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 am sure many have heard about the air quality on the east coast in the US. In the immortal words of South Park - Blame Canada.
On the Blog
- Monday: #AmReading - The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane, A Little Too Late
- Tuesday: TTT - Summer Breeze
- Wednesday: Isn't It Romantic? - For Twice in My Life, End of Story
- Thursday: Nutshell Reviews - Oona Out of Order, Kismet
- Friday: #AmReading - The Only Game in Town, In the Shadow Garden
- Saturday: Nutshell Reviews - Twice in a Lifetime, Ms. Demeanor
Let's Discuss
- Krysta talks AI and book blogging
- Nicole shared a cover artist spotlight
- The Orangutan Librarian discusses self help and motivational reads
Stacking the Shelves
I was excited to get some approvals. Berkley showed me a lot of love, but most exciting was this month's Romance Club book. I have been loving the Pittsburgh Titians books and Drake is next on my list. What a win!
Netgalley/Edelweiss
- The Takedown by Carlie Walker
- Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan
Invites
- Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
- A British Girl's Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey
Free
- Drake by Sawyer Bennett
Read Last Week
Many of the books I read made me happy, but the only one that came close to blowing me away was The Music of Bees. I adore stories of found family, and this trio was wonderful! All the bee stuff was cool too. I probably could have done without the Big Ag storyline, but it did lead to some interesting things for these characters.
The Celebrants was different from my previous experience with Rowley's work. There was still a lot of humor and down-right uproarious parts, but it was weightier in general. It's dealing with some painful moments in the characters lives, and I won't lie, I was sobbing the last few chapters. I may start crying now.
Find all my reviews on Goodreads
Books
- The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore - ★★★★
- The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin - ★★★★ 1/2
- The Celebrants by Steven Rowley - ★★★★
- The Crow Valley Karaoke Championships by Ali Bryan - ★★★★
- The Fall We Fell by Victoria Denault - ★★★★
Audiobooks
- Planes, Trains, and All the Feels by Livy Hart - ★★★★
Currently Reading
I am almost done with Family for Beginners. It's a sweet story of a woman falling for a widowed dad. The older daughter is struggling with her father "moving on". I like the love interest a lot. She lost her mother at a young age and never had that "family" experience. I want this for her.
I am just starting the Patrick book, so not much to say. Her books are always very lovely though.
- The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick
- Family for Beginners by Sarah Morgan (audiobook)
To Be Read
- The Love of My Other Life by CJ Connelly
- The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page
- Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
- At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber
Let us know in the comments!
Fingers crossed for your ultrasound! That weather on Wednesday was crazy, and scary! I can't imagine how bad it must be in Canada if that's what it was like here.
ReplyDeleteI guess we now know what it's like to live in California?
DeleteWow that's crazy with these fires! I had no idea! And I hope your ultrasound goes well Sam! Also I'll buy the Celebrants as I was waiting for your review to see if it was worth it. The book is so expensive and I tried the audiobook but I don't like authors narrating their books.
ReplyDeleteIt was more melancholy, as it should be given the subject matter, but there was still lots of humor and joy. I hope you enjoy it.
DeleteYeah keep indoors as much as you can with the outside conditions. Out west we get this ALL the time haha but no one really cares about states like Utah or Idaho. But the key for this is stay indoors, use purifiers, and stay super hydrated! I love it when Berkley gives the love. So happy that the Bees book was such a win for you, love LOVE found family themes! I have heard great things about Sarah Morgan
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful week darling and hope you find some methods to get you through those smoky days. Trust me I completely understand, as the western states experience this every summer/fall haha
Like I said, this is not our normal. I know the west coast is always on fire. This is my first by Sarah Morgan, and I am enjoying it. I like the heartwarming stuff.
DeleteThe smoke has blow all the to the east cost. Its been hazy for a few days, affecting the air quality.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
My Sunday post: https://snapdragonalcoveblog.wordpress.com/2023/06/10/sunday-post-post-you-may-have-missed/
I know. It was a tough few days here on the coast.
DeleteWow that is a lot of reading. I have a few of those on my TBR so good to hear you liked them. Good luck with the ultrasound.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope you get a chance to read some of these. They were great!
DeleteWow that's somethig else with the air quality. I heard about it but seeing it... wow.
ReplyDeleteNice to know about the Celebrants. Love the cover, and have been seeing it around lots.
It was so bad. I am glad this is not the norm for the northeast. Rowley's books are good. This one left me a hot mess.
DeleteI worked in California during the wildfires in 2019 and remember the haze and smell of smoke that couldn't be escaped. I had quite the eventful week as my husband wasn't feeling well on Sunday. We went to urgent care and they quickly directed us to the hospital. Turns out he was in a diabetic shock, though he hadn't been diagnosed before. It was terrifying, and he ended up spending a couple days in the ICU. Thankfully he's back home now and has a good plan of treatment and management going forward. We didn't have a week long hospital stay in our plans though!
ReplyDeleteThat is so scary! I hope you husband is feeling better. I know what we experienced is common on the west coast, but not here. It's something I am not looking forward to experiencing again any time soon
DeleteI feel for you all with the smoke. Our last couple of summers have had smoke like that and it is absolutely miserable.
ReplyDeleteI know this is the norm for the west coast, but it was a shock for us
DeleteWe had wildfires like that a couple years back, but we had a pretty big one here this last year, too. California for you. I finally bought an air purifier for inside my house because we could smell it so strongly and I'm sure it's horrible for the lungs. Even the hospital had huge air purifiers all over. I hope Canada can get the fires put out and things clear up! It's early for these fires! Crossing my fingers that you get to the bottom of your foot issues with the ultrasound results!
ReplyDeleteI love Sarah Morgan but I haven't read Family For Beginners yet. I'll look it up because she is always a win for me.
There's almost no natural disaster that isn't the norm for California. Sometimes we get storms, but nothing like what CA experiences. I am almost done with Family for Beginners. Pretty shocking reveals here towards the end.
DeleteI hope that you get good news on Tuesday! I am excited to go to the eye dr on Tuesday. I need new glasses so that maybe I can read better with my eyes instead of relying so heavily on audiobooks. I liked The Celebrants and loved Planes, Trains, and All the Feels. Have a great week, Sam!
ReplyDeleteNew glasses can be fun (except they are so expensive!) I hope you get a great pair
DeleteI hope the ultrasound goes well and that it is a fixable thing! My fingers will be crossed for you. I feel you about the air- it was so bad on Wednesday, even inside the school (the doors had been open a lot, making inside just as bad as outside) that I had a rough time breathing too. Scary, that. The Celebrants sounds like a book I may need in my life, as does The Love of My Other Life! I will be checking those out, so thanks for sharing them!
ReplyDeleteSome schools canceled, and there was not outdoor recess. Sports were canceled, the concert at PNC, the Yankees game! Crazy. There's a lot to like about The Celebrants. It touched my heart for sure.
DeleteI hope the ultrasound goes well. I have been seeing the air quality reports and they are bad. Dang.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary. Just 24 hours now.
DeletePrayers for your ultrasound to give the results you want!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ali!
DeleteI hope the ultrasound went okay! I live in a place with lots of grassfires and forest fires. They suck. I have a cough and sore throat right now because of smoke.
ReplyDeleteThey found something, but not any news with the nerve. Oh well. It is rough out west. I couldn't live like that. I guess you get used to it, but I don't want to
DeleteMy in-laws live in RI and have had bad smoke too. We had the whole ash, bad air quality a few years ago so I feel for you.
ReplyDeleteI hope your ultrasound goes well!
Karen @For What It's Worth
I bet RI was terrible. Much closer to Canada than NJ.
DeleteI hope you get good news from your ultrasound. I still can't get over just how far the smoke traveled from those fires in Canada. It was definitely nowhere near as intense as it was up where you are, but it was really hazy here in central Virginia and lots of outdoor events were cancelled due to poor air quality.
ReplyDeleteNot great news, but hopefully the doctor can do something for me. They canceled the Yankees game - that's pretty major, but made my commute home much better
DeleteI remember the wildfires back in the 90's and how close they got. Ash covered everything and the elderly were advised to stay indoors. Ugh. That was miserable. I love seeing Drake of your shelf. You know I love that series. I'm actually reading Hendrix right now.
ReplyDeleteI was at Cyclone Anayas when it finally rained. We all ran outside and were dancing in the parking lot. Hoopla actually has the next Titians book on audio, though I have not been getting in much audiobook time these days. I will catch up to you. I think the next one will be more emotional than Drake's story with the whole dead wife thing.
Delete