WHAT HAPPENED IN APRIL
- I completed the beginners yoga series in April. Not sure I'm a total yogi/convert but I enjoyed the instructor and sharing the experience with The Husband and my mom.
- Celebrated my younger sister's birthday. How is it she's getting older but I'm not? :)
- The Tampa Lightning didn't make it past the first round in the Stanley Cup play-offs. I no longer have a stake but I'm low-key pulling for the Carolina Hurricanes.
- Had my yearly eye exam for new glasses and contacts. And would like to say that daily wear multi-focal contact lenses must be made of platinum because they are freaking expensive. (I think I say this every year but it's true.)
- Took a week off (which lopped over into May) and enjoyed some much needed R&R.
WHAT I READ IN MARCH
I read/listened to ten books in April which is a repeat of March. No five star reads in April but I still read some really great books. The Bride Test and How To Save a Life were real stand-outs.
Flesh* (Flesh #1) by Kylie Scott | 3.5/5 stars
Skin* (Flesh #2) by Kylie Scott | 3/5 stars
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren | 4.5/5 stars
How To Save a Life by Emma Scott | 4.5/5 stars
Tangled* by Emma Chase | 3.5/5 stars
The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years #1) by Sarina Bowen | 4/5 stars
* denotes audiobook
FORMATS
Total Read: 10
2 physical books
4 e-books
4 audio books
2 ARCs
TOP OF THE HEAP
The Bride Test, How To Save a Life, The Unhoneymooners
THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP
Skin
It was entertaining... but also pretty ridiculous.
THE ONE THAT MADE ME RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY
The Bride Test
I could have just kept on reading about Khai and Esme (and Quan). I love those characters.
THE ONE WITH THE AWESOME EPILOGUE
Salvaged
The epilogue mentioned every single main character from the Marked Men series plus the Saints of Denver series and my heart was bursting with the last look at the characters I'd come to love.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BLOG
I had 17 blog posts in April (down from 24 in March) but that's what a week away will do for you. I posted 5 reviews plus a series review (for the Saints of Denver) so I'm giving myself a gold star. I shared the things that make me pick up a book as well as my favorite rainy day reads.
WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING
I'm not exactly flying through Hard As It Gets. It's been a week and I'm 170 pages in. I enjoy it well enough while I'm reading it, but it's not like I think about it when I'm not reading or can't wait to pick it back up. The exact opposite is true for Intercepted. I'm listening to this audio book every chance I get and seriously loving it. I adore both main characters, they act like adults (imagine that), and the conflicts are realistic, not over the top drama. I'm at about the 80% mark and don't want it to end!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE READ IN APRIL?
I'm glad you took a week off! And those lenses sound quite expensive. Yay for reading 10 books! It's sad they weren't 5 star but at least they were enjoyable :)
ReplyDeleteGenesis @ Whispering Chapters
I give 5 stars sooo rarely so it’s not unusual to go a month (or more) without one. Those are like my unicorn reads. LOL
DeleteOnce you finish Intercepted you'll need to pick up Fumbled ASAP!
ReplyDeleteI hope May has a five star read for you!
I just checked Overdrive for the audio of Fumbled since I LOVED the audio version of Intercepted. 10 week wait. Bahaha! Nope, gonna have to go the paperback route. I can’t wait that long for more.
DeleteOh I can't wait to read The Bride Test! And go Canes!
ReplyDeleteI hope you’ll love The Bride Test!
DeleteAnd go Canes, indeed!! :)
I had to laugh at your comments about your happenings in April. Hope those platinum contacts are serving you well! :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
LOL I’m still willing to pay the price but geez... I feel like I need an armed bodyguard when I pop in a pair of lenses. :)
DeleteI think I really need to read the unhoneymooners.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, Deanna! I think you would enjoy it.
DeleteCongrats on finishing the yoga class! Sorry your team didn’t get past the first round. I’m still impressed that the Avalanche have made it so far. I have no confidence in my team. Happy May!
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
“I have no confidence in my team.” LOL For some reason I find this hilarious and have been snort-laughing the last 10 minutes. :)
DeleteI've never had contacts, but just glasses in general are ridiculously expensive. I had the same pair for YEARSSSSS. lol I'm glad you had a pretty good reading month!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
So true, glasses are super expensive. And I had to update glasses *and* contacts this time. Cha-Ching! LOL
DeleteDefinitely have to read The Bride Test and The Unhoneymooners at some point.
ReplyDeleteI hope you’ll love both of them as much as I did!
DeleteI have such a love-hate relationship with yoga. Maybe it will turn into a hate-to-love thing hahaha
ReplyDeleteLOL That would be nice... or maybe it’s just not your think and you should kick it to the curb And tell it namaste. Ha!
DeleteSeriously! How awesome was Quan in TBT?! I hope Hoang is writing like a mad woman, because I need his book sooner than later. I am loving The Unhoneymooners too. CLo just work for me. I got progressives recently, and am struggling to get used to them. I got a great deal on them at Boscov's though. Did you see there is going to be an Intercepted TV series? I am down for that.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, so much love for Quan! I recently say someone say there would be six books in total from Hoang that are loosely connected. Can’t remember where I saw that or if it’s even accurate, but I hope so! I had to switch to progressives 2-3 years ago and didn’t have too much trouble adjusting. Same with the multi-focal contact lenses. I remember my doctor telling me to just not think about it too much... that my eyes would find the right spot and adjust. Hope it gets easier for you soon!
DeleteAn Intercepted TV series???!!! Gah! I might be convinced to actually turn on my television. LOL
I can't wait to get my hands on The Bride Test and The Unhoneymooners!! I read The Kiss Quotient and LOVED it and I just love Christina Lauren!! You had a reading month!!
ReplyDelete~ Kendra @ Kendra Loves Books
Loved The Kiss Quotient! So much so that I was nervous about The Bride Test. Like, how could it possibly live up, you know? But I just loved Esme and Khai and pulled so hard for them. :)
DeleteLooks like you had a pretty good month. The Bride Test and The Unhoneymooners are recent favorite reads for me as well. I loved Quan in The Bride Test so much!
ReplyDeleteI just adore Quan! I am so hopeful that he’ll get his own book. :)
DeleteI really enjoyed The Bride Test (as you know) too. I'm planning to pick up the Unhoneymooners this weekend. We'll see how things go though because this is the weekend of my half-marathon! I am getting away for it so I will have a bit of down time I hope to use reading. Glad to hear you enjoyed your R & R week! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you’ll love The Unhoneymooners, Rachel! I loved all the humor but there was a lot of heart in there, too. Things took a more serious turn later in the story and it made me happy to see how far Olive had come.
DeleteBest of luck in the half-marathon!
I want to try yoga so bad but I'm so scared! I want to read the Unhoneymooners so bad, but I haven't heard of the others.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a pretty great month! Glad you were able to get some relaxing in there.
Ash @ JennRenee Read
I was a tiny bit nervous before my first class but there was no reason to be. Everyone was concentrating on their own practice and doing their own thing... too busy to be looking around and judging others. :) And a great instructor helped, too.
DeleteI love yoga, and I think the more you do it, the more you get out of it. Well done for completing a challenge. And it was great you had so many 4.5 stars books, looks like it was a very satisfying reading month.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Trish. I’m sure the more I practice, the more I’ll get from it.
DeleteAnd April was definitely a good reading month. Thankfully May is off to a pretty good start, too. :)
Well I don't wear lenses but that kind of glass must also be made in gold or platinum!!! You had a great months quality wise Tanya!!! Oh and I am currently typing this in my hotel room, sans glasses (so maybe I will elave mistakes) just before doing some yoga LOL
ReplyDeleteHope that trip was gone well this past week, my friend! Fingers crossed that you have a super fancy hotel year... with plenty of room for yoga. LOL
DeleteUgh, I hate how expensive glasses and contact lenses are. I swear, I spend way too much money on them each year. I love the freedom contact lenses give me but why are they so pricey? Sorry there were no five star reads, but there were plenty of good ones and that's enough.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Becky. I have glasses so I can give my eyes a break from the contacts now and then but I mostly wear contacts. Love all the advantages but price sure isn’t one of them!
Deleteugh I need an eye year exam. I haven't had one in .. 4 years ouch. But last time I got it it was a mess and the glasses are just so expensive ): I especially don't like when they look at me funny when I ask to keep old frames.. but don't you like these 500 dollar ones? no
ReplyDeleteReading wise it looks like you had an amazing April!
Yes! The lenses are bad enough but the frames cost twice as much! It’s so crazy.
DeleteApril was definitely a good reading month. Fingers crossed that May really delivers, too! :)
I LOVED Intercepted so much! I'm glad to see that you're enjoying it, too.
ReplyDeleteOh, The Year We Fell Down. That is SO GOOD! Do you have the rest of the series ahead of you?
Thanks for sharing. :)
Oh my goodness, I loved Intercepted so much! I want to start Fumbled soon but I’m also feeling like there’s no way it can be as good as Intercepted. I mean... Gavin Pope!!!
DeleteOh yeah, I have all the Ivy Years books ready to go. I’m so excited to continue the series! :)
Curious about Intercepted. this sounds so good. Hope you are enjoying the yoga still. I need to get back into my practice.
ReplyDeleteIntercepted was so, so good, Melissa! As soon as I finished it I kind of wanted to hit play again and start all over at the beginning. And that is so unlike me!
DeleteYay for R&R! I used to do Yoga, but then I transitioned into kickboxing. Punching and kicking are a better stress reliever for me, haha. I'm happy to see you enjoyed The Bride Test! I'm waiting on my copy to arrive in the mail -- eep! I JUST started The Unhoneymooners like an hour ago, and stopped to take a break and visit blogs. The scene after the wedding...dude. I could not even deal with that. You know what I'm talking about!!
ReplyDeleteLindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
I can see where kickboxing would be quite the stress reliever. :) The Bride Test and The Unhoneymooners were two that I was highly anticipating this spring and they both totally lived up to my expectations. So good! I hope you’re off to a good start with The Unhoneymooners. OMG, that scene at the reception... blech! LOL
DeleteHow To Save A Life makes me think of the song by The Fray... And then makes me want to read the book AND listen to the song.
ReplyDelete10 books for April is pretty good!
I have to admit... I *really* dislike that song. LOL The guy mumbles the song and manages to sound whiny at the same time... gah! Every time it comes on I have to change the station. Haha!
DeleteBut you should definitely read the book. LOL
Lots of good books and glad you had some 5 stars that is always nice in the list. Enjoy May and here's to hoping or more 5 stars!
ReplyDeleteMary
Hope we'll both have some good reads this month!
Delete