Hello puzzle friend, !

Two weeks ago, I shared that I'd made a promise to myself to remove a Wordle-style game from my phone after I'd played like 1,000 hours of it. Well, not only did you not berate me for wasting my time, you replied with your own success stories and tales of woe with these games, and alternative games for me to play! And, a few even shared your "go to" starting words with Wordle.

Here's a wrap-up since it's clear that word games are popular in these parts! (Darling Dave, aka, Mr. Bloom, can't understand how word games are relaxing to me. He prefers to kill zombies and defend castles—which is something I'm so disinterested in, I've never downloaded a shooting game in my life.)

Word games to give a try

• Knot words—like sudoku but with letters. "Fun and frustrating," according to Stacey W.
• Puzzle Page app—variety of logic puzzles played by Kathlyn S.
• Luminosity is ELF's go to game (since Candy Crush stole points from her!)
• Wordle is the one Cecilia D sticks to since she can only play one game a day!
• Wordscapes, Quordle, Octordle and Hurdle—all games Cheryl F suggested I get addicted to. 😳

First words in "Wordle"

• Ocean & strip (Anneke S)
• Pious & maybe or yearn (Cheryl F)
• Earth & spoil (mucky, if needed) (Anne W who has 100% wins on over 700 games!) 🥳
• Stern (Amanda F, a Wheel of Fortune fan who goes for the most popular consonants first!)

Words in a binge-able order—your free book

Sweet Temptation by Lana Love

One tattooed bad boy

+ One curvy reporter

+ One disastrous first impression

= An opposites attract romance that will make you believe in the power of love

I’ve done time. I have the scars and tattoos to prove it. These days, I run New Day Bakery and I teach other ex-cons a skill that gives them a chance for staying out of prison.

I don’t have time for love. Besides, what woman can see beyond my past? Most people can’t even see past my tattoos. I’ve resigned myself to a quiet life and it’s been working out just fine.

Then Renee shows up to interview me for the local paper. She’s the first woman to decline our pastries, giving me some ridiculous excuse about a fad diet. Whatever.

When I run into her at the Heartland Regional Community Achievement Award ceremony, she’s in crisis. I do what any man of substance does – I stand up for her and make things right. As I hold her stunning curves as we dance and I listen to her story, I realize I seriously misjudged her.

Now, she won’t answer my calls. I have to show her that I believe her, but how can I do that if she won’t talk to me? Never did I think I’d need a woman as much as I need her. I won’t stop until she lets me show her what I’ve done for her. She's a temptation that will haunt me if I can't claim her as mine.

Sweet Temptation features a tattooed bad boy and the curvy woman who is his sweetest temptation. This is a short and sizzling romance, perfect for a pick-me-up during your day or just before bed. Guaranteed HEA, no cheating, no past relationship drama — just two people finding the love of their life and building their forever.

Get Sweet Temptation free!

If you're having a family dinner tonight, I hope someone else volunteers to do the washing up for you—even if you weren't the person to make the meal!

Dave said he was going to make ham and scalloped potatoes, which I'd normally love. But since he bought the ham last week—and there's enough of it to feed a family of ten—we've had ham in virtually every meal since Tuesday. I am all hammed out. I'll be glad to throw the giant bone into the InstantPot to make stock for pea soup, though.

Love&anythingbutham,

Danika

xo