November Reads...

Almost caught up. Now if I can just get the Decembers reads up before spring, I'll be okay. LOL

Is everyone spending a quiet or maybe semi-quiet New Years Eve at home? Or are you out painting the town? Me, I'm home watching Big Bang Theory marathon, hanging with the kids, reading and enjoying some wine. Did you know that Paul Newman's company also makes wine? I love that his company gives to charities.

On to the reading...

Audio Books

1. Heart of Fire/Linda Howard/RS/B+
2. The Next Always/Nora Roberts/Contemporary/B-
3. No One Heard Her Scream/Jordan Dane/RS/C
4. No One Left to Tell/Jordan Dane/C-

The Linda Howard was a good one and one I hadn't read before. Lucky I got it in audiobook since the print version has been sitting on my TBR piles for what has probably years!

Print/Electronic Books

1. Hot Zone/Catherine Mann/RS/A
2. Head Over Heels/Jill Shalvis/Contemporary/A
3. The Scorpio Races/Maggie Stiefvater/YA Fantasy/A
4. Scandalous Desires/Elizabeth Hoyt/Historical/A-
5. Forever Mine/Elizabeth Reyes/YA Contemporary/B+
6. Chased/Lauren Dane/Contemporary/B
7. Home for Christmas/Kate Davies/Contemporary/B
8. Hammered/Kevin Hearne/UF/B
9. Promises, Promises/Erica James/B
10. Must Love Mistletoe/Christie Ridgway/B
11. Shatter Me/Tahereh Mafi/YA Dystopian/B-
12. A Cold Day for Murder/Dana Stabenow/Mystery/C+

A good month with the standouts being a mix of Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Young Adult and Historical. Good to know I didn't get into a rut!

*This is the picture currently on my desktop. I simply love wolves! I've also been feeling the need for some Patricia Briggs wolves. Might need to do a re-read of Cry Wolf and Hunting Ground before Fair Game comes out in March!

October Reads...

It's not even the end of the month and the monthly reads post is up! Unfortunately it's my reads for October. LOL Where did this year go!? I'm sure I say this every year but this year has flown by! The busy, craziness of Christmas is past but I find I'm having a hard time getting back into the groove. The distractions multiply everyday and the blogging and reviewing are paying for it. That's where determination and pure stubbornness come into play. The reading hasn't suffered much and I did manage to read some good books way back in October.

Audio Books

1. Unholy Ghosts/Stacia Kane/UF/B
2. One Grave at a Time/Jeaniene Frost/PNR/B-
3. New York to Dallas/J.D. Robb/Futurists RS/C+

I think some audio books are missing from the list but one of the best finds for the month was Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series. The narrator is Bahni Turpin who does an excellent job of bringing these characters to life. Absolutely love the accents she gives the characters. Very distinct and unique.

Print/Electronic Books

1. Snapped/Laura Griffin/RS/A
2. The Rose Garden/Susanna Kearsley/Time Travel/A
3. The Iron Knight/Julie Kagawa/YA Fantasy/A-
4. Real Men Will/Victoria Dahl/Contemporary/A-
5. City of Ghosts/Stacia Kane/UF/A-
6. The Virtuoso/Grace Burrowes/Historical/B
7. Unholy Magic/Stacia Kane/UF/B
8. After the Fire/Kathryn Shay/Contemporary/B
9. Frostfire/Lynn Viehl/PNR/B
10. Devil's Own/Veronica Wolff/Historical/B
11. Only His/Susan Mallery/Contemporary/B-
12. Devil's Highlander/Veronica Wolff/B-

As I'm writing up this post, I'm remembering all these wonderful books. Included are four new to me authors. Stacia Kane, Susanna Kearsley, Kathryn Shay and Veronica Wolff. All four are certainly worthwhile reads but at the same time, very different. Love it when I find new authors to read, although my mountain of a TBR pile merely groans in resignation!

*The stunning picture above was submitted by Sean Heavey for the 2010 National Geographic Photography Contest. You can see more submissions and the winner here.

September Reads...

Hey - it's still October and it looks like I just made it with my September reads. (Let's pretend okay?) The above picture is one I took on a trip a couple of weeks ago to Flagstaff and the campus of Northern Arizona University. Yes, the leaves actually change up there and we were even told they had snow already. But sadly it was gone when we got there. It was a fun overnight trip I took with my teen who is considering going to NAU next year. She did get accepted but hasn't decided yet. There might be a few more trips in the future to other campuses. It was a fun girls only road trip. Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera and had to reply on the cell phone.

Audiobooks

1. Finding Perfect/Susan Mallery/Contemp/B
2. Sunset Bay/Susan Mallery/Contemp/B-
3. Seduced by Shadows/Jessa Slade/PNR/C+
4. Forged of Shadows/Jessa Slade/PNR/C

Not many audiobooks in September and I don't remember why. September seems a distance memory already. LOL I am all caught up with the Susan Mallery series and frankly, I'm ready for a break. Recently I've been listening to Sarah Addision Allen's audiobooks but that will have to wait until next month's list.

Print/Electronic Books

1. A Night to Surrender/Tessa Dare/Historical/A
2. Bad Boys Do/Victoria Dahl/Contemp/A-
3. Atlantis Betrayed/Alyssa Day/PNR/A-
4. Animal Attraction/Jill Shalvis/Contemp/A-
5. Doubleblind/Ann Aguirre/SciFi/B+
6. Her Colorado Man/Cheryl St. John/Historical/B+
7. Forever/Maggie Stiefvater/YA/B+
8. Giving Chase/Lauren Dane/Contemp/B
9. Unleashed/Sara Humphreys/PNR/B
10. Soldier on Her Doorstep/Soraya Lane/Contemp/B
11. Archangel's Blade/Nalini Singh/PNR/B
12. Outside In/Maria V. Snyder/YA/B
13. Tempted by His Target/Jill Sorenson/RS/B
14. Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Romance Novels/Sarah Wendell/Nonfiction/B

The Numbers

Contemporary ~ 4
Historical ~ 2
Non-Fiction ~ 1
PNR ~ 3
RS ~ 1
SciFi ~ 1
YA ~ 2

Format

Print ~ 10
E-Book ~ 4

Pretty good month and now that I'm looking back, I'm starting to remember some wonderful reads. LOL I don't seem to have any one sub-genre that I'm sticking to lately which is good since maybe I won't get burnt out on any of them.

This year, and I say this every year, I'm going to get a short list of holiday themed romances to read, yep, during the holidays. So far on the list is the anthology Snowflakes and Stetsons by Jillian Hart, Carol Finch and Cheryl St. John and reviewed here by Hilcia over at Impressions... of a Reader. The rest on the list will come from the ever growing TBR pile. I figure it's a good way to get in the holiday mood or possibly keep me sane and carve away at the TBR pile before it takes over the house.

So how about you - do you enjoy reading holiday themed romances around the holidays or do you read them anytime of the year?

August Reads ...

I don't know where August went. It was here, then gone in a blink. Hot. Busy. Hot. Busy. That seemed to be the theme for August. Good time to stay inside and read.

Those are solar flares in the picture above. I think I can say I know how it feels. Surface of the sun - Phoenix, Arizona. Not much difference in August.



Audiobooks

1. Attachments: A Novel/Rainbow Rowell/Contemporary/A-
2. Shift/Jeri Smith-Ready/YA/A-
3. Chasing Perfect/Susan Mallery/Contemporary/C
4. Almost Perfect/Susan Mallery/Comtemporary/C+
5. Delicious/Susan Mallery/Comtemporary/C+
6. Retribution/Sherrilyn Kenyon/PNR/C

As you can see, I went on a Susan Mallery binge which I've continued into September. I like certain parts of her stories but so far none have blown me away. The Kenyon was simply okay. I kept having a sense of deja vue. It felt like it was the same basic plot as the last few, only with the names changed.

Print/Electronic Books

1. Summer at Seaside Cover/Jacquie D'Alessandro/Contemporary/A
2. Kiss of Snow/Nalini Singh/PNR/A
3. Tempted/Elisabeth Naughton/PNR/A
4. Deeper than Midnight/Lara Adrian/PNR/B+
5. Good Girls Don't/Victoria Dahl/Contemporary/B+
6. Making Waves/Tawna Fenske/Contemporary/B+
7. Summer's Crossing/Julie Kagawa/YA Fantasy/B+
8. No Proper Lady/Isabel Cooper/Time Travel/B
9. Hexed/Kevin Hearne/UF/B-
10. Deadline/Mira Grant/Dystopian/C
11. Midnight Man/Lisa Marie Rice/RS/C

The Numbers

Contemporary ~ 3
Dystopian ~ 1
PNR ~3
Romantic Suspense ~ 1
Time Travel ~ 1
Urban Fantasy ~ 1
YA ~ 1

Format

Print ~ 9
E-Book ~ 1

Well, I'm not sure how it happened, but I managed to review all the print/e-books I read in August. The fact that it's already mid September might have something to do with it. LOL That's okay, I'll take it. :) I've been trying to write the reviews within a day or so of finishing the book but that doesn't always happened. When it does, it seems like the writing comes quicker. Always a plus!

How's September looking for everyone? Good I hope!

July Reads...

I took this picture the other evening on my way to the grocery store. This is just south, about 1/2 mile, from my house. It's a good example of our July weather. It's monsoon season so we get lots of clouds and thunderstorms this time of year. I can remember as a kid, lying on the grass and watching the clouds. This was usually after some intense playing of tag or riding bikes or climbing trees. It was a great way to rest and relax.

Now, I hardly ever take the time to just look at the clouds. I do have high windows in my living & dining room that are uncovered and offer a view of the sky. But it's not the same as being outside and just watching the clouds go by. I think we could all use a little "cloud time" in our busy lives.

On to the books...

July was a month filled with some very good reads and a few wonderful audiobooks.

Audiobooks

1. Rules of Attraction ~ Simone Elkeles/YA/A
2. Perfect Chemistry ~ Simone Elkeles/YA/A-
3. Archangel's Consort ~ Nalini Singh/PNR/B+
4. Born of Night ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon/PNR/B-
5. Born of Fire ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon/PNR/C
6. Freefall ~ JoAnn Ross/RS/C

I'm all caught up and ready for Archangel's Blade, the next book in Nalini Singh's Guild Hunters series. And I finally dove into the very well reviewed and discussed Simone Elkeles books about the Fuentes brothers. Highly recommend both books. Book 3, Chain Reaction comes out later this month.

The two Kenyon's were okay with heroes very reminiscent of her Dark Hunter heroes. I couldn't help thinking how tortured all her heroes are. I can't think of any who are well adjusted and don't carry scars both physical and emotional.

The Ross could have been better but there were too many characters to keep track of.

Print/Electronic Books

1. His Majesty's Dragon/Naomi Novik/Fantasy/A
2. Heartbreak Creek/Kaki Warner/Western Historical/A
3. Divergent/Veronica Roth/YA Dystopian/A-
4. One Good Reason/Sarah Mayberry/Contemporary/B+
5. Hexed* (anthology)/Ilona Andrews/UF/B+
6. A Gentlewoman's Predicament/Portia Da Costa/Historical Erotic/B
7. A Gentlewoman's Ravishment/Portia Da Costa/Historical Erotic/B
8. Hounded/Kevin Hearn/UF/B
9. Smart and Sexy/Jill Shalvis/Contemporary/B
10. Inside Out/Maria V. Snyder/YA Dystopian/B
11. The Last Goodbye/Sarah Mayberry/Contemporary/B-
12. A Kiss at Midnight/Eloisa James/Historical/C+
13. Aftertime/Sophie Littlefield/Dystopian/C
14. Forbidden Pleasure/Amanda McIntyre/Medieval Erotic/C

The Numbers...

Contemporary ~ 3
Dystopian ~ 1
Fantasy ~ 1
Historical ~ 1
Historical Erotic ~ 2
Medieval ~ 1
Urban Fantasy ~ 2
Western Historical ~ 1
YA ~ 2

Format...

Print ~ 7
E-Book ~ 7

Out of the 14, only 3 were from the TBR pile. The rest were either from the library (I love my libraries!) or the publisher. I'm trying to get through the library books that I've had out for what seems like eons. The city library allows 99 renewals as long as there are no requests. And I know I've had some of them for close to a year. So I really need to get the library TBR pile down.

I'm way behind on the reviews and not sure if I'll try to catch up with these or just go from here. I think the problem was that I was so behind on the June reviews it took me all of July to catch up on those! I wish I could write reviews in 30 minutes. Heck, even an hour would be quick for me. Unfortunately, I'm easily distracted. LOL

A thank you to Nath for recommending the Naomi Novik series. It was such a fascinating adventure with Laurence and Temeraire! I'll try to get a review up soon.

*Hexed anthology - I only read the Ilona Andrews novella. The other stories were part of series that I haven't read yet.

May Reads...

May was suppose to be a good month. An easy month. It was anything but. After the trip to the ER and the stay in the hospital I'm ready for some non-drama time. The pneumonia is almost gone and I'm taking full advantage of ordering the kids around. They are learning how much work goes into keeping the house clean. The teen even recruited the youngest to help wash her car. Now I just need to get them to wash mine. :)

I did pretty well on the reading front. Lots of good reads, with only a few so-so. I'd call that a good month. If everything goes well, I should be going to Denver this month. We're just waiting for my brother's cancer to go into remission. I've been getting ready by starting a pile of paperbacks to take with me. (Hey, I know my priorities!) So far I have a good mix of genres - mystery, YA, contemporary, PNR, and a historical. I'm sure I'll add more to the mix.

In case you're curious ~

A Cold Day for Murder ~ Dana Stabenow
Angel Star ~ Jennifer Murgia
Unguarded ~ Tracy Wolff
Frostfire ~ Lynn Viehl
Follow My Lead ~ Kate Noble

I'll also be taking my nook and since I have a droid phone now, I have the Kindle app with books there as well. If I'm feeling okay, I might even sneak in a trip to a UBS. :)


The May Reads...

Audio Books

1. If I Stay/Gayle Forman/YA/A
2. Crimson City/Liz Maverick/PNR/C+

If I Stay was a quick listen at only 5 hours long. As an example, Julia Quinn's newest release, Just Like Heaven is 10 hours. Even though it was quick it was very emotional, had me tearing up. I have the follow up book, Where She Went waiting not so patiently on the tbr pile. I would definitely recommend If I Stay.

After reading Julia Spencer-Fleming's One Was A Soldier I downloaded the audio book from the library, listened to it and enjoyed it all over again. Can you tell I really love that series?

Print/Electronic Books

1. Breaking Point/Pamela Clare/RS/A (review to come)
2. The Greyfriar/Clay & Susan Griffith/Steampunk/A
3. You Belong to Me/Karen Rose/RS/A (review to come)
4. Enclave/Ann Aguirre/Fantasy/YA/A-(review to come)
5. The Ranger/Monica McCarty/Historical Romance/A-
6. One Was A Soldier/Julia Spencer-Fleming/Mystery/Romance/A-
7. Edge of Sight/Roxanne St. Claire/RS/A-
8. Portrait of Seduction/Carrie Lofty/Historical Romance/B+(review to come)
9. Dragon Bound/Thea Harrison/PNR/B/B+
10. Touched by an Alien/Gini Koch/SciFi Romance/B
11. Play of Passion/Nalini Singh/PNR/B
12. Shiver of Fear/Roxanne St. Claire/RS/B (review to come)
13. Invincible/Sherrilyn Kenyon/UF/YA/C+
14. A Reason to Believe/Maureen McKade/Western Historical/C+
15. Nate/Beth Williamson/Western Historical/C+

The Numbers...

Historical Romance ~ 2
Mystery ~ 1
Paranormal Romance ~ 2
Romantic Suspense ~ 4
Science Fiction Romance ~ 1
Steampunk ~ 1
Western Historical ~ 2
Young Adult ~ 2

Format

Print ~ 12
E-book ~ 3

Odd, no contemporaries. But still a good mix. I've been busy trying to catch up on reviews. Still a little behind but I'm getting there. If I stay on schedule I should be caught up by this time next week. Yeah!

*Photo from National Geographic site

March Reads...

What's the saying - March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb? Or maybe it's the opposite - in like a lamb and out like a lion. Whatever it is, March was one heck of a month!

I'm still playing chauffeur to my mom. I don't think I've mentioned this here, but her drivers license was revoked last October because she failed the vision exam. She has since gone through the process of contesting the revocation which included exams from her eye doctor and the ophthalmologist who performed her cataract surgery. She sent in the proper paperwork and waited. Last month she finally got her "trial by phone" yes, it was over the phone with a judge on the other end. He informed her that he never received the forms from the doctors stating her vision, in their opinion, passed the state requirements. UGH! So after all this time, it was back to sending in the forms, again, and waiting. She finally got the judge's decision and he agreed with the revocation. :( But... she can go to her Primary Care Physician, have him fill out another form stating that he believes her to be able to drive, and the revocation will be rescinded. Seriously! Of course it's been upsetting for her, having to rely on me and her friends for rides. I'll be taking her to the doctor next Wednesday and then hopefully to get her license soon after.

Another thing that hit us hard was my oldest brother's diagnosis of lymphoma. He's had non-Hodgkin lymphoma for about 6 years but it is in remission. This new lymphoma is a more aggressive type and he started chemo the week after being diagnosed. He has a very positive attitude and made it through the first week of chemo. He has another round of chemo then stem cell transplant ahead of him. It turns out siblings are usually the best match for the transplant so myself, my sister and two other brothers are getting tested. If I do match, I'll be heading to Denver in a few months.

Okay, enough about me and the drama. I try to avoid drama whenever possible but sometimes it finds me no matter what I do. On the reading front, I did manage to get some reading done between everything that was going on. March was a pretty good month with some exceptional reads.

Audio Books

1. First Drop of Crimson/Jeaniene Frost/PNR/B
2. The Touch of Fire/Linda Howard/Western Romance/B
3. Homeport/Nora Roberts/Contemporary Romance/C

Only 3 new audiobooks this month. I listened to some old favorites along with Brockmann's Hot Pursuit to get ready for her Breaking the Rules release.


Print/Electronic Books

1. A Lot Like Love/Julie James/Contemporary Romance/A
2. Blackout/Rob Thurman/UF/A-/Review to follow
3. My Soul to Steal/Rachel Vincent/Young Adult Fantasy/A-
4. Absolutely, Positively/Heather Webber/Mystery/A-/Review to follow
5. River Marked/Patricia Briggs/UF/B+
6. Rock Hard/Olivia Cunning/Erotic Romance/B+
7. Strong, Silent Type/Lorelei James/Contemporary Romance/B+
8. Friends with Benefits/Cat Johnson/Erotic Romance/B+
9. Tyler/C. H. Admirand/Contemporary Western Romance/B
10. Coin Operated/Ginny Glass/Erotic Romance/B
11. Treachery in Death/J. D. Robb/Futuristic/B
12. Unspeakable/Laura Griffin/RS/B-
13. Breaking the Rules/Suzanne Brockmann/RS/C+/Review to follow
14. Undertow/Cherry Adair/RS/C
15. Kitty and the Midnight Hour/Carrie Vaughn/UF/C

The Numbers

Contemporary ~ 3
Erotic Romance ~ 3
Romantic Suspense ~ 3
Urban Fantasy ~ 3
Futuristic ~ 1
Mystery ~ 1
Young Adult ~ 1

A ~ 1
A- ~ 3
B+ ~ 4
B ~ 3
B- ~ 1
C+ ~ 1
C ~ 2

Format

Print ~ 12
E-book ~ 3

I'm happy with the numbers for the month, some very solid reads in there. The Julie James was wonderful. The third installment of Heather Webber's Lucy Valentine series was another exceptional addition. You really should try that series if you haven't already. It's smart and funny. Rob Thurman and Rachel Vincent both had strong addition to two of my favorite series. We got to see a lot of Mercy and Adam in the newest Patricia Briggs novel. And I've rediscovered my love of rock stars in Olivia Cunning's romance novel about a rock band.

So what new author have you read recently? Anything that completely blew you away?

And if you're interested in a chance to win an e-book about sexy time traveling vampires, then check out the guest author post from Tracy Cooper-Posey here.

January Reads...

The year started off with a bang reading wise. I'm once again keeping track of books read (including audio books), in Excel. We'll see how long it lasts. :)

While I love listening to music, I always have an audio book going too. What I've found is that I enjoy re-listening to audio books as well as listening to the audio books of previously read books. Brockmann's Troubleshooter series and Robb's In Death series are two that I enjoy repeat listens. It's like visiting with old friends. :)

Last month found me listening to Elizabeth Hoyt's Wicked Intentions. I read the book when it came out and decided to refresh my memory by listening to the audio book before reading the next release, Notorious Pleasures. Let me say narrator, Ashford MacNab, did a beautiful job making the book come alive.

I won't be including the repeats in the monthly listing.

Audio Books

Source = City and County Library websites. If you are interested in trying audio books I would strongly suggest checking out your local library website. If you have access to a metro library system and even some of the smaller systems, you should be able to download audio files to your computer and side load to an mp3 player using OverDrive Media.

1. At Graves End/Jeaniene Frost/Urban Fantasy/B+
2. First Lady/Susan Elizabeth Phillips/Contemporary Romance/B+
3. Silver Springs/Carolyn Lampman/Historical Romance/B
4. Glitter Baby/Susan Elizabeth Phillips/Contemporary Fiction/B

The Numbers

Contemporary Romance ~ 2
Historical Romance ~ 1
Urban Fantasy ~ 1

B+ ~ 2
B ~ 2

I have to mention how much fun it was to "hear" Bones from Jeaniene Frost's series. The narrator, Tavia Gilbert, makes me chuckle, in a good way, when I hear his lyrical accent.

Also, listening to First Lady reminded how much I miss hearing Anna Fields' voice. She is truly missed.

Print/Electronic Books

1. Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman/Lorraine Heath/Historical Romance/A
2. The Iron Queen /Julie Kagawa/Young Adult (Fantasy)/A
3. Whisper Falls/Toni Blake/Contemporary Romance/A-
4. The Chief /Monica McCarty/Historical Romance/A-
5. Sugar Creek/Toni Blake/Contemporary Romance/B+
6. The Spymaster's Lady/Joanna Bourne/Historical Romance (Suspense)/B+*
7. The Hawk /Monica McCarty/Historical Romance/B+
8. Call Me Irrisistible/Susan Elizabeth Phillips/Contemporary Romance/B+
9. Dreamveil/Lynn Viehl/PNR/B+
10. A Bride in the Bargain/Deeanne Gist/Historical Romance (Inspirational)/B
11. Thread of Fear/Laura Griffin/Romantic Suspense/B
12. Marry Me /Jo Goodman/Historical Romance (Western)/B
13. No Place to Run/Maya Banks/Romantic Suspense/B-
14. Maybe This Time/Jennifer Crusie/Contemporary Romance (PNR elements)/B-
15. The Lawman/Patricia Potter/Historical Romance (Western)/C+
16. An Independent Wife/Linda Howard/Contemporary Romance/D
17. Rough Cut/Mari Carr/Erotic Romance/DNF**

Titles in red link to my review. I hope to get the remaining 5 titles reviewed.

* The Spymaster's Lady started as an audio book but I got impatient and switched to my print copy. :)

**Rough Cut was a free novella for the nook©. Couldn't get into it.

The Numbers

Historical ~ 7
Contemporary ~ 5
Romantic Suspense ~ 2
Paranormal Romance ~ 1
Young Adult ~ 1

A ~ 2
A - ~ 2
B+ ~ 5
B ~ 3
B- ~ 2
C+ ~ 1
D ~ 1
DNF ~ 1

In case you're curious ~

Ten of the print books were library books.
Four were E-books.
Three were from my TBR pile.

Only a few duds but mostly a very good month number wise and grade wise. I'm going to be pragmatic about this and explain it away as a fluke. The number of historical romances surprised me. I think it's been years since I read that many in a month. So how was your reading month?

Photo Courtesy of Antarctic Photo Library

June Reads...

June is gone but where the heck did it go? Last month's reading got off to a slow start for me. The family vacation to Disneyland and California Adventure cut into my reading time. I did some reading on the drive there and back but while we were there most of my down time was spent sleeping on the non-sleep number bed or complaining about my aching feet. :) (Yes, I missed my sleep number bed. *sob* Loves that bed!)

No DNFs this month that I remember. I did have one in May. (missed posting the May reads) It was an erotic romance. The heroes were aliens and their hair came alive, among other things. And since it's erotic, the hair got really friendly with the heroine. ICK! I had other problems with the book like the old alien forced seduction. Luckily, I don't have too many DNFs and I think it's due to the fact that the majority of books I read are either from favorite authors or because of good reviews from you guys. :)

The final count is 11 books read. Not bad but I hope to read more of my personal and library TBR piles this month. Yep, I even have a library TBR pile. The city library allows 99 renewals so as long as no one requests the book, I keep renewing, having faith that I'll get to it. :)

I'll also get my challenges read for this month. *shakes fist in air* I totally flaked on every single one last month so I plan to start early, like this weekend. :D

Countdown/Michelle Maddox/Futuristic/B+
The Making of a Duchess/Shana Galen/Historical/B-
I'm Watching You/Karen Rose/Romantic Suspense/B+
Tied Up, Tied Down/Lorelei James/Erotic Romance/Review to follow
Kiss Me If You Can/Carly Phillips/Contemporary/B+
Beyond the Night/Joss Ware/PNR/B
The Iron Daughter/Julie Kagawa/YA/Review to follow
Beauty's Beasts/Teal Ceagh/Erotic Romance/B+
Embrace the Night Eternal/Joss Ware/PNR/B
Chimera/Rob Thurman/SCIFI/Review to follow
Criminal Instinct/Kelly Lynn Parra/Romantic Suspense/Review to follow

The breakdown ~

Contemporary ~ 1
Erotic ~ 2
Futuristic ~ 1
Historical ~ 1
PNR ~ 2
Romantic Suspense ~ 2
SCIFI ~ 1
YA ~ 1

The reading was definitely mixed - a little here, a little there. I suppose the Futuristic, PNR and SCIFI could all be lumped together but there's really no stand out genre. I think it all has to do with mood. I'm a very moody reader. ;)

March Reads...

March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, or so the saying goes. I'm not sure about that, all I know is that the flowers are blooming and my allergies are killing me. The goods news is that I did read some great books, only a couple that didn't work all the well for me but overall a good reading month.

Tapestry ~ Karen Ranney ~ Historical ~B+
Ecstasy Unveiled ~ Larissa Ione ~ PNR ~ C+
A Matter of Class ~ Mary Balogh ~ Historical ~ A
The Stolen Crown ~ Susan Higginbotham ~ Historical ~ A-
Roadkill ~ Rob Thurman ~ UF ~ Buddy review to come
Have You Seen Her? ~ Karen Rose ~ RS ~ A-
Naked Edge ~ Pamela Clare ~ RS ~ C+
The Secret Year ~ Jennifer Hubbard ~ YA ~ B+
Stolen Fury ~ Elisabeth Naughton ~ RS ~ Review to come
My Soul to Save ~ Rachel Vincent ~ YA ~ A-
Fantasy in Death ~ J. D. Robb ~ RS ~ B+
Bound by Your Touch ~ Meredith Duran ~ Historical ~ A-

12 Total

Historicals ~ 4
PNR ~ 1
RS ~ 4
UF ~ 1
YA ~ 2

A good mix dominated by Historicals and RS. Which surprised me. I didn't realize I had read that many historicals. No straight contemporaries. I'm sure I'll have some this month. I've got Sarah Mayberry and Julie James on the tbr pile. :)

Any weekend plans? Saturday, I'll make an attempt to clean the garage. We plan to have a yard sale soon so I need to get the junk together for that. I'll get some reading in too and need to wash my car - it's horrible! Do you ever notice how your car seems to run better when it's clean?

Sunday is Easter and we are going to my mom's for dinner. She didn't want me to bring anything but I'll be making fruit salad and bringing cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. The cheesecake is the frozen kind from Sam's Club but it's still delicious!

*The flowers are from a Bougainvillea in my front yard. The yard is very colorful: reds, pinks and purple flowers are everywhere. Just wish my nose enjoyed it as much as my eyes. :)