It's Monday What are You Reading? June 17, 2013.

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 a very nice reading week although I probably should have done at least one additional review. This week will be full as  I finished five books. I did post four reviews, one author interview and Two Giveaways. I also posted the weekly Mailbox Monday meme, Friday Pick Giveaway, Saturday Snapshot, Sharing Beyond Books Comment Giveaway and Sunday Words.

I'm pleased I got to visit a bit at the beginning and end of the week. I still need to do more.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• It's Monday What are You Reading? June 10, 2013.

• Mailbox Monday June 10, 2013.

• Book Review: Somewhere in Time, Book 1 of the Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy, by Barbara Bretton, Time Travel Romance; my rating 4.25.

• Author Interview with Barbara Bretton and Giveaway. Ends 6/21.

• Book Review: Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy by Abagail Sharpe, Contemporary Romance; my rating 4.25. 

• Book Review and Giveaway: It Had to Be You by Jill Shalvis, Contemporary Romance; my rating 4.5. Ends 6/21.
  

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway June 14, 2013. Open Worldwide. Ends 6/20.

• Audible Book Review: A Royal Pain: A Royal Spyness Mystery by Rhys Bowen, Historical Cozy Mystery; my rating 4.25. 

• Saturday Snapshot (6/15/13) Mystery Bloom Revealed
  

• Sharing Beyond Books #104 Comment Giveaway 6/15/13. Open Worldwide. Ends 6/21.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement June 16, 2013 - Happy Father's Day!.
  

Finished Reading:
1. eBook/Kindle

Anonymous Sources
By Mary Louise Kelly
I really liked this thriller!
I'll post the review this week.
Click on Title for full Book Description

2. Print

The Magic of I Do
by Tammy Falkner
This leans heavy on the sexual side.
I'll post a review and ARC Giveaway this week.
Click on Title for full Book Description.

3. eBook Kindle
 

Paper Roses (Texas Dreams Book #1): A Novel
by Amanda Cabot
This was our Ladies' Book Club choice and very nice!
I'll do a review and giveaway this week.
Book Description
Publication Date: January 1, 2009
The future stretches out in front of Sarah Dobbs like the pure blue Texas sky. Leaving the past behind in Philadelphia, mail-order bride Sarah arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom, Austin Canfield, a man she has never met but whose letters have won her heart from afar. But there is one problem--he has died. And Sarah cannot go back East.

As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a future that is drastically changed, Austin's brother, Clay, struggles with his own muddled plans. Though he dislikes working on the family ranch and longs for a different life, Clay is driven to avenge his brother's death. But something between them is growing and neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit it.

Book 1 of the Texas Dreams series, Paper Roses will sweep readers into the Hill Country with a tale of love and loss, closed doors and beautiful possibilities that will leave them wanting more.

4. Audio

The Wolf Path
Author: Judith Van Gieson
Narrator: Meredith Mitchell
Good mystery with lots of factual info too.
I'll post my review later this week.
I received this MP3 download from AudioGo through AudioBook Jukebox.
Publisher/Date: AudioGO, 04/01/13
Click on Title for full Book Description.

5. Audio/MP3

And They Called Her Spider:
A Bartleby and James Adventure, Book 1
    UNABRIDGED
    by Michael Coorlim
    Narrated by Wayne Farrell
        Series: Galvanic Century, Book 1
A fun, quick listen! 
I'll be posting the review this week.
I received this MP3 download at Audible through AudioBook Jukebox.
Publisher's Summary
The Bartleby and James Adventures steampunk mystery series follows the cases of consulting detectives Anton Bartleby and James Wainwright through an alternate Victorian history.
In their debut adventure, London is in the grip of an unstoppable assassin known only as the Spider, and consulting detectives James Wainwright and Alton Bartleby have been commissioned to catch her.

Can the surly inventor and savvy gentleman track her down and stop her string of murders, or will Queen Victoria be her next victim?

Who Are Bartleby and James?
Alton Bartleby is a social savant, the scion of a once proud and noble bloodline, working to restore his family's name. James Wainwright is a brilliant engineer and inventor. Together they take on the cases that Scotland Yard cannot or will not handle.
©2011, 2012 Michael Coorlim (P)2012 Michael Coorlim

Line Edits/Releases:
We have more titles getting ready to release.

Currently reading:

1. Print

One Day on Apple Grove 
by C.H. Admirand
I started this and so far it is sweet, home town enjoyment.
I am reviewing, with ARC Giveaway, for Sourcebooks.
Book Description
Release date: June 4, 2013
Welcome to Apple Grove, Ohio (pop. 597), a small town with a big heart.
Caitlin Mulcahy loves her family. She really does. But sometimes they can drive her to her last shred of sanity—from her dad ("I'm not meddling, I just want what's best for you") to her eight-months-pregnant older sister to her younger sister, who will do just about anything to avoid real work. Cait just needs to get away, even if for only an hour.

When she sees someone in need of help on the side of the road, of course she's going to pull over. She might even be able to fix his engine—after all, the Mulcahy family is a handy bunch. She's not expecting that former Navy medic Jack Gannon and a little black puppy named Jameson will be the ones who end up rescuing in her.

2. eBook/Kindle

Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy: The Templar Chronicles: Book 2
by Jeff Gunhus
This is fun action. 
My review will be June 24 as part of Book Blast Tour.
Book Description
Publication Date: March 30, 2013
After barely surviving the onslaught of monsters that tried to kill him the day before his fourteenth birthday, Jack Templar leaves his hometown on a quest to rescue his father and discover the truth about his past. Joined by his friends Will and T-Rex, and led by Eva, the mysterious one-handed monster hunter, Jack sets out for the Monster Hunter Academy where he hopes to find answers to his questions. Little does he suspect that the Academy is filled with dangers of its own, many of them more terrifying than anything he’s faced so far.

3. Audio/MP3

Hearts of Shadow
Author: Kira Brady
Narrator: Xe Sands
I have just started this and like the excitement.
I received this MP3 download from Blackstone Audio through AudioBook Jukebox.
Publisher/Date: Blackstone Audio, 05/07/13
In this brilliant new novel in the Deadglass series, a fierce young woman’s quest entangles her in an apocalyptic endgame—and unexpected desire.

Grace Mercer’s unmatched wraith-killing ability made her the unofficial defender of a city shattered by supernatural catastrophe. So there’s no way she’ll allow the new regent of Seattle’s most powerful dragon-shifter clan to “protect” her from a vicious evil stalking the ruined streets or keep her from the freedom she’s risked everything to earn.

Leif’s science-honed instincts tell him Grace is the key to keeping shifters and humans safe, but helping this wary fighter channel her untapped power is burning away the dragon’s sensual self-control and putting a crucial alliance at risk. Soon the only chance Leif and Grace will have to save their world will be a dangerously fragile link that could forever unite their souls—or consume everything in a storm of destruction.
© 2013 by Kira Brady

I continue to listen to The Listener's Bible NIV read by Max McLean. [Reading and listening on MP3.] I am studying with the Tyndall One Year Bible this year, hoping to read daily along with my DH.

Line Edits: Several more releases being prepared for the next few weeks. I am still doing more Smashword conversions in between print formatting.

I had three print books move from May to June. Plus I have five additional print books, two tour books and three NetGalley titles. Plus Audios. I'm not sure what happened to my relaxing plan for June. Guess that goes into July. Sigh.

June Scheduled:
6/24 Review: Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy by Jeff Gunhus for Book Blast Tour

SOURCEBOOKS
     One Day on Apple Grove by C.H. Admirand - reading
 
Hachette - Forever
    Haven Creek (A Cavanaugh Island Novel) by Rochelle Alers
    Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Molly Cannon
    The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson 
    A House Divided by Kimberly Lawson Roby

NetGalley:
     The Bane (The Eden Trilogy) (Volume 1) by Keary Taylor
     Silent Warrior by Lindsey Piper

AudioBook Jukebox
  Hearts of Shadow - listening

Author Books received at March EPICon
     Convict Dad by P. Ryan Hembree

From TBR Collection - TBD
Won Book - TBD
Free Kindle/Nook or Smashwords: TBD

Sunday Words of Encouragement June 16, 2013 - Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to fathers everywhere-

including mine in heaven.

We had a nice service and our associate pastor gave a nice sermon for Father's Day.
We came home and soon our daughter and family came over to fix her Dad a great dinner! Thank You!
After fun swimming time we spent about an hour on Skype with our son in Hawaii. His birthday was yesterday. He was born on Father's Day 27 years ago.
So today's words are said by family pictures!

 Starting to cook -

I got to play with the little ones. :-)

P-Pop and Zane pick in the garden!

Fun collection!

Middle child toss...

  

Youngest toss - she goes high then says "done"

We all watch as Zane flips.

P-Pop and the Princess sit in the shade!

A Verse for Today:
Proverbs 23:24 (NIV)  
The father of a righteous man has great joy;
he who has a wise son delights in him.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for earthly fathers who set a foundation in the home and teach us to love you.

Sharing Beyond Books #104 Comment Giveaway June 15, 2013

Hello again on Saturday night and Welcome to SBB, Sharing Beyond Books.

School is out so is anyone enjoying a vacation yet? My grandkids are still busy with baseball championships etc. I am still (always) avoiding the sun.

Thank you to all who shared last week.

Only two of us (miki and Diamond) buy more than one version for covers although Gwen plans to. :-). However -- nrlymrtl will get the audio for her DH, which I completely understand and I do that too when I can get my DH to listen. Several mentioned that they wait for several releases then buy the 'prettiest' cover. I never even considered that. And another handful of us do like to collect the full series for authors/series we love.
 
The only 'unusual pet' mentioned more than once was a chinchilla. Chickens (not on farm) and other birds were mentioned, including Di's grackle. Nikki mentioned fish and I had to look up "climbing perch."  Again I was a little surprised at the handful of people who had no pets.

~~~~

The Winner from SBB #103 comments is: #15 scottsgal who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the ARC/Review titles, Christmas titles or Love titles - all linked near the end of the post.  Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #104 Questions

Q1. nrlymrtl asks: What is the oddest nonfiction book(s) you have ever read - like on on the feelings of plants or the theory of health benefits from gut parasites??

A: Does reading the Dictionary and Encylopedia count? I did that back when I was about 13 and 14. Other than that I would say The Bible Cure Book or Collecting Antiques.  

Image found at Thrifty Fun blog.

Q2. My non-bookish Question this week: Do you like puzzles and if so which is your favorite: jigsaw, Sudoku, crossword, word search, logic, maze, other??

A: I really enjoy all sorts of puzzles - except Sudoku which my DH likes. As a kid I loved the hidden object pictures in Highlights Magazine. Then I used to do word puzzles in Reader's Digest. My sister and I both liked getting puzzle magazines to work on and I used to save the logic ones so I could do them again years later. I also love jigsaw puzzles although those mostly got put away when children came along. Now I have children sized ones I encourage my grandkids to play with!

Image found at ehow.com

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! We can always use fresh questions. I do have a group of questions from the same submitters so if you have a question don't be afraid to ask!

Your turn to share:

Q1.  Q1. nrlymrtl asks: What is the oddest nonfiction book(s) you have ever read - like on on the feelings of plants or the theory of health benefits from gut parasites??

Q2. My non-bookish Question this week: Do you like puzzles and if so which is your favorite: jigsaw, Sudoku, crossword, word search, logic, maze, other??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Valentine and "Love" books , the Christmas Giveaway Books, or the Updated ARC/Review List. [I - do have new photos to get up... maybe tomorrow or Monday.]

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on any (or all) of the two/three questions above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.

I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made by Friday, June 21, 2013 at 10 PM central.

Saturday Snapshot (June 15, 2013) Mystery Bloom Revealed

I included a mystery bloom in my photos last week and no one guessed what it was.

Here is the original photo and two more:

This is the bloom opened more with some (wilting) gardenias.

Here are two in the garden -- one in the light and one in the middle, a bit shadowed.

These are garlic "blooms"/seed buds!

Thanks to all who stop by and visit. I still didn''t get to visit - aargh. I hope to do so in an hour or two after I get some work done in the office.

A big Thank You to Alyce at Alyce of At Home With Books who has hosted this meme for a number of years. She is taking a summer hiatus at her blog and the new host will be Melissa at West Metro Mommy. Thank you to Melissa for picking up the responsibility. 

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky being hosted this summer by West Metro Mommy. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Audible Review: A Royal Pain: A Royal Spyness Mystery by Rhys Bowen

This is a fun, light historic mystery.
A Royal Pain: A Royal Spyness Mystery 
Author: Rhys Bowen
    UNABRIDGED
       Narrated by Katherine Kellgren
        Series: Royal Spyness, Book 2


    LENGTH      8 hrs and 57 mins
    RELEASE DATE      08-03-10
    Program Type      Audiobook
    PUBLISHER      Audible, Inc.
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Historical
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary

The Queen of England has concocted a plan in which penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie is to entertain a Bavarian princess and conveniently place her in the playboy prince's path, in the hopes that he might finally marry.

But queens never take money into account. Georgie has very little, which is why she moonlights as a maid-in-disguise. She must draw up plans: clean house to make it look like a palace; have Granddad and her neighbor pretend to be the domestic staff; un-teach Princess Hanni the English she's culled from American gangster movies; cure said princess of her embarrassing shoplifting habit; and keep an eye on her at parties.

Then there's the worrying matter of the body in the bookshop and Hannis' unwitting involvement with the Communist Party. It's enough to drive a girl crazy.

Listen to more Royal Spyness mysteries.
©2008 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Review:
The Queen doesn’t realize the lack of Georgie’s fiances when she asks her (a cousin) to play hostess to a Bavarian Princess. The Queen is trying to get her son to change his affections from an older, married American woman to a proper person of worth. Georgie has to recruit her father and his friend to masquerade as butler and cook and she even coerces a friend to serve as a maid.

Princess Hanni arrives with her companion, a haughty Baroness. Princess Hanni, although supposedly taught at a convent, picked up English slang from watching gangster movies, plus she is extremely ‘man’ crazy. Georgie has her hands full pretending to maintain a proper household, discouraging the Baroness from inspecting things too closely and curbing the Princess’s slang and tendency to shoplift and chase after handsome men.

Georgie and Hanni almost become involved in a Communist protest at a visit in the park. They meet several handsome men, including the dashing Darcy who has already attracted Georgie even though she believes he is searching for an heiress. Georgie takes Hanni to a ‘Bohemian’ party of commoners. Hanni is thrilled to meet more handsome men, and to run into Darcy again. Unfortunately the evening is cut short when one of the young bucks tumbles through the balcony railing. Darcy manages to whisk Georgie and Hanni away before their attendance becomes fodder for the papers. But Georgie still has to face questioning by the police who are concerned about her presence at another death.

A few days later Georgie helps Hanni get to a private assignation with a young man who works at a bookstore in a seedier side of town. Georgie follows Hanni upstairs only to discover the young man, a Communist sympathizer, with a knife in his back!

The Queen decides that, while taking Hanni to a country party before an international incident arises, Georgie must also make time to investigate the murder(s). Darcy seems to always be in the wings-- or alley as the case may be–to come to Georgie’s aid. This is pleasing although perplexing particularly when Darcy begins to show additional attention to Hanni, making Georgie regret her decision to put off Darcy’s earlier advances.

There is more intrigue and killing before Georgie uncovers the bigger plot. She has to force her way to a last minute rescue and again Darcy is there to jump in front of the bullet. Georgie makes rash promises to Darcy hoping he won’t die.

Georgie’s dry humor and banter are very enjoyable. This is the second of the series that I have listened to and the stories are light, quick and fun listening.

AUDIO NOTES:  Katherine Kellgren does a really nice job with the narration, adding the different accents and emotions. Her delivery is smooth and enhances the easy story line making these fun to listen to.

This is a selection from my Audible Library.