It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday May 4, 2015

This meme starts at Book Journey! My prayers continue for Sheila's family.


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 have felt better this week although I still have a few sniffles which might be allergy related. Work is steady with a few bumps to take care of.    

I enjoyed my reading and got in some good listening.  I finished two eBooks and three audios.  I posted three reviews (two with giveaways). I also posted the usual memes. :-)

Once again I visited blogs early in the week but not later.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday April 20, 2015.

• Book Review and Giveaways: Sinfully Yours (The Hellions of High Street) by Cara Elliott; Historical Romance; my rating 4.25. Rafflecopter ends 5/3; Separate ebook giveaway ends 5/8/15.

• Book Review and Giveaways: The Brass Giant: A Chroniker City Story by Brooke Johnson; Steampunk, YA; my rating 3.75. Rafflecopter ends 5/15/15.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway May 1, 2015. Open Worldwide. Ends 5/7/2015.

• Audible Book Review: Trident's First Gleaming: A Special Operations Group Thriller by Stephen Templin; Military Thriller, my rating 4.0.

• Sharing Beyond Books #201 Comment Giveaway 5/2/15; Open Worldwide. Ends 5/9/2015.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement May 3, 2015.

Finished Reading:
1. Audible

The Snow Queen
Written by: Hans Christian Andersen
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
This was quick and different. I'll do a quick review later this week..
Click on book title for full description.

2. eBook/Kindle

The Brass Giant: A Chroniker City Story
by Brooke Johnson
I enjoyed the steampunk aspects of this story.
The review and tour giveaway are linked above.
Click on book title for full description.

3. eBook/Kindle

Ride: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Puca Mates Short Book One)
by A.C. James
I received this for Blog Tour and liked it.
My review will post May 6.
Book Description
Publication Date: April 29, 2015
PUCA MATES SHORT #1
*** This a not a full-length book. This novella is part one of a serial romance.***
Felicity Forrest has the perfect job as an investigative blogger for Everyday Supernatural. This curvy girl gets sent to the Aran Islands to find out whether a púca shape shifter is responsible for the strange accidents haunting a construction site.
Niall O’Leary is tall, broody, and totally alpha. His mission is to discover why the veil between the human world and the Realm has lifted. And as the Chieftain’s son he must find a mate or his twin will be promised to a stallion he despises. He has a duty to his family, his clan, and a need for offspring. Otherwise the púca could become nothing more than folklore.
Passion and frustration ignite when a curvy human female tempts his inner stallion like no other. There’s only one problem... She just got out of a relationship that left her broken hearted. Is she ready for a second chance at love?
Categories: BBW Short Stories, Two-Hour Romance Short Reads

4. Audible

StarFire: Vince Lombard, Book 1
Written by: Mike Lee
Narrated by: Jason Brenizer
I really liked this military sci fi story 
from my own Audible library.
 I will post a review this week.
Publisher's Summary
Captain Vince Lombard, G-Marine company commander, is tasked with tracking down a stray ship. The Alliance Military Ship StarFire has gone silent, and previous attempts to locate her have resulted in the loss of more ships. After two previous wars with xenospecies humanity bumped into while expanding into space, no one knows what might be the cause of StarFire's missing in action status. And internal politics between Fleet command and the Galactic Marine Corps might mean that, unless something is done, humanity may get the news it's at war with yet another new race about the time they show up to attack one of the human systems in the sector.
A prequel to the book Fey, this story is a novelization of the story Vince related to Blondie in the previous book, which many readers requested. I'm happy to accommodate my readers by providing this novel-length version of that story.
©2012 Mike Lee (P)2014 Mike Lee

5. Audible

Gabriel: Zero Point: The FREE Prequel Novella: Evan Gabriel Trilogy
Written by: Steve Umstead
Narrated by: Ray Chase
This is a free prequel and I liked this military sci fi also.
I hope to review this week too.
Publisher's Summary
Evan Gabriel wasn't always a feared and respected North American Federation Navy Commander. Before dangerous missions to the ice-bound planet of Poliahu, the deadly jungle world of Eden, and politically corrupt Mars, he was a simple recruit, fighting to make his mark in the elite Naval Special Forces…and was part of a top-secret military experiment that would change his life forever.
Zero Point tells the tale of a young man faced with difficult choices and dangerous trials. Fans of the series will see part of the mysterious past Evan Gabriel carries with him, while listeners new to the series get a preview of what is to come in a military man's haunted life. Zero Point is the true beginning of Evan Gabriel, and his story is just getting started.
©2012 Steve Umstead (P)2013 Podium Publishing

Currently reading:

1. eBook/Kindle

Cassidy (Big Sky Dreams Book 1)
by Lori Wick
Ladies Book Club did meet on May 2 but not all of us had finished the book, including me.
I am enjoying the writing style
and character driven story.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible/MP4

Mail-Order Brides of the West: Trudy
Written by: Debra Holland
Narrated by: Lara Asmundson
I am enjoying this sweet story from my Audible library.
Publisher's Summary
The well-educated daughter of a lawyer, Trudy Bauer arrives at the St. Louis based Mail-Order Brides of the West agency full of excitement for an adventure of a lifetime. She befriends the agency's maid, Evie Davenport, and the two form a strong and lasting friendship. They vow to stay in contact through letters when Evie takes hold of her destiny and arranges a marriage on the sly. Each brave young woman is ready to face whatever an unknown groom and life in Montana can throw her way.
In Holland's book, bride-to-be Trudy Bauer rides the train to Sweetwater Springs, in a Montana Sky Novel. In Fyffe's novel, house servant Evie Davenport travels by stagecoach to Y Knot, Montana in a McCutcheon Family Novel. Through their correspondence, the friends keep each other abreast of their hardships, trials, and tribulations - some of heartbreak, some of love.
©2013 Debra Holland (P)2014 Debra Holland

3. eBook/Kindle

The Shadow Cartel (The Dominic Grey Series)
by Layton Green
I have just started this and 
I think there will be lots of action.
I received this through NetGalley.
Book Description
Publication Date: May 1, 2015
The sins of the past always return…
Called upon by a former love to look into the death of a family friend in Miami, veteran investigator Dominic Grey is sucked into the darkest reaches of international narcotics trafficking. The murders of multiple drug dealers during a bizarre religious ceremony, combined with the appearance of a mythical assassin, take DEA agent Federico Hernandez and CIA operative Lana Valenciano down the same deadly path.
Lying in wait is an enemy known only as the General: a criminal mastermind whose uncanny ability to avoid detection while cowing even the most ruthless of rival cartels has made him a legend.
Thrown together on a covert manhunt, Grey and the two government agents race across the Americas to unearth a dark chapter in the history of the CIA that has spilled into the present—and put them in the crosshairs of an underworld puppeteer with a frightening reach.

I expect I will start a fourth book but I have so many to choose from I'll wait to pick. :-)

5/3/15- I am up to date on Bible reading but not the daily Devotions. I am only reading those sporadically.
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. -- Really enjoying my Bible reading. It seems my eyes are open to more details and meaning. To go a step beyond the Bible reading I am also reading Jesus Daily 365 Interactive Devotions.

May Scheduled -
5/6/15 Tour Book Review Ride: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Puca Mates Short Book One) by A.C. James
No specific date: The Cancer Solution by Jack C. Westman
5/27/15 Tour Book Review Grey (The Romany Outcasts Series, Book 1) by Christi J. Whitney
5/28/15 Tour Book Review The Clockwork Crown (Clockwork Dagger Novels Book 2) by Beth Cato

I posted three reviews last week which leaves four for this week - so far. :-)
I am reading another NetGalley title this week, plus I added one, which gives me five after the one I am reading. I'm thinking I will get to a TBR title this week too.

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 added three review titles and one purchase this week.
Of course I downloaded more free kindle titles to my library.
(Although I have gotten to a couple, I still have many author requests, old and new ones, to consider and reply to.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

I received this title from the author for Blog Tour review May 6.
Ride: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Puca Mates Short Book One)
by A.C. James
"Passion and frustration ignite when a curvy human female tempts his inner stallion like no other. There’s only one problem... She just got out of a relationship that left her broken hearted. Is she ready for a second chance at love?"
Puca Mates Series/Serial Reading

I received this title through Audiobook Jukebox.

The Tempting of Thomas Carrick: 
The Cynster Novels, Book 21

Written by: Stephanie Laurens

Narrated by: Matthew Brenher

"What happens when fate, love, and passion collide?

The number one New York Times best-selling author Stephanie Laurens returns to Scotland with a tale of two lovers irrevocably linked by destiny and passion."

I received this through NetGalley by invitation to review.
My review will post June 30. Release date July 1.

A New Hope (Thunder Point Series)
by Robyn Carr
"Starting over is never easy, but in Thunder Point, where newcomers are welcome and friends become family, it's possible to find yourself again."

Won

None

Purchased

I purchased one Kindle title for $.99 because it really caught my inerest:

The Guardian's Angel 
by Lorrie Farrelly

Free

Over the past week I only added 42 free Kindle titles to my library. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.