2017 Resolutions/Goals + Weekend Wrap-Up + Kindle Spotlight Deal

At the beginning of this year I made four resolutions/goals for 2017...I only completed one. :/ Here's how I did:

• Read at least 150 books

I finished 201 books. Crazy, since it doesn't even feel like I read that many and yet...I did. O.o

• Get my NetGalley ratio to 80% or higher

Um. No. I failed at this one. While I did increase it, I'm nowhere near 80%. 

• Read at least 75 books from my 2017 TBR shelf on Goodreads

I read 50.

• Finish at least 1 Nonfiction book every month.

I was so close with this one. I only missed reading at least one nonfiction book in September and November. :(

Weekend Wrap-up is where I share what I read this past week, am currently reading, and my reading plans for the coming week. 

Feel free to join along and post your own Weekend Wrap-up on your blog/site (if you do, please leave the link in a comment so I can stop by) or, in a comment, share what you've read this past week. :)

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Review: Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig

About the book:

This Is the Way the World Ends. 

Four years after a tragic mission decimated his team, Cole "Tox" Russell has been disavowed by the United States. And that's fine--he just wants to be left alone. But when a dormant, centuries-old disease is unleashed, Tox is lured back into action.

Tox and his former Special Forces team regroup to work with FBI deception expert, Kasey Cortes, and fiery archaeologist, Tzivia Khalon, to search the globe for answers--and a cure. As the mission leads from one continent to another, it becomes clear they're not just fighting a plague but battling an ancient secret society whose true goals remain hidden.

With time running out and the threat for a global pandemic rising, Tox and his team realize their sole chance might be to reach back through centuries of silence to find the only answer that can save them all.

Link to the free prequel: http://amzn.to/2yFEPbJ

My rating:
3 stars
(View my rating system)

My thoughts:

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Review: The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

About the book:

Now a Hallmark Channel movie event, The Bridge, along with prequel The Beginning, is a heartwarming story of two couples who find love in a bookstore and experience the sort of miracle that can only happen at Christmastime.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury has written a modern-day classic with this unforgettable love story set against the struggle of the American bookstore. Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but she left her heart back in Tennessee when she walked away from Ryan five years ago. They had a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.

Ryan Kelly lives in Nashville after a broken engagement and several years on the road touring with a country music duo. Sometimes when he’s lonely, he visits The Bridge—the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin—and remembers the hours he and Molly once spent there.

For over four decades, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing customers with coffee, conversation, and shelves of classics—even through dismal sales and the rise of digital books. Then the hundred-year flood sweeps through Franklin and destroys everything. The bank is about to pull the store’s lease when tragedy strikes. Can two generations of readers rally together to save The Bridge? And is it possible that an unforgettable love might lead to the miracle of a second chance?

My rating:
3 stars
(View my rating system)

My thoughts:

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Review: An Inconvenient Beauty by Kristi Ann Hunter

About the book:

Griffith, Duke of Riverton, likes order, logic, and control, so he naturally applies this rational approach to his search for a bride. While he's certain Miss Frederica St. Claire is the perfect wife for him, she is strangely elusive, and he can't seem to stop running into her stunningly beautiful cousin, Miss Isabella Breckenridge.

Isabella should be enjoying her society debut, but with her family in difficult circumstances, she has no choice but to agree to a bargain that puts her at odds with all her romantic hopes--as well as her conscience. And the more she comes to know Griffith, the more she regrets the unpleasant obligation that prevents her from any dream of a future with him.

As all Griffith's and Isabella's long-held expectations are shaken to the core, can they set aside their pride and fear long enough to claim a happily-ever-after?

Links to the other books in the series:

A Noble Masquerade: http://amzn.to/2ASctRE
An Elegant Facade: http://amzn.to/2AUOGk0
An Uncommon Courtship: http://amzn.to/2j627T1

My rating:
4 stars

(View my rating system)

My thoughts:

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December 26: Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to In 2018

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to In 2018 (These could be new releases, or books you resolve to read, ten debuts we are looking forward to, etc.)

One of my favorite Top Ten topics! I have a bunch of books I'm looking forward to reading in 2018, but I will try to keep it to just ten. ;) Please share your list, as I would love to find some more books to add to my TBR list. :D

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1. Just saw this cover on Amazon and you guys know this is my favorite series. I cannot wait to read it next year! "A criminal mastermind's chilling terrorist plot forces FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers to the brink in the latest thriller from bestselling novelist Steven James." - Releases September 4th, 2018, Amazon | Goodreads

2. Falling for You. A gorgeous cover and it's a second-chance love story. A must-read! - Releases May 1st, 2018, Amazon | Goodreads

3. There is a new Laura Frantz novel releasing next year! I'm so excited to read this one, as it sounds very good. - Releases January 2nd, 2018, Amazon | Goodreads

4 & 5. So happy to have TWO Susan May Warren books releasing next year. Maybe there will be more?! A reader can hope. ;) -- Releases January 2, 2018 & May 1, 2018, Amazon | Amazon

6. "Burning debris littering the ground . . . smoke pluming in the acrid air . . . this is just the beginning if he fails." Ahhh! This sounds amazing!! -- Releases July 3, 2018, Amazon | Goodreads

7. I really enjoyed the first book and am eager to read this one. -- Releases May 1st, 2018 , Amazon | Goodreads
8. Another book where I loved the first book in the series and look forward to reading the sequel. -- Releases February 6th, 2018, Amazon | Goodreads
9. I am so intrigued by this story! I've only read one of Nadine Brandes' novels, but I am looking forward to reading more. -- Releases July 10th, 2018, Amazon | Goodreads



10. I love Sarah Sundin's novels! This looks like another winner. :) "The tense days leading up to the monumental D-Day landing blaze to life under Sarah Sundin's practiced pen with this powerful new series." -- Releases February 6th, 2018, Amazon | Goodreads

This post may contain “affiliate links.” This means if you click on a link with my affiliate code and purchase an item(s), I will receive an affiliate commission. You won't be charged extra, I'll just receive a small percentage of the purchase price. See my disclosure page here.

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Top Ten Books On My Christmas Wishlist

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 I know it's Saturday and not Tuesday, but I had wanted to do this TTT topic and forgot...so, better late than never, right? Hope you enjoy reading my list and please share what is on YOUR Christmas wishlist in a comment. 

1.This is a mainstream YA series that I have been loving. I'm eagerly anticipating this last one.

 
2&3. I really enjoyed the first book and have been looking to get the last two ever since.

4. It's Susan May Warren. Enough said. ;)

 
5&6. I love Melissa Tagg's books and the first Christmas story was amazing. Really hoping to add these to my Kindle collection.

 
7. The final (?) Walker Family story. I need to finish this series.

8. Look at that cover! So cute and it is a SMW novella, so I definitely want to read it.

 
9. This story sounds very good. 

 
10. I enjoy Katie Ganshert novels and am curious about this one.

This post may contain “affiliate links.” This means if you click on a link with my affiliate code and purchase an item(s), I will receive an affiliate commission. You won't be charged extra, I'll just receive a small percentage of the purchase price. See my disclosure page here.

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Seasonal TBR Challenge: Winter Edition

This past fall I challenged myself to get 15 books off my TBR shelf and, while I wasn't able to complete the challenge, it really motivated me to read those books instead of just reaching for something else. 

Because of that, I've decided to do it again. 

This challenge will run from today (or technically yesterday -- I'm late with posting this) until March 20th. I'm going to list 12 books this time, as my reading has really slowed the past few months. Maybe it will pick up again, but just in case I want to have a reasonable goal.

If you want to participate in this challenge, feel free. Just create a blog post and share the books you want to get off your TBR shelf this winter. Be sure to link to this post and comment here so I can read it. :)

Here are the books I want to get off my TBR shelf this winter.

• Death by the Book (Drew Farthering Mystery #2)
• Season of Glory (The Remnants #3)
• Beyond the Ashes (Golden Gate Chronicles #2)
• Captured by Love (Michigan Brides, #3)
• The Reluctant Duchess (Ladies of the Manor, #2)
• A Lady Unrivaled (Ladies of the Manor, #3)

 

 

• Trial & Tribulations (Windy Ridge #1)
• Truth Stained Lies (Moonlighters, #1)
• Invitation (Harbingers): Cycle One of the Harbingers Series 
• A Cast of Stones (The Staff and the Sword, #1)
• To Write a Wrong (Justice Seekers #2)   
• Strand of Deception (Justice Seekers #3)

This post may contain “affiliate links.” This means if you click on a link with my affiliate code and purchase an item(s), I will receive an affiliate commission. You won't be charged extra, I'll just receive a small percentage of the purchase price. See my disclosure page here.

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