Maudee Genao from Simon & Schuster sent me a message through Edelweiss with a widget for Friends and Liars by Kit Frick. This is a new to me author which is exciting, and the cover really drew me in!
How many unread ARCs are on your TBR?
Proof of Price: $0.00
What is the Sunday Salon?
The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It’s also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.
While I loved the freedom of not having social media for almost a month, I felt out of the loop with certain things (like my husband would say “did you see [this] on Facebook?”, and I would reply with “I can’t, remember?”) so I finally just made a new Facebook page. Now I am back in with my bookish groups and it feels great!
For those who don’t know, I am a lunch lady, and work is always chaos approaching the end of the school year. The kids are antsy for June to get here which makes them more rowdy than normal. Us lunch ladies can’t wait for the school year to end either, haha!
Friday was our first Gotcha Day! Last year, we welcomed Rollo home for the first time. Initially named Molasses, he eventually became Rollo; inspired by the character from Dragon Quest Builders; the candy reflecting his dark exterior and eventually turning to a light caramel color, as well as King Rollo, the Viking raider who became Normandy’s first ruler. Having overcome initial fears of minor noises, he now finds solace in outdoor activities like lying in the grass or occupying the entire bed. His affectionate nature seeks constant attention, disregarding personal space, as he continually seeks comfort from your family. His enthusiastic greeting, dubbed the “Wheaten Greetin,” is always a guaranteed whenever we return home, with energetic jumping, tail wagging, and affectionate kisses. We are grateful to celebrate the joy he brings to our lives!!!
Currently:
The life of a mood reader. For a challenge I am doing I needed a cover with a couple on it. The Devil’s Kiss by Gemma James has been on my owned but not read shelf for a little bit, so I decided to just dive in and read it. So far, not too much of a fan, but I am not that far in to the story.
So Happy Together is an audiobook I have from Macmillan Audio Influencer Program. It’s keeping my attention so far, and I am only a hour in at the writing up of this post. *I have been doing great with clearing off my ARCs shelf this month so I am trying to keep up the pace lol*
Just Finished:
For that same cover challenge I needed one a book with sunglasses on the cover. The Weekend Away was just a decent listen for me. Average thriller to me. Three stars.
I borrowed The Store from Libby as I own the hardcover but haven’t gotten around to reading it. James Patterson got me back into reading years ago with his fast paced quick chapters style… but this book was NOT IT! I gave it one star on Storygraph.
If you’d like to be friends with me on Storygraph, this is my profile page.
I stopped using Goodreads this year (and didn’t really keep up with it last year) because I want to support a black woman business owner over a white male billionaire.
Aleaha Reneé from Simon & Schuster sent me a message through Edelweiss with a widget for The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to accept it or not, but just decided to download it yesterday.
Is this book on your TBR?
Proof of Price Spent: $0.00
On this post I will be listing the books I read this year that are on my Netgalley shelf or my Edelweiss shelf. This post will continuously update as I remember to do so, lol!
My goal is to read 20 books off these shelves in 2025.
Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words.
The Three Ws are: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?
For a challenge I am doing on Instagram I needed a cover with Sunglasses on it. I went to my Libby app and found The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson and borrowed it, since it had a cover with a Netflix sticker in the corner so I thought it had to be a good book (or at least popular enough to warrant a Netflix show). This one wasn’t a favorite of mine but it wasn’t a bad book either so I gave it three stars on Storygraph.
I am halfway through with Death Row by Freida McFadden, my Amazon First Reads choice for May.
I have the eBook and the audiobook for The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten thanks to SMP and Macmillan, respectfully. This book publishes in June so I want to definitely get to it this month and have my review posted before the pub date.
Don’t forget to link up with Taking On A World Of Words to share your WWW!
Title: Skin and Bones
Author: Paul Doiron
Format: eBook
Length: 368 pages
Rating: I have not read it yet
For the first time in print, Skin and Bones features a collection of eight gripping original short stories in the bestselling Mike Bowditch series—including one brand new, never-before-published story—from Edgar-award nominated author Paul Doiron.
In THE BEAR TRAP, legendary Maine woodsman and bush pilot Charley Stevens tries to convince young Mike of the dangers awaiting rookie game wardens.
RABID draws Mike into the story of a gruesome case involving a bat with rabies from his Charley Steven’s past (2019 Edgar award nominee for Best Short Story).
When a visiting hunter goes missing in the middle of a snowstorm, a young Charley Stevens sets off to rescue him—but begins to suspect the man may not want to be found in BACKTRACK.
In THEIMPOSTER, Mike is confronted with a baffling case of stolen identity when he discovers a dead body whose driver’s license claims he is none other than Mike Bowditch himself.
Mike tracks down a sinister prowler who turns a couple’s dream vacation home into a nightmare in THE CARETAKER.
An investigation into the killing of a bald eagle in SKIN AND BONES unearths an old case of a missing young man whose physically abusive brother might have murdered him.
In SNAKEBIT, Mike must hunt down a killer who uses the unlikeliest of murder weapons: rattlesnakes.
(Brand New!) Mike suspects there’s more to a grisly murder-suicide than meets the eye in SHEEP’S CLOTHING.
Critically acclaimed for his brilliant crime novels, Paul Doiron proves he is also the master of short story in Skin and Bones.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press Early Readers for sending me a complimentary ebook.
I saw Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena while browsing through my library. I ended up not grabbing it off the shelf, but instead decided to borrow the audiobook through Libby. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had borrowed The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson from the library. I fully immersed myself (eBook from Libby, physical book and audiobook from Hoopla), but mostly read the eBook. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A friend recommended I read The Affair by N.A. Cooper, so I borrowed the audiobook from Hoopla. ⭐⭐⭐
The Best of Friends by Lucinda Berry I found on Amazon and used my No-Rush Rewards to pay for the entire price of the book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I wanted to start reading the Eddie Flynn series, so I started with The Defense, the first book in the series, from Hoopla. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Q: Have you read any of these? Any of them are on your TBR?
Title: Parents Weekend
Author: Alex Finlay
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Format: eBook / Audiobook
Length: 320 pages / 7 hours 24 minutes
Rating: 3 stars
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Challenges: Audiobook, COYER, NetGalley, Read For The Stars
Review: I have listened to other Alex Finlay books and really liked them. I am also a big fan of Brittany Pressley as a narrator. But this story wasn’t holding my interest at times and I found my mind wandering a good amount. I wish the college students had more backstory at the beginning, because I honestly was not invested in their lives and did not emotionally care what happened to any of them by halfway through the book. I think other readers will enjoy the book, and it wasn’t a bad story, so this is why I gave it an average three stars rating.
I received two complimentary copies. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press Early Readers for allowing me to read this ARC and Macmillan Audio Influencer Program for sending me an ALC.
Anna at Macmillan Audio sent me a complimentary audiobook of Alex North’s new book, The Man Made of Smoke.
Storygraph says, “This book is ideal for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers exploring familial trauma and the lingering grip of past horrors, wrapped in a tense small-town mystery with emotional depth.”
This one publishes next week, so I need to get to listening!
Is this book on your TBR? Have you read any other Alex North books?
Proof of Price Spent: $0.00
Title: Dead Of Night
Author: Lisa Gray
Format: eBook / Audiobook
Length: 267 pages / 7 hours 11 minutes
Rating: 4 stars
Challenges: Audiobook, COYER, NetGalley
Review: While I was not a fan of the narrator, I was hooked into the story. The plot is real simple, a writer vacations in a small town with a rental property whose previous renters disappeared. Of course the author has to investigate what happened and figure out why they disappeared. You also get the POV from Ruby, a young mom whose child is missing. The stories intertwine, and the plot twist at the end comes out of nowhere! Four stars!
Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse for allowing me to read this ARC, and listen to this ALC.
I am an Amazon Prime member, so every month I can choose a First Reads book. I decided to go with the bonus short story for the month of May as the other books on the list did not appeal to me.
Are you a Prime member? Which book did you choose?
Price spent: $0.00
Long story short, anything linked to the social media accounts of Melissa The Reading Nerd has been, or will be, deleted. META refuses to believe I am a real person and keeps telling me my accounts are being “fraudulent or deceptive” or “goes against community guidelines”. The emails are never more specific than that.
I will be starting over on social media, if and once META allows me.
This entire year of reading thus far as not been fun for me. I signed up for too many challenges, I have too many ARCs in my possession that I never get around to reading; honestly it’s been too much of everything. I need to make my reading enjoyable again.
So with that I, as always, will mostly be using the library for all my reading needs. My local library is fantastic because it has a huge selection of physical books, does inter-library loans if need be, and uses both Libby and Hoopla for digital books and content.
Today I am currently 7% into The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. Libby says I have 12 more days to power through this thick boy. Lets do this!
