It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (July 20, 2026)

 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.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This has been a week! It began with very high temperatures for Duluth. We hit 93 both Monday and Tuesday. Then the smoke from the wildfires burning in Canada and Northern Minnesota moved in giving us the world's worst air quality. I think the worst day had and AQI of over 1100.  

Then, with orders to keep windows closed, our 25-year-old air conditioner died. The repair man tried his best, but the compressor can't be fixed. We need to buy a new one with estimated installation no sooner than August 1. Luckily, the air cleared and the temperatures lowered from the 90s to the 80s so we have been able to have the windows open. 

My chronic cough means that I need to stay inside and not breath the nasty air. This means I got a lot of reading and listening done. The All-Star Break helped because I didn't have baseball to watch until Friday. 

I added 8 new books last week. Four of them were new Review copies which means that my goal of lowering my review stack was a fail this week. Since I also read four review books, I stay at 44 review copies on my stack. 

I also added four audiobooks this week. I took advantage of an Amazon Prime perk and changed from a monthly Audible subscription to an annual one. The annual subscription works out to $8.33 a credit and gave me all 24 credits to use immediately. That means that three of my audiobooks this week used Audible Credits. They were also audiobook copies of books that were already on my TBR mountain as Kindle books. The fourth new one was $4.99. It was a retitled reread of a book I read and enjoyed some years ago and the sequel to another books I read this week that just happened to have a cliffhanger ending. 

This coming week has more August review copies on my stack. I'll also be reading a couple from my 2026 TBR pile which currently sits at 21 books. This week should also include some cooking since my brother's shifts this week mean he'll be home for dinner most days. 

Read Last Week

• Murder in Blackfriars by Jennifer Ashley (Review, August 11) -- Cook Kat Halloway gets involved in a murder investigation as she and her fiancé Daniel are trying to discover his past. My review will be posted on August 4.
• The Ruling Class by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Audiobook, Mine since May 11) -- Teen Tess Kendrick is forced to move to Washington, DC, to live with her older sister Ivy and finds herself moving in the world of political movers and shakers. My review will be posted on August 18.
• The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Audiobook, Mine since July 13) -- Sequel to The Ruling Class with even more political intrigue and secrets. My review will be posted on August 20.

• Death at a Scottish Halloween by Lucy Connelly (Review, August 11) -- When two men named Duncan Craig die during the Halloween celebrations, Dr. Em and her Scooby gang are on the case. My review will be posted on August 5.
• The Matchmaker's Cottage by Kat Sloane (Review, August 11) -- Romance marred by the main characters mental issues set in a New York State B&B. My review will be posted on August 6.
• Death of an Irish Druid by Catie Murphy (Audiobook, Mine since April 8) -- Megan is showing some friends around Ireland when she stumbles upon yet another murdered man. This time he's floating in a sacred well. My review will be posted on August 25. 

• You Can Tell Me by Melinda Leigh (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since May 20) -- Spinoff character Olivia Cruz gets her own romantic suspense story. My review will be posted on August 19.
• Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan (Review, August 11) -- PI Annie Gore travels deep into Kentucky to see if the death of a snake handling preacher was the accident it seems to have been. My review will be posted on August 6.
• Make It Out Alive (Kindle & Audiobook, Mine since July 16) -- Quinn & Costa go undercover as honeymooners to catch a serial killer, catch him, and then are kidnapped themselves by his previously unknown partner. My review will be posted on August 20.

Currently

• Murder on Charity Lane by Jo Nichols (Review, August 18)
• Night Candy by Max Tomlinon (Audiobook, Mine since July 18)

Next Week

• Homeward for a Spell by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos (Review, August 18)
• For Services Rendered by Will Smith (Review, August 18)
• The Bravest Hour by Anna Lee Huber (Review, August 25)

• And the Crowd Went Wild by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Audiobook, Mine since July 19)
• The Oxford Guide to Scandal & Lies by Kate Westbury (Review, September 1)
• The Long Call by Ann Cleves (Kindle for $2.99, Mine since May 28)

Reviews Posted

• Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook)
• If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle (Review Copy)
• Savvy Summers and the Po'boy Perils by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (Review Copy)

• The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews (Audiobook)
• Death at King's Cross by Rosanne Limoncelli (Review Copy)
• Deadly Does It by Abbi Waxman (Review Copy)

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

Review:

• Murder on Threadneedle Street by Andrea Penrose (Review, September 29)
• Home for the Homicides by Elle Cosimano & Hannah Morrissey (Review, October 13)

• Murder at Pellhurst Pond by Clara McKenna (Review, October 27)
• The Riddle Maker by Bruce Borgos (Review, November 17)

Bought:

• Night Candy by Max Tomlinson (Audiobook, Audible Credit)
• And the Crowd Went Wild by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Audiobook, Audible Credit)

• The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Audiobook, $4.99)
• Make It Out Alive by Allison Brennan (Audiobook, Audible Credit)

What was your week like?