Saturday morning is perfect with coffee, the pup, and The Running Man โ˜•๏ธ ๐Ÿ• ๐Ÿ“–

#currentlyreading #readingStephenKing #dogsoflitsy

Three weeks after starting, I‘ve finally finished Part One!! I‘m loving this SO much.

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Prince Harry really opened up about how his mother‘s death and its aftermath has traumatized him. I wish I knew a little less about his conflicts with the rest of the Royal Family. Some of it was uncomfortable to hear, like he was over-sharing. But I LOVED the stories about Meghan and their life together, and his memories of Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth. It was well-written and entertaining, and I was super into every minute of this listen.

I finished five books in January and my favorites are pictured here. The Good Wife of Bath was my favorite because of its time period, followed very closely by Blacktop Wasteland. I‘ve loved everything I‘ve read by RaeAnne Thayne; her no-stress, easy-reading stories are like balm to my soul.

I also finished Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini and You‘ve Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca, both of which were disappointing.

#JanuaryReads

Finished the 8th in the Haven Point series while on a ski vacation in the NC mtns. This installment features Megan, who owns the local lakeside inn, and Elliott, the oldest and most mysterious Bailey brother. This author is so fantastic at building a series from a lovable community of characters with one or two large families. I always enjoy scenes with previous characters. This is an excellent series for easy, stress-free reading. #dogsoflitsy

I love this graphic from my Audible Weekly Edit email. Such a great visual!

I‘ve been listening exclusively on my work commute so it‘s taking me a little longer than some to finish. It‘s so sad how he was very clearly traumatized by every aspect of his mother‘s death.

I‘m SOOO excited to be starting this chunkster!! I absolutely loved Follett‘s The Evening and the Morning and I can‘t wait to immerse myself in this world again. I can‘t decide if I want to fly thru the story or drag it out and savor it for a long time. This period of time is my favorite!!

This is my first time reading this book. I hope it lives up to all the praise it has received!!

Fantastic Southern noir!! I liked Beauregard โ€œBugโ€ Montage so much as a character even though he was more an anti-hero than a hero. He wanted to be a good father, husband, providerโ€”but circumstances and his own past kept getting the best of him. I enjoyed the car chases more than I thought I would, and I also enjoyed when Bug would seek out revenge. Fast-paced and fun, with perfect audiobook narration by Adam Lazarre-White.

I‘m so invested in this story!! It‘s so good.

It‘s riveting, I can‘t stop listening. But I do love all things Royal and am pretty obsessed with all parties.

I‘m still pretty early in the book, but already I wish I knew what the other members of the Royal Family were thinking in most of these situations.

Also I LOVE that Prince Harry reads this himself.

Very underwhelming, very disappointing.

I‘ve seen a lot of great things about Eric Larocca‘s work, but I definitely chose the wrong one to pick up first.

I can‘t believe it took me over a month to read this short book! I liked the story, both timelines. I love Civil War stories, I love historical fiction. But this one had a couple of slowly-paced places, and it was a chore for me to finish it.

I really loved this. This is one possible story of the Wife of Bath, who appears in Chaucer‘s The Canterbury Tales. Most of the book is her story from age 12 on thru her adulthood, until just after Chaucer writes her into his Tales. She gives us a wonderfully detailed glimpse of a non-royal working woman‘s life during the 1300‘s, with successes and setbacks over and over.

The audiobook is fantastic. Beautifully narrated by Fran Burgoyne.

My mug was an impulse buy at Target, money well spent, and I love it so much!! I am indeed a Dog Person.

Also still loving this book! I‘m almost halfway done and my favorite part is the way it examines how women lived during the Middle Ages. The MC Eleanor is a force!! I love her. And Geoffrey Chaucer is a secondary character ๐Ÿฅฐ

โ€œIn the Middle Ages, a famous poet told a story that mocked a strong woman. It became a literary classic. But what if the woman in question had a chance to tell her own version?โ€

My first read of the new year! I love love love The Canterbury Tales and am very excited to see what life Ms Brooks has imagined for Chaucer‘s Wife of Bath. Three chapters in and I think I‘m going to love it!

I didn‘t expect to love this one so much but WOW. Stephen King is so freaking good at building characters and details in the beginning and then layering them until the end just blows my mind. These characters are so real and believable. The story was heartbreaking in several ways, but the suspense I felt throughout and my heart rate in the second half made for a really fun reading experience.

Next up #readingStephenKing: The Running Man!

This is a struggle for me because of the chapters when Cujo is getting sicker. His POV is exceptional so much that it absolutely rips my heart out. I‘m not sure I‘m supposed to sympathize with Cujo, but here we are. I am a Dog Person.

Stephen King‘s layered build-up of each character is flawless though. He is the Master, no doubt about it.

I hope I can finish this one, but it will all come down to the dog. #readingStephenKing #currentlyreading

I‘ve been meaning to read this for years. No better time than now. The cover is so pretty.

#currentlyreading #winterreadathon

A small-town, second chance, novella-length romance. 1 hour 42 minutes. Narrated by Carly Robins and Aaron Shedlock.

It was cute! The narrators did a great job. If you are able, I recommend giving this one a listen over reading the ebook #winterreadathon

I tested positive for Covid yesterday after somehow managing to avoid it so far. I‘m hoping to use my time resting to chip away at this book, or maybe read some more Hallmark-y Christmas stories. #winterreadathon

This is a story about how Tucker the Dog helped heal a young boy‘s broken heart after his father died in a farm accident. It‘s a novella, so it‘s a short, feel-good read with lots of snow and Christmas. It always feels so good to find books featuring dogs that aren‘t tragic. I read A Dog Named Christmas last year but I think I may read it again. ๐Ÿ•โ„๏ธ๐ŸŽ„

I‘ve just finished the first three Lakeside Mountain Rescue medical romances from this anthology. The three stories contained are closely connected in that they feature three siblings and their love interests. All three have medical careers and work together in the same hospital. They all also volunteer on their local mountain rescue team โ„๏ธ

They‘re quick and easy reads packaged all together, which made it easy to read them back-to-back-to-back.

This is #3 in the Lakeside Mountain Rescue series, featuring Midwife Sally Jenner and Obstetrician Tom Hunter. Labor & Delivery is my background, so I loved the medical aspects of the story. Tom was arrogant and Sally was wishy-washy. They spent so much of the story fake-avoiding each another and pretending to โ€œbe strongโ€ without one another. Still enjoyed it though. Sarah Morgan writes some of my favorite romances, particularly winter stories.

I plan to read as many Christmas/winter stories as possible. This is my favorite time of year and I adore reading Hallmark-y Christmas stories especially! No planned TBR, just reading whatever I want. I *may* participate in challenges like the word search, but I don‘t want to stress over them.

Mainly it‘s fun to be reading along with a large group of reading friends. Thank you to @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES @DieAReader for hosting! #WinterReadathon

This is the 2nd in the Lakeside Mountain Rescue series by my favorite romance author, Sarah Morgan. Started it last night, finished it this morning. At under 200 pgs, these books are quick reads. Helen is on the rebound after being left at the alter in London by her ex-fiancé. Oliver falls in love with her quickly and pursues her until she realizes she never really loved her ex-fiancé. He‘s a doctor, she‘s a nurse. I love this group of friends.

Can anyone help me understand why this button isn‘t available to me when I try to add a book to the Litsy database? It has been this way for me for more than a year. Everything else checks out when I try to add-required fields, etc-but I never have a clickable โ€œAdd Bookโ€ button.

Does anyone know what to do about this?

Very sweet, very Hallmark-y story of a screenwriter (for Hallmark movies, actually) who travels from Los Angeles back to her tiny hometown in the mountains for Christmas as a favor to her grandmother. I love holiday stories where a character that has been jaded by the holiday ends up finding her love for Christmas again. This is one of those stories. A quick read, I loved every word.

Started it last night, finished it this morning with my coffee โ˜•๏ธ This is a quick category romance from Sarah Morgan, who is my *favorite* romance writer. Bryony‘s daughter asks Santa for a Daddy for Christmas, so Bryony starts dating so she can find a father for her kidโ€ฆmuch to the dismay of her best friend, Jack, who has always been in love with her. Nothing new here, but I don‘t read category romance for new storylines. It‘s quick and fun.

Just finished rereading Dark Tides because my husband bought me the next book in this series, Dawnlands. I love Philippa Gregory‘s books so much. They‘re definitely not nonfiction but she uses real people and historical events to move her plot along. I adore the strong women in this story, and I LOVE to hate the villain, Livia. I despised Livia more on this reread than my last read, and I can‘t want to see what she‘s up to in the next installment.

It has taken me over a week to get almost halfway into this one, so I‘m bailing on it. I think my disinterest comes with the spice-level of the story. I usually don‘t mind sexy stories, but this just so much and it didn‘t mix well with the sweet Christmas-y vibe it was also trying to give out. There‘s just too much going on here. I may try again in the future, but for now, I‘m moving onto something else.

I was definitely fooled by the cute cover!

I also got these beauties for my birthday!

โ€ข I LOVE Philippa Gregory and this is the third book in her incredible Fairmile Series. I‘ve been re-reading the second book (Dark Tides) while waiting for this release and I‘m SO excited to read it.

โ€ข I‘ve had Powers and Thrones at the top of my wishlist since before the hardback was released a year ago. I really wanted a paperback, and it just released last week. I LOVE Medieval History so much.

It‘s my birthday today and my husband got me this enormous and beautiful ATK cookbook!!! It‘s so shiny and heavy and full of recipes. It even includes the recipes from the 2023 season!

It‘s 1250 pages!! I‘m so in love ๐Ÿ˜ If you know me at all, you know I‘m absolutely obsessed with America‘s Test Kitchen and Cook‘s Country. I can‘t wait to read it and cook thru it.

My newest cookbooks!! I can‘t wait to start cooking from them ๐Ÿฝ

I saw an ad for this one and thought I‘d see what it was about, now I‘m hooked at about halfway thru. I can‘t get enough of medieval history. This one isn‘t super academic-sounding. In fact, there is some sarcastic humor tossed in which would make it a good starting place for those without a big medieval history background. It‘s fun, but doesn‘t spend a lot of time on any one part of the history. Enjoying it!

A sweet, easy-breezy romance set in a small town during the Autumn season. Jennifer is new in town after leaving her past relationship and starting over. This is the story of how she warms up to the town and its people. It was perfect for stolen moments of reading throughout the day. I got it for free on Amazon and read the whole thing today. I liked it!

Continuing with my series reread, this is my favorite of the series! Zsadist is a โ€œbroken boyโ€ who is redeemed by Bella‘s love. I love this trope. Zsadist was a blood slave a few centuries ago, and has carried shame and self-loathing his entire life. As a result, he‘s pretty miserable to be around. Until Bella crosses his path and his cold heart begins to melt and experience love for the first time. Love, love, love this one.

I‘m not really sure what to think of this one. It isn‘t anything like I thought it would be. There is a fun werewolf plot, but it competes with complicated family issues, strained relationships, and a miserable pregnancy for the top storyline. I mean, it was okay. This was my second attempt at reading it, it just didn‘t hold my attention enough the first time and I made myself finish it this time. The author‘s blunt writing style didn‘t help.

This was exactly as cute as everyone says it is!! I stayed up late to finish it last night. So fun when a book is worth the hype. I chuckled throughout and I completely adored Adam the nerdy, awkward professor.

I‘m excited to be starting this one! I‘ve seen SO many positive things on Litsy and on Goodreads. I recently enjoyed all three of Hazelwood‘s novellas.

I have noticed varied reviews and ratings for this book on Goodreads, but I truly loved it. The story follows five generations of witches and and highlights their efforts to preserve their family line and their craft even as being a witch is a very dangerous thing. I loved the strength of each of these women and their smarts. They didn‘t always make good decisions, but I feel like their paths were true. This is a wonderful read for October TBRs.

Taking some time to read in my quiet house before I go into work later this morning. My three teenagers are all on fall break, so they‘re sleeping in a little bit. I love knowing they‘re home but also having a perfectly silent house to read in. This one has been on my list for a long time and I‘m finding it a fantastic fall read so far. Really enjoying it.

My sixth (!!!) read of this book was via audio on a road trip this weekend with my husband. I‘ve always hoped he would read it and listening together was wonderful. So much of this story speaks directly to my heart, from all of the food bits to the found family aspect. This is one of my go-to comfort reads. I just saw that J Ryan Stradal has a new book set to publish April 2023 and I am OVERJOYED. One of my absolute favorites.

So cute and sweet! This is a forced proximity novella that ultimately centers around a pregnant foster dog in need of a forever home. Mary has a car accident on a snowy road in Colorado and, along with Angel the dog, makes her way to grumpy Nick‘s cabin where she is snowed in for a few days. Over the course her time with Nick, Mary and Angel the dog help him get over his grumpiness about Christmas.

A dog story that isn‘t sad, with a happy ending!

I got this Christmas audio on a whim from Chirp for 99 cents and it was pretty good. There is nothing original here, but I could read stories like this million times and never get tired of it: a big city girl gets sent to a small town for work and ends up falling in love with the town, the local handyman, and his family. This is not my favorite story in this trope, but it was a nice 5 hr 1 minute listen.

(A couple of parts made me blush๐Ÿ”ฅ)

This book made me so happy! I loved every single second of reading it. The setting is a Christmas tree farm and it features a friends-to-lovers fake relationship. I loved Stella and Luka, and their slow burn, and I can‘t wait to keep reading the series to see what happens with their friends (and farm co-owners) Layla and Beckett.

And with this, my Christmas seasonal reading begins!!๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ„

I can‘t overstate exactly how much I love this series. The language and characters are cheesy, but I love the relationships between the characters so much. Mary and Rhage aren‘t my favorite BDB couple but their story is a great one. I had forgotten that Bella and John Matthew are introduced in this book although the major part of their stories do not come until later. Just a fun, not-at-all-stressful read that was perfect for my very busy week.

I‘m so bummed by this one! There was so much potential for something gothic and atmospheric and wonderful, but it failed for me starting around the halfway point. This story tries to be too many things and in doing so, the themes are poorly-defined. I couldn‘t ever grasp what the author is trying to say. Ultimately, I don‘t know what I‘m supposed to take away from this story and, sadly, I didn‘t enjoy it like I hoped I would.

I‘m 1/3 thru and not entirely sure what‘s going on yet. It‘s giving me Gothic vibes and reminding me a little of du Maurier‘s Rebecca so far. The cover is deliciously creepy!

How on earth is it possible to love something so much when it is so cheesy?? If you‘d read this series, you know what I‘m talking about! I adore these characters so much, even though they‘re much too macho and crass to be adorable. The world is fascinating with its vampire mythology and hierarchy. When I started rereading a couple of days ago, I knew I‘d enjoy the trip back to Caldwell, NY. But I didn‘t realize I‘d be THIS obsessed all over again.

Started this reread 24 hours ago when Hurricane Ian was coming, but not here yet. Right now, it‘s pouring rain outside and my shutters are making a lot of noise. I‘m settled in with Dark Lover, which I haven‘t read in years. Within two pages, I was right back in this world. I had forgotten how F-U-N these books are with all of the leather, the made-up words, and the shitkickers. I read this previously in 2011 and again in 2013. Still love it.