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

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

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

Waiting on Wednesday: The Cousins

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 Karen M. McManus The Cousins, which is set to be released December 1, 2020.

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Synopsis

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying comes your next obsession. You’ll never feel the same about family again.

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point–not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious–and dark–their family’s past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over–and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

Source: Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday: The End of Her

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 The End of Her by Shari Lapena. After enjoying her previous novel Someone We Know, I am very eager to read more from this author.

The End of Her by Shari Lapena

To be released: July 28, 2020

Synopsis

The new domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and Someone We Know

In upstate New York, Stephanie and Patrick are adjusting to life with their colicky twin babies. The girls are a handful, but Stephanie doesn’t mind being a stay-at-home mom, taking care of them while Patrick does the nine to five to pay the bills.

When a woman from Patrick’s past drops in on them unexpectedly, raising questions about his late first wife, Stephanie supports her husband wholeheartedly. She knows the car accident all those many years ago was just that–an accident. But Erica is persistent, and now she’s threatening to go to the police.

Patrick is afraid his job–and his reputation–will be at risk if he doesn’t put an end to Erica’s questioning immediately. And when the police start digging, Stephanie’s trust in her husband begins to falter and Patrick is primed to lose everything he loves. As their marriage crumbles, Stephanie feels herself coming unglued, and soon she isn’t sure what–or who–to believe. Now the most important thing is to protect her girls, but at what cost?

Source: Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday: The End of Her

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, that shares upcoming books we are excited about.

Today I would like to share a book that is set to be released next week. Although I have only read one book by this author, all of her work sound intriguing to me.

The End of Her by Shari Lapena

To Be Released: July 23, 2020

Synopsis

It starts with a shocking accusation…
Stephanie and Patrick are recently married, with new-born twins. While Stephanie struggles with the disorienting effects of sleep deprivation, there’s one thing she knows for certain – she has everything she ever wanted.
Then a woman from his past arrives and makes a shocking accusation about his first wife. He always claimed her death was an accident – but she says it was murder.
He insists he’s innocent, that this is nothing but a blackmail attempt. But is Patrick telling the truth? Or has Stephanie made a terrible mistake?How will it end?

Source: Goodreads