42. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

A Reese Witherspoon YA Pick

listened on Audible (didn't want to wait for library WL)

narrated by Isabella Star LaBlanc -  Fantastic narrator - whether it be a male voice, a female, Native American inflections, Native American language.  Just wonderful!

Unabridged audio (14:13)
2021
496 pgs.
YA CRF
Finished 4/20/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.48 - 6582 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary shores of Lake Superior, Michigan, on an island and on the mainland

First line/s: "I am a frozen statue of a girl in the woods.  Only my eyes moving, darting from the gun to their startled expression."

My comments: Fantastic narrator, and wow, fantastic story.  Definitely a mystery, definitely a story of family and relationships, great insight into indigenous American thinking both spiritual and historical, and thoughtful, teeth-clenching glimpses into the greed and ravages of methamphetamine.  Incredibly well-told story a bout a super-smart, savvy female athlete advocate for her Ojibwa people. And this Angeline Boulley's DEBUT novel!

Goodreads synopsis:  As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.
          The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.
          Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home.
          Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she'll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

37. Hot as Puck by Lili Valente

listened to audio on Chirp
narrated by Tyler Donne & Summer Roberts
Unabridged audio (6:39)
2017 Self-taught Ninja
330 pgs.
Adult Steamy Romance
Finished 2/25/2020
Goodreads rating:  4.04 - 4722 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Contemporary Portland,Oregon

First line/s:  "This is it, the night I'll look back on in fifty or sixty years and stab a finger at as the moment my life changed forever."

My comments:  This book was just plain fun.  A compassionate kindergarten teacher and a crocheting pro hockey hunk who have grown up next door to each other finally get together.  Lots of story and lots of super steam, a really cute book.  It's certainly not an Amish tale!!!  Would never be considered great literature, but it gets a five for entertainment value...and ooh la la, the cover!

Goodreads synopsis: The NHL's biggest bad boy is about to fall for the virgin next door...
          I am the world's biggest dating failure. We're talking my last date went home with our waitress kind of failure.
          But I have an ace in the back pocket of my mom jeans--my sexy-as-sin best friend, NHL superstar forward, Justin Cruise.
          Justin owes me favors dating back to seventh grade, long before he became a hotshot with a world famous...stick. So in return for my undying platonic loyalty, all I want is an easy-peasy crash course on how to be a sex goddess.
          How hard can it be?
    ***
          I have never been so hard in my life.
          The things I want to do to my sweet, kindergarten-teaching, mitten-crocheting best friend Libby Collins are ten different kinds of wrong. Maybe twenty.
          But I'm a firm believer in teaching by example, and by the end of our first lesson, we've graduated to a hands on approach to her education: my hands all over her, her hands all over me, and her hot mouth melting beneath mine as I prove to her there isn't a damned thing wrong with the way she kisses.
          Give me a month, and I'll transform Libby from wall flower to wall banger, and ensure she's confident enough to seduce any guy she wants.
          Problem is... the only guy I want her seducing is me.
          Hot as Puck is a sexy, flirty, friends-to-lovers Standalone romantic comedy from USA Today Bestseller Lili Valente.