Disis19 Hearts...

Grim Reaper: End of Days by Steve Alten My rating: 2 of 5 stars This was just ok for me. I suppose it wasn't the story I was expecting going in. It's a battle between good and evil with elements of spirituality and science, but there's a lot going on. There were many POVs and I felt like that made the story drag. This seems to be the start of a series per the last few pages in the book, but there have not been any subsequent novels published to date. I don't think I would've continued with this series if there were to be honest. This book did feel final enough for me in the epilogue. Though I didn't enjoy this book very much, I have been enjoying the author's MEG series a lot and will try other books by him in the future. View all my reviews

The Sweetest Burn by Jeaniene Frost My rating: 3 of 5 stars Interesting sequel. It's been a while since I read the first book though, so I was a bit lost in the beginning. It did all come back eventually. Now that the third installment is out, I better get to that one soon so I don't have the same thing happen. Listened to this one on audio again since one of my favorite narrators does this presentation. Though I always enjoy her narrations, this installment wasn't as enjoyable as other books I've read by this author. Not sure what it is but I'm still looking forward to the next installment. View all my reviews

The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub Pretty enjoyable read. Had no idea who the culprit was but I did not care for the heavy focus on one character in the hopes of luring us into believing that person had something to do with it. That made it pretty obvious it wasn't that person for me. One thing definitely made me laugh out loud, and I enjoyed the recipes that are provided at the end of the book. I listened to a majority of this on audiobook and thought the narration was ok. It was done well enough that I will probably continue to listen to subsequent novels in this series (at least partially) on audiobook. I look forward to seeing where this series goes in the future. View all my reviews

Nightstalkers by Steve Alten My rating: 4 of 5 stars Enjoyable but I wish the author would get away from the reality TV plot line. That didn't play a big part in this book thankfully. Another creature is introduced in this volume and that always brings interest for me. Something to note is that this book drops what I think are spoilers to the author's Loch series. It is a series I was interested in reading, so not knowing things were revealed in this book that pertained to that series bothered me a bit. If you are interested in the Loch series, definitely stay away from this installment until you've read the first 2 books in that one. I believe this series will conclude in 2018, so I'm interested to see how this all will wrap up. View all my reviews

Outtakes from the Grave by Jeaniene Frost My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoyed reconnecting with these characters. It's been a while since I read volume 7 so things aren't as fresh in my memory as to the goings on in each installment. As such, there were times I was a little lost in regards to timelines, but I still enjoyed these little snippets. It's interesting to hear why these scenes were cut from the original publications and it would've been nice to have these extras as I was reading the series. Each scene is cut into a separate chapter and starts with a preface from the author stating which installment the scene is from and why the scene was not in the final publication. I found the narrator, Tavia Gilbert, when I started this series and she has become one of my favorite narrators. Each character has their own unique voice and she really does a great presentation. Even if this type of book is not your thing, I'd definitely rec...

Origin by Dan Brown My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have to admit that I do enjoy these books, even if they're a bit formulaic and in this particular one, I guessed something about the story pretty early on. This installment held my interest almost until the end, and then I got bogged down by the science in the later part of the book. Once that part passed and we headed towards the end, the story renewed my interest. I was expecting that we'd find the world in the aftermath of the occurrences in Inferno, but I didn't find that at all. I don't think it was even mentioned, unless I really missed something. This book discusses some pretty highly controversial topics, so I think it's something to consider before starting this book. I did listen to a majority of this book in audio and enjoyed the narration. I'm not usually one to pick up a book immediately upon it's release, but after Inferno, I was curious about this one. Though it wasn't wha...

The Shark by Mary Burton My rating: 4 of 5 stars Picked up this book because I won the second one in a giveaway. Interesting mystery. Had no idea until it was revealed, who was involved. Based on the sneak peek of the next book that was at the end of this installment, I think I'm going to enjoy that story as well. View all my reviews

Hell's Aquarium by Steve Alten My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoyed this installment a lot more than the previous two. This one got back to the things I really enjoyed about the first book. I did again listen to a majority of this in audiobook, but I also picked up a physical copy from my library. The physical copy included pictures of the other animals mentioned in this installment, which were very interesting. Looking forward to the next one! View all my reviews

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente My rating: 3 of 5 stars Listened to this one on audiobook and I have to say that the experience this time around was much easier than I had with the previous installments. The narration was very soothing also. These books are never what I expect, to be honest. We find September a year older in this one, but she doesn't seem to have matured at all. The story wasn't gripping for me and I really think I need that for a book to be more than just enjoyable. These books are definitely more like a stroll where the destination is never really set until you get there. At least that's how I feel. The uncertainty of where the story is finally going to end up I think also hinders my enjoyment because I'm constantly looking for how the story will resolve. I will still continue with the series as I do like them. The end of these books always makes me curious about what will happe...

Primal Waters by Steve Alten My rating: 3 of 5 stars This installment has taken me the longest to finish so far and it was the least enjoyable as well. Fast forward a couple decades and we have an older Jonas and his family including two teen children, one who thinks she can do anything she wants because she's almost 18. She really grated on my nerves and I did not like how her character progressed at all. We again have the dual POV situation here, but it didn't bother me in this installment as much as it did in the second book. The reality TV show aspect of this installment wasn't enjoyable at all and it wasn't believable to me considering the situations these characters were in. I am still going to progress through to the next book in the series though, because though I enjoy them less and less, this series is still keeping my interest at the moment. View all my reviews

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephenie Meyer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed revisiting this story. It was more hilarious than I remember the original to be for sure. I'm not sure if it was because the lines sounded different in my head, if it was the way the narrator delivered them, or if they were in fact slightly different. There are a few differences in the story as well, which I found interesting. It's been several years since I read the original series and I will need to go back and re-read it just to see what differences were made other than the obvious ones. View all my reviews

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare My rating: 4 of 5 stars Finally got to the next book in this series and I'm really enjoying it! Yes, I am watching the TV show and enjoying that as well. The differences in the book and show are interesting and I'm curious what will happen in the next installment. I really feel like with adaptations, I need to watch them first before reading the text. I seem to be able to enjoy the show for what it is without the constant voice in my head telling me things are different or being disappointed as to why certain things aren't in the show. View all my reviews

The Trench by Steve Alten My rating: 4 of 5 stars More like a 3.5 I felt this installment had 2nd book syndrome. It wasn't as good as the first one was for me. Though it was still enjoyable, I didn't like the alternating POV every chapter. I felt that due to this, I lost some of the flow to the story and I was more interested in one POV than the other. I definitely recommend these books over Jaws, which I also read this month and I'm looking forward to the next installment of this series. View all my reviews

Finished my first square for the Peanuts Graphghan with Two Hearts Crochet! It had to be Schroeder because he's my fav 💙 Worked in Tunisian crochet as that was the look I liked best. I was never a fan of the purple shirt, so I amended the color scheme ^-^

Jaws by Peter Benchley My rating: 2 of 5 stars I was so fascinated by Meg that I thought I should probably check out this book. Yes, I've seen the movie, but I was still curious about the source material especially because I don't quite remember everything from the film. This one was available to stream for free through Audible for Prime Members so I thought, why not. It's been a while since I've seen the film, though I can say that when I watched it, I did think it was scary. I was a child when I watched it and as an adult, I don't think the movie will give me the same chilling feeling I had then. This book surely was not anything like I expected, and not in a positive way. The use of vulgar language and a derogatory word right off the bat did not help matters for me. The writing style didn't agree with me and the story itself was very dated. The descriptions of the attacks were not chilling or suspenseful to me and the end ...

The Bat by Jo Nesbø My rating: 3 of 5 stars I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie The Snowman and looked up the book it was based on, only to find out it's the seventh book in this series. I don't read series out of order and since the movie looked interesting, I thought I'd check this series out. For me, this book was good but not very enjoyable. It didn't seem like anything really exciting happened and the investigation dragged. Harry gets intoxicated quite a bit in this book (which I understand is part of his character, but it doesn't make him a likeable or interesting person to me as a reader) and there's a fair bit of foul language. The end was poetic, though I believe it was unrealistic. I did find it a bit strange that we start this series not in the main character's home land, but in a different country entirely, though I did enjoy the Australian backdrop. I did read the snippet for the next book that was includ...

A World without Princes by Soman Chainani My rating: 4 of 5 stars 3.5 stars I enjoyed the story telling in this book, but I did not enjoy Sophie's character one bit. I don't think she was entirely what made this story not as enjoyable as it's predecessor for me though. The pitting of genders against each other was not enjoyable to me either and the ending of this installment was kind of unsettling to me - Not because I didn't know where it was going, but it's disturbing to me. I can't say anymore on that without giving things away, so I'll stop here. View all my reviews

Most of you know that I've been struggling through The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I've got just one book to go before I complete the series. My friend Lee from the blog totallee.net has been with me through it all. As you know, they're taking me forever to get through and unfortunately, I've been the one that lags behind on our buddy read of these books. While Lee was waiting for me to finish, she's been working on a crocheted portrait of Frodo Baggins and it's finally complete! Check out her amazing work in the below video and subscribe to her YouTube channel to see more. Also, if you are a crocheter and would like to create this portrait yourself, be sure to head on over to her blog as the pattern is now available there.

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 2 of 5 stars This book was very difficult for me to get through. I knew it would be as I've had issues getting through The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, but this one took the longest to read so far. I am determined to get through this series at least once in my life though and I have not gotten through any of the books in my attempts previously. For me to get this far is an accomplishment for me. I'm afraid I have an unpopular opinion of this series. The story just isn't grabbing me and I don't feel connected to the characters like I do with the movie versions. There are definite differences between the two and I do find those tidbits interesting, but I was completely able to leave this book to the side for long periods of time. I did great in the beginning, but lost my momentum pretty quick. One more book in this series to go and I'm hoping that one won't be as difficult to get through a...

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book was not what I expected it to be, but that's what I get for not reading a synopsis before going in. I especially wasn't prepared for it to have a religious tone to it. It's not preachy (at least I didn't feel like it was), but I felt a little on edge the whole way through wondering if it was going to get preachy. The atmosphere was interesting, a few things happened that I wasn't expecting, but for the most part, this story did not grab me. Thankfully this installment did end with a bit of finality. I am comfortable thinking on this as a stand alone. That being said, there is still a possibility I will continue with the next volume in the future. As of right now though, I am satisfied with where things left off and will be moving on to something else for the time being. View all my reviews

Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm not into shark movies, but I do enjoy documentaries on sharks and prehistoric creatures so when I heard about this book, I was very interested. I really enjoyed this one. It starts off with a bang and the events through out the book just kept me intrigued. The relationship that happened towards the end was unnecessary in my opinion and kind of curious to be honest. I feel like some development was missing in order to make that relationship believable, but that's really my only issue with the book. The end was fast paced and exciting and I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series. View all my reviews

Announcing July's Selection for the First in a Series Cozy Mystery Book Club! Come chat with us in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group ^-^ Will you be joining in on this read? You can find the book on these sites: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Books iBooks

On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub I seriously wonder what takes me so long to get to some of the books on my shelf and this one is no exception. It was very entertaining and I really enjoyed this story. All the information on various types of coffee was interesting as well, but it tended to make me crave a cup after reading. That's a bad thing when you're reading right before bed! I definitely recommend this one, especially if you're a fan of coffee or are a frequent customer of a smaller coffee shop. The mystery was engaging and Clare didn't come off as too pushy in her sleuthing style, which I appreciated. Her sleuthing style seemed very natural and logical to me and that was refreshing to read. I have collected several installments of this series so I will be continuing on. Glad I finally got to this one! View all my reviews

Brazen by Christina Farley My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed the conclusion of this trilogy. Though I thought book 2 wasn't as enjoyable as book 1, this one brought the excitement back to this series for me. I listened to a majority of this series on audiobook and I highly recommend the narrations especially if you're not familiar with the Korean language. I thought Greta Jung did a great job with the voices. Overall, I do recommend this series and will be looking forward to reading more from the author and hearing more of the narrator's work. View all my reviews

This video contains all of Carly Dresses I have in my inventory currently. Final price will include tax and shipping. Shipping is $4 for one, $6 for two, and three or more ships free! If you see something you'd like to claim, please fill out my Google Doc here Time stamps for sizes are as follows for your convenience: XXS - 1:23 XS - 3:30 S - 6:39 M - 9:44 L - 12:49 XL - 16:36 - #59 has sold 2XL - 19:21 3XL - 21:25 U.S. Only

Silvern by Christina Farley My rating: 3 of 5 stars This definitely suffered from second book syndrome for me. The story just didn't grab me like the first one did. One of the characters in the previous book has a bigger role in this one, and she tended to grate on my nerves. The story does end on a cliffhanger, unlike the first. Though I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first, I am still interested to see how this will all wrap up. View all my reviews

Here's a sampling of the prints I have in my inventory from the LuLaRoe Americana Collection! Join my shopping group to see sizes and availability here .

Been super busy, but my wrap up for April is finally here! This video includes my thoughts on 4 novels and 4 volumes of manga. Lee's Channel Totallee.net

Gilded by Christina Farley My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book. There were definitely times where I was cringing at some of the descriptions used. I am not Korean, but I have watched quite a few Korean Dramas and Korean Variety Shows and personally have never heard anyone describe their face turning as red as kimchi - not to mention that not all kimchi is red but that's besides the point. Thankfully those descriptions were only in the first portion of the book and did not carry through the entirety. I was not familiar with the legend of Haemosu and Princess Yuhwa before reading this, but the way the legend is intertwined within this story really kept my interest. I found this story to be very entertaining, but I wouldn't say this story was very Korean in nature. If that's the type of story you're looking for, I don't think this one is for you. It does take place in South Korea, there's some Korean words through...

I've been meaning to read this month's selection for a while! In fact, I've collected several of the books in this series so I'm super excited to get to this one. Need help finding a copy? Links below: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo iBooks

The shop is open until 7:30pm PST/10:30pm EST tonight! Above is a peek at some of the prints I'm currently carrying. Two of those prints are from leggings, but the other prints are from shirts or skirts. If you'd like to shop my inventory, you can join my shopping group here . For any outfit purchased, you'll get a spin on the prize wheel!

Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1Cozies Club I really enjoyed this one! The magical elements were kept to a minimum in this installment, but I do look forward to hopefully seeing more of that in future installments of this series. The things I have been cringing from in cozies I've read recently did not pop up in this story, which was much appreciated. I had no idea who the culprit was until pretty close to the end of the story. All in all a very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more by this author. View all my reviews

Night Film by Marisha Pessl My rating: 2 of 5 stars I have to say that I am disappointed in this book. I heard so many great things but for me, this was just ok. I didn't find it suspenseful in the least. Maybe it's because I read so many mysteries that this wasn't as intriguing for me? Maybe I just don't understand what the point of this was? Whatever the case, this story didn't grab me at all, I wasn't attached to any of the characters, and will probably never think about this book again. I would say that the character of Hopper was probably the one I was interested in the most. I did enjoy the articles, documents, and pictures that are spread throughout the book. That made the read more entertaining for sure, but not enough for me to say that I liked this book as a whole. Truthfully, if I were the type to DNF books, I probably would've DNFd this one. I kept reading because I thought maybe there was something revealed at...

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 3 of 5 stars My feelings on this book are pretty much the same as how I felt about The Hobbit: glad that I finally read it, will probably not ever read it again, and I enjoyed the movie more than the book. I listened to a lot of this on audiobook, as I did with The Hobbit, and the amount of singing bothered me yet again. I'm going to try to avoid the audiobook of the next installment and see if that helps my enjoyment of the story, but I have very little hope as the next movie is the one I enjoyed the least... View all my reviews

I had a great reading month in March. 4 books for #MarchMysteryMadness, 1 ARC, 1 book in prep for a buddy read in April, and 5 volumes of manga. A nice change of pace since I haven't been able to read that much in the last few months. Elizabeth's channel ( LizzyFayeLovesBooks ) Troi's channel ( Troi Towel ) March Mystery Madness Twitter Mystery Madness Goodreads Group My LuLaRoe Boutique (US Only) The blankets shown in the opener and closer were hand knit by me.

#Book1CoziesClub pick for May! I'm looking forward to reading this one as I know a few of our members have already enjoyed this title. Please join the First in a Series Cozy Mystery Book Club in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group to talk about it. You can also interact with us on Twitter @marchmysmadness Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo iBooks

A Ghostly Undertaking by Tonya Kappes My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub Really enjoyed this and the writing was so easy to read! I found myself just going from chapter to chapter and not wanting to put the book down. I'm beginning to think that paranormal mysteries or cozies are my favorite types of books to read. I enjoyed that Emma Lee used how everyone thought she had "Funeral Trauma" to her advantage. I had no idea who the culprit was, though I did have several suspicions. All of my suspicions were wrong, but that's what makes reading a mystery fun, at least for me. I'll definitely be continuing with this series and checking out more of the author's work. View all my reviews

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop My rating: 5 of 5 stars I haven't anticipated a book like I anticipated this one in a very long time. It was everything I wanted and I'm not ashamed to say that I was smiling pretty big at the end. Bittersweet that, though I know it's not the end of the series, we will be shifting focus to some other characters in future books. This book really brought a focus on family. What it means to be a part of the pack, how far do you allow a child or sibling to push you before it's too far? What does family look like? That being said, this story brought a character that was particularly despicable and his use of foul language was plentiful. There is physical abuse in this story as well. The courtyard dynamics were very interesting. This is definitely going to need a re-read as I fear I missed a few things in my excitement of absorbing the audiobook, especially towards the end. Thankfully I don't have long to wait until it...

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare My rating: 4 of 5 stars The last time I read this book was back in late 2010/early 2011, but I never continued to the following books! I've been wanting to continue this series for a while and finally got a chance to re-read this one in preparation for that. I really enjoyed this. I listened to a majority of it this time on audiobook with Mae Whitman narrating and thought she did a wonderful job. I laughed out loud a few times and was surprised that the story stayed with me, for the most part. It's probably the fact that I've seen the movie and TV show, but I still really enjoyed revisiting this one. Looking forward to finally getting to the next book in this well known series! View all my reviews

Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read as part of #MarchMysteryMadness It's been a while since I read the previous book in this series, but it was very easy to get back into it and it was nice revisiting the characters. Of course the recipes all look and sound yummy. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it, but the love lines are getting on my nerves. Three books in and we still have a love triangle. I'm not a fan of that because it seems like she's just stringing both guys along with no intention of making a decision. It sure seems, at least to me, that she likes one more than the other, but she shares romantic gestures more with the other guy. Not sure how long this is going to keep up, but I hope she makes a decision soon. View all my reviews

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. In every chapter we have 2 points of view: Tea in the present, telling her story to a bard, and Tea in the past learning to become an asha . The premise is interesting and immediately as you start reading, you wonder to yourself about Tea's situation. You will not get an answer to the question that forms in your head in this installment, just so you know. The end of this book really pulls you in, but I wish the momentum that I felt at the end started a bit earlier in the book. The story is very slow building. We follow Tea in her studies, which is very similar to a geisha or gisaeng, I think. She learns how to sing, dance, play instruments, but she also learns self defense and attack skills as well as ways to hone her magical abilities. Men hire her at tea houses for conversational and artistic...

Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub and #MarchMysteryMadness I enjoyed this book. I could relate to Bubbles being a single mom and having struggles to find her place in life. I also enjoyed seeing her successes as the book progressed. She and her mother are pretty funny too. This book is pretty dated to me. There were several references to bands I believe are 80's Hair Bands, but I'm not entirely sure. I think you definitely need to be a certain age to get all the references. It probably would've made the book more enjoyable for me as well. This does come with a few skincare recipes that I may try and a makeup tutorial that again, is dated, and I will not be trying ^_- Something I did not enjoy was Bubbles' infatuation with a certain character, especially because we don't see this character very much during the entire book! Not InstaLove, but InstaLust for sure. That being said, I did still en...

So, I think we may be pushing the Cozy genre a bit with April's selection, but it is a mystery so we'll roll with it! Check our Goodread's Group for the discussion thread closer to the beginning of April. Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo iBooks Mystery Madness Goodreads Group

Pretty Poison by Joyce Lavene My rating: 4 of 5 stars Probably more like a 3.5 This was one of January's picks for #Book1CoziesClub and I also finished it as part of #MarchMysteryMadness which I am co-hosting. This was enjoyable and I found the gardening tips and information on the flowers at the beginning of each chapter interesting. I do not have the gift of growing plants, but I may try some of the tips included in this book. I enjoy where Peggy Lee is in her life and how this story also shows the growth of her relationship with her son in the aftermath of her husband's passing. For a little bit, I thought her interrogation style was going to be similar to another set of older sleuths that didn't quite agree with me. I'm glad that her interrogation style was different. I am finding that several cozy mystery sleuths are very stubborn LOL. Not sure I enjoy that and since I've been reading a lot of cozies, it may be bothering me more than it sh...

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 3 of 5 stars After several attempts to read this during my lifetime, I can finally say that I have read this book. I listened to some of it on audio and could've done without the singing (I'm pretty sure all the songs had the same melody too). I had always thought that The Hobbit was the story of how Bilbo acquired The Ring, but it wasn't until I saw the movie trilogy that I realized there was more. This book was different than the movies, as they usually are, but unfortunately I have to say that (and I know this will be an unpopular opinion) I enjoyed the movies more. Even though there are some unnecessary differences in the movies, I will watch those again and again but I will probably not ever re-read this book. I am looking forward to seeing how I feel about The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as I will be picking up The Fellowship of the Ring next month. View all my reviews

So, I went from not wanting to read anything to wanting to read all the books! That being said, I didn't complete too many in February, but I should have several books to talk about in my March Wrap Up including the books I completed for #MarchMysteryMadness Janie's Channel Bookworms Buddy Mystery Madness Goodreads Group March Mystery Madness Twitter

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris My rating: 4 of 5 stars Probably more like a 3.5, read for #MarchMysteryMadness This was a pretty fast read, though fairly predictable. I think if you are interested in this one, it's best to go in blind. Even reading the synopsis on the front cover puts too many pieces together for you, I feel. That being said, the format is interesting as you go back and forth between past and present, so you do get the full picture of what is going on as you read. Grace was a bit too naïve for me at times and I did actually laugh out loud at some of her actions that weren't well thought through. I really enjoyed how this book wrapped up and since one of the blurbs on the back of the book references Gone Girl, I will tell you that I enjoyed this book a lot more than Gone Girl. I hesitate to say anymore as I will end up giving things away. I'll wrap this up by saying that I am interested to see what other stories this author brings us...

This past weekend I finished work on this comfy Cocoon Sweater! I followed YARNutopia's video tutorial here . Using Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn in Linen and Black, with a little Vanna's Choice in Taupe and Charcoal Grey, this came out super squishy and soft to the touch. It's been a while since I made myself anything and I absolutely adore this! Have you made one of these sweaters? If so, please share it with me below. I hope you are all doing great! Until next time, Take Care & Smi-Le Always!     ^ (   "   ) /___\     Di

A video version of the challenges for the 2nd Annual March Mystery Madness Readathon including the books I have chosen to fit the challenges. No promises that I'll stick to this list though, as you may or may not know, I am terrible at sticking to a TBR! Let me know if you'll be joining us for our readathon in March!

I think I'm finally coming out of my reading slump! I read 3 novels and 10 volumes of manga in January. Really been enjoying manga lately and I still have a lot of it out from the library. If you are only interested in the manga that I ready, you can skip ahead to 17:11

March Mystery Madness starts a little over a week from now! If you are a part of our Mystery Madness Goodreads Group , you have already seen the threads, but if you aren't a part of the group yet, here are the challenges that we have for the month of March. Hopefully these will help you put together your To Read list for the month, if you don't already have a few books lined up already! Most of these are self-explainatory, but if you have any questions, please let me know. True Crime or Thriller Classic Mystery - any mystery published before 1967 counts! First in a Series or Sequel - start a new mystery series or read a sequel in one you have already started. If you are participating in #Book1CoziesClub any of those selections counts for this too! New To You Author Paranormal or Futuristic Mystery Kid or Youth Detective Diverse Character - read a mystery with a character that has a different background than you. This includes race, sexuality, religion, etc. We'...

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern My rating: 5 of 5 stars I really don't know what took me so long to read this book! You would not believe how long I’ve had it sitting on my shelf. I originally bought it because I saw the movie, not realizing it was based on a book. Of course, once I found out, I immediately went to purchase a copy of the book and then I let it sit on my shelf for ages. I think part of my hesitation in reading this was because I had enjoyed the movie so much. I know the saying is that the book is always better than the movie, but over the last year, I have found that not to be 100% true, at least in my case. I am very happy to say that this book was so much better than the movie! I am so glad that I was able to buddy read this with a friend. You really go through a roller coaster of emotions as you follow Holly trying to cope with the death of her husband. You can feel Holly's pain and the grief she carries, but you also get flashbacks of he...

I only picked one book out of the jar this month, so we can all participate in March Mystery Madness! Links to the selection are after the break:

Get ready to join us in the 2nd Annual March Mystery Madness Readathon! Elizabeth from LizzyfayeLovesBooks Troi Towel March Mystery Madness on Twitter Mystery Madness Goodreads Group The blanket shown in the closer was hand knit by me.

Second Street Station by Lawrence H. Levy My rating: 3 of 5 stars In the end, I did enjoy seeing Mary work through this case and kick some butt while she was at it, however, the things that bothered me about this book will stay with me for a while. I picked up this book because I received a copy of the second book in this series for review. I do not like to series out of order so I had to read this first. I had prepared myself before starting this for it's view on women due to the time in history where this story takes place. I hadn't prepared myself for it's statements regarding Chinese immigrant workers. Granted, due to the time period, I probably should've prepared myself for all aspects, but I didn't and those parts of this story bothered me a lot. It makes you wonder how the author comes up with such hateful phrases. I understand this is a work of fiction, but I have to wonder if he heard something like what he has written from someone else ...

The Forgotten Girls by Sara Blaedel My rating: 4 of 5 stars I decided to pick up this book because it was Barnes & Noble's Serial Read offering for the month. I had no idea it was the fourth book in a series! That being said, I didn't have any trouble nor did it ever dawn on me that I was in the middle of a series. Please note that this book does touch on the subjects of rape and mental illness. The story drew me right in, but I knew immediately that I would need to borrow a copy of the audiobook version to help me accustom myself with the pronunciation of names and such.Once I became familiar with the pronunciation, I should've read exclusively from print. I definitely do not recommend the audiobook version because I'm pretty sure the accents are not right. I picked up an American Southern accent and an Irish accent I think, which kind of made the the backdrop of the book disappear for me. I'm not entirely sure the pronunciation was right, b...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling My rating: 5 of 5 stars This has always been my favorite installment in this series, and it's the one that I've read the most. That being said, it's been at least 15 years since I read it last. I'm not sure what about this one puts it on top for me, whether it be the types of activities going on at Hogwarts during this term, or how the bonds of friendship are tested. The movie of this book also is the one that disappointed me the most, because there are so many interesting things that happen in this one that were left out! I'm not a very emotional reader, but this one never fails to bring a tear to my eye in two chapters of this story. This will always be a favorite of mine and I'm so glad that I finally revisited this one. View all my reviews

February's selections for the First in a Series Cozy Mystery Book Club have been chosen! Links to books mentioned can be found after the break.

December was a slower reading month for me, but I still managed to read six things. Goodreads links to all books mentioned can be found after the break.

Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read as part of #Book1CoziesClub Synopsis (from Goodreads): As if baking holiday cookies, knitting a sweater for her husband’s gift, and making her daughter’s angel costume for the church pageant weren’t enough things for Lucy Stone’s busy Christmas schedule, she’s also working nights at the famous mail-order company Country Cousins. But when she discovers Sam Miller, its very wealthy founder, dead in his car from an apparent suicide, the sleuth in her knows something just doesn’t smell right. Taking time out from her hectic holiday life to find out what really happened, her investigation leads to a backlog of secrets as long as Santa’s Christmas Eve route. Lucy is convinced that someone murdered Sam Miller. But who and why? With each harrowing twist she uncovers in this bizarre case, another shocking revelation is exposed. Now, as Christmas draws near and Lucy gets dangerously closer to the truth, she’s about...

This is a bit of a long one! I got a bit chatty telling you how I did in regards to the goals I set for myself in 2016 and what goals I am planning for myself in 2017. Links to things mentioned can be found after the break.

My highest and lowest rated books in 2016! This video includes all of my 5 star reads and 2 star reads in 2016. My written reviews for each book mentioned is linked after the break.