Hey, y'all! It's been awhile since I did one of these check-ins, huh? I would like to say that I've come here to tell you that activity on the blog is about to pick back up and be more consistent, but I can't.

Life has been pretty hectic lately. All aspects. Even my Fall Break! I've always been the type of person who struggles with downtime, especially extended periods of it. I guess when you've never really had any, you get used to always needing to be productive. But lately I've been struggling to find any downtime at all...especially mentally. I can take a day to do nothing, but I can't always turn my brain off.

What I'm trying to say is that I'll try to be more consistent with blog content, but I can't realistically promise multiple posts a week right now. My mental load is pretty high these days, making it tough to be creative. That said, I'm pretty well planned out for the rest of this calendar year for school, so that does free up some of my brain space. However, I do have a tower of assignments for my teacher certification course to slog through between now and the end of November. I'm trying to work ahead, though, so that I can breathe a little freer this nine weeks. I've managed to get one out-of-district field experience completed, and I only need two more to get my in-district ones out of the way.

In other news...I passed my certification tests! I've had my results for awhile, and I'm pretty sure I posted about it on social media, but I never got around to sharing it here. So that's a big weight off my shoulders.

I'm sure I'm leaving other stuff out. Life has been moving so quickly that it's easy to forget things. Anyway, I'm going to end with a photo dump from our annual visit to Scarecrows in the Gardens. This year's theme had something to do with famous art.

Man, I am so late in getting this reading roundup out to you guys. We're basically halfway through October already! I would apologize, but I've been incredibly busy with a ton of homework, planning for the second quarter of school, and life in general.

At first glance, it appears as if reading fell to the wayside for September. However, I spent the first part of the month re-reading a favorite series that had been on my mind for awhile. A comfort read, if you will. I usually don't include those in my reviews, since I've already reviewed them at some point on the blog. It was the All the Pretty Monsters series by Kristy Cunning, if you're interested.

Author: Willow Hadley

This is the first book in the Charlotte Reynolds series, which isn't complete and has been some time since the last book released. That's not the reason I decided not to continue with the series, though. I decided not to continue because I felt disconnected from the story. The background felt under-developed, and I had a lot of questions about some of the already-established situations that I felt like the author did not go into enough detail.

The book starts with our main female character, Charlotte, being released from her second stint in juvenile detention, but instead of being sent to another group home, Charlotte is released into the care of her uncle whom she hasn't seen since her father died. Charlotte moves in with Arthur and his adopted stepson, Sebastian, and is quickly accepted into her pseudo-cousin's friend group. Honestly, I don't even remember what the main conflict of the book was, which should give you an idea of how underwhelming I found it to be.

Brutal and Vicious (A Flawed series books 2-3)

Author: Auryn Hadley & Kitty Cox

I'm loving this spin-off of the Gamer Girls series so much. This group of characters are all in the Gamer Girls series, but with the exception of Knock they're all in the background. And even Knock isn't really a main character in the others. You know they're all there, and you know they're all integral in how the overall plot plays out in the end, but you don't know what exactly they're doing. This series shows you, and it's fantastic. I don't think you have to read Gamer Girls first to enjoy this series, but I think reading the other first would be beneficial.

Author: Lisa Barr

This month, I ended with my One Woman Book Club pick. I wasn't sure I was going to make it in time for this book roundup, but I managed to finish the book on the last day of the month. It was fantastic.

Jules Roth is a fresh-out-of-college journalist who's just landed her dream job as a member of her hero's investigative team. Dan Mansfield has just agreed to investigate a painting that's been missing since World War II for his friend, world-renowned shoe designer, Ellis Baum. The painting, Woman on Fire, is the last painting by Ernst Engel, who was the leader of the German Expressionist movement and executed by the Nazis, and features Ellis's mother, a former Miss Germany who was executed for having a relationship with a Jewish banker. The trio enlist the help of Ellis's grandson, Adam, a famous artist turned recluse after nearly dying from a drug overdose, to find the painting, which is also being sought by a ruthless collector and dealer, Margeaux de Laurent.

Author: Katherine Applegate

This was such a good read-aloud, and one that I would recommend to any parent. Wishtree is told from the perspective of an oak tree, Red. Red has been a part of the neighborhood for many "rings," and has many tales to tell. Once a year, people bring their wishes and tie them to her branches. Red thought she'd seen it all until a new family moves in and is not welcomed. Now, Red decides she must do more than observe. She must act, and this act may be her last.

Author: Eva Ibbotson

This was one of my favorite books when I was around Alexis's age. The cover you're seeing is one of the newer editions (2008, I believe). It does not match my copy. Anyway, this is a fun read, especially around Halloween. Arriman the Awful is a famous wizard responsible for keeping darkness alive in the land. When a fortune teller predicts his replacement will soon come, he creates a 'monster' to watch for him, but he never comes so, following the advice of his butler, Arriman decides to get married. He devises a contest for all the local witches, including Belladonna, a white witch who is desperately in love with Arriman but who stands no chance of winning the competition...until she meets Terrance and finds her familiar.