Category Archives: Books

Cora’s TBR Challenge Check-In

27 Thursday Aug 2020

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We’re 2/3 of the way through 2020, fellow readers. Are you 2/3 of the way to your TBR Challenge goal?

I’m not, but I’m not too far off, either. I’ve managed to get about halfway to both my overall Goodreads goal and my TBR Challenge goal. Given everything that’s been going on this year, both in the world at large and for me personally, I’m okay with my reading progress. I’m still laid off from the day job, too, so I can actually get stuff on my To Do list done and still have time left over to read (and write!).

I’ve currently got two historical romances going: A Duke In Disguise by Cat Sebastian and A Duke, The Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley. They’re very different from each other, but I’m really enjoying both of them so far! I’ve got a couple of research books on deck, too: The Housekeeper’s Tale by Tessa Boase and The Sharpe Companion: The Early Years by Mark Adkin (even though I haven’t read any of Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe novels yet). Both should be helpful with my current work-in-progress, which has a housekeeper as an important secondary character and a main character who fought in the War of 1812 (not Sharpe’s war, but things will be similar enough for my purposes). Both look like they’ll be very helpful. Hopefully they’ll be interesting, too  😉

courtesy of Jbuatti via Wikimedia Commons

Cora’s TBR Challenge Check-In

29 Wednesday Jul 2020

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We’re into the second half of the year (already? finally?)! How’s your TBR Challenge going?

The past two months have been difficult and busy for me–my grandmother passed away while I was trying to finish What If I Loved You, so I was writing and grieving and trying to deal with family and paperwork all at the same time. I seem to have made it through the worst, though, and have started reading again.

I’ve been neglecting my TBR pile, though, lol. I’m still sitting at 7 of 20 TBR books read, and yet I purchased mystery boxes from a couple of great indie bookstores: Romances featuring Women of Color, curated by Farrah Rochon, from Tubby & Coo’s in New Orleans (these are still available!); and a Surprise Box from Love’s Sweet Arrow in Chicago (these also appear to still be available!). I haven’t read any of the books I received, but it looks like I got some good ones. Hopefully I’ll get them read soon so they don’t end up part of this challenge next year!

I do have two books going that will count toward my TBR Challenge when I finish them: Midnight by Beverly Jenkins and A Duke In Disguise by Cat Sebastian. I started Midnight all the way back in April and only got about a quarter of the way in before everything fell apart, so I’ll probably start that one over again–all I remember is that I was enjoying the story. I’m only about that far into A Duke In Disguise, too, and it’s very interesting so far–Cat’s writing skills are just… Well, I aspire to her skill level 🙂

Books from Tubby & Coo’s and Love’s Sweet Arrow

TBR Challenge Check In

29 Wednesday Apr 2020

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Four months down, fellow readers! Are you on track?

I’m hanging in there, through the help of the Historical Romance Book Club (We’re finishing up Midnight by Beverly Jenkins this month) and some good (but short!) novellas. Goodreads says I’m on track for my overall reading goal, and I’m about a third of the way through my TBR goal. That’s better than I expected to be this time of year.

My boss at the day job has decided to dump a bunch of work on me right before I’m scheduled to be furloughed and the deadline for my current WIP is fast approaching, so I suspect I won’t do a ton of reading over the next few weeks. And I seem to be acquiring books at an alarming rate again (40 already this year!). But that’s okay. I’m just going to go with it for the time being and try not to stress too much 🙂

And now, a gratuitous picture of Bo blinking for everyone who needs a smile today:

 

TBR Challenge Check-In

30 Monday Mar 2020

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We’re a quarter of the way through 2020, fellow readers. Are you a quarter of the way through your TBR challenge?

Weirdly enough, I am 🙂  Books have become a refuge for me again, helping me thing about something other than all the things I have to worry about. And it’s been a lot of fun reading historicals set in different places and time periods again! Regencies make up the bulk of my TBR books, but I’ve also been visiting Civil War-era America and a steampunk version of China during the Qing Dynasty. We’ve got a historical romance book club in The Regency Salon, too, which checked another book off the TBR list for me. I bet that won’t be the last one, either 😉

I’ve just gotten started writing a new novella–more on that soon!–so we’ll see if I can keep up the reading pace while I work on that. I usually can’t, but I’m going to try not to stress about it if my reading slows down for a bit. There are too many other things going on in the world right now; worrying about how many books I’ve read shouldn’t be one of them.

Stay safe, everyone! And thank you to all the people working to keep us healthy, fed, and functioning ❤

courtesy of Jbuatti via Wikimedia Commons

Cora’s TBR Challenge Check-In

30 Thursday Jan 2020

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One month down in the 2020 TBR Challenge! Did you start off with a bang or a whimper?

I seem to have started off with a bang for a change 🙂 I think I’m still in Read All The Books mode even though I’ve been back at the day job for weeks now. I’m not complaining, though! I’m working my way through Courtney Milan’s Brothers Sinister series, and her books are always a treat. I managed to read one of the Random App books that I’d purchased in 2012 (!) and discovered that another was a duplicate of one I already had, so I’m making progress on that front, too. Plus, Goodreads says I’m a little bit a head of the game for my overall reading goal, which will make it easier to get back to writing more than just a few words here and there (which I need to do soon!).

So overall I’m pretty happy with where I’m at, reading-wise. We’ll see how long that lasts 😉

courtesy of Jbuatti via Wikimedia Commons

Traveling Holiday Party Hop

14 Saturday Dec 2019

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The authors of The Regency Salon have holiday gifts for you…

Download 14 Free Historical Romances This Weekend! (Dec. 13-15th)

PLUS Enter to win fun prizes all along the way, as well as the grand prize of 14 more full length novels! Visit the event page for links to all participating authors and giveaways.

 

TBR Challenge Check-In

30 Wednesday Oct 2019

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Happy Halloween, fellow readers! Are you making progress on your TBR Challenge?

I am, but at a snail’s pace. I did finish listening to William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope (it was as fantastic as I expected such a mash-up to be!), and I flew through Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastion (which was *such* a lovely story!).

Ye Olde Chronic Fatigue has been rearing its ugly head, though, so my previous plan of reading in the evenings hasn’t been sustainable lately–I’m just too tired most days. I’ve also got crochet projects lined up to make as gifts for Christmas, which I talked about last month, and I’m writing As Long As You Love Me So, both of which sap my remaining energy (though if I’m going to expend my limited energy on things, crocheting and writing are at the top of the list 🙂 ).

In light of all that, I’ve decided to do something I’ve never done in a TBR Challenge: modify the terms. I’ve dropped my Goodreads challenge from 36 books to 24, and I’m rolling back my TBR Challenge goal from 24 books to 14. That relieves some of the stress I’ve been feeling about making these goals, which helps make reading more fun again and knocks back my overall stress level. It’s always good to re-evaluate your goals and how you plan to achieve them–I think that should apply to reading challenges, too 🙂

TBR Challenge Check-In

30 Monday Sep 2019

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Just three months left this year, fellow readers! How is your TBR Challenge going?

Mine, as usual, is going slowly. But it’s going 🙂  I’ve started listening to audiobooks again–it’s a good way to pass the time while I’m crocheting Christmas gifts, especially when the pattern is kind of boring. Currently I’m listening to William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope, which is fantastic for so many reasons. I remember just enough about The Bard from high school to enjoy the style, I grew up watching Star Wars, and I love a good mashup! This is one of those books, too, that I think is better in audio–there are multiple performers, sound effects, and a little (familiar) music which enhance the experience, and I’d miss all that if I were reading instead of listening.

Kissing by the Mistletoe is available for pre-order!

13 Friday Sep 2019

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Who’s ready for a sweet Regency Christmas novella?

Kissing by the Mistletoe is available for pre-order at all your favorite e-tailers! It’s priced at $0.99 US during the pre-order period, and will increase to $1.99 US when it releases on October 1. If you purchased the Christmas Ever After last year, you do not need to pick this one up–this is the same story that was published in that anthology.

This is a sweet, traditional Regency romance, set in the same world as my Maitland Maidens novellas but written as a stand-alone story. If you like cinnamon roll heroes and the best friend’s sibling trope, this one’s for you 🙂

Cora’s TBR Challenge

05 Thursday Sep 2019

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Four months to go, fellow readers! How goes your TBR Challenge?

I’m making some progress 🙂  It’s not a lot, but I’ve finished two more books for the TBR challenge and am nearly through another. I’m also trying to carve out time to read on a regular basis–lately it’s been right before I go to bed–and I think that’s what’s been making the difference this past month. I may only read for an hour before I get too tired to continue, but an hour a day gets me through a novel by the end of the week. And if I can squeeze out more than an hour I can read more (or longer) books, which makes me happy. I get grumpy when I can’t/don’t read for more than a few days in a row!