Category Archives: Bout of Books 21

Bout of Books 21 Wrap Up Post

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

So for one of my goals this year to help me focus more on reading and having concentrated time for reading, I decided to participate in all 3 Bout of Books reading challenges / read-a-thons this year! The first one was luckily scheduled for this past week which is before my busy season at work officially starts.

Below were the goals that I had set for the week and my assessment with how I did on them.

Time Devoted to Reading

I plan to read at least 2 hours each day during the week, with hopefully additional hours on Friday. Also the Saturday during Bout of Books I have Goal Day planned but then I have other family plans in the evening so I’m hoping for a good 4 hours of solid reading. And then Sunday I don’t have anything planned other than house work so hopefully a solid 4 hours that day as well.
Things didn’t go quite according to plan – Goal Day for Saturday got moved because of a family function and due to prep work and chores I barely got to read at all Saturday. Plus a couple social functions kept me away from reading during the week. Overall I ended up reading close to 16 hours this week though which I’ll call a success. 

My Goals

My goals for this read-a-thon are that I’d like to participate in as much as I can: the daily posts plus reading every day.

I did participate in 3 out of the 7 daily challenges and I did read every day. 

Books to Read

 

Overall this was a great week of concentrated reading for me and I am glad I was able to get so much accomplished! Looking forward to the next one in May!

 

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 7

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books by

Sunday was a great reading day! We ended up staying home and not doing much, my favorite kind of Sunday plus I was able to spend most of my time reading. So my Sunday’s progress is below:

Update

Sunday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) I didn’t really track it exactly but I read off and on all day – I’d estimate about 5 hours total
Number of pages I’ve read today:  279 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 978 pages
Books read: Finished The Safest Lies, started The Rogue Is Back in Town
Challenges: Coincidentally I had to post a review today anyways, which was lucky since that was the challenge for Sunday! See my review of The Safest Lies here

Make sure to check out my wrap up of the challenge overall, had a great week of reading!!

2018 Book #5 – The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bout of Books 21, Fiction, For the love of books, Mystery, Reading Challenges, Suspense, Young Adult by

518u1R1zo6L._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_Title: The Safest Lies
Author: Megan Miranda
Date finished: 1/14/18
Genre: Young adult, thriller/suspense
Publisher: Ember
Publication Date: May 30, 2017 (Paperback; hardcover was released May 24, 2016)
Pages in book: 357
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: My friend Alex

Blurb from the cover:

Kelsey has lived most of her life in a shadow of suspicion, raised to see danger everywhere. Her mother hasn’t set foot outside their front door in seventeen years, since she escaped from her kidnappers with nothing but her attacker’s baby growing inside her—Kelsey.

Kelsey knows she’s supposed to keep a low profile and stay off the grid for their protection, but that plan is shattered when her dramatic car accident and rescue by volunteer firefighter and classmate Ryan Baker sparks media coverage.

A few days later, she arrives home to find her mother missing. Now, to have a chance at a future, Kelsey will have to face her darkest fears. Because someone is coming for her. And the truth about the past may end up being the most dangerous thing of all.

My rating:  3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review:

What do you do when your worst fears are realized?

Kelsey’s whole life her mother has been subtly training her, giving her the knowledge that she would need to survive. Kelsey always believed that her mother was paranoid because of what she experienced when she was around Kelsey’s age – being abducted and held against her will. But after Kelsey’s mother disappears and Kelsey finds herself in danger, facts start to surface that don’t fit with this story. As Kelsey fought her way to freedom and in the days and interrogations that followed, I found the thought process for the police and for some of the other adults in charge to be a little unrealistic. Overall though I liked this book and found it to be an interesting read. I especially liked how Ryan and Kelsey’s relationship developed through the book, I thought it was really sweet. And I think the part where they were trying to escape the panic room was one of the best parts of the book, I only wished it had been closer to the end since it created such great tension in the story. I thought this was a good read though and I would recommend it.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 6

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Saturday did not go ok reading wise. I was able to read a little in the morning but then grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and parties took up the entire rest of my day! So my Saturday’s progress is below:

Update

Saturday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) Probably just about 1 hour, didn’t really track it exactly
Number of pages I’ve read today:  63 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 699 pages
Books read: Continued The Safest Lies
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Saturday, I wanted to but ran out of time

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on my Sunday update and my wrap up of the challenge overall, hoping for a day full of reading today!!

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 5

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Friday went ok, I was able to read for awhile at night but I could barely keep my eyes open! So my Friday’s progress is below:

Update

Friday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) Probably around 2-2.5 hours, didn’t really track it exactly
Number of pages I’ve read today:  118 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 636 pages
Books read: Continued The Safest Lies
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Friday

Stay tuned for continued progress made in tomorrow’s post on my Saturday update, hoping for a day full of reading today!!

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 4

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Thursday did not go well reading wise but was a fun day! I did not meet my reading goal and really I barely read at all, but I had a great time grabbing drinks with my best friend. So my Thursday’s progress is below:

Update

Thursday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 20 minutes
Number of pages I’ve read today: 18 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 518 pages
Books read: Started The Safest Lies
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Thursday

Stay tuned for continued progress made in tomorrow’s post on my Friday update, hoping to find lots of time for reading tonight, and lots this weekend as well!!

2018 Book #4 – Like Broken China by J.D. Thompson

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bout of Books 21, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Women's fiction by

51yezZ6480LTitle: Like Broken China
Author: J.D. Thompson
Date finished: 1/10/18
Genre: Fiction, Women’s fiction
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: November 21, 2017
Pages in book: 284
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Author/Publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Is love enough to repair the pieces of a shattered life?

This is the question plaguing Courtney Cook’s mind as she packs her whole existence into a 20ft moving van. When she first encountered Matt in a coffee shop ten years prior, she was immediately transfixed. Dark, adventurous, and wildly untamed, Matt was everything Courtney didn’t know she wanted. One night of uninhibited abandon was all it took for her to be completely enthralled by the boy without limits. Now saddled with two children, a sky-high mortgage, and a marriage crippled by addiction, Courtney finds herself desperately trying to hold on to the life she knew. But as she struggles between letting go of what could have been and accepting what is, one question simmers at the surface of Courtney’s mind: is love ever enough?

Powerful and provoking with humor woven throughout the raw sting of heartbreak, Like Broken China offers an honest take on the decisions two people make and the aftermath that can destroy an entire decade.

My rating:  4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Letting go of a toxic relationship

In this novel we follow Courtney Cook as she navigates her separation and divorce from her alcoholic husband. The story line alternates between the present day as Courtney struggles to move on with her life and the past as we learn about Courtney and Matt’s history. Honestly the more I read about the stuff Matt pulled early on in their relationship, I was more and more shocked that Courtney stood by him. The first time she came home to find Matt passed out drunk with their BABY SON Noah screaming and crying in his crib I would’ve been like, nope I’m out. Anyways, the story overall was really engaging, even though pretty much the entire book is about one character’s development it was still really a quick and interesting read. I liked that Courtney was finally able to let go and realize that the relationship she was in with Matt wasn’t a healthy one for anyone involved (including her children), though I was technically a tad frustrated in how long it took to get there. Overall a good story though and I would recommend it!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 3

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Wednesday went well! I was able to find a little time to read during the day and then a little more before bed, so I ended up just meeting my 2 hour goal plus I finished a book. So my Wednesday’s progress is below:

Update

Wednesday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 2 hours
Number of pages I’ve read today: 177 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 500 pages
Books read: Finished Like Broken China (Review to be posted later today)
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Wednesday

Stay tuned for continued progress made in tomorrow’s post on my Thursday update and check back later for my review on Like Broken China!!

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 2

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Tuesday wasn’t a great day for the challenge for me, between work and a meeting I had at night I didn’t have any time to read other than bed time, only ended up reading just over an hour before I fell asleep. So anyways my Tuesday’s progress is below:

Update

Tuesday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 1.25 hours
Number of pages I’ve read today: 105 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 323 pages
Books read: Started Like Broken China
Challenges: I did the 2018 Goals post prompt for Tuesday, posted it on Twitter here

Stay tuned for continued progress made in tomorrow’s post on my Wednesday update!!

2018 Book # 3 – The Crown Prince’s Bride by Donna Alward

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bout of Books 21, Contemporary romance, Reading Challenges by

51rLBEd6MTLTitle: The Crown Prince’s Bride
Author: Donna Alward
Date finished: 1/8/18
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Swerve
Publication Date: January 9, 2018
Pages in book: 169
Stand alone or series: #2 in the Prince Duology
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

A Crown Prince gets a second chance at love with the woman who’s always been there – in the next book in the prince duology from Donna Alward!

The Crown Prince of Marazur is suffering from a broken heart. After losing his wife and future queen, he knows he’ll never find love again with a partner as wonderful as her. He’s thrown himself into his duties and is trying to be a better father to his two children, but he’s lonely. Even though falling in love seems impossible, so does spending the rest of his life alone.

Stephani has been Raoul’s assistant for years. Smart, loyal, and discreet, Stephani is fantastic at her job. Except for the fact that she’s been in love with her boss since her first week of employment, not that she would ever act on it. Besides, Raoul is first in line to the throne and she’s his assistant. If Raoul ever marries again, it’ll be with someone who can be a future queen. Not someone like Stephani.

When Raoul’s date for a state dinner is unable to attend, he invites Stephani. She’s well-versed on the issues and castle protocol, and Raoul’s always been comfortable with her. But when Stephani arrives, Raoul hardly recognizes her. Is this stunning woman the same one who’s run his office for years?

The Crown Prince’s Bride is the ultimate fairy tale for readers looking for Cinderella to get her prince—and be able to keep him past midnight.

My rating:  3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Is there really a second chance at love?

This royal romance showcases opulence and extravagance at its finest as the main characters travel to five star hotels while they develop their relationship. This book really made me think about whether there are second chances at love and how difficult it can be to open yourself up after being through a tragedy like that. The author helps us navigate the minefield of second loves in this quick and easy read, which was also a very sweet story. I hadn’t read the previous book so this was my first time being introduced to the characters, but I was still able to get up to date with the story line. The characters were solid and it was a pretty good story line, it was a solid romance novel but wasn’t anything overly thrilling for me. I did really like Stephani’s character, she was extremely loyal and patience, which was admirable considering how insensitive Raoul was. I would recommend the book if you’re looking for a quick read and a sweet romance.  

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page