Sunday Post #2 | Halfway There!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

This has been a pretty normal week. The remnants of Eta came through here on Thursday and blew off all the pretty fall leaves from the trees. That kind of made me sad. They hadn’t been turned all that long and now they are mostly gone. But other than that – I’ve been reading and writing and reading and writing, and so forth and so on.

But I discovered I have a problem, which you will see below under Book Haul. I think I am an ARCoholic. Unlike buying books, where you have to weigh the expense, ARCs are free for just a little review, and I can do that, of course. I believe I went a little crazy when St. Martin’s Press started putting books as Read Now for a limited time. Most are mysteries. And I can’t pass up a good mystery. ❤️

Did you know that if you have Amazon Prime, you can pick a book each month for free from a selection of books? I didn’t notice my Amazon Prime first reads benefit until sometime last year. I just trashed the emails without ever looking at them and then one day I paid attention. Now, I pick a book each month even though it is rare I find time to read them. You never know though, right? One day I may be glad to have these reading options.

Below are November’s fiction choices: (make sure you pick yours!!!) Each cover is linked to the Amazon site.

This week, I picked up the following books:

Still spinning from the hustle and bustle of city life, Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is glad to be back in the Cornish village she calls home. Having quit the Met Police in search of something less dangerous, the change of pace means she can finally start her dream catering company and raise her daughter, Daisy, somewhere safer. But there’s nothing like having your first job back at home to be catering an ex-boyfriend’s wedding to remind you of just how small your village is. And when the bride, Cheryl, vanishes Jodie is drawn into the investigation, realising that life in the countryside might not be as quaint as she remembers…

This book is on NetGalley. I will be reading it for a blog tour by Rachel’s Random Resources.

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife comes an atmospheric novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense: A detective hiding away from the world. A series of disappearances that reach into her past. Can solving them help her heal?

This book is on NetGalley. Random House is the publisher. I saw it in a NetGalley email and was given approval the next day.

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Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano’s adult debut Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a witty, fast-paced mystery series, following struggling suspense novelist and single mom Finlay Donovan, whose fiction treads dangerously close to the truth as she becomes tangled in real-life murder investigations…

This book is on NetGalley – St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books)

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As birthdays go, this year’s for radio producer Everly Dean hit rock-bottom. Worse than the “tonsillectomy birthday.” Worse than the birthday her parents decided to split (the first time). But catching your boyfriend cheating on you with his assistant? Even clichés sting. But this is Everly’s year! She won’t let her anxiety hold her back. She’ll pitch her podcast idea to her boss. There’s just one problem. Her boss, Chris, is very cute. (Of course). Also, he’s extremely distant (which means he hates her, right? Or is that the anxiety talking)? And, Stacey the DJ didn’t mute the mic during Everly’s rant about Simon the Snake (syn: Cheating Ex). That’s three problems. Suddenly, people are lining up to date her, Bachelorette-style, fans are voting (Reminder: never leave house again), and her interest in Chris might be a two-way street. It’s a lot for a woman who could gold medal in people-avoidance. She’s going to have to fake it ‘till she makes it to get through all of this. Perhaps she’ll make a list: The Ten Rules for Faking It. Because sometimes making the rules can find you happiness when you least expect it.

This book is on NetGalley – St. Martin’s Press (St. Martin’s Griffin)

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Love, romance, second chances, fairy-tale endings…these are the things Annika Dev believes in. Her app, Make Up, has been called the “Google Translate for failing relationships.” 

High efficiency break-ups, flashy start-ups, penthouses, fast cars…these are the things Hudson Craft believes in. His app, Break Up, is known as the “Uber for break-ups.” It’s wildly successful―and anathema to Annika’s life philosophy.

Which wouldn’t be a problem if they’d gone their separate ways after that summer fling in Las Vegas, never to see each other again. Unfortunately for Annika, Hudson’s moving not just into her office building, but into the office right next to hers. And he’ll be competing at the prestigious EPIC investment pitch contest: A contest Annika needs to win if she wants to keep Make Up afloat. As if it’s not bad enough seeing his irritatingly perfect face on magazine covers when her own business is failing. As if knowing he stole her idea and twisted it into something vile―and monumentally more successful―didn’t already make her stomach churn.

As the two rival app developers clash again and again―and again―Annika finds herself drawn into Hudson Craft’s fast-paced, high velocity, utterly shallow world. Only, from up close, he doesn’t seem all that shallow. Could it be that everything she thought about Hudson is completely wrong? Could the creator of Break Up teach her what true love’s really about?

This book is on NetGalley – St. Martin’s Press (St. Martin’s Griffin)

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All Maggie Bliss needs to do is write. Forty-eight years old and newly single (again!), she ventures to Paris in a last-ditch effort to finish her manuscript. With a marvelous apartment at her fingertips and an elegant housekeeper to meet her every need, a finished book—and her dream of finally taking her career over the top—is surely within her grasp. After all, how could she find anything except inspiration in Paris, with its sophistication, food, and romance in the air? But the clock is running out, and between her charming ex-husband arriving in France for vacation and a handsome Frenchman appearing one morning in her bathtub, Maggie’s previously undisturbed peace goes by the wayside. Charming and heartfelt, Dee Ernst’s Maggie Finds Her Muse is a delightful and feel-good novel about finding love, confidence, and inspiration in all the best places.

This book is on NetGalley – St. Martin’s Press (St. Martin’s Griffin)

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Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend—the girl she loves. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate, Colwick Hall, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, she seizes her chance to redeem herself. The mansion is crumbling, icy winds haunt the caved-in halls, and her eccentric host forbids her from leaving her room after dark. Worse, Wren’s patient isn’t a servant at all but Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s sworn enemy. Hal also came to Colwick Hall for redemption, but the secrets in the estate may lead to both of their deaths. With sinister forces at work, Wren and Hal realize they’ll have to join together if they have any hope of saving their kingdoms. But as Wren circles closer to the nefarious truth behind Hal’s illness, they realize they have no escape from the monsters within the mansion. All they have is each other, and a startling desire that could be their downfall.

This book is on NetGalley – St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday Books)

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Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo’s sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there’s more to the group than meets the eye. She’s spent the last six years of her life trying–and failing–to prove it.

“The Unity Project murdered my son.”

When a man shows up at the magazine Lo works for claiming The Unity Project killed his son, Lo sees the perfect opportunity to expose the group and reunite with Bea once and for all. When her investigation puts her in the direct path of its charismatic and mysterious leader, Lev Warren, he proposes a deal: if she can prove the worst of her suspicions about The Unity Project, she may expose them. If she can’t, she must finally leave them alone. But as Lo delves deeper into The Project, the lives of its members, and spends more time with Lev, it upends everything she thought she knew about her sister, herself, cults, and the world around her–to the point she can no longer tell what’s real or true. Lo never thought she could afford to believe in Lev Warren . . . but now she doesn’t know if she can afford not to.

This book is on NetGalley – St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday Books)

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Four days…
Trapped in a well, surrounded by dirt, scratching at the walls trying to find a way out.
Four days of a thirst so strong, that when it finally rains, I drink as much as possible from the dripping walls, not even caring how much dirt comes with it.

Six months…
Since my escape. Since no one believed I was taken to begin with – from my own bed, after a party, when no one else was home…
Six months of trying to find answers and being told instead that I made the whole incident up.

One month…
Since I logged on to the Jane Anonymous site for the first time and found a community of survivors who listen without judgment, provide advice, and console each other when needed.
A month of chatting with a survivor whose story eerily mirrors my own: a girl who’s been receiving triggering clues, just like me, and who could help me find the answers I’m searching for.

Three days…
Since she mysteriously disappears, and since I’m forced to ask the questions: will my chance to find out what happened to me vanish with her? And will I be next?

This book is on NetGalley – St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday Books)

In case you missed any of my posts last week, you can find them here:

• Tuesday: Book review of a very short mystery entitled Into the Void by Christina O’Reilly – blog tour
• Wednesday: WWW Wednesday – featuring Barnabas Tew, Namesake, and It’s Raining Men
• Thursday: Two book reviews in one post on two books in a series – Black River and White Horse by Joss Sterling (they are very funny hard-boiled mystery books)
• Friday: Book Blogger Hop – this week’s question is What is Your Favorite Social Media and Why?

Next week, you can look forward to the following:

• Tuesday: Book Review | Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten (mystery)
• Wednesday: WWW Wednesday
• Thursday: Book Review | Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Hellenic Abduction by Columbkill Noonan (mystery and fantasy mixed)
• Friday: Book Blogger Hop and this week”s question is, Have you ever started reading a book and suddenly realized you’ve already read it?

I’m halfway through! I got hung up on trying to figure the following out (feel free to weigh in):

If a person has a magical ability that allows her to connect to animals – she can see what they see and hear what they hear – would she see things as that animal sees things AND would she understand words spoken as the animal would (which is basically just as sounds that do not have meaning) or as she normally would?

Since I haven’t figured that out yet, I focused mainly on editing. But still that is words done!

So, confession time. I have been known to watch a Real Housewives or two. I used to watch New York and New Jersey, then when I tired of those I switched to Beverly Hills and Dallas. Well, a new one started this week – The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and oh, boy – they bring a whole new layer of crazy to the show with the addition of religion (it is the home of the Mormon religion after all).

It’s good to see some of my favorite network shows coming back like Grey’s Anatomy, The Blacklist and Young Sheldon, and I’m so sad to watch the last episodes of Supernatural. It’s been on for so long! Jared Padalecki will be back soon with the remake of Walker, Texas Ranger. I would have pegged Jensen Ackles for that role, out of the two of them, but what do I know.

That’s all for this week. Hope you all have a good one!