August in Review

I read 17 books last month, another month above my average from the past few years. I guess it’s within range of my average for this year though, thanks to how much more time I have for audiobooks lately. Still a lot of re-reads, which means less reviews I have to write.

Here are the books I read in August:

Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko (5 / 5)
Thornbird by Elle Kennedy (2 / 5)
Mandie and the Charleston Phantom by Lois Gladys Leppard (3 / 5)
Persuasion by Jane Austen (3 / 5)
Living Unoffended by Brant Hansen (4 / 5)
Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt (5 / 5)
Asylum Murders by Michael G. Colburn (2.5 / 5)
Four Windows, One Jesus by Chad Colter (3 / 5)
The Land Beneath Us by Sarah Sundin (5 / 5)
So You Want to Be an Architect by Linda Soules (5 / 5)
The Ginghams by T.C. Kemper (2.5 / 5)
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (4.5 / 5)
Scythe by Neal Shusterman (5 / 5)
Masterminds by Gordon Korman (5 / 5)
The Order of Time by Scott P. Southall (2 / 5)
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (4 / 5)

This list includes 4 ARCs and 6 re-reads. My favorite book from August (that wasn’t a re-read) was Scythe. I started 3 series, continued 3 series, and finished 1 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

July in Review

I read 21 books last month, which is pretty much insane for me. Not only is that a high monthly number for me, I broke my previous record of pages read during one month with 766 more pages than my previous high, set in January of this year. My audiobook consumption is getting insane… (10 of these books were audiobooks). I’ve been doing a lot of re-reading via audiobooks lately, mostly to refresh my memory on books I read a while ago before my daughter and I record podcast episodes for those books. It’s really helpful to have so many books I don’t have to write new reviews for…I don’t know if I could have very easily written 21 reviews last month.

Here are the books I read in July:

Homicide at Blue Heron Lake by Susan Page Davis & Megan Elaine Davis (4 / 5)
Dead Men Don’t Play Fetch by David Rosenfelt (4.5 / 5)
Genius Camp by Chris Grabenstein (4 / 5)
Parks and Rec by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (2 / 5)
Boy-Crazy Stacey by Ann M. Martin (2 / 5)
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (5 / 5)
Out of Darkness by Daniel J. Atkins (4 / 5)
The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
Newsboy by John James (5 / 5)
Flop Dead Gorgeous by David Rosenfelt (5 / 5)
Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko (4 / 5)
Berserkers by M.A. Larson (4.5 / 5)
The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase by Greg Cox (3.5 / 5)
The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch (4.5 / 5)
Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt (5 / 5)
A Fatal Encore by S.A. Reeves (3 / 5)
The Game Masters of Garden Place by Denis Markell (3.5 / 5)
The Institute by Stephen King (4.5 / 5)
Thinking Things Over by Charles Francis Guittard (3.5 / 5)
Evil Genius by Chris Grabenstein (4 / 5)
Library of Forbidden Books by Mario Escobar (2 / 5)

This list includes 5 ARCs and 8 re-reads. My favorite book from July was Flop Dead Gorgeous. I started 2 series, continued 3 series, and finished 2 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

June in Review

I read 16 books last month, which, frankly, is insane for June for me, especially this June. Our church’s Vacation Bible School, for which I’m a co-director, is in June, and that’s always a super busy time, not just that week but leading up to it. Plus my family went on a camping trip for a weekend, and though I read a little, it wasn’t much. Even with my recent uptick in audiobook listening time, I’m really surprised by this amount. It was my 2nd-highest monthly book count for the year, and near my all-time record for page count.

Another interesting thing about my June reading is that more of the books were re-reads than I’ve ever done in a month. That was incredibly helpful in keeping me from getting way behind on my review writing, which I definitely would have done, though that’s not the reason I chose so many re-reads. It was various different reasons that all conglomerated in one convenient month.

Here are the books I read in June:

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (5 / 5)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (4 / 5)
The Man on the Bench by Hy Conrad (3 / 5)
The Rags of Time by Peter Grainger (3.5 / 5)
The Secret Winners Club by Donna Galanti (2.5 / 5)
The Raven by Mike Nappa (5 / 5)
Daican’s Heir by Jaye L. Knight (4 / 5)
Beatrice and the Basilisk by Bruce McCandless III (3.5 / 5)
A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell (5 / 5)
The Oath by Frank E. Peretti (5 / 5)
Mandie and the Medicine Man by Lois Gladys Leppard (3.5 / 5)
Night Terror by Vincent Ralph (2 / 5)
The Librarians and The Lost Lamp by Greg Cox (4 / 5)
The Hot Marble by Rosemary B. Althoff (2 / 5)
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (4.5 / 5)
Murdle, Jr.: Sleuths on the Loose by G.T. Karber & Chris Grabenstein (4 / 5)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 8 re-reads. My favorite book from June was The Oath (yes, it was a re-read, but since it was my first time listening to the audiobook of my long-time favorite book, I’m counting it). I started 2 series, continued 4 series, and finished 1 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

May in Review

I read 15 books last month, which has become about an average number for me since I started listening to audiobooks more. On the other hand, that number includes a few more really short books than normal, so maybe it should have been higher. Going into June, our church’s Vacation Bible School, for which I am director, is in a few weeks. My reading always takes a hit around this time.

Here are the books I read in May:

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (3 / 5)
Illusion by Frank E. Peretti (5 / 5)
Shepherds & Kings by Christina Minoli (4 / 5)
In This Bright Future by Peter Grainger (4.5 / 5)
The Smartest Kid in the Universe by Chris Grabenstein (4 / 5)
Second Time Around by Nancy Moser (4 / 5)
Santa’s Little Yelpers by David Rosenfelt (5 / 5)
Mandie and the Trunk’s Secret by Lois Gladys Leppard
A Most Peculiar Providence by Angela Elwell Hunt (2.5 / 5)
Toofer & The Giblet by Paulette LeBlanc (4.5 / 5)
The Librarian of Boone’s Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer (5 / 5)
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (4 / 5)
The First Measure by Keith Gregor (2 / 5)
Winter by Marissa Meyer (4 / 5)
Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveler by Amelia Tait (4 / 5)

This list includes 3 ARC and 4 re-reads. My favorite book from May (that wasn’t a re-read) was In This Bright Future. I started 2 series, continued 3 series, and finished 2 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

April in Review

I read 14 books last month, about an average amount for me lately, since I’ve had a little more time to listen to audiobooks lately. Heading into May and June, I expect to take a dip with Vacation Bible School, which I run at our church, coming up in June, but hopefully not too much of a dip.

Here are the books I read in April:

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (5 / 5)
Humanly Speaking by Michael Spencer (5 / 5)
Persons of Interest by Peter Grainger (4 / 5)
White by Ted Dekker (3.5 / 5)
The Accomplice by John Grisham (4.5 / 5)
The Curse Breaker by Jen Calonita (2 / 5)
Holy Chow by David Rosenfelt (5 / 5)
The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin (5 / 5)
Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips (2 / 5)
Cress by Marissa Meyer (5 / 5)
The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King (4.5 / 5)
Bitter Winter by Jaye L. Knight (3 / 5)
Claudia and Mean Janine by Ann M. Martin (5 / 5)
Odd Hours by Dean Koontz (2.5 / 5)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 4 re-reads. My favorite (fiction) book from April was Cress. I started 0 series, continued 7 series, and finished 3 series*. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

*This includes 1 series I didn’t reach the end of, but decided not to continue reading, after being at least 2 books into the series.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

March in Review

I read 15 books last month, which is getting to be closer to a normal month for me. And my total page count for the month was only around 300 less than my recent record-breaking month in January. It’s definitely a huge up-tick in having time to listen to audiobooks lately that’s done this, considering that 8 of the books I read last month were audiobooks (leaving only 7 that were read normally!).

Here are the books I read in March:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (5 / 5)
How to Break a Dragon’s Heart by Cressida Cowell (2 / 5)
Mists over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin (5 / 5)
Exiles by Jaye L. Knight (4 / 5)
Luck and Judgement by Peter Grainger (4.5 / 5)
Kristy’s Big Day by Ann M. Martin (5 / 5)
The Scandal by John Grisham (4 / 5)
Best in Snow by David Rosenfelt (4.5 / 5)
A Kingdom of Shadows by Emily Bain Murphy (3.5 / 5)
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (4 / 5)
Good Dog, Bad Cop by David Rosenfelt (3.5 / 5)
A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers (3.5 / 5)
Sadie by Courtney Summers (4.5 / 5)
This Book Kills by Ravena Guron (2 / 5)
Mandie and the Forbidden Attic by Lois Gladys Leppard (3 / 5)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 3 re-reads. My favorite book from March was Cinder. I started 3 series, continued 6 series, and finished 3 series*. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

*This includes 1 series I didn’t reach the end of, but decided not to continue reading, after being at least 2 books into the series.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

February in Review

I read 13 books last month, a major drop-off from the record-breaking amount of reading I did in January and much closer to a normal month for me. As the month went on, I was amused to realized that all of the books I was reading were coming out to be 4 stars (minus a couple of re-reads that were 5 stars). Up until the last 3 books (again, excluding 2 re-reads), all 4 stars. Kind of bizarre.

Here are the books I read in February:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (5 / 5)
How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm by Cressida Cowell (4 / 5)
Super Puzzletastic Mysteries by Chris Grabenstein & various authors (4 / 5)
Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph (4 / 5)
But for the Grace by Peter Grainger (4 / 5)
Silent Extraction by J.N. Timmer (4 / 5)
The Fugitive by John Grisham (4 / 5)
Dog Eat Dog by David Rosenfelt (4 / 5)
The Gentleman Spy by Erica Vetsch (5 / 5)
Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie (4 / 5)
Red by Ted Dekker (5 / 5)
Citizen K-9 by David Rosenfelt (3 / 5)
Time Lottery by Nancy Moser (3.5 / 5)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 3 re-reads. My favorite book from February was Red. I started 2 series, continued 8 series, and finished 0 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

January in Review

I read 17 books last month, which is quite a high to start the year. Not only is that a high monthly number for me, I broke my previous record of pages read during one month with 491 more pages than my previous high, set in December of 2022. There is one book that my husband and I read over the course of a year, so I didn’t exactly read it in January, but even without it, I would have still broken my previous record. I don’t even know that I can peg any particular reason for so much more reading last month than normal.

Here are the books I read in January:

The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy (5 / 5)
Brother Odd by Dean Koontz (4.5 / 5)
The One Year Love Language Minute Devotional by Gary Chapman (3 / 5)
The Infinite Glade by James Dashner (1 / 5)
The Accused by John Grisham (4.5 / 5)
The Grasshopper Myth by Karl Vaters (2 / 5)
Silent Bite by David Rosenfelt (4 / 5)
A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons by Cressida Cowell (2 / 5)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (MinaLima version) by J.K. Rowling (4.5 / 5)
Chasing Echoes by Jodi Perkins (3 / 5)
An Accidental Death by Peter Grainger (4 / 5)
Isle of Ever by Jen Calonita (2.5 / 5)
The Activist by John Grisham (4.5 / 5)
Black by Ted Dekker (4.5 / 5)
Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt (3.5 / 5)
Mandie and the Ghost Bandits by Lois Gladys Leppard (4 / 5)
Samara’s Peril by Jaye L. Knight (4 / 5)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 3 re-reads. My favorite book from January was The Disappearances. I started 3 series, continued 8 series, and finished 1 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Sale!

In honor of the release of book #3 in the Pithea series (and what a good time for it, with so many of us snowed in), the book that kicks off the whole series is available for only $0.99 for the next 5 days, and my novelette The Triangle (unrelated to the series) is free now through Thursday! See below for links and a little more information.

Pithea cover, Kindle

Pithea is the first book in a series of speculative, futuristic fiction. Check it out on Goodreads and Amazon.

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The Triangle is a stand-alone novelette of Christian fiction. Check it out on Goodreads, and go here to get your free copy!

As many who will read this already know, authors, especially self-published or indie authors, need reviews to allow more readers to find their books. If you take advantage of either, or both, of the deals on my books, please make sure to leave me a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or preferably, both!
*Both of these books are also available through Kindle Unlimited.

Power Released!

My third full-length novel, book #3 in a series of futuristic speculative fiction with a Christian worldview, is now available to purchase in 3 formats on Amazon: Kindle, paperback, and hardcover! I’m so excited to see this series continue! See synopsis below and go here to buy the book.

Power on Goodreads

Power

For as long as Alexander Surett can remember, he’s planned to be a bounty hunter like his dad, bringing in criminals to stand trial. And when he gets his first taste of Power usage, he knows that the Power is what he will use to chase those criminals. But during the years-long training on the way to that goal, he stumbles onto an innocuous item from his dad’s past that leads him to question everything he’s been told. Soon it becomes clear that his family’s past tragedy is only the tip of the iceberg.

He brings his unwitting training partner, a Cleric named Leahna Isa, along on his search for answers, and together they attract the unwanted attention of the leader of a band of mercenaries. Rusalki Morano doesn’t like to be told “no,” and the consequences will have devastating effects on both Alexander’s and Leahna’s families—and all of Pithea.


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