It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 29, 2020)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

This was another beautiful week but with unfulfilled promises for rain. I spent a lot of time reading and listening to audiobooks. I did have to get up early one day to ferry my brother to his car dealership so that his "baby" could be worked on. That was Thursday and it is still there waiting for a part. Luckily, he still has his old Subaru Outback to drive even though he usually only uses it in the winter and when he is hauling more than his Honda Prelude can handle.

Thursday was the anniversary of our solar system. We have had it for one year now. We also got a power bill this week that built up our credit more. Bill really likes getting those power bills since they are part of the house expenses that he pays. This is four months in a row with no power bill to pay.

Next week I should begin the process to renew my driver's license. It expires on my August 2 birthday and, since I want the enhanced license which will let me enter Canada while driving and also board an airplane, this could take a while. Hopefully, I have all the documentation to do this in one trip though I've heard horror stories about people having to make multiple trips before they have all the correct documentation. My brother went through this a couple of weeks ago when the DMV reopened. It was closed when he had his April birthday.

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs (Mine; audiobook) - The 11th in the Mercy Thompson series was another exciting addition to the series. My review will be posted on September 15.
• Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs (Mine; audiobook) - The 12th and the most recent in the Mercy Thompson series was also exciting. I recently reviewed the print version of the book and don't feel that the audiobook needs another review.
• Hometown Hero by Liza Kendall (Review; July 7) - This was a sports romance with two "tortured" heroes that was third in the series. My review will be posted on July 4. 

• Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook) - This is the first in the Alpha and Omega series which runs concurrently with the Mercy Thompson series and stars other werewolf characters. My review will be posted on July 15.
• Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook) - The second Alpha and Omega book has Charles and Anna dealing with werewolf politics as Bran prepares to reveal the werewolves existence. My review will be posted on July 22.
• Fair Game by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook) - The third Alpha and Omega book has Anna and Charles helping the FBI in Boston as they hunt a serial killer who focuses on supernaturals. My review will be posted on August 13. 

• The Vanished Seas by Catherine Asaro (Review; July 7) - This is the 3rd book in the Major Bhaajan science fiction mystery series. I enjoy the characters and the world building but the math passes right over the top of my head. My review will be posted on July 7.
• Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook) - Anna and Charles are supposed to be on a pleasure trip to buy Anna an Arabian for her birthday present. However, a fae who kidnaps and kills children and has targeted the great granddaughter of the Arizona Alpha. My review will be posted on September 10.

Currently

• Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook) - This is the 5th in the Alpha and Omega series.

Next Week

I don't know yet. I have two openings on my calendar before I go back to review books.

Reviews Posted

• Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook)
• The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton 

• Alpha Night by Nalini Singh
• Blood Shot by Tanya Huff

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

• Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook)
• Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook)
• Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook) 

• Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (Kindle)
• Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook) 

• Fair Game by Patricia Briggs (Kindle)
• Fair Game by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook) 

• The President Is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton (Kindle)
• Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas (Review; Oct. 6)

What was your week like?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 22, 2020)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

We had a lovely week here in the Northland - lots of great weather with sunny skies and really pleasant temperatures. Of course, Duluth is also desperately short of rainfall for the year. I think we are five inches below average. But I like sunny skies and warm temperatures.

I am working away at my July review books and have just two more July 7 releases to read and then a gap before my next review books. I've not decided what I'll read yet. I have some possibilities on my TBR stack but haven't settled on anything yet. In audiobooks. I have just two more in the Mercy Thompson series and then I think I'll listen to the related series by Briggs - the Alpha and Omega books.

It is hard to believe that it is already past the middle of June. Staying at home has messed up my sense of time passing even more than before the Covid-19 stuff. Things are opening up around me but I'm still being really cautious. This week's news reported that certain blood types seem to get a worse case of the virus than other blood types. Naturally, it is my blood type that is hit harder. Between my age, suppressed immune system, and now blood type, I feel targeted.

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• Blood Shot by Tanya Huff (Mine) - This is a collection of short stories set in the Blood and Smoke universes. My review will be posted on June 25.
• Outsider by Linda Castillo (July 7) - This is a Kate Burkholder mystery and concerns a running woman who was once Kate's roommate and now is a dirty cop and ready to implicate other dirty cops who want her dead. My review will be posted on June 30. 

• Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook) - Mercy needs to save the day when Adam and his whole pack are captured by rogue government agents who want to force the government to give them shoot-to-kill licenses for werewolves and other fae. With Zee back on the fae hidden reservation and Samuel away, Mercy is a little short of allies. She calls on Stefan and Bran sends Asil.  My review will be posted on August 11.
• Night Broken by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook) - Adam's ex-wife Christy calls on Adam for help when she attracts a stalker who turns out to be a volcano god. Mercy meets her half-brother and Coyote is involved too. My review will be posted on August 20. 

• Once You Go This Far by Kristen Lepionka (July 7) - This is the 4th Roxane Weary mystery and has her looking into the death of a woman she met just once and finding herself in a much bigger problem. My review will be posted on July 1.
• Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook) - Adam and Mercy get involved with the fae when they declare the Tri-Cities under their protection and when they extend the protection to a young escapee from Underhill. My review will be posted on August 27. 

• Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs (Mine; audiobook) - Mercy is kidnapped by vampires and taken to Italy where she finds herself in the middle of a variety of vampire plots and Coyote has is paws in the mess too. My review will be posted on Sept. 8.
• Out of Time by David Klass (July 7) - This was a fast-paced techno-thriller told from both the viewpoint of a rookie FBI Agent and the terrorist himself. My review will be posted on July 2.

DNF

• To Catch an Earl by Kate Bateman (June 30) - I quit this one because all of the characters were Too Stupid To Live. The heroine - a reluctant jewel thief - wears a distinctive perfume on her heists. It was the same perfume she wore when she had one dance with a man who is now heading the investigation and who fell in love with her during the course of one dance and then he went off to fight Napoleon.

Currently

• Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs (Mine; Audiobook)

Next Week

• Hometown Hero by Liza Kendall (July 7)
• The Vanished Seas by Catherine Asaro (July 7)

Reviews Posted

• The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes by Leonard Goldberg (audiobook)
• A Liaden Universe Constellation Vol. 2 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

• Badger to the Bone by Shelly Laurenston
• The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

• See Her Die by Melinda Leigh (Sept. 15) - This is the second Bree Taggert thriller.

What was your week like?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 15, 2020)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

This was a lazy week for me which was good because I read eight books including 4 audiobooks, 2 review books, one new addition to my book collection, and one book that I've had for almost 10 years. I didn't get out to walk much. I was too busy reading.

I did have to get up early one day to chauffeur my brother to his car dealership since he needed to bring his Prelude in because his window wasn't rolling up and down. Having to get up early wrecks me for a couple of days. I so seldom have to rise to an alarm these days. They had to order the part. So I'll be rising early again the day he needs to drop it off for repair. I am so not looking forward to that.

I don't think I left the house other than that one excursion. But I did stop at the grocery store after we took care of the car drop off and pick up. The grocery store run led to meals of chicken Parmesan, beef tenderloin steaks, and tomorrow beef stroganoff. Today it is homemade pizza topped with our homemade Italian sausage.

This coming week should also be quiet. I have a number of review books to read and I also want to keep listening to the Mercy Thompson series.

Solar

This has been a nicely sunny week but it is also cold. It is 11:15 Saturday morning as I'm writing this and the temperature is less than 50 degrees. We had a frost warning overnight! I don't know if we actually got frost where I live. My plants will just have to survive without coddling since they are all ornamental shrubs.

We have four days left in our billing cycle and only need to produce .06 MWh to beat last month's total. We should do that today. Now if the temperature should just get warmer...

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt (Mine since 9/15/2010) - This is the first Andy Carpenter mystery. I found it buried on TBR mountain. I liked it enough to get the next couple from Audible. My review will is linked below since I posted it last Saturday.
• First Degree by David Rosenfelt (Audiobook, Mine) -- 2nd Andy Carpenter mystery has him trying to clear his girlfriend of murder charges. My review will be posted on July 9.
• Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook, Mine) -- The 4th Mercy Thompson adventure has her dealing with the aftermath of her rape, her entry into the werewolf pack and mating bond with Adam, dealing with the vampires desire to kill her, and fighting the only vampire in Spokane. My review will be posted on July 14. 

• The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor (June 23) - Entertaining mystery told in a number of flashbacks about a homicide detective going to Ireland to search for her cousin who has gone missing. My review will be posted on June 16.
• Alpha Night by Nalini Singh (Mine) - This is the newest in the Psy-Changeling series and focuses on the romance between wolf Alpha Selenka and Arrow Ethan Night. Fast paced and engaging. I have both the Kindle and the audiobook. The first time I read it I read the Kindle so that I could see how all the Russian names were spelled. My review will be posted on June 27. 
• The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton (June 30) - New mystery stars dog trainer Mace Reid and his Human Remains Detection dog Vira and tells what happens when Mace and Vira attract a serial killer, My review will be posted on June 23.

• Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook, Mine) -- The 5th Mercy Thompson adventure has Samuel trying to commit suicide, fae attacking Mercy to get back a book she was lent, and Adam fighting for control of his pack. My review will be posted on July 21.
• River Marked by Patricia Briggs (Audiobook, Mine) -- The 6th Mercy Thompson adventure has Mercy and Adam on their honeymoon where they encounter a river demon and Mercy's father Coyote. My review will be posted on August 4.

Currently

• To Catch an Earl by Kate Bateman (June 30)

Next Week

• Outsider by Linda Castillo (July 7)
• Once You Go This Far by Kristen Lepionka (July 7)

• Out of Time by David Klass (July 7)
• Hometown Hero by Liza Kendall (July 7)

Reviews Posted

• Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
• A Liaden Universe Constellation Vol. 1 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller 

• Storm Front by Jim Butcher
• Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Kindle

• Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King
• Alpha Night by Nalini Singh
• Murder in Thrall by Anne Cleeland 

• Scarlett (A Very British Witch) by Isobella Crowley
• The Pursuit of the Pankera by Robert A. Heinlein

Audiobooks

• First Degree by David Rosenfelt
• Alpha Night by Nalini Singh
• Murder in Thrall by Anne Cleeland 

• Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
• River Marked by Patricia Briggs
• Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs 

• Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
• Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
• Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs 

• Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs
• Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs

What was your week like?

Stacking the Shelves (June 14, 2015)

Tynga of Team Tynga's Reviews has a meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Visit her site to check out the linky and see what everyone gets. I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow.

Three new additions this week --

Pirate's Alley by Suzanne Johnson is the 4th book in the Sentinels of New Orleans series. I bought my hardcover copy through Amazon Marketplace. I have read and enjoyed the first three books in this series. 

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen was a Kindle Daily Deal this week. I had read the ARC but was glad to be able to buy a copy for my Kindle.

Early this Spring I was asked, by email, if I wanted to read and review Your Next Breath by Iris Johansen. I said yes despite the fact that it was the 4th book in the series and I hadn't yet read the first and third book in the series. 

Then, I waited ... and waited ... and watched others post their reviews. When I emailed to ask when my copy was coming, I learned that it must have been lost in the mail, that no more ARCs were available, but that they would send me a finished copy. When I arrived at my summer home on Wednesday, a lovely, hardcover copy was waiting for me. 

What did you add to your stack this week?

Stacking the Shelves (June 7, 2015)

Tynga of Team Tynga's Reviews has a meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Visit her site to check out the linky and see what everyone gets. I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow. 

You will know that I am a fan when I tell you that the third copy of Dragon in Exile by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller arrived at my house this week. This copy is the hardcover for my keeper shelves. I have already read this one twice as an eARC and as a finished ebook.

Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh downloaded to my Kindle on release day. I can't wait to read this newest story in her Psy/Changeling series.

 

The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg also downloaded to my Kindle on its release day. I recently discovered this series and devoured The Paper Magician and The Glass Magician.

I also bought Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Students Learning by Peter H. Johnston for my Kindle so that I can do a little professional reading this summer too.

What did you add to your stack?

Stacking the Shelves (May 31, 2015)

Tynga of Team Tynga's Reviews has a meme to spotlight the books we receive each week. Visit her site to check out the linky and see what everyone gets. I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow.

As I was looking over TBR mountain trying to decide what to take home for summer reading, I discovered that I was missing book one in Lisa Shearin's Raine Benares series. I bought Magic Lost, Trouble Found for my Kindle.

I have become very fond of Ann Aguirre's young adult fiction. When I found out that she and her husband collaborated on a couple of steampunk mysteries I was sold. I bought Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre for my Kindle.

I also bought Silver Mirrors by A. A. Aguirre so that I had the complete set. I also bought The World on a Plate by Mina Holland which sounded like a very interesting kind of cookbook. I don't cook but I love reading cookbooks.

I also got a couple of books for my review stack.

Gone for You by Jayne Frost sounded like a good romance. I was approached by a publicist to review this May 22 release. 

I really enjoy Melinda Leigh's romantic suspense titles. I was excited to see Minutes to Kill available at NetGalley. It will be released on June 30. 

What did you add to your stack this week?