Publisher: Penguin

The Weekly Recap (152)

Posted September 7, 2020 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

Utah is here in California and the house is noisy again. It’s been really quiet with everyone out of the house but Bren’s back from Colorado and the kids were home for the long weekend and are getting ready to head back to Utah but it’s been nice seeing everyone again. RJ and Kaleo came to town with the Utah crew (they’re from Colorado) and it was super funny to catch up with RJ. He is so full of life and so happy, you can’t help but be happy right along with him. I was able to get some reading done, along with some dramas and movies watched so I have stuff to report.

Let’s get into all of the things that I did last week…shall we?

What I’m Currently Reading

The Perfect Rake
by Anne Gracie
Series: The Merridew Sisters #1
Published by Penguin, Berkley on July 5, 2005
Genres: Historical, Romance
Point of View:Third Person
Pages: 361
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2020 Goodreads Challenge

She ran from a brute...

Fleeing violent tyranny, Prudence Merridew escapes with her beautiful younger sisters to London. One of them must marry—and fast. To act as her sisters' chaperone, Prudence invents a secret engagement to a reclusive duke...But when the duke arrives unexpectedly in London, she needs his help to avert disaster.

...into the arms of a rake

Aristocratic Gideon, handsome, rakish and with a strong frivolous streak, casually hijacks Prudence's game, awarding himself a stolen kiss or three along the way. Used to managing sisters and elderly men, Prudence is completely out of her depth with a charming, devious and utterly irresistible rake. And her plot goes terribly—if deliciously—awry...

In preparation for another friend’s zoom call this coming weekend, I need to get this book read. I started it yesterday and I haven’t gotten very far into it but I’ve heard really good things about it so I’m going to power through.

What I Read

Iron and Magic (The Iron Covenant #1) by Ilona Andrews | 4 out of 5
Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels #10) by Ilona Andrews | 4.5 out of 5

I’m finally reading again and that makes me happy. I finished two books and I caught up on the serial that Ilona Andrews is writing on their blog. The Aurelia Ryder story, which I think is going to be Blood Heir that will release in January. DEERRRREEEEKKKKKK!!! That’s all I’m going to say about that one. Well, that, and I LOVE IT!

What I’m Currently Watching

Prison Playbook

Starring: Park Hae Soo, Jung Kyung Ho, Lee Kyu Hyung, Ktystal Jung, Jung Hae In, Kim Kyung Nam
Year Released: 2017
Genres: Drama

With only days before his major league baseball debut, pitcher Kim Je-hyeok unexpectedly lands himself behind bars. He must learn to navigate his new world with its own rules if he wants to survive.

I’ve been very curious about this show ever since I found out that my boy Jung Hae In is in it. I love that guy so when I found out about this one, I looked it up and it sounds like a good one so I started it. So far, so good. I’m enjoying what I’m watching so far and I’m hopeful that it’ll keep my interest throughout the rest of the episodes as well. Fingers crossed, anyway.

What I Watched

Train | 4.25 out of 5
One Spring Night | 3.5 out of 5
Mulan | 4 out of 5
The Table | 2 out of 5

Eye Candy Friday

Noh Ji Wook
Suspicious Partner

What I Reviewed

The Suspect (2013) | 4.5 out of 5
She Was Pretty (2015) | 4.25 out of 5

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

4 Comments
Tags: Currently Reading, Currently Watching, The Weekly Recap, Week in Books, Week in Movies, Week in Review, Week in TV Shows

The Weekly Recap (146)

Posted July 13, 2020 by Rowena in Features | 13 Comments

Hey everyone! Long time, no chat. I’m sorry I up and disappeared and that I seem to keep doing that on the regular. You’d think that since I ain’t going nowhere thanks to this ‘Rona that I’d have all the time in the world to blog and to read and to do all of the things but I’ve sunk into the hole of Korean Dramas and that’s about all I’ve been doing. I’m watching a lot more than I’m reading right now but I’m working on trying to find a balance so that I can, you know, do all of the things.

Things might look a little different around here but I thought a little makeover was long overdue. I also thought that changing the look up might motivate me to start writing again and…it worked! With this new look and a little change of direction, I’m pumped to start blogging again. Now, I know that you guys are here for the book content but I’m thinking of going back to a more personal blog so that I can write about more than just what I’m reading.

So, Welcome Back! Pull up a seat, grab a beer, and let’s catch up, shall we? I missed y’all!

What I’m Currently Reading

Magic Binds
by Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #9
Published by Penguin, Ace on September 20, 2016
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 333
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads

The new, “heart-stopping”* novel in the New York Times bestselling series that “defines urban fantasy.”

Mercenary Kate Daniels knows all too well that magic in post-shift Atlanta is a dangerous business. But nothing she’s faced could have prepared her for this…
Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar…

Kate’s father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power. A Witch Oracle has predicted that if Kate marries the man she loves, Atlanta will burn and she will lose him forever. And the only person Kate can ask for help is long dead.

The odds are impossible. The future is grim. But Kate Daniels has never been one to play by the rules…

After taking almost two months off from reading, I’m back at it again and I’m about a third of the way into this book. I need to finish this series before I jump into any other new to me books because I tried to read a few contemporaries before this one and I couldn’t finish any of them. You know its bad when I tried reading a Lauren Layne book and my attention was all over the place. I couldn’t buckle down long enough to finish the book so I gave up not too far into the story. I blame Kate Daniels. I just need to see where my friends end up after the last book and hopefully, it’s somewhere nice and tidy. So far, this one is good so I’m glad to be back with all of my homies…especially Curran and Kate. So I’m looking forward to finishing this one.

What I Read

Blind Date with a Book Boyfriend by Lucy Eden | 4 out of 5

I finally read a book, y’all! I haven’t read anything since the end of May and though I’ve been trying, nothing has been holding my attention but after chatting on Zoom with my book girlfriends, I picked this one up (at their recommendation) and I’m super glad that I did. It was too cute and super short so just what I needed to kick my ass in gear and start reading again. Thanks Ames and Holly!

What I Got

Blind Date with a Book Boyfriend by Lucy Eden
The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
My Truth by Don Benjamin
The One by John Marrs

What I’m Currently Watching

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)
Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016)

I debated with myself on if I wanted to start Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth right now because I’m running out of Park Seo Joon shows and movies to watch. He is my number one boo thang right now and I want to savor everything of his that I still have left.

What I Watched

My favorite watch of the week is a tie between Strong Woman, Do Bong Soon and Weightlifting Fairy, Kim Bok Joo. Both dramas were kind of similar in the sense that both heroines were physically strong and the love triangle is different in Weightlifting Fairy but I hella loved both of these shows. I enjoyed the romance, the stories, and just everything about both of them. I’ve already made a list of shows and movies that my favorite actors/actresses from both shows are in because I want to see more of them.

My least favorite show from this week goes to The K2. I was looking for a different speed than the other shows I watched and I’ve been hearing such great things about this show so I started it up. It’s on Netflix, the main male lead is FOINE so I thought, why not? While it was interesting and I did like it overall, the beginning was a bit slow and I struggled to connect with both of the main leads for a bit. Still, not bad just not my favorite.

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

13 Comments
Tags: Currently Reading, Currently Watching, The Weekly Recap, Week in Books, Week in Movies, Week in TV Shows

The Weekly Recap (144)

Posted January 13, 2020 by Rowena in Features | 0 Comments

Happy Monday, everyone!

I hope you guys had a good week last week and that this week treats you well. My week was pretty busy at work and then I had some social things that I needed to attend over the weekend so I didn’t get to read as much as I wanted. I still got some reading done so it wasn’t too bad. I went to a baby shower over the weekend and was able to see one of my best friend’s younger sisters who came down to L.A. from Arizona and it was so good to see and catch up with her that it made my entire weekend.

But you know what made my entire week? CAIDEN’S A BIG BROTHER NOW!!

Chloe (Caiden’s Mom) gave birth to Baby Lasi two weeks early and Baby Lasi doesn’t even look like a premie. She’s a big baby already but oh man is she adorable. Everyone has said that Baby Lasi looks like Markus (her Daddy), Caiden but to me, she looks dead on like her Mama did when Chloe was a baby. Baby Lasi is just a little darker than Chloe was and Lasi doesn’t have a strawberry on her forehead the way that Chloe did either. She’s super cute and everyone has already met her except for us California folks. Grandma Blanche and Aunty Blue drove out to meet Baby Lasi yesterday but us folks that couldn’t take the time off have to wait until the end of February to meet her when they come to California for Baby Lasi’s first trip to her California home. I can’t wait!

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading

The Witness
by Nora Roberts
Published by Penguin on April 17, 2012
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Point of View:Third Person
Pages: 492
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2020 A-Z Challenge, 2020 Goodreads Challenge

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems -- and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something -- and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plotline, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today's most reliably entertaining thriller -- and will leave people hungering for more.

I’m about halfway through The Witness by Nora Roberts and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve got to read it for book club next week and it was my choice so I’m glad that so far, it’s good. Even Therese is enjoying the book and she doesn’t enjoy very many of our book club books.

What I Read

The Rebel King (All the Kings Men #2) by Kennedy Ryan (eBook) | 4.25 out of 5
Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen (eARC) | 4.25 out of 5

What I Reviewed

What I Posted

The Weekly Recap (143)

What I Got

Pulling Doubles (The Wright Brothers #2) by Christina C. Jones
Bending the Rules (The Wright Brothers #3) by Christina C. Jones
Christmas with the Wrights (The Wright Brothers #4) by Christina C. Jones

What I Got for Review

Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen
Forbidden Promises by Synithia Williams
One Last Chance (One Day to Forever #3) by Therese Beharrie

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

0 Comments
Tags: Currently Reading, The Weekly Recap, Week in Books, Weekly Reads

The Wednesday Post (21)

Posted October 30, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 6 Comments

Can’t Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tessa over at Wishful Endings and it was based on Waiting on Wednesday that was hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

I decided that I’m going to do a mashup of the Can’t Wait Wednesday and WWW Wednesday posts here on my blog. I’m bringing them together and calling it The Wednesday Post. Here’s what I’m up to this week.

WWW Wednesday

What did you recently finish reading?

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

I finished this last night and enjoyed it. It was a little slow in parts but overall, I thought the story was a good one. I’d read anything by Nalini Singh and I’m happy to report that it remains true of her mystery and suspense stories. 🙂

What are you currently reading?

The One for You (The Ones that Got Away #4) by Roni
Loren

Oh, man, am I excited to jump into this one. I’m going to start it today. I would have started it last night after finishing A Madness of Sunshine but a bitch was tired so I took my ass to sleep but today is all for Kincaid. Yippy skippy!

What do you think you’ll read next?

Open House (Uptown #2) by Ruby Lang
Don’t Break Me by Ash Ley

I’m reading these two bad boys next. Open House is a new addition to my review pile and it comes out in November so I need to get that one read and reviewed but I’m looking forward to reading it since I’ve been seeing good things around Twitter about. I’ve also been seeing good things about Don’t Break Me so I got it on Kindle Unlimited and am going to see for myself how good it is.

Can’t Wait Wednesday

Smoke Bitten
by Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercy Thompson #12
Also in this series: Silver Borne
Published by Penguin, Ace on March 10, 2020
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 368
Add It: Goodreads

Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, faces a threat unlike any other in this thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

I am Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman. My only “superpowers” are that I turn into a thirty-five pound coyote and fix Volkswagens. But I have friends in odd places and a pack of werewolves at my back. It looks like I’m going to need them.

Centuries ago, the fae dwelt in Underhill–until she locked her doors against them. They left behind their great castles and troves of magical artifacts. They abandoned their prisoners and their pets. Without the fae to mind them, those creatures who remained behind roamed freely through Underhill wreaking havoc. Only the deadliest survived.

Now one of those prisoners has escaped. It can look like anyone, any creature it chooses. But if it bites you, it controls you. It lives for chaos and destruction. It can make you do anything–even kill the person you love the most. Now it is here, in the Tri-Cities. In my territory.

It won’t, can’t, remain.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

All I have to say about this upcoming release is…COME TO MAMA! I am all in on the Mercy Thompson train and all of these books later, I’m still Team Mercy. I cannot wait to see what Briggs has planned for Mercy in Smoke Bitten because whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be a good one. At least I have my fingers crossed that it will. This one comes out on March 10, 2020 so there’s still a bit of a wait but we can do it! I’ll gladly wait for more Mercy books.

So, what are you reading this week? Anything good? Anything that you want to rant about?
Are you looking forward to Smoke Bitten? What other books are you looking forward to releasing this year?

6 Comments
Tags: Can't Wait Wednesday, Currently Reading, The Wednesday Post, Week in Books, Weekly Reads, WWW Wednesday

The Weekly Recap (140)

Posted October 28, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

This week was for Friday Night Lights (we lost), Pee Wee Football (we lost), Lakers basketball (we’re finally winning again, yippy skippy!), and a trip to Santa Clarita to visit my cousin’s husband who is in the hospital. It’s been a rough couple of weeks for my cousin and her kids so it was nice to get to spend some time with them and lift their spirits for a little while. If you guys can spare any prayers for Ka Seiuli, that would be great. One of my coworkers lost his Dad to the battle of cancer as well and that makes me super sad for him. It’s been a sad week all around but it’s the start of a new week and hopefully, things turn around.

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading

A Madness of Sunshine
by Nalini Singh
Published by Penguin, Berkley on December 3, 2019
Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Point of View:Third Person
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh welcomes you to a remote town on the edge of the world where even the blinding brightness of the sun can’t mask the darkness that lies deep within a killer…

On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbors; the children, more than schoolmates. That is until one fateful summer—and several vanished bodies—shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement not to look back. But they can’t run from the past forever. Eight years later, a beautiful young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape. It’s not long before the dark past collides with the haunting present and deadly secrets come to light.

Next up on my review pile is A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh. I haven’t seen much about this book so far so I’m going into this one pretty blind. I’m only on Chapter 2 so we’ll see how this goes. This is completely new from Nalini Singh, so I’m mighty curious to see what she brings to the thriller and suspense world. Either way, I’m here for it.

What I Read

Blitzed (The Playbook #3) by Alexa Martin (eARC) | 3.25 out of 5
Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally (eARC) | 4.25 out of 5
Saving Grace by Julie Garwood (eBook) (Re-Read) | 5 out of 5

Getting Played (Getting Some #2) by Emma Chase (Audio) | 4.25 out of 5

I really enjoyed the books that I read this week. My favorite reads of the week go to Getting Played and Four Days of You and Me. Both books were fun and just what I was in the mood for so I adored them. My least favorite read of the week goes to Blitzed because it dragged a big for me. I wasn’t expecting the story to be so slow so it took me a lot longer to connect with the romance, the characters, and just everything.