Don't Let a Few Crisp Mornings Fool You!

Just in time for all the visitors to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention and the start of most schools in the area, we've had a week of blue skies, cool mornings, and best of all--low humidity.  But as someone who has spent most of my life here, I knew summer wasn't over!  

Next week our temperatures will be in the high 90F (aka mid 30C), yuck. Since I've been recuperating from the dental surgery, I haven't been able to run, and now I will need to be smart and not try to get back in the running groove when it's a thousand degrees outside.

Fans of Fall, we can turn on the air and try to carry on making soup and chili, but the weather isn't cooperating! I will focus on finishing a book set in the fictional town of Nightmare, Arizona. 

We have a fun new phenomenon in our area, local booksellers are teaming up with craft breweries for adult book fairs.  As a kid who loved book fair day, the chance to peruse books with a tasty beverage in my hand is a dream come true. I love this trend and I hope it continues!  

How about you? Did you love the school book fairs? Have you seen any adult book fairs in your area?

Are Publishing Companies Still Editing Books?

 

My youngest child is back at school and today was the first day of school for our pre-K students. It was fun to finally start working with our kids for the year. How am I doing? I'm exhausted. This is mostly due to recovering from dental surgery. I miss solid food. I have also realized at school I need to drink more water. One of the nice things about working with the really little kids is getting to go outside for recess twice a day. Give me that fresh air. 

As you can see I treated myself to a new mat for the kitchen. I'm looking forward to putting it out in a few weeks. Bowie has given the dog-themed mat his seal of approval. 

I've been reading a book that recently came out and I'm really torn about it. I know all the work an author puts into their book and I'm dismayed that this book was released. I'm struggling to stay engaged in the story because I swear it should have been edited one more time. There are tense changes, repetitive words, and filler words slowing the story down to a crawl.  I decided to put it down and switched to another book and within a few pages I was lost in this new book. The second book is self-published.  I'm very grateful for self-publishing and freelance editors, the cost to the consumer is low and the quality is as good--and can be better than big publishing company books! 

How is your week going?  

Buckle Up The first Full Week of School is Here! The Sunday Post for August18th!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

Tomorrow after school, me and the hubs are going to take youngest child to her apartment so she can start her junior year of college. I don't think anything is packed as of now. Best of luck to her!  I had oral surgery on Tuesday and I'm spending this weekend recuperating. I made a grocery and Amazon order to supply her, that's an excellent contribution to the cause.

Last week at this time we were hiking up Brasstown Bald, a National Park where you can do a vertical climb to the highest point in Georgia. It was hard, but the view was amazing! 

Wish me luck this week, I'll be meeting the Pre-K kids I'll be working with this year! Fun times, and a very active job,which I am looking forward too. I swear sitting is less comfortable than being up and down all day.  

How was your week? Any back to school activity at your house?

Here is what I'm reading: 

Just In Time To Go Back To School

 

Just in time to go back to school, I have to have dental surgery. Because of a medication I take due to post-cancer treatment effects, I can only have the dental procedure timed a certain way. So it's now or wait six months and hope that the teeth at issue don't cause more problems. 

All this to say I'm going to need to use all my energy to make it through the work day and the other people in this house are going to have to pick up the slack.This means I need to stop myself from making sure the dishes are in the dishwasher properly. 

A tall order!

I hope I have an easy recovery. I do have plenty of books to read and lots of book work to do, so I should try to concentrate on that and not think about someone putting the wrong stuff on the top rack or mixing towels with pants in the washer.

How about you?  Are you laid back around household chores?

*****
I forgot that I had pre-ordered Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews until the other day. I then proceeded to read this novella. If you haven't read Ilona Andrews before, please drop everything and read them! This book features Roman who is like an intermediary between a Slavic god and humans. There is a lot of folklore in this story and I found it really interesting. It doesn't end with a cliffhanger, but it ends with the immediate danger being dealt with and more action and adventure to come. You can read this as a stand-alone, but it's more pleasing if you've read the Kate Daniels series. 

If you are a mood reader, this book takes place Dec 23-25.

Five stars of pure awesome!

What's A Reader Magnet?

 This month I'm working on writing and editing my reader magnet. What's a reader magnet? I'm glad you asked. It's a short story I can give away virtually to people as a thank you for signing up for my newsletter! So Victoria, how's this reader magnet thing going?  Well, I wrote about three-quarters of the story back in January and then I put it away for six months. Now I'm reviewing what I've written and making sure I don't have any continuity errors.

My reader magnet is a little prequel to my first book and the main characters in it are Zaina's mom and stepdad. This story allowed me to write an age gap where she's the older of the pair! When it is done, I'll make a post linking to the story so you can visit Marley Creek for a fun weekend. 

I got a secondhand copy of this book as a gift. If you are looking to get me a gift, you can't go wrong with a secondhand book, especially if it's a cozy!  Murder of the Cat's Meow is the fifteenth book in Denise Swason's Scumble River Series. I haven't read any other books in this series and I didn't have any trouble following the storyline.  I love when a cozy mystery series is written well enough that I don't have to read in order!  This was an enjoyable cozy, there were several possible suspects and I wasn't sure who did it. 

In this book, you get to know the murder victim before the murder which I know many people prefer. I enjoyed that our amateur sleuth doesn't put herself in unnecessarily dangerous situations and that she is a consultant to the police department. There is also a fun ghost situation as a small side plot. Lastly, this book is practically spicy for a cozy! I wonder, since this was written twelve years ago, if cozy mysteries have gotten more puritanical in the last five or so years.  Something for someone to blog about.

Have you read anything good lately?  How is your week going? 

I'm embracing the upcoming change of season. Looking forward to those lovely September days!

The Sunday Post Celebrating Birthdays!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

My birthday has just passed and what happens as soon as my birthday is over? You guessed it, I'm ready for autumn! When you think about it, isn't August autumn eve? I couldn't help but purchase a few items for fall.  I've picked up a couple of fun Halloween themed T-shirts and I also got a big package of stickers.

Email me if you'd like me to send you some spooky season stickers! victoriahamel14@gmail.com

Recent books I've read and will be talking about include: 

Quick Trip Before Summer is Over! And A Classic Cozy Mystery!

 

Today we are heading to the mountains of North Georgia to celebrate my dad's birthday! We are driving and staying at a VRBO by a creek. I'll be sure to take and share some pictures because Appalachia is beautiful.  It's also an extremely old area, so I assume there are ghosts around every turn. 

While we are there I'm hoping to go to the bookstore on the square and also pick up some preserves and local honey. Speaking of food, when we drove down in the spring we stopped at a Bojangles and I had the most delicious fried ham and pimento cheese biscuit. I still haven't recovered. 

One of our kiddos has to work and is missing the party. I hope that they don't put my iron skillet in the dishwasher like they did the last time I wasn't home...

Now on to a cozy mystery. Recently I listened to the audio version of Death in Castle Dark by Veronica Bond. It was the book of the month for the Cozy Mystery Book Club. If you want to hear Angela and her guest discuss this book you can watch the live stream on YouTube. I thought the book was pretty good. If someone asked me to recommend a cozy mystery book to someone who doesn't read the genre, this would be a good pick. It has all the classic cozy mystery elements. You've got a murder, of course, a potential love interest, a quirky new friend and cats. Plus there's a castle! 

3.5 stars for Death in Castle Dark!

The August book club book is Death and Gondola. I'm waiting til I have an audible credit to listen to it this month!  How about you?Any August vacations or books you are looking forward to reading before the month is over? 

Rich People Stuff-- What Do You Think? The Paradise Problem

 A couple of weeks ago, I went with my husband to the ER (he is fine.) I brought The Paradise Problem with to read. I should have brought another book along, but silly me didn't think we'd be in the ER for eight hours, I thought we'd be out in two hours. Lesson learned always take two physical books to medical facilities. 

I enjoyed Christina Lauren's writing. The dialogue is snappy and they really turn a nice phrase. This book is about obscenely wealthy people on a private island, so if you like an escapist setting this should be a hit for you. The cast of side characters is large and I didn't feel a strong connection to them, which is fine as this book is very focused on our main characters. This is a fake relationship story and it's interesting to see how the situation is resolved.  

If you like rom-com dialogue and lush settings, give this romance a read!

Four Stars for The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren!

Next week our school district goes back to school! Boy did this summer fly by! My garden continues to do very well. And I have a ton of tomatoes slowly ripening. I have these tiny little cherry tomatoes that are as big as a blueberry and I cannot wait to pick a bunch of those. I am hoping that they ripen before Anna heads back to college, she loves tomatoes on her avocado toast! 

Need Some Witchy Goodness in Your Life? Tik Tok Should Be Talking About This Book!

 

This new release is the first book in the Bewitched Billionaires series. I don't care too much for the billionaire subgenre, but in this series, the women and the ones with the billions and this series takes place in a magic small town, so it's more aligned with the small-town genre than billionaires, which is great!

The romance at the center of the story is nice and pretty cozy. It one where you the reader are enjoying watching the couple be a little hard-headed and foolish on their way to their HEA. If you are looking for cozy witch vibes the town of Owl Cove delivers!  The magical world is very practical and magic is a help it's not a cure-all.  

Owl Cove has cute shops and delicious restaurants. Brigid Hunt provides some mouthwatering descriptions of dinners.  She also makes sure to have a town festival during the story.  The town side characters are developed well for our first introduction to them and I can't wait for the next book in this series--which I think will be set near Halloween (Samhain) 

This book is on Kindle and paperback and it was a five-star read for me! 

To kick off my birthday month I went to Lollapalooza with my youngest kiddo. It was very hot and I should have worn shorts and a different pair of shoes, but at least it didn't rain except a little at the very end. The music was excellent.  We saw Chappell Roan and she put on a great show.It was packed to see her! My favorite was the headliner Hoizer. I saw him at his first Lollapalooza back in 2014 and now I've seen him on the big stage! 

This is the crowd for Chappell Roan. I'm in there somewhere towards the back!

I love Chicago! Storm clouds rolled in as Hoizer took the stage but the rain held off except for a few minutes at the end. 

The Sunday Post: Birthday Month, The Bridge to Fall, and Back to School All Rolled Into One!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

How do you feel about August?  It's my birthday month, so I'm a fan.  August has also always been bittersweet for me. As a kid, I loved summer and once my birthday rolled around, I couldn't ignore the fact that school was right around the corner. When I had kids, same feelings!  And now that I work at a school, I'm happy to go back and also I like sleeping in! 

Fall was a very busy month, the hubs and I went to Colorado. He had altitude sickness and that put quite the damper on the trip. On the way home, I googled the elevation of my dream vacations, Coastal Maine, Scotland, and South Korea. Thank goodness all of those locations are close to sea level!

Below is a picture from our trip. If you find yourself in Colorado make sure you drink loads of water that helps with the elevation and the fact that Colorado is more desert than you think! 

This is from the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. A free city park!

I also went to a concert at The Salt Shed with my middle kiddo and another concert with a friend. I'm having a real music-filled summer!

I love how our Chicago concert venues have views of the City!  This one is right on the Chicago River so people sit in their boats and see the show as well! I went to this concert with middle kiddo, we saw AWOLNATION and 311.

How was your July?  I also read some books worth talking about and released my own book! 

I'm currently reading this book. It's my first time reading a Regency male/male romance. I'm very curious how they will have a HEA!