Tag Archives: book blog

2021 Monthly Status Update: May

Posted in For the love of books by

make-it-a-May-to-remember--576x1024

May was quite the busy month! Lots of work to be done but I’ve also been getting lots of rest and doing some reading. We went on a weekend trip to Boston and had a great time. Memorial Day weekend was a quiet one since it was cold and rainy all weekend. Anyways, here is my progress for reading in May:

Monthly Stats:
# books read this month: 9
# pages read this month: 3,317
# books read year-to-date: 41
# pages read year-to-date: 14,669

Other Posts this month:

Nothing to report from this past month!

Favorite books from this month:

Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan – 4.75 stars

Next Month TBR List:

  • The Turnout by Megan Abbott
  • Neon Gods by Katee Robert
  • A Duke in Time by Janna MacGregor

I’ll also be trying to continue working on my backlog for June and read something from my library. June will be a very busy month – we have a big arrival coming for our family at the end of June / early July and I’ll be taking it easy after that and may not be posting as much for a couple months. I’ll be sure to catch up everyone when I’m able to though!

Happy reading everyone!

2020 Book #64 – The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Posted in Book Genre, Book reviews, Fiction, Historical fiction, Women's fiction by

03a507f4-0e8d-44a7-8f60-29878f5d228c.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___

Title: The Lost Apothecary
Author: Sarah Penner
Date finished: 9/13/20
Genre: Fiction, historical fiction
Publisher: Park Row
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Pages in book: 308
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: BookBrowse
NOTE: I received this book for free from BookBrowse 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 forgotten history. A secret network of women. A legacy of poison and revenge. Welcome to The Lost Apothecary…

Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.

Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.

My rating:  3.75 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.

The cover on this book looked so intriguing, as did the book description, so I was excited to get the chance to read this. This book was an interesting combination of historical fiction and a contemporary viewpoint. The plot was great – the plot twists at the end I just didn’t see coming and I really liked the overall plot line. Caroline’s character was intriguing and curious, and her growth throughout the story was wonderful to see. And I LOVED that she didn’t stay with her husband, who was a manipulative asshole. Overall this was a sweet story and I really enjoyed it, I would recommend it!

Link to author website

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

2020 Monthly Status Update: July

Posted in For the love of books by

the-month-july

July has somehow come and gone – this year is flying by. Which is both shocking and not surprising to me considering I hardly ever leave the house. Working from home has been both a blessing and a curse – one of the upsides of it is that I have been finding more time for reading. Unfortunately I’m a bit behind with work so I’ll likely have to buckle down and cut down on my reading time. Here are some reading highlights from July for me:

Monthly Stats:
# books read this month: 9
# pages read this month: 3,129
# books read year-to-date: 54
# pages read year-to-date: 17,703

Other Posts this month:

Incognito Ex BLOG TOUR!!

Favorite books from this month:

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London – 4.75 stars

Next Month TBR List:

  • The Love Scam by MaryJanice Davidson
  • Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting
  • Here to Stay by Adriana Herrera
  • Wednesdays, Walks and Wags by Melissa Storm

I’m also planning to participate in the ARC August reading challenge next month and I’m very much looking forward to it! Happy reading everyone!

2020 Book #38 – You Are Not Alone by Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks

Posted in Book Genre, Book reviews, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller by

Title: You Are Not Alone
Author: Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks
Date finished: 6/9/20
Genre: Thriller, suspense
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: March 3, 2020
Pages in book: 344
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
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:

The electrifying #1 New York Times bestselling authors of THE WIFE BETWEEN US and AN ANONYMOUS GIRL return with a brand new novel of psychological suspense, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Shay Miller wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end. She wants to belong, but her life is increasingly lonely.

Until Shay meets the Moore sisters. Cassandra and Jane live a life of glamorous perfection, and always get what they desire. When they invite Shay into their circle, everything seems to get better.

Shay would die for them to like her.
She may have to.

My rating:  3.75 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.

I have read other books by Sarah and Greer in the past and have really enjoyed them. And this book too was an interesting story but I couldn’t 100% get into it for some reason – I think mostly personal likes/dislikes reasons. The plot line itself was great and it has dome good plot twists at the end. But some parts of the story line were a little bit slow for me, and overall it was so sad. I felt so bad for Shay, she was so vulnerable and really just wanted to make friends. And she struggled so much with what to do. She was weirdly obsessed with the whole thing but I can understand that she identified with Amanda. Plus she saw her commit suicide, I can empathize with her wanting to understand why she had done it. Overall I liked the book but it wasn’t my favorite thriller I’ve read lately. I’d still recommend checking it out, it was a good read.

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

Bout of Books 28 Update – Day 6

Posted in 2020, Bout of Books 28, Reading Challenges by

N36BVUw

Yesterday was a wonderful day! I did most of my reading for the day at night, as we spent most of the afternoon at my parents having a wonderful make up Mothers Day. Yesterday was a beautiful day for weather and it was great to spend the afternoon on the deck in the sun. So anyways my Saturday’s progress is below:

Update

Saturday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 4.25 hours
Number of pages I’ve read today: 256 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 1,266 pages
Books read: Finished The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson
Challenges: I did not participate in the challenge for yesterday – the challenge was to post a review but I was all caught up with my posts and I didn’t get to finish the current book I was reading in time to post a review.

Stay tuned for continued progress made in my next post on my Sunday update!!

2019 Monthly Status Update: November

Posted in For the love of books by

Patch-Management-Updates

November was a great month. I got some reading done, I got some work done, and I had a great holiday with family. I tried to devote as much time to reading as possible, though there’s always too much to get done! I read some new things this month, some of which I really enjoyed. So anyways, here are some highlights from November for me:

Monthly Stats:
# books read this month: 10
# pages read this month: 3,597
# books read year-to-date: 92
# pages read year-to-date: 32,814

Favorite Books I Read this Month:

41xn3v0LgqL

I LOVED The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell – it was creepy and mysterious and had some great plot twists. I didn’t want to put this one down! (4.75 stars)

Other Posts this month:

Nothing else for this month!

Next Month TBR List:

  • The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
  • The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe
  • Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
  • Forever My Duke by Olivia Drake

2019 Monthly Status Update: October

Posted in 2019, For the love of books, October Book Bingo, Reading Challenges by

Capture

October was a busy month for me work wise (as per the usual lately if I’m honest). I was doing a reading challenge and I only wish I had been able to devote more time to reading since I missed getting book bingo by only a couple books. Even so, I had a great time reading during October and since Halloween is my favorite holiday I tried to allow myself some spooky reads for the month! So anyways, here are some highlights from October for me:

Monthly Stats:
# books read this month: 7
# pages read this month: 2,501
# books read year-to-date: 82
# pages read year-to-date: 29,217

Favorite Books I Read this Month:

 

Capture

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa – did not post a review on this but it was so different and fun and it was one of my favorite books of the month! (4.0 stars)

Other Posts this month:

October Reading Challenge – Bookish Bingo!
The Widow of Rose House BLOG TOUR!! 

Next Month TBR List:

-The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
-Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher
-The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
-Don’t Close Your Eyes by Christie Craig
-Don’t Breathe a Word by Christie Craig
-The Princess Plan by Julia London

That’s a fairly manageable TBR list for me over a month so i’m also hoping to read something else among either my backlog, my owned books, or the next book from the Fated Mates podcast, which I’m trying to keep up with! Over the next month I’ll be trying to get a lot done at work while also gearing up for the holidays and getting ready for lots of family time, which I love! Here’s hoping you all had a colorful October and are looking ahead to a warm and loving November.

October Reading Challenge: Booktober Reading Bookish Bingo!!

Posted in 2019, For the love of books, October Book Bingo, Reading Challenges by

Bookish_-October-Bingo-700x394

Ahhhhh I love book bingo reading challenges! And combined with my OVERARCHING love for the Halloween Holiday and all things (lightly) spooky, I am so excited about this reading challenge this month. Work will be busy for sure but I’m hoping to get a lot of reading done still. Anyways here is the Bingo sheet for this month, courtesy of Bookish:

Bookish_-October-Bingo-1

Can’t wait to dig in and get reading! I’ll check back in at the end of the month on how my bingo sheet turned out. Happy October everyone!

2019 Book #50 – Buzz Books 2019 Romance Sampler

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Romance by

51nJyTD8rGLTitle: BuzzBooks 2019 Romance Sampler
Author: Various – see below
Date finished: 7/29/19
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Various
Publication Date: July 12, 2019
Pages in book: 252
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.

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

These are the samples that are included in the BuzzBooks 2019 Romance collection – each excerpt I’ve included a brief summary of my thoughts (based solely on the excerpts provided) and my interest in reading the whole book:

  1. Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams (November 5, 2019) – This was a really engaging first few chapters but I don’t think it is for me. It made me so sad to think about those little girls and what they’re dealing with. I know it’s really popular and I’m sure I would like it but I’m just not interested in reading it right now.
  2. The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken (August 27, 2019) – There was a lot going on in this book even just in the first couple chapters. There was a lot of dark, murderous stuff in the excerpt too and I didn’t quite grasp what was going on with just the first couple chapters.
  3. Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J Christopher (November 12, 2019) – This one seemed super good! I really liked the first couple chapters of this one, it was engaging and really grabs the reader into the story. I’m planning to request this one and hopefully read the full e-galley!
  4. Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (December 31, 2019) – I loved the start of this one. The excerpt really leaves you hanging on the edge of a cliff and I can’t wait to find out what happens. I loved the lyricism of the author’s writing and how well developed I felt like the main character was even just within the first couple chapters. Definitely requesting this one so I can hopefully read the full e-galley!
  5. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (September 3, 2019) – Seemed like a solid historical romance, nothing really grabbed out in the first couple chapters to grab me though. I think I’d enjoy reading it but I’m trying to limit my NetGalley requests.
  6. The Dating Charade by Melissa Ferguson (December 3, 2019) – This excerpt was tough, it didn’t really get far enough in to give you a feel of what the story would be. It seemed ok but didn’t grab me.
  7. The Bachelor by Sabrina Jeffries (February 25, 2020) – I liked this one, it sounded pretty good actually. I think I’d enjoy reading it but I’m trying to limit my NetGalley requests so I will have to pass on this one.
  8. The Princess Plan by Julia London (November 19, 2019) – I’ve already signed up to review this one so I was interested to read the first couple chapters. It sounds interesting and I’m looking forward to reading it.
  9. The Little Bookshop on the Siene by Rebecca Raisin (January 7, 2020) – This sounded like it would be sweet and most likely interesting to a book reader like me but the heroine sounded a little too naive for me based on the first couple chapters. I’m kind of interested in the book but am trying to limit my NetGalley requests so I think I’ll pass on this one.
  10. Unspoken by Kelly Rimmer (November 26, 2019) – I was actually kind of interested in this one but I can not get on board with these two people getting back together. Overall the second chance romance is not an enjoyable trope for me but especially with how much hatred there was between these two at the start of the book I just can’t see how they’ll end up reconciling.
  11. A Royal Christmas Wish by Lizzie Shane (September 10, 2019) – This one didn’t quite catch my interest, the heroine seemed like she was somewhat whiny which doesn’t appeal to me. And overall the plot doesn’t sound like it would be something I’d love.
  12. The Sunday Potluck Club by Melissa Storm (March 31, 2020) – Lot of potential here! Just the first couple chapters had me feeling so many things. I’m definitely going to be requesting this one and hopefully will get to read the full e-galley!
  13. A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon (February 25, 2020) – This one wasn’t for me (I don’t love cowboy romances anymore) but definitely seems like something others would enjoy!

2019 Monthly Status Update: April

Posted in For the love of books by

update-clipart-red-mouse-cable-shape-update-word-d-illustration-44887757

And I thought March was a crazy month, April was even crazier! Work really slammed me in April and I was trying to make sure I was still getting enough sleep so I didn’t read AT ALL for four weeks. Not my best time but I made it through. So anyways, here are some highlights from April for me:

Monthly Stats:
# books read this month: 1
# pages read this month: 515
# books read year-to-date: 22
# pages read year-to-date: 7,157

Favorite Books I Read this Month:

I only read one book but I can’t say I loved it so I’ll skip this for this month!

Other Posts this month:

Nothing for this month!

Next Month TBR List:

I didn’t really get to any of my April books so I’ll have to read those too but these are my upcoming to reads for May:

-Next Girl to Die by Dea Poirier
-The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
-The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
-Smitten by the Brit by Melanie Johnson
-The Earl Next Door by Amelia Grey

Short list for next month but based on my track record so far I’m hoping to be able to read at least these! I’m also hoping I’ll have time to catch up on a couple I missed over the first months of the year since I do have some concentrated reading time coming up this month! Looking forward to participating in Bout of Books this month, some vacation time, and also my reading retreat at the end of the month!