One Love by Amanda Shofner

From Goodreads: Be witness to the evolution of a relationship . . . One night for it to begin When Tony Aguilar hires Andrea “Drea” DeMatteo, he’s willing to do just about anything to get a good night’s rest—including paying a woman money to spend the night, no sex involved. And Drea can’t afford to turn down Tony’s offer, no matter how bizarre it seems. But when the two meet, the potential for more takes them both by surprise. One year for trouble to brew All is not well in paradise. Time has passed, things have changed. Tony wants them to change even more. But when Tony’s mother drops by for a visit—a surprise to Drea, not Tony—the omission leads Drea on a journey she never thought she’d take. And it’s a journey that teaches Tony just what Drea means to him. One lifetime for their love Happily ever after may be in Tony and Drea’s future, as long as their secrets don’t get in the way.

One Love is a great little romance where the set up is just enough, and you jump right into the feels! Amanda is great at making you care for her characters right out of the gate! I have to admit that I am a real sucker for the damaged hero story and I just wanted to hug Tony from the get go. He is such a good guy, and really needs help. While his method seems a little unorthodox, it pulls at your heartstrings and you want Drea to love him right away, because it's just what they both need. I like that we get the beginning, middle and end all together here in One Love, it's short but satisfying, and it was just what I needed in between the more serious reads I've had recently.

Tony and Drea's friends Mel and Ian are fun too, and I do hope we're able to get their story some day. they have a lot personality just in the small glimpses we get of them.  I want more!

You can check it out on Kindle for $1.99 here:  One Love

This was my first read for the COYER Summer Reading List Read-a-thon #1 (my Goodreads page with dates)

Top Ten Tuesday - My Best Reads of 2017 to date and a Giveaway!

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Check out the rules and future list topics here: Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is our favorite reads of 2017.  I'm interpreting it as from what I've read this year, not what has been been published this year, so these have various dates.

I have read and listened to some powerful books so far this year, but my top choice, the story I was the most drawn into, was The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I want to share this important story with you, so I'm holding a giveaway.  All you have to do to enter is provide me with a valid e-mail address to contact you at should you win.  The Winner will get to choose the format between a US Kindle copy or a physical copy from The Book Depository. This giveaway is open from 6/27-7/11.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Now for the rest of my top reads, in no particular order!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Sunday Post #6

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

I joined 2 read-a-thons, #LitsyPartyofOne June 23rd - 25th over on the Litsy App (very cool if you haven't looked at it, it's like a true book only Instagram, but only available on phones and tablets I think?) and also COYER's first Summer Reading List Read-a-thon starts today and runs through next Sunday.

We watched Beauty and the Beast finally this week, it was a lot of fun! There were so many great actors and actresses in it, such beautiful scenery and of course singing and dancing! Le Fou was fabulous!  We really enjoyed it.

I talked about series that I have mean to start, but haven't on Top Ten Tuesday.

I reviewed The Hate U Give, which is such a wonderful and important book. I really think everyone would benefit from reading it.

I gave an update on my TBR List pick for June, which was... not so great.  So I just updated my original post rather than dedicating a new one to it.

Here is my sign up post that shows what I might be reading (and reviewing) this coming week for the COYER Summer Reading List Read-a-thon #1.

On Tuesday I'll be talking about my favorite reads of 2017 so far, in Top Ten Tuesday.

Hopefully I'll be reviewing... something, from the COYER Read-a-thon, hopefully... ;)

On Saturday I'll be posting a new set of 3 books to vote on for my TBR List for July.

I added quite a few bargains to Mount TBR this week.  These were all on sale for under $2 each when I purchased them for Kindle, except for Behind the Mask, which was regular priced, and Saga #1, which I checked out from the library.

  

This next batch are all from my subscription book boxes for June, Uppercase, Owlcrate and Fairy Loot:

COYER Summer Reading List Read-a-thon #1 - E-books only

It's time for the first Summer Reading List Read-a-thon of COYER! We will be reading e-books only from our reading list, from Sunday June 25th - Sunday July 2nd!

Here are all the e-books on my reading list that I have to choose from!





Progress:

Date	Activity
Sunday 6/25:	58% of One Love
Monday 6/26:	42% of One Love - finished
Tuesday 6/27:	6% of Ether & Elephants
Wednesday 6/28:	9% of Ether & Elephants (15% total)
Thursday 6/29:	no reading, reviewed One Love
Friday 6/30:	9% of Ether & Elephants (24% total)
Saturday 7/01:	-
Sunday 7/02:	-

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

From Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

I wish I could give this 100 stars. So accessible and poignant, best book I've read/listened to in 2017 so far. The Hate U Give covers so many current topics honestly, from the difference between Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter, to how our personalities change depending on where we are and who we're with, and how we may not see that we're allowing racist comments to pass. It's a perfect showcase of the landscape in place and how unfair it is.

The characters feel so real, and Bahni's reading is perfect. Starr has her faults like we all do, and is forced to own up to those at times, but also finds her power and her voice to make a difference. We are able to feel for her and relate to her as a normal teenage girl just trying to get through being a teenager, with the added problems of gang issues, living in a poorer neighborhood and going to a school where she doesn't really feel like she can be herself. I feel like Starr and her experiences are a great discussion start. I don't feel like I've been attacked as a white person, I feel like this is a wonderful explanation, a here's why, now how can we do better?

I apologize because I feel like my words are inadequate for how important and wonderful this book is. Please read it, even if you don't think you need to, you might be surprised.

Top Ten Tuesday - Series I've Been Meaning to Start

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Check out the rules and future list topics here: Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is Series we've been meaning to start but haven't yet.  It will be tough to hold it to just 10, but here we go!  All descriptions copied from Goodreads.

The Mary Russell Series by Laurie R. King

Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection. Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes' pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. But when an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test.

The Mrs. Murphy series by Rita Mae Brown

Curiosity just might be the death of Mrs. Murphy--and her human companion, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen. Small towns are like families: Everyone lives very close together. . .and everyone keeps secrets. Crozet, Virginia, is a typical small town-until its secrets explode into murder. Crozet's thirty-something postmistress, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, has a tiger cat (Mrs. Murphy) and a Welsh Corgi (Tucker), a pending divorce, and a bad habit of reading postcards not addressed to her. When Crozet's citizens start turning up murdered, Harry remembers that each received a card with a tombstone on the front and the message "Wish you were here" on the back. Intent on protecting their human friend, Mrs. Murphy and Tucker begin to scent out clues. Meanwhile, Harry is conducting her own investigation, unaware her pets are one step ahead of her. If only Mrs. Murphy could alert her somehow, Harry could uncover the culprit before the murder occurs--and before Harry finds herself on the killer's mailing list.

 The Psychic Eye series by Victoria Laurie

Abby Cooper is a P.I., psychic intuitive. But her insight failed her when she didn't foresee the death of one of her clients-or that the lead investigator for the case is the gorgeous blind date she just met. Now, with the police suspicious of her abilities and a killer on the loose, Abby's future looks more uncertain than ever.

The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella


Becky Bloomwood has a fabulous flat in London’s trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season’s must-haves. The only trouble is, she can’t actually afford it—not any of it. Her job writing at Successful Saving magazine not only bores her to tears, it doesn’t pay much at all. And lately Becky’s been chased by dismal letters from the bank—letters with large red sums she can’t bear to read. She tries cutting back. But none of her efforts succeeds. Her only consolation is to buy herself something . . . just a little something.

Finally a story arises that Becky actually cares about, and her front-page article catalyzes a chain of events that will transform her life—and the lives of those around her—forever.

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart. 

The Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden - waves her hand to tame the most violent weather. Now she races against accusations of corruption and murder. Her only hope is Lewis, the most powerful warden known. Because he stole three bottles of Djinn, he is now the most wanted criminal on earth. Can she find him before the bad weather closes in?

The Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
 
Just days before a massive exhibition opens at the popular New York Museum of Natural History, visitors are being savagely murdered in the museum's dark hallways and secret rooms. Autopsies indicate that the killer cannot be human...

But the museum's directors plan to go ahead with a big bash to celebrate the new exhibition, in spite of the murders.

Museum researcher Margo Green must find out who-or what-is doing the killing. But can she do it in time to stop the massacre?

The Emberverse series by S. M. Stirling

The Change occurred when an electrical storm centered over the island of Nantucket produced a blinding white flash that rendered all electronic devices and fuels inoperable. What follows is the most terrible global catastrophe in the history of the human race-and a Dark Age more universal and complete than could possibly be imagined.

Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting, and bloody confrontations. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze.

But it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand....

The Others series by Anne Bishop

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.


And there you have it, just a few of the many series I want to start, and someday I will, no really!  What series have you always meant to start and just not gotten to yet?