#Sixtybooks in 2019

#Sixtybooks is now in its fourth year and we have had over 300 people sign up for this challenge. We are hoping to beat that number this year by spreading the word and getting even more people to make reading a part of their daily lives.

For those who are new to our fantastic group of readers, the goal is simply to make reading a regular part of our daily lives and encourage other people to do the same. It's not a competition and it's not just about the number.

For this year’s challenge, we will mostly be sharing our #SixtyBooks updates on Twitter and our goal is to share our progress, bookish thoughts/questions, and the fabulous books we are reading.

What do you have to do to participate? Almost nothing except read! What CAN you do if you choose?

Sign up for the challenge here

• Check #sixtybooks to see what other participants are posting 
• Tweet about your reading life and use #sixtybooks in your post 
• Keep track of your books using Goodreads or whatever method you choose. 
• Post pictures of what you are reading, where you are reading, your newest book hauls, reading memes and quotes,
  etc...
• Enjoy reading and make time for reading every day! 

We are looking forward to another great year of reading!

Laura and Melissa
@Lagnella and @mmorriswrite

Stacking the Shelves, July 21st

                                          
Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

It's summer and I have more time to read.  I just finished the Soul Summoner series by Elicia Hyder and loved it. I just grabbed a few new ones for vacation that I can only hope I enjoy just as much.  We leave tomorrow for Bermuda!

 I'm looking forward to all of them!

It's Monday, What are you Reading? July 16th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Date and is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and plan to be reading over the next week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's also an opportunity to visit other book bloggers, comment, and add to that ever growing TBR pile! 

I recently finished:

I'd like to say that I'm reading a ton this summer since I'm off and it did start out that way but then I got lazy so this is my last month of reading.  Still not a bad total but I need to get back into reading and posting on a regular basis.  While I really enjoyed The Darkness of Light and the Soul Summoner series, I only enjoyed the first book of Nevermor.  The second was ok, and the third was just depressing.  I wasn't happy with the wrap up.

What I am reading now:
I'm bringing the new Gina LaManna two book series with me on vacation.  I love her Magic and Mixology series so I'm sure I will enjoy The Hex Files also.

What I'm reading next:
No clue.  I have a huge TBR list and two ARC books that are due soon.  I haven't thought that far ahead.  :)

What are you reading?

Review: Agnes and the Hitman

I can't even remember right now where I first saw Agnes and the Hitman or what compelled me to purchase it but I am so happy that I did. Agnes and the Hitman is a fast-paced fun read with lots of laughs, a few murders, a mob family, a wedding surrounded by chaos, a food column, and a hot hitman. Enough said.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Agnes Crandall's life goes awry when a dognapper invades her kitchen one night, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she's staked her entire net worth on. Then a hero climbs through her bedroom window. His name is Shane, no last name, just Shane, and he has his own problems: he's got a big hit scheduled, a rival trying to take him out, and an ex-mobster uncle asking him to protect some little kid named Agnes. When he finds out that Agnes isn't so little, his uncle has forgotten to mention a missing five million bucks he might have lost in Agnes's house, and his last hit was a miss, Shane's life isn't looking so good, either. Then a bunch of lowlifes come looking for the money, a string of hit men show up for Agnes, and some wedding guests gather with intent to throw more than rice. Agnes and Shane have their hands full with greed, florists, treachery, flamingos, mayhem, mothers of the bride, and--most dangerous of all--each other. 

Most of the books I gravitate toward are somewhere in the fantasy/mystery realm with a little bit of romance on the backburner. If the character has some attitude, even better. Every once in a while though, I look for a book that will just make me smile and feel good. Agnes and the Hitman was perfect for this.  The characters were well developed and every one of them had just enough back story that you couldn't help but hope for each to get either their happy ending or their comeuppance. I found that I didn't want to stop reading so very little housework was done during the reading of this book. I highly recommend it.

Can't Wait Wednesday, June 20th

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.

I think right now, at least 80% of the books on my Amazon wish list are not released yet. This is frustrating because I really want to read all of them now. I'm looking forward to all of them but I've picked two to spotlight here.

Title: Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
Release date: October 2018

Captured by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin is trapped inside an iron box in a secret location, with seemingly no hope for escape. As she endures months of torture, her friends scatter to different fates. Without Aelin to protect them, soldier Aedion and shapeshifter Lysandra need to defend their homeland at all costs. Also left to forge their own paths in order to change history are Chaol, the witch Manon, and the golden boy Dorian-while Aelin's mate, the fae male Rowan, searches the world over for his lost love.

As Aelin gathers the strength to save herself and fight the ultimate battle of her life, all of their destinies hang in the balance. Some ties will bond even tighter together, others will be severed forever, and mysteries will be revealed in this action-packed, heart wrenching series finale.

and...

Title: A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs

Release Date: October 2018

Having defeated the monstrous threat that nearly destroyed the peculiar world, Jacob Portman is back where his story began, in Florida. Except now Miss Peregrine, Emma, and their peculiar friends are with him, and doing their best to blend in. But carefree days of beach visits and normalling lessons are soon interrupted by a discovery—a subterranean bunker that belonged to Jacob’s grandfather, Abe.

Clues to Abe’s double-life as a peculiar operative start to emerge, secrets long hidden in plain sight. And Jacob begins to learn about the dangerous legacy he has inherited—truths that were part of him long before he walked into Miss Peregrine’s time loop.

Now, the stakes are higher than ever as Jacob and his friends are thrust into the untamed landscape of American peculiardom—a world with few ymbrynes, or rules—that none of them understand. New wonders, and dangers, await in this brilliant next chapter for Miss Peregrine’s peculiar children.

What are you waiting for?

Teaser Tuesday, June 12th

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by The Purple Booker and is a weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read and open to a random page
• Share two (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page

I'm listening to Agnes and the Hitman so no page #s, but there are some great lines in the book to make you laugh. 

“I'm talkin' about you. Stop pretending you're normal. You're insane. Make that work for you.”

“What are we going to do with the body?" She had visions of dragging it into the swamp, whispering, "Here, gator, gator," and she made a little sound of distress at the thought.”

I'm really enjoying the book.  It is super funny, with a bit of adventure, romance, and ridiculousness.

Enjoy your week!

Top Ten Tuesday, June 5th

I definitely believe in DNF.  Why force yourself to read something that you aren't enjoying?  For me, trying to read something that doesn't interest me can put me into a reading slump.  I just keep avoiding the book but don't start anything new either so it truly becomes a negative experience.  There haven't been a whole lot of books out there that I haven't finished so I am going to add a little twist to this week's question...

Top 8 books I have not finished or wish I hadn't...

Books I did not finish

1. Poison or Protect by Gail Carringer:  I love this author. I have read all of the Parasol Protectorate and the Finishing School series so I was excited for this one.  Very disappointed.  I did not like the main characters at all and put it down mid-way through. 

2.  How to Speak Brit by Christopher J. Moore:  I love all things British... except this book.  Boring.

3.  Dark Rites by Heather Graham:  Again, an author I love.  I've read every Krewe of Hunters book Heather Graham has written up until this one.  I did not enjoy Dying Breath (the first in this set) as much as the others because the main female character was so incredibly annoying.  When I picked up Dark Rites, I expected different main characters (as is Graham's usual pattern) only to find this character back in the spotlight again.  I put it down after two chapters and hope that the next set in the series has a more likable main character.

4.  The Arrivals by Melissa Marr:  This was supposed to be a spin-off from Graveminder, which I loved!  It just wasn't my cup of tea.  I was looking for the same feels I got with Graveminder and they weren't there.

Books I should have stopped reading before I got to the end 
(because in my opinion, the endings sucked)

1.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Crappy ending
2.  Allegiant: Crappy ending
3.  Gone Girl: Crappy ending
4.  The Girl With All The Gifts: Crappy ending

Hope you are all enjoying what you are reading this week!