December 2021 Wrap-up

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and wishing you a very happy new year!

Today I am sharing my final wrap-up for the year 2021. After a couple of months with very little progress, I am very pleased with the amount of reading I accomplished this month. I even surpassed my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal!

Total Books Read in December: 6
Total Books Read in 2021: 54/52

Reading My Favourite Authors

I started this TBR back in October and I am very pleased to say that I finally completed it this month. Although these books are from authors that I have loved in the past, unfortunately none of them earned 5 star ratings.

Favourite Authors Read: 3/3

The Lake House
By: Kate Morton
Genre: Dual Timeline, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Rating: 4/5

The Notebook
By: Nicholas Sparks
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Rating: 2/5

Seasonal Reads

Two of the books I read in December were set near Christmas or were Christmas themed. The other book, features a winter sport.

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping
By: Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 3/5

Ice Magic (Silver Blades 16)
By: Melissa Lowell
Genre: Middle Grade, Series
Rating: 3/5

The Holiday Swap
By: Maggie Knox
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Fiction, ARC
Rating: 3.5/5
NOTE: I was sent a copy of Maggie Knox’s The Holiday Swap, from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Additional Book Completed

From Cradle to Stage
By: Virginia Hanlon Grohl
Genre: Non-fiction, Audio Book, Biography, Memoir, Music
Rating: 4/5

The Stats

Total Number of Books Read: 6
Total Number of Fiction: 5
Total Number of Non-Fiction: 1
Total Books Sent for Review: 1
Total Books Read from My Shelves: 5
Total Library Books Read: 0

Formats Read

Physical Books: 4
eBooks: 1
Audio Books: 1

Currently Reading

A Better Late than Never November 2021 Wrap-up

Total Books Read in November: 2
Total Books Read as of November 30, 2021: 48

Reading My Favourite Authors

I started this TBR back in October, however I finally made some progress during November.

Favourite Authors Read: 1/3

The First Phone Call from Heaven
By: Mitch Albom
Genre: Inspirational Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 4/5

Additional Book Read

Remembrance
By: Alistair MacLeod
Genre: Short Stories, Fiction
Rating: 2.5/5

The Stats

Total Number of Books Read: 2
Total Number of Fiction: 2
Total Number of Non-Fiction: 0
Total Books Sent for Review: 0
Total Books Read from My Shelves: 2
Total Library Books Read: 0

Formats Read

Physical Books: 2
eBooks: 0
Audio Books: 0

Monthly Wrap-up: June 2021

Total Books Read in June: 5
Total Books Read in 2021: 28

I am officially over half way to my goal of reading 52 books in 2021! If I can keep up with the pace I am reading, I believe I will meet my goal, which is so exciting. Did you set any reading goals this year? How are they going?

In a previous post, I shared my current TBR, which was to my backlist books that I have been sent. Below is the progress I made this month:

Backlist Catch-up TBR: 2/7

Backlist Catch-up TBR Books Read in June:

Inheriting Edith
By: Zoe Fishman
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3/5
Note: I won a copy of Inheriting Edith from Goodreads and plan to share my honest review in a future post.

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
By: Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Rating: 4/5
NOTE: I won a copy of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite from Goodreads and plan to share my honest review in a future post.

Additional Books Read:

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy
By: Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Brooklyn Allen
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy
Rating: 4/5

For the Love of Friends
By: Sara Goodman Confino
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Romance
Rating: 3/5
Note: I was sent a copy of For the Love of Friends by Sara Goodman Confino, from the publisher, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Vanishing Half
By: Britt Bennett
Genre: Historical Fiction, Audiobook
Rating: 4/5

DNF

Cut and Run
By: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Narrated by: Meg Ryan, et. Al.
Genre: Audiobook, Comedy
Reason for DNF: The concept of a comedic presentation about organ harvesters, was interesting, however I found it rushed and wasn’t invested enough to keep track of the characters.

The Stats

Total Number of Books Read: 5
Total Number of Fiction: 5
Total Number of Non-Fiction: 0
Total Books Sent for Review: 3
Total Books Read from My Shelves: 4
Total Library Books Read: 1

Formats Read

Physical Books: 2
eBooks: 2
Audio Books: 1

Currently Reading

Waiting on Wednesday: Our Woman in Moscow

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that shines a spotlight on the books we can’t wait to be released in the near future.

Today I would like to share the synopsis for an author that has several titles I’m interested in reading. Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams is set to be released June 1, 2021.

Our Woman in Moscow
By: Beatriz Williams

Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling author of Her Last Flight returns with a gripping and profoundly human story of Cold War espionage and family devotion that proves again why Elin Hilderbrand says Beatriz Williams “is writing the best historical fiction out there.”

In the autumn of 1948, Iris Digby vanishes from her London home with her American diplomat husband and their two children. The world is shocked by the family’s sensational disappearance. Were they eliminated by the Soviet intelligence service? Or have the Digbys defected to Moscow with a trove of the West’s most vital secrets?

Four years later, Ruth Macallister receives a postcard from the twin sister she hasn’t seen since their catastrophic parting in Rome in the summer of 1940, as war engulfed the continent and Iris fell desperately in love with an enigmatic United States Embassy official named Sasha Digby. Within days, Ruth is on her way to Moscow, posing as the wife of counterintelligence agent Sumner Fox in a precarious plot to extract the Digbys from behind the Iron Curtain.

But the complex truth behind Iris’s marriage defies Ruth’s understanding, and as the sisters race toward safety, a dogged Soviet agent forces them to make a heartbreaking choice between two irreconcilable loyalties.

Source: Always With a Book

Top 10 Tuesday: Amusing Book Titles

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s topic we are sharing for Top 10 Tuesday is Funny Book Titles, which I have adapted to Amusing Book Titles.

I love a title with a pun. It might not give me those laugh out loud feelings, but they definitely put a smile on my face and attract me towards the book.

• One series that comes to mind when I think of clever title names is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I especially like how the “Between the Numbers” novels are a play on words with the last name of the main character.

Visions of Sugar Plums (Stephanie Plum 8.5) by Janet Evanovich

Plum Lovin’ (Stephanie Plum 12.5) by Janet Evanovich

Plum Lucky (Stephanie Plum 13.5) by Janet Evanovich

Plum Spooky (Stephanie Plum 14.5) by Janet Evanovich

• Another series that has some very amusing titles is The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson books by Louise Rennison. Here are some of my favourites:

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson 1) by Louise Rennison

On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, 2) by Louise Rennison

• In the same vein or genre as the Georgia Nicolson books are the Mates, Dates series by Cathy Hopkins.

Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras (Mates, Dates, 1) by Cathy Hopkins

• The next book is amusing in that it sounds very unlikely, which only added to its appeal.

The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

• Next is a title that I found amusing simply because I can (or could at the time I read it) totally relate.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

• And finally I had to include this last book because Betty White is amazing! Enough said haha.

If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t) by Betty White

Waiting on Wednesday: The Rose Code

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that shines a spotlight on the books we can’t wait to be released in the near future.

Today I will be sharing the synopsis for Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code, which is set to be released March 9, 2021.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

Synopsis

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over.

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart. 1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter–the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger–and their true enemy–closer… 

Source: Goodreads

Top 10 Tuesday: Happy Mardi Gras!

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today we are celebrating Mardi Gras, on Top 10 Tuesday. Here are some book covers that are purple, yellow and/or green.

The books I will be sharing today are from my TBR list. Hopefully the stories will live up to their beautiful cover colours.

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) by J.K. Rowling
   

2. Only a Paper Moon by Tina Pisco

3. The Wedding Gift by Marlen Suyapa Bodden

4. Hearts of Gold by Catrin Collier

5. Splendor (Luxe, 4) by Ana Godbersen

6. The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy

7. Child of Mine by David & Beverly Lewis

8. Appetite for Violets by Martine Bailey

9. Newbie by Jo Noelle

10. Love Comes Softly Collection by Janette Oke

Charlie’s Corner: Waiting on Wednesday: All You Knead Is Love

Welcome to Charlie’s Corner, named after my little boy. Here I will share children’s product and book reviews.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that shines a spotlight on the books we can’t wait to be released in the near future.

Today I would like to share a middle grade fiction that has caught my eye. Tanya Guerrero’s All You Knead is Love has a 2021 release date.

All You Knead is Love by Tanya Guerrero

Twelve-year-old Alba doesn’t want to live with her estranged grandmother in Barcelona.
But her mother needs her to be far, far away from their home in New York City. Because this is the year that her mother is going to leave Alba’s abusive father. Hopefully. If she’s strong enough to finally, finally do it.
Alba is surprised to find that she loves Barcelona, forming a close relationship with her grandmother, meeting a supportive father figure, and making new friends. Most of all, she discovers a passion and talent for bread baking. When her beloved bakery is threatened with closure, Alba is determined to find a way to save it—and at the same time, she may just come up with a plan to make their family whole again.From the author of How to Make Friends with the Sea comes a heartfelt story of finding one’s chosen family, healing, and baking.

Source: Goodreads

Top 10 Tuesday: Books Written Before I Was Born

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today on Top 10 Tuesday, we are sharing books that were written before we were born.

As I was born in March of 1987, I will be sharing books that were published before that time.

1. The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule Poirot, 6) by Agatha Christie
   Published: 1928
   

2. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Published: 1975

3. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Published: 1982

4. The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew, 1) by Carolyn Keene
Published: 1930

5. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Published: 1910

6. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
Published: 1913

7. Little House in the Big Woods (Little House 1) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Published: 1932

8. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Published: 1943

9. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Published: 1868

10. Time and Again by Jack Finney
Published: 1970

Top 10 Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2020

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s topic for Top 10 Tuesday focuses on the authors we read for the first time in 2020.

In 2020 I read a total for 42 books and 29 of those authors I read for the first time.

Those authors include:

Becky Wade
Sally Hepworth
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Susan Wiggs
Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton
Beth O’Leary
Kimberly Loth
Stephanie Baudet
Jenna Brown
Ashli St. Armant
Ron Roy
Roseanna M. White
Diana Orgain
Michels Mable
Kimberly Freeman
Diane Hoh
Katherine Center
Danny Ben-Moshe
Victoria Thompson
Heather Demetrios
Helena Hunting
Sherry Thomas
Norah McClintock
Amy Sue Nathan
Kelly Harms
Denise Mina
Vi Keeland
Vanessa Kittle
Angie Thomas