Bout of Book 17: Update and Challenge Day 1

I got some decent pages read for the first day of Bout of Books.  In print, I am reading The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King and on Audible, I'm listening to a paranormal romance titled Deadly Fate by Heather Graham.  Hoping to finish one of them tonight or tomorrow to move toward reaching my week's goal of four books.  :)

Day 1 Challenge:  

Favorite/Least Favorite Book to Movie Adaptation

Favorite (hard to choose just one):

Least Favorite (also hard to choose just one):

What's yours?

Summer Reading: Part 2

Vacations are over and I'm back to my normal schedule of daily reading.  I missed it so much while I was away but most days we were tired from the day and always with friends/family so I wasn't really able to get many pages in.  I have however, read three more books to add to my early July reading for a total of 5 for the summer so far.  

Hopefully, during next week's Bout of Books, I can reach my goal of four books and catch up a little!

Here what I read over the last few weeks:

These were three good ones.  Beastly Bones is the sequel to Jackaby by William Ritter and continued to follow Jackaby and his assistant, Abigail Rook as they solve yet another supernatural mystery. While I felt the first book was engaging from the start, this one took a few chapters to get into. However, that being said, once it got going, I fell into it just as I did the first one.  It was a lot of fun and I was glad to see Abigail and Charlie meet again.  

The Pursuit is the fifth book in the Fox and O'Hare series by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg and I listened to this one while walking each day.  I've really enjoyed this series.  It was such a fresh new series when I couldn't get into her Stephanie Plum series anymore.  It hasn't been too repetitive and I love how once the two main characters got together, they pretty much stayed together without constantly being torn apart or in a love triangle that never ends.  This series is fun and there is a lot of action in addition to the romance part of the story.  The minor characters reappear in several books and they are also quite entertaining.

Finally, Chakana was given to me in exchange for an honest review.  I wasn't sure about it at first but when it was described as being reminiscent of Indiana Jones, I was in.  I really enjoyed it.  I love archaeology so as soon as the plot was revealed, I was hooked.  I loved the journeys to find the different pieces of the artifact and the bad guys following the good guys, always a step behind until you get closer to the end.  It was also a lot of fun to see the booby traps and how the characters got through them.  Kate and James were likable characters and the romance in the story was a perfect accompaniment to the adventure.  My only complaint is that their first encounter together was kind of corny and Kate seemed to recover from being scared out of her wits extremely quickly.  But when you look at the big picture, the story was a lot of fun and wasn't really meant to be perfectly realistic. I enjoyed it and if you like adventure/romance, you will too.

I'm Ready for Bout of Books 17!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda and Kelly and you can sign up on the Bout of Books blog.  Bout of Books is a week long read-a-thon that begins on Monday, August 22nd and runs through Sunday, August 28th. The goal is to read as much as possible during the week. In addition, there are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize but all of these are optional.  You can read one book or many books.  It's up to you!

I have participated in Bout of Books twice before and had a lot of fun.  It's a great opportunity to catch up on my reading.  I love the summer read-a-thons best because I am home and can really get some reading done.  It's a lot harder when I work throughout the year.  As for goals, I really just want to finish the two books I started a few weeks ago and maybe get two more read and reviewed for a total of four books for the week.  I would feel good about that.  

I'm also hosting the daily Bout of Books challenge on the 25th and am really looking forward to it.  Be on the lookout for the post!

Don't forget, for more information about Bout of Books 17 and to sign up, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog

                                                                                                                                         

Feature and Follow Friday: July 29th

The Feature and Follow is the premium BLOG HOP of Book Bloggers. hosted by AlisonCanRead and Parajunkee.  Running for over five years, the Feature and Follow’s goal is to promote the book blogging and author community to join together and support each other – even if it is just through a simple follow.

This week's blog prompt is:

What is your take on DNF books. Do you review them? Choose not to review them?

Submitted by Peyton @A Bookish mess

Well, I have to say that I am a little bit picky when I choose my books so it is rare that I don't finish my reading.  I think in the last year, there have only been about three that I either did not finish or quickly skimmed through because I was less than impressed.  If it is a book I bought or borrowed, I don't usually bother reviewing at all but if it is a ARC that was given to me specifically to review, I keep my obligation and try to focus on the positives of the story.  Only once have I sent an e-mail to the author to thank her again for the book but that it really wasn't for me and that I was uncomfortable writing a review.  The author was very understanding.

Summer Reading: Part 1

Summer is here so I am away a lot with the kids.  It's only July 7th and we already spent three days down the shore for July 4th weekend and two day in Mystic, CT meeting relatives from England. Next week we leave for eight days in Texas.  Hence, not a lot of blogging time.  I have been reading though, and listening to books also.  Below is what I have been reading over the last few weeks.

Heather Graham always satisfies my need for a good ghostly romance.  Her Krewe of Hunters series follows a group of gifted FBI agents as they investigate real crimes with paranormal elements.  They aren't too deep so they are great for a beach or weekend read.

Haunted Destiny is one of my favorites and I have read A LOT of Heather Graham books.  I love the setting of the cruise ship where a serial killer is said to be hiding.  The two main characters are the piano bar pianist/singer on the cruise ship and the FBI agent who boards the ship looking for the killer.  We meet ship ghosts murdered long ago, sail through a storm where all communication is lost, and follow a list of suspects who could all potentially be the killer.  The characters were all likable and I always have fun trying to guess who the killer really is.

The Vampire of Blackpool was generously given to me in exchange for an honest review.  I like vampire books and I enjoy seeing how different authors create their stories surrounding the vampire/supernatural world.  This is a quick read and focuses on an ancient female vampire named Meredith.  She considers herself content at the start of the story until one night she meets an intriguing witch and is attacked by a vampire hunter. This night begins her journey to finding the happiness and meaning that she didn't realize she was looking for in her life. The book was engaging but on the shorter side.  I think the characters and relationships could have been developed a bit more.  However, I very much liked how the author dealt with the vampire hunter in the end.  Very creative and I didn't see it coming. I'd actually like to read his story in the future, starting with where this book ended with Meredith as a minor character.

This brings me to book #32 in the #sixtybooks challenge.  I'm hoping to read a couple more books this week before we leave on our trip and I'll have three hours on the plane too!  

Have a great week!
Laura

Top Ten Tuesday: June 14th

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week there is a different original question so that all of us book lovers can share our top ten lists with one another.  This, of course, caused everyone to add multiple books to their TBR lists, which is both good and bad, depending on how long these lists already are...

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday:

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The Second Half Of The Year 

Ok, most of these are coming out in the second half of the year, but a few are already out and I just haven't gotten to them yet.  So we can just call it, "books I am looking forward to" instead.

I am most looking forward to Empire of Storms by Sarah Maas. I've been listening to these in the car and they are fantastic.  The reader has the perfect voice for Calaena, the main character.  The Pursuit, Beard Science, Curse of Tenth Grave, Against a Brightening Sky, and Ghostly Echoes are all series books that I am excited to read.  Heather Graham books always satisfy my ghost story craving and there are two of those coming over the next few months.  Jane Steele just looks really interesting and I want to see where the author takes the main character.  Finally, Ink and Bone is a stand alone mystery/thriller.  I've read Lisa Unger before and actually met her last night at the library.  Grabbed a copy and she signed it for me.  :)

What are you looking forward to in the second half of the year?

                                                                                                                                       

Review: Throne of Glass Series

Over the last couple of months, I become slightly obsessed with a series that I had heard a lot about, but just never got around to picking up.  My original intention was only to read the first book, Throne of Glass and since my print book TBR list was so long, I grabbed it on Audible and figured I would listen to it on the way to and from work for the next week or so.

Four books and several weeks later...

I have spent more time in my car and walking around the neighborhood in the last month then I have in my house.  This is a true fact.  I cannot begin to say how sorry I am that I didn't pick this series up sooner and that I have to wait until fall to get my hands on the fifth book. At least I will have something to look forward to when school starts in September and my commute begins again.

I don't want to give away any spoilers for those who haven't read the books but I will say a little bit about the main character, who for the first two books, goes by the name Celaena Sardothien.  She is one of the strongest female leads I have read about in a long time. A fierce warrior with a heart of gold who comes from immensely tragic beginnings to learn about who she really is and what her role in the world will be.  I can honestly say that there was not one moment in any of these four books where I was disinterested or distracted.  There were moments where I gasped in surprised and groaned with realization of what was to come.  There were also moments where I smiled at her snarky comments, and almost cried during her moments of heartbreak.  

Within these books are intense battles, both of wills and weapons, and whenever one book came to an end, I was immediately on the Audible site buying the next.  It is that good.  And on a final note, I must also say that the narrator, Elizabeth Evans, is absolutely amazing and makes the listening experience a true pleasure.