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WWW Wednesday #95 | July 8, 2020


Yesterday saw some pretty intense storms come through and there are more expected today. Bring it on! I love a good storm... do you?

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

     

King - T.M. Frazier
The Player - Claire Contreras

I'm not particularly a fan of shirtless guy covers, but somehow I managed to be reading two at the same time. :)

Currently reading: I read my first by Frazier earlier this year so I already knew she wrote some messed up stuff. And the stuff happening in King is seriously messed up. But I was in the mood for something dark and this is definitely delivering.
Current progress: 106/293

Currently listening: I downloaded The Player from Hoopla just to have something to listen to. I've read something by Contreras before and enjoyed it but this one is just kind of... meh. So far the whole premise seems to be the big soccer star wants to have sex with the female lead while he's in town. That's it. He's attracted to her and wants a hook-up. So yeah, kind of hard to feel anything other than mild interest.
Current progress: 28%

WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?
Read/Listened to: I did a combination of physical book and audio book with The Rebel King and it made for a great reading experience. There was plenty of drama but also plenty of emotion and together it worked for me. 

Read: I read an ARC of Inked last week and it was a fun read. The insta-connection was in full effect, along with an unexpected pregnancy trope, but I just went with it. My review will post next Monday as part of the release day blog tour.

 Read: I was excited for The Mall but it fell flat for me. The main character wasn't at all likable and I found myself concentrating on what an abominable brat she was. The early 90's pop culture references were fun, though, so there was that. 
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'LL READ NEXT?
  
  

None of these happened last week sooo... better luck this week?

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

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Top Ten Tuesday: Most Read Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: 
Most Read Authors

When I started checking Goodreads for my most read authors I had a pretty good idea of who they would be. I mean, I know who I read. And for the most part I was right, but there were a few surprises!


Danielle Steel - 50
It's been 15 years or more since I read anything by Danielle Steel but she was a mainstay throughout the 80's and 90's.

Jennifer L. Armentrout - 38
No surprise here. I've read loads from her... but still haven't read them all.

Abbi Glines - 29
Between the Rosemary Beach series, the Sea Breeze, and others... it added up.

Dean Koontz - 28
Back in the 90's I went through a serious Dean Koontz phase.

Colleen Hoover - 19
There's not much she's written that I haven't read.

Bertrice Small - 19
That time I went through a historical romance period and read several series from Small.

Sarina Bowen - 16
The lady who brought me #Wesmie has also brought many other favorites.

Jane Green - 16
After several duds I finally gave up on Green, but back in the day she wrote some that I really loved.

Rachel Caine - 15
With 15 books in the Morganville Vampire series, she was bound to make this list.

Lisa Jewell - 14
From her early days of chick lit and women's fiction to her more recent mysteries and domestic dramas, I've almost read them all.


Who is your most read author?


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The Sunday Post #215


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

  • For those in the U.S, I hope you had a good and safe 4th of July. We stayed at home, threw a couple burgers on the grill for dinner, and then had to listen to neighborhood fireworks for four straight hours. It was insane. And all I could think was, "how much money did you all spend that is quite literally going up in smoke?" I've just never understood the appeal of fireworks.
  • I was alerted on Friday that an employee at my company has tested positive for COVID. The first (that we are aware of, anyway). Those that he's had contact with have now been asked to get tested and quarantine. I suppose it was only a matter of time, but it's still disturbing when it hits close to home, so to speak. (And for the record, no, I had no contact with the employee.)
  • After some arm-twisting from The Husband, I finally upgraded my iPhone this week. I've had my 6S Plus for years (at least 4 years) and it was time. I was waffling on the decision but when I saw the iPhone 11 came in purple I was sold. LOL I'm all about the aesthetic. :)
  • This week's 80's music fix is Rush Hour by Jane Wiedlin. This song seemed to be everywhere the summer of 1988.
WHAT I COMPLETED IN THE LAST WEEK:
WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING: 
    

The Rebel King (All the King's Men Duet #2) - Kennedy Ryan



Not a thing this week.







How was your week? Any new books? Any news to share? 
I'd love to hear about it!
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The Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag | 2020

This is my 4th year doing this tag and it's a fun one. I like pausing mid-year to take a look back at what I've read in the last six months. Which books have been real stand-outs, which authors have knocked my socks off, and what books I'm looking forward to in the coming months. So let me pull up my GoodReads shelves for reference and we'll get started.

1. BEST BOOK YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2020


Always starts with the toughest question! And in years past I've always shared three or four (or five) books, never able to narrow it down to just one "best" book. But this year that's not a problem because there truly is one stand-out. Still by Kennedy Ryan was stunningly good. And even now is still my only 5 star read of the year so far. Kennedy Ryan wrote more than just a love story. She managed to interweave social issues, poetry, humor and heart and combined it all to make a story that was vast and rich and relevant. Still was smart and thought-provoking, beautiful and gritty - and completely unforgettable.

2. BEST SEQUEL YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2020


Another easy one! Armentrout kicked up the action and the intensity in Rage and Ruin and it was a wild ride. A paranormal/urban fantasy, a kick-ass heroine who was still vulnerable, a swoony heroes, lots of action, and plenty of humor and plot twists that blew my mind. And that ending!

3. A NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN'T READ YET BUT WANT TO

     

This question might as well be called Reader Hall of Shame. Because let's be real - those new releases keep cranking out every single Tuesday and maybe some of you speedy readers can keep up but I can't! I was beyond excited for a follow-up to K.A. Tucker's The Simple Wild and yet Wild at Heart released in February and I still haven't read it. Too many books and too little time... it's the story of my life.

4. MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2020

     

Easy-peasy. Colleen Hoover's Heart Bones (July 28) and The  Brightest Night by Jennifer L. Armentrout (October 20).

5. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT


The Honey-Don't List wasn't a bad book by any means, and maybe it seems odd to give a book just over three stars and still consider it my biggest disappointment. But The Honey-Don't List wasn't at all what I expected or wanted and, frankly, I've just come to expect more from Christina Lauren.

6. BIGGEST SURPRISE

    

I had high hopes for both of these but I had no idea how much I would love them. Both We Own Tonight by Corinne Michaels and Cake by J. Bengtsson were huge surprise hits for me.

7. FAVORITE DEBUT OR NEW-TO-ME AUTHOR

     

I've read several new-to-me authors already this year but it's been Corinne Michaels and Devney Perry that have been the stand-outs. I've already read multiple books by both authors and I'm excited for more. 

8. NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH


No real fictional crushes this year but for the sake of not leaving a category unanswered I'll go with Griffin from That Second Chance by Meghan Quinn.

9. NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER


Ryan Wesley and Jamie Canning are always two of my favorite characters ever. #Wesmie

10. A BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

  

How much time do you have? I cry in half the books I read. ;) But these three come to mind. Where the Lost Wander was a powerful and moving story. Those characters truly endured and their losses brought me to tears. Kennedy Ryan knows how to shred my emotions and she did it again in Still. I sobbed. And a loss in We Own Tonight, that was kind of inevitable but still sad, had me all teary.

11. A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY


If I've said it once I've said it a hundred times: Lora Richardson writes the sweetest, most heartfelt, small town contemporary YA novels around. And Anticipating Spring was happy, feel-good reading at its finest.

12. FAVORITE BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATION


Ummm... *crickets.* I haven't even been to the theater this year, much less seen a book to movie adaptation. So I'm going to stick with my same answer as last year (and the year before that), Love, Simon, because I've re-watched it several times this year. :) 

13. FAVORITE POST YOU'VE DONE THIS YEAR

Gah! This is always such a tough question. But after browsing six months of posts *yawn* I do remember being happy with my reviews of both Where the Lost Wander and Still. 

14. MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU'VE BOUGHT THIS YEAR

  

I have some serious cover-love for all three of these: The Kiss Thief, All I Ask, and From Blood and Ash.

15. BOOKS YOU WANT TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR

   
   

Can I just say All The Books and leave it at that? No? Okay then, here's a teeny tiny sampling of the ones I really, reallllly want to read sooner rather than later.

What's the best book you've read so far in 2020?
What was your biggest surprise or disappointment?
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