The Weekly Update: 1/10/16

 
 
Happy one week into the new year!

(I know that's not a thing, but I never know how to start blog posts, so I'm goin' with it.)

Speaking of the new year though, is everyone sticking to their goals and resolutions? And has the year started off by treating you right?

It's been chilly here, which is not a good thing because I hate the cold and have a low body temperature as it is. I actually had to wear a jacket with my shorts when I went out. Oh the horror! ;-)

I've already made a couple new blogger friends though, which was one of my goals, so that makes me happy. I also finally summoned the courage to request my first book from Netgalley and got approved! That was another thing I wanted to do this year. And my first discussion post went really well thanks to all of you who commented! So I'm off to a good bookish start.

Other than that, I've not got any real news, so I'll just show you what books I've read this week and then you can tell me about your week in the comments!

Books I Finished:

Hell is Coming by N.P. Martin | books, reading, book covers
Ocean's Justice by Demelza Carlton | books, reading, book covers
Ocean's Trial by Demelza Carlton | books, reading, book covers
Chosen by Christine Pope | books, reading, book covers
Kelpie by Kaye Draper | books, reading, book covers
 

As you can see I’ve also already started on my goal to read more books about different creatures! Well, angels, demons, and mermaids weren’t new or unusual, but I had never read about kelpies, so that was fun, and Chosen was only the second book I’d ever read about djinn. There actually wasn’t a whole lot of djinn-ness in Chosen, but I think there will be more in the next book, and I do plan to continue the series. I also really liked Hell is Coming and reviewed it this week. The Triumph and Turbulence series (the mermaid ones) were enjoyable, but they’re too short for me to justify paying $3.99 each for the next three books.

Song of the Week:

“A Walk Through Hell” by Say Anything – Since there was so much talk of music on the blog this week, it seems like as good a time as any to show you all a song from one of my favorite bands. I love their songs because the singer writes some really powerful lyrics. They’re kind of alternative/punk, but you may have heard their song “Alive With the Glory of Love” that was popular around maybe 2005ish. This song is pretty mild, but you should probably assume all their songs are NSFW just to be safe.

In Case You Missed It:

Cover Characteristics: Book Covers featuring Jewels
Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Goals for the New Year
Discussion: What Do You Listen To While Reading, Writing, and Blogging?
Book Review: Hell is Coming (Watchers Book 1) by N.P. Martin
Book Review: Trailer Park Fae (Gallow and Ragged Book 1) by Lilith Saintcrow

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

And once again, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer πŸ™‚

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

How has YOUR week been?
Are your goals going well so far?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

12 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 1/10/16

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  1. Greg

    Ocean’s Justice looks kinda cool. I like merfolk There’s so much fantasy being written now with different creatures. I probably should read more urban fantasy than I do. πŸ™‚

    I like Song of the Week, that’s a great idea. Have a good rest of your weekend. πŸ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      Urban fantasy has definitely become my most read genre, so I will fully support your decision to read more πŸ˜›

      Thanks, and you have a great weekend too!

  2. Daniela Ark

    Great job with your first discussion post! I really liked it πŸ™‚
    I know they are not your favorite fantasy creatures but, since I’m cuckoo about angels and demons books, I’m curious… which one is your favorite so far?

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! My favorite angel/demon book would have to be the one I read this week, Hell is Coming. Second place, and this could be considered a spoiler since the angels and demons aren’t revealed until like halfway through but it probably won’t actually ruin anything, would be Sparrow Man by M.R. Pritchard, but even that book started drifting toward a broadly focused plot. Demons alone are interesting, and I like reapers, which are angels, it’s just when the book is about war and protecting humanity that it seems to lose the focus on individual characters, and the characters become too noble and unrelatable.

      If you like reapers, check out Wings of Darkness by Sherri A. Wingler. I’ll be reviewing it soon. Maybe. My review schedule keeps getting rearranged lol.

  3. Lauren H.

    You got a lot of reading done! Ugh. My week has not been great. Our 4 1/2 year old fridge broke (no, we didn’t have a warranty) so we had to buy a new one. Ekk. And we didn’t win the lottery. πŸ™ At least I have books right?

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yikes! That’s a major pain. I keep feeling like my freezer is going to break any day now since it keeps making crazy noises. But I agree, every time things go wrong in my real life, I just think to myself, at least things are going well in my bookish life lol.

  4. Vlora

    I’m glad you made some new blogger friends! I started Netgalley-ing fairly recently and was surprised I actually got approved for some books. πŸ˜€ I actually signed up to the site in 2014, but I only requested one book from the Read Now section and didn’t like it and felt stressed about reading ARCs, so I stopped. I tried again when I got my Kindle in November and I’ve had much better luck so far! I like the song and the Hell is Coming cover. πŸ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      I was so intimidated, but it was so exciting getting approved! Though I’m pretty sure it wasn’t exactly strict for the one I applied for. Not that I’m complaining, since the book had been on my TBR and I’m really enjoying it so far. I feel like… was it on your blog that we agreed we both dislike writing negative reviews? That’s one of the reasons ARCs stress me out, so even though I’m less scared to request now, I’m still very picky about my choices. The best is finding a series you like that gives ARCs.

      I love the Hell is Coming cover! I’m glad someone agrees. And I’m glad you like the song πŸ™‚

  5. A Voracious Reader

    Happy First Week, to you too! πŸ˜€ Ooooh…I like the idea of creature books. Or making it into a monthly creatures post. Creature Feature, maybe. Vampires and shifters are fairly run-of-the-mill nowadays, but I should seek out more of the lesser written creatures. πŸ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! Yeah, I read so many books about the usual creatures last year that I thought it was about time to venture out and try some new things. A creature feature post does sound fun though. There are so many lesser known ones out there!

  6. Lola

    I definitely had a good start of the new year so far :). It’s a bit chilly here too, but not too and. And yay that’s so exciting you got your first book from netgalley! Which book did you get?
    How was that mermaid book? I like mermaids and got a fun anthology about mermaids last year and still haven’t read all stories, but I am always looking for new mermaid books.
    Have a great week!

    I saw the notification of the comment reply plugin you were using. I kept having to fish your comments from my spam and a few days later they landed there again. Which plugin did you use? I use Subscribe to Comments Reloaded and it works great so far!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Actually it was kind of your encouragement that made me go for it on Netgalley lol, so thank you! I got Soul Breaker by Clara Coulson. It was already a book I had wanted, and I like it so far!

      The mermaid books were not the best books I’ve ever read but were good, and I probably would continue the series if they cost less or were longer. They’re historical, early 1900s, the first with Scottish men on the sea, the second set in Australia. The first is free on Amazon, I believe, and the second I got by signing up for her newsletter.

      I was using Comment Reply Notification, but even when I tested with a different plugin, the same thing happened. Idk why because I don’t spam! I contacted my hosting service, but they couldn’t help :-/ I’ll test out the one you recommended and see if it works.