The Sunday Post #41 (No Sleep Edition)

"The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme"

I'm writing up this post on Saturday evening as I have a sleepover in progress for my youngest and won't be getting sleep anytime soon.  I figured now would be the perfect time to get some blogging in ahead of the game as tomorrow all I'm going to want to do is relax.  That's not going to happen but hey...a girl can always dream!  It's my youngest son's birthday today - he is eight years old.  It's entirely too crazy to think how fast the time has gone but he is a great kid who completes our crazy family.  He is having a great birthday with lots of friends to hang with for the night.  Good times for them...no sleep for me.  LOL!

Life went back to normal this week with work, overtime, practices, and more.  This is technically our "quieter" time when it comes to sports but that honestly doesn't mean too much.  My oldest has football lifting four days a week.  My daughter has softball practice two days a week and then my youngest has basketball practice one night.  That's not counting basketball games on Sunday as well.  I'm tired just typing it.  I still managed to have another great week of reading though so that's a win!  I finished two more books which puts me at six books read for the year already.  Who is this girl???  I've now read four books that count towards #COYER Winter Switch.  My goal is ten books read so I'm getting there but need to focus on reading my e-books a bit more often if I want to meet that goal.  Exercise-wise I ran once but did exercises (sit-ups, etc) two other nights so that's definitely better than last week!  I'll probably take next week off of running entirely and just focus on my other exercises instead.  But on to the books!  Here is what I finished last week:

A Whisper of Bones by Ellen Hart is book #4 read for #COYER Winter Switch.  It was an enjoyable read and has me excited to now go back to the beginning of this long running series.  Also it features a lesbian main character if you are looking to diversify your reading a bit.  I won't be sharing my thoughts on this one until February since that is closer to when this book releases.

Montana Heat: Escape to You by Jennifer Ryan was a mixed bag for me.  I enjoyed parts of it and some of it not so much.  I liked it enough that I want to read more by this author so not all bad but not all good either.  I'll try to explain it a bit better in my review.  It was a good change of pace switching to a romance after finishing a couple of mysteries though.  I'm going to try to do that more often this year!

I'm now currently reading the following:

Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley is my current print read.  I've been wanting to read this one every since I first heard about it.  I've just barely begun but I can already tell that I'm going to like it.  This is my first book by Ashley despite my having her other series on my TBR list for some time now.  Look For Me by Lisa Gardner will be my next Kindle read.  I haven't actually started reading it yet but it is definitely up next.  Two years ago I read and loved Find Me by this author (it was a top ten read for me).  This book features some of the same characters and I'm so excited to read it!  I have very high hopes for both of these books!

New Additions:

 

I've been a bit horrible this week when it comes to new books as you can see.  And this is the reason why my NetGalley ratio never seems to get any better....I just keep requesting more.  Sigh.  I think that I need #COYER to be a year long challenge at the rate that I'm going.  There are just SO MANY good books though!  And I want to read them all!  (Please know that I'm shaking my head at myself over here LOL!)

Plans for tomorrow (or today when you are reading this) include a nap for sure!  We have a basketball game to go to for my youngest and laundry to be done as always.  Other than that, I'm leaving everything off of my schedule so that I can just relax.  I'll probably try to spend as much time as possible curled up with my book because that sounds just about perfect!  In reality I will spend at least part of my day putting my house back in order.  It will be worth it though as I love to start the week with a clean (or semi-clean) house.  I'll be by to visit with all of you throughout the week!

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

Filling My Kindle (E-Book Addict)

I always tell you about all of the amazing books that I add to my kindle thanks to NetGalley and Edelweiss but I usually neglect to share about all of the other books that I add.  Let's be real here, you have probably guessed that if I have no control on those sites then I probably have no self control when it comes to books in general.  WRONG!  (Ha ha....just kidding!)  You would actually be right and it is so very true that I add new books to my kindle at an alarming rate.  It isn't my fault that I can't resist when a book is priced at such a great rate and has been on my TBR list just calling to me.  Don't ask my husband though if he agrees with me on this either.  LOL!  Here are some of the freebies and books that I have bought for myself recently thanks to my inability to say no:

Sigh!  How could I possibly resist any of these?  Just having them on my kindle makes me happy so obviously I made some good decisions.  But which of these to read first?  That is the real question.  Tell me:  do you add books to your e-reader with as much ease as I seem to?  What books have you gotten recently?  Do share!

The Sunday Post #23 (Football Fun)

"The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme"

Good morning everyone!  I'm getting a nice early start on this beautiful morning and the sun is shining.  Happy Sunday to us all.  It is Superbowl Sunday which means football time is coming to an end.  I always miss it but am really looking forward to tonight's game.  We have a few friends coming over so that should be a good time.  Honestly I would rather watch The Walking Dead marathon that is also on today so I will be sneaking in some quiet time to watch old episodes as well.  NEXT WEEK!  I am so very excited that the mid-season premiere is next week....I can't even!  I am so obsessed with this show and have been impatiently waiting for it to return.

In bookish news, February has started off on the right foot as I've already finished two books.  Both were great reads and I'm already in the midst of another one.  I can't say that I've done well on the NetGalley front (because I haven't) but at least I am also working on getting reviews written to work on improving my ratio.  If I could just stop wanting to read EVERYTHING that looks and sounds good, I might have more of a chance for success.  LOL!  I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet as I have piles of laundry that I need to get to before we have company this evening.  The laundry battle just never ends.

Since my last reading update I have finished the following books (this is more books than I realized- maybe I should start doing these posts every week rather than every two):

The Girls She Left Behind by Sarah Graves - I've already shared my thoughts on this one here.  Suffice it to say that this book was such a great follow-up to book one and has cemented my love of this series.  It was this close to getting five stars from me on Goodreads.  I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next!

The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne - Sigh!  I loved this book....just loved it.  I actually already have my thoughts written up and my review is scheduled for this week.  But a preview:  I basically just gush about this book the entire time.  So good!

If I Run by Terri Blackstock - I've already written up my thoughts on this one as well!!  I'm so proud of myself.  Ha!  This was a fast-paced read that I just flew through.  I won't be sharing my thoughts on this one till its' release date so in another week I believe.  Also very good though if you were wondering.

The Becoming by Jeanne Stein - Off of my own shelves for the win!  This was the first book that I finished this week and I actually tried to slow down reading this one because I was enjoying it so much.  Didn't quite work but a happy surprise is that I already had book two waiting for me on my kindle.  (And yes sometimes I don't know what is on my kindle until I look.)  An excellent read and I can't wait to continue on with this series!

The Sweetest Chase by Sharla Lovelace- I read this one for a tour later this month and I adored it.  Obviously I don't read enough contemporary romance because I just couldn't get enough of this book!  I loved it to pieces and will be going back for the first book asap!

Whew!  Lots of really great reading ahead of me and only two of those books still need reviews written.  Score!  I'm now currently reading the following book:

Holy crap!  This book is so intense!  I can't even begin to describe it.  If I didn't have people coming over this evening I honestly would probably have spent the entire day reading this one.  As it is, I'm going to be squeezing in as much reading time as possible before the game.  I have to see what happens next!!

New Additions:

Sometimes I feel like I'm setting myself up to fail when I say that I'm going to stay away from NetGalley.  I just can't seem to do it and before I know it I am requesting too many books yet again.  Sigh.  This week I also may have one clicked on a few freebies as well.  Here are a few of the books that I added:

 

The Demonists and Mortal Falls are both courtesy of NetGalley.  One is a thriller and the other begins a new urban fantasy (I think?) series.  Red Hot Steele was a freebie that just sounded too good to pass up.  The Restorer was a purchase and a book that I have been wanting to read for years so I was thrilled to add it to my kindle.  So many books...

Plans for today are make my house presentable.  Find time in there somewhere to blog, read, and watch The Walking Dead.  And work on my piles of laundry.  Always laundry.  I doubt that I'll be able to catch up with all of you until tomorrow.  Don't worry though- I will have plenty of time then to catch up on my blog reading and hopefully get some commenting in as well.  I'm off to get this day started and my butt in gear.

Happy Sunday and Happy reading!

The Sunday Post #22 (A Reading Update)

"The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme"

I'm getting a bit of a later start this Sunday afternoon but that's okay.  I made breakfast for the family this morning and then decided to just work around the house a little bit.  Now I'm settled in with the computer and hoping to get some reviews written up for the upcoming weeks.  This past week went by pretty fast which was nice as I was in training all week for work.  I will be in training this week as well but then by next week everything should be back to normal.  Not much else new to report- homework is back with a vengeance so that is how I spend a good portion of my evenings.  I have been reading a lot though so I'm happy with that!

This past week was the Winter's Respite read-a-thon.  I managed to finish two books for it which made me very happy.  Really January is turning into a pretty solid reading month for me so far!  I've already finished seven books and I'm feeling pretty good about my reading quality wise as well.  I need to work on writing up reviews though so that I don't fall behind like I did last year.  What else?  I've been horrible on the working out front (which means I've basically done nothing) so I need to focus on that this week.  Oh yes, and I STILL haven't managed to stay off of NetGalley like I had planned.  Apparently I need to work on my self control a bit more. Ha ha!  But back to the books now.  Here are the books that I have finished since my last reading update.

Kill Without Mercy by Alexandra Ivy was a great beginning to this new romantic suspense series and I've already shared my thoughts on it here.  I am looking forward to reading more by this author!

In The Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming starts the beginning of a new mystery series that I will definitely be continuing on with!  I enjoyed it all the more reading this one during the winter but it sure did make me wish we had more snow on the ground (yes, I'm one of those people).  I'm so glad that I listened to Kay when she said to read this one- and even better this was off of my own shelves!  Now I just need to get my hands on book two.

Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell was yet another great addition to this series.  I read this one in two days and basically did nothing else but read this book.  It was SO, SO good!  This book was also off of my own shelves and I pulled it off because it just wouldn't stop calling my name.  It was a great decision to follow this mood and the ride Cornwell took me on was completely worth it!

Enraptured by Candace Camp was such an enjoyable read!  I was worried about having a bookish hangover after finishing Cornwell's book so I switched genres completely.  It was the right choice and I found myself enchanted with this book.  I loved the characters and the romance so much- now I have to go back and read the first two books as this was the ending of a trilogy.  A new to me author that I cannot wait to read more of!

Wow!  I told you all that I was having a really great reading month of January and the above books really help to prove that.  I'm now currently working on my 5th #COYER book and reading the following:

I loved the first book in this series so I'm really excited about this book!  I'm only about 10% in so far but already I am hooked.  I'm hoping to spend a good portion of my evening reading this book while watching football. 

New Additions:

 

I told you I've been awful!  The Hunter and The Sweetest Chase are both for blog tours in February.  Both sound really great and I'm excited to read them soon.  Crime and Poetry is the beginning to a new cozy mystery series so I just could not resist requesting it.  It Takes One has an amazing cover!  So of course I requested this one as well!  Oh well, maybe I will be better this week and can manage to stay away from NetGalley.  I'm sure going to try anyways!

Plans for today are the usual: laundry, laundry, and more laundry.  It is a bit ridiculous on how much laundry one family of five can really have if I'm being honest.  I also would like to write up at least three posts and respond to some blog comments as I'm horrible at that lately.  I'll be by later this evening to visit blogs and catch up on blog reading.  I hope you all have are having a wonderful January!  Be safe if you live in the areas affected by all of these winter storms.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!!

The Sunday Salon #21 (Read-a-thon Edition)

"The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme"
 
This week has been a busy one but that was to be expected.  Life has gotten back into the normal routine.  Kids are back to school, work is work, and daily homework help each night has begun again.  I'm not complaining though as I enjoy the fact that everything is settling back down.  The weather has gotten colder and there is nothing better than curling up with a good book whenever I can find the time.

This week was the Bout-of-Books read-a-thon which is always a fun experience.  I did really great with it and managed to read two books for the read-a-thon.  This means I've read three books already in 2016.  Who is this girl?  LOL!  I attribute all of this reading to really great books and the need not to move from under a warm blanket.  I've also jumped back into the fitness/exercise thing with two feet.  I was mostly successful so I'm happy but I'm hoping to work even harder this week at it.  My biggest struggle is finding the time to workout before dinner because I'm useless afterwards (and it just won't happen).  I'm going to work this week on working out directly after getting off of work- no excuses!  Enough rambles out of me though, here are the books that I have finished so far in 2016:

Snow Angels by James Thompson - A thrilling read that was just meant to be read on a cold winter evening.  This book was darker than I expected but really it was a book that I just couldn't set down.  A really great start to my reading year! 

City of Light by Keri Arthur - Gah!  This book was so, so good and left me pining for the second book (which doesn't release until late this year).  A really great start to this new series and one that I will be immediately continuing on with...as soon as I get my hands on book two that is.  Loved it!

Beside Myself by Ann Morgan - This book- I don't even know what to say about it.  It was dark, haunting, and one of those books that just took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions.  I read this book for a TLC book tour (my stop is early next month) and I cannot wait to see other readers' thoughts on it.  It is one of those books that I really want to discuss.

Whew!  My reading year really has started off with a bang thanks to these three books.  I'm now currently reading the following book:

I haven't gotten very far into this one but I have high hopes for it.  It sounds really great and I just love a good romantic suspense!  I'm doing really great so far with reading the books that I picked out for January.  It has also helped narrow down my options a bit making it easier to decide on my next book.  I'm not going to lie- I still struggle a bit but that is because I can just be so indecisive.  LOL!

#Fit Readers Update- I'm on day eight of the 30 Day Shred video.  I've skipped two days which I wasn't happy about but obviously I was lacking the motivation.  I will be moving on to workout two this week which is going to make me work even harder.  I've also managed to get two runs in - both a little over a mile long.  Not great but if you understood how much I hate running on the treadmill then it would make more sense why I view this as an accomplishment.  I need to start working on two mile runs though if I want to hit my goal of 30 miles in January.  I've got lots of plans for this upcoming week apparently :)

New Books:

I've failed.  I couldn't stay off of NetGalley and have downloaded some new books this week.  In my defense I had ALREADY requested them before my ban (but then I may or may not have requested a few more).  It is a sickness I tell you.  LOL!  Here are the books that I added to my e-reader this week:

There were actually a couple of more but I will save them for next week's post.  Plans for today include a workout and laundry.  A little bit of cleaning and prepping for the upcoming week.  My normal Sunday plans.  We will be watching football and I will be working on getting some reviews written up.  I'm also hoping on visiting and catching up on all of the comments that have been left here lately.  I've been awful when it comes to responding- this is something that I would like to work on in 2016.  And a little bit of reading of course.  The read-a-thon might be officially over but I can still read like it isn't!  I'm off to get this day started.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

The Sunday Post (Playing Catch Up Edition)

"The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme"

Has it really been almost two weeks since my last post?  Yikes!  What have I been doing during my time away?  Things like this:  planting my garden, spending a weekend on the river, soccer, softball, and baseball games just to name a few.  And practices.  So many practices!  It has been nonstop almost every single day which has certainly kept me on my toes.  Things I haven't been doing:  blogging, commenting...and more blogging.  It is what it is I suppose although I managed to miss a book tour review date this past week.  That's never good but it happens and I am hoping to reschedule.  Today is going to be a good day though as I have absolutely nothing planned.  Woohoo for the little things that make me happy!

Reading is going slowly but steadily at times.  I'm still three books ahead of my Goodread's goal which I find absolutely amazing.  I'm in one of those phases where ALL of the books sound really good and I wish I was reading them all.  This means that I haven't quite settled on a new read for my kindle as I can't seem to make up my mind.  I've got lots of reviews to write and I'm hoping to work on a few of them today.  After I work out in my garden for a little while of course.  I have radishes growing already!!  I promise to try and share pictures soon because I am super proud of my little garden.

On to the books!  Here are the books that I have finished in the last couple of weeks (I think at least...I haven't been keeping very good track):

Demon's Vengeance by Jocelynn Drake - I've already shared my thoughts on this one here but suffice it to say that it was an excellent read.  I'm holding out hope that we possibly get another book but this is supposed to be a series ender. 

Disclaimer by Renee Knight - This was a really great thriller that I read as part of a blog tour for later this month.  I loved the premise for this one with the main character reading a book and realizing that is based on her own life.  Both dark and chilling and I will share more of my thoughts on it in a few weeks.

The Day Before by Liana Brooks - This was a fantastic read and one that I am so excited to share my thoughts on.  This is a futuristic mystery and a really compelling read that I couldn't put down.  I am super pumped though because I just found it that this is going to be a series and I definitely want to read more!  My review will posted as soon as I reschedule it as this was also supposed to be part of a  book blog tour.

Crossing Danger by Colleen Helme - I also read this one for a blog tour for later this week (and now I am all caught up for reading for tours in May) and it is part of an established mystery series.  This one was very unique as the main character can hear what everyone is thinking.  I feel like I missed out a bit not having read the previous books in the series but it was a pretty solid read.  I think I will try and go back to the beginning soon.

I'm now currently reading the following:

This book is the first in a mystery series and already has me hooked.  I'm really enjoying it so far and am hoping to get a bit further into it later today.

New Additions:

Oh boy!  I'm not even attempting to share the physical copies that have come into my house recently.  I really need to quit acquiring books and work on reading what I already have.  One of these four are most likely going to be my next Kindle read but I can't decide which one.  Which one would you choose if you had to decide??  Help a girl out here!

Plans for the day include laundry, gardening, cleaning, and review writing.  I have lots of plans as you can probably see.  I would also love to fit a run in and work on baking some muffins to munch on for the rest of the week.  Reading would be really great as well.  I'm off to get some of this started but I will be back to visit/comment later this afternoon.  Have a great Sunday and Happy Reading!!!