It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Oct 14

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.    

Welcome back to Monday! How's the weather were you are? It's definitely changed to fall temperatures around here. Good thing, because the Lil' Princess came home for fall break this past week, and the fall colors are amazing. She misses the leaves changing when she is in North Carolina. 

Here are a few photos from the last week's adventures.

The Lil' Princess after her white coat ceremony

The Lil' Princess and two of her roommates

Arriving home

Travis approves of the new sink

Having a rare day off, I caught up on reviews. You can read my thoughts on these two here.

My review of this one should appear here tomorrow.

This is another great book by Sheila Roberts. My review will appear on Wednesday. 

My review of this fabulous book by Jill Kemerer will appear here on Thursday. 

I need to finish this one before NetGalley archives it. Like what I have read so far. 

This one is for a November review. 

There are so many books I want to read through the end of the year, but I need to focus on two editing projects and plotting my next novel. I promised myself I would as I wait to hear back from the agent I submitted Home for the Heart to last month. Here are a few possibilities. 

I also grabbed this novel this week. Marilyn says it was supposed to be a Deputy Tempe Crabtree novel, but it didn't quite work with the series, so she changed the characters and tweaked the setting to create a stand alone book.

Upcoming events:

• The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts - October 16 (Review)
• A Celtic Yuletide Carol by Jennifer Ivy Walker - November 20 (Review)

I am looking to review Christmas picture books, chapter books, and clean romance novellas this year. You can check out what other products I'm looking for here.

You can read the latest Christmas news at the Christmas Year Round blog. Lots of fun Christmas news. Early Christmas shoppers and decorators, Operation Christmas Child kickoff, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever movie is coming in November. You can read the latest news here.

That's it from me today. I hope to visit your blogs early. I'm typing this on Sunday in the hopes I can turn in earlier than usual. See you around the blogosphere! 

Book Review & Giveaway: Death in St. George's by M. A. Monnin

 

The Intrepid Traveler Mystery series returns for its third installment titled, Death in St. George's by M.A. Monnin.

Stephanie Adams and Thomas Burkhardt are ready for some rest and relaxation in Bermuda thanks to renting a house from one of her colleagues. But their romantic rendezvous is quickly waylaid when they are contacted by an archeologist to help recover an emerald bracelet stolen from a dig site. 

Though Thomas isn't thrilled about the interruption, Stephanie can't resist the allure of buried Spanish treasure. Then one of the archeology team is murdered, making everyone--including Stephanie and Thomas--suspects. Long-held secrets are uncovered as they work to find a killer before it's too late.

Having not read the first two books in the Intrepid Traveler Mystery series, I didn't know what a treat I was in for. Stephanie is a bank exec turned popular travel blogger, and Thomas works for Interpol, investigating cases involving valuable historical artifacts. And while Thomas is good at his job, he just wants the two of them to enjoy time investigating romantic adventures like dinner cruises and glow worms in lovely Bermuda. Instead, their happy holiday is hijacked by theft on a dig they are called to assist with, which ends up turning into so much more. 

What I loved about Death in St. George's is how the author quickly drew me in so that I felt like I had to keep reading through to the end. There were a lot of characters to get to know, twists and turns that made you lean one way and then the next, and that hint of tension when Greg, the colleague they were renting the house from (who also happens to be attracted to Stephanie), ends up in Bermuda and keeps showing up at the house they were renting from him. It all plays into the plot nicely, but my real estate head kept thinking about how many tenant's rights Greg was violating. 

Death in St. George's is a fabulous, engaging mystery with a plot that keeps you guessing until the end. I look forward to reading more books in this series. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Level Best Books (May 14, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1685126480
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1685126483

I downloaded a NetGalley copy of this book for the tour. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN BY CLICKING HERE!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - June 17

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.   

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a nice week. As is typical when we are planning to leave for vacation at the end of the month, my schedule is hectic. In addition to a closing coming up today, some of us spent two days at the Wilbraham Peach Blossom Festival. It was a ton of work and a ton of fun! On Sunday, I worked in the morning, but took the afternoon off to spend with family. We played games together, which was awesome. On our way to take the man of the house out for ice cream, our car was hit. We are all fine. My car is not. So, if I don't visit your blog right away, please don't take offense. My jampacked scheduled for Monday just got busier as I deal with insurance and other blah things like that. Please pray they can fix my car, since I just paid it off in October and was looking forward to not having a car payment for a while. 

HB Real Estate at the Wilbraham Peach Blossom Festival

On the reading front, I downloaded this book from NetGalley for an August review.

I posted a First Chapter Review of this rockstar romance. You can read my review here.

 I read more of this one Saturday night. I have a couple more chapters to go.  

I finished this one on Sunday. Look for a review soon. 

My brain is so tired that I haven't read much of this one lately. The topic, however, is fascinating. 

All these are coming on vacation. 

Upcoming events:

• Is Truth Stranger Than Fiction? You Decide... by JB Miller - July 3 (Review)
• The Righteous Arrows by Brian J. Morra - July (Review)
• Death in St. George's by M. A. Monnin - August 23 (Review)
• Hollywood Underworld by Lindy S. Hudis - August 30 (Review)

You can read the latest Christmas news at the Christmas Year Round blog. Check it out here!

Looking forward to your comments and to visiting your blogs. Enjoy your week!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Welcome to the last Tuesday of 2023! How is that even possible? Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve? I'm sure we will be staying home. I have plenty to read. :) 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is all about the latest additions to our bookshelves. Some of you might even have received new books yesterday. So, here are my...

Top Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

From Top Ten Tuesday's Bookish Wishes

Christmas haul

Christmas haul

Christmas haul

Christmas haul

Author for review

Audible credit

Audible credit

Netgalley

Netgalley

Did you receive any books this holiday season? What are you looking forward to reading soon?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Sept 25

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.  

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.     

Howdy, everyone! Guess what? It's Monday again. Hope you had a great week. Lots happened in my neck of the woods. Work appointments, a doctor appointment, switched my closet over to fall/winter, cleaning and decorating the house for the Lil' Princess' brief trip home for The Big E, and the Rick's Place golf tournament. Oh, and rain. Lots of that. One of my friends described this summer best--it was a warm April that lasted for months. Here are a few photos:

RP Golf Tournament at the Wilbraham Country Club

Fall has arrived at our house

Travis thought he could help me change my clothes out

Dwight finds Paddy's gym bag intriguing 

On Sunday, I spent some time in the Word, made a nice breakfast, did a load of laundry, and then read books. Gasp! I know. Needed a break from the hectic pace, so I took it. The Lil' Princess made it to the airport in plenty of time, the husband (Paddy--his nickname from the kids) and I ate out, and then I scheduled blog posts. 

Oh, speaking of blogs. Christmas Year Round: Sharing Christmas Joy All Year Long is now live. I am so excited!!! You can check it out at https://christmasyearroundccm.blogspot.com  And if you want to learn more about it before deciding to check it out, you can visit this post at https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2023/09/announcing-christmas-year-round-sharing.html 

As far as books go, I finished all these:

Review is here

Review on Tuesday at TC&TBC

Review here on October 4th 

Review here

These are next.

Upcoming virtual book tours:

• Grace and the Golden Rule by Negrita Smart - September 26 (review at TC&TBC)
• Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman - October 4 (review)
• Death and the Sisters by Heather Redmond - October 17 (review)
• Racing the Dream by M. T. Bass - October 23 (first chapter review)
• The Folly at Raighvan Park by Judith Crow - October 31 (first chapter review)
• Resparking Creativity by Fatemah Mirza & Sumayyah Rafiq - November 20 (review)
• The 12 Months of Christmas by Sheila Roberts - November 21 (review)
• The King Who Lost His Colors by Glen Liset - November 27 (review at TC&TBC)
• The Location Shoot by Patricia Leavy - January 31 (interview)

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I ordered one book from Amazon that arrived this past week.

This is the first book in a series. I believe there are five right now. Thought I would give this one a shot before buying them all. 

An author friend of mine sent me a digital copy of his latest writing business book to review, but it isn't online yet. Once it is, I will share the cover. 

I also grabbed a Kindle copy of this book, mostly with credits I had available. I hope to read it soon. 

Think that's all I have for you this week. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.