Sunday Post December 27, 2015/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday December 28, 2015

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date.
Thank you to Sheila for the years that she handled this meme.
Thank you to Kathryn for taking up the baton.

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 a wonderful week celebrating the birth of my Savior at Christmas with family. We also celebrated (quietly) my birthday today.
I had a good reading week finishing six books (completing two more challenges) total: five ebooks and one audio. I posted three reviews plus the usual memes.

I enjoyed visiting early in the week. The rest of the week was taken up with family time.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post December 20, 2015/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday December 21, 2015.

• Book Review: The Lord Is My Shepherd: The Psalm 23 Mysteries #1 by Debbie Viguie ; Christian; Mystery; my rating 4.5.

• Audio Book Review: Goon Squad, Vol. 2: Without Sin by Jonathan L. Howard; Sci Fi, Comic Storytelling; my rating 4.0.

• Merry Christmas 2015!

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway December 25, 2015. Open Worldwide. Ends 12/31/2016.

• Book Review: Xenonauts: Crimson Dagger by Lee Stephen; Sci Fi, Fantasy; my rating 4.5.

• Sharing Beyond Books #233 Comment Giveaway December 26, 2015; Open Worldwide. Ends 1/2/15.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement December 27, 2015.

Finished Reading:

1. Audible/MP3

Jingles All the Way: A Christmas Tail
Written by: Barbara Morgenroth
Narrated by: Jane M. Held
This is a sweet dog tale.
I received this audio from the publisher through Audiobook Jukebox.
Click on book title for full description.

2. eBook/Kindle

Xenonauts: Crimson Dagger
by Lee Stephen (Author), Francois Cannels (Illustrator),
Interesting story with action and danger.
See the review linked above.

3. eBook/Kindle

You're Never too Old to Laugh:
A laugh-out-loud collection of cartoons,
quotes, jokes, and trivia on growing older
by Ed Fischer
This easy read and fun title is from my TBR shelf 2012
and my "Y" title for Alphabet Soup Challenge.
Click on book title for full description.

4. eBook/Kindle

Fatal Judgment (Guardians of Justice Book #1): A Novel
by Irene Hannon
This is good Christian, romantic suspense. 
It is one of my TBR Pile Challenge books to be reviewed this week.
Click on book title for full description.

5. eBook/Kindle

Frozen Past (A Jaxon Jennings' Detective Mystery Thriller Series, Book 1)
by Richard C Hale
This fast paced story has a
good bit of killing with good tension.
This is the final book for my TBR Pile Challenge.
Jaxon Jennings. Cop. Homicide detective. Partner. He always had your back and rarely made mistakes.
Until the death of his son. Until the night he couldn’t save him. Until everything he held dear was taken away from him.
Now, a shell of a man, his reckless actions mark him as a burn-out. A Loner. A dangerous man whom many in the Fairfax County Police Department cannot trust. The criminals he pursues in the suburbs of Washington D. C. are nothing more than ways to bide his time until his next drink, next fix, next loss of control. His past haunts him no matter how hard he tries to hide from it.
So, when a boy’s body shows up floating under the ice of a quiet neighborhood pool, Jaxon finds himself immersed in a world where the ghosts of his past feel too close for comfort. A psychopath is using the innocent in ways that appear familiar.
Jaxon’s past is catching up with him. And the anger that seethes below the surface threatens to destroy not only his life, but the lives of a group of kids somehow connected with him. The answers are locked, frozen in the part of his past he refuses to confront. But people are counting on him. And he must do anything to save them.
Anything. Even if it costs him his life.

6. eBook/Kindle

Zion's Road: A Love Story about Faith and Redemption
by Imani Wisdom
This is not quite what I suspected. 
I read this for "Z"  to complete my Alphabet Soup Challenge.
Temptation lurks like a waiting virus, grabbing you when you least expect it, ravishing your heart, mind, and soul—convincing you to take the easy way, instead of staying on the right path.
Zion’s Road: A Love Story is about faith and redemption. Harold Smith—a former Klansman in a small town of Tulla Springs, Mississippi—discovers second chances are possible when he learns that walking on the right path leads to an adventure of discovering his truths. During Harold’s journey, he meets a stranger who is opposite to what he believes.
The two travelers share an experience, as they delve into one of the mysteries from Harold’s past to find a shattering reality. Left to wonder that everything he knew in his life contradicts these revelations, how will this new discovery affect Harold’s pursuit to redemption? Will the heartfelt pain be too unbearable to complete his journey?

Currently reading:

1 eBook/Kindle

The Colossus
by Ranjini Iyer
I received this early in the year for review but didn't get it on my calendar. I found it in my calendar folder as I was clearing out completed review requests.
Maxine Rosen, a demure, clumsy, Chicago caterer gets more than she bargains for when she discovers her father’s coded research document linked to health pills unearthed from the ancient Indus Valley civilization. The pills, she learns, carry frightening secrets about the true nature of her father’s death; a truth that may be more than she can bear. Enlisting the help of handsome professor Julian McIntosh, Max travels across the continents to unlock the mystery of her father’s research, struggling to keep one step ahead of a powerful German pharmaceutical company who will stop at nothing to keep the disturbing document under wraps.

2. eBook/Kindle

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball: A Novella
by Donita K. Paul
This looks so cute. 
It is for our Ladies Book Club meeting first Saturday in January.
Can mysterious matchmaking booksellers bring two lonely hearts together in time for Christmas?
In a sleepy, snow-covered city, Cora Crowder is busy preparing for the holiday season. Searching for a perfect gift, a fortuitous trip to Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad’s (a most unusual bookshop) leads to an unexpected encounter with co-worker Simon Derrick. And the surprise discovery of a ticket for a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas Ball.
Every year, the matchmaking booksellers of the Sage Street bookshop host an enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball for the romantic matches they’ve decided to bring together.
This year, will Simon and Cora discover a perfect chemistry in their opposite personalities and shared faith? Or will the matchmakers’ best laid plans end up ruining everything this holiday?

3. First Book of the Year: 2016 -- TBA
I will be participating in First Book of the Year and I have narrowed my choices to seven books.
I will decide by the end of the week so I can post for this event on Friday.

December 27, 2015- I am one day ahead on my readings and have loved the way they mesh and
confirm God's word.
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.

I posted three reviews last week which keeps me up to date. However now I have to squeeze in five reviews before 12/31 to review the books completed to finish two challenges.
I have read all of my 12 TBR Pile books with the last two reviews to post this week.
I have read the last of my Alphabet Soup Challenge and just need to post reviews for Y and Z.

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 audio titles for review in 2016 - one from the author and one through Audiobook Jukebox.
I purchased five ebooks at Amazon at $.99 each. This is likely to be the last of my purchasing for a while.
I added more free kindle titles to my library.

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

I received two audio titles:

Received from the author:


Time Heist: Firstborn Saga Volume 1
Written by: Anthony Vicino
Narrated by: Adam Verner
Time Travel Sci Fi - a favorite genre for me. :-)

Received from Blackstone Audio by request at Audiobook Jukebox:

Buster: The Military Dog Who Saved a Thousand Lives

Written by: RAF Police Flight Sergeant Will Barrow, Isabel George

Narrated by: James Langton
This is about a real military dog and I am looking forward to listening.

Won

NONE

Purchased

[I still have two Audible credits to use before the end of 2015.]

I purchased five Kindle titles for $.99 each as they caught my eye and I figure I may not be making purchases for several months if I participate in the TBR DARE again:

Bitterwood: The Complete Collection (Bitterwood Trilogy Book 5)

James Maxey 

Bronze Fox

Diana Green

Bring On the Dusk (The Night Stalkers Book 15)

M. L. Buchman

 

Fatal 5: Novels of Mystery and Suspense by Today's Bestselling Christian Authors

Karin Kaufman, Christy Barritt, Heather Day Gilbert, Don Prichard, Stephanie Prichard, Dan Wals

Traces of Mercy: A Novel (Mercy Medallion Trilogy Book 1)

Michael Landon Jr., Cindy Kelley 

 

Free

Over the past week I added 56 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.