Title: Falling For Them Author: Calista Jayne Format: eBook Length: 250 pages Rating: 2 stars Publication Date: May 17, 2022
Challenges: COYER, Thrifty Thursday
Review: I am looking for more MFM trope books, so when I find one I scoop it up. I found this one through the free section on Bookbub a few years ago. The backstory on these characters was not doing it for me, and I skimmed most of the book just to see how it all ended. It ended on a cliffhanger, but I will not be continuing the series.
I found this book for free through Bookbub’s free ebook tab.
Title: Abscond Author: Abraham Verghese Format: eBook Length: 39 pages Rating: 2.5 stars Publication Date: July 1, 2025
Challenges: COYER
Review: This was a short story I got for free from Amazon First Reads. This type of book isn’t my normal genre, but the book takes place in New Jersey and felt the need to read it. I wouldn’t call it heart-warming, but there were life lessons to learn from Ravi. I’d recommend it to my friends who are into this genre.
The Three Ws are: What are you currently reading?What did you recently finish reading?What do you think you’ll read next?
I want to get to so many books this summer that I am overwhelming myself. I need to slow down, and not worry about the future- just enjoy the books I am currently reading.
The last eBook I read was Falling For Them by Calista Jayne. This book was sitting on my Kindle for a few years, so I quickly blew through it. Not a fan. Will not continue the series. At the writing up of this post, I will have just started reading Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell. I plan to read The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards next. My current and next eBooks are complimentary of Edelweiss.
The last audiobook I listened to was Good Neighbors by Chad Zunker. I am a fan of his books… although this short story I found through Prime Reading was just alright. It could of been a little bit longer and it would of been better. I am now listening to We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer. I requested it through my library and have been on the waiting list for months. It was finally my turn to borrow it. I am halfway through it right now and it’s holding my interest. The next audiobook I plan to listen to is King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby- I was sent an audiobook widget from Macmillan. I keep hearing amazing things about this book on TikTok and I wanna listen to what all the hype is about!
I am trying to read more physical books, and this summer I want to get quite a few in (doubt it’s happening at this point). I am about to finish French Kiss by James Patterson & Richard DiLallo. I am currently, slowly, getting through Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson. I’ve heard good things about the book, but it’s pacing is too slow for me. I am pushing through it and hope to be done with it by next week. I plan to reread Sail by James Patterson next. It’s been YEARS since I read it (and don’t remember the plot one bit) but this book has been calling me to reread it so I am gonna this summer.
I track my Library Love challenge in three places, all on Google Spreadsheets. I have one sheet specifically for the library, then I have two reading tracker sheets that have a Library Books tab and just re-input the information to keep the sheet stats looking nice. I am a lunatic when it comes to spreadsheets apparently, and I don’t care, haha!
This is my main library tracking sheet!
Not the best photo because I had to zoom out
It looks like I normally save around $1000 a year at the library, and this year is tracking to be the same.
Title: Stranded Author: Sarah Goodwin Format: eBook Length: 398 pages Rating: 4 stars Publication Date: September 16, 2021
Challenges: Beat The Backlist, COYER, Library Love, Virtual Mount
Review: I flew through this book. The premise of people stranded on an island for a reality TV show, and not everyone making it off the island, sucked me in. I did not see where the story was going, and I did not guess any of the twists. This book was recommended to me and I am so glad I read it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thriller books.
Good morning, readers! My reading started off great this month, and then a huge reading slump hit me. I was so busy getting everything ready for my daughter graduation high school so I was absolutely not in a reading mood! Once graduation stuff was over I did a mini vacation to my parents house in North Carolina and my reading picked back up.
If you’re not following me on Storygraph, you should! This is my page. I stopped using Goodreads last year and I do not miss it one bit. I actually forgot it exists, haha!
Good morning readers! These are all of the books that I acquired/received/borrowed onto my shelves, virtual and/or physical, for the entire month of June:
Two First Reads choices for June, and I used a gift card to get the latest book in the Zodiac Queen series.
I was sent a widget on King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby. It will be my first listen in July! And my first S.A. Cosby book too!
I requested The Locked Ward and Girl In The Creek and was sent the ALC’s just the other day.
When I went to visit my parents in North Carolina, I always go to the local used bookstore called Pauper’s Books & More. They let you turn in gently used books for store credit, and with that credit I got the three books pictured above.
The Three Ws are: What are you currently reading?What did you recently finish reading?What do you think you’ll read next?
My summer reading was ON FIRE at the beginning of the month, and pretty much TANKED for the rest of June!
The last eBook I read was When We Were Friends by Jane Green. I am trying to get through some of my First Reads backlog. You can check out my Storygraph review here. At the writing up of this post, I started reading Stranded by Sarah Goodwin, a book I borrowed from my library on Libby. It was recommended to me by a friend and it’s holding my interest right from the get-go. I plan to read Sun Burned by Katherine Wood next. The bright summer cover screams July to me lol. And I am also trying to get my NetGalley ratio up higher. (I am so close to 80% woohoo!)
The last audiobook I listened to was Angels & Demons, but I ended up DNFing it. I wanted to reread the series in anticipation of the newest book in the series coming out in the fall, but with the crazyness of life in June I just put the book aside and moved on. Now at the writing up of this post I got about thirty minutes in to Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea. This one was also recommended to me by a friend, and since Donlea books always hit I borrowed it from my library! The next audiobook I plan to listen to is King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby- I was sent an audiobook widget from Macmillan. I keep hearing amazing things about this book on TikTok and I wanna listen to what all the hype is about!
I am trying to read more physical books, and this summer I want to get quite a few in. The last physical book I read was back in March lol (The House Hunt by C.M. Ewan)! I started Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson and made good progress into the story the other day. It should be finished by the end of the month. I plan to reread Sail by James Patterson next. It’s been YEARS since I read it (and don’t remember the plot one bit) but this book has been calling me to reread it so I am gonna this summer.
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.
Wednesday was Graduation Day!
Thursday was my last day of work till September!
Friday was all about getting the house and yard ready for the graduation party!
Saturday was the graduation party!
Sunday was my day to recooperate from all the excitement of the week!
Currently:
I started Kill Your Darlings last week, then with everything going on it just sat on my nightstand collecting dust lol. It’s definitely being a priority this week!
I borrowed an ecopy of Lifeguard by James Patterson & Andrew Gross from the library. I am also not that far into it. This is a reread from when it came out years ago.
I am listening to Angels & Demons by Dan Brown, and also annotating a traveling hardcover book copy at the same time. This is a reread from when it came out years ago (and in anticipation for the newest book in the series coming out in September).
Just Finished:
This story has definite And Then There Were None vibes (and even a very small Clue (the movie) reference early on), so while it absolutely started off slow… it got more interesting once the characters were being killed off. I guessed the murderer incorrectly, and did not see any of the twist coming. I like how each character had a different personality and it felt like a real writing retreat (minus the murders lol).
I enjoyed each narrator and am glad they gave each characters chapter their own narrator. It helped keep the story flowing.
Note: I gave this one 3.5 on Storygraph, but marked it as 4 stars on NetGalley because they do not use half stars.
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.
Title: You Are Fatally Invited Author: Ande Pliego Narrator: Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, Alejandro Ruiz , Victoria Villarreal, Feodor Chin , William Damron, John Lee , Dawn Harvey , Jeremy Carlisle Parker Format: eBook / Audiobook Length: 363 pages / 11 hours 02 minutes Rating: 3.5 stars Publication Date: February 11, 2025
Review: This story has definite And Then There Were None vibes (and even a very small Clue (the movie) reference early on), so while it absolutely started off slow… it got more interesting once the characters were being killed off. I guessed the murderer incorrectly, and did not see any of the twist coming. I like how each character had a different personality and it felt like a real writing retreat (minus the murders lol).
I enjoyed each narrator and am glad they gave each characters chapter their own narrator. It helped keep the story flowing.
Note: I gave this one 3.5 on Storygraph, but will mark it as 4 stars on NetGalley because they do not use half stars.
I received a complimentary e-copy. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. I borrowed the audiobook through my local library to immerse myself into the story.
Challenges: Amazon First Reads Backlist, Beat The Backlist, COYER, Mount TBR
Review: This book was a good read, except for the ending (which was literally two sentences long). Felt it needed just a few more pages to give the story better closure. My first Elin Hilderbrand book and I can see why people enjoy her work.
I received this book for free as part of Amazon First Reads program.
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.
This past week was soooooooo busy! It was my second to last week of work, so lots of getting the kitchen put away and cleaned up before the end of the school years. I am also getting my house and yard all set up and ready for my daughter’s graduation party. My family is coming up to New Jersey to visit as well.
Had to take the dog to the vet yesterday. He wasn’t putting pressure on one of his back legs and we were concerned. Turns out, joker stubbed one of his toes and it was swollen, causing him pain. He was Rx pain meds and he’s on the mend!
Today is my daughter’s 18th birthday! We are gonna go out to dinner tonight to celebrate. Restaurant of her choice of course.
Currently:
I just started Kill Your Darlings on Friday. I am not far in but I am already intrugued!
I am almost done listening to the audiobook of my NetGalley ARC You Are Fatally Invited. Definite AndThen There Were None vibes (and even a very small Clue (the movie) reference early on) but I want to know how it all ends up for these characters. Should be done in a little bit.
Lie In The Tide is starting off slow, and I think I am not really feeling it is because there are a lot of characters and You Are Fatally Invited has a lot of characters too so my brain is overloading lol. You readers all know what I mean! I think I am going to give it one more day and if it’s not drawing me in I’m gonna put it aside and find something else to read.
Just Finished:
Gemma James finally published the latest book in the Zodiac Queen series, Capricorn, and since I am absolutely invested in this crazy story I needed to read it. Best one in the series so far, but check those trigger warnings on this series before getting into it.
I needed a cover with a bathing suit on it, and this Elin Hilderbrand short story was an Amazon First Reads bonus pick sometime last year. I gave it three stars- story was pretty good but the ending reallllllllllllly tanked my rating.
Read another short story from Amazon First Reads titled When We Were Friends. This one was pretty decent for a short read. I could see this one being made into a made for TV movie on Lifetime lol.
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.
If you ask Jill Tingley, she’ll tell you she and her husband Jack are college sweethearts living the dream in Southern California. Wealthy, popular and genetically blessed, theirs is an enviable life, though they’ve grown distant in recent years. Newly empty nesting with their daughter Maggie away at college, Jill suggests a road trip to reconnect.
Jack would rather do anything else than drive to Utah with his wife. He’s only stayed in this marriage because of a shared secret, a tragedy in the past he wanted to keep buried. And for his daughter’s sake. But Jack is finished with the charade of his marriage. He’s filing for divorce as soon as they return, no matter what.
But he doesn’t realize what else Jill is hiding.
So begins a cat-and-mouse road trip as a cunning wife–think Ripley in yoga pants–and a reluctant husband match wits and drive each other to the edge. But everything will be fine. Jill still loves Jack and believes he’s the only one for her. She’ll do anything to keep him. Anything. She always has.
Challenges: Audiobook, COYER, NetGalley
Review: This was a wild ride! Jill is delusional in her relationship with Jack. Jack wants out of this marriage and keeps getting trapped into staying by Jill’s words and actions. The more the story goes on the more unhinged Jill becomes. A really good thriller I would recommend to people who read the genre.
I would like to note that I feel this book could of used another narrator, a man, for Jack’s chapters, instead of Marnye Young reading both Jack and Jill’s chapters.
Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse for allowing me to read and listen to this book. I received a complimentary eBook and audiobook.
Title: The Safari Author: Jaclyn Goldis Format: eBook Length: 320 pages Rating: 2 stars Publication Date: May 20,2025
Challenges: COYER, Netgalley/Edelweiss
Review: SOME SPOILERS WILL BE IN THIS REVIEW- Honestly, I probably should of DNFed this one. The beginning of the book had different POV chapters so you get to know the characters. I didn’t really feel the suspense of a typical thriller book. Most of the characters annoyed me, so I wasn’t invested into their backstory or what was going on with them. Odelia is murdered and a family member is missing. When that family member is finally located, the explanation as to what happened is so preposterous I literally paused and scratched my head. It was badly explained away with ‘I left my cell phone behind so I couldn’t call for help’. I could not take the rest of the book seriously after that.
This is my honest review, and all opinions are my own.
This book is about a Jewish family, and a lot of Orthodox Jewish rituals and customs are mentioned throughout the book. I thought it was important to mention this fact to my blog readers.
I received a complimentary e-copy. Thank you to Aleaha Reneé from Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read this ARC through Edelweiss.
The Three Ws are: What are you currently reading?What did you recently finish reading?What do you think you’ll read next?
If you cannot tell, I have LOTS of summer reading plans!
The last eBook I read was The Devil’s Kiss by Gemma James. I will not be continuing the series, and you can check out my Storygraph review as to why that is so. At the writing up of this post, I am halfway through The Safari by Jacyln Goldis. I plan to read Lie In The Tide by Holly Danvers on my Kindle Paperwhite next. I am trying to keep up with my ARCs and NetGalley’s.
The last audiobook I listened to was The Perfect Sister, a NetGalley backlogged book that I ended up borrowing the audiobook through the library. Now at the writing up of this post I am listening to The Vacation by John Marrs. I may DNF it since I am confused as to what is going on and the story is not keeping me engaged at all. We will see how I feel in another hour of listening. The next audiobook I plan to listen to is The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten, a Macmillan Audio Influencer ARC.
I am trying to read more physical books, and this summer I want to get quite a few in. The last physical book I read was back in March lol (The House Hunt by C.M. Ewan)! I am going to start Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson today when I get home from work. Then I plan to reread Swimsuit by James Patterson. It’s been YEARS since I read it (and don’t remember the plot one bit) and since I need a book with a swimsuit on the cover for a challenge I am doing, bingo, haha!
Title: So Happy Together Author: Olivia Worley Narrator: Michelle H. Lee Format: eBook / Audiobook Length: 304 pages / 8 hours 47 minutes Rating: 3 stars Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Challenges: Audiobook, Backlog Board of Books, COYER, NetGalley, Read For The Stars
Review: This book kept my interest, as Jane is pretty much a stalker girl obsessed with her ex boyfriend Colin. You could see exactly where the plot is heading for most of the book, so it was sort of annoying. The characters are in the mid 20s but I feel like they act immature at times. I did not mind the narrator, Michelle H. Lee. This is the first time I am hearing her voice, and it fits the story perfect. This is a good thriller book and most readers will probably enjoy it. I gave it an average three stars because it just felt average to me.
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, which I used Netgalley to listen to.
Good morning, readers! My reading is going to be all over the place until the summer. Spring time with a Senior in high school is absolutely crazyness! I finished nine books, mostly audiobooks this month, but I am happy with getting a good amount of listening done.
My first five star read of the year happened this month. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides was awesome and completely had a hold of me! I did not see the ending coming, which is a huge plus for me.
If you’re not following me on Storygraph, you should! This is my page. I stopped using Goodreads last year and I do not miss it one bit. I actually forgot it exists, haha!
Good morning fellow readers! I am a mood reader, but since I am doing a summer reading challenge I wanted to plan out all the books I want to get to in June, July and August.
I have a good amount of ARCs publishing in the summer months, so I am prioritizing getting through them before publication day! Gonna try my best. Trying to get that Netgalley ratio up!
I also want to read these beachy summery cover books by the author who got me back into reading as an adult, James Patterson. His books are short chapters and quick plots and I devour them!
This list is by no means permanent. If any Libby holds come in I will more than likely accept them, and they are not on the graphic above.
Q: How many books do you plan to read in the summer?
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!
