It's Monday, What Are You Reading (208)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next.

I'm glad that spring is finally here...well, it sort of is anyway. It is officially spring though we did have some snow on Friday. Thankfully it didn't stick around and hopefully it will warm up again soon. I look forward to packing away my sweaters and my winter coat!

I feel like I haven't been reading as much lately. My reading pace is starting to slow down. Of course I've also been watching more TV now that some of my shows are back from hiatus. Last week's episode of The Flash was pretty big so I'm looking forward to seeing where things go this week. I also watched Arrow and Once Upon a Time and Jane the Virgin which is now on hiatus for a few weeks. Plus I finally got some TV series on hold at the library, namely Outlander and Game of Thrones Season Four. I've watched the first two episodes of Game of Thrones and the "Purple Wedding" lived up to expectations. It looks like Season 5 will be pretty interesting and possibly deviate from the book.

I don't want you to think I've been a couch potato though. :) I did finally work out again earlier this week after more than a month of not exercising. I hope to continue that trend especially now that warmer weather is around the corner. 

Books reviewed:

The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace
The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Books read:

Maid of Deception by Jennifer McGowan

I liked this sequel to Maid of Secrets. Beatrice wasn't my favorite character in the first book (she was pretty mean to Meg) but I really felt bad for her in this one and seeing things from her perspective made me like her more.

A Heart Revealed by Josi S. Kilpack

I really liked this story. It is an unlikely kind of romance where you start out not liking the heroine (she really is pretty vain and mean) but then her character changes due to her difficult circumstances (hair loss, her family and society shun her, she lives in poor conditions) so you start to like her more and more. The love story comes later on too as the heroine has a lot of growing to do (and so does the hero).

Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

I thought this was an entertaining mystery. Scarlett is headstrong, smart, cocky, and fun as a teen detective. She does get herself in danger sometimes but she is very capable. The Goodreads description suggests this for fans of Veronica Mars and although I've only seen a few episodes of the show I can see the similar personalities.

Currently reading:

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I was struggling with this one after initially being drawn in to the story but now it is starting to get good again. I like the parts that are in Elias's perspective much more than Laia's. I will say it is a very violent and dark book. 

What I plan to read next:

Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan

I've sort of already started reading this on my Kindle but I need to finish An Ember in the Ashes soon since my review is due this week. This is our March selection in my afternoon book group so I need to read it by the end of the month. I like the story so far. I find it fascinating to learn about Robert Louis Stevenson.