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 everyone is doing well. It may be hot as Hades, but I am enjoying the long weekend. I had Friday off as the stock exchange was closed in observance of the 4th of July. I am grateful. I only had to travel into the office one of the super hot days. The trains were a mess, but I lucked out. The late trains were earlier than mine, so I got home a little sooner than expected. It looks like this mess is moving out though and normal summer temperatures should be back. Still hot, but not THAT hot.
I got a notification from Amazon that my walking pad was recalled. I need to shop around and find another one. I found that one through those review articles, but I guess you cannot trust them. The internet is making me very distrustful and paranoid.
On the Blog
Stacking the Shelves
I was sad to hear that the Hockey Romance Book Club was coming to an end. I downloaded a bunch of free books via that group. I picked up two with their last email. I got three invites. I will most likely download The Best I Never Had which was on my TBR and Game Over. I have no interest in one-of-many romances, so the other invite is a nope for me.
Purchased/Free
- Connor by Victoria Denault
- Winning Goal by Laura Marquez Diamond
- Star-Crossed Letters by Sarah Deeham
Invites
- Triple Threat by Katie Chandler
- The Best I Never Had by Amy Buchanan
- Game Over by Bella North
Read Last Week
This was a pretty good week. Poston did not disappoint as her new release was my top book of the week. I always love the way she utilizes the magic in her stories. Watching the someday garden grow as the main character healed and started opening her heart was a lovely parallel, and I am trash for grief stories too, so it worked for me on many levels.
Not too far behind was How to Find Love in the Cereal Aisle. It was about a heartbroken romance author who was setting up meet-cutes in an attempt to awaken her muse and write her next book. To me, the story focused on the female main character's personal journey more than the romance, but it was combine perfectly to produce a fun and entertaining story with emotional depth.
Find all my reviews on Goodreads
Books
- The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston - ★★★★★
- Hart's Landing by Melanie Harlow - ★★★★
- Polo Fever by Katherine Reily - ★★★★
- How to Find Love in the Cereal Aisle by Alissa DeRogatis - ★★★★ 1/2
Audiobooks
- Zack by Samantha Lind - ★★★ 1/2
Currently Reading
- In Every Possible Way by Alicia Thompson
- How Not to Fall For Your Best Friend by Meg Easton
To Be Read
- Tropesick by Lauren Oakie
- Off Course by Julie Cook
- Counting the Days by Laura Chin
Let us know in the comments!
"The late trains were earlier than mine, so I got home a little sooner than expected."
ReplyDeleteReal stroke of luck, though of course the people already riding them must have been NOT AMUSED.
I hope you get to dodge the worst days in terms of heat - commuting in this weather must be torture!
Walking pad?
It was lucky, but it's all in the scheduling in that hour that I travel. There are four trains within the hour, so I was bound to get one (unless they all broke down or there was a fire which has happened). A walking pad is like a small treadmill. It's much cheaper, doesn't go as fast or have as many bells and whistles, but you can walk a bit if you are stuck indoors.
DeleteI'm so excited for The Someday Garden. I've been seeing it everywhere lately and I'm happy to hear that Poston did not disappoint with this one. 😍 I'm also really curious about In Every Possible Way because that cover is absolutely stunning and the synopsis has really piqued my interest (which I find I struggle with these days when it comes to contemporary romances). Hope you enjoy! Also hope that you find a good walking pad replacement and that you get cooler (or "normal") summer days soon. Have a great week ahead!
ReplyDeletePoston's books are all so good. I was disappointed to see she is genre hopping for her next book, and I am really not interested, but The Someday Garden was the type of story I have grown to expect. I hope you read and love it. I am 72% through Every Possible Way. It had this magical moment in the very beginning, and now, it just seems like Before Sunrise. Not sure where it is going, but something has to happen, right?
DeleteI think you are sending the heat my way Sam!
ReplyDeleteI don't know, Sophie. I got hell fire hot here after Europe had its heat wave.
DeleteI think one of the hallmarks of getting older is realizing the internet is mostly crap. I feel like I have good source awareness, but its so difficult anymore. The heat here this past week was oppressive. Next week is supposed to be a little better, so fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteI hope the cool weather has reached you. It back up to the 80s today, but the past two were glorious!
DeleteYay for getting home a little earlier than expected. Glad to hear the heatwave is over and you're back to normal summer temps. I was thankful we weren't in that huge swath of the US affected by the heatwave, but we have our normal summer heat (in the 80s) and it feels plenty hot to me! Hope you have a good week, Sam!
ReplyDeleteIt's back to 80s today, but we had some nice cool weather the past two days.
DeleteSorry to hear about your walking pad. To be fair to the people who recommended it online, things that cause recalls sometimes aren't obvious (or only happen extremely rarely, but are dangerous enough to warrant a recall) - hopefully that's the case, and it isn't that people were recommending things they knew were bad!
ReplyDeleteI don't know, apparently the walking pad is a safety hazard. At least it was recalled while I still had it. The other recall I had came four years after I threw it out because it injured me.
DeleteIt's hot as hades here too. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you all survive out there in the desert.
DeleteGood luck with finding a walking pad! I can relate to the internet making me paranoid about buying anything. I want one of those air conditioners that sit in a window, but they cost hundreds of dollars, and they all get mixed reviews! I just want to be less sweaty!
ReplyDeleteI try to get recs from people I know, but they don't buy everything I want.
DeleteOMG, that weather was BRUTAL! And now it's 74 degrees, LOL! The heat was driving us all crazy.
ReplyDeleteIt was so nice Monday and Tuesday (even Sunday). Loved having to wear a sweater in the morning and evening.
Delete