By Tessa Pulyer Posted on

Sunday Post 020523 | A Good Week

The Sunday Post is a blog news 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 your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See the rules here: Sunday Post Meme

My table and chairs arrived in one piece this week…well, a few pieces but hubby put them together as the instruction sheet indicated (I hope! 🤞 – just a bit of fun at hubby’s expense). It is a standard six-seating sized table but our other table was a round table with a leaf in it, so it was significantly bigger. This one fits in the space much better though, and we’ll adjust.

We also got bigger storage space at a nearby storage facility, so we could fit our youngest daughters’ furniture from college in it along with our stuff. We had been storing it in our two-car garage but it’s so much stuff that no more space was left – barely any to walk through and not even close to enough to put my car inside. I’m happy to report that my car is back in its garage home today!

So, that was my week – how was yours?

NetGalley Book Haul

 ”That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me.” Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her. Rachel and Alistair’s summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized. Joining a post #MeToo discourse, The Girls of Summer grapples with themes of power, sex, and consent, as it explores the complicated nature of memory and trauma––and what it takes to reframe, and reclaim, your own story.
 Staying with a friend and her husband is more intimate—and dangerous—than anyone could imagine in this provocative thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here. Kelly’s new life in Philadelphia has turned into a nightmare: She’s friendless and jobless, and the lockdown has her trapped in a tiny apartment with the man she gave up everything for, who’s just called off their wedding. The only bright spot is her newly rekindled friendship with her childhood friend Sabrina—now a glamorous bestselling author with a handsome, high-powered husband. When they offer Kelly an escape hatch, volunteering the spare room of their remote Virginia mansion, she jumps at the chance to run away from her old life. There, she finds that she loves living with them . . . and, much to her surprise, that she’s falling for both her enchanting hosts. Even more shocking: They say they share Kelly’s feelings and want to open up their marriage for her. At first, the arrangement is blissful. But as their relationship deepens, Kelly begins to notice the cracks. The stories about their romantic past keep changing, and the more details she uncovers, the more things don’t add up. It’s only a matter of time before Kelly discovers the terrifying truth: They’ve done all this before . . . and the last woman is missing. Cut off from the world and in way over her head, Kelly must risk everything to uncover the couple’s secrets—before she becomes their next guest to disappear.
 Seven women, inextricably linked by one man, must figure out which of them killed him in order to protect one another in this electrifying debut thriller. New Year’s Eve, 1999. Seven women are gathered in a hotel room at midnight; a man’s head sits in the center of the floor. They all had a motive to kill Jamie Spellman. They all swear they didn’t. But in order to protect one another, they have to find out who did. The ex, who drowns her darkest secret in a hip flask as the woman she loves drifts further away. The wife, living out her fairytale marriage in a house tucked into woods so thick no one can hear a scream. The widow, praying to a past she no longer knows whether she can trust. The teenager, whose wide-eyed crush has trapped her in an unrecognizable future. The mother figure, battling nature versus nurture under the weight of her own guilt. The friend, forced to choose sides over and over, until she learns the price of choosing wrong. And the journalist, who brought them all together—but underestimated how far one of them would go to keep believing the story they’d been told. Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman’s secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer. Marking the debut of an extraordinary new talent, Speak of the Devil explores the roles into which women are cast in the lives of terrible men…and the fallout when they refuse to play pretend for one moment longer.
Two sisters-in-law find themselves at painful odds when the man who connects them—the brother of one, the husband of the other—is accused of a brutal crime in this twisty thriller from the author of the “exceedingly entertaining” (The New York Times) The Family Plot. Julia and Sienna Larkin are sisters-in-law, connected by Julia’s husband and Sienna’s brother, Jason. More than that, the two are devoted best friends and business partners, believing that theirs is a uniquely unbreakable bond. To Sienna, her protective brother can do no wrong, and although Julia knows he’s not perfect, they’ve built a comfortable life and family together. Recently, Jason has been putting in long hours to secure a promotion at work, so when his boss is found brutally murdered—his lips sewn shut—the Larkins are shocked and unsettled, especially as local gossip swirls. A few days later, Julia and Sienna’s lives are upended when Jason gets into a car accident and is placed in a medically induced coma. Worse, the police arrive with news that he’s the prime suspect in the murder investigation. With Jason unable to respond—and with Julia and Sienna working to clear his name—the two women find their friendship threatened for the first time: Sienna staunchly maintains her brother’s innocence, but as their investigation uncovers a complicated web of secrets, Julia is less sure she’s willing to defend her husband. With her signature “moody and atmospheric” (USA TODAY) writing, Megan Collins has crafted a rich, gripping story that explores just how fragile our closest bonds can be.
From the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and “master of suspense, Megan Miranda” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl), a thrilling mystery about a group of former classmates who reunite to mark the tenth anniversary of a tragic accident—only to have one of the survivors disappear, casting fear and suspicion on the original tragedy. Seven hours in the past. Seven days in the present. Seven survivors remaining. Who would you save? A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors on a school service trip crashed into a Tennessee ravine—a tragedy that claimed the lives of multiple classmates and teachers. The nine students who managed to escape the river that night were irrevocably changed. A year later, after one of the survivors dies by suicide on the anniversary of the crash, the rest of them make a pact: to come together each year to commemorate that terrible night. To keep one another safe. To hold one another accountable. Or both. Their annual meeting place, a house on the Outer Banks, has long been a refuge. But by the tenth anniversary, Cassidy Bent has worked to distance herself from the tragedy, and from the other survivors. She’s changed her mobile number. She’s blocked the others’ email addresses. This year, she is determined to finally break ties once and for all. But on the day of the reunion, she receives a text with an obituary attached: another survivor is gone. Now they are seven—and Cassidy finds herself hurling back toward the group, wild with grief—and suspicion. Almost immediately, something feels off this year. Cassidy is the first to notice when Amaya, annual organizer, slips away, overwhelmed. This wouldn’t raise alarm except for the impending storm. Suddenly, they’re facing the threat of closed roads and surging waters…again. Then Amaya stops responding to her phone. After all they’ve been through, she wouldn’t willfully make them worry. Would she? And—as they promised long ago—each survivor will do whatever he or she can do to save one another. Won’t they? A propulsive and chilling locked-box mystery filled with the dazzling hairpin twists that are the author’s signature, The Only Survivors is New York Times-bestselling author Megan Miranda’s best novel yet.

We gave The Great British Baking Show: The Professionals a watch last night. Below is the original trailer from the UK, but it’s the same one on Netflix – just the title is different (Bake Off vs. The Great British Baking Show)

  • Monday (January 30, 2023) Mystery Monday Book Review: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano
  • Tuesday (January 31, 2023) Publication Day Book Review: The Second You’re Single by Cara Tanamachi (Rom Com)
  • Wednesday (February 1, 2023) WWW Wednesday
  • Thursday (February 2, 2023) Thriller Thursday Book Review: The Drift by C. J. Tudor
  • Friday (February 3, 2023) Book Blogger Hop
  • Monday (February 6, 2023) #MysteryMonday & #WomensFiction Mini-Book Reviews: Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman and Not the Plan by Gia De Cadenet
  • Tuesday (February 7, 2023) Publication Day Book Review: Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher (Rom Com)
  • Wednesday (February 8, 2023) WWW Wednesday
  • Thursday (February 9, 2023) #ThrillerThursday/#FantasyFriday Book Review: Wildwood by Lauren Blackwood
  • Friday (February 10, 2023) Book Blogger Hop

46 Replies to “Sunday Post 020523 | A Good Week”

  1. Dini @ dinipandareads says:

    Looks like you had a busy but great week! I’m not much of a thriller/suspense/mystery reader but some of these books sound really good. I think I’d definitely be interested in checking out The Spare Room. I’ll look forward to your review if/when you read it 🙂 Have a great week ahead, Tessa!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I did have a thriller haul kind of week, didn’t I? It’s funny how genres seem to come to me in spurts.

      Like

  2. Zainab says:

    Ahh glad the chairs have arrived! The Spare Room sounds amazing – can’t wait to hear your thoughts, I need to add it to my TBR!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Harvee Lau says:

    You have some good books, and a lovely table.
    I’ve read The Only Survivors and liked it, the story about high school secrets unusual. Have a good week.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      Thank you for doing this. WP doesn’t link your name with you URL anymore, so it’s the only way I can access your post.

      Like

  7. Janette says:

    Love the table and chairs. It must be nice being able to get your car in the garage too. Love the book haul for this week.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Books Teacup and Reviews says:

    New table and chairs look great. I like square and rectangle tables in home, they look much better than round one. Looks like your week in reading was amazing. Mine is still going as 1 book a week. 😪

    Liked by 1 person

  9. D. Wallace Peach says:

    I still have my daughter’s stuff… and she’s 40! It’s good you got a bigger storage unit, Tessa, but don’t plan on downsizing anytime soon. Lol. At least your garage is usable again. Great book haul this week. That’s a lot of reading on your plate. Enjoy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      Shhh 🤫 Don’t let my husband hear you say that. We’re supposed to be charging my daughter too for the difference in the cost, but, of course, I’m not doing that.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. stargazer says:

    Congrats with the new table and chairs – they look really nice! Storage can be such a pain especially in big cities, where it’s so expensive. It must be nice to be able to use the garage again. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      We live in the suburbs of a big city and the extra cost extended out to those areas too. My husband has moved our storage stuff a few times to get a better deal.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      It’s different judges but the same setup, so it’s very similar except that end results can be pretty amazing. (There still has been epic fails though)

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I love that I got a bunch of thrillers this week. I feel like I haven’t been getting as many lately.

      Like

  13. buffywnabe says:

    The new table looks nice! I always love getting new furniture. I actually got rid of a lot of stuff in my storage facility about a year or so ago, and moved to a smaller space. I need to get in and just get rid of probably most of what is left in there as I haven’t even thought about any of it since the last time I went through it over a year ago. Enjoy your new books!
    https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2023/02/05/weekly-wrap-up-105-february-5th-2023/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      That’ll be the next step, I guess. We’ve talked about needing to go through it but never have.

      Like

  14. Mae Clair says:

    I’m so glad everything worked out with your table. It looks wonderful!

    That’s quite a haul of books you have coming up. The one I’m most interested in is The Only Survivors. That sounds like something that definitely needs to be on my TBR!

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Louise H says:

    The new table and chairs look amazing – I hope you get many years of enjoyment in eating meals there. Your book haul looks fabulous too! I always smile when people say they have watched The Great British Baking Show. It’s called the Great British Bake-off here but is known simply as “Bake-off” by everyone.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. jessicabookworm says:

    Tessa, I am pleased to hear your new dining set arrived and that you have your garage space back. It is so nice getting things sorted isn’t it? My week has flown by again with regular work and then a special trip this weekend to an arts event with some of our young people. Take care and happy reading for the coming week. Blessings, Jessica 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  18. WendyW says:

    Your table and chairs are beautiful. And I’m glad you got your car back in the garage, that is such a nice little luxury. I also have The Girls of Summer.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Teri Polen says:

    The table looks great! I also joke about hubby’s skills – he tends to always have extra parts. More than are provided, lol. Quite a book haul last week!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      My husband came up with coffee for both of us on Sunday morning and declared that he didn’t have any extra parts. (He read my post while the coffee percolated) 😂. They are so fun to tease, aren’t they?

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Jonetta | Blue Mood Café says:

    Ooh, thanks for sharing your new dining set, Tessa💜 It’s lovely and meshes beautifully with your floors.

    Uh, oh. Your NetGalley haul is speaking to me. Off to check these out!

    Liked by 1 person

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