Tag: Reading

December 2020 Reading Wrap Up

Published on by Meaghan Elizabeth1 Comment

Hello Lovely Readers! It has been awhile. I hope, despite everything that was different about this year, that your holidays were good and that you were able to find some bright spots. My Christmas was definitely different, but there were still bright spots and happy memories that will come out of it. In some ways it was also nice to have a more relaxed season and to have a few days that were genuinely “off” time to recuperate a bit from how busy December was for me work wise.

Early in the month my reading got a major kick start when In A Holidaze came available from the library. I was on the wait list since the release date and was certain that it would come available in time for Christmas in July if I was lucky, so I was beyond excited when I got it in perfect time to read for this Christmas. As you will see below, it was exactly what I needed to get me into the reading mood.

If you can think way back to the beginning of December, you might recall that I am testing out the idea of setting myself both seasonal and monthly reading Bingos. We are currently in the middle of the first seasonal Bingo, so I’m not going to talk about that one, but I have completed the first of the monthly Bingos, and I am going to incorporate the results into the wrap ups below and then at the very end we can take a look at the finished product and see how I did with my board.

1. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (3 Stars)
Family and Friends

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

I originally added this to my TBR back in October with the intention to read it for one of my spooky or atmospheric reads. I didn’t have any trouble getting it from the library, but I had real trouble actually picking it up, and then even when I finally started it, I could not get past the first chapter. I wish that I could say that it was worth pushing through and finishing, but I found it to be an average read. I gave it a 3 stars because I didn’t dislike it in anyway, and there were aspects of the main character that I really enjoyed, but overall I found it just okay. I used this book for the “Family and Friends” prompt, and if you have read this book you will know that it’s a bit tongue in cheek but also very fitting.

2. In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren (5 Stars)
A Book Published in 2020

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

This is the latest Christina Lauren romance, and this time there is a bit of a time travel twist mixed in that I was 100% there for. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and though I have only read 3 Christina Lauren novels so far, this one may have pushed The Unhoneymooners out of it’s place as my favourite, though only time will tell. I loved the groundhog day/time travel aspect and I loved how the romance developed between the main characters. I also really enjoyed seeing the main character’s growth and the way she came into herself over the course of the book. Overall, this was the perfect holiday romance for this year and it was exactly what I needed to get me into the reading mood.

3. Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich (1 Star)
A Christmas Mystery

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

This is the first Janet Evanovich book I have read and, based on her popularity I expected so much more. I may still give her another try since I have since discovered that Goodreads has very mixed reviews for this particular novella – people either love it or they absolutely hate it as compared to her other works. The only thing I enjoyed about this novella was that there was occasionally a great line of dialogue or thought from the main character that makes me think she may be enjoyable in a different story. Not only was this story too short and underdeveloped, but some of it was borderline, if not outright offensive. I don’t give 1 star ratings very often, because I think that sometimes it is just that a book was not right for me, but in this case I would actively recommend that you do not pick this book up.

4. Americanos, Apple Pies, and Art Thieves by Harper Lin (4 Stars)
Many Happy Returns

Americanos, Apple Pie and Art Thieves by Harper Lin

This is book 5 in the Cape Bay Cafe mystery series, and like the others in this series, I really enjoyed it. I have found this to be a solid cozy mystery series and I don’t know why I’m not making my way through it quicker. I like the main characters and all the secondary characters, and I really like the relationships that the characters have with each other. I am also a sucker for a cozy series set in a cafe, so there is that. The only thing that could have made this better was if I was on the “Christmas” book of the series instead of the Thanksgiving book.

5. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams (4 Stars)
A Book with Green on the Cover

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

This book technically could have counted for one of the free spaces, but it felt a bit cheaty to me to count a book as both “free” and something else. So here we are. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this one, but I had a lot of fun with it. I like the concept of a group of guys reading romance novels and banding together to help each other fix their relationships. I also liked the commentary about romance novels that appeared throughout the story. If you enjoy romance novels, this is one that I would recommend, and I look forward to picking up the second book in the series.

6. Snowy Nights at the Loney Hearts by Karen King (3.5 Stars)
A Christmas Romance

Snowy Nights at the Lonely Hearts Hotel by Karen King

This book was a pleasant surprise. It was one that I picked up on a deal on Kindle, and since I have mixed success with those picks, I am always happy when I find a winner. I liked that the Christmas theme was prevalent throughout the story instead of just being a thin backdrop to an otherwise normal romance story. In this case, the main character is tasked with taking over and running an annual Christmas dinner at her sister’s Bed and Breakfast while her sister is unable to get home from her vacation in time. Overall, this was an enjoyable seasonal read and I am glad that I picked it up. I would read more from this author.

7. Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke (3.5 Stars)
A book that includes Baking

Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

After the disaster that was Visions of Sugar Plums, and my mixed enjoyment of the Leslie Meier seasonal mysteries, I was happy to find myself thoroughly enjoying this book. I liked all of the characters, and I liked that the main character has a bakery. I read this as an audiobook, so the recipes included at the end of each chapter were a bit distracting, but once I realized they were always at the end of the chapter, they became easy to skip. Even after discovering that, I found myself listening to them on more than one occasion – who would have thought that listening to someone read a recipe aloud could be so enjoyable. This is book 26 in the Hannah Swensen series, but it is the first one that I read and I had no trouble understanding what was going on. I will be adding more in this series to my TBR over the upcoming year.

8. Promise of Love by Tamie Dearen (2 Stars)
A Book with Red on the cover

Promis of Love by Tamie Dearen

After being pleasantly surprised with the last two books on this list, this one was a let down. I wanted another fun Christmas romance, and though this one fit the category, I did not enjoy it. I didn’t like the main character, I didn’t like her love interests, and there was something off about the pacing. I wrote in my Goodreads review that the book felt like it was trying too hard and I stand by that still. I don’t think I will be picking up anything else from this author.

9. Small Favor by Jim Butcher (4 Stars)
A fantasy Read

Small Favor by Jim Butcher

I don’t really have anything to say about this one other than that it was another solid, and enjoyable entry in the Dresden files series. I am still enjoying this series, though I am starting to get concerned because I know that there is a book coming up shortly that takes the series in a different direction that people either love or hate. I am both looking forward to that book and dreading it.

Other Completed Squares

  • Read 5 Books
  • Snuggle up by the Tree or Fire
  • 2 Audiobooks
  • Hit 100 Books in 2020

Missed Squares

  • A Book Under 100 pages or a Short Story
  • Both Free Spaces

I didn’t think it was going to be possible, but I managed to complete all but 3 squares on my Bingo this month – and two of those were free spaces! I am also didn’t need to use any book for more than one square – not counting the “other” category. I would say December Bingo was a success, though honestly I’m not sure how much it shaped my reading. I can’t tell if I picked books to fit the squares or if I got lucky, so I think it’ll take a few more months to determine if this is a good tool to help me meet my reading goals.

And along those lines… you may have already guessed this, but there is not going to be a Bingo for January. It’s only the second month in and I’ve already missed it. I am going to try for February, because I did enjoy the process, but I may end up abandoning the monthly Bingos and focus on the seasonal ones only. I love the idea of Bingo, but I can’t help feeling there has to be some other, more original, game idea that would work for me.

How did your reading go in December? Has your January reading game started out strong or, like me, are you struggling to actually pick up a book and read? Let me know your favourite read from December in the comments.

Until Next Time,

Meaghan Signature
Fall Leaves on a Book

Fall 2020 Reading Wrap Up – How Did I Do?

Published on by Meaghan Elizabeth

Hi Friends, as I was working on my new post for this week, I discovered that this post somehow got stuck as a scheduled post and never went live. Since I spent the time working on it, I decided to post it even though it’s late. I hope you enjoy this bonus, very late, fall wrap up. I will see you with my December wrap up on Thursday!

Hello Lovely Readers! I am a bit behind with this post (can you believe next week is Christmas?!), but I still wanted to take the time to review my fall reading. For those of you that are new, I am terrible at following reading lists and reading goals, but I still like to set myself seasonal challenges and goals to work towards. I try to keep them broad and include many categories so that I don’t get bored or discouraged.

This Fall, I set myself a number of reading goals that I shared with you all here, and now it is time to see how I did. I decided that the easiest way to review my goals was to list them below alongside the discussion of whether I met the goal or not. I set myself 4 main goals each of which had either specific books listed along with them or sub-goals.

I read a total of 23 books, 9 of which were audiobooks. I DNF’d 2 books and my average rating was 3.5 Stars.

Goal #1: Fantasy

My focus for this goal was to read more fantasy overall and focus on those that were atmospheric or had “fall vibes.” Of the specific books that I listed for this category, I read only one – Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab. Though I didn’t do well with reading the specific books that I chose, I am going to mark this goal as successful. Overall this Fall I read 8 Fantasy novels and 5 or 6 of them were atmospheric. My fantasy game was on point this season.

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
I honestly cannot get enough of The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher right now

My favourite book from this goal was probably Dead Beat by Jim butcher, but almost any of the books I read from the Dresden Files would fit.

Goal # 2: Fright

This category included more than just your typical scary books; it also included some mysteries and thrillers and some fantasy. When I first reviewed this goal, I thought that I was unsuccessful, but when I looked a bit further, I did not too bad. I would say that I had mid-level success in this category.

I read Home Before Dark by Riley Sager and The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw, which were both on the list. I did not read We Have Always Lived in the Castle but I started it and, hopefully, I can finish it this month. If I didn’t slip into a bit of a reading slump, I would have finished it since it is short. I also read a couple of miscellaneous thrillers, with mixed success, as I didn’t love any of them.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
I loved this book. Definitely my favourite Riley Sager so far

My favourite book from this goal was definitely Home Before Dark, which I think was also my only 5 Star read this season. If you have not picked this one up yet, and enjoy books that are ghostly and creepy but not too scary, then I would highly recommend this one.

Goal #3: Cozy and Chic

This goal was intended to be a mixture of cozy, and less intense, mysteries as well as chick-lit. It’s an odd combination, but it worked for me. There was one sub-goal in this category that I did not meet (reading a Murder She Wrote novel), but overall I did very well. It was probably the most successful category this season. In addition to the specific sub-goals below, I also read 3 additional books in this category.

I) Read at least 2 Leslie Meier books – I read all 3 of Meier’s Halloween themed mysteries. I still have mixed opinions about this series, but I don’t regret reading any of them, so that is a bonus. I am going to continue reading this series.

II) At least 1 Agatha Christie – Though I successfully met this goal, the book I chose was my most disappointing read this season. I read Hallowe’en Party and I did not enjoy it. You can see more of my thoughts here, but I would not recommend this one if you are looking to get into Agatha Christie.

III) Start a new series by Samantha Chase – I started the Shaugnessy Brothers series this fall, and I am really excited to continue reading it. The book I read, Made for Us, wasn’t my favourite by Chase, but it was a solid read and exactly what I was looking for out of this type of romance novel.

A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore

My favourite book from this goal was A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore, which I talked about last week.

Goal #4: Miscellaneous

I had a few more general reading goals for the fall and a few books that didn’t fit into the other categories that I wanted to share as well. When I set these goals, I suspected that they would be the ones I was least likely to accomplish, and I was only partially correct in that prediction.

I) Make some progress on my “Book Lists” – I didn’t do all that well with this category, though I did read one book off my “must reads list” for this year. After putting it off for so long, I finally picked up An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green, and I am so glad that I did.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
I ended up enjoying this book more than I anticipated. An excellent intro Sci-Fi read in my opinion

II) One or Two Non-fiction books – I actually managed to read one non-fiction book this season. I wasn’t going to count it, because it was a book I had to read as part of a weekly Bible study I joined. But then I decided that I chose to join the study, and I chose to read the book each week, so it should count. Baby steps.

III) Graphic Novels – I read one book for this category, and though I really enjoyed it, I would say that I was not successful in meeting this goal. The primary reason for setting this goal was to read The Lumberjanes and I did not do that. This goal will continue into the winter season.

IV) Something Mermaid – I am so disappointed that I did not accomplish this goal. I had a book for this category out from the e-library for at least a month, maybe two, and I just never picked it up. Perhaps I’ll read it in the next few months.

V) Start a ‘Walking Book’– I did not meet this goal even a little bit. Though I was doing well at walking most days during the week during September, I didn’t manage to keep up with that habit, and when I did walk, I was either with someone or listening to music. I do still want to work towards walking more, so maybe this will be a goal I revisit next year, but we shall see.

Though there were a few sub-goals and books on this list that I did not read or accomplish, I think that overall I had a successful reading season. I met many of my goals, and though I didn’t read as many books as I would have liked in November, I read a lot of books this fall that I really enjoyed. Depending on how you do with goals, you may think that my results are disappointing, but knowing me as I do, I would say this is a resounding success. I am looking forward to seeing how I do with my Winter Reading Goals that I shared last week.

How would you rate your fall reading? Did you accomplish your reading goals or read all the books you hoped to read? What was your favourite book that you read this fall? Let me know in the comments!

Until Next Time,

Meaghan Signature

Summer Reading Wrap Up

Published on by Meaghan Elizabeth

Hello Friends, and welcome back! It has been awhile. When last we spoke, it was the middle of July and I was bringing you my June reading wrap up. And here we are in the middle of September and, though I’m back with another reading wrap up, it’s now for the entire rest of the summer.

I took a bit of an unplanned writing hiatus this summer. Between the stresses of figuring out whether or not we were still going to Newfoundland this year, and a number of big family things that happened between the end of July and the end of August, writing just didn’t happen. My one week break turned into two, and then next thing I knew, it was the middle of September, and it had been two months without a single post.

With previous blogs and writing projects, this break would have been enough to make me quit the project all together. But I’m trying really hard not to do that this time. 2020 has been such a crazy year that I’m trying to give myself a good measure of grace when things don’t go the way that I’ve planned. Sometimes life demands that you take a break from your projects, and that is okay.

So I’m going to pick myself up, dust of my keyboard, and get back to it. And this month you’re going to get a wrap up that covers two months instead of one.

Speaking of the wrap up… since this post covers two months, and quite a few books, I’m only going to comment on a few of the books individually, and I’m going to try to keep those comments short and sweet. I’m also not going to stay strictly chronological to allow me to group books together to talk about them. Sound good? Okay, let’s get to it.

Book on a blanket in summer. Image by Innviertlerin from Pixabay

July

I had a rocking reading month in July. I read a total of 12 books, 2 of which were audiobooks. I started off the month continuing the paranormal mystery series by Dionne Lister that I started in June. Because these books are like candy, and are fairly short, quick reads, they gave me a significant amount of reading momentum to carry through the rest of the month. I also got on a bit of a romance kick this month, which kept me moving through books at a quick pace.

Dionne Lister book collage

I read 4 more books from the Dionne Lister series I started in June. I enjoyed some more than others, but overall I cannot get enough of this series. I actually had to force myself to pause my reading of this series, because I didn’t want to devour them too quickly. (That reminds me, I think it’s time to pick up the next book…) I won’t go into each book, but if you enjoy cozy mysteries and also enjoy stories that have a paranormal aspect, I would highly recommend you look into this series.

1. Witchslapped in Westerham by Dionne Lister

2. Witch Silenced in Westerham by Dionne Lister

3. Witch Haunted in Westerham by Dionne Lister

4. Killer Witch in Westerham by Dionne Lister

Romance Reads book collage

I read quite of bit of romance this summer and, though they were a mixed bag in terms of quality and enjoyability, for the most part I enjoyed them all. I also think that some of my complaints were less about the books themselves and more about my personal preference when it comes to romance (in particular steaminess level). Of the books listed below, my favourite was without doubt “The Governess Game.”

5. Against Her Rules by Victoria Barbour
You might recognize this title from my post about books set in Newfoundland. If I manage to read a few more from that list, I’ll do a bit of a wrap up, but for now I’ll just say that this one was enjoyable, but the style wasn’t my favourite. If you don’t enjoy “insta-love,” maybe pass this one by. For me, it depends on how it’s done and this one fell just short of the mark.

6. Swipe Right for a Cowboy by Karen Foley

7. Falling for the Highlander by Emma Prince

8. The Governess Game by Tessa Dare
This series is is pretty much everything I want in a romance series. There is plenty of steaminess, and romance (of course), but Dare also incorporates humour, and brings a depth to her characters that is sometimes absent from others in this genre. I cannot wait to pick up book 3.

Mystery and Fantasy Reads book collage

These last few books from July include a little bit of mystery and a little bit of fantasy (okay a lot of fantasy) and, all but the Agatha Christie book, include a combination of both. I have touched on the Jim Butcher series before, and I will again most likely in an upcoming post, so I’ll just tell you a bit about the last book for now.

9. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

10. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

11. Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

12. My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodie Meadows
This series (each of which can be read as standalones), is a perfect combination of historical fiction, fantasy and humour. I would highly recommend the audiobooks, because the narration adds an amazing aspect to the story, especially as the narrators often provide commentary on the story. Even if historical fiction is not your thing, if you enjoy fantasy with a good dose of humour, I would highly recommend you give this series a try.

August

My reading slowed down quite a bit in August. This was partially because work was so busy that I just didn’t feel drawn to reading in the evenings, and partially because I started working on some art/craft projects more regularly. This list is also a bit skewed because I read a very long book at the end of August that I didn’t finish until the beginning of September. In total I read 5 books in August, 2 of which were audiobooks.

Books I read in August book collage

1. Lucky in Love by Carolyn Brown

2. Sweet Nothings by Kim Law

3. The Cat Came Back by Louise Clark
This is the first book in a series that, oddly enough, I forgot I started. This gap in memory is not a comment on the book so much as it is a comment on the craziness that was August. This is another new cozy mystery series that includes a good dash of the fantastic and paranormal. This was a solid first entry, and I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series. (A tip to draw you in… there is a talking cat and he is amazing).

4. Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
I had a lot of fun with this rom-com style book. It was funny, and cute, and I thought the relationships were well developed. I did guess the twist, but despite that the ending was completely worth it and it was just different enough from how I guessed to keep my interest to the very end. If you enjoy fun romances with quirky characters and plenty of movie references, then I would highly recommend you pick this one up.

5. Death Masks by Jim Butcher

Altogether this summer I read 17 books, and I would say that is quite the accomplishment. I enjoyed most of the books I read, and I found a couple new series and new authors that I am excited to continue with. How did your summer reading go? Did you read as many books as you were expecting? What was the best book you picked up this summer?

Until Next Time,

Meaghan Signature