2022 Book Year in Review

This year I purposed to be more intentional in my book choices. With only so much reading time, I said no to some books so I had time to read others. That lasted through late summer until I gave up all my precious free time to binge watch Korean dramas. I kept intending to pick up the books that were still on my TBR list, but thanks to my newfound obsession I entered into my first real reading slump. Which also means that not only did I fall short of my goal of reading 100 books this year, but it was probably my worst reading year on record, since I only made it half way to that goal. The one thing I did  accomplish was to write more Goodreads review for the books I read. So I did manage to salvage a silver lining. Continue reading “2022 Book Year in Review”

Top Ten Tuesday -Books with Character Names In the Titles

Today’s Topic: Books with Character Names In the Titles

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

Well, the obvious answer to this one would have been to list all the biographies and autobiographies on my TBR list. But that would have been too easy. And while I originally thought I would have a hard time meeting this week’s criteria, I was surprised to realize there are lots of books with character names in the title. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday -Books with Character Names In the Titles”

2021 End of Year Book Survey

Although, I always do a full review of each book reading year. I ran across this fun annual survey originated by the Perpetual Page Turner thanks to Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl who hosts the Top Ten Tuesday weekly. I love that it allows me a different way of looking at my reading year so of course, I had to participate.

2021 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 128 plus
Number of Re-Reads: about 10
Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary Romance Continue reading “2021 End of Year Book Survey”

2021 Book Year in Review

If anything defines my reading this year, it is contemporary romances and classic film biographies. I binged both like there was no tomorrow.

Unfortunately for the contemporary romances, they all blended together after a while, so that I don’t have strong memories of most of them. This makes me a bit sad as I was especially looking forward to reading this years’ releases from authors, Sally Thorne, Sarah Hogle, Beth O’ Leary and Emily Henry. I did like their books, but none of them stood out to me in the sea of contemporary romances.

I suppose the good news is that I far exceeded my reading goal for the year which was set at 80 books, based on previous years’ accomplishments which hadn’t exceeded 85 in several years. But in 2021 I read over 125 books. Continue reading “2021 Book Year in Review”

Book Review – Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner

SUMMARY

While competing on a national cooking show, the well-liked Southern chef Hadley Beckett has several bad experiences with bad-boy  star chef Maxwell Cavanaugh who has a very public melt-down.

Months later, Hadley is the culinary world’s most popular super-star and Max is persona non-grata when the two are paired together for a new series. Continue reading “Book Review – Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner”

Top Ten Tuesday – My Most-Read Authors

Today’s Topic: Authors I’ve Read the Most Books By

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

This certainly is an interesting choice for this week’s topic. It could be assumed that most read author would also mean favorite author. However, this is not necessarily the case.

There are authors whose book count is high for me, but my reading tastes have since changed and I no longer care for their writing style or subject. Then there are authors who I adore, but who don’t release new titles as frequently as others, so obviously aren’t on this list.

In any case, it was interesting researching my reading history. I was surprised by some of these numbers!

I have chosen my favorite of each author’s books to feature as a visual.
Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – My Most-Read Authors”

2019 Book Year in Review

Well, 2019 was a slower year for me as far as reading goes. Compared to last year’s triple digit stats, I only read about 75 books. Due to some life changes I didn’t have as much time to read as I have in the past. But I’m not complaining.

For the first time ever I was part of a book club in 2019. I was only able to attend three times unfortunately. But because of this I read books I might not have otherwise; The Wedding, The Quiet Game, The Getaway Girls. I also participated in an online book club. The book choice was Charlotte Bronte’s Villette, which I didn’t like nearly as well as Jane Eyre. But I did enjoy discussing it with others online. Continue reading “2019 Book Year in Review”

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Took a Chance On

Today’s Topic: Books I Enjoyed That Are Outside of My Comfort Zone

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

Hmm…it’s not often that I wander outside of my preferred genres or reading comfort zones. So I tweaked this week’s prompt a bit. Instead I’m sharing books that I took a chance on.

Basically, these are books that I didn’t know much about. Books I chose because I fell in love with the cover or maybe the back blurb caught my interest. Generally, they are by authors I’d never read before or I had not read any reviews about them prior to picking them up.

My choices for this Top Ten are recent reads that I really enjoyed. No sense including those that were a bust, right? Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Took a Chance On”

Book Review – Falling for You

SYNOPSIS

Famously beautiful model Willow Bradford is taking a temporary break from her hectic schedule to work as the innkeeper at her family’s small-town bed-and-breakfast. She was enjoying the peace of her hometown, Merryweather, Washington, right up until she came face-to-face with Corbin Stewart, the man she loves to hate. A thoughtful rule-follower by nature, Willow threw caution to the wind four years ago when she entrusted her heart to Corbin–and suffered the consequences when it all fell apart.

Former NFL quarterback Corbin is forceful, charming, and accustomed to getting what he wants . . . except where Willow Bradford is concerned. Unable to forget her, he’s never stopped regretting what happened between them. When their paths unexpectedly cross again, he’s determined to make her give him a second chance.

When a decades-old missing persons case finds Corbin and Willow working together, they’re forced to confront their past and who they’ve become–and whether they can risk falling for one another all over again. Continue reading “Book Review – Falling for You”