What's better than a weekend
filled with reading? Nothing!
If you're looking for a book to
read over the weekend, my
latest review is posted. More
books have also been added
to this week's list of new
releases. Enjoy!
Our Life in a Day was a
unique, refreshing love story.
I may be in the minority, but
I’m not the type of reader who
needs the happily ever after in
fiction. I am always drawn to
books that have the ability to
pull the good, the bad, and the
ugly from real life and provide
a realistic, honest view of a relationship.
New Releases!
- The Hail Mary (Waiting Series #3) – By Ginger Scott - This series must be read in order:
-Waiting on the Sidelines (Waiting Series #1)
- Going Long (Waiting Series #2)
- Enticing Iris – By Cherrie Lynn – Rock star romance!
- When Ashes Fall – By Marni Mann
It’s been said that you can’t love two men at the same time.
You can’t split your heart, soul, and body in half.
But I’m here to tell you, you can.
Dylan Cole is like ice, sharp and unpredictable, the
thunder inside a tumultuous storm.
Smith Reid is warmth, soft and gentle, perfect like a
sunny day.
Both are mine.
But I can have only one.
There are two sides to this tale.
I'm here to tell you mine.
If you think this story is about a cheater, you couldn’t be more wrong.
- Adèle – By Leila Slimani
She wants only one thing: to be wanted.
Adèle appears to have the perfect life: She is a successful journalist in Paris who lives in a beautiful apartment with her surgeon husband and their young son. But underneath the surface, she is bored--and consumed by an insatiable need for sex.
Driven less by pleasure than compulsion, Adèle organizes her day around her extramarital affairs, arriving late to work and lying to her husband about where she's been, until she becomes ensnared in a trap of her own making.
- The Dreamers - By Karen Thompson Walker
One night in an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a first-year student stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleep—and doesn’t wake up. She sleeps through the morning, into the evening. Her roommate, Mei, cannot rouse her. Neither can the paramedics, nor the perplexed doctors at the hospital. When a second girl falls asleep, and then a third, Mei finds herself thrust together with an eccentric classmate as panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. A young couple tries to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. Two sisters turn to each other for comfort as their survivalist father prepares for disaster.
Those affected by the illness, doctors discover, are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, higher than has ever been recorded before. They are dreaming heightened dreams—but of what?
- River Wild – By Samantha Towle
Pregnant and alone.
And far away from a past that can never find me.
River Wild.
Moody. Sullen. Asshole.
And my new neighbor.
I have no interest in befriending River. And he definitely doesn’t want to be befriended by me.
Then, he helps me rescue an abandoned dog. And, that day, I see something in his eyes that reflects back in my own. Sadness. Pain. Loneliness.
I know all of those things well.
An unwanted and unexpected friendship that somehow works. Then, without warning, it turns into something more.
River and I both have our secrets, and that’s okay. Because I understand him. And he understands me.
For the first time in my life, I have something I never thought I would have—happiness.
But happiness isn’t forever. Not for people like me.
Especially not when my past is waiting just around the corner, ready to come and take it all away.
- The Consequence of Falling – By Claire Contreras - An enemies-to-lovers office romance!
The list of things I hate is short. Not even my soon-to-be ex-husband is on that list. Nope. I save only the worst of the worst, the crème de la crème, the absolute I cannot even for this list . . .
1. Black coffee
2. Rude people
3. Nathaniel Bradley
Which is why when my father informs me that he’s making Nathaniel Bradley his new business partner, and in turn, my boss, I flip out.
1. He’s an annoying know-it-all.
2. He calls me a spoiled princess every chance he gets.
3. He disapproves of everything I do.
I go into this knowing I’ll hate every second in his presence. Except the longer he’s around, the more I find myself staring at his lips and remembering the one time they were on mine. I randomly find myself looking at his hands and wondering how they’d feel on my skin.
I try to snap out of it, but I guess I’m not as smart as I thought I was. No matter how many times I remind myself of the times I’ve practically thrown myself at him and he’s pushed me away, I keep falling little by little.
I’d always heard that it was a bad idea to mix business with pleasure and if that’s the case, this thing with Nathaniel has demise written all over it.
- Indiscretion – By Callie Anderson
One night changed everything…
Cole Hunter was arrogant.
Sexy.
And had eyes that made me melt with just one glance.
I built walls around my heart to block out men like him.
But he knocked them down.
Obliterated them.
Made me feel things I’d never felt before.
He was the savior I didn’t want.
My drug.
And I was his addict.
When I was with him, nothing else mattered.
Not even a relapse.
- Just Come Over (New Zealand) – By Rosalind James
Rhys Fletcher is not in love with his sister-in-law.
That would be a very, very bad idea, and he doesn’t entertain bad ideas. He also doesn’t lie to himself.
Both of those things can’t be true, so he’ll do what he’s done since the long-ago night when his brother, Dylan, turned up in an Auckland bar after a brutal rugby match between their two teams, and introduced his new girlfriend—a dark-eyed, impossibly short, much-too-young girl named Zora.
He’ll lie.
Now, his brother’s gone, and Rhys is back in New Zealand and settling into his new job as the head coach of the Auckland Blues. Surely, being there for Dylan’s widow and their son is the right thing to do. He can control himself. He’s had forty years of practice. Until he gets a call from his lawyer, and flies to the States to find that handsome, charming, endlessly irresponsible Dylan has left yet another loose end for his big brother to sort out.
This one is six years old. And her birth certificate says she belongs to Rhys.
- Wrong Bed, Right Roommate – By Rebecca Brooks
It's not every day you wake up to a stranger getting into your bed.
Only, he isn't a stranger at all, he's my best friend's hot older brother…and apparently my new roommate.
Having him in my space, driving me crazy, isn't a problem at all. Nope.
All I need to do is keep control of the situation…
- You’ve Got Male – By Lila Monroe - Two rival food truck owners compete for customers!
- No Exit – By Taylor Adams – Thriller!
On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.
Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate.
Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?
There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one?
Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape.
But who can she trust?
- Deal with the Devil (Forge Trilogy #1) – By Meghan March
You can put that man in a suit, but he'll never be tame."
One look at Jericho Forge and I knew the rumors were true. He was a predator, and he had set his sights on me.
I knew better than to bet more than I could afford to lose that night. I knew better than to bet myself. But desperation leads to bad decisions, and I thought there was no way I could lose.
I was wrong.
Now I have no choice but to make a deal with the devil.
- One Chance, Fancy (Bear Bottom Guardians MC #5) – By Lani Lynn Vale
- Betting On Us – By Kelly Collins – Mafia romance!
- Remedy – By Kaylee Ryan
It took one night with her to know she was my forever.
It took one minute for me to climb out of bed and drive away from her.
It’s taken me three years to confess that leaving her behind was the biggest mistake of my life.
I won’t stop until she knows what she means to me. I’ll convince her to listen to her heart...
- Love and Pancakes (Rockland Falls #1) – By Lacey Black
- Game On: An Aces Hockey Novel - By Kelly Jamieson
- Famous in a Small Town – By Emma Mills
- Hook (Men of Inked: Southside #3) – By Chelle Bliss
- Tangled Like Us – By Krista & Becca Ritchie
- Birthday Suit – By Lauren Blakely – Romantic comedy!
Happy Reading!
January 18th, 2019
This seems to be Jeremy Bates’ forte, the short story that quickly pulls his readers in and hits them over the head with an unanticipated ending. In that sense, Box of Bones does not disappoint.
Jim’s story is an interesting one, and one that is not completely absurd. He gets himself in over his head in a foreign country to find himself trapped in a coffin. Is there any good way for this to end?
What he's reading!
What she's reading!
Greg's Dailyish Blog
Shelley's Daily Blog
2 Book Lovers Reviews
The Lost Puzzler
By Eyal Kless
Forget You Know Me
By Jessica Strawser
January 11th, 2019
Book Review:
White Stag
By Kara Barbieri
And now for something completely different. White Stag is a Norse mythology-based YA novel that is filled with goblins and a cornucopia of other unique creatures. I love it when an author promises something new that goes outside of the norm of what is out there.
Unfortunately, White Stag was filled with many distractions. I kept thinking of Netflix’s Friends from College while I was reading it.
*Read my full review...
January 8th, 2019
Book Review:
Seven Days
By Patrick Senécal
I’d heard quite a bit of praise for Patrick Senécal, even before I knew that the English version of Les Sept Jours de Talion was going to be released. To be honest, I’m surprised that it took this long for one of his books to come to the English audience. With the comparisons to King and Nesbo, my expectations rose even higher.
*Read my full review...
December 28th, 2018
At the end of the year I always find it fun to take a look back at the fantastic books that I had a chance to read over the past twelve months. It's never easy putting a list like this together, there are so many great books that I read, some just have to be there, then there are some others that I ask myself, how can that not be on the list? But I suppose that is the challenge, picking the cream of the crop. I hope that you had a great reading year, and here's hoping that 2019 is filled with more amazing reads!
*See my list of top books of 2018...
December 21st, 2018
The Christmas Hirelings
By Mary Elizabeth Braddon
It’s always fun getting into the holiday season. When I saw that The Christmas Hirelings was being offered for free on Audible, I thought that it would be a great addition to my holiday preparations.
The Christmas Hirelings is set in Braddon’s contemporary period, circa mid to late eighteen hundreds. It is set in an aristocratic household and revolves around a preposterous idea.
Read my full review...
December 14th, 2018
Book Review:
The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore
By Kim Fu
Sometimes I’ll read a synopsis and get a specific idea in my head. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s the reality of what I do.
When I read the synopsis of The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore, I thought: Awesome! This sounds like a West Coast, female version of The Troop meets Stand by Me (tell me that doesn’t sound fabulous).
Read my full review...
December 11th, 2018
Book Review:
Galapagos
By Kurt Vonnegut
I think that everyone’s reading is influenced early on by the people in our lives. Parents, teachers, friends, they all tend to point us in certain directions for our reading. My influencing factors pointed me in directions other than Vonnegut. But I’ve heard his name come up frequently over the past few years, so it seemed to be about time to give him a shot. I’ve certainly been missing something special.
Read my full review...
December 4th, 2018
Book Review:
Ararat
By Christopher Golden
I love a story with a mysterious monster, make it biblical in nature and I am hooked. Ararat is one of those books I had been eyeing for a while before finally embarking on the voyage.
Golden masterfully created his cast of characters, although listed as Ben Walker #1, there were many other characters with critical roles.
November 27th, 2018
Book Review:
The Outsider
By Stephen King
I’ve always found that it’s hard to go wrong with a book from Stephen King, he completely dominates the horror charts and shelves. I love the meandering, detailed trails that I’ve traveled with him and his characters.
The Outsider grabbed hold of me with an incredible start. I was left with feelings of: How? What? Why? This story began with a total mind-f*ck. I loved it.
Read my full review...
November 20th, 2018
Book Review:
Annihilation
By Jeff VanderMeer
Appropriately, this is going to be a strange one. My Annihilation experience was perhaps as unusual as the story itself. I grabbed the audiobook for this experience. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, I generally set my expectations high when the powers that be decide to turn the book into a movie. They are rarely ever able to duplicate the magic of a fantastic book, but the base is often a sure bet.
Read my full review...
November 16th, 2018
Book Review:
Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
By Jodi Taylor
I’ll give Jodi Taylor this, she’s got a good thing going on with The Chronicles of St. Mary’s. I’ve grabbed a few of her shorts on Audible. They are great little distractions on my daily commute.
Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings takes its readers on a quick little holiday trip back to ancient Egypt. It is filled with what I am coming to know as Taylor’s trademark sarcastic humor.
Read my full review...
November 13th, 2018
Book Review:
Muse of Nightmares
By Laini Taylor
No book by my favorite pink-haired author would be complete without cake. Yes, there is cake in Muse of Nightmares, and that is the last spoiler that you’re going to get from me.
Less than two months ago I finished reading Strange the Dreamer, I was so captivated by this amazing world created by Taylor that I wanted…no, needed to get to the rest of the story. That in itself tells you how good this series is.
Read my full review...
November 6th, 2018
New Release & Review:
Someone Like Me
By M.R. Carey
What I love about all of M.R. Carey’s books is the tease. The covers, while all distinct, have a certain continuity to them. Even without the author’s name, you know that it is an M.R. Carey novel. There is a mystery to his covers, no hint to the setting, nothing to suggest what this story could be about, other than a nondescript, shadowed character.
October 26th, 2018
Book Review:
Roman Holiday
(The Chronicles of St. Mary's)
By Jodi Taylor
I was looking for a quick little story to listen to on my Friday commute. I really didn’t want to start a full-length book and then let it sit over the weekend. An hour and a quarter trip back in time to meet Julius Caesar and
Cleopatra seemed like just the thing.
January 18th, 2019
