MBS January 2021 Reading List Wrap Up

MBS 2021 Reading List - JANUARY

Code for the list is:
A = Audible; ABB = Audiobook Boom
e = eBook; eA = eBook from Author; eT = eBook from Tour
NG = NetGalley
P = Print; PT = Print from Tour
LBC = Ladies Book Club
TBR = From the TBR shelves prior to 2020

Favorites for the month:

5 Stars = The Harbinger II: The Return and Love
4.75 Stars = A Stockingful of Joy
4.5 Stars =  Galaxy's Edge

1. ATBR- Audible Review First Book 2021: The Harbinger II, The Return by Jonathan Cahn; Genre: Christian Prophesy, Inspirational; My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 5.0; Narration 5.0.
2. PrintTBR- Book Review: Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne; Genre: Christmas, Romance, Small Town; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.
3. ATBR- Audible Book Review: World Made By Hand, Book 1, by James Howard Kunstler; Genre: Dystopian, Sci Fi, Speculative Fiction; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.
4. NG2020- #NetGalley Audio Book Review: The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, Narrated by Nathan Fillion; Genre: Humorous Sci Fi; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.
5. ATBR- Audible Book Review: Break Shot: My First 21 Years, An Audio Memoir, by James Taylor; Genre: Arts & Entertainment, Memoir, Music; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.
6. NG2020- #NetGalley Book Review: The Pugly Duckling by Carla Siravo; Genre: Animals, Children; My Rating: 3.25 of 5.0.
7. PrintTBR- Book Review: A Stockingful of Joy by Mary Jo Putney, Jill Barnett, Justine Dare, Susan King; Genre: Anthology, Christmas, Historical Romance; My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0.
8. ATBR- Audible Book Review: Galaxy's Edge by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole; Genre: Military Science Fiction; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.5; Narration 4.5.
9. Author2021- Audible Book Review: Death at the Gazebo by Minnie Crockwell; Genre: Amateur Sleuths, Cozy Mystery, Women Sleuths; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.
10. ATBR- Audible Book Review: Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter; Genres: Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.
11. NG2020- #NetGalley Book Review: Came A Horseman, A Hard Ride In A Fierce World by Paul McHugh; Genre: Dystopian, Mystery; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.
12. NG2020- #NetGalley Book Review: LOVE by Corrinne Averiss; Genre: Children, Educational, Emotions; My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0.
13. ATBR- Audible Book Review: Red Winter, Book 1, by Annette Marie; Genre: Asian Myth & Legend, Fairy Tale, Fantasy Teen & YA; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0.

Total read = 13
TBR = 12
New Authors = 8
Audio/Audible = 8 (6 TBRs)
NetGalley = 4 (4 TBRs)
Author Review books (other than NG) = 1
Nonfiction = 1 (TBR audio)
eBook = 0 (0 TBRs)
Print = 2 (2 TBRs)

Goal Progress (to Date meaning through the end of the given month):
Goodreads Goal Read to Date: 13 of 124
TBR to Date: 12 of 90 total
Audio to Date: 8 of 64
NetGalley to Date: 4 of 24
Author Reviews: 1 of 12
Nonfiction: 1 of 12
TBR ebooks or Print: 2 of 24

• Seasonal title: 1 of 4: Winter
• Color in title: 1 of 8: Red
• Alphabet letters Group 1 = 26 Mixed media: 10 Jan +
• Alphabet letters Group 2 = 26 Audio only (not included in group 1): 1 Jan +
• Series: 8 (3 continuing, 5 new)
• New to me Series: 5 (3 Yes to continue, 2 likely)
• Finished for me Series: 0

Sunday Post February 7, 2021/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday February 8, 2021

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)

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 finished my organizational reports and loved the fact that the club did so much to help the community even during the year of the pandemic. Starting this year, our local Woman's Club manned an hydration station during the local vaccination event. We will do that, plus snacks and lunch, for the 2nd shot event. Here is an image of the parking lot during the height of the January event during which 1,700 shots were given from 9am to 3pm. Those who arrived at 5:30am had a long wait. I went at 1pm and went through in under 1 hour.

Our temperatures are warming again this week -- up to 74 on two days mid week, but five days of rain.

I enjoyed my reading this past week. I finished two audiobooks and one ebook. I posted three reviews and my usual memes.

I visited 19 blogs again last week.
Shout Out this week to FEED YOUR FICTION ADDICTION. Nicole is a middle grade writer, a book-loving homeschooling mom of three who may need an intervention for her addiction!

Don't forget- Audible is offering free children's titles during these days at home.
Audiobooks.com is also offering free listens for children.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post January 31, 2021/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday February 1, 2021.

• NG2020- #NetGalley Book Review: Came A Horseman, A Hard Ride In A Fierce World by Paul McHugh; Genre: Dystopian, Mystery; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.

• NG2020- #NetGalley Book Review: LOVE by Corrinne Averiss; Genre: Children, Educational, Emotions; My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway February 5, 2021. Open Worldwide. Ending 2/11/2021.

• ATBR- Audible Book Review: Red Winter, Book 1, by Annette Marie; Genre: Asian Myth & Legend, Fairy Tale, Fantasy Teen & YA; My Rating: My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

• Sharing Beyond Books #414 Comment Giveaway February 6, 2021. Open Worldwide. Ending 2/20/2020.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement February 7, 2021.

Finished Reading:

1. Kindle App on Phone (ebTBR)

X-O Manowar, Volume 1: By The Sword
(X-O Manowar (2012) #1)
by Robert Venditti (Goodreads Author) (Writer), Cary Nord (Artist), Stefano Gaudiano (Inker), Moose Baumann (Colorist)
I quite liked this except that it ends at a point that needs more.
Source: December 25, 2018 Free Kindle Download.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Unprepared
The Scourge, Book 1
By: Tom Abrahams
Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
Release date: 04-26-20
This is a descent post-apocalyptic but not stellar.
Source: 12/31/2020 Audible Two for One Credit Sale.
Click on book title for full description.

DNF -Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

The Peculiar Patriot
By: Liza Jessie Peterson
Narrated by: Liza Jessie Peterson

I started this and was finding it interesting but the foul language got to be too much for me.

3. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

You're Going to Mars!
By: Rob Dircks
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
Release date: 11-13-18
This was a fun story - mix of Willy Wonka, Survivor and America Ninja Warrior competition to get to Mars.
Source: 7/21/2019 Audible Daily Deal $3.95.
Publisher's Summary
Living and slaving in Fill City One, you get used to the smell. We call it the Everpresent Stink. But every once inI a while, on a spring day with a breeze, it clears away enough to remind us that there is something more out there. Most Fillers' wildest dreams would be just to get past the walls and live in the mainland. But my dream? It’s a little bigger.
I’m going to Mars.
Well, I’m only going to Mars if I can find a winning Red Scarab to get on Zach Larson’s crazy reality show. And then I’ll have to figure out how to escape this hellhole. And then compete on live television for three months. And somehow win a spot on the crew of the very first manned mission to Mars. Oh, and one more slight obstacle? There might be a reason that by 2085 a human still hasn’t set foot on the Red Planet. A dangerous reason. A reason worth killing for.
In You’re Going to Mars! Rob Dircks, Audible best-selling author of Where the Hell Is Tesla?, creates a near-future filled with family (the good kind and the insufferable kind), pop divas, mobsters, and the world’s first trillionaire - and sends them all on a science fiction odyssey/comedy/love story/adventure that will change their world forever.
©2018 Rob Dircks (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC.

Currently Reading:

1. eBook/NetGalley App (NG2020)

Evolving Elizah: Initiatum
by C.J. Hall
I am enjoying this post-apocalyptic/dystopian set in space.
Source: 2020 NetGalley.
Elizah (Liz) Goeff was born into a world much like the one we know today, but she doesn’t remember it. It’s all gone now, covered in ash after a series of natural disasters threw North American civilization into a death spiral. Now Liz’s world is the Green Grow 3, a lush space farm orbiting Earth designed to feed humanity until the planet can heal itself.

2. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

From Here to Equality Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century
By: William A. Darity Jr., A. Kirsten Mullen
Narrated by: JD Jackson
Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
Release date: 04-20-20
I chose this as a resource to offer background and solutions. I saved it to read/listen to during Black History Month.
Source 6/28/2020 One June Credit at Audible.
Publisher's Summary Racism and discrimination have choked economic opportunity for African Americans at nearly every turn. At several historic moments, the trajectory of racial inequality could have been altered dramatically. Perhaps no moment was more opportune than the early days of Reconstruction, when the US government temporarily implemented a major redistribution of land from former slaveholders to the newly emancipated enslaved.
But neither Reconstruction nor the New Deal nor the civil rights struggle led to an economically just and fair nation. Today, systematic inequality persists in the form of housing discrimination, unequal education, police brutality, mass incarceration, employment discrimination, and massive wealth and opportunity gaps. Economic data indicates that for every dollar the average white household holds in wealth the average black household possesses a mere 10 cents.
In From Here to Equality, William Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen confront these injustices head-on and make the most comprehensive case to date for economic reparations for US descendants of slavery. Taken individually, any one of the three eras of injustice outlined by Darity and Mullen - slavery, Jim Crow, and modern-day discrimination - makes a powerful case for black reparations. Taken collectively, they are impossible to ignore. ©2020 William A. Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen (P)2020 Tantor.

3. PDF on Computer (Author Ebook)

200
by Jennifer Brody, Jules Rivera (Illustrator)
This is a graphic Sci Fi to be released 2/16/21.
Source: 1/11/2020 Received from Turner Publishing Marketing.
It’s Eva Thorne’s 200th birthday.
But it’s not a celebration, more like a funeral. Eva lives in a world where the Cure for aging and illness has been discovered and administered to every person on Earth, only there’s one big hitch. It turns out that very few people can handle immortality, so they have to take a test on their two hundredth birthday. If they pass, then they get to live forever. But if they fail, they must be euthanized.
Eva’s not an optimist. In fact, she’s pretty sure that she’s going to fail her Centurial Assessment Test. For starters, almost nobody passes anymore. She’s seen the news stories. But than more than that, Eva can tell that she’s already starting to slip mentally. Ever since the Escorts took her husband Owen away for his test a little over six months ago and he never came back, she’s been chainsmoking cigarettes (they can’t kill her after all), binge drinking, and waiting for the Escorts to get it over with already.
Who wants to live forever if you have to do it alone?
Here’s the truth—Owen was her husband for over 170 years. He was her soulmate. Her lover. Her goofball best friend. Her partner in crime. Her everything. But on the way to her testing room, Eva glimpses a staffer who resembles her husband. Suddenly, she has to find out the truth about what really happened to him. Suddenly, she has a reason to live. Did he pass his test? Does he get to live forever? Can Eva join him for this next part of their lives? Or is she destined to fail her test and be euthanized?
Now Eva must escape from the testing facility and find out if her husband passed his test—and what he’s been doing for the past six months. With the Escorts hunting her down, she kidnaps the staffer and drags him to the roof, discovering that it’s Owen—only he can’t remember her because they wiped his memory. When you pass your CAT test, you must leave your old life behind. Eva must now find a way to him remember their life together, or lose him forever to his new immortal existence.

4. Paperback (PTBR)

Noah - Another Storm is Coming
by Ellen G. White
The reading is still slow, but I plan to finish this by week's end.
Source: My own bookshelf; gift from a church friend.
Click on book title for full description.

February 7, 2021 - I love seeing new things each time I read the Bible. I did good for a month reading/listening first thing each morning.  I hope I can continue the pattern.
I am reading/listening the NLT Tyndale version of the Bible on You Version App so Hubby and I are reading the same passages each day.
I am doing a 21-day study this month: Open Heaven: 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer.

I completed three books and posted three reviews to remain up to date.
NetGalley shelf is still at 12. (I didn't look again this week so I wouldn't be tempted.)
Three author titles in queue as I am reading one but I added an audio from anothor.
(Plus a few that I received from newsletter sign-ups, not specific review requests.)
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

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 (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
I received one new Audible Code from an author.
I made the mistake of looking at the Audible Plus catalog and added seven more to my library. 
Ten free Kindle titles this week.
(Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

2/5/2021 Author Audible Code:

Dorothy: A Madcap Regency Romance
The Fairweather Sisters, Book 3
By: Anya Wylde
Narrated by: Deryn Oliver
Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
Release date: 12-30-20

Won

NONE

Purchased

NONE

Free

Seven new Audible Plus titles:

Dusty's Diary
By: Bobby Adair
Narrated by: Ray Porter

Blueshift
By: Joshua Dalzelle
Narrated by: Paul Heitsch

The Wicked Wyckerly
By: Patricia Rice
Narrated by: Eliza Jane Cornell
Series: The Rebellious Sons, Book 1

Genesis: Legends Online, Book 1
By: Jonathan Yanez , Ross Buzzell
Narrated by: Adam Gold
Series: Legends Online, Book 1

Three books in series:

Eternal Frontier
By: Anthony J. Melchiorri
Narrated by: Bradford Hastings
Series: Eternal Frontier, Book 1

Edge of War: The Eternal Frontier, Book 2
By: Anthony J. Melchiorri
Narrated by: Bradford Hastings
Series: Eternal Frontier, Book 2

Shattered Dawn
By: Anthony J. Melchiorri
Narrated by: Bradford Hastings
Series: Eternal Frontier, Book 3


Ten free Kindle titles this week. Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement February 7, 2021

Our church celebrated communion this morning. We can participate with a cracker and juice, but it isn’t the same. Pastor continued his series called “Battle On”.

We all have unexpected interruptions or experiences during our lives. How do we respond? With anger and frustration or with grace and patience? Are we a pessimist, an optimist or somewhere in between? In Romans chapter 8 Paul explains that believers have a special hope, a special assurance of the future.
Romans 8:14-25:
Believers are adopted in as God’s children. Verses 14-16.
But if we share the Glory, we will also have suffering! Verse 17.
We have reasons to be confident:
We are children of God. Verses 14-16.
God has already been there and gives assurance of victory as God’s heirs. Verses 17 and 23.
We are not alone. All creation is waiting for God’s freedom from death and decay. Verse 21.
Our suffering is temporary. Verse 18.

These assurances are spelled out more clearly in Revelation 2 and 3 which contain seven promises for those who endure to the end.
To those who are victorious will be given:
Revelation 2:7. …fruit from the tree of life....
2:11. … will not be harmed by the second death.
2:17. … manna from heaven and a white stone* with secret name…. (*Evidence of acquittal).
2:26. … authority over all the nations.
Revelation 3:5. …clothed in white… names never erased from the book of life… Jesus will announce you are His.
3:12. … become a pillar in the temple of God…. …will belong with the name of God written on you….
3:21. … will sit with Jesus on the heavenly throne….

Have you accepted the gift of salvation that gives you hope? Are you pressing on with Christ to be victorious in the end?

Sometimes I search through song videos until I find the one that my heart says it right. Even though this is a video I shared last year, it is the one I came to today. In times of uncertainty I am thankful that I know there is victory if we hold on to God’s promises!

Verses for Today:
Romans 8:18-22 (NLT)
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

Lord, Thank you for Your promises. Help me to hold on to win the victory with Christ!

Sharing Beyond Books #414 Comment Giveaway February 6, 2021

Hello again, Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books.

Thanks to everyone who commented last week.
Last Q#413 Natalija asks: Do you prefer alpha or beta heroes in your romantic fiction??
Five commenters said they would don't necessarily prefer either alpha or beta males, but it depends on how they are written. Four commenters prefer alphas males, and three prefer 3 beta males.

The Winner from SBB #413 comments is #8 CAROLL who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated (**Finally!) ARC/Review titles or (recently updated) Love and Christmas titles - all linked near the end of the post. -- [11/16/19 I plan to add some review books this week and maybe some new Christmas and Love titles as soon as I locate the box I put them in. 11/28/20 I have added a box of new books for SBB and will list them in the next week or so. I have to try to cross off books that have already been awarded. ]

Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #414

(One Question.)

Elizabeth asks: If you are in a stay-at-home area, what activities kept you busy? Did you try anything new? Or spend time reading??

My time didn't change much so I just continued to read, write reviews and blog. :-)  However, my ladies book club is about to resume with the first two months to be by Zoom and then we will see after we have had our vaccines.

Image found at 3PPsychologies.

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 1/2 book choice or $2.50 towards GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify them.

Your turn to share. Elizabeth asks: If you are in a stay-at-home area, what activities kept you busy? Did you try anything new? Or spend time reading???

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Updated ARC and Other books, including the "Love" and Christmas titles all in one post.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question 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 through Saturday, February 20, 2021, at 5 PM central.

Audible Book Review: Red Winter, Book 1, by Annette Marie

I liked this engaging fantasy and plan to continue the series.
Red Winter
Red Winter, Book 1
By: Annette Marie
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
Release date: 01-03-17
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Asian Myth & Legend, Fairy Tale, Fantasy Teen & YA
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary
Emi is the kamigakari. In a few short months, her life as a mortal will end, and her new existence as the human host of a goddess will begin. Carefully hidden from those who would destroy her, she has prepared her mind, body, and soul to unite with the goddess - and not once has she doubted her chosen fate.
Shiro is a yokai, a spirit of the earth, an enemy of the goddess Emi will soon host. Mystery shrouds his every move, and his ruby eyes shine with cunning she can't match and dares not trust. But she saved his life, and until his debt is paid, he is hers to command - whether she wants him or not. On the day they meet, everything Emi believes comes undone, swept away like snow upon the winter wind. For the first time, she wants to change her fate - but how can she erase a destiny already wrought in stone? Against the power of the gods, Shiro is her only hope...and hope is all she has left. ©2016 Annette Marie (P)2017 Tantor

Review:
Emi is a special young woman. As a child she didn’t choose to be privileged but when she exhibited the mark of the goddess, she did choose to become a kamigakari. She shunned usual young girl past times and natural relationships as she was shut off from her family and trained to become the human host of a goddess. She ate a certain diet, trained her body and mind, did nothing that would endanger her life, and kept herself pure so that she would honor the destiny she was told she was chosen for. She has been moved from temple to temple to keep her safe from those who seek to kill any kamigagari before they can unite with the goddess who has been absent for a hundred years. Just weeks before Emi is to merge with the goddess, she learns a stunning secret. She doesn’t know if it is true, but it makes her question her fate for the first time.

In a moment of frustration and doubt, Emi dodges her guards for a short time alone. She impulsively decides to seek something she hasn’t been allowed – to sit on a horse. The horse bolts and runs off to the mountains, stranding Emi in the dark, dangerous forest where there are dark creatures which would seek to kill Emi and even more so if they knew who she was. She is frightened when she stumbles upon a white fox with ruby eyes. But that isn’t the creature to fear – it is the giant monster chasing the injured fox. Emi manages to save the fox and soon learns that it is Shiro, a yokai, a spirit of the earth whom she has been taught is an enemy of her goddess. Emi shouldn’t trust Shiro, but it appears that he is the only person she can turn to for help to learn the truth and maybe to escape her fate.

Emi’s character has a lot of strength and courage although she is clearly naïve due to her restrictive upbringing. I never perceived her as a snob or unkind to those around her. Sadly – she has spent her life staying aloof by the choices she made and the mentors who have trained her. I appreciated her character and her concerns about trusting a possible enemy. Shiro is a mysterious character who reminds me of Loki, a mischievous, cunning trickster. He also has a certain charm and likeability.

The story starts a little slower as the author introduces the reader to the history of the kamigakari. It is worth pushing through to get to the action, magic and the touch of romance. The story does have a YA vibe but it is interesting enough for more mature readers like me. I recommend this to fans of myths and fantasy.

Audio Notes: Emily Woo Zeller is an excellent narrator. Her character voices are distinct and fit the personalities. She also manages all of the unusual words. The audio enhanced my enjoyment of the story and I hope to listen to the rest of the trilogy.

There are apparently very nice illustrations in the print and kindle versions.

Source: May 2018 Audible Daily Deal for $3.95. This qualifies for 2021TBR, 2021Audiobook, 2021Alphabet, 2021Season and 2021Color goals.