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

To all who celebrate, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas! It's been such a lovely week. I didn't get to read as much as I normally do, but I got to do some mom-ing. It feels like a long time since I have donned that hat. It's nice to be needed again.

I am also feeling like a boss, because I finally updated our review archive. Now, I just need to keep on top of it!

It's the end of the year and almost the new year, so there are a MILLION brilliant year-end and anticipation lists out there. Here are some I liked:

• 50 Crucial Feminist YA Novels
• 10 Underrated Books from 2017 
• Most Anticipated Diverse YA Book of 2018
• Most Highly Anticipated LGBTQA YA of 2018 

And this is an account that is a bright spot in my day, even on Twitter. 

Friday 22nd December, 2017 pic.twitter.com/tz5WWUN87j

— Hedgehog of the Day (@daily__hedgehog) December 22, 2017

On the Blog:

• Monday: Review - Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West
• Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday - Books I Hope to Find Under the Tree
• Wednesday: Can't-Wait Wednesday - Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller
• Thursday: Off the Topic - Sloth's Alaskan Adventure
• Friday: In a Nutshell Reviews - The Sweetheart Sham, The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily, Down and Across

STACKING THE SHELVES

I added a LOT of books that I am really excited about. I even did a pre-order, which I don't usually do, because who's going to run out of ebooks? But the price was good and I love Stokes, so, why not! Of all my new eARCs, I must admit, I am the most excited about Freshmen. I have had my eye on this book since I saw it as Freshers and am excited it will be getting a US release.

Bought/Free

• The Key to Everything by Paula Stokes
• An Ex for Christmas by Lauren Layne
• Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
• Forever in Fire by Kate Meader (free)
• The Boyfriend Agreement by Seven Steps (free)

ARCs

• All Out of Pretty by Ingrid Palmer
• The Academy by Katie Sise
• Questions I Want to Ask You by Michelle Falkoff
• Always Forever Maybe by Anica Mrose Rissi
• The Museum of Us by Tara Wilson Redd
• Dealing Double by Tamra Baumann
• Freshmen by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

What I Read Last Week

My romance game was strong this week, but I would say my favorite read of the week was Graffiti Moon. I cannot reiterate how happy I am that I had the opportunity to discover Cath Crowley this year, because I am absolutely in love with her storytelling.

• Ghosted by J.M. Darhower (audiobook): This one lived up to all the raves I have been seeing. I love a second chance romance, and the history between these two plus the way Darhower let it unfold was fantastic. The little kid, Madison, was such an awesome little scene stealer too. ★★★★
• Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley: I think I am even more in love with Crowley after this book. This was a great all in one night book, where big life decisions are explored, and it was done wonderfully with tons of humor and emotion. ★★★★★
• Love and Other Train Wrecks by Leah Konen: This delivered the fun I was expecting, but Konen also threw pretty big road block in there. I didn't see it coming until I a page or two before the reveal. Well done. I really enjoyed making this journey with Ammy and Noah as each of them "unpacked" some of their emotional luggage and filled in those spaces with much better things. ★★★★
• The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren: Another fantastic second chance romance. I am totally onboard with this premise, that we will get the stories of what happened to the survivors of a "tragic event". I suspect the focus will be on the four women, who bonded all those years ago in a support group, and I am excited about that, because they were all really intriguing. I am really looking forward to more of this series. ★★★★
• Layover by Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer: Another it-wasn't-bad-but-it-wasn't-great book. There were a lot of things I liked about this book. It had a strong beginning and very strong ending, but it lost its way somewhere in the middle. I will say I was entertained, and I was so in love with the youngest sibling, that I was invested in the outcome. ★★★
• As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti: Very interesting concept. Everyone in the town got one wish on their 18th birthday, and Eldon was struggling with determining his wish. So, he begins interviewing people in the town to hear what their wish was and how they feel about the outcome. It gave me a lot to think about. ★★★

What I Am Currently Reading

Young Jane Young is hilarious! I also love that it is told from the three generations of women in the family. Lots of interesting commentary on society too, and I am really looking forward to a reveal I feel is coming. I just started Ex, so not much to say, but I was definitely encourage to read this when I saw Carol, Sara, Nick and Becky talking about it.

• An Ex for Christmas by Lauren Layne
• Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (audiobook)

What I Plan to Read

I thought I would read Holly Chase before the end of the holiday season, since it is A Christmas Carol retelling. The rest are January releases, and I am really excited about them all.

• The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
• About That Kiss by Jill Shalvis
• Poison's Kiss by Breena Shields
• The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser

How was your week?

Let us know in the comments!