Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.
My Week in Review
Happy Sunday! I hope all is well wherever you are. I actually did something last week which is exciting. This time home helping my parents has felt sort of like the lockdown of 2020. I went to see The Little Mermaid last Sunday with my sister. It was the final show of the season. I saw the play when it first was on Broadway, many moons ago. They changed the staging a bit, but I enjoyed it.
This was a short week due to the holiday on Friday. The universe must have thought I was enjoying Thursday evening too much because this quick storm moved in which knocked out our power for about 6 hours. At least a cold front came in with the rain and wind, so it wasn't too hot. Of course, I had just gone shopping and had a full fridge of food. I was worried I would lose it all but it worked out.
Remember how I was whining about my UK visa? Well, I downloaded the app again. Not sure if that helped since the button to take the picture was more or less over the button to minimize the app, but I was able to get the photo. Still not sure why that additional picture is needed. I uploaded my passport, scanned the chip, did a facial scan, and still needed another picture. I don't know. It's done. In fact, I got the confirmation email of the application and one minute later was approved.
On the Blog
- Monday: Reviews - How Freaking Romantic, The Spirit of Love
- Tuesday: TTT - Love and Marriage
- Wednesday: CWW - The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold, Rookie Mistake
- Thursday: Reviews - The Maid's Secret, Home of the American Circus
- Friday: Five Star Friday - June 2025
- Saturday: Five on My TBR - One Word Titles
Let's Discuss
- Carol gives us some tips to read more.
- The Nerd Daily talks romance books.
- Jen shares books that are like The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Stacking the Shelves
It's always slow around the holidays, but I did download a freebie. Looks cute. I got two invites as well. Magic is calling to me. It's a 2026 book, so chances are strong I will download.
Purchased/Free
- A Sugarloaf Valentine by Rosemary Whittaker
Invites
- The Unwritten Rules of Magic by Harper Ross
- An Introvert's Guide to Life and Love by Lauren Appelbaum
Read Last Week
My week was excellent. I read mostly authors I have read before, and I was not disappointed by their new releases. Three of my highest rated books were second chance romances - one of my favorite tropes. DeWitt's Left of Forever was a beautiful tale of a divorced couple finding their way back to each other. It reminded me a bit of Out of the Woods in that this was a couple who married young and had a lot of history. The couple in Friends to Lovers also had a lot of history having been besties since they were three. They grew up together and things went heinously wrong when they embarked on a romantic relationship. In the story, they are reunited after several years apart, and I loved watching them mend that broken bridge. Heart Marks the Spot was told in two parts. In part one, I see them meet and fall hard, but then the hero just abandons the heroine. A year later, they are back together for a treasure hunt. I was a bit miffed as to why he did what he did, but I loved the book. And Poston's adult books have only been hits for me. I enjoyed the story but REALLY loved when I learned more about this song the hero and heroine kept hearing in their heads. It was touching. There were tears.
Find all my reviews on Goodreads
Books
- Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt - ★★★★★
- Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston - ★★★★★
- Rookie Mistake by Maren Moore - ★★★
- Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely - ★★★★ 1/2
- Heart Marks the Spot by Libby Hubscher - ★★★★★
Audiobooks
- Winter in Paradise by Elin Hiderbrand - ★★★★
Currently Reading
- The Seven O'Clock Club by Amelia Ireland
- One Night Two Souls Went Walking by Ellen Cooney (audiobook)
To Be Read
- The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
- Kiss Me That Way by Laura Trentham
- He Falls First by Jill Shalvis
- For the Record by Emma Lord
Let us know in the comments!
Well Sam I am glad you got to see The Little Mermaid! And it seems that I will have to apply for an ETA to travel to the UK. That can be done online or with the app. I confess that reading your problems with the app I will probably try online!
ReplyDeleteI went to the UK site and could not figure out how to do the visa online. I am just relieved I finally got the stupid picture, so I could finish the application. I have an android and they don't make anything for androids. You may have an easier time with the app if you have an iPhone.
Delete