Rachel Kovaciny's Blog, page 37

"Goodnight, Irene" by Jan Burke

I have embarked upon my quest to read the whole Irene Kelly series by Jan Burke in one year!  I first read Goodnight, Irene almost ten years ago -- I didn't realize it had been so long!  I'm really glad to be able to revisit these and finally finish the series.
Goodnight, Irene concerns the murder of a newspaperman, who, for decades, has been posting annually about an unsolved murder case involving an unidentified young woman.  Irene Kelly takes her old job back at the same newspaper where her mu...

I Have a New Short Story Available!

Yes!  My latest Once Upon a Western short story is available for FREE as an ebook for Kindle or Nook!  
"Who Lived in a Shoe" is another sequel to One Bad Apple, and it also ties up to Dancing and Doughnuts.  I love getting to reveal how the characters from different books have ties to other characters, even though each book stands on its own.
Here's the official synopsis for "Who Lived in a Shoe," which is my reimagining of a Mother Goose rhyme:
Levi Dalton is disappointed. He'd had high hopes for...

"A Little Beside You" by Jenni Sauer

Well, I have a new favorite Jenni Sauer book.  And a new favorite Jenni Sauer hero, heroine, and sidekick.  Make space in my heart, everyone from the previous books, because Bender and Cori and Meg get a lot of room there now.  Especially Bender.  My goodness, Bender.
Bender, Bender, Bender, Bender, BENDER!
Bender is a literal hitman for a gang/mafia group called the Bears, as in, he hits people very effectively when his bosses tell him to.  He's a hulking giant with the kind of massive fists and ...

Top Ten Tuesday: New Acquisitions

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is "Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection."  

I have been working hard at reading down my TBR shelves, using #TheUnreadShelfProject to help me keep motivated, so I have been trying not to buy quite so many books.  And I also didn't ask for many books for Christmas, for the same reason.  But I do still buy books here and there -- life of a bibliophile, right?  So, between a few purchases this month, Christmas gifts, and a few purc...

Book 4 Title Reveal!

At last!  I have found a title for my Beauty and the Beast retelling!  And I'm sharing it here, there, and everywhere today!

To be honest, this title has taken a lot of work to find.  Or, rather, I've spent hours and hours trying to find it, and failing.  Until I holed up at my favorite local coffee shop on New Year's Day and pursued one final idea.  And it worked!  I found the title!

There it is. My Rock and My Refuge. A Beauty and the Beast retelling set in 1870s Colorado gold-mining country, t...

"Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes

Considering that this was one of my favorite books when I was like eleven, I was astonished by how very little I actually remembered of it.  Oh, I remembered the big things, like Johnny getting his hand ruined in a silversmithing accident, Paul Revere playing a central role, and that it involved a printing press a lot.  There were a couple of random scenes that were still really familiar when I read them.  But most of it, I'd forgotten.  So it was a joy to discover it all over again, in a way!
Jo...

Reading Goals Behind and Ahead

I always set a few reading goals for myself for the year, just to help me focus my reading a bit.  Since we're saying goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022, it's time to see how I did with my goals for the past year, then talk about my goals for the coming year.  
(All photos are mine from my Instagram account.)
2021 Goals
Overall Goal
I set myself the goal of reading 55 books in 2021.  I read 110.  WHAT?!?!  That is more books than I've read in one year in my entire adult life.  Including the four year...

"A Christmas Party" by Georgette Heyer

I really like Georgette Heyer's Regency novels, the ones I've read.  They're sparklingly witty and sarcastically clever and generally lots of fun.  I tried reading one of her mysteries earlier this year, though, and ended up DNFing it because I couldn't stand any of the people in it and it was altogether rather dull.  But I tried this one because, well, I like Christmas mysteries.  And lots of people recommended it.  And I found it used at a reasonable price.

I did like it pretty well.  I only li...

"Once Upon a Christmas" by Lauraine Snelling and Lenora Worth

There's something about Christmastime that makes me enjoy cozying up with fluffy, festive romances.  Maybe it's because my life often gets busy, so I don't have energy to follow something deep or difficult.  Maybe it's just the generally cozy cheer of the season.  I don't know.  Anyway, Once Upon a Christmas is two fluffy, festive romances in one volume that I probably wouldn't have even picked up any other time of year.  But the week before Christmas, they were just what I wanted.
In "The Most W...

My Favorite Reads of 2021

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl to share the best books I read in 2021.  As has been my wont for the past few years, I have two top ten lists for you today: my top ten favorite new reads and my top ten favorite rereads.
I've linked all titles to my reviews; for some of the rereads, that link goes to whatever my most-recent review of the book may be, as I don't always review rereads, especially if I've reviewed them two or three times before.


New Reads:
1. The Beautiful Ones (PG) by Emily...