Sunday, January 12, 2025

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

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is doing well. It was a week. This was my first week back at work, and it kicked off with some snow. I did get nervous and work from home Monday though I heard conditions were ok by my job. Oh, well. The renovation is ok. The one thing I am salty about is that they didn't replace the blinds. They have needed to be replaced FOREVER. They were poorly cut and fitted and there are these gaps that point the sun right into my eye at certain times of the day. Other than that, I am happy with my new neighbors (but miss my old ones). 

I am happy that it is warming up a bit. Last week was very windy with the wind chill producing single digit temperatures in the morning. Even though it's in the 20s, it feels much warmer without that fierce wind. Did I mention that I hate winter? 

On the Blog

  • Monday: Reviews - Unromance, Give Me Butterflies
  • Tuesday: TTT - Anticipating
  • Wednesday: CWW - Three Days in June, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance
  • Thursday: Reviews - If You Only Knew, On Second Thought
  • Friday: Discussion - My Year in Books - 2024
  • Saturday: Five on My TBR - Five Years or Older

Let's Discuss

  • Kit shares the best books covers from books read
  • Ali recommends books with cinnamon roll heroes


Stacking the Shelves

I was happy to see some of my requests get approved. Emily Harding co-authored the For the Love of Austen series (LOVED!), and I am excited to read her solo book. I got a few invites as well. Celebrity Crush is on my TBR, so that was great to receive. I am trying to resist clicking everything though, so I need to review my monthly ARC totals so far. And, I have been on a roll with Carlino's books. I couldn't resist one-clicking a sale book from her. 

Netgalley/Edelweiss

Invites

Purchased


Read Last Week

This week was a mixed bag, but overall, all the books was good. My library loans sort of blew up my TBR, but I read most of what I had planned. 

I would put Wreck My Heart as my favorite of the week. Jillian Meadows really knows how to write some fun and heartwarming romances. Like Give Me Butterflies, Wreck tugged at my heartstrings and had a couple I could not resist cheering on. 

I also thought Claire Keegan's Foster was amazing. Keegan is definitely changing my mind about short stories. 

Find all my reviews on Goodreads

Books

Audiobooks


Currently Reading

This Higgins story is a bit heartbreaking. I really hope the heroine changes her mind. I am enjoying learning the couple's long history, but it's stressful waiting to see if it all works out. 

I am enjoying returning to the Rock Bottom Love world. I loved meeting the siblings in the previous book and I am excited for the single mom to get her HEA. 


To Be Read



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

22 comments:

  1. I’m hoping it continues to warm up. I’d like the roads clear before I drive into St. Louis tomorrow. The cat video! So cute! I have zero clue how you read so many books with a job. It’s amazing!

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    1. I hope the odds are in your favor with everything tomorrow. I have an empty nest and a long commute; it gives me plenty of reading time.

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  2. OMG, I have the exact same problem with the sun at work. The manager had the windows tinted, but it's not enough. During the winter, the sun is in my eyes or on the computer screen all day long.

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    1. Tinted windows - fancy. They did this whole renovation and did't fix the blinds. What the heck?

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  3. The weather has been the complete opposite here and I feel like it's even hotter than usual for this time of year. I saw so many places getting tons of snow last week. I hope the weather is better for you this coming week :) Looks like you've got some exciting books in the pipeline. I feel like every time I see mention about a Kristan Higgins book the word "heartbreaking" or "sad" is always involved. 🤭 Can't wait to give her books a go!

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    1. It's not a windy, so that's a win. Higgins seems to always break my heart, but then she mends it and leaves me happy. That's why I keep going back for more. This is an old book and seems more romance than her more recent releases which lean women's fiction.

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  4. OK I will wait for your review about Puppy Love because...puppies! Also I am glad that the weather is less cold and that video with the cats made me laugh so hard!!

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    1. Right, I love puppies. I liked Richardson's last book, so I am thinking this will be great too.

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  5. I hate when blinds are ill fitted! It totally defeats the purpose! The cat videos are so cute!

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    1. Exactly! Thank goodness I have great cat videos to wind down my rage at the blinds.

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  6. I don't mind Winter. It's cold here but at least there's no snow.

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    1. You have such extremes in your area. I could never handle the heat you endure.

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  7. Loving all the new romance arrivals. Hope your week ahead is a good one.

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    1. 2025 has a bumper crop of great books coming. Hope your week is great too.

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  8. That cat video is awesome! They're smarter than we give them credit for! What a bummer to have to go back to work when the temps are so cold. Glad to hear they're heating up a bit. You'd think with the remodel they'd replace the poorly fitted blinds!

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    1. I know! I wonder if my cat would have been internet famous. We never spent time getting them to do stuff back then. It's so cold. It was so windy and cold yesterday. I hate winter.

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  9. That week after holidays always left me exhausted. I'm not requesting ARCs right now, but yours are tempting me. You always find the best instagram movies, I loved the cats. I hope you have a great week, Sam.

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    1. Cat vids really are the best. They make me happy and I love to share that with you all.

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  10. I like winter more than summer, but yeah, those frigid winds were tough to handle last week!

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    1. I am more about fall and spring. I like to wear long sleeves but no coat.

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  11. Glad the renovations were mostly OK...but I guess the blinds thing should have been addressed somehow. Maybe they run out of money for those in their budget...

    You know I hate summer, but I also hate the wind, especially when it's really cold. And I'm sure I'd hate to have to commute with such low temps...Ours have dropped a bit too these latest days. Now it feels like regular winter...it was, like, spring before.

    That cat video made me laugh out loud.

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    1. They always cheap out on the oddest things. I have just been raising my monitor to block the sun. Spring cannot come fast enough. I am so cold.

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