Tag: Link Up

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. 

I’m enjoying my time off of work this summer. Lots of sitting in the yard reading has been my go to this past week. The weather has been in the high 70s which is perfect for New Jersey.

The only notable thing I did was take my daughter to a concert. We were supposed to go on Thursday. Thursday was a bad storm here and the show was cancelled early in the morning. My husband and I decided to surprise my daughter and take her to the next show (which was in Pennsylvania) so she didn’t miss out on seeing her favorite band in concert. AT THE CONCERT we got Gold Circle tickets through Ticketmaster which means you get to be front area by the stage. There was a group right by the fence and we were right behind them in the middle, it was perfect! The show was amazing of course! THEN two of the band members were hanging around so we went towards them to see if my daughter could say hello to them. Long story short, she was thrown a set list by a crew member while waiting in line, she got a photo with BOTH band members and the lead singer SIGNED her set list. We were literally fan-girl squealing with excitement the rest of the night!

Currently:

I am currently reading The Grave Singer by Victor Methos, book 2 in the Shepard & Gray trilogy. I should be done with it by tomorrow the latest.

I borrowed a physical copy of The Haunting In The Arctic by CJ Cooke. I am into this book and have really gotten a lot of pages read, which is on the rarer side for me when it comes to physical books. I think I should be done with this one by Tuesday the latest.

I am listening to All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers. It was recommended by my library for summer reading, and I just haven’t had a huge chance to listen to audiobooks this week. I’ve really focused on being present for my kids as they’ll be off to college in two weeks.

Just Finished:

My reviews are on Storygraph [here] and [here] respectfully.

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.

Library Love Audiobook Challenge of 2025 #LibraryLoveChallenge #AudiobookLove

Library Stats and Savings For July 2025

Books Acquired In July 2025

Monthly Wrap Up: July 2025

WWW Wednesday – August 6, 2025

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Sunday Salon #7

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. 

I’m enjoying my time off of work this summer. Lots of sitting in the yard reading, floating in the pool, and playing cozy video games.

Mostly I am just getting housework done during the day, and getting both kids all situated for heading off to college at the end of August. It will be my son’s Senior year and my daughter’s Freshman year of college. Empty-ish Nest come September!

My daughter had a Rheumatology appointment, her last follow up for awhile as she is doing great!

The kids have a VBS meeting after church today. My kids attended vacation bible school when they were little kids until they aged out at sixth grade, and have been volunteering since seventh grade.

My puppy Rollo is almost one and a half years old, and I’m absolutely loving watching him grow up and play and learn. He’s my baby! I’m trying to figure out more ways to get him to play and be active during the day (I feel he does a lot of laying &/or sleeping). I’ve been taking him for more walks and got him a new toy so we can actively play together. I was half joking to my husband and was like, “Maybe we can get him an agility course for the backyard”.

Currently:

I am currently reading A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck. Michael Kist raved about the short story last year (at the 9:38 mark) and my library finally had a copy available for me to borrow through Libby.

I borrowed a physical copy of Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence from my library. I wanted to start a shorter fantasy series and after doing some research online, I decided on this one. Plus, I like the cover lol. Also, I am a little confused with the plot thus far, but I am just going with it and I am sure it’ll all explain itself as it goes.

I just started listening to The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. The audiobook I was listening to before this one was NOT holding my interest one freaking bit. I searched for my favorite narrator on Libby and chose a random audiobook that wasn’t too long.

Just Finished:

I was not ready for the heaviness of this story, but it was such a good one. Jennifer Hillier is a great author! I gave this four stars on Storygraph.

I also finish this one. My review will be posted on the blog in two weeks.

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.

Review: Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson

WWW Wednesday – July 23, 2025

Cover Reveal: Murder At 30,000 Feet by Susan Walter

Library Love Audiobook Challenge of 2025
Library Stats and Savings For July 2025
Books Acquired In July 2025
Monthly Wrap Up: July 2025

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. 

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.

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. 

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 And Then 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.

Books Acquired In May 2025

Library Stats and Savings For May 2025

Monthly Wrap Up: May 2025

Review: So Happy Together by Olivia Worley

WWW Wednesday – June 4, 2025

June Is National Great Outdoors Month

Review: Safari by Jaclyn Goldis