Fall Fun and Reading Plans

Fall is officially here and all of the fun that goes along with it.  It has been a great weekend so far albeit quite busy as usual!  We spent the better part of yesterday at a fundraiser softball tournament for two different families that we are friends with in memory of a very special little boy.  It turned a bit rainy at the end but it was great to spend the day with friends in support of a very good cause.  Today is football Sunday as usual which means for me lots of laundry, some blogging, and most definitely a bit of cleaning.  Before I get started on my kitchen floor though, I thought I should get my butt in gear and post about a few upcoming blogging events that I'm planning on participating in.

First up is the FrightFall Read-a-Thon that officially starts up tomorrow (and for me unofficially begins later today hopefully).  I already shared with you my recent ENORMOUS book haul which gives me a perfect excuse to sign up for this and get some books read!  I'm still reading the same books that I was last week so these two are my reading goals for this challenge.  And as they could be considered spooky reads they will fit in perfectly with this challenge.  I'm planning on reading both of these:

Any other books that I can read will certainly be great but I really, really want to finish both of these up!  I'm also signing up for my 1st ever Pin It and Do It Challenge!

I've always wanted to try and participate in one of these challenges hosted by the lovely Trish but haven't yet!  I'm starting small and signing up for the Timid Pinner level but I have high hopes for getting lots of pins accomplished.  The cooler weather always makes me want to bake (I should say attempt to bake) so I'm hoping to try a few pins that involve baking.  This is going to be lots of fun!

Whew!  I'm going to be one busy girl in the upcoming weeks.  I'm off to get some of my laundry done but I hope that you all have a wonderful week filled with lots of good books.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

Bookish Friday (Oh My!)

Remember when a couple of weeks ago I told you that I had basically shattered my book buying ban?  And it was true.  I completely managed to not only break it (using my birthday as an excuse) but went completely overboard on my bookish haul.  It was so much fun though that I can't really feel all that bad about it.  It was my birthday after all!  I'm apologizing in advance for the poor quality pictures but I was in a rush....and I never would have gotten this post finished otherwise!  I'm going to have to really be firm with myself in the upcoming months because no more books can fit on my shelves.  Seriously, it is a bit ridiculous but it is so easy to share with you guys since I'm sure you understand :)  First, let me share the books that I picked up at the used bookstore (and I still have $11.00 in credit so I did get rid of some books too in my defense):
 

 

So many good books here!  A few of these are going straight to my sister for her enjoyment but most of these are just waiting for me to read them (the Nora Robert's books).  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't excited to read them all but I'm especially excited for Island of the Lost Girls AND Crooked House.  I can't wait to get started on all of these but first let me show you what I also found at my local thrift shop:

 

This was the best deal EVER!  I got all of these books for ridiculously cheap...so cheap that I just couldn't resist!  I actually have read Dead Until Dark awhile back and wasn't blown away but for this price I figured I would try them again.  If I still don't like them I will pass them on to my sister or other friends.  Finally, let me show you the most recent review copies that are gracing my shelves.  I figured since I was sharing pictures of my latest bookish acquisitions then I should also share the review copies that I have received.  I've gathered these in the past couple of weeks (definitely not all at once but they are waiting patiently to be read):

Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about all of these books.  I'm also clapping my hands in glee with excitement :)  Netgalley and Edelweiss ban? Check! Library ban?  Check!  Used bookstore ban?  Check!  Now it is time to just read, relax, and enjoy!

Tell me...have you read ANY of these?  Which ones should I read first or would you recommend?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?? (September 23rd)

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!"

Good Morning and Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Mine went entirely too fast as usual but that wasn't a surprise.  Not much new to report on the life front.  Just a lot of work, homework with the kiddos, practices, and then rinse/repeat.  It keeps us all very busy which is why I'm starting to appreciate Sundays and Mondays which are now our only two quiet nights of the week.  It is such a relief to slow down just a bit before jumping back into the chaos once again :)

Last week was a quiet week for me here on the blog and after all of the Goodreads' madness I'm kind of glad.  I will admit that it left me feeling quiet and contemplative in terms of blogging in general.  Hence I just let the blog stay silent for the rest of the week.  What that meant though is that I managed to finish up two books!  Woohoo!  Last week I finished up the following two books:

Fatal Strike by Shannon McKenna was a fast paced romantic suspense that made me wish that I had started at the beginning of the series.  It was a pretty good read although I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I had the back story for all of the characters.  I'm hoping to write up my thoughts on this one soon!

How To Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman was a tense page-turning read but the ending left me with lots of unresolved feelings.  I'm going to have to mull over my feelings on this one a bit longer before writing up my thoughts on it.  I would love to discuss this one with others that have read it!

I'm currently reading the following two books:

I'm reading Backlash for an upcoming TLC book tour.  It's good so far but it is a pretty thick book so it will take me a bit to get through it.  I'm also reading Full Blooded on my e-reader.  I've just barely started this one but I'm already intrigued!  I'm hoping to get some quality reading time in with this one soon. 

Newest additions to my Ipad thanks to Edelweiss and NetGalley this week are:

     

I'm super excited to read both of these!  But I think that it is time to put myself on a NetGalley and Edelweiss ban until I catch up a bit :)  My reading list of books is a bit ridiculous at this point.  I'm sure you guys can all understand!  Maybe in November I will work on cleaning up my e-reader and getting some of those review copies read.  It's a good plan at least!

Happy Monday and Happy Reading!

The Arrangement by Mary Balogh (thoughts)

I basically jumped at the chance to read this book as I've heard lots of good reviews for Mary Balogh's books and wanted to give her a try myself.  The Arrangement was a pleasant read that I enjoyed but it was less than I expected it to be.  I'm not sure if I had too high of expectations (entirely possible) or if it was the fact that I just didn't quite connect to the book like I had hoped to.  Either way it ended up being a good read with more positives than negatives.

Sophia Fry lives a quiet almost non-existent life with her aunt and her aunt's family.  She keeps to herself entirely and has fallen into the trap of believing that she really is the mouse that others refer her to as.  That all changes when she makes the split decision to help stop the marriage trap set up to snare Vincent Hunt who is a wealthy viscount.  Soon after Sophia finds herself caught up in an arrangement that is basically out of her control.  Her choices are to get married to a man she barely knows or find herself out on the streets with nothing.  She decides to take a chance on marriage but how she will find happiness will be entirely up to her!

I went into reading this book not really knowing anything about it. It was a great way to read this book because this book was unexpected in so many ways.  Vincent and Sophia didn't instantly fall in love like so many other romance novels.  Instead it took time and trust before they really began to realize their feelings for one another.  I really appreciated that because it helped me to connect to the characters and it felt more realistic to me.  Vincent is blind which was also very unexpected as I obviously missed that from reading the summary.  I was a bit worried with how the author would portray his disability (and whether he would magically be able to see at some point) but in the end I thought she did a really nice job with it.  Vincent wasn't your typical hero and Sophia definitely wasn't your typical romance heroine but together they worked quite nicely!  I even found myself impatient at times because I was just so ready for them to find their happy ever after.  The one thing that they did lack as a couple was with communicating their feelings.  I wanted to shake them both at certain points of the book for just not telling the other one how they felt.  But the ending came about quite nicely which helped me to appreciate their relationship that much more. 

All of those things make it seem like I really liked the book and I did.  But I did have a few issues with it as well and the main one was Sophia's lack of self esteem.  I understood it to a certain point but I really wanted her to grow more in that regard.  It felt to me that it took others believing in her rather than herself before she started to grow in strength.  Her referring to herself constantly as a mouse (or even other characters in the book comparing her to one) annoyed me.  She was so much more than that and it was an issue for me that she didn't believe in herself more.  It was harder for me to connect with her as a character because of it.

Overall, I ended up really appreciating this book for a variety of reasons but the main one was because it was so unpredictable.  I really don't think I've read another historical romance like it!  I love the concept of The Survivor's Club and will be going back to read the first book in this series.  I'm also eager to see which of the survivors book three will be about.  I would recommend this book to historical romance fans that want something a bit different compared to your typical romance read.  Because in the end even though this book had some faults, it was a still a pretty darn good read!

Bottom Line:  A romance that took its time building but was worth it in the end!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of a TLC Book Tour.  Thoughts are my own as always!

There Was an Old Woman by Hallie Ephron (thoughts)

There Was an Old Woman was one of those reads that left me sitting on the fence when it comes to my feelings on it.  I enjoyed it for the most part but was left wanting by the end of the novel.  And while this book didn't blow me out of the water it left me interested in reading more by this author. 

Evie Ferrante gets the call that she both half expects/dreads.  Her alcoholic mother is in the hospital for what seems to possibly be the last time.  The only difference is that this time it is up to Evie and not her sister to go clean up the messes that their mother has left.  When Evie gets to her dying mother's house though, many weird questions arise.  Where did her mother get all of the money that Evie finds hidden in the house?  Why does it seem like someone besides Evie and her mother has been there?  And what was her mother up to before she fell into this alcohol induced coma?  Evie's mother's neighbor might have some of the answers except she is an elderly woman that seems to have lots of her own problems.  It will be up to Evie to figure out what is going on before someone really gets hurt!

There Was an Old Woman both worked and didn't work for me.  The best part of the book was that it really made me think.  Mina Yetner is Evie's mom's elderly neighbor that everyone thinks is senile and going slightly crazy.  She has a hard time getting people to listen to her and take her seriously which makes her begin to question herself.  It's a valid topic as there are many of the elderly that are mistreated and not really valued as people nowadays which is just sad.  Mina played a key role in this novel and I really, really liked her character.  It was because of her that I liked this book as much as I did. She had me turning the pages faster and faster towards the end wanting to see how it would all play out. I thought that the author did a really solid job of fleshing out her character and the history of the airplane crash (and how it related to her) really added to the book!  In fact if the author had based the book completely around her I might have had a different and slightly more enjoyable reading experience.

What didn't work for me was that the book was slightly predictable at times.  I had two of the bad guys picked out almost from the very beginning.  I also guessed as to what was going on with the main storyline pretty early on.  From the summary given on Goodreads I figured this book would be a bit more creepy then it actually was or more intense.  And it was intense at the end but for different reasons.  Mainly because I wanted to know that everything was going to be okay for Mina.  I also struggled a bit with the ending.  It just seemed to lack that extra punch that I was hoping for.  Again that comes around to the predictability factor which really detracted from my full enjoyment of this book.

Overall while I didn't love this book I did like it enough that I want to try this author again.  In fact, I've already got another of her books sitting on my shelves.  I think that there are going to be people that love this book more than I did.  But for me the predictability and lack of suspense really stopped me from loving this book. This ended up being one of those books that was good but not great.  Mina's character alone made the book for me, and I definitely appreciate a book that makes me think (both positives).  In the end I would recommend it but with a few reservations. 

Bottom Line:  A suspenseful read, a good read, but just not a great read.

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher courtesy of Edelweiss.  Thoughts are my own!

Wordless Wednesday (First Days)

 

 

I'm a bit late sharing but it was a lot of firsts this year.  First day of junior high for my oldest and first day of kindergarten for my Nay Nay!  I'll admit that I cried but just a little (and with a smile on my face).  My babies are getting so big :)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 9th)

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!"

Happy Monday everyone!  I took an unintentional week off of blogging and am now feeling refreshed.  Although I have so many different posts rolling around in my head now that I almost had a bit of blogger's block...until I settled on sharing what I've been reading with all of you.

Things have gotten a little bit more busy/hectic at the Booked on a Feeling casa as of late.  Football started which means practice four nights a week and games on Saturday.  Add in soccer practice (on the one night where my oldest doesn't have practice) and games on Saturday as well and you can probably feel my pain.  LOL!  Actually, it has been VERY busy but also a TON of fun!  Practices are also good times to get some uninterrupted reading time in which I have been taking advantage of.  My poor house is suffering though so I'm going to have to focus this week on whipping it back into presentable shape.  Ugh!  Let's talk about what I've finished reading as of recently though.  In the past two weeks I've finished the following books:

 

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews was a reread for me and it was even better the second time around!  I can't figure out now after finishing it why I never continued on to the second book.  That's definitely going to change and I'm already planning on grabbing book two from the library the next time I'm there.  This is kick ass urban fantasy and I highly recommend (but more to come in my review).

The Burning by Jane Casey was an interesting mystery that is the beginning to the Maeve Kerrigan series.  The book had a few ups and downs for me but overall was done quite nicely.  This was also my first read for Carl's R.I.P. Challenge so I should be writing up my thoughts shortly.  Another book that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton was my final read for last week and yet another great installment to the Kinsey Millhone alphabet series.  I have loved each and every one of the books in this series so far so I'm a bit biased.  This one was quite creepy at times though since Kinsey is being hunted by a contract killer and was my second read for the R.I.P. Challenge.  I'm on a roll and it is just the beginning of September!

I'm currently reading the following books:

I'm already halfway through Fatal Strike by Shannon McKenna.  It's pretty good so far although I'm wishing I had started with the first book in this quite long series.  I didn't realize it was part of a series until I was already engrossed though so it looks like I will just have to start at the beginning AFTER I finish this one.  Today I'm also finally beginning The Tale of Halcyon Crane which has been on my TBR list for years.  I'll have to let you know what I think about it next week since I actually haven't started it yet.

I've been horribly bad when it comes to acquiring books as of late...so bad that I'm going to have to do a book haul post to share about them all.  LOL!  My book buying ban didn't just fall to pieces but was shattered.  Oops!  I would feel kind of bad about it if I didn't have so many great sounding books staring back at me.  Instead I will share a few books that I have added to my new e-reader (yay!):

I may have requested a few more than this but we will see.  And since I also got Fatal Strike from NetGalley I suppose I should include that down here as well.  Maybe if I tell you guys about the books that I get from NetGalley and Edelweiss it will help keep me in check.  That's the plan at least :)

Happy Monday and Happy Reading!