Category: Weekly Blog

Hello Readers! We’re closing in on the end of the first month of 2021 and, I have to say, it doesn’t feel all that different from 2020 at the moment. I’m still hopeful that this year will ultimately be better to us than last year was, but staying in this state for an extended period of time can get a little draining. Thank goodness for books.

This week’s goal: Post review for In the Garden of Spite and finish reading If I Disappear by Eliza Jane Brazier.

Mon 1/18: Today I started If I Disappear by Eliza Jane Brazier. It’s my next e-ARC in line to publish. It has some of my favorite elements: a disappearing girl, a true crime podcast…really just those two things is enough to get me interested. The writing style is a little odd right now, but I am enjoying the story so far. I haven’t made a lot of progress on my other books today. It was a great day off for rest and relaxation.

Tue 1/19: I read about 4 more pages in Ring Shout. It takes a little more concentration than I originally budgeted, so this isn’t easy for me to just dip in and out of.

I went from the 6% mark to the 22% mark in If I Disappear. The set-up is still really weird. I think it’s the second person writing style that is throwing me off a little bit. Hopefully it will pay off in the end, but right now, it just makes for a strange reading experience. The story is definitely creepy and it is flying by.

I also made a little progress in listening to Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke. I’m not as into the story on this one, but I think that’s because the victim was clear pretty much the moment that the character was introduced. It felt a little too easy, but I look forward to seeing what the motive was for his murder. I made it from the 1 hour 41 minute mark to the 2 hour and 7 minute mark.

Wed 1/20: I listened to a little more of Carrot Cake Murder today. I ended up listening to about an hour total, but for some reason the recipes were really frustrating my listening experience today. I’m listening to this title using Hoopla, which doesn’t divide the recording into chapters, so it is really hard for me to skip over the recipes that are sprinkled throughout the book. If I have the app open and running on my phone screen, I can skip ahead 30 seconds, but I can’t really do that while I’m driving. Listening to a recipe while driving is not an enjoyable experience for me, so I ended up switching to the radio for the first time in a long time.

It was a rough day and I didn’t really read anything else today. I’ve had a productive month, so I’m not going to beat myself up for that.

Thu 1/21: I listened to about 3 hours worth of Carrot Cake Murder today on my commutes. I’m enjoying how the characters are changing in this book. I’ve never really read a series as an adult that has gone as long as this one has and I was wondering how Fluke was going to keep the entries from getting stale. This time, we have Hannah Swensen receiving some cooperation from the police, and there’s less reluctance on her part to begin investigating. This feels like a more believable progression than a series that pretends the sleuth isn’t building a reputation in a town where they’ve already solved about a dozen murders. It would be interesting to see Fluke flip the script and actually let Mike completely solve one of these though…

I made a little progress with If I Disappear today. I think the thing that is bugging me at this point with this story is that the main character is in her 30s, but she’s reading to me like a teenager. Her actions and decision-making just don’t jive with how an adult in their 30s would act. It’s definitely getting creepy though and I don’t have a good handle on where the story is going. I made it to the 68% mark tonight and can hopefully get it finished over the weekend.

Fri 1/22: All I did today was listen to Carrot Cake Murder. I made it to the 8 hour mark and have less than 2 hours to go. I have no idea who the murderer is so far, since Hannah seems to have eliminated all of the suspects. I like it when a mystery has me stumped and I want to see how this one ends. I’m predicting that it will end up being a 3 star read, like most of the rest of the series has been for me.

Sat 1/23: Did I read If I Disappear today? Nope. Did I read more of Ring Shout? Nope again. Did I pick up a completely different book and read the entire thing today? Yes. I did that.

Today I picked up a copy of Killer Chardonnay by Kate Lansing from the library. It’s January’s pick for the Cozy Mystery Book Club on YouTube and I started reading it while I was getting my hair done today. By the time I left, I had read over 100 pages and was anxious to find out how it ended. Believe it or not, the body drops in this one super early, but the story kept me enthralled all the way through. This is a debut novel from this author, but I already have the next one (which comes out next week) on hold at the library.

Sun 1/24: I finished If I Disappear today. It was a little disappointing, all things considered. It is a unique book that is a little hard to classify. Goodreads has it as mystery, thriller, and suspense. It does have a mystery element, but I would argue it is better classified as a suspense novel than a thriller. It doesn’t quite have the right pacing to be considered a thriller. Suspense has a lot more introspection and a lot more inner monologue from the main character, which fits this novel pretty well. Overall, I gave it 2 stars. I don’t know if I would read anything else from this author. I just don’t prefer suspense and I found the main character pretty unlikeable. It has a great cover and a good concept, but ultimately just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I also finished Carrot Cake Murder. It was another solid 3-star entry into the Hannah Swensen mystery series. I think I’m going to take a little break from these though. The stories are becoming a little tedious and the character development has really stalled, despite how I thought this story was going to go at the beginning. I think reading Killer Chardonnay yesterday really reminded me that a cozy mystery can follow a formula without feeling stale.

On the plus side, I managed to succeed in both of my goals this week and made a little progress on some of my yearly goals. To see my yearly goals progress, check out my 2021 Reading Goals page.

Lastly, I started The Survivors by Jane Harper today and made it to the 11% mark pretty quickly. I have loved everything that Jane Harper has published thus far and am sure that this book will be an excellent piece of crime fiction, just like her others. I was so sure of this, in fact, that I have no idea what the plot for this book is. I didn’t read the synopsis. It’s rare for me to have that level of trust in an author who only has 3 books out, but those first 3 were literally that good in my opinion.

So far, the prologue was mysterious and the first few chapters are alluding to a big secret, but we haven’t been given a lot of information so far. It definitely has the same small-town feel as Harper’s first novels. The fact that everyone in town seems to know each other will make for a limited suspect pool. Harper writes about long-held grudges and emotional trauma better than most and I can already see that being a factor in this story. I can’t wait to see where this one goes.

Hello Readers! I hope your 2021 is off to a fantastic start! I’ve already managed to finish a few books in 2021, but none that I actually started this year. Fingers crossed that I’ll mark that milestone off the list this week.

Goal for the week: Finish The Bone Season and In The Garden of Spite.

Mon 1/4: I got very little physical reading done today, but I did start listening to Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke (Hannah Swensen #8) on my morning commute. I love starting off the new workweek with a new cozy mystery in the car. I listen almost exclusively to cozy mysteries on my commute because I find it helps me deal with stress and frustration. There’s nothing better than sipping my coffee and listening to some corny murder-ish humor.

My Always Fully Booked Planner came in the mail today so I spent some time filling that out and generally admiring its loveliness. I also received my BOTM box today which contained The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and The Survivors by Jane Harper.

Tue 1/5: Today I listened to about 3 hours of Cherry Cheesecake Murder on my commute (on 2x speed). That means I’m now about 55% of the way through this one. Interestingly enough, no one is dead yet in this cozy mystery. We really are spending a lot of time getting to know these characters before we lose one or more of them, but I find that with Fluke’s writing, I don’t really mind the delay.

I also finished The Bone Season today, sort of. Technically I finished it at 3:30am Wednesday morning, but we’ll count it since I didn’t stop reading from about 10:30p Tuesday night. I feel like one continuous reading session should count for the day that you started. Either way, I finished it. It really didn’t grip me until about 70% of the way through, and I spent a good portion of the first half very confused with the world building. After reading Priory of the Orange Tree from this author, I was a little underwhelmed with this first book in the Bone Season series. I’ll give the second book a try at some point, but I’m not overly motivated to start it soon.

Wed 1/6: I started reading A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey today. I made it to ch. 7, which is pg. 54 in the copy that I am reading. So far it is really sweet, but it is introducing some darker themes related to mental health. I wasn’t expecting it to touch on that subject, but I also went into this one without a lot of knowledge of the storyline.

I also listened to about an hour and 20 minutes more of The Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanna Fluke. Someone finally died in the story, and I am still really enjoying it.

Thu 1/7: I finished listening to The Cherry Cheesecake Murder at lunch today. I wish that Goodreads would let us give half stars! My rating for this book is 3.5 stars, which is actually a half star higher than I normally rate the books in this series. The storyline just felt a little more solid this time. Fluke really took advantage of the fact that the reader should know a lot of these characters by now and the whole thing read really smooth because it felt like we skipped some of the repetitive introductory material.

I already started listening to the next book in the Hannah Swensen series, Key Lime Pie Murder on my way home and I made it almost to the 2 hour mark.

Fri 1/8: I got from 12% to 31% in In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce. This is a NetGalley eARC and it is a good read, but it is pretty dark. Partially as a response to how dark and violent In the Garden of Spite is, I started a middle grade book today called The Bookwanderers by Anna James. It is the first in a series and I made it to page 20. It’s off to a cozy start with a cute setting.

Sat 1/9: I only made progress on The Bookwanderers today, but I have almost finished it. I stopped at page 210, so I’ve got about 60 pages to go, but I am really enjoying this book. I can already tell that I’ll be picking up the next book in the series soon.

Sun 1/10: I finished The Bookwanderers early this morning and the ending did not disappoint. I really wish that I had the rest of the books in this series and could dive right in. I rated it 4 stars on Goodreads, but my personal rating is 4.25 stars.

I made some progress with In the Garden of Spite, going from 31%-40%. Since it is a 480 page book, that means I read roughly 43 pages (I think….math is not my strong suit).

On My Radar:

I freaked out to discover that Brittney Morris, the author of Slay, has a new book coming out in a couple of months called The Cost of Knowing (Goodreads page). Slay was one of my favorite books from 2019 and I have recommended it to so many people since then. I will definitely be reading this one as soon as I can get my hands on it.

I achieved part of my goal this week, since I completed The Bone Season, but I’ll need to roll finishing In the Garden of Spite over into next week’s goal.

Hello Readers! I’m trying out a new type of post to go along with the new year. I’ll be trying to get a weekly post up that lists what I’ve read (even if I haven’t finished it yet), what’s come on my radar, and anything else that comes to mind.

Goal for the week: Finish The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

This week in reading:

Mon 12/28: I read about a chapter of Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating by Christy Harrison. I’ve been working on this one at night and have made it to page 174 of 289.

I also received my copy of Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb from the library. It’s a mass market paperback, which is my least favorite type of book, but I didn’t have many options on this one.

Tue 12/29: I received my copy of A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey from the library. No reading today. (I was out of borrows from Hoopla for the month and I didn’t feel up to Name of the Wind today)

Wed 12/30: I read/listened to 100+ pages of The Name of the Wind today. I’m hoping to cross it off the list before the end of the year, but I’m only about 55% of the way through. According to Scribd, I would need to listen to about 9 hours worth of the book tomorrow in order to finish. Even on 2.5 speed, that seems like I might be pushing it since I work all day.

Thu 12/31: I read/listened to 100+ pages of The Name of the Wind today, but I fell short of finishing it before the end of the day. Ultimately, I could probably have pushed through and finished it, but I was enjoying the story too much and didn’t want to rush it. Rothfuss’ writing is really immersive. I was worried that with such a large book it would feel sluggish or be filled with flowery language, but it really isn’t.

I received Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade from the library and picked up a copy of The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss since I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to read the next book really soon. Starting the Kingkiller Chronicle was always a mixed bag for me since the third book in the series isn’t exactly forthcoming. However, so many people have told me that the series is worth reading, even if Rothfuss never finishes, and I have to say that based on what I’ve read of the first book so far, they are right.

Fri 1/1: I finished The Name of the Wind early this morning. It ended up being a 5-star read for me. It definitely makes my list for my favorite books of all time.

I also ended up finishing the e-galley that I had of Happily Ever Afters by Elise Braynt. I gave it 4.25 stars and really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a fluffy read with well-developed characters right now.

I started reading The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon after much deliberation. It’s my first real book of 2021 since it is the first one that I am actually starting in the new year.

Sat 1/2: Today I read about 30 pages in The Bone Season. I’m struggling to get into this world. There’s a big information dump in the first dozen or so pages, but even with that, I’m struggling to understand what is going on. It’s making it hard for me to get into it.

I’ve made some progress in Anti-Diet as well, making it to page 222 today. There’s only a few chapters left in this one, but I’m struggling with how I feel about it. On the one hand, it seems well-written and it cites tons of source material, but it is also telling me something that sounds good to me. I tend to be distrustful of non-fiction books that tell me what I want to hear. It doesn’t mean that their information isn’t valid, just that I have to be really careful of bias in my review/rating.

I also popped by one of my local libraries today and picked up The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson and An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green.

Sun 1/3: I finished Anti-Diet today and still don’t feel comfortable giving it a rating. I’ll be trying out some of the principles that she talked about, but it’s so hard to rate the book itself because I’m not in a position to dig deep into the research that she presents. There is an extensive references/resources section in the back for anyone who wants to do the digging, but I’ll pass on that part of the reading experience for now.

I made a little more progress in The Bone Season. The pacing is slowing down a little bit, which is good in this case. I feel like there are finally some explanations that make sense of what is happening. I’m going to keep going with it.

On my radar this week:

A booktuber that I follow unboxed a copy of The Octunnumi by Trevor Alan Foris. It’s a gorgeous book, but it’s a little odd. It isn’t from a major publisher, and I’m assuming the publisher that is listed is some sort of Indie or self-print thing because this is the only book they’ve produced. The book itself looks stunning and seems like it’s going to be Adult Fantasy, but there’s not a ton of information yet. The booktuber I watched said that she saw it on TikTok, which I don’t do (I don’t need more social media in my life, no matter how entertaining). I’m going to keep my eye on this one. No libraries around here have it and it isn’t available as an ebook, so I can’t acquire it without breaking by book buying ban, and I’m not ready to do that for a book that I know almost nothing about.