The Sunday Post #145


The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
It's a chance to share news - a post to recap the past week on your blog, 
showcase books and things we have received, and share news about what is
coming up on your blog in the week ahead. You can find the info here:
Sunday Post Meme


It was a good week - just one where reading was not a priority. 

  • It was insanely busy at the office and I came home mentally drained every day. Not bad, just exhausting.
  • I went to my first ever yoga class. I'm taking a six week beginner's series and while I'm not an instant convert I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next class.
  • Yesterday was a total veg day and I did very little beyond binge-listen to Watching You. I regret nothing.
  • I have Daisy Jones & The Six from the library and am insanely excited to start it.
  • I'm headed to another hockey game this afternoon and can't wait! :)
How was your week?



Wednesday, March 6, 2019
WWW Wednesday #43

Friday, March 8, 2019
February Wrap-Up


WHAT I READ IN THE LAST WEEK:

Watching You - Lisa Jewell
Finished this one last night and... wow. All of a sudden things took a turn and everything I thought I knew I started to question. Well played, Lisa Jewell! .

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING: 

    
A Court of Frost and Starlight - Sarah J. Maas
The fact that this one is only 220-ish pages and that I've been reading it for a week honestly has nothing to do with the book and everything to do with the fact that I made very little time for reading all week. Even though I'm not devoting a lot of time to it, I'm really enjoying it.   


PHYSICAL BOOKS:

    

I added a few new beauties to the bookshelf this week. Unbreakable by Emma Scott is one that I'm excited to pick up soon(ish). Her stories always pull me in. I need more Christina Lauren in my life so I nabbed My Favorite Half-Night Stand when the price on Amazon dropped to just $8. And Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi finally released in paperback so it had to be mine. :)

KINDLE BOOKS: 

Not a thing!






How was your week? Any new books? Any news to share? 
I'd love to hear about it!
Posted by at 42 comments
Labels:

February Wrap-Up

Here's what happened in February:
  • I had a guest post at Beware of the Reader sharing my Top 5 Romantic Songs. And I was featured at JennRenneRead.
  • I had a four day weekend mid-month and it was fabulous.
  • I went to a showing of Star Wars with the score performed by an orchestra. Lots of fun.
  • I won two giveaways. One for an ebook of my choice and another for a physical copy of What the Wind Knows which I'm super excited to receive.

I read/listened to seven books in February which is down from the eleven I read in January. But February is shorter so I'm blaming it on that. Let's go with it, shall we? All three of my audio books were re-listens which was fun. I completed the Marked Men series (again) and have finally moved on to the spin-off series Saints of Denver. But more on that in next month's wrap-up. :)

On Thin Ice by Julie Cross | 4/5 stars
The Air He Breathes by Brittany Cherry | 4.25/5 stars
Rowdy by Jay Crownover | 3.25 stars
Wild Country by Anne Bishop | 4.5/5 stars
Sugar & Gold by Emma Scott | 4.25/5 stars
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli | 3.5/5 stars
Asa by Jay Crownover | 3.5/5 stars

FORMATS
2 physical books
2 ebooks
3 audio books

TOP OF THE HEAP
Wild Country, The Air He Breathes

THE DISAPPOINTMENT
Leah on the Offbeat
Just didn't meet my expectations.

MADE ME CRY EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A RE-READ
Sugar & Gold

THE ONE MORE PEOPLE SHOULD BE READING
On Thin Ice


WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BLOG
I had 18 blog posts in January which I'm totally happy with. But that only included 4 book reviews which I'm not so happy with. My goal in March? Step up my review game. Books reviewed in February were: The Air He Breathes, On Thin Ice, Leah on the Offbeat, and Wild Country.

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING
   
A Court of Frost and Starlight - Sarah J. Maas
Watching You - Lisa Jewell
I'm 100 pages into ACOFAS and hope to finish it this weekend. I love being back in this world and around this tight-knit group of friends/family. I'm about 60% into the audio version of Watching You and I can hardly stop listening. This is a slower, quieter mystery. There aren't shocking events happening every chapter. Instead there's a growing sense of unease, of there bring more than meets the eye, and that something big is going to happen when it all comes to a head.



WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE READ IN FEBRUARY?

Posted by at 26 comments
Labels:

WWW Wednesday #43 | March 6, 2019


WWW Wednesdays is a meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words.
Just answer three questions and share what you're reading.

All my moaning about the serious lack of winter this year worked! LOL We seem to be getting a last blast of winter with unseasonably cold temps. It's dipped into the 30's the last few nights and temps are staying in the 50's during the day. Go ahead and laugh, my northern friends (I know you are! LOL) but that's cold for Florida in March! I'm loving it, though. It'll be way too hot, way too soon so I'll take the cold for as long as it lasts! :)

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
    
A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR #3.1) - Sarah J. Maas
I've heard time and time again that people were disappointed in this one, that nothing of importance happens, that it can be skipped... but guess what? I don't care. :) It's been almost two years since A Court of Wings and Ruin and I miss these characters. I love revisiting them, I love the different points of view, I love the peek into their lives since the war with Hybern. I'm eating this one up with a spoon and enjoying every bite. ♥ 
I started the audio version of Watching You on Sunday and I'm slowly getting pulled in. Lisa Jewell has a way of doling out information bit by bit that is seemingly innocuous but as it starts to pile up you can just feel something looming on the horizon. 

WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?
Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating - Christina Lauren
This book! Oh my goodness, I have so much love for Josh and Hazel and their story. Never have two people belonged together more. They were so precious and their story did my heart good. Plus, this one was riotously funny and I laughed my way through page after page. And an epilogue that gave me all the feels. Another big, big hit from CLo! 

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'LL READ NEXT?
      
       
        

Plenty of options of what to read next. I have Gentleman Sinner from the library. I've never read anything by Malpas but the synopsis of this one caught my eye. Restore Me is high on the list. I want to get caught up with the Shatter Me series, especially since a new novella (Shadow Me) just released yesterday and Defy Me comes out in April. I'm dying to read Daisy Jones and The Six. I predict that it will be one of my favorites of the year. And then there's What the Wind Knows, Be The Girl and I Want You Back also in the mix.

What are you currently reading?
I wanna know! :)

Posted by at 26 comments
Labels: , , ,

The Sunday Post #144


The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
It's a chance to share news - a post to recap the past week on your blog, 
showcase books and things we have received, and share news about what is
coming up on your blog in the week ahead. You can find the info here:
Sunday Post Meme


Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Do anything fun? Yesterday I got together with my mom and one of my sisters for what was supposed to be a day of shopping. But we never made it past the lunch portion of the day. Ha! We ended up staying at the restaurant for almost 4 hours just talking. We're weren't too motivated to move on to the shopping portion of the day since it was raining nonstop. So we stayed put and still had a good day. Better luck next time with the shopping! :) 

Any Kristin Hannah fans? We've already heard that The Nightingale is being adapted for the big screen and should release near the end of the year. Well now another of Hannah's books is being adapted for TV. Firefly Lane is the first book by KH I ever read and is still a favorite. Almost makes me want to get Netflix... almost.
I got a good laugh this week when Jay Crownover responded to my tweet. A scene from the Built audio book had me all weepy and she came through with the tissues. Thanks, Jay. LOL 


 The Husband bought me the cutest rose gold cart for my library and I'm kind of obsessed with it. I haven't even moved it into the library yet because I want to see it all the time - so it's been hanging out in the living room. Eventually I'll develop a little system - TBR books on one shelf, books read but need reviews written on one shelf, etc. - but for now I just enjoy making heart eyes at it. :)



WHAT I READ IN THE LAST WEEK:

    
Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating - Christina Lauren
Love, love, love! I'm beginning to think Christina Lauren can do no wrong. This is my third from them and I have loved all three. Josh and Hazel are two of the most precious main characters ever and I just want to hug them both and never let them go. And that epilogue was like a great big gift with a pretty pink bow.

Built (Saints of Denver #1) - Jay Crownover
I finished listening to this one yesterday and while I overall enjoyed it, it was kind of a mixed bag when it came to the main characters. I adored Zeb. Seriously one of my favorite male characters ever from Jay Crownover. But by the mid-way point of the book I was so over Sayer and her issues that I was ready to scream. Zeb obviously had the patience of a saint because anyone else would have moved on from Miss Hot & Cold a long time ago. Geez!

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING: 

    
Starry Eyes - Jenn Bennett
Okay, this is actually kind of a place holder because technically I'm not reading anything right now and I'm not 100% positive of what I'm going to pick up next. Starry Eyes is a possibility but I can't decide if I'm really in the mood for YA. I keep browsing my library and just haven't settled on anything yet. But for now I'm sticking Starry Eyes here and going with it. :)  



PHYSICAL BOOKS:

    
I've been so into reading physical books lately. It's even been guiding my reading choices. I've been choosing books I own in a physical version over those only on my Kindle time and time again. And even though The Son & His Hope is a chunky one, I still wanted it in paperback. Now I just need to prepare myself to have my heart trampled when I read it.

eARC FOR REVIEW: 

The Last Post - Renee Carlino
I'm always excited for a new release from Renee Carlino and The Last Post sounds like another emotional story that's going to have me totally invested.

WON:
From Lukov With Love - Mariana Zapata
I won a giveaway from the ladies over at Book Binge and got to choose an ebook from their list of offerings. I've been wanting to try something from Zapata for ages so I was excited to see that From Lukov With Love was one of the options. I'm excited for this one!
   





How was your week? Any new books? Any news to share? 
I'd love to hear about it!
Posted by at 46 comments
Labels:

Review: Wild Country by Anne Bishop

Wild Country
Anne Bishop
Publication date: March 5, 2019
Series: The World of the Others #2, The Others #7
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Adult
Source: Berkley Publishing and NetGalley

GOODREADS  |  AMAZON
There are ghost towns in the world—places where the humans were annihilated in retaliation for the slaughter of the shape-shifting Others.

One of those places is Bennett, a town at the northern end of the Elder Hills—a town surrounded by the wild country. Now efforts are being made to resettle Bennett as a community where humans and Others live and work together. A young female police officer has been hired as the deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff. A deadly type of Other wants to run a human-style saloon. And a couple with four foster children—one of whom is a blood prophet—hope to find acceptance.

But as they reopen the stores and the professional offices and start to make lives for themselves, the town of Bennett attracts the attention of other humans looking for profit. And the arrival of the Blackstone Clan, outlaws and gamblers all, will uncover secrets…or bury them. 


M Y   T H O U G H T S
The wait between last year’s Lake Silence and Wild Country was a long one but it was so worth it. This return to the world of The Others was everything I wanted. Unlike Lake Silence, where everything felt new from the location to the cast of characters, in Wild Country we return to the town of Bennett and plenty of familiar faces.

It’s only a matter of weeks after a war between humans and the terra indigene (beings that occupied the earth long before humans) and the town of Bennett is being resettled. This draws not only people looking to make a fresh start but also con artists and criminals. The town quickly becomes a mix of both humans and Others (shape shifting wolves, ravens, panthers and more) with vampire Tolya Sanguinati serving as the town leader. With feelings ranging from uneasy acceptance to outright hostility (from both sides), it’s only a matter of time before things reach a boiling point in Bennett. Some humans and Others have forged a tenuous alliance to avoid further bloodshed and loss of life (courtesy of the Elders who remain largely unseen). But there are those who seem determined to repeat the mistakes of the past and are on a collision course with another clash between humans and Others.

As always, one of my favorite aspects in this series is the interaction between the terra indigene and humans. It’s always interesting watching as they adapt to one another and it never fails to lead to some laugh out loud moments (and yes, some dangerous ones, too). In this case, Jana, a human police officer and her boss Virgil Wolfgard, the sheriff, have to learn to work side by side and trust one another. Jana wants a chance to prove herself as a female police officer and Virgil has to remember to not bite her when she yaps at him. While I enjoyed almost all the new characters introduced in Wild Country, it was these two that had me invested and they provided not only real character growth but also some comic relief and a few genuinely sweet moments.

It never fails to surprise me that in this amazing urban fantasy series so many humans remain convinced of their superiority and invincibility. Newsflash: in this stunningly original world that Bishop has created, humans are not at the top of the food chain. But there are always those whose hubris will be their downfall. The cruelty and senseless violence from some of the humans begs the question: who is actually the more humane – the humans who lie and cheat and kill? Or the Others, who put Pack above all, take care of their own, and have their own swift form of justice?

The timeline of Wild Country overlaps somewhat with Etched in Bone (the fifth and final book in the original series) so readers of the original series will recall certain events that took place, now seen from a different perspective. But even those new to the world of the Others will be able to fall right into this fast-paced story and enjoy the ride. 

4.5/5 STARS

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. This does not impact my opinion of the book or the content of this review. I received no compensation and my review is voluntary.

Posted by at 22 comments
Labels: , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)