Sunday, October 29, 2017

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

Another week in the books. The weather is more autumnal, which is good. I am happy to have some sweater weather. I spent most of my week commuting, because of train and bus issues, but at least it gives me plenty of time to read. Lots of time to read, but not so much time to scour the internet, but I did read one notable story this week, which got me all excited. Kristen Bell confirmed that more Veronica Mars is coming!!! Let all the VMars fans rejoice.


On the Blog:
STACKING THE SHELVES

Pretty much bought a bunch of contemporary romances (I just can't help myself!), and I think almost all my ARCs are contemporary romances too. What can I say? I know what I like.

Bought/Free

ARCs

What I Read Last Week

My reading week started off great with The House at 758, but then I thought I had caught the dreaded reading slump, because I have two DNFs in a row. Then, I picked up My New Crush Gave to Me, and all was good in the world again. My top read was New Crush, but The House at 758 and Bad Girls with Perfect Faces were close behind.

  • The House at 758 by Katheryn Berla: I had zero expectations for this book, and it ended up melting my heart. Yes, another grief book, but there were so many great elements in this book, and I loved the way Berla used the grandfather's story as a parallel to what Krista was experiencing. ★ 1/2
  • Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (audiobook): This book was hilarious. I laughed so much. It's so over the top, and I just need to get my hands on the next one, because my library only has book 1 and 3 on Overdrive (????). 
  • In Some Other Life by Jessica Brody: I liked this a lot more than I anticipated. Brody made an odd choice in how far she went with the cheating part of the story, but I still able to enjoy all the other parts. ★ 1/2
  • My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff: This book was so sweet, cute, and Christmasy. My heart was soaring after this one. 
  • The Midnight Star by Marie Lu: I finally finished this series, and although it was not the ending I wanted in my heart, it was sort of beautiful and poetic, and I can get behind a redemption story. 
  • Here We are Now by Jasmine Warga: I struggled with parts of this, but overall found the story quite heartwarming. 
  • Saving Red by Sonya Sones (audiobook): I am a Sones fan, so when I needed a book in verse for a reading challenge, I immediately thought of her. I liked this book a lot. Some very emotional stuff, but balanced out by a lot of fun, light hearted stuff. And that ending! Happy tears all the way. 
  • Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten: Kiersten was a fan of Weingarten's last book, so I jumped on this ARC when I saw the opportunity, and I am so glad I did. This ended up being a great atmospheric mystery, and Weingarten knows how to write an ending too. ★ 1/2




























What I Am Currently Reading

I am reading Saving It right now. I was interested in it, because I had enjoyed multiple adult and NA books by Murphy. So far, it's cute, but a little superficial. I will keep reading, because I feel like Murphy will steer it in the right direction and it does have promise. I am throughly enjoying The Wright Mistake, because I love second chance romances, I love that Jules believe in Austin, and Linde always delivers a story that satisfies.


What I Plan to Read

Look at me, finishing series! I had some library loans come through, and am looking forward to finally finishing the Six of Crows duology. I have a few contemporary romances on deck too, because I need them like I need air. The Chaos of Standing Still was one of my CWW picks, so I am hoping it lives up to my expectations.









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

40 comments:

  1. You got through so many books this week! I'm jealous. I too need to read Crooked Kingdom, but time is against me

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    1. My commute has turned from 3 to 3 1/2 hours because of train delays. I also had a lot of contemporaries, which are shorter, but still books I wanted to read. When my library loans come through, I immediately bump other books for them, so Crooked Kingdom bumped another book off my TBR this week.

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  2. OMG, thee's more Veronica Mars? How did I not hear about this? I am so happy I will rewatch all the series and film in celebration. I mean, it may not happen for like 5 years but it will happen. It has too! I adore Veronica Mars with all my being, I really do.

    I totally know how you feel with Here We Are Now, the fact that there were unanswered questions and lots of story elements you didn't get a solid answer for frustrated me. I do feel like it was intentional how it was written but I like a solid ending and would have liked more story. I did enjoy it, though. Like it was a good and nice story.

    Hope you have a good week.

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    1. I know. I did a little happy dance, because I was really pleased with the VMars movie and would love more grown up Veronica. here We Are Now was pleasant and had lots of feel good stuff in there. It wasn't bad, but I feel like it could have been great.

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  3. It's going to be in the (high) 60's today and tomorrow but by next weekend it'll be back up to the 80's *sigh* Guess I'll enjoy the cooler temps while they last. I hear that Kristen Bell news but I've never seen Veronica Mars so it kinda went right by me. The only thing I know KB from is Frozen. :) Ugh, hope the commute is better this week! That cover of We Were Here makes me all nostalgic. Ah, the days of cassette tapes. :) Hey, you got Saving It! Yay! I'm reading an arc of Haven solely because Jennifer Armentrout blurbed it. There's no way she would steer me wrong. LOL

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    1. It is warm here right now, because there is a nor'easter coming through, but then back to fall. Veronica Mars is up there with Gilmore Girls and Buffy for me. I loved the show so much, loved the books, and loved the movie. We Were Here is a a flashback book for the group. I loved her Wingmen book, and there is character overlap, so I snatched it up when I saw it for free. Do you know I have yet to read anything from JLA? I have a few books, just haven't read them.

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    2. No JLA? Ack! LOL She's one of my very (Very) few auto-buy authors. Between the Lux series, the Dark Elements series, the Wait For You series... definitely a favorite. :)

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    3. We have a bunch of her books. I think we gave the ARC from BEA to Amrutha, because she is a huge fan. I keep meaning to try one of her books, but my shelf books like cry out in the night from neglect. I am the worst.

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  4. I saw the Veronica Mars news on TVline this week and was so incredibly excited about it! I binge watched Veronica Mars back in my freshmen year of college and absolutely fell in love with the characters and mystery. The movie was good, but it wasn't as great as I had hoped it would be. Hope this new revival will be even better! I'm excited to hear your thoughts on the new Entangled Crush books. They're always a ton of fun to read, and the new batch they have looks pretty great. The Chaos of Standing Still is also on my TBR list this week. I usually love Jessica's books but everyone's been kind of meh about it so I'm interested to see how it turns out. Happy reading, and have a great week, Sam!

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    1. I loved the movie, because LOGAN! I am serious about my ships. I had read the books and liked them a lot too. Entangled books are usually good for me, cute romances that make me smile. I am keeping an open mind about Chaos, because it's a grief book (I love those), it's a romance (I love those too), and it could work for me.

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  5. I am happy for more fall weather too. Glad to see you like My New Crush Gave to Me. I really want to read that one. Hope you enjoy your new books and have a great week!

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    1. My New Crush was that sweet, adorableness that I love so much, and we had a heaping dose of Christmas with it. Totally feel good.

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  6. We've had a spell of really cold weather. The kind of cold water freezes in. I'm serious :/ brr!
    The books you bought look cute :) have fun!
    I should be reading Here We Are Now as well... but I think I'll be late with that title :/ oh well. It happens sometimes.

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    1. The theme for October is late with that title. There were so many releases, but I am trying to read them in the same month. I see people posting reviews, titled "ARC Review" and it's for a book from 2015. #NoGuilt.

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  7. Wow, you got some really good reading done last week. This weeks books look great too. Happy reading. :)

    Jenea's Book Obsession's Sunday Post

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    1. I was happy that I got through a bunch of books, because I am really far behind on review books.

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  8. Wow, impressive reading! I like the Kristen Bell GIF.

    Enjoy your week, and thanks for sharing. Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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    1. I am such a Kristen Bell fan. I hope VMars returns sooner than later.

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  9. I am so excited about that Veronica Mars news. I loved this show so, so much and miss it every single day <3
    It seems like you had a great week - and yay for all the contemporary romances :D
    I'm glad you enjoyed your books this week - the House at 758 sounds like such an interesting story, I'm glad it surprised you in a great way.
    Hope you'll have a great week, happy reading! xx

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    1. I miss a lot of shows from that time period. Those were my glory days. I really loved The House at 758. I want someone else to read it, so I can talk about it with them, because there were some really lovely thing Berla did in that story.

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  10. I can't wait for the new Veronica Mars!! I love that show!! That is the one thing about a long commute you can always get a lot of reading done! Have a great week!

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    1. Gotta look for the silver lining on my commute. I have to keep reminding myself of it as it gets colder too. So many VMars lovers. The show has to come back for us.

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  11. Glad you had a lot of time to read this week :)

    Enjoy the romantic contemporaries! They look so fun. And I hope you love Crooked Kingdom - it's not quite as good as SOC, I think, but it's still amazing.

    Have a lovely week, Sam.

    Amy @ A Magical World Of Words

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    1. SoC was incredible. I just need closure, because of all the murmurings I head surrounding this book.

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  12. So many pretty new books!!! Enjoy! I hope you have a great week!

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    1. Sometimes I get lucky with approvals, and I have no self control and buy contemporary romances. xP

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  13. Hey!
    You seem to have had a pretty busy week!!
    I've seen Offsetting Penalties but I wasn't so sure about reading it. Would u recommend it?
    Have a nice week!

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    1. I have not read Offsetting Penalties yet, but I usually enjoy the Entangled books. They are fun and light. So far, only one has approached 5 stars (A Messy, Beautiful Life - I loved it), but they deliver a good reading experience. I like contemporary romances that are on the lighter side, so they work for me.

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  14. I've been meaning to try Marie Lu's books. A lot of friends seem to like her stories. So many books to read. And I see a bunch that would fit me just fine. Happy reading:)

    My Sunday Post

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    1. I want to read ALL the books. It's tough picking, which ones. Lu is a fave of mine, but I have so many books, I don't run out and buy them, but I will borrow then from the library.

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  15. I love the cooler weather. I hate being hot. Also, I’m very impressed with how much you were able to read. I guess that’s the only good thing about public transport delays. More reading time.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I am accustomed to certain cooler temps this time of year, and I expect it. So I am happy to finally be getting my northeastern autumn. Yes, delays are annoying, but at least I can escape into a book.

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  16. I've never actually seen Veronica Mars... Maybe I should make time to watch it! I also have Ready To Fall, but I haven't read it yet. I hope you love all your new reads :D

    Here's my Weekly Recap!

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    1. Veronica Mars still sits near the top of my most favorite shows ever. It was whip smart and filled with great characters. You had a mystery every week, plus the season long mystery, and I love that structure. We will have to compare notes on Ready to Fall.

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  17. It feels like fall here now but at the end of last week it almost felt like it had skipped straight to winter! I hope you enjoy all of your new books and have a great week!

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    1. It's pretty cool here at night (low 50s, high 40s), but 60s during the day. So far, so good with my new books.

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  18. I just recently finished the first season of Veronica Mars - and I need to start in on season 2! :)

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  19. Sorry about so much commuting and the issues, but more time to read is always an optimistic way of looking at things! :-P I hope you enjoy your books!

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    1. Mass transit beats sitting in traffic. This way, I plow through books, while someone else deals with the driving.

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