The Sunday Post #62 (The Germs 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"

Happy Sunday everyone!  It's a gloomy day here with rain, sleet, and the possibility of snow as well later this afternoon.  It has been a hectic couple of weeks which helps to explain the lack of posts.  My youngest came down with pneumonia first (and my husband was sick at the same time).  I then came down with some sort of virus the following week.  My oldest son tested positive for influenza the week after.  Germs, germs, germs I tell you!  I didn't even open a book the week I was sick because basically all I did was cough.  It was rough but we all (fingers crossed) seem to be on the mend now with it passing my daughter by completely and thankfully!

In bookish news, I finished my first five star read of the year this weekend which was VERY exciting.  I'm currently ahead on my Goodreads challenge which means that I'm off to a solid start.  There are a ton of books that are on my radar that I really, really want to read.  It's just finding the time that is the hardest sometimes.  I'm already starting to fall a bit behind on reviews so that is something I'm planning on working on later today.  I would love to get a couple of reviews scheduled out but I'm also wanting to curl up with a book - we will see which one ends up winning out.

So far this month I have finished the following two books:

The Third To Die by Allison Brennan was an enjoyable and suspenseful read with a hint of a romance.  I really liked this one although there were times that it felt like I was missing backstory (despite this being the 1st book in the series).  I'm curious if this book relates to any of her other books or series which might explain the missing pieces more.  I should be sharing my full thoughts on this one later this week.

In The Dark by Loreth Anne White was my first five star read of 2020!  It was SO GOOD you guys!  I'm not sure why I haven't heard more about this author or this book because I have all of the feelings.      I saw a review of this book on Instagram and was instantly intrigued.  I went ahead and requested it from the library, and I'm thrilled that I did!  Expect a full gushing review of this one but to just tease you a bit - this book is based off of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.  That's all I needed to hear before I knew that this was going to be a must read for me!

I'm now currently reading the following two books:

Egg Drop Dead is my current kindle read courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.  This is the 5th book in the Noodle Shop cozy mystery series.  I'm not too far in yet but I'm already enjoying myself. This is a delightful cozy mystery series and this book releases later this month.  In print, I'm getting ready to begin reading The Shape of Family by Shilpi Somaya Gowda which is a review copy courtesy of the publisher.  This isn't my typical sort of read but I really want to push my reading boundaries and genres this year so I'm looking forward to reading it!  It sounds like it might be heartbreaking but I'm ready for it!

My plans for today are pretty open other than I'm planning on cooking breakfast for dinner.  I would like to write up a few reviews like I said previously.  I would like to also read my book for awhile.  I also need to get everything taken care of to start off the week on the right foot.  Honestly, I might end up doing a mix of all three and call it a successful day!  I hope you all are enjoying a good book or two to start off your week as well.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

The Sunday Post #60 (Reading Rambles 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"

Happy Sunday readers!  I took a much needed blogging break (and even a bit of a bookstagramming break off and on) this past month.  Yesterday I started scheduling out posts for the new year though with two reviews written and scheduled.  I'm pretty impressed with myself on that one LOL!  I have lots of goals and reading plans for my 2020 reading year but I'm going to save that for another post.  I do hope to blog more consistently in the new year which means I need to get back in the habit of blogging and writing up posts on a more regular basis.  And scheduling out reviews because let's face it - they don't get done otherwise.

What else is new around here?  I signed up for Kindle Unlimited recently - honestly I'll probably only keep it for the three months where it is .99 rather than $9.99.  I mean I already have a ridiculous number of books on my e-reader so I can't see keeping this for longer than that.  I'm just excited to use this to read some books that are on my TBR list that I can't get from my library system.  I'm looking for authors to check out though so if you have any suggestions for me, definitely leave them in the comments.  I also put the call out on Twitter and Bookstagram in the hopes of getting some great suggestions.

In reading news, I'm currently reading the following books:

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison is my current e-book read thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.  I'm reading this one as part of a blog tour set up by the publisher.  I'm only about 40% in so far but I'm enjoying it.  I think that I'm going to really focus on this one and hopefully it will end up being my last read of the new year.

Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis is a review copy courtesy of the publisher and my current print read.  I've only just started this one but am already really enjoying it.  You know a book is going to be good when you find yourself grinning at it while reading and laughing out loud.  There is a very good chance that this one is going to roll over into the new year but I'm okay with that!

My plans for today are the usual for Sundays and that means laundry, laundry, laundry.  I would love to get another review written up and scheduled.  It's also the last Bears game of the season so I will be curled up watching that while also reading my book.  I am also hoping to get started on my top reads list for the new year because it's about that time!  (Side note: who else LOVES this time of year with all of the best of lists - my library holds list would be 100% full if I wasn't working my hardest at self control!)

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

The Sunday Post #56 (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"

Good morning everyone!  Happy Mother's Day to those who are mothers in whatever form that takes.  If you haven't noticed I've been hitting you guys with lots of reviews (for me at least) this week.  I didn't realize how far behind I was starting to get so I'm working on catching up with reviews.  I'm hoping to post at least two more this week.  May has started off as a strong reading month for me.  I've finished three books already which I feel like is better than previous months so far this year.  Hopefully I can keep up the reading pace!

Life has been pretty busy otherwise.  We are at either a baseball or softball tournament every weekend (or both more often than not).  During the week there are practices and league games as well as a multitude of other things.  Thankfully, we are getting down to the end of the school year.  My kids are more than ready to be done with school and for summer break to begin.  I'm just enjoying it all because it always goes by so fast.  Not much else new otherwise.  I'm just going to share the books I've finished in May since it has been awhile since my last reading update.  I've actually been pretty spotty on my posting this year - if you want to hear my thoughts on books more consistently check out my Instagram account (@samsbooks1020).  I am on there more often talking books then anywhere else.

In May I have finished the following books:

Only Ever Her by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen was such an enjoyable read - I actually posted my thoughts on this one earlier this week.  Check them out here if you are interested.  I'm really looking forward to checking out more by this author as I enjoyed this one so much.

The Night Visitors by Carol Goodman was another really great read.  I plan on posting my thoughts on this one later this week.  It was the perfect reminder of why I enjoy Goodman's books so much. I really need to catch up with the rest of her backlist!  She has such a way with creating these suspenseful and tense books that I can't get enough of.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse is a book that I just finished last night between innings during my daughter's softball game.  It was really good and left me very excited to read the next book in the series which just recently released.  I hope that we will continue to learn more details about this new world as the series goes on.  I really enjoyed it and will be sharing my full thoughts on this one as well in the near future.

I'm now currently reading the following books:

Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne is my current read on my e-reader.  I'm reading it as part of a blog tour later this month.  I'm enjoying it so far and am about 29% into it so hopefully I will get some quality reading time with it this week.  In print I'm getting ready to begin reading The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair.  This is the beginning to a new historical mystery series that releases next month.  I've been in the mood for a historical mystery so I'm planning on diving into this one later this afternoon.

Plans for today are pretty much nothing besides relaxing and enjoying a quiet Sunday.  My husband is cooking an early lunch/late breakfast for me and then I may roll my lazy self out of bed.  Or not - it has been such a busy few weeks that I may just sit here all day.  LOL!  I would love to get a few of those reviews I've been talking about written.  And maybe a load of laundry or two if I'm motivated at all.  The kids do need clean clothes this week at some point.  Ha!  I hope that you all have a wonderful, relaxing day as well.  Take care of yourself in whatever form or shape that takes!!

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

The Sunday Post #53 (2019 Goals 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"

Happy Sunday everyone!  We are in the last Sunday of 2018 which basically means that I've been thinking about my reading goals for the upcoming year for weeks.  Yep, I'm a bit nutty like that!  In 2018, I focused on tracking my reading with a goal of 75 books read.  I'm not going to make it but I came close at 71 books read for the year.  I've been tracking my reading now since I started my blog and I think this number is pretty average to what I usually read.  Last year I only finished 59 books but the two years before I finished 80 each year.  I have never quite hit that golden number of 100 yet - the closest I have come is back in 2009 when I was able to finish 93 books.  I really haven't come that close since then.  I'm planning on working on wrapping up my 2018 reading year in a different post hopefully in the coming week.  I will also be sharing my top reads for 2018 soon as well.  Even though I don't think that I'll finish another book this year, I will wait until January 1st just to be sure.

Back to my reading goals for 2019 though!  I feel like I had a solid year of reading in 2018 so I would like to continue that trend in the new year.  I haven't quite settled on my Goodreads goal yet - do I aim high and shoot for an eighty book year which is more than I read this year?  Or do I lower my goal so that I am able to put less pressure on myself number wise and put more of a focus on the quality of what I'm reading?  Honestly, I just want to enjoy what I'm reading so really I'm not too stressed otherwise.  I do have some reading goals that I would like to meet though which include the following:

• Read one book a month from my TBR list - I did this in 2018 as well and was moderately successful.  I created a list of 50 books that had been on my TBR list since at least 2017 (no new 2018 releases included) and used the random number generator to pick a book off of my list to read.  I just didn't consistently try to read a book off of this list as much as I hoped that I would.  For the new year I have bumped up that list of books to one hundred and added any 2018 releases that I wanted to read but didn't get to.  I'm really hoping to make a dent in my TBR pile with this goal.  My first book for this goal in the new year will be Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower which is the beginning to a cozy mystery series that I've been wanting to try!
• Read more nonfiction - I add nonfiction books to my TBR list at an alarming rate when you consider how little of it I actually end up reading during the year.  I only read one nonfiction book this past year which is just pitiful.  There are SO many great sounding nonfiction reads out there so I really want to make an effort to read more of them in the new year!
• Share about each book that I read - This is one goal that I really, really want to focus on in the new year!  I've been horrible in writing up reviews this year and sharing my thoughts on books.  Honestly, I'm hoping that I'll continue working on catching up with my 2018 reviews in the new year but who knows if that will actually happen.  I would really like to do better with this in 2019!  Now that I'm on Instagram I'm also hoping to share about EVERY book that I read there as well as on Litsy!  I don't feel the need to write up reviews for rereads or books that are part of long series but I would like to share about them on these sites.  

And that's just about it!  There are other things - focus on reading more diversely and stretching my reading a bit more.....but these are my main three goals.  I'm going to continue to reread and binge on my favorite series.  I'm going to continue to switch up genres and try to keep my reading feeling fresh.  I'm sure that I'm going to try and read the many 2019 releases that sound absolutely amazing (and are already adding to my TBR list).  I love the fresh start feeling that a new year always brings!  And I'm excited to bring that feeling to my reading in the new year!  What goals do you have for your reading in the new year?

A quick reading update though before I wrap this post up...

The Long Goodnight (The Grimm Files) by Selene Charles will most likely be my last read of 2018.  I am such a HUGE fan of this series at this point and am anxiously awaiting the third book.  I'll be sharing my thoughts on this one soon but I recommend it!

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen will be my first read of 2019 but I'm starting it this afternoon.  The hype on this one is huge so I can't wait to check it out for myself!  I received a copy of this book from the publisher and have been saving it to read until closer to the release date.  This book releases in January so I'm ready to finally crack it open and jump in.  I'm in the mood for a good thriller so I'm excited to begin!

I'm off to relax for the day!  I just want to wish all of you a wonderful year in 2019!  Thank you for always stopping by and commenting - and just being my reading friends!

The Sunday Salon: Rambly Reading

Good morning everyone!  I'm writing this post up early as I have family coming in town this weekend so we will be busy, busy.  I don't have a lot new going on otherwise.  The kids start school in less than two weeks which means we are shopping for school clothes, shoes, and school supplies.  Work has been busy.  The garden is doing well although I keep wondering if I could do it better.  Or bigger?  I'm seriously considering adding another box next year.  LOL!  Other than all that, really this past week was just quite ordinary which made it wonderful.

It has been awhile since my last reading update but I think that instead of sharing everything, I will just catch you up with what I have been reading in the past week or so.  I have big reading plans for the month of August and so far I'm managed to finish two books so that is a pretty good start.  Here is what I have recently finished reading:

 

Remains of Innocence by J.A. Jance - I read this as part of a blog tour, and my review will be up later this month.  I will tell you that I liked it and am eager to read more books in this series.

 Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts - I just finished this one and I enjoyed it so much more than the first.  While it still doesn't compare to some of my favorites by Nora this was definitely an improvement over the first book in this trilogy.  I cannot wait for the final book to release!

I am currently reading the following two books:

The Butcher is my current print read and I don't really know what to think about it yet.  I have a bad feeling about what is going to happen (not that I think the book is bad)....it isn't going to be good I can tell you that. 

The Night Visitor is my current read on my ipad, and I literally just started it.  I am participating in a book tour next month for it so I thought I would go ahead and give it a try. 

I have also been lucky enough to receive a few good books for review:

Paranormal romance anyone?  I am super excited to read both of these books and start two new series (as I am a series addict).  Thanks to the publisher for sending these both my way!  I am also looking forward to sharing about my latest library books but I will save that for another post. 

Now I am off to spend some quality time with the family and hopefully fit in a little bit of reading here and there.  What books have you received recently that you are looking forward to reading?? 

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

The Sunday Salon - A Bookish Update

Good morning everyone!  I've been enjoying a relaxed weekend at home which means I am just sitting here this morning drinking coffee while writing up this post.  Perfect way to start my Sunday!  There is a Harry Potter marathon going on this weekend so I've been watching that off and on since Friday.  Such fun!  It makes me want to reread these books yet again though which I just may do.  We also began season 5 of Breaking Bad last night.  This show just gets crazier and crazier!  At this point I am basically rooting for Jesse and that is about it.  I said to my husband that they could have ended everything with season 4 (and I would have been satisfied) but now I'm realizing they left more open than I thought.  What a crazy show!

My reading is trucking along even though I have been feeling very indecisive when it comes to what I want to read next.  I almost need something to focus on to help me pick my next read.  A random generator?  A pile of books to choose from?  I don't know but I will tell you that I am gravitating towards favorites.  Right now I am binge reading a favorite urban fantasy series and I'm leaning towards rereading a favorite zombie trilogy next.  Last year I reread the first two books in Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy so that I could finally read the last book.  Then I never shared by thoughts on Blackout.  Yesterday I was at the library grabbing the next Kate Daniel's book (Magic Rises) when I saw Grant's books just sitting there.  I could not resist bringing Blackout home with me.  The question is do I read all three of them again or just the last one??  I can't seem to decide!  Anyways, here are the books that I have recently finished:

Conspiracy in Death by J.D. Robb-  Reread and one of the better books in this series by far.  We really see Eve struggle in this one, and I had forgotten just how good this book was.  I flew through it!

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews- Kate and Curran!  Sigh!  I am loving this series so much!  I finished this one in a matter of days and was instantly wishing for more.  So I went to the library and grabbed the next one which I couldn't help but begin.

That's why I am currently only reading the following:

I've basically set everything else that I was reading (The Wicked Girls and The Stone Bull) aside to just read this one.  Honestly, I should be able to finish this one today at some point.  I'm getting close to the end and usually there comes a time in these books where you just HAVE to finish.  There is no setting them down.  I'm pretty sure that I am at the point.  Good stuff!

Coming up next??  One of my countless review books.  Going back to one of the books that I have already started?  Or the entire Newsflesh trilogy.  Or the next Kate Daniels book.  I can't seem to decide but I will worry about that later.  This week I am hoping to knock out a few reviews and hopefully a garden update.  You guys would not believe how much it has grown since the last time that I shared!  I'm off to get my day started.  I hope everyone has a great Sunday and rest of the week!

Happy Reading!

The Sunday Salon: Beginning Books

Good morning everyone!  This past week has been a quiet one for me on the blogging front which is sometimes needed.  It was also a quiet week in our every day life with just work and ball games for the majority of it.  The garden continues to grow and also continues to be a very rewarding experience.  So far we have eaten fresh lettuce from it, radishes, and cherry tomatoes.  My daughter loves to point out the new things that she discovers growing each day.  I will definitely be doing this again for years to come!

I don't have a lot more to share other than the books that I've been reading.  This weekend I was in a finicky mood and kept starting books.  Seriously, I started three before I finally settled on one.  As I plan on reading them all, I have lots of reading ahead of me.  But that isn't different from any other day :)  I have a bunch of books that I have finished since I last posted a reading update.  Here are the books that I have finished since then:

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane was just as good as the other book that I read in this series.  I liked seeing how Forensic Instincts began but especially enjoyed seeing the beginnings of some of the relationships between the main characters.  This is an author that I will be reading more of!

The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters was a delightful read!  This series just keeps getting better and I am only on the third book!  This one had me laughing out loud at times and turning the pages as fast as I could at others.  I adore this series and cannot wait to get my hands on the fourth book :)  I cannot sing the praises of these books enough!

Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb was a reread for me but still oh so good!  I love the earlier books in Robb's series where we are still getting to know some of the main characters.  I flew through the pages of this one in a matter of days, and was instantly ready to start on the next one.  This series are comfort reads for me that I turn to whenever I am feeling a reading slump coming on.  I probably won't end up reviewing this book as these are rereads and there is only so much you can say about a series without giving something away.

Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart was oh so good!  So, soooo, good!  It instantly put me into a gothic romance mood and I've been scouring the internet for more authors just like this.  The first book by Stewart I liked (a lot!) but this book I just loved!  I cannot wait to share my thoughts on this one!

I'm currently reading one too many books including the following:

I started The Wicked Girls because I was in the mood for a good thriller and Stephen King recommended this author.  Seriously?  How could I not want to read it after that?  But then I realized that I was still craving something gothic and older so I downloaded The Stone Bull for free onto my ipad thanks to Open Library.  Both were moving along well for me until I stopped in at the library yesterday to return some books and grabbed Conspiracy in Death to take home with me.  This promptly meant that I dropped everything to crack this one open.  I'm shaking my head at myself even as I type this.  So now I somehow have three books that I am currently attempting to read all at once.  Wow.

This week is probably going to fly by thanks to the upcoming holiday weekend.  I have family coming in town so it might continue to be quiet here on the blog.  Or not as I am in the mood to write up a couple of blog posts.  It just all depends on how much I get accomplished today.  I hope that everyone has a great week filled with a couple of good books.

Happy Reading!

The Sunday Salon: Back to Normal?

A week back from Disney and I'm just now starting to feel like we are getting back to normal.  Or our version of it, anyways :)  There is nothing like coming back from vacation and then jumping in both feet first with all of the craziness.  We had baseball games, soccer games, practices, and all sorts of other of fun stuff to keep up with.  My suitcases are unpacked though and my house is clean.  I just need to really dig into my laundry piles.  Happily enough, we also spent yesterday planning and planting my very first garden.  I went completely overboard (when do I not do this?) and bought too many vegetables to plant.  I'm planning a post to share with you all hopefully for later this week.  It is going to be a lot of work but I'm sure that it will be completely worth it (the garden not the post..haha!)

It has been a few weeks though since I have updated you on the books I've been reading.  And even though I haven't been reading as  much as usual, I do have books to share with you.  I've actually been in the blogging mood lately so hopefully I can get some posts written up.  I have TONS of reviews that I need to write. Now I just need to find some quiet time to actually write them.  Since I last shared I have finished the following books:

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire- I loved this one!  I had it languishing on my book shelves for way too long but thank goodness that I finally changed that.  This is one of my favorite authors (as Mira Grant) for many reasons but the main one is she isn't afraid to put her characters thru the ringer.  She always does the unexpected and this book reflected that.  I had a hard time putting it down and cannot wait to pick up book two.

Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes- I read this one as part of a TLC book tour and have already shared my thoughts here.  It was a great beginning to this new series, and it cemented my love for this author's writing.  She seems to have a dark side to her books but always in a way that really makes them suspenseful.  I cannot wait for the second book to come out!

Something About You by Julie James- Another book that I really enjoyed.  I'm always on the lookout for good romantic suspense reads and this one fit that mold perfectly.  I loved the tension between the two main characters, but I especially loved the heat that they created.  I should have given this author a try way before now because this one didn't disappoint.  This is yet another author that I plan to read more of!

All Day and a Night by Alafair Burke- I just finished this one on Friday, and it was a great way to end the week.  I've read two books by this author previously but never any from this series.  I will be rectifying that now because this was one of those mysteries that you just don't want to put down.  There is something about this author's writing that really sucks me in as the reader.  I enjoy being immersed in her stories!  I read this book out of order (it's the 6th one I believe) but it didn't detract from my reading enjoyment at all.  I will be writing up my thoughts on this one hopefully this week.

I'm currently reading the following book:

I've been wanting to read this one since it was released but I am just now getting to it.  As I checked it out from the library (and it is due back soon) I decided to pick it up yesterday.  Especially since I was completely waffling on what book I wanted to read after finishing All Day and a Night.  But that is a post in itself, I'm thinking :)

Today's plans include laundry, watering my garden, and taking my daughter to t-ball pictures.  I need to get organized for the week as well considering we have a lot going on before the upcoming long weekend.  I'm hoping to write up a few reviews and maybe upload my pictures from Disney.  Do you think that I can get all of that done on my one lazy day of the week?  I sure hope so!

So tell me, what are you doing on this beautiful Sunday? 

The Sunday Salon: Reading Randomness

Happy Sunday!  Whew, I feel like these last two weeks flew by in a blur.  It was a lot of go, go, go and not a lot of down time.  That's okay because today is going to be one of those rare quiet days where we have absolutely nothing going on.  Priceless!  Although the last two weeks were super busy, I managed to fit in a fair amount of reading in there.  That's a positive!  The flu ran through our house though which was definitely not fun.  My youngest had it the worst, and he is just now starting to act like himself again.  What else?  Oh yes, my oldest son was outside practicing baseball and managed to get a black eye after missing a pop fly.  Just in time for school pictures.  LOL!  I just may have to buy one to keep.  Other than that it was a just a normal albeit busy two weeks.

In 2014, I have already managed to read 28 books including graphic novels and audios.  That is fantastic for me and means that I'm six books ahead of my goal to read eighty books (according to Goodreads).  I was pretty happy with that number until I realized that I really haven't settled down with a good chunky read yet.  This is going to have to change!  I have a bunch of longer books that I want to read but never actually take the time to read.  I've already made my reading plans for this month but in May I shall be picking one large book that I want to focus on.  Because I know that I constantly say that I want to read ALL of the books, but really my focus is quality over quantity.  I could be missing out by not reading some of those longer books off of my TBR list.  I haven't decided yet which book that I want to read but possibles include It by Stephen King, Parasite by Mira Grant, and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.   I'm open to suggestions if you have any other big books that you've loved recently.

On to the books I finished in the last two weeks which were:

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts- This was a good read for me but it didn't suck me in like other trilogies of hers have.  It was good enough that I definitely want to read the next book, but I was glad that I waited for my library to get a copy.  I feel like I liked it better then some other reviews I've seen, but it wasn't as great as I hoped.  Review to come.

Summoning the Night by Jenn Bennett-  This is good urban fantasy and was a great read!  I love the characters, love the unique storylines, and always find myself eager to grab the next book.  In fact, I'm already putting the third book on hold at the library because I want to read it NOW.  I will be reviewing this one very soon!

Pies and Prejudice by Ellery Adams- This was a cute beginning to a cozy mystery series with some paranormal aspects.  I almost instantly found myself caught between the pages but the ending of the book was a bit of a let down.  I'm hoping that the next book in the series will give us more of the answers that I didn't find from this book.  I'll be writing up my thoughts on this one as well.

The Walking Dead: Volume 3, Safety Behind Bars by Robert Kirkman- I'm so loving reading these comics.  I never know what to expect, and they are getting darker and more intense as I go on.  This one left off with a cliffhanger so I'm putting the next one on hold asap!  I just hope that it comes in fast at the library.  I probably will wait to share my thoughts on this one until I have at least read one more volume.  So review to come.

I'm currently reading the following:

I haven't even had the chance to crack this one open yet but it will be my next read.  I've been meaning to start this one for ages (in fact according to Goodreads I added it to my TBR list back in 2011).  I'm finally pulling it off of my shelves, and am ready to see what the buzz about this series is all about.  Up next will possibly be this one:

Squee!!  I saw this on NetGalley and instantly requested it.  I just loaded it onto my ipad so I'm ready to go.  This may be my MOST anticipated read for 2014 so I will not be waiting long to read it.  Yay, yay, yay!  Happy days!

Plans for today include laundry and reading.  That's it!  It's raining outside, my house is clean (mostly), and I have nothing else planned.  I shall blog, read, and then maybe blog so more!  It sounds perfect!  What are you doing on this rainy Sunday?

Happy Reading!

The Sunday Salon: A Reading Update

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!  The sun is shining, the kids are already playing outside (I shall go join them soon), and spring finally feels like it is here to stay.  I've got my fingers crossed that it really will stay but I'm not sure that the weather forecasters agree.  It doesn't matter as I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts!

I've got lots and lots of stuff going on this week as the upcoming sports seasons starts for my older two kiddos.  What this means is that EVERY single night this week my kids have practice for something.  Seriously!?!  Luckily, we get to skip Friday as we are going out of town for the weekend but it is overwhelming to think about.  I have no clue when I am going to get anything done.  It should be interesting as we all adjust.  It does mean that I should have plenty of reading time while I watch practices, but I will have to wait to see if that actually happens.  Anyways, last week I skipped out on catching you up with the books that I have finished recently so that's what I'm going to share about today.  Here are the books that I've finished since I last updated you:

Deceiving Lies by Molly McAdams - Was an interesting sequel that left me with mixed emotions.  You can see my full thoughts on it here.

The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters - Has solidified my love for this series!  I loved this one just as much as the first book.  I would already be reading the third if it was on my shelves.  Since it isn't, I will remedy that soon!  I'm going to try to write a double review for the this book and the first soon.

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews - This series just keeps getting better!  This was my favorite book so far but I just cannot wait to continue on with the next book.  A must read urban fantasy series for me!  Review to come soon as well.

Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke - Was one of those books that starts off slowly but by the end....oh my goodness!  I've been holding off on reading other people's reviews, but now that I'm finished I can't wait to see what everyone else thinks about it!  I read this one for a TLC book tour and my thoughts will be posted on April 9th.

I also finished two audiobooks recently thanks to my Harry Potter addiction.  I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as well as Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  Both were excellent ways to re-experience this series.  I cannot get over how many of the details I had forgotten but there are many.  I'm going to be a bit lost when I finish the last book on audio.  I suppose it just means that I will have to listen to them all again :)

I'm currently reading Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith.  Steampunk and vampires?  Heck yeah!  I'm kicking myself for letting this one languish on my shelves for so long.  It is really good so far!

I'm not sure what I will be reading next but it will probably be off my April stack of possibilities.  There are just SO MANY books that I would like to be reading right now.  The choices are endless.

Today's plans include the Harry Potter marathon, a run (since I've been failing miserably with this), and my usual loads of laundry.  I'm going to try and get ahead with my blog posting for the next two weeks but I really don't know if it will happen or not.  Otherwise, I might just go blog silent again.  We will see how motivated I get!  Plus, season finale of The Walking Dead tonight!!!!!!!!!  I can't.  I have no words.  Just please don't kill any of my favorite characters!

What are your plans for this week?  Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!