Today I am sharing another installment in my 2024 challenge to use up (completely) 100 patterned papers.
I am once again using die cuts from Keep It Simple Paper Craft’s Bunny Season collection as my primary focus. I am also working through my Lawn Fawn 6×6 stash.
Here is today’s card:
Supplies: Patterned Paper, Die: Lawn Fawn; Stamp: MFT; Die Cuts: Keep It Simple Paper Crafts
I used up some scraps of blue patterned paper on this one, and I like how it turned out.
Tourist Season is a suspense/romance novel written by Brenda Novak.
Summary: Ismay Chalmers is ready to relax. After finishing law school, she is taking a much-needed break before she opens her new law practice.
As soon as her fiancé Remy finishes up medical school, he will join her at his parents’ beach house, and they will spend a few blissful weeks together before facing the real world outside of school.
But when Ismay discovers something disturbing hidden in the house, she’s forced to re-consider everything she knows about her future husband.
How well does she know him after all?
My Thoughts: OK, I have very mixed feelings about this book.
On the one hand, this book is very well-written, with lots of plot twists, and suspense as thick as a knife. I spent the entire book just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Crazy.
But on the other hand, the subject matter was a little too intense for me, and there were two sex scenes (fortunately brief) that didn’t need to be there.
The suspense was great enough that I just had to know what happened, so I kept reading, but I was definitely a little squeamish in parts just because a couple of the characters were so creepy.
Overall, if you enjoy a well-written suspense and don’t mind darker material, this book has great characters, a unique storyline, and some crazy backstories.
I will leave it up to you to decide if you can handle it!
I would like to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!
Secondary Target is a suspense novel written by Angela Carlisle. It is book one in The Secrets of Kincaid series.
Summary: Corina Roberts’ father has been keeping secrets.
Secrets that now threaten her very life.
Someone is stalking her-and they mean business.
Can Corina and her ex-boyfriend Bryce piece together enough of her family history to find the culprit before they (or someone they love) ends up dead?
My Thoughts: This book definitely has plenty of action and suspense. There is a good surprise twist to the story as well.
I liked the characters, and the unique plot line, and I think this book is a good beginning to a new series.
This isn’t one I would re-read, but I am definitely interested in reading the next one, and if you enjoy suspense novels with plenty of action, then this one could be up your alley.
I would like to thank Bethany House for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!
pin and picture found here (go to the very end of the article for the recipe)
I saw this recipe and had to try it.
I am not usually a fan of pancakes, but I love pumpkin, and these are gluten-free, dairy-free, zero points on Weight Watchers, AND can be mixed up in the blender. Nice!
These were really easy to make, and I liked the taste too.
One can of pumpkin yields four batches of pancakes, and I would imagine they would freeze pretty well too (although I haven’t tried that yet.)
These would be great for a breakfast-for-dinner meal, but I liked them plain for a snack.
If you like pancakes, and/or you like pumpkin-give them a try!
Here are my reading goals: 1. Read 250 books. This includes the books I read to the kids, audiobooks, and anything I read for myself. 72 READ 2. Read twelve (new to me) classics/award-winners. 3. Read twelve self-help/education books. 3 READ 4. Re-read twelve novels. There are so many good books I have been meaning to re-read, so this is my goal to help with that! 6 READ
I am also participating in a few book challenges this year: 1. The 2024 Audiobook Challenge, and my goal is the “Binge Listener” level (20-30 audiobooks.) 15 DONE 2. The 2024 Netgalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge, and my goal is the silver level which is reading and reviewing at least 25 books off my Netgalley list (I have 47 currently.) 18 READ, 15 REVIEWED 5. The Craving for Cozies Challenge, and my goal is the “Famished” level which is 26-50 cozy mysteries. I did this challenge last year, and it was a lot of fun, so I decided to do it again. 8 DONE
A few formatting notes for my book posts: 1. I have inserted pictures as well as Amazon links to the books I enjoyed most for the month so that it is easier to read more about each book if you are interested. Hopefully, your local library system will carry most of these. 2. If I completed a more detailed review of any of these books, I included a review link after my comments. 3. If a book is not available yet, you will see the publication date in parenthesis after my comments. 4. I have rated each book using a bold numbered star after each comment.
The rating system is as follows: *5-This book was so good, I either bought it, or think it is worth buying. I am pretty picky about the books I buy, so this is as good as it gets! *4-This book was worth reading, but not necessarily worth buying-look for these books at your local library *3-This book was just OK. I wouldn’t need to read it again. *2-Don’t bother *1-There probably won’t be any of these, because if it was THIS bad, I wouldn’t finish it. 🙂
I didn’t read too many books for myself this month, but I did have fun reading several books to The Little Guy, so I was happy about that.
Here are the books I read this month:
1. Pete the Cat and the Easter Basket Bandit by James Dean-read aloud to The Little Guy-cute *3 2. Pete the Kitty’s Outdoor Art Project by James Dean-read aloud to The Little Guy-OK *3 3. Pete the Cat and the Space Chase by James Dean-read aloud to The Little Guy-OK *3 4. Pete the Cat’s Not So Groovy Day by James Dean-read aloud to The Little Guy-good *4 5. Pete the Cat and the Mysterious Smell by James Dean-read aloud to The Little Guy-OK *3 6. Here Comes Valentine Cat by Deborah Underwood-read aloud to The Little Guy-fun *4 7. Essentialism by Greg Mckeown-I really got a lot out of this one! *4 8. And Then There Were Crumbs (A Cookie House Mystery #1) by Eve Calder (audiobook)-this was a re-read. I really like this series. *5
9. Rocky Road by Becky Wade-very good! *5 10. Super Saurus and the Egg by Deborah Underwood-read aloud to The Little Guy-this was fun! *4 11. Ducks by Deborah Underwood-read aloud to The Little Guy-OK *3 12. Here Comes the Easter Cat by Deborah Underwood-read aloud to The Little Guy-this series is fun. *4 13. Teacher Cat by Deborah Underwood-read aloud to The Little Guy-cute *4 14. Bearplane!-read aloud to The Little Guy-OK *3 15. The Panda Problem-read aloud to The Little Guy-didn’t love this one *2 16. Tooth Fairy Cat-read aloud to The Little Guy-good *3 17. How to Host a Viking Funeral by Kyle Scheele-this was an enjoyable read *4 18. Tourist Season by Brenda Novak-too intense for me, but good writing *3 19. Pete the Cat Plays Hide and Seek by James Dean-read aloud to The Little Guy-OK *3
20. The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan (audiobook)-very good-I bought this one! *5 21. Turkey’s Birthday Bash by Wendi Silvano-OK *3 (9/10/24) 22. Towed by Toad by Jashar Awan-a good one for littles that enjoy vehicles *4 (9/3/24)
This month I read fourteen books to the kids, and I read/listened to six books just for me. I read two picture books to myself for review.
For the year, I have read twenty books to the kids and thirty-nine books just for me. I’ve also read thirteen picture books to myself for review.
Well, that’s it for today. I will share my May books the first Tuesday in June.
Slow Down, Enjoy, and Create 