July 2019 TBR

This month I have one book for book club, an interesting audiobook I saw on the shelf, & a few books that I'm SUPER excited about! Should be a good month. 

Pies & Prejudice by Ellery Adams

This is our Cook the Books pick for July. A few of the ladies aren't going to be there so I am making the food this time, it's a key lime pie. I'll include the recipe in the review after I read the book.  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055971-pies-and-prejudice?ac=1&from_search=true 

Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

If I finish my other audiobook I'll get to this one next. This is #15 in the series.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11796251-cinnamon-roll-murder?ac=1&from_search=true 

The Lifters by Dave Eggers

This is the audiobook that I saw on the shelf that looked interesting, we'll see.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35734857-the-lifters?from_search=true 

Love a la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm

I saw this come in a few weeks ago in our new YA shipment & I need a book with love in the title for my challenge & this one sounds really cute. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35065036-love-la-mode?ac=1&from_search=true

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

I remember being really excited about this book when it came out in 2017...I think...we finally got it last year & on the first checkout it got destroyed! So we finally reordered it this last month so I checked it out. I was trying to wait until the last book came out later this year but I'm worried something else will happen so I'm reading it now. I have a feeling I'm going to really really like it so I'll end up ordering all of them anyway. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26032825-the-cruel-prince?from_search=true 

Everless & Evermore by Sara Holland

I read Everless last year when we got it in & IT WAS AMAZING!!!!! At the time I didn't realize it was a series so when it had a huge cliffhanger I was so mad! Even though book 2 came out months ago we just go it so I snagged them both. I'm gonna do a reread on #1 then dive into #2 & I"M SOOOO EXCITED!!!!

https://www.goodreads.com/series/210214-everless 

June 2019 Wrap-Up

This month I thought I read 4 books but I actually looked at my Goodreads account & I read 3. Which is still really good but I was excited for 4. So I'm gonna try for 4 books in July. We'll see how it goes. I'll be finishing up book #3 today on audio. I finished the summer reading program in like 10 days so I've just been wracking up points since then. I had also originally set my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal to 100 books because I beat it last year. But I ended up changing it today to 50 books cause I'm about half way there & I think I'll be more able to make that. I ended up not reading the one book I put on my TBR list this last month because it was supposed to be for book club & things didn't quite work out the way I planned originally so I ended up going with Apple Turnover Murder & I made the Watermelon Koolaid cookies. They turned out great, I'll include a picture below. P.S. I don't think they make watermelon koolaid anymore, or at least I couldn't find it where I live so I used strawberry. I'm still gonna keep up with this Hannah Swensen series because I enjoy them but I need to read some different things too.

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke
My review is here.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6367212-plum-pudding-murder

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke
My review is here.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6957009-apple-turnover-murder?ac=1&from_search=true

Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Review coming soon!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8801482-devil-s-food-cake-murder?ac=1&from_search=true

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

Apple Turnover Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke

Publisher: Kensington Books 

Year: 2010 

Genre: Mystery

Age: Adult 18+

Page Count: 290

Audio Reader: Suzanne Toren

Audio Length: 8 hours & 51 minutes

Audio Publisher: Recorded Books

Audio Year: 2011

Rating:

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This is the third book I've read this month! I'm on a roll! All the books so far have been in these series but I'm making some good progress through all of them. This is #13 in the Hannah Swensen series.

I think I finally figured out that this series must take place in the late 90's because they held a fundraiser & one of the things they are trying to get money for is a new microfiche reader at the local library!

Hannah actually saves herself at the end of this book instead of Mike coming to her rescue...for once! She has an ingenious moment & is able to make it out of a graveyard where she is trapped with the help of a new K9 friend.

Something is up with Norman in this book. He has to take a trip & when he comes back he is acting very strange. I'm kinda worried, but I'm also starting to see how Hannah could not end up marrying him if what I think is going to happen actually takes hold in the next few books. Maybe it's for the better???

Bill is also the subject of a phone job scam, very scandalous! He is being offered a job by a company in Florida but it turns out to be someone calling & scamming him. I'm hoping we get more info in the next book.

Delores has herself a few new boyfriends & everyone is talking about it. Plus since Hannah's mysterious ex showed up in town things have been getting interesting. The only thing I will say about this instance is that you obviously don't want to cross Hannah & her dating life at all, everyone except Norman & Mike that have gone down that road whether they be male or female, if they are somehow involved in a dating situation that also involves Hannah they end up D-E-A-D!

There weren't a lot of recipes in this book I was interested in, I'd say about half. I usually get the e book in addition to the audiobook so I can screenshot the recipes & save them. This time to ebooks formatting was really weird so the recipes didn't come out perfect. The recipe I have to share with you sounds very interesting but simple, like a flavored sugar cookie. Because the formatting was so strange all the titles are really small on the recipes & they don't have their own pages like they usually do so some of the story is on the first page of the recipe. This is the recipe for Watermelon Cookies.

Next I'll be reading my book club pick for this month, the meeting is on the 24th so stay tuned for that review next. I also checked out a few new YA books I want to get to this month so look out for those!

Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke

Plum Pudding Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington Books
Year: 2009
Genre: Mystery
Age: Adult 18+
Page Count: 285

Audio Publisher: Recorded Books
Audio Year: 2010
Audio Reader: Suzanne Toren
Audio Length: 9 hours & 10 minutes

Rating:

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This is the 12th book in the Hannah Swensen series. This book as I'm sure you can tell from the cover was a Christmas story. I've found that these books either take place in the summer time or around Christmas. This was a particularly special Christmas though because Hannah got her first Christmas tree. To top that Norman bought it for her (AWWWWWWW). Then it only took one night for Moishe to wreck it LOL!!! But the boys came up with an interesting way to fix that problem. We also get to meet someone from Hannah's past in this book. His name is Bradford Ramsey & he was Hannah's first love & the reason she left college. He's come to Lake Eden to teach at the community college & he's befriended Michelle, Hannah's younger sister, there's no way this couldn't end up being a disaster, right??? I'm sure the next book will have some serious DRAMA!

Overall things are pretty quiet in lake Eden, The Cookie Jar is doing well, Michelle may have a new acting/singing gig, & Carrie (Norman's mother) has a secret new beau. I'm only 6 books away from the elusive wedding. Hannah keeps getting closer to Norman & he keeps showing his worth, while Mike keeps saying questionable things. I'm hoping by the end of the year I'll be caught up on these books. I have to say even though I enjoy these books, especially the audio & the recipes, I've been missing a good earth shattering romance fantasy, I gotta try to work some other things into my mix. The recipes in this book were a mix of desserts & main course because Hannah always hold Christmas Eve dinner at her house. The recipe I've included below sounds DELICIOUS except for the mayo, I've never heard of putting mayo in cheesecake.

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

Cream Puff Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington Books
Year: 2009
Genre: Mystery
Age: Adult 18+
Page Count: 310

Audio Publisher: Recorded Books
Audio Year: 2011
Audio Reader: Suzanne Toren
Audio Length: 9 hours & 46 mins
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This is book #11 in the Hannah Swensen series! I'm getting through these nicely, I'm hoping to be caught up with the series by the end of this year or sooner.

With this book I was for sure on who I thought the killer was but at the last minute it turned out to be someone else! Hannah's Mom has written a regancy romance book so there's a big party coming up & Hannah starts working out with Andrea. Mike has a fling with this sexy workout instructor who is the one who ends up dead, in my opinion she deserved it. Mike is also a jerk because he lies to Hannah about his fling. Norman is looking better & better each book although I know she doesn't pick him. Moishe, Hannah's cat, has gotten a new feeder that is one of those auto feed things & he's having some trouble adjusting, it's kinda funny how he is behaving. Hannah also decides to give a little more power to Lisa in the business & it seems to be working in their favor.

I was talking with some of my coworkers & we can't figure out what year the story takes place in??? Hannah just talked about getting her first computer & having dial up internet, she still has a home phone & has just gotten her first cell phone, Norman is a  photographer & he just started using a digital camera, & in this one they are looking at security cameras that are on VHS. I'm thinking late 90's, maybe very early 2000's. Overall I enjoyed this book & I really like this series, they are quick & easy reads.

There were some interesting recipes in this book, I didn't save them all. After all these books & all these recipes I've saved, I've never tried one, maybe this summer. The recipe I picked sounds adorable! The girls make these cookies for a birthday party.

June 2019 TBR

I went on a trip to the big city recently & bought some new books so I have a lot of choices of reading material. There's really only 1 book I HAVE to read this month for book club so the rest is open. Summer reading started yesterday so I'm gonna try & read my brains out for the next 2 months.

A Slice of Murder by Chris Cavender 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6488455-a-slice-of-murder 

This month for Cook the Books we are doing something called Recipe Parade. We each get to pick our own book & make a recipe. This was my pick because I didn't want to pick something with a dessert. I hope we get a good turn out!

May 2019 Wrap-Up

It can't be the end of May already!!! Today is June 1st & I'm asking myself where has time gone? I thought I'd get a lot more reading done before summer started & we got super busy. Looks like I'll just have to catch up in the next 2 months while summer reading is happening. We'll see how things play out. This month I managed to read 3 books. I'm hoping to get some reading done this weekend & clean the house. I've also got a few other posts planned that should be fun & I'm going to try to get those up ASAP.

Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke 

My review is here.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2001935.Carrot_Cake_Murder?ac=1&from_search=true 

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

I just finished this book yesterday so I'll be posting a review momentarily.  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4615457-cream-puff-murder?ac=1&from_search=true

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

My review is here.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18213783-little-beach-street-bakery?ac=1&from_search=true  

This was our Cook the Books pick for this month. I liked it so I got the others & I'm going to read them all. I also have a few other books by this author that I'm going to check out.