Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Tales from the St. Louis Blues Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Blues Stories Ever Told by Bob Plager & Tom Wheatley

 

Tales from the St. Louis Blues Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Blues Stories Ever Told by Bob Plager & Tom Wheatley - 204 pages


Nobody bleeds Blue like Bob Plager, considered one of the funniest men in hockey. This rollicking book details Plager’s romance with the Bluenotes from day one in 1967 to the present day. He was an original Blues player, a rugged defenseman whose specialty was the hip check. He remains an original personality and a good-humored man whose specialty is now the quick quip. As a master storyteller, Plager packs Tales from the St. Louis Blues Locker Room with insights from every level of the hockey rink. He chronicles the puzzling mind games of a young Scotty Bowman, the quirky coach whose legend began with the original Blues. In those old-school days, Plager learned memorable lessons from veterans like Al Arbour, Doug Harvey, Glenn Hall, Dickie Moore, and Jacques Plante, all future Hall of Famers. The early years also brought the three Plager brothers—Bob, Barclay, and Billy—together in St. Louis. Bob played long enough to help break in two Western Canadian kids, future captain Brian Sutter and future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko. Plager later coached a new generation of stars in St. Louis, players like Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, and Curtis Joseph. The tears and the cheers, the fun and the frustration—it is all found in Tales from the St. Louis Blues Locker Room.


This was ok, the stories were a bit dry for my taste, however, it was interesting reading about the behind the scenes of hockey.  

Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2: Children of the Atom by Peach Momoko

Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2: Children of the Atom by Peach Momoko
Ultimate X-Men (2024) #7-12, 144 pages

⭐⭐⭐.5/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)
Meet the mutants' new mentor, Psylocke! After recent climactic events and the surprise new teammate they found, Mei, Hisako, Nico and the mutants need some guidance! Fortunately, the mysterious Kanon is an older student with a surprising amount of expertise! But bigger questions What exactly are mutants? Where do they come from? And how has the Maker's Council been keeping them under control? All these secrets start to unravel as our heroes investigate a murder that, for some reason, the authorities keep covering up! Meanwhile, Shadow King advances his sinister plots! Maystorm and Surge are on a collision course! Viper enters the stage after a mass raid on the cult known as the Children of the Atom! And a seismic confrontation is coming!

Total Shutdown by Ruth Stilling

Total Shutdown by Ruth Stilling -- 340 pages

The plan was simple: just me, my boy and hockey. I’m the unapproachable NHL captain with a reputation for chewing up reporters in interviews, forwards on the ice and shutting down anyone who tries to get close to me. And that’s how I like it—no feelings, no complications, and zero chance of reliving the grief I experienced when my wife passed away seven years ago. But sometimes the best laid plans go up in flames, and that’s exactly what Collins Mackenzie does when strolls into a bar one post-game night and gives me a taste of the cold shoulder I’ve bestowed on all those around me. The only person she doesn’t dismiss? My boy. In fact, she lights him up with her pink hair and perfectly winged eyeliner, leaving him fascinated and me infatuated. There’s only one problem: she’s nine years younger, convinced I’m not her type and doesn’t do relationships. She doesn’t even hang around in the same city beyond a few months. Trouble is, I want her permanence right next to me—on the couch watching movies and in my bed on lazy mornings. I’m ready to chase her, no matter where she goes or how quickly she hits the accelerator. This girl is a ride I never want to get off.


Friday, February 13, 2026

Is She Really Going Out With Him?


Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens 
| 368 pages | 2024

Columnist Anna Appleby has left her love life behind after a painful divorce. Who needs a man when she has two kids, a cat, and uncontested control of the TV remote? Besides, she’d rather be single than subject herself to the hell of online dating. But her office rival is vying for her column, and no column means no stable source of income. In a desperate attempt to keep her job, Anna finds herself pitching a unique angle: seven dates, all found offline, chosen by her children.

From awkward encounters to unexpected connections, Anna gamely begins to put herself out there, asking out waiters, the mailman, and even her celebrity crush. But when a romantic connection appears where she least expected it, will she be brave enough to take another chance on love?

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Practice Makes Perfect


Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams 
| 335 pages | 2023

Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match—someone who complements her happy, quiet life running the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. But finding her dream man may be harder than Annie imagined. Everyone knows everyone in her hometown, and the dating prospects are getting fewer by the day. After she overhears her latest date say she is “so unbelievably boring,” Annie starts to think the problem might be her. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice . . . and Annie has the perfect person in mind to be her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will—the sexy, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard—is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement builds for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker, Annie’s brother. He has one personal objective while on the job: stay away from Annie Walker and any other possible attachments to this sleepy town. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will finds himself tasked with helping Annie find the love of her life by becoming the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie. He knows for a fact that some stuffy, straitlaced guy won’t make her happy, but he doesn’t have the heart to say no.

Amid steamy practice dates and strictly “educational” tutoring lessons, Annie discovers there are more layers to Will’s usual stoic attitude. As the lines of their friendship become dangerously blurred, Annie reconsiders her dream guy. Maybe her love life doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be real.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

 

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy - 416 pages


Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman doing her best to blend into the background. Unremarkable. Invisible. Unknown even to herself.

But lately, things have been changing inside Mary. Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things.

Fired from her job in New York, she moves back to her hometown, hoping to reconnect with her past and inner self. Instead, visions of terrifying, mutilated specters overwhelm her with increasing regularity and she begins auto-writing strange thoughts and phrases. Mary discovers that these experiences are echoes of an infamous serial killer.

Then the killings begin again.

Mary’s definitely going to find herself.


This was a pretty good book, it was interesting and gory enough.  I found Mary's obsession with Little Ones odd, but she's an odd duck anyway so I guess it fits.  The story was well written,  kept me entertained, and the ending was pretty good. I didn't want to put this one down.

The Tenant by Freida McFadden

 The Tenant by Freida McFadden-356 pages

⭐⭐⭐


Goodreads Synopsis: There’s no place like home…


Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she?

Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets...

Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden knocks at your door with a gripping story of revenge, privilege, and secrets turned sour…

Thoughts: Honestly, this is the seventh book I've read by McFadden and it's my least favorite so far. What I like about her books is that they usually have an anti-hero/anti-heroine protagonist. I like the morally grey. There isn't really much of that in this book. None of the main characters are likeable. The best part of the book is the ending, but the beginning and middle are merely okay by McFadden standards. That being said, it's a decent read.