ARC, contemporary, ya

First Impression Friday

I wanted to read at least 3 books this week, but I’m just now starting my second. I feel like this will be a super quick read, though! I read the first chapter of Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid and loved it! I have two of his books on my TBR this month, so I hope they both live up to what I think they will!

“The summer after senior year is not going as eighteen-year-old Lu Charles expected: after her longtime boyfriend unexpectedly breaks up with her, Lu can’t write a single word, despite the fact that her college scholarship is tied to her columnist job at hip online magazine Misnomer. Then, she meets Cal.
Cal’s ever-practical girlfriend Iris is looking ahead to her first year of college, and her plans do not include a long-distance boyfriend. When Lu learns that Cal and Iris have planned to end their relationship at the end of the summer, she becomes fascinated and decides to chronicle the last months the couple will spend together.
The closer she gets to the couple, the more she likes them, and the more she wants to write about them. The summer unfurls, and Lu discovers what it really means to be in love. On the page, or off it. The book is touching exploration of love and how it shapes us both during a relationship and after it has ended.” – Goodreads

In the fist chapter, we meet Lu. Lu’s boyfriend just broke up with her. She’s hoping to meet him and try to get him back. While she’s waiting, a cute guy sits next to her and they have a lovely chat/flirt. After he leaves, she goes to the bookstore, where she sees a girl crying. She then realized girl is there to meet the guy Lu was just chatting with!

I was instantly pulled in. I wanted to know how this was going to play out. Even though Lu was still thinking about her ex, she was having fun with this new guy! I was hoping he would be the one to heal her heart, but I guess we’ll have to see!

I got through the first chapter, which was 4% of the book. My kindle tells me I have just over 4 hours left to read. I’m guessing this will be a solid 4 star book!

Have you read Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, contemporary, fantasy, review, two star book, ya

Lovestruck ARC Review

🏹 Title: Lovestruck
🏹 Author: Kate Watson
🏹 Publisher: Flux
🏹 Publish Date: April 2, 2019
🏹 Book Form: E-ARC
🏹 Pages: 350
🏹 Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Mythology
🏹 Dates Read: Feb 28 – Mar 3
🏹 Rating: 🏹🏹

Sixteen-year-old cupid-in-training Kali is in an Olympus-sized mountain of trouble. Rule number one in arrow-toting matchmaking: don’t stick yourself. But accidents happen, and Kali instantly falls hard for her indie rock, bass-playing target, Benicio.
The God of Love is going to kill her. Even if he is her dad.
Being the daughter of Eros isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For one thing, a girl can get jaded when her parents have the most beautiful and fatalistic love story in history. For another, immortality royally sucks when the Oracle condemns you to eternity in the wrong profession. Do the Gods care that Kali wants to ditch the love stuff and be a muse?
Nope.
To reclaim her heart and her destiny, Kali is left with no choice but to defy the Gods, tempt the Fates, date the mortal love-of-her-life, and hope she doesn’t lose her best friend, Hector, in the process.

– Goodreads

So many conflicting emotions about Lovestruck. I wanted to like this book. I loved the premise. It just fell really flat for me.

Kali is basically Cupid. She is tasked with making love matches. She has been studying her mark for weeks. The time has come. She about to shoot him, when suddenly she sticks herself with her arrow. Now she is matched with Ben. Since Kali is immortal, it cannot be reversed. Kali must now go on a quest with the help of her god and goddess friends to find a way to reverse what has happened.

Everyone in this novel was SO DANG DRAMATIC. Like, think of the most dramatic individual you know. Times it by 10 (yes, I promise) and those are the characters. Hector accidentally stuck himself while looking at Kali. Now he is matched with her. She dated him for a while, loved it, but then broke up with him. Yet, when she sees him with another girl, she flips out! You’re the one that left him, honey. You’re to blame.

Ben, Kali’s mark-turned-boyfriend, is emo. But not in the cute, early 2000s emo way. No. If she even mentions Hector, he starts brooding and turning super angsty. I couldn’t with him. He would be so mean to Kali, and she’d just write it off like it was nothing. She just loved that he called her his muse and she inspired his music. I wanted them both to jump off a cliff.

The only characters I liked were Tony and Artmetis. They actually seemed like the genuinely liked each other. I was rooting for them through the whole book.

I know, I’ve been ranting. So why did I give Lovestruck two stars (or arrows)? I love the premise. This story could have been wonderful had it been executed better. I would even be ok with the weird love triangle between Kali, Hec, and Ben had they not been so damn dramatic.

I don’t know that i can recommend this book. Maybe if you like mythology – there were TONS of gods and goddesses in this. But just be prepared for the worst teenage dramatics.

Have you read Lovestruck? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, ARC, blog tour, contemporary, fantasy, mystery, Romance, ya

March 2020 TBR

February flew by compared to January! I know it’s two days shorter, but it felt weeks shorter! I almost hit my goal of 15 books last month. Here’s what’s on the TBR now! I have an extra book because I can’t decide what to cut!

  1. Lovestruck by Kate Watson
  2. Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid
  3. We Didn’t Ask for This by Adi Alsaid (I just realized I had two of his books this month!)
  4. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas
  5. The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz
  6. We are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian
  7. Hungry for Your Love by S.M. Cross
  8. Confessions about Colton by Olivia Harvard
  9. The June Boys by Courtney C. Stevens
  10. Music from Another World by Robin Talley
  11. Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy
  12. Lab Partners by Mora Montgomery
  13. All the Pretty Things by Emily Arsenault
  14. The Raven and the Dove by Kaitlyn Davis
  15. Havenfall by Sara Holland
  16. Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl

What’s on your TBR this month? Are we sharing any of the same books? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

adult, ARC, Erotica, fantasy, Historical Fiction, mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, ya

February 2020 Wrap Up

I felt a little better about this month! I read more than last month, which was nice. I think overall I enjoyed my books more, too. Let’s jump right in to what I read this month!

Ebooks Read

  1. Harmony by Addison Jane ★★★★
  2. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller ★★★★★
  3. Second Star by JM Sullivan ★★★
  4. The Girl’s Weekend by Jody Gehrman ★★★
  5. We Are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo ★★★
  6. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson ★★★★★
  7. Chasing Starlight by Teri Bailey Black ★★★
  8. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen ★★★

Audiobooks Read

  1. Human Errors by Nathan H Lents ★★★
  2. The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish ★★★★
  3. Buried Deep by Margot Hunt ★★★★
  4. My Lost Family by Danny Ben-Moshe ★★★

I had two favorite books this month – The Shadows Between Us and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder! They were my only 5 star reads and so totally different. The Shadows Between Us is a fantasy about two bad people falling in love and being bad together. It was great. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’s inspiration came from true crime podcasts and it totally had that feel!

My least favorite book was probably Second Star or Lock and Key. Second Star was a sci-fi Peter Pan retelling and I just didn’t really connect with anyone. Lock and Key was like a day-to-day in the life of a teenager and it just wasn’t very enticing to me.

Stats

  • Goodreads Goal: 21/165. I’m 5 books behind schedule now, which is one more than last month. However, I read more so I think if I can keep up the pace I can get back on track!
  • I read 3204 pages, almost double last month! I also listened to 12 hours, 45 minutes, which is only two hours less than last month. My average rating was 3.5.
  • I read 1 erotica, 2 fantasy, 1 historical fiction, 3 mystery, 3 nonfic, 1 romance and 1 sci-fi.
  • I read 6 YA, 4 adult, and 1 new adult! I read 6 ARCs this month which was way better than last month.

Yearly Goals Check In

I didn’t think about doing this last month, so we will start here!

  • Monthly goal of 15 books a month – I read 12, 3 more than last month. I’m slowly getting there!
  • TBR Goal – I’ve kept up my TBR posts and even did a bonus post! I want to read 20 books off my tbr. I think I am at 3. I probably need to pick up the pace on that. I also want to get my TBR below 1800. I’m at 1904 so we’re getting there!
  • Words & Whimsy – I’ve done one author chat so far this year and I’m already scheduled for a couple more! It was so fun and I remembered why I loved it so much!
  • Book Battle – I used a lot of arcs that have been released as recs this month so that was great! I think I only missed two days of my discussion this month so that’s better!
  • My Blog – I wanted to do more blog tours and I think I have 3 coming in March! I wanted to up my follower count to over 150. I’m already at 151 in two months! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!! As of right now, I’m not going to up this. I”m just going to see where this year takes me. I also wanted to post at least every other day. Earlier this month I missed a few days, but I’ve been going good these last couple of weeks!
  • I wanted to keep up with my Owlcrate reading planner. That lasted all of a week. However, I have kept up with 3 book log spreadsheets, so I say that’s still a win! I also thought about getting back into bookstagram, but that’s on the back burner for now. I’m doing good just to keep up with what I got!

How many books did you read this month? What was your favorite and least favorite? How are you on your goodreads goal? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, Historical Fiction, mystery, three star book, ya

Chasing Starlight ARC Review!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Teen for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

Movies, mansions, and murder in the Golden Age of Hollywood! Teri Bailey Black’s Chasing Starlight is a historical mystery from the award-winning author of the Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

1938. The Golden Age of Hollywood. Palm trees and movie stars. Film studios pumping out musicals, westerns, and gangster films at a furious pace. Everyone wants to be a star—except society girl and aspiring astronomer Kate Hildebrand, who’d rather study them in the night sky. She’s already famous after a childhood tragedy turned her into a newspaper headline. What she craves is stability.

When Kate moves to Hollywood to live with her washed-up, ex-silent film star grandfather, she walks into a murder scene and lands on the front page. Again. Suspecting someone living in her grandfather’s boarding house is the killer—one of the young men or maybe even her grandfather—Kate searches for clues. Kate’s too sensible to drop out of high school to work at a movie studio, hunt a killer on her own, and fall for a penniless actor with a head full of dreams. But that’s exactly how her stars are aligning.

Part Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, with a dash of Veronica Mars.

– Goodreads

Okay, first. This cover. I love the black and white, with gold writing, and the red hair. Omg. I saw it and immediately wanted to know what it was about. It just popped!

I did a twitter thread of my thoughts while reading! You can see it here! It was my first one, but I’m hoping to continue. It was fun to live react to the book!

Okay, let’s get into this review! The book had sort of a slow start for me. I was excited about an old Hollywood murder, but the first 30% was Kate moving in with her silent movie star granddad and his “unsavory borders”. Her granddad isn’t so famous anymore, and it shows. Kate eventually comes around, but man it takes a while.

At 30% the murder happens. I think it’s about to pick up! Which it did, but it was still a little slow. Also I found it weird the guy was murdered in their house, and they just cleaned up and kept living there like it was no big thing? Like, I would move. I would have to. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

The investigation was a little slow going, and at one point it felt like there was more than one mystery. I kept up fine, but it was just a lot happening, but not a lot happening at the same time? I don’t know how else to explain it.

Chasing Starlight is set in the 1930s. I know at that point in time, women were supposed to look pretty and be homemakers. But multiple things were said by men AND women that just made me cringe. Like, don’t talk about your astrology. You’re only as important as your husband. Like I said, I KNOW this is typical for that time, and Kate does fight against it, but it still just made me mad!

The characters were all okay. None of them really stuck out to me except Ollie, the granddad. He was super fun! I would love to hang out with him one day. There was romance, but it didn’t really stick out to me either. I would say it was like a slow burn, enemies to lovers, but like, it’s SUPER SLOW.

I did honestly enjoy this book. If I hadn’t been playing Overcooked 2 all weekend, I’m sure I could have finished it in a day. It’s a quick read that’s a standalone with a nice, wrapped up ending. I loved that I knew who dunnit, why they did it, and where everyone ended up! It’s a super easy mystery to read, and I think it’s worth a try, especially if you like old school Hollywood!

Below is a giveaway hosted by the author! You should definitely enter!

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Is Chasing Starlight on your radar? Do you think you’ll pick it up in June? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, Five Star Book, mystery, thriller, ya

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder ARC Review!

Thank you to Netgalley and Electric Monkey for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

A debut YA crime thriller as addictive as Serial and as page-turning as One of Us Is Lying.

– Goodreads

Okay, I first featured this book on First Impression Friday. I started this late Thursday night – like 8pm. I read it until my husband begged me to go to bed because the kindle light was bothering him. I finished Friday at around 6pm. And I worked 8-5 on Friday. I read it ALL DAY AT WORK. Luckily we were all caught up. But I could not put this down.

This has so many true crime podcasts vibes I felt like I was listening to one. Going about the case backwards. Finding suspects, finding clues, interviewing people associated with the crimes, the players, the suspect, and the victim. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is told in present tense, with bits of Pip’s senior project about the crime thrown in. I loved that formatting and really thought it brought a lot to the story.

The relationships in this book really stuck out to me, too. Pip and her dad were really close, which is something I don’t see a lot in YA novels. My dad and I have always been close, so it was nice to see that! She also has a cute relationship with her brother and her dog. Her mom didn’t make many appearances, but it seemed she had a good relationship with her as well.
Pip had many friends that you saw throughout the story and how their friendship changes as she is investigating.
My favorite was with Pip and Ravi. At first he wants nothing to do with her, then they become friends and it makes my heart soar.

The investigation was very well thought out. The clues were interesting, but it didn’t give everything away. There’s even a murder board! Who hasn’t wanted to make one of those?! The ending KILLED ME. I didn’t expect it and it just blew my mind.

I just felt like I grew so close to Pip. I can’t wait to see the next leg of her and Ravi’s journey in Good Girl, Bad Blood releasing April 30! Preorder here.

Add A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder to your Goodreads TBR here. I promise, you want to.
Buy A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder at Penguin Random House or Amazon.

Have you read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder? What did you think? If not, is it going on your tbr? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, fantasy, three star book, ya

We Are Blood and Thunder ARC Review!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsury YA for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

In a sealed-off city, it begins with a hunt. A young woman, Lena, running for her life, convicted of being a mage and sentenced to death. Her only way to survive is to trust those she has been brought up to fear – those with magic.

On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. She knows only too well how the people of Duke’s Forest loathe magic. Years ago she escaped before her powers were discovered. But now she won’t hide who she is any longer.

A powerful and terrifying storm cloud unites them. It descends over the dukedom and devastates much in its wake. But this is more than a thunderstorm. This is a spell, and the truth behind why it has been cast is more sinister than anyone can imagine … Only Lena and Constance hold the key to destroying the spell. Though neither of them realize it, they need each other. They are the blood and they have the thunder within.

– Goodreads

So many mixed feelings on We Are Blood and Thunder. Parts I loved, and parts I felt I would never get through. It did take me 9 days to read.

This was told in Dual POV – Lena and Constance. I liked Constance more. I could never tell if she was good or bad. I was questioning her thoughts and actions throughout the whole book, which I love.
Lena was more one-dimensional to me. She was just always very flat. She never showed a ton of emotion, and when she did (or tried) I didn’t believe it.
There was also a boy – Emris. He loved Constance once, and now loves Lena. It was a weird love triangle.

In the first 50% I loved Constance’s pov. I just wanted to keep reading her. At a little over the halfway mark Lena’s story picked up and gained some action. The last 20% or so was just hard for me to get through. I’m not sure exactly what it was. Everything was resolved. It just couldn’t keep my attention.

I also see on Goodreads this is book #1 in a series. I’m not sure what book #2 would entail – the story was very nicely wrapped up like a standalone. Maybe it will be in the same universe with different characters? I kind of hope so because I don’t know where else this trio could go.

I gave this 3 stars because I honestly liked a lot of the book. There were nice action scenes, magic, fighting. There wasn’t much of a love story, even with the triangle. But the last 20% or so really kept me from giving this over 3 stars. I was just ready for it to be over.

Have you read We Are Blood and Thunder? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

ARC, contemporary, fantasy, Historical Fiction, mystery, Romance, thriller, ya

Stacking the Shelves

I did this post last week and loved it so I decided to do it again! Maybe this will become a weekly post. Who knows?

This meme is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. Here’s how it works:

“Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!”

This week I got an amazing arc box! I also got five e-galleys from Netgalley. Let’s see what I got!

Crave by Tracy Wolff

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

I’ve seen this advertised as the new and improved Twilight. Honestly, I can’t wait.

Open Fire by Amber Lough

A dramatic page-turner that captures the devastating toll of war and the impact of women’s struggles and solidarity, through the lens of a little-known slice of history.

Honestly, the cover freaks me out. This is set in 1917 Russia. A 17 year old girl goes to war – and finds she was very disillusioned.

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett

In this coming-of-age romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, scandal and romance collide when an ambitious teen returns to her hometown only to have her plans interrupted after falling for the town’s “bad boy”—a.k.a. her childhood best friend.

Honestly, I did not expect to get approved for this. I haven’t read Jenn’s romances yet, so I’m excited to finally try. I’ve heard great things.

The Mall by Megan McCafferty

“The year is 1991. Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans…”

I was a 90’s kid. I can’t wait to go back!

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant

Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris’s criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution.

Adventures. Thieves. Set in France. Fans of Six of Crows? This book was written for me.

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

For fans of Sadie and Serial, this gripping thriller follows two teens whose lives become inextricably linked when one confesses to murder and the other becomes determined to uncover the real truth no matter the cost.

Again, fans of Serial. That’s me! I love these books. Keep them coming YA authors!

Have you heard of any of these gems? Are you on the lookout for them? What are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, contemporary, mystery, thriller, ya

First Impression Friday!

Another week done! I am super excited for this weekend. We are going to a zoo about an hour and a half away and there will also be a renaissance faire that day! My child, husband, and I all have costumes. My son will love seeing all the animals and I’ll love seeing all the faire!

So today we are going to talk about A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson.

“The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

A debut YA crime thriller as addictive as Serial and as page-turning as One of Us Is Lying.
– Goodreads

Okay, see that last, bolded part? As addictive as Serial. I LOVE THAT PODCAST! I am a true crime freak. I’ve been reading Ann Rule forever and have recently gotten very into true crime audios. I also love true crime podcasts. I started with Culpable (a must listen. It happened about an hour away from where I live!), next was Serial, and I’ve just gone down the rabbit hole since. I saw that and knew I had to get this book. I am so lucky to have received an arc! Thanks Netgalley and Electric Monkey!

I read the first chapter pretty quickly. It is Pippa, or Pip, saying why she chose to delve into this murder that was “solved” five years ago. She is researching it as her capstone project for school – kind of like a senior research paper. I definitely got Serial vibes so far. Basically, Andrea, or Andi, left her home about 1030 pm. She didn’t pick her parents up at 1254am like she was supposed to. She was never seen again. They all think Sal, her boyfriend, did it. This sounds like the first season of Serial – which I devoured.

After a little intro, we then see the first part of Pip’s capstone project. We see her interview with a missing person specialist. She writes why she chose this topic and what she hopes to accomplish.

There are rave reviews about this one. I think I will be added to the bunch. The first chapter was so enthralling. I 100% feel this will be a five star read!

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder came out on February 4. Add it to your Goodreads TBR here. Order a copy from Amazon here!

What do you think of my first impression? Have you read this novel? Was it on point? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, fantasy, ya

My First Arc Box. WHAT?!?!

Okay, so here I am. Just got home from the longest.day.ever. I notice a package by the front door. I don’t think anything of it, I’m supposed to get my Keurig descaler today so it will quit exploding my pods and I can drink coffee again. Imagine my surprise when I see THIS at the door!

Okay, this piques my interest. I knew I hadn’t ordered anything. That I could remember, anyway. So honestly, I figured it was something my mom was getting and having delivered to my house. I was just going to open and pretend like I didn’t know it was for me. (Sorry, mom!)

So, imagine my surprise when I open it and SEE MY NAME! (And yes, you can see my descaler that I did get in the background rofl.) So I immediately take a pic and start freaking out and opening the rest!

In this amazing box I got Crave by Tracy Wolff, a Crave travel mug (for that coffee I’ll now get to drink), a to-do (or to-kill?) list, temporary tattoos, hot cocoa, and caramel marshmallows! Now, let me tell you about this book that I am going to dive right into!

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait

– Goodreads

I cannot wait to read this! It’s been a good, long while since I’ve read about vamps, but my body is ready! I mean, who doesn’t love a sexy vampire?

Crave is released into the world on April 7, 2020. I’ll be starting this tonight and posting my review as soon as I finish.

Add Crave to your TBR here!

Preorder Crave from Entanged: Teen or Amazon!

A very big, special thanks to Entangled: Teen, Megan Beatie for this arc box. I am honestly so honored and so excited! Can’t wait to let you guys know what I think!

Have you heard the buzz about Crave? Are you adding it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…