Sunday, June 16, 2019

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post



Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

The best part of this week was that I had Wednesday off in order to go to the dentist. I never mind the dentist, because I am STILL cavity free, and for some reason, I have great teeth. It amazes me how much easier it is for me to keep up with all my blogging responsibilities with that extra day off. I wish we had a 4 on, 3 off work week. A girl can dream.

I am going out tonight with my parents. Dad's choice, since it's Father's Day. So, obviously, we are going to a steakhouse. I always get chicken. It makes him nuts, but every year since his cancer, I am grateful to celebrate this day with him.  Happy Father's Day to all who we are celebrating today!


I was excited when I saw this....
This made me laugh...


And, you know this is adorable....

Let's Discuss!
  • Veronika shares what annoys her in reviews
  • Brandee asks what we think about labeling romances as "clean"
  • Alys questions the importance of leaving a book review

And, Nick was increasing the size of our TBRs with this awesome thread.
On the Blog:
  • Monday: One Old, One New: Jessie Ann Foley
  • Tuesday: TTT - Ba Ba Black Sheep - Unpopular Bookish Opinions
  • Wednesday: CWW - Maybe This Time, The Undoing of Thistle Tate
  • Thursday: Nutshells - Like a Love Story, Rules We're Meant to Break
  • Friday: Discussion - What Type of Reader are You?
STACKING THE SHELVES

I have been successfully requesting less book, but then, Amazon gave me some kind of $3 instant credit, so I caved and bought Always Never Yours, because I absolutely adored the authors' latest release. I hope this duo writes many more books together, because they are exactly the type of stories I love.


Bought/Free
Edelweiss/NetGalley

What I Read Last Week

What a phenomenal reading week! So many hits. Seriously, it was like hit after hit after hit for me. I expected most of these to be solid reads for me, but I was really surprised that my favorite, and highest rated book of the week, was a rom-com. I love contemporary romances, but it takes a lot for me to award the full 5-stars to them. The Friend Zone more than earned it.

Books
Audiobooks

What I Am Currently Reading


What I Plan to Read

How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!

54 comments:

  1. OMG!! That dog tweet is so funny!! And that is so funny about the chicken... but its always so nice to see our dads. ❤️ I was happy to see that Aurora Rising was coming to TV too!! And I'm glad you loved the audiobook so much. I really enjoyed that one.

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    1. Those dogs are fabulous. Aurora was great! The ending was so many tears, and I am hoping Ami turns that around in the next book.

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  2. I would love 4 on, 3 off. Who we do we have to write to about that lol?

    Happy Father's Day to your dad, hope you had a great dinner out. :)

    Love the hedgehog of the day!

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    1. The 5 and 2 schedule is so limiting. --sigh-- It's a hard sell, but we should start making that the 4-3 happen. I am always grateful for the Hedgehog of the Day. It's a guaranteed smile.

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  3. I'm the second corgi for sure! I don't like expending extra effort! And yes, four on, three off would have suited me for the jobs I was in!

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    1. Me and you both. I totally nodded my head, when I read the caption. I would do 4 longer days to get that extra one off.

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  4. I think I need to read Aurora Rising. I'm so glad you have your dad with you and get to spend today with him :) Yes, Nick is always killing my wallet. What an awesome reading week! Your 3-book haul has my interest! Have a great week, Sam!
    Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

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    1. I am not a scifi fan at all, but I love what Kristoff & Kaufman create together. The humor, characters, and relationships keep me coming back.

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  5. Since I started my new job, I’ve had to cut way back on blogging. I miss the days when I didn’t work an insane number of hours. I hope your dad has a great Father’s Day!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Booo that works takes up all our time, though you get to be outdoors a lot, right?

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  6. I love having a day off myself! Unless I have something specific to do, I will always just read to my heart's content. My blog post writing gets done on Friday nights, I like to live wildly! Lol. I do write a few easier posts during the week, just so my load isn't too heavy because I also watch my DVR shows on Friday nights. Lol.

    Nice new reads! I hope you enjoy them all too!

    Here's my StS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    1. I usually go hard on Saturdays with the posts. My reviews are (mostly) written as I read, but the other posts are done on the weekends. Yep, I run the DVR while I blog too.

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  7. I would love the shorter work week too! And those Corgi's are too funny. Have a lovely Father's Day with your dad and enjoy the chicken:)

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    1. Just being corgis makes them fabulous, but then they do stupid cute stuff too. Maybe I'll go off script and NOT get chicken. I'm feeling wild today.

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  8. haven't read aurora rising but now i am curious.
    sherry @ Sunday Memes

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    1. If you have read their previous series, I think you would enjoy it. I love the stories they create together.

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  9. I plan on reading Call It What You Want this week! I'm happy to see you gave it high rating. I always trust your opinion. :) Also, thanks for sharing Nick's list, because I definitely needed to add some of those to my TBR. Aurora Rising isn't one I've read, but one I want to read. I haven't read anything by either author, even though I'm on hold for Illumine? Obsidian? Whatever the first book is in that series! ;)

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. One of my biggest regrets was letting Illuminae sit on my shelf for a full year after BookCon. Not only was the story fabulous, but the formatting was fantastic. I hope you get to it. Fingers crossed you like the Kemmerer book. I cannot imagine Rob's story not hitting you in the feels.

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  10. I tend to get chicken at steakhouses, too!

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    1. My daughter doesn't eat red meat, so I never prepared it, and now, when I eat it, I feel horrible. So, chicken it is!

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  11. Ahah I'm the same way, getting chicken whenever we're going out at a steakhouse haha :)
    I'm SO happy you bought Always Never Yours! I ADORE everything these authors write and can't wait to read more from them <3
    It seems like you had a lovely reading week, yay! So happy to see you enjoyed This Time Will Be Different, this one is on my TBR and it sounds so good. Happy reading and have a beautiful week! :)

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    1. They are a great writing duo, and If I'm Being Honest was such YA contemporary perfection (in my opinion). This Time Will Be Different was amazing. I couldn't believe how much the author accomplished in that book, without it feeling like overkill. I think she brings an interesting POV to the table too, one that we don't see as much in YA. I appreciate that.

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  12. A day off in the middle of the week... heaven! I'm so glad you're able to celebrate today with your dad. I'm missing mine extra hard today - trying to remember him without being too sad. I'm excited for Call It What You Want. Kemmerer never fails to pull me in and make me care... hard. I really liked Maybe Not. Warren is just a hilarious hot mess. LOL

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    1. I always plan my appointments in the middle of the week. It's nice. It allows me to catch my breath, and then go back and finish the week. ((HUGS)) to you. This is the first Father's Day without him, right? I can only imagine how difficult it is. I like CoHo. My only complaint, is that the sex scenes could have been shorting in Maybe Not given that it is only a novella, but it's fun.

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    2. Yes, first year without him. He passed away last year on June 23, just a few days after Father's Day. It's hard to believe it's almost been a year now.

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    3. I am keeping you and your sisters in my thoughts today.

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  13. Ha that dog video!!!! I am so the dog on the left. Why go over when you can just keep walking? Have a nice time with your parents!

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  14. Enjoy Father's Day with your dad! I've just started Aurora Rising, but I'm already super excited for Jay's announcement too!

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    1. I hope you enjoy Aurora Rising. The ending is kind of sad. Just saying.

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  15. I read Ayesha at Last last week and really enjoyed it, glad you did too! I'm also glad to see how much you enjoyed The Friend Zone because I'm planning on picking it up in the next few days! Good luck with next week

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    1. Ayesha really was such a lovely book. I t was super fun too. Let me tell you. The Friend Zone had me laughing, then crying, then sobbing, then happy tears. I didn't expect it to get so emotional, but it was fabulous.

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  16. Enjoyed reading your post! I finished The Editor by Steven Rowley this week. Enjoy Father's Day with your dad!

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    1. I actually bought Lily and the Octopus, but as with all books I actually own, it is unread. I hope to get to it someday.

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  17. Glad to see you loved Ayesha At Last. I haven't had a chance to finish it. My week has been really busy! Hope you enjoy your Father's Day out at the steakhouse eating your chicken. :)

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    1. OMG! I actually got lamb. They had some special menu for the Father's Day and my standby chicken sandwich was not one of the options. Ayesha was great. Lots of humor, warmth, and wit. It was a joy to read.

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  18. Yay for a great reading week. I'm glad your dad is still around and that you have a wonderful day celebrating him! Cancer is a scary thing. I didn't know Aurora Rising was going to TV - that's awesome. I still need to read it, but hopefully soon.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Cancer sucks, and the worst part is, if you've had it once, you will most likely get it again. I always hope and pray for more progress. Aurora Rising will be a stupendous TV show, and we can totally use more space shows.

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  19. What a blessing that your dad is Cancer free :). I'm the same way, whenever I go out to eat, I usually order chicken, (I don't eat red meat.) I LOVED Ayesha At Last, and Jill Shalvis and Colleen Hoover are two authors that I love reading! I can't wait to see what you think of The Lemon Sisters!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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    1. So far, so good. He beat the odds, and we are thankful for that. The Lemons Sisters was a lot of fun, as Shalvis always is. The ending made me shed some happy tears, because it was very sweet and touching. I liked that we had three different relationships being worked out too.

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  20. An extra day does make a world of difference. I too wish work weeks were 4 days on and 3 off. I think we'd all be a little happier and a little more productive. If only women ruled the world. I hope you enjoyed dinner with your Dad. My Dad is no longer with us, so yes enjoy, carve out time and make memories!

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    1. I would work an extra hour a day to get another day a week off. The older I get, the more tightly I grab onto those moments with my loved ones.

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  21. I hope you had a wonderful time with your Dad. Looks like you had a fantastic reading week. I'm reading Kemmerer's latest right now and really love it.

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    1. Yeah! I am glad to hear you are enjoying Rob and Meagan's story. Kemmerer always seems to work for me.

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  22. Yay for a fantabulous reading week! Gotta love those! Glad you had a lovely dinner with your dad. :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I have no idea how this week will compare to last week, though, it's off to a strong start. Dinner was nice. It amazes me how much dad's love Charlie Brown's

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  23. I hope you enjoyed your Father's Day meal! I'm always curious why Father's Day seems to be on the same day the world over but when it comes to Mother's Day the UK marks the occasion about two months before everyone else, lol.

    I'd love a 4 day work week... The work/life balance would be so much more, well, balanced!

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    1. Life balance is so important. We really need someone lobbying for my workweek idea. Hmmm, I didn't realize we shared Father's Day with other countries. That is an interesting question, for which I have no answers.

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  24. You were glad to go to the dentist? You monster! And how have you never had a cavity, tell me your secrets! I do agree about the 4 on 3 off working week but I'm sure I'd still complain about not having enough free time.

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    1. I have never had a cavity. The dentist is always a positive visit for me. Now the doctor, that's another story. I think I do ok managing my time, but it's just easier to get it all done, with that extra day off during the week.

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  25. I think a work week like that would be great and I would back you in getting that pushed through :D Yay for brilliant teeth and needing no work done. And I hope the dinner for father's day was great :)

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    1. I feel like there are so many people, who see how brilliant my plan is.

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  26. I got to meet Abby Jimenez at Book Con! I have not been able to read the book yet and can't wait to do so. I am glad you enjoyed it! That makes me hopeful! =) I will totally be checking out Aurora Rising!

    Mary

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    1. I didn't just like The Friend Zone, I LOVED it. It was a lot more emotional than I anticipated, but it was engrossing and wonderful.

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