Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Sunday Salon: Reading, Reading, Reading

Oh my goodness....what a weekend!  I cannot tell you how refreshed I am feeling thanks to four whole days off in a row (with a half day on Wednesday).  It is exactly what I needed to give me a break before I dive into next week and all the overtime once again.  My house is now decorated both inside and out AND I got lots of quality time with my family which makes me the happiest.  I feel like I have so much to catch up on considering I once again took a bit of an unexpected blogging break thanks to sick kids (and then sick everyone...we all shared it this time).  But we are back to being healthy for the most part so I'm very thankful for that!  Not much other exciting news to share besides we've been working our way through the second season of The Walking Dead and that show is so flipping addictive.  I have no clue how we waited so long to watch this show but I am well and truly hooked!

Even though I've been one busy girl getting ready for the holidays I have also been reading plenty. So the good is that I have lots to catch you up on but the bad is that I'm now even farther behind with my reviews.  I'm going to have to buckle down though so I don't go into the upcoming new year without sharing my thoughts on all of these books.  I hate when that happens!  But on to the books that I've read since my last Sunday post.


 
The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane was a fast paced thriller that I hated to set down.  I've already written up my thoughts on this one and you can find them here.

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean was absolutely delicious!  At first I basically despised the hero and was convinced that this book just would not work for me.  But then it did and oh my!  I just cannot wait to read more by this author!

A Potion to Die For by Heather Blake was a cute cozy that was a surprisingly strong beginning to this new series.  I loved the characters, the mystery, and the town where the story takes place in so of course I'm eager to read more.  Just stinks because I will have a wait until book two is both written and released.  The good part though is that this author has another cozy series that I can try in the meantime. 

In audios, I finished listening to All Around the Town by Mary Higgins Clark which just made me crave more of her books so I went and put another of hers on hold at the library.  I used to read her books all of the time before I started blogging and this was a good reminder why.  Although, I will admit that her earlier books (like this one) were much better than her later ones in my opinion.  I then moved on to Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich.  This one had me in tears at my desk I was laughing so hard!  This is such a fun series to listen to, and I also already have the next one on audio ready for my listening pleasure.  Finally, I finished listening to Angel Falls by Nora Roberts.  This one was good but not as good as I remember it being.  Or maybe I just had higher expectations thinking that I loved it since I read it so long ago.  Who knows?  But it was good just a bit overly long in parts and the heroine annoyed me at times.  So there :)

I'm currently reading the following books:

 
If You Were Here is my print read and good so far although I will admit that the heroine grates on my nerves at times.  I'm eager to see where the story is going to lead especially since it feels like the shit is finally starting to hit the fan.

Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan is my current read on my ipad that I actually just started last night but I'm already engrossed in.  I don't read a lot of Christmas books during this time of year but I just couldn't resist giving this one a try.  It is super cute so far and has had me laughing out loud already so I'm looking forward to getting back to it.

I'm also still currently reading A Study in Silks by Emma Jane Holloway but for some reason it hasn't really grabbed me yet so I decided to set it aside for now.  I think that I will go back to it after I finish my Christmas romance :)  I'm listening to Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and I cannot believe that I had forgotten how dark this book is!  I've actually had to stop listening to it a couple of times because just....wow! This author writes these books that are so dark and yet are so engrossing.  I just have no words.  And the narrator is just amazing for this book as she is actually how I would picture Camille's voice to be.  Wow!

Today I plan on reading, fitting in a few loads of laundry, running, and then also hopefully getting a few blog posts pre-scheduled.  I'm also going to enjoy my last day of freedom before it is back to the working grind.  I'm sorry that I've been a bit absent from your blogs the past couple of weeks but I definitely hope to remedy that as well.  Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!!

8 comments:

  1. I think of all the blogs I read you and I are the most similar. I have that sleigh bells one, and a short story Xmas anthology from NetGalley. I am strruggling with a study in silks too. And am determined to read all three of the macleans in that series- soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sam, I'm glad everyone's healthy again and that you're finding the time to read and even listen to an audiobook! You must be pretty good at budgeting your time to do so much!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like you had a great time with your loved ones! Glad everyone is better!

    I didn't get a chance to do as much reading as I hoped for but I did enjoy the time off for sure! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you enjoyed your time off! I wanted to decorate today, but the guy didn't agree... So, well, it will get done eventually! Enjoy your reading!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, you got your decorating done. I wish. I think I'll start this week though. I'm glad you're all feeling better. I had the flu too. Still not feeling the best but better.

    The Walking Dead - wow. Last nights episode was a humdinger. I wanted to cover my eyes a few times but didn't.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such nice books. It looks like you are busy. I'm glad you are all feeling well again. How cute is Sleigh Bells in the Snow? I've been meaning to grab a cozy Christmas book for this month.

    OMG, my MM post today has some Walking Dead chat in it, but don't read it. It's got spoilers since you are on Season 2. I love that show. Like Dar commented above, it was a humdinger last night...lol. The mid-season finale was fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ah, Sarah MacLean! I'm so fond of her, in spite of her goofy titles. I've really enjoyed all of her books so far, and I'm excited to read the new one. I had the same reaction to A Rogue by Any Other Name as you -- the hero's such a jerk at the beginning, and I was sure I would never get on board. But then I ended up liking it (and him, mostly) a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I hope everyone is completely well now. There's something going around here, and I'm afraid Mouse has it. I'm hoping it doesn't get worse.

    I recently read A Study in Silks and really liked it, but it did get off to a slow start for me too (she almost lost me when I got to the chapter where the steam barons have their meeting), and then suddenly the book really took off. I hope it will be the same way with you when you go back to it.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate each and every one of them :)