2016 New Authors Reading Challenge

The 2016 New Authors Reading Challenge is hosted by Literary Escapism, and it goes from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. The goal of this reading challenge is to read new-to-you authors.  There’s no levels to join at for this challenge – which means that we get to pick how many new authors we want to read. I join this challenge primarily to keep track of how many new…

View Post

2016 E-Book Reading Challenge

The 2016 E-Book Challenge is hosted by Annette’s Book Spot  and it goes from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. I’ve done this challenge for the past couple years and love seeing just how much I end up reading on the iPad at the end of the year. I’m joining at the Megabytes level, which means I need to read at least 25 e-books in 2016. I’ll keep track…

View Post

2016 Audiobook Challenge

The 2016 Audio Book Challenge is hosted by The Book Nympho & Hot Listens, and it goes from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. I love listening to audio books and have been doing this challenge for the past few  years. I’m joining at the Marathoner level, which means I need to listen to 50+  audio books in 2016. I’ll keep track of them here.   ***As of 8/31/16, I…

View Post

2016 Netgalley Reading Challenge

The 2016 Netgalley Reading Challenge is hosted by Ariel Avalon, and it goes from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. This goal of this challenge is to not only read all those books we’ve requested from Netgalley but to then review them so as to get our feedback ratio up to the recommended 80%. I’m joining at the Hard level, which means I need to read and review at…

View Post

2016 I Love Libraries Reading Challenge

The 2016 I Love Library Books Reading Challenge is hosted by Bea’s Book Nook, and it goes from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. I love my local library and love doing this challenge. This is my seventh year participating in the library challenge! I’m joining at the Middle Grades level, which means I need to borrow at least 18 books from the library in 2016. I’ll keep track…

View Post

2016 You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge

  The 2016 You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge is hosted by The Crafty Engineer’s Bookshelf, and it goes from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. This is a reading challenge where we are challenged to read, read, read!!! I am going to join this challenge at Level 2, where I hope to read 150 books. Me Before You — Jojo Moyes Lost & Found in Cedar Cove…

View Post

First Book of the Year 2016

Each year, Sheila over at Book Journey makes a big deal over what the first book she’ll read will be for the new year and once again she’s asked us to join her. I joined in last year and it was a lot of fun seeing what book everyone selected. For my first book of the year, I decided to go with a book that I’m probably one of the…

View Post

Year in Review: 2015

2015 has been another great year and it’s hard to believe that 2016 starts tomorrow!   Some of the highlights of this year include: Attending BEA 2015 – for the second year in a row. Another fantastic experience with my partner-in-crime, T from Traveling with T!!! Lots of great books, meeting other bloggers in person, networking with publishers/publicists, meeting authors and attending some of the parties! So much fun! Still…

View Post

Month in Review: December 2015

Here are my reading stats for December!  Books read:  13  Books I read:  Flash & Bones — Kathy Reichs (audio book) What She Knew — Gilly Macmillan Rose Harbor in Bloom — Debbie Macomber (audio book) The Distance — Helen Giltrow (audio book) A Wedding on Primrose Street — Sheila Roberts (e-book) Night Blindness — Susan Strecker Smoke — Catherine McKenzie (audio book) Love Letters — Debbie Macomber (audio book)…

View Post

Review: Smoke by Catherine McKenzie (audio)

Title: Smoke Author: Catherine McKenzie Narrator: Amy McFadden, Cassandra Campbell, & Danny Campbell Published: October 2015, Brilliance Audio / Lake Union Publishing Length: 9 hours 51 minutes / ARC e-copy 370 pages Source: Publisher / Netgalley From the internationally bestselling author Catherine McKenzie comes an evocative tale of two women navigating the secrets and lies at the heart of a wildfire threatening their town. After a decade-long career combating wildfires,…

View Post

Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (audio)

Title: The Nightingale Author: Kristin Hannah Narrator: Polly Stone Published: February 2015, Macmillan Audio Length: 17 hours 26 minutes Source: Library In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are. FRANCE, 1939 In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but…

View Post

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: The View from Prince Street by Mary Ellen Taylor (Giveaway Closed!)

Title: The View from Prince Street Author: Mary Ellen Taylor Series: Alexandria, #2 Published: January 2016, Berkley Format: Paperback, 352 pages The author of The Union Street Bakery and At the Corner of King Street returns to Alexandria, Virginia, with a heartfelt tale of reconnection. Rae McDonald was fifteen when a car accident took her sister’s life and threw her own into reckless turmoil. When she got pregnant a year…

View Post

The Sunday Post #95 (12.27.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.         I can’t believe this is the last…

View Post

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in December 25

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About      Still doing pretty well with my goal this month of hitting 10k every day – I’m 22 for 25 days…not too bad. I didn’t quite make it on the 24th – that was a travel day for me, plus I was visiting my sister and nieces and then Christmas Eve is our big family…

View Post

Review: What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

Title: What She Knew Author: Gilly Macmillan Published: December 2015, William Morrow Paperbacks Format: Paperback, 496 pages Source: Publisher In her enthralling debut, Gilly Macmillan explores a mother’s search for her missing son, weaving a taut psychological thriller as gripping and skillful as The Girl on the Train and The Guilty One. In a heartbeat, everything changes… Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben,…

View Post

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in December 18

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About      So far I’ve managed to hit my target of 10k steps 17 out of 18 days this month…not too bad!!! The one day I didn’t do it, I was pretty close, but was so tired and had a really bad headache. Oh well!   Here’s how my week went:      Dec 12: …

View Post

Book Spotlight, Guest Post & Excerpt: Seized by Elizabeth Heiter

Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth Heiter back to Always With a Book. Elizabeth’s new book, Seized, the 3rd book in her Profiler series,  will be published at the end of the month. This is one of my favorite series and I’ll be reviewing it in the coming weeks, but for now, enjoy this great guest post and brief excerpt!!! Title: Seized Author: Elizabeth Heiter Series: The Profiler, #3 Published:…

View Post

Review: The Distance by Helen Giltrow (audio)

Title: The Distance Author: Helen Giltrow Series: Charlotte Alton, #1 Narrator: Rachel Atkins Published: September 2014, Random House Audio / Doubleday Length: 13 hours 27 minutes / ARC e-copy 368 pages Source: Personal copy via Audible/ Netgalley A dark, ultra-contemporary, and relentlessly paced debut thriller about a London society woman trying to put her secret criminal past behind her, and the hit man who comes to her with an impossible…

View Post

Short & Sweet Review: Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: Spider Bones Author: Kathy Reichs  Series: Temperance Brennan, #13  Narrator: Linda Emond  Published: August 2010, Simon & Schuster Audio  Length: 9 hours 30 minutes  Source: Library Kathy Reichs—#1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the FOX television hit Bones—returns with the thirteenth riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. John Lowery was declared dead in 1968—the victim of a Huey crash in Vietnam, his body buried…

View Post

Review: Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich (audio)

Title: Tricky Twenty-Two Author: Janet Evanovich Series: Stephanie Plum, #22 Narrator: Lorelei King Published: November 2015, Random House Audio Length: 6 hours 27 minutes Source: Library Something big is brewing in Trenton, N.J., and it could blow at any minute. Stephanie Plum might not be the world’s greatest bounty hunter, but she knows when she’s being played. Ken Globovic (aka Gobbles), hailed as the Supreme Exalted Zookeeper of the animal…

View Post

Review: Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber (audio)

Title: Rose Harbor in Bloom Author: Debbie Macomber Series: Rose Harbor, #2 Narrator: Lorelei King Published: August 2013, Random House Audio / Ballantine Books Length: 9 hours 6 minutes / ARC E-copy, 336 pages Source: Library / Netgalley Hailed as “the reigning queen of women’s fiction” (The Sacramento Bee), Debbie Macomber is renowned for her novels of love, friendship, and the promise of fresh starts. Now Macomber returns to the…

View Post

The Sunday Post #94 (12.13.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.      It’s so hard to believe that this is December…

View Post

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in December 11

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About      It was a good week – and I’m still hitting my goal of 10k steps every day in December!!! I’ve had a lot of running around to do this week, so that’s where I got a lot of my steps, but I also took advantage of the warm weather we’ve been having (weird for…

View Post

Review: The Hundred Gifts by Jennifer Scott

Title: The Hundred Gifts Author: Jennifer Scott Published: October 2015, NAL Format: Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher The national bestselling author of The Sister Season shares a new novel about a woman who discovers the spirit of the season is truly in the giving…. With the holidays around the corner, empty-nester Bren Epperson realizes that for the first time in decades, she has no large family to cook for, no celebration…

View Post

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima (Giveaway closed)

Title: Killing Trail Author: Margaret Mizushima Series: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery, #1 Published: December 2015, Crooked Lane Books Format: Hardcover, 320 pages When a young girl is found dead in the mountains outside Timber Creek, life-long resident Officer Mattie Cobb and her partner, K-9 police dog Robo, are assigned to the case that has rocked the small Colorado town. With the help of Cole Walker, local veterinarian and a…

View Post

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Once Shadows Fall by Robert Daniels (Giveaway closed)

Title: Once Shadows Fall Author: Robert Daniels Published: December 2015, Crooked Lane Books Format: Hardcover, 352 pages After years of paying her dues on the force, Beth Sturgis has earned her place as a detective for the Robbery-Homicide division of the Atlanta PD. Now, she’s heading up a major manhunt for a potential serial killer who’s working his way inward from the outskirts of the city. The copycat elements in…

View Post

Review: The Word Game by Steena Holmes

Title: The Word Game Author: Steena Holmes  Published: November 2015, Lake Union Publishing Format: ARC E-book, 222 pages Source: Netgalley For overprotective parent Alyson Ward, any time her daughter, Lyla, is out of sight is reason to panic. So it’s a big step for her when she lets Lyla attend a sleepover at her cousin’s house. Comforted by the knowledge that her sister, Tricia, is the chaperone, Alyson does the…

View Post

The Sunday Post #93 (12.6.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.       Thank goodness for audio books!!! I feel like…

View Post

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in December 4

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About      I’ve decided to challenge myself this month to do 10,000 steps each day…I want to end 2015 strong!!! So far, so good. I’ve also increased my water intake – partly because I’ve had my headache meds upped, so it’s really important for me to make sure I drink lots of water, but it’s also…

View Post

Review: Center of Gravity by Laura McNeill (audio)

Title: Center of Gravity Author: Laura McNeill Narrator: Lisa Larsen  Published: July 2015, Thomas Nelson on Brilliance Audio Length: 10 hours 11 minutes Source: Publisher The truth could cost her everything. Her whole life, Ava Carson has been sure of one thing: she doesn’t measure up to her mother’s expectations. So when Mitchell Carson sweeps into her life with his adorable son, the ready-made family seems like a dream come…

View Post

Guest Post: Jenny Milchman: Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day – December 5th, 2015

I am once again proud to welcome back author Jenny Milchman to Always With A Book and to offer my support to Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, held the first Saturday of December. Now in its 6th year, Jenny has taken the idea a step further. Read on to see how.   Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day begin in 2010 when I had two young children…

View Post

Review: The Girl Without A Name by Sandra Block (audio)

Title: The Girl Without a Name Author: Sandra Block Series: Zoe Goldman, #2 Narrator: Jennifer Nittoso Published: September 2015, Hachette Audio Length: 9 hours 43 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Another gripping pageturner featuring psychiatrist Zoe Goldman, the protagonist from Little Black Lies. In what passes for an ordinary day in a psych ward, Dr. Zoe Goldman is stumped when a highly unusual case arrives. A young African American…

View Post

Month in Review: November 2015

Here are my reading stats for November!  Books read:  13  Books I read: Shopaholic to the Rescue — Sophie Kinsella (audio book) Where the Memories Lie — Sibel Hodge (audio book) Along the Infinite Sea — Beatriz Williams Center of Gravity — Laura McNeill (audio book) Pretending to Dance — Diane Chamberlain The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs — Matthew Dicks The Last Girl — Jane Casey (audio book) Dear…

View Post

Review: Where Memories Lie by Sibel Hodge (audio)

Title: Where Memories Lie Author: Sibel Hodge Narrator: Anna Parker-Naples  Published: September 2015, Brilliance Audio  Length: 9 hours 17 minutes Source: Publisher Chilling family secrets, obsession and decades-old lies. How well do we really know the ones we love? A gripping psychological thriller from the #1 bestselling author of Look Behind You. Twenty-five years ago Katie ran away from home and never came back. But now she’s suddenly reappeared in…

View Post

Review: Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (audio)

Title: Real Murders Author: Charlaine Harris Series: Aurora Teagarden Mystery, #1 Narrator: Therese Plummer Published: November 2009, Recorded Books Length: 6 hours 7 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Though a small town at heart, Lawrenceton, Georgia, has its dark side-and crime buffs. One of whom is librarian Aurora “Roe” Teagarden, a member of the Real Murders Club, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It’s a harmless…

View Post

The Sunday Post #92 (11.29.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.     I can’t believe December begins this week…this year is…

View Post

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in November 27

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About        So, I decided to take the week off. I still wasn’t feeling 100% and rather than push myself and end up sick for Thanksgiving, I decided maybe a week off would do me some good. I knew I had a bit of running around to do at the beginning of the week…

View Post

Review: Shopaholic to the Rescue by Sophie Kinsella (audio)

Title: Shopaholic to the Rescue Author: Sophie Kinsella Series: Shopaholic, #8  Narrator: Clare Corbett Published: October 2015, Random House Audio Length: 9 hours 27 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible Becky Bloomwood and a hilarious cast of beloved family and friends (plus one enemy!) set off in a van to find her missing father, last heard from in Las Vegas. Becky’s father Graham and her best friend’s husband, Tarquin, have…

View Post

Review: Little Black Lies by Sandra Block

Title: Little Black Lies Author: Sandra Block Series: Zoe Goldman, #1  Narrator: Kara Bartell Published: February 2015, Hachette Audio / Grand Central Publishing Length: 9 hours / ARC E-copy, 352 pages Source: Personal copy via Audible / Netgalley She helps people conquer their demons. But she has a few of her own… In the halls of the psychiatric ward, Dr. Zoe Goldman is a resident in training, dedicated to helping…

View Post

Review: Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

Title: Pretending to Dance Author: Diane Chamberlain Published: October 2015, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages Source: Paperback Molly Arnette is very good at keeping secrets. She lives in San Diego with a husband she adores, and they are trying to adopt a baby because they can’t have a child on their own. But the process of adoption brings to light many questions about Molly’s past and her…

View Post

Review: The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs by Matthew Dicks

Title: The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs Author: Matthew Dicks Published: September 2015, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 216 pages Source: Publisher Caroline Jacobs is a wimp, someone who specializes in the suffering of tiny indignities in silence. And the big ones, too. But when the twinset-wearing president of the local Parent Teacher Organization steps out of line one too many times, Caroline musters the courage to assert herself. With…

View Post

Review: Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams

Title: Along the Infinite Sea Author: Beatriz Williams Series: Schuyler Sisters, #3 Published: November 2015, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Format: ARC E-copy, 464 pages Source: Publisher Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler’s problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she’s…

View Post

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: The Wedding Tree by Robin Wells (Giveaway Closed)

Title: The Wedding Tree Author: Robin Wells Published: December 2015, Berkley Format: Paperback, 432 pages National bestselling author Robin Wells weaves a moving epic that stretches from modern-day Louisiana to World War II-era New Orleans and back again in this multigenerational tale of love, loss and redemption. Hope Stevens thinks Wedding Tree, Louisiana, will be the perfect place to sort out her life and all the mistakes she’s made. Plus,…

View Post

The Sunday Post #91 (11.22.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Kathryn’s It’s Monday post over at Book Date.           I can’t believe this week is already…

View Post

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: The Seafront Tearoom by Vanessa Greene (Giveaway Closed)

Title: The Seafront Tearoom Author: Vanessa Greene Published: December 2015, Berkley Format: Paperback, 368 pages From the author of The Vintage Teacup Club The first rule of afternoon tea: never rush. Take time to savor it. Just like friendship… The Seafront Tearoom is an insider secret in small-town Scarborough – a beach-front haven with the best tea and cakes in town – and  journalist Charlie Harrison would love to put…

View Post

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in November 20

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About        So, I was on a really good kick this week, and then I ended up with a head cold…just my luck! Because I don’t want to be sick next week for Thanksgiving (and usually when I get sick, I get really sick) I decided to take it easy as soon as I…

View Post

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Girls Who Travel by Nicole Trivilas (Giveaway Closed)

Title: Girls Who Travel Author: Nicole Trilivas Published: December 2015, Berkley  Format: Paperback, 336 pages A hilarious, deftly written debut novel about a woman whose wanderlust is about to show her that sometimes you don’t have to travel very far to become the person you want to be… There are many reasons women shouldn’t travel alone. But as foul-mouthed, sweet-toothed Kika Shores knows, there are many more reasons why they…

View Post

Review: The Naked Eye by Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen (audio)

Title: The Naked Eye Author: Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen Series: Kendra Michaels, #3  Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers Published: July 2015, Brilliance Audio  Length: 10 hours 23 minutes Source: Publisher The #1 New York Times bestselling author and the Edgar Award winning author are back with a new a new novel featuring Kendra Michaels—hired gun for both the CIA and FBI. It’s been four months since the events of SIGHT UNSEEN,…

View Post

Review: The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz (audio)

Title: The Girl in the Spider’s Web Author: David Lagercrantz Series: Millenium, #4  Narrator: Simon Vance Published: September 2015, Random House Audio Length: 13 hours 22 minutes Source: Personal copy via Audible She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution. Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone…

View Post

Review: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (audio)

Title:The Art Forger Author:B.A. Shapiro Narrator:Xe Sands Published:October 2012, Highbridge Company  Length:10 hours Source:Library On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art today worth over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there’s more to this crime than meets the eye. Making a living…

View Post