What are you reading
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Just finished a general-marked cozy mystery that was good, but not good enough to make me want to read further in the series. Now I'm reading a light Christmas book - THE CHRISTMAS LAMP by Lori Copeland. I might have read it many years ago, but nothing seems familiar.0
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I have several Lori Copeland books but haven't read from her in years.
Still working on my re-read. I'll listen more in the CRYPTOGRAPHER'S DILEMMA this afternoon.
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I read that Lori Copeland book a few years ago. I need to get back into some Christmas reads.
Current:
FRAMED IN DEATH VALLEY by Dana Mentink (LI suspense)
Finished
THE GOLD IN THESE HILLS Joanne Bischof (split time). This was really good. It was about a man who bought a house that was the only building left of a ghost town and about the town in 1902 as it was closing down due a mine failing.
I don't know what book I will listen to next. A bunch of my holds have come available, so I have lots to choose from. It is funny though, they are all historical.0 -
I want to read that Joanne Bischof book, it sounds really good.
Still working on the sci-fi re-read and the CRYPTOGRAPHER'S DILEMMA. I'm more into the sci-fi right now though so am reading a few chapters in the other to break it up.0 -
I was on facebook today and saw a link to Harlequin novels that are in KU. There are a ton of LI suspense. You guys know that I love them. Just in case anyone else in interested:https://tinyurl.com/5b2xbuwt
Current:
NARROW ESCAPE by Virginia Vaughan (suspense) KU - Pretty good novella.
I'm getting ready to start ROOTS OF WOOD AND STONE stone by Amanda Wen (Christy finalist). I thought this was historical, but I think it is another split time. I usually really enjoy them, so am looking forward to it.0 -
We know what you'll be reading in the weeks ahead, Connie. There were a ton of LI Suspense books on that list! I'm not a suspense fan, but I found two regular LI books, plus a couple of others that looked good. Thanks for sharing the list.
I'll probably be tired of Christmas reads by December, but you got me started on them and I'm having a ball so far. I'm halfway through AN AMISH WIFE FOR CHRISTMAS by Patricia Davids (LI) and it's really good. Much better than similar books of this type. Davids is a very good writer.0 -
Carole - I had room for two of the LI Susp. and put a few more in my wish list, but I had read a lot of them. At first I thought I was going to have read all of them, but I did finally find 10 that I hadn't read. According to the author that posted the link, it changes regularly.
I finished:
ROOTS OF WOOD AND STONE stone by Amanda Wen. I really enjoyed this. I can see why it was a finalist.
THE HEART OF A COWBOY by Jody Hedlund (historical) - Pretty good, but definitely not my favorite of hers.
Current:
FIREFLY DIARIES by CC Warrens (suspense) - kind of spooky, but good. A lady buys a house at an auction to "flip". Come to find out, there had been a family murdered there years ago.
WAITING ON LOVE by Tracie Peterson (historical) - her newest.
I need to get back to my "real" book. It is good, I just don't really enjoy them anymore. Adjusting fonts, having it read to me, etc. just make ebooks or audiobooks more enjoyable for me.
Kim - I have been thinking about buying a 7inch fire. The cheapest one only has 16gb memory. Do you know if that is enough that I can use it for reading, library, facebook and email? I really want it mainly for carrying in my purse when we travel, or for doctor's offices, etc. They are so cheap, and usually cheaper during Black Friday sales, that it just seemed like it might be a good idea.0 -
Wow - I followed another link on the harlequin page and came up with a bunch more. This could be a LOT of reading.0
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Wow, there are a bunch on there. I downloaded the first in that K-9 series. I think I have some of them as well, but I didn't have the first one, and I like Lisa Phillips as well.
Worked on CRYPTOGROPHER'S DILEMMA as well as THE INN ON HANGING HILL last night. I started the fourth book in the sci-fi series I am re-reading.
Connie, I used my 7" for all my reading for awhile. It started to give me some trouble with turning off after I didn't input something into it after the 30 minutes that I set for my time out. For some reason my other Kindle's don't do that, but my 7" did. I had quite a few books downloaded to it so I think it could handle what you would want to use it for, especially since the books you've read are removed from the device when you are done with them (KU and library books). I think that the KU and even the library books aren't downloaded onto the device until you manually do that (if I remember correctly), so you can see them there but they aren't taking up any space yet on the device.
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I have the Christy Barritt book checked out and thought about reading it today, but decided that I wanted to read Anne Perrault's newest book (THE GIFT), instead. After the spooky FIREFLY DIARIES by CC Warrens (suspense), I wanted more of a change. I really liked FIREFLY DIARIES, though. I have enjoyed her other books, but to me this is her best.
I am listening to A DEEP DIVIDE by Kimberley Woodhouse (historical). This is a Harvey House book taking place at the Grand Canyon. Very good.
Thanks Kim for the info on the fire. My 10in turned itself off after 30 minutes as well, but after an update it quit doing it. I have a gift card that would pretty much cover it, but usually they have some hot deals later in the year. I need to think about it. I kind of liked that 30 minute turn off for listening as going to bed. My phone does that too, but I don't usually keep it on the 30 minutes so I have to change it in settings if I want it to read to me. Otherwise, my battery runs low too easily.0 -
l listened some more to the Christy Barritt book, THE INN ON HANGING HILL. It doesn't seem to flow as easily as most of her stories do, I feel like I am going around and around with similar things happening in each chapter but not getting closer to the truth. It's weird, but I am enjoying it.
Still working on the others as well.0 -
Current:
CAPTURING SOSIMO by Sara Blackard (suspense) next in the Stryker Security Force series. I have one more. I am hoping that the libraries start picking up more. I had 4 in kindle that I had picked up free, but have been listening through the library to all of them except the prequel. I think there are 7, and are not on KU.
A VIEW MOST GLORIOUS by Regina Scott (historical) - Suffragette wanting to climb Mt. Rainier. It is good so far.
Finished:
THE GIFT by Anne Perreault (To Protect and Serve #1) KU
Stryker Security Force
MISSION OUT OF CONTROL by Sara Blackard (Prequel suspense) short
FALLING FOR ZEKE by Sara Blackard (suspense) Very good.
I still have a few library books checked out, and a bunch on hold that will all probably come up at once, but I want to get back to my KU books soon. I have been trying to work in a KU book between other ebooks.0 -
Connie, I have HONORING LENA, which is book 7 in that series. I have 1,2,3,4,7. It is loanable if you can't find it in your libraries. I haven't read them all though, I think I got distracted with other stuff before the next one came out and by then I had lost the flow of the story.
Still working on the same stuff bit by bit. I did start a Cozy Mystery, NO FILTER by Heather Day Gilbert. I tried another one and it was just too ditzy for my enjoyment, but this one, so far, has been very good.
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I like that cozy mystery series. I have read all that have been released.
I would love to borrow #7, but let me catch up on my reading a bit.
I had quite a while this morning that on screen reading wasn't handy, so I got quite a way into my paperback. It is pretty good.
Right now I am listening to RANGER REDEMPTION by Lynne Shannon (suspense) and reading A VIEW MOST GLORIOUS by Regina Scott (historical).0 -
Just let me know when you want #7, Connie.
I finally finished THE INN ON HANGING HILL. It wasn't her best, but it was still good.
I started THE ESCAPE by Lisa Harris. Starts out very quickly and has been very good so far.0 -
Finished:
A VIEW MOST GLORIOUS by Regina Scott (historical)
RANGER PROTECTION by Lynne Shannon (suspense)
RANGER REDEMPTION by Lynne Shannon (suspense)
RANGER COURAGE by Lynne Shannon (suspense) These were good. I will check out the next one on KU when I have a little bit of room on it.
A DOUBLE DOSE OF LOVE by Kathleen Fuller (Amish) - I have the next one ready to go. This one was okay.
MORE THAN A HEARTBREAK by Kari Trumbo (Independence Islands Book 15) - not one of my favorites. It was kind of a "Beauty and the Beast" type of story. She was scarred and had no hair, he was a movie star. The story was pretty good, but the ending was too abrupt.
Current:
THE INN ON HANGING HILL by Christy Barritt (The Beach House Mystery Series # 2) - I am just getting started on it.
MATCHED AND MARRIED by Kathleen Fuller (Amish) - I will start this before bed tonight.
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Let me know what you think of the Christy Barritt. I liked most of her other stuff better than this one, I felt like it went in circles, going over the same stuff rather than moving the story forward.
I really like Kathleen Fuller.
I read some in ESCAPE by Lisa Harris. I'm really enjoying this one, although it's slowed down. They are chasing after an escaped convict and things are getting a bit predictable right now.
I'll read more in the CRYPTOGRAPHER'S DILEMMA tonight. Probably switch to a fairy tale re-tell too.0 -
I finished CRYPTOGRAPHER'S DILEMMA. I liked it, but some decisions the female character made were contrary to how she acted in other times of the story. Sometimes she was logic driven and other times she was emotion driven, not thinking of the consequences of her decision.
I am working on a fairy tale re-tell of The Miller's Daughter. So far it is pretty good. Sometimes it feels like the author wants to go in a naughty direction but stops short of going there and it makes me cringe because she is new to me so I don't know what she is like. So far it's been alright.
I got another in the VILLIANS fairy tale series, this one by J M Stengl. I really like her stories, so am hoping that this one will be good. It's a RED RIDING HOOD retell.0 -
I enjoyed THE INN ON HANGING HILL and CRYTOPGRAPHER'S DILEMMA. I gave the Christy Barritt book 4.5* and the Johnnie Alexander book 5*. Probably by getting in and reading right through the books, I don't stop and think about them as much. I just read and enjoy....and usually finish a couple a day. I don't read them to think about the faults in them, just the enjoyment of reading - does that make sense? I either enjoy, or don't. I don't try to figure out the why's. That is one reason I won't review for the most part. I don't like to dissect a book.
Finished:
A DOUBLE DOSE OF LOVE by Kathleen Fuller (Amish)
MATCHED AND MARRIED by Kathleen Fuller (Amish) - these were okay, but not anything I would write home about.
LIKE NEVER BEFORE by Melissa Tagg (romance) - This was good. I have a couple more checked out, as well.
THE INN ON HANGING HILL by Christy Barritt (The Beach House Mystery Series # 2) KU
CANDLEGLOW AND MISTLETOE by Josie Riviera (Christmas) - Just a good Christmas romance. Better than I was expecting.
Current:
HANGIN' BY A MOMENT by Susan May Warren & Andrea Christenson (Deep Haven) - This is the newest in the series. I am enjoying it. It is about a ER nurse that winds up back in Deep Haven and is working at qualifying as a flight nurse.
KEEP HOLDING ON by Melissa Tagg (romance) - I'm not far into this one, but I'm sure that I will enjoy it.
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I finished THE BAKER AND THE WOLF by J M Stengl, a fairy tale retell of Rumpelstiltskin and Red Riding Hood. It was pretty good.
Working on the other books I've mentioned.
When I review a book I basically give a synopsis of the story from my point of view, without trying to give away too much. If something really bothered me about a book I will make note of that in the story but let people know if it was clean (no cussing or sex) too. If a story has a cuss word I give it three stars and make a note that I had to quit because I don't read stories with cussing in them. This has caused two authors to remove the cussing from their "Christian" stories. I appreciate when other reviewers make note of language or sex in a story so I know whether to give it a try or not.0 -
I finished ESCAPE by Lisa Harris. This is kind of two stories in one, two mysteries happening side by side and there is definitely a cliff hanger ending that should lead into the next book because one thread is solved but the other is left wide open.
Started a Jennifer Beckstrand Amish story, but it had characters in it from another of her series that she didn't finish and it was disconcerting to see them in this story, so I quit reading. I really liked the other series (with the two naughty young boys who were trying to marry off their brothers so they could get out of the basement and into a bedroom! Books one and two came out, but she never got to book three).
I also read some more in a fantasy that has gone from The Miller's Daughter to Rapunzel. Now our couple are separated and each thinks the other is dead.0 -
I'm back and will get everything figured out on what I have read and what I am reading.0
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Finished:
ALL THIS TIME by Melissa Tagg (romance)
IT’S BETTER THIS WAY by Debbie Macomber (romance) It has been a long time since I had read one of her books. I really enjoyed it. It had some fairly passionate kisses and some alcohol (no drunkenness), but nothing that turned me off of the book. It was a flex-read with hoopla, so didn't count against my allotment.
A PICTURE OF HOPE by Liz Tolsma (WW2). Soooo good! It was about a woman photographer with the press corps that snuck into France trying to get pictures of the war front. A really great story that included several Down Syndrome children (called Mongoloid during that era). That is very close to my heart. The closest I had to a sister was my Mom's Down Syndrome sister that lived with her and my Dad after my grandmother passed away. She was such a joy!
Current:
NIGHT PREY by Susan Sleeman (suspense) - Good, so far. I haven't gotten too far into it.
WINDOW ON THE BAY by Debbie Macomber (romance) - just starting
By the way, Susan Sleeman is having some real health issues. We need to keep her in our prayers. The fall mentioned was in mid-February. She has had several surgeries and is still wheel-chair bound. This is her post today:
Happy Wednesday, all. I’ve spoken a lot about my fall and the resulting fractures and recovery to you, and last week I mentioned pancreatitis. You all have been SO faithful with prayers. Thank you. I’ve felt them deeply. I have autoimmune chronic pancreatitis so it wasn’t a new event for me. I have pain and problems most everyday unless I don’t eat. I have pretty much learned to deal with the daily issues, but then for no apparent reason the pancreatitis flares up in to an acute episode, which in the past has landed me in the hospital for a few days. But I have a great doctor who has prescribed the medicines I need to try to tough it out at home now, and where I was having 4-5 hospital stays a year, I am down to zero stays for pancreatitis this year and bouts last only a day or two now. Praise God for that and for this doctor!
As you read this post, I'm at the femur surgeon’s office learning if my bone is healing. I have no idea if it is, but the x-rays will soon let us know. But believe it or not, my focus has changed, and I have something far more pressing in my life that has grabbed my attention. Don’t get me wrong. I want to know if the femur is healing, and I want to get out of this wheelchair. But the other medical issue is more urgent right now.
Out of the blue two weeks ago, I noticed that the glasses I wear to work at my computer stopped working right. I couldn’t focus. Then I noticed the lines on a spreadsheet becoming wavy. A few days later I noticed the vertical siding on our house and the doorways and kitchen cabinets being wavy. I had cataract surgery years ago to remove cataracts developed from taking high doses of Prednisone for my rheumatoid arthritis, and with implanted lenses, my vision shouldn’t change so I was baffled and starting to freak out. So I called for the soonest appointment I could get with the ophthalmologist, which was on Monday. There I learned I have age related macular degeneration. AMD. There are two kinds. The milder is dry and the more severe is wet. I have the wet kind with blood vessels leaking into my macula, which is why it’s called wet. Right now I have a large pocket of fluid pressing on my eye and distorting my vision.
All AMD leads to vision loss, but wet AMD is more rapid. You can lose vision in a matter of days. I have an appointment tomorrow with a retina specialist who will further assess the severity. But when your ophthalmologist says she wants you to be seen by the specialist within a day or two, you know the news is not good and all you can do is sit and stare at her and not even ask the questions you need to ask because you’re too stunned. All I kept thinking was, I’m a writer. I have to be able to see. And then I thought of not being able to see my grandsons’ faces as they grow up. And I started praying. Then crying. Then praying some more. Then trying to trust. Then failing. Praying again. And on and on for two days now.
I have tried to work on Tough as Steele, book one in the upcoming Steele Guardians Series, but mostly failed. Yesterday I managed to get a chapter written, but I had to scroll back in the manuscript to find a key point that I’d forgotten, and I ran across the words I'd written for the hero to share with the heroine.
He says, “The thing I’ve learned over the years is that God doesn’t give us what we want. He gives us what we need. Sometimes it’s the same thing, but often it’s not. Then we have to adjust and trust.”
Adjust. Trust. Oh wow! Yeah, that’s what I’ll need to do. What an adjustment this’s going to be. Can I believe my own words written just a few weeks ago? Embrace them? Trust God’s plan?
I know there are far worse things I could have happen in life. Many of you have shared things you’ve gone through that would bring me to my knees, like the loss of a child, and I am thankful that it’s just this. But the loss of vision is incomprehensible to me when I love creating stories that bring God’s word to people in an entertaining way. That’s why it's so hard to process. But I know I will. In time. And it will help after I see the specialist tomorrow to get a treatment game plan and start working on slowing the progression of loss of vision.
So stay tuned for more health adventures. More struggles. More writing. And characters who go through challenges too to find the path that God has for them as I walk this new path He has put before me. I know He has already been down the path and has seen what I can’t see, and as my oldest daughter said to me, “No matter what happens, Mom, it’ll all be okay."
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Oh wow, she has suffered considerably and when I read things like this my problems are minor indeed! Our prayers will be with her and her family. I like what her hero said to her heroine. So often we hear that God won't give us more than we can handle. I don't believe that - why would we need Him if that were true. I think He gives us what we need to learn to surrender to Him and trust Him with whatever He's allowed in our lives. We can handle it only because He is handling it in us, if we trust Him. I don't know, could Job handle losing everything in his life??? I don't think so, I think He trusted God and God saw him through it.
I am reading THE NATURE OF A LADY (can't remember the author right now) and enjoying it, although it seems slow compared to other things I'm reading. I have so many other books started and am going back and picking them up and reading a chapter or two to get caught up with them.0 -
Kim - I totally agree with you! God has to handle our problems and when He does, we need to give Him the glory! There is nothing in the Bible that tells us that God won't give us more than WE can handle (on our own), but showing us that we can handle THROUGH Him.0
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I finished up the nanomite series I was re-reading. I didn't remember book four much at all, so that was nice!
I finished STALKS OF GOLD, the Miller's Daughter/Rapunzel re-tell. Wow, Rumpelstiltskin/Ruskin was nuts in this one.0 -
Finished:
NIGHT PREY by Susan Sleeman (suspense) - very good
WINDOW ON THE BAY by Debbie Macomber (romance) - I have been enjoying reading a few of her books again. These are "flex" reads on hoopla. The other library that I have been using doesn't have these, so I decided to check and see what was available. There are a few of her books included.
CALIFORNIA’S CALLING by Brooke St. James (romance) part of the Walker Family series. They are fairly short,
TACOS FOR TWO by Betsy St. Amant - Pretty good. Kind of the enemies to lovers trope.
Current:
BACK TO THE BEACH by Brooke St. James (romance)
COVERT COVER-UP by Elizabeth Goddard (LI susp)
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I saw today that hoopla has a lot of the Christy Award finalists. I actually got an email telling me about it. I picked up a couple that I hadn't read.0
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Oh wow! I just won another giveaway. I love Alexa Verde's Cowboy Crossing series and I won my own copies of them, an audio of the first one, and a $25 gift card.0
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Finished:
RANGER FAITH by Lynne Shannon (suspense) KU
RANGER HONOR by Lynne Shannon (suspense) KU
COVERT COVER-UP by Elizabeth Goddard (LI susp)
BACK TO THE BEACH by Brooke St. James (romance)
IT’S ABOUT TIME by Brooke St. James (romance)
Current:
RULE #1: DON'T FALL FOR MR. WRONG by Taylor Hart & Bella Grace - Rules of Dating Rom Com Collection
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