Contact email: mesreads AT gmail.com
###Winner Announcement Posts are linked here.###

GIVEAWAYS ARE NOW LOCATED ON THEIR OWN PAGE - CLICK ON TAB ABOVE; Giveaways also linked on right sidebar.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday January 5, 2015

This meme starts at Book Journey!

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I had another good week with a couple of days off. I am excited for good things in 2015. How about you? 
This coming week is supposed to be cold so we are laying in the firewood and getting ready to hunker down. I hope everyone else stays snug and warm.

Reading was good. I really enjoyed my first two reads of 2015.  I finished five books and posted three reviews. I also posted my usual memes along with several challenge posts. 

I enjoyed visiting on Monday and Wednesday. I hope to keep it up.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:
  • Book Review: The Advent Bride by Mary Connealy; Historical Romance; my rating 4.5.
    Finished Reading:
    1. eBook/Kindle LAST READ OF 2014.


    A Most Inconvenient Marriage
    (Ozark Mountain Romance Book #1)
    by Regina Jennings
    This was a fun read and the last for 2014. 
    The review is linked above.
    Click on book title for full description.



    2. eBook/Kindle FIRST READ OF 2015


    Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT Be Overwhelmed
    Carolyn Mahaney (Author), Nicole Mahaney Whitacre (Author), Kristin Chesemore (Author), Janelle Bradshaw
    I really enjoyed this as my first read for 2015.
    I will post a review this week.
    Click on book title for full description.


    3. eBook/Kindle


    Only Enchanting, A Survivors' Club Novel
    by Mary Balogh
    This is another enjoyable romance by a fav author.
    I will post a review this week.
    Click on book title for full description.



    4. Audible/MP4



    25 Perfect Days
    Written by: Mark Tullius
    Narrated by: Dave Thompson
    This is definitely a Dystopian world you don't want to live in.
    I will post the review this week.
    Click on book title for full description.



    5. Audible/MP4


    FREE: The Jester (A Riyria Chronicles Tale)
    Written by: Michael J. Sullivan
    Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
    This is a very quick story from my own TBR. 
    I listened before downloading my next Audio review book.
    Publisher's Summary
    WHO WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH?
    Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A thief, a candlemaker, an ex-mercenary, and a pig farmer walk into a trap…and what happens to them is no joke. When Riyria is hired to retrieve a jester’s treasure, Royce and Hadrian must match wits with a dwarf who proves to be anything but a fool. Difficult choices will need to be made, and in the end those who laugh last do so because they are the only ones to survive.
    This is a standalone short story of 7,200 words. No prior knowledge of The Riyria Revelations or The Riyria Chronicles is required to enjoy it to its fullest, making this a perfect introduction for new readers or a chance for Riyria veterans to spend a little more time with old friends. The Jester is a story of adventure, bonds of friendship, and a recognition that the choices we make dictates the future we find.
    ©2014 Michael J. Sullivan (P)2014 Audible Inc.




    Currently reading:
    1. eBook/Kindle


    Amish White Christmas Pie
    by Wanda E. Brunstetter
    I am at 40% and this is reading quickly. 
    This is our Ladies' Book Club book for discussion 1/10/15.
    Book Description
    Publication Date: September 1, 2012
    Step into Amish country for this bittersweet holiday romance. Here you’ll meet Will Henderson, a young man tortured by his past, and Karen Yoder, a young woman looking for answers. Add a desperate father searching for his son, and you have all the ingredients for a first-class romance that will inspire and enthrall.



    2. Audio


    The Eighth Day
    Written by: Michael O'Neal
    Narrated by: Robert Martinez
    I like how this has started.
    I received this audio through Audiobook Jukebox.
    Publisher's Summary
    Yesterday they were five ordinary friends. Today they are all that stand between us and extinction...
    Havenbrook, Iowa. Typical small town America, nestled in the rolling plains of the Midwest. Life is simple here. But for high school senior Jay Anderson, it's about to get a whole lot more complicated. Accused of a crime he didn't commit, he is shocked to become an outcast throughout this small community, and becomes suspicious of the townspeople's suddenly strange behavior. Only his friends believe in his innocence, and set out to prove it...
    ...only to find out there is something far more sinister going on here. Who are the mysterious men who have suddenly appeared around town? What is the government hiding at the town's reservoir? Pursued by shadowy forces that would kill to keep the secrets they discover - and the secret Jay holds unknowingly within himself - he and his friends embark on an epic adventure. From the steps of Capitol Hill to the walls of the Kremlin; from the unfriendly skies over Eastern Europe to the treacherous waters of the Caribbean; danger lurks around every corner as these five teenagers seek to uncover what was created on...
    ©2011 Bluewater Press LLC (P)2014 Michael O'Neal



    3. eBook/Kindle


    Exodus 2022
    by Kenneth G. Bennett
    This is interesting even though I am only a couple of chapters in. 
    (I switched to finish book club book first.)
    I received this title through NetGalley
    Book Description
    Publication Date: May 20, 2014 
    Joe Stanton is in agony. Out of his mind over the death of his young daughter.
    Unable to contain his grief, Joe loses control in public, screaming his daughter’s name and causing a huge scene at a hotel on San Juan Island in Washington State.
    Thing is, Joe Stanton doesn’t have a daughter. Never did. And when the authorities arrive they blame the 28-year-old’s outburst on drugs.
     What they don’t yet know is that others up and down the Pacific coast—from the Bering Sea to the Puget Sound—are suffering identical, always fatal mental breakdowns.
     With the help of his girlfriend—the woman he loves and dreams of marrying—Joe struggles to unravel the meaning of the hallucination destroying his mind. As the couple begins to perceive its significance—and Joe’s role in a looming global calamity—they must also outwit a billionaire weapons contractor bent on exploiting Joe’s newfound understanding of the cosmos, and outlast the time bomb ticking in Joe’s brain.


    I will probably start another title before the week ends but I haven't decided which one yet. :-)

    I am reading The One Year Bible again along with my husband and others from our church. I am also listening to the companion commentary online.
    To go a step beyond the Bible reading I am also reading Jesus Daily 365 Interactive Devotions.

    January Schedule:
    January 10 - Amish White Christmas Pie
    January 16 - 26 I'm Dreaming Giveaway Hop
    I am focusing on reading NetGalley titles and TBR titles this month.



    I have three reviews to complete from this week so I am still up to date.
    I am carrying forward five NetGalley review titles I need/would like to read in January.  
    I also have three ebooks from publicist to get to, two more audiobooks and one  author title.


    Welcome to Mailbox Monday.
    Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs.  This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday.
    Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.
    Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

    I received two review titles, one from AudioBook Jukebox and one from NetGalley.
    I purchased three kindle titles before the end of the year. I have determined (well - I'm going to try) not to make any more ebook purchases until April after completion of the TBR Dare event.
    I added more free kindle titles to my library.
    (Although I have gotten to a couple, I still have many author requests to consider and reply to.)

    Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

    Review Titles

    I saw this title at NetGalley and grabbed it before 1/1/15.
    I really like the Study series and am anxious to see how Yelena and Valek are faring.
    by Maria V. Snyder

    I also received an audiobook through Audiobook Jukebox that I had requested in December:

    Time and Again: Book 1 in the History Mystery Series
    Written by: Deborah Heal
    Narrated by: Michelle Babb
    "An old house + A new computer program = The travel opportunity of a lifetime...to another century."


    Won
    None

    Purchased

    I have the second (oops) third in this series in my Audible library. I picked up this one for $1.99 on Kindle in case I wanted to start the series.  All books had to be purchased before 1/1/15 to qualify for the TBR Dare event.

    The Remaining
    D.J. Molles
    The first volume in D.J. Molles's bestselling series, now in a special edition with the bonus novella The Remaining: Faith.



    I purchased these two kindle titles for $.99 each before the end or 2014. 

    Christmas in Camelot (Medieval Christmas Romance Book 1)
    Brenda Jernigan
    "The Greatest Gifts . . . Are Always Unexpected ... "
    This is the last Christmas title I purchased in 2014.
    Camelot is hard to resist on a highly rated story. :-)


    Celtic Cross
    Tammy Doherty
    "Sometimes you have to forget who you are to become who you're meant to be."
    This is a historical Christian romance that looked good to me.


    Free
    Over the past week I added 54 free Kindle titles to my library. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

    9 comments:

    1. Good luck with the book buying break. Not sure I could do it but maybe if you're successful...
      Have a great week, Martha!

      ReplyDelete
    2. Oooh, Shadow Study! I've yet to start the Study series but heard so many great things about it. I hope you enjoy reading this week!


      Take a look at what I'm reading this week.

      ReplyDelete
    3. It looks like your getting off to a great start for the new year! Enjoy your new books!

      ReplyDelete
    4. It sounds like you did a great job keeping up during the holidays. Enjoy your new books!

      ReplyDelete
    5. Nice mix of books! I'm very eager to read Shadow Study too. Happy reading!

      ReplyDelete
    6. Great week for you all around. The book you are reading "Amish White Christmas" is really good to me anyway. I read it in 2011 or 2012. I really enjoy the book. I am not going to give it away how things go or surprises. I hope you enjoy it and let me know how you like. You are welcome to comment and tell me in any of my comments or reviews for it. Enjoy the book. If you have the time, would you please vote in my poll: https://plus.google.com/106671740027571728549/posts/M84EfC14FiT to help me out with getting the word out so I can finish getting the Level Banners done.

      ReplyDelete
    7. Going to be cold here too.

      You have a lot of great books to enjoy.

      Have a great week.

      Elizabeth
      Silver's Reviews
      My Mailbox Monday

      ReplyDelete

    Your comments are always appreciated!

    LinkWithin

    Related Posts with Thumbnails