwen isn't worried about failing her test so she let's Mama's instruction go in one ear and out the other. When Mama and Papa head out to their game, Gwen goes to get on her device, but Gus reminds her of the rule. She blows him off. Gwen plays until 8:45 so she won't get in trouble when Mama and Papa come home. But the next day at school, Gwen is confused by the test. She doesn't recognize the work she's expected to do. Then she remembers that she was sick two days last week, and this must have been taught while she was out. On the way home from school, Gwen pulls out her graded test and sees "Failing grade. Parent signature required." When she gets home, Gwen decides that she's going to have to copy Mama's signature on the paper herself. Unfortunately, Miss Minnick, the teacher, runs into Mama at the market and asks how Gwen has been doing since Tuesday's test. The truth comes out. Immediately after, Mama runs into a friend from the cornhole game and Mama fibs a little about practice to get a high score.

Gwen asks Mama on the way home from the market why she lied to Mrs. Squirrel about practicing cornhole. Mama realizes that she was wrong and needs to straughten things out. She then asks Gwen why Miss Minnick thinks that she signed Gwen's tests. Mama, Papa, and Gwen discuss the test and Gwen's lack of studying, plus her screen time. And Gwen asks for forgiveness. Mama tells Gwen that following Jesus doesn't mean that we don't mess up and do wrong things from time to time. Papa chimes in that we do ask Jesus for help and forgiveness. Mama gives Gwen a piece of paper with 1 John 1:8-9 written on it.

At the end of the book is a section to parents about helping children with lying. And then finally, there are four "Back Pocket Bible Verses" that you can pull out and give to your child/children for when it's hard to tell the truth. Psalm 34:12-13, Hebrews 4:13, 1 John 1:8-9, and Psalm 32:5.

Picture books that teach about Biblical character in a way that children can understand and apply in their lives are among my top favorite books. This entire series is great. Gwen Tells Tales gets 5 Stars. I love how it shows how one lie often leads to another. Have you or your child read Gwen Tells Tales? What did you think? Let me know!