(Belated) April Challenge Wrap Up Post

2019* Books I Already Own Challenge

Okay Spring, can we slow down a little? Work has gotten busy and not only have I not been able to read very much lately because I've been both busy and tired, but I also suddenly realized it's mid-May and I hadn't posted my April wrap up yet.  So, here it is...

What I read in April:

Audiobooks I Own 
Morning Star by Pierce Brown *5 star*
Devil May Care by Pippa DaCosta
Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland *5 star* 
White Trash Zombie Apocalypse by Diana Rowland
Lucky Suit by Lauren Blakely (novella)
Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter
Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan Howard
Faerie Blood by Emma Adams *5 star* 

Physical Books I Own
Getting Hot with the Scot by Melonie Johnson *5 star*
Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - group read

eBooks I Own
Thrall by Carina Cook *5 star*

Required Reading
(for work) Snobbery with Violence by Marion Chesney
(for review) An Artless Demise by Anna Lee Huber

As I mentioned work has gotten quite busy and I was also traveling to and from meetings quite a lot. So the majority of my reading was actually done via audiobook this month. I had a very hard time actually sitting down to read. Thankfully, the majority of the audiobooks I listened to were pretty stellar and eight is not too shabby a number to cross off my list! LOL.  The physical books I squeezed in were all pretty great, too, so overall it was a pretty good reading month.  I had one book that turned out to be a HUGE disappointment, but that happens. I also finished my group read of the Infernal Devices trilogy in April, and while I was really glad to have read them, I didn't love them as much as I'd expected to, so they got donated to the library.

How was your reading in April?

March Challenge Wrap Up Post

2019* Books I Already Own Challenge

Wow. Did anyone else feel like March flew by and they somehow missed it? I did not get to read nearly enough last month! Suddenly, it was April... and I was in shock. LOL. I only read a couple of the books on my TBR, went off the rails a little, and ended the month wondering what happened.

Here's what I (managed to) read in March:

Audiobooks I Own
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
Dead of Winter by Kresley Cole
Circle of the Moon by Faith Hunter *5 star*

Physical Books I Own
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn
Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare - group read

eBook I Own
City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty *5 star*

Required Reading
(for work) Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron

Borrowed from Library 
Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren *5 star*
Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting

As I mentioned, this month got away from me a little. I attempted to read two epic adult fantasies at the same time, which was just not possible, so had to put Priory of the Orange Tree on hold so I could finish City of Brass.  Hopefully, I'll finish it this month!  I also ended the month *almost* finished with an audiobook, but not quite, so that's my first officially finished book in April instead.

This month I both read less and enjoyed the books a little less than in January and February, which made me a little sad.  April, though, is starting off well, so I think I may just try to wipe March mostly from my memory. *laughs somewhat hysterically*

How was your March reading?

February Challenge Wrap Up Post

2019* Books I Already Own Challenge

Hello Readers! For one of the shortest months of the year, I actually got a ton of reading done in February! How did you do?  I was amazed at how many audiobooks I managed to fit in between things.  And in the cold and snow, there's nothing I love more than snuggling up with a good book, a cozy blanket, my dog, and a good read. 

Though my February reads didn't rank quite as high as my January ones did on my one to five star scale, a lot of them were solidly in the middle, so that's not too bad.  I started hosting a group read of The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare on instagram, so we read book one in February and we'll be reading books two and three in March and April.  I also read a lot of romance, as I was trying out Audible's Romance package, which I ended up canceling after my free trial month.  I hope you read some good books this past month. 

Here's what I read in February:

Audiobooks I Own
Mikhail by Lauren Smith
Save a Truck, Ride a Redneck by Molly Harper - novella
Peachy Flippin' Keen by Molly Harper - novella
Rurik by Lauren Smith
How to Date Your Dragon by Molly Harper
Love and Other Wild Things by Molly Harper
Illusion Town by Jayne Castle
First World by Jaymin Eve

Physical Books I Own 
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne *5 star*
The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale *5 star*
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare  - group read
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer *5 star*

eBooks I Own 
Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill
Lera of Lunos by Alex Lidell

Required Reading
(for work) Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum

Borrowed from the Library
An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

Did you read anything amazing in February?
Are you also working on reading from your own collections at home?

Cover Craving... Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare!

Clockwork Princess

by Cassandra Clare

Infernal Devices, book three

Publication date: March 2013

In Clockwork Princess, Tessa and her companions travel all over the world as they race to stop the clockwork army before it's too late. As Jem's health worsens alarmingly and his friends search desperately for a cure, can Tessa choose between the two boys she loves — even if it means never seeing the other one again?

OMG. I *LOVE* this cover...it is gorgeous. I love the dress and the glowing book. I just want to frame this and put it on the wall in my writing nook.  Kudos to the designers!!

Cassandra Clare is coming out with a new series!

The newest issue of Book Page's Children's Corner has some brand-new and exciting news for Cassandra Clare fans!!

Cassandra Clare, whose previous best-selling series of YA urban fantasy novels have been set in contemporary New York (The Mortal Instruments) and Victorian-era London (The Infernal Devices), has signed a new deal with Margaret K. McElderry Books for an upcoming series set in present-day L.A. The first book in the Dark Artifices series will be published in 2015.

Margaret K. McElderry Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, also announced a few more specifics of the plot in the Huffington Post:

The series follows Emma Carstairs, the fiercest warrior and most skilled young Shadowhunter since Jace Wayland, and Emma’s sworn partner in arms, Julian Blackthorn. Despite Emma’s complicated feelings for Julian, the two must band together to investigate a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

Sounds interesting!! I know you Cassandra Clare fans are squealing to yourselves right now, aren't you, lol?!   I'll be keeping my eye out for book one, for sure.

Anxiously Awaiting... (With a little Cover Craving on the side! lol)

Here's two books that I'm super excited to have come out...plus I just wanted to look at their great covers again...


The Son of Neptune
by Rick Riordan
Heroes of Olympus, book two
Publication Date: Oct. 4, 2011


Clockwork Prince
by Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices, book two
Publication Date: Dec. 6, 2011

Trailer - Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Another book that I am stoked to read...with a great trailer!!