The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

  

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date!

We had unseasonably beautiful weather all week, ending in a 70 degree day on Friday. We tried to take as much advantage of it as we could. By Saturday though, a cold wind had blown in again, bringing with it snow flurries - which is actually good! This is maple syrup season for Michigan, and the warm weather threatened this industry, as it the sap needs warm days and cold nights to flow. We actually went to a Maple Sugar event at our local Metro Park on Saturday, and I learned so much about the process. My cousin has also been having a monthly potluck with the family, and we did that Saturday night. It was fun hanging out, eating and having a drink or two. 

We also had book club this week - I loved seeing my friends. We had so much to say it seemed like, that time just flew!

Read Last Week:

  

A Million Little Things by Susan Mallery: I enjoyed this light read this week, and I loved the character Jen. Review soon.

Hello, Bicycle: The weather this week reminded me that I still needed to read and review this book! It was very informative and well-written, look for my review very soon!

Reading This Week:

I am thinking about this one this week ~ but I am going to the library tomorrow, so this may change..

Watching:

Riverdale, Top Chef, The Path, Supernatural, The Mick

How about you? What are you up to?

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

  

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date!

I hope you all had a great week last week! Mine was pretty good. We got the best news ever on Tuesday - Wyatt's MRI came back with nothing to worry about! So we moved on with our Valentine's Day with much lighter and happier hearts. 

 

We delivered the Valentine's I made for Wyatt's cousins and besties, which was fun! I am not crafty or DIY, but I did my best! Lol. I also attached small bags of animal crackers to the Valentines for the kids to enjoy. 

It has been a while since our family had an "adventure" weekend, and this past Saturday we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and went adventuring. We stumbled onto an alpaca farm, and also found a new place to hike! It was a good day. Billy and I wound up the evening with a fancy date night. 

Read Last Week:

The Final Vow: I love this little cozy series! Partially because I kind of would like to run and live on a working historical farm/museum, with a little house in a maple sugar tree grove.. 

Reading This Week:

A Million Little Things by Susan Mallery: It just looks so summery. I am ready for a little bit of summer, after our taste of spring this weekend.

Watching:

Riverdale, Top Chef, Bones, The Path. We are so addicted to Riverdale! What an awesome modernization of the comics classic. We are loving it, and visually, it is so stunning. The only problem is we have to wait a week between each episode! No binge watching unless we let them build up and I'm not sure we can do that. Lol.

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

  

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date!

So that week is behind me - yay! I had been dreading it for weeks, knowing it was going to be really stressful and rough. Wyatt had an appointment with his new neurologist, who we love, and then also he had an MRI. That was really, really tough for all of us. Since he is just a little guy, they had to sedate him. The whole process was pretty emotional. When he was done though, they let us go sit with him until he woke up. They told us it normally takes kids about 45 mins to an hour to wake up. My kid, it was 15 minutes. Lol. He was up and drinking a glass of water and we were out the door before an hour was up. I guess he was ready to get out of there too! They also told us he would probably be sleepy and groggy for 24 hours. Yeah, that didn't happen either. So it went well despite the stress surrounding it. He's a tough kid! 

Tuesday is Valentine's Day, not normally a big holiday for us but this year I am putting a little effort in! I am excited to put some of my plans into action. Then Billy and I are going out to dinner Saturday at a Detroit restaurant we have wanted to go to for a while now. Yay for date night!

I did get some reading done, but not as much as normal. So, I am still reading my book from last week:

  

So far, so good. Perfect for the mood I've been in too.

I'm also rereading the book club book. I want to refresh my memory, so I am trying to just do a fast reread but find myself wandering down the pages. I had forgotten how much I had liked this book!

Watching:

Top Chef, How to Get Away with Murder, Alone, Veronica Mars, and The Path. We found The Path last week and were obsessed with it! We watched every episode available! It is so good. 

Posted:

Book Review: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins

What about you all? How was your week?

Book Review: On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins

Title: On Second Thought
Author: Kristan Higgins
Source: Publisher

Goodreads Summary:

Ainsley O’Leary is so ready to get married—she’s even found the engagement ring her boyfriend has stashed away. What she doesn’t anticipate is being blindsided by a breakup he chronicles in a blog…which (of course) goes viral. Devastated and humiliated, Ainsley turns to her older half sister, Kate, who’s struggling with a sudden loss of her own.

Kate’s always been the poised, self-assured sister, but becoming a newlywed—and a widow—in the space of four months overwhelms her. Though the sisters were never close, she starts to confide in Ainsley, especially when she learns her late husband was keeping a secret from her.

Despite the murky blended-family dynamic that’s always separated them, Ainsley's and Kate’s heartaches bind their summer together when they come to terms with the inevitable imperfection of relationships and family—and the possibility of one day finding love again.

My thoughts:

I was so excited to receive this book from the publisher, as I loved her previous book If You Only Knew. This book is not really a sequel, although the characters are mentioned in passing, and know each other. I always love that.

This book was delightful, yet also very poignant. Sisters Ainsley and Kate were not particularly close, until life intervenes, and they begin to realize they need each other more than they knew. Ainsley's fiancee is real putz. She stood by him when he needed her, and then, he throws her away when he feels he no longer does - in a very public way. Kate is a newlywed, only four months married after a whirlwind romance, and is dealing with her grief on top of learning that her husband had been harboring a secret.

This book has its heavier themes - cancer, death, guilt, grief. How should people deal with these things that happen, these unexpected major blows, who do we turn to? We have all been knocked for a loop at least once in our lives;  what do we do? Kate and Ainsley turn to each other, overcoming a few other hurdles left from their past. I shed a few tears for these gals. But it's not all sadness. Ainsley is a delight, full of fun and sparkles and unexpectedness. I loved her positivity and upbeat nature. I also adored her boss Jonathan..and of course Daniel the Hot Firefighter.

This book was both complex, exploring deeper themes, yet tempered with good times and humor. Much like life. How many times have you smiled through tears? It's a book that believes that although things are bad now, there is always hope.

I can't wait to read Higgins' next book!

The Sunday Post/It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

  

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date!

Wow that week flew by! At this rate it will be spring before I know it. It will be nice to see color return to the world. Lol.

So, I think I totally goofed. I have a bunch of NetGalley approvals I don't think I can read! Maybe some of you can help with this ~ I have a Kindle but some of the books I have to read are just protected pdf files, and it does not seem like I can transfer them onto the Kindle? Is this correct? If that is the case, I can't read them. :( I can't sit at my computer and read, it would take me ten years to read a book like that, due to time constraints. Do any of you know, is that the only way to read it if I have a Kindle? Thanks! I keep trying to read different books and can't figure it out. Which is why I keep saying I am going to read all these books on my blog and then never do. Lol. 

I have a crazy week ahead of me this week, as my son has two major appointments. I am going to stick to fun and light and cheery, as honestly I probably won't be able to concentrate on anything anyway!

Read Last Week:

Winter Storms by Elin Hilderbrand - I skipped book two in this series by accident, but no matter. Lol. I caught up pretty easily. This was a fun read, especially this week, the coldest so far this winter!

Reading This Week:

  

The Final Vow by Amanda Flower: Last year I read the first two books in this series (Final Tap, Final Reveille)  and really enjoyed them. I am excited to start this one, and I think it will be perfect for this week. 

Posted Last Week:

Book Review: A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong

Easy-Peasy DIY Valentines Banner (on my other blog)

Watching:

Alone, Drop Dead Diva, The Mick, Fresh Off the Boat, Sherlock, Veronica Mars, How to Get Away With Murder (soo good!!). We have been watching more television lately it seems. We tried watching Emerald City and OA, and while my husband seems to like them, I am not a fan. Emerald City visually did not interest me, and OA was blah in my opinion. 

A few fun links:

My internet reading has been a bummer lately, but I have spotted these great links, making for a little more fun times.

Buy the house where Winnie-the-Pooh was written (who wants to go in on this with me! lol)

Veronica Mars: Here for the Mini-series but more books please!

The Final Beauty and the Beast Trailer

People Crocheting Octopi for Preemies

and finally this adorable photo of Flat Hat cat

Book Review: A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong

Title: A Darkness Absolute
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Source: NetGalley (advance free read in exchange for an honest review)

Goodreads Summary:

The follow-up to #1 NYT bestseller Kelley Armstrong’s acclaimed City of the Lost, Rockton town detective Casey Duncan makes a terrible—and dangerous—discovery in the woods outside of town.

When experienced homicide detective Casey Duncan first moved to the secret town of Rockton, she expected a safe haven for people like her, people running from their past misdeeds and past lives. She knew living in Rockton meant living off-the-grid completely: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council’s approval. What she didn’t expect is that Rockton comes with its own set of secrets and dangers. 

Now, in A Darkness Absolute, Casey and her fellow Rockton sheriff’s deputy Will chase a cabin-fevered resident into the woods, where they are stranded in a blizzard. Taking shelter in a cave, they discover a former resident who’s been held captive for over a year. When the bodies of two other women turn up, Casey and her colleagues must find out if it’s an outsider behind the killings or if the answer is more complicated than that...before another victim goes missing.

My Thoughts:

I simply love this series. Casey is an awesome badass. She is ballsy, smart, tough, and a woman of conviction. She has her demons, but who doesn't, especially those who live in Rockton, hidden away in the deep woods and wilderness of the Yukon. Eric Dalton is a great match for her, and the longtime resident and sheriff. Longest resident by far, which you know all about if you have read the previous book.

This time around, the book begins in a whiteout. While Casey and Will Anders, fellow deputy, venture out of the town's city limits and into the woods to look for a missing citizen, they are struck by sudden blizzard, putting their lives in danger. And not just from the weather, they soon learn. The duo take cover in a cave, and discover they are not alone - following cries for help, they find a missing person, just not the one they were looking for. Instead they find Nicole, who has been missing for a year, and had been presumed dead. This is only the beginning of a new crime to solve, and the twists and turns the story takes keeps you guessing and involved. I was glued to my Kindle, reading whenever I could. It did give me some tense moments, but I made it through! One of the strengths of this book are the characters, who have distinct personalities and voices, love them or hate them. The reader learns about the character Mathias, who is as fascinating as he is enigmatic, and well, sometimes you are just not so sure about him. Each individual character has their own story, and that is one of my favorite parts, having that story revealed.

Overall, I enjoyed this second book in the series just as much as the first, City of the Lost, if not even more. I definitely recommend this series for those who love a good thriller/suspense.