We Live and Breathe Books: Sundays with Sam

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

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is doing well, and if you live anywhere near me, I hope you are staying warm. I saw a weather report for 0-6 inches of snow. That's quite a helpful forecast (NOT), but at least I am enjoying a three-day weekend and will not have to deal with the weather until Tuesday. This week is supposed to be brutal. Because of the holiday, I have to go into the office Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and look at that! Those are the coldest days. Mother nature really has it in for me. Glad to see the temperatures creeping above freezing towards the end of the week though. I hate winter.

I am using the long weekend to catch up. Why does it always seem like I am behind lately? I have no appointments or obligations, and I really want to get caught up on reviews and chores. I have a cleaning service coming twice a month to clean for my parents. They came for the first time, and my mother felt the need to explain that she is just getting too old to do it herself. Is it normal to feel guilty for having a service? I didn't get it, but that frees up some of my time even if I have to spend less on other things.

My daughter has this statue that she dresses. The goose's name is Honkerella, and I did not know, but apparently, this is a thing. It's a whole new world for me but it's pretty fun. The first picture was my daughter's Christmas tree, and the second is Honk in her cheering uniform.

On the Blog

Monday: Reviews - Better Than Friends, PS: I Hate You
Tuesday: TTT - Bookish Goals
Wednesday: CWW - A Forty Year Kiss, Sweet Bean Paste
Thursday: Reviews - Rewitched, The Lantern of Lost Memories
Friday: Discussion - Challenge Accepted - 2025
Saturday: Sloth Goes Places - Arizona

Let's Discuss

Dini shares February's Let's Talk Bookish topics AND a special announcement
Sophie teaches us about painted book edges
Shannon has a really dumb bookish complaint

Be prepared to shed some tears 😭

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WeRateDogs (@weratedogs)

Stacking the Shelves

It such an exciting week. I got approvals for books by three authors I adore, and look! Two books with cats on the covers. I am telling you, they know how to make me read Asian Lit.

Netgalley/Edelweiss

The Curious Kitten at Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi
Maid For Each Other by Lynn Painter
Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson
Mansion Beach by Meg Mitchell Moore

Purchased

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister
The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin

Read Last Week

It was a strong reading week. I would say I had two favorites. Higgins managed to hit me in the feels with Anything For You, and it was weird because this is a standard contemporary romance, but there was something about the way these two loved each other but kept breaking up. The hero especially touched my heart. One could only hope to be loved the way he loved that heroine.

And I loved the new Linda Holmes book. It was about a person who worked in audio, podcasts specifically. That stuff was really interesting, but there was also a fun storyline and a romantic pairing I loved. It was also packed with humor which is what really put it over the top for me.

Find all my reviews on Goodreads

Books

Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan - ★★★★
Puppy Love at Mistletoe Junction by Shannon Richard - ★★★★ 1/2
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - ★★★★ 1/2
Back After This by Linda Holmes - ★★★★ 1/2
The Grump Whisperer by Katy James - ★★★★

Audiobooks

Anything for You by Kristan Higgins - ★★★★ 1/2

Currently Reading

I have not started my book yet, but I did start listening to The Truth According to Us. It's an epistolary historical which is pretty amusing so far. I picked it for a reading challenge and was overjoyed to find it was set in West Virginia. You don't understand, this is a state I am scrambling to find in December for my Literary Escapes. It's exciting to accidentally find a book for that state.