Monday Madness (or Family Fun)

I seem to be only posting on Mondays lately.  Such is the end of baseball season where they seem to cram all of the games in at once.  Busy, busy doesn't even really begin to cover it but the end is in sight and soon my evenings during the week will be my own again.  I AM excited!  In other good news, I passed my certification period!!!  Woohoo!  I'm super excited and am ready to develop my own rhythm/routine for at work.  The best part was that we got to spend this past weekend up on the houseboat relaxing and having fun.  The kids had a blast (they always do) and they were even brave enough to go swimming in the ice cold water.  It was fun and I snapped up a bunch of pictures to share with you all.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Haha! I could barely get him to stop smiling so that he wouldn't get water in his mouth.  Wouldn't you know I would snap the picture with his eyes closed?

 I think this is the best picture that I took with all three of them even though I snapped a zillion others.

 My daughter wore this hat off and on all weekend.  Too funny!

This picture isn't from this weekend but it is of my son pitching for the very 1st time ever.  He did an AMAZING job and I was so proud!

The big boys went fishing for Father's day so my Mom and I took the "littles" to the park.  Lots of fun and a great way to keep them entertained!

More park fun!  It never fails to amaze me how big she is getting so fast :)

It was a great weekend and one of my favorite ways to spend the summer!  Now I just need to get all of these pictures I keep taking off of my camera and printed off.  Happy Monday!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 10th)

It's Monday! is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey and states:

"Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!"

I'm feeling like my reading mojo is coming back all thanks to my reread of Feed.  I'm already sucked into the world that Grant has created and it is so INTENSE!  I've read more in the last week then I have in two...that feels good!  There is a week long read-a-thon going on this week that I'm signing up for that will hopefully allow for me to finish up Feed (and hopefully a few other books).  I've already told you that I've got big reading plans for June so now I just need to follow thru with my actual plans.  LOL!  :)  Last week I finished:

The Truth of All Things by Kiernan Shields was a really good historical mystery that kept me engrossed the entire time.  I'm excited to read more by this author and I'm looking forward to writing up my review soon.  But this is definitely a book that I would recommend!

I'm currently reading:

Which may be one of my favorite books EVER!  Seriously.  I'm loving re-experiencing this book again and it is just as good as I remembered!  This makes me all so excited to read Blackout and see how this trilogy ends.  Staci you MUST read these!

Speaking of must read books, thanks to Lisa I couldn't resist adding a few books to my kindle.  I bought the following two books for my ereader:

I feel like these are MUST reads after reading Lisa's thoughts on this series and I can't wait to start these!  I'm hoping to slip A Night to Surrender in after I finish up Feed.  So these are my reading plans for the week and the Wicked Wildfire Read-a-thon.  Happy Monday and happy reading!!

Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Gwen Maudsley is pretty enough to be popular, and plenty wealthy, too. But what she’s best known and loved for is being so very, very nice. When a cad jilts her at the altar—again—the scandal has her outraged friends calling for blood. Only Gwen has a different plan. If nice no longer works for her, then it’s time to learn to be naughty. Happily, she knows the perfect tutor—Alexander Ramsey, her late brother’s best friend and a notorious rogue."

My Thoughts:

This is one of those books that I waited entirely too long to read.  I don't even want to mention the number of times that I checked this book out from the library and then let it go back unread.  I should really stop doing that!  On the positive side, I found a new author to follow and a new backlist of books to check out.  

I feel like 2013 has been the year for me to really dip my toes into the historical romance genre.  I'm loving every minute of it!  From almost the very beginning of this book I found myself caught up in the relationship between Gwen and Alex.  They were just perfect for each other in my opinion even if they hadn't figured it out for themselves.  And that's half of the fun for me...watching the romance develop and grow between a couple with a few stumbles along the way.  Alex and Gwen had more than there share of struggles though, and by the end of the book I was more than ready for them to find their happy ever after!  Seriously, I almost threw the book at one point when towards the end it seemed like everything was falling apart.  LOL!  I was that into this book!  There were also a few really cute parts in the beginning of this book that had me cracking up.  I love when that happens!  I thought the author did a very nice job with the ending though and I was left feeling more than satisfied.  All romance books should be this good!  

Let's sum it all up:  I enjoyed it lots and can't wait to read more from this author!  It's exciting for me especially because this is a new to me author so I have lots more of her books to look forward to (I hope...I honestly don't know how many she has written.)  But I know she has written more and I can't wait to read them!  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to fans of historical romance.  And if you aren't reading historical romances yet....then why the heck aren't you?  You're definitely missing out especially if you are a fan of romance at all!  I'm kicking myself for not really trying this genre sooner.  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A book that has helped to cement my new found love for historical romance!  

Disclosure:  Checked out from my lovely local library a number of times before I actually read it.  But definitely worth the wait!

Have you read Duran before?  Which of her books should I read next?  And the biggest question of all:  what other historical romance authors should I be reading????  These are the things that a girl needs to know!

On My Nightstand: June Edition

Plans....I usually have lots of them even if I don't end up following through with all of them :)  This month I've got big reading plans as usual even if I'm reading little to none.  I hate that because it is my favorite way to relax but life gets crazy sometimes.  It sure doesn't mean that I'm going to not plan on reading bunches!  Because there is a week long read-a-thon coming up and a few quiet weekends hopefully in my near future.  Here are some of the books that I'm hoping to read in the month of June:

Yep, I'm going all out and submersing myself in Grant's Newsflesh trilogy!!!  I'm SUPER EXCITED to reread the first two books since reading them rocketed Grant onto my favorite author list!  I LOVED FEED AND DEADLINE SO MUCH THAT JUST TALKING ABOUT THEM MAKES ME EXCITED TO REREAD THEM ALL OVER AGAIN!  And then I'm going to do it.  I'm finally going to read Blackout and see how it all ends.  I'm nervous/excited/scared and all at the same time.  It's going to be great!!!!!!!  I'm also hoping to read a few other books like the following:

These are the latest books that I picked up from the library excluding The Chief which is a review copy.  I'm chomping at the bit (ha chomping) to read them all but first I'm diving back into Feed.  I'm pretty sure that June may end up being my best reading month ever with all of these books!!!  What are you planning on reading this month??

Armchair BEA - Introductions (and Being Late to the Game)

 

Whew!  What a whirlwind weekend...three day weekends are NEVER long enough!  I totally took an impromptu blogging break.  Time just seems to keep on getting away from me.  I'm horrified to tell you that I completely forgot to take pictures (ugh) but we had a wonderful time on the houseboat.  Even when it rained almost the entire time.  It just makes you get creative on ways to keep your three littles entertained.  LOL!  I peeked in my reader last night, realized it was Armchair BEA week, and then kicked myself for putting off signing up until now.  I am the queen of procrastination!  I'm not sure how much blogging I will get accomplished this week but I'm using this as a good excuse to get to know a few new bloggers (and maybe take a week long break from reviews. Ha ha!)    

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

• My name's Samantha but I always go by Sam.  I've been blogging now for entirely too long (I'm thinking that I'm on 5 years or something like that.  I got into book blogging thanks to Yahoo book groups and reading challenges which I used to be completely addicted to.  Funny thing is that I'm still a member of some of those groups even though I couldn't tell you the last time that I checked up on them :)  

 What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 

•  I'm currently reading two books:  The Truth of All Things by Kiernan Shields which is a historical mystery and pretty good so far.  On my reader I'm reading There Was An Old Woman by Hallie Ephron.  This one is also pretty good so I'm having a hard time choosing which one to focus on.  I hate when that happens!  

 Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 

•  I think that by now you probably all know that I'm a mom, avid reader, and library goer.  You may not know that I'm also an awful cook, a planner of all the projects that I'm going to accomplish (and usually never do), and book hoarder extraordinaire.  Hahaha!  That doesn't make me sound so good :)  You may also not know that I love to watch Swamp People, have an addiction to avocados, and am a runner that doesn't run.  What is a runner that doesn't run?  It's that one person who considers themself a runner but doesn't ever find the time to actually run.  I should probably work on that!  Anything else you want to know, just ask!

What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 

• This is the easiest question for me!  The community!  I love all of the friends that I have made through book blogging.  I love how all of you lovely readers understand my reading addiction and even encourage it :)  I can always count on my bloggy friends to listen to me rave or moan about a book....especially when said moaning is because I'm impatiently waiting for the book to release.  Mira Grant's Parasite I'm looking at you!!!  But my favorite part is all of you readers who have become my friends.  Thank you!  I love getting to know each and everyone of you.

Enough out of me for one day!  I'm not sure how much more rambly I could get on this blog lately :)

Monday Rambles

 

• This pictures cracks me up every time that I look at it.  He really wanted his picture taken.  I think I should make it my profile pic on Facebook but I haven't taken the time yet  :)  

• I've decided on a post of just randomness because I don't have a lot to say.  My reading has been kinda slow as of lately.  I'm pretty okay with that.  (And I'm borrowing the format of this post from the lovely Trish).

• I love a good thunderstorm!  I've decided that we haven't gotten nearly enough of them lately.  But it is really nice to be sitting here on a Sunday evening listening to the thunder....now where's all of the rain???

• I spent part of the weekend with family and friends.  It was really nice and I couldn't have asked for a better weekend right before the start of "hell week" at work.  Four months of training at my new job culminates in a two week certification period.  Stress levels are high to say the least.  Yep, the next two weeks are NOT going to be fun.  I may not be around much.  I may not be fun to talk to.  I haven't quite decided yet.  

• I'm planning on spending next weekend up on the boat with my family.  It will be a good way to end the first "hell week".  I think that I will just try not to think about the part two thing.

• I'm currently reading The Truth of All Things by Kiernan Shields.  It is pretty good so far but I just haven't been reading all that much.  I'm hoping to make a bit more progress on it this week but we will see how it goes.

• I'm also working on When Blood Calls by J.K. Beck.  I was reading this one awhile ago and just kind of stopped.  I decided to go back so I reread the beginning and have continued on.  It is also pretty good and I'm starting to wonder how everything is going to all play out.  I'm definitely intrigued!

• The rain is finally here!!  I've decided bullet points are kind of dangerous...I could just keep going and going.  But I think instead I'm going to curl up under a blanket with the "littles"  since they seem to have decided they are scared of storms and read my book.  Since I'm posting this tomorrow I will wish you all a great week!  Happy Monday!

What I've Been Doing (Besides Reading)

I had big plans for the past two weeks with getting lots of reading done.  Instead I've been doing pretty much everything BUT reading.  What have I been doing you might ask???  Well, pretty much the following:

Running around chasing these two and making sure they don't cause too much chaos (and yes, he is wearing a Spiderman mask if you are wondering. If it was up to him he would have worn the entire costume to the baseball diamonds.)

 Taking this one to practice.

And then watching his games.  He was three for three last night which was pretty exciting for all of us :)
The best part is he still jumps up and down when he is excited.  It always makes me laugh!

Snuggling with my Pickle baby during the rare moments when he actually sits still.  It usually lasts for a total of thirty seconds but I will take what I can.

And in general spending as much time outdoors with my babies as possible.  I've got no complaints...even when my books sit unread.  Life is good!  TGIF!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend :)

Nightfall by Ellen Conner (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Growing up with an unstable, often absent father who preached about the end of the world, Jenna never thought in her wildest nightmares that his predictions would come true. Or that he would have a plan in place to save her-one that includes the strong, stoic man who kidnaps and takes her to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest.

The mysterious ex-Marine named Mason owes a life-debt to Jenna's father. Skilled and steadfast, he's ready for the prophesied Change, but Jenna proves tough to convince. Until the power grid collapses and mutant dogs attack-vicious things that reek of nature gone wrong."

My Thoughts:

Books like this are why I love reading so much!  I was completely and utterly sucked into this book from almost page one.  Nightfall was filled with a dark and gritty atmosphere as the main characters (Jenna and Mason) tried to adjust to this new type of world that they found themselves in.  Their lives are changed in a way that they could never have imagined and they really only have each other to rely on.  This book was so intense!  The action starts from the very beginning and really doesn't let up until the very last page.  I read this one late into the night because I just wanted to keep going...I was so engrossed in this novel that I would lose track of time.  I flew through the pages and was left wanting more at the end.  This book wasn't a perfect read, in fact there were times that I wanted to bang Jenna and Mason's heads together when they were both being too stubborn or dense.  But it really didn't matter because I was so completely lost in their story that all that mattered to me was them surviving and finding their happy ever after.  Just talking about this book gets me all excited about reading the remaining two books in this trilogy....I CANNOT wait to see what happens next!

What else can I say?  I loved the fact that there was a bit of a paranormal bent to the book.  The demon dogs were quite scary and not like anything that I've ever really read about.  I was heartbroken at one point in the story, and couldn't figure out for the life of me how this book could possibly end well.  The authors did an amazing job of not only pulling it all together in the end but ending the story in a way that left me truly satisfied.  I cannot praise this book enough just for the single fact that I loved it to pieces. 

Nightfall is one of my favorites reads of 2013 so far because I found myself completely sucked into the world that these two authors created.  This is also the book that started my craving for more romantic action-suspense filled reads.  I NEED more books like this so if you've got recommendations shoot them my way!  I would definitely recommend this one....heck, I'm singing its' praises enough just right here.  So may I reiterate that  I would highly, highly recommend this book!

Bottom Line:  A no brainer for me when it comes to my best of 2013 reads list!

Disclosure:  Checked out from my local library but I'm thinking I will need my own copy at some point for a reread :) 

Reading Plans and a Read-a-thon (or Random Ramblings)

I have big plans for my reading in the month of May!  Last month I focused on getting some of my NetGalley books read (thanks to Staci) and I managed to finish up two.  Not as many as I had hoped but considering how slow I can be when it comes to reading on my reader I was pretty happy.  This month I'm focusing on reading some of my ARC's in general.  I have TOO many of these books sitting of my shelves waiting to be read.  I'm officially joining in with the month long Clean Sweep ARC Challenge to get some of these books read.  I'm hoping to read both print and e-copies which will help me make a dent in my pile. 

Last month I came up with a list of books to choose from and I think that I will do the same for this month.  I mainly enjoyed just coming up with the list of books but I actually did stay on track and pick from the books I listed.  Here are some of the books that I'm hoping to get through for this challenge:

I feel like this is a good mix of print books and e-copies.  I didn't include the books that I'm already reading that fit in for this challenge because that would have been too easy.  And I need a wide variety of books to fit my readerly moods.  It would be AMAZING if I could at least read half of these books in May but I will definitely settle with just a few.  Goals, I have them!

Because I've decided to set my sights high when it comes to reading, I'm joining in officially with the Bout of Books Read-a-thon.  It's a week long event (my favorite) and even though I failed spectacularly at the last one I'm ready to redeem myself this time.  It starts officially on Monday but I'm starting unofficially this weekend.  I'm more than ready and think that this will be an easy way to get some of these ARC's finished up!

If you are interested in joining, here is the official word from the hosts:

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team"

Good stuff, right?  I'm excited!  And I've got lots of plans for the month of May.  Now enough talking....it's time to get to reading!  

A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara (thoughts)

 Summary from Goodreads:

"In Ashlyn Macnamara’s stunning romance debut—perfect for fans of Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Sabrina Jeffries—two childhood friends in Regency England discover love with the most unlikely of partners: each other."

My Thoughts:

I feel like I've been reading a lot more historical romances lately but it is books like this that are the reason why.  A Most Scandalous Proposal was a delight to read and if this is just the author's debut book then I can't wait to read more!  


From the very beginning I was caught up in the chemistry between Julia and Benedict.  I loved the friendship angle and found myself almost biting my nails hoping for their happy every after.  What I didn't expect was how much I would enjoy Julia's sister Sophie's storyline.  Sophie came off as a bit of a nitwit at first but as the book progressed I was really rooting for her.  I loved the way that her character developed and would have liked to see even more of her at the end.  I thought that the author also did an amazing job with not always doing the expected.  There was one point in the middle of the book where I was all set to be upset with the direction the book was going in.  But then the author managed to do a complete 360 with the storyline and I was completely onboard again!  I loved it!  The ending tied everything up quite nicely and left me feeling quite satisfied.  My only complaint was that I wanted more.  I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters at the end of the story.  Books like this are why I'm becoming such a huge fan of historical romances!

Overall, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read!  I'm so excited to read more by this author as she delivered a stunning debut.  This is definitely an author to watch!  I loved the relationships, chemistry, and friendships that developed between the main characters.  The author did an amazing job of really fleshing out the two sisters in a way that you couldn't help but root for them both.  It was just an amazingly good read!  Highly recommended and my many thanks to Lisa over at Books, Lists, Life for recommending it to me!

Bottom Line:  A historical romance that swept me into its' pages.

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book for review thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.