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Seriously Saturday Series Catch-Up – January 2018

20 Jan

seriously saturday

Its been a couple of years since I used this feature, but since I recently found myself diving back into the Mercy Thompson series (after a 2 year hiatus), I thought it was a good chance to highlight another series that I have in progress.

Mercy Thompson
Living in the Pacific Northwest, Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson is a Native American “walker” who can shift at will into coyote form. In a feminist twist, she owns her own garage where she repairs mostly German cars. In this world, paranormal beings are gradually making themselves known to the public, beginning with the lesser creatures (e.g., brownies, gremlins, elves, garden sprites) and gradually moving to the greater beings (e.g., werewolves). Vampires are still hidden from public knowledge. There are currently 10 full novels in the series, with book 11 due out sometime in 2018/19 (no date known yet). There are also a variety of short stories that flesh out secondary characters and a couple of graphic novels. So lots of reading to do for anyone if they are interested. There is also another series (Alpha and Omega) that is set in the same world as Mercy Thompson, once you finish her books (I’ll admit that I haven’t started it yet…)

I’m not exactly sure why i put the series aside – I think it might be that I got caught up with the series and then got distracted with other stuff while waiting for a new release to come out. But I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up book 6 (River Marked) that I felt like I was joining old friends again. I enjoyed it so much that I rolled right into the next book in thhae series (Frost Burned) and I have the next 3 books tee’d up to listen to. Its been a while since i’ve had a full-on binge read (or listen) of a series – but I have a feeling that is going to happen as I get caught up on the Mercy Thompson series.

Have you read the Mercy Thompson series? If so, what is your favorite book?

 
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Posted by on January 20, 2018 in Seriously Saturday Series

 

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Random Reads Rebooted – March 2017

04 Mar

Random Reads Rebooted

Random Reads was a blog feature that used to be hosted by the blog, I’m Loving Books, however, it is no longer active (at least that I can find). Random Reads Rebooted is a reimaged version of this and I hope you will join me.

I don’t know about you guys, but I have a bad habit of buying books and then forgetting about them…I’m like a squirrel storing away its nuts for winter, except I do it with books. Random Reads Rebooted is dedicated to finding (and reading) those books that have long been forgotten about it.

On the first Saturday of the month (or within that first week), randomly select a book that is on your bookshelves (it could be a virtual shelf like a Goodreads one, or a real shelf that you have someone randomly numbered). I recommend using random.org to help you pick that special or forgotten book. At the end of the month, come back and let us know what you thought about the book that you picked.

February Pick Summary:
I have to admit that Guns will Keep Us Together was kind of a quirky read – I mean, a humorous romantic comedy featuring a family of assassins. I found myself chuckling to myself within the first couple of chapters. It was the second book in the series – but I’m intrigued enough that I may see about trying to find the first one.

dustMarch Pick
Over the last two months, I’ve read books that were purchased from Amazon in 2009 and 2010. So for March, i’m going to my Amazon 2011 purchases list. And I’ve organized my goodreads shelf (Amazon 2011 purchases) by author alphabetically. After doing this, the random number, I drew was 93 which correlated to Dust by Arthur Slade. After having read a couple of romances in the past 2 months as part of this feature, March is going to feature a Young Adult book – so i’m interested to see how it turns out.

Purchase Date: September 2, 2011

Description:
SEVEN-YEAR-OLD MATTHEW DISAPPEARS one day on a walk into Horshoe, a dust bowl farm town in Depression-era Saskatchewan. Other children go missing just as a strange man named Abram Harsich appears in town. He dazzles the townspeople with the promises of a rainmaking machine. Only Matthew’s older brother Robert seems to be able to resist Abram’s spell, and to discover what happened to Matthew and the others.

 
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Posted by on March 4, 2017 in Random Reads Rebooted

 

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Random Reads Rebooted – February 2017

04 Feb

Random Reads Rebooted

Random Reads was a blog feature that used to be hosted by the blog, I’m Loving Books, however, it is no longer active (at least that I can fid). Random Reads Rebooted is a reimaged version of this and I hope you will join me.

I don’t know about you guys, but I have a bad habit of buying books and then forgetting about them…I’m like a squirrel storing away its nuts for winter, except I do it with books. Random Reads Rebooted is dedicated to finding (and reading) those books that have long been forgotten about it.

On the first Saturday of the month (or within that first week), randomly select a book that is on your bookshelves (it could be a virtual shelf like a Goodreads one, or a real shelf that you have someone randomly numbered). I recommend using random.org to help you pick that special or forgotten book. At the end of the month, come back and let us know what you thought about the book that you picked.

January Review
ok, so I feel like a bit of a slacker because mid-month I hit an epic reading slump (and honestly i’m still digging my way out of it) and i’m still slowly working on my book. I’m about 15% of the way through and enjoying it though. The cultural mesh between traditional Indian and New Jersey culture is making for an intriguing read.

guns-will-keep-us-together February Pick
Even though I have slacked on my January read – I am going to go ahead and pick a book for my February read. Continuing with my plan from last month, this month, I’m picking a book from my Amazon 2010 purchases shelf (which currently has 270 books on it). After sorting the books by title alphabetically, random.org gave me 96 – which correlated to Guns Will Keep Us Together, by Leslie Langtry.

Purchase Date: September 15, 2010

Description:
Dakota Bombay prided himself on his blonde Bond image. Then his life gets both shaken and stirred by an irate grandmother demanding a marketing plan for the family assassination business, a six-year-old son Dak never knew he had, and a mysterious redhead who’s erased his decades-old preference for blondes

 
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Posted by on February 4, 2017 in Random Reads Rebooted, Uncategorized

 

TBR Tuesday – 31 January 2017

31 Jan

TBR Tuesday
TBR Tuesday is an opportunity to you to find and read those lost gems that might be hidden on your TBR shelves! In order to be eligible for TBR Tuesday a book should have been on your TBR pile for more than a year (so any book purchased prior to January 2016 is fair game right now. Let me know what book you read, how long it has been lost on your TBR pile and what you thought of it? Is it a hidden gem or a dusty throwaway or somewhere in between…

Made for Each Other – Morgan Ashbury
Bought:14 July 2010
Time of TBR: 2391 days

Review:
Sometimes as a reader, I want brain candy – that is, a book that really doesn’t make me think about anything while i’m reading, that is lite on drama and shenanigans and that is just there and Make for Each Other pretty much hit those wicked. It didn’t quite venture into the porn without plot realm, but the smexy parts did tend to outweigh the actual story (not that there was anything wrong with that because that was what I was in the mood for). I wouldn’t say that Made for Each Other ventured into the hidden gem realm, but it was definitely an improvement on some of the more recent books that I’ve dug out of Mt TBR. While I strugged with a guy being called Lesley (even though I know traditionally its a male name), his quirks were kind of funny and made him more relatable as a character. Overall a solid read and hit the spot for what I was looking for this past weekend.

 
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Posted by on January 31, 2017 in TBR Tuesday

 

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TBR Tuesday – 17 January 2017

17 Jan

TBR Tuesday
TBR Tuesday is an opportunity to you to find and read those lost gems that might be hidden on your TBR shelves! In order to be eligible for TBR Tuesday a book should have been on your TBR pile for more than a year (so any book purchased prior to January 2016 is fair game right now. Let me know what book you read, how long it has been lost on your TBR pile and what you thought of it? Is it a hidden gem or a dusty throwaway or somewhere in between…

Simply Sexual – Kate Pearce
Bought: February 9. 2009
Time of TBR: 2899 days

Review:
Another week, another book on Mt TBR and another book that was only so-so…I’ve heard good things about this author in the past and unfortunately, Simply Sexual just didn’t live up to my hopes for it. It was an ok book, don’t get me wrong – I gave it 3 stars, but it was good, but it wasn’t great. I think my biggest issue was that while Valetin’s backstory was interesting – it didn’t draw me in like it could have – while I felt detached like I think I was supposed to, I wanted more – it was just ehh…the scenes between Valentin and Sara were steamy in places but the rest of the book just mediocre at best…hidden gem Simply Sexual was not…but I’ll keep digging through the pile for that diamond in the rough

 
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Posted by on January 17, 2017 in TBR Tuesday, Uncategorized

 

TBR Tuesday – 10 January 2017

11 Jan

TBR TuesdaySo after a rather long hiatus, TBR Tuesday is back!

TBR Tuesday is an opportunity to you to find and read those lost gems that might be hidden on your TBR shelves! In order to be eligible for TBR Tuesday a book should have been on your TBR pile for more than a year (so any book purchased prior to January 2016 is fair game right now. Let me know what book you read, how long it has been lost on your TBR pile and what you thought of it? Is it a hidden gem or a dusty throwaway or somewhere in between…

And without further ado, here is my TBR Tuesday book and review!

Fire and Ice – Liz Andrews
Bought: Nov 26, 2009
Time on TBR: 2594 days

Review:
Some of the hardest reviews I find to write are those for books that I liked but didn’t love – those that probably fall into the mid-star range and Fire and Ice is a book like that. Fundamentally, there was nothing really wrong with it – I’d say that the whole sequence of events may have moved a bit too fast for me, even though I understand it was part of the whole fantasy aspect. It just for me felt a bit empty and mechanical at times – I didn’t really get the passion between Victor and Tanya at times. Fire and Ice was an ok read, I’d probably give it 2.5-3 stars but I don’t know if I would widely recommend it to people to read – it just didn’t have that kind of zing for me.

How about you – what book is your TBR Tuesday read?

 
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Posted by on January 11, 2017 in TBR Tuesday

 

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Random Reads Rebooted – 07January

07 Jan

Random Reads Rebooted

Random Reads was a blog feature that used to be hosted by the blog, I’m Loving Books, however, it is no longer active (at least that I can fid). Random Reads Rebooted is a reimaged version of this and I hope you will join me.

I don’t know about you guys, but I have a bad habit of buying books and then forgetting about them…I’m like a squirrel storing away its nuts for winter, except I do it with books. Random Reads Rebooted is dedicated to finding (and reading) those books that have long been forgotten about it.

On the first Saturday of the month (or within that first week), randomly select a book that is on your bookshelves (it could be a virtual shelf like a Goodreads one, or a real shelf that you have someone randomly numbered). I recommend using random.org to help you pick that special or forgotten book. At the end of the month, come back and let us know what you thought about the book that you picked.

January Pick
Over the last month or so, I’ve been trying to catalogue all my books that I’ve bought on Amazon over the years. There is nothing more annoying than seeing a book that is free/on sale and then when you follow the link, finding out that its been lost on Mt TBR for several years…plus, I’m making it a goal to try at read at least 4 books a month from these archives (although that won’t even begin to make a dent in the pile!). For Random Reads Rebooted, my picking methodology is going to be simple – i’m going to rotate through the years of books that I have catalogued (2008/09 through 2016) – so the first year that I will be reading from is 2008/09.

so Drum Roll please…my pick for January is…The Sari Shop Widow – Shobhan Bantwal

the-sari-shop-widow Purchase Date: August 25, 2009

Description:
Since becoming a widow at age twenty-seven, Anjali Kapadia has devoted herself to transforming her parents’ sari shop into a chic boutique, brimming with exquisite jewelry and clothing. Now, ten years later, it stands out like a proud maharani amid Edison’s bustling Little India. But when Anjali learns the shop is on the brink of bankruptcy, she feels her world unraveling…

To the rescue comes Anjali’s wealthy, dictatorial Uncle Jeevan and his business partner, Rishi Shah — a mysterious Londoner, complete with British accent, cool gray eyes, and skin so fair it makes it hard to believe he’s Indian. Rishi’s cool, foreign demeanor triggers distrust in Anjali and her mother. But for Anjali, he also stirs something else, a powerful attraction she hasn’t felt in a decade. And the feeling is mutual…

Love disappointed Anjali once before and she’s vowed to live without it — though Rishi is slowly melting her resolve and, as the shop regains its footing, gaining her trust. But when a secret from Rishi’s past is revealed, Anjali must turn to her family and her strong cultural upbringing to guide her in finding the truth…

 
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Posted by on January 7, 2017 in Random Reads Rebooted

 

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2017 – First Book of the Year

01 Jan

first-book-of-the-year

What is First Book of the year?
The First Book is a book that maybe you have been wanting to read for a while but have not had time for, a coveted book, an old favorite re-read – whatever you want.  The point is that this is the book that will kick off the year for you.  What will it be?

crossing-heartsMy First Book of 2017
Last year it took my ages to try and figure out what my first book of 2016 was going to be (I think that I changed my mind 4 or 5 times), but this year when I was looking at my various books to read, it was a no brainer…so drum roll please…my first book of 2017 is going to be Crossing Hearts written by the fabulous Kimberly Kincaid! If you took a look at the book information for Crossing Hearts, you’ll notice that the official release date isn’t until early February – but I luckily won an ARC of it in a giveaway on Kimberly’s facebook page (there was some serious happy dancing when she tagged me in the post as the winner announcement).

Crossing Hearts Description:
Hunter Cross has no regrets. Having left his football prospects behind the day he graduated high school, he’s happy to carry out his legacy on his family’s farm in the foothills of the Shenandoah. But when a shoulder injury puts him face-to-face with the high school sweetheart who abandoned town—and him—twelve years ago, Hunter’s simple life gets a lot more complicated.

Emerson Montgomery has secrets. Refusing to divulge why she left her job as a hotshot physical therapist for a pro football team, she struggles to readjust to life in the hometown she left behind. The more time she spends with Hunter, the more Emerson finds herself wanting to trust him with the diagnosis of MS that has turned her world upside down.

But revealing secrets comes with a price. Can Hunter and Emerson rekindle their past love? Or will the realities of the present—and the trust that goes with them—burn that bridge for good?<

 
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Posted by on January 1, 2017 in Blog Features, General, Reading Plans

 

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TBR Tuesday – 02 February 2016

02 Feb

TBR TuesdayWow, its the first week of February already…i don’t know about you, but it seems like the older I get, the faster the time flies. It also doesn’t help that I’ve been completely slammed at work with sometimes upwards of 3+ hours round trip for a commute. My book this week has had the dubious pleasure of being on Mt TBR for over 300 weeks…

When Alex Was Bad
Author: Jo Davis

Purchase Date: 29 October 2009
Date Read: 22 January 2009
Time on Mt TBR: 2276 days

Review:
So I bought this book back in 2009 while I was deployed to Iraq, so I don’t remember what the inspiration for purchasing it was, but it was later in the year not long before I headed home, so maybe I bought it as something for the flight home…and of course, then didn’t read it…lol! Reading When Alex Was Bad reminded me how much I like/enjoyed erotic romances that were written pre-50 Shades of Grey. It might be a personal preference of mine but I find books written back then to be much better in character and plot development with satisfying conclusions. Added to that Ms Davis took a lesser known romance plot (a couple that has been married for a while) and managed to weave a story line about rediscovering why they fell in love to begin with. She managed to push the boundaries with my comfort level in places (especially with the approved cheating of both of the husband and wife – normally not a fan of cheating in romances but it worked in relation to this story). While the rest of Ms Davis books are much more in the line of traditional contemporary or historical romance genres, I liked her foray into erotic romance and would be interested to read more.

 
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Posted by on February 2, 2016 in TBR Tuesday

 

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TBR Tuesday – 26 January 2016

26 Jan

TBR TuesdayWelcome back to the first official TBR Tuesday of 2016 (yes, I realize its nearly the end of January, work has been keeping me REALLY busy). I’m making it my goal this year to read at least 4 books a month off my archive pile (for me, this is any book that has been purchased at least 12 months prior to the date of the post). I hope you join me in tackling Mt TBR!

The Rest Falls Away
Author: Colleen Gleason
Series: #1 in the Gardella Vampire Hunters series

Purchase Date: May 28, 2010
Date Read: December 28, 2015
Time on Mt TBR: 2040 days

Review:
So there is kind of a funny story attached to my reading of this book. I bought this back in 2010 and promptly lost it in my archives (and never actually logged it as being owned on my Goodreads shelves – which is one of my major problems). Anyways, as I was browsing on Edelweiss one night, I came across the first 3 books in this series (including this one) all available on auto-approval (they were being re-released), so I grabbed them because the premise sounded intriguing. When I went to download the first book in the series to my kindle, I got several options in my archives – which made me stop for a second and scratch my head, thinking WTF…and thus, I realized my mistake. So while I am posting a short and sweet review for TBR Tuesday here – i’ll likely have a longer ARC version of a review to go live later on.

Keeping with the theme of short and sweet – I really liked how this series was developed – it was much more in the realm of urban fantasy than paranormal romance, so don’t be expecting a happy ending at the end of the first book (don’t say I didn’t warn you). It is definately a developing story arc. I loved how Victoria wasn’t a push-over and while she def. tried to act like a proper young maid in this book, you could see the inner conflict of her character, between how she had been raised, and what she was destined to become. I’ve already read the second book in the series, and look forward to continuing it.

 
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Posted by on January 26, 2016 in TBR Tuesday

 

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