I saw this meme on It’s All About Books and decided to do it once a month. Many thanks to Yvonne for initially posting this!!
This post is exactly what it says: the places I travel to in books each month.
Enjoy my travels, and please let me know if you have read these books.
Countries I visited the most:The United States, England
States/Provinces I visited the most: New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Oregon, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Vermont, North Carolina, Massachusetts, California
Cities I visited the most:Austin, Crowe Lake, Roswell, Portland, Atlanta, Jackson,Pittsburgh,Cold Hollow, Durham
United States
California (Modesto), Washington (Fort Lewis, Elk Grove)
New York (New York City)
Colorado (Montezuma County, Dolores), New Mexico (Counselor)
New Mexico (Fort Sumner)
Arizona (Rim Vista, Phoenix)
New Mexico (Baldo, Roswell), Texas (Austin, Crowe Lake)
Started the New Year off with a bang. Vinnie (one of my cats) got bitten by Loki (another one of my cats). An abscess formed (unknown to me), then burst, and after a couple of days’ wait (it burst on a Friday night, the vet wasn’t open until Monday). I got him to the vet on Monday, and he had an infection along with the start of cellulitis. Poor guy was put on antibiotics and pain killers :(.
The next week, we took Tony (our orange-and-white cat) to the vet. He has allergies and developed a hot spot under his ear. In a week, it grew super large, and his itching was getting dangerously close to his eye. The vet thought it was ear mites (none), then ear infections (none), and finally settled on a flea allergy. She gave him flea-and-tick medication (we used Pet Armour, but she said OTC wouldn’t work), a shot of antibiotics, a shot of steroids, and oral steroids. The oral steroids are working (no itching), but the hot spot looks awful.
Mr. Z started his internship this month. He is doing IT at a local hospital. He was supposed to do it last semester, but they couldn’t place him. This is also an honors class for him. I love it because he will gain real-world experience in a job.
We got hit with a pretty bad winter storm at the end of the month.
Reading Highlights from this month:
I read and finished Hunting Justice by P.L. Clark. It was a very cut-and-dry revenge story with a sub storyline of the main male character having PTSD. I left this book feeling a little underwhelmed because everything was wrapped up too quickly.
I reread The Descendant by Ally Capraro. I enjoyed the storyline. But I do wish the author had gone into more detail about the Lapo and the Xemlix’s war. I am sure more is explained in book 2, but it isn’t linked on The StoryGraph or Goodreads, so I guess I will wait(and yes, I know I can Google, but I am lazy… lol).
I read the first two books of The Society Lost series (The Shepherd and Betrayal). They were pretty good books, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
I read and finished Deadly Deceit by Karen Randau. This book was all over the place, and I mean that in a good way. It went from an implied terrorist mass shooting to internal crimes committed against a Marine to a cover-up by a USSenator (sounds familiar, huh) to crimes committed during war by Marines in Iraq. Also, add in corrupt cops and kidnapping, and it was nuts, and I loved the journey. I am a little disappointed that the other books aren’t on Kindle and will be watching for them.
I finished Missing – Dead or Alive by Peter Martin. I found this to be a predictable mystery/thriller until the middle of the book. There was a huge plot twist, and then the surprises just kept coming. By the end of the book, I was invested because it had changed so much and because of what had happened.
I finished The Cascade series (Survive, Rescue, Mutant, Conflict, Siege, Outpost, Beyond, and Salvation). This was a great series to read. The books were fairly short (between 150-250 pages each). The plots moved fast, and the author had no qualms about killing off long-term characters. I will definitely be rereading these books!!
I read book 1 of The Forsaken Series (Unknown) by Phil Price. While I liked the book, I found the constant jumping between characters and places a little overwhelming. I will read the rest of the series when it becomes free or goes on KU.
I finished reading the Cold Hollow Mystery series (Cold Hollow, Weaving the Web, The Maestro, Vengeance, and The Butcher). I wasn’t expecting to like this series as much as I did. The author believed in putting her main characters in peril, and she wasn’t shy about killing off unpleasant characters. I would highly recommend this series.
I finished reading book 1 of The Criminally Insane series (Bad Karma). It was OK. I wish the author had focused more on Agnes’s belief that she was Trey’s reincarnated lover. I do plan on reading the other books in the series (Red Angel and Night Cage) if they ever go on KU.
I finished reading Flash Drive by Peter C. Foster. It was alright. The plotline was predictable until the last half of the book. Then the author threw in some doozies of plotline twists. I don’t think I will reread this book.
I finished reading Final Masquerade by Cindy Davis. This was another OK book for me. I honestly thought that Paige was losing it for 90% of the book. But the end proved me wrong. I also thought that Chris (who was OK to cause numerous accidents with his truck) was either part of the conspiracy or with the law. I’m neutral about rereading this book.
I read and finished Broken by Brooke Linford. It was a very fast-paced book. It was also a little predictable. I wasn’t a huge fan of Amanda or Lucas, but neither of them deserved what was happening to them.
I finished the first book of the Colorado Chapters (What Survives of Us) by Kathy Miner. I enjoyed reading this book and will be looking for the rest of the series to show up on KU.
I read and finished The Alessandra Chronicles (The Solitary Apocolypse, Let the Devil In, A Greater Evil) by Jeff Haws. This was a fast-paced, very scary take on epidemics and the fallout. I finished the entire series in 2 days.
Books I Read:
Monthly Playlist (I use songs featured in the book, if there are any, along with a playlist generated by ChatGPT).
Here is what I am reading, what I recently finished, and what I plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday.
Let me know if you have read or plan to read any of these books!!
Happy Reading!
What I am currently reading:
Paige sees her fiancé murder his associate. And he knows she saw. Paige Carmichael must’ve had a premonition that her life was about to take a turn for the worse.One of the books she read was How to Change your Identity and Hide from Anyone.Then she saw her fiancé murder his best friend and associate. And call in one of his flunkies to remove the body. This wasn’t what she signed up for when she agreed to marry Stefano Santangelo. Sure, she knew he was in the mob, but he’d sworn it was numbers running and things like that.Not about to leave the four-year relationship without something to show for it, Paige takes one of his precious antique coins and $750K from his safe, and runs. She changes her hair, her walk, the kinds of foods she eats. Yet, he keeps finding her.One day she meets Christian Charles Beauchamps. Her savior. He’s driving a truck to make money to open a landscaping business. He’s handsome and charming, and eventually convinces her to confide in him.But when she sees him whispering to a suspicious bearded guy, she takes off again–with all of them hot on her tail.Can Paige finally escape Stefano’s grasp and have a normal life?She doesn’t want to be next, so she runs, taking $750K from his safe.
What I recently finished reading:
Every Sunday afternoon for almost a year she strolls into the parking lot where you work and drives away in a car share. Every Sunday evening she brings it back. Until one day, when the car comes back, but she doesn’t. A stranger wearing cargo pants and an attitude shows up in her place. After he leaves, you find her bag and all her possessions in the trunk. You realize that wherever she is, she has nothing but the clothes on her back.
What do you do? You don’t know her well, but you know she disappeared. You’re afraid she’s been harmed, but no-one believes you. You think you know who’s responsible, but then that guy turns up dead. And when the cops open an investigation, you are their prime suspect in the murder.
Erstwhile taxi driver Alex Ryan is the guy in the parking lot. Sexy bank executive Chantal Dorval is the mystery woman. Who kidnapped her? Is she alive or dead? Who killed Cargo Pants? And why? Ryan sets out to answer these questions, to find Chantal and exonerate himself. But the more he learns about her life, the more disturbing secrets he discovers, and the more suspects he turns up. And the more the police are convinced he’s guilty.
Flash Drive is action-packed and sexually-charged. It deals with contemporary themes such as substance abuse, alternate lifestyles, and social media privacy issues. It will appeal to readers of the work of Gillian Flynn, Robert Galbraith (JKR), or Harlan Coben.
What I plan on reading Thursday through Sunday:
When Amanda bumps into a strange man, she thinks nothing of it until she sees him again. And again. Wherever she goes, even at home – he’s there.
She tries to ignore him. But he doesn’t like to be ignored.
Amanda doesn’t know who to turn to. She’s just met Lucas, a man her friends believe is perfect. While she can’t deny her attraction to him, demons from her past and present continue to haunt her. And she’s not the only one with secrets.
What follows is a desperate escape from the city, where she’s forced to confront her past, deal with her growing feelings for Lucas, and fight for a future she’s just beginning to believe in.
Is she strong enough to survive?
B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree and National Indie Excellence Award Winner! Naomi sees her first corpse in a Colorado Springs grocery store, but it won’t be her last. With devastating speed, a plague sweeps first the city, then the state, then the world, leaving less than 1% of the population to go on. Naomi, a gentle and sheltered housewife, finds herself fighting for survival in a world populated by desperate people, where might-makes-right, and mercy and compassion are in short supply. Fellow survivors Jack, a youth minister from Woodland Park; Grace, a 17-year-old high school student from Limon; and Naomi’s daughter Piper, a student at the University of Northern Colorado, all find themselves searching for a safe path forward…because it’s not just the world that has changed.
The plague that decimates the human race also pushes mankind into evolutionary change. Those who survive are different, profoundly so, in ways they are just beginning to comprehend. As Naomi struggles to protect and reunite what’s left of her family, she must also learn to understand and accept the changes in herself. In this strange new world, her survival, and the survival of those she loves, depends on it.
Alessandra is Struggling at the End of the World Along with the rest of a North Georgia town that survived a deadly worldwide plague, Michael’s forced to wear a steel ring around his waist wherever he goes to enforce strict social distancing. He’s seen cohabitation banned. Marriages dissolved. Families torn apart. But he’s a good soldier, supporting the leader’s draconian policies — until he learns an explosive secret about her that threatens to destroy the delicate balance they’ve achieved between safety and order. Now, Michael must enlist help to confront the awful truth about the town of Alessandra, and the fate of what may be the last human colony on Earth before he’s silenced by the people who don’t want anyone to know what they’ve done. Written in 2016 but seemingly ripped from the COVID-19 headlines of today, the story looks at the psychology of pandemic-forced isolation and the corruption of ultimate power. The Solitary Apocalypse is a fast-paced thriller that examines what happens when the world shrinks and power consolidates into the hands of the few, with a vast, empty, uncaring world the only alternative to submission. Buy it today.
Democracy dies in isolation
With Audrey gone, Stephanie and Michael are left to lead Alessandra, and the transition has been a rocky one. While many accept their brand of democracy, there’s a contingent that’s skeptical that democracy can work in a post-virus world. Zac begins to lead his group of skeptics to generate chaos in order to sow disillusionment among the townspeople, Stephanie is faced with the biggest challenge yet to her leadership. And when a familiar face shows up at the gate with another set of motivations, death and political turmoil threaten to send Alessandra spiraling out of control without anyone reliable in command.
Book 2 of The Alessandra Chronicles presents a picture of a town beset by conflict on all sides. Perhaps the only human colony left on Earth, their survival depends on finding a way forward out of the abyss.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet and share what you have been and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This 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.
Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-lit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.
What I am Reading Now
Every Sunday afternoon for almost a year she strolls into the parking lot where you work and drives away in a car share. Every Sunday evening she brings it back. Until one day, when the car comes back, but she doesn’t. A stranger wearing cargo pants and an attitude shows up in her place. After he leaves, you find her bag and all her possessions in the trunk. You realize that wherever she is, she has nothing but the clothes on her back.
What do you do? You don’t know her well, but you know she disappeared. You’re afraid she’s been harmed, but no-one believes you. You think you know who’s responsible, but then that guy turns up dead. And when the cops open an investigation, you are their prime suspect in the murder.
Erstwhile taxi driver Alex Ryan is the guy in the parking lot. Sexy bank executive Chantal Dorval is the mystery woman. Who kidnapped her? Is she alive or dead? Who killed Cargo Pants? And why? Ryan sets out to answer these questions, to find Chantal and exonerate himself. But the more he learns about her life, the more disturbing secrets he discovers, and the more suspects he turns up. And the more the police are convinced he’s guilty.
Flash Drive is action-packed and sexually-charged. It deals with contemporary themes such as substance abuse, alternate lifestyles, and social media privacy issues. It will appeal to readers of the work of Gillian Flynn, Robert Galbraith (JKR), or Harlan Coben.
What I am reading Monday and Tuesday:
Paige sees her fiancé murder his associate. And he knows she saw. Paige Carmichael must’ve had a premonition that her life was about to take a turn for the worse.One of the books she read was How to Change your Identity and Hide from Anyone.Then she saw her fiancé murder his best friend and associate. And call in one of his flunkies to remove the body. This wasn’t what she signed up for when she agreed to marry Stefano Santangelo. Sure, she knew he was in the mob, but he’d sworn it was numbers running and things like that.Not about to leave the four-year relationship without something to show for it, Paige takes one of his precious antique coins and $750K from his safe, and runs. She changes her hair, her walk, the kinds of foods she eats. Yet, he keeps finding her.One day she meets Christian Charles Beauchamps. Her savior. He’s driving a truck to make money to open a landscaping business. He’s handsome and charming, and eventually convinces her to confide in him.But when she sees him whispering to a suspicious bearded guy, she takes off again–with all of them hot on her tail.Can Paige finally escape Stefano’s grasp and have a normal life?She doesn’t want to be next, so she runs, taking $750K from his safe.
When Amanda bumps into a strange man, she thinks nothing of it until she sees him again. And again. Wherever she goes, even at home – he’s there.
She tries to ignore him. But he doesn’t like to be ignored.
Amanda doesn’t know who to turn to. She’s just met Lucas, a man her friends believe is perfect. While she can’t deny her attraction to him, demons from her past and present continue to haunt her. And she’s not the only one with secrets.
What follows is a desperate escape from the city, where she’s forced to confront her past, deal with her growing feelings for Lucas, and fight for a future she’s just beginning to believe in.
Escape Into Reading 