By Tessa @TessaTalksBooks Posted on

Sunday Post 12| Can You Believe Today is the Last Day in January?

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

It’s that time of year when I start planning our summer vacation. I’ve been agonizing over the need to get away and the uncertainty of how things will be virus-wise this summer. It seems like such a long way off that surely things will be better, but I know that is very optimistic thinking – not impossible, just optimistic. Last year our beach rental was canceled by the owner but I’m thinking the ones listed this year are not going to do that. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out whether it is a good idea or not. I’m not sure how I am going to figure that out though. But, I do miss the beach.

My older daughter went to a wedding last weekend and instead of returning directly to her apartment off-campus, she came home to us. My child (okay…young adult) has been a walking example of almost everything they warn against during this whole pandemic. And, we keep saying, “Don’t do it,” and keep threatening to limit her to the first floor if she comes home untested, but still she does and still we don’t quarantine her while she is in our home. Luckily, she tested negative again, but my husband could have been spreading the love at work while we waited for her to get results back. Talking to friends with college-aged children, we find that we are not alone in this issue. Have any of you had any issues like this? How do you handle it?

I figured out this week that I can handle a crazy reading/reviewing schedule for a while, but nothing burns me out faster than not taking a few days each week off from blogging. I decided to post two reviews on my normal review days rather than spread them out during the week, and I feel much better. So moving forward, I will continue to do that when I have more than two reviews in a week, except any blog tours scheduled for other days. I got lucky this week and two of the books I reviewed were stories featuring assassins, so it made sense to post on the same day. I will try to do the same for ones to come if at all possible.

How has your week been? Have you been thinking about vacation plans or are you skipping it this year until things return to normal?

New Book Blogger Friends

Here are a few more new bloggers friends I think you all should check them out!

Lou’s Book Stuff – Louise is passionate about books, particularly fantasy, YA, and mystery/thrillers, and she finished her first series at age 8 or 9 – The Famous Five by Enid Blyton.

Carla Loves to Read – Carla is a retired elementary school principal (teacher and librarian) and is very passionate about Children’s books, MG, YA, and Christian series geared to young readers.

Write from Karen – Karen has been blogging since 2005, she is accident prone, wants to publish a novel, and blogs about many things including books. Her latest post is all about naps. Don’t we all love naps? 🙂

Annika Perry – Annika is a writer influenced by her Swedish heritage and Yorkshire upbringing. Her blog contains short stories, poetry, and book reviews.

My book haul this week is just two books from NetGalley. Janet Evanovich is one of my must-buy authors, so I was so happy, awed, amazed etc… to receive an ARC of her next book – one in the O’Hare and Fox series which I love almost as much as the Stephanie Plum series. And the J.T. Ellison book is part of a flash blog tour by Harlequin Trade (meaning short notice). I read Good Girls by her and liked it very much so I’m excited to be part.

The Bounty by Janet Evanovich and Steve Hamilton

FBI agent Kate O’Hare and charming con man Nicholas Fox race against time to uncover a buried train filled with Nazi gold in this thrilling adventure in the “romantic and gripping” (Good Housekeeping) Fox and O’Hare series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich.

Straight as an arrow special agent Kate O’Hare and international con man Nick Fox have brought down some of the biggest criminals out there. But now they face their most dangerous foe yet—a vast, shadowy international organization known only as the Brotherhood.

Directly descended from the Vatican Bank priests who served Hitler during World War II, the Brotherhood is on a frantic search for a lost train loaded with $30 billion in Nazi gold, untouched for over seventy-five years somewhere in the mountains of Eastern Europe.

Kate and Nick know that there is only one man who can find the fortune and bring down the Brotherhood—the same man who taught Nick everything he knows—his father, Quentin. As the stakes get higher, they must also rely on Kate’s own father, Jake, who shares his daughter’s grit and stubbornness. Too bad they can never agree on anything.

From a remote monastery in the Swiss Alps to the lawless desert of the Western Sahara, Kate, Nick, and the two men who made them who they are today must crisscross the world in a desperate scramble to stop their deadliest foe in the biggest adventure of their lives.

Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison

Fast-paced and brilliantly unpredictable, J.T. Ellison’s breathtaking new novel invites you to a wedding none will forget—and some won’t survive.

Jutting from sparkling turquoise waters off the Italian coast, Isle Isola is an idyllic setting for a wedding. In the majestic cliff-top villa owned by the wealthy Compton family, up-and-coming artist Claire Hunter will marry handsome, charming Jack Compton, surrounded by close family, intimate friends…and a host of dark secrets.

From the moment Claire sets foot on the island, something seems amiss. Skeletal remains have just been found. There are other, newer disturbances, too. Menacing texts. A ruined wedding dress. And one troubling shadow hanging over Claire’s otherwise blissful relationship—the strange mystery surrounding Jack’s first wife.

Then a raging storm descends, the power goes out—and the real terror begins…

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

This week is ANOTHER full and busy week. I hope you come back to see the following:

  • Tuesday (2/2): #BlogTour Book Review | The Golden Flame by Emily Victoria (YA Fantasy ☀️☀️☀️☀️)
  • Tuesday (2/1): #BlogTour Book Review | We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen (Sci-fi / Fantasy ☀️☀️☀️☀️)
  • Wednesday (2/3): WWW Wednesday
  • Thursday (2/4): Book Review | Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman (Mystery ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️)
  • Friday (2/5): Book Blogger Hop: What books would you like to see made into Netflix series?
  • Saturday (2/6): #BlogTour Book Review | Murder on the Menu by Fiona Leitch (British Cozy ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️)

I didn’t find anything new to watch this week. I finally finished the latest season of Outpost, an interesting fantasy series on CW. I’m still continuing on with the latest shows of such series as Blacklist, Prodigal Son, Batwoman (love the new actress playing Batwoman and how they handled switching actresses after just one season) and Legacies to name a few 🙂

Did you read, watch, or do anything fun this week?

26 Replies to “Sunday Post 12| Can You Believe Today is the Last Day in January?”

  1. jessicabookworm says:

    Oh Tessa, I so need a holiday, but I daren’t plan or book anything because I fear the disappoint that it will cancelled like last year! 🙁 As for my week it has been a quiet, cold, snowy one. I finished watching series two of A Discovery of Witches and I have been re-reading the classic, Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Take care and happy reading for this coming week. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tessa says:

      When mine was canceled last year, I felt the walls close in on me for the first time. I had to go on a lot of walks to get over it.
      You have snow! We still haven’t had even a light covering. Some winters, we don’t get any at all. Time will tell if this is one of those years.❄️

      Liked by 1 person

  2. nickimags @ Secret Library Book Blog says:

    I don’t think it’s worth me booking anything at the moment as who knows what going to happen between now and the summer! Living on an island makes it worse as well as so we’re going to wait until we’ve had the vaccines and then look into it.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Gayathri Lakshminarayanan says:

    I so need a holiday but I know it is not fair to expect one during these times. I love finding out new blogs from your posts, in fact I look forward to it every week. THNAK YOU!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tessa says:

      It’s like there is a gap in the thought process. My husband and I scratch our heads over it regularly.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. stargazer says:

    It really would be wonderful to be able to travel this summer! I am cautiously optimistic, but since I always tend to book my flights last minute anyway, there is no point starting to plan just yet, when we still don’t know what the situation will be.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tessa says:

      Very true. Luckily, I wouldn’t have to fly but houses aren’t as plentiful as usual, which is to be expected, I guess.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Tessa says:

      Maybe we both will get lucky and it all will become clearer and possible. I miss my happy place 🐬

      Like

    1. Tessa says:

      I kind of am too because I’ve definitely been hiding in my home from the virus by choice, but I just miss the beach immensely 🐬

      We go to Orlando a lot too. We’ve always been big Disney fans, and have been to Harry Potter World at Universal a few times – also love that. Haven’t even considered going there though my oldest daughter has been twice since the pandemic started. I shake my head at her a lot ❤️

      Like

  8. Carla says:

    Thanks for the shout out Tessa. I pretty much read anything. I should be in Florida right now as I go every January and stay until the middle of March. Needless to say, I wasn’t going near that state and actually don’t get out of the house much. I can’t wait until travel restrictions are over, but not until I get my vaccine, so I can travel again, anywhere!!!! I do have a friend with a cottage, so might be able to go and stay with her for a couple of days, she is in my bubble. Have a great week and a wonderful start to February.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tessa says:

      You are welcome! My in-laws winter in Florida and they, of course, didn’t go down this year. It will be so nice when things get back to more of a normal, won’t it?

      Liked by 1 person

  9. D. Wallace Peach says:

    I don’t blame you for accepting the kid into your home. This is so hard and we all do the best we can while crossing our fingers. I’ll bet your summer plans will be fine. We have a small vacation scheduled for June and will go even if we aren’t vaccinated yet. We rented a place with a small kitchen and just won’t eat out. I can’t wait until life returns to “normal!”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tessa says:

      That’s what I was thinking – I would rent a house and not a condo so we won’t have to worry about elevators and crowds and then plan on cooking and carryout. It doesn’t seem much different than at home just will have a pool and the beach nearby 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Julie Anna's Books says:

    We’re planning a Disney trip in the fall of this year, and I feel like everything hopefully should be fine by then! I hope you’ll be set for a summer trip soon – the beach sounds lovely right about now!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tessa says:

      My daughter has gone to Disney World twice since the pandemic started – October and January, and she managed not to get any germs. She told me it’s safer than going to the grocery store but I don’t know where she got that from. I do know Disney takes stuff like that very serious, so I’m sure it’s as safe as it can be. And the beach does sound wonderful. We are missing it very much ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  11. @lynnsbooks says:

    Yes, I feel you with the issue with your daughter. We’re in a similar position with our daughter. She isn’t going out as such but she goes to spend time with her boyfriend and then returns to us, to be fair they are careful. We do keep away from others atm so I guess it’s just us taking the risk but with lockdown we wouldn’t really be going out as such.
    Hope you get a chance to holiday at some point.
    Lynn 😀

    Like

    1. Tessa says:

      We definitely need a vacation. My husband especially, is really starting to feel the lack of freedom.
      And adult or near-adult children definitely present a whole unexpected challenge during a pandemic.❤️

      Liked by 1 person

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