My Week in Review
So, remember how I thought it was so awesome that I had free lunch twice? Well, this past week we had lunch AND breakfast not once, not twice, but four days in a row. Friday was such a letdown, as we were all mourning the absence of any free food. But tomorrow starts three straight Jeans Weeks!
TV has not been too kind to me. First, Outlander! That was a really difficult episode. I may have cried. I need something a little more hopeful tonight. Then, my daughter messaged me to tell me that Stitchers was canceled. (let's us have a moment of silence) I really liked this show, and OF COURSE! the last episode was a cliffy. THIS is why I am watching less and less TV. You just can't trust that you will get closure. At least this does not tend to happen with books. Though, I am still waiting for the conclusion to the Killer Unicorn series (I'm looking at you Diana Peterfreund). And this tweet (which I saw as a retweet) left me so jealous, because I really want to know what happened after Day and June reunited. 😭
Ok folks, #Warcross pre-order surprise is here: LIFE AFTER LEGEND short story! Go here for details: https://t.co/ujLnZdY2Td pic.twitter.com/f9BKW0veDc
— Marie Lu (@Marie_Lu) April 21, 2017On the Blog:
- Monday: I reviewed After the Game by Abbi Glines.
- Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday featured Late to the Party Books.
- Wednesday: I told you how I can't wait to read Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson.
- Thursday: My Nutshell Reviews featured The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares, and One Dark Throne.
- Friday: In Book Confessions, I shared my obsessive habit of price tracking books.
eARCs
- Flight Season by Marie Marquardt: I love The Radius of Us so much, so when I saw this on Netgalley, I had to have it.
Purchased
- Always Summer by Nikki Godwin: I am a fan of the Drenaline Surf books and grabbed this one on sale.
- Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes: I am a fan of Stokes and have been wanting to read this, so when it hit a good price, I jumped on it.
What I Read Last Week
- Midnight Jewel by Richelle Mead: I really enjoyed this installment of the Glittering Court and was really impressed with how well Mead handled the concurrent timelines. This by no means felt like a replay of the last book, and Mira and Grant were fabulous together. ★★★★
- Flow by Kennedy Ryan: This was a flashback, and filled in some gaps I had from Ryan's Soul books with respect to the hero and the heroine of this series. ★★★ 1/2
- Autoboyography by Christina Lauren: This was a beautiful romance and story of being true to who you are, and I really appreciated that the authors were respectful of the LDS church. ★★★★★
- Fool Me Once by Catherine Bybee: I am such a Bybee fan and was so excited to be back in the world of her Weekday Brides again. Great characters, great romance, and I really enjoyed the suspense element too. ★★★★
- Speak Easy, Speak Love by Mckelle George: This was a fabulous retelling of Much Ado About Nothing. George picked some of the best parts of the 20s to highlight and this book was jammed with fantastic characters you can't help but love. ★★★★ 1/2
- Liars and Losers Like Us by Ami Allen-Vath: This one was fun and featured a sweet romance, which also touched about some serious issues, and I thought Allen-Vath balanced the different parts quite well. ★★★ 1/2
What I Am Currently Reading
I just started My Not So Perfect Life, and you know I am loving it, because Kinsella always makes me happy. I am listening the the last Gravity book, Shooting for the Stars. I was really happy to see this one new to Hoopla this week, because I love Bowen and am a fan of this series.
- My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
- Shooting for the Stars by Sarina Bowen
What I Plan to Read
- A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck
- Approximately Yours by Julie Hammerle
- Chasing Christmas Eve by Jill Shalvis
- Salvaged by Jay Crownover
How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!
Um, can I come work where you work? LOL Free breakfast, free lunch, jeans days... sign me up! My office was actually open yesterday (Saturday) for anyone who wanted to make up some time lost from Hurricane Irma. And they made of point of saying there was no dress code that day - shorts and flip flops encouraged. I didn't go in but I imagine it was truly casual!
ReplyDeleteI am crazy excited for Autoboyography! I keep wavering on whether to order the Kindle version or a physical copy. I just have a feeling that I'm going to love it.
My company kept the Florida campus closed until Thursday. I still have a lot of friends down there, and some had electricity, some didn't. I remember having to go back to work after Sandy. I still had no electricity, heat, or hot water. It was tough. The lunches were because we absorbed the volume from that call center being closed. Jeans-3-weeks are for the JD Powers certification. We don't have clients on our campus, so I never understand why we can't wear jeans all the time, but I am happy - less ironing!
DeleteAutoboyography will totally touch your heart. I smiled so much, and my heart ached for Sebastian. They didn't demonize the church the way a lot of books out there do. In fact, the authors must have done a lot of research, because I learned a ton about LDS. They showed how there are a lot of good parts of the church, and although they made progress (no more conversion therapy), they are still not all the way there.
Wow I like your company lol! And I too have a problem with some shows getting canceled, after ending on a cliffhanger. Sigh- so aggravating.
ReplyDeleteFlight Season looks good, and I wanted to read Girl Against the Universe. Hope both turn out well!
I have to say, after teaching for 12 years, it is nice to be back in a corporate environment. I am treated really well. I like when the networks know they will be canceling a show, and they have the time to wrap up loose ends, or why not give your loyal viewers a little movie special to give us some closure. So wrong. I love Marquardt's writing, she has a lot to say, and she does it without being condescending. I am excited, but it's a 2018 release, so I probably won't read it for a little bit.
DeleteI hate it when your favorite TV shows get cancelled! I hope TV gets better for you!
ReplyDeleteHere’s my Sunday Post!
Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays!
I have scaled back my TV time a lot. I refused to invest all my time in something that can be yanked out from under me at any point, but at least I can still trust Hallmark movies.
DeleteOoh nice new reads! Mostly new to me ones! Hope you enjoy them all!
ReplyDeleteHere's my STS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
I am pretty excited to read them. I just have to catch up on review books, and then I can read them all.
DeleteI'm glad that you had such a great reading week Sam! I also can't wait to read Girl Against the Universe, I've heard great things about it. I also have My (Not So) Perfect life on audio, I'm glad to see that you're enjoying it. I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteSo far, Perfect Life is classic Kinsella, and I am smiling a whole lot. I have yet to be disappointed with a Stokes book, so I am pretty eager to slot GATU on one of my weekly TBRs.
Deletesalvaged!!! That book was so good! GAH!!!
ReplyDeleteI am going to check out your post about price tracking books because I do this all the time!!!!
Have a great week!
I am sad, because I think I saw that Salvaged will be the last Saints book, and I feel like we are leaving the Marked world forever.
DeleteSounds like some good work weeks!!! I need to get to Girl Against the Universe. Glad you loved Autoboyography. That is definitely one I want to read. I loved My Not So Perfect Life! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThe worst part about my job is my commute. I cannot complain. Perfect Life is so fun. I am loving it.
DeleteThat is a lot of free food! LOL! That's awesome!! I haven't watched Outlander, but I want to.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited you liked Autoboyography. You got GaTU which is one of my favorite books!
Have a great week ahead and happy reading!
Free food = good food. Nuff said. The first season of Outlander is so steamy. The history takes centerstage during season 2, but it's still excellent. It's all about Claire and Jamie for me, and them being separated is causing me a lot of heartache. Yeah for GaTU. I am a solid Stokes fan, and I was pretty excited to see it on sale. It was not super cheap, but it was half price. (I'm poor!)
DeleteBummer about your show getting canceled after having a cliffhanger! I'd be ticked! Glad to hear you enjoy Autoboyography. I haven't read anything by Jay Crownover for a long time. I'll have to check her new book out. :)
ReplyDeleteYes. TV is no longer a friend of my *pouting*. I love Crownover. People complain that her heroes are always talking about their feelings and whatnot, but I enjoy the ease of her romances. She does a good job keeping the drama and angst at a manageable level for me, and I always love the characters. I am adore companions too. Autoboyography! I want to climb a mountain and sing my praises. It was nearly flawless for me.
DeleteYay for free breakfast :) I had a huge free dinner last week too! Got lucky with this cooking class, it was fun.
ReplyDeleteHave a great time reading your books :)
I hate to cook, but I love to eat. I should try to get someone to do a cooking class with me. When we went to Ireland, one of the activities was visiting a sheep farm. When we were there, we baked scones. Well, my dad and my daughter baked them, and I ate them.
DeleteYou made me interested in Autoboyography because of your comment about being respectful of the LDS church. Though that's not my faith, I find that often faith can handled poorly.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I get that a lot of religions tend to be conservative, but it's difficult to read books where an entire group of people are villainized, when you know every religion/group has members who are more right, left, or somewhere in the middle. Christina Lauren showed that the LDS church has a lot of good people, who do good things, but they still need to make progress. They also included people who had left the church, as well as members who held more progressive views. It was very balanced.
DeleteFree food at work is a nice treat. We sometimes do this for our staff, especially when we are working toward a goal or made our goal. And I would love to wear jeans every day, but my boss only allows us to dress down on Fridays. It's better than nothing I guess lol.
ReplyDeleteOutlander was good but I know the next couple of episodes are going to be tough to watch. I can't wait for Jamie and Claire to finally reunite. Sorry to hear your show got cancelled. That's one of the reasons I've stopped watching TV. I like to wait until the show has ended or the full seasons are available to watch. That way I can just binge watch. I hope you have a great week!
We usually only have jeans on Fridays, but they every once in a while, we will get weeks of jeans for different reasons. I am always happy to wear jeans. I am so old fashioned in my TV watching habits, that I like to watch a new episode each week for 22 weeks. Maybe I will only watch sitcoms, because they don't tend to have cliffies.
DeleteFree breakfast and lunch sounds good! My company does free lunch occasionally - I think we're having free lunch tomorrow, actually. :D You read a lot of books! I'm planning on reading Speak Easy Speak Love - it looks and sounds amazing. I'm glad you loved it. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely week, Sam. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Free meals are such a nice perk, and I read an article that said employees rate a higher level of satisfaction when free food is involved. My company is pretty good. They keep us in coffee, tea, and cocoa plus lots of meals and snacks. I read on my commute (3 hours, sometimes longer), and I have reduced my TV watching, since they keep canceling all the shows I like.
DeleteFree food at work is the best. There are some days when I feel like I only show up for the food at my job, lol.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a fantastic reading week as well. I'm thrilled to see that 4.5 star rating on Speak Easy, Speak Love :)
Speak Easy was fabulous. Fun and full of these wonderful characters that you fall in love with. I was totally drawn into the time period and I just adored it.
DeleteAh, I'm so glad to see you loved Autoboyography! It sounded so good, and I can't wait to read it since it sounds so cute! 😄
ReplyDeleteAutoboyography was fantastic! I love the book so much. I want everyone to read it and shed the happy tears with me.
DeleteYour company gives you free food? I only get free food at christmas and when the big boss visits from head office. I am so jealous you don't even know. I know exactly what you mean about watching less TV because you can't trust you'll get a conclusion to things. I hate when that happens and it does seem to happen more with US shows. I am still not over Pitch getting cancelled, I feel betrayed, I was invested in that show!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you got a lot of reading done and some good books too! I'll be interested to see your thoughts on Kinsella's newest book. I put off buying because I was worried I wouldn't like it and I saw a couple of mixed things about it.
After teaching for 12 years, I have to pinch myself with how well I am treated now. Small perks, but they mean a lot. The US TV audience is a fickle beast, and I know they are modifying the model to account for streaming and whatnot, but they give up on shows too quickly. OMG! Another Pitch fan. That was one of my favorite new shows last year. I thought it was awesome. ((HUGS))
DeleteMy Not So Perfect Life was so fun and cute and everything I love about Kinsella. It worked for me. I loved going from London to the countryside with Katie and the opening chapter, where she laments about her commute totally hit home with me. I laughed often during this one.
I am the same way with TV now I am always afraid a show will be cancelled right at a cliffhanger or when it is getting good and I will be stuck. I always enjoy reading books where they are wrapped up at the end in a nice neat bow so that I know how the author wanted it to end. I can't wait to read My Not So Perfect Life it has been on my Kindle for forever. I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteTV is becoming the biggest let down. I loved Perfect Life. Totally Kinsella. I laughed and smile a ton.
DeleteI'm definitely looking forward to Outlander - I'm all caught up on the first 2 seasons, but it'll be a little while before I can see the third season. I hope it lives up to the hype! :)
ReplyDeleteThe first episode was so painful! I am watching the new episode tonight. I just want them back together.
DeleteYou can't beat free food. It has been a while since I worked somewhere that they fed us very often. I am so in love with Outlander. I think they did a great job with the first 2 episodes this season. Enjoy all of your new books.
ReplyDeleteI always remind my co-worker of the lovely perks we have. I have not watched this week's Outlander, I am watching it tonight, but I love the show.
DeleteUGH the worst news! I loved Stitchers. I'm starting to get pretty wary of TV shows these days too, but there's something about the long-form character development that always sucks me back in. I've got to get my hands on Autoboyography, I can't believe that I hadn't heard anything about it!
ReplyDeleteI observed a moment of silence for Stitchers. Now I will never know if Linus and Camille. I have read a few of Christina Lauren's adult books. I enjoyed them well enough, but their YA book blows the others out if the water.
DeleteI don't watch a lot of TV and most of my shows haven't started yet. It sucks when beloved shows end :( So many awesome books... I keep hearing amazing things about Autoboyography.
ReplyDeleteI will run to mountain tops to aver my love for Autoboyography. There are so many things to love about this book. The sweet romance, the handling of the religious aspect, Tanner's amazing family. So good!
DeleteApproximately Yours by Julie Hammerle looks good. Yay for free food and jeans!!
ReplyDeleteApprox was cute. The whole series is cute. Sometimes I like knowing exactly what I am getting myself into.
Delete