COYER and my library's Summer Reading Program are now live. I want to continue or finish some of my series reads and get through that one WWI book that is a door stopper. I want to read all the books I borrowed from Prime Lending so I can cancel my subscription over the summer (I just don't feel like the benefits are worth the ever increasing price). 

TBR:

1. Winds of Salem (The Beauchamp Family #3) by Melissa de la Cruz

2. One in a Million (Lucky Harbor #12) by Jill Shalvis

3. Wishing Lake (Finding Home #3) by Regina Hart

4. When Summer Comes (Whiskey Creek #3) by Brenda Novak

5. The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark

6. Café Au Lait by Liane Spicer

7. Welcome to Last Chance (Last Chance #1) by Cathleen Armstrong

8. The Spirit of '76 by David Browne

9. Submerged (Alaskan Courage #1) by Dani Petry

10. The Bounty (Malloy Family #1) by Beth Williamson

11. The Ice Cutter's Daughter (Land of Shining Water #1) by Tracie Peterson

12. All I Am (Farmers Market #2) by Nicole Helm

I have wanted to try a Peterson book for awhile now, but felt really intimidated by her backlist. Seeing this book on my library shelf made the decision for me. I'm glad I chose this one as there was a lot to like in the book.

First up, Italian immigrants and their families in a historical romance - thank you! Finally! Seeing immigrants (other than from the UK or Ireland) in historical fiction (much less inspirational historical fiction) and their traditions while also seeing themselves as American was a treat that I take with grateful hands. I felt the immigrants' Catholic religion was downplayed a lot, but inspirational genre frowns upon anything touching Catholism, so I understood that the author had to navigate between the characters and her expected audience.

Chantel was a great character who was strong but was not needed to prop up the rest of the family - each member of her family helped out and wasn't a burden on another person, although one of them courted trouble and ended up paying the price. I like that Chantel wasn't the only one responsible in her family. Same with Dante - each of his family members did their part and worked together without being a prop to show Dante's goodness. 

And the sparks flew so much when Chantel and Dante were together it was a wonder that the town wasn't set on fire. Their romance was a slow burn (real slow) but the other plotlines in the story kept the romance from becoming repetitive. A lot of stuff goes down in a small mining town in Minnesota over the course of a year, which gave Chantel and Dante room to grow as individuals as well as a couple. 

One issue I had with the book was that the preaching got repetitive towards the last 25% of the book. Up until then, the religious tone was woven within the characters and story seamlessly, then all of a sudden it was scripture quotes on every page.

I have plans to read the other two books in the trilogy. Each book can be read as a stand alone, so no worries about having to read the series in order.

Reading more from my WWI reading list: To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild and The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark. Then I am taking the summer off from reading WWI nonfiction.

Bout of Books Cycle 22 (May 14th-20th) - going to focus on reading more of the short books on my NOOK and Kindle. Sign ups started yesterday.

I am the second person in the que for I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, so I hope to at least get it before the month is done. 

Going to try and work on some series:

1. Serpent's Kiss (The Beauchamp Family #2) by Melissa de la Cruz

2. Harmony Cabins (Finding Home #2) by Regina Hart

3. When Snow Falls (Whiskey Creek #2) by Brenda Novak

4. He's So Fine (Lucky Harbor #11) by Jill Shalvis 

5. The Miner's Lady (Land of Shining Water #3) by Tracie Peterson (a holdover from April)

This weekend is the big base clean up, so the son and his cub scout pack are cleaning up their school which means my butt has to wake up early on a Saturday and go pick up trash. We are having a heatwave with temps in the 70s and 80s, so I got out the pool for the kids to cool off in. So trash detail first, then lunch, then pool - all while mom sits to the side with one eye on the kids and one eye on my books.

First goal is to get through the last of my library borrows: The Miner's Lady by Tracie Peterson, One Wish by Robyn Carr, and Island Girls by Nancy Thayer. I am hoping to get a couple chapters of To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild in this weekend as well. 

Next week we will be having rain and temps in the 50s, so I am taking advantage of all the sun-induced Vitamin D production this weekend. I hope you all got some good reading ahead of you as well!

This weekend I downloaded three contemporary romances from OverDrive. Two I read in about 24 hours each; the third I DNF at the 9% mark. I think I got my reading mojo back. Today I went to volunteer at the library (something I haven't done all March because of adult taskings); after, I decided to browse the fiction side for a change. 

I came home with 12 books (8 adult fiction titles, 1 middle grade that will fill a PS prompt, 1 graphic novel) plus I still have four books coming to me via ILL. In my defense, I was left unsupervised in a library.

Here's what I brought home:

1. George by Alex Gino (the MG for PS prompt)

2. Paper Girls (Book One) by Brian K. Vaughn et al (collects the first 10 issues)

3. Death on Tap (Sloan Krause Mystery #1) by Ellie Alexander

4. Once Upon a Spine (A Bibliophile Mystery) by Kate Carlisle

5. A Perfect Proposal by Katie Ffjorde

6. Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

7. Dark Harbor (Stone Barrington Novel) by Stuart Woods

8. The Miner's Lady (Land of Shining Water #3) by Tracie Peterson

9. One Wish (A Thunder Point Novel) by Robyn Carr

10. Island Girls by Nancy Thayer

11. Family Tree by Susan Wiggs

12. Night Road by Kristin Hannah