First Line Friday: 5/1

Happy Friday everybody! It’s been a couple of weeks!

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page
📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
📙 Finally… reveal the book!

Here are the first lines:

Welcome, crawler to the third floor.

The previous level will collapse in 3 hours and 35 minutes.

Do you know the book? If not, here are a few clues for you…

Still have no idea? Here’s another hint to help you out…

Are you still thinking about it? That’s all right – here are some great pictures of books to admire while you consider it some more…

Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman!

(Didja guess it?)

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

SERIES: Dungeon Crawler Carl #2

LENGTH: 364 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Science Fiction, LitRPG, Fiction

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY: Dandy House

ORIGINALLY RELEASED: 6 January 2021

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs to make it to the next level and build the kind of fan following the dungeon masters can’t ignore in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman – now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition.

“Greetings, Crawlers! The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin.”

The aliens have come, and they’ve transformed Earth into a multilevel, video game–like dungeon. It’s the newest season of the galaxy’s most watched game show, Dungeon Crawler World. Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They’ve already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever feline royalty are an almost unstoppable team. Their ratings are off the charts. Viewers can’t get enough. But the dungeon gets more dangerous each day, and now there’s a whole new problem to deal with: Quests.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered women rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose. Can Carl and Donut solve the mystery in time?

And can Carl finally find some pants?

Includes part two of the exclusive bonus story “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.”

What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 4/29

Hello! Happy Wednesday a second time!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m Currently Reading

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

CURRENT STATUS: 50%

CURRENT FEELS: 😃 (enjoying it)

✯✯ Yeah, I didn’t finish it yet. Not because I haven’t been enjoying it – there’s just been too much stuff going on for the past week (and the past month, honestly). I’m hoping to finish this tomorrow. ✯✯

What I Recently Finished Reading

A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson

★★ Yeah, as I’ve mentioned before, A Widow’s Charm wasn’t quite what I was expecting and it didn’t do it for me. The cover art and writing were really good, though. ★★

What I’m Reading Next

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

☆☆ If I like the rest of Dungeon Crawler Carl, I’ll probably read this next. ☆☆

Aurora: Volume 2 by Red

☆☆ I’m absolutely reading this in the near future. Like, in the next week kind of near future. ☆☆

No Gods No Kings by Demetria Paxton

☆☆ Yeah, I might read this coming up. Still somewhat undecided, though, so that might change. Honestly, I got a few books on my immediate TBR again that I think I really want to read, so this might get shafted; at least for awhile. ☆☆

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

☆☆ I’m definitely going to read this. Hopefully sometime next week, around the time it comes out. I think I still want to read Aurora: Volume 2 first and maybe Carl’s Doomsday Scenario. ☆☆

What books has everyone been reading lately? What have you thought of them? What are you thinking of reading next?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 4/20 – 4/26

Hey everybody, and Happy Monday!

Last week was alright. It was better than the one before in that I read something, but there was still stuff going on for me. It’s been a rough month, honestly. Hopefully I can end on a higher note, though.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!

Tuesday 4/21: Top Ten Tuesday

Last Tuesday, I participated in Top Ten Tuesday again for the first time in a few weeks. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. The prompt for last week was April Showers.

Wednesday 4/22: Can’t-Wait Wednesday / WWW Wednesday

On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday again. Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.

I also participated in WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. It focuses on the Three Ws of Reading: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? and What do you think you’ll read next?

Sunday 4/26: Birthstone Book Covers

Yesterday, I participated in Birthstone Book Covers. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun little post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black.

Each month, for the post, you feature book covers that are either the same color of the month’s birthstone or include the color in the title. This month was April, and its birthstone is diamond. So the color I picked was white.

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, last week was okay. I’m hoping this week will at least be just as decent, but I’ve got something going on, so I might not be as on top of the blogging portion, and I’m not sure how much I’ll be up for reading. Hopefully everything is all good, though.

I’m not quite sure what I’m reading next, as I’m kind of in-between choices, but I’ll figure it out soon. For blogging this week, I want to participate in a few of my favorite weekly posts, and do a book review for Dungeon Crawler Carl, hopefully before the turn of the month.

Outside of books and blogging, everything is kind of the same as last week. I still haven’t gotten that IRL thing I mentioned last week resolved, but I should be getting it done this week.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 4/22

Hey everyone, Happy Wednesday again!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m Currently Reading

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

CURRENT STATUS: 4%

CURRENT FEELS: 😆 (super excited)

✯✯ Yep, I’m finally doing it! T. I’m really looking forward to this! I hope it lives up to the hype! ✯✯

What I Finished Reading Recently

A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson

★★ Yeah, as I’ve mentioned before, A Widow’s Charm wasn’t quite what I was expecting and it didn’t do it for me. The cover art and writing were really good, though. ★★

What I’m Reading Next

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

☆☆ If I like Dungeon Crawler Carl, I’ll probably read this next. ☆☆

Aurora: Volume 2 by Red

☆☆ I’m absolutely reading this in the near future. Like, probably before the end of April kind of near future. ☆☆

No Gods No Kings by Demetria Paxton

☆☆ Yeah, I might read this coming up. Still somewhat undecided, though, so that might change. ☆☆

What books has everyone been reading lately? What have you thought of them? What are you thinking of reading next?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 4/13 – 4/19

Hey everybody, hope you had a good week!

Last week was… fine. My blog activity was pretty good, but my book reading just wasn’t up to par, unfortunately. There was some stuff going on though, so I was busier than normal. This week I’m gonna do better.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!

Tuesday 4/14: A Widow’s Charm Review

Last Tuesday, I finally got my thoughts together and posted my review for A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson. It’s a relatively recent fantasy release.

I thought it was alright; I don’t think it was really for me. It seemed like it was going to be a cozier slow-burn with some mystery and intrigue, with a dash of fantasy, but that wasn’t really what it ended up being at all. The writing was pretty good though. I gave it ★★★✩✩.

Wednesday 4/15: Can’t-Wait Wednesday / WWW Wednesday

On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday again. Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.

I also participated in WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. It focuses on the Three Ws of Reading: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? and What do you think you’ll read next?

Friday 4/17: First Line Friday

This past Friday, I participated in First Line Friday again. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words. It’s where you guess what book the post is highlighting based on the book’s first words.

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, last week wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be. Oh well. I’m absolutely planning on being better this week. We’ll see what happens – fingers crossed everything pans out. 🤞🍀

I’m reading Dungeon Crawler Carl next. It’s just gonna happen. I’m definitely starting it tonight or tomorrow. I’ve negotiated this with myself; no more distractions or RL obligations will get in my way this time. After that though, I might read the sequel if I like it and catch up with my spouse. Regardless, I’m going to start Aurora: Volume 2 soon as well, hopefully by next week, and I’d like to read another new book from this month. I was thinking No Gods No Kings, but I’m not fully decided on anything.

For blogging this week, I want to participate in a few of my favorite weekly posts, especially Top Ten Tuesday which I haven’t in a while. I’d also like to participate in Birthstone Book Covers, and do a book review if I finish Dungeon Crawler Carl within the next couple of days.

There hasn’t been too much going on outside the blog, except for a kinda personal RL thing that I don’t really feel like getting into. It’s not too much of a big deal it’s just something annoying and frustrating, that I’m still working on, but it’ll be okay (hopefully) soon. My spouse and I are alright, though, and home life and other things are otherwise good.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 4/15

Happy Wednesday to everybody (again)!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m Currently Reading

✯✯ I have to stop doing this post on Wednesdays where I’m not reading anything. I’m gonna read Dungeon Crawler Carl next I swear! …Though I’ve also been tempted by other books. (Ugh. This is what happens when I don’t read a book right away when it starts to call for me.) ✯✯

What I Recently Finished Reading

A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson

★★ Yeah, as I mentioned last week and in my review, A Widow’s Charm wasn’t quite what I was expecting and it didn’t do it for me. The cover art and writing were really good, though. ★★

What I’m Reading Next

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

☆☆ I’m definitely gonna read this soon! (… Hopefully.) ☆☆

What books has everyone been reading lately? What have you thought of them? What are you thinking of reading next?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 4/8

Happy Wednesday to everyone once again!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m Currently Reading

✯✯ I’m in between books again, haha. So embarrassing. Why must this happen so frequently for me? ✯✯

What I Recently Finished Reading

A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson

★★ This wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I also didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped. I didn’t hate it, and it has a gorgeous cover, but it wasn’t a hit for me. ★★

What I’m Reading Next

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

☆☆ This is still on my immediate TBR. I really got to get reading it, haha. ☆☆

What books has everyone been reading lately? What have you thought of them? What are you thinking of reading next?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 3/30 – 4/5

It’s a new week! Happy Monday everybody!

Last week was pretty good. My blog activity was really high; even though it wasn’t as strong during the second half of the week. I also read a new book, which I’m very happy about. Starting off April very well!

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!

Monday 3/30: Birthstone Book Covers

Last Monday, I participated in Birthstone Book Covers. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun little post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black.

Each month, for the post, you feature book covers that are either the same color of the month’s birthstone or include the color in the title. This month was March, and its birthstone is aquamarine. So the colors to pick from are shades of cyan.

Tuesday 3/31: Top Ten Tuesday

On Tuesday, I participated in Top Ten Tuesday for the first time in a couple of weeks. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. The prompt for last week was Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book.

Wednesday 4/1: Can’t-Wait Wednesday / WWW Wednesday

This past Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday again. Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.

I also participated in WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. It focuses on the Three Ws of Reading: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? and What do you think you’ll read next?

Saturday 4/4: March Reading 2026

On Saturday, I posted my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up for March 2026. And I posted it even earlier than I did last month’s wrap-up! For those who don’t know, monthly wrap-ups are when I go over the books I read over the past month, as well as my stats over on The StoryGraph.

Sunday 4/5: Easter

Yesterday, it was Easter, so much like last year, I ended up not posting anything on the blog. But to those who celebrate, Happy Easter!! 🐇🐤🧺🥚 We had a great afternoon spending time with family – for us it’s one of the few times of the year when everyone is able to get together, so it’s important to me for pretty much that reason alone.

There were even a few more family members than usual, which made it extra special. Also, there was a lot of good food for dinner and some wonderful desserts. It was just a wonderful day in general.

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, I’m pretty satisfied with everything I was able to do last week. I’m happy to have read a book, though I wouldn’t have minded reading a second one. The holiday made the weekend busy, however, and I had other stuff going on over the week, so I’m not that disappointed about it. I’m also really happy about the blogging I did. Five posts! Yay!

This week I want to participate in a couple of my favorite weekly posts, as well as post my review for A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson. I also want to definitely post my list of most interesting new books of April 2026. I would’ve liked to do that this past week, but I ran out of time, unfortunately. And in regards to reading books, I want to finally start Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman next.

Outside of books and blogging, not much other than Easter went on last week. Other than that, nothing’s really changed. My spouse and I are still being healthier, and we’ve watched some stuff on and off, but other than that, not much.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 4/1

Happy Wednesday again! Cutting it very close with this one!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m Currently Reading

A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson

CURRENT STATUS: 26%

CURRENT FEELS: 🤔 (unsure)

✯✯ I’m really not sure how I feel about this one yet. It started off much hornier than I expected, which put me off a little, and I wasn’t immediately into either of the protagonists, for various reasons. For now, I’m still giving it a chance, as I’m still interested in seeing where this goes at the moment. ✯✯

What I Recently Finished Reading

One Piece (Volumes 79, 80, & 81) by Eiichiro Oda

★★ I really enjoyed the Dressrosa arc, even if it was a little slower. Far more than the Fishman Island arc in any case. I’m teetering around four stars for the last few volumes I read, though I might end up going up a little with the rating. But yeah, great arc. Looking forward to the Whole Cake Island arc later this year. ★★

What I’m Reading Next

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

☆☆ I’m still super eager to read this, and I really hope I enjoy it. I’m nervous about hyping it up too much, especially since A Widow’s Charm is not hitting so far for me (hopefully I can really get into it soon, though). But yeah, looking to start Dungeon Crawler Carl later this week. ☆☆

What books has everyone been reading lately? What have you thought of them? What are you thinking of reading next?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 3/23 – 3/29

Happy Monday everybody! I hope you had a nice week! It’s Weekly Wrap-Up time!

Last week was great, both in regards to bloc activity and for reading books. I posted on here a good about, and I read a few books. It was awesome!

But yeah, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!

Tuesday 3/24: Top Ten Tuesday

Last Tuesday, I participated in Top Ten Tuesday for the first time in a couple of weeks. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. The prompt for last week was Books on Your Spring To-Read List.

Wednesday 3/25: Can’t-Wait Wednesday / WWW Wednesday

On Wednesday, I participated in Can’t-Wait Wednesday again. Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.

I also participated in WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. It focuses on the Three Ws of Reading: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? and What do you think you’ll read next?

Friday 3/26: First Line Friday

This past Friday, I participated in First Line Friday again. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words. It’s where you guess what book the post is highlighting based on the book’s first words.

Books I Read Last Week

Wrapping It All Up

So yeah, I’m generally pretty happy with everything I got done last week. I would’ve liked to have read (or at least started) maybe one more book and done one more blog post, but I’m satisfied with how things turned out.

For this week, I want to participate in my usual weekly posts, but I also want to post my list of most interesting looking books for April 2026. I’d also really like to get a book review out – I didn’t manage to do so last week, which disappointed me.

Concerning books and reading, I want to start A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson, probably tomorrow. I also want to read Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, as well as its sequel, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, if I like it. I had intended to get to Dungeon Crawler Carl this past weekend, but the One Piece arc I was reading lasted longer than I thought, so I had to read another omnibus. Oh well.

I didn’t do much else last week, outside of books and blogging, which is a little strange. Usually something is going on. My spouse and I have continued to be healthier, I guess? We’ve both definitely noticed a difference with that, at least. I dunno, we haven’t started any new shows or anything. So yeah, nothing much outside of reading and stuff. Easter’s gonna be this Sunday, so I’m looking forward to that.

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar