The Weekly Update: 7/31/16

 
 

I didn’t have the best week.

I had more electronics trouble that I’m not even gonna get into because I’m so damn tired of talking about electronics trouble.

Then I spent hours one day waiting for a package to come only to realize something went wrong when I ordered it and it was sent to where I used to live, so I had to drive over there to get it -_-

I also had an awful headache one night, one of those headaches that was so painful it made my whole body feel bad. I hate taking medicine, but it took 4 pills plus massaging my peppermint oil mix on my head to make the stupid thing go away just enough that I could at least sleep.

*Sigh* This is a very complaint-filled intro, but I’m just all sorts of aggravated and stressed about stuff. I promise the rest of the post will be cheerier.


Blog/Bookish Updates:

I do have a bit of good bookish news this week. I won a giveaway over at The Nocturnal Fey! A paperback copy of No One Dies in the Garden of Syn by Michael Seidelman. I actually read an eARC of this book, which kind of makes me feel guilty that I won since I possibly took the chance away from someone else to read it :-/ Should I feel guilty about that? I’m super excited though because I really liked the book, and it’s a fantasy book that actually has a character with a chronic illness (which you all know I’ve been looking for lately), and the cover is gorgeous, and I can’t really afford physical books at the moment. I’ll be sure to take a photo once it arrives πŸ™‚ In the meantime, you all should check out the book on GR or check out my review!

As for all the scheduling ahead I’ve been doing, I feel like I’ve been short on inspiration for discussion posts lately :-/ I only have three scheduled, one of which I’m not even sure I want to post. This week’s should be a really interesting one though πŸ˜‰ I’m doing great on book reviews though considering I have 17 of those ready to go.

I’m also doing great on review copies as I only have 11 plus the one I’m currently reading, although I do have a few I know I’ll be getting soon. But now my problem is that too many of them are M/M, and I’m trying to post only one M/M review a week, and the blog schedule for those is already backed up to October 0.o

Books I Received for Review:

Reaping Havoc by AJ Rose | reading, books
 

Books I Finished:

Animal Instinct by Stephen Osborne | reading, books
The Scarlet Tide by Stephen Osborne | reading, books
Dead End by Stephen Osborne | reading, books
Under a Blood-Red Moon by Stephen Osborne | reading, books
The Hypnotic City by Andrea Berthot | reading, books
 

Look at me, blowing through five review copies in one week (and writing all five reviews)! I was really happy to finally be able to do a bit of binge-reading though (even though the series isn’t finished yet). The Duncan Andrews Thrillers books lacked the emotional punch I thought they would have, but they were enjoyable for some quick, light reading with likeable characters, snarky humor, and paranormal fun. The Hypnotic City was also enjoyable with a fantastic main character and lots of great messages about sexism, body issues, etc.

Song of the Week:

Sorry, no song this week.

In Case You Missed It:

– I reviewed Pieces by T. Aleo, a new adult paranormal romance with a unique premise.
– I discussed whether not a book has to be perfect to get 5 stars.
– I reviewed Crisped + Sere by TJ Klune, the second book in a dark, disturbing, beautiful, AMAZING M/M dystopian series with broken characters and complex relationships.
– I talked about 3 things every character inexplicably knows how to do. (Where are they learning these things???)

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

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

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Did you find any good books or music last week?
Have you won any giveaways lately?
Do you also like to binge-read series?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

30 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 7/31/16

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  1. Greg

    Hey congrats on the giveaeay! I wouldn’t feel bad, if you want the physical book nothing wrong w/ that. I like the title of it. πŸ™‚

    I can relate on the discussions, I had some going up on Tuesdays for a while but lately I’m not sure what I want to talk about lol. 17 reviews! Wow that’s impressive.

    I do like to binge read, so if I get into a series and it’s already all released or mostly all released I love it cause then i can just blow through the books.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! And I guess I probably shouldn’t feel bad since I do really want the book.

      Maybe it’s some sort of discussion slump going around, haha. But the discussions are my favorite, so I don’t want to skip those! I am rather proud of having 17 reviews ready though lol.

      Binge reading is the best!

  2. Samantha

    You need to get a statue of the patron saint of electronics and pray to it! So sorry you have had so much trouble! I just got notification from USPS that something was sent to me at my old address. So, they forwarded it. Now, I only moved a town over, but they sent the package from Cincinnati (where we live) to Detroit MI to reroute it back to Cincinnati at my new house. WTF?!? Grrrr! And I don’t even know what it is!
    Holy crap 17 reviews ready to go?!? Girl that is awesome! I was feeling pretty good about my 6 πŸ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      Seriously, I do need to make a shrine or something lol. That is aggravating that they sent your package away just to send it back -_- Where I used to live wasn’t far at all, but it was still a nuisance when I had planned to just relax at home that day.

      Lol 6 is good too! I don’t even know how I ended up with so many. I’ve just been trying to write them right away when I finish a book, and I guess I’ve been reading more than I’ve been posting, so they’re stacking up.

  3. Deborah

    Oh… sorry to hear about your ongoing technology problems Kristen! What a bummer. And your headache… but there’s nothing worse than feeling like crap and feeling overwhelmed.

    It sounds as if you’re getting on top of your reviewing and reading though so that’s great. I don’t really do many (any) book bloggy discussion posts and am keen to participate in more!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks, both the technology issues and the headaches suck -_-

      But yes, at least I’m on top of my reviewing! Discussions are actually my favorite post, I love doing those πŸ™‚ You should do more!

  4. Mareli Thalwitzer

    I didn’t get to any of your posts this week…. So sorry! It was a bit hectic. Will have a recap tomorrow or Tuesday. Sorry that you still have so many electronic problems. Throwing it against the wall will also not help I guess…. Reaping havoc has a very intriguing cover! Will chat again somewhere this week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      No worries! I’ve been having a hard time getting around to other blogs this week too. Thanks, and no, see, the problem was that I didn’t throw this one against the wall, I let it get all soft on me πŸ˜› I am looking forward to Reaping Havoc πŸ™‚ Looking forward to more chats this week!

  5. Lola

    I am so sorry to hear this wasn’t such a good week for you. And electronics again? It seems you had a lot of bad luck with your electronics lately. It’s frustrating when things don’t work like they should.

    And those headaches are the worst. I am like you that I dislike taking medicine, but if I have a bad headache I do make an exception.

    No you shouldn’t feel guilty about winning the book even though you already read it. I actually enter giveaways sometimes for books I already own if I also want to win them in paperback. i even won a giveaway once for a book I also got for review, so i have both e-copy and paperback, which is neat. I recently won a giveaway during the coyer reading challenge and picked the only book on the list i already read as I really enjoyed it and it had artwork and would love to own a paperback copy of it.

    Sorry to hear you’ve been having trouble getting inspiration for discussion posts. I always make sure I have a bunch of topics ready to write and then end up writing the one I just came up with ofcourse, but hey at least I still know I have good topics on the calendar to write. My Lola’s Kitchen posts though have been difficult, I haven’t been in the mood to try out new recipes and the two posts I want to write I don’t find the time for. So frustrating.

    You’re doing great on scheduling reviews! I am not doing too bad myself, but only have 6 reviews scheduled at the moment, so about 3 weeks ahead. You could always make an exception and posts two M?M reviews some weeks? Oh nice you got some binge reading done and read 6 books in one week, wow. And I was feeling good about 3 books read, lol.

    Oh and I am currently reading the vampire book, the Immortality Cure. I’ll let you know cone I’ve reviewed it. So far it’s good.

    I’ve been listening to the band Wintergatan a lot this week, they have some very god instrumental music. Normally I don’t listen to a lot of music, unless my boyfriend puts some up. But I suddenly had one of their songs in my head and ended up discovering they had a whole album on youtube.
    I read my second 5 star read of the year, so it was a good week for reading. And yes I enjoy binge reading, but hardly ever make time for it anymore.

    I hope you’ll have a good week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks, stupid electronics -_- And yeah, when it reaches the point of take Tylenol or go to the emergency room where they’re just going to give me stronger medicine anyway, I make the exception and take some Tylenol.

      I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who sometimes enters giveaways for books I already read in ebook but really enjoyed and want the paperback of. I always wonder if I should feel guilty about that, but I guess I shouldn’t πŸ™‚

      I do have some topics written down from a while ago, but I don’t know, that just doesn’t work for me. It’s too much of a struggle to write those. Lately I’ve just been getting inspired and then the post just kind of writes itself, so it’s fun and sounds better. Not sure what I’m gonna do if I can’t get any ideas soon.

      Thanks! I am rather proud of having 17 reviews ready lol. This whole writing the review ASAP after finishing the book thing is working out well. I might have to make an exception some weeks and post two M/M books. I just want to keep my blog somewhat varied since I know some people aren’t into that. Three books in one week is still great! That’s pretty much my norm, but these were short books that didn’t take long to read, so I blew through basically one a day for the Duncan Andrews ones.

      I noticed you were reading that when I was on your blog πŸ™‚ Looking forward to your thoughts!

      I’ve never heard of Wintergatan, I’ll have to check them out. For some reason I haven’t been in that music-y of a mood this week and have had TV on in the background instead.

      I’m glad you found your second 5 star book πŸ™‚ Now we’ve both had two 5 stars this year. Maybe we’ll find our third ones soon! You have a great week too!

  6. kimbacaffeinate

    Oh man…I am not letting my electronics within a 30 mile radius of your town. LOL I do hope things improve. As for the book you won, I wouldn’t feel guilty. You loved it, and now it will grace your bookshelf. Hope this week is amazing.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Seriously don’t ever let your electronics near me, haha. Actually, thankfully, I’ve never broken anyone else’s electronics. It’s just my own that break, and it’s rarely anything I actually did wrong. Thanks, I guess I shouldn’t feel guilty since I do really want it πŸ™‚ You have a great week too!

  7. tonyalee

    Ah, headaches! I’ve noticed I;ve been getting more lately, but luckily not migraines. Which IMO, cluster headaches are worse because I usually just pass out lol

    Giveaways.. I won two lately, but haven’t revived the items yet but I am STOKED because they’re prize packs! And binge reading, I use to but I can’t think of a series that I have recently binged.. haha

    Hope this week is better for you!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’ve done a lot of research on headaches because for a while I was getting them constantly, and cluster headaches do seem awful. All types of headaches are miserable though.

      That’s awesome that you’ve won two lately! And prize packs are the best, I got one of those once and it felt like Christmas lol. Yeah, I hadn’t binge-read in a while, so it made me happy!

      Thanks! Have a great week πŸ™‚

  8. sjhigbee

    Sorry you are still having issues with the hardware in your life – and the headache… Hope you are able to relax a bit more and decompress in the coming weeks – particularly after having clocked up 17 reviews. That’s impressive. Take care and hope that the start of August is MUCH better!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks, maybe this week will be a little better at least. The blogging isn’t what has me stressed though, it’s pretty much was de-stresses me πŸ™‚ But thanks, I am pretty proud of having 17 reviews lol. It helps to know that I have a buffer if something comes up. Thanks you!

  9. Stormi Johnson

    That sucks that you are still having problems with your electronics, hope it gets better soon. Congrats on winning that book and don’t fill bad about winning you are going to have a great copy of a book you enjoyed reading. I am also glad to hear that it is good because I picked it up when it was free to read but not read it yet.

    Happy reading!
    Stormi

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks πŸ™‚ And I am excited about the giveaway, so I guess I shouldn’t feel bad about it. Ooh, I’ll be curious to see what you think when you read it! I did enjoy it πŸ™‚ Have a great week!

  10. Jessica Samuelsen

    I do like to binge read series on occasion. Right now I am binging on The Continental Breakfast Club by Pamela Ford. It’s really cute and funny. I am sorry about your electronics troubles those are the worse.

  11. Michelle @ FaerieFits

    Sorry to hear about your crummy week. I get awful headaches, and sometimes there’s just no dealing with them. And what sucks is that depending on what’s CAUSING the headache, different things make them feel better. When I was getting tension headaches in college, one of my good friends, like, rubbed my palm a certain way and, crazily enough, it worked! Have you tried any of that kind of stuff? (Don’t trust me; I don’t remember what exactly he did. I’d look it up if you’re interested).

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks. I went through an entire year with pretty much non-stop headaches at one point though, so if it’s a headache remedy anywhere out there, I’ve probably tried it already, haha. There is a pressure point between the thumb and pointer finger, like the webbing there, that works really well, but it’s tiring to keep pressing, and the pain comes back as soon as I let go -_- Same for smelling peppermint oil—it works, but only for a few seconds. But I have a mix of peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and coconut oil I keep in a little bottle and massage onto my temples/forehead/neck that helps sometimes. In case you haven’t heard about these and want to try any for your headaches πŸ™‚