Rebecca's Thoughts

Off the Grid – K. Broomberg
Romance, F1, Sports Romance

Goodreads Synobsis:
Spencer Riggs is sexy, intense and driven in his pursuit of all things racing.That pursuit now includes me.
The cocky bad boy of racing struts onto my father’s team like he owns it. One look from him and I can tell he thinks he owns the boss’s daughter too.
I’m determined to resist that panty-melting smile he keeps flashing my way. I have no time for distractions. Fulfilling a last promise to my father is my only goal.

Race after race, city after city, I do my best to keep it professional. I swear I do.But one night after a hard-fought win, we’re celebrating, and Riggs claims his own sweet victory. Me.
His sizzling touch owns my body, but it’s the broken man beneath the public façade who slowly wins my heart.
Before I realize it, Riggs is the one I’m willing to risk everything for. Even if it means breaking a promise. But with our hearts on the line, will he risk everything for me?

This book was so close to hitting the spot! I thought the plot was a little lacking but the characters and general vibe were pretty great. I currently have the mindset that nothing will ever be as great as the Dirty Air series, but I’ll honestly take anything at this point 🙂

The Wallflower Wager – Tessa Dare (Book 3 in the Girl Meets Duke Series)
Historical Romance, Regency

Goodreads Synopsis:
Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society—and now he wants to get even.
Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart.
When her imposing—and attractive—new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge.

She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes.
Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens?
And a two-legged dog.
And a foul-mouthed parrot.
And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog . . .
Easier said than done, for a cold-blooded bastard who wouldn’t know a loving home from a workhouse. Soon he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she’s set her mind and heart on saving him.
Not if he ruins her first.

This series can be read in any order, but honestly, I’d recommend any Tessa Dare book. She really knows how to write regency and historical romances! This book was one that I wasn’t sure if I was going to like or not. Although I wouldn’t consider it my favourite book by Dare, it’s still 100% a 5-star book and I will forever look forward to reading more from her. The characters are swoon-worthy, and the story is quirky and forever fun.

MF Ghost – Shuichi Shigeno
manga, sports, cars

Goodreads Synopsis:
The author of Initial D has roared back onto the track with another hit! In a near future where cars have mostly switched over to sustainable power, combustion engine racing is a rarity. The MFG is just a race, and Kanata Rivington has come to try his luck. But that’s not all he’s come to Japan to do…he’s searching for his father, too. Can even the ambitious Kanata accomplish all he’s set out to do?

This manga series is the spiritual successor to the Initial D series and, to me, lives up to the hype and energy that Initial D is known for. Also theirs currently an anime adaptation airing, and it’s just as good as the manga (euro beats and all). I think the story in this series is much more grounded and has way more depth than just the dude in the tofu car who likes to go fast down hills. I think that this makes it more approachable to people who need character depth and a well-crafted story. I am also of the opinion that you don’t have to know anything about Initial D to jump into this series making it a great entrance to the series. 

This month I read Volumes 4 – 10 and I think that the story and pace keep getting better. It’s available through through Kindle Unlimited, making it more accessible to non-manga readers. If you like car racing, dudes talking about good food, and family mystery then this is something you should definitely check out! 

Come Fly The World – Julia Cooke
Non-Fiction, Travel, Feminism, History

Goodreads Synopsis:
Glamour, danger, liberation: in a Mad Men–era of commercial flight, Pan Am World Airways attracted the kind of young woman who wanted out, and wanted up
Required to have a college degree, speak two languages, and possess the political savvy of a Foreign Service officer, a jet-age stewardess serving on iconic Pan Am between 1966 and 1975 also had to be between 5′3″ and 5′9″, between 105

and 140 pounds, and under 26 years of age at the time of hire. Julia Cooke’s intimate storytelling weaves together the real-life stories of a memorable cast of characters, from Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few black stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of their new jet-set life.
Cooke brings to life the story of Pan Am stewardesses’ role in the Vietnam War, as the airline added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for planeloads of weary young soldiers straight from the battlefields, who were off for five days of R&R, and then flown back to war. Finally, with Operation Babylift—the dramatic evacuation of 2,000 children during the fall of Saigon—the book’s special cast of stewardesses unites to play an extraordinary role on the world stage.

I think people often associate stewardess as being somewhat of an objectifying occupation, and while there is credibility there, this book showed a different side to the life of Pan Am flight attendants. The job gave women a sense of agency and adventure that they were previously not allowed and I think the book does an amazing job of illustrating this through the women interviewed and written about. The stories in this book are fascinating, and the life that these women lived is amazing to me, I could honestly just read another book of stories from this job and the wild things that were done.
This is a book that has been on my TBR for a while and I finally got the chance to read it this month. It was worth the wait and is something that I can’t stop thinking about! The writing was super accessible and I thought the style of the book was easy to follow and the mixed POVs allowed for continuous momentum. This book is now among my top favourite nonfiction books and is one people should read if they are interested in travel, Pan Am, or history.

The Pariah – Anthony Ryan (Covenant of Steel #1)
Fantasy, Science Fiction, Epic, Dark

Goodreads Synopsis:
Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path – one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier’s life in the king’s army.

Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance. But as dark forces, both human and arcane, gather to oppose Evadine’s rise, Alwyn faces a choice: can he be a warrior, or will he always be an outlaw?

I really like this book, I think the story is well told and as original as a book of this can get. The story reminds me a lot of Empire of Silence (also a 5-star) but definitely leans more toward fantasy than sci-fi. I like the single POV perspective, and I think it makes the story more personable and like you are in the same shoes as Alwyn. I also like Alwyn as a character and think the role of a scribe is really interesting and not something I read often. This book does have a slower pace but I think that by taking its time Ryan can take his time and flesh everything out. I’m excited to jump into the next book to see how this series continues!