It's a chance to share news: a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books,
and share what's coming up on your blog in the week ahead.
T H E W E E K I N R E V I E W
I hope everyone who celebrated the 4th last Monday had a great holiday. We cooked out
some burgers and otherwise stayed cool indoors. Shockingly, the fireworks didn't seem to
go on as long as in years past. They usually go on till 1 AM or later but I don't remember
hearing much after 11:00 or so Monday night. I'll take it as a win. :)
On Tuesday, the AC in the office was faulty. It was hot and muggy in the morning and I
kept a fan blowing on me trying to stay cool. One of the facilities guys made an adjustment
and by the afternoon it was 65 degrees in my office. Lesson of the day: wear layers! LOL
The Husband had a medical appointment on Thursday morning that I wanted to be at so
I worked the rest of the day from home. It was a nice break... plus I wasn't overheating or
freezing like at the office. Ha!
Why is it that the short weeks seem longer? Even though it was a four-day work week, it felt
like the weekend would never get here. Anyone else?
This week's 80's music fix is C'est La Vie (1986) by Robbie Nevil. Not a huge hit, but still
a cool song. Enjoy!
O N T H E B L O G
Tuesday, July 5
W H A T I R E A D
Kindle: Caressed by Ice (Psy-Changeling #3) - Nalini Singh
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I didn't connect with Brenna and Judd as much as I did the couples
in the previous books, but I still enjoyed this installment.
C U R R E N T L Y R E A D I N G
Kindle: The Best Bad Things - Jay Crownover
Audio: Kulti - Mariana Zapata
Jay Crownover dropped a surprise release with The Best Bad Things last
month and I was instantly intrigued. After reading Deanna's review, I knew
I didn't want to wait to read it. I'm only about 30% in and I can't wait to see
where the story goes and how this all plays out.
I started my third book from Mariana Zapata and it kills me to say that I'm
just not connecting with either main character very well. With the previous
two books, I was all-in from practically the first page. Here, not so much.
Kulti is a total ass who barely speaks and he hasn't opened up enough for me
to change my opinion yet. And Sal... if she would just stop saying "poop" on
every other page I might be able to get on-board a little more. Apparently
reminding herself that Kulti is just a regular guy (one with basic human bodily
functions) helps her get over her crush - and saying "poop" every time he's around
is how she does that. It's so overdone and I need her to stop. I know Zapata loves
the slow burn so I'm happy to hang in there and give it more time.
N E W A D D I T I O N S
Nothing... yet. But I was pre-ordering like nobody's business this week.
I currently have pre-orders for My Scorned Best Friend (July 12), Husband
Material (August 2), My Fake Fiancé (August 23), and It Starts With
Us (October 18).
T O T A L L Y R A N D O M
HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT!
Our 4th of July was pretty quiet too. Sorry Kulti is disappointing. I hate it when I request a book from an author who I have enjoyed in the past, and then the book is not good.
ReplyDeleteBonnie - I wouldn't say Kulti is disappointing. I'm definitely enjoying it, just not as much as the others I have read from Zapata.
DeleteI agree that short weeks always seem extra long! Especially when the day off is on Monday. I'm glad the fireworks weren't too disruptive this year for you. We had some pretty loud and BIG ones going off in our neighborhood, but thankfully Henry's AC unit was loud enough to cover it up!
ReplyDeleteAngela- It's like, Short Week Phenomenon or something. lol
DeleteI bought Kulti because of all the raves, but I found I am just not a fan of Zapata's writing. If I read the "poop" one more time, I would slam my head against a wall to make it stop. I feel her books are overly long for no reason too. I know I am in the minority opinion though.
ReplyDeleteLOL Sam! I'm not quite at the slamming-my-head-against-the-wall stage but I might get there. :) There are a few things that I don't love about Zapata's writing (she loves to repeat a word three times and does it often, and of course the length which sometimes feels unnecessary), but I do think she's a great story teller and I tend to love her characters (usually). I'm starting to warm to Kulti so we'll see how it goes.
DeleteSounds like a good week. Annoying about the AC. It hasn't been too bad over here in the UK but I know that we have some hot weather in the pipeline. Every year my partner goes on about getting AC but we only have a couple of really hot days a year so it isn't worth it 😂
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great week next week
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2022/07/10/sunday-post-39/
Emily - It's hard to imagine only needing AC a few days a year. Actually, it sounds pretty fantastic. LOL
DeleteI'm glad you had a good holiday! My neighbors are still shooting off fireworks every night. The entire summer is July 4 for them. :)
ReplyDeleteAj - OMG, seriously? Surely they'll run out of fireworks soon. Ugh!
DeleteYeah short weeks seem to go on forever. And I think it's a rule of the universe or something that it's either too cold or too hot at the office. Where's the happy medium? :) Our AC at home went out this week but luckily it was an easy fix.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good 4th!
That song totally takes me back!
Greg - Apparently no happy medium in the office but I'll take cold over hot any day. :) Glad you AC was fixed quickly!
DeleteI noticed fewer fireworks in our neighborhood this year, too. I did see something about a fireworks shortage, so perhaps that was a factor. We stayed home and had a quiet Fourth, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's disappointing when a book doesn't live up to your expectations. I hope you are right and you'll find the characters more engaging as you get further into the book.
Office heat and AC is such a pain sometimes! The AC where my husband works is set by management, based on the calendar rather than what the weather is actually doing. So when we had a cooler-than-seasonal day last week, he had to pop out to buy a sweater, because it was about 60 in his building!
Lark - Oh my goodness, that's crazy that it's so cold in your husband's building! I guess everyone goes in bundled up every day.
DeleteWe had friends over the dinner on the 4th, but they didn't stay past 8 and we didn't really celebrate. Last night we went to a friend's wedding. I think I'm going to be worried for the next week hoping we didn't get covid.
ReplyDeleteDeanna - I went to my nephew's weeing last month and was sooo nervous about it. I stayed masked at the ceremony but obviously had to take it off to eat at the reception. I heard later from my sister that they only heard about one positive case afterwards, but I'm sure there could be more that she didn't hear about. I consider myself very lucky. Hope it was the same for you.
DeleteI cannot do the slow burn books. I gave up on Zapata a while ago because I just knew I was not cut out for it! Hope you enjoy the best bad things! I love Crownover.
ReplyDeleteSamantha - I can usually get on board for the slow burn. And I've found that I enjoy Zapata. I'll probably finish Kulti today and I can't believe I ever disliked they guy. LOL
DeleteHonestly I've avoided Mariana Zapata. Because I have to be in the mood for a slowburn and most importantly how long I've heard her books are.
ReplyDeleteI really need to check out Jay Crownover's books. I read one and really loved it.
Alicia - Zapata's books are definitely long. And the couple is not going to really get together until way far into the book. But the journey getting them there is so good. :)
DeleteOops I did it again! Lol^^^^ That last comment was from me
ReplyDeleteWe had a pretty laid back 4th and the fireworks didn't seem last long but I bet people had to go back to work Tuesday. Aww Judd is a favorite for some of us in the COYER group. But really the books just keep getting better and better as we went along. Layers are a necessity year round.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Anne - I'm excited to continue on with the Psy-Changeling series. I was in a weird reading more for a week or so and that probably impacted how I felt about Judd and Brenna's book.
DeleteI'm glad you had a nice 4th of July. Thanks for sharing C'est La Vie! I haven't heard that song in a long time, it was fun to hear it again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy! Yeah, that song was a blast from the past that I rarely ever hear.
Deletei had to check out best bad things after your comment. i also saved 239.19 LOL
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
LOL Sherry :) A trip to Target is a dangerous thing!
DeleteYES this past short week was incredibly long.
ReplyDeleteJinjer - It's a phenomenon that short weeks feel so long! lol
Deletehaha the "poop" references kinda drove me crazy too, but I think I overlooked it because Kulti is such a highly recommended book so while I do recommend sticking with it, because she likes to drag out the slow burn, its really up to you. I would say give it till 50% at least. But its up to you, I just noticed thats when the romance and the story started to really work for me. I loved her dad though, he was so amazing. I am glad you had a great 4th of July. I also noticed that fireworks stopped around 11PM which is perfect actually. So I was glad that they didn't go on all night. It was really for just an hour around me so I was fine with it. I hope you have a relaxing week!
ReplyDeleteRenee - Oh, I had no intentions of DNFing Kulti. I was just venting about the one thing that annoyed me. I know with Zapata you've got to stick with it for the long haul. :) I'll probably finish the audiobook today and I'm loving it.
DeleteTotally feel you that the short weeks feel longer.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes - layers are such a pro tip!
Sara - Whoever decided on 5 day work weeks should get a swift kick. lol
DeleteI have not read Kulti, but having someone say "poop" all the time would drive me crazy. Hope it gets better!
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, short work weeks are great but they often do feel longer!
Lauren @ www.shootingstarsmag.net
Lauren - Well, she finally stopped saying "poop" every other page. lol I'll probably finish the book today or tomorrow and I'm loving it. :)
DeleteThe same story here for the 4th. Not as many fireworks as in the past and I was so grateful! I actually got some sleep! It was great!
ReplyDeleteCarrie - Right? I mean, did everyone get the memo and lay off the fireworks early? lol I sure wasn't complaining!
DeleteThat Target meme is sooo me! I can't get out of that place without spending $200! I love it. I had some favs and ones I didn't like as my in the Psy-Changeling series. Sometimes I liked the on-going story arc better than the actual romance. I loved Kulti, but he was a pill at the beginning. I'm so happy to report I didn't hear one firework go off at our house. I think they are really conscious of the fire danger here in Northern California. They do have shows over some of the lakes around, but I was too tired to attend anything.
ReplyDeleteRachel - Right? That Target meme is the truth! lol I've done a total 180 with Kulti and now I can't believe I was ever annoyed by him. I love the guy! :)
DeleteI already commented on this post but forgot to add my two cents about the need for layering in the office.
ReplyDeleteI've been working from home the past six years so I had forgotten about how I used to freeze to death in the office every day because the AC was always cranked so high. Had to bundle up in sweaters, thick socks, and fingerless gloves at my desk and then had to remove all of it before stepping outside to go to lunch so as not to die from the heat.
Jinjer - Oh my goodness, that's just crazy! I mean, it's chilly in my office but nothing like what you described. I can't imagine having to bundle up like that and try to work with gloves on. Sheesh!
DeleteFirst off, absolute truth about Target! LOL! And yeah, you're right, we didn't have as many fireworks this year either - it was very light and over pretty early. You won't hear me complainging! I read Psy-Changeling last year and it's definitely a favorite series. I don't recall how I felt about Brenna and Judd at that moment, but I did come to ADORE Judd over the series. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteBerls - Funnily enough, you're the second person who has mentioned loving Judd as the series progressed. Now I'm super curious to see how his role changes!
DeleteYes, last week felt like it would never end! LOL at your Target random. So relatable, haha.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne - Glad to know it wasn't just me. Those 4 day weeks can be killers.
DeleteI hope Kulti improves(d) for you. I haven't read it, but I've seen so many great reviews for it. She for sure is queen of the slow burn.
ReplyDeleteAlison - I knew to stick with Kulti. Zapata makes you wait for the good stuff. LOL Now I adore the guy. :)
DeleteThanks for commenting on my post. Sorry it has taken me nearly half a week to get back to you. I've been exhausted from moving and unpacking. I'm sure you understand.
ReplyDeleteI noticed the same thing about the fireworks. The 4th was really loud and went one for quite a while. But, usually where we are, we get lots of loud fireworks from July 1 to 7. This year, we only got them from the 1st to the 4th. I was very surprised.
Jenni - I know how exhausting moving is! Hope it's going well. Seems like a lot of people scaled back on the fireworks. Lucky for the rest of us! :)
Delete