Sunday Post (15) / 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.

The clothing swap was pretty successful. We had over 20 people in attendance and we received a ton of Juniors clothes but not very much for boys especially in smaller sizes. Still I think most people were able to find something and I took several bags of leftover clothes to a local charity shop. I definitely plan to the Back to School Clothing Swap again next year but maybe with some modifications. I think 4-8 was too long of a time period and people who came at 4 didn't have much to swap with. I would really like to do a clothing swap for baby, toddler and maternity clothing as well but I don't know when. My next program is a Pinterest craft night. The teen librarian and I are planning to do a monthly Pinterest program with a craft and snacks found on Pinterest. We'll see how it goes.

This coming week I'll be getting ready for my trip to Canada. I'm one of those last minute packers so I will be doing laundry on Thursday and probably packing on Friday. Thankfully I have Thursday off and I have a really useful packing app so I'll remember what I need to take like my passport :) I leave for my parents' place on Friday and then early Saturday morning (my parents think we are meant to be up at 5 a.m. even on vacation days) we will be leaving. 

In the meantime I am going to try to write some reviews to make sure my blog has some content while I'm away. I read several books this week that I need to write reviews for as well as a backlog of reviews from books I read earlier this year. 

I also work a shift at the fair this week for the library. Our bookmobile is already set up and I managed to get our display done before I left work yesterday. It was just in the nick of time and hopefully it looks okay. Working at the fair can be fun and it is a change of scenery and a chance to share what we do with the general public. 

Last week on my blog:

Once Upon a Time...My Top Ten+ Fairy Tale Retellings (post)

Joyride by Anna Banks (review)

Books read:

This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak

I liked this contemporary romance of second chances. Phoenix's low self esteem and her inability to trust others or ask for help could be wearying at times but I understood why she behaved that way given her background and how she was treated. It made it all the more sweeter when she got her happy ending. I think this is one of the better books in the series especially after the previous two which were a disappointment.

A Winter Wedding by Brenda Novak

Kyle has been unlucky in love, first losing the love of his life Olivia (she later ended up with his brother) and then being trapped in an unhappy marriage to Noelle (Olivia's crazy sister). Now he is divorced but still plagued by Noelle when he meets country music star Lourdes Bennett. This was a mostly cute contemporary romance set during the holidays. It didn't move me the way This Heart of Mine did but I still liked it.

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

This book was so good. I was a little worried it wouldn't live up to they hype but it really did. There was even a little bit of a Harry Potter vibe to the story at times (one of the characters reminded me of a Harry Potter character). There is magic and adventure and death. I can't wait to see where the next book takes us.

Evergreen Falls by Kimberley Freeman

This was an interesting book but I felt frustrated with Violet, one of the historical characters. She was pretty naive and silly. I did like Flora, the other historical heroine. I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. She reminded me of Edith from Downton Abbey. The modern day story featured Lauren, a young woman whose brother recently died of cancer. Lauren develops a relationship with Tomas who is working on restoring the Evergreen hotel where the historical story takes place. 

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell

I thought this book had a lot of potential but in the end I was a little disappointed. It was a creative retelling of Cinderella but I had some issues with the anticlimactic ending.

Currently reading:

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

It feels like we had to wait forever for this book. As I started reading this I realized I've sort of forgotten what happened in The Diviners. Hopefully it will come back to me. This one has an interesting new character who can walk in dreams and the premise is about a sleeping sickness. People start having dreams that they can't wake up from and eventually they die. I think I may stick to reading this during the day!

What I might read next:

Soundless by Richelle Mead

This is a standalone fantasy set in a world inspired by Ancient China. The main character 
Fei lives in a mountain village where everyone has lost their hearing and some are now losing their sight including her sister. Then Fei suddenly gets her hearing back right when their food supply is under threat so she decides to leave the mountain to investigate. The book isn't out till November but I have to read it early for Amazon Vine.

Dream Things True by Marie Marquardt

I've been wanting to read this one for awhile. The premise reminds me of Joyride by Anna Banks.

Bohemian Gospel by Dana Chamblee Carpenter

This historical novel is set in 13th Century Bohemia and features history and a little bit of fantasy. The book won't be out till November but I have to read it for review before September.

Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen

I have been waiting months for this one. I started reading the Royal Spyness mysteries last year and zipped through them. They are a lot of fun and I love the 1930s setting. This new one features Queen Elizabeth's scandalous uncle Prince George (her father's younger brother).

New books received:

Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen (library book)

Bohemian Gospel by Dana Chamblee Carpenter (for review)

After You by Jojo Moyes (for review)