Friday Finds (April 3)

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FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by A Daily Rhythm and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.  Whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

My finds this week include 2 different YA novels, a historical fiction and of course a romance:

1. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

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I’ve always loved mythology, the stories about Greek gods were fascinating to me when I was younger. This book is about a girl who falls in love with a guy named Henry, who turns out to be Hades. And she will get to be a goddess if she decides to marry him. This is the first in a three (I think its only three) book series. It looks really interesting and I can’t wait to give it a try!

2. The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

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Royal wedding! Need I say more? This is a love story of a girl name Rebecca (Woo!) who ends up falling in love with a prince. Just awesome all around.

3. At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen

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While I haven’t read Water for Elephants yet, I heard it was a great book. And this book sounds like it will be a great hit as well, a man and wife go to Scotland in search of the Loch Ness Monster. I don’t usually include the blurbs here but even the description of the book was so well written. I love this specific piece “Maddie begins to see that nothing is as it first appears: the values she holds dear prove unsustainable, and monsters lurk where they are least expected.As she embraces a fuller sense of who she might be, Maddie becomes aware not only of the dark forces around her, but of life’s beauty and surprising possibilities.” How could you not want to read this book!!?

4. Heartbreak Cove by Lily Everett

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I thought this sounded like a sweet love story. Woman sheriff takes her niece to a town for some quiet healing, and the niece likes horses. Nearby guy who rehabilitates abused horses helps out and then him and the sheriff fall in love. Just love the cover.

So those are my finds this week! Please feel free to share your finds or leave a link to your own “Friday Finds” blog posting below! Happy Friday!

Friday Finds (March 13)

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FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by A Daily Rhythm and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.  Whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

My finds this week include a memoir, a YA thriller, and of course a romance:

1. He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter’s Quest to Know Him by Mimi Baird and Eve Claxton

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This book looks at a man’s life in dealing with manic depression and how it affected the daughter who was forever apart from him. I think that this will be a very interesting book, and there are a lot of “good” things being said about it by numerous sources, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. When I say good I don’t mean happy, skip down the lane holding hands good. This is quoted as being a “disturbing and profoundly moving book” and while I’m sure it will be heart-wrenching, I think it will be a thought-provoking read.

2. The Memory Key by Liana Liu

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I think this sounds like its going to be a great book. At some point in the future, there is a viral form of Alzheimer’s that ravages the nation so everyone is issued “memory chips” that are installed in their brains to help them hold onto memories. The heroine’s memory chip gets damaged, so then she starts remembering odd things, but who can tell if they’re real memories or just products of a damaged memory chip? We will find out! (Hopefully)

3. The One That Got Away by Bethany Chase

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This is Chase’s debut novel. Amazon compares her writing to that of Emily Giffin, who I’ve fallen in love with this year. I’m excited to give this one a try.

So those are my finds this week! Please feel free to share your finds or leave a link to your own “Friday Finds” blog posting below! Happy Friday!

Waiting on Wednesday (7): 7 Brides for 7 Bodies by Stephanie Bond

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“Waiting On” Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

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7 Brides for 7 Bodies by Stephanie Bond

Release Date: March 17, 2015

Blurb from the cover (Amazon):

Happily never after…
Carlotta Wren’s life has taken a startling turn–she’s not sure what’s going to happen next. So when her retail job temporarily plants her in the world of wedding planning, she’s happy for the distraction–at first. Because the happily-ever-after setting only heightens the stress surrounding the decisions she faces about her romantic life. The three hot men vying for her attention aren’t going to wait forever for her answer.
On the other hand, at least the bridal show gets her away from body moving for a while, right? Wrong. Because when grooms all over Atlanta start dropping like flies, once again, Carlotta finds herself square in the middle of a murder mystery!

Why Am I Waiting?

I have read every book in the series so far, granted it was a couple of years ago that the last book came out so its been awhile since I’ve read them. But I have been waiting FOREVER for this book to come out it feels like. This is an entertaining and funny series and I think I might re-read the series before I read this book since its been so long since I’ve read any of them. I would definitely recommend giving this series a try! I can’t wait for this book, I’m so excited!

Friday Finds (Feb 27)

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FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Should Be Reading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.  Whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

My finds this week include a twist on Sherlock Holmes, a fiction book about a bookseller (with an interesting alternate life), a YA thriller, and of course a romance:

1. Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz

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One of my absolute favorite movies lately is the Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows that came out in 2011. I have wished for the past 4 years though that they would just make the next damn movie because I am dying to know what happened to Sherlock after he dove off the cliff with Moriarty and how he could have  possibly survived. Well guess what? THAT IS WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT!!!! I can’t wait to read it!

2. The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson

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This book looks absolutely fantastic! One bookseller narrating two lives, one of which she lives by day, the other she seemingly lives while dreaming. What’s real and what’s not? Which life really exemplifies what she wants? It sounds fascinating to me! (To be released March 3)

3. The Fever by Megan Abbott

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I read the description for this book and was immediately interested. An unexplainable seizure epidemic that causes panic within a small town? That sounds like a good thriller. I recently read another of Megan Abbott’s books, Dare Me, and while I wasn’t amazed with the book, I definitely want to give The Fever a try.

4. In Your Wildest Scottish Dreams by Karen Ranney

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I haven’t read anything by this author yet but when I saw the cover and that it was featured so prominently in The Ultimate Romance Drinking Game recently discussed on Huff Post, I decided that I would give it a try and added it to my TBR list. The book also sounds good – woman is rejected by man she loves, goes to live in America for 7 years, and comes back to Scotland ready to kick butt.

So those are my finds this week! Please feel free to share your finds or leave a link to your own “Friday Finds” blog posting below! Happy Friday!

Waiting on Wednesday (6): Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick

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“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

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Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick

Release date: April 21, 2015

Blurb from the cover (Amazon):

The Kern Secretarial Agency provides reliable professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest women in Ursula Kern’s employ. But Miss Clifton has met an untimely end—and Ursula is convinced it was not due to natural causes.
Archaeologist and adventurer Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is off her head to meddle in such dangerous business. Nevertheless, he seems sensible enough to Ursula, though she does find herself unnerved by his self-possession and unreadable green-gold eyes…
If this mysterious widowed beauty insists on stirring the pot, Slater intends to remain close by as they venture into the dark side of polite society. Together they must reveal the identity of a killer—and to achieve their goal they may need to reveal their deepest secrets to each other as well…

Why am I waiting? 

I’m a big Amanda Quick / Jayne Ann Krentz / Jayne Castle fan. I’ve read many of her books under the various pen names and have liked the majority. And I think the description of the books sounds interesting!

Link to author website
Link to Amazon

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Would Want to Read in a Book Club

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Top Ten Tuesday is a book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday there’s a different bookish topic and bloggers are asked to post their own top ten list based on the topic. This week is a listing of the Top Ten Books you would pick for your book club to read if you were lucky enough to be in a book club (unfortunately I am not so lucky due to a combo of lack of time and resources). So I put my thinking cap on and thought that if I were in a book club, what books would I like to discuss with my fellow club attendees.

1. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
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I
 am currently in love with Giffin’s books after reading her Something Borrowed and Something Blue recently. Her books are intense and thought provoking and I think that they would make for a great discussion.

2. All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
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This book has been on my to read list since before it came out in 2014. I think the subject of addiction in this book would make for a great discussion starter.

3. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
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This was a highly praised book in 2014. I read many good reviews on it and I am honestly fascinated by the topic. A pandemic causes chaos to erupt and a new world forms amongst those who survive. Sounds freaking awesome.

4. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
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A young woman without any prospects is asked to marry a wealthy family’s dead son, well actually to marry his ghost. I think this would be a great book to discuss since its subject is so unique and unusual.

5. Redeployment by Phil Klay
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My husband and I met when he was in the Marines. I waited (not at all patiently I might add, though I wish I could say differently) while he went to Afghanistan on deployment. I think that I have to read this book. I think it might give me a better glimpse into the complicated world he lived at that time. I also think it would be a great eye-opener for book club readers.

6. It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell
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Many women in this day and age have weight issues and body image issues. The media blasts us with images of “beautiful” women, all of whom are a size 0. This just isn’t realistic. This memoir is all about learning to love who you are and learning to love your body. I think this would be essential for a women’s book club and a great discussion piece for book clubs that can be candid with one another.

7. The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford
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This book brings up a big discussion point: mental disorders. In this novel, a woman with bipolar disorder was the last person to see one of her friend’s alive and suspects she might actually be the killer.

8. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
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I know this is going to sound like a poor reason to have this on the list, but I heard this turned out to be a great movie. I think it would be an interesting book to read and discuss in a book group.

9. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
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I almost can’t believe it myself, but I’ve never read this book or the rest of the series. Astonishing, I know, considering how popular the book series was and even how much I have loved the movies so far. For those reasons, I’d love to read this book and discuss people’s thoughts on it.

10. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
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This is a classic that I have always wanted to read but never found quite the right motivation to actually pick it up.

So that’s my list! Anyone else see books on my list they’d like to read? Maybe we could start our own book club 🙂 Let me know what you’d put on your lists!

Friday Finds (Jan 23)

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FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Should Be Reading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.  Whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

My finds this week include an upcoming YA release, a gothic mystery / romance and of course a romance:

1. The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

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First of all, sick cover. The cover alone would probably make me want to pick up this book. Plus the synopsis of the story sounds really interesting as well. And finally, it is described as being a cross between The Selection (which is very high on my TBR list, I’ve been dying to read this series for awhile) and Graceling (which I hadn’t heard of before but sounds really interesting).

2. Miramont’s Ghost by Elizabeth Hall

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Said to be reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, this book is described as a dark and thrilling ghost story. I discovered it in an email that Amazon sent me with a listing of popular romance novels, so I’m not sure exactly where the romance will be in this ghost story but I guess we’ll find out! Some of the reader comments look a little dark (and slightly unnerving) so I have to say I don’t think this book will be good for the faint-hearted. I thought it looked interesting though!

3. You’re So Fine by Kieran Kramer

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I heard a lot of good things about Kieran Kramer’s March 2014 release Sweet Talk Me. Though I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, it is also on my TBR list. You’re So Fine also looks like a sweet story and a fun read. Might save this one for a beach read for this summer since the cover is.. well a beach 🙂

So those are my finds this week! Please feel free to share your finds or leave a link to your own “Friday Finds” blog posting below! Happy Friday!

Waiting on Wednesday (5): Dangerous Deception by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

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“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

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Dangerous Deception by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Release Date: May 19, 2015

Blurb from the cover (Amazon):

From the world of Beautiful Creatures–a dangerous new tale of love and magic continues in the sequel to Dangerous Creatures.
Love is ten kinds a crazy, right?
Let me put it to you this way: If you can get away, run. Don’t walk.
Because once you’re exposed, you’ll never get a Siren outta your head.
Some loves are cursed. Others are…dangerous. Especially the love between wannabe rocker and quarter Incubus, Wesley “Link” Lincoln, and Dark Caster, Siren, and bonafide bad girl, Ridley Duchannes.
But now Ridley is missing, and Link was with her–right up until she vanished. Determined to find her, Link reunites with his New York bandmates and the mysterious Lennox Gates, who wants Rid for himself. Together they travel to the deep south, find the crossroads where blues guitarist Robert Johnson made his deal with the devil, discover a menagerie of Casters locked in cages, and uncover an evil in New Orleans that threatens to destroy them all.
This time, love might not be enough.
Why am I waiting?
I loved the Beautiful Creatures series and also enjoyed the first book in Ridley’s spin-off series. I am looking forward to see what happens next for Link and Ridley.

Friday Finds (Jan. 9)

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FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by shouldbereading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list.  Whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

My finds this week include an upcoming YA release, a thriller, a memoir and of course a romance:

1. The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

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First off I just love this cover. Second, I love the book description. It sounds awesome. Rich girl is the key to an ancient prophecy and people are trying to kill her so she can’t fulfill her destiny? Sounds great to me!

2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

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I saw this book in the January edition of the BookPage newsletter and it was described as being “the next Gone Girl.” And I loved the Gone Girl novel so I read further into the article about “The Girl on the Train” and it sounds fascinating to me. A drunk jobless woman rides a train everyday and makes up stories about the people she sees as the train zips by. It even mentioned in the interview with Hawkins that there has been a discussion with DreamWorks but no definite plans have been made yet.

3. It Was Me All Along: A Memoir by Andie Mitchell

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This is another book that I saw in this month’s BookPage newsletter. This book about a woman’s lifelong struggle with weight and food. While I try not to consider myself fat, I can relate to seeking comfort in food. I have struggled a lot with my weight the past few years and I am really excited to read about this woman’s journey to being more healthy and learning to love every part of herself.

4. The Loving Daylights by Lynsay Sands

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I just love Lynsay Sands vampire novels. And while this may be a reprint I was excited to find something by her in the contemporary romance genre.

So those are my finds this week! Please feel free to share your finds or leave a link to your own “Friday Finds” blog posting below! Happy Friday!

Waiting on Wednesday (4): Blood Magick by Nora Roberts

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“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

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Blood Magick by Nora Roberts

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Blurb from the cover (Amazon): 

Book Three of The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy
Blood Magick

County Mayo is rich in the traditions of Ireland, legends that Branna O’Dwyer fully embraces in her life and in her work as the proprietor of The Dark Witch shop, which carries soaps, lotions, and candles for tourists, made with Branna’s special touch.

Branna’s strength and selflessness hold together a close circle of friends and family—along with their horses and hawks and her beloved hound. But there’s a single missing link in the chain of her life: love…

She had it once—for a moment—with Finbar Burke, but a shared future is forbidden by history and blood. Which is why Fin has spent his life traveling the world to fill the abyss left in him by Branna, focusing on work rather than passion.

Branna and Fin’s relationship offers them both comfort and torment. And though they succumb to the heat between them, there can be no promises for tomorrow. A storm of shadows threatens everything that their circle holds dear. It will be Fin’s power, loyalty, and heart that will make all the difference in an age-old battle between the bonds that hold their friends together and the evil that has haunted their families for centuries.

Why Am I Waiting? 

This is the third book in Roberts’ Cousin’s O’Dwyer series. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, and honestly I’m eager to see the villain defeated and for Branna to end up with Fin. This series has been an interesting take on old Irish magic and I love the backstory to Branna, Connor, and Iona’s ancestors and the source of their magic. Overall a very interesting story.

Link to author website: http://www.noraroberts.com/

Link to Amazon (pre-order): http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Magick-Cousins-ODwyer-Roberts/dp/0425259870/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1413987477