Top 10 Tuesday: My Top 10 Most Anticipated Reads For the Second Half of 2017

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

While most bloggers will probably chose to list new releases for their most anticipated reads, I'm going to take a different approach. I am going to feature some older books that I hope *fingers crossed* to get to over the next several months. 

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 

Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

The Measure of Katie Calloway (Michigan Northwoods #1)  by Serena B. Miller 

The Last Reading (A Storage Ghost Murder) by Gillian Larkin 

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt 

The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan 

Tide and Tempest (Edge of Freedom #3) by Elizabeth Ludwig

The Engagement Party by Kimberly Freeman 

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly  

Have you read any of these books? Did you participate in this weeks TTT? Leave me a message in the comments. 

Book Haul: May 2016

Its been quite a while since I've done a book haul because I haven't been accumulating many books for myself in recent months.

However I have accumulated quite a few for my baby boy. Back in March, my Mom threw me a baby shower and instead of giving cards, we asked that the guests bring a baby book. All the books I was given filled up an entire box. It is such a great start to his library.

At 5 weeks old, Charles is already enjoying being read to. He loves to look at the colorful pictures. Here are a few books that we have been sharing with him lately..

I found these books at my local grocery store, which carries scratch and dent books.

And here are the Kindle books I've downloaded since the new year..

Have you read any of these books? Leave me a message in the comments. 

No Safe Harbor (Edge of Freedom, #1) by Elizabeth Ludwig

No Safe Harbor (Edge of Freedom, #1)

By: Elizabeth Ludwig

Published: October, 2012

Published By: Bethany House Publishers 

Format Read: Kindle for PC, eBook

Genre: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

Rating: 3.5/5 

Cara Hamilton thought her twin brother Eoghan was dead, but when a cryptic letter confirms that he is alive, she risks it all and boards a ship to America. Cara is warned to be cautious and not trust anyone until she is safely reunited with him. However she accepts the help of a fellow passenger aboard the ship who directs her towards a boarding-house and an irresistible young man named Rourke. While Cara searches for her brother, she finds her own life at risk. But can she figure out how this relates to her his disappearance and can she really trust those who she has befriended?

Back in 2013, I won my first Goodreads giveaway which was a copy of Elizabeth Ludwig’s Dark Road Home, the second book in the Edge of Freedom series. However I had yet to read this first book until now.

No Safe Harbor is set in 1897, New York, a time period and city that I enjoy reading about. The story moved at a good pace throughout and held my attention. The main characters had detailed backstories that played into the events that transpired.

Unfortunately I didn’t love No Safe Harbor as much as I did Dark Road Home. I found Cara to be very naive and careless. I tend to enjoy stronger female protagonists and felt she was the typical damsel in distress.

I liked how the author switched narrative perspectives throughout however I wish it was more consistent. There were some characters that was only featured once or twice and left me wanting to learn more about them.

No Safe Harbor was a good story, despite those minor things I mentioned. I would recommend it to those who enjoy historical Christian fiction.  

Edge of Freedom Series 

1. No Safe Harbor 
2. Dark Road Home

Sunday Wrap-up: May 14, 2017

Is wishing all the Mommy's out there a very Happy Mother's Day! 

Every year on Mother's Day my family and I go out for a special brunch. So earlier this week I called the restaurant to reserve our table, the man asked me how many mothers will be in our party. I went to respond with "one", but had to do a double take and correct myself. There are two mommy's now! Baby Charles will be a month old on Wednesday and I still find it surreal that he is mine. 

My Reading Progress:

I finished reading No Safe Harbor (Edge of Freedom, #1) by Elizabeth Ludwig, earlier this week. I read the second book in this series a couple of years ago and enjoyed that book more than this one. Still it was a decent story and I gave it 3.5 stars. 

Currently Reading

I have been working on reading The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott, for a while now. Its a longer book and moving along slowly. 

The Littlest Cowboy (The Texas Brands #1) by Maggie Shayne has been on my Kindle for PC TBR for quite a while now. I was just in the mood for an easy contemporary and this one seems to fit that bill. 

And that is all for now. 

Happy reading everyone! 

Links

Hosted by: Book Date

Hosted by: Caffeinated Book Reviewer 

Top 10 Tuesday: (Freebie) Top 10 Favourite Covers From My Goodreads TBR

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Broke and the Bookish. 

I haven't participated in a Top 10 Tuesday since back in November. I didn't realize it had been so long. Over on the Broke and the Bookish blog, the topic for this week is 10 Things On Our Reading Wishlist. However, I noticed that there was a cover freebie topic from last week and decided to feature that topic instead. This post is a little bit late going up, but wanted to get it published anyway. 

Top 10 Favourite Covers From My Goodreads TBR 

1. Further Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

2. A Coventry Wedding (Coventry, #2) by Becky Cochrane 

3. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan 

4. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

5. Stella Bain by Anita Shreve 

6. A Time for Home (Snowberry Creek #1) by Alexis Morgan

7. The Recipe Box by Sandra Lee 

8. When Good Friends Go Bad by Ellie Campbell

9. With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden 

10 The Devoted (The Bishop's Family, #3) by Suzanne Woods Fisher  

Have you read any of these books? Which cover is your favourite from this list? Leave me a message in the comments. 

Monthly Wrap-up: April 2017

Well the month of April was quite a whirlwind for me. I admit that the first couple of weeks just dragged on as my due date got closer, The further along in my pregnancy I got, the more uncomfortable and anxious I became, Then there was the added stress of having to move again. I am so thankful for my family and friends who stepped up once again to help us. I don't know how we would have gotten it all done without them.

We welcomed our baby boy Charles to the world on April 19. Labour and delivery went smoothly and I had a great team of nurses and doctors around me, as well as my husband and mom.

I am so in love with my sweet little boy. It still feels so surreal that he is finally here and that we are parents. Charles is only less than 2 weeks old now, but he has already brought so much joy to our lives,

Here is my reading progress for the month:

Only one book completed in April. I was a bit preoccupied, hehe.

🌟🌟🌟.5 A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 
Rating: 3.5/5
This book follows a curmudgeon middle-aged widower and a colourful cast of neighbors who keep foiling his plans to commit suicide, It was a humerous story despite the description and I would recommend it to those who enjoy contemporary fiction.

The Stats 

Total Number of Books Read: 1
Total Number of Fiction: 1
Total Number of Non-fiction: 0
Total Books Sent for Review: 0
Total Books Read From My Shelves: 1
Total Library Books Read: 0

Formats Read:

Physical Books: 0
eBooks: 1
Audio Books: 0

Genres Read:

Contemporary: 1

Total Books Read in 2017: 8 

Once again I don't have a set TBR for May, but I hope I can sneak in some reading in between feedings and diaper changes. 

Wishing you all a wonderful may. 

Hosted by: Book Date