Sunday Post #96

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week.

Last weekend one of our cats went missing which is not like him at all. I figured he was gone, but keep checking the local shelter's website to see if he may show up. We traveled up to our daughter's house Thursday afternoon when we spotted photos uploaded that looked exactly like our cat and I was beside myself. We loaded up at 4am to go back home so we could show up at the shelter and hopefully reunite with out cat. Turns out this was not our cat. My heart broke all over again.  My poor sweet kitty is probably gone for good. Our other cat is out of sorts, as well, since they were good friends and hunting buddies. I've received lots of "presents" from these two over the years. Nothing says "I love you mom" like a dead rat/mouse at your door.

My missing kitty.

We finally have some proper Fall weather and I was thrilled to get rain last night and today. We even had a double rainbow. Rain is the perfect weather for my mood.

Read:

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

Loved Burning Bright, the second Peter Ash book! Already have the next downloaded ready to go. Waiting on a Cowboy was entertaining except for some naivete on the heroine's part. I'm looking forward to the next book. Crazy Stupid Bromance was my favorite in the series, but all were a lot of fun. Claiming the Rancher's Heir was also a win for me!

Received/Purchased/Library Lend:

Watched:

I haven't read any of the books. The movie was entertaining, but nothing that knocked my socks off. 

How was your week?

Giveaway of 19 Young Adult Books!

 So here's another set of books that I've been meaning to giveaway, but have been too lazy to post. I'll list them all at the bottom with the Goodreads link. Some are signed by the author to me, some are ARCs. See below for description.  The giveaway is open to US Residents only. The shipping would kill me otherwise!

And don't forget to enter my Giveaway of 6 Adult Romance Books HERE!

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen-Hardcover

Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen-Hardcover

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen-Hardcover

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder-Hardcover

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt-Hardcover

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally-Paperback ARC signed by Author

Dash & Lily's Book of Dare's by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan-Hardcover signed by Authors

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle-Paperback ARC

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter-Paperback

Siren by Tricia Rayburn-Hardcover

Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn-Hardcover

Enthralled by Kelley Armstrong & more-Hardcover

The Sound by Sarah Alderson-Paperback

Sick by Tom Leveen-Paperback ARC

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan-Hardcover

Possess by Gretchen McNeil-Hardcover signed by Author

Vanish by Sophie Jordan-Hardcover

Firelight by Sophie Jordan-Hardcover

Hidden by Sophie Jordan-Hardcover

The giveaway is open to US Residents only. Fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Crazy Stupid Romance by Lyssa Kay Adams

 

Crazy Stupid Bromance (Book Bromance Club #3) by Lyssa Kay Adams

Publication Date: October 27th 2020 by Berkley

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Noah and Alexis become fast friends after Noah helps nail the man who sexually harassed Alexis and a whole string of women. Now as best friends they confide and rely on each other, and secretly crush on each other. Both are afraid to ruin the special bond they have. Noah worries that Alexis has put him firmly in the friend zone and Alexis has no clue that he feels anything romantic for her.

However, a moment of emotional vulnerability lowers their defenses to the point where the desire they continuously feel for each other leaks out, exposed for the other to see. From that point on their relationship shifts, becomes passionate and heated, and I was oh-so-happy for these two! As this all unfolds, Alexis deals with a family situation that throws her for a loop. She has an important decision thrust at her and it shakes both her and Noah up.

Crazy Stupid Bromance was a truly multi-layered story with Noah and Alexis’ romance at the center. Unrequited love is a favorite troupe, and the pent-up longing from afar they each felt led to a passionate payoff!

I have to say that I liked the animals in the last book a little better, Randy the homicidal (and “randy”) rooster cracked me the heck up, whereas I found Beefcake, the murderous cat, less entertaining. Still, any animal hijinks is a win for me.

Crazy Stupid Bromance is my favorite of the three books, just by a hair, mainly because Alexis was very likeable and relatable while Liz and Thea tested my patience a few times in the last two books. All were fun, though. This series is fun and flirty, with lots of laugh-out-loud humor, but also deals with more weighty issues with just the right balance for a satisfying, feel-good read!

4.5 Suns

About the book:

Alexis Carlisle and her cat café, ToeBeans, have shot to fame after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef’s sexual harassment. When a new customer approaches to confide in her, the last thing Alexis expects is for the woman to claim they’re sisters. Unsure what to do, Alexis turns to the only man she trusts—her best friend, Noah Logan.

Computer genius Noah left his rebellious teenage hacker past behind to become a computer security expert. Now he only uses his old skills for the right cause. But Noah’s got a secret: He’s madly in love with Alexis. When she asks for his help, he wonders if the timing will ever be right to confess his crush.

Noah’s pals in The Bromance Book Club are more than willing to share their beloved “manuals” to help him go from bud to boyfriend. But he must decide if telling the truth is worth risking the best friendship he’s ever had.

A hacktivist and a cat café owner decode the friend zone in this romantic comedy from the author of Undercover Bromance.

Giveaway of 6 Romance Books!

 I have so many books I keep meaning to put up for giveaway. Well, here's the first batch. I may do a really big YA giveaway on Saturday so stay tuned. 

Summer on Honeysuckle Ridge by Debbie Mason

Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher-ARC copy

Not That Kind of Guy by Andie J. Christopher-ARC copy

Faker by Sarah Smith-ARC copy

Blitzed by Alexa Martin-ARC copy

A Reason to Love by Alexis Morgan

The giveaway is open to US Residents only. Fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday Post #95

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week.

Normal work week here. Still hot with temps in the high 80s low 90s and supposed to be the same next week. I'll be up in Northern California again after a half day at work on Thursday. I hope to get some hiking in and the weather is cooler up there.  

I had to have dental surgery on Friday. A re-do of a root canal I had done when I was ten years old.  I chipped the tooth back then to the nerve.  It was over a crown so they had to go above the tooth, though my gums. Not fun or cheap. My face looked like a case of plastic surgery gone wrong with the swelling, but today it's a little better. I'm glad it's over with. 

Read:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

The Silent Wife was soooo good! I couldn't stop listening! I just love Will and Sara together! My husband and I listened to the rest of Age of Deception last weekend while driving back and forth from here to Lake Tahoe. Really enjoying the series and the next book should be out soon. We did a re-read *listen* on our way home from Lake Tahoe on Sunday. Finished it after we got home. 

Received/Purchased/Library Lend:

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

I'm so thrilled I got approved  for A Stranger in Town, because I love the Rockton series! Lisa Gardner is an auto-read for me and this is her first standalone mystery in twenty years. New characters are I'm excited to dig in. I've heard a lot of good things about The Thursday Murder Club and so I was happy to get an audio copy from the library.

Watched:

One of the all-time best ghost/mystery/thrillers for me. I love this movie and it scares me every time! The acting and the setting and scenery are top notch. Love the beautiful house in the Fall Vermont setting, too! 

This was a fun thriller, even with several TSTL moments. Not on the same level as What Lies Beneath, though.

How was your week?

Blog Tour Review: Blacklisted by Jay Crownover

 

Blacklisted (Loveless, Texas #3) by Jay Crownover

Publication Date: October 27th 2020 by Forever

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Links: Universal | Amazon | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Blacklisted is the classic opposites attract kind of romance. Shot is the President of the local Motorcycle Club/Gang and Presley is a doctor for the State’s Medical Examiner’s office, assigned to investigate deaths, suspicious and otherwise. So, while Shot is on the murkier side of the law, Presley is sworn to uphold it, but the heart wants what the heart wants…

These two are thrown together when Presley is called out by her half sister to tend to Shot after a life threatening injury and neither can stop thinking about the other after the incident.  Presley has her own problems; a psycho trying to take Presley’s life apart because of a jealous obsession, and anyone close to Presley usually suffers blowback. The start of this played out in the last book, which is why I think it’s better to read the series in order. I guess in a pinch this would work as a standalone, too, but you’d miss the backstory of the Lawton’s, Presley’s newly discovered family, and the previous stories are really good!

I’ve been loving this series from the beginning, but I was super excited to get to Presley and Shot’s romance because I love the opposites attract troupe! Blacklisted did not disappoint. Presley and Shot had oodles of chemistry, and I was hooked into their little back and forth dance, mostly with Shot chasing and Presley trying to resist. So much fun! However, Presley’s psycho stalker, the things she pulls and then the question of when she would strike next kept me glued to the pages as well. I read the story in a 24-hour period, because I couldn’t put it down!  

4.5 Suns

About the book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Marked Men series comes an irresistible and suspenseful romance between a doctor who plays by the rules and the outlaw who breaks them in order to protect her.

Dr. Presley Baskin has always lived a quiet, calm life. Unfortunately, nothing about her life in Loveless, Texas -- especially not the wild, rowdy, and impossibly close-knit Lawton family who've claimed her -- is quiet or calm. Which is how loner Presley finds herself roped into patching up local bad boy Shot Caldwell against her better judgment. Presley wants nothing to do with the dangerous, brooding leader of the local outlaw motorcycle club. But when someone starts stalking her, Shot is the only person she trusts to help. Plus he owes her one . . .

Palmer 'Shot' Caldwell has always known his life isn't made for relationships. At least until shy, secretive, Presley reluctantly pulled a bullet out of him. He's oddly protective of the pretty doctor, so when she comes to him for help, hard-hearted Shot suddenly realizes there's nothing he wouldn't do to keep her safe.

About Jay Crownover:

Jay Crownover is the international and multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men Series, The Saints of Denver Series, The Point Series, Breaking Point Series, and the Getaway Series. Her books can be found translated in many different languages all around the world. She is a tattooed, crazy haired Colorado native who lives at the base of the Rockies with her awesome dogs. This is where she can frequently be found enjoying a cold beer and Taco Tuesdays. Jay is a self-declared music snob and outspoken book lover who is always looking for her next adventure, between the pages and on the road.

Connect with Jay Crownover:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Reader Group

Read-Along Re-Read Review: Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

Storm Cursed (Mercy Thompson #11) by Patricia Briggs

Publication Date: May 7th 2019 by Ace

Pages: 384

Narrator: Lorelei King

Audiobook Length: 10hrs 15min

Source: Publisher and purchased audio copy

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible

I originally posted this on the blog last year, but as part of my read along with Anne at Books of My Heart I'm re-posting my original review with some thoughts upon re-read. Anne has a grand prize giveaway featured with the read along so hop on over and check it out!

Mercy Thompson continues to be one of my two favorite Urban Fantasy series'! The audios are perfection!

My Thoughts:
Re-read by audio October 25th 2020
Love this series a little more with every re-read! As usual I glean more details that I somehow missed the first time around. Listened to the entire book in one day. Long road trip and then couldn't stop listening when we got home!
 
Original review posted on the blog May 16, 2019:
It seems witches are the issue in Storm Cursed, the newest Mercy Thompson installment. Same with the latest Alpha & Omega (a companion series), Burn Bright. And I think they’re going to be important in the books to come. While it’s not necessary to read Burn Bright before Storm Cursed there are a few connecting dots between the two books. I don’t want to detail the plot because I think it’s best going in not knowing much, but as soon as I started reading I didn’t want to stop! I will say Sherwood Post, Wulfe, Zee, Tad, Elizaveta were big players in this installment, and there are some intriguing surprises.

Mercy Thompson is a series that is consistently amazing and keeps me wishing for more even when the series is at eleven books! That’s not even counting the companion series, Alpha & Omega. I just recently did a re-read of both series, one right after the other, that’s how good it is! Patricia Briggs’ writing is smart, and her stories are well-plotted. I feel like she examines the motivations of each of her characters before setting them on a path of action. Even the fight scenes are well-choreographed and exciting. The relationship between Adam and Mercy is strong, they both lean on each other for support without question, and there’s always an undercurrent of passionate simmering under the surface!

Mercy Thompson is one of my all-time favorite urban fantasy series, and if you haven’t picked it up you are missing out! Best to start at the beginning and read the books in order. I have an e-ARC, but I also bought an audio copy and that’s how I ended up “reading”. Lorelei King’s narration is perfection! Her performance of both her male and female voices are amazing, and her comedic timing when there’s humor is spot on! 

4.5 Suns