The Sunday Post #43 (Snow 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!  It has been quite the hectic week here - and I'm currently savoring the quiet and my coffee this Sunday morning.  As the title suggests, we have been getting snow here like crazy.  It almost feels like we got some sort of accumulation every day this week (that's a slight exaggeration but we have gotten a lot).  My exercise time has been shoveling my driveway once or twice a day.  I may be weird in this but I actually enjoy shoveling.  The snow's falling again this morning so I'm sure I will be out there later this afternoon yet again.

I'm not really sure where my week went - it feels like it just flew by.  In reality I was busy cooking dinner, helping with homework, cleaning, working, and a million other things.  There is nothing that can show how much my husband helps around the house more than when he has only one good arm and can't assist with some of these things.  I'm spoiled to say the least!  It was a good week though so no more complaining.  I've managed to finish two books since my last reading post.  That sounds really impressive considering but really I just finished one late last night, and the other was finished last Saturday night but after my Sunday post had been written.  So kind of a slower reading week but I will take two books read any time!  I'm currently ahead on my Goodread's goal too which is a nice change of pace since last year.  Last week I finished the following books:

Look For Her by Emily Winslow is for an upcoming PICT Blog tour.  I really enjoyed this one despite not realizing that it was book four in the series when I started.  It's a unique mystery and I will be working on scheduling my thoughts on this one for February 21st.

Lost Girls by Angela Marsons is book three in one of my favorite mystery series.  I enjoyed this book immensely and was reminded why I love this series so much!  I need to move on the book four sooner rather than later because these books are so good.  I will also be writing up my thoughts on this one soon.

I'm now currently reading the following:

The Unleashing by Shelly Laurenston is my print read and one that I've only just begun.  Like I've literally only read the first couple of pages.  I've been meaning to try this author and series for awhile now.  I was listening to an older episode of the podcast Smart Podcast Trashy Books and they mentioned this series and how good it was.  It was enough of a push to make me want to start reading this one and check it out for myself.  Be A Good Girl by Tess Diamond will be my next read on my Kindle and is also one that I haven't yet begun.  I actually just settled on this one to read but I'm looking forward to it.  It's so hard sometimes to choose what you want to read next when there are so many great books waiting!

New Additions:

Sigh....I told you last week that I had more I needed to share about, didn't I?  On a positive note, I stayed completely away from both NetGalley and Edelweiss this week other than giving feedback on books finished.  I'm counting that as a win as my virtual bookshelves are absolutely groaning with all of these new books.  But the new Mary Torjussen and Peter Swanson!!  I'm excited for ALL of these so I'm not really complaining.  I just need to find the time to read them all!

Plans for today include laundry and shoveling and not much else.  I'll probably get things done around the house so that my week goes a bit more smoothly than last week (putting laundry away would definitely help).  I have at least two reviews that I would like to get written and scheduled.  Honestly, more than anything though I plan on watching the Olympics and curling up with a book.  It sounds heavenly!  I'm off to get that laundry started though before my piles topple over.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

The Sunday Post #42 (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"

It's Saturday afternoon here and I'm trying to soak up the quiet after a very hectic two weeks.  I missed last week's post as it was a very busy weekend and I just didn't get the chance to blog at all.  We had a softball fundraiser last Saturday night which was such a fun time but also a very busy one.  Monday morning my husband had shoulder surgery for the third time (and we are hoping the last).  The doctor had to do a lot more work  than we had hoped he would have to which means a longer recovery time.  By Tuesday evening, my daughter wasn't feeling well which meant a two hour trip to the doctor the next day.  Everything came back okay (she had been complaining about a sore throat) so I wasn't too worried.  Then yesterday she woke up with a fever on top of all of her other symptoms so back to the doctor we went.  Not only did she test positive for strep the 2nd go around but she also tested positive for influenza B.  Sigh....you can imagine my reaction to hearing all of that.  I've spent the morning cleaning and disinfecting the house in the hopes that my other two don't get sick as well.  My daughter is being quite the trooper though so hopefully she starts feeling better fast.

In between all of this, I've also been reading although at a slightly slower pace.  I've finished three books since my last reading update which I'm considering to be a success.  I actually finished nine books in January which is pretty amazing when I compare it to last year's reading pace.  I'm hoping that I can continue with this reading pace throughout the rest of the year.  It might not happen but I can sure try.  I've finished the following books in the past two weeks:

Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley - I enjoyed this book so much and have already written up and shared my thoughts on it.  It was just as good as I had hoped it would be.  I'm really looking forward to reading the second book later on this year.  You can read my thoughts here if you are interested.

Look For Me by Lisa Gardner - This was my 2nd book by Gardner but certainly won't be my last!  I am becoming such a HUGE fan of this series.  I'm posting my thoughts on this one later this week but expect a lot of gushing.  I need to go back soon and read the beginning books to this series because I just couldn't put either of the books that I've read down.  So good!

Blue Monday by Nicci French - I finished this one in one day....that should tell you everything that you need to know.  I chose this one carefully as I started reading it the day of my husband's surgery.  It was the perfect book to keep me completely immersed and relaxed while I waited (it also kept my mind off of everything going on).  I am so very glad that I went back to the beginning of this series.  I'm eager to get my hands on the 2nd book soon.

I'm now currently reading the following books:

Look For Her by Emily Winslow is my current print read that I'm reading for an upcoming PICT Book Tour.  I'm over halfway through and really enjoying it although I didn't realize until I began that it is part of a series.  I'm hoping to finish it this weekend but if I do I will include it in next week's update.  On my Kindle, I next plan on reading Lost Girls by Angela Marsons.  This one has been on my e-reader for entirely too long.  I'm really looking forward to reading this one and continuing on with this series.  After these two books I think I will pick something from a different genre to give myself a change of pace.

New Additions:

   

I'm not going to lie - these aren't all of the books that I've gotten in the past two weeks but I will share the rest next week.  I have PLENTY of great books that I need to get on and start reading.  Emma Kavanagh has been an author that I've been wanting to try so I'm really looking forward to that one.  All four of these books though sound amazing so I'm pretty excited to read them all.  Seriously...this week I'm going to stay away from NetGalley.  I need to read some of the books I keep adding to my e-reader first.  So many good books....and just not enough time!

Plans for this weekend are pretty low-key.  I'm hoping to get some serious laundry done.  Lots of cleaning and disinfecting will continue in the hopes of keeping everyone else germ free.  I don't really have much else planned.  Ideally I would like to get some blog posts scheduled but we will see how it goes.  I'm planning on taking it easy and just focusing on taking care of my daughter and husband.  I do hope to get lots of reading time in here and there.  I also plan on watching the big game tomorrow although I don't really care who wins.  Other than all of that, not much else!  I'm off to get working on those laundry piles.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading! 

The Sunday Post #39 (Reading in the New Year)

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!  It's that first Sunday post of the year which is always fun to write (when I'm still working hard on holding myself accountable).  I feel like it was a pretty solid week for me.  I went back to work after ten glorious days off.  It was hard to go back but the shortened week and no overtime needed made it much easier.  This week though I jump back in full force with business required overtime and a full week.  It's going to be busy to say the least!  I ran twice last week which I was pretty happy about.  I have a personal goal to lose weight and get healthier in 2018 which I really need to make happen.  Although I was hoping to run at least three times per week, I did get off the couch and actually run so I'm counting it as a win.  I'm planning on a run sometime this afternoon which will get this week started off right as well!

I also had a solid start to my reading in 2018.  I finished two books this week - go me!  My Goodread's goal for 2018 is to finish 75 books.  I really struggled with my reading numbers last year so I'm hoping to do so much better in the new year.  I'm participating in a month long read-a-thon and on top of that tomorrow begins the Bout of Books read-a-thon.  I feel like these will really motivate me to read more and stay off my phone less!  2018 is going to be an amazing year of reading!  The books that I finished reading last week were:

Swerve by Vicki Pettersson was my first read of 2018.  It was a review copy off of my shelves that has been sitting there for a ridiculous length of time.  This book was intense!  Like, this book is going to give me nightmares and I'm setting it down for now intense.  It was a dark and haunting read - and I'm really glad that I finally took the time to read it!  It doesn't look like this author has written any other thrillers since then which is a shame but I will be checking her other books out!  Review to come soon.

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs was the absolute perfect choice to pick after finishing such a dark and twisted thriller!  I adore the Mercy Thompson series so much and this book was another great addition to that series.  It was also pulled off of my own shelves so bonus!  I gobbled this one up and cannot wait to continue on with the next book sometime soon!  I will be sharing my thoughts on this one soon as well.

I'm now currently reading the following:

A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis is my first 2018 read on my kindle and a review copy.  I'm only about 10% into this one so far but I'm already hooked.  I'm hoping to spend sometime this afternoon curled up with this book.  I don't have a print read going yet as I can't seem to decide on which one to choose.  I also need to figure out my first nonfiction read for the new year.  So many choices though....it makes it so hard to settle on one!

New additions:

Both of these are thanks to NetGalley.  I'm really, really trying my hardest to not request so many books from there but we will see how long that lasts.  I obviously couldn't resist these two though - LOL!

Plans for today include laundry first and foremost.  My youngest has two basketball games this afternoon so we will be leaving my warm house for those (always fun to watch!).  I need to fit a run in for sure.  Other than all of that, I just hope to relax and work on writing up some reviews.  I already have the above two books that need reviews plus some remaining reviews from 2017 reads.  I'm going to be a busy girl!  In between all of that, I will be curling up with my book as much as possible!  I'm off to get my day started.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

The Sunday Post #26 (Blogging Break 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 has been awhile since I last posted.  It has been pretty darn busy as of late and it isn't going to end any time soon.  Reality is starting to set in as my oldest gets ready to graduate from eighth grade in a little over a week.  I say this all the time it feels like, but I cannot believe that he is going into high school already.  He is lifting for high school football after school four days a week.  My daughter's softball is going strong as well.  We have tournaments about every other weekend.  She has improved so much this season - it has been a joy to watch!  The youngest is also very busy with his baseball season.  Soccer ended  for him which was a bit of a relief....so many practices and games with all of this going on!  I'm not complaining though as my husband and I love every minute of watching them play.  But this is why I am largely absent from the blogging world.  My weekends are filled and if they aren't I'm just playing catch up with everything.  I've toyed with shutting the blog down but I just can't do it.  Who else would I talk books with?  Maybe I will be a very spotty blogger for awhile but I will still be here.  I read all of your blogs even if I don't comment that often.  I am taking the rest of this month off.  I have a quiet Sunday planned for today and I'm going to work on scheduling some posts out for next month.  That seems to work best for me so I'm going to try working on June's posts and count this month as a loss.  It happens!

My reading has slowed down to a trickle.  I don't know what my deal is lately but I sure haven't been reading like I usually do.  I think I'm at least ten books behind on my Goodread's challenge.  I'm not stressing though- it is what it is at this point.  At least it means that I'm not as far behind on writing up reviews as I usually am.  So there is a positive!  I'm currently in the middle of three separate books:

Love & Death in Burgundy by Susan C. Shea is one that I've just barely begun.  I'm reading it mainly on my phone but it is my current kindle read.  The publicist emailed me about this one and I liked the sound of it so I couldn't resist downloading it.  It's too early to tell you much more than that other than I'm loving the French setting.

Midnight Rescue by Elle Kennedy is my current print read and a library book.  In the hopes of jump starting my reading, I decided that I would read whatever I wanted to in May.  No "must reads" or anything like that.  I've gotten this book from the library multiple times but finally decided to give it a try.  I'm about 3/4th's of the way through and just haven't sat down and finished it.  Which I really need to do already!  I'm enjoying it for the most part although the subject matter isn't always to read about.  Honestly, that is part of the reason why I still haven't finished as I'm a bit nervous for what is to come.

Locked In by Kerry Wilkinson is also a print read and one that I bought awhile back but am just now finally reading.  I'm about halfway through this one but kind of stalled out on it.  I plan to go back to it as it is good....I'm just being a really moody reader right now.  It happens and I didn't want to force myself to read as this just turns into a reading slump.

New Additions:

Apparently even when I'm not reading I'm quite capable of downloading books from NetGalley.  Sigh....I sure hope the next #COYER challenge is going to be starting up soon.  I'm definitely going to need it.  I'm really hoping that I can turn my reading troubles around pretty soon.  I find that I stress a lot more when I don't read as much.  I'm off to go work on my laundry piles to get this week started off right.  I hope that you are all having a wonderful weekend.  I'll see you in June!

Happy Reading!

The Sunday Post #25 (Catching 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"

I'm back!  I took a few weeks off of posting but not actually from blogging.  Instead I've been working on writing up reviews and scheduling posts for the entire month of April.  Who is this girl?  Hahahaha!  But seriously, I always feel like I'm a step behind when it comes to blogging especially when life gets busier and busier.  So I figured I could take a few weeks off and work on getting ahead for a change.  Who knows how long it will last but it is fun to try!

Spring sports are starting back up which has been an adjustment.  Last week the kiddos were on spring break which made it all a bit easier.  They go back to school this week so the real madness will begin.  We've got soccer practices for the youngest and then my daughter has softball- both practice and hitting.  The oldest is back to lifting for football three times a week.  The youngest will also be starting up baseball any day now.  I'm still on mandatory overtime with no end in sight.  It's going to be lots of fun (and now I'm sure you can see why I'm trying to work ahead for a change).  Usually all of these practices would mean extra reading time but I'm trying to walk during them instead to get some exercise in.  I've got to work out somewhere/somehow so this is how I'm doing it.  Actually my reading has really slowed down as of late.  I'm hoping that will change though soon as my TBR pile isn't getting any smaller.

I have been reading though so let's talk about that instead.  I can't remember the last time that I shared with all of you so I'm not even going to attempt going back that far.  Instead, I'll share about what I just finished last week and am now currently reading.  I actually finished one book last week which I had been wanting to read for months:

Two Can Play by Kate Kessler -  I read and loved the first book in this series last year so this has been on my TBR list since then.  I finally got the chance to read this one and loved it as well.  It was a great follow-up and has left me so excited to get my hands on the third book.  I need to write up my thoughts on this one still but there is a good chance this will be on my top reads list this year.

I'm now currently in the middle of two books:

Hard-Hearted Highlander is my current kindle read.  I'm reading it for a TLC tour coming up in April and so far so good.  I've already read another book in this series earlier this year and really enjoyed so I have high hopes for this one.  I love that the author always seems to put the hero and heroine in impossible situations where you have no idea how everything will be able to work out.  I'm reading in print my first non-fiction book of the year Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer.  I feel like I've been reading this book forever.  It isn't even that I'm not enjoying it because I am for the most part.  I just don't always pick it up so I'm slowly working my way through it.  I'm getting towards the end so I'm going to really focus on finishing this one this week.

New Acquisitions:

I've been absolutely horrible this year when it comes to self control and buying books.  NetGalley?  Ridiculousness.  I can't possibly share about all of the books I've brought into the house since I last posted (because at this point I don't even know) so I'll share about the newest books sitting on my NetGalley shelf.  I say I'm going to work on this but really I'm doing horribly.  I need to focus on all the unread books I already have instead.

 

And so many, many more but we'll save that for another day.  I have no excuse for not reading when I have so many great books waiting for me. 

I'm off to focus on my laundry piles and getting ready for the week.  My son turns fourteen today so we've been busy celebrating this weekend.  Now we have a good birthday dinner and cake to look forward to tonight.  I'm eager to catch up with all of you and see what you've been reading but that may not happen until later this week.  For now, let me know what you've been up to or reading since we last talked!

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (January 16th)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organise yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!"

Monday madness begins once again!  Actually, I had the day off but chose to work some overtime earlier this morning which is why I'm posting later than usual.  The weekend flew by as it always does.  We cleaned out and rearranged my daughter's room which was quite the project.  How do these kids accumulate so much stuff?  My jeep is packed now ready to drop off a load to donate to our local Goodwill store.  She is excited about her "new room" though so really that is all that matters!  I don't have much else new to report.  The husband and I have both been battling a cold since right after Christmas.  The cough seems to be never-ending so it was a pretty low-key weekend otherwise.  I managed to read two more books in the past week which left me pretty happy.  I finished the following books:

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater turned out to be a much more enjoyable read than I originally thought it was going to be for me.  In the afterwards of the book, the author explained that she started writing this book in installments which explained a lot to me.  I think that is why I didn't immediately connect to the story or characters but that changed by the end.  I'm super excited to pick up the next book in this trilogy soon!

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins was an off pile read.  I actually tried reading this one last year and got about half way before I let it go back to the library unfinished.  I decided to try it again (as I really want to see the movie) and started from the beginning.  What can I say other than this time it worked for me?  I'm glad that I went back to it as now the husband and I can FINALLY watch the movie.  Reviews to come for both of these books soon.

I'm now currently reading the following:

Sinful Scottish Laird by Julia London is my current kindle read.  I was originally going to read Black-Eyed Susans but after finishing The Girl on the Train I decided I needed a change of pace.  This is for a TLC book tour that I am participating in next month.  In print I'm reading Killer's Island by Anna Jansson.  I actually haven't started this one yet but it is what I'm planning on reading next so I'm including it.  This is a review copy that has been on my shelves for a ridiculous amount of time so I'm really excited to finally read this one.  A reading goal for 2017 that I have is to finally read some of these review copies that have been languishing on my shelves and this would fit that description.

New Additions:

Simply put:  I suck at staying away from NetGalley.  They all look AMAZING though so there is that.  LOL!  I will try harder this week for sure!

 

I'm off to enjoy the rest of this holiday and also work on my laundry piles.  It has been raining all day so it feels like the perfect time to curl up with my kindle and get to reading. 

Happy Monday and Happy Reading!