Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 20

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 27 May 2024

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Hey Book Blogger Friends! Happy Monday and Happy Memorial Day to my friends here in the US! I didn’t get much reading done last week post gall bladder surgery but I did finish one audiobook.

Last Week I Read:The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

As I mentioned last week, I wasn’t overly enthused with this one and it ended on a rather dull note that I nodded off to.

Murder Road by Simone St. James

I’ve heard rave reviews of this author’s work but I didn’t really feel the same. It was an okay read but I don’t think I will read more from this author.

Glimmers of You by Catherine Cowles

I liked this one but the author seems to put the same elements in all the books in this series and it’s getting a little repetitive and blah. How many stalkers are lurking in this small town?? Seriously…

Currently Reading:Prom House by Chelsea Mueller

I’ve had this book for a while and I kept shifting it around on my shelves for some reason. It’s a short thriller and I’m almost finished with it.

Next Read:What Grows in the Dark by Jaq Evans

This has been on my TBR for a while and as part of my effort to stop buying books and just borrow from the library, the library’s digital services, and Kindle Unlimited, I just borrowed this from my library’s Hoopla system.

What are you reading this week? How are you spending the long weekend (if you have one)?

The Sunday Post: Easing Back, Stormy Nights, and Memorial Day Weekend

The Sunday Post is a weekly 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 our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

Easing Back, Stormy Nights, and Memorial Day Weekend

Hey Book Blogger Friends! Long time no see!

I’ve spent the past month prepping for my gallbladder removal surgery which was this past Monday. Everything went well and I’m now home recovering until June 7th. I’ve got the pain level down to nearly none and I’m enjoying my rest time.

It’s been a moody week here in Wisconsin. My grandmother always used to say it always rains for Memorial Day and it looks like that’s going to be the case this year. We’ve also had some bad thunderstorms but I’ve always found the sound of thunder relaxing.

Speaking of Memorial Day… we’re so close to the unofficial start of summer. I have so many fun things planned going into the summer and lots of new places I want to explore. I hope you and your families have a nice long weekend if you’re here in the US.

Recently on the Blog:

It’s Monday! What are you reading? 20 May 2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’d Love a New Book From

Audiobook Review: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

Book Review: Wait With Me by Amy Daws

This Week on the Blog:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 27 May 2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read

Can’t Wait Wednesday: Middle of the Night

Book Review: An Inconvenient Wife

New Book Mail on My Shelves:

None This Week

Around the Book Blogging World:

All 8 Bridgerton Books, Ranked From Worst To Best

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’d Love A New Book From

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish and currently hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’d Love A New Book From

This week’s TTT is about authors we’d love a new book from. This can be authors who have passed, authors who have retired, who have inexplicably gone quiet, or who might jut not be able to keep up with how quickly you read their books!

1. Rosemary Clement-Moore

Status: Gone Quiet

2. Rachel Caine

Status: Deceased (2020, Cancer)

3. Jeannine Garsee

Status: Unknown

4. Emily Snow

Status: Author Unable to Meet Deadlines, Ghosted Readers, Current Status Unknown

5. Cora Carmack

Status: Author has major health issues, unknown if this series will ever be completed

6. Rachel Hawkins

Status: I just need MORE!

7. Jenny Kiefer

Status: I just need more!

I only came up with 7 but that’s okay. What authors would you like more books from?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Hey Book Blogger Friends! It’s been a minute. I’ve been trying to balance work, writing, blogging, traveling, and prepping to have gall bladder surgery (today in fact) and I had to take a step away. But I’m slowly easing back into blogging…

Last Reads:Echoes of You by Catherine Cowles

I’ve read and loved other books in this series but I hated this one. The abusive ex storyline completely overshadows the romance storyline of friends-to-lovers.

Currently Reading:Glimmers of You by Catherine Cowles

I did continue with the series and I’m liking this one so far.

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

This audiobook has been dragging. Although I loved the Six Tudor Queens books by this author, I won’t be reading the second book in this duology and I decided to cancel my pre-order of the Mary I audiobook after hearing mixed reviews on that as well.

Next Reads:Ashes of You by Catherine Cowles

I’ve come this far, I may as well finish out the series (I read Shadows of You, Book 4, first so I’ve been reading out of order).

Murder Road by Simone St. James

This one has been on my TBR since it released and I can’t wait to dig into the audiobook.

What are you reading this week? Are there any books about the Tudors you would recommend to me? (not by Phillipa Gregory) I’ve been on a Tudor kick this year.

Audiobook Review: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa UngerBlurb:

Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller by New York Timesbestselling author Lisa Unger.

What could be more restful, more restorative, than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, complete with spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s loving and generous tech-mogul brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It’s his birthday gift to Hannah and includes their spouses and another couple. The six friends need this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R, far from the chatter and pressures of modern life.

But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare. A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep. How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? And who is the new boyfriend, crashing their party? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?

My Review:

The first time I tried to read this book I wasn’t thrilled by it but I’ve found sometimes that rereading in a different format helps so I gave it a go in audiobook.

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is about 3 couples that plan a vacation in a remote luxury rental in the Georgia mountains.

First up is Hannah and her husband Bruce. Hannah is nervous about leaving their baby with Bruce’s mom for their first getaway since Gigi was born.

Then there is Hannah’s tech mogul brother Makko and his yoga influencer wife, Liza. Dark allegations have been swirling around about Makko’s company and Makko himself and he and Liza have been struggling to conceive. They definitely need a getaway.

Finally there is Hannah’s best friend and Makko’s ex-girlfriend, Cricket and her new beau Joshua. What better to bring them closer together than a steamy getaway?

But once they arrive at their luxury rental things begin to go sideways. Their host hovers, the chef tells a chilling story of murder and ghosts, a storm is bearing down… and then the power goes out.

I love locked door mysteries and listening to this one in audiobook definitely did the trick for me. There are a lot of POVs to keep track of and one of them I kept guessing how that character was going to fit in at the end, but it worked. This story dives deep into family bonds, DNA ancestry testing, and children of sperm donors. The DNA ancestry part definitely hit home for me, as I have firsthand knowledge that you can find out things you wish you’d never known doing those tests.

I really enjoyed this one the second go-round and I’m glad I gave it another try! It was tense, atmospheric, and the way the characters blended together kept you guessing.

My Rating:

4 of 5 Knives!

Book Review: Wait With Me by Amy Daws

Wait With Me (Wait With Me #1) by Amy DawsBlurb:

When romance novelist Kate Smith suddenly gets writer’s block as she’s beginning the final installment of her international bestselling steamy Bed ‘n Breakfast series, she’ll do pretty much anything to get her groove back.Like sneak into a Tire Depot waiting room because her words flow there just like complimentary coffee-smooth, sweet, and scorchingly hot.She manages to fly under the radar until the rugged and charming mechanic, Miles Hudson, notices the quirky redhead slinking in and out of the employees only entrance. But she’s way too intriguing to blow the whistle on. Doing a test-drive of her new book idea sounds like a much better option.

My Review:

Some books you know you’re going to love before you even start them.

Per my usual, I read this series out of order, reading book 5 first. I was intrigued by Kate, the erotic romance author and knew I had to read her and Miles’s story!

Kate Smith aka Mercedes Lee Loveletter sneaks into the Customer Comfort Center of the Tire Depot to write every day. After struggling with writer’s block, she was surprised to find the place that gave her the greatest word flow was the waiting room at the Tire Depot. So every day she grabs a complementary coffee and pastry and knocks out the words. Everything is going great, nobody is suspicious, until she meets Miles.

Miles Hudson is a mechanic at the Tire Depot and when he spies a beautiful redhead sneaking out the employee entrance to the Customer Comfort Center, he has to know more about her.

What starts out as Miles keeping Mercedes’s (Kate’s) writing spot on the DL turns into a friendship and then so much more… but Miles was burned by his ex and isn’t ready to let someone in again and Kate has been keeping a few things secret from Miles – including her real name. Will they be able to make it work? Or are they headed for a break down?

Another hilarious, spicy read from Amy Daws! I laughed so hard when Kate’s writer friend has pizzas delivered to the Tire Depot in her name and when her friend Dean sends her the fake invoice from the Tire Depot for all the complimentary coffee and pastries. Miles and Kate have such great chemistry and I really blew through this story! It might be my favorite by this author so far!

My Rating:

5 of 5 Knives!

Book Review: Last on the List by Amy Daws

Last on the List (Wait With Me #5) by Amy DawsBlurb:

CEO millionaire, Max Fletcher is a single dad in desperate need of a nanny.

Cozy Barlow is in the middle of her self-appointed “gap year” and doing everything she can to detach from her past.

But when her sister begs her to interview for the nanny position of a high maintenance client, she doesn’t have a good enough reason to say no.

And when Max locks eyes on the twenty-something in a tie-dye sweatsuit who pitches the idea of daydreaming all summer—he prepares to give this bad nanny the boot.

One problem: Max’s little girl thinks this plus-sized in body and spirit nanny might be her new bestie, so she hires her on the spot.

Now Max is stuck with this bizarre woman who hates everything he represents—corporate greed, money, status, power.

But one stormy night when the power goes out, he discovers Cozy doesn’t hate him. In fact, he’s the leading role in her fantasies.
Fantasies, he would very much like to make a reality.

My Review:

After binging Wyatt and Trista’s story, Nine Month Contract, I figured since Max and Cozy were an established couple they had to have had their own story somewhere, right? And I was lucky they did with Last on the List!

Max is an uptight CEO/single dad who has sworn off relationships. What he is in need of is a nanny for his 11-year-old daughter Everly while his ex-wife and her new wife go out of the country for the summer for work.

Cozy Barlow left the corporate world behind after a devastating health crisis seven months ago and is taking a “gap year.” Her new motto? Why do more when you can do less. So when her sister puts her up for a nanny gig she shows up in a tie-dyed sweatsuit and immediately wins over the precocious Everly, much to buttoned-up Max’s dismay.

But as the two spend more time together they begin to peel back the layers and realize there is more to the other than their first impressions – including their scorching hot chemistry.

This book was a lot of fun. I love that this author creates heroines that are plus size, which is refreshing. Max was so devoted to his daughter and I loved that Cozy bonded with her right away too. Max seems a little uptight in Nine Month Contract so it was nice to see him in a different light in this book and I can’t wait to discover the rest of his friends in the previous books!

My Rating:

5 of 5 Knives!

Book Review: Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws

Nine Month Contract by Amy DawsBlurb:

A brand new spicy small town romance by Amazon #1 Bestselling author, Amy Daws. 

This book is the start of a mountain man spinoff series based on the three Fletcher brothers featured in her previous release, Last on the List.

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.

My Review:

I first learned about this book when I saw an ad on Facebook. It sounded fun so I clicked through since I was looking for a vacation read anyway.

Guys, I’ve found a new auto-buy author! I devoured this book! It was hilarious, it was spicy, and it was so addictive!

Wyatt is a grumpy mountain man who shares a mountain with his two younger brothers, Calder and Luke. After they were all burned by the same woman ten years ago they promised to never let a woman get between them again – and Wyatt has sworn off relationships altogether. But he wants more than anything to be a father. So he’s looking for a surrogate…

Enter Trista. Animal lover and burned from her broken childhood she doesn’t want love or children. But she could use the money to open her own animal sanctuary so she decides to be a surrogate… except the agency says she’s too fat. When she meets Wyatt’s niece Everly by chance outside the agency, Everly decides Trista would be perfect for her uncle.

What follows is a funny, sexy rom-com that was perfect for a beach read or any other stolen moment. I knew immediately that I had to read more by this author.

Read if you like: grumpy/sunshine, plus size heroines, cute animals, meddling families you wish you were a part of, and laugh out loud moments!

My Rating:

5 of 5 Knives!

Audiobook Review: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot #8) by Agatha ChristieBlurb:

Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckley. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo.

Poirot quickly takes a particular interest in the young woman. Recently, she has narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. Something like a bullet! It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.

My Review:

This one was one of my more recent Hercule Poirot favorites. Here we find Poirot and Hastings as they meet a charming young woman who has been the unfortunate victim of a series of accidents meant to kill her – or are they?

Hercule Poirot is on the case as her gets to know the people in Nick Buckley’s life. The house Nick inherited is a money pit. Her cousin and only living relative has no particular use for the house. And one of her closest friends thinks she’s making everything up. But Hercule is determined to get to the bottom of things – especially when a body turns up while everyone else at End House was watching fireworks.

Who has been trying to kill Nick Buckley? And why?

Through a series of twists an even darker agenda is uncovered. I really enjoyed the twist at the end of this one. I suspected, but it was still an enjoyable ending.

My Rating:

4 of 5 Knives!

Time Travel Thursday – 18 April 2024

Time Travel Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog where readers take a look back at what they were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what you are reading now.

18 April 2024

One year ago today I was reading this fantastic historical fiction novel about the doomed SS Morro Castle.

Currently Reading:

Today I’m finishing up this hilarious rom-com! So glad I checked it out after seeing a Facebook ad.

Comparison:

One book is historical fiction and the other is a fluffy rom-com. They have virtually nothing in common, although The Cuban Heiress does have a romantic subplot as well. One is set in the past, the other presumably fairly recently as the author mentions Taylor Swift’s eras tour. One is about a tragedy, the other is about a man who falls in love with the woman he hired to be his surrogate.

Have you read either of these books?