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Monthly Wrap Up | February 2021

  


 
WHAT HAPPENED IN FEBRUARY
  • Both The Husband and my mom had their second doses of the COVID vaccine in February (no side effects) and that was a huge relief.
  • We ordered new furniture (living room and dining room) and I'm excited for everything to arrive (sometime in April). 
  • I continue to work from home and go into the office once or twice a month. The last week or so in February was particularly busy as a couple new projects were gearing up.
  • I had fun playing with my Always Fully Booked planner. I am not a planner person, so it's the bookish aspect that I enjoy. I've been using the Instax Mini Link printer The Husband got me for Christmas to add book covers to the new release pages and my monthly wrap up pages. It's the little things.
   

  • The Tampa Lightning are having another great season and I had fun watching the games. 

WHAT I READ IN FEBRUARY


5 STARS
The Things We Leave Unfinished - Rebecca Yarros

4.5 STARS
Return to Us - Corinne Michaels

4 STARS
Without You - Marley Valentine
Torn - Carian Cole

3.5 STARS
Love at First - Kate Clayborn
The Path to Sunshine Cove - RaeAnne Thayne

3 STARS
Renaissance Man - Tessa Bailey
Undeniable - Melanie Harlow


FORMATS
Total Read: 8
1 physical book
3 Kindle/e-books
4 audiobooks


TOP OF THE HEAP
The Things We Leave Unfinished
Without a doubt, The Things We Leave Unfinished takes the top spot. Not only was in my favorite book of the month, but it was my first five star read of the year. I don't want to repeat everything I said in my review, so I'll just say that this one was beautiful, emotional, and unforgettable.


WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BLOG

I had eleven blog posts in February and shared nine reviews: 


WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING

     


Reading: This isn't my usual kind of read and, to be honest, the only other time I tried something by Brenda Novak I ended up DNFing it. But something about this one appealed to me and I requested an ARC. I'm about 50% in and really enjoying this story that has three POV's: mother, daughter, and grandmother. I will say there's a lot of drama packed in because each of these women is dealing with some serious issues, but it's not feeling overdone or drifting into soap opera territory.  

Listening to: I listened to Cake, the first book in this series, last year and seriously loved it. Even though it's been almost a year, I still find myself thinking about sometimes. So I'm finally continuing the series and getting Kyle's story. I'm not too far in, and I've gotta admit I'm a bit wary because there's a reality show aspect and I am so not a fan of reality TV, whether it's watching it or reading about it. But I'm so interested in Kyle's journey that I'm going with it.


WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE READ IN FEBRUARY? 
WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW?
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Monthly Wrap Up | January 2021

 

 
WHAT HAPPENED IN JANUARY
  • A new year kicked off and things did not magically improve just because 2020 was in the rearview mirror. So there was that.
  • A (virtual) meeting with my boss, the CEO, revealed that it is highly unlikely we will return to the office before summer. And there's that.
  • An act of insurrection at the Capitol left me (most of us) shocked and dismayed. And feeling more discouraged than ever by the state of the country. 
  • The inauguration on the 20th helped turn those feelings around somewhat. The overall message of unity and positivity had me feeling an inkling of hope.
  • Both The Husband and my mother received their first COVID vaccinations. I felt such relief knowing they will both be better protected.
  • The NHL season started. This brought me joy.
  • I set up a new workspace in my home library, complete with white desk, pink chair, sparkly lamp, and all the pretty things. This brought me more joy.

WHAT I READ IN JANUARY


4.5 STARS
Roommate - Sarina Bowen

4 STARS
That Swoony Feeling - Meghan Quinn
Always Only You - Chloe Liese
The Awakening - Nora Roberts
Heartstopper Vol. 2 - Alice Oseman

3.5 STARS
Only When It's Us - Chloe Liese

3 STARS
Mackenzie's Mountain - Linda Howard
Parental Guidance - Avery Flynn

1 STAR
Until the Last Breath - Shanora Williams


FORMATS
Total Read: 9
2 physical books
3 Kindle/e-books
4 audiobooks


TOP OF THE HEAP
Roommate
No great shock that my favorite of the month is from Sarina Bowen. The woman just does not disappoint. I loved being back in the True North world and Sarina created two main characters that I adored. I hardcore loved Roderick and Kieran. Both of them were dealing with issues that shaped who they were and how they lived. I was pulling so hard for these guys and the payoff was... *chef's kiss*

THE BIG DISAPPINTMENT
Until the Last Breath
I'm not going to spend a lot of time rehashing this one (check my review if you want the full rant), but suffice it to say that this was not the way I wanted to start my reading in 2021. The main character was genuinely unlikable and I couldn't work up a shred of empathy for someone who was so shallow and selfish.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BLOG

I had eight blog posts in October and shared four reviews: 


WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING

     


Reading: I'm really enjoying the ARC of The Things We Leave Unfinished. The dual timeline has me completely invested in all the characters even though I know there's some serious heartache coming.

Listening to: The grief these characters are dealing with in Without You is impactful without being overly heavy. Julian is such a good guy but I'm wondering what he was like before his boyfriend's death. Because I'm only seeing him through his grief right now. Deacon is awfully broody (as Julian likes to tell him) and I'm curious to see how their relationship is going to progress and play out.   



WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE READ IN JANUARY? 
WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW?
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Monthly Wrap Up | October 2020


 
WHAT HAPPENED IN OCTOBER
  • The weather started acting fall-ish in October and there were fewer and fewer days that topped 90 degrees. Thank you, Mother Nature.
  • Mid-month my company announced a voluntary return to the office. I began working a hybrid schedule - a few days a week in the office, a few days working from home - and it went well. The office is still largely empty but it's nice to have a small bit of normalcy and routine back.
  • I took part in Maureen's Book Club for the third month in a row (since its inception, actually) and totally enjoyed the October pick, Gypsy King by Devney Perry. It's one that had been on my TBR for a while so bonus points there. 
  • I was able to see one of my sisters and that was a real treat. We text all the time, but due to COVID it had been months since I'd seen her in person. I drove to her house at the beach to deliver her birthday gift and we stood a safe distance apart on her driveway and talked and caught up. It was great. :)
  • I'm not a TV watcher, but October actually saw me tuning in to a couple Hallmark Christmas movies... and enjoying them. Under normal circumstances I would pay them no mind (like every other year), but the sweet escapism was a welcome distraction and I imagine I'll be watching more of them.

WHAT I READ IN OCTOBER


4.5 STARS
The Lies That Bind - Emily Giffin
Muses & Melodies - Rebecca Yarros
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird - Josie Silver

4 STARS
Irresistible - Melanie Harlow
Gypsy King - Devney Perry
The Roommate - Rosie Danan

3.5 STARS
Broken Outsider - Lora Richardson
Where Do I Begin? - Elvis Duran

3 STARS
Heartache and Hope - Jay McLean

FORMATS
Total Read: 9
1 physical book
3 Kindle/e-books
5 audiobooks
(2 ARCs: Muses & Melodies, Broken Outsider)

TOP OF THE HEAP
Muses & Melodies, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird
While I didn't have a five star read in October, I did have a couple that stood out above the rest. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was beautiful and emotional and I cried all the tears for/with Lydia. Silver wrote about grief in a way that made me feel Lydia's loss like a physical blow. Lydia's journey throughout the book was filled with highs and lows and the feeling of coming full circle was completely satisfying.

Muses & Melodies was the perfect wrap-up to the Hush Note trilogy - and surprisingly emotional. I loved Zoe but it was Nixon that gave the story the rawness that had me hurting for him. I loved the relationship between him and Zoe and her selflessness was something special.   

THE ONE THAT WASN'T FOR ME
Heartache and Hope
This book has a lot of five star reviews so I guess this is another case of it's-not-you-it's-me. Too much drama, too much misery. The tagline should be: Girl has sad back story, boy has sad back story, much misery and teen angst ensues. I was just over it. By the halfway point I realized I didn't really care what happened. So yeah, it wasn't bad but it just wasn't for me. There's a second book but I don't care enough to go there.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BLOG

I had 12 blog posts in October and shared six reviews: 

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING

   

Preppy: The Life & Death of Samuel Clearwater (Part One) - T.M. Frazier

Listening To: I'm excited to be delving into Invisible Girl, another one of Lisa Jewell's combination mystery/thriller + domestic drama. As usual, she doles out bits of information slowly and the story builds so gradually. Already it's obvious that things are not what they seem and people are definitely not who they seem. As always, I have theories but I am fully prepared to have them blown to bit by unexpected twists.

Reading: I'm also delving back into the King series. I've missed this dark and twisted world and I'm excited to finally get Preppy's story. He is so deliciously messed up.   



WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE READ IN OCTOBER? 
WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW?
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Monthly Wrap Up | June 2020


WHAT HAPPENED IN JUNE
  • Two and a half months of working from home ended in June. I returned to the office on June 1st and it was a ghost town those first two weeks. Most people returned on the 15th. It was a new normal with no in-person meetings, masks being worn in the office, and frequent rounds by the cleaning crew, but it also made the transition back to the office easier.
  • I got an Apple Watch at the beginning of the month and now it harangues me about standing up from my desk all the time. So that's entertaining - especially when I'm busy and tell it to quit being so bossy. 
  • The COVID cases in Florida took a dramatic upturn in June and we saw day after day of record-high positive cases. And people were still walking around without a care in the world, not wearing masks, going to restaurants, shopping. It's mind-boggling.
  • A family health issue kept our minds occupied throughout the month. The results were mostly very positive and the relief was almost overwhelming.
  • And now the year is half over and what a strange year it has been. Scary and troubling and disturbing, but with bright spots in between. Despite what is going on the world, I am filled with such gratitude. I'm employed, I have a roof over my head, I have food on my table, The Husband is (as always) my rock and my touchstone, and my mother and my sisters remain healthy. I am so thankful.

WHAT I READ IN JUNE


I read ten books in June which is slightly more than my norm. So yay me. No five star reads, and a couple that were just okay, but it was still a good reading month overall.

That Forever Girl - Meghan Quinn | 4 stars
Dirty Charmer - Emma Chase | 4 stars
What You Left Behind - Jessica Verdi | 4 stars
The Clover Chapel - Devney Perry | 4 stars
Fight For Me - Corinne Michaels | 4 stars
That Secret Crush - Meghan Quinn | 3.5 stars
The Kingmaker - Kennedy Ryan | 4.25 stars
Losing the Field - Abbi Glines | 2.5 stars
Perfect Love Story - Natasha Madison | 3.25 stars
Inked - Sarah Darlington | 3.25 stars

FORMATS
Total Read: 10
4 physical books
3 audiobooks
3 Kindle/e-books
(1 ARC: Inked)

TOP OF THE HEAP
The Kingmaker
While I didn't have a five star read in June, The Kingmaker did stand out above the rest. Kennedy Ryan has a way of writing about serious, timely issues without being heavy-handed (and never preachy). And at the same time she weaves in characters and relationships that pack an emotional punch. Lennix and Maxim were such fully realized characters and their story unfolded in such a unique way. And that ending was the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers!  

THE ONE THAT WAS A BUDDY READ
What You Left Behind
What You Left Behind had been sitting on my shelf for almost five years. So it was kinda past time to read it. Sam and I decided to do a buddy read and I'm so glad we did. (Both our reviews can be found here at her blog.) It was easy to feel for main character Ryden. A single father at seventeen, this kid was dealing with way more than most of his peers. There were times I wanted to steer him in another direction, when I wanted to step in give him a reality check, but he figured it out in his own time. 

THE ONE THAT MADE ME RAGEY
Losing the Field
This book. Oh my goodness, it made me crazy. I came to dislike both main characters so hard. Nash was hypocritical and self-absorbed. Tallulah only lost weight for "revenge" (nice message to send there) and was also unbelievably clueless (are we actually supposed to believe that a teenager in 2018 doesn't know what a vlog is? Seriously?). Like most of Abbi's "heroes", Nash treated the girl he supposedly cared about like crap, assumed the worst of her (as did everyone else), and when he wised up at the very end she instantly forgave him. There was so much more but I'll leave it at that. (Until I read the next book in the series because I swear I just can't stay away. It's a sickness. Someone send help.)

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BLOG

I had 18 blog posts in June and shared six reviews: 

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING
     

King - T.M. Frazier
The Player - Claire Contreras
I'm totally into King - the book and the character. :) How Frazier manages to make these guys so likable is beyond me. I mean, she writes these guys that I would cross the street to avoid in real life. Total badass, on the wrong side of the law, and who generally just aren't good men. But Frazier shows a softer side (that's pretty well-hidden) and I find myself actually pulling for the guy. 

 The Player still has me feeling kind of meh. I still don't feel I know much of anything about the main characters. Camila is super judgey about anyone with money and Warren's sole focus seems to be getting Camila into his bed so he can hit that before he leaves town in two weeks. So yeah... not a lot to make me care about either of these people or their outcome.   



WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE READ IN JUNE?

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Monthly Wrap Up | May 2020


WHAT HAPPENED IN MAY
  • May felt like a repeat of April, with an extra helping of horrible for good measure. 
  • May also saw The Husband and I celebrate 21 years of marriage. I use the term 'celebrate' loosely. We had (obviously) cancelled the trip we had planned and instead got takeout from a favorite restaurant and ate dinner in an empty movie theater parking lot. Special times, people. :)
  • My city started to reopen throughout May and - surprise! - infections started to increase again. I continued to work from home and rarely left the house.
  • I attended a couple virtual book events in May: one with Jennifer Weiner for the release of Big Summer and one with Kennedy Ryan for her new release, Queen Move. It was great to still be able to enjoy bookish events, just in a different way.

WHAT I READ IN MAY


I read seven books in May, pretty much my average, and I had some good reads so I call it a successful reading month. And *spoiler alert* I was on quite the Emma Chase kick in May. :)

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner | 4.25 stars
Royally Yours (Royally #4) by Emma Chase | 4.25 stars
Royally Raised (Royally #4.5) by Emma Chase | 3.5 stars
Rage and Ruin (The Harbinger #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout | 4.5 stars
Tamed (Tangled #) by Emma Chase | 3.5 stars
Tied (Tangled #) by Emma Chase | 3.5 stars
That Second Chance (Getting Lucky #1) by Meghan Quinn | 4 stars

FORMATS
Total Read: 7
1 physical book
4 audiobooks
2 Kindle/e-books
(2 ARCs: Big Summer, Rage and Ruin)

TOP OF THE HEAP
Rage and Ruin
Now this is how the deliver a second book in a series. No second book slump here! In Rage and Ruin Armentrout amped up the action and the intensity (and the swoon factor) and it was easy to fly through this 600 page beast because I had to know what was going to happen. The ending had my jaw dropping because what the what?! Jennifer knows how to deliver an ending that will have you willing to sell a limb for the next book.  

THE ONE THAT INTRODUCED ME TO A NEW AUTHOR
That Second Chance
I've seen Meghan Quinn's books around for ages but I've been hesitant to try them because many seemed to be of the over-the-top rom-com variety with super silly, slapstick-style humor. Which just isn't my thing. But the covers of her Getting Lucky series caught my eye and reading the synopses convinced me to give them a try. So glad I did because That Second Chance was just the kind of straight-up contemporary romance that I enjoy. No over-the-top drama, no super silly humor, and not a lot of angst. Just a solid story with likable characters who were so easy to pull for. I've already read the second book in the series and will definitely continue on.

THE ONE THAT WENT WHERE I DIDN'T EXPECT
Big Summer
When I started Big Summer I had certain expectations: lighter fare (since it was being billed as a beach read), but with Weiner's signature complex characters. And I did get that but also a lot more that I didn't see coming. Big Summer turn a left turn out of nowhere and went in a direction that gave me momentary whiplash. Once I caught up, I sat back and enjoyed the ride. 

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BLOG

I had 17 blog posts in May and shared six reviews: 

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING
    

The Clover Chapel - Devney Perry
Fight For Me - Corinne Michaels
I'm enjoying both my Kindle read and my audio book but I have little issues with both that keep niggling at me. In The Clover Chapel, I really wish there was a dual POV. There's the rare chapter from Nick's POV but I think this story would benefit a lot from the reader being privy to his thoughts as much as we are Emmy's. And in Fight For Me, these two characters are going 'round and 'round and getting nowhere. Their interactions are staring to feel a bit repetitive but I can't help but pull for them.   



WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE READ IN MAY?

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