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

Hey, everyone!

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 weekend is a getaway weekend! Left home in north Florida with two of the dogs stupidly early yesterday morning and arrived in north Georgia (past Atlanta) to pick apples around noon or so. It was a fun, albeit soaking wet and rainy, time! Drove up a mountain once that was over, and clambered up to a look out point. It was gorgeous! I'm in Tennessee right now, and will be heading home after stopping at a few parks. I'll have better quality photos to share once I download them off the Nikon.

This is the apple orchard. You can see the trees behind Nola, my dog.

Not much has been going on this week aside that. :) Just work, reading, and attempting to get back into my exercise routine after being sick (I still haven't totally kicked this damn cough!).
These are my steps this week. Thursday and Saturday were mostly spent in the car, so not much steps on those days, ugh. Not the best week in that regard!

Sunday - 13,589
Monday - 13,164
Tuesday - 13,179
Wednesday - 7,930
Thursday - 5,00
Friday - 15,320
Saturday - 4,298

Total - 72,665

This Week's Recap

October Recap

Book Review: Play (Stage Dive, #2) by Kylie Scott

W...W...W...Wednesday

Cover Lust No. 3

Used Bookstores Are The Best

Coming Up*

Book Haul

Book Review: Lick (Stage Dive, #1) by Kylie Scott

W...W...W...Wednesday

A Dick By Any Other Name (Dear Romance Writers)

Cover Lust No. 4

*as always, subject to change

Read This Week

3 stars!
Review

 3 3/4 -4 stars!

4.5 stars! Review to come

Currently Reading

I'm all over the place this week! :D

I've been so sucked into this one all the others have kind of fallen by the wayside. I'm so in love with the hero already!

This is an audiobook, and I'm hoping to finish or nearly finish it on the drive home. I'm enjoying it, but it's nowhere close to topping Sweet Filthy Boy for me! I just love Ansel, and Ansel and Mia together. <3

I'm 25% or so into this, and I'm honestly not sure what I think. I've only read one other Kristen Ashley book that I enjoyed, but it wasn't hugely memorable (a Rock Chick book). However, she's absurdly addictive with her writing style. I'm not the biggest fan of the story so far (oh my god, please speak in complete sentences! I can't take another "ain't", "gonna" "'s'pose", ect), but I keep wanting to read it. I'm not a motorcycle club fan either, so that says something!

Only around 4 chapters or so into this, but really enjoying it so far!

Maybe 3 chapters in, and  I'm loving it! Hilarious, sexy, and I got to see a bit of one of my favorite couples from another book!

What Will I Read Next? 

This series is more addictive than crack.

Can't wait! I'm going to check and see if  Barnes and Noble has this early. 

- The Bibliophile Babe

Used Bookstores Are The Best

Hey, ladies!


Yesterday I had a little adventure to a big used bookstore around an hour and a half from my house. It was a 2nd and Charles, and used to be a Books-a-Million, to give you a size reference. They had movies, records, and holy books! Books, books everywhere! Romance, mystery, erotica, YA, kids, you name it. So many gorgeous hardbacks! I was in bibliophile heaven. :D

Their adult section was a little lacking (or maybe it's just that I read mostly indie/small authors), but their YA selection was fabulous. I found 7 books, 5 of them hardbacks, for $6 or less each. All but one are in like new condition! They take trade-ins, so I brought some of the books from my most recent shelf clean out for a bit of store credit. Most fabulous invention ever! I'll have to come back to that place. :D

Prodigy by Marie Lu - $5.25

Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning - $6

Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse - $5

Alpha by Rachel Vincent - $2

Champion by Marie Lu - $5.25

The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning - $5.25

A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton - $5.50


I've read both Marie Lu's books and loved them, and I had a paperback copy of Dreamfever (fabulously fantastic series!), but you can always use a hardback! I'm a big Rachel Vincent fan, and have a few in that series. The other three are completely new to me, though!

- The Bibliophile Babe

Cover Lust No. 3

Never Never (#1, #2, and #3) by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen.

Complete strangers since this morning.

He'll do anything to remember. She'll do anything to forget.

“Never forget that I was your first real kiss. Never forget that you’ll be my last. 
And never stop loving me between all of them. 
Never stop, Charlie. 
Never forget.” 

Silas races against time as more truths unravel, while others twist tighter together. And now, the stakes are higher as Silas’ control slips and others begin to point fingers. Charlie is in trouble and he must be the one to bridge the chasm between their past and their present. Because somewhere between I love yous and Never Nevers and Never Agains, a truth they can't imagine, beckons to be found. 

“Where are you, Charlie?” 

No summary yet, but holy bat balls I need this! Comes out in January. :D

One of my favorite series of the year! This novella series is full of twists and turns, swoony romance and heart pounding suspense. Highly recommend.

I love the way the three covers flow together!

W...W...W... Wednesday

W… W… W… Wednesday, hosted by Taking on a World of Worlds, is a weekly meme showcasing what you just finished reading, what you are currently reading, and what you plan to start reading next.

What Did You Recently Finish?

Waking up in Vegas was never meant to be like this.

Evelyn Thomas's plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man in her room, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.

One thing is certain, being married to one of the hottest rock stars on the planet is sure to be a wild ride.

I loved this one! I seem to be developing a thing for rockstars... or at least, Kylie Scott's rockstars.

Review to come, maybe!

What Are You Currently Reading?

 A troubled Scottish rugby player who doesn't play by the rules.
A vivacious man-eater who's given up on love.
When it comes to Lachlan and Kayla, opposites don't just attract - they explode.

Kayla Moore has always been comfortable with her feisty, maneating reputation. At least it was fine until she hit her thirties and saw her best friends Stephanie and Nicola settle down with Linden and Bram McGregor, leaving Kayla to be the odd one out. Tired of being the third wheel with nothing but one-night stands and dead-end dates in San Francisco, Kayla decides to take a vow of celibacy and put men on the backburner.

That is until she lays her eyes on Linden and Bram’s cousin, hot Scot Lachlan McGregor. Lachlan is her sexual fantasy come to life – tall, tatted, and built like a Mack truck. With a steely gaze and successful rugby career back in Edinburgh, he’s the kind of man that makes her want to throw her vow right out the window. But Lachlan’s quiet and intense demeanor makes him a hard man to get to know, let alone get close to.

It isn’t until the two of them are thrown together one long, unforgettable night that Kayla realizes there is so much more to this brooding macho man than what meets the eye. But even with sparks flying between the two, Lachlan can’t stay in America forever. Now, Kayla has to decide whether to uproot her whole life and chance it all on someone she barely knows or risk getting burned once again.

Sometimes love is a game that just needs to be played.

I'll be starting this today! Can't wait to dive into this. It's no secret I'm a Halle addict!

From the New York Times best-selling author of Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger, and Beautiful Player, Book Two of the brand-new Wild Seasons series that started with Sweet Filthy Boy - a story of friends, love, and lust.

Despite their rowdy hookups, Harlow and Finn don't even like each other... which would explain why their marriage lasted only 12 hours. He needs to be in charge and takes whatever he wants. She lives by the Want-something-done? Do-it-yourself mantra. Maybe she's too similar to the rugged fisherman - or just what he needs.

This was my monthly Audible.com credit, and I'm enjoying it so far! You just can't top Ansel and Mia, in my opinion. 

Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water... 

Only 'round three chapters or so into this, but liking it so far!

What Will You Read Next?

From New York Times bestselling author Alice Clayton, the first in a brand-new romance series telling the humorously sexy tale of Roxie, a private chef who gets a taste of love—but is it to stay, or to go?

After losing almost all of her clients in one fell swoop following an accident involving whipped cream, private chef to Hollywood’s elite Roxie Callahan gets a call from her flighty mother, saying she’s needed home in upstate New York to run the family diner. Once she's back in the Hudson Valley, local organic farmer Leo delivers Roxie a lovely bunch of walnuts, and soon sparks—and clothing—begin to fly. Leo believes that everything worth doing is worth doing slowly…and how! But will Roxie stay upstate, or will the lure of West Coast redemption tempt her back to Tinseltown?

I love Alice Clayton's books! They're always hilarious, sexy, and super quick reads. 

What about you? What are you reading?

- The Bibliophile Babe 

{Book Review} Play (Stage Dive, #2) by Kylie Scott

From Goodreads

Kylie Scott returns with the highly anticipated follow-up to international bestseller Lick.

Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast-at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn't plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn't count on finding the one right girl. 

Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls-especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?

Add to Goodreads

My Review

3 "It's Like Junk Food!" Stars

Anne Rollins returns home after a long work day to find her roommate gone and her apartment half empty. With rent due soon and not enough money to cover both her own half and her long-gone roomie, Anne is feeling pretty grim. With the coaxing of well connected her friend, Anne decides to put off sulking for one night and head to a raucous party for the popular rock band, Stage Dive. 

There she meets her teenage wet dream: Stage Dive's drummer, Mal Ericson. The cocky, charismatic and slightly manic bad boy is instantly smitten with Anne. Anne, as you can imagine, is starstruck. 

After speaking together, the two quickly strike up a deal: move in together, and start up a fake relationship in the name of good PR. With Mal wanting to straightening his image up, and Anne strapped for cash, it seems like a win-win. 

Of course, things can never be that simple. As they get to know each other better, secrets crop up and feelings begin to creep in. A whirlwind romance with your teenage fantasy... what could go wrong?

I've been in a major rockstar/music industry kick the past few days (why, I don't know; it's not usually my thing!), and after scouring my Goodreads TBR for something to fulfill that craving, I settled on Play. Admittedly, the cover is what sold me on it. ;) I have a thing tattoos and muscles. Who doesn't?

It was far from a perfect book, but I enjoyed it! Sometimes you just want a book where everything is straightforward, funny, and fast paced. Literary junk food is the best way to describe it. I breezed through Play, and while I shook my head at the characters more often than not, it was a very satisfying read.

First, the not so great:

- Mal. I'm really not sure what the intent was with his character, but half the time he came across as a complete idiot, and the rest of the time he seemed like an oblivious ass. His brand of humor was so egotistical. 24/7, around the clock self flattery. Sometimes it was funny, and a well few well placed doses of some of his banter could've made the book, but it was so extreme it bordered on aggravating. 

- Anne was a complete doormat. She was quintessential people-pleaser: falling over herself in order to make others more comfortable, making herself miserable so others can be happy, and all that jazz. The chick couldn't say no, and had zero backbone.She didn't even protest when Mal moved himself into her apartment without her consent, or any of the countless other times people walked all over her.

- Anne has some parental issues that didn't add much to the story and never really went anywhere. It felt like her problems were there solely because you can't have a stable family in the fictional world, because everyone loves drama.

- A second love interest that isn't a big enough play to make it a love triangle, but is prominent enough to be annoying. Enough said. 

- It needed some proof reading. I'm often forgiving of grammatical issues and typos as I read a good bit of self-published work, but these things were basic. Boy's when it should have been boys', a when there should be an an, and the like. 

We could deal with things alone. Of course we could. But it was so much better together. 

And the things I did enjoy!

- Despite my aforementioned issues with their individual characters, Mal and Anne had fantastic chemistry. Their romance is a bit (okay, a lot) insta-love, but it worked for them.

- Smokin' hot sex scenes, for all my fellow smut sluts.

- The side characters. This is book 2 in an interconnected series, and I was so intrigued by some of the other band members, especially the couple from book 1. I bought book 1 as soon as I finished this one! 

(They don't need to be read in order)

- A fast paced, absorbing storyline. This was a super quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

- I snorted with laugher on more than one occasion. Mal had some good banter going on with his bandmates, and even he and Anne had a few conversations that were hilarious.

- I'm not a rock star romance fan, but I loved the tone of the story. That's a winner in my book!

- Tattoos. 

- Mostly angst-free! 

"You're that good, huh?"

"Miss Rollins, you have no idea."

"You know, I honestly can't tell if your ego is repulsive or just impressive."

Overall, I'd recommend Play if you're looking for a fun, junk food read that you'll breeze right through. It was highly enjoyable, funny, sexy, romantic, and engaging. 3 stars!

"Whatever you're imagining, it's bigger."

"I'm not imagining anything."

"I'm serious, it's basically a monster. I cannot control it."

"Malcom..."

"You're pretty much going to need a whip and a chair to tame it, Anne."

"Stop it."

Stats:

Rating: 3 stars

Genre: New adult, contemporary romance

Series: Stage Dive, #2 (can be read as standalones)

POV: 1st person, single perspective

Warnings: Sex, swearing, very mild violence and drinking

Cliffhanger: No

HEA: Yes

On My Goodreads Shelves: 2015, Guilty Pleasures, Looking Forward to The Squeal, Fun and Easy Reads, Enjoyed

Length: 304 pages

Published: March 25th, 2014

My own copy

- The Bibliophile Babe

October Recap

Hey, ladies!



I can't believe October's come and gone! It was an insane, hectic, emotional roller coaster of a month, but overall it was a good one. Now, if the weather could cool off from the mid-upper 80s and high humidity, that'd be great. You know, maybe make it feel like November just a little? 

New Books Read: 15

Sweet Filthy (Wild Seasons, #1) Boy by Christina Lauren - 5 stars

(review to come)

Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels, #7) by Ilona Andrews - 5 stars

Sweet Filthy Morning After (Wild Seasons, #1.5) by Christina Lauren - 4 stars

Thrive (Addicted, #2.5) by Krista and Becca Ritchie - 4 stars

Ricochet (Addicted, #1.5) by Krista and Becca Ritchie - 4 stars

Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths, #1) by K.A. Tucker - 3 stars

The Awakening of Ivy Leavold (Markham Hall, #1) by Sierra Simone  - 3 stars

(novella)

The Education of Ivy Leavold (Markham Hall, #2) by Sierra Simone  - 4 stars

(novella)

Rock Chick (Rock Chick, #1) by Kristen Ashely - 3 stars

Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels, #8) by Ilona Andrews  - 4.5 stars

The Punishment of Ivy Leavold (Markham Hall, #3) by Sierra Simone 3.5 stars

(novella)

The Reclaiming of Ivy Leavold (Markham Hall, #4) by Sierra Simone 3.5 stars

(novella)

Kaleidoscope Hearts (Hearts, #1) by Claire Contreras 4 stars

(review to come)

The Fall Up by Aly Martinez - 4.5 stars

(review)

Menagerie (Menagerie, #1) by Rachel Vincent - 5 stars

(review to come)

October might've been my slowest reading month, but I'm okay with that! The books were primarily 4 stars or higher, and I enjoyed all of them. A good month in my book!

Rereads: 0

Total for the year so far: 239

Favorites:

Oh Ansel!!! This book just made me insanely happy. 

Another fantastic installment! 

Sigh. So much love for this one. 

One of my favorites for the year!

Biggest Disappointment

This wasn't bad, per say, just didn't live up to its hype for me. The hero gave me the major creeps. Can't believe she stayed with him.

Best Smut

Fan-fucking-tastic porn right here. The whole serious is delectable. 

Most Surprising 

Best Protagonists 

Kate, of course! 

Sam and Levee. <3

Delilah, and also Gallagher. One of the most interesting characters of the year!

Worst Protagonist

Kacey. Again, not bad, just kinda blah. 

Book Boyfriends of The Month

I'd like Ansel for Christmas, please and thank you. <3 I absolutely adored the sweet, filthy boy. 

Sam!!! If there ever was a swoon-worthy hero, it's him. 

- The Bibliophile Babe 

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

Hey, everyone!

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 hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! There was no work yesterday, so that was incredibly nice. It was a very hot, humid, and rainy Halloween! Around 4pm that afternoon we went to a little family party that was mostly fun, despite some serious drama. #growup


I still have an annoying, lingering cough, but otherwise have kicked the wretched cold that started last week and let off middle of this week. Not fun!

When my throat hurt last week, I started drinking tea. I don't eat sugar, so cough drops were out. At my tea-crazed sister's prodding, I tried it. I actually like it! Well...I like Irish Breakfast with lemon and honey. And sometimes English Breakfast, but mostly Irish. Everything else tastes like dirt. I enjoy having a cup while I write for the blog, or while I read. It's so comforting!



I can't believe it's November! Not that it feels like it, with the humidity and mid-80s weather. Where did this year go???



I only ran twice this week (it's impossible to run and breath at the same time with a sore throat and stuffy nose!), but did improve my steps from last week. I did 227.3 miles of walking and a bit of running during October. Yay for that!

Sunday - 10,026
Monday - 14,381
Tuesday - 14,290
Wednesday - 12,523
Thursday - 12,450
Friday - 20,536
Saturday - 22,321

Total - 106,527

This Week's Recap

Book Review: Nocte (Nocte, #1) by Courtney Cole

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books for The Halloween Spirt

Waiting on Wednesday

Cover Lust No.2

Book Review: The Fall Up by Aly Martinez

Coming Up*

October Recap

Book Review: Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

W...W...W... Wednesday

Book Haul

Book Review: Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren

*as always, subject to change





Read This Week

4.5 stars! Romantic, funny, swoony!
My Review

Yes! Finally finished!
5 Stars! Review to come this week, maybe. 

Currently Reading

Only a little ways into this, but liking it so far! Mercy's voice is easy to slip into. I do wish urban fantasy/paranormals had shorter chapters, though!

Not sure what I'm thinking about this one. The heroine is a complete doormat, and the hero is...either an idiot, or just an asshole. Maybe both. 

What Will I Read Next?

- The Bibliophile Babe