Book Un-Haul Round 1

It’s started…the great book un-haul. I’m surrounded by books and, while I wouldn’t mind living in a library, I need to have a bit of a sort out and get my books organized. While I’ll never be a minimalist, especially when it comes to books, this un-haul is a must.

 

What am I getting rid of?

Duplicates. I didn’t realize I have so many duplicates. Occasionally I pick up special editions of books, which I don’t mind, but I have several copies of random mass-markets and trade paperbacks that I will be un-hauling.

Books I have on audio or e-book. I’m not getting rid of every book I have on audio/e-book but I will be un-hauling the books I would rather listen to or won’t read in physical form.

Books I won’t read again/didn’t like. There’s so many books that, while I enjoyed them, I know I won’t read them again and I can’t justify keeping them. The same goes for books that I read and didn’t like.

Books I have no interest in reading. My TBR pile is more like a mountain and it’s completely out of control. One of the new features of the blog will be the series ‘Read It or Un-haul It’ where I’ll pick four books from my TBR totes, read the first few chapters then decide if I’ll read it or un-haul it.

 

What am I doing with the books?

The books will go to family, friends, and the Little Free Libraries in my area. If I un-haul a special edition, I’ll probably post it for sell.

 

To make sure the books go where they’re supposed to, I have boxes that I’m filling for friends/family and a tote bag for the Little Free Library books. Once the boxes are filled, I take them out to the car so I can drop them off the next time I’m out. The books for the Little Free Libraries are dropped off every Friday. 

 

 

1. Watching You by Lisa Jewell
2. Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda
3. For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
4. Not by Boy by Kelly Simmons (DNF)
5. The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson (DNF)
6. Nobody’s Princess by Erica Ridley (extra copy)
7. Secrets by Fern Michaels (DNF)
8. No Way Out by Fern Michaels (DNF)
9. Something in the Heir by Suzanne Enoch (extra copy)
10.  Nuts by Alice Clayton
11.  Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton
12.  Buns by Alice Clayton
13.  The End of Her by Sheri Lapena
14.  Justified by Jay Crownover
15.  Moondance Beach by Susan Donovan (DNF)
16.  Unbroken Cowboy by Maisey Yates
17.  Sustained by Emma Chase
18.  Overruled by Emma Chase
19.  Appealed by Emma Chase
20.  Sidebarred by Emma Chase
21. Breaching the Contract by Chantal Fernando
22.  Seducing the Defendant by Chantal Fernando
23.  Death at the Party by Amy Stuart
24.  Enchant the Dawn by Amanda Ashley (DNF)
25. Gimme Some Sugar by Molly Harper  (have audiobook)
26.  Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper (have audiobook)
27.  The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths (extra copy)
28.  The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths (extra copy)
29.  The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths (extra copy)

Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws

Help Wanted: Grumpy Mountain Man seeks baby momma. Job is an incubator position only. Surrogate must be impervious to grunting in the form of communication and nosey brotherly neighbors. Rustic mountain range housing available upon request.

I wanted to pummel my irritating brothers when they posted their own version of a wanted ad to help me with my life.

But I can’t fault the results once the right woman lands on my lap.

Becoming a single father is not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it’s the biggest decision of my entire life.

Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect.

She’s wild, she’s opinionated, she wears cowboy boots. Even my pet goat loves her…

She’s the exact type of person I was holding out for.

And to my great horror, I realize on our first night of attempting this baby making dance…when the lights are low, the cheap wine is flowing, and the home insemination supplies are laid out on the kitchen counter…

I want to do a lot more than just make her my surrogate.

I want to make her mine.

Series: Mountain Men Matchmakers #1 | Publisher: Amy Daws | Narrators: Erin Mallon, Teddy Hamilton (duet) | Length: 10 hours 45 minutes |  Genre: Contemporary Romance  | Source: Purchased | Rating: 1

Have you ever scrolled Audible trying to use up your last few credits before your memberships ends and ended up throwing something random in your cart because it looked okay and you were tired of scrolling? That’s exactly how I ended up with Nine Month Contract and…I have regrets. 

Wanting a baby without the complications of a girlfriend, Wyatt heads to the surrogate center although he’s unable to connect to the right surrogate. When his niece runs into Trista, she seems the perfect person for the job. Trista’s looking for a way to earn a little money and this seems like the perfect job, plus it comes with free housing. Although Wyatt’s niece has ulterior motives, while she knows Trista’s perfect to carry Wyatt child, she’s also perfect for Wyatt, if she can get past his grump demeanor and Trista can overcome her fear of depending on someone.

 I wanted a cute little story and this just ended up being weird and slightly icky.

 There was banter between Trista and Wyatt and some of it was comical but the majority felt forced. I liked Wyatt, to a point. He has some issues that he’s trying to deal with and, honestly, I’m not sure he had it together enough to want to be a father. Trista was just annoying and very immature. I really struggled with Trista’s desire to become a surrogate, and egg donor, given the way she feels abandoned by her own parent and how she has allowed this feeling to control the way she lives her life. And her behavior towards Wyatt was unacceptable.

 The relationship between Trista and Wyatt was just odd. While there’s a ‘sexuationship’, as Trista calls it, there’s no actual development on the page and I struggled to see that they were more than just bed buddies. I couldn’t feel the chemistry between them. This one is spicy but it’s weird to the point of being icky. I just found them constantly calling it ‘pregnancy kink’ to be off-putting.

 The surrogate situation was off and not entirely ethical. While the author does mention that she consulted the surrogate community, I don’t feel that to be true as I feel this book demeans surrogacy.

Just a few bits of weirdness in the book include:

-The fact Wyatt allows his 18 year-old niece to search for his surrogate.

-Odd use of dressing/dip cups and children’s medicine syringes.

-Trista constantly saying she a ‘cow’.

-The constant use of the term ‘pregnancy kink’.

-The icky analogies such as Trista’s icky description of her new mattress,  “I swear it was crafted out of the foreskin of newborn babies it’s so comfortable. Not that foreskin is comfortable. I wouldn’t know, I guess. But I venture to bet it’s soft. Adult penis skin is crazy soft. At least what I remember of it. It’s been a while since I’ve touched a penis.”

Overall, this book just isn’t for me. 

A Room Full of Bone by Elly Griffiths

When Ruth Galloway arrives to supervise the opening of a coffin containing the bones of a medieval bishop, she finds the museum’s curator lying dead on the floor. Soon after, the museum’s wealthy owner is also found dead, in his stables.

DCI Harry Nelson is called in to investigate, thrusting him into Ruth’s path once more. When threatening letters come to light, events take an even more sinister turn. But as Ruth’s friends become involved, where will her loyalties lie? As her convictions are tested, Ruth and Nelson must discover how Aboriginal skulls, drug smuggling, and the mystery of the “Dreaming” hold the answers to these deaths, as well as the keys to their own survival.

Series: Ruth Galloway Mysteries #4 | Publisher: William Marrow Paperbacks | Genre: Mystery | Source: Publisher | Rating: 2.5

While I’m always eager to pick up a Ruth Galloway mystery, sadly, this one wasn’t my favorite.

This one wasn’t horrible, it wasn’t even a bad book, but I do feel as though some of the plot was out of place and didn’t fit into this series, which gave the book a disjointed feel. One of my favorite things about this series is the way it combines history, mystery, and archeology and while the mystery was there, the history and archeology fell flat.

What I enjoyed about this book is the personal aspect. There’s a lot going on with Ruth, Nelson, and his wife. I’m not going to get into everything as I don’t want to ruin the book for readers. They’re trying to figure how to navigate things in a professional aspect only rather than the friendship they had before. There’s also someone who has re-entered Ruth’s life and I hope it’s developed throughout the series because they are really good together. I think it would be a healthy relationship for Ruth.

Overall, I struggled a bit with this one. I found it hard to get in to and parts of the plot failed to hold my attention. I picked this one up on June 16, read a few chapters, and had to force myself to pick back up at the end of June.

While I’m struggling to recommend to this one, it is important to read each book in the series in order to understand the dynamics. Read this one to see how Ruth’s personal life is evolving. 

The Sunday Post August 11, 2024

 Hello, Lovelies, and happy Sunday, I hope you’re all doing fantastic.

It’s been a minute since I’ve sat down and wrote up a Sunday Post. Here’s what I’ve been up to while I was away from the blog.

Life

In January, I started 2 continued education courses (on-line) from Oxford University. Originally, I had signed on for one course (Death in Tudor England) then discovered that this was the last time they were offering another course I was interested in (The Mysteries of Mary, Queen of Scots). As someone with a degree in Tudor/Renaissance History, I couldn’t pass up the second course. I didn’t realize just how time consuming taking both courses (as well as working a full-time job) would be so, unfortunately, the blog ended up falling behind. I finished both courses and handed my dissertations in at the end of May.

I decided to take some ‘me time’ during June and July, which included stepping away from the computer, which I needed. I attended a few events (Celtic Fest and a DIY Hat Making Bar at a local shop), a couple birthday parties, and spent time with friends. I also binged some shows (Bridgerton, Discovery of Witches, Coupling, to name a few) and tackled a few projects. 

I’ve also had some health things going on. My allergies have been all over the place. Seasonal allergies have been horrible this year so the allergist swapped my meds and I ended up being extremely allergic to my new allergy meds. My food allergies have also changed and now I’m allergic to foods that were previously safe to eat. It’s been fun the last couple of months.

House

I need to get back to my decluttering and organizing. This week I plan to get started on my walk-in closet. There’s so much that I need to sort through: clothes, shoes, games, bedding, towels, throw blankets and more. I picked up a few storage pieces last week and need to see what else I need to buy. There’s also a few wall shelves I need to hang.

Blog

I’m so excited to get back to the blog. I’ve missed posting and I’ve missed visiting everyone’s blogs. I’m excited to see what everyone’s been up to and what you've been reading.

I’ve spent the last few days writing and scheduling posts. I’ve also been thinking about what I want my blog to look like, content-wise. While I my primary focus will be reviews, I want to add other content as well and I’m trying to sort out what that content should be.

Reading

My reading has changed up a bit this year. While I’m still reviewing ARCs and Reader Copies, I’ve been working my way through my TBR mountain. I started the year with a list of series that I wanted to finish or work on and I’ve added to that throughout the year. I’m happy to say I’m making decent progress.

I’m also happy to report that I’m back in my romance-reading era. It’s been a minute but I think the Bridgerton series rekindled my enjoyment of this genre.  

Books

I’ve started the process of decluttering my books. I’m mainly focused on decluttering the books I have multiple copies of, books I won’t reread/didn’t like, and books that I’m not interested in reading.  

To make sure that the books go where they need to (friends/family/little free library) and not sit around for who knows how long, I separate them into tote bags or boxes and stick them in the car so I can drop them off the next time I’m out. This has really been helping to make sure things don’t pile up around the house.

Book Haul            

I went a little wild with my book buying the last few months. In my defense, Ollies had great deals, the Book Outlet had an amazing fiction sale, then they sent me a 10$ off coupon in my order that I had to use, and several of my pre-orders came in.

Ollies Haul  

t’s In His Kiss (Bridgerton #7) by Julia Quinn

The Other Miss Bridgerton (A Bridgerton Prequel) by Julia Quinn

Because of Miss Bridgerton (A Bridgerton Prequel) by Julia Quinn

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband (A Bridgerton Prequel) by Julia Quinn

When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald

Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford

The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books (nonfiction) by Edward Wilson-Lee

Book Outlet (order 1)

Vengeance of the Pirate Queen by Tricia Levenseller

The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec (2 copies, 1 was a gift)

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths (replacement copy)

The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths (replacement copy)

The Crossing Place by Elly Griffiths (replacement copy)

The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths (replacement copy)

Book Outlet (order 2)

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker (2 copies, 1 was a gift)

Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn (2 copies, 1 was a gift)

Preorders

The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde

Heaven Breaker by Sara Wolf 

The Duke and I & The Viscount Who Loved Me (Special Edition) by Julia Quinn

Apprentice to the Villain (Special Edition) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up.