The Sunday Post/It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Hey, ladies!

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 Kathryn at The Book Date where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next. 

I'm currently on vacation! Well, working vacation/sort of staycation type of thing. We're staying about 45 minutes from home, right in the heart of work and at a client's beach house. It's pretty swanky, all things considered! Although I do wish that it was, like, October. So hot. SO many damn people.

I'm exhausted/crampy/headache-y, but being this is certainly a nice place to feel like shit. :D I'm hoping to get a good bit of reading done, but we'll see!

Missed two days of yoga, but not bad considering all I want to do is sprawl on the couch and vegetate.

Sunday - 12,302

Monday - 12,021

Tuesday - 12,774

Wednesday - 10,938

Thursday - 11,878

Friday - 5,380

Saturday - 12,991

Total - 78,284

This Week's Recap

The Goodreads Tag

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make Me Want to See and D0

Waiting on Wednesday

TBR Thursday

Cover Lust, No. 33

Coming Up

July Recap

Top Ten Tuesday: TBD

Waiting on Wednesday 

TBR Thursday

{Book Review} F*ucking Awkward 

Read This Week

3 stars!
Most funny, some sexy, a few downright strange, but all of them very fucking awkward.

Currently Reading

Not too sure how I feel about this so far...the heroine is annoying. 

What will I read next?

Need to finish this....

Cover Lust, No. 33

Juliet Young has always written letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only way Juliet can cope. 

Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he’s trying to escape the demons of his past. 

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he’s opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither of them knows that they're not actually strangers. When real life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. This emotional, compulsively-readable romance will sweep everyone off their feet.

I like the textured look of the flowers, but mostly I'm intrigued by the synopsis! Releases in early April of next year!

TBR Thursday

Kimberly @ Kimberlyfaye Reads started a new weekly feature that I'm excited to join in! This feature is to showcase what's on your to be read shelf (or eReader, or Audible library) and see what others think of it. Have you read it? Should I read it or put it back on the shelf? It's a way to dust off the books on your self and decide if they're worth reading!

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. 

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees. 

Everyone is loving this series, and the cover is stunning. Should I dive in, despite what I hear is a bitch of a cliffhanger?

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

August 9th

The first in a new fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

Okay, so this is not my normal thing at all, but I'm a tad curious!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make Me Want to Do and Learn

Hey, everyone!

It's Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and The Bookish! This week's topic is books that have made you want to learn about or do something after reading them. Let's jump in!

10. 

While this was my least favorite CoHo book, it did make me want to better learn sign language. I can pick up a little here and there if you go very slowly, but I want to brush up!

9.

This made me want to cook...for about 5 seconds, until I remembered how much I dislike cooking and just like eating. :p

8.

The mythology in this series fascinates me, and sparked an interest in Irish and Scottish folklore!

7. 

Totally made me want to see Cirque du Soleil again!

6.

Made me want to know the psychology behind sex addiction. 

5.

The ghosts in this series fascinated and terrified me!

4.

This book made me want to go to London, a desire I've never had!

3.

The mental workings of BDSM is beyond interesting, and this delightfully smutty read illustrated that really well. 

2.

This one made me desperate to read any fantasy book I could get my hands on, and I'm normally someone that can't stand fantasy!

1.

And this series...well, it made me want to do Bones. ;)

The Goodreads Tag

I've seen this tag going around a bit lately, and I think it's so fun!

What is the last book you marked as "read"?

Was sadly disappointed with this one!


What are you currently reading?

I'm suppose to be reading this, but since I'm in a slump, I'm actually rereading....

I reread when I'm slumpy. 


What was the last book you marked as "to read"?

This has the makings of a guilty pleasure.


What do you plan on reading next?

I think I'm going to give into the peer pressure with this one. :p


Do you use the star rating system?

Yep, absolutely! Like everyone else, I really wish they'd add a half star rating. I never know whether to round up or down when a book needs a half star.



Are you doing the 2016 Reading Challenge?

I am! 10 ahead of schedule and 83 read out of 130 read. I may drop the goal by 10 or so books soon, since this fall is going to be very busy for me and it's a bit of a slumpish year!

2016 Reading Challenge

The Bibliophile Babe (Amanda Nola) has read 83 books toward                her goal of 130 books.

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83 of 130 (63%)

view books

Do you have a wish list?

Just my to-read shelf.

What book do you plan on buying next?

Good question!

What is your favorite quote?

Can't pick just one, so here you go!



He looked at me and I shivered. I never get enough of him.
Never will.
I. Want. Him. Always.
Fire to my ice. Ice to my fever.
- 
Karen Marie Moning,
 Shadowfever 




"For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest. Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well."

-
Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber



"I mean to hear ye groan like that again. And to moan and sob, even though you dinna wish to, for ye canna help it. I mean to make you sigh as though your heart would break, and scream with the wanting, and at last to cry out in my arms, and I shall know that I've served ye well."

-
Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

Sigh...gotta love Jamie.


"Why not live with the magic? Be a kid again, and believe in the fantastical. Life is more fun with a little smoke and mirrors. 

-

L.H. Cosway, Six of Hearts

"In the light of day, I can see all your cracks and your darkness and your flaws, and I fall in love with it all. And I hope you can fall in love with everything that I am, all that lurks in my dark, all that shines in my light. I want you to love every little piece of me, because it all belongs to you."

- 

Karina Halle, The Play

Doom, or save. That I cannot do. For I have no power beyond that of knowledge, no ability to bend others to my will, no way to stop them doing what they will. There is only me.

-

Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber

"Question everything. Your love, your religion, your passion. If you don't have questions, you'll never find answers."

-

Colleen Hoover, Slammed

I was head over heels in love with her. No, that didn't describe it. 

I was tear my fucking heart out and throw it to her, beg her to take it into hers. I was falling for the greatest heights, with no safety net below. 

I was giving everything of my own life for hers, giving up every inch of my soul so she could wear it proudly. 

I was a former king on my knees before the queen. A jester begging for a chance. 

I was powerless, helpless, and at her mercy. 

-

Karina Halle, The Dex-Files

I think that in the space between birth and death you can have one life, or you can have many. But in order to have many, you also need the strength to end the one that came before it. And therein lies the tricky part.

- 

L.H. Cosway, King of Hearts

Much slower, I turned around to see Vlad examining his fingernails, as if his hands weren't still ablaze in the flames that had blasted the ghoul's head off moments before.

"What the hell was that?" I gasped.

"Premature inflammation," He replied. "Happens sometimes. Very embarrassing; I don't like to talk about it."

- 

 Jeaniene Frost, This Side of The Grave

Vlad is so funny, haha. I'll stop now.

Who are your favorite authors?

Karina Halle, L.H. Cosway, Karen Marie Moning, Alice Clayton, Emma Chase, Diana Gabaldon, Jeaniene Frost, Darynda Jones, Ilona Andrews, K.A. Tucker, Colleen Hoover, Rachel Vincent....


Are you part of any Goodreads groups?

Don't think so!

What could Goodreads do better?

The half star thing, of course. I also wish the app would have an option to choose sharing to Facebook, instead of automatically sharing if you don't go in and uncheck the share option. Sometimes I forget to uncheck, and there's my whorish library all over Facebook!

The Sunday Post/It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Hey, ladies!

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 Kathryn at The Book Date where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next. 

This week's been pretty good, certain things getting hammered out that I'm excited about. I'm not going to jinx anything by announcing things prematurely, but I can't wait to share with you all. :D

One thing I will say though is that I am really not one to really enjoy having company over, haha. It is exhausting, and makes me jittery. #IntrovertsUnite #Separately

I'm in a bit of a reading slump, I think. It's not that I don't like anything I'm picking up, it's just that my attention wanders like crazy. Thus, a slow reading week. Hope that leaves soon!

An okay fitness week, though aforementioned company did cut into my walking and yoga time. That's okay though, because the humidity has been absolutely brutal. It's like trying to breathe underwater!

Sunday - 11,065

Monday - 13,225

Tuesday - 12,703

Wednesday - 10,110

Thursday - 6,806

Friday - 10,750

Saturday - 12,402

Total - 77,061

This Week's Recap

Creatures of The Night Book Tag

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set Outside the US

Waiting on Wednesday

TBR Thursday

Cover Lust, No. 32

Coming Up*

The Goodreads Book Tag

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make Me Want to Learn

Waiting on Wednesday

TBR Thursday

Cover Lust, No. 33

Read This Week

2.5-3 stars!

I wasn't very happy with this. I found the heroine obnoxious, and the hero dull. Much preferred Nuts! The narrator was good, though.
Audiobook

Currently Reading

Around 40% into this, and it's pretty slow going. Not as romance or action packed as the other three!

What Will I Read Next?

?????

SaveSaveSaveSave

Cover Lust, No. 32

Her life changed in an instant. 
And he's the only one who could have prevented it. 

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Pact and The Lie comes a new standalone contemporary romance about those McGregor men. 

Jessica Charles shouldn't have even been in London when the unthinkable happened. 
She should have been back at home in Edinburgh, perhaps hanging with her boyfriend, preparing the baby shower for her sister or doing yoga with her group of friends. She should have been going on in her normal, dependable life as always. 
But on that fateful day in August, when a mentally-ill ex-soldier opened fire in public, Jessica's world changed forever. 
Now single and crippled from the gunshot wounds, Jessica finds herself scared and alone, losing faith in herself and humanity with each agonizing moment that passes. 
That is until a stranger enters her life. A stranger who makes her live again. 
Keir McGregor has always been the strong, silent type. Throw in tall, dark, and handsome and you've got pretty much the perfect Scotsman. 
Except Keir is anything but perfect. He's got a past he's running away from and a guilty conscience he can't seem to shed. But the more time he spends with Jessica, the more he falls in love with her. 
And the more his secret threatens to tear them apart. 
He may have been a stranger to her. 
But she’s never been a stranger to him. 

I love the covers in this interconnected standalone series-type thing, and this is my my anticipated one so far. Releases end of August!

SaveSave

TBR Thursday

Kimberly @ Kimberlyfaye Reads started a new weekly feature that I'm excited to join in! This feature is to showcase what's on your to be read shelf (or eReader, or Audible library) and see what others think of it. Have you read it? Should I read it or put it back on the shelf? It's a way to dust off the books on your self and decide if they're worth reading!

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

I'm not much for fantasy, but I've heard good things about this and I'm intrigued! What do you think? 

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

El Diablo by M. Robinson - August 30th, 2016

From USA Today Best Selling Author 

I was ruthless. 
I was feared. 
I had sacrificed. Myself. Her. Everything... 

Living in a world where I was worth more dead than alive was a choice. I was a bad man, never claimed to be anything else. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Seen things that can’t be unseen. I’ve caused pain that I can’t undo. 
It was all my choice. 
Every decision. 
Every order. 
Right and wrong never mattered. 
Until her. 
She was under my protection, until she became my obsession. 
But who was going to save her... 

From. Me. The devil himself. 

Fate brought us together. Destiny destroyed us. 

STANDALONE. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Full length novel.

The cover hasn't even been revealed yet, but I want this right now!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set Outside The US

Hey, everyone!

It's Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and The Bookish! This week's topic is books set outside the US. Let's jump right in!

10. England!

This was some twisty, twisty stuff right here, even if the final book kinda sucked.

9. France!

Oh, Ansel! *swoons*

8. Spain...and a bit of Canada!

This one handles some controversial topics quite well, and in an eye opening way.

7. Ireland!

This is one of those books that just makes me stupidly happy.

6. Italy!

If someone could pay for me to go to Italy, that'd be great. 

5. Scotland!

Lots of KHalle on the list, since most of her books aren't set in the US. 

4. Scotland...again!

I have a serious thing for Scottish men. It's that accent. 

3. Mexico...for a bit!

Very entertaining series!

2. Ireland...again!

1. Ireland...yet again!

Because really, how can you not love Barrons? 

....apparently I read a lot of Scotland and Ireland. I was hard pressed to find anything else!