We Live and Breathe Books: Sundays with Sam

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post

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 last Sunday of August! Time flies. Kids are going back to school next week in my neck of the woods. Crazy! I did nothing of note this week. The weather was good. I had Friday off for a medical appointment. The first (free) test was inconclusive, so I had to go endure more (for $722). I was there over 2 hours. It was stressful, and I felt like they didn't tell me much. I have to come back in six months. I am trying to get an estimate for the cost because I would like to put it in my flex spending. I save a little that way. I have to call the insurance company about that. I don't have a lot of medical stuff, so I never really hit my deductible. I didn't realize my eye procedure ($1,400) didn't count towards my deductible. Unexpected expenses stress me out. I like to plan.

Other than that, I read, did chores. I am boring.

On the Blog

Monday: Reviews - Experiments in Offline Dating, The Phone Swap
Tuesday: TTT - Been There, Done That
Wednesday: Five on My TBR - New-to-Me Authors
Thursday: Reviews - The Wedding People, In Every Possible Way
Friday: Six Degrees of Separation - Experiments in Offline Dating

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Stacking the Shelves

I was happy to get approved for two books this week. Both Walsh and Bastone are authors I adore, and I am looking forward to their 2027 releases. I purchased Soyangri Book Kitchen which was on sale and downloaded a few freebies. I probably won't download any of the invites. The only one that is a good fit for me, Now That We Don't Talk, I already had.

Netgalley/Edelweiss

I've Got You by Cara Bastone
As Luck Would Have It by Courtney Walsh

Purchased/Free

Soyangri Book Kitchen by Jee-Hye Kim
Impelled by Sarah Welk Baynum
The Enchanted Garden Cafe by Abigail Drake

Invites

Trad Wife by Sarah Langan
Now That We Don't Talk by Rachel Pologe
Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed by S.B. West

Read Last Week

I finally got a 5-star book! I thought I was going to close out this month with none, but Sarah Addison Allen delivered. Allen is one of my favorite authors for enchanted realism, and I found this story to be compelling and emotional. It hit. I found myself in tears towards the end because there was this really beautiful imagery that you would only understand if you read the book, but believe me, it was so meaningful.

I also thought Days You Were Mine was excellent. It was a story about a man meeting his birth parents for the first time. The story alternates between his birth mother's story and the present. It was a little sad and emotional, and if I was more fond of one particular plot point, I probably would have given it 5-stars.

Find all my reviews on Goodreads