Sunday Post (95) / It's Monday, What Are You Reading

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s 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 now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next.

It's been two weeks since the last time I participated in Sunday Post or It's Monday, What Are You Reading but not much has happened aside from a root canal this past Wednesday that I am still healing from. I hate dental work :( I had to take the day off yesterday due to pain. Today I am feeling better and hopefully I'll be back to normal by Monday. I am enjoying the excuse to eat pudding and pancakes though. 

Summer reading is wrapping up at the library and now I'm starting to plan for our fair next month. This year our bookmobile won't be there but we'll have a booth of some sort. If we're lucky we'll be inside a building (though I don't think it has AC) instead of on the grass under a tent. That can get muddy (and it usually rains at least one day of fair week). I usually enjoy working at the fair though. We are going to be doing rock painting at our booth this year since that is so popular. 

Today (Sunday) is the premiere of season 7 of Game of Thrones. I am worried about the fates of my favorite characters. Such a stressful show to watch! I have also been watching The Great British Baking Show on PBS. I love that show and this is the final season (of this version of it anyway). There are older seasons that PBS hasn't shown so maybe we'll get to see some of those at least.

Last week on my blog:

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (review)

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal (review)

Books read:

A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain (reread)

I wanted to reread this book before I read A Twist in Time so the characters and setting would be fresh in my mind. I enjoyed rereading the book and strangely enough I forgot which character was the killer at first so that made it more interesting.

A Twist in Time by Julie McElwain

I liked this book though it wasn't as suspenseful as A Murder in Time. This time around instead of a serial killer, someone murdered a lady in a crime of passion and Kendra's love interest is a suspect. 

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

I thought this was a pretty good book. I liked all the references to other books and the bookstore setting. I felt really bad for Rachel but it took me longer to warm up to Henry.

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

This YA fantasy was okay. It featured an LGBT romance and the story was interesting but the world building was lacking and the ending was kind of abrupt. 

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

I am not sure how I feel about this book. There were parts of it that I liked where the writing was good but I just couldn't connect with the main character. I think it was because of the letter format.

Keep the Home Fires Burning: Spitfire Down by S. Block

This e-book is the first part of a serialized novel, Keep the Home Fires Burning. Home Fires was a fantastic British TV show (set in England during WWII) that aired on PBS. There were two seasons of it and the second season ended with a cliffhanger but the show was cancelled in the UK. The creator of the show is writing three books to show what would have happened next and this is the first one. The entire book will be available in print in October.

Books listened to:

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen

I was so looking forward to this book and I mostly liked it. Louna and her story were especially good. Her love story with Ethan was heartbreaking. The part of the book that let me down was the relationship with Ambrose. I thought he treated the girls he dated badly, especially at the end. I liked him as a friend for Louna but not a love interest.

The Cafe By the Sea by Jenny Colgan

I enjoyed this story and the Scottish island setting. The narration was excellent except for one notable issue: while the narrator's Scottish accents (and even her singing) are fantastic, her American accents are terrible and one of Flora's love interests is American. I recommend the book but the audio version could have been better because of that one flaw.

Currently reading:

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

This is a fantasy retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I like it so far though I do wish there was a list of characters and creatures in the front of the book to help me keep it all straight. I sometimes struggle with fantasy fiction if a lot of unusual creatures or vocabulary are introduced.  

Currently listening to:

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

I kind of wish I had the print version of this book. The narration is okay but sometimes the voices grate. The story is told in a dual timeline of 1915 and 1947. In the 1947 story, Charlie St. Clair is trying to track down her cousin Rose who went missing in France during the war. In the 1915 story, Eve Gardiner becomes a spy during WWI and is sent to France. Both stories converge when Charlie goes to Eve for help in finding out what happened to Rose. 

On my TBR list:

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

I have owned this book for years but I'm just now getting around to reading it because my book group selected it for our July discussion.

Lucky in Love by Kasie West

I enjoyed one of her other books so I wanted to give this a try. 

Changes in Latitudes by Jen Malone

I thought this sounded interesting and I loved Wanderlost so hopefully I'll like this too.

New books received:

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (purchased)

Keep the Home Fires Burning: Spitfire Down by S. Block (purchased)

The Cafe By the Sea by Jenny Colgan (purchased)

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White (purchased)

The Secret History of Us by Jessi Kirby (for review)

The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal (for review)

Woman Enters Left by Jessica Brockmole (for review)

The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel (for review)

Lucky in Love by Kasie West (for review)

Changes in Latitudes by Jen Malone (for review)

Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts (library book)