Ruby, our Books and Chocolate Dragon Friend, and I invite you to share in our summer reading.

Out here, the weather’s heating up, and we’ve got one eye on the Gulf, watching the weather. Though those who know say we won’t be seeing any activity in the tropics for the next 5-7 days, we’re still deep in prep mode. Let’s just say 10 days without power in the deep of summer after Beryl last year left a mark.

It says a lot about my husband that part of his hurricane prep ritual is to check out a thick book from the library, so he’ll always have something to read. Keeping an e-reader charged can be a challenge in the aftermath of a storm. So he earns extra points for his prep!

No matter how you like to read, the books below definitely make it to the summer reading list!

Just so you know, links below are Amazon associate links, so if you buy anything through them, I will get a couple of pennies from that.

Time Tourist Outfitters, Ltd

No matter where the watch hands turn, she’d rather be binge-watching cooking shows. But when the fate of time travelers hangs in the balance, can she stop the deadly clock?

Wilda Firestone survives off black coffee and white-hot sarcasm. And despite the colorful slew of characters filing through her time tourism costume shop, the retired First Nations Temporal Agent thought her days of hopping through centuries were over. That is, until a dying explorer crashes into her store, unleashing a plague that sends countless travelers to an early doom…

Nothing like a good crisis to get you motivated, right? That’s what the reluctant Wilda Firestone faces in Time Tourist Outfitter’s Ltd. And she’s not especially happy about it either. Not something I can relate to at all–nope not me.

Which perfectly explains why I found her a relatable and sympathetic heroine to settle down with for a solid adventure and a good poke bowl.

You might just enjoy her company, too.

Lenny Among Ghosts

What happens when you’re the only human student in a school for ghosts?

Lenny has no idea of the adventure he’s in for when his parents decide to take an extended research trip and sign him up for a boarding school in an old German castle. But even before leaving for the school, it seems like something is trying to prevent Lenny from going…

Once he arrives at Shadowsnout Castle Academy, a couple more things become clear: (1) this is not your average school, and (2) Lenny is probably in some serious danger. Lenny needs an escape plan—and fast.

I’ve mentioned before how I indulge in young adult and even the occasional middle grade book when I’m really fried and in need of escape, but don’t have too many brain cells to bring to bear on it? Well, this book came along at one of those times.

Having spent a lot of time looking for books that would appeal to my three boys while they were growing up, this one caught my eye immediately. Straddling the line between thriller and comedy it struck all the right notes.

Fast, fun, and engaging, it would be a great book to share with the middle-grade readers in your life, especially the boys, and a fun indulgence when you’ve got nothing left for your brain to ‘brain’ with.

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How about free books?

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What are you reading now? What do you do when you run into a book that is turning out to be less that what you’d hoped it would be? Tell me in the comments.