December Wrap Up

I met and exceeded my yearly reading goal by 24 books.  I think it was the many Christmas themed books that I chose to read.  They were really good!  

Titles Read:
An Amish Noel by Patricia Davids

Blood Kiss by J.R. Ward

Christmas In Cold Creek by RaeAnne Thayne

Christmas in Mustang Creek by Linda Lael Miller

Cold Creek Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne

Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kelypas

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping by Lori Foster

I Crawl Through It by A.S. King

Make Me by Lee Child

My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis

Only A Promise by Mary Balough

Playing Doctor by Lori Foster

Some Like It Hot by Lori Foster

Some Like It Scot by Suzanne Enoch

The Christmas Wedding Ring by Susan Mallery

The Dirt On Ninth Grave by Darynda Jones

The Harder You Fall by Gena Showalter

The Painter’s Daughter by Julie Klassen

The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone (audio)

Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich

Truth or Die by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (audio)

When A Scot Ties The Know by Tessa Dare

Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand (audio)

Wonderment in Death by J.D. Robb

•Total Read: 24

•Adult: 23
•YA: 1
•Audios: 3
•Abandonded: 0
•New to me authors: 5
•Debut authors: 0

•YTD - 224

•Favorite Book(s) of the Month: I Crawl Through It, My Kind of Wonderful, When A Scot Ties The Knot

Where I've Read This Month: California (2), Colorado (2),  Idaho (2), Missouri, Nantucket, New Jersey, New York (4), Ohio (4),Oklahoma (2), Pennsylvania, England (3), Scotland (2)



Linking up with Kathryn at The Book Date's Month In Review

Happy New Year!  May you find joy and laughter in the simple things.  Cole found it in plastic grocery bags and a dust pan.

2015 Reading Challenges

2015 Reading Challenges

 Outdo Myself Challenge - 224/288

Where Are You Reading?  38/50




 

2015 Year In Review - Favorites

2015 got off to a rocky start with some physical issues, but spending time with this wonderful little man helped me get through them.  He is one of the best things of 2015!  I did manage to meet my reading goal, but did not come close to beating last year's stats.









I started the year with The Good Daughter by Jane Porter

Reading Stats:
Total Read: 224
  Female authors:  140
  Male authors:  29
  Repeat authors - Susan Mallery - 5
                             Lori Foster - 6
                             Grace Burrowes - 9
                             JD Robb/Nora Roberts - 5
Debut authors - 16
New to me authors - 61
Audiobooks - 38
Genres:
   Contemporary 47
   Historical - 26
   Suspense/thriller - 58
   Romance - 62
   Young Adult - 21

I chose a few favorites in the following categories:

 Adult:  Memory Man - The Bone Tree, The Nightingale, The Secret Wisdom of the Earth

 

 Young Adult: All The Rage, Belzhar, Words and Their Meanings



Audio Books/Narrators - Eight Grave After Dark (Lorelei King), The Bourbon Kings (Alexander Cendese), Breaking Creed (Graham Winton) Written In My own Heart's Blood (Davinia Porter),




 The books that really made me think - Five Days Left, The Girl on the Train



 Debut Novels:  Dollbaby, Did You Ever Have A Family, Girl Underwater



New to me authors: Laura Dave, Mary Louise Kelly, Tessa Dare



Tough Issues addressed in the books I've read: Rape, Mental Illness, Child Abuse, School Shooting, Suicide, Alcoholism

Where I've read last year: Alabama, Alaska (4), Arizona, California (19), Colorado (6), Connecticut, Florida (6), Georgia (5), Idaho (3), Illinois (2), Kentucky (3), Louisiana (3), Maryland (3), Massachusetts (3), Michigan (3), Minnesota (6), Missouri, Mississippi (2), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (5), New Mexico, New York (27), Nevada (4), North Carolina (8), Ohio (8), Oklahoma (4), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (5), South Carolina, Tennessee (3), Texas (7), Vermont (2), Virginia (3), Washington (7), Washington, DC (5), West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, (5),  Atlanta, Boston (2), Chicago (4), Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nantucket (3), New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle (3), Canada, Denmark, England (17), France, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Scotland (6), Istanbul, London (14), Paris

I ended the year with My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis


My year in books according to Goodreads.

We are looking forward to 2016!  Our son Caleb's daughter is due February 21st!

Tuesday Intro/Teaser

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. To participate share the opening paragraph or two of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph. Please feel free to join in, First Chapter~First Paragraph~Tuesday Intros.

Haywood County, North Carolina

Daniel Tate clenched his teeth and looked away just as the needle pierced a vein in his arm. He'd spent two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He'd been shot at, dodged IEDs, and escaped a grenades. But needles - damn, he hated needles. "This will help relax you," Dr. Shaw told him. When she walked in the door, Tate had been relieved to see a woman. But she had barely introduced herself before she pulled out a stainless steel tray with vials and surgical utensils and, of course, several syringes.

Silent Creed by Alex Kava (#2)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn/ MizB of A Daily Rhythm



All Tate could think was that this served him right for not reading all seven pages. He'd only cared about the three thousand dollars he has been promised, and he had double-checked that it was in the contract.

Last Reading Wrap Up of 2015

Another year is coming to an end.  Are you pleased with your year's reading?  It has been a slower reading year for me.  It could be this wonderful little guy!  Whatever the reason, it has been a good year.

Some Like It Scot by Suzanne Enoch

Munro "Bear"  MacLawry is escaping his family's marital bliss by going off by himself. While he is hunting he discovers a "lad" on his property that gets the deer he was aiming for.  Intrigued at who this could be, Bear follows and discovers that the lad is a lass and is hiding with her sister in the abbey ruins on the MacLawry's land. She continues to amuse him so he shows up daily in an effort to discover her secrets.  The secrets could mean trouble for his clan.  Cat is not only fled with her sister Elizabeth to escape an unwanted marriage.  She does not want nor need Bears help, but he just won't go away.  She is not your average highland lass, and is proud of the fact.  Great banter and chemistry between these two characters.  

Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas (#1)

I eagerly awaited Lisa's return to historical fiction and was richly rewarded.  Kathleen is easy to love, and it was hard to wait for her secret.  Devon is as the title states.  His inheritance is the last thing he wants to for his life.  It is falling down and in bad need of repairs that will take too much money.  His plan is to parcel it up, sell lit and hopefully find suitable husbands for his cousins.  He talks his brother West into helping him out.  West is reluctant as he is just as much of a rake as his brother. Once they meet Kathleen, all their plans run amok.  She begins to influence West for the better.  Can she reach Devon's heart?  She takes her responsibilities seriously and won't let Devon's plans interfere.  Their relationship is very rocky with quite a few bumps, but was a pleasure to experience.  Helen, Pandora and Cassandra are just as delightful and I can't wait for their stories.  

Truth or Die by JP and Howard Roughan (audio)

Another fast paced, action filled, enjoyable listen narrated by Edoardo Ballerini.  Complete thoughts here.

Make Me by Lee Child (#20)

Jack Reacher is intrigued by the town's name of Mother's Rest and decides to get off the train and find out why/how it got it's name.  Of course, loner/drifter Jack is soon pulled into a mystery.  He meets Michelle Chang, former FBI agent turned private investigator waiting for her co-worker to come back to this town.  When he doesn't return Jack is intrigued and stays to help her out.  The town's people are not welcoming or friendly and seem to be watching them which interests Jack all the more.  Chasing the mystery of what was going on leads them to a reporter in LA. The secrets that the town is hiding are slow to be revealed and kept me glued to the pages guessing (and being wrong!).  When they come back to Mother's Rest for the final showdown their lives are on the line.  Can an injured Jack get them through to the other side?  A great installment in the Reacher series.

Blood Kiss by J.R. Ward (#1)

When there is a spin-off of a well loved series it comes with assorted feelings...will it be as good? will I like it? how can it be different, but the same? will the previous characters be changed?  After reading Blood Kiss the first in the Black Dagger Legacy series, I can say phew!, it was so good.  I enjoyed meeting the new recruits to the training center. Sixty of them arrive and only seven make it through to the actual training. That in itself was harrowing and pulled you right into the characters, choosing sides and glad about who made it through. This story centers on  Paradise and Craeg, each with different reasons for wanting to make it through as the first recruits of this new training program.  I fell in love with Paradise's desire to be her own person, not whom her class expects.  Craeg has his own reasons for being there and doesn't want the added distraction of attraction.   This story also revisits Butch and Marissa from the original series. A great start to this new series. 

Up Next:
The Dirt on Ninth Grave by Darynda Jones
My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis
These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Book Thoughts Posted:
Truth or Die by JP and Howard Roughan
The Painter's Daughter by Julie Klassen

Linking to these memes:

Kathryn at Book Date to host this weekly event where we celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received.

Truth or Die (audio)

After a serious professional stumble, attorney Trevor Mann may have finally hit his stride. He's found happiness with his girlfriend Claire Parker, a beautiful, ambitious journalist always on the hunt for a scoop. But when Claire's newest story leads to a violent confrontation, Trevor's newly peaceful life is shattered as he tries to find out why.

Chasing Claire's leads, Trevor unearths evidence of a shocking secret that—if it actually exists—every government and terrorist organization around the world would do anything to possess. Suddenly it's up to Trevor, along with a teenage genius who gives new meaning to the phrase "too smart for his own good," to make sure that secret doesn't fall into the wrong hands. But Trevor is about to discover that good and evil can look a lot alike, and nothing is ever black and white: not even the truth.

Trevor has been disbarred and is teaching.  He is happy with where he is until an unthinkable thing happens.  He discovers Claire's phone and follows the clues to her teenage source.  Owen is skeptical of Trevor, but knows he needs help. They work together to figure things out, both for their own reasons.  It soon becomes clear that this cover up goes way up and they are on the run. They need to find the truth or die!  I really liked Trevor and Owen. Another fast paced, action filled, enjoyable listen narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. 

*Thanks to Mitch and Hachette Audio for this review copy*

Merry Christmas

From our house to yours.... 

May you have a very Merry Christmas!

The Painter's Daughter

Sophia Dupont assists her father in his studio, keeping her own artwork out of sight. In private, she paints the picturesque north Devon Coast, popular with artists—including handsome Wesley Overtree, who seems more interested in her than the landscape.

Captain Stephen Overtree is accustomed to taking on his brother Wesley's responsibilities. Near the end of his leave, he is sent to find his brother and bring him home. Upon reaching Devonshire, however, Stephen is stunned to learn Wesley has sailed for Italy and left his host's daughter in serious trouble.

Stephen feels duty-bound to act, and strangely protective of the young lady, who seems somehow familiar. Wanting to make some recompense for his own past failings as well as his brother's, Stephen proposes to Miss Dupont. He does not offer love, but marriage "in name only" to save her from scandal. If he dies in battle as he fears, she will at least be a respectable widow.

Sophie makes a very hard decision and knows whatever she decides it will affect her life profoundly.  Both Stephen and Sophie want to honor their decision and each other, rather than be selfish.  In today's world, I find that refreshing and hopeful. The secondary characters with their traits, secrets, and the mystery also  make this such an enjoyable novel.  The author kept me glued to the pages (despite the length) caring for these characters and wanting to find out what happens knowing the prodigal son is going to return.  There was such tension at the end that I was gripping the book so hard wondering if the ending I wanted was going to be delivered.  A great read.

*This complimentary review copy was received thankfully from Bethany House and in no way influenced my review of this book. These are my personal thoughts and reactions to the reading of the book.*

Tuesday Intro/Teaser

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. To participate share the opening paragraph or two of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph. Please feel free to join in, First Chapter~First Paragraph~Tuesday Intros.

Moving a guy as big as Keever wasn't easy. It was like trying to wrestle a king-size mattress off a water bed. So they buried him close to the house. Which made sense anyway. The harvest was still a month away, and a disturbance in a field would show up from the air. And they would use the air, for a guy like Keever. They would use search planes, and helicopters, and maybe even drones.

They started at midnight, which they thought was safe enough. They were in the middle of ten thousand acres of nothingness, and the only man-made structure their side of any horizon was the railroad track to the east, but midnight was five hours after the evening train and seven hours before the morning train. Therefore, no prying eyes.


Make Me by Lee Child (Jack Reacher #20)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn/ MizB of A Daily Rhythm


Only one thing went wrong, and it happened right then. The evening train came through five hours late.




Merry Christmas!