Sunday Post (7) / It's Monday What Are You Reading

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, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 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 will also be sharing my It's Monday post on Twitter #IMWAYR.

This past Friday was my first summer reading event for adults at the library. We had a concert with a band we paid a good chunk of money for but only 9 people showed up including myself and a small child who was there with her mom. This is my second summer concert fail and my biggest programming fail in awhile (the biggest was a few summers ago when I tried showing The Lucky One and only one person showed up so I sent her home with the DVD). I've definitely learned a lesson about programs. Concerts work better in spring when people are getting stir crazy from being cooped up all winter. My best attended summer programs are the murder mystery dinners and anything to do with the paranormal. So far we have over 70 people signed up for Monday night's Bigfoot program. A lot of people believe in Bigfoot in this area I guess.

I've been on a roll with reading this past week, finishing a book a day from Tuesday through Saturday. Today I was trying to figure out what I was in the mood to read next and I decided to read a library book that I definitely want to make sure I finish (The Wrath and the Dawn) since there are holds on it. I am also reading another library book on my Kindle. I've found that I now prefer reading on my Kindle because I can take it with me anywhere.

Last week on my blog:

Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham (review)
The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler (review)

Books read:

Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey

I really liked this dual timeline novel. Part of it takes place in 2011 with Jess, a young woman hiding from an abusive boyfriend and part of it takes place in the 1940s with the story of Stella a British woman who falls in love with an American pilot. I think fans of Sarah Jio and Nicholas Sparks would enjoy it. My review will be up later this week.

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

As I'd hoped, Beach Town was a good "beach read" kind of book. I thought it was interesting to read about the process of scouting locations for movies and I liked the main characters and the townspeople. 

Sophomore Year is Greek to Me by Meredith Zeitlin

This was such a fun story! I liked the setting and the interesting characters. There was less romance than I thought there'd be but I didn't mind. Zona was a riot and quite a personality. I enjoyed seeing her bloom as she made new friends and got to know her family. I also liked the references to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which is one of my favorite rom-coms. 

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan

I think fans of Revenge would best appreciate this page-turner. It definitely requires some suspension of disbelief and the characters are not exactly well developed but I still liked it as a suspense novel in spite of its issues.

The Idea of Love by Patti Callahan Henry

This one didn't quite work for me. I felt bad for Ella in a way though I also found her really frustrating as a character. Hunter/Blake was not a good love interest. Just too boring to read  his sections and I didn't buy into their love story or the cheesy ending at all. 

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

I wanted to read this book because I'd heard it described as a kind of You've Got Mail for foodies. Plus that cover is so tempting! Fortunately the story more than lived up to my expectations. Lou recently fulfilled the dream of opening her own restaurant but on the worst day of her life, her restaurant gets a horrible review from popular food critic A.W. Wodyski. Al met Lou earlier the same day and was instantly drawn to her. They keep crossing paths and a friendship strikes up. Unfortunately for Al, his pen name happens to be A.W. Wodyski...

Currently reading:

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

This is one of my most anticipated debuts for 2015 and hopefully I won't be disappointed like I have been with several of the others. It is based on A Thousand and One Nights. So far I like it. 

The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer

So far I've only read chick lit sort of novels by Strohmeyer so a suspense/mystery is something different from her. I like what I've read of it. Lily is an interesting character (as I'd imagine any teen growing up in a mortuary would be). 

What I might read next:

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

I was so excited when I found out I won this book in a giveaway from Christina at Confessions of a Book Addict. I love Sarah Dessen's novels and I'm looking forward to reading this soon. So far the reviews I've seen are very positive.

New books received:

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan (library book)

The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer (library book)

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (won signed copy from Confessions of a Book Addict)

The Color of Our Sky by Amita Trasi (review book)

Future Perfect by Jen Larsen (review book)