2025 Audiobook Challenge Mid-Year Check-In

It’s the half-way mark for 2025 and time to check in on our Audiobook Challenge. This event is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About. Are you on target? Perhaps you are ahead or fear all is lost? Check-in and be sure to enter the mid-year giveaway.

Just a refresher on 2025 Achievement Levels.

Achievement Levels

• • Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5

• • Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10

• • Stenographer (can listen while multitasking) 10-15

• • Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20

• • Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30

• • My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30+

• • Marathoner (Look Ma No Hands) 50+

• • Over-Achiever (Power Listener) 75+

• • The 100 Club (Audiobook Addict) 100+

• • I Can’t Hear You (earbuds always in) 125-150

• Audibly Addicted (listening to all the books 24/7) 150+

It's been a minute (actually, since May 7th) since I've last posted, but here I am, managing to post an update to my audiobook challange - which I'm acutally doing pretty well with!

I've listened to 12 books (2 - The Usual Mayhem is a DNF - too silly for me & The Glass Girl - DNFFN - good but not in the mood for this one atm).

I was aiming for Weekend Warrior but I have made it to Stenogropher level. Even though I really can't multitask while listening lol & it looks like I might make it to Socially Awkward (now that's me!).

The rest have all been winners. I wish I was in the mood to write reviews because there were a few here that I really loved and would want to say more about but...alas - I am being a summer slug lol Maybe one day the urge will hit.

Topic detour while you're here.....

So, I have a little bit of blog-ish news. Kevin and I bought a travel van and plan on taking extended/long weekend type trips with the dogs and I started a blog to post pics, talk about my travels. 

I feel - and have felt this for a long time - like I've outgrown FWIW and book blogging and want to start something completely new. I have the domain and all that but haven't set anything up yet but I will keep you all posted, if you are interested at all in following along. I will still talk books sometimes. Probably a wrap-up once a month.

I do have an IG account set up - @shamble_on (a nod to Kevin's love of Led Zepplin: Ramble On & zombies: shamblers IYKYK) and hope to start posting soon. Our first overnight will be at an alpaca farm lol 

I hope you are all having a good summer!

Spring has sprung!

My posting groove took a nosedive again. Oops lol

Spring has finally sprung and I have been out and about with dogs and gardening. This is my favorite time of year and I try to absorb all the good sunshine vibes while I can.

So what have I been up to? So glad you asked!

We saved a bee - well, Ripley saved a bee (or she found it and we provided food and shelter for it's recovery). It was on our living room carpet, slowly crawling across when Ripley found it. I don't know why but she likes bees lol We have a very docile species out here called Mason Bees and she is always investigating them and there she was - worrying over this little bee. (which is funny because she's normally an evil little dog lol). We took it outside and placed it on the only thing blooming at the time - our rosemary - and waited for pollen and sunshine to do it's thing. It did seem to revive and start feeding in the morning, so hopefully it went on it's merry way. 

We had the best sundaes at a place called Sugarpine Drive-in. It's out in the Gorge area of Oregon and they have great food but their monthly rotating sundaes are next level. 

I had the Coffee and Baklava - vanilla soft serve with Arabic coffee caramel, cinnamon-toasted filo crisps, crushed walnuts, pistachio, cocoa nib, whipped Arabic coffee cream.

 

Kevin had the Strawberry Ridge - a mix of strawberry/almond soft serve, lemon ricotta shortbread bites, basil whips.

And I spotted these little goslings on our morning walk through the park. 

I've also been reading more! These were my April reads. I reviewed the Princess Swap on the blog a few weeks ago and hope to get reviews written for the others as well. I really enjoyed them all! 

That's all for now because - still feeling lazy (about blogging) lol But I was hoping if I got something up it might motivate me. 

Let me know what you've been up to in the comments!

Cinderella and the Beast, (or Beauty and the Glass Slipper), The Princess Swap #1 by Kim Bussing

 

What would happen if Cinderella found herself in the beast's castle, and Beauty woke up in some evil stepmother's home? Fairy tales meet Freaky Friday in this series, where there’s a magical mix-up for every princess!

Ella’s spent her life dreaming about adventure, but it’s hard to have adventures when you’re stuck with a stepfamily who treat you like a servant. When she unexpectedly wakes up in a land far, far away, she’s thrilled at the chance to embark on an epic quest. That is, until she finds herself trapped once more—this time in the castle of a dangerous beast.

Belle, meanwhile, has plans. Her family’s trading company is on the brink of ruin, and to save it, she’s going to enter—and win—a royal competition in the prince’s honor. But when she unexpectedly winds up in a cellar with a wicked stepfamily who have their own plans to keep her from the competition . . . things get complicated.

Happily-ever-after couldn’t feel farther away. Can Ella escape the beast’s clutches? And can Belle get rid of this stepfamily in time for the competition?

For other Princess Swaps, don't miss Snow White and the Dragon (or, Sleeping Beauty and the Seven Dwarfs)! ~ Goodreads

Source: Book provided by the publisher, Random House Books for Young Readers, in exchange for an honest review

Review: This is the first book I've accepted for review in over a year and I'm so glad I did! It was the lighthearted, adventure filled tale with heart that I needed. 

The plot is right there in the series title, The Princess Swap, so I won't go too much into that - but think Freaky Friday meets Disney princesses. I'm also assuming that most of you know the basics of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. 

This is more of a "riff" on the originals rather than a direct retelling - even with the swap - the princesses don't have the exact experience of the original.

The core of each princess is the same but several details are changed. Without getting into too many spoilers - (Cinder)Ella already knows, and is friends with, the prince and the ball is now an event for the whole village to compete in for a royal favor - rather than snagging a prince. And another ball - closer to the original Cinderella ball is to take place with the beast - for reasons. There is (hinted - sapphic) LGBQT rep and Ella has a glass leg that causes her some pain. 

Cinderella and the Beast, (or Beauty and the Glass Slipper) plays liberally with the origin stories and the Disney retellings with it's own modern spin. The blending and blurring might annoy some purists but I found it to be a lot of fun and was pleasantly surprised by some of the twists the story took. 

I've always preferred Belle over Cinderella but in this one, it was Ella (& the beast) who had the more complex (& surprising) story that really pulled me in and tugged at my heartstrings. But Belle still has her whip-smart, resourceful thinking in tact and has quite an adventure as well. 

The way the two girls stories overlap and resolve was great. This book ages the princess down to 12 years old, so this is meant for younger readers. The romance is minimal, if at all. This tale is more about resourceful thinking, being brave, and forgiveness than the sole quest to get a kiss or be married.

So much fun! Books #2 - Snow White and the Dragon (or, Sleeping Beauty and the Seven Dwarfs) and #3 Rapunzel and the Sea Witch (or, The Little Mermaid and the Tower)  sound fun too.