Sunday, April 15, 2018

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

This week was pretty much the same old same old, though I was very excited to NOT have to wear my winter coat the other day. Obviously, we went from winter to summer, but it was still a nice change from the frigid days. I really appreciated all the interaction on my discussions this week. I was shocked to see I was NOT alone as an infrequent fantasy reader.

I always joke, about how I may not be good at much, but I can sure read a lot. So, when the GoodReads quarterly challenge update email came, I put out this tongue-in-cheek tweet, that got A LOT more attention then I expected. Now, if all those people would just follow my blog....



I also went to see The Sting today. I had no idea Harry Connick Jr could dance like that.

A post shared by Sam Kozbial (@kozbisa) on

Some other things that interested me out on the internet




On the Blog:
STACKING THE SHELVES

I got showered with books this week, and the best part was winning a Twitter giveaway. I don't get much #BookMail, so it was exciting to receive the package.


From the Publisher


Won

Edelweiss/NetGalley

What I Read Last Week


Lots of really good books last week. I am really glad I finally read the Eleanor Ames book by Julie Cross. They were a great blend of suspense, mystery, and romance, and I really enjoyed them. I am not sure if there will be more, but I would definitely go on more adventures with Miles and Ellie.
  • Jacked Up by Erica Sage: This was a great grief book, which featured a conversations with a dead author and a setting that delivered laugh after laugh. The thing that kept me from fully enjoying this book was something that would probably not bother many other readers, but I am so tired of politics bleeding into areas of my life. Still a solid read and a healing journey that was enjoyable. ★★★
  • A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole (audiobook): This was a lot of fun, and kept making me think of Coming to America (which is a good thing). Ledi was sassy and brilliant, and her chemistry with Thabiso was fantastic. Enjoyed this a ton and am looking forward to more Reluctant Royal stories. ★★★★
  • Chasing Truth by Julie Cross: I had a great time getting to the bottom of this mystery. Ellie was such a great character. She had this Veronica Mars vibe, which won me over, but was more complex due to her past. A fabulous mystery filled with action, suspense, intrigue, and swoons.★★★★ 1/2
  • Hiding Lies by Julie Cross: I enjoyed this one just as much as the first book. If this is the last book, Cross gave us a great ending, which left the door open for more of Eleanor Ames books, which was pleasing for me.  ★★★★ 1/2
  • The Frontman by Ron Bahar: This book took me back to all those great coming of age movies I watched in the 80s. I loved the voice, all the musical touches, and the humor. Though Ron made some questionable choices in this story, they were all part of his coming-of-age as he grappled with following his heart or living up to the standards established by his parents. ★★★★
  • Love Songs & Other Lies by Jessica Pennington: My word! This one really spoke to my sappy sap self. I adore second chance romances, and throw in the reality show angle,  an interesting parallel second chance romance, and a grand gesture, and you have a story that left me drying some happy tears.  ★★★★ 1/2
What I Am Currently Reading


I am just starting The Pros of Cons, so not much to say yet. I am almost done with Delayed Call. It's my first Toni Aleo book, and I like it, but it's sort of long. There is a lot of time dedicated to laying the ground work for the 15th book (which sounds great to me), and it's distracting me from the "starring" couple.

What I Plan to Read









How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!

53 comments:

  1. Ooh good stuff. I need to go over to Epic Reads more. and I enjoyed your discussions this week! Also- the Sting!! How fun that must have been.

    Love that cover of the Brightsiders! And it's by Jen Wilde? I read her Queens of Geek last year. I'll have to check that one out.

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    1. Epic Reads is probably my favorite of the publisher sites. They usually have great articles. The Sting was really good. Because of the time period, they featured a lot of tap numbers, and I love tap dancing. The cast was incredible too. Two of the male leads had amazing voices.

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  2. The Sting sounds like it was a lot of fun. (Harry Connick Jr, fans self) Good for you for the killing it on the Goodreads challenge! That’s amazing! :) Enjoy all your new books and your week too.

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    1. My sister's friend loved Harry Connick and was so giddy on the drive to the theatre. He was really good too.

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  3. Wow, that tweet got some serious love! That's awesome. And even more awesome that you're killing the challenge. 105 books already this year?! That's more than my yearly goal. LOL Harry Connick, Jr... *swoon* He seems to have the whole package: a talented pianist, a singer, an actor, handsome, funny... and he can dance? Nice! Congrats on the Twitter giveaway! 15th book?? I'm guessing it's more a companion series then, since you mentioned this is your first by Aleo?

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    1. That tweet was such an anomaly, but I will take any social media success I can get. Aleo's series is one of those never-ending romance series. I downloaded a random installment from the library, and it stands on it's own. Though, since she spent so much time on Wren and Jensen's story, I want to download the that book too.

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  4. Wow! Congrats on your tweet reaching 600 likes! I made a tweet about an animator on my account and it got over 200 likes, which was pretty shocking and awesome for me since I never had a tweet that went viral like that before! Hope you have a great weekend!

    Here’s my Sunday Post!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays and Cover Spotlight!

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    1. It's interesting what gets the public's attention. I was flattered. I hope they understood my humor. XD

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  5. Gotta love those tweet book wins! Nice haul this week too. The Sting sounds like a blast. And anything with Harry Connick, Jr. is a must see for me:)

    My Sunday Post

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    1. Harry Connick actually wrote songs for the show too, so he is involved on multiple levels. They try out a lot of shows at this theater prior to going to NYC. We get lucky with the shows that play there.

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  6. Oh wow! Lots of new pretties! Congrats on the win too! Hope you enjoy all the new reads!

    Here's my STS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    1. I love winning stuff and I got so many good books this week.

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  7. Congrats on killing it with reading. Wow that tweet got love!! I am so bad at twitter lol. Lots of awesome books you got this week. Can't wait to see what you think of the new David Arnold book. Have a great week!

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    1. I saw a ton of notifications and thought I was tagged in some blogger thing. I don't normally get that much attention, but I had some nice discussions about audiobooks with some people. Getting that book was a shock. This publicist, who has reached out to me in the past, contacted me about one book, which was sent to me by another publicist, who sent me this sign up form, and now I am on a tour for a book I really wanted to read. I'm excited.

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  8. Great week for you! I just finished American Panda last night as part of my debut author challenge. I so enjoyed the peek into this culture as well as the intelligent, goofy POV character.

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    1. I loved Mei! She was hilarious, and I really appreciated the way the author handled the more serious issues. The outcome wasn't all neat, but I was satisfied with where Mei was at the end of that book.

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  9. Wow, people loved that Tweet. I’m not very good at Twitter, so that never happens to me. Congrats on killing your reading challenge. You do read an impressive amount of books.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. They probably think I was humble bragging, while I was actually making fun of the fact that the only thing I am killing in life is my reading challenge. I wish I could marked that skill.

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  10. Yes Sam, reading is an awesome talent. So is reading reviews and getting ideas for new books which I'll do with your post. theglobaldig.blogspot.com

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  11. I don't think I got a quarterly email from Goodreads, but I love your perspective. :) I'm succeeding, too. Although I'm not quite killing it like you are!

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    1. Oh, no! Maybe you're email is not listed or something. Those emails are a little life to me. They congratulate me every time I finish a book, and tell me how awesome I am at reading. Yeah, they are good for a boost.

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    2. I am being sarcastic again, but I also sort of like the emails. =)

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  12. How do you do it, Sam?? 105 books just this year, I take my hat off to you. Incredible!! Enjoy your new books and have nice week! :)

    Ronnie @ Paradise Found

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    1. I read a ton on my commute and listen to audiobooks when I do chores, drive, etc. I also read for an hour before bedtime to wind down.

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  13. Wow, it's s great that your tweet got so much attention - to be honest I am impressed by your challenge, WOW you are doing AMAZING?!! Congratulations!
    It's so great that you have The Brightsiders, it's one of my most anticipated reads as well, I can't wait to read it :D x

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    1. That tweet was shocking. I was just trying to be funny. I recently bought Queens of Geek and was really excited when I was notified about that book. Swoon Reads are always "wish" books and then eventually request books, so I don't usually get them.

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  14. Lots of interesting snippets! The tweets are fun.

    I like the look of The Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan.

    Enjoy your week, and thanks for visiting my blog.

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    1. I have been getting very lucky with YA mystery/suspense books, so I was really pleased to win that book.

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  15. Wow, you've read so many books already :) I'm proud of my sub-40, but you are completely kicking it :D go Sam!!

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    1. Yes, I am reading a lot, but you're doing EVERYthing!

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  16. You had an amazing week. Congrats on the wins. Yeah, Harry Connick Jr is quite talented. Glad you enjoyed the show. Hope this week is amazing!

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    1. The show was fabulous. We are lucky to be subscribers, because the show sold out and "ticket sellers" were selling the tickets for over $700, which is insane.

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  17. Oh my gosh-I can't believe you have read so many books already! Forget being 'good' at reading, you are amazing!! And I hope you love the Kiss Quotient-its super cute!!

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    1. I am just using my time wisely, though some of that time could be better spent promoting my blog, but I hate to sacrifice my reading time. The dilemma!

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  18. Ah man I have serious book envy right now! I read a teaser of Love Songs & Other Lies via Netgalley last year (the first 6 chapters or so) and adored it! Can't wait to read it in its entirety! So glad to hear you liked it too. :)

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    1. I saw some negative reviews for Love Songs, but I really loved it.

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  19. Sounds like a great week. Harry Connick Jr. is quite the crooner! Send some of your warmer weather to Texas. It has been unseasonably cool this week!

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    1. The warm weather was short lived. Right now, it is monsooning outside. Should make for an interesting morning commute. Harry Connick was excellent, but honestly, the other male leads were phenomenal too.

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  20. How fun that your tweet got so much attention! I'm excited to see that you enjoyed Hiding Lies so much---I hope I can remember enough about Chasing Truth to read the next one. And I'm also excited that you loved Love Songs because I have that one for review too. Need to catch up!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. The tweet was a totally bizarre experience. Hiding Lies stands enough on its own. There are a few continuing threads, but Cross fills in the gaps fairly well. "Need to catch up" is going on my tombstone. XD

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  21. Your tweet is awesome. Also, you've read as many books so far as I hope to read by the end of the year. Man I'm slow. lol I recently got The Kiss Quotient too and cannot wait to read it. I hope we both enjoy that one. :)

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    1. Yeah, I read a lot, but I have no money, no husband, and no child to care for. It frees up a lot of time. The Kiss Quotient looks awesome. I need to get through my tour books, and then I may try to read it.

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  22. Yay on killing your Goodread challenge! Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks! I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep pace, but so far, so good.

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  23. I'm trying to stay away from my library so I can read more of the books that I've bought over the past few months, but I am so tempted to request Suitors and Sabotage. I hope you end up enjoying it!

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    1. I just have no self control. I request a lot of books, have a bunch of library holds in place, and cannot resist a good sale or free book.

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  24. I couldn't imagine getting that much attention on twitter. I wouldn't know what to do with that :) You are definitely killing your challenge. Congrats on your win! Enjoy all your new books!

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    1. Yeah, that Twitter thing was really unexpected, but I did enjoy talking with other readers.

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  25. Wow, you really are killing it when it comes to your reading challenge. That is impressive! That's also so cool that you got to see Harry Connick Jr. in The Sting. I bet he was incredible. I'd love to see him in that show too.

    Hope you have a wonderful week!

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    1. We are so lucky to have such a great local theatre. NYC is way too expensive, so having a subscription to Paper Mill has filled that void for me. The shows are wonderful and we get a lot of runs prior to them going to Broadway.

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  26. Wow you are doing great on your challenge. I so want that new David Arnold book. Oh and I can’t wait to see what you think of stay sweet. I am looking forward to that one.

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    1. I was pretty excited to make that publishing connection, because I was dying to read the new David Arnold book.

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