Weekly Recap #21: Week of 10/1-10/7
/27 Comments/by Suzanne
It’s time for another weekly recap post of all things happening on and off the blog. This week I’ll be linking to the Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and to Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.
This past week was one of those weeks where I felt like I was just constantly distracted and trying to go in about 10 different directions at the same time. Upcoming work deadlines have had me bringing work home several nights this week and then trying to fit that in around my son’s soccer games and homework. Thankfully my work deadlines are fast approaching (10/16) and then that stress will be behind me. Soccer has been going well. We just finished the regular season with a 6-1-1 record and will have our first playoff game in a week. My son hasn’t scored anymore goals, but he is still having an outstanding season. I’m really proud of him, especially since he wasn’t even sure he wanted to keep playing this season.
Another big distraction has been starting to plan my November trip to NYC. Since I’ve already done most of the obvious touristy things on previous trips, I’ve been doing a lot of research trying to come up with some new things to do and places to go. We’re thinking of touring Harlem this time if we can find a tour that we like the sound of.
Netflix was calling my name a lot this week as well. I had a few of those evenings where I just needed something mindless to do so I vegged out and binge watched the rest of Shameless, season 3 of Fuller House, and then watched the Jane Fonda/Robert Redford movie Our Souls at Night. Man, those two still have the best onscreen chemistry!
Needless to say, I got a little behind on my blog commenting. I meant to get all caught up today but then spent most of the day reading and napping instead, haha. I hope to be caught up before the end of the day tomorrow though. I also have a few reviews that I need to get written because while I was hibernating and reading, I finished Crooked Kingdom as well as the cozy mystery Murder Over Mochas. I also started Emery Lord’s The Names They Gave Us and Hillary’s new book. I think Hillary’s book is going to take me a while to get through, just because of all of the emotions that it stirs up, but so far, I’m finding it to be an interesting read. Very raw and honest.
Anyway, I think that’s it for me. Have a great week, everyone!
WHAT I POSTED LAST WEEK
- [1 Oct] Weekly Recap #20: Week of 9/24-9/30
- [2 Oct] The Alice Network by Kate Quinn ★★★★½
- [3 Oct] Top Ten Tuesday – My Top 10 Favorite Book Boyfriends
- [4 Oct] Can’t Wait Wednesday: Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
WHAT I’M READING THIS WEEK
UPCOMING REVIEWS
STACKING THE SHELVES
TOTALLY RANDOM
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
/18 Comments/by Suzanne“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
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My selection for this week is BENEATH THE SUGAR SKY by Seanan McGuire. I’ve not actually started the Wayward Children series yet, so I’m glad the synopsis indicates that this will work as a standalone. I love books that are set in boarding schools anyway and even better that the setting for this story is a magical boarding school! The synopsis also grabbed my attention with the idea that main character Rini is on a quest to that involves restoring her dead mother to life, somehow without the use of magic. As if that wasn’t complicated enough she’s also going to save the world. Failure is not an option for Rini because if she can’t find a way to restore her mother, Rini herself will never have been born. Sounds like a pretty wild ride to me! Oh and apparently this is also a tale of courage, friendship and baking. Interesting combination and more than enough to pique my curiosity about this book as well as the whole Wayward Children series.
BENEATH THE SUGAR SKY by Seanan McGuire
Publication Date: January 9, 2018
From Amazon:
A stand-alone fantasy tale from Seanan McGuire’s Alex-award winning Wayward Children series, which began in the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List Every Heart a Doorway.
Beneath the Sugar Sky, the third book in McGuire’s Wayward Children series, returns to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children in a standalone contemporary fantasy for fans of all ages. At this magical boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are reintroduced to the “real” world.
When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)
If she can’t find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests…
A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do.
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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂
Top Ten Tuesday – My Top 10 Favorite Book Boyfriends
/40 Comments/by Suzanne
Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Book Boyfriends/Girlfriends (Which characters do you have crushes on?)
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Going in, I thought this was going to be a tough topic to come up with a full set of 10 for. With the exception of my longtime book boyfriend, Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, I just drew a blank when I started thinking about characters I had crushes on. Once I got going though, I actually ended up with 11 names and so had to make a cut (Sorry, Rhysand!). Apparently I crush more easily than I thought I did 😉
TOP 10 BOOK BOYFRIENDS
1 and 2. KAZ and MATTHIAS from the SIX OF CROWS series
Apparently I have a thing for bad boys because Kaz Brekker scored the number 1 spot on my list, with his fellow teammate, Matthias, coming in a close second. I love that they’re both tough yet a little vulnerable if you dig deep enough, and I’m especially enjoying Matthias right now as I’m reading Crooked Kingdom and watching Nina flirt relentlessly with him. Every time he blushes, I crush on him a little more, haha.
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3. AZRIEL from the A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES series
I almost put Rhys on my list because I have crushed on him a bit throughout this series, but I bumped him for Azriel at the last moment because there’s just something about Azriel that appeals to me on a more subtle level. I like his quiet, protective demeanor and that there’s an air of mystery surrounding him at times.
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4. ALUCARD EMERY from the SHADES OF MAGIC series
Honestly, I have crushes on most of the characters in this series to some degree, but Alucard Emery is just so fabulous, I had to put him on this list. I’m a big fan of both his witty banter and most especially of his absolute devotion to Rhys.
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5. CARSWELL THORNE from THE LUNAR CHRONICLES
This guy is just such a larger than life personality that you can’t help but fall in love with him. I love a funny guy and Carswell Thorne is just hilarious, even if the hilarity is often unintentional.
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6. RON WEASLEY from the HARRY POTTER series
Seriously, how can you not love Ron Weasley? I love Ron because he’s funny, sarcastic, loyal as hell to his friends, and because he’s often an underdog compared to all of the other witches and wizards at Hogwart’s. There’s just something about an underdog that appeals to me…
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7. MR. DARCY from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Mr. Darcy was my first ever book boyfriend and he still makes the list all these years later. Darcy initially comes across as arrogant and condescending, but I loved that, if you took the time to get to know him, as Lizzie did, there was much more to him than meets the eye and that he was actually quite kind-hearted and unassuming.
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8. JON SNOW from A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE series
It’s totally the underdog thing here again with Jon Snow. The fact that he’s played by the sexy Kit Harrington in the HBO series doesn’t hurt either! 😉
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9. LEVI STEWART from FANGIRL
How adorable is this guy? I think I started crushing on Levi the moment he was compared to a golden retriever in the book, lol.
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10. AUGUSTUS from THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
This guy has got to be the sweetest boyfriend ever. The way he felt about Hazel, everything he did for her…. just such a sweet, thoughtful guy. Loved him.
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