Tell Me Something Tuesday

Tell Me Something Tuesday is hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings and discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging.

Question: What things turn you off in a book blurb

Answer: 

I’m in a bit of a time crunch with THE BIG MOVE coming but I wanted to answer this weeks question because it was suggested by one of my best blogging buddies – Roberta from Offbeat YA
So I’ll keep it quick….

1. LOVE TRIANGLES
2. New/awkward girl in town meets loner/usually angry hot boy.
3. New/awkward girl all of sudden has special secret powers and is the only one who can solve anything - thereby becoming a boy magnet. lol
4. Blurbs that compare a book to the best seller of the moment.
5. Anything that promises to make me cry or rip my heart to shreds
6. Rich kids in secret societies/boarding schools that do awful things things to people
7. Romances that sell the hero as an asshole but he’s good in bed/so hot the heroine can’t resist him
8. Super twisty plots that are the start to a series. I can handle one book but when it drags out over 3+ – I’m out.

Are there any thing you read in a blurb that make you run for the hills?

My Monday Musings...Big changes ahead

I had taken a few weeks off because of my hand injury. But now I’ll be pretty scarce until probably late March because….

I’M MOVING!

Kevin got a job in Washington State so we’ll be leaving Florida and driving out that way around early March.

It’s a mad rush to get our house ready to put up for sale, purge all our crap, pack what’s left and plan for the actual 6-ish day road trip with Fonzi and Figment.

Figment. In a car for 8-10 hours for 6-7 days. Figment. I can’t even tell you the anxiety this is causing me. He’s hysterical and stressed when everything is going right in his world. Trapped in a car and staying at a new hotel every night?? This should be fun. lol

And it’s been stressful knowing I have to say goodbye to the house I’ve lived in for almost 20 years and renovated to my tastes. We’re moving to a 2 bedroom town home so we need to get rid of A LOT of stuff.

And yes, I’ve watched Marie Kondo and cleaned my bedroom and kitchen accordingly and can probably fit those rooms into one box now lol

I feel like I’ve been going through the five stages of grief. At first I was resistant and sad but now I’m also taking in to account the good things and new opportunities that will come out way. We did live near Seattle in the 90's and have a friend that lives nearby so it's not entirely new to us.

Kevin will have a great job and we’ll be living somewhere that’s absolutely gorgeous with lots of outdoor activities and we’ll be close to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington for a taste of city life.

And no more hurricanes or 90 degree, 100% humidity summers!

So, for obvious reasons, my reading & blogging will be limited but I should be able to finally learn to read audiobooks with 6 days of being in a car non stop!

Speaking of – I did just finish the audiobook of 29 Dates by Melissa de la Cruz and it was pretty cute.

Jisu's traditional South Korean parents are concerned by what they see as her lack of attention to her schoolwork and her future. Working with Seoul's premiere matchmaker to find the right boyfriend is one step toward ensuring Jisu's success, and going on the recommended dates is Jisu's compromise to please her parents while finding space to figure out her own dreams. But when she flubs a test then skips out on a date to spend time with friends, her fed-up parents shock her by shipping her off to a private school in San Francisco. Where she'll have the opportunity to shine academically—and be set up on more dates!

Navigating her host family, her new city and school, and more dates, Jisu finds comfort in taking the photographs that populate her ever-growing social media account. Soon attention from two very different boys sends Jisu into a tailspin of soul-searching. As her passion for photography lights her on fire, does she even want to find The One? 

And what if her One isn't parent and matchmaker approved?

Jisu was adorable and I think this is one of those cases that I would have been annoyed with her if I was physically reading the book as she got baffled by boys and pressure from her parents – but liked her more by listening. It was a light, fluffy read.

And in exciting news! If you recall – I won a copy of Death Prefers Blondes on Goodreads and I was pretty sure I was never going to get it but Feiwel & Friends came though and I DID!! Hopefully, I’ll have some time to squeeze it in.

That’s it for now – things to do and all that! I’ll try to pop in a visit you all here and there.





What are you reading this week? Give me some suggestions for audiobooks I should consider.

TBB Asks–Keep Me Entertained

Book(s) you have read multiple times: I haven’t re-read a book in years. Too many TBR books and new ones to keep up with. This is something I’m making time for in 2019 though! Anyway – back in the day I read and re-read the Sookie Stackhouse novels (1-4) several times PER week, along with Jeanine Frost’s Night Huntress series and Jeri Smith-Ready’s WVMP vampire series. I detect a theme lol I was going through a vampire phase.

Favorite book/author of all time: I’m not a big *favorites* person but Jeri Smith-Ready. She writes in a lot of different genres – UF, fantasy, NA contemporary, YA sci-fi and I love when an author can do that well. And because she reignited my love of music with her WVMP Radio series. Full disclosure – she’s also become a personal friend and I beta read for her – but I felt that before this all happened.

Ann Aguirre, for similar reasons – she keeps mixing up the genres she writes in and her Sirantha Jax series brought me to the sci-fi romance genre and her dystopian Razorland trilogy is one of my faves. Again – I want to disclose that we have become (online friends and I beta read for her)

I also will pretty much read anything Annabeth Albert, Stacey Kade and Tammara Webber write.

Favorite TV show to binge: Not a big binge watcher but my husband and I set aside everything when a new season of Stranger Things drops.

Favorite new-ish TV show: This is not a new show but S5 just started - Schitt’s Creek. They just added seasons 1-4 to Netflix and now everyone is giving it the attention it deserves (yay!) but I've been watching since the start. The characters were HORRIBLE at first but it’s evolved to such a sweet, nuanced show.

Favorite movie of all time: Again…not a big *favorite* person but I do love when Clueless or Shaun of the Dead pop up – but I don’t actually go through the effort to put on a movie to watch over and over.

Movie you are looking forward to watching: Ummmm… I try to see a little of everything when I can but I can’t think of one specific movie I’m dying to see. I don’t  really look ahead. The new Lego movie looks cute, The new MIB but only because of Tessa Thompson.

First concert you attended: Prince!

Ultimate concert (even if it can’t happen): I’ve been to so many amazing shows the past few years but can you really beat an over 3 hour Prince show back in the Purple Rain days as your FIRST concert?? I don’t think so.

Favorite music artist/band: Currently... Twenty One Pilots – their songs really resonate with me. I also love Leon Bridges and Janelle Monae

How do you listen? Alt Nation on Sirius, Spotify and I get a HD music station on Dish and that’s how I discover quite a bit of my new music.

How do you keep entertained?

My Monday Musings…life and reading update

If you’ve been following my posts (or lack thereof) for the past few weeks, you know that I have tendinitis in my hand and the pain had gone all the way up my arm to my neck. It’s been going on for over a month so I had to really take this seriously and rest my arm for an extended period of time.

This past week I went for a massage and she got the spot in my neck that was so tight and hoo-boy did it hurt. I didn’t know if I was going to punch her and start bawling BUT it finally released all that tightness so my hand and arm stretches finally started to make a difference.

I also took a break from my phone and computer – allowing myself only an hour or so per day and only in small increments. I’m going to give it another week so I don’t backslide but will hopefully return to blogging and commenting next week.

In the meantime I realized that my Macmillan winter ARC box had a few January releases that I have to get to. For some reason I didn’t think there were any until February/March. Bad blogger.

The Electric War is about the Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse’s race to light the world, All is Fair is a Swoon Reads book (always adorable) YA historical with spies and international intrigue, and The Wild Lands is thriller that sounds a bit dystopian. There’s a natural disaster (fire) that destroys all the wild lands in Alaska and several teens have to survive the harsh conditions together.

(And I LOVE my new mug - "Due to unfortunate circumstances I'M AWAKE"




READ

I finally read things!


The Memory or You by Jamie Beck was a KU read with free audible so I listened to it on audio. – This was a second chance romance when both LI move back home to their small town after a lot of hard knocks.
Ryan is a separated, single dad going through a tough divorce, while Steffie is starting a new remodeling business and a new life back home after a brutal attack.
This wasn’t bad – both Steffie and Ryan are good people but OMG Ryan can hold a grudge and Steffie (& all of her friends) spend most of the book telling other people how to fix their lives while they do the complete opposite. Not bad but kind of frustrating and there's a lot of  time spent on setup for the future couples.




Love `a la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm was a delightful little story about food, cooking, travel, friends with a pinch of romance. If you are a fan of any of the Food Network competition shows, food documentaries or celebrity chefs this is the book for you. If you aren’t – some of the references might go over your head. I would love for there to be companion novels for some of the other
cooking school students.





REVIEW READING



Noble Hops by Layla Reyne – the 3rd book in the romantic suspense Trouble Brewing trilogy

Not Dead Yet by Jenn Burke – book #1 in a new PNR, mystery series

Both come out in February

WON



I never win anything but I won Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig over on Goodreads. now let’s see if the publisher ever sends it lol

READING CHALLENGE

2019 Reading Challenge

Karen has read 2 books toward her goal of 50 books.

hide

2 of 50 (4%)

view books

I always set my goal lower and then adjust it as I go. I usually end up reading about 150-ish books each year. Rough start so far but some months are better than others.

I've also been watching some Netflix and if my hand continues to improve, I hope to be able to post about that soon Since I have 0 books read to review lol

And, same as last week, I'm trying to keep up with my blog visits but be patient with me for a little longer.

So what are you all up to? Reading or watching anything good?

My Monday Musings…

Going on week…whatever. I've lost track at this point – of my wrist/arm/neck issue. It is getting better thanks to rest, massage, physical therapy and drugs but it’s tough not using my right hand then trying to use my phone or computer for even basic things and hurting it again. I’m restricting my phone/computer use and trying to use voice to text when I can but it's slow going.

So bear with me while I verrrry slowly visit and comment on your blogs. I’m trying to hit up 5-6 per day.

I have started reading again a bit. Finally! I went 4 weeks without reading. It always feels weird when I don’t read for an extended period of time but I’ve also learned to roll with it because it’s my brain telling me to take a break to avoid burnout.

Here’s a quick update of my January reading plans. (I’m not even going to recap December because I only read 2 books lol)

January TBR:



I already read Love `a la Mode and it was adorable. Heavy on the foodie references with a dash or romance. I’m hoping to be able to type up a review in the next week or so.

This week in reading:



96 Words For Love is up next.

I’ve been reading Reindeer Games: A Holiday Romance Anthology since November and at the pace I’m going I might have it done in time for next Christmas lol

But the first story, His For The Holiday - a M/M romance by Helen Kay Dimon – A recluse professor & a former graduate student (although he’s much older by the tie the romance happens) - was very good - the second story, Dysfunctional - a M/f romance, by Eve Dangerfield was scorching hot with the swooniest of heroes falling hard for a feisty, jaded heroine who’s sworn off men, sex and relationships. 7 more stories to go!

And, to rest my hand, I’ve been listening to the audio of The Memory of You by Jamie Beck. It was on KU, which I really need to use more since I paid for it. Single dad and SUPER grumpy hero (he’s been burned a lot in his relationships) reunites with the first girl to break his heart when they both move back to their small home town. A few quibbles but I’m enjoying so far.

What are your reading plans for this week or month?

January 2019 Of Books Giveaway!

I’m joining in again with the monthly Of Books Giveaway Hop hosted by It Starts at Midnight and FLYLēF for January.

It’s a new year so to celebrate - the winner will receive a pre-order for any (one) book coming out in 2019 (or if it already released in January – that’s fine) up to $20 value.

But wait…there’s more!


I missed my 9 year Blogiversary in December so I’ll be picking a second winner for any (one) book up to $15 value (any release date – old/new/pre-order)

This giveaway ends on January 31, 2019 at 12:00am EST.

Need a little inspiration? Check out these lists!

New & Upcoming Book Releases for 2019
Most Anticipated Romance Novels of 2019
YA Novels of 2019

Rules & stuff!

The winner will be announced on February 1st on this post in the rafflecopter form - and notified by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond or I will pick another winner. (read my full * Giveaway Policy here)

International entries OK as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.

To enter – fill out the Rafflecopter form and leave a comment!

I’m going to suggest a few New Years themed prompts for your comment – but if you’re not feeling adventurous just leave a 2019 book release you’re most looking forward to.

~ A bad habit I’m going to break
~ A skill I’d like to learn
~A new place I’d like to visit
~ Book, movie, event you’re most looking forward to in 2019

Extra Entries – not required to enter but thank you if you give me a follow!

My SM links are in the sidebar - Twitter is where I like to chat, Instagram is where I mostly post pics of food, my dog – Fonzi  and a grumpy, clingy cat named Figment and, of course, books, Goodreads if you want to know what I’m reading and Bloglovin to get all my latest posts!

Happy New Year and GOOD LUCK!

And don't forget to visit the other blogs in the linky for more chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway