<— SURPRISE!!!! COLLEEN HOOVER JUST RELEASED ANOTHER NEW ONE!!! Finding Perfect —> HAPPY FRIDAY FINDS TO US!! 😀 And… Whoa!! It’s already Friday again? This middle-day Wednesday has me all sorts of confused. BUT YAY!!! I’m not complaining *claps with glee*
ALSO!!!! MY LATEST 5-STAR REVIEW IS UP!!! ➔ Book Review – Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Another thing that made me clap with glee? I marathon-watched (or should I say listened to/watched – since I watched while I worked on my blog) the entire Season 2 of “You” and I absolutely loved it. I mean… he is literally THE BEST version of Joe I could ever have dreamed of, and his I LOVE being in his head. Ahhhhhh I LOVE this series so much. I already loved both books (Book #2 – Hidden Bodies even more than #1 – You) and I can’t WAIT for #3. In fact… here’s a preview of book #3 (on Entertainment Weekly). I WILL EAT THAT ONE UP!!!!! From the article:
“Caroline Kepnes, the author behind the You series upon which all of this is based, finishes up her third book (and already has a deal for the fourth). And although the show continues to deviate more and more from the series, Kepnes is excited about telling both stories.”
P.S. AMAZON’S JANUARY FIRST READS ARE UP and Prime members can choose 2!!! YAY US!!! 😁 I think I’m going with: When I Was You (Minka Kent!!!) & Last Day (Luanne Rice)
Nancy: YES! Two this month!! 😄 I picked the same 2 as you! I have a hard time deciding, so you made it easy!
Tasha J: I got Thief River Falls and Last Day. ☺️
Ashley: Are these books free, or is it like kindle unlimited where you check them out and return them?
Andrea: I think it’s ours to keep
Maryse: Yes! If you’re a prime member, it’s yours to keep. You “buy it for free” 😀
Stephanie: Why didn’t I know about this?
Michelle: l love when we can pick 2.
Maryse: Me too!! I’m usually struggling to pick between 2. Today… no struggle! 😀
TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE FOUND FOR THE WEEKEND !!
P.S. These deals are still active as we speak so you can still get in on ’em:
- ➔➔ Three months of Kindle Unlimited for a super-bargain!! Not a member yet? This is for you! Not for me, ’cause I am one. 😉 And I love it.
- ➔➔ 4 months of Amazon Unlimited Music for a super-bargain <— AMAZING deal! “... This limited time offer provides on-demand, ad-free and unlimited access to 50 million songs on any device via the Amazon Music app...” you have FOUR DAYS LEFT to get in on this bargain!!
- and now the book finds!
- Finding Perfect by Colleen Hoover <— COLLEEN HOOVER ALERT!!! “…Finding Perfect is a novella that brings back several of Colleen Hoover’s most beloved characters. Told from the point of view of Daniel from Finding Cinderella, readers will finally get the conclusion they’ve been hoping for. For the best reading experience, make sure you’ve read all four books that come together to make up this heartwarming story; Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella and All Your Perfects...”
- The Vigilante’s Assassin by Lawrence Hall <— LIVE!!
- Freeing Ryan (Last Hangman MC Book 7) by Muriel Garcia <— LIVE!!
- Accidental Shield: A Marriage Mistake Romance by Nicole Snow <— LIVE!!! OOPS! THEY’RE MARRIED! “…It’s awkward, okay? I didn’t plan on waking up hitched to Hubby of the Century. Or one little misadventure erasing every memory of us. No sweet nothings. No ugly cry vows. No flipping honeymoon. But every time I see Flint Calum, I wonder. How did I get so lucky?…”
- Rising: Book 1 After the Thaw by Heidi Catherine and Tamar Sloan <— LIVE!! POST-APOCALYPTIC ALERT!! “…Humans now live in a super greenhouse. Seas have risen. Oceans have acidified. And the fight for resources is deadly. To ensure nothing of this magnitude ever happens again, only those with enough intelligence and heart will earn the right to bear children and heal the earth. Nine teens must face the tests of the Proving to decide who will be Bound to this new order. Four of them will challenge the system in ways even they can’t imagine…”
Nay: FYI–if you happen to be interested in Rising up on the list, it has a prequel called Burned and it’s free!
Grey: I actually added Rising to my TBR… have you read it already, Nay? It definitely piqued my interest… I haven’t read a good dystopian in a while.
- Survival: A Reverse Harem Romance (The Hollow Book 1) by Ellabee Andrews and Helen Scott <— LIVE!!!
- Fated, She Flies: A Dark and Twisted Swan Princess Retelling (A Never After Tale) by Brea Viragh<— LIVE!!
- Shadow’s Edge (Shadow Falls Series Book 1) by Lizzy Prince <— LIVE!! SHE SEES GHOSTS & WEIRDER THINGS… “…I’ve always seen ghosts, but since moving to Shadow Falls I haven’t seen a single spirit. Everyone says weird stuff happens here, it’s just a way of life. Ghosts don’t scare me but what’s happening in Shadow Falls is terrifying. Shadows that cling to people like parasites and a man who wants to devour me...”
- Saving Sandcastles (Lobster Bay Book 1) by Meredith Summers <— LIVE!!
- Inheritance Reversal by Mckenna James <— LIVE!!
- Sweeter by Eve Dangerfield <— LIVE!!
- Led By The BrokenHearted: A Contemporary New Adult Romance by Amani Green <— LIVE!! HE TEARS HER APART… “…There is only one person who has ever been able to shake something in her, but when she goes off to college, he tears her entire world apart. Ashton isn’t the boy Brisé once knew, and he isn’t interested in mending her broken heart. He’s out to settle a score...”
- The Vampires’ Blood Mate: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance by Lili Zander <— SERIES BOOK BUNDLE SUPER-BARGAIN!
- An Unexpected Match by Arianna J. Dayne
- I Like Big Dragons and I Cannot Lie (The I Like Big Dragons Series) by Lani Lynn Vale <— Kathy recommends this series!
Kathy: Lani Lynn Vale wrote a 3 book paranormal series ( I Like Big Dragons). I enjoyed this series. The second book in the series is free (which never happens!!). It is called Dragons Need Love, Too.
- Princess Ballot: A Dark College Romance (Royals of Arbon Academy Book 1) by Tate James & Jaymin Eve <— TESSA COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN!!
Tessa: Princess Ballot from last week. GOOD. 🙂 Finished it the day after it was released and couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait for the next one.
- Mrs B’s Younger Man: An Age Gap Romance by Leah Key <— LIVE!!!
- What She Doesn’t Know: A Psychological Thriller by Andrew E. Kaufman <— PSYCH-THRILLER SUPER-BARGAIN!! She can’t remember… “…Riley was the suspect in a murder investigation that destroyed her life and drove her into a psychiatric facility. Locked away for years, she was always guilty in the eyes of an unforgiving public. Now, after being released, all she wants is a fresh start, but the effort stalls when she becomes fixated on her new neighbor’s extravagant life. She can’t stop watching Samantha Light. And it’s curiously satisfying. For now, at least...”
- Hearts and Thorns by Ella Fields <— LIVE!!! SOUNDS ANGSTY & INTENSE!! Can be read as a standalone 😀 “…Jackson Thorn was my best friend and worst enemy, but that didn’t stop me from wanting him. From first words to high school halls, our childhood years braided a bond that wove in a direction neither of us could predict or outgrow. Forbidden became a word we ignored. It wasn’t that we didn’t care. It was that we cared too much. We had it all planned out. We thought we could make it. We thought we’d been careful. But all we managed to do was prolong the inevitable. Our destruction…”
Jen: Hearts and Thorns was an excellent read!
- Devastated (Anger Management Book 1) by R.L. Mathewson <— MONY LOVED IT LIKE I DID!
Mony: Hi Maryse,
Just finished DEVASTATED (Anger Management #1) by R.L. Mathewson (Goodreads 4.25). If you loved THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME, this is your book! Slow burn, enemies-to-lover – gets better & better as it goes. Amazing & unique book boyfriend. Fantastic read!
Maryse: Oh yes I read and LOVED that one!!!! Wholeheartedly agree. It had me giggling like crazy (especially when she was drunk on the bathroom floor “dying a virgin”). LOL!!!!
- Tragic Beauty: A Dark Romance (Beauty & The Darkness Book 1) by Iris Ann Hunter <— DARK READ & MAJOR WARNING THOUGH KELLY LOVED THIS ONE!
Kelly: Just finished Tragic Beauty by a new to me author – Iris Ann Hunter – and OMG!!!! Couldn’t put it down.
It is DARK, really dark, a la Captive in the Dark. It has MAJOR triggers, is hard to stomach at times but the payoff was wonderful.
Her writing drew me in and kept me riveted and horrified but feeling EVERYTHING!!! Highly recommend. On my top 2019 reads for sure
- The Complete Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances Series, books 1-5 by Michelle Mankin <— ROCK STAR SERIES BOXSET SUPER-BARGAIN ALERT!!! From New York Times bestselling author Michelle Mankin, The Complete Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances Series is available for the first time ever in a box set. Five full-length novels. Your all access backstage pass to Southern California’s most famous rock band. P.S. Check out these fun facts about the series here and here.
- No Time for Daddy’s Girl: Author to Today the Waiting by Dorothy Collins <— LIVE!!
- With This Ring by Georgia Le Carre <— LIVE!!
- Renegades (Breaking the Rules Book 1) by E.M. Lindsey <— LIVE!! M/M ROMANCE!!!
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens <— THIS WAS NANCY’S ABSOLUTE BEST OF 2019 (P.S. here’s her whole list if you missed it on Sunday) and look what else she found out:
Nancy: Crawdads named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, USA Today, Bloomberg, Buzzfeed and many others. Ends 2019 as the bestselling hardcover in America for the year and starts 2020 as the Number 1 NYT Bestseller.
- Rivals: An enemies to lovers romance by ML Preston <— LIVE!!
- Filthy Playboy (Cocky Suits Chicago Book 3) by Alex Wolf and Sloane Howell <— LIVE!!
Kissing & Telling: A Friends To Lovers Romance (Breaking The Rules Novel Book 1) by Jenna Reed <— LIVE!!
- Blinded Love Series by Stacey Marie Brown <— PAIGE RECOMMENDS THESE! They hate & blame each other… “…Everyone wants her to get back to who she was before. But nothing of her old life feels real to her anymore. The only one who understands what she is going through is someone who has always been cruel to her and someone she hated. The other survivor. Hunter Harris is totally off-limits and full of secrets...”
Paige: Love love all your recommendations! I just finished The Love Series by Stacey Marie Brown, never read her books before and omg I’m so in love with this series!
I wanted to ask you if you could please give us a list of your favorite good brother/bad brother w/ bad reputation or perfect boyfriend/bad best friend, where heroine falls and ends up with bad boy.
If you haven’t read this series YOU MUST. THANK YOU!!
- Love Bitten (Vampire Blood Royals Book 1) by Sabrina C Rose <— LIVE!!! SHE’S A HUMAN & HE’S A VAMPIRE ALERT!! “…karma was plotting against her. It wasn’t his car that she’d smashed into oblivion. It belonged to someone else. Someone whose dark emerald green eyes, livid face, and fierce stare left her breathless and quaking from more than just fear...”
- Death Angel: A Novel by Linda Howard <— CRUEL HERO (and it’s on sale today)!!! This book has been recommended for two of our dark hero lists!! Our Favorite “Falling In Love With An Assassin” Romance Books and Looking for book recommendations featuring cruel, abusive yet redeemable book heroes…
- The Stopover (The Miles High Club Book 1) by T.L. Swan <— NANCY LOVED IT (it’s on her Best of 2019 list!!) & found it on super-bargain for us!!
Nancy: just saw that THE STOPOVER by TL Scott just went on sale… It is on my list!!
Susan: you should start T L Swan’s Stopover. It’s another page turner. Loved it too!! …Smoking hot book. I love T L Swan’s books. They always keep me reading until I finish.
AUDIOBOOK LVERS!
For those going on a road trip soon, or maybe you’ve got some projects that require both hands this weekend but still allows you to “listen”… check out the free audible trial + 2 free audiobooks deal
- AND! Here’s the fun-tool again! —> Find out which of YOUR Kindle books are available as audiobooks at a BARGAIN-PRICE! <— This thing is so cool (Amazon calls it “Matchmaker“)! It’s an Amazon feature, that scans all of your Kindle books and will list all of the ones you have that are also available as an audiobook at a discounted price (not normal audiobook prices). This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks. VERY COOL!
- and…
- ➔➔ Audible now has an “Escape” package membership (30 day free trial)<— this one is SO cool, and worth it (unlimited listening for all of the audiobooks in the program, and there are tons)!!
- and…
- Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid <— I TOTALLY got in on the sale price of this one last week (and added on the audiobook since that price was great too) and look at ALL the love for the audiobook:
Robin: This was also a great book on audible. Probably the best I’ve listened to. The narrators (there are a few) did an exceptional job.
Denise: I’ve read the book and listened to the audio. Loved both, but the audio was absolutely freeking fantastic. I listened to the audio first, then straight onto the book. The narrators give you such a ‘feel’ for the characters and the time period. I’m so in love with this book
Maria: This is an amazing book!!!!
Tasara: The audible, though!
- Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren<— Nay says I’ll love it!!
Nay: Maryse–I just saw your Josh and Hazel fb post. I listened to it last week and loved it! I think it’ll be a hit with you…
Frannie: I loved this one!!!
PREORDERS (going live soon!!! 😀 )
- Moral Compass: A Novel by Danielle Steel – January 7th 2020
- Mr. Nobody: A Novel by Catherine Steadman- January 7th 2020
- The Night Country: A Hazel Wood Novel (The Hazel Wood Book 2) – January 7th 2020
- A Heart So Fierce and Broken (The Cursebreaker Series) by Brigid Kemmerer – January 7th 2020
- Ruthless Knight (Royal Hearts Academy) by A. Jade – January 7th 2020
- Scavenge The Stars by Tara Sim – January 7th 2020
- The Vanishing (Fogg Lake Book 1) by Jayne Ann Krentz – January 7th 2020
- Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children Book 5) by Seanan McGuire – January 7th 2020
- The Harder You Fall (Rixon Raiders Book 3) by L.A. Cotton – January 7th 2019
- Come Back for Me by Corinne Michaels – January 7th 2020
➔➔➔ Get Maryse’s Book Blog updates delivered by email (you’ll get one daily email that will have each post from that day consolidated on it).
Look at me go! Why do I have to work? Can’t it be Christmas break all the time, so that I can always drink coffee and peruse the blog first thing every morning???
*tosses first Friday glitter*
I’m just glad we had two Fridays this week. Tuesday’s Friday, and the real Friday. *claps*
Good morning! Happy Friday!
Ever since I started devouring Gregg Olsen’s thrillers, I’ve been looking for another mystery/thriller writer who can somehow compare, and I’ve finally found him! His name is Allen Eskens, and he has me completely immersed in his audio books! His first book, “The Life We Bury,” which was written in 2014, is the beginning of two series, and I’m probably going to listen to both of them before I move to another author. I love it when that happens–yay me!!
FYI–if you happen to be interested in Rising up on the list, it has a prequel called Burned and it’s free!
OH YAY!!!! I love when you find us new thrillers!!!
I actually added Rising to my TBR… have you read it already, Nay? It definitely piqued my interest… I haven’t read a good dystopian in a while. Do you (personally) read prequels first…or do you wait and go back to them after reading the first official book? I’m kind of split 50/50. I worry that it’s going to spoil something for me, but then I worry that I’m going to be lost if I don’t read it.
Today is a day for reading and basketball…
Friday and the light are coming down one by one in our small Oregon town. I’m not ready for the holiday to be over and return to the fast pace life. I was able to devour guilt free, several memorable books during the holidays. Renee has been a big influence. In middle of Red, White and Royal Blue. Finished JA Huss, the Square, Regretting You. Dare, SL Scott, Gentleman 9, and Irone Crowne. Next on list is Daisy Jones. I love this time of the year to put together my top 10. So fun to go back and reminisce about the books that highlighted my days.
Looks like we’re buddy reading Red White & Royal Blue together ’cause I’m halfway through it too.
I can’t wait to see your top 10, and I’m already melancholy over putting away my decorations and taking down my tree. It will be this Sunday (the end of the whole “Three Kings Day”) *sigh*
Hearts and Thorns was an excellent read!
Thank you for the feedback Jen! It does sound intense!! I’ll add your comment up there. 😀
Yes….very intense!
Am I the only one who can only get 1 free book this from Amazon Prime?
Ok all you foodies…I need some help. I got a cast iron skillet for Christmas and I’m not sure what to cook with it. To be honest, it’s super intimidating with seasoning it, making sure it doesn’t rust and storing it (it weighs a ton). I’m not an adventurous cook and I’m considering returning it. 🙁 Unless someone can convince me it’s worth keeping. What do you think?
I’ve never used a cast iron skillet yet but I want one or two to learn on… so I’m all ears too!
Wow Maryse! I’m surprised you haven’t tried one either. Maybe we can learn together? Except my meals will have lots o’ carbs. 😜
It’s super easy (easier and longer lasting than any other material)!! I have 5 of them, 1 new and 4 that I found of my mother’s that were completely covered in rust. I use them everyday! Yours should have come pre-seasoned, so don’t worry about that right now. First though, you can’t use it on a glass cooktop. What kind of range do you have?
Crap! I have an electric stove with glass cooktop.
Using it on a flat glass cooktop can scratch up the glass and crack the cast iron, but if you do a good about of cooking in the oven, it still might be worth keeping. I mostly use mine on the stove.
Thanks for the advice Robin. I wanted to try recipes where you sear meat on stovetop then finish cooking in oven type of stuff and fun things like skillet cookie, skillet cornbread, frittata etc. Duh…of course it wouldn’t be good on glass cooktop…its so stinking heavy. I never even thought of that! I’m going to return it and find myself a different skillet. Bummer!
You can definitely do those things in the oven. Many times when I sear meat, I put the cast iron in the oven at 500 and move to the stove to sear/cook, but if you’re cooking thinner cuts, you could tske it out to sear, then return it to the oven. Those other things you mentioned can be straight oven. My cornbread recipe is. I also use it for casseroles, baked beans, even desserts.
Finished my first book of 2020 and 30% into my second book.
I do feel like my reading is back. Plus, I’m watching some really good dramas too. It feels good. Yay.
Bev, that is great if you got your reading mojo back!!!
So happy for you, Bev. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on them.
Yay bev. WTG.
I know there are some green thumbs here. Anyone have any recommendations on hanging planters? I’m overwhelmed searching the internet and I’m getting frustrated. I didn’t even know what a self watering pot was until yesterday. I’ve been replanting some of my plants this weekend and adding a shelf for some plants to my wall bc my 1 tiny stand by the window was completely full and then in my search to find what all these plants needed, J read that the pothos was poisonous to cats. My cat won’t leave my pothos alone. It was just 1 long vine, 4 years old, and I learned how to propagate it (provided the cat didn’t kill my chances) and now I’ve decided the way to fix this is by hanging them. I think I have 2. So, I dk what kind of baskets to get. They all look kind of shallow and I swear I read your pot should be kind of deep for it. I’ll need drainage holes as well bc I don’t think I can learn self watering. It seems like a lot, there’s testing and stuff that needs to be done 1st and I don’t have patience for that.
I love plants and growing things from seed, but I don’t have much experience with house plants. Though I DO know Pothos are really easy and not at all picky. Mine always get too leggy.
Maybe I should try again… 😉
I DO have a Peace Lilly that grew HUGE and flowers fairly often. I LOVE IT.
I’ve started reading a brand new Susan Fanetti book.The Name of Honor. It’s in her Pagano Brothers mafia series and I’m enjoying it. I think it’s better if you’ve read the other books first for this one, though. Fanetti’s characters are always so believable.
Ohhh YAY!!! I just added it to today’s Monday Earlybirds list and I posted the series reading order since you mentioned that.