Monday, January 16, 2023

Guest Blogger: Changing Tastes


Michele is back today with a new discussion post, all about how our reading tastes change and how we may find ourselves moving away from certain authors.

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We all have our favorite and autobuy authors, whether they are ones we’ve followed from the beginning of their careers or those we’ve discovered along the way. However, occasionally it may happen that our tastes change and those authors become ones that we don’t seem to look forward to their new releases. Maybe their stories have become formulaic or they write in a genre that you are growing out of. Whatever the reason, sometimes we decide an author is no longer for us.


In terms of genres, I tend to not read as much YA as I used to – I have a few authors whose YA novels still excite me, but most do not anymore. The kids either act too young or too old – it is a very fine line to make teenagers seem believable. Additionally, there are a few authors lately who I have read many books from, but they seem to have become very formulaic. The books seem to run together, rely on the same tropes and events and are not as distinct to me anymore. These particular authors are very prolific as well, easily putting out at least five books per year, meaning I would have to devote lots of precious reading time to just keep up. Because there are just too many great books in the world, I have decided to take a break from these authors and I probably won’t keep up with their new releases for the foreseeable future.


I probably put too way much thought into this but it bums me out to decide to not follow an author anymore after I have enjoyed their works in the past. I enjoy supporting authors in their endeavors but with limited time and resources, I just can’t read ALL the books. I want to be excited every time I pick up a book, not just feel like I’m checking a box.


Do you have a hard time moving away from authors or are you normal? Have your reading tastes changed over the years?

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Summer of Songbirds

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!
 
Kristy Woodson Harvey
Expected publication date: July 11, 2023
Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process in this heartwarming new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil.

Nearly thirty years ago, in the wake of a personal tragedy, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for—and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.

June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier Bradley and Mary Stuart Harris, during a fateful summer at camp, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne discovers that Lanier’s fiancé—who just so happens to be her client—has done something highly illegal, she must choose between her job and her friendship.

Meanwhile, Lanier is hiding secrets both new and old that might make Daphne see the situation in an entirely different light. When one of those secrets unexpectedly rises to the surface, it threatens to change the very fabric of their friendship.

But when the women learn that their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they put aside their own problems and band together with June to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.

From an author whose “writing coats your soul with heart” (E! Online), The Summer of Songbirds is a lyrical and unforgettable celebration of female friendship, and a love letter to the places and people that make us who we are.
  -  from Goodreads
 

Monday, January 9, 2023

Michele's Monday Picks #4

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with a new little series, Michele’s Monday Picks! I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you. Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to! 

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 Heartless

By Elsie Silver

Published: October 14, 2022

From Goodreads:

Working as a nanny for the world’s grumpiest single dad should have been simple. Except I can’t keep my eyes off him. And he can’t keep his hands off of me.

Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. Until I get him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then all bets are off—and so are our clothes.


He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl’s kryptonite. So who am I to resist?

But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him.

Someone convinced him once that his best wasn’t good enough. But I’ve never felt more cherished than I do in his arms.

My contract may say this arrangement is only for two months.

But my heart says this is forever.



Elsie Silver is a newer indie author who has won my heart! I look forward to each new book she publishes.

Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

Friday, January 6, 2023

Quick Reviews

 Before I Do by Sophie Cousens (2022)

Audrey is just hours away from marrying Josh when Fred, Audrey's "one who got away," shows up as a guest at the wedding.  It puts Audrey in a tailspin, wondering if the universe is trying to tell her something, especially when everything else seems to be going wrong with her big day.  I've become a big fan of Cousens' novels - she takes such interesting scenarios and puts great spins on them.  In her newest book, as the chapters move back and forth in time, she explores how Audrey and Fred met and what happened between them, as well as how Audrey and Josh's relationship progressed.  But, it's so much more than that.  There's Audrey's complicated relationship with her mother and her mother's many husbands and boyfriends.  There are some twists that will really make you feel for Audrey and help you understand her a lot better.  At times, the present-day timeline seemed to drag - I just wanted to know what would happen on the wedding day!  However, hang in there because the way the story unfolds is really wonderful.  4 stars 
 
The Lady Tempts an Heir by Harper St. George (2022)
 
In this historical romance, Maxwell Crenshaw has been given an ultimatum by his father to settle down and start a family.  His acquaintance, Lady Helena March, is a widow trying to establish a home for "fallen" women and their children, but her unmarried status is causing donors to shy away.  The two decide to solve both their problems, at least for a little while, with a fake courtship, but their mutual attraction is making it difficult.  I've really been enjoying St. George's Gilded Age Heiresses series, and this was another fantastic addition.  Helena and Max have such great chemistry, and the fact that their lives are already intertwined because of his sisters adds a whole other layer to it.  Helena is definitely a woman ahead of her time, and I loved that Max appreciated this about her and didn't make her feel bad about it, like others in the novel.  Max, too, is a very open-minded and fair businessman, so he and Helena are perfect together.  Even with the strict morals of the time period, this book exudes plenty of steam for those who enjoy it.  I think the ending was perhaps a bit rushed and I wanted to know more about how the Crenshaw family felt about Helena's issues, but who doesn't love a happy ending?  4 stars


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Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Homecoming

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!
 
Kate Morton
Expected publication date: April 4, 2023
Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of the grand and mysterious mansion, a local delivery man makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia.

Sixty years later, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for almost twenty years, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job and struggling to make ends meet. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, who raised Jess when her mother could not, has suffered a fall and been raced to the hospital.

Nora has always been a vibrant and strong presence: decisive, encouraging, young despite her years. When Jess visits her in the hospital, she is alarmed to find her grandmother frail and confused. It’s even more alarming to hear from Nora's housekeeper that Nora had been distracted in the weeks before her accident and had fallen on the steps to the attic—the one place Jess was forbidden from playing in when she was small.

At loose ends in Nora's house, Jess does some digging of her own. In Nora's bedroom, she discovers a true crime book, chronicling the police investigation into a long-buried tragedy: the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959. It is only when Jess skims through the book that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this once-infamous crime—a crime that has never been resolved satisfactorily. And for a journalist without a story, a cold case might be the best distraction she can find…

An epic novel that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, and how we protect the lies we tell. It explores the power of motherhood, the corrosive effects of tightly held secrets, and the healing nature of truth. Above all, it is a beguiling and immensely satisfying novel from one of the finest writers working today. -  from Goodreads

 

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Books of 2022

 
 
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is our favorite books of 2022!













What were some of your favorite books of 2022?


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Monday, January 2, 2023

Month in Review: December 2022

 
December was a busy month!  We had Henry's first birthday party at my sister's house, and it was a lot of fun!  My mom and Tom's older sister both flew in for the party, so that was really nice.  I went to my company Christmas party for the first time; it was great to get out of the house for awhile!  All three of us got sick before Christmas, which wasn't fun, but we were feeling better by Christmas.  We celebrated Christmas Eve at my dad's house with 4 of my 5 siblings and their kids.  Christmas morning was just the three of us, and then Tom's family came over for dinner.  Henry got way too many toys, which are currently taking over our living room.  At the very end of the month, we went to the Turtleback Zoo to see their Christmas light displays.  It was very crowded, but also a lot of fun and we really lucked out with the weather, which was actually pretty warm!  We all crashed early on New Year's Eve - no surprise there!


The Books
 


 



The Posts and Reviews
 
 
 
Happy new year!  How are you doing?
 
 
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